Are you a good cook?

[Rachmaninoff]

If your first thought upon entering this thread is that you are indeed a good cook, then what are your favorite things to make? Or if you?re like me, someone who isn?t much of a cook at all, how do you get by? I got to thinking about this since it seems that cooking should be fairly simple and yet I completely and totally suck at it. lol To give an example, I can make spaghetti and though it?s editable, when my girlfriend makes it? it?s obvious that I do not know how to cook since hers is a thousand times better than what I make. XP

Now since I do not fall under the first question, I have to go with the second one and that?s basically to say that the microwave oven is my best friend. I love just about anything that can be prepared in the microwave so long as it?s simple. Though at the same time? It makes my choice of food pretty pathetic. I mean there is just no comparison between the frozen dinners and homemade ones.

About the only thing I don?t do is fast food. That stuff just makes me tired so I rarely go to a place like Wendy?s or McDonalds. I do go out to restaurants on occasion but that?s usually on a date or with friends and most of the time, the food is better than a hamburger joint.

[Elleius]

I actually love cooking, and I do it all the time, even if I don't always try new recipes.

Though, you'd be surprised about how much innovation you can put into something that's microwavable to make it better.

For instance, when I make cup noodles, I put a microwave safe glass of water in the microwave, heat it up, and then put the hot water into the cup noodles and let the hot water heat the noodles.

This tastes better because, unfortunately, the microwaves do something weird to most foods, but I don't think it does anything to water. If you can, I'd avoid eating foods made this way.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]I've always been a good cook, for the simple reason that I know how to follow directions. I have plenty of things I've made that I don't like, but it's almost always been a matter of taste instead of the food being bad. In all honesty, I positively hate stuff made for the microwave, most if not all of it just tastes funny to me so I prefer to get the stuff and simply make it from scratch instead.

I love making stuff like lasagna, oven baked chicken, pot roast and potatoes and deserts to go along with it like peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies or pie and pecan pie. And then there's the fun of holiday baking with turkey, deviled eggs, spicy rice and shrimp, cornbread sausage stuffing... the list just goes on and on.

I usually make a point of trying out some new recipe at least once a month, just for fun. It's usually pretty easy to do since I also like to use a Crockpot and make slow cooked meals. In fact, even when I was working as a truck driver, I had a Crockpot specially made for use in a semi and I would start something when I got up so it would be ready to eat once I was done for the day.

The only thing I don't like about cooking is cleaning things up when I'm done! XP I like making it and eating it, but the clean up? I'm just glad for dishwashers since the cleanup was a lot more work when I was on the road. I often relied on paper plates to keep that fuss down to the bare minimum. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[Magus]

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']If your first thought upon entering this thread is that you are indeed a good cook, then what are your favorite things to make?[/quote]
[COLOR="Navy"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Nope. I would think I'm decent when it comes to cooking, but I do suck at it. Majority of the things I make is meat. (Steak, Chicken, Pork Chop, Hamburger) You name it, more than likely I can find a way to make it.. Crunchy or tender. lol One thing though, I have a tendency to not use a lot of salt. Most of the times my meat don't taste right for everyone, and so I say poo on them. XD

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']Or if you?re like me, someone who isn?t much of a cook at all, how do you get by?[/quote]
The good old fashion way. My mom. XD However, I also use the microwave as well as the George Foreman grill. XD (Yeah, veggies don't exist. lol..) But when I get my own place and whatnot, I'll probably be living off of Hot Pockets. XD That way I wouldn't have to dirty up any dishes. (I really hate washing dishes, so I try to stick with the simple stuff.)

I don't do fast foods as often. It's more like once every other week or twice a month. And it's normally just Coney Island (Chicken Pita), Chinese joint (Shrimp and Brockley), or Subway (Grilled Chicken). When we do do the fast food joints, it's normally because nobody feels like cooking lol. (Such a lazy bunch here lol) Restaurants is a once in a blue moon for me mainly because I'm tired of them. All we did was go to the Restaurants when I was younger. Now if I do go to one, It's mainly a breakfast joint. (The I-Hop)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[The13thMan]

[COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]I view cooking as a sub-discipline of chemistry. In chemistry as a novice scientist all you really have to do is be familiar with what you're doing, what you're using, and how to do it. That is no problem for me because i have the internet and any time i ever cook something i use a recipe. Sometimes the recipe is found on the internet, sometimes it's found on the back of a box of poptarts. Whichever it is the food usually ends up pretty tasty. I've tried being creative before with leftovers... this is not recommended. =/ I made some ghetto chicken cordon bleu the other day that didn't taste like monkey rectum, so that was nice. I'm pretty good at the omelette making. I can make the hell out of sandwiches. Oh, and if you need cereal, i have the perfect cereal to milk ratio down.

My bro watches the food channel all the time. I've been trying to encourage him to cook and explore the possibility of a culinary future. But he's still young. So we often times get together with some recipe and try to make food. I think this Christmas break we're going to try fondue and a few other things. It should be fun.

And one of my friends that started college this year discovered the joys of microwaveable muffins. I've yet to try this, but according to him they're quite good.


[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Panda]

I am not a cook, that is why I married a man who loves to cook and is really good at it. I can cook but I just don't enjoy it. I find it a chore versus fun. It's just something that needs to be done. I am more of a special occasion cook. I enjoy making cheesecake from scratch and making my family's secret teriyaki sauce that has been passed down through the women of our family. But when it comes to everyday, I would rather not cook.

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]I am teh cook. I'm not a good cook. I am a competent cook. I can eat my own food without gagging.

I can follow a recipe and it'll generally turn out alright. It won't be food that sets the world on fire, but it won't be awful.[/i]

My best dishes however tend to be baked items like casseroles, lemon garlic chicken with potatoes and carrots and onions. I'm reasonably competent at stir fry, but I can't get it to taste quite like my mother's cooking. I have a killer recipe for spaghetti and an even better one for an italian sausage ragu, but I don't think my pasta is particularly tastebud shattering.

I make awesome chocolate chip cookies from my secret recipe, and I have an excellent Russian Tea Cake.... Which is essentially powdered cookies with nuts and ginger. But don't ask me to bake you cakes. I don't have a mixer and I do NOT do anything that can't be replaced with lactaid. Being lactose intolerant results in my dishes tasting slightly different from the typical. And I feel bad about that but it gets me out of eating things that I hate. Like mayonnaise laced stuff.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Roxie Faye]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]I've always been a good cook, for the simple reason that I know how to follow directions.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]And that, ladies and gentleman, is [i]exactly[/i] the reason why I [u]cannot[/u] cook: I have a very hard time following directions.

Which is why I'm an even WORSE baker. I remember making bagels with a friend saying, "Hmm, maybe we should add more of THIS, even though the recipe doesn't call for it!" and she was like, "NO! Stick to the recipe, Roxie."

The one thing I can make is soup. Because then I can add whatever the hell I want and have it come out okay. XD I also make this weird spring-time treat by which I carve out the inside of those gigantic strawberries and stuff it with vanilla ice cream. Served slightly chilled. Oh, and of course I can make pasta and ramen. But seriously, that's about it. ^^;[/color]

[Guest Kasumi]

[quote name='MistressRoxie'][color=#9933ff]And that, ladies and gentleman, is [i]exactly[/i] the reason why I [u]cannot[/u] cook: I have a very hard time following directions.

Which is why I'm an even WORSE baker. I remember making bagels with a friend saying, "Hmm, maybe we should add more of THIS, even though the recipe doesn't call for it!" and she was like, "NO! Stick to the recipe, Roxie."

The one thing I can make is soup. Because then I can add whatever the hell I want and have it come out okay. XD I also make this weird spring-time treat by which I carve out the inside of those gigantic strawberries and stuff it with vanilla ice cream. Served slightly chilled. Oh, and of course I can make pasta and ramen. But seriously, that's about it. ^^;[/color][/QUOTE]

:animesmil [COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]My brother has a hard time following directions. One time he burned oatmeal in the microwave. [/COLOR]

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Arial]If I had regular access to a stove/oven/grill, etc., I'd probably be a good cook. As it stands, I am the go-to guy when my family wants to eat hamburgers. Little garlic, little onion, little cayenne....

My father makes a killer thirteen-layer cake. That, and he knows a lot of good South Carolina recipes, so when he cooks we know it's tasty.[/FONT]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="indigo"]So long as it's simple stuff I do fine. It's only when I attempt to do the more fancy recipes that it's a toss up as to whether or not it will turn out well. I have a cookbook of course, one with recipes that are easy to make and even more importantly a section explaining what the terms mean so I'm never lost when it says do this or that. lol

I prefer baked goods or rather stuff that is not greasy and fast food just makes me gag so I rarely go to those type of places. I do go out to eat with my boyfriend several times a month, but we always go somewhere that has a good selection so I can always find something good on the menu.

Personally, I love all those things you can get at the store that are ready to go, like prepped veggies and such. But then the more simple a recipe or salad is to make, the happier I am. lol[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]I've always been a good cook, for the simple reason that I know how to follow directions. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Same here. I've spent quite a few years cooking since I enjoy doing so. I don't do much in the way of fancy preparations or things like that but I do have quite a few recipes that I make. Probably the one thing I'm best at is a couple of barbecue recipes that come from when I was little and living in Texas. My mother had a number of recipes that she learned from her mother and in turn taught them to me. Everything else I use a cookbook to remind me of just what to put in it.

My favorite things to make are usually southern dishes, blackeyed peas, country fried steak, hush puppies, greens and blackened catfish along with the different barbecue recipes I make. Though there are a lot of other things I make as well. In the end, the only thing my microwave ever gets used for is to heat up leftovers. I don't eat out much either. Not only is it too expensive, but most of the food I can't really eat anyway.

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='SunfallE;800297][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]The only thing I don't like about cooking is cleaning things up when I'm done! XP I like making it and eating it, but the clean up? I'm just glad for dishwashers since the cleanup was a lot more work when I was on the road. I often relied on paper plates to keep that fuss down to the bare minimum. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]When I was still living at home, I had no problem whatsoever doing the cleaning. But then my mom wasn't one to make a huge mess when she cooked so it wasn't that hard to do. That and I shared that responsibility with my brothers. So I only had to do it a couple times a week. [quote name='Tombstone'][COLOR="Navy"][FONT="Times New Roman"]The good old fashion way. My mom. XD However, I also use the microwave as well as the George Foreman grill. XD (Yeah, veggies don't exist. lol..) But when I get my own place and whatnot, I'll probably be living off of Hot Pockets. XD That way I wouldn't have to dirty up any dishes. (I really hate washing dishes, so I try to stick with the simple stuff.)[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]I guess I forgot to mention that I live on my own already, since my roommates do not count. It's been a long time since I could rely on my mom to cook stuff. XP Not that I'd ever move back though, I like being out on my own too much.

I also stick with the simple stuff, to avoid having much in the way of dishes as well, it's just easier that way, even if it gets pretty boring at times. I'll also pick something up at the cafeteria at the university since the food there isn't too bad and reasonably priced for premade food.

[Japan]

[SIZE="1"]When it comes to cooking I am pretty experienced. I know how to make everything from macaroni and cheese to a very tasty Japanese curry. Just today I made some homemade pizza by squirting some pizza sauce on a bagette sliced in half length-wise and then adding turkey pepperoni and cheese on top. I then broiled that for a minute. Yum! I do not always enjoy it but sometimes I have the a blast. I hate cleaning up though. I always tend to make a mess.[/SIZE]:animestun

[Starwind]

I only recently discoverd that I had a talent for cooking. Unfortunatly that means now it is expected of me, and to be honest I really don't like cooking. Despite this I'm pretty good with stir fry, but my true talent comes on the grill. I think I inheirted whatever BBQ gene my dad has, since he's a regular grilling machine.

My GF's the real cook in the relationship, but she says she likes it when I surprise her with things. What that means is she likes it when I make her dinner without her asking for me to. So now I'm stuck with kitchen duty at least once or twice a week. Now I know that's not much, but I really would rather not do it at all.

Oh, how I long for the days when they didn't know I could cook and could use that as an excuse not to. Better times my friends, better times.

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Well I don't cook a lot since my mom usually does all the cooking, but when I do, so far everything I've made has turned out good. Especially deserts since I like making cookies. But right now, my skill lies in doing the clean up. XP [/FONT][/COLOR]

[Claire]

[FONT="Arial"]I suppose I'm an alright cook for someone my age. Since I'm the only vegetarian in the family I always have to cook my own meal, so it's helpful to know how to make certain dishes.

All I ever watch on TV is the Food Network, anyway, so I'm usually in the mood to cook something.

I can't really make a lot of stuff yet, but I would love to get a vegetarian cookbook so I can extend my repertoire of recipes. Right now my best dish is probably my yellow rice, which I make according to the directions on the package, then mix with sauteed peppers, onions, and garlic. Everyone who has eaten it so far has really liked it - one teacher jokingly asked me to cook Christmas dinner for him. XD

I also know how to make a vegetable tian, which consists of potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and caramelized onions; and cream cheese canapes with caramelized onions (both recipes are from Food Network shows).[/FONT]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]Well, a good 3 or so years ago I thought myself a badass in the kitchen, because at the time I was almost alwas making dinner for my brothers and I. Most of fit was simplistic things like Homestyle Bake meals which, if you know how to follow directions, are really damn easy but I thought I was some kind of master chef and my parents were always praising my cooking (but they're the tye to praise everything I do ^^;;) so I was getting very into it, and made a point to let everyone know when I'd made my dad's birthday meatloaf and such (of course, not letting it be known until it'd been verified that it was considered enjoyable, which I was always delighted to find was the case) and for a while I had 'chef' on my list of ideas for my future. Alas, I didn't take long to basically stop caring though I can still cook a mean whatever-the-hell, I've just gotten monumentally lazy over the past 3 years.

When my mom will be getting home early enough, she cooks, when my dad is home early enough, he usually gets everyone Tv dinners though occasionally he'll cook if it's something he knows how to do, and if he's feeling generous it's a jaunt to the nearest fastfood joint, however in the common case that they aren't home I am to fend for my brother's and I. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times we've eaten cheese and shells and some meat side dish (meatloaf, salisbury, rib, they all take about 12 minutes in the microwave) and ever since my brother realised that unlike my impatient self, he knew exactly how long to churn the noodles it's become a team effort between us to make dinner a lot of te time, though it's just as often that we find a stock of random easily prepared crap stockpiled about.

During the summer months (and times when I knock my sleep schedule in weird directions) I find myself cooking a LOT more because when I'm alone I somehow find it necessary to prepare myself something special. I started with grilled cheese making myself grilled cheese so often that I became virtually addicted to grilled cheese and eventually decided to start making scrambled eggs to go with it, so it slowly evolved into a bowl with eggs and grilled cheese that I had every morning when my dad woke up jealous of the smell.

I have a very methodic approach to cooking, always creating certain systems for myself to guage the readiness of everything. For instance I mastered the art of cooking grilled cheese by timing the cooking with how many times I could do a round of my house using different paces until I found the right pace that, upon my second emergence in the kitchen, would be the perfect time to flip the sandwhich, and another timer for the time it took to complete. (If you're interested, time to flip was 2 rounds having gone upstairs to touch my mom's bathroom door, and time to completion was another 2 rounds of the bottom half of the house.) These systems are usually a lot of fun and lead my mother to wonder why the **** I'm skipping gaily about at 7AM when she's stuggling out of bed. (yes, I skip.)[/COLOR]

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='Deus ex Machina'][COLOR="DarkOrange"] For instance I mastered the art of cooking grilled cheese by timing the cooking with how many times I could do a round of my house using different paces until I found the right pace that, upon my second emergence in the kitchen, would be the perfect time to flip the sandwhich, and another timer for the time it took to complete. (If you're interested, time to flip was 2 rounds having gone upstairs to touch my mom's bathroom door, and time to completion was another 2 rounds of the bottom half of the house.)[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[color=crimson]:confused:

I enjoy cooking dishes. My girlfriend and I collaborate sometimes on new dishes to see what we can accomplish. Our latest success was a flawless thai red curry dish with several fine vegetables and chicken within it using a sauce we stumbled on while ****ing around in the World Market looking at all the kooky crap in that store. It was very delicious, but lacked a few of our favorite vegetables in it.

I also like making desserts. I make a very good cheesecake with strawberry topping that is good around this time of the year to keep your fat bountiful.[/color]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]Despite the fact that I can cook, I generally stick to making quick and simple things, because I hate being stuck in a kitchen for long periods of time. I absolutely suck at anything that involved baking, simply because I never learned how to do it, I can follow instructions just fine, but I prefer to leave baking to someone who can do it well.

Seeing as I'm still living at home, cooking is mostly handled by my parents, I make dinner occasionally if they're busy, as does my sis, but they are generally the ones to handle it. Also, as I'll be in college next year, with a group of friends who I'm damn near certain can't cook, I suspect we'll be having a lot of take-out.[/SIZE]

[Lia]

I will be honest and say I probably didn't cook anything more complicated than toast (which I guess isn't technically cooking?) until I moved out of my house.

It's a whole different story now. I live in an apartment with four guys, and I'll just put it bluntly: I would rather defecate and then proceed to eat my own feces before ever letting something any of them cooked past my lips.

Thus, I was forced to learn... Or starve.

Now, I am better than the little bugger in Ratatouille. Well, that's what I tell myself most of the time. Though, in all seriousness, I am quite the cook now. I must say that I quite enjoy it also. I'm pretty much a pescetarian. Most of my dishes are simple vegetarian dishes, with the added elements of either tofu or fish. Nothing I make is by any means complicated... But hell, it's cooking, period.

[xPromise]

I watch a LOT of the FoodNetwork, and I'm alright.
My parents usually do all of the cooking, so.. I'm not that experienced.

I can follow directions though, so give me a cookbook
and you got yourself some dinner! :)

[Yookie1]

Um maybe they arent micros but you get the point. Whatever. Cooking is great, especially if your hungry, are doing it for friends, and dont get arrested for it....that is a joke,kinda, but definetely not funny. Moving on...being a person who has made a living (somewhat) off of making food for people for more years than I care to count, I can say that i dont get to many complaints when I serve my friends or family. But to be truly good takes much practice, a love for the media (yes it is an art), and patience. After all its only food. I have a LARGE hunk of fresh caught King salmon sitting in my freezer waiting for my attention. Fish is very easy, sushi anyone?, and goes well with rice, sauted veggies in butter and lime, and a good wine. I will take the salmon, let it defrost on its own, drench it in lime, pat it with some fresh sage, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme, then throw it under the broiler for 5 minutes on each side (its about 3.5-4 in. thick in the middle) then the bed of rice, veggies and fish on top.
The rice for me is actually the hardest (mushy), but have found exact measurements and times + no stirring usually ends up alright.
Of course cooking for a living has made me lazy in my own kitchen so I have been known to subsist off of cereal and pb&j until its time to go into work.
Currently I'm learning lebanese(mediteranean) food, and am enjoying the change to my palatte. Hummuus, grape leaves. fatouch, fatayer, all are good.One more quick recipe. Grilled cheese using hummus,tomatoes,american cheese, Boursin cheese, and pickles(optional). Use good bread, such as rye or fresh baked french(you have to trim it down for flatness) and easy on the hummus it makes a mess. ENJOY!

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"]I'd say I'm a decent cook. My mom always made a point of making us take a turn once a week fixing dinner for the family once we got older. So I grew up learning how to make different dishes. Though now that I'm finally out on my own that has turned out to be rather handy. At the time when I was a teenager I hated it, but now I like being able to plan and make my own meals. It just so beats heating up frozen stuff. :catgirl: [/FONT]

[Kenso]

I'm a [I]not [/I]bad cook myself. I haven't made anything yet that other people wouldn't eat, and that's always a good sign. I'm a meat guy myself. Steak, hamburgers, pork chops, whatever. I pretty much never use recipes, instead just tossing together something with what I've got around.

Like every other male in my family, I'm more of a grill person. I think I probably cook better on the stove, but I prefer to cook with the grill, and just need practice (my dad is a grill-hog).

Thankfully, quite unlike my father, I can bake. I'm not overly fond of it though. It has to be watched far too closely most of the time.

I will say, I can't make fried eggs. It's not that they don't taste good, because they always do, but they look scary. I just can't master the art of flipping a fried egg....