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Your palette is limited because you don't allow yourself to cook anything that you think you might not like, opting always for the same flavors - you have proven my point - thank you!
Boy, you don't get it do you. You have no point. You're wrong, you're rude, and you're outta here [ignore/]
Oooooh, that sounds good! And a lot of sauteed shallots or leeks. Bechemel is just decadent enough for me. Maybe I do need recipe's - like this one.
Well, I didn't have shallots or leeks, but I did have sweet onion, so I made do. That's another perk - when you're making it up as you go, you can add whatever sounds good or sub. I'm always getting requests for my recipes, but I can't give them because I don't write anything down and I don't measure! I share them with my sister because she cooks like I do and if I give her the general idea, she runs with it her way.
I love to watch the cooking shows on Food Network - most of the cooks/chefs on there use general amounts rather than specific recipes. If I want to replicate one, I'll go to the website, but more for the ingredients than the actual measurements and instructions.
Most of the things I make don't require a "recipe". Prepared foods and TV dinners don't really require one. Pasta and pizza doesn't require one (since I'm not making my own crust, and use preboxed shells)
I made scalloped potatoes and ham recently, and had an idea in my head about how *I* would do it, but looked up recipes for it for confirmation. I found a number of them that varied widely from each other, and I couldn't see why--as well as one that confirmed the method I would have used. But in my research, I also found one that seemed more in the fashion of how I actually remembered it being made..which wasn't my method. I would have made a white sauce, another recipe seemed to think it would somehow make itself in the oven.
In light of the above post, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.
I wondered what would happen if I substituted plain yogurt for mayonnaise (or coleslaw dressing, which is what I usually use). I didn't see a difference in texture between the two, and the taste of the yogurt was fairly bland. In my opinion, it didn't work out too well. I would have liked to get someone else's opinion, because I don't really trust my own. I can't tell a difference between Coke and Pepsi, others can. To me, they both taste like cola.
I love cookbooks - especially those at the counter of every grocery store. I usually will follow a new recipe closely, but eventually remember the main ingredients (if it's a dish we liked) and tweak it as I feel it's needed.
The majority of our meals are my tweaked or trial n error recipes.
I think there are good cooks who use cookbooks and good cooks who don't. But there are a LOT of people out there that think that if you can read, you can cook. I have a friend who does catering on the side (though she's never done any event twice)... she misses the point about 90% of the time. She makes snobby comments about people's palettes when we attend a potluck and her dish sits full or almost full, while I've never had more than an empty dish to bring home. (Her dishes always 'look pretty' though).
I made pancakes one morning when her kids spent the night - from Bisquick, nothing special. Her kids ate 5-6 apiece. I was teasing them when she picked them up - apparently, 'they don't like pancakes'... hmmm. The next time they spent the night, I made biscuits and gravy. The oldest one, very solemnly, asked me NOT to tell his mother how much he and his sisters liked them because it would hurt their mom's feelings.
There are certain appetizers I make, tweaked from something my mother used to make, that the first time I bring them somewhere, they sit until the end, then they're gobbled up quickly (They don't sound/look like anything special - and a lot of people make something similar that's kinda yucky). There are gatherings I attend now where the plate is taken out of my hand as I walk through the door. They never make the 'main table'... they're usually brought out to wherever people are gathered. Most of the time, by the time I've got my coat off, the platter is empty - no matter how many I've made. My lasagna gets the same reaction, though I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice.
My MIL cannot cook well. Or bake well. She thinks she can, and she always gets complimented/praised, but the true measure of a good cook/baker is clean plates and leftovers. My two BILs (her sons) are always on some new health kick when she cooks. But I have photos of these boys/men who claim to NEVER eat red meat doing the dishes, and picking the leftover bits of pot roast out of the pan as they fought over who is the bigger pig and who took more than their 'fair share'.
I love cookbooks - especially those at the counter of every grocery store. I usually will follow a new recipe closely, but eventually remember the main ingredients (if it's a dish we liked) and tweak it as I feel it's needed.
The majority of our meals are my tweaked or trial n error recipes.
I think there are good cooks who use cookbooks and good cooks who don't. But there are a LOT of people out there that think that if you can read, you can cook. I have a friend who does catering on the side (though she's never done any event twice)... she misses the point about 90% of the time. She makes snobby comments about people's palettes when we attend a potluck and her dish sits full or almost full, while I've never had more than an empty dish to bring home. (Her dishes always 'look pretty' though).
I made pancakes one morning when her kids spent the night - from Bisquick, nothing special. Her kids ate 5-6 apiece. I was teasing them when she picked them up - apparently, 'they don't like pancakes'... hmmm. The next time they spent the night, I made biscuits and gravy. The oldest one, very solemnly, asked me NOT to tell his mother how much he and his sisters liked them because it would hurt their mom's feelings.
There are certain appetizers I make, tweaked from something my mother used to make, that the first time I bring them somewhere, they sit until the end, then they're gobbled up quickly (They don't sound/look like anything special - and a lot of people make something similar that's kinda yucky). There are gatherings I attend now where the plate is taken out of my hand as I walk through the door. They never make the 'main table'... they're usually brought out to wherever people are gathered. Most of the time, by the time I've got my coat off, the platter is empty - no matter how many I've made. My lasagna gets the same reaction, though I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice.
My MIL cannot cook well. Or bake well. She thinks she can, and she always gets complimented/praised, but the true measure of a good cook/baker is clean plates and leftovers. My two BILs (her sons) are always on some new health kick when she cooks. But I have photos of these boys/men who claim to NEVER eat red meat doing the dishes, and picking the leftover bits of pot roast out of the pan as they fought over who is the bigger pig and who took more than their 'fair share'.
Too true about inlaws. Up until we got married my ex thought all food was supposed to be burned. I'll tell you who invented cajun blackened everything,his mother! Lol
Most of the dishes I grew up eating are made without a recipe.
Whenever I encounter a new dish or way of eating, I will follow the recipe the first time. After that, I will know where and how to substitute to make it to my specifications.
In light of the above post, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.
I wondered what would happen if I substituted plain yogurt for mayonnaise (or coleslaw dressing, which is what I usually use). I didn't see a difference in texture between the two, and the taste of the yogurt was fairly bland. In my opinion, it didn't work out too well. I would have liked to get someone else's opinion, because I don't really trust my own. I can't tell a difference between Coke and Pepsi, others can. To me, they both taste like cola.
I have a strong dislike for mayo so I've tried different alternatives. Plain Greek yogurt wasn't a bad substitute. I rarely use plain regular yogurt in a recipe.
I usually use vinegar, oil, and a bit of milk in cole slaw. If I don't have that on hand I will use Greek yogurt or sour cream.
I have all my tried an true recipes in my head but that goes with how I was taught to cook. My grandma taught me this way as she was taught by her mother . When I have perfected a recipe I try an get it wrote down as soon as possible so that it is not lost to my future generations. But I will probably never look at it again myself as I already have it in my head. I have messed up more times than I can count when I first started cooking but I have been doing my own cooking for 20 years or more. It took a while to get it just right for me but once you have found your perfect way of bring a recipe together it mostly will just fall into place again an again. I have lots of sites an a few cook books but I mostly use them for ideas or just a new twist one a old one. I think that anyone can be taught to cook but it takes you finding your way to do it to be a great cook.
I pour a glass of wine & let my creative cooking flow!!!
Some times I win, some times I lose!!! So freaking what!!! :toast
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