Cooking

[Mobasser]

I read a couple of good books over the winter. Historical books about the trail drives and cow camps of the old west. It's pretty amazing to think about a crew of 10 or 12 men, driving a herd of 2 to 3000 rowdy longhorn cattle from Texas north to Kansas and beyond, with a lot of hardships along the way. One of the consistent topics in these books was the cook. The cook was the main man at all times, and the most respected man on the long trail drives. He had a tough job. After each meal, he had to ride ahead, find a place with water, and fuel for the cooking fire, set up, and have a hot meal ready for the hands. Many of the cooks gained a reputation as grouchy, cantankerous guys. A good cook was always in big demand, and his pay was only second to the trail boss. It's been that way forever. A skilled cook is respected, regardless of what type of food he makes. From the recent thread on ribs and bar b que, I know we have many members who are good at this style of cooking. I consider myself a decent cook, and most of the best stuff I can cook is basic American food. The number one thing in cooking anything is heat control, and it takes some time and practice to get good. There's no doubt that cooking is a skill. Can you cook? Do you cook for your family? What are some of the special dishes that you make, that everyone likes?

[Log Catcher]

I have cooked hamburgers and steaks on the grill. If people ask me fix them something inside I have one question for them. Do you want your peanut butter sandwich creamy or crunchy?

[Jig Man]

I can and do cook.  I can grill, fry, bake, steam, etc.  I learned from my wife who won a college scholarship making 6 boy curry.

[TnRiver46]

27 minutes ago, Log Catcher said:

I have cooked hamburgers and steaks on the grill. If people ask me fix them something inside I have one question for them. Do you want your peanut butter sandwich creamy or crunchy?

I’m with you, I only cook if I get to make a fire outside. My fiancé is a professional cook inside 

[Oregon Native]

I cook....not as much as I used to.  Even do some baking since daughter isn't around anymore.  Like some shows mention...keep it simple....let the food talk

[Sam]

I am really good at Cajun and creole cooking.

 

Otherwise I am not that great with cooking.

[flyfisher]

I do 99% of the cooking in my house and that includes planning and buying the groceries.  I can cook pretty much anything but the complexity has gone down some since i had kids and they are still developing their food palate so to speak.  

 

[Bird]

I married the 2nd coming of Rachael Ray, seriously, it's her passion so I'm limited to the grill using her homemade sauces. 

 

Can't complain but do enjoy slow smoking meats with various species of wood, favorite will always be apple but do use cherry, hickory, oak and old grape vines. 

 

Surprisingly though, my closest friends could be famous chefs as men really seem to take pride in cooking these days and most are outstanding as is my wife.

[roadwarrior]

48 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I do 99% of the cooking in my house and that includes planning and buying the groceries.  I can cook pretty much anything but the complexity has gone down some since i had kids and they are still developing their food palate so to speak.  

 

I do all the cooking at my house. My specialties are sauces,  fried, grilled and BBQ. 

Tonight we are having seafood linguine in white sauce. The wine is a light Chardonnay,

"Butter".  Highlights include real butter, cream and medium shrimp. The parmensan is

freshly grated, bulk block. Italian garlic bread and a small avocado/ tomato/ olive salad. 

 

[.ghoti.]

I do the cooking at my house, and I do ok most of the time.

[MN Fisher]

With the wife being partially disabled - I'm the cook and chief bottle-washer in our house. Most times it's basic meals but occasionally I'll jazz things up a bit.

[Bassin' Brad]

8 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I read a couple of good books over the winter. Historical books about the trail drives and cow camps of the old west. It's pretty amazing to think about a crew of 10 or 12 men, driving a herd of 2 to 3000 rowdy longhorn cattle from Texas north to Kansas and beyond, with a lot of hardships along the way. One of the consistent topics in these books was the cook. The cook was the main man at all times, and the most respected man on the long trail drives. He had a tough job. After each meal, he had to ride ahead, find a place with water, and fuel for the cooking fire, set up, and have a hot meal ready for the hands. Many of the cooks gained a reputation as grouchy, cantankerous guys. A good cook was always in big demand, and his pay was only second to the trail boss. 

That's cool, what books did you read? I like reading about things like that. 

[Teal]

2 hours ago, flyfisher said:

I do 99% of the cooking in my house and that includes planning and buying the groceries.  I can cook pretty much anything but the complexity has gone down some since i had kids and they are still developing their food palate so to speak.  

 

^^this

[LonnieP]

I do most of the cooking at my house and I enjoy it. My favorite is smoking meat and making BBQ.

[Mobasser]

51 minutes ago, Bassin' Brad said:

That's cool, what books did you read? I like reading about things like that. 

One is called " The Log of a Cowboy", the other one is a series of Time Life books on the old west. There's lots more also

[flyfisher]

2 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

I do all the cooking at my house. My specialties are sauces,  fried, grilled and BBQ. 

Tonight we are having seafood linguine in white sauce. The wine is a light Chardonnay,

"Butter".  Highlights include real butter, cream and medium shrimp. The parmensan is

freshly grated, bulk block. Italian garlic bread and a small avocado/ tomato/ olive salad. 

 

i had fire roasted "quick" chicken Alfredo tonight myself.  it is my quick way to make a nice alfredo without having to worry about it breaking either before serving or after being stored.

 

[Way north bass guy]

My wife and I share the cooking about 50/50 most of the time, and we try to involve our ten year old in most of it. I find the most important thing, especially if your making a meal with several different things is to control the timing of everything. You don’t want the veggies done and starting to get mushy and the meat is still 15 mins away etc. 
With my wife working at home all the time right now, I am coming home to fresh baked sour dough bread, pies, and all sorts of extra special dishes almost every day. I am truly a lucky man indeed!

[Mobasser]

5 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

i had fire roasted "quick" chicken Alfredo tonight myself.  it is my quick way to make a nice alfredo without having to worry about it breaking either before serving or after being stored.

 

You guys sound like you can.make some good stuff. Your meals are more involved than mine. I can make some good spaghetti though, but that's not hard. My grandkids love it.

Just now, Way north bass guy said:

My wife and I share the cooking about 50/50 most of the time, and we try to involve our ten year old in most of it. I find the most important thing, especially if your making a meal with several different things is to control the timing of everything. You don’t want the veggies done and starting to get mushy and the meat is still 15 mins away etc. 
With my wife working at home all the time right now, I am coming home to fresh baked sour dough bread, pies, and all sorts of extra special dishes almost every day. I am truly a lucky man indeed!

That sounds great!

[Mobasser]

Before I got married, a friend got his first apartment. I stopped by one night, and he had made macaroni and cheese. He boiled the noodles, then dumped the dry cheese on top. No butter, milk, or mixing it up. He didn't know any better.I told him to mix it up per the directions. He said" Oh, that's how my mom used to make it. No wonder it didn't taste right".??

[A-Jay]

3 hours ago, flyfisher said:

I do 99% of the cooking in my house and that includes planning and buying the groceries.  I can cook pretty much anything but the complexity has gone down some since i had kids and they are still developing their food palate so to speak.  

 

Me too.

Except I'm not a big baker; no cakes, pies or deserts.

My wife handles that area.

A-Jay

[Mobasser]

Just now, A-Jay said:

Me too.

Except I'm not a big baker; no cakes, pies or deserts.

My wife handles that area.

A-Jay

A Jay, do they have good food in the military? I'd imagine there would be a lot of grumbling going on with bad chow?

[flyfisher]

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Me too.

Except I'm not a big baker; no cakes, pies or deserts.

My wife handles that area.

A-Jay

baking requires precise measuring so no thanks.  only thing i bake is chocolate chip cookies with my kids and some rally good cheesecakes of whatever flavor i feel like the 2-3 times a year i make them. 

[A-Jay]

Just now, Mobasser said:

A Jay, do they have good food in the military? I'd imagine there would be a lot of grumbling going on with bad chow?

Can't speak for all the services but in the US Coast Guard the chow is pretty decent.

Depends on the unit, small shore units that have access to fresh everything every day are usually quite awesome where as, what gets served on the mess deck of a big ship or coastal cutter a couple of hundred miles off shore for a month or two, might seems a little more cafeteria like; just because of the sheer volume being served and the lack of being able to go 'shopping' at seas. 

Either way, I almost always ate well. 

A-Jay

1 minute ago, flyfisher said:

baking requires precise measuring so no thanks.  only thing i bake is chocolate chip cookies with my kids and some rally good cheesecakes of whatever flavor i feel like the 2-3 times a year i make them. 

I can follow a recipe fairly easily, just seems to lack the bakers touch.

I'd rather put fire to meat.

A-Jay

[slonezp]

9 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

A Jay, do they have good food in the military? I'd imagine there would be a lot of grumbling going on with bad chow?

A good friend of mine did 3 tours in Iraq. I started calling him Corporal Cupcake because he can bake one helluva cupcake. He hates the name but baking is his happy place and he makes some of the lightest, tastiest cupcakes I have ever had.

[Mobasser]

I do think it's a good idea for people to learn to cook, at least some things.Too many folks living on TV dinners and fast food these days