Can you cook?

[SZLiao214]

I would probably say intermediate with a step towards advanced. I enjoy it a lot.

 

[Terzo]

I'm a good cook. But not a chef by any stretch of the imagination. I have no creativity or artisic ability when it comes to food. But I know my way around the kitchen and can crank out a decent plate of hearty home cooking.

Somewhat this. I wouldn't make the stretch to calling myself a good cook. While I enjoy attempting various things, I don't have the capability to come up with something from scratch; I need some sort of baseline. Now that I think about it I should resubscribe to Cook's Illustrated.

Here is a pic of my handy work. The shumai were from a package (my roommate contributed them), but the other items I made from scratch. Nothing really fancy, but good enough for me.

 

[IGBT]

I stir fry. carbon steel wok.

 

[Adrenaline]

I can cook, but the simple things I really love.

I love a grilled cheese sammich.

 

[lxskllr]

I can cook, but the simple things I really love.

I love a grilled cheese sammich.

That's my favorite thing I make :^D

Rye bread
Swiss or cheddar cut from the block
Fried in pure olive oil
French onion or tomato soup as a companion

It doesn't get any better than that :^)

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Intermediate.

Those gourmet recipes call for way too many ingrediants I don't stock. If I cared to purchase them I'm sure I could move up into the upper intermediate area.

 

[vi edit]

Oh...pics

I can turn this:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/viedit/IMG_3674.JPG

Into this:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/viedit/IMG_3677.JPG

 

[Mike Gayner]

Omelettes are a beginner's dish, not intermediate. One of the first things I ever cooked was an omelette.

 

[Terzo]

Oh...pics

I can turn this:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/viedit/IMG_3674.JPG

Into this:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/viedit/IMG_3677.JPG

That's a lot of meat! Grilling is the one cooking method that gives me trouble. Sautes and stir-frys are my choice methods of cooking.

 

[DrPizza]

Easily advanced. I love to cook, not that I do it that often. Sometimes things don't taste as good as I'd like, but I also learn that way. I learned a lot from my mom - recipes? Sure, sort of. Measure ingredients? No.

The other night, my wife discovered we were out of spaghetti sauce. I don't like to cook & use spaghetti sauce. But, given that opportunity, I took over & made the sauce from scratch. She kept asking questions like why I didn't just mix everything in with the ground sausage I browned. Gahhhh! Noodles, then the sausage, then the sauce - better presentation & more distinct/stronger flavors instead of everything tasting the same. My kids don't normally comment about dinners like spaghetti - they'd rather drive down to McD's on spaghetti nights. But both raved about how good it was.

 

[Adrenaline]

Omelettes are a beginner's dish, not intermediate. One of the first things I ever cooked was an omelette.

Scrambled eggs were the first thing I learned how to make. I then upgraded to omelettes. Grilled cheese are the yum man !!!!

 

[moshquerade]

I'd much rather have someone cook for me than to cook.

I'm probably an intermediate. Just finished making this. It's doing its magic in the oven right now.


SAUSAGE - BEEF CASSEROLE

6 sweet Italian sausages
1 lb. beef cubes, cut in 1 inch cubes
1 lg. onion, sliced
2 med. cloves garlic, minced
2 med. green peppers, cut in eighths
4 med. potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 (1 lb.) cans red kidney beans, drained
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 beef bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1 c. boiling water

In heavy skillet, brown sausage well. Cut each link into thirds and place in a 3 quart casserole dish. Drain fat from skillet, reserving 2 tablespoons. Brown beef in 1 tablespoon fat and turn into the casserole dish. Cook onion and garlic in remaining 1 tablespoon fat until tender. Add green peppers and cook 1 minute longer. Turn into casserole dish.

Add potatoes and beans. Sprinkle with seasonings and mix lightly. Add bouillon. Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Good with warm, crusty bread, cold beer and tossed salad.

 

[Terzo]

I'd much rather have someone cook for me than to cook.

I'm probably an intermediate. Just finished making this. It's doing its magic in the oven right now.


SAUSAGE - BEEF CASSEROLE

6 sweet Italian sausages
1 lb. beef cubes, cut in 1 inch cubes
1 lg. onion, sliced
2 med. cloves garlic, minced
2 med. green peppers, cut in eighths
4 med. potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 (1 lb.) cans red kidney beans, drained
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 beef bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1 c. boiling water

In heavy skillet, brown sausage well. Cut each link into thirds and place in a 3 quart casserole dish. Drain fat from skillet, reserving 2 tablespoons. Brown beef in 1 tablespoon fat and turn into the casserole dish. Cook onion and garlic in remaining 1 tablespoon fat until tender. Add green peppers and cook 1 minute longer. Turn into casserole dish.

Add potatoes and beans. Sprinkle with seasonings and mix lightly. Add bouillon. Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Good with warm, crusty bread, cold beer and tossed salad.

Pics when finished? Seems like a simple enough but lengthy recipe. I find weekends are the only time I can spend making "fancy" dinners because during the week I don't have time to spend hours preparing dinner. Part of it is probably because I'm slow in preparing ingredients and cleaning.

Has anyone gone taken cooking lessons? I always thought it would be neat to be able to understand cooking more rather than sticking to a recipe, but it seems like the only real option is a culinary school.

 

[moshquerade]

Pics when finished? Seems like a simple enough but lengthy recipe. I find weekends are the only time I can spend making "fancy" dinners because during the week I don't have time to spend hours preparing dinner. Part of it is probably because I'm slow in preparing ingredients and cleaning.

Has anyone gone taken cooking lessons? I always thought it would be neat to be able to understand cooking more rather than sticking to a recipe, but it seems like the only real option is a culinary school.

It does take time to make, but then everything can't be a snap, dash, done deal.
The leftovers are amazing too.

Granted I don't make it that often because it is time consuming to prepare, but ends up being worth it.

 

[KeithTalent]

Pretty advanced I think and I absolutely love doing it. For New Year's I made us the following (girlfriend picked the matching wines/alcohols):

1. Oysters on the half shell with grated horseradish and mignonette sauce

2. Bresaola with arugula, shaved parmesan, cracked black pepper, truffle oil, and Fleur De Sel

3. Poached Black Sea Bass with sauteed spinach, parsnip puree, and saffron vanilla sauce

4. Roast lamb sirloin, with white kidney beans, garlic confit, and thyme jus

5. Cinnamon pots de creme

Everything turned out well and it was a tonne of fun to make. Pretty much two days of work, including all of the prep and shopping, and I was very proud of it.

KT

 

[Kreon]

I think I'd be upper intermediate by your scale, though I do feed my friends/gf pretty often

My specialty is spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce (everything from scratch except the actual pasta, though I have made it form scratch before).

I'm also really good with stir fry (not a wholly advanced thing) as well as making my own meat rubs/sauces then grilling.

But I suck at omlettes...

 

[DrPizza]

I love seafood. Here, snapped a picture of this failure - I've done bacon wrapped scallops before. I figured that if I cooked the bacon first, then tossed in the cheap bay scallops, then they might taste as good. Nope. Tried adding a little white wine with it. Blahh. Not bad. The dogs enjoyed the bacon; the scallops were about a 3 on a 1 to 10 scallops scale. The rest is baked fish (can't remember what type... bass?), some fried potatoes (didn't feel like waiting for them to bake), salad with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, and cheddar cheese - went great with the cheap balsamic vinaigrette; some crappy rolls that you just cook in the oven - homemade would have been MUCH better. But, that was just a quick, easy to prepare meal without putting much effort into it.

Total time from start to finish - about 15 minutes.

 

[BUTCH1]

Yes, intermediate, my Mom worked and I got tired of baloney sandwiches! also worked at restaurants for 6 years and picked up quite a lot from that..

 

[El Guaraguao]

half an avocado, three eggs, and some fried ham? unusual to me, but that looks kinda tasty.

I took that picture at my mothers house in Puerto Rico, during avocado season. My mom has a bunch of chickens running around. I grabbed some of their eggs (theres four of them btw:awe and fried up some ham. I ate that meal almost every morning for like 2 weeks, after I did my morning workout. Good stuff.

Oh and about the chicken eggs... Have a look at these monsters I got the other day.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[bobdole369]

3. Poached Black Sea Bass with sauteed spinach, parsnip puree, and saffron vanilla sauce

Were they ill-tempered?

 

[bobdole369]

OMG that egg is giant. I got freakin scared - it looked like the little color irregularity (or is it really a bubble) - looked like a chicken eye peeking out for a second.

 

[Anubis]

Advanced but i don't really take pics of what i cook

i can also bake like a pro

i guess i could take a pic of the big bowl of Black Bean soup i have in the fridge but that just looks likea bowl of pureed black beans

 

[Rubycon]

Wow this thread is going to make a lot of folks hungry.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I can cook.

I make my own pastrami. Posted a thread once. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=320185&highlight=pastrami

I do BBQ, home made breads, pretty much anything. I used to make puff pastry, but that's more trouble than it's worth.

I like making tamales (can't find a durn pic at the moment) even if it's time intensive. One big batch makes a whole lot and they freeze well.

 

[sdifox]

Being lazy today.

Currently working on a reduction of pork rib bone, fried garlic, black pepper and will toss in an onion (blended) later. That is going to be the base for fish ball (various kinds and origin) soup

Main course is grilled Korean marinated beef on steamed rice.

Desert is Grape Jell-O.

My food never look good. I don't bother with presentation. Food is for eating, not looking.