How did you learn to cook? (1 Viewer)

[rusty_tlc]

Spressomons thread about en papillote got me thinking about how I learned to cook. Aside from PBS; The Galloping Gourmet, The French Chef, The Frugal Gourmet, etc. I learned most of the classic techniques from my favorite cook book "The Joy of Cooking". That is where I first read about en papillote, I think the first thing I did was trout.

We seem to have some pretty knowledgeable cooks here just wondering how everybody learned so much.

 

[spressomon]

Similar path. Mom is full blooded Italian...so much early stuff was via osmosis

Then, like you Rusty, it started with the Joy of Cooking, Laurel's Kitchen...then a few classes here and there as well as analyzing and trying to replicate what tripped our trigger when we ate out.

I think most of my motivation to cook is directly proportional to my love of eating

My Dad's a construction engineer/project manager and for whatever reason has no interest and near zero ability to prepare anything food related. So when I was young, like 10/12 years old and we'd be camped out in the Nebraska Sandhills on fall hunting trips together...I quickly discovered I better learn to cook..."necessity is the mother of invention"...sure worked for me

 

[JohnVee]

Great thread idea, Dan.

Very few basics from my mother. Imagination got me through college and my mid-20's. PBS and various books/magazines taught me true basics and fueled my experimental desires.

Strangely, I have a few friends that are big blowhards and talk up their own skills like crazy. I was able to take in their 'wisdom' and go a different direction. That actually taught me a TON.

--john

 

[Pighead]

My Dad taught me how to catch a trout, clean it, dredge it and have it in a hot pan before sunrise while hiking in the Sierras. My Mom showed me how to make an omelette and Joe's Special. An Aussie guide showed my how to make beer bread over coals. I've been wheeling this rig 27 years, learned most of my campfire cooking around a campfire. Everything from how to heat a can of Chile over a fire to blueberry cobbler in a Dutch oven. Never understood the value of collected recipes until I inherited my Grand Mother's. Along with her cast iron frying pan.
I learned a lot from the 80s guys on the Rubithon, was inspired by Rock Chef and Sand Chef, always worked kitchen crew on the Rubithon, most recently under Chef Wooody.
Not knowledgeable, just experienced.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Camping was a big motivator for me as well, I hated doing dishes in camp. When Dad took us camping the rule was if you cooked you didn't do dishes.

Sent via the ether from my candy bar running ginger bread

 

[BrotherRob]

Got tired of eating s***ty food. Camping and gardening really helped as well. I also have a fairly unique talent, I can taste something and go home and make a reasonably good facsimile. If I have an idea in my head, I usually know how it will taste before putting it together.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Sitting on the kitchen counter watching my mom and grandma cook and waiting for treats... ALWAYS GOT TO LICK THE BEATERS... My dad and grandpa at the grill on weekends and campfire breakfasts at the lake.

J

 

[surfpig]

Sitting on the kitchen counter watching my mom and grandma cook and waiting for treats... ALWAYS GOT TO LICK THE BEATERS... My dad and grandpa at the grill on weekends and campfire breakfasts at the lake.

J

This...

My dad would haul a cast iron skillet on backpacking trips. I still have that thing.

I learned how to cook over a fire at an early age. I took a cooking class in the 6th grade.

I love the process.

 

[myquestoyota]

I was always somewhat good at cooking but it was to eat and not to cook. Then my wife went down with what would be a lifetime of spinal problems starting when the kids were little. So I took over kitchen duties and made it into a hobby, learning and trying new techniques and enjoying the journey as much as the destination. My wife is a good cook and sometimes does cook but I have been the principal cook for 25 years. My daughters have turned into good cooks and my wife thinks it's funny when they call me for cooking advice instead of "Mom". I love the fact that so many of my fellow mudders are also great cooks and I learn a lot from you as well. Thanks for the innovation and inspiration.

 

[spressomon]

I've always wondered: Why the majority of commercial chefs are male...but mom's are generally assumed to be the cooks at home?!

Have you guy's noticed: The better I've gotten at preparing tasty food at home...the more challenging it has gotten to eating/finding a satisfying dinner out?

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I've always wondered: Why the majority of commercial chefs are male...but mom's are generally assumed to be the cooks at home?!

Have you guy's noticed: The better I've gotten at preparing tasty food at home...the more challenging it has gotten to eating/finding a satisfying dinner out?

Absolutely, couldn't agree more. We like good food, PERIOD. Also, it gives us "OUR" time and helps us unwind from our day.

Good food is more expensive, but it is still half the price of eating out.. (yes, I know I'm paying for the cook, overhead, rent, etc... but mine is still much better.. IMO)

J

 

[JohnVee]

Have you guy's noticed: The better I've gotten at preparing tasty food at home...the more challenging it has gotten to eating/finding a satisfying dinner out?

That's also true the cheaper I get! We eat out way too much but it's usually for convenience so I try not to be concerned - a really good meal out is just a bonus. I'm trying to get better about having good meals stashed in the freezer for those times. Good as in made by me.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I've always wondered: Why the majority of commercial chefs are male...but mom's are generally assumed to be the cooks at home?!

Have you guy's noticed: The better I've gotten at preparing tasty food at home...the more challenging it has gotten to eating/finding a satisfying dinner out?

^This
Knowing I could do it better for a fraction of the cost kills me.

 

[myquestoyota]

I've always wondered: Why the majority of commercial chefs are male...but mom's are generally assumed to be the cooks at home?!

Have you guy's noticed: The better I've gotten at preparing tasty food at home...the more challenging it has gotten to eating/finding a satisfying dinner out?

Nailed it there! I have found a couple of places that I really look forward to the dining experience and none of them are the expensive "nice" chain restaurants. My wife likes to go out just so I don't have to cook but i tell her I'd rather eat a good meal at home than a mediocre expensive meal out.

 

[sterling]

"ALWAYS GOT TO LICK THE BEATERS"
/\This reminds me of childhood from when my grandmother made homemade whipped cream

I started washing dishes at the local pizza joint when I was 15 then moved on to cooking pies.
http://www.partnerspizza.com

Worked at the downtown Mellow Mushroom in college in Athens GA.
By the time I left I knew how to cook everything on the menu....I miss the flat-top grill.
Free tap beer wasn't bad either.

It's satisfying to work with your hands to achieve a nice end result.

The art of cooking on a grill is a necessary skill to me.
I am far from the best cook, but going through life not knowing how to cook a nice steak
is something I refuse to be associated with.

Ryan

 

[rusty_tlc]

sterling, look for an old cast iron griddle at garage sales or thrift stores. I use one on my grill, it's not the same as a flat top but it's close.

 

[sterling]

Will do!

 

[TXLX100]

I don't consider myself a good cook, but I can do a couple of things well. And I can follow a recipe. I have mastered all breakfast egg types and the bacon cooking, probably because it is important to me. I'm getting pretty crafty with corn tortilla tacos after trying a lot of things, but I consider those easy. My wife is a pretty good cook and her mom is as well. My buddy's mom, incredible cook... I don't know how she cooks excellent food every single meal.

My favorite things right now we eat, that are pretty healthy, are slow cooked beef roast with mashed cauliflower and spagetti with zucchini noodles instead of pasta.

 

[rusty_tlc]

If you can follow a recipe your set.

 

[BrotherRob]

If you can follow a recipe your set.

Real men don't need instructions.