Yesterday I baked from scratch a Madeira cake and then I cooked in that I put together a large pot of Minestrone soup, and and it was only this morning that I thought about how inconceivable it would have been for me to do such a thing even a decade ago. About ten years ago and after seventeen years of marriage I committed the error of teasing my wife about something she had cooked and so she dumped a pile of cookbooks before me and said, "be my guest then dear." Dear was said in the same way that Dirty Harry once said on the big screen, "Go ahead, make my day." So I decided that perhaps I should learn how to cook. After all, how hard could it be? Well . . . countless panic attacks and burned meals later I finally managed to produce a decent meal -- though I can't recall what it was -- and then gradually I began producing decent meals in a consistent manner in just about any national cuisine my wife would toss my way as a challenge. Shortly after that my wife became content to 'allow' me to do all of the cooking. But by then I found that I really enjoyed cooking. So it was a happy arrangement all around. Then a couple of years ago she studied me over a dish of Berlin Style chicken fricassee that I put together one evening. "Hmmm . . . it tastes delicious, the presentation is nice, you had no problems shopping for the ingredients and then putting it all together on the first try. I think you are ready for the next step." "Eh?" She sat down her fork and said, "Go bake me some oatmeal cookies;" and then she gave me an evil grin. I gulped and then protested, "Bake? Me bake something? I've never baked anything in my life!" "I know dear," she said and then laughed and resumed eating. Okaaaaaaay I thought while flicking away cold droplets of nervous sweat from my forehead. How hard could this be? I mean it's just slopping together sugar and flour and eggs and stuff, right? There's hardly any trick to that!" A few batches of inedible 'cookies' later I finally managed to produce some that did not make us want to spit them out on the floor. Success! Now just yesterday, a mere two years later, I baked a delicious tasting Madeira cake from scratch with the same ease with which I cooked up a pot of Minestrone soup. That realization has made me nervous though. What the heck else is there to do in the culinary arts that my wife might decide would serve as a good challenge for me? The woman is fiendish I tell you! I wonder how difficult it is to learn how to can fruit?
Yeah anything involving egg whites like meringues can be challenging. If she hits you up for paella, keep stirring like your life depends on it
Definitely! Culinary disasters? Yeah, I've had a few. You should have seen the first time I tried to produce a Louisiana style roux as a base for gumbo. Yikes! As for egg whites, the first time I encountered a recipe calling for egg whites whipped until they become stiff but not dry was interesting. How hard could this be? I asked myself and reached for a hand whisk. "No, use an electric beater," my wife said. Nah, this'll work," said the confident baker with almost four whole months of the art form under his belt. Twenty minutes later I said, "Dear, this doesn't seem to be working!" "Ahem!" she replied and flourished the hand held electric mixer with a raised brow. Sigh! One brisk electric mixing session later I had my whipped egg whites to the correct consistency and texture.
Most of cooking is about confidence. If you understand the process, it makes the end result easier to meet. And even if it goes wrong, you can fix it enough to be eatable. Although I have never tried it, cooking a good Beef Wellington is considered a pretty serious merit badge
I agree with you about the confidence part -- and about Beef Wellington as well. I've read over the steps for preparing and then cooking that dish and then shied away from it. Maybe some day . . . . For me the confidence comes from producing the cuisine of a particular nation (Vietnamese or English or French or Lebanese) to the point at which the ingredients and the handling of them regarding portions and timing start to make an inherent sort of sense to me. 'Well of course I can substitute this at that stage and things will be fine, but obviously substituting it at that other stage would be a really bad idea.' Well even for an experienced cook, delving for the first time in a new cuisine doesn't come with that nicety of judgment standard; or that is to say, it doesn't for me. In other words -- for me anyway -- I don't have a lot of carry over from cuisine to cuisine. Each one presents its own set of unique challenges, and so I have to invest some time with them before the light bulb finally comes on above my head. Ah-ha! I can get away with doing this and that but not this other thing. It's so obvious! Yeah . . . well, now it is.
Gotta ♥ a man who can cook. It's been my experience many men over season, so its good to hear you actually follow recipes. Here's a recent funny on me... I like to make my moms chicken & dumplins, but when I'm feeling lazy, I'll use canned biscuits instead of scratch dumplins. Well, last time, I decided if biscuits work, crescent rolls should work even better since they're already flat. Do not try this at home. Because there's so much butter in crescent rolls, they just dissolved into the broth. I managed to salvage the dish by reverting back to plan A and adding canned biscuits... tasted yummy. But prob had 3000 calories a bowl. Live & learn.
Hah! I love true cooking tales. Dumplings are my Achilles heel in cooking as I always -- stubbornly -- do them from scratch and yet I am never satisfied with the results. My wife claims that they aren't so bad but they just never have the correct consistency in my book even when they taste right. I think that before I give them another try I'll do some real research on them to see if I can figure out where I am going wrong. But, yes, I am a strong believer in recipes. I can now cook a few things on the fly, but only because I stick to cooking by recipes as if I were still a student pilot with a flight manual. Gotta follow the book! Still I think that what helped me keep a light hand where seasoning is concerned is my work with Asian style cooking in which the sauces generally are the seasonings. If you use the wrong sauce or decide to go a little heavy on one to give it a bit of extra flavoring then you are almost certain to kill or radially change the over all taste of the dish and this is especially true of their soups. Anyway I took it to heart and so I'm also careful how much by way of spices I shake into other types of meals. Um . . . except when I'm cooking chili. Then I tend to deliberately go for the gusto.
Which is why cooking is so much damn fun lol. I will always follow a receipt closely the first time, enjoy the meal, then think "What can I do differently, whats gonna make this better"
I'll tell you something that just baffles me. That's making salsa. I produce a few variations of salsa verde (green salsa) that taste fantastic (well to me and the wife anyway) but my red salsa always leaves me unhappy. I've researched it on the Internet, purchased several different books and still I never produce red salsa that I really like. It puzzles me no end.
Yeah my salsa sucks big time. The wife on the hand.......yumm ohh. I can make it exactly same, same ingredients etc etc. And still a bust..one of life's little mysteries
I fail at cooking so I leave that to my fiance. But apparently I am better at baking than him. lol Go figure. - - - Updated - - - You see our significant others must have some kind of special ingredient that makes their food taste so damn delicious! Must be some secret spices or something. xD
I make delicious salsa ... If you want a good red one do this ... First , take 5 tomatoes and boil till the skin can be peeled . Once peeled , put back into water and boil down the water as you mash the tomatoes and boil till you like the consistency . Then let it cool . Fine dice onion , whatever hot pepper you like, fresh celantro ( can't remember how to spell it and on cell phone ). Add those things , then squeeze a lime into the mix . Yum . It's better the next day when flavored blend even more
I had a gf who always made the best picante...everybody requested she bring it to gatherings. Were we ever surprised to find out how she made it. Talk about simple. Using a blender add one bunch of washed and trimmed green onions (green and white parts), one large can of tomatoes, 1 or 2 jalapeños and lots of salt. Thats it. And its delish.
I haven't made any for a long time myself... have to see if it's still party-worthy. You cooking Thankgiving, Daise? I'm ordering from the local home-cooking café. Might make some side dishes, but not interested in the whole bird thing.
Try this one if you like baking...chocolate syrup pound cake. 3cups flour 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 (16 oz) can chocolate syrup 2 sticks butter 1/2 cups shotning 3 cups sugar 5 eggs 1. preheat oven to 350 dgrees 2. sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. set aside 3. mix milk and chocolate syrup together. set aside. 4. cream butter, shortning and sugar together. add one egg at a time,mixing well after each egg. 5. alternately add the flour and milk mixtures,mixing well. 6. bake for 1 hour, 25 minutes. you can substitute self rising flour for baking powder. Confectioners' sugar glaze 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 2 tbsp milk 1/4 tsp vannila extract Sift confectioners' sugar, then mix with milk and vanilla. makes 1/2 cup of icing. This is a rich cake that taste's like chocolate syrup....Thanks to Traci Thompson. Did I mention it is a heart attack on a plate???
Oh wow, I can feel my arteries harden just by looking at it. Pardon me while I pause to drool for a bit. That is some recipe!
I like the technique for producing the tomato base. I think it might be useful for other sorts of recipes as well. Thanks!
I had my 16 year old daughter make it for me...she wants to go to culinary school. It was very tasty...and filling.
Oh I can tell that it's delicious; but I gave up on most high calorie baking and converted over to old country cooking style recipes that use less sugar, such as scones or Dundee cake. Yesterday, for instance, I baked a German hazelnut cake that contained only one cup of sugar.
I don't know if I will do Thanksgiving or not. Haven't made plans so my cooking maybe last minute throw together.
There's a similar cake called Mexican Sheet Cake that's made with cocoa . A touch of cinnamon is what makes it Mexican. Delish... you can google a recipe. Very popular in this neck of the woods.. .
