The Off Topic Topic

[crazy canuck]

The art of cooking is creating meals with what you have on hand. 

Following recipes precisely is for beginners.

And the beginner in that clip should have followed the recipe.

[HVC]

The art of cooking is creating meals with what you have on hand. 

Following recipes precisely is for beginners.

And the beginner in that clip should have followed the recipe.

A poor planner improvises

[crazy canuck]

The art of cooking is creating meals with what you have on hand. 

Following recipes precisely is for beginners.

And the beginner in that clip should have followed the recipe.

A poor planner improvises

And someone without skill and confidence cannot.   

[garbon]

The art of cooking is creating meals with what you have on hand. 

Following recipes precisely is for beginners.

And the beginner in that clip should have followed the recipe.

Well yeah. But we can't all excel at all skills so good to recognise one's limitations and act accordingly.

[HVC]

I've found through my cooking adventures that confidence trumps skill. Especially if you have an iron stomach

[garbon]

I've found through my cooking adventures that confidence trumps skill. Especially if you have an iron stomach

I've been taking notes of who to decline a home cooked meal from were I ever to receive an invite.

[HVC]

I've found through my cooking adventures that confidence trumps skill. Especially if you have an iron stomach

I've been taking notes of who to decline a home cooked meal from were I ever to receive an invite.

I'm a decent cook, and follow recipes for new things, but sometimes you're lacking ingredients and don't feel like going to the store. That's when experimenting starts


I do suck at baking though.

[Sheilbh]

Well yeah. But we can't all excel at all skills so good to recognise one's limitations and act accordingly.

Also I slightly disagree.

I'm not creative and broadly speaking want something probably reliably decent that I can then adjust from a little bit (more or less chilli, anchovy etc) - so have a repertoire of basicallly memorised recipes. But I couldn't do the Ready Steady Cook thing of a random bag of ingredients and inventing something.

Although also that's possibly because of what I cook. I can't cook meat as a standalone thing for example - I've never really cooked a steak or a chop or anything like that (and I don't really order them in restaurants). With cooking I roast, I cook stews, sauces, curries (for rice or pasta) - and also fairly regularly cook Chinese or Japanese dishes (where the prep really matters because things often cook quite quickly).

I quit my seasonal cooking kick because the seasons are long and quite same-y after a while () but with that I'd get the box in, search recipes and then plan a week and do the shopping. Again quite far the other way from these wild and free types

I do suck at baking though.

Baking is the thing that doesn't really tolerate improvisation or not measuring. It's a different game.

[Grey Fox]

You people would all be really bad chemists.

[crazy canuck]

The art of cooking is creating meals with what you have on hand. 

Following recipes precisely is for beginners.

And the beginner in that clip should have followed the recipe.

Well yeah. But we can't all excel at all skills so good to recognise one's limitations and act accordingly.

It is actually not that hard to make meals without referring to a recipe and just use ingredients on hand.

[crazy canuck]

Well yeah. But we can't all excel at all skills so good to recognise one's limitations and act accordingly.

Also I slightly disagree.

I'm not creative and broadly speaking want something probably reliably decent that I can then adjust from a little bit (more or less chilli, anchovy etc) - so have a repertoire of basicallly memorised recipes. But I couldn't do the Ready Steady Cook thing of a random bag of ingredients and inventing something.

Although also that's possibly because of what I cook. I can't cook meat as a standalone thing for example - I've never really cooked a steak or a chop or anything like that (and I don't really order them in restaurants). With cooking I roast, I cook stews, sauces, curries (for rice or pasta) - and also fairly regularly cook Chinese or Japanese dishes (where the prep really matters because things often cook quite quickly).

I quit my seasonal cooking kick because the seasons are long and quite same-y after a while () but with that I'd get the box in, search recipes and then plan a week and do the shopping. Again quite far the other way from these wild and free types

I do suck at baking though.

Baking is the thing that doesn't really tolerate improvisation or not measuring. It's a different game.

Sure, but as you get more comfortable with the style of cooking you like, you will want to make your dishes to your own taste.  As an example, my older boy starting cooking curry dishes years ago by trying out various recipes.  Once he got comfortable with that he started experimenting with his own spicing.  It has now been years since he has looked at a curry recipe.  He does it all by taste, and whatever he is in the mood for on the day.

[garbon]

The art of cooking is creating meals with what you have on hand. 

Following recipes precisely is for beginners.

And the beginner in that clip should have followed the recipe.

Well yeah. But we can't all excel at all skills so good to recognise one's limitations and act accordingly.

It is actually not that hard to make meals without referring to a recipe and just use ingredients on hand.

Sure I know some stuff without recipes but to add variety I find it useful to consult recipes.

[Iormlund]

I will never understand why people that have the necessity to experiment with food.

My own mother still gets surprised when I glare at her attempts at tweaking what I've enjoyed for 40 years. You'd think she'd have learned by now.

[Josquius]

On the other hand the thought of eating the same thing forever saddens me.
There's always different stuff to try.

[Sheilbh]

Sure, but as you get more comfortable with the style of cooking you like, you will want to make your dishes to your own taste.  As an example, my older boy starting cooking curry dishes years ago by trying out various recipes.  Once he got comfortable with that he started experimenting with his own spicing.  It has now been years since he has looked at a curry recipe.  He does it all by taste, and whatever he is in the mood for on the day.

I don't think I will

I've been cooking for twenty years, I love it and what you describe sounds incredibly stressful to me. As I say I prep everything before I turn on a hob. And maybe that's also why I like the roast or the stew, curry, sauce route is it a slow process. The whole thing is relaxing for me and yeah working by taste or mood or without an idea of what I'm doing sounds positively alarming

On the other hand the thought of eating the same thing forever saddens me.
There's always different stuff to try.

Yes but once you've got something right there's no need to keep changing it. Same with my mum. I try to help in the kitchen at home and it is not welcome unless I do exactly what she's always done.

For variety I kind of collect cookbooks so I've got about two shelves of them and do change up fairly regularly.