Poll: You and cooking

[bluerocker]

So long as I have a recipe to refer to, I think I cook somewhere between reasonable and Excellent.
I can bake up a storm too, so long as the requirements above are fulfilled as well.

Otherwise, I'm terribly forgetful, and not so great.

 

[TehCookie]

My cooking is inedible to most people. On the bright side I can eat things that would kill a lesser man and feel fine.

 

[Tahaneira]

Any chance we could get some backstory on this ramen incident? It sounds worthy of remembrance.

Heh. I can do that, yeah.

I started off well enough. Measure two cups of water, put it in a pot, set it on the stove to boil. That's when things went downhill.

First of all, I lost track of the water. So it was half-boiled-away before I remembered I was boiling water. Then I decided, "well, I'll just have less of the broth, that's okay I guess, I just want to eat ASAP" so I toss the noodle block in there. Then, not too long after, I smell something burning. My water was gone, and the noodle block was scorching.

...And then I ordered pizza. Happy ending!

Wow. I thought that my friend's story about being incapable of properly making mac and cheese was as bad as I was ever going to hear.

I thought wrong.

Congratulations on your accomplishment (if such words can be attached to your abilities).

Anyways. I'm a decent cook; I can cook things in the oven, though I haven't exactly experimented with recipes beyond sprinkling seasoning on chicken before baking it. Living with a couple of chefs for a few years helped, but mostly, I think I inherited my dad's ability to stand in the kitchen for half an hour while reading a book and checking the stove/oven every minute or so.

 

[game-lover]

I'm reasonable. Pretty good at cooking. Been doing it since I was old enough to learn how.

 

[StormShaun]

I'm mediocre at best.
This is because I still have other people to cook for me and such.

BUT when I move out and get my own place, it means I will have to do everything for myself.
Cooking, clean and do laundry.
It doesn't sound that bad.

And hopefully when I do become fully independent I will become MUCH better at cooking.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I'm not a top chef but I am very good. I've lived by myself a few times so it was either learn to cook or die out. Some stuff I really can't do but I can turn my hand to pretty much anything.

My boyfriend is much better than me which is something new cos all my old ones didn't even know how to turn the oven on. It can get annoying because he's always barging in on my cooking and I imagine when we live together I might have to bash him in the face with a pan a few times a week.

I'm a pretty okay baker too.

 

[an annoyed writer]

My food doesn't taste bad, but that's because I stick to making simple stuff like Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and the like. If it's more complex than that I don't have the skills to pull that off.

 

[darlarosa]

I am a great cook. Tonight I just made oven baked polluck in a spiced lemon sauce.
The other day I made maple honey glazed salmon
Last week I made spaghetti with a homemade sauce and I also did baked chicken thighs in a homemade hot bbqsauce

 

[Odbarc]

I rarely cook-cook, but I make all my own foods and such. I hate the prep-time mostly. I stick to little meals as well because there's no bother in cooking anything more when it's for one.

 

[Fijiman]

For me, if you can't pop it in the microwave/toaster oven it aint happening.

 

[Tactical Pause]

My cooking skills can be summed up as follows:

Give me a pile of assorted leftovers and I can turn them into something surprisingly serviceable. Give me raw ingredients, expecting anything more than a blank stare, and you will be disappointed.

 

[mitchell271]

Let's put it this way, my sister called me a foodie the other day. I plan to go to college[footnote]And yes, I mean college. In Canada, there's a difference with college being more for trades and tangible with university being the theoretical stuff.[/footnote] for cooking or baking in a few years once I have the cash. My roommates have made me the cook for next year based entirely on food I cooked in res using only a crappy skillet and a shit toaster oven. I sharpen knives with a steel rod like as well as the butchers I work with[footnote]It's a meat processing warehouse, not a murderhouse.[/footnote]. I know most of the prep techniques, I'm up to date on the newest ways to cook and present (sous-vide and reverse spherification anyone?) and I love it. I'm a good baker too! My old highschool friends make me do all the baking for parties.

So yes, I think of myself as quite capable. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a pin to go pop my inflated ego.

I actually really like to cook. You can tailor your food to your own tastes and really wow people with a damn good meal who aren't expecting it. Certainly a change of pace and gets your mind off life's BS.

Oh hey, a new guy! Welcome to the Escapist! Pull up a chair and share anecdotes, stories, thoughts and ideas! Just stay out of Politics and Religion. Trust me, it's for your own good.

 

[Screamarie]

I like to think I'm a pretty good cook. I admit my catalouge of recipes is not very large, but what I can make is DAMN good and being from the south, BUTTER! If you want really good scrambled eggs, make bacon in the pan first, then using the bacon grease throw in a large pat of butter (but within reason to the amount of eggs your making) and melt it beforehand. Yum.

I've been making small things since I was young and by the time I was...I don't 13? I was making meals for the family.

Enchiladas, tacos, spaghetti, chimichangas, pancakes, burgers, steak, a really great cheese dip with beef and sausage in it...I still need my mother to teach me how to make her brisket...

As for a recipe...well there is my mother's avocado burgers...but I don't know if I should share the recipe...

 

[Boris Goodenough]

I've been told I season like the best of them. My dishes are few but I can do them very well I do learn fast though.

 

[Playful Pony]

I can cook reasonably well =p. My roomie is a chef so I have learned a few things from him... I'm not very good though, but I can make varied and reasonably tasty food! I still tend to forget things in the oven and such, but that has less to do with my cooking skills and more me being extremely bad at remembering ANYTHING...

 

[Zantos]

I'd say I'm good at cooking. I tend to cook everything from near-scratch (I like to use spice mixes, particularly if it contains something I'd never use otherwise) and although I have a good few dishes I am particularly good at, I also like to experiment with new things. In the past 5 years I gave myself food poisoning once. It was the first time I'd cooked fish, and it even then was only mild. Aside from that I've only cooked something I wouldn't eat once, and that was more it's blandness than anything (turns out just adding a shed load of pepper and curry powder would have solved it).

The thing I struggle with though, is dietary requirements. I can do veggie and vegan, I can do lactose intolerant, but any other thing they might be allergic to or will make them ill if they eat it and I'll just stare at them looking confused.

 

[hutchy27]

I'm a decent cook, I won't starve if left alone for a number of days but I normally don't cook anything too complex because when I do cook, I'm normally hungry and cba to spend too long.

 

[MartianWarMachine]

I can almost make delicious spaghetti bolognese, but there's always one little thing I get wrong, like too watery, too tomato-y, etc. Also spaghetti bolognese is the only thing I can cook. Everything else gets microwaved.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I am in the Armed Forces (Like a broken record, I know! ) and I live in the mess there... which means I have my meals cooked for me with silver service... I haven't seen a kitchen outside of my parent's house in years! This also means that I can't cook. What. So. Ever! My mum decided just before I joined up and moved out that I needed to learn; this resulted in me learning a few basic meals, but due to the lack of practice I quickly forgot.

So yeah... Due to the lack of cooking facilities it doesn't look like I will be learning any time soon either... oh well!

Also... the poll doesn't seem to like this... it looks like it is swearing at me! :S

 

[FireAza]

I've been cooking for myself for a few months now, and I've kinda gotten into it. Here's a list of my specialties:
Hand-made pizza (SOOOO much better than the frozen crap, and you can put whatever you like on it. It's cheap too, a bag of flour only costs a buck!)
Japanese curry (I often need to add some Cayenne pepper since the Japanese are total pussies when it comes to spicy foods)
Tonkatsu
Katsu Curry (I can make curry, I can make Tonkatsu. Combine the two and you have Kastu Curry)
Fried rice
Spaghetti Bolognese (with a hand-made sauce based on an article I read about the traditional recipe)
Blueberry Pie
Cake
Various meals that use a power as a base i.e deviled sausages, beef stroganoff, etc