Culinary Skills

[Pomai]

What are you good at - and not so good at - in the kitchen? Baking? Roasting? Knife skills? Preparation? Organization? Clean-up?

Any particular ethnic specialty? Italian? Japanese? Chinese? Filipino? Other?

My sister is an expert at leftovers. Having a large family, she can take last night's spaghetti and meatballs and turn it into tonight's casserole. Or turn tomorrow night's stir-fry into the following night's lumpia, just to keep the kids interested in eating it. And it always turns out incredibly delicious. She's also excellent at baking, which requires more technical application than simply "cooking".

I've improved over the years, having gained most of my culinary talent reading recipes and watching the Food Network and local cooking shows.

But if there's one thing I'm terrible at is TIME MANAGEMENT. When you come as a guest to eat at my place, if I say dinner is at 6pm, it usually means 8pm by the time I get all the side dishes ready, the main dish out of the oven (or off the grill) and everything on the table.

If there's one thing I continue to try honing (no pun intended) are my knife skills. Last night on Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman (http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bizarre-foods/bizarre-foods.html), one segment featured the infamous "Turducken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken)", a boneless chicken, wrapped inside a boneless duck, wrapped inside a boneless turkey. The person preparing the dish showed off how quickly he could debone these three fowl foods, which he did within 5 minutes. The (Japanese) Iron Chefs' knife skills are the most amazing, especially when it comes to seafood.

I have yet to master the art of peeling the skin off a mango (or any other skinned fruit) using just a knife and one hand.

Once upon a time I was really good at "cooking" saimin! It's all in how you boil the water. :D

[Hellbent]

Hey Helen, maybe you should rename this thread 'cooking skills' because you know, people might not be able to figure out what cullinary skills means.

--

Somehow (probably from watching my mom alot as a kid) I can cook. I cook Chinese, American, and Italian foods. Recently, due to the manapua thread, I tried to make manapua and it came out okay. Need more practice stuffing and closing, but it realyl helped that my mom used to make manapua and that we have a big aluminum steamer my mom used to use. My friends ask me how I know how to cook and compliment me on my cooking is good, which is cool. I'd like to take some classes one day, to expand my knowledge. I think this weekend I'm going to make a kind of peking duck.

[glossyp]

My knife skills and ability to cook excellent (not humble about this one!) Japanese food come from my Japanese national ex-hubby and his mom. He can clean and filet a fish in no time and she grew up in the old days when everything was made from scratch. She taught me over the course of a more than a decade. I am also pretty good at Korean standards. My personal hobby is bread baking, but I have yet to perfect my French bread. Oh, and I can't forget one of the favorite cuisines of my childhood, Mexican. Ask me about my chile verde!

[Leo Lakio]

I can eat.



Okay, okay, seriously - I have no particular skills (though I do make a mean lasagna), but I've gotten better at seasoning suggestions, when the AF develops new ideas for meals, and we agree it "needs something."

What I've always wanted to learn, however, is how to make cheese. Really.

[TATTRAT]

I cook a little bit.

[1stwahine]

I cook a little bit.

Me too.heheheh

Auntie Lynn

[sophielynette]

I have a pretty good ability to make dinner out of practically nothing. I learned it my first year of college when I was living on $600 a month for rent, utilities, school supplies and food. I shopped cheap but I ate well!

I've also been told that I make some awesome eggrolls. I don't know that I particularly do anything special, but I've actually had people fight over them before.

[Leo Lakio]

I cook a little bit.
You get paid for it, too.
Me too.heheheh
You used to get paid for it, yeah?

I bow to those of you who get pleasure from helping the rest of us enjoy the glories of food.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

I cook every day for my brood. You name it, I've probably cooked it or something similar--broiler, pan, pot, bbq pit. Flora and fauna, I'll make dinner out of it. I do not have the patience or desire to make desserts. I get a kick out of figuring out recipes and trying to recreate some enjoyed dish.

[lavagal]

I have tons of cookbooks. I love to peruse them for recipes, compare different ways of approaching the same dish, slam them all shut and do my version of all that input. Most of the time the gang is pleased. I'm my worst critic. It has taken me years to build the perfect meatloaf. Finally, something so pedestrian no longer eludes me. tonight I'm making parmesan chicken fingers for the kids. Tenders thawed, dipped, tossed and baked. We shall see.

[acousticlady]

My husband is a chef so all the good stuff comes from him. I'm real good with Mr. Swanson and Mrs. Paul........

[tutusue]

Frozen:
chicken breasts
salmon
gardenburgers
shrimp
veggies
cooked on a George Forman grill or in the nuker...

Deli:
cut up, fresh fruit
salad
rotisserie chicken

All from Costco!

Who the h3!! has time to cook?! :o

[Sharmagne]

I love to cook! I can whip up a culinary storm at the drop of a potholder!

One of my special skills is to be able to taste somethng and disect it to know exactly how it is made.

I invent recipes too.

[LikaNui]

I'm at the level of still trying to figure out how long to boil my Corn Flakes.
On the other hand, when I was a wee munchkin my two older sisters learned how to cook and I was taught how to clean up, so I'm awesome at that part.
:o

And I'm a pretty fair taste-tester, too.

[/subliminal message to LavaGal and her meatloaf]

[LikaNui]

WooHOO, I learned a new culinary skill today!
For the longest time I wondered why instant coffee was so bad... but today I learned you're supposed to put it in a cup and add hot water!
:D

( Credit: That was in a comic strip in today's Advertiser.)

[lavagal]

WooHOO, I learned a new culinary skill today!
For the longest time I wondered why instant coffee was so bad... but today I learned you're supposed to put it in a cup and add hot water!
:D

( Credit: That was in a comic strip in today's Advertiser.)

The men in my life tend to eat things cold. If you have access to a microwave, heat up those leftovers! How else can you really tell if the flavors have melded well, especially if the fat from the Italian sausage is still congealed? Is this a guy thing? Maybe our instant coffee fan can enlighten us.

[Beau]

I love to cook! I can proficiently make from scratch most Japanese and Chinese foods. And cook a smattering of anything from Mexican to French.

[LikaNui]

The men in my life tend to eat things cold. Wow, you never serve them a hot meal? You must be mad at them. ;)

If you have access to a microwave, heat up those leftovers!
Okay. Got it. Heat up leftover instant coffee. [/taking notes]

How else can you really tell if the flavors have melded well, especially if the fat from the Italian sausage is still congealed? Melded. Melded. Hmmmm. Oh! Mr. Spock's "Vulcan Mind Meld" kind of melded! Gee, I never knew he was Italian, much less fat or congealed.
Man, this culinary stuff is confusing.

Is this a guy thing? Of course it us. Us guys know that the best way to meet women is to play dumb in the grocery store aisles. :p

Maybe our instant coffee fan can enlighten us. Consider yourself enlightened, grasshopper.
(Aren't you sorry you asked, now?)

(Note to self: try harder on those subliminal messages to LavaGal about her meatloaf.)

;)

[Karen]

Uhhh.....LOL at myself cuz of the title here. Well, I can make some old Texas style foods, the easy ones, very few, like cornbread, and a few of mom's old favs, but I lack culinary skills, Lordy forgive me but by choice.

I graduated high school in '75, weighing 300lbs. I did it in the late seventies, and early eighties, I Lost 160lbs, and kept most of it off even through two pregnancies. the last thing I ever wanted to be is a good cook. Thank goodness I married a sailor when he was almost 27 or right after, I forget and he was and is a great cook cuz he loves to eat quality meals, so he learned from his mom and he does most of our cooking. I clean, shop, run, do all business, bills, mowing, and am the maid, too, so it's a fair deal. I cook less and eat less than him, so skills....oh, I can type but this isn't in the kitchen so I'll just tiptoe out of here "not so gracefully." :o :D

[Erika Engle]

I'm like Pua'i Mana'o and Lavagal ... and also like Lika Nui, depending on how late I'm done with work and whether I've failed to plan (as in, I've planned to fail).

I think it was Pomai who has timing issues? Me too. We often eat late.

OK, so my kids are never forced to dine on cold, leftover instant coffee or over-boiled cornflakes ...
:D

... but if I've not planned ahead, either for the day or the week, my answer to the dreaded and inevitable, "What's for dinner?" question is often: "Food." Sometimes I'll add, "Hopefully it'll be edible."

I love all kinds of food and try to cook all kinds of food and LOVE to do it when I have time and the needed ingredients.

For the sausage/ricotta manicotti I made yesterday, I realized I didn't have marinara sauce (or the ingredients to make it from scratch). I DID, however, have a family size can of Campbell's Tomato Soup, so I "Italian-ified it" with EVOO, fresh garlic, dried herbs and balsamic vinegar di Modena. The kids loved it and I was very happy with the way it came out. I'll definitely make it again -- on a weekend.

Costco yesterday had thick-cut, boneless beef short ribs. (Boneless ribs -- oxymoron, I know). I had seen a recipe for Chianti Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs on the Olive Garden Web site and was hankering to try to make it, so I bought a tray of the meat.

HOWEVER, I then got ono for Korean-style beef and decided to try and braise the beef with Korean flavors, instead of Italian.

So, despite my cookbook collection, I went online to do a little research on professional AND home-cook sites and voila! The ribs are marinating in a shoyu-based sauce and will be patted dry, dusted with flour, seared briefly in a hot, oiled pan and then braised in the oven with the reserved shoyu-based marinade until the meat is fall-off-the-nonexistent-bone tender.

... and delicious, too, I hope. Wish me luck!

[lavagal]

In this month's O Magazine, under its "stylefood" section, is a story I could have written myself called "Mastering the Art of Fearless Cooking," although I do feel I'm a bit more accomplished than the author. A few lines in the story I have thought or experienced myself:

"...Inevitably, I wind up making the same joyless chicken stir-fry--the missionary position on a plate..."

and

"...I greet my guests with a sweaty, flushed face, then spent the next hour cooking while they sat drinking wine..."

My timing is getting better and it's often that the only thing left to labor over are pasta or fresh vegetables that really have to wait until the last minute.

And I still owe my dear friend Erika my chicken recipe. Good thing we understand each other!

[Karen]

I'm best at cleaning up, no stone unturned and I prefer cleanup to cooking. Oh, I make a wonderful pot of chicken noodle soup, though I don't press my own noodles but use the bagged one, but otherwise from scratch. I do this maybe once a year for someone that's got a virus, and for no other reason except an exceptionally strong cool front these islands get.

I graduated high school in '75, weighing 300lbs. The last thing I ever wanted to be was a good cook, though I know I'm capable. I lost my weight and though I like to eat as much as anyone.......my apron's for cleaning up, mostly.

[tutusue]

[...]"...Inevitably, I wind up making the same joyless chicken stir-fry--the missionary position on a plate..."[...]
Bwaha! Funny line. Oh...wait...I've never made chicken stir-fry, joyless or otherwise. What does that say about me? Don't answer that! :D
I'm best at cleaning up, no stone unturned and I prefer cleanup to cooking. Oh, I make a wonderful pot of chicken noodle soup,[...]
Clean up is my forte, too! I once cleaned up after Christmas dinner at a friends condo. Clean up involved moving everything off the kitchen counters; small appliances, chotzkes, you name it! I wasn't prepared for what I found! It was obvious that was the first time everything had been moved! My friend was embarrassed but appreciative. I was happy that I could do something for her that she didn't have the time or inclination to do for herself.

Come to think of it I make a mean, post-holiday, turkey soup...really good but quite a bit of work.

[Pomai]

Regarding the last two posts, now that I think of it, that's one thing I'm very good at in the kitchen: cleaning up WHILE I cook. Not a dish or utensil gets past a minute in the sink as I make my way throughout the cooking process. It's all washed and dried on the dish rack.

Unless it involves greasy, sludgy, baked-on-'n-burnt pots and pans piled up in the oven/on the stove. Then that's where the "skillz" of Karen and Tutusue are deployed. :p

[tutusue]

Regarding the last two posts, now that I think of it, that's one thing I'm very good at in the kitchen: cleaning up WHILE I cook. Not a dish or utensil gets past a minute in the sink as I make my way throughout the cooking process. It's all washed and dried on the dish rack.[...]
My ex did the same thing! He was a great cook and tended to clean up as he cooked. I was responsible for everything else left after dinner. Clean as you go is a mandatory procedure in a tiny kitchen such as mine!

[Random]

What are you good at - and not so good at - in the kitchen? Baking? Roasting? Knife skills? Preparation? Organization? Clean-up?

Any particular ethnic specialty? Italian? Japanese? Chinese? Filipino? Other?

My sister is an expert at leftovers. Having a large family, she can take last night's spaghetti and meatballs and turn it into tonight's casserole. Or turn tomorrow night's stir-fry into the following night's lumpia, just to keep the kids interested in eating it. And it always turns out incredibly delicious. She's also excellent at baking, which requires more technical application than simply "cooking".

I've improved over the years, having gained most of my culinary talent reading recipes and watching the Food Network and local cooking shows.

But if there's one thing I'm terrible at is TIME MANAGEMENT. When you come as a guest to eat at my place, if I say dinner is at 6pm, it usually means 8pm by the time I get all the side dishes ready, the main dish out of the oven (or off the grill) and everything on the table.

If there's one thing I continue to try honing (no pun intended) are my knife skills. Last night on Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman (http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bizarre-foods/bizarre-foods.html), one segment featured the infamous "Turducken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken)", a boneless chicken, wrapped inside a boneless duck, wrapped inside a boneless turkey. The person preparing the dish showed off how quickly he could debone these three fowl foods, which he did within 5 minutes. The (Japanese) Iron Chefs' knife skills are the most amazing, especially when it comes to seafood.

I have yet to master the art of peeling the skin off a mango (or any other skinned fruit) using just a knife and one hand.

Once upon a time I was really good at "cooking" saimin! It's all in how you boil the water. :D
I can cook rice. ;)

What I learned from my father: pancit, pork & peas (or pork guisante), pork with white squash, spaghetti with hamburger meat sauce (not the jar kind), and beef stew.

What I learned from my mother: canned tuna & egg patties.

What I learned from on my own: fried rice.

[Kungpao]

I like to think of myself as a jack of all trades when it comes to culinary skills. Usually, my most proud moments are when I invent my own dishes. My thought process on invention is as follows:

1. Open Freezer and choose a meat product.
2. Open pantry and chose a primary spice to season meat product.
3. Open nearly all other spice containers (one at a time) and smell to see which ones will go with the first spice.
4. cook and hope for the best!:D

OR.. watch a cooking show and try to remember all the ingredients and taste as I go. My most proud accomplishment in that department has to be my BBQ rub. There's nothing like getting the first bite out of freshly pulled pork butt.

I swear one of these days, my wife and I will take one of those culinary institute vacations where it's a vacation but culinary classes at the same time!

[Pomai]

1. Open Freezer and choose a meat product.
2. Open pantry and chose a primary spice to season meat product.
3. Open nearly all other spice containers (one at a time) and smell to see which ones will go with the first spice.
4. cook and hope for the best!lol Sometimes hoping for the best is ALL you can do when it comes to those particular places to find your ingredients.

Frozen meats often loose at least some flavor and natural moisture after thawed, unless you have the access and discipline to use a vacuum sealer (Seal-A-Meal) for everything that goes in there. Or unless it was flash-frozen at the factory/plant, and never ever thawed by the time it went in your freezer.

Then you have that dry spice rack that Aunty Jen gave you as a wedding gift 10 years ago that you're FINALLY making use of - which at this point, has all the flavor of granulated TREE BARK.

That's what I love about cookin' at mom's place, where there's a nice herb garden out back. Nothing like adding freshly-picked basil, chives, rosemary, mint and Italian parsley to jazz up the dish.

I remember when Castagnola had his Italian restaurant in Waikiki on a second floor open terrace of a hotel (across Ft. DeRussy). He took advantage of the open deck by growing his own herbs for the restaurant. You could see parsley and basil growing nicely in flowerbeds along the outskirts of the dining area. Where is he now, anyway? Not washing dishes at Assagio I hope!

But yeah, it certainly takes some know-how in using the proper spices and and herbs; and in which quantity or ratio.

When it comes to Italian food, I'm reserved when it comes to garlic, but heavy-handed with the fresh basil. I LOVE Basil!

When it comes to garlic, my friend tries to chase vampires away. His theory is that garlic is "medicinal", making anything he prepares "medicinal" to go along with it. Hide that garlic when he's in the kitchen, lest whatever you got IS going in there.

Speaking of choosing, this also brings up an important part of the culinary process... SHOPPING for ingredients. Knowing your cuts of meat and fish, produce, etc.

[acousticlady]

My husband thinks I need to set the record straight here. Previously, I said I couldn't cook. That's a lie. After 30+ years of watching him, I've picked up a trick or two. I can make a mean vegetable soup, red sauce and chili. It's just that I don't like to cook. I do like to eat however. And when he gets cooking, we are generally in for a gormet meal.

[Kungpao]

lol Sometimes hoping ...snip...
Frozen meats ...snip...
Then you have that dry spice rack that Aunty Jen gave you as a wedding gift 10 years ago that you're FINALLY making use of - which at this point, has all the flavor of granulated TREE BARK. ...snip...

But yeah, it certainly takes some know-how in using the proper spices and and herbs; and in which quantity or ratio. ...snip...

Speaking of choosing, this also brings up an important part of the culinary process... SHOPPING for ingredients. Knowing your cuts of meat and fish, produce, etc.


Yeah.. Ideally, that's the way to go. Sadly, I deal with what I have and that is my chest freezer stocked with meats I pick up from my butcher and constantly replenished pantry. No herbs gone bad here. Nothing but compliments on what I cook either. Just cause my ingredients aren't the most fresh doesn't mean my food tastes like tree bark.:rolleyes:

[Karen]

Sue, same here, the canisters, bottles of spices, etc. get wiped off. I just discovered the Swiffer mop, personally, LOL that sounds funny the way I said that but I'll leave it for amusement. That thing is so fast and dries fast. we had a gathering last night and my kitchen floor is milk-white, ceramic tile, the grout, too, ARGH. (but that's a whole other story, the grout being that color) The swiffer was needed and is the kitchen's newest best friend.

[Erika Engle]

And I still owe my dear friend Erika my chicken recipe. Good thing we understand each other!

You betcha, darlin'.

;)


Even if you got it to me today, would I have the time to cook it? Have I remembered to take anything out of the freezer to defrost? No. Perhaps after I click on Submit Reply ...