Are you a "one trick pony" when it comes to cooking??

[Qball]

I used to cook a lot, but only for myself.
When i met my spouse she took over cooking, and everything must taste like it used to.
She won't try anything new
The only thing i'm allowed to cook now is "pork pancake"

 

[PatriotX]

My grandmother was of the school that when in doubt - use more bacon grease !

Her idea of a 'balanced' meal was where all the cans nested inside one another when done.

 

[wbraswell]

I almost never make the same thing, the same way, twice. I like to try a little difference. I've learned my lesson(s) about moderation. Better to add too little, than too much. I once put too much black pepper in a dish, and that's hard to do, for me.

 

[Erich]

This has been a fun thread - it's really interesting reading everyone's thoughts about and experiences with cooking.

Me, I grew up in a household where Mom did almost all the cooking (Dad would make reasonably authentic pizza - not the Domino's kind - from scratch every Saturday night, which was pretty far "out there" in our rural Indiana community). I'd say in retrospect that she didn't have fun with it all the time: there were certain dishes she knocked out of the park, and others were a bit more mundane. I wouldn't say it was especially her thing.

Ever since I could remember, I loved smelling all the spices in the spice rack - not that many of them ever got used. When we gardened, Dad would send me out to get herbs (garlic, basil and oregano, basically, sometimes flat-leafed parsley) for the pizza or pasta sauce, and I just loved smelling them. Some hippie-dippie family friend gave me a kid's cookbook for my First Communion, and I read through it and thought I'd enjoy making porcupine meatballs. Mom was terrifically supportive, and I have happy memories of her supervising me to make this "exotic" dish (it used thyme, which we pronounced "thighm" - I think that might have been the only recipe that used that dusty bottle in the spice rack Mom received as a wedding present). When they saw I liked cooking (hey, you're making food that you get to EAT! ), Dad started used me as a slave to make dough for pizza, bread and pasta and Mom used to have me help with the weekend breakfasts (gotta love pouring waffles as a ten-year-old - makes you feel like you're accomplishing something worthwhile). I was bored a lot living out in the country (when I wasn't fishing, mushroom hunting, tapping maple trees, arrowhead hunting, shooting rockets, etc.), so I wound up reading a lot of Mom's cookbooks, too.

And I liked to eat, and even found I liked certain "weird" things . . . after a suitable period of scowling suspicion. Since Dad's job as a professor exposed us to people from a lot of different cultures (and Mom and Dad's families lived in New York - the Italians made food with those crazy crushed red peppers no human could eat and tiny coffees that smelled like cigar butts, and the Germans were gulping down slimy creamed herring and weird pickled pot roasts), I got to (had to - I don't remember being given a choice! ) try a lot of things that were weird to my classmates. (Tacos! In rural Indiana in the early Seventies, these seemed about as odd as finding a pyramid of human heads next to the IGA.) Of course, a lot of them were pretty good.

So when I moved out, I started making a wide variety of stuff just because I liked it. Like others on the thread, I really enjoyed doing sauces. I can bake, but I'm not super into it. When I married Gina, I used to do virtually all of our cooking. When she retired five years ago, she took over. She'd previously been sort of indifferent toward cooking, but I had been a bad influence and got her to liking food during our time together. Her post-retirement cooking underwent an immediate paradigm shift from the cooking she used to do when we met (everything set to BLAST, follow a short list of recipes like a robot) - now she was all about making stuff we'd like and figuring out how to coax out the flavor. Dang, but she's a good cook now.

The funny thing is that I get real satisfaction out of cooking something creative. One of my favorite things to do it to just make Sunday supper - throw together stuff that we have into something that sounds good. To me there's something about coming up with a sauce with fresh herbs and having a soul-satisfying simple-but-good plate of macaroni with a bottle of wine. If someone happens to drop by, great: the more the merrier. No serious thought or worry about a menu (Lord, but my wife likes to make "company" meals into an ordeal), just "Hey, that's sounds good; let's try that" and away you go.

Not really a one-trick pony, but I have those things that are easy and satisfying to do, and because I'm mostly cooking to enliven my spirit these days, those are where I usually go.

Thanks again for a great thread, amigos.

 

[A10]

This is fun.....I thought I'd give a little background as well. When I was growing up, Mom had a couple dishes she would make but for the most part really didn't enjoy cooking. Dad was the one I got my inspiration from. I learned creative cooking by watching him in the kitchen. He made some dang weird stuff (bologna casserole just to name one) but it was always interesting. When I was going to college I worked in restaurants, both dishwashing and prep cooking. That is when I started experimenting with different flavors and spices. And truthfully my wife has been an inspiration. 34 years together, and three failures for dinner. Tuna loaf you coulda killed a moose with, cilantro salad that was pure cilantro, and a chili that was......deadly (we like spicey but holy **** that was problematic).

 

[chaparrito]

I'm the cook around here. I love reading cookbooks and cooking publications. I virtually never follow a recipe. They are mostly for inspiration. The wife complains that although she loves my cooking, when I'm gone she'll not be able to make my "recipes" because they're never done the same way twice.

 

[DeathGrip]

Learning experiances

I was the youngest of three and was home with mom while she did her daily mom stuff that included making all of our meals. She always made me taste stuff. Dad might cook on the grill on occasion or make a bacon and egg breakfast.

When I got a little older my sister taught me to make fried eggs and get them even. But I knew how dad made them and took it from there. The last time she was here I made her some eggs and she said they were the best she ever had. She asked me how I made them and I reminded her that she taught me.

When I moved away from home Mom sent me a box of recipes of some decent dishes that she new I liked. That box is one of my favorite possessions. I learned that cooking was fun and I got my food the way I liked it.

Then I joined the Army. They had pretty good food for the most part and I learned a few new things there.

I remained a bachelor for quite a few years and ate the same stuff for a while.

Then I met my soon to be wife. She was a little German girl and had been raised in her parents restaurant in Nurnberg. Oh Man! She loved to cook for me and my friends and I learned to eat a lot of things I never woulda before. Sadly she's gone and I didn't pay much attention. Kinda hard to do when she kicked me out of the kitchen most times.

Since my wife has been gone I've had to learn to make things again and am doing pretty good with it. I've even learned a few things from my Spanish speaking friends.

I guess you could say I still have room to learn more. But it's an enjoyable learning.

 

[Maddog 521]

I have an old family recipe for donuts. It's the best donuts I've ever eaten. The key ingredient is "mashed potatoes". I usually make them a couple times a year. They are gone pretty quick. I also make a mean batch of Beignet's. I do follow the recipes on these two.

 

[the ringo kid]

What I mean is do you stick to a recipe and are afraid or unwilling to experiment?

I eat ribs at least once a week and am always trying out new seasonings or marinades.I recently tried a cajun seasoning on my ribs and found that it also tastes pretty good in chili and even beef stew.I use cumin mainly in chili but found that it enhances the flavor of ribs without making them taste too "Mexican".I recently bought some "Hoisin sauce" and found it also works nicely on ribs.It has an unusual flavor to it while also being somewhat sweet.It works best when used to baste while cooking.I usually cut the rack of ribs into thirds and season each part differently.

I enjoy cooking but I especially enjoy experimenting with different seasonings or marinades.I never write anything down on paper so every meal seems to be an adventure.

Not me, I experiment all the time.

 

[alexfitch225]

Alot of the cooking I've done over the last few years has been loosely based off a recipe but I tend to always stray off on my own direction.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[coltle6920]

I have an old family recipe for donuts. It's the best donuts I've ever eaten. The key ingredient is "mashed potatoes". I usually make them a couple times a year. They are gone pretty quick. I also make a mean batch of Beignet's. I do follow the recipes on these two.

I don't bake...Takes up too much space on the countertop which I don't have a lot.I'm also no Martha Stewart so I don't need any more pots,pans or appliances.

There's no room for error when baking that cake or pie.Some things are more forgivable but I still prefer to leave it to the pros at the local bakery.

 

[coltle6920]

I'm the cook around here. I love reading cookbooks and cooking publications. I virtually never follow a recipe. They are mostly for inspiration.

My buddy has numerous cookbooks.He can't cook anything a second time without referring back to the recipe.Liquor will do that to one's mind after 50yrs.

I enjoy watching the cooking shows on TV.I pick up some good tips but always keep to the foods I grew up on.There ain't no parsley in my house to adorn those ribs.

 

[coltle6920]

I'm a "no trick pony".

I can barely get edible food following the recipe verbatim, and it had better be a simple recipe. I'm certainly not going off the reservation.

My Mom's idea of experimenting was taking leftover peas and putting them in tonight's meatloaf.We always knew what the next surprise would be based on what was left over in the fridge.It wasn't always a thumbs up.

 

[Pop's2]

Sometimes you can't get what you want where you are so yes to the experimenting; to wit:

Minnesota style chow mein is not available here so had to make my own.

PORK CHOW MEIN
1 1/2 lb. pork
1 tbsp. oil
3 c. thin bias, sliced celery
1 c. onion slices
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp. oil
2 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. water
1 can condensed beef broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 lb. bean sprouts (rinsed & drained)
5 oz. can water chestnuts (drained & sliced)
Rice or chow mein noodles

In large skillet, cook pork in oil until done, about 10 minutes. Remove from skillet. Cook celery, onion and mushrooms in oil until crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes, stirring often.

Blend cornstarch and water. Add beef broth and soy sauce. Stir into vegetables. Add meat, bean sprouts and water chestnuts. Heat and stir until thickened. Serve over rice or hot chow mein noodles. Yield: Serves 4 or 5.

I used a can of Chinese vegetables instead of just bean sprouts and added 2 1/2 Tb of molasses.
I used 1/2 lb hamburger and two diced up pork chops for the meat as I didn't have ground pork.
will skip the veggies' next time as they had a tinny taste.

 

[coltle6920]

My wife refers to my cooking as snowflake meals as no two dishes are ever quite alike. They are almost always good, but not really repeatable.

Just pretend I gave you multiple likes for this post.

 

[coltle6920]

Sometimes you can't get what you want where you are so yes to the experimenting; to wit:

Minnesota style chow mein is not available here so had to make my own.

PORK CHOW MEIN
1 1/2 lb. pork
1 tbsp. oil
3 c. thin bias, sliced celery
1 c. onion slices
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp. oil
2 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. water
1 can condensed beef broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 lb. bean sprouts (rinsed & drained)
5 oz. can water chestnuts (drained & sliced)
Rice or chow mein noodles

In large skillet, cook pork in oil until done, about 10 minutes. Remove from skillet. Cook celery, onion and mushrooms in oil until crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes, stirring often.

Blend cornstarch and water. Add beef broth and soy sauce. Stir into vegetables. Add meat, bean sprouts and water chestnuts. Heat and stir until thickened. Serve over rice or hot chow mein noodles. Yield: Serves 4 or 5.

I used a can of Chinese vegetables instead of just bean sprouts and added 2 1/2 Tb of molasses.
I used 1/2 lb hamburger and two diced up pork chops for the meat as I didn't have ground pork.
will skip the veggies' next time as they had a tinny taste.

Looks really good!! May I suggest "Hoisin sauce" one time instead of molasses? It has a nice depth of flavor along with the sweetness you are looking for.

 

[31FordA]

I'm a pretty decent cook, but I've generally never followed a written recipe. No one ever taught me how to cook, I learned by watching my parents. I started cooking when both my parents were working, around 12 years old. Since I was home first I took over making dinner and I got pretty good at it. I can fry, bake, roast etc. I even taught myself how to bake a cake. None of what I make is fancy or exotic, but no one goes away hungry.

 

[paplinker]

I used to cook a lot, but only for myself.
When i met my spouse she took over cooking, and everything must taste like it used to.
She won't try anything new
The only thing i'm allowed to cook now is "pork pancake"

Do you have Swedish meatballs over there Do you just call them meatballs?

If so do you call ours American meatballs?

 

[robvious]

I laughed out loud...

Looks really good!! May I suggest "Hoisin sauce" one time instead of molasses? It has a nice depth of flavor along with the sweetness you are looking for.

I read the recipe and thought the exact same thing... glad I did not have a mouth full of food or drink at the time...

 

[JohnRippert]

Other than grilling meat there are only about 3 or 4 things that I cook much. I prefer crock pots to anything else. Pasta sauce, chicken and gravy, pot roast, chili, etc. You get the picture.