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

[coltle6920]

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.

 

[BC38]

My lovely bride and I have been married for just over 30 years now.
In that 30 years I probably haven't had to cook anything more than breakfast more than a couple of dozen times.
Before we married, I cooked, but I was never what I'd call good at it. I have always been what I call a "subsistence" cook. I can cook well enough to keep folks fed, but nothing fancy or innovative. Ordinary, nutritious, decent food, that is edible, but nothing special. That's about the extent of my cooking talent.

Not exactly a "one trick pony" - more like a working quarterhorse

 

[A10]

I love to cook. I like to throw open the cupboards and see what might taste good.....

 

[carpriver]

I am a fair cook, I like cooking certain foods, chili, pasta sauces, steaks and ribs. I normally have some idea of what I am gooding put is my sauces, and rubs. I made a really good alfredo sauces, a couple cloves of garlic, sauted in some butter and olive oil, Heavy cream about 2 cups some real good parmesan ariginio cheese grated, some pepper and a grind of fresh nutmeg. Put the water on to heat for the pasta start to saute the garlic, add the cream stirring until the cream come to a boil reduce heat add the cheese in small amounts stirring until incorporated, continue adding cheese until all is incorporated add pepper and nutmeg. reduce heat to very low cook the pasta, drain add a some olive oil, mix, and cover with the the sauce. of course you could saute some shrimp with the garlic and remove while cooking the alfredo . I also make a olive pasta sauce that is killer.

 

[robvious]

I consider myself a pretty good cook... make my own marinades and rubs... can run a grill n smoker... have won an award for my chili (just a car club thing... no biggy)... and I can bake too... I even write some of them down... and have shared some here... I have lots of ponies to trick...lol

pie is peach...
venison tenderloin teriyaki n black bean marinade and burgers...
venison loin, venison sausage and turkey burgers...
my cornbread recipe... previously posted but worth repeating

 

[hardcase60]

To me a recipe is a guide not anything that is cast in stone. Don't recall one that i didn't tweak. If I'm wanting to make something new then half a dozen or more cookbooks come out of the bookshelf. Compare ingredients and pick what I think will taste best or I may add something(s) not called for. Never had to throw anything out. Yet! One rule, if it don't call for onions and garlic you had better start thinking outside the box. hardcase60

 

[Cyrano]

It's a good thing I handload better than I cook or I would have blown myself up years ago.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I don't follow recipes. Recipes follow me.

Seriously, though, I'm all about improvising in the kitchen. Sometimes it works; sometimes not so much.

 

[gman51]

Since I quit eating processed foods I make most everything by the try this in there cooking. Ginger does wonders for chicken dinners. I love cilantro, onions and garlic in just about anything.
The way I make mashed potatoes it is a meal in itself when I am done putting everything in it.
I really don't know what herbs or seasonings to use with what and first time I tried using cumin I put way to much in it. The dog wouldn't even eat it. It got dumped.
I always cook like I am having company over and I freeze what's left for many more meals. I don't throw left overs away.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Always thought I had no aptitude for cooking. Turns out I just didn't have a desire. In the last few years, since retiring after nine years as a B&B owner, I've enjoyed learning to cook more than just a gourmet breakfast, where my main specialty was an individual vegetable frittata (baked in huge muffin tins) served with a baked ham steak and grilled corn salsa. (In all modesty the meal got rave reviews from hundreds of guests.) I have time now to work on other meals so I've put the time to good use.

I like spicy foods so my spice cupboard is a who's who of the best of the local groceries' wares. Spicy doesn't mean just HOT; it means -- to me -- more flavorful. Mexican food is good, but if you really like it hot some Korean and many Eastern European foods put even the Habanero to shame. However, I must admit that this coming summer I hope to raise my own jalapenos (until the peppers turn red) and make my own chipotle powder on the smoker.

I like beef, pork, and chicken. I make my own rubs and marinades. I've got one -- never made the same way twice -- I call Kansas City Plus. If you like Kansas City style BBQ think of that as a .38 Special; mine's the .357 Magnum. It works best on pork loins done on the smoker with low heat and for a long time. Key ingredient: Hungarian Paprika.

My Korean bulgogi marinade and rub on beef strips rivals anything I ate during my two tours in South Korea, and the food I ate there was fabulous!

So, yeah, I have more than one trick up my sleeve.

 

[Whitwabit]

my wife is amazed when I cook .. the old fashion way is how I was taught .. many of my recipes don't have a recipe .. and I don't measure .. I can pour a teaspoon of salt into my hand and it will be an exact teaspoon when measured .. she asks how I can do it over and over and I don't really know ..

I was a dish washer at a restaurant and one day the cook didn't show up and I became the cook baking cakes and pies and many of the main dishes .. between the owner and my dad who had been a cook I was well taught !! I did that for 3 years .. I was just 16 years old when I started .. instead of hiring a cook he said I did the job as well as anyone and I was permanently promoted to the cook position..

We would fry 275 to 300 eggs on a weekend in the mornings and go through 10 pies a day and usually 2-3 cakes ..

 

[shouldazagged]

I did 90% of the cooking through two marriages--the second, and the third, final one--to good cooks. I've lived alone for twenty-one years this month, so I do it all now. Almost never eat out.

As my health declines in old age I don't do quite as much experimental cooking as I used to, but still usually eat well. I learned many years ago that cooking is fun, and that all the world's great cuisines started with poor people making cheap, readily available ingredients taste wonderful.

Then it was just a matter of building a good spice and herb assortment and throwing out the rulebook.

 

[coltle6920]

Garlic (salt or powder)is definitely a must have in my pantry.It may sound surprising to some but I find myself spending more time in the Asian aisle looking for ideas than anywhere else.

I'm looking at trying out ginger,nutmeg and maybe even wasabi in the future.I'm thinking of some kind of dry rub/coating for chicken wings.

 

[old bear]

"What I mean is do you stick to a recipe?"

The first time I try a new recipe I don't vary from it. That way if it's a flop I know it's not my flop.

If I do one a second time, ya bet I'll jazz it up some. Sometimes it works and sometimes not so much.

 

[KalamazooKid]

I cook a lot of venison and for a couple of decades I've really been experimenting and trying to upgrade the recipes to keep the family and friends interested.

I tried using the hi temp cheddar this time in my smoked summer sausage. Everyone that tried it said it was the best they ever had. It was a HUGE hit over the holidays!

Next time I'll double the amount of cheese I use (used 1 lb with 15 lbs of meat).


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[walnutred]

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.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My dad was a "One trick pony" in the worst way. In the early 1960's mom was a big wig in the Ohio PTA and would go to Chicago for meeting 2 or 3 times a year. (it could have been for a few days away from her bratty young son! ) Dad's "pony" was to cut a can of corn beef hash open on both ends and push the "Loaf" out. Remove the lids, and slice into 4 or 5 pieces. Lay "patties" down on a cookie sheet and dent with a spoon. Break a raw egg into each dent, and place under the broiler. Serve with toast.... Lots of toast!

If mom was gone 4 days, we had hash 4 days! McDonald's wasn't it our town yet, and Dad thought pizza was of the devil!

My brother and I are not great cooks, but we have a few tricks. My wife always left a few casseroles in the fridge if she would be out of town a few days, and would let the kids choose a casserole or one of my concoctions, about half the time they'd choose my "Brainstorm" dishes (for a change from the repetitive deliciousness of there mom's good cooking!)

Ivan

 

[LMWIS]

Maybe two tricks...,

My dad used to clean out the fridge every couple of months, cut everything into cubes, and put it into a cauldron that he would position over two burners on the stove.

The first day you could generally recognize what the cubes were. Over the next few days it would boil down to an inedible grey mass, being continually served for dinner until my mother insisted on throwing out the remainder.

We called it 'Baseball Stew' because I'm sure if he found a baseball in the fridge he would have cut it into cubes and boiled it with everything else!

Personally, if it doesn't come off the grill I had nothing to do with it. It's always good, but I will admit to a certain repetition to my cooking that could definitely use some 'spicing up.'

 

[cmort666]

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.

 

[Ron M.]

I like to grill meat but as for kitchen duty, my best "one trick" is lasagna using ricotta, lean ground beef and sausage, with enough mozzarella to choke a horse. No one has died yet...