Cooks/Bakers?

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Stephanie Brim

Mental Experimental.
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I know there are at least a few here and I'd like to get a tally of how many. I'm a home cook for now hoping to eventually be a professional at some point. I'm trying a new shortbread cookie recipe right now. It's on the back of the Guittard chocolate chips bag. Seemed simple and I love shortbread, so I figured I'd give it a go. We have to go to a family thing (Adam's, not mine) tomorrow and I wanted to bring something. 😉
 
rbiemer, Rob, is a pro.

I love to cook, spend a lot of winter Sundays in the kitchen. I cook the food I like, traditional family Italian dishes. Love olive oil, garlic, fresh basil...... If I am not cooking on a Sunday and just hanging out, inevitably I end up watching he food channel, or a cooking show on PBS and just can't help the urge to make what I just saw.
 
I've been keeping track of Top Chef since it first aired on the Bravo channel. I think it's a great show. A little high on the drama, but still great. The food they produce makes me think in different ways.
 
Hell's Kitchen is a hoot. I like to cook. My favourite spices are garlic and cayenne pepper. Eating lis like ***, it's better if you sweat.
 
I'm learning to like a little more spice in my food. Lately I've been eating a lot of Spanish style rice and beans. Mmm...love that stuff with tomatoes and chilis and black beans.

Oh, and yeah...I'm about the only person in my family who keeps two heads of fresh garlic on hand at all times. I do use it quite a bit.
 
Shortbread chocolate chip cookies? Hmm, sounds pretty good, Stephanie. I don't bake much for work and extremely rarely at home. I don't cook at home much at all, in fact. I live alone and it is a lot harder to shop for one than for 20. The cooking part is fine but I end up with oddly colored penicillin farms in my fridge from the left overs or unused ingredients. So I don't keep much at home beyond some snacks and fruit. I am having a PBJ as I hang out here tonight.
Most of the "reality" cooking/cheffing shows are hard for me to watch; I know tempers can run hot in a kitchen but I also know that most of the time with a well working team the vibe is more like a dance than a pi$$ing contest.
I do like watching Gordon Ramsey's shows on BBC America, though. Actually have got some good ideas from the "Kitchen Nightmare" series.
I don't know how much red meat you eat Stephanie, but one of my favorite things to have with a nice steak is baked garlic: Leave the head whole, Peel off the dry skin, cut off just the hairy end(so the head can sit flat), cut off the pointy end, drizzle with some good olive oil, add a little salt and crushed red pepper if you like, and bake on a sheet pan for 15 or 20 minutes at about 325 F. They will be almost a caramel color. I put one or two heads on top of a nicely grilled steak. Looks and tastes very good. You can do 'em on the grill as well; wrap a bunch of 'em in foil and watch to see that they don't burn--most grills are hotter than 325 so they will take less time. Depending on the size of the heads.
Rob
 
This week I'm going to cook every night, hopefully with a different protein at each meal. I know Monday is going to be chicken as I have a desire for chicken with gravy over rice, which is something I had often as a kit because we didn't have all that much money. Probably have it with some broccoli or carrots. Tuesday I'm thinking pork, with maybe a spicy seasoning with grilled vegetables and potatoes. Wednesday I'm thinking beef. Sliced patio steak with Mexican seasoning cooked to medium in a skillet served with roasted peppers and caramelized onions in a tortilla. Thursday I'm thinking beans (which means I'll have to make something separate for Adam because he won't EAT beans). A spicy rice dish with tomatoes and chilis and lots of good sharp cheese. Friday...shrimp. Alfredo style over penne pasta, served with a salad.

Good enough for me and healthy enough that the doctor won't kill me. Well, except for the alfredo. I've never been one to cut the fat in my white sauces. 😉
 
I'd like me some of that British cooking. 😉

My great great grandparents both came from Norway so we have Norwegian food once in a while. I'm also a big fan of German food and beer. In fact, I'm just fond of beer food in general. I also like the more gourmet stuff, however.
 
I've found many photogs like to cook. When I lived in Taos there was a cookbook being talked about with recipies from photographers (there were a pile of us there) but I don't think it ever came toghether.

I like to make pies, scones, Indian food, any pretty much anything with chorizo!
 
FrankS said:
Hell's Kitchen is a hoot. I like to cook. My favourite spices are garlic and cayenne pepper. Eating lis like ***, it's better if you sweat.
Click to expand...

Never heard this one...I will cite it quite a lot I am afraid...and with a lot of other stuff in place of "Eating".

By the way, I also like cooking quite a lot.

GLF
 
FrankS said:
Hell's Kitchen is a hoot. I like to cook. My favourite spices are garlic and cayenne pepper. Eating lis like ***, it's better if you sweat.
Click to expand...

Well said Frank. How do you know when you've added enough cayenne? When you feel your scalp sweating. 😀
 
"Hell's Kitchen" is a neighborhood in Manhattan known for its Irish gangs...

Arab food is good (Arab meaning, roughly, eastern Med to Iraq, but especially Lebanese and Syrian.)

I would go with French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Mexican and Arab as the great cuisines, pretty much in your order of preference. The US has some good regional food -- the South in general, New Orleans, etc. I think the world's best restaurant cities would be New York and Los Angeles, and possibly San Francisco, because they don't really concentrate on one distinctive cuisine (as do the best restaurants in Paris, Rome, Hong Kong or Tokyo) but serve a wide variety of cuisines at a very high level. IMHO.

(I'm an eater, not a cook.)

JC
 
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