do you need that recipe book to tell how much oregano to put in, or DO YOU JUST KNOW? can you make pound cake from scratch OR DO YOU NEED A RECIPE?
discuss.

All of the above

Yes I can cook and bake - by the book or not

i've heard a theory that people who are confident in the kitchen but still need to rely on recipes and accurate measurements tend to be better bakers than cooks. if you're good at improvising when you're making food, chances are you're better at cooking and you have more failures when you try to bake.

i don't know if that's true.

i made some gobi last night, though.

Nope.

When you can read and understand this book:



http://www.amazon.com/Foo...767&sr=8-1


You will be on the way to being a good cook.

I can get all Yoda and shit on cooking. It is more important to know why you cook something than how you cook it.

For things that I make regularly, yes.




I very rarely bake, so I most definitely need a recipe when I do.

Anxiety said:

Cooks and bakers really are two different breeds. I have found that to be very consistent.

I'm not allowed in the kitchen. For safety purposes.

Mars23 said:

my best friend went to culinary school and is a fantastic cook, but she hates baking. meanwhile, i'm a dumbass who still buys mac'n'cheese from the box, but i have a good time making cakes and cookies and baked goods, and they usually turn out pretty good. i think there's truth to the theory!

of course, my bf is good at both. maybe he's ambi-kitchen-dexterous or something.

There some thing I can threw togther I don't need a cook book.I love cooking an baking.

I like to think I can cook, I was a baker for the first 15 years of my working life so bread and cakes are no problem for me. The majority of my friends are either chefs or foodies too so I pinch quite a few of their ideas although I do have the odd accident every now and then when I think I'll try a few different flavours together but they end up tasting like shit!

Anxiety said:

Rachel Ray is that you?

Fury said:

It all depends. Old favorites, no cookbook. Newer ones, I always check, until I find the flavor I like.

morningsong said:

not quite.

When baking I always follow the recipe. Baking is a science.
When cooking, I tend to doctor things up my own way if I'm trying a new recipe or not. I'll add things I think sound good, or play with the amounts of seasonings to suit my own tastes.

I only use recipes when baking, my Mom never used recipes for anything and was an excellent cook. My dear 80 year old Mexican Aunt, who happens to live with us, use to own her own restaurant "back in the old days". She has taught me the art of cooking, recipes are also unheard of in her book. It is more a pinch of this and a pinch of that.

PaisleyPark5083 said:

Same with my mom unfortunately I never learned how to cook from her but I can follow a recipe pretty well

Anxiety said:

Interesting. I tend to simply look at recipies for an idea of how to cook something. I don't nessarily pay attn to measurements unless it's flour. I'm terrible at baking though.

Mars23 said:

I've always heard that, but it isn't true for me. I love food and I love cooking it, baked goods included. (Full disclosure: baking usually results in more cursing)

I'm always willing to go by a recipe that sounds good, but I'm equally comfortable opening the pantry and making something great out of whatever's around. Baking, grilling, frying, whatever. I love it all, and nothing beats watching my family go to town on it.

This week I've baked banana muffins and strawberry shortcakes from scratch, grilled chicken and steak out on the back porch, made oven-roasted herbed potatoes, sauteed all manner of vegetables, and deep-fried homemade onion rings and spicy-battered tofu. To name a few things.

We need a back-patting emoticon.

FunkMistress said:

I do!!!

I can cook or bake, but only if I follow a receipe. Have any of you ever cooked with wine? OMG, it adds such a delicious flavor, plus it makes the meat very tender! My mom has a receipe for chicken in chablis (using chablis wine), another receipe for beef burgundy (using burgundy wine) that are both soooo good. I really should get the receipes from her and try making them myself, they are excellent!!!

psychodelicide said:

Beer too, and sometimes Jack Daniels for beef and pork.

FunkMistress said:

Yes, beer battered fish is delicious! Don't thnk I've ever had anything cooked with Jack Daniels, I need to try it sometime.

psychodelicide said:

If you're sauteeing/simmering meat, splash it in after you've browned it. Then scrape up all the bits from the bottom, stir it around, cover and simmer for a while.

I don't even eat meat, but I'm told it's delicious when I serve it.

FunkMistress said:

Ooh, thanks, I've gotta try that.

Every Cook/Baker NEEDS this book just to have on hand...



I can't tell you how many time I have refered to this book...anything from simple gravy to full on meals. It pretty much gives you the basics on EVERYTHING.

I don't spend too much time in the kitchen My stuff never turns out bad BUT I always feel like there's lots of room for improvement. I used to bake (w/ directions), & usually if I'm making a savory dish I'm trying to recreate something I've had in a restaurant I bought a book on spices hoping to get better knowledge of how flavors work together & good combinations...

& Anx, boxed mac & cheese ain't so bad - at least this one's whole grain:




I like to reconstitute the dried mushrooms separately (instead of throwing them into the cooking pasta, as they suggest), saute some shitakes & make a mushroom "crust" on top (the dried mushrooms they include are too small & get lost in the water while cooking the pasta)...


.
[Edited 4/7/08 11:33am]

Anxiety said:

Cooking and baking are two entirely different things. Baking is chemistry - most everything you put into a recipe has chemical properties that play a supporting role in the final product (flour or eggs provide structure, eggs or other leavening provide lift, sugar helps in browning, fat adds texture and richness, etc). It's the same with making ice cream.

Most cooking (unless you're doing some far-out molecular chef-istry) is a lot more forgiving. If you have a little more or less oregano, it won't affect the final dish in any way other than taste.

As long as you appreciate the different needs of cooking versus baking, there's no reason you can't be good at both. I am.