Real Cooks

Stan D

Member
I think it's time for a fun thread(not that any threads aren't fun). More like a just for fun thread.

When was it that you realized that you're a real cook? That "slap your forehead" moment. It can sneak up on some of us when we least expect it. It happened to me this morning, and I thought I'd share it, but in a slightly different way.In other words, I'm looking for that Jeff Foxworthy type of statement like "You might be a real cook if....".

I'm scanning the intarwebs for a bread recipe I haven't tried yet, and found one. It called for all purpose flour. I usually use bread flour in my breads, but I'll give it a try. In digging out that flour from the back of the shelf, I realize I actually have 4 different types of flour Bread flour, all purpose, whole wheat(for a recipe I haven't done yet), and that flour Da Wife uses for when she makes gravy. So mine would be.....

You might be a real cook if you have 4 kinds of flour.
 
This is tough. I've thought of 30 responses but they are dead on true so not very funny. Like this: You might be a cook if 1 out of every 5 meals you cook are a disappointment to you. Here's my best shot as of now.

You might be a cook if you only have four types of flour in your cupboard.

You might be a cook if your mama say’s you are a better cook than she is while still in her 40's.

Hilditch
 
I wasn't necessarily looking for humor. And as disappointment goes, I've had more than my fair share. I got hooked on homemade bread with a bread machine and store bought mixes, but soon tired of the shape of the loaf that one of those things makes. So I started doing the dough only mode, and finish in a glass bread pan. I finally wore out the machine, and had just gotten a stand mixer, so I decided to do it from scratch. After a dozen or so "disappointments", I finally found what the problem was. A simple 1/8 of a cup of water. The recipes I was using all either said 1 cup, or 1 1/2 cup of water. The final recipe that said 1 1/8 cup water was perfect, and have been using it ever since.
 
I wasn't necessarily looking for humor. And as disappointment goes, I've had more than my fair share. I got hooked on homemade bread with a bread machine and store bought mixes, but soon tired of the shape of the loaf that one of those things makes. So I started doing the dough only mode, and finish in a glass bread pan. I finally wore out the machine, and had just gotten a stand mixer, so I decided to do it from scratch. After a dozen or so "disappointments", I finally found what the problem was. A simple 1/8 of a cup of water. The recipes I was using all either said 1 cup, or 1 1/2 cup of water. The final recipe that said 1 1/8 cup water was perfect, and have been using it ever since.

I'm very early in the process of learning to make breads, but this reminds of something I read recently. It said that you may have to change the amount of water you use in bread dough depending on the time of year. If you live somewhere that has seasonal fluctuations in humidity, then you need to use a little more water in the dry months and a little less in the humid months.
 
I haven’t received my degree as a cook, but I’ve got A’s in a few courses. Like recreating my grandmothers bread with no recipe after 50 years. The look, the crust, the crumb and the flavor after only 10 tries. So then I went for the 50 yo Italian bakery bread. Only 4 ingredients and about 20 tries later I got it right in all four categories. One needs to know the right feel of the dough for cookies, quick breads, different yeast breads and different batters from experience.

For more short term successes, I turn to meats cooked in or on CI. Every time I cut into a $50 or $100 piece of meat, the juices run out and it is not overcooked; I pat myself on the back. I enjoy the visual moment while acknowledging my control of the CI and the cooking process verses what someone else might have done. Only about a 100 more courses to go and then I’ll be a real cook. Another try at the perfect turkey is coming up.

Hilditch
 
A person cannot call him or herself a cook. Only through your efforts will someone else see your talent.
 
I live in the Washington D.C. area, and get all 4 seasons. But I've not experienced any affect on the bread due to a difference in humidity. I've heard the same type of thing, but for altitude.

Hilditch, just before you posted that thread on your Delmonico, I found Cast Iron Chaos, and tried his method for steak on CI. I was impressed. Normally, I'm a grill guy, but my grill of late needs parts. I will be doing that again. But more important, have you ever posted those bread recipes here? I wouldn't mind trying them.
 
I live in the Washington D.C. area, and get all 4 seasons. But I've not experienced any affect on the bread due to a difference in humidity. I've heard the same type of thing, but for altitude.

Hilditch, just before you posted that thread on your Delmonico, I found Cast Iron Chaos, and tried his method for steak on CI. I was impressed. Normally, I'm a grill guy, but my grill of late needs parts. I will be doing that again. But more important, have you ever posted those bread recipes here? I wouldn't mind trying them.
If you are referring to his mention of reverse searing of steaks, I can concur! You can also finish a seared steak in the oven after searing with almost the same results, but by warming it up in the oven ahead of time, you are also drying the surface prior to searing, and that's a Very Good Thing.

I also pre-salt my steak, at least 45 minutes ahead of time. That gives time for the salt to pull moisture out, dissolved the salt, then pull it back in. I think that one may have been thanks to Alton Brown.
 
Word of warning though, he has a video on youtube about a danger of doing that type of cooking. I haven't seen it but have seen the link.
 
"Reverse searing" wasn't mentioned per se, but here's the link;

http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Searing_a_Medium_Rare_Steak

It did involve finishing in the oven.

That isn't what I meant by "reverse searing". That is simply preheating the skillet in a hot oven (unless I misread it... I admit to reading it quickly)

Reverse searing is putting the meat in the oven prior to searing. What this does is to bring the internal temperature of the steak nearly to the desired finish temperature. In addition, it dries the surface, allowing for a better crust to form in less time.

Here is one link to the method, although they take their steak to 123F, which I think is too close to the finished temp I prefer: http://www.ruled.me/reverse-seared-ribeye-steak/

---------- Post added at 08:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 AM ----------

You might be a real cook when you have tried so many methods of cooking a steak to achieve perfection that you actually have formed an opinion about what is the best way.
 
The best steak I have ever personally cooked was with the reverse sear method. It's a bit high maintenance, but is damn good.
 
I determined early on that reverse searing two lbs or less of meat would guaranty overcooking it so I rejected it as a TV gimmick.

However, it can work great with a 5 lb. prime rib roast to get consistent doneness out to the crust once you get pull temp right. This is learning how to cook.

Hilditch

You might be a cook if there are no boxes of precooked food in your freezer.
 
There use to be a restaurant in Pollock Pines in California when I was a kid. The place was called The Sportsman and the house specialty was their version of a steak. It was a massive 4 inch slab of beef that literally hung over the sides of a dinner plate. It was served in courses with the first being Minestrone Soup, then came the platter of spaghetti and meatballs, next was the salad with toppings galore. The finale was the steak with baked potato. Let me tell you that most people who ordered this had their steak served raw in a dogie bag because it was just too much to eat. By the time I turned 18 it was gone but 40 years later I still remember. The best part was that the cook was grilling the steaks in the middle of the place where you could watch him.
 
When I was in second grade I was given a cookbook for kids (50+ years ago). One day when I got home from school I picked up the telephone and asked for number 52 and the operator connected me to the place my mom worked and she answered the phone. I asked her,"If I wanted to make a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies would I take the amount of all the ingredients times three and then mix it together?" She said "yes." "OK, thanks mom." Then I proceeded with the work of making a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies.

After a while mom started wondering why her eldest son wanted to know about a triple batch of cookies? Then I am certain terror struck! Undoubtedly, she was visualizing, flour strewn all over the kitchen, broken eggs on the floor, broken dishes and then the horror of trying to get a match through the tiny little hole in the floor of the oven after turning on the gas and trying to get the oven lit with a match!

She raced home!

Upon her arrival, she immediately headed for the kitchen and found me getting the third cookie sheet out of the oven and the fourth one going in. I can still see the relief on her face! She calmly told me she didn't mind that I was wanting to bake some cookies, but, Please do it when she was home ... just in case.
 
I determined early on that reverse searing two lbs or less of meat would guaranty overcooking it so I rejected it as a TV gimmick.

However, it can work great with a 5 lb. prime rib roast to get consistent doneness out to the crust once you get pull temp right. This is learning how to cook.

Hilditch
Not at all a gimmick! I've fixed dozens of steaks using that method. Not only not a gimmick, but most of the steaks you get in a restaurant are, while not reverse-seared, still finished in the oven.

I believe this was venison, but still reverse seared:

Image

And a steak (ignore the green cast... fiberglas roof over my deck):
Image

Another steak:
Image

More venison backstrap:
Image
 
Back
Top