Strengths and Weaknesses

[larry_stewart]

Strengths : Vegetarian cuisines, Italian and Mexican

Weaknesses : Indian, Asian

Although my Indian and Asian food is not bad, it tastes more like I am " trying" to make Indian and Asian, but there is something missing. Just doesnt taste like the stuff I go out for.

Dislikes : Anything that consists of frying or baking. Not that im too bad at it, I just dont like the mess of frying things , and the mess from flour all over the place.

 

[yourstrulyewalani]

Although my Indian and Asian food is not bad, it tastes more like I am " trying" to make Indian and Asian, but there is something missing. Just doesnt taste like the stuff I go out for.

In what I have seen even in home cooked authentic asian cuisine MSG and certain fish sauces and what not are used constantly. Maybe it's just me but I have a hard time cooking good asian food too and I grew up on it. Tastes good if I don't make it!

 

[larry_stewart]

I have a pantry and refrigerator full of just about any sauce or condiment you can get at the asian market ( including msg), and they seem to still be hiding the stuff I need to make it taste just right. I thought maybe its because im a vegetarian, so obviously I avoid the fish sauces, chicken/ pork based stocks. But, Ive eaten in vegan chinese restaurants which still seem to capture the flavor that i just cant duplicate. Ive also heard that the heat they obtain on their woks is nothing I can compare to in my kitchen, and that may have something to do with it too. I need to get myself a job in a chinese restaurant

 

[yourstrulyewalani]

MMM do that then send me some of your cooking please! I have given up cooking asian it's just not for me. All the fish sauces and what-nots I cannot get. Even pancit I cannot cook and that's supposed to be easy. What hawaiian can't cook fried rice??? Well, besides this one. If I could make pancit I would be set. The last time I tried the noodles turned out soggy but dry and stuck together in spots and TOO MUCH FISH SAUCE. Icky pooh.

 

[kadesma]

What a really interesting thread, Selkie.....thanks for starting it.
I've been cooking since I was a kid, and never really thought about it before. I'm pretty good at what I like to eat......the best motivation I think.

I'm good at adapting recipes and once in a while, I think outside the box with my own idea.



No offense, Mollyanne, but it is I who makes the best spaghetti sauce ever, although I know nutten about meatballs. The meat is in my sauce, but you'd have to come over for me to teach you. I'd love that.

I don't have any interest in baking.......well, that's wrong. I don't need to eat sweets or breads or refined carbs. SOOO

Have I told you all lately how much I love this place and being a part of it??

Kayelle,
you and I should have a gravy throwdown I learned from my mom and m-i-l and my kids swear I could sell the stuff.We use it on homemade ravioli and pasta. I love cooking anything Italian, French, bread, foccacia, salads
Chinese, Asian, i'd rather have made for me I just get antsy trying to get it all together, I'm lousy at cakes and pies, but love to make cookies, cream puffs, I know nothing about Indian foods although they seem to be taste sensations. Grilling I love but I'm not to good at it. just depends what it is.Summer and fresh veggies is a favorite time. Making pasta is a yes. That's about it for me. Lots still to learn lots to pass on.
kades

 

[Kayelle]

Hey (((Kades))))) I'm ready for the throwdown!! Tomorrow at my house?
My secret is a buttload of dried prochini mushrooms I picked up last year in Italy, and a good bottle of red wine for both the sauce and us. Well, maybe two bottles.

 

[mollyanne]

No offense, Mollyanne, but it is I who makes the best spaghetti sauce ever, although I know nutten about meatballs. The meat is in my sauce, but you'd have to come over for me to teach you. I'd love that.

haha...bring it on kayelle...although you might have me beat with the awesome mushrooms you have and I can't say as I ever put wine in my sauce like you do. But I will say that I put Black Angus ground beef in my meatballs AND in my sauce! I use mushrooms too and I put a little sugar in the meatsauce to cut the acid of the tomatoes...and fresh parsley and fresh garlic and basil and oregano and olive oil...and parmesan in the last 20 minutes as well as sprinkling on the top. Do you do that? Huh? Do You? Do you?

 

[kadesma]

Hey (((Kades))))) I'm ready for the throwdown!! Tomorrow at my house?
My secret is a buttload of dried prochini mushrooms I picked up last year in Italy, and a good bottle of red wine for both the sauce and us. Well, maybe two bottles.

You're on, I have the wild mushrooms and the broth from them ready to go..Same for the 2lb of chuck steak. Lets cook
kades

 

[Alix]

LPBeier, no issue with pastry here, I'm killer at it. My Home Ec teacher in grade 8 was astonished at how perfect my raspberry turnovers were when everyone else had hard nasty pastry. I firmly believe its all because I'm terminally lazy and don't work the dough too much! Now the choux...well...if you can teach me the Hallelujah chorus will go up all over the continent!

As for the pot roast...get a fatty piece of meat, or only do it for a few hours as opposed to all day. Mostly, again, ignoring it is the key.

 

[Cookbook Shop]

Strengths: Pies
Weakness: Fried eggs (don't laugh!)

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Strengths: adventurous, willing to try just about anything; great cooking basics knowledge base allows me to improvise and create on the fly, with a very good chance of success, dabble in all techniques that I have equipment for; engineering skills help me understand what goes on with the food, physics knowledge helps me understand what goes on with the food; experience in many kinds of cuisine; I have the ability to deconstruct foods into their basic flavor components while eating them; I have the ability to combine flavors and textures in my head before actually making a dish, which gives me a high probability for success in the kitchen.

Weaknesses; Sometimes too experimental; poor visualization skills; very limited exposure to African and Middle Eastern cuisines; budget constraints; equipment constraints; picky people that I have to cook for every day limit my ability to create new dishes except within certain boundaries; Lack of time to really put together a great meal, without having to sacrifice and inordinate amount of time that could be spent working on something that needs to be worked on. Limited local food resources. Finally, at 54 years of age, I don't have the same boundless energy that I had between birth and age 43 or so, when I started slowing down a bit. Not that I've stopped moving, or have thrown in the towel. I may not run a mile or two anymore, I can still walk five, just not as fast.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Strength: adventurous

Weaknesses: DH isn't adventurous, not enough time to cook like I want to

Seriously, I'm really good at whatever I tackle and have had very few failures over the years.

 

[ChefJune]

Strengths:

Pastry
Baking (with the exception of cream puffs choux escapes me)
Down home cooking
MEAT

Alix, come on down and I will demystify chou paste for you. It's easy-peasy.

 

[mollyanne]

I watched "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" today and the $25,000 question had to do with "the french word choux". I confess that I don't know what it is but have read it tossed around in this thread while you all talked about pastries so I chose "Pastry" as the answer. The TV contestant chose "Buttery Cream". I was right. I'd better stick around here more...it could make me rich!

 

[ChefJune]

Actually, the French word "choux" means cabbage!

Pate a choux is the pastry. That's a different thing altogether.

 

[mollyanne]

Yes, question was about "pate a choux"...answer was pastry = $25,000!
...thank you for the clarification, June...interesting

 

[vyapti]

Strengths: Vegan & Vegetarian, Italian, Indian
Weaknesses: Meat (obviously), Baking

 

[Alix]

Sorry about that. My bad. I abbreviate when I shouldn't!

June if I get out your direction, I am SO there!

 

[FrankZ]

My strength tends to be timing. Being able to get things done and have things pull together when they need to. I have been known to do a mental walk through of a meal when it is multicourse or has some complicated stuff. I do sometimes write out a chart so I know where I need to be when.

Weakness is I am not good at "visualizing" spices and herbs and how they interact. If I start winging too much I have been known to go overboard. (Like the chili I made a couple months ago, needed to double up the meat to make it palatable).

 

[kadesma]

Yes, question was about "pate a choux"...answer was pastry = $25,000!
...thank you for the clarification, June...interesting

Just think cream PUFF you got it. So much fun to make and eat..My gang loves them. I fill them with whipped cream.
kades