For whom the cook toils

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

buckytom

Chef Extraordinaire
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
Messages
21,935
Location
My mountain
my wife and i are very different cooks. while i'd say we both are foodies and have a fairly equal passion for food, what we cook tends to run in very different directions.

my wife is all about healthy cooking. healthy and plain.
plain, plain, healthy, and plain.

the only spices she uses are salt and pepper, and only a few dishes get some herbs if necessary like parsley or garlic.

she almost never cooks red meat, or adds fat or a fatty or cholesterol laden ingredient to anything. lots of chicken (plainly grilled, skin off, or roasted, with nothing but s&p) and fish. plainly broiled. on a very rare occasion breaded and fried in very little evoo.

it all tastes ok, but boy is it boring after so many years. i've tried to get her to cook things that i like, but i'm lucky if that happens once or twice a year.


now on the other hand, i cook to please both myself and my family. i've learned to make things healthier (or figure on eating all of it myself), but i find it very frustrating to love to cook all sorts of things and not be able to do so with any frequency.

my son mentioned to my wife recently that she needs to expand her culinary horizons like i do and make some new things, or at least make the things she cooks more interesting.

it got me to wondering how many other people here cook for themselves, or better said for their own tastes and reasons while turning a deaf ear to their family's requests, or do they cook what their family (spouse, so, kids, what have you) likes. do you mix it up, meaning one for you, one for them? is it all about one family member for health reasons? do you cook and whomever doesn't like it fends for themselves? do you just cook what they like and spite yourself?

i remember my mom making certain dishes 2 or 3 different ways in order to please all of my sisters, my brother, and my dad. but then she is a miracle worker with food.

so, for whom do you toil?
 
Last edited:
I guess I've been very lucky throughout my life, as both my husbands have loved my cooking, and both of my kids did too. I've always been the primary cook, and I must say that I cook what tastes good to me as I just can't imagine cooking any other way.
For example, I don't like the flavors of Indian cuisine and if Steve did, he'd have to learn to cook it himself. When Steve and I married there were some foods he thought he didn't like until I cooked them. As it turned out, they were foods his late wife didn't like, and he thought he didn't like them either. Funny the way that works, as he now is fond of all the foods he thought he didn't like. Either that, or he's even smarter than I thought. ;)
 
Tom, your timing for this topic couldn't be better.

SO and I also have different tastes. Not so much in the same manner as your DW and you. She just doesn't have as broad a range of eating experience so finds fewer foods desirable. When she cooks, he meals are simpler and plain.

For example, she doesn't like foods in gravies or sauces. So pan fried pork chops in onion gravy is out. She doesn't like cream sauces so no Alfredo, e.g. She also doesn't like lamb, salmon, or Luca Lazzari's lasagna bolognese.

I cook all the meals. Until three weeks ago she was working a regular job so that was convenient. I expect this to continue. I wouldn't cook meals she dislikes. That's rude. Some nights we eat different meals, but not often.

She is currently on a 3.5 week vacation with her daughter in Florida. I have taken this opportunity to embark on the "Andy eats whatever he wants" adventure. I'm enjoying lasagna, gravies, sauces, and a host of other things.

It works both ways. I never made (or ate) lasagna as I really don't care for ricotta. Then Luca posted his recipe (In italy they don't use ricotta in lasagna) and I was in heaven. I must have made it 4-5 times when she offhand mentioned she really didn't like it. I asked why she didn't say something sooner and she replied that she kept her mouth shut because I liked it so much...

What I really dislike is when she decides to diet with an Atkins-type low carb plan. You know how many recipes that eliminates.

All in all, it's part of peaceful co-existence.
 
I guess I've been very lucky throughout my life, as both my husbands have loved my cooking, and both of my kids did too. I've always been the primary cook, and I must say that I cook what tastes good to me as I just can't imagine cooking any other way.
For example, I don't like the flavors of Indian cuisine and if Steve did, he'd have to learn to cook it himself. When Steve and I married there were some foods he thought he didn't like until I cooked them. As it turned out, they were foods his late wife didn't like, and he thought he didn't like them either. Funny the way that works, as he now is fond of all the foods he thought he didn't like. Either that, or he's even smarter than I thought. ;)

Can't wait to hear souschef's side of the story. :rolleyes:
 
Before we got married, I had to pass certain tests: I had to love her Chile Verde, eat pork ribs with my fingers, and love her turkey dressing.
In fact the first time I sampled her dressing, it was after Thanksgiving, and we were meeting for lunch. She took it out of the trunk of her car, and I put it in mine. It looked like a dope deal lol
I passed all 3 tests, and we will be celebrating our 7th anniversary this year in November.
 
lol, andy.

sousie has a choice of in-flight meals and k-l's cooking. that's a no brainer.

unless that's why he flies...


j/k k-l. ;)

actually, andy, your recent bachelorhood was part of the genesis of my thoughts on this matter.
 
If DH doesn't like what I cook, then he can help himself to the Cheerios. Thankfully, even if he doesn't like something, I find him digging into it later. My SIL cooks really healthy, and refuses ANY help in the kitchen when we visit. The stuff she makes would gag a maggot. Baby Bro does a much better job, but he's not allowed to cook.
 
Last edited:
Before we got married, I had to pass certain tests: I had to love her Chile Verde, eat pork ribs with my fingers, and love her turkey dressing.
In fact the first time I sampled her dressing, it was after Thanksgiving, and we were meeting for lunch. She took it out of the trunk of her car, and I put it in mine. It looked like a dope deal lol
I passed all 3 tests, and we will be celebrating our 7th anniversary this year in November.

I love tests you don't have to study for!
 
I still cook for myself and my brother. (He won't go near prawns or strong goats cheese, but otherwise is very happy to sample whatever I produce!):)
 
I cook for myself and am more than happy to fix things Shrek would like. Sometimes I'm cooking two separate meals. Most things Shrek does like and we just have to adjust texture with a food processor.

I follow my health needs requirements closer then Shrek does, he eats lots of things I can't get away with without problems.
 
I tend to cook for myself with DH in mind. There are a few things he doesn't like like mushrooms and green peppers. I can sneak them into certain dishes but I know better than to try something like LP's mushroom gratin on him. He says he doesn't like green peppers but I can use them in chili and jambalaya just fine. When I come across new recipes, I think about what he would like. The things I know he won't eat, I cook when he's not home. It's not much. After our first Thanksgiving together when I made turkey ala king with cracked black pepper and he dumped his down the garbage disposal, he's much more forgiving and will eat just about everything.
 
I tend to cook for myself with DH in mind. There are a few things he doesn't like like mushrooms and green peppers. I can sneak them into certain dishes but I know better than to try something like LP's mushroom gratin on him. He says he doesn't like green peppers but I can use them in chili and jambalaya just fine. When I come across new recipes, I think about what he would like. The things I know he won't eat, I cook when he's not home. It's not much. After our first Thanksgiving together when I made turkey ala king with cracked black pepper and he dumped his down the garbage disposal, he's much more forgiving and will eat just about everything.

Way, way back when I was married, I was lucky because my poor hubby had had to fend for himself - his mum had died when he was 17. He was literally living on cheese on toast. As soon as we could afford a cooker, he was eating like a king! I experimented and he was very happy to try the results. Sadly, food was not going to keep us together. Which is interesting reading posts here tonight about differences in appetites.
 
My Mom used to use an expression to describe someone who would eat practically any food. :ermm: :ohmy:
t1831.gif
Nope, can't post it here...

Offhand, I can't think of one food that I've made in nearly 40 years that caused Himself to say "don't ever fix that again". There are foods, though, that he likes that I won't touch: kippers (I buy them, he opens the can in the sunroom or front porch, eats it there, then bags and throws the can right into the outside garbage can), Zatarain's Dirty Rice (he makes it for himself when I'm out of town for a few days, making sure the smell leaves before I return), and a few other things he gets when we eat out. All in all, he's been really easy to feed. As far as him doing any cooking? :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
My first hubby was a pro chef which made it difficult for a new bride.
So we had an agreement. Whoever was in the kitchen, made no comment and ate what was on the plate. It worked out fine.

Hubby #2 would eat anything I put on the table and always asked for seconds. A joy to cook for. :angel:
 
We both have things that one really likes and the other not so much or not at all. I can't think of anything Craig won't eat at least 1 meal of that I like and he doesn't (no leftovers though) and I'm the same way with his likes except for canned tuna. Cannot stand the stuff taste wise, smell wise, visual wise, it just grosses me out. I do, however, suck it up and let it in the house when he wants tuna salad. I eat egg or chicken salad those times though and just try not to breathe too deep when the tuna is out.
 
The DH doesn't really like eggplant. He'll eat it, but it is not his favourite. Luckily, he will eat almost anything except organ meats. As far as seasonings, anything goes. But, we don't live in the same house, so we don't eat together every day. When we do, we decide what we're going to eat (a lot of our conversations center around food). His cooking is plain--get it in the pan, on the plate, eat it. He tends to use a lot of hot peppers and garlic, but other than that, he doesn't do Indian/Chinese/other. That's up to me.
 
I cook whatever I want. GF will eat anything I make as long as there are no green peppers in it. Even then she has picked them out. I won't cook with them anymore. I just substitute red peppers. No probs. I try to cook and eat vegetables with every meal. Sometimes very little meat. Especially with Asian and Indian. I am still very interested in cooking things I have never had before. I search out authentic ingredients, cookware, utensils, and try to copy previous restaurant meals, or other dishes I come across on the web. Some are hits, some are misses. GF thinks she is spoiled. I hope she really feels that way and isn't just trying not to hurt my feelings. :LOL:

She is a meat and potatoes type cook. Her previous husband, along with her two boys(who are men now) were never adventurous, so she was limited in what she could prepare. She is enjoying my take on eating and cooking.
 
Back
Top Bottom