This isn't really about cooking per se; that’s why I added it to this forum.
Why do love to cook? What was your first inspiration? When did you realize the pure joy of equal parts oil and flour on heat will always become a roux? When did you decide to learn the culinary arts, and why?
Rest assured, I won’t compile your responses into a book, or copy or post or publish them in any way (unless you give me permission, lol). I’m just inspired by other people’s stories!
My mom wasn’t a good cook. In fact, she wasn’t much of a cook at all, which is surprising, because she was raised in her Bubbe’s kitchen. She was great at what she called “doctoring” though. I guess in today’s parlance, we’d call it “hack.” She’d add spices and sugar to a store-bought can of pasta sauce (when did we stop calling it “spaghetti?”), or open a can of green beans, heat them and then dump some Bob’s Big Boy Roquefort dressing on them to entice us kids. And my lunch from the time I was 3 and until I went to school, I had cottage cheese and canned peaches. Every weekday.
I learned to cook because, when I was living in Japan, I couldn’t find any Bob’s Big Boy Roquefort dressing. Or even bleu cheese dressing. A trip to the only bookstore that sold English language books got me a copy of The Joy of Cooking. While I couldn’t find any bottled dressing, I did find all the ingredients for a bleu cheese dressing! So I was set. And then I tried some other recipes from Rombauer’s iconic cooking bible. They worked! Then I got some more cookbooks (and a lot more pots, pans, spoons, and knives), and I was soon having dinner parties for my friends.
I still do “doctoring” if I feel too lazy to really cook, but I’m much happier spending hours in the kitchen, chopping and measuring, braising and sautéing and frying, and (lately) baking. I love exploring new flavor profiles, flavors that we Americans consider “exotic” or “ethnic.” (Pretty much any cuisine is “ethnic,” if you think about it. In Japan, for instance, PB&J is considered to be both! And they think the combo is weird over there!)
Please, share your stories with me!
Why do love to cook? What was your first inspiration? When did you realize the pure joy of equal parts oil and flour on heat will always become a roux? When did you decide to learn the culinary arts, and why?
Rest assured, I won’t compile your responses into a book, or copy or post or publish them in any way (unless you give me permission, lol). I’m just inspired by other people’s stories!
My mom wasn’t a good cook. In fact, she wasn’t much of a cook at all, which is surprising, because she was raised in her Bubbe’s kitchen. She was great at what she called “doctoring” though. I guess in today’s parlance, we’d call it “hack.” She’d add spices and sugar to a store-bought can of pasta sauce (when did we stop calling it “spaghetti?”), or open a can of green beans, heat them and then dump some Bob’s Big Boy Roquefort dressing on them to entice us kids. And my lunch from the time I was 3 and until I went to school, I had cottage cheese and canned peaches. Every weekday.
I learned to cook because, when I was living in Japan, I couldn’t find any Bob’s Big Boy Roquefort dressing. Or even bleu cheese dressing. A trip to the only bookstore that sold English language books got me a copy of The Joy of Cooking. While I couldn’t find any bottled dressing, I did find all the ingredients for a bleu cheese dressing! So I was set. And then I tried some other recipes from Rombauer’s iconic cooking bible. They worked! Then I got some more cookbooks (and a lot more pots, pans, spoons, and knives), and I was soon having dinner parties for my friends.
I still do “doctoring” if I feel too lazy to really cook, but I’m much happier spending hours in the kitchen, chopping and measuring, braising and sautéing and frying, and (lately) baking. I love exploring new flavor profiles, flavors that we Americans consider “exotic” or “ethnic.” (Pretty much any cuisine is “ethnic,” if you think about it. In Japan, for instance, PB&J is considered to be both! And they think the combo is weird over there!)
Please, share your stories with me!