What's your cooking style?

[WILCO]

I always cook by the seat of my pants. I rarely follow printed recipes or measurements. Over the years, I've established many meals with the ingredients and methods locked away in my head. I'm not bragging mind you, just thankful that those I've fed were happily stuffed and came back for more. Yesterday, when I ran out of things to grill, there was still plenty of charcoal glowing. In a heartbeat, I decided to take a can of chicken, some italian seasoned bread crumbs, one yolk with 3 egg whites and a dash of sweet pickle relish. Mixed it all up, crammed it into a metal egg ring to form patties and suddely I was back to grilling. They were a hit and went fast when placed on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomatoe and cheese. So I ask my brethren here at Cast Boolits, What's your cooking style?

[MT Gianni]

I use recipes as a guideline. My wife will not alter a recipe unless she has made it at least three times. Both styles work for us.

[Ramar]

What's a recipe?
Ramar

[Moonie]

I use them as a guideline, unless I'm baking bread, then I stick to bakers percentages very strictly.

[Rick N Bama]

My wife thinks that a recipe is the gospel truth as it applies to cooking while I think it's just a guideline.

I recently made up a Rub for a Boston Butt I was about to smoke using just whatever I could find in the spice drawer. I'll have to brag a bit & say that it turned out great......but I didn't write down a thing so there's no way to duplicate it.

Rick

[C.F.Plinker]

Read the directions the first time I make something. If it doesn't work out then I will tweak and change things until it gets to where I want it. For some things the recipe is just to add ingredients until it looks and feels right. Others are written down and followed closely.

[runfiverun]

i usually hear of something then make my version of it.
then write it down and change it till i like it.
even pancake mix is done differently.

[44fanatic]

Wing it and can never remember what it was...I can say that I have made a few tasty dishes, and that I have ordered lots of pizza after making dinner.

[Catshooter]

When it comes to cooking, I'm a fine electrician.

I can cook 'bout as well as I can sing and let me tell you, you don't want to be in the shower with me . . . hmm. That didn't come out the way I was thinkin' it might.


Cat

[Dale in Louisiana]

Cajun!

As in "That looks right. Taste it and see if it needs anything."

dale in Louisiana

[Blammer]

my cooking style is.

bee bee boo boo boop, bee dee, doo... Hello Pizza delivery?

[725]

The wife follows a recipe like a Dr. follows a procedure. I cook with whatever is around and follow the basics - kind of. I have made a few duds in my time but they are far and few between now. Most everybody likes what I do and seconds are the norm.

[blademasterii]

Start with good ingredients and try not to ruin them. :D I am a fan of flavor so I use bold flavors like garlic, onions and fresh ground black pepper. Anything but salt. I also like to use good oils like toasted sesami oil or my home made hot chilli oil.

[redneckdan]

When it comes to cooking I am definitely my Oma's grandson. The stove has two settings...off and WFO. Measuring instruments belong in the reloading room, not the kitchen. When I am done it looks a like a tornado went through the kitchen. Oddly enough i have had very few meals that turn out to be duds.

[xacex]

If I'm cooking a steak or frying eggs and bacon, no need to do anything but eyeball it. When I bake bread I get out the scale. Recipes are subject to what I have on hand, and what method I feel like using. The only thing that doesn't get messed with is the recipe I keep in my head for my baby-back ribs. I fire up the smoker once a month or so for ribs , and atomic buffalo turds also known as ABT's when the kids are around. Served up with some collard greens, and black-eyed peas. You never loose the taste for good southern food if your Grandma feed you well.
I do a big smoke out for thanksgiving that has all the trimmings, including my ribs. It has got crowded now with family that includes our family doctor and his immediate family, our insurance man, and all the family that drives up to 1000 miles for the meal. We might need to rent out a spot next year. Our little house was bursting at the seems with nearly 40 people for the day. Lots of pies!

[D Crockett]

my style is. what ever kind of meat I grab at the store or out of the field .seasonings my maine season is everglades seasoning , some basle , garlic powder , and some kind of plane herb that my sister gave me. it is easy to grow in fact I use some on 2 slabs of ribs I did today. this is the 2nd time I have done ribs the first time they were blacker than black powder. but this time they were jucy tender and falling off the bone. what do I cook on is a large propaine tank smoker that I builted. and I only use oak wood and sometimes some citris wood when I can get it. I have only had to pull a Blamer and call pizza hut for pizza once with a set of ribs left on to long and a turkey I forgot about when I was building a smoker other than that I do cook good on a smoker. on a stove I burn water. D Crockett

[SciFiJim]

For something that I have never tried before, I will look at the recipe and follow it as a general guideline. For bread in the machine I will follow the recipe closely. For bread not in the machine, sky's the limit on ingredients. Except for things that are grilled, the things I make generally wind up with a sauce of some kind.

My wife is gluten intolerant and allergic to any spice but salt, so I have learned to cook for her with just salt and a little butter. It is amazing what combinations you can come up with by varying cooking methods.

When I make fried chicken when the kids are home, I make it using four different flavorings/methods. That way everyone can have the kind they like.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

I just have my nephew run a steer thru the back yard and hit him in the *** with a double bit axe when he gets close to the grill. Beef, it's what's for dinner...

[geargnasher]

Mrs Gearnasher does most of the chow around here, I don't ask or watch, but I've only had one meal that I just couldn't eat, that was when she was a new bride and didn't know that round steak required a lot more than a pan sear to be chewable.

My "style" is not to mess with the ingredients too much. That means you can clearly identify everything on the plate.

No fancy meat prep, just the seasoning it needs and correct heat for the correct duration. No chicken-fried or ground meat, unless it's in a casing, in which case you don't really want to identify it further. Veggies are treated gently, steam, light sautee' or blanching, dash of sea salt, maybe some leeks or garlic. I do make an occasional venison chili or crockpot stew, but not much bread, pastry, potatoes, or rice around here unless it's the holidays, then it's pie time, Swedish Crepes in the mornings, corn casserole, etc.

Gear

[geargnasher]

I just have my nephew run a steer thru the back yard and hit him in the *** with a double bit axe when he gets close to the grill. Beef, it's what's for dinner...

When it comes to quality beef, just wipe it's butt and lead it to the table, the grill is unnecessary.

Gear

[paul h]

I've used recipes in past for cooking, but now that I have a pretty good feel for proportions of seasonings it's a dash of this and a dash of that to taste. The down side is if you have company over and they rave about a dish and ask for the recipe I have to try and guess at how much of this that and the other I used.

When it comes to baking, I follow recipes.

[onesonek]

It depends, I do a lot of scratch stuff regardless of cooking method. Been cooking/baking since I was 12, so I got a good idea of how and what works together. But I like to experiment quite a bit also, so records are a goods thing to keep.
But when it comes to the smokehouse, recipe's are critical. Even if you decide to change something,,, keeping records is important imo. One needs to know, what not to repeat, and what turns out good so it may be reapeated. I have my favorites, but experiment there as well.
Not much different than handloading,,,, consistancy can be very important with certain ingredient's and cooking methods.

[rockrat]

I usually follow a recepie, and if it is really good, keep it. That seldom happens , so I end up modifying the recepie. After all, its just a starting point.

[Catshooter]

On the other hand, my wife, when wanting to try something new will cook it in her head. Then, when it 'tastes' right, she'll cook it on the stove.

I can machine like that, but cook? No way.


Cat

[firefly1957]

I also tend to try different things you probably went further than I would with your grill mixture it shows that you are thinking out of the box. I like spicy food the wife not so much so I have to be careful of what I add when cooking for both of us. Then again I have developed my own BBQ sauce and chili with all fresh ingredients from the yard and garden (Venison for meat in chili).

[lbaize3]

Too much trouble to read a recipe. I smoke, grill, bake, or fry as long as it includes jalapenos, garlic and maybe a leek or two....

[**oneshot**]

I cook as follows::

70% of my cooking by taste and texture
15% of my cooking by memory
10% of my cooking by "oh ****, what can I throw together fast" Some of these get put back into the 15% club.
.01% of my cooking by "oh ****, whats the chinese places #" I really messed this one up
2% is letting someone else cook and do the dishes.
the last % falls into combinations of the above, recipies and the wifes cooking.

When I get old and all my brain cells are burnt up, I will be that skinny old man down the street who's always cranky. I never liked him, but now I know how he got to be that way.

[frankenfab]

Wild, and out of control![smilie=w:

I always follow a great proven recipe, but I only have a few of those. Always on the lookout for new winners.

Taste is very subjective. I strive for my diners' approval above all. Having people rave about food that you have put thought and love in to is one of the most rewarding things in life for me.

[SciFiJim]

Having people rave about food that you have put thought and love in to is one of the most rewarding things in life for me.

+1 on this. I grew up in the south where hosting a meal meant if anyone left your table and was not completely satisfied, the meal was a failure.

[MBTcustom]

In my house, cooking is an ongoing hobby for both the wife and myself. We like to find dishes that anybody would love, because I like stuff to be spicy spicy, and she likes stuff to be bland and a little zesty. We are going to try to publish a cookbook one of these days because the recipes that end up being favorites are able to be easily modified to taste, good to eat off of for a week, always better after being reheated, always include some form of meat (staples are: beef,chicken, deer, rabbit, pork, and on occasion, fish and seafood) and are generally hearty and filling. When I met my wife she was the worlds best mac-n-cheese chef. Now she looks at a new recipe and immediately begins changing it into what it always wanted to be in the first place. She is an amazing cook; almost as good as me!

[WILCO]

I also tend to try different things you probably went further than I would with your grill mixture it shows that you are thinking out of the box.

Thanks Firefly. I think in a past life, I was a chuck wagon cook! :p

Lots of great replies. I enjoyed reading them.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

What's a recipe?
Ramar

it's what you use when you don't know how to cook what your making.

sometimes you write them down for others so they can replicate what you just served them.

or if it got to be a long time since you last made it and you can't quite recall what you used , you can check your notes

well i guess you can figure out my cooking style from that

the other day my wife made dinner when i was working on getting the garage door installed , she couldn't remember the last time she had made dinner before that
, that's ok I can't remember the last time i paid a bill either

[375RUGER]

Me-I wing it, recipes are guidelines. I write notes on any piece of paper that is handy if I want to duplicate the results, all the notes go in a box so I can share later. Measurements are usually "that looks about right". I make a big mess-it helps the way things taste.

Wife-she measures precisely. Recipes are the gospel but occasionally she will make minor alterations. She doesn't understand how one man can mess up a kitchen so bad. just last night she was making cornbread for dinner with the neighbor, I helped by gently cracking the eggs into the mix and ended up with egg on the stove, myself and the floor. I was there only to be giving technical advise anyway since she doesn't know how to make cornbread yet, but she did alright.

[Char-Gar]

Both my wife and I enjoy cooking very much. I was raised by my Grandmother and spent many happy hours in the kitchen watching and helping her cook. She never used a recipe or any standard measuring tool. I learned so very much in her kitchen and fall back on what I learned there frequently.

My wife cooks the same way as my Grandmother. She also has a very acute sense of taste. She can eat something and tell you what is in it, then go home and duplicate it to perfection. I am astounded by what she can do this way.

I enjoy going to cooks.com and looking at the recipes there. If I find something I think would be good, I it down and have at it. Often I do my own adjustments to suit our tastes.

[10 ga]

Cooking... application of heat and salt to food. Sometimes turns out edible, sometimes not. I really don't have to cook a lot of stuff, some "raw" items are my favorites. Lets see: clams, oysters, fish, shellfish just shucked or even like sashimi or sushi. And a whole lot of stuff tartare, especially elk and whitetail tenderloin, and I mean warm from the kill. Once you get something like that and you like it, sometimes you really crave it. Sharpens the eye and calms the nerves for the kill. I love to hunt stuff! 10

[geargnasher]

My feelings on Sashimi mirror Terry Bradshaw's: Where I come from, we call that stuff BAIT.

One of the few essential things that separates modern humans from our distant ancestors is the fact that we cook our food. Except for steak, that shouldn't be overdone! :bigsmyl2:

Gear

[Char-Gar]

My feelings on Sashimi mirror Terry Bradshaw's: Where I come from, we call that stuff BAIT.

One of the few essential things that separates modern humans from our distant ancestors is the fact that we cook our food. Except for steak, that shouldn't be overdone! :bigsmyl2:

Gear

Some years ago I had a shirt with a nice logo entitled "Benny's Bait Shop and Shushi Bar - Today's Plate is Tomorrow's Bait".

[joec]

Well in my case I love to cook. I rarely measure but do use recipes due to the number of types of foods I cook. Most of my Italian food come from my family but I also do a lot of Asian, Caribbean, European, and good old US BBQ styles. If I find a recipe that looks good I will try it a couple of times then change it to suit my personal tastes. I add my changes as optional ingredients or alternative cooking methods.

To me the best quality ingredients is what makes food good and there I don't cut corners. I also prefer to make my own spice blends, rubs, sauces and gravies. Never could stand the quick method of cooking.

[BD]

My cooking style is all about finding out when my wife wants me to be at the table! She's the pro. My hands on involvement is limited to simple things, like breakfast, the grill and the roasting of whole animals. Generally, nothing in my role requires a recipe :)
BD

[WILCO]

Generally, nothing in my role requires a recipe :)

That's great BD! :mrgreen:

[snuffy]

I'm forced to cook, as I live alone. I shouldn't say "forced", I should say I choose to live alone.

I bought a smoker grill, with a side furnace that's used to smoke with, or the main grill for regular grilling.

Here's a pork butt roast I did right after I got the grill;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P6210037.JPG

This is a pear tree that a friend gave me, makes for good smoking wood;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P6210040.JPG

It looks burned, but that black crust is only skin deep;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P6210041.JPG

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P6210042.JPG

This pork was just great! I've done whole chickens, chicken quarters, fish, and venison roasts. Used as a regular grill, with the fire directly under the cast iron grates, it makes great steaks, hamburgers, brats--------you name it.

[WILCO]

Snuffy, I'm available for adoption...... :p