When did you know you were a cook? (lots of photos included)

cmcadams

cmcadams

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There's a difference between cooking, and being a cook. Lots of people are capable of cooking, but a cook is more than that, to me. A cook is someone that can tackle a variety of things with a pretty good chance of making something good out of it, with or without recipes. I think maybe I'm saying it's about a level of confidence with cooking.

What made me think about this is the years of turkeys in my past, with a lot of trial and error, and lots of mistakes. The first time I tried smoking one was in a Chargriller, and I used soaked cheesecloth over the bird to help keep it moist. The wind picked up, and the cheesecloth caught on fire. Fun! The bird was ok, but got overcooked and dry (thank God for the gift of gravy!).

Now, I've got a bird on my BGE, and it's just churning along, and I know it will be ready around noon, to sit in a cooler for a bit before everything else is done. I know that at 9:30ish, I need to make some bread dough for rolls and loaves. I know that the mashed potatoes will get put on about noon, etc.

So, to get to a point... What made you realize you were a cook, and weren't just trying to cook?

My real epiphany in this was prime rib... When I knew I could spend over $100 on a piece of meat and have no fear of it not being a great meal.

Just for fun, I've added a variety of photos of things over the last year, foodwise:

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Somehow I knew I should not have looked at this without eating first, now I'm drooling!
 
Awsome Pic's,Thanks

And you are definatly on to the KEY of Cooking. It is a confidence level or comfort level. Learning and pairing are the essencials. But the confidence is the Key.

Happy Thanksgiving.
 
Great Pics, its been a good year!

I grew up in a family of "Cooks". My grandmother and mother ran catering businesses for over 40 years. Guess it was inevitable that I would find the joy in cooking!
 
Nice pics Bro! I have to agree on the prime rib test, I buy them all the time now and have no fear!
 
Great pics Curt. To answer your question, it was probably my soph year in college when I cooked a spaghetti dinner for the 54 people on our floor in the dorm using a two burner hot plate! Each floor was given monies to do something for the holidays. Most bought a couple of kegs. We decided on a dinner and they picked me to cook it since I was Italian.:biggrin: BTW, turned out great and after we ate we went to the other floors to drink their beer.:biggrin::biggrin:
 
I have always enjoyed being in or around the kitchen since I was youngster. I also found that if I hung out and helped enough that I was able to have goodies before anybody else got anything.
 
Thanks for the pictures Curt.....always a pleasure.....yeah, when I realized it was more than just "cooking" was when I started looking at seasonings and thinking how I could incorporate them into whatever I wanted to make....not having a fear on not following the directions that someone else set out for me.....i.e. cookbook.....are there some failures, sure thing, but, half of being a cook is knowing how to fix that which is beyond repair....
 
nice collection of shots, curt!

i'm just a guy that likes to cook and sometimes it comes out pretty good
 
Wow, you're not only a cook, but a food stylist too!

I've been cooking since I was tall enough to reach the stove, in self-defense, my mom was not the greatest cook in the world (Refrigerator Stew was especially nasty!) I started trusting that I didn't have to have a recipe in my 20's, when I started making my own lasagna sauce. I do a lot of cooking "by nose," when ingredients smell good together, they almost always taste good.

Still use recipes as guidelines, but I rarely follow them to the letter, which is why most baking is DH's domain.
 
I knew I was a cook when I did stuff like like this. My friends can't do it.

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I knew I wanted to barbecue when I seen how easy it was. I even made my own smoker!
 
cmcadams said:
I've seen enough of your stuff to see false modesty there. :)
Click to expand...

Thats for sure!


I had my revelation when I was 17 and living on my own. I was sick of fast food, so I started experimenting and discovered I could cook better than my mom (not a terribly hard task). I soon got better than my dad too and I actually thought about becoming a chef my sr year of hs. Luckily I figured out that there were easier ways to make a living, and this has stayed my hobby.
 
Great looking food ! Very inspiring pron.

I have been cooking for more than 50 years and thought I was a pretty good cook until I found the Brethren a couple of years ago. Now I feel like I am finally beginning to learn to be one thanks to the generous help and advice of all the great cooks on here.
 
Char tells me to keep trying and some day I will get there. Until then I will just keep on trying :)
 
I tried frying a bologna sandwich. Set the kitchen on fire . I was six. I have been cooking since then. My family said they better show me how, else we will all be living somewhere else. I would come home from high school and have dinner ready for the family. Chili, noodles and meat, Fried ribs on the grill ( really didn't know about smoking for a long time and that was by accident). Had some ribs on the grill and wanted to go play and set them on the side hoping the wouldn't burn. Came back and WTF!. Best ribs I had ever had. Started playing then, I called it 'Fire on the Side' Ribs and Chicken. Then the internet came about. Then I found you folks. Wow! Bought therometers, built a UDS, cooked a standing rib roast. I know. I'll get pictures. Thanks for sharing people.
 
I think I really knew I was a good cook when I started teaching my dad stuff. He reads cookooks like other people read novels. And he loves to entertain. So when he started leaving me in the kitchen to cook while he talked to the guests, I knew I had arrived. He trusted me.
 
I reckon I will chime in like BigMista. My dad was a chef for 55 years and owned several restaurants. When he trusted me to cook while he socialized was my defining moment of confidence. That was back in the late 80's but I am still learning every time I fire up any of the cooking stuff.
 
I knew that I was a cook when I began basing my home purchased based on the size and layout of the patio! Seriously, my dad was a great cook. he could alway make something with nothing. He loved to bake more than cook, but the ability to open a cupboard and throw something together that tastes great it truly a talent. I hope to one day get to that point... Many a day watchin, learnin and taste testin.
Happy Turkey Day!
 
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