ODU Dad
Knows what a fatty is.
I have recently joined the Brethren after reading your posts for about a month. I am an enthusiastic cook who enjoys both grilling/smoking outdoors as well as tackling my own version of haute (read hoity-toity) cuisine for my friends and family. I read many different weblogs about food and cooking and have decided to add my $0.02 into the fray. I am opinionated to a fault and love to argue my points, but am open to new ideas. I am more interested in the final outcome, and what has to be done to get there, than any traditional dances that may have evolved in the kitchen or backyard. What drew me to this site was the number of posts that are being added daily, which shows that you are a passionate bunch.
I hope that my involvement will be both enlightening and challenging to the readers/posters on this site. I will forewarn you; while I may not post many numbers of times, I will be thorough (read detailed) in them. So be prepared to read. I am not sure about the picture posting (I take photography somewhat seriously and it may be more than I want to tackle), but I will see if I can keep tract of the content of the dialog and the picture references. I admire people who can do both well. That is definitely the best way to get your message across.
I like to read recipes, but I hate to make them. I use them to “taste” in my head in order to decide what interests me (like bread baking or cookie types) and then meld a variety of them to come up with my own version. They mostly represent well with a few brain farts and an occasional stroke of genius. I can usually remember what worked and what did not, so that I can adjust for the next time. This brings me to my first discussion point.
My wife is many wonderful things, but she is not much of a cook. She wants to do well, but she is tied to the “letter of the law” of a cookbook recipe. She frets about the ingredients and what she does not have. Then if she reads it incorrectly (or something is missing in the list), she does not know why it did not turn out good. I remember one recipe for biscuits that she prepared that had 1 cup of oil but no milk. Needless to say, they were “interesting” in texture. My point is not to have a laugh at my wife’s expense, but one of my pet peeves in many people and cooking: too much sanctimony is placed on the recipe and ingredients and not enough is placed on trying to understand what is trying to be accomplished in the dish and what each ingredient brings - or doesn’t bring - to the dance. If you don’t have something, try something else and see if it made any difference. Also, as you are well aware in the barbeque business, trying to figure out a specific time/temperature to doneness is a guess at best. Make an assumption, test it, and make adjustments the next time relative to the last attempt. I find that is the best way to get to the product that you envisioned. And remember, if you bomb the recipe really badly, that is why you have a dog.
I hope that my involvement will be both enlightening and challenging to the readers/posters on this site. I will forewarn you; while I may not post many numbers of times, I will be thorough (read detailed) in them. So be prepared to read. I am not sure about the picture posting (I take photography somewhat seriously and it may be more than I want to tackle), but I will see if I can keep tract of the content of the dialog and the picture references. I admire people who can do both well. That is definitely the best way to get your message across.
I like to read recipes, but I hate to make them. I use them to “taste” in my head in order to decide what interests me (like bread baking or cookie types) and then meld a variety of them to come up with my own version. They mostly represent well with a few brain farts and an occasional stroke of genius. I can usually remember what worked and what did not, so that I can adjust for the next time. This brings me to my first discussion point.
My wife is many wonderful things, but she is not much of a cook. She wants to do well, but she is tied to the “letter of the law” of a cookbook recipe. She frets about the ingredients and what she does not have. Then if she reads it incorrectly (or something is missing in the list), she does not know why it did not turn out good. I remember one recipe for biscuits that she prepared that had 1 cup of oil but no milk. Needless to say, they were “interesting” in texture. My point is not to have a laugh at my wife’s expense, but one of my pet peeves in many people and cooking: too much sanctimony is placed on the recipe and ingredients and not enough is placed on trying to understand what is trying to be accomplished in the dish and what each ingredient brings - or doesn’t bring - to the dance. If you don’t have something, try something else and see if it made any difference. Also, as you are well aware in the barbeque business, trying to figure out a specific time/temperature to doneness is a guess at best. Make an assumption, test it, and make adjustments the next time relative to the last attempt. I find that is the best way to get to the product that you envisioned. And remember, if you bomb the recipe really badly, that is why you have a dog.
