I made beef casserole, better than my parents!

[vernon]

I am on a roll!

Fig?

 

[Sara_H]

Well done Mathew.

One of my step sons started a catering course at college in September. However, it's becoming increasingly clear that he has neither natural flair for cooking or the ability to follow a recipe. We are remaining tight lipped at present for fear of discouraging him, but one wonders where it will all end!

 

[vernon]

but one wonders where it will all end!

At the epicentre of a food poisoning epidemic?

 

[TVC]

Come on Matthew, photos or it didn't happen

 

[Matthew_T]

Come on Matthew, photos or it didn't happen

I can take a photo of my stool (not chair) if you want.

 

[TVC]

I can take a photo of my stool (not chair) if you want.

Wierdo

 

[Fab Foodie]

Well done Mathew.

One of my step sons started a catering course at college in September. However, it's becoming increasingly clear that he has neither natural flair for cooking or the ability to follow a recipe. We are remaining tight lipped at present for fear of discouraging him, but one wonders where it will all end!

Let's hope it all falls into place for him.

Being a 'good cook' I think relies on 3 things, In the beginning the ability to follow a recipe is hugely valuable, it allows your to explore all kinds of different tastes and styles very quickly. The second is to really understand the principle behind the processes that are being used as you follow that recipe and the impact on the outcome, the final bit is to appreciate the differences between different ingredients and how best to employ them. Doing the last 2 well is what m,akes a really good cook.
Mrs FF is good in that she's an excellent follower of recipes and everything turns-out just so, but for all her enjoyment of cooking and zillions of portions of tasty foodiness she served-up, she'd fairly stumped without all the ingredients, instructions and scales - something I find quite bizarre.

 

[Matthew_T]

Being a 'good cook' I think relies on 3 things, In the beginning the ability to follow a recipe is hugely valuable, it allows your to explore all kinds of different tastes and styles very quickly. The second is to really understand the principle behind the processes that are being used as you follow that recipe and the impact on the outcome, the final bit is to appreciate the differences between different ingredients and how best to employ them. Doing the last 2 well is what m,akes a really good cook.
Mrs FF is good in that she's an excellent follower of recipes and everything turns-out just so, but for all her enjoyment of cooking and zillions of portions of tasty foodiness she served-up, she'd fairly stumped without all the ingredients, instructions and scales - something I find quite bizarre.

I like order in my life so I am very good at making preparations and following instructions to the letter. I am not very good with exploring oppurtunities to make something else though as I wouldnt have the faintest idea where to start.
I am going to be experimenting with different kinds of fudge and different ingredients that way though.

 

[Boon 51]

The other thing wrong with my mum's cooking was if by accident she did cook a good meal and I said it was nice I would get it for the next 4 weeks...

 

[Fab Foodie]

I like order in my life so I am very good at making preparations and following instructions to the letter. I am not very good with exploring oppurtunities to make something else though as I wouldnt have the faintest idea where to start.
I am going to be experimenting with different kinds of fudge and different ingredients that way though.

Two cook books you might like to consider then are:
Leon book 1 and 2. Book one has lots of good stuff on ingredients and how to use them and then a good pile of diverse recipes, book two is mostly recipes.
Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food is also a good starter. Again, as with the Leon books, good variety and lots of examples of how you can build up stuff from basics principles to create a wide assortment of dishes just by changing/adding a few key ingredients.
Recipes and ingredients given are clear and concise.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Wierdo

Maybe he's related to 'Dr' Gillian McKeith, she's scatological too!

 

[Over The Hill]

As title says, it was a great success. We usually have a variety of casseroles and hotpots, but this was the first time I made one.
I cooked the meat perfectly, made a better sauce than my parents do, and it tasted devine!

Once again, the first time I try cooking and it is a success. First an Almond bakewell, then chocolate fudge, now a casserole. I am on a roll!

I say well done!
We are living in a world with time pressures on us an it is tempting to buy something in a packet so be proud of it and keep doing what you are doing.
(and invite us all round next time).

I make my mums chicken stew but I thicken the sauce up a little (proper job with a roux) and it is better not so watery. I also brown the chicken off first too which she did not do.
I am probably also the only person to make coq au vin still as I think it otherwise died out in 1985.

 

[TVC]

I do Coq regularly, it's one of our favourites. Any gravy left over makes a great red wine sauce for lamb if you rehest it wth some rosemary.

 

[Arch]

I do Coq regularly, it's one of our favourites. Any gravy left over makes a great red wine sauce for lamb if you rehest it wth some rosemary.

Is rehesting something to do with Heston Blumenthingy?

 

[vernon]

I am going to be experimenting with different kinds of fudge and different ingredients that way though.

Don't include horse in the ingredients.