Poll: Cooking skill

[SPCF]

If you give me a recipe and ingredients for a simple dish, I SHOULD be able to make it :/

 

[Liam1390]

I'm pretty damn good at cooking, but I'm much better at baking. I'm studying Culinary at college, I have a better time with the Pastry courses. Just don't ask me to decorate a cake, I suck at that.

 

[VanityGirl]

I thought about making an Escapist show called "Game Baked" which would be where I tell escapist how to make quick and easy meals.

 

[PhoenixBlade]

I'm basically a part time cook so am quite good but i do have a pen·chant for instant noodles oh their lovely.

 

[rosemystica]

I can cook a few things. I'm not brilliant in the kitchen, but my food won't kill you, either. XD

 

[vviki]

I love cooking. It's my hobby . I specialize in Italian Cuisine with a sub specialty of baked goods. My master peace is lasagna bolognese and tiramisu for desert. On the side I'm really good at making crepes (got a special pan). Most of all I enjoy everyone's faces of satisfaction when they eat some good cooking for a change in their lives of supermarket pizza.

Anyway, to whoever is interested in cooking I got some tips:
1. Devotion - it takes it's time
2. Enjoyment - you must like what you are doing
3. Company - cooking alone is not that good. Get someone to keep you company and to cut stuff instead of you so they can later say they were a part of it.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

I'm still trying to learn how to boil an egg in a microwave without it bursting. So far, no success.

But I am good with meats and such. And I love to barbecue.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

I've been told I'm a good cook before, but my friends LOVE my cakes. I always bake cakes for my friends birthdays, they feel left out if they don't get one.

 

[Dapsen]

Instant noodles all the way! But really, im 14.

Although I can bake stuff, and fry stuff. And I've succeeded at boiling stuff a few times as well

 

[Eggsnham]

I can make decent food. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it.

 

[AyrSuppli]

I can cook pretty well. My mom is the best cook EVAR (shut up, it's true), and she kind of inspired me to cook.

 

[The_Healer]

I can cook simple things.

I am the master of mash potato though, mainly because its one of my favourite foods.

 

[nick n stuff]

instant noodle ninja i am.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I'm still trying to learn how to boil an egg in a microwave without it bursting. So far, no success.

That's because you can't; if you put an egg in the microwave without removing the shell first, it's going to burst. What you want is an egg poacher, it produces microwaved eggs that taste about like the egg patties in a Mcdonald's Egg Mcmuffin.

OT:

I'm a pretty good cook. The most recent thing I cooked was pork chops that were first treated with a home made rub, and then basted with a mustard-based sauce shortly before pulling off the grill.

My spaghetti sauce is better than anything you will eat in a restaurant, because of what I do to it -- start with sauteed onions,garlic, peppers and mushrooms, brown the hamburger, deglaze the pan with some form of wine, then add the sauce, along with a few spices -- most importantly fresh basil and dried bay leaves -- and enough brown sugar to make it sweet but not too sweet. Every spaghetti sauce that I've tried that wasn't made by myself or one of the members of my family has been horribly acidic by comparison, and the trick is the sugar.

I also never use barbecue sauce out of a bottle, and can grill a mean steak -- although I use the barbecue sauce on pork, not steak; for the steak, it's either a rub or a marinade, depending on how much time I have.

 

[manaman]

I am a genius in the kitchen. Mostly meat, but I can cook some good veggie dishes as well.

 

[SmartIdiot]

I can cook anything. Two and a half years of 17 hour shifts and mind bludgeoning stress at one of the worlds best restaurants does pay off in the end...

I think I can fry a steak, although it might not exactly turn out perfect.

Here's a tip you might find handy. If you want to know how far a steak is cooked just use your hands. Press and hold your left thumb against your left index finger and use the index finger on your right hand to feel how firm the fleshy bit is on your left palm (you know the soft bit just below your thumb). That'll give you a guideline when you're testing the firmness of a steak to determine what stage it's at.

So by pressing your thumb against each finger that fleshy part on your palm gets tighter and firmer, like a steak (gasp).

Index finger - Rare
Middle finger - Medium rare
Ring finger - Medium
Pinky - Well done

Obviously not fool proof, but still handy if you're unsure.