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Just curious
http://cookaholics.org/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=4143		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  wino [ Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:18 am ]
Post subject:  Just curious
Was there a specific dish you remember being very influential in getting you into more involved cooking than just the basics? ;)

Last night my neighbor gave me some Greek-style stuffed green peppers she had made and it brought back memories of the first time I had and subsequently tried making this ‘exotic’ dish – way back in first year university. For me this was the trigger that got me excited about cooking enough to buy my first cookbook, one I still have, Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (there’s a scintillating title...).

Was there a pivotal moment in your cooking history? :shock:
Author:  Linda [ Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
I began my cooking when I first was out on my own and made a meatloaf - I remember I had to call my friend's mother to ask her how to make the mashed potatoes.
When I lived at home I had absolutely no interest in cooking and never learned how to make anything. I think that when I made my first meal I was just so impressed with what I created that I got excited about cooking.
Making my own bread was also a big stimulus and it still is what gives me the greatest pleasure in the kitchen. I always think of the bread my mother made and how wonderful it smelled when I came inside on a snowy day.
Author:  fitzie [ Fri Jul 31, 2015 4:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
My mother was not a very good cook. She didn't enjoy it at all but had to cook 3 meals a day for Dad. 7 kids and herself. It was a real chore for her. She told me once she'd rather be ironing. However, she was a wonderful baker. Famous for her lemon meringue pies and her bread. She baked all of our bread until my brothers were teenagers and they just ate too much. Soooooo, my eating experience was pretty limited.

I dated a boy who worked for Tom Houlihan (the real Tom Houlihan) and we were invited to his house for a
Christmas dinner. Tom had married Tom Pendergast's daughter and they inherited a houseful of beautiful furniture. I'd never seen anything like it. The whole table top was a mirror! After 50 odd years I still remember exactly what that gorgeous table looked like. Anyway, dinner was boeuf bourguignon and I was so impressed I vowed to learn to make it on the way home.

When Julia Child's book came out, Mother gave it to me for Christmas and it was one of the first things I made in the book. Can't say it was as good as I had at that Christmas dinner but I worked on it and worked on it and eventually it turned out pretty damn good. I was very proud of myself.

So, between Tom Houlihan, Julia Child and Mother, i became a passable cook. Thanks to these three.

fitzie
Author:  TheFuzzy [ Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
Omelettes.

When I was in my single digits, my mom, like a lot of other former hippie 70's moms, got into gourmet cooking. Satay, salmon en croute, chicken kiev. I loved it.

However, she lost interest in cooking in the early 80's, only I hadn't lost interest in eating. So I taught myself how to cook starting with my favorite meal: brunch. So I started with an omelette. This let me experiment with spices (cinnamon and basil are not a good combination) and fillings and learn egg cooking, self-taught. I don't know that I actually ever made anything from a cookbook until college.

Brunch is still my favorite meal.
Author:  auntcy1 [ Sun Aug 02, 2015 7:34 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
It was bread for me. Whole Wheat sponge specifically, from the Betty Crocker red-and-white gingham CB.
Author:  Jaxallie [ Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
I was working full time on third shift and spent the day hours at school. By the weekend the only energy I had left was to watch some television while studying. Americas Test Kitchen was on in the afternoon and I decided to try some of the wonderful looking stuff they were making. It was Chicken Cacciatore. I had never used fresh garlic or any fresh herbs. I loved it and away I went.

Karen
Author:  Lindsay [ Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
When I was a teenager, my father (my parent who loved to cook) and I decided to cook the complete Christmas dinner from that year's Gourmet - roast goose with cumberland sauce, caviar mousse, and brussels sprouts with chestnuts are the three dishes I remember. I've cooked goose for Christmas for the last 30 plus years as a tribute to that dinner. But this meal definitely started me off.
Author:  Linda [ Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
Wow, by most standards that was a pretty impressive meal!
Author:  alstro [ Mon Aug 03, 2015 8:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
No particular food for me, just a grandmother who was a very good cook. Supposedly her mother had cooked for wealthy Germans in the old country and passed on great recipes and a love for good food. Deb
Author:  Linda [ Mon Aug 03, 2015 2:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Just curious
One of my first inspirations for learning to cook well was PBS' Frugal Gourmet (despite what I know of him now). He really made it look simple enough for a novice.
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