Can you teach a man how to cook?

[koshergrl]

Spaghetti is easy...you need a lot of water. If you don't have a big enough pot, you can't make decent spaghetti. So if you're having difficulties with it, get a bigger pot, so you can have a LOT of water. Lots of salt in the water. And a dollop of oil just because.

 

[Wake]

Spaghetti is easy...you need a lot of water. If you don't have a big enough pot, you can't make decent spaghetti. So if you're having difficulties with it, get a bigger pot, so you can have a LOT of water. Lots of salt in the water. And a dollop of oil just because.

That's the agenda. Some of the fondest food memories is taking a huge bowl of cold spaghetti noodles and mixing in raspberyy vinaigrette or italian dressing, and just eating it.

 

[koshergrl]

Butter & parmesan

 

[koshergrl]

Just a little cream.

 

[boedicca]

She also has an olympic sized pool and a fenced courtyard and deck...with a real fire pit (it's like a huge fireplace with a chimney) and a gourmet barbecue...it has burners and grill and flipping accoutrements for rotisserie and a GRIDDLE, it's massive, built into the stone of the fire...thing....and with it's own gas line.

That's down in the courtyard..the courtyard is brick and concrete with flower beds here and there. Then right next to the back door onto the deck, over the pool, there's another barbecue with it's own built in gas line.

I catered a party for her where we had both grills going...burgers, steaks, chicken and shrimp kabobs, plus I don't remember what all I had going on in the house, but it was quite a party.

Darnit I'm homesick for her pool!

That sounds fabulous!


One of my sisters has a similar living situation. We have great parties there!

 

[koshergrl]

I used to quiz her quite pointedly about the pool situation prior to pool season. We didn't want to have any inconvenient delays!

Wake..here's an easy pasta dish...you can use spaghetti...

Cook a mess of sketti

Open a can of minced clams
dump into a pan (with juice!)
add a stick of butter
Italian seasoning, a little garlic
Melt the butter, let it bubble a little with the clams

Put the sketti in a big pasta bowl
Dump the clam sauce on it

Top with a handful of parmesan, chopped fresh tomatoes and green onions.

Or not.

I've also diced tomatoes, and then thrown them in with the spaghetti in the strainer...that way they're hot and a part of the pasta.

You can also doctor that sauce with cream if you like...and if you do that, you can put in some parmesan and whisk it...it's quite decadent.

 

[koshergrl]

That clam recipe is sort of a lifesaver if your pantry is kinda bare and you don't want to go to the store and you want something hot, and rich, and yummy.

I buy clams when they go on sale, then stash them in my cupboard and forget them...until the cupboard is bare and I'm looking and they've been exposed, it's always nice cuz the only other thing you really have to have is the spaghetti noodles...and maybe a little butter (but you could probably leave it out or do with much less).

 

[Unkotare]

Experimenting with pasta—spaghetti. It's a fussy ingredient that demands a keen eye on temperature, and the amount of salt required. Make it pretty well, and mixed in 1 cup of parmesan cheese, cumbled Canadian bacon, finely chopped lacinato kale, raisins and cranberries, two rags eggs, and more then enough pepper, dark cocoa powder, and cayenne pepper. Topped with crushed Doritos. Baked on 450* for 50 minutes. Reprehensible. Creative. Glorious.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=lITBGjNEp08&feature=fvwp]how about no! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Wake]

Well apparently all of your advice has been paying off, thanks to you guys. I've been working as a Caregiver/CNA for a week, and have been cooking meals for my clients routinely. One of them is particularly fond of steamed zucchini or sugar snap pea pods with butter, a baked lamb patty out of the toaster oven, and al dente spaghetti with pasta sauce. Oh snap.

I'm proof that anyone can cook.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

To answer the question that is the name of this chat, if a person wants to learn how to cook, then yes.

God bless you always!!!

Holly