Rate Yourself as a Cook

[Canon Shooter]

I'm a solid 7.5 at the moment...

 

[JohnDB]

I feel like I have waited for this question my entire life. I am an 11. I was trained by one of the best chef's in the business.

Yeah, this one:

I have always loved that guy....he has been my hero.

I remember one year on the muppet show he was trying to make a thanksgiving dinner but every item he tried to cook started attacking him. Even the vegetables. And some days it definitely feels that way.

 

[JohnDB]

Yeah....missing the chocolate shavings and cherries because the grocery store was out.

But it's a nice Black Forest cake. Not too sweet and not overly boozed either.... nice balanced and makes you want a cup of coffee.

 

[JohnDB]

Cherries in the background were trash....leftovers I had bought earlier that week that made me think of making this cake.

 

[Missourian]

Cooking...I'd say a 3...Mrs Mo says a zero on inside cooking and a 6 on BBQ.... So that evens out.

Mrs Mo is a solid 7 on the OP scale.

 

[Missourian]

SOS Army style you need chipped beef...

Sh*t on a Shingle is a Classic Military Meal and We Tried It!

Have you ever tried SOS creamed chipped beef? This easy and filling recipe is a favorite food for many soldiers in the military.

www.wideopeneats.com

 

[Missourian]

When I was a kid, my folks boiled them for us as well. When I started cooking my own food, that ended. Skillet, oven, grill, stove top griddle, I never boiled again. Not even for my kids.

I like 'em boiled.

But the best I've had took a short dip in hot seasoned beer and onions... then grilled 'em.

 

[JohnDB]

The biggest thing I see with most people who have poor cooking skills is that they don't really give their palate a second thought. Meaning that they don't teach themselves what they actually like.

My business partner and I hosted some coffee tastings. And when we first educated people about the diffences between bitter verses sour and all the side variants coffee can have as flavors and aromas....it was a larger success than if we didn't teach them a dialog.

And culinary skills tend to follow the educated palate. Meaning they begin to try to attempt to blend flavors that they think about to achieve a final flavor in their dishes.
And it's actually that simple.
When people understood sour coffee vs bitter coffee and the balancing act blending accomplishes....it was a Revelation for them. And they had a blast.

It's OK to experiment and figure out what you prefer....

Food. Flavors. And Memories drive so much of what we eat versus what we don't.

 

[hjmick]

I like 'em boiled.

But the best I've had took a short dip in hot seasoned beer and onions... then grilled 'em.

I know people boil them, and I know some over the age of 13 still like them boiled, there's nothing wrong with that, I was being facetious and no offense was intended... now, if you put catsup/ketchup on your hot and you're over 12...

I usually do mine one of three ways... roasted in oven, fried in cast iron, or grilled on my stove top cast iron griddle. Sabretts and Nathan's (with casing, preferably) get buns, Hebrew National I'll roll in a tortilla if I don't have buns. I always have tortillas.

 

[Canon Shooter]

When not compared to professional chefs (what's the point in that?), I would give myself a really strong 9 out of 10...

 

[Dekster]

I consider myself a 9. Others in my house would give me the square root of that

 

[SweetSue92]

I have always loved that guy....he has been my hero.

I remember one year on the muppet show he was trying to make a thanksgiving dinner but every item he tried to cook started attacking him. Even the vegetables. And some days it definitely feels that way.

The Muppets are classic. I love chef.

 

[SweetSue92]

The biggest thing I see with most people who have poor cooking skills is that they don't really give their palate a second thought. Meaning that they don't teach themselves what they actually like.

My business partner and I hosted some coffee tastings. And when we first educated people about the diffences between bitter verses sour and all the side variants coffee can have as flavors and aromas....it was a larger success than if we didn't teach them a dialog.

And culinary skills tend to follow the educated palate. Meaning they begin to try to attempt to blend flavors that they think about to achieve a final flavor in their dishes.
And it's actually that simple.
When people understood sour coffee vs bitter coffee and the balancing act blending accomplishes....it was a Revelation for them. And they had a blast.

It's OK to experiment and figure out what you prefer....

Food. Flavors. And Memories drive so much of what we eat versus what we don't.

I'm late to this sorry. It makes total sense. I'm getting better, using fresher ingredients, etc. Going to the farmer's market to snag some fresh produce.

Having taught for so many years I think people have preferred senses....or maybe, senses that are stronger than others. Most of us are strongly visual. I think a lot of people really enjoy food too, tastes. I regret that I don't care more about what I eat because it would make me a better cook. I honestly cook for my husband, and I reap the rewards I guess.

I'm strongly auditory--if music were food I would probably weigh 500 lbs...heh. Can you find a way to make a plate of food sing? I would be in the kitchen all day then. Heh

 

[strollingbones]

6 to 7 ...would be higher but i dumped a lot of salmon in the floor the other night...hot pan..damn thin dish cloth

 

[Dekster]

I'm late to this sorry. It makes total sense. I'm getting better, using fresher ingredients, etc. Going to the farmer's market to snag some fresh produce.

Having taught for so many years I think people have preferred senses....or maybe, senses that are stronger than others. Most of us are strongly visual. I think a lot of people really enjoy food too, tastes. I regret that I don't care more about what I eat because it would make me a better cook. I honestly cook for my husband, and I reap the rewards I guess.

I'm strongly auditory--if music were food I would probably weigh 500 lbs...heh. Can you find a way to make a plate of food sing? I would be in the kitchen all day then. Heh

See this is my issue. I am a "supertaster" as they like to call us now. It is a genetic fluke. Coffee and wines (and most alcohol) are non-starters with me. I can only drink tea if it so hot is basically scalds your tongue. Those things are completely nauseating. On the plus side, I can usually guess your "secret" family ingredient in one bite LOL. I am pretty sure I got this from my dad's DNA as that man could salt down food like nobody I have ever encountered which is how some ST's mask the bad taste in their mouth from many foods. It goes hand in hand with smell though. I can literally taste the smells of a lot of things, including anything that contains even a little citrus.

 

[JohnDB]

I'm late to this sorry. It makes total sense. I'm getting better, using fresher ingredients, etc. Going to the farmer's market to snag some fresh produce.

Having taught for so many years I think people have preferred senses....or maybe, senses that are stronger than others. Most of us are strongly visual. I think a lot of people really enjoy food too, tastes. I regret that I don't care more about what I eat because it would make me a better cook. I honestly cook for my husband, and I reap the rewards I guess.

I'm strongly auditory--if music were food I would probably weigh 500 lbs...heh. Can you find a way to make a plate of food sing? I would be in the kitchen all day then. Heh

Well yeah....most people on a daily basis just eat whatever to keep going....it's totally unimportant to them. You make your husband happy and just eat whatever....enjoying it or not.

BUT....

Where this really comes into play is when you have desensitized yourself to various flavors. Japanese people are immune to salt. So much of their foods are so full of sodium/salt that what they consider sweet and tasty are nothing like what Americans sweet and tasty.

Also that chemical taste in food stemming from artificial flavors....until you get it out of your foods for a while.

 

[SweetSue92]

See this is my issue. I am a "supertaster" as they like to call us now. It is a genetic fluke. Coffee and wines (and most alcohol) are non-starters with me. I can only drink tea if it so hot is basically scalds your tongue. Those things are completely nauseating. On the plus side, I can usually guess your "secret" family ingredient in one bite LOL. I am pretty sure I got this from my dad's DNA as that man could salt down food like nobody I have ever encountered which is how some ST's mask the bad taste in their mouth from many foods. It goes hand in hand with smell though. I can literally taste the smells of a lot of things, including anything that contains even a little citrus.

I have never heard of this...it's fascinating. But I would probably hate it. I LOVE coffee and LOVE wine. But now I understand how sommeliers do what they do, right? I taste wine and I'm like, it's good, maybe a little fruity. heh. They taste wine and they're like "this flavor...now this one...wait here comes this one...now this one...." and I'm amazed. But now it makes sense.

 

[Flash]

As a BBQ pitmaster I rate myself as an 8 or maybe even a 9.

Chili - a solid 10.

Stuff turned out on the Blackstone griddle - 9.

Everything else maybe a 5 at best.

 

[JohnDB]

See this is my issue. I am a "supertaster" as they like to call us now. It is a genetic fluke. Coffee and wines (and most alcohol) are non-starters with me. I can only drink tea if it so hot is basically scalds your tongue. Those things are completely nauseating. On the plus side, I can usually guess your "secret" family ingredient in one bite LOL. I am pretty sure I got this from my dad's DNA as that man could salt down food like nobody I have ever encountered which is how some ST's mask the bad taste in their mouth from many foods. It goes hand in hand with smell though. I can literally taste the smells of a lot of things, including anything that contains even a little citrus.

So what things do you like?

And the spirit taste from alcohol is a numbing agent....it desensitizes your taste and smell. Just like super spicy will until all you taste is burning hot. Except alcohol is different....you will taste nothing.

Wine is different. It's made to go with food....not as a stand alone drink. A sip of the acids and tannins in wine make tasting easier. So that the food tastes like that first bite all over again.

 

[SweetSue92]

So what things do you like?

And the spirit taste from alcohol is a numbing agent....it desensitizes your taste and smell. Just like super spicy will until all you taste is burning hot. Except alcohol is different....you will taste nothing.

Wine is different. It's made to go with food....not as a stand alone drink. A sip of the acids and tannins in wine make tasting easier. So that the food tastes like that first bite all over again.

Wow I'm learning so much. I have heard that "wine goes with food" but didn't know why. But now it makes sense.

I am also thinking about all your food tasting like the first bite again. I'm thinking...."I guess the first bite is the best, right? So the idea is that your whole meal should be that experience?" and all the gourmet chefs around me cry. Because I have never understood this until now.

Kinda like when I take my husband to the symphony and we have just heard this mind-blowing premier (I love classical new release) and I can't barely breathe and he....has fallen asleep. I'm like this is a crime against humanity....heh

I need to take a "Food Enjoyment for Idiots" class.