what is your skill level

[Anonymous]

So, what is everyones cooking skill level (this just for funny!)
1-10
1: I burn water when I boil it
5: can follow a recipe and its okay most of the times, but it can go wrong
10: Eat out at a nice restaurant, like a dish, cook it a home
also
what level do you want to be?
What is the last cooking book/article you read and what did you learn
gas or electric?
Something this week you think other should try.

me 7ish
want to be 9
Cooking for Geeks. I know it is bad, but I always cracked eggs on an edge, much easier on a flat surface.
gas
baguettes, took a few times, but finally got it, bakery quality but fresher!

[Anonymous]

Well, heck. It's the internet and it's annonymous. I'll say 9. The caveat here is that there's an entire food group I don't eat (vegetarian), and that it's only a 9 if I have more than 30 mintes to cook anything, which is almost never these days. That said, I can crank out something good with kitchen staples in about 30 minutes.

Would love to be a ten, natch.

There's a Chef in my Soup, Emeril Lagase (kid's book). I learned that a smoothie made with a whole orange is not as gross as I thought it would be.


Electric. It came with the house. I miss gas.

I cribbed an idea from a friend of mine and made Old Bay kettle corn. Wow!

...on a side note, a vegetarian funny: For about ten years I was under the impression that my grocery store didn't carry Old Bay. They do. It's in the meat aisle. I'd just never walked over there in the decade I'd been shopping there.

[Anonymous]

I can eat *some* restaurant dishes & replicate them at home, but not always. I have a good repertoire of techniques and am more likely to learn a new technique than I am to follow a recipe these days. So ... 9.5??

Last cookbook/article? I wanted to braise some lamb in wine & wasn't sure if I needed to add another liquid, so I googled a bunch of recipes and cross-referenced techniques. (And got it wrong; I did it overnight in wine in the slow-cooker, and it reduced just a bit more than I wanted. Not sure if it was the alcohol burning off or not, but I might add more liquid next time.)

gas gas gas gas gas all the way

Recommendation to try: choux pastry (eclair pastry). It is WAY easier than you think, and you get very fancy results! It does take a bunch of elbow grease, though.

[Anonymous]

I used to be a 9. Like a lot of other things, my ability to cook took a few dings after having kids. Not sure why. It is slowly coming back.

I love nothing more than reading a recipe and then not following it. I have come up with some delicious dishes that way.

The internet is my favorite cookbook. It is so amazing. I'm embarrassed to admit the newest recipe I learned because it will take me down a few notches....

[Anonymous]

10
Gas
America's Test Kitchen cookbook

[Anonymous]

1-10
1: I burn water when I boil it
5: can follow a recipe and its okay most of the times, but it can go wrong
10: Eat out at a nice restaurant, like a dish, cook it a home
also
what level do you want to be?
What is the last cooking book/article you read and what did you learn
gas or electric?
Something this week you think other should try.

I guess I am also a 9 pre-kids and now a 5
Would like to be a 9 again within the next year
Pioneer Woman website - she has beautiful photos and it looks tasty, but I could live without the 400 comments of "I will make this tonight" and would rather see "I made last weekend and my family loved it" or "use more seasoning than listed" etc.
I learend that I can make Ranch dressing myself
Electric
Make your own Ranch dressing - really good!

[Anonymous]

I am a 7 but my standards are really high. My food always tastes good but my presentation is often only ok.

I like the level I am at. I would just be pickier if I were better.
I am reading Bittman.

Recently learned a great omelet technique.

Induction. Love it.

I am experimenting with beverage. Buy teaism teas and herbal teas and mix and match for delicious unsweetened Ice Tea.

[Anonymous]

Roughly 1.5. I'd like to be better, but then again, I don't really enjoy cooking even when I make one of the few things that I'm good at.

[Anonymous]

I'm like the PP, a 7 on taste and execution but not great at presentation.

I would like to learn roasted meats (was a vegetarian for 15 years), bread (I'm totally daunted for not real reason), and cream-based pies and sauces (lactose-intolerant so never really learned).

Latest cookbook was to dig out a favorite asparagus recipe in Pasta y Verdura, an old one by Jack Bishop that has really excellent vegetable pasta sauces. Snap it up if you see it at a book sale! I am also consulting The HerbFarm cookbook a lot, more for the planting/growing guidelines (I learned that lemon verbena must be grown as an annual in our climate).

Electric, but would like to put gas in when we replace the ancient stove. Of course, in our ancient home there are many things of higher priority (unless it breaks!).

Sorrel and chive soup! Surprisingly delicious and filling (mushroom and rice base).

[Anonymous]

So, what is everyones cooking skill level (this just for funny!)
1-10
1: I burn water when I boil it
5: can follow a recipe and its okay most of the times, but it can go wrong
10: Eat out at a nice restaurant, like a dish, cook it a home
Like the other PP's, I'll go with 7. My execution is on point, but I don't really care about presentation. That and I somehow manage to screw up Thomas Keller's roast chicken every time I've attempted it.

also
what level do you want to be?
IDK, I've always maintained perfection is overrated. It'd be nice to be a 10, but the best I'd ever hit is probably 8.5-9ish.

What is the last cooking book/article you read and what did you learn
I'm another Internet Recipe junkee. Allrecipes.com is my go to site. I'll search for a recipe, find one that sounds interesting, then check out the comments to see if any adjustments are needed. Before that? Someone gave me Susan Spicer's cookbook.

gas or electric?
Gas with a Convection Oven

Something this week you think other should try.
It's rhubarb season. Strawberry and rhubarb is a classic pairing.

[Anonymous]

20:04, I love Thomas Keller, The Bouchon Cookbook. I make that chicken all the time. Actually, I usually make a smaller bird, it works better.

I really like some of the recipes in The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook. Scalloped potoatoes are a family favorite. Made them for Easter.

[Anonymous]

Well, let me start by saying, that I am only 26.. I have been married for five years, and up until a year and a half ago, I was a 1 at best...That said, I have started learning a lot, and I am now probably a 5.5/6, and getting better every day.... For the first three/four years of our marriage we just went out every day because I had NO idea how to cook... Than I became a SAHM and decided I really needed to learn...

[Anonymous]

I would say a 7. The summer between undergrad and grad school my parents got me private cooking lessons. Best thing they could have done. DH says the most exciting part of his day is finding out what is for dinner that night. That's what keeps me trying new things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20:04, I love Thomas Keller, The Bouchon Cookbook. I make that chicken all the time. Actually, I usually make a smaller bird, it works better.

I really like some of the recipes in The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook. Scalloped potoatoes are a family favorite. Made them for Easter.

Every time I've attempted it, it comes out underdone. I know I need a new thermometer, but then I also need to keep my DH away from it. He always puts them in the dishwasher. Then again, maybe i'm inserting it in the wrong spot..... Maybe in a couple months I'll work up the courage to give it another go.

[Anonymous]

currently a 7
what level do you want to be? i want to be at a level where i can cook most of the time without a recipe at hand.
What is the last cooking book/article you read and what did you learn. I've saved all the Cook Magazines that i used to subscribe to. I love reading them when i have the time.
gas or electric? gas
Something this week you think other should try. tuna casserole. very comforting, easy, some of my kids like it and great for leftovers/frozen.