Inside the Paprika discussion, KimO and Carolyn talked about the differences between cooking indoors vs cooking outdoors. And while this is a BBQ forum, nobody does 100% of their cooking outdoors, no matter how much we might want to! For me, even most of my outdoor meals have an indoor component anyhow, meaning that I’m constantly moving in between the grill/smoker and the stove, or oven, or microwave… or sink, or sous vide, or refrigerator, or whatever.
I started screwing up food back in the ‘70s. Over the years, what happened is, my mom wrote down some things I asked her to, and I got okay at duplicating those.
Next, I got good at making one or two other things. Then for many years there were half a dozen or so things that I made that I liked, and kept making. That doesn’t mean that they were objectively good; that just means I liked them. Things like Ragu spaghetti sauce with added vegetables. Chili. Spanish rice. I could try recipes from the newspaper, or from cookbooks, and sort of make them happen, but half a dozen dishes can get you through a lot of years of living.
Got married, started a family. Mrs Mosca did not, and does not, cook. But she likes the stuff that I make, so that made things pretty easy because she likes doing laundry and I hate it; an equitable division of household labor is one of the keys to a successful marriage! Bought a house. Got a grill. And eventually, with more people to feed, and different taste buds, I started trying, and screwing up, new things.
Ah, the internet. All the answers are here, you know. And they really are. Except, ALL the answers are here, both the right ones and the wrong ones! And there is no index, no table of contents to help you sort through the 1.2 billion answers to the search, “best chicken cacciatore”. So, you kinda gotta learn some stuff. And you kinda gotta start thinking, and asking yourself questions like, “What is this going to taste like? How easy (or hard) is it going to be? Do I have the right equipment? Do I have to buy something I’m only going to use once?” And, “Do I have enough time, or should I just open a jar of Ragu and add some mushrooms and peppers and onions and a rotisserie chicken to it?” (That works, too.)
There are simply no answers, because we are all different. Even identical twins will answer differently. But there are things you can do that will make cooking easier, and will make learning easier, and will help alleviate any apprehension you might have about learning new skills, new recipes, and new ways of doing things.
Here are a couple-t’ree-four or more things that might make things easier for people who like good food, but are having trouble making it happen. These help. I myself learned all of them over 40 years of screwing things up, of eating mistakes, and dumping really bad mistakes down the drain and ordering pizza. (My last drain pour was a week or so ago.) Some of these are technical in nature, some are organizational, and some are conceptual. But they will all translate to any kitchen. Anyone can use them.
1) Know your limits. If something looks like it will be a pain in the ass, will take too long, has too many ingredients, if you’re not sure it will taste good, if you’re not ready to learn something new… screw it. Without shame, with complete confidence, scroll on to something else. Eventually you’ll get there. Over time, as you get more sure of yourself, your attitude will change. But for now, know what you can do, what you can’t do, and when it’s time to stretch out, because sooner or later you’ll think, “Yeah, I can do that.” I’ll tell you what: I’m never going to bake bread. I’m never going to make my own pizza dough. I’m sure I can do it, but it’s going to be too much of a pain in the ass for me. It’s easier for me to buy bread and pizza. So, with complete confidence in myself, I think, “Next!”
2) Mise en place. That means, before you start have everything measured and ready. You know when a recipe says “30 minutes” and it took you an hour? That’s because they started the timer after everything was laid out. While you’re rummaging through the spice rack for the cinnamon, they’re julienning the carrots. This is a big deal. Food can overcook while you’re measuring salt. Get a bunch of little plastic bowls etc for stuff, and have it all at hand before you turn on the burner.
3) Knives, and knife skills. I am 69. I started cooking for myself when I was about 20. I didn’t take this seriously until about 10 years ago. I would have been a much better home cook much longer ago if I had. You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on knives! But you need sharp knives, and you need to take a couple hours to learn how to use them, which is easy. It will cost you a bag of carrots and a couple onions, and you can make a salad with those. There are enough recommendations for knives (Victorinox, Mercer, Dalstrong are all good inexpensive knives, among others) and there are millions of videos. I took an afternoon julienning carrots while watching football in front of the TV. And a good knife sharpener can be had for around $20.
4) A leave-in food probe for roasts, and an instant read thermometer for grilling. These are just as important indoors as they are outdoors! I didn’t get good at rib roasts until I reliably knew when the meat was done. AND NOBODY WILL. (You can use your leave in probe to check your oven’s accuracy once a year or so, I usually check mine around the holidays.) Cooking is both art and science. This is the science part.
There is a lifetime more to add, and I’m just some schmoe who cooks. I am absolutely not a chef. I’d rate my food as “good enough”, with occasional “holy sh… er, holy heck, that was freakin’ AMAZING!” Among those who post here, I’m probably right smack in the middle; I am not particularly adventurous (see tip #1), but I know what I can do, I know what things are going to taste like, and if I want to stretch my boundaries I am confident in my skills and my equipment that I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time or my money, or my reputation, by doing it.
Folks: add stuff. Every single one of us started with a skillet, a package of ground beef, and a deep breath, thinking, “Welp, here goes nothin’!” And even here, for every one of us who has figured stuff out, everywhere on the spectrum there is someone else working toward that. We can help be their shortcut.
I started screwing up food back in the ‘70s. Over the years, what happened is, my mom wrote down some things I asked her to, and I got okay at duplicating those.
Next, I got good at making one or two other things. Then for many years there were half a dozen or so things that I made that I liked, and kept making. That doesn’t mean that they were objectively good; that just means I liked them. Things like Ragu spaghetti sauce with added vegetables. Chili. Spanish rice. I could try recipes from the newspaper, or from cookbooks, and sort of make them happen, but half a dozen dishes can get you through a lot of years of living.
Got married, started a family. Mrs Mosca did not, and does not, cook. But she likes the stuff that I make, so that made things pretty easy because she likes doing laundry and I hate it; an equitable division of household labor is one of the keys to a successful marriage! Bought a house. Got a grill. And eventually, with more people to feed, and different taste buds, I started trying, and screwing up, new things.
Ah, the internet. All the answers are here, you know. And they really are. Except, ALL the answers are here, both the right ones and the wrong ones! And there is no index, no table of contents to help you sort through the 1.2 billion answers to the search, “best chicken cacciatore”. So, you kinda gotta learn some stuff. And you kinda gotta start thinking, and asking yourself questions like, “What is this going to taste like? How easy (or hard) is it going to be? Do I have the right equipment? Do I have to buy something I’m only going to use once?” And, “Do I have enough time, or should I just open a jar of Ragu and add some mushrooms and peppers and onions and a rotisserie chicken to it?” (That works, too.)
There are simply no answers, because we are all different. Even identical twins will answer differently. But there are things you can do that will make cooking easier, and will make learning easier, and will help alleviate any apprehension you might have about learning new skills, new recipes, and new ways of doing things.
Here are a couple-t’ree-four or more things that might make things easier for people who like good food, but are having trouble making it happen. These help. I myself learned all of them over 40 years of screwing things up, of eating mistakes, and dumping really bad mistakes down the drain and ordering pizza. (My last drain pour was a week or so ago.) Some of these are technical in nature, some are organizational, and some are conceptual. But they will all translate to any kitchen. Anyone can use them.
1) Know your limits. If something looks like it will be a pain in the ass, will take too long, has too many ingredients, if you’re not sure it will taste good, if you’re not ready to learn something new… screw it. Without shame, with complete confidence, scroll on to something else. Eventually you’ll get there. Over time, as you get more sure of yourself, your attitude will change. But for now, know what you can do, what you can’t do, and when it’s time to stretch out, because sooner or later you’ll think, “Yeah, I can do that.” I’ll tell you what: I’m never going to bake bread. I’m never going to make my own pizza dough. I’m sure I can do it, but it’s going to be too much of a pain in the ass for me. It’s easier for me to buy bread and pizza. So, with complete confidence in myself, I think, “Next!”
2) Mise en place. That means, before you start have everything measured and ready. You know when a recipe says “30 minutes” and it took you an hour? That’s because they started the timer after everything was laid out. While you’re rummaging through the spice rack for the cinnamon, they’re julienning the carrots. This is a big deal. Food can overcook while you’re measuring salt. Get a bunch of little plastic bowls etc for stuff, and have it all at hand before you turn on the burner.
3) Knives, and knife skills. I am 69. I started cooking for myself when I was about 20. I didn’t take this seriously until about 10 years ago. I would have been a much better home cook much longer ago if I had. You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on knives! But you need sharp knives, and you need to take a couple hours to learn how to use them, which is easy. It will cost you a bag of carrots and a couple onions, and you can make a salad with those. There are enough recommendations for knives (Victorinox, Mercer, Dalstrong are all good inexpensive knives, among others) and there are millions of videos. I took an afternoon julienning carrots while watching football in front of the TV. And a good knife sharpener can be had for around $20.
4) A leave-in food probe for roasts, and an instant read thermometer for grilling. These are just as important indoors as they are outdoors! I didn’t get good at rib roasts until I reliably knew when the meat was done. AND NOBODY WILL. (You can use your leave in probe to check your oven’s accuracy once a year or so, I usually check mine around the holidays.) Cooking is both art and science. This is the science part.
There is a lifetime more to add, and I’m just some schmoe who cooks. I am absolutely not a chef. I’d rate my food as “good enough”, with occasional “holy sh… er, holy heck, that was freakin’ AMAZING!” Among those who post here, I’m probably right smack in the middle; I am not particularly adventurous (see tip #1), but I know what I can do, I know what things are going to taste like, and if I want to stretch my boundaries I am confident in my skills and my equipment that I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time or my money, or my reputation, by doing it.
Folks: add stuff. Every single one of us started with a skillet, a package of ground beef, and a deep breath, thinking, “Welp, here goes nothin’!” And even here, for every one of us who has figured stuff out, everywhere on the spectrum there is someone else working toward that. We can help be their shortcut.
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