That's got to be the one. I am intrigued. I already make up half the shit I do in the kitchen as it is (results vary from sublime to lex-esque) so that seems like it would lend itself to my cooking style.
― carl agatha, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:08 (twelve years ago) link
But yeah, you want some kind of ration where the acid mxies in with the non-acid and emulsifies relatively stably
― L'ennui, cette maladie de tous les (Michael White), Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:09 (twelve years ago) link
haha i didn't even specify what "a little" was!
i usually use 1-3 teaspoons of mustard per tbs of acid, depending on what kind of leaves i'm using and the mood i'm in
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:10 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/salad-dressings-vinaigrettes-the-food-lab.html
― A Little Princess btw (s1ocki), Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:12 (twelve years ago) link
That ratio approach could work well with metric measurements - but for Americans you'd constantly be trying to remember how many tablespoons are in a cup and so forth.
― o. nate, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:14 (twelve years ago) link
16 tbs = 1 cup
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:14 (twelve years ago) link
3 tsp = 1 tbs
it's not that hard
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:15 (twelve years ago) link
Ratio's are a great way to start but at some point it's going to be more about consistency and texture and smell and feel.
― L'ennui, cette maladie de tous les (Michael White), Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:16 (twelve years ago) link
Prefer Marcella Hazan's proverbial Italian proportions:
For a good salad you need four people: a judicious one for the salt, a prodigal one for the olive oil, a stingy one for the vinegar and a patient one to toss it.
― Fizzles, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:17 (twelve years ago) link
that's wonderful
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:18 (twelve years ago) link
man, this thread moves fast
― Fozzy Osbourne (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:24 (twelve years ago) link
Why doesn't that fourth guy just watch TV while he's waiting for the salad?
― o. nate, Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:33 (twelve years ago) link
I'm sympathetic to Lex's fear of cooking. I think it definitely has the language analogy, I tend to see it more analogous to drawing/painting. I've lost count of the number of confident, talented coworkers I've seen who retreat into a state of stricken terror when asked to pick up a pencil or a paintbrush. and at the heart of the fear is the judgement: what if it's not right/good? what if what I draw doesn't look the way it's *supposed* to. Same with cooking - what if what I cook doesn't turn out the way it's *supposed* to.
To an outsider, art/cooking are NOT subjective. There's no wiggle. To someone who feels they can't draw/cook, they're attempting algebra when they know in their heart the answer is wrong wrong wrong and no-one will eat what they cook/recognise what they have painted. The effort feels futile because the end result seems stacked against them.
The secret, if there is one, is to partner up with someone who can help take the fear of the end result out of your hands, and/or to find a cookbook that speaks your language. Not all cookbooks are made the same, and a lot of recipe writers should be shot in the face for showing off/being vague/being chatty/annoying. Find a cookbook that has a good glossary, and maybe a list of definitions so you know what the author means when *they* say 'chop' or whatever.
Opening up the door for cooking, if you *want* to open the door is easiest if you start with cooking something you already enjoy eating. Like for Lex, if you like eating soup, the ideal would be to learn a simple soup recipe, that's a combination of a few fresh veggies, and a premade stock. And once you have made it a few times, you might find another soup recipe you're game to try. I cook with recipes all the time, I really only 'freestyle' with a couple of dishes and that was after 20-odd years of cooking.
But Lex doesn't have to cook if he doesn't want to.. That would ruin the fun of all of us finding excuses to visit London and trap him in the kitchen :)
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 21:45 (twelve years ago) link
The ratio thing is interesting and so true. My dad was a chef for over 40 years and If I've ever asked him for a recipe he's had to think really hard and basically make stuff up in terms of measurements. I've never ever seen him use measuring spoons or cups. I would be surprised if there are any at my parents' house at all.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:02 (twelve years ago) link
His vinaigrette is amazing. It has Dijon in it iirc and a raw egg.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:03 (twelve years ago) link
Mum was always about splashes and dashes and bits. It drove me crazy.
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:04 (twelve years ago) link
He makes these amazing pancakes and I remember asking him for the recipe once and him telling me to put in "some" flour. Gee, thanks!
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:06 (twelve years ago) link
Yep yep. "How much vinegar should I add, Mum?"... "Oh, you know...a slurp."
u_u
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:11 (twelve years ago) link
he's right though, even if you follow a pancake recipe to a t the little variables in the temperature and fattiness and air/water ratio of the beaten eggs and milk and melted butter and sugar are going to make your flour measurements approximate, that's not even getting into what kind of flour you're using
it's all about "consistency and texture and smell and feel" as MW put it, you gotta just watch the texture he gets when he does it right and then just add flour a little at a time until it looks like that
my cooking got a lot better when i started taking notes on stuff that turned out well and keeping track of what looked like and how it behaved at different points [/captain nerd]
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:12 (twelve years ago) link
Jenny -- Jody W. is a big fan of Ratio.
― Cuba Pudding, Jr. (jaymc), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:14 (twelve years ago) link
i can also vouch for the cooking partner advice, my cooking got a lot better because of my ex-wife
she was so picky she wouldn't even let me beat the eggs for her scrambled eggs w/o supervision and coaching, but damn if it wasn't like being on the set of martha stewart every night and i quickly learned what tasty salad dressing and good batter and dough looks like (haven't really figured out yet how to beat eggs like she does)
the catering stuff was like that but it was more like being on a cross between top chef and the office
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:15 (twelve years ago) link
ENBB otm. all the best and most experienced cooks i've known have been approximators, recipe-less creators of things. i'm not that good, except as regards the stuff i've been making all my life.
― Fozzy Osbourne (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:15 (twelve years ago) link
it's exactly the kind of behaviour that makes novice cooks IA. it's kinda cool now that I can cook and I respect the 'whatever whatever' relaxed approach that each version of the dish is a little bit different, but I remember it being crazymaking as a kid
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:16 (twelve years ago) link
humus is a ratio recipe, ime:
3 pts chick peas1 pt tahinebunch of garlicsome watermaybe some oil or cumin or whatever?
― Fozzy Osbourne (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:17 (twelve years ago) link
let's all pitch in and get lex a copy of the Alinea cookbook for some no fuss basics
― I DIED, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:17 (twelve years ago) link
we should say "have become" instead of "have been", everyone cooks off of recipes when they're starting out
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:17 (twelve years ago) link
xpost to contenderizer
I'm still pretty much a recipe cook.
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:18 (twelve years ago) link
to veer slightly back onto topic i just read that marilyn hagerty follow-up article and i had NO idea ground rounds still existed!!
― althea and (donna rouge), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:18 (twelve years ago) link
alinea requires too much specialized equipment, get him the french laundry one instead
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:20 (twelve years ago) link
true, I guess we've gotta go with a real beginner's level one
― I DIED, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:21 (twelve years ago) link
the best advice is the cooking partner stuff (see also the entirely otm "cooking by yourself sucks" acknowledgements of even cooking evangelists upthread). i've tried cookbooks (back when i tried, before i gave up trying at all in the spirit of cutting my losses), being unable to deal with a recipe that's not turning out like it should or other roadblocks is why we're here in the first place. but i don't have a cooking partner oh well
― lex pretend, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:28 (twelve years ago) link
YET
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:30 (twelve years ago) link
:)
it is pretty tough to scale recipes down to for one person
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:32 (twelve years ago) link
P.S. This, too, shall pass. I soon will take my hammer named Margo and go down to the river. There I will meditate on the 15 years that have passed since the flood of 1997.
this woman
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:32 (twelve years ago) link
when i lived alone i made a lot of little pizzas. i would buy nan bread and just put whatever i wanted on top (cheese, broccoli, olives, sauce, pesto, whatever) and throw them in the oven. ten minutes and done. yummy. even a lex could do that. and then no leftovers. you know, the small round ones.
― scott seward, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:39 (twelve years ago) link
premade pizza bases too. can of artichoke hearts, some pesto, some cheese, jar of olives...if you don't want to chop anything homemade pizza is the way to go. sorta cooking without cooking.
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:43 (twelve years ago) link
but even better if you are feeling frisky and chop a tomato, a zucch, some shrooms...love a pizza piled high with veg. And I'm not even a veggo!
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:44 (twelve years ago) link
mmm, onion nan too. i should buy some. i really like nan for pizza. but i haven't done that in years. for awhile maria was rolling dough on saturday mornings at our friend's brick-oven pizza place and our house was lousy with pizza dough. kinda got doughed out.
― scott seward, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:48 (twelve years ago) link
dough fatigue, lol
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:53 (twelve years ago) link
I've never tried nan for pizza. We always used to use pita bread. Much thinner crust obv. But tasty.
pita + ketchup + "italian seasoning" powder + cheese singles + toaster oven = 3rd grade heaven
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:54 (twelve years ago) link
YES
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:55 (twelve years ago) link
Oh yeah, naan or pita pizza is cool and very easy.
I sympathise with lex a fair amount - unless you've got a big freezer or a family to make economies of scale then cooking from scratch really doesn't cost any less, and it's a major major hassle. I don't enjoy it when I do it. The best thing I've done with cooking is to learn how to make a nice tomato and veg soup in a massive saucepan, eat that for a couple of days, and then on the third day get some mince to cook, add in soup leftovers and then eat with any good carbs - bread or potatoes or pasta, whatever. But the first day of that process takes aaaaaaages, I get so bored.
― emil.y, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:55 (twelve years ago) link
the slightly burny parts of tomato paste at the edges of the crusty pita = yum
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:56 (twelve years ago) link
Crumpets are great for pizza.
― Une semaine de Bunty (ShariVari), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:56 (twelve years ago) link
xpost
no it definitely does cost less (unless you're eating fast food) but you have to be willing to eat your dinner for lunch the next day, every day
― the late great, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:57 (twelve years ago) link
I found one of the most important things I learned in cooking is this: when measurements matter, and when they dont.
When they do: baking. Anything that involves cakes, bread, other scientific miracles, you gotta measure it accurately.
When they dont? Things like the size of a single onion. Wether its 1 or 3 garlic cloves. "about a cup" of stock in a stew. The amount/weight of cubed steak for a casserole (recipe says 700g and I only have 500? Ok, i'll add an extra potato then). You learn when its ok to wing it. It'll still be edible!
This possibly only falls over when you're dealing with things like chillies, and similar very strong flavours. Oh and salt I suppose.
― Medical Dance Crab With Lesson (Trayce), Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:57 (twelve years ago) link
late great: I guess I don't really eat lunch much, so I'm not spending money on that anyway. Hence my 'if you don't have a big freezer' caveat. 'Big' to me is 'bigger than a single bag of frozen peas'.
― emil.y, Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:59 (twelve years ago) link