Cooking, Scandal

[thistlechaser]

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

One of my big problems with food/diets is that I can't cook. I've solo-cooked only a small handful of successful meals in my adult life. Now and again, in an attempt to change that, I buy a new cookbook.

I love watching The Chew (a talkshow hosted by chefs), and so when one of the put out a cookbook that seemed like it would work for me, I gave it a try. Michael Symon's 5 in 5: 5 Fresh Ingredients + 5 Minutes = 120 Fantastic Dinners. I was especially hopeful since it got so many good reviews.

I made my first meal from it tonight, and quite unsurprisingly, it didn't work out. Cause was a lack of knowledge on my part more than the book or the recipe.

Also, amusingly, it took me more than five minutes just to deal with the garlic (was supposed to slice it, I ended up chopping it), let alone make the whole meal. Took me nearly a half-hour to make a five minute meal.

Anyway, it was pasta with sauce. Sauce called for a tablespoon of crushed red peppers. I don't like spicy things, so I cut it down to a teaspoon. (I didn't think I could totally leave it out, I didn't want it to be flavorless.) Turned out it was too spicy for me to eat. Whole big pan of sauce had to be tossed out, blah. I didn't even have a jar of sauce backup, so dinner was pasta with a little butter and some parmesan cheese. Rather tasteless and blah. Wish I had bought a second can of tomatoes, so I could try it again tomorrow without the pepper.

Lesson learned, I guess. Just wish it hadn't cost me my dinner.

TV: Now's the time of year for Top Ten lists. Top Ten TV shows, movies, whatever. A couple lists mentioned ABC's Scandal, and Netflix has it, so today I checked it out.

At first I was in love with it, but by the end of the first ep I was meh on it. I enjoyed the powerful female main character and the seriously fast pace, but then that same woman crumpled into tears because an ex-lover backed her into a corner and forced a kiss onto her. This was a woman who had all of Washington DC wrapped around her finger. I disliked the other female main character (the new girl), she was way too much like that Skye character in Agents of SHIELD that I hated.

I'm semi-watching the second ep, but I don't think I'll watch further than that. I like the idea of the show, but not what they're doing with it.

And a New Year's gift for everyone! Or, well, everyone who likes breasts. Can't have too many breasts, right?



It's like some strange kind of exotic fruit!

Comments

[mark356.livejournal.com]

OMG, I can't stand it when food writers or pro chefs say that something is super-quick or an emergency meal or five minutes or whatnot. If you're like me, nothing is five minutes. It's five minutes if you have the skills and training of a pro chef. A pro chef can do in about 10 seconds what takes me minutes to do, and is better at doing multiple things at once besides. I'm sure the cookbook will have lots of great ideas, but if you're at all a beginner, just ignore the time thing. It can take me an hour to do what food bloggers and even friends who are good at cooking do in five minutes. Don't sweat it-- just be happy if you take less than an hour for any of the recipes.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah! That's exactly right. The recipe wanted me to do a bunch of things at once, but I had to do them one at a time so it took me much longer. Just making sure I didn't cut myself while dealing with the garlic required all of my concentration!

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's some image...

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Haha isn't it?

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Maybe it is a woman holding a whole lot of very strange tribbles....

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*snickers* Tribbles evolved to make noises that humans liked, right? So this would just be the next step in their evolution!

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

I'm not the best cook in the world. I have thought about going to classes.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'd rather learn on my own instead of going to a class, but that is the last resort for me -- if nothing else works, I will.

[hamsterwoman]

It's like some strange kind of exotic fruit!

Yes!

I am really quite hopeless about cooking (though baking I actually enjoy, as long as it's something fairly simple -- more like chemistry! ;P -- of course, baking is not nearly so useful a skill when it comes to feeding oneself...)

I hope further meals from the cookbook prove more successful (it does sound like a great idea...)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Lies! I could totally live on cakes and cupcakes and such. Mmm. Maybe not live long, but live well!

And thanks!

[kishenehn.livejournal.com]

That photo cracked me up. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Me too! Her expression fits it.

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

Garlic can definitely be a pain in butt to work with.., There are some tricks to working with it. Usually peeling it is the biggest complaint.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the peeling took me forever. The idea of the cookbook is to use fresh stuff, but I might go back to the pre-chopped stuff in jars.

[indigo-forest.livejournal.com]

1. Creepy boob picture.. it makes me think of a biblical angels, with boobs instead of eyes.

2. I'm sorry about the cooking! :-( I'm one of those who cooks intuitively, and rarely from a cookbook. The best way to figure out spices, particularly spicy ones you're not sure how they will affect the food, is to start with a little bit, cook for a bit, taste, add a little bit more, taste, etc. Good luck!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Isn't it creepy?

And thanks! That's what I'm going to do tonight, since I'm veering off from the book a bit.

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Ah hell, I've been cooking since I was old enough to hold a knife, and I say no meal can possibly be made in five minutes.

I also think most recipe book authors assume everyone has practice in the kitchen and automatically know how to work, and know how to do what the authors take three words to explain. Like "brown the meat", but they don't mention how to test if the oil or fat is hot enough to even put the meat in (stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil; if white bubbles form, the oil has just the right temperature).

When it comes to garlic, I like to make garlic confit. It's sweeter and much more full-bodied than raw garlic, and it's a nice flavoring agent (and spares you that sticky garlic peel and smelly fingers). I break 2 heads of garlic into unpeeled cloves, after pre-heating the oven to 180°C (or 350°F). Place them on a square of aluminum foil big enough to wrap them up in, bunch it up a little and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a sprig of fresh thyme or about a half teaspoon of dried, and about a teaspoon of salt. Seal the packet and stick it into the oven for 30 minutes, giving it a little shake once or twice during cooking, to prevent uneven roasting. Take it out, let it cool, then just pop the cloves right out of their skin. It's delicious! You need maybe twice as much garlic as recipes call for if you use confit (the flavor is much milder), but it tastes so much better than raw garlic.

What I also rec to people new to cooking is Alton Brown's show "Good Eats" (you can watch for free here: http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/internet/good_eats/ ). He explains things very well, shows you how each step goes, finds more simple ways to do old things, and I love the food geekery.

LOL! That pic! :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I love Good Eats! It's been too many years since I last watched it.

Thanks for the idea on garlic! I always wanted to try roasted. I need to go buy more so I can.

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

Cooking is a survival skill out my way, since most restaurant options are far away. So I do cook quite a bit, and feel comfortable in the kitchen. But I still can't whip up a meal in 5 minutes!!!

I think those 5 minute meals only apply to chefs with a prep crew and an impeccably clean kitchen. It takes me longer than 5 minutes to just wipe down the counters and locate all the ingredients.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Haha I think you're right! I need to organize things to make space even before I start, then get out everything I need... And of course that doesn't include clean-up!

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

lokyst and I swear by this: http://www.howtocookeverything.com/

We have both the red cover "How to Cook Everything" as well as the white cover "How to Cook Everything: The Basics". The "basics" book has photos which show the various stages of a recipe, while the red cover book only has diagrams for some stuff but far more recipes and variations on recipes.

lokyst managed to get both on special for like $4 at a local sale, but they're definitely worth more. They appear to be on sale currently on amazon.com for $19 each at the moment.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I was going to say I'm going to resist more cookbooks for now, but if I spotted them for $4, I'd get them for sure!

When I'm ready for another one, I'll check these out. Thanks for the link! :)

And happy new year to you and lokst, too!

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Happy New Year to you too! :)

[tersa.livejournal.com]

I was just coming in here to make--nay, URGE--that suggestion. Buy it even if it's $19.

This is a book that isn't just recipes, but also chockfull of useful information about cooking. It's a 'read me' book, too.

Cooking is one of those things, like any other skill, that requires you practice to improve. You have to learn how things work and what works for you in order to get good results. Just keep at it, and realize failures are part of the process.

(I also second the 'take a class' and watching and re-watching "Good Eats" episodes. If you're having that many problems following recipes, then you need guided instruction.)

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

You might also want to consider blueapron.com to help learn to cook - they show which meals they're sending out each week so you can cancel for that week if there is something you won't like, and if you do like, they send you a box with 3 different meals for 2, all the ingredients, and a card with the recipe. They all take about 35 minutes to prepare and are 500-700 calories on average.

I went through the same thing when I first started trying to eat healthy. I had previously prided myself on not cooking anything with more than three steps. (Open microwave pizza totally counted as a step). Tonight I just made a carrot ginger soup that is TOTALLY BALLS OUT AMAZING. I got here from there really slowly - that was ... god, that was almost eight years ago. I started out with simple recipes from hungrygirl.com, and our mutual love vegan lunch box, and have sort of panned out from there - I get a lot of recipes from tgipaleo.com and so on. I have had many successes and many HILARIOUS AND TERRIBLE FAILURES, but it has been fun to learn.

The most important lesson I have learned in cooking: do not set your oil in a saucepan to heat up and walk away and do something else.

I have ruined like three saucepans that way. It is getting expensive.

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

As you can see I am very behind with LJ.

So frustrating when a recipe doesn't work, I hate to waste food. But then I think we all have had our disasters with cooking.

That photo is certainly "different". lol

[dr-tectonic.livejournal.com]

I will third the recommendation of How To Cook Everything. My copy is falling apart, and I still reference it frequently for things like oven times and temperatures. (A copy Joy of Cooking from a used bookstore will also have a lot of basics in it. Older editions also tell you things like how to dress and clean squirrel!)

You might also enjoy Cookwise, by Shirley Corriher. It has recipes in it, but mostly it's a food chemistry textbook. I often find it important to understand WHY in order to be able to learn things, and this is great because it explains how cooking works.

And yeah, cooking is mostly about practice. It's good to have backup food, because you are bound to ruin a few dishes on your way to being a decent cook. (I certainly did.) Just remember that you learn more from mistakes than successes!

Also, the prep times listed in recipes are often just flat-out lies. It's best to ignore them.

Also also, there's not a thing wrong with using jarred garlic. Mincing garlic is a pain. And it's true, bottled lemon juice isn't as good as fresh-squeezed, but it's a hell of a lot faster and better than nothing. Et cetera...