Improving my cooking skills (2003)

[Dave the Cook]

I'm in.

[hjshorter]

For this reason, because I cook for five people who need dinner on the table at a reasonable hour, and because I have a tight budget, I always do up a week's worth of menus, and try to stick to it. Deviation can easily throw the whole week into chaos.

Dave, some of these issues are mine too. If we are to proceed, we need to follow recipes, at least at the beginning. I typically think of meals, look up recipes (keeping in mind what's seasonal), and build my shopping list based on the recipes I will be making during the coming week.

Perhaps we could post a weekly shopping list, with amounts of each item, for each experiment? If this is done well in advance it will give everyone the chance to have the ingredients on hand, and if something is hard to find, there will be enough time to track it down or figure out a substitute.

Shall we try for weekly? Or bi-weekly? On a specific day if possible, for ease of planning?

[MatthewB]

For this reason, because I cook for five people who need dinner on the table at a reasonable hour, and because I have a tight budget, I always do up a week's worth of menus, and try to stick to it. Deviation can easily throw the whole week into chaos.

Dave, some of these issues are mine too. If we are to proceed, we need to follow recipes, at least at the beginning. I typically think of meals, look up recipes (keeping in mind what's seasonal), and build my shopping list based on the recipes I will be making during the coming week.

Perhaps we could post a weekly shopping list, with amounts of each item, for each experiment? If this is done well in advance it will give everyone the chance to have the ingredients on hand, and if something is hard to find, there will be enough time to track it down or figure out a substitute.

Shall we try for weekly? Or bi-weekly? On a specific day if possible, for ease of planning?

I'm in.

(Every other week might work best for me until outdoor domestic chores end. But weekly would work too but I may miss a week here & there.)

[hjshorter]

Realistically bi-weekly is best for me too.

What skills/techniques/ingredients would everyone like to work on? For myself, frying is a weak spot. Eggs are another, and so is baking.

[SethG]

Bi-weekly sounds good, and I'm happy to let others set the priorities. I need work in every area. I'm excited about this.

But, er.... we're not starting with the vodka bottle?

[MatthewB]

Realistically bi-weekly is best for me too.

What skills/techniques/ingredients would everyone like to work on?  For myself, frying is a weak spot.  Eggs are another, and so is baking.

I'm willing to work on whatever.

Perhaps we could all start with a handful of specific suggestions from CT & discuss from there?

[hjshorter]

Seth, dunno about you, but if I start with the vodka I'd lose motivation for anything else!

And Matthew, yes. Suggestions, everyone?

[Carlovski]

I was considering making a meal involving as many of Pepin's techniques as possible, especially all the amusing 'Cherry tomato Rabbit' type ones.

I reckon I can get a good 20 -30 in there.

[Dave the Cook]

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

I seem to have misplaced my copy of CT (probably at my brother-in-law's), so I'll have to find it or replace it before I can offer suggestions -- except to point out that baking on weekdays is going to be difficult.

[adoxograph]

I'd like to join you guys but the thing is I mostly eat vegetarian (avoid the burning stares of death) with a bit of fish. However, meat is welcome in my kitchen (I don't eat it because of strange allergic reactions, not because of any sentimental attachment to things with higher brain functions) , and I think knowing how to cook meat is important for good vegetarian cooking.

Could I play along on appropriate courses? I should be able to foist off the results on someone I know.

[MatthewB]

I'd like to join you guys but the thing is I mostly eat vegetarian (avoid the burning stares of death) with a bit of fish.  However, meat is welcome in my kitchen (I don't eat it because of strange allergic reactions, not because of any sentimental attachment to things with higher brain functions) , and I think knowing how to cook meat is important for good vegetarian cooking. 

Could I play along on appropriate courses? I should be able to foist off the results on someone I know.

Please join us!

[Toliver]

There was a cooking club thread here.

Perhaps you should start a new "eGullet online cooking club" thread so this effort doesn't get buried or ignored.

I also think it would be an interesting addendum to the eGCI.

[hjshorter]

Eh, I think I'd like to play in my own sandbox for a bit. Things will be a little less formal that way.

I have been poring over Complete Techniques for the last two days, and there really are not many recipes in it. Shall we each nominate a dish/technique and spend a week or so on it? That would give everyone several days to work it into their schedules, instead of all preparing the same dish on a given day. We would also benefit from each other's mistakes that way, because if I eff up the hollandaise on Monday, there's time to analyze my dismal failure so that it isn't repeated by others in the group.

The alternative would be to switch to Cookwise or a similar tome, that covers technique, recipes and science. (Or as we say in our house: SCIENCE!)

[Dave the Cook]

(Or as we say in our house: SCIENCE!)

In my house, this is often followed by, "Good Heavens, Ms Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"

[hjshorter]

(Or as we say in our house:  SCIENCE!)

In my house, this is often followed by, "Good Heavens, Ms Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"

Same here Dave. Geez, we're goofy.

(When he still had hair, Scott bore a very slight resemblance to Thomas Dolby.)

[MatthewB]

Heather,

Might it work to use both CT & Cookwise as our primary texts & supplement as needed?

I like your idea here. Just wondering how to work it out.

(One of the primary aspects of CT that I like are the step-by-step pictures.)

[hjshorter]

Sure thing. I also think the step-by-step photos in CT are a plus.

Cookwise has the benefit of giving different methods for different results.

Let's just jump right in and pick something.

[MatthewB]

Please start suggesting!

(I'll not have access to either book until Tuesday.)

[SethG]

I keep flipping through the book, too, and I'm having trouble. There's this divide between dishes that would improve my skills and dishes I'd actually like to cook and eat.

I have no experience working with artichokes (#110), so I'd like to give it a try using his method of preparation. But there's no real recipe there.

And then I was looking at the meats, and I'm not sure I want my first project to be the trimming or carving of a large roast or leg. The stuffed flank steak (#175) looks pretty nice, plus you then actually do get some roast-tying technique (#168). But then again, the actual cooking of the meat (in a casserole on the stove-top) provides little of the (sautee or other) skill set I'd like to acquire.

Maybe the thing to do is to use the book in conjunction with another well-used book, such as Julia Child's MtAoFC (as Julie Powell likes to say). We could use Jacques for artichoke technique, then use Julia for an artichoke recipe. Or we could all pick different artichoke recipes, and just report how the technique worked out.

What do you guys think?

[SethG]

And I think I'll try Jacques' chicken stuffed under the skin (#144) this very evening. This includes two skill sets I want to work on-- getting herbs under the skin, which I do all the time but not very well, and also trussing without a needle (#143). My trussing skills, I must confess, are rather paltry. Not that trussing matters.

[MatthewB]

Seth,

I like your ideas. With our group here, I'm not too concerned about having to have a recipe book to guide us. I think we'll come up with a solid recipe via our dialogue or we'll devise one (or more or variations, etc.). (When I've planning time--as we'll have here--I tend to meander through my cookbooks & come up with a hybrid "recipe.")

For me, I'm looking to move out of my cooking comfort-zone and to stretch myself more than I would working solo. As I noted starting this thread, I've pretty taught myself--via reading & solo doing--until this point. I'm excited about working with others on this!

Thoughts?

[hjshorter]

Maybe the thing to do is to use the book in conjunction with another well-used book, such as Julia Child's MtAoFC (as Julie Powell likes to say).  We could use Jacques for artichoke technique, then use Julia for an artichoke recipe.  Or we could all pick different artichoke recipes, and just report how the technique worked out.

What do you guys think?

Do you have Julia & Jacques Cooking At Home? That might be a good place to start, instead of CT. The recipes are fabulous, and it covers many of the techniques in CT, without the more esoteric Garde Manger stuff.

[MatthewB]

Do you have Julia & Jacques Cooking At Home?  That might be a good place to start, instead of CT.  The recipes are fabulous, and it covers many of the techniques in CT, without the more esoteric Garde Manger stuff.

I'm willing to work with that.

I need to purchase it though.

[hjshorter]

It's worth buying. Beautiful and useful. It's one of my go-to books and has been since the day we brought it home. One of the (many) loveable things about it is the variations. Many have Julia's version on one page and Jacques' on the other, with explanations.

[Dave the Cook]

I think this is an excellent choice -- a good range of technique and taste. And if we get really stuck, we can always check the video!

I'm pretty sold on J&J, but let me toss in a wild card, just in case: Simple to Spectacular, the Vongerichten-Bittman collaboration.