In the kitchen..what are you very good at and which areas of cooking not so?

[dragnlaw]

I was sooo sick of my Melanine/Corelle I got for the same reasons Larry. I was looking for excuses to break them and never could. The pattern was literally gone from the plates.
Think we went thru all our dishes on a Thread once before. 90% of mine are still in storage, some given away. Think I had/have 6 different sets altogether. Love each set and enjoy using them.

Presentation, I try, but not very successful.
If a sit-down dinner with chicken or turkey - always carve the bird in the kitchen and make a nice arrangement on a platter to go to the table. No one can tell you basically (as I have/do) torn it apart with your hands!

 

[taxlady]

I'm not so good at presentation either. I also just don't care enough. I give it a minor effort some of the time.

 

[Badjak]

And I am bad at cooking omelettes.
Generally they turn into very tasty scrambled eggs

 

[Jusa]

Good at improvising, bad at following recipes (2 sides of the same coin?)

Bad at presentation. I just don't care for it enough.

Getting better at baking

That's me.

I do like taking photos of my food and so I am getting a little better at plating (when I take the time and have a steady hand), but I am still terrible about following recipes and love creating my own dishes or loosely following a recipe and adding tweaks. Which kinda stinks when people love my food and ask for the recipe. To make it even worse, when we have small dinner parties with close friends and family, there is usually drinking going on so I sometimes can't remember exactly what I did while preparing the dish that got such rave reviews, LOL!

 

[dragnlaw]

Jusa, I never knew I had so many siblings until I joined this forum. Hi there sis! (actually you could probably be my daughter - guess you follow in my footsteps! Nice compliment, thank you!)

 

[Jusa]

Jusa, I never knew I had so many siblings until I joined this forum. Hi there sis! (actually you could probably be my daughter - guess you follow in my footsteps! Nice compliment, thank you!)

Well I'm 61 but my oldest sister is 75...my oldest brother 77. I'm sure there are families with larger age differences amongst siblings!

 

[Andy M.]

My (half) brother was 23 years older than I and my sister was 9 years older.

 

[dragnlaw]

My daughter will be 60 next year. My younger brother is 78.... LOL - Ain't life grand!

 

[Kathleen]

It's not the years: It's the mileage.

 

[taxlady]

My great grandmother gave birth to her first child in 1874 and her youngest child 25 years later in 1899.

 

[GotGarlic]

I follow recipes (not religiously, but enough) when I am baking. Otherwise, I never use recipes. I will read them to get the idea down, and then I wing it. Baking is less forgiving, in my view; get one thing wrong and it's a catastrophe. Leave something out of a dinner it won't taste as good. Leave something out of cookies or muffins and you'll have to throw out the results.

Not necessarily. Sometimes the results can be repurposed. Flat cookies can be crumbled up and used as a topping, dry muffins can be used in a trifle, etc.

 

[Jusa]

Not necessarily. Sometimes the results can be repurposed. Flat cookies can be crumbled up and used as a topping, dry muffins can be used in a trifle, etc.

Yeah I suppose, but I bake with a purpose and if I am making banana bread or muffins it's because I am gifting them (or most of them) and I (we) don't have much of a sweet tooth (except pecan pie 1x-2x a year). Thankfully most of my baking turns out decently because I wouldn't need a topping for anything (can't imagine that cookie toppings would be great on a savory dish) and I have never even had a trifle, no idea what that is but doesn't sound like something I need or want.

I do like to bake the occasional loaf of bread when I am having family and/or friends over for dinner...and that bread is an expected part of the meal so if it doesn't turn out right, we are either doing without (or having biscuits) or I am calling my friend/family member to stop at the store on the way to pick up a loaf. Not much of an idea of what to do with a failed loaf of bread other than give it to the squirrels with some peanut butter, but they might get finicky and lick the peanut butter off and not eat the bread! Yeah, we don't do croutons. I have a few expired packages in my pantry I need to throw out, actually.

 

[GotGarlic]

Yeah I suppose, but I bake with a purpose and if I am making banana bread or muffins it's because I am gifting them (or most of them) and I (we) don't have much of a sweet tooth (except pecan pie 1x-2x a year).

My response was for a general audience, but in this case, it's doubly important to do your mise en place (everything in its place) before you begin. This means getting out all the ingredients you'll need and measuring them out, to ensure that you have enough of each. Line them up in order of use and develop a system that works for you to help you tell when you have added each one, so you don't miss any. The recipe software I use allows me to "cross off" each ingredient so I can see what I've added and what I have left. And I move jars and canisters, etc., from one side of the counter to the other. Works for me ☺

 

[Jusa]

My response was for a general audience, but in this case, it's doubly important to do your mise en place (everything in its place) before you begin. This means getting out all the ingredients you'll need and measuring them out, to ensure that you have enough of each. Line them up in order of use and develop a system that works for you to help you tell when you have added each one, so you don't miss any. The recipe software I use allows me to "cross off" each ingredient so I can see what I've added and what I have left. And I move jars and canisters, etc., from one side of the counter to the other. Works for me ☺

When baking, I always have everything out and know what I need, that one's a no-brainer. Unfortunately I cannot have everything measured out and uncovered (such as buttermilk, sugar or honey, etc.) because we are currently undergoing a minor fruit fly or drain gnat infestation and those little suckers get into everything if I turn my back for a few seconds. I have gotten into the habit of putting the yeast mixture in the oven and closing it when proofing to keep bugs out of it. I can't even leave a glass of wine out uncovered and unattended without getting one in my wine glass.

Like I said, most of my baking endeavors work out fine (I have never had a problem with my banana bread, muffins, and the like) but regular bread can be iffy due to humidity changes and room temperature during the rise, etc. since my kitchen is markedly colder in the winter months and there is much less humidity than in spring and summer. I might need more or less flour depending on the humidity, and the rise is going to be either shorter or longer, depending. I have to go with my guts on this and it isn't always a win, though most of the time it turns out fine. Baking bread can be tricky, especially when I make pumpernickel because I don't make it as often as I do buttermilk white bread. At least I have my KA stand mixer to help me out, I used to have a little bit of an issue with timing the kneading just right. KA helps immensely with that.

My main point in my reply was that repurposing failures doesn't work for everyone.

I want to add that banana bread recipes can be tricky as well, because the size of bananas can vary quite a bit so flour and other ingredients might need amount adjustments.

 

[Linda0818]

Not necessarily. Sometimes the results can be repurposed. Flat cookies can be crumbled up and used as a topping, dry muffins can be used in a trifle, etc.

Love this suggestion, GG, and I'll keep it in mind. I'm a terrible baker, so if I attempt cookies again and they completely flop (highly likely, given my baking track record ) I'll keep them and crumble them on top of a poke cake iced with Cool Whip (one of my favorite desserts that I *will* make an effort to produce, especially at Christmas time).

 

[dragnlaw]

. I can't even leave a glass of wine out uncovered and unattended without getting one in my wine glass.

WHAT!!!! Who on this little green earth leaves a glass of wine unattended?
ohhh the shame!

LOL - actually at the boarding farm, the flies were so bad when we all sat outside for pre-dinner cocktails, the various gadgets for covering the glasses were quite amusing.
Nets with little beads hanging down (I loved that one)
Plastic wrap lifted for each sip - or sometimes you would see a straw stuck thru.
One of those plastic lids for coffee take-aways.
Whatever worked!

 

[Jusa]

WHAT!!!! Who on this little green earth leaves a glass of wine unattended?
ohhh the shame!

LOL - actually at the boarding farm, the flies were so bad when we all sat outside for pre-dinner cocktails, the various gadgets for covering the glasses were quite amusing.
Nets with little beads hanging down (I loved that one)
Plastic wrap lifted for each sip - or sometimes you would see a straw stuck thru.
One of those plastic lids for coffee take-aways.
Whatever worked!

Yes, well I drink while I cook almost always...at dinner anyway, and breakfasts whilst on vacation. I wish I had a few extra arms, only while cooking, mind you

 

[Linda0818]

WHAT!!!! Who on this little green earth leaves a glass of wine unattended?
ohhh the shame!

LOL - actually at the boarding farm, the flies were so bad when we all sat outside for pre-dinner cocktails, the various gadgets for covering the glasses were quite amusing.
Nets with little beads hanging down (I loved that one)
Plastic wrap lifted for each sip - or sometimes you would see a straw stuck thru.
One of those plastic lids for coffee take-aways.
Whatever worked!

I've seen those. They are so cool.

I don't have a bug issue when it comes to leaving drinks unattended - I have a cat issue. If I'm having a cocktail or a glass of wine at my desk in the evenings and I need to get up to go do whatever, I have to take my drink with me or my cat will get up on my desk and stick her paws in it, then lick off the goodies from my glass. I don't even think the beaded nets would do me much good in that situation.

 

[Jusa]

I've seen those. They are so cool.

I don't have a bug issue when it comes to leaving drinks unattended - I have a cat issue. If I'm having a cocktail or a glass of wine at my desk in the evenings and I need to get up to go do whatever, I have to take my drink with me or my cat will get up on my desk and stick her paws in it, then lick off the goodies from my glass. I don't even think the beaded nets would do me much good in that situation.

Without knocking over the glass? What talent!

 

[Linda0818]

Without knocking over the glass? What talent!

She hasn't knocked one over yet. However, since catching her in the act more than once, she doesn't get that opportunity anymore.