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What influenced you to want to learn ...

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Dec. ~ 2006 Feb.: Cooking Corner: What influenced you to want to learn to cook? users admin

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Craven
Member

05-23-2004

Monday, November 21, 2005 - 7:04 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Craven a private message Print Post    
I fondly remember watching Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet, as a child with rapt fascination. This man was running around the kitchen, cooking and having a ball doing it. It seemed effortless. The defining moment of each show was always at the end, Graham would run out into the audience and select a lady to join him at the table and sample the dish he had just prepared. Then the camera would zoom in as Graham would lift fork to mouth, eyes closed in anticipation as he tasted the dish, and then a smile of immense, almost orgasmic pleasure would grow across his face. That rapture of food is what made me realize that food was to be savored, relished, enjoyed.

My mother was a fabulous cook and taught me well as I grew up about tasting and seasoning foods. Unfortunately, she also taught me how to only cook HUGE quantities of food but she was a tremendous influence on me.

Julia Child, Paul Prudhomme, The Joy of Cooking, Craig Claiborne are all huge influences on my cooking also.

What influenced you??

Craven


Mameblanche
Member

04-13-2005

Monday, November 21, 2005 - 7:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
I'm still waiting for that 'moment' to occur!

Actually my dh is my culinary cheerleader, knowing I hate to cook and am a klutz in the kitchen.

Azriel
Member

08-01-2000

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 12:51 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Azriel a private message Print Post    
Craven, I loved watching the Galloping Gourmet, too! I thought he made some really yucky food, but I was fascinated by watching him cook it. I also watched Julia Child and I loved watching Justin Wilson. In later years, when I first discovered the Food Channel I was in heaven. I can watch cooking shows non-stop.

My mother is an excellent cook and I loved to help her in the kitchen. There are 6 kids in our family and one of our weekly chores was to spend one day a week helping my mom cook dinner. I was in the kitchen even when it wasn't 'my day' to help.

My father was also a very good cook, but I never realized just how good he was until after he retired and had time to putter around in the kitchen. He was an excellent baker. He made bread, cinnamon rolls, cookies and cakes that were yummy! He was also an expert BBQ chef and fish fryer.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 2:14 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
My mom. She was an incredible cook and a fantastic hostess. We had parties all the time. She also let me host parties. I was stunned to learn in my 20's that most 16 years didn't host dinner parties for their friends! LOL

Sillycalimomma
Member

11-13-2003

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 7:18 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sillycalimomma a private message Print Post    
My mother was a horrible horrible cook. I never want to be anything like her



I tell my daughter my food is so good because I cook with love.

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 8:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Lumbele a private message Print Post    
What influenced you to want to learn to cook?
Necessity.
Both my mother and grandmother were incredibly gifted cooks, so I only spent time in the kitchen to clean up after them. When I left home, restaurant food and a limited repertoire of dishes became boring real quick.
In my early Canadian days, there were some very expensive cooking lessons over the phone.

Loved to watch the Galloping Gourmet! Also enjoye(d) the culinary expertise of Jaques Pepin and Julia Child. But I learned the most from Sarah Moulton and her guests (her old 1-hour show).

Vacanick
Member

07-12-2004

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 9:45 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vacanick a private message Print Post    
I thought that having a son would influence me to cook, but it didn't. He has always been easy to please and it didn't take much effort.

Now I have a BF who will not cook. He has influenced me to cook because if I don't we'd be eating out all the time. And it's actually worked out because I'm learning and enjoying myself. And he's a good eater & has never complained!

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 9:58 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Landi a private message Print Post    
my nonna cooked non-stop from morning until night. i got taught a few things before she passed away when i was 15, but if you ever get to watch Lidia Matticchio Bastianich of Lidia's Italian Kitchen on PBS it is like watching my nonna cook. her recipes are the ones i grew up with. although my nonna had a thicker italian accent it is like coming home. please check out her web site, http://www.lidiasitaly.com/

her bolognese sauce is what i learned and is in my head to this day. i could make it in my sleep.

sunday dinners in san francisco with platters and platters of food, fresh pasta made from hand, polenta and risotto, oh man. those were the days.


Herckleperckle
Member

11-20-2003

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 11:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Herckleperckle a private message Print Post    
I learned from my mother, my maternal grandparents and my paternal grandmother.

Growing up in postwar times, money was tight when I was little. Heck, money was always tight for one reason or another. But with seemingly nothing, my mother always came up with meals that were absolutely delicious. She was an excellent cook who made a mean pie crust. I have never matched hers to this day. And I still use her pumpkin pie and potato salad recipes to this day. (She doesn't do much fancy cooking anymore--but she is almost always enlisted to make the Thanksgiving gravy. I don't have to ask her, though, cuz she taught me all her tricks so well. Approaching age 80 and only cooking for herself anymore, she doesn't do much 'from scratch' cooking anymore.)



My maternal grandparents owned a farm in Pennsylvania. My grandmother was a plain cook--and (strict Methodist that she was) no liquor was allowed in her house.

As a child, I spent part of my summers with my mother's parents. My grandfather was an early riser and let my grandmother sleep in each morning. So he fixed my sister and me what we still think was the best french toast in the world--always with Karo syrup, though--to our dismay. We still ate that french toast, though!

For dinners, my grandmother always let me pick the corn and tomatoes (loved that chore) for our summer dinners. Then I had to husk the corn (something I disliked!) I sat in her big kitchen and watched as the other things were prepared and cooked--smelling all the smells and listening as my grandfather would calm my grandmother's fussiness by calling her 'Bug.' (I can still hear him saying, "Now, Bug . . . ") My grandmother always made tins and tins of cookies of every imaginable kind. I remember helping to mix the ingredients, decorate some of the cookies, and, of course, taste-testing them. Her butter beans stand out in my mind. But her baking was just outstanding.



Now, my Jewish grandmother (paternal) was beyond belief in the kitchen. She was an outstanding cook and was very conscious of balanced meals and stressed healthy foods. To this day, I remember her fresh fruit compotes, huge raisin-cinnamon breakfast bread thingees (dough rolled over and over on itself with the cinnamon and raisins inside), melt-in-your mouth roasts of all kinds, corned beef, oven-baked potatoes, chopped chicken liver (served as an appetizer) and delicious, light, healthful desserts. I only got to watch in her kitchen, but she did talk us through the recipes. She was just an incredible natural cook--very picky about all fresh ingredients and good cuts of meat.

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 11:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
My mother can throw together anything and make it taste really good. My kids just love her cooking. I started cooking a little in high school. I've always loved to bake. After getting married, I had to learn to cook really fast. And after all these years of cooking, I find myself wanting to make new things and try new recipes. I just love cooking. I love the smells and the tastes and the look of my family when they really love something. It's such a labor of love.

Reiki
Member

08-12-2000

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 2:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Reiki a private message Print Post    
Both my parents are good cooks, but my mother would be the first to admit that my dad was probably the better cook. Cooking in my childhood was always a family event. We all had our "jobs" to do and because I was the youngest I got to move up from the simpliest jobs to being the only one left at home to be the "prep" help or the sou chef. There are some foods that will always be associated with my father or my grandmother. I have always made it a point to include my nieces and nephews in the cooking experience and give them their own food memories.

Grannyg
Member

05-28-2002

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 3:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Grannyg a private message Print Post    
Starvation.

Beachcomber
Member

08-26-2003

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 4:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Beachcomber a private message Print Post    
LOL Granny!

Watching my Grandmother make beautiful cakes for weddings and other celebrations that she sold to people to help make ends meet was my start. She made gorgeous coconut cakes and a killer chocolate banana cake. She is my inspiration when I make cakes for my family's birthdays and holidays. Reiki, I also have the younger family members help with the frosting and decorating and they think I make the best and prettiest cakes. That is quite an ego booster!

As far as regular food, we also participated in preparing meals and nothing is better on this earth than my Daddy's fried chicken and Mom's sweet potato casserole.

Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 5:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tishala a private message Print Post    
LOL Granny!

My mother, like my grandmother, wasn't a great cook, unfortunately. But I fell in love with Martha Stewart when I was about 18. I thought, and still think, she's just the bee's knees because she brings a wonderful aesthetic sense and intelligence to the whole shebang.

If it weren't for her, I'd just be another in a long line of bad cooks.

Juju2bigdog
Member

10-27-2000

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 3:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Juju2bigdog a private message Print Post    
I have learned to cook?

<spins head backwards>



Lucy
Member

10-08-2002

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 6:06 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Lucy a private message Print Post    
Oh, Landi, I love watching Lidia cook those yummy Italian dishes.

I learned to cook from my mom. She's a great cook and a great mom!

Karen
Member

09-07-2004

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 6:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Karen a private message Print Post    
I love, love, love to cook, but I'm not sure if it's the actual act of cooking I love, if it's the after effect of what I've cooked (as Mamie so perfectly put: ...the look of my family when they really love something. It's such a labor of love.) or if it's just the kitchen itself that I love so much.

I've been in the kitchen for as long as I can remember -- many of my childhood photos are of me playing with my toys on the floor in the kitchen, as my Mom would cook dinner.

Then, when I got to be about seven or eight, Mom ran a daycare out of our house, and every day she would choose two or three of the kids to help her cook that evening's meal (cheap child labor, if I think about it now! yikes! :o) I would always watch or help out.

Then when I was thirteen, mom was diagnosed with a mental illness and my parents divorced. With mom in the hospital more often than she was home, I had no choice but to step up and start cooking the meals for my bro and sis. The two of them would sit in the kitchen and watch me cook, as we discused Mom and what it all meant. Then, as Mom got better and was home more than she was in hospital, she would sit at the kitchen table and watch me cook for her, we'd just sit and chat forever while I cooked something she'd shown me how to cook fifteen years earlier. Not only did I become a fantastic cook out of it, Mom and I have an amazing friendship, too! This is what I meant when I said earlier maybe it's the kitchen in general that I love so much -- I equate the kitchen with comfort, theraputic, and familial.

Ah, the memories. People I work with think it's strange that at 25, I cook a full on meat-starch-vegetable meal every night. They also think it's strange that I buy my meat from a butcher as opposed to the grocery store. Is it really that strange?

Bandit
Member

07-29-2001

Friday, December 09, 2005 - 10:18 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Bandit a private message Print Post    
My mom is a great cook, and I always loved helping her in the kitchen.

Every summer when I was little, the newspaper would have a "Kids Cooking Club." Every day (or was it every week) they would print a recipe for kids to make a meal for their family. My family always ate what I prepared, and it was also a lot of fun. I was so excited because I got to use the big kitchen knives all on my own. Those are fond memories.

Yesitsme
Member

08-24-2004

Friday, December 09, 2005 - 12:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yesitsme a private message Print Post    
My mom grew up in Wales and though her mother was a great cook, none of her 3 daughters were ever allowed in the kitchen. When my mom came to the states to marry my dad at 19, she couldn't cook anything. My dad's mom helped some, but since my parents lived in Mass. and my grandparents in NC, there was little time together. I think my mom mostly learned by trial and error.

All of us, sons and daughters, learned to cook at a fairly early age. My mom went back to school when I was about 10 and my older sister and I would always start dinner when we got home from school. I hated cleaning and my sister hated cooking, so we finally got so most cleaning was done by her and most cooking by me.

Since I live alone, I don't cook very much but probably more than the average single person. I tend to like simple stuff...baked chicken, boiled potatoes, green beans for example. I absolutely love cookbooks and read them like novels....I wish I would try more things. I tend to be bad about doing the thing they say you should never do...I try new recipes for guests. They are generally very tolerant. Oh, and I get picked on because I am the queen of color. I want pretty color combos on my plates. Mom always taught us that if there wasn't a good spread of color, it wasn't a nutritious meal. Growing up in the South, this was novel.

Jagger
Member

08-07-2002

Friday, December 09, 2005 - 1:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jagger a private message Print Post    
My growling belly kept saying feed me feed me, and raw meat just doesn't taste that good.

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Saturday, December 10, 2005 - 9:38 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladytex a private message Print Post    
lol Jagger, I hear ya ... I got married and didn't live in the barracks anymore, so ...

Bandit
Member

07-29-2001

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 7:59 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Bandit a private message Print Post    
Yes, I can appreciate the color thing. My mom would NEVER serve items on the same plate of similar color.

Jagger
Member

08-07-2002

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 4:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jagger a private message Print Post    
I am not a great cook, but I manage to get by. I can do wonders with hamburger, everything from hotdishes to something simple like ground beef with a can of cream of mushroom soup and a bag of corn or peas over mashed potatoes and you've got a great meal. Meat loaf is also a pretty easy meal, good way to clean out the fridge.

Ketchuplover
Member

08-30-2000

Sunday, December 18, 2005 - 3:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ketchuplover a private message Print Post    
Who said I want to learn to cook?

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Sunday, December 18, 2005 - 4:30 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
I had a choice? Heck, no one told me that!

I first learned to cook by helping mom. Never liked that much 'cause we didn't get along all that well, but I do remember liking to help at Thanskgiving and Christmas with the turkey and all the fixin's.

I learned more in 4H and then was forced to take Home Ec in high school (they wouldn't let girls take shop back then, which is what I wanted to do -- I wanted to learn woodworking).

I don't cook much because I live alone. I like baking better than cooking. :-)