The reason I don't do recipes.
I just can't, which is why I rarely bake unless something especially delious (cranberry pecan pie) wanders into my knowledge. I will absolutely read a cookbook for cooking a specific thing a specific way (any type of egg cooked in shell in boiling water, for example) or to get ideas "Ooh, adding balsamic vinegar to oven roasted vegetables would be good!"
I also can't convert the things I make into recipes, which frustrates the crap out of my mother on occasion, who has a perfectly organized stack of recipe cards from friends of hers who do use things like measuring cups or timers. Timers, in my world are for frozen pizzas and other stuff I have put in the over and should check on and see if it's done.
For example, I once dated a guy who bemoaned the inexactness of recipes. "How brown is browned meat?" "How tender is al dente?" And I would answer with a very unhelpful. "Like this."
I never attempted to teach him or others how to cook because when I say something like "add some butter" what I really mean is as follows:
"Well, no - that's not enough. But now you've added too much. Yes, about that much. I don't know how much it is, measuring is a pain in the ass. You just... put the right amount in. Yes, the right amount that is in my head that I won't quanitfy for you.
Here, just let me do it. Go sit, I'll bring you a beer."
I think this is why Alton Brown's Good Eats is my one true food show. Every other show is "Put these things together in this way, and it makes this!" where Alton will lovingly explain to you why the anatomy of that onion lends itself to being caramelized into soup, and why you shouldn't bother unless you're using Vidalias.
I think being a thoughtful and evolving cook is one of the most fun things you can do in life - what other hobby demands that you engage in it in some form every day to continue living?
I also can't convert the things I make into recipes, which frustrates the crap out of my mother on occasion, who has a perfectly organized stack of recipe cards from friends of hers who do use things like measuring cups or timers. Timers, in my world are for frozen pizzas and other stuff I have put in the over and should check on and see if it's done.
For example, I once dated a guy who bemoaned the inexactness of recipes. "How brown is browned meat?" "How tender is al dente?" And I would answer with a very unhelpful. "Like this."
I never attempted to teach him or others how to cook because when I say something like "add some butter" what I really mean is as follows:
"Well, no - that's not enough. But now you've added too much. Yes, about that much. I don't know how much it is, measuring is a pain in the ass. You just... put the right amount in. Yes, the right amount that is in my head that I won't quanitfy for you.
Here, just let me do it. Go sit, I'll bring you a beer."
I think this is why Alton Brown's Good Eats is my one true food show. Every other show is "Put these things together in this way, and it makes this!" where Alton will lovingly explain to you why the anatomy of that onion lends itself to being caramelized into soup, and why you shouldn't bother unless you're using Vidalias.
I think being a thoughtful and evolving cook is one of the most fun things you can do in life - what other hobby demands that you engage in it in some form every day to continue living?