How did you start to like to cook?

[phooi]

I would say my interest in cooking stemmed from a combination of family (mom & dad are good cooks) and a love of food. I started replicating my favorite dishes from home and slowly graduated to a number of different cuisines that I've enjoyed from various restaurants over time.

 

[mwrenchd]

My wife used to do all of the cooking, though I would periodically step in and cook on of the 5 or so recipes I knew how to make well.

When she graduated law school a couple years ago, I saw it as an opportunity to really get comfortable in the kitchen. I still have a tendency to get in a rut, but have probably expanded my repertoire to around 40 or so reasonably complex recipes and dinner combos. When I have the time and energy, I find that I really enjoy trying to make new dishes.

Becoming good friends with a professional foodie really upped the ante also.

 

[Renault78law]

Originally Posted by SGladwell

I'm not a great cook by any stretch, so maybe I shouldn't reply. However, I first got "into" cooking shortly after my father died. I was home with my mother in their old house, and my mother asked me if I could make a decent omelet, because she couldn't but she was craving one. I had never made one in my life, by my father's were just spectacular. When I was an undergrad, I would drive back home almost every Sunday he was in town just to have an omelet for brunch. So I started with learning to make a decent omelet.

So...how do you make a decent omelet?

 

[ChicagoRon]

Like some others here, I learned because I have an affinity for good food. My mother is a great cook, but it took me years to realize it. When I was younger, I protested because she did not make me things like "roast venison and pheasant under glass". Who knows where I got those ideas.

When I was in college, the Food Network was in its infancy. I watched and learned technique. Then I went over things with my mom. It made things more accessible on my college income, and easier because my girlfriend at the time was a quasi-vegetarian (she ate chicken).

Regarding a good omelet......

Eggs are a great test of a cook's technique. There are many resources, but here are my cliff's notes.

1> Mix some butter and olive oil to lubricate the pan...but not too much. you want a no-stick pan here, in case that was not obvious.

2> Use a small pan (5" seems ideal)

3> Cook the filling in the pan first, then put it aside while you cook the eggs, then put them back in.

4> Mix a very little milk or water into the eggs before you whisk them. Remember to season the eggs w/ salt and pepper...I like a little tabasco or cayenne also... but not so much you can taste it.

5> Don't fill the pan too thick. If you want to use more than 2-3 large eggs, that 5" pan will be too small.....but it's hard to control a bigger pan. Work your way up.

6> A good omelet is a fine line between scrambling and not scrambling the eggs. You want to move them gently while they cook to fluff them up...just don't break them all the way. As the eggs cook, use a rubber spatula to lift up the cooked portion around the edges and tilt the pan slightly to move the uncooked from the top of the omelet to the bottom as you push the cooked part in.

7> DO NOT FLIP unless you want a quasi-fritata. It will be good....but it will not be the "perfect omelet" you desire. THat requires a three-fold with cheese and filling in the center.

For reference, you may also consider looking at Shirley O. Corrier's book Cookwise. I don't have a copy handy, but I'm SURE she addresses omelets. Her advice is better than mine.

 

[Kent Wang]

My mother insisted that I learn how to cook before I left for university. Living on my own, I quickly learned to enjoy the hobby. Ever since I was a child though, I had very sensitive taste and could often notice things that my parents could not, like if watermelon had been sitting out for over half an hour, or slightly spoiled tofu. This would drive my mother nuts as she would insist that her cooking was perfectly fine. Other than this little disability, she is still a superb Chinese cook and I owe much to her. I am proud to continue the family legacy of cooking. My mother was the youngest of five children in China. During the Cultural Revolution, her father, my grandfather, was an intellectual and sent to prison and her family persecuted. At the age of twelve, her elder siblings all had to go to work to support the family so she was the one that had to cook for everyone. She learned all her cooking from her grandmother and I have learned a few of those recipes and am honored to pass them on. Of her siblings, she is still the best cook -- though of course I am biased. Of my generation, I am already shaping up to be the best cook as well. When I was in China last year I cooked a nine-course Western meal for fifteen of my relatives who had assembled at my grandmother's home for my cousin's wedding. It was quite the challenge and success and is chronicled in a thread on eGullet.