What's your cooking confession?

The Black Oil

I type 'co' in my browser's address bar, and because of the history, this forum is the first result that comes up. I may be addicted.

GHOST MGG

homemadecider wrote: »

I invested in a really good Japanese steel Santoku knife last year. My confession is that when my OH got it sharpened by our local butcher recently it was WAY TOO SHARP and I cut myself about 4 times in a week! I've told my OH not to sharpen my knife anymore, I like it slightly blunted so I don't chop my fingers off

The sharper your knife is the less chance you have of cutting yourself as a blunt knife can often slide and cut you badly.

oscarBravo

GHOST MGG wrote: »

The sharper your knife is the less chance you have of cutting yourself as a blunt knife can often slide and cut you badly.

To be fair, if you're used to blunt knives and suddenly have sharp, you'll continue to use them as if they were blunt until you get used to them. The trick is to consciously adapt to the different techniques required with a sharp knife, including remembering to keep your fingers away from the edge!

The Sweeper

...also, I've just spent three months buying and assembling an eight person dinner set of Denby crockery from UK websites (1/4 of the price of Australian websites), which I've had delivered to Minder's house so he can ship them to me.

I'm using him as my dinnerware mule.

the beer revolu

I pretty much never make my own burgers.
My butcher does it for me - they're so good that there's no point in making my own.

Mr. CooL ICE

dixiefly wrote: »

I hate cracking eggs.

Me too. Whatever I try to do, I usually end up having to fish egg shell splinters out of whatever I'm making.

I can do almost anything else with eggs, even poach them. But the shells piss me off. I can perfectly boil eggs, but I fail at peeling the shells off. The youtube videos are full of lies

dipdip

LordChessington, the fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel.

Loire

LordChessington wrote: »

Me too. Whatever I try to do, I usually end up having to fish egg shell splinters out of whatever I'm making.

I can do almost anything else with eggs, even poach them. But the shells piss me off. I can perfectly boil eggs, but I fail at peeling the shells off. The youtube videos are full of lies

Crack them on a flat surface for less shell.

Gloomtastic!

Loire wrote: »

Crack them on a flat surface for less shell.

I can vouch for this little tip.....

Galadriel

I cannot crack an egg into the pan without shell falling in after it so I crack it into a cup first, scoop out the shell and then throw it into the pan!

duploelabs

Galadriel wrote: »

I cannot crack an egg into the pan without shell falling in after it so I crack it into a cup first, scoop out the shell and then throw it into the pan!

Be swift, be strong, and with conviction and it'll never happen. I've now perfected it to a double handed dual action with one in each hand

Minder

The Sweeper wrote: »

...also, I've just spent three months buying and assembling an eight person dinner set of Denby crockery from UK websites (1/4 of the price of Australian websites), which I've had delivered to Minder's house so he can ship them to me.

I'm using him as my dinnerware mule.

That's what you think. I'm using it and shipping an empty tea chest!

Semele

I can't do an omelette. I just don't understand how they work. Mine always become scrambled eggs!

Portion sizes mean nothing to me. I regularly polish off a family sized recipe, or cook enough for "lunch the next day", but then decide the leftover bit is too small so I might as well just eat it now. I hate cooking for other people because of this! I had risotto cooked by a friend last week and it nearly killed me to see her pack away the leftovers into the fridge while I eked out my tiny (read:normal) portion as long as possible. Were it not for the fact I'm occasionally so lazy I live off toast for a day and the calories balance out I'd be the size of a house. I like to say its my version of intermittent fasting- never letting my metabolism get complacent, etc!

Loire

I always cook too much pasta, especially spagetti....think I made too little one time and over-compensate every time now. Just as well pasta is so cheap!

Mrs Fox

Another confession -- I scream like a demented cockatoo whenever I fry something (e.g. an egg) and it spits an explosion of hot fat.

Scar Tissue

LordChessington wrote: »

Me too. Whatever I try to do, I usually end up having to fish egg shell splinters out of whatever I'm making.

If you do get some shell in there, especially the small pesky little beggers, use one of big pieces of shell to fish out the small piece.. works brilliantly well and avoids that annoying 'dance' you have trying to get it out but never seem to be able to grab it

Source: I'm crap at breaking eggs

catallus

My superpower is cracking eggs immaculately. Since I was four years of age, I could crack an egg perfectly.

My problem is omelettes and cheese. I put way too much cheese in my omelettes, but damn it, it tastes good.

B0jangles

I'm afraid of pressure cookers; I know they are amazing and economical and so on, but on the other hand my normal uneconomical pots are not capable of blasting my face through a brick wall.


If I ever have to use one I get my Dad to set it up for me, (He loves them so much he has, like 4 of them).

beertons

There's loads of stuff I'm crap at. Hate roasting a chicken, too much waste and takes up too much room in the fridge. Am hopeless at pancakes. Can't poach eggs. Gravy is always hit and miss. Coleslaw is nothing like my mams and I use her recipe. Risotto, just can't do it. That's enough embarrassment for this morning.

Toto Wolfcastle

I like omelettes that would be considered bad omelettes. I cook it until it's pretty much completely done, then I put it under a hot grill so that it's extra done and then I add the cheese and put it back under the grill. I don't like them any other way. I'm sure most people would consider my omelettes horribly overcooked.

I also think that there are few things nicer in this world than eating white sauce out of the pot. I'd probably eat the whole lot of it if it didn't have to be used for the dinner. Not packet white sauce though. I only ever had it as a child in the child minder's house and it made me gag.

Lovely Bloke

I don't care what "real" chilli is "supposed to be".

I use mince and tomatoes, and I've been complemented on how nice my chillis are.

I do put some dark chocolate into them though.

I don't use fancy-pants hard-to-find varieties of chilli either. I use "normal" red and green you can get in the supermarket, and some chilli powder.

the beer revolu

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

I like omelettes that would be considered bad omelettes. I cook it until it's pretty much completely done, then I put it under a hot grill so that it's extra done and then I add the cheese and put it back under the grill. I don't like them any other way. I'm sure most people would consider my omelettes horribly overcooked.

Sounds more like a frittata than an omelette.

Toto Wolfcastle

the beer revolu wrote: »

Sounds more like a frittata than an omelette.

Nope, just an overcooked omelette.

SamAK

Spoon/knife licking. Oops.

SarahBeep!

I'm like someone with a secret fetish!! I'm an absolute food pervert. I own loads of cookery books (a lot of which I had to leave in Ireland when I moved to the UK ) which I flick through and look at the pictures and never make anything from! I love reading how to make the really exotic stuff but I've gotten so boring since I finished college and I'm just cooking for myself!

I used to live with a guy who's taste in food was totally different to mine and we shared the cooking which was awesome because he always made something he knew I'd like yet I'd never think of making myself and I did the same. Now I'm boring and just have Shepard's/Cottage Pie, Jambalaya and stuff with pasta!

New Years Resolution: Get out of my boring persons rut and learn to cook properly for one!

confusticated

I can't judge portions of spaghetti, pasta or rice, but refuse to use a measuring cup or scales or anything to solve the problem. Also, can either do thin pancakes or round pancakes. Not both.

dudara

I think I've mastered most of the things that used to trip me up, but fried eggs beat me every time. Poached eggs, scrambled eggs are all good but not fried.

Also, I'm still trying to get the hang of macarons. Fiddly things.

I don't use packet or jar anything as I can make all that stuff quickly, though I can't be arsed to make stock. Stinky and then you have to clean out the pot. Plus I use copious amounts of butter.

Merkin

I'm very heavy handed with the salt

syklops

I can not make Bechamel sauce. It either tastes floury or turns out too gloopy.

duploelabs

Merkin wrote: »

I'm very heavy handed with the salt

pre-seasoning is the key to this. Season lightly when you start your dish, and polish off when you finish.
Imagine it's like trying to put on your final coat of paint without putting down your undercoat first