I don't know whether I'm an abject failure in the kitchen or not

G

GeorgiaXplant

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
Used to be in the olden days a "good cook" was a good plain cook. Now it seems that the cook positively must get creative in the kitchen with exotic ingredients/spices, make sure it's gluten-free, keto-friendly, low carb/high carb, not to mention low fat/cholesterol and low sodium, and then style the food on the plate.

Am I the only one left who thinks pork chops baked with dressing, pot roast, beef burgundy, spaghetti and meatballs, tuna casserole, chicken pot pie, soups and stews and such like as that constitute good eating and come from the kitchens of good cooks?

Maybe, like the fashions in clothes, the fashions in food have passed me by.
 

GeorgiaXplant said:
Used to be in the olden days a "good cook" was a good plain cook. Now it seems that the cook positively must get creative in the kitchen with exotic ingredients/spices, make sure it's gluten-free, keto-friendly, low carb/high carb, not to mention low fat/cholesterol and low sodium, and then style the food on the plate.

Am I the only one left who thinks pork chops baked with dressing, pot roast, beef burgundy, spaghetti and meatballs, tuna casserole, chicken pot pie, soups and stews and such like as that constitute good eating and come from the kitchens of good cooks?

Maybe, like the fashions in clothes, the fashions in food have passed me by.
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You are most definitely NOT the only one. :)

A good cook turns-out whatever he/she has in mind, whether that be a spicy dish, a more classic, traditional dish (less spice, etc), whatever.

So long as the food is good, then as far as I'm concerned, job well done (pardon the pun)! 🥄
 
I'm of the opinion lately that our food does not have the taste it had years ago so it has to be spiced up, sauced up or cooked in ways that my grandmother would never had heard of. My grandmother was a good cook and I don't remember any use of sauces, spices etc. but she did have mustard, made from tin powdered mustard (add some water) and she would grow mint add some vinegar and a little sugar (I think).
Perhaps tastes have changed or there are more 'ingredients' available, or people want to be more adventurous but hey I like simplicity. @Becky1951 reminded me of the dumplings grandma made - I think they were made with Atoro Suet ..... in a stew 🤤
 
Why adapt yourself to other's opinions of style and mode? All you ladies sound like GREAT COOKS!
I miss cooking for a man, but why should I cook these great meals just for myself?
hahaha! with the exception of a great pot roast, goulash or chicken soup!
Anyway, You see these artistic plates on TV and are expected to copy them? Your dishes sound SO MUCH BETTER!
 
Fanny Craddock was a 'celebrity chef' in the 1950s - 1980s in the UK? Should anyone worry about their cooking abilities or presentation, here's what she produced for part of a dinner party - I think it was the after dinner cheese course or before (who knows and who cares) :giggle: . How things have changed - bless. Think it's meant to look like a hedgehog. it's got a green tongue and carrot eyes - interestingo_O
 

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Gaer said:
Why adapt yourself to other's opinions of style and mode? All you ladies sound like GREAT COOKS!
I miss cooking for a man, but why should I cook these great meals just for myself?
hahaha! with the exception of a great pot roast, goulash or chicken soup!
Anyway, You see these artistic plates on TV and are expected to copy them? Your dishes sound SO MUCH BETTER!
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They probably are better even if they aren't "styled." I think my grandmothers made liberal use of salt, pepper, garlic and onions. Maybe their food tasted better because we could actually taste what they cooked.

And how could I have left out chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, Swiss steak?

By the way, the hot fudge pudding cake is in the oven as we speak. Jussayin...
 
When I was young I used to try to show off in the kitchen and be perceived as a sophisticated foodie.

Now that I'm a little more mature I stick with the things that I enjoy which are mostly the salt & pepper country cooking dishes that I grew up with.

Recently I've been enjoying the fast simple home cooking/technique videos being produced by Jacques Pepin and featured on his FB page.

https://jp.foundation/video/

Don't be afraid to develop your own style and serve the foods you enjoy to family and friends. Your cooking may seem boring to you but it will be new and fresh to your guests.

@Treacle I enjoy watching Fanny Craddock on YouTube her old shows are a culinary cult treasure. ;)
 
Treacle said:
Fanny Craddock was a 'celebrity chef' in the 1950s - 1980s in the UK? Should anyone worry about their cooking abilities or presentation, here's what she produced for part of a dinner party - I think it was the after dinner cheese course or before (who knows and who cares) :giggle: . How things have changed - bless. Think it's meant to look like a hedgehog. it's got a green tongue and carrot eyes - interestingo_O
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..and did you know that when she died they discovered that she and johnny literally lived off Sardines and Cornflakes
 
I enjoy a little of everything. What constitutes a "fancy" to one, may not be to another.

Like many things, popular food evolves. I see nothing wrong with that. While I love an old fashioned dish like a stew, I would look forward to something new and exotic (to me).
 
Aunt Bea said:
When I was young I used to try to show off in the kitchen and be perceived as a sophisticated foodie.

Now that I'm a little more mature I stick with the things that I enjoy which are mostly the salt & pepper country cooking dishes that I grew up with.

Recently I've been enjoying the fast simple home cooking/technique videos being produced by Jacques Pepin and featured on his FB page.

https://jp.foundation/video/

Don't be afraid to develop your own style and serve the foods you enjoy to family and friends. Your cooking may seem boring to you but it will be new and fresh to your guests.

@Treacle I enjoy watching Fanny Craddock on YouTube her old shows are a culinary cult treasure. ;)
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And the way she delivered was quite unique and looking back quite funny with Johnny. I guess ,at the time, she was the Jamie Oliver of the 50's without the pretentious?
Aunt Bea said:
When I was young I used to try to show off in the kitchen and be perceived as a sophisticated foodie.

Now that I'm a little more mature I stick with the things that I enjoy which are mostly the salt & pepper country cooking dishes that I grew up with.

Recently I've been enjoying the fast simple home cooking/technique videos being produced by Jacques Pepin and featured on his FB page.

https://jp.foundation/video/

Don't be afraid to develop your own style and serve the foods you enjoy to family and friends. Your cooking may seem boring to you but it will be new and fresh to your guests.

@Treacle I enjoy watching Fanny Craddock on YouTube her old shows are a culinary cult treasure. ;)
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I learned to cook good enough so I wouldn't be bored with what I was eating. None of it is fancy. My family was a meat and potatoes kind of family. I do wish someone's Italian grandmother would have given me cooking lessons. I so love Italian food. I tried to change the taste of spaghetti once by adding lemon juice, just to see what that would do. Don't try it. :LOL:
 
Phoenix said:
I learned to cook good enough so I wouldn't be bored with what I was eating. None of it is fancy. My family was a meat and potatoes kind of family. I do wish someone's Italian grandmother would have given me cooking lessons. I so love Italian food. I tried to change the taste of spaghetti once by adding lemon juice, just to see what that would do. Don't try it. :LOL:
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ROFLMAO!
 
That good old 50's food!
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GeorgiaXplant said:
Ewww! Remember in the 50s/60s that no holiday or company meal was complete without a Jell-o salad of one kind or another? That one looks pretty awful. I actually liked a lot of the ones that were intended as desserts.
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I liked Jell-O salads, too.

My mom used to make a green Jello-O salad, and it was my favourite!
 
@GeorgiaXplant I totally agree about this new fangled 'cuisine' (and I use that term lightly)
I am and have always been and always will be a good (enough) plain cook
We have a plethora of 'cooking' (once again I use the term lightly) shows on TV these days
The meat is lucky to have been browned let alone cooked....the meat would get browner with a sun lamp
That is dangerous in itself to undercook meat but that is another story
When they show a recipe which has 75 ingredients I wonder what they are trying to cover up
Why would anyone want to disguise the flavour of the different meats and vegetables I wonder?
 


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