[blackshoe]

See if you can find a copy of James Beard's How to Eat Better for Less Money. My stepmother (a gourmet cook) gave me a copy when I was about your age. It's probably out of print, but an online search might turn up a copy. Excellent book, lots of good recipes.

Sushi is easy to make at home, and there are easy Indian dishes as well. One trick I've used many times: buy (for example) a decent sized rib roast (at least 3 ribs). You'll have a good roast beef dinner, and then you'll have leftovers for a week or more. Note: "leftovers" is not a dirty word. Beard's book gives all kinds of good idea about what to do with "leftovers". In fact, that's where I got the original idea for the rib roast thing.

Remember what Julia Child said: "I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food."

If you can find a good cooking class (Wegman's supermarkets up here runs several every year, and "The Learning Annex" used to do them in San Diego when I lived there) take it. Take more than one. You'll learn good stuff, and who knows who you might meet there?

[jjbrr]

blackshoe, on Jun 28 2009, 12:17 AM, said:

See if you can find a copy of James Beard's How to Eat Better for Less Money. My stepmother (a gourmet cook) gave me a copy when I was about your age. It's probably out of print, but an online search might turn up a copy. Excellent book, lots of good recipes.

Sushi is easy to make at home, and there are easy Indian dishes as well. One trick I've used many times: buy (for example) a decent sized rib roast (at least 3 ribs). You'll have a good roast beef dinner, and then you'll have leftovers for a week or more. Note: "leftovers" is not a dirty word. Beard's book gives all kinds of good idea about what to do with "leftovers". In fact, that's where I got the original idea for the rib roast thing.

Remember what Julia Child said: "I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food."

If you can find a good cooking class (Wegman's supermarkets up here runs several every year, and "The Learning Annex" used to do them in San Diego when I lived there) take it. Take more than one. You'll learn good stuff, and who knows who you might meet there?

it seems a lot of you missed my post about being a much better cook than i made out to be.

im well aware of the internet and finding recipes on it. i, shockingly, know how to use google and how to find recpes for dishes i want. thats not the problem at all. im also not averse to leftovers, which im actually quite big on, though the lalls have a much different take on. my family freezes leftovers to have later. we like variety so we try to space things out. the lalls make a big pot of indian curry and eat it for 4-5 days until it's gone. then we make more. this, of course, isnt a problem at all, but it limits the variety in a given week.

this thread was intended to get you to think outside the box; i wanted to do something spontaneous and random. you all selected the same old same old. you took the safe, sure bet. as a relatively young person, im afraid of the sure bet. i want spice and surprise.

i understand your reasons for taking the safe bet. the long-term return on learning to cook are clearly worth the effort. but i already know how to cook, so this was a misconception on your part, in my opinion.

so in conclusion this was a little bit of a disappointment. obviously i didnt meet anyone new. i didnt branch outside any sort of comfort level or anything like that. it was really just like every other week. i guess that was expected, but i was hoping for a little different. perhaps unrealistic on my part.

ok. i have to make sausage for jlall. BYE.

[Gerben42]

Quote

You should try Italian Italian restaurants.

Agree with this. If they do not have an open kitchen and you cannot follow the chaos which is loudly commented in fluent Italian, you are just in a restaurant that serves Italian food, NOT an Italian restaurant.

[cherdanno]

Btw, Jeremy and Matmat, if you can really make ravioli and a main dish in an hour, I am coming over next time I am close by!

[hrothgar]

jjbrr, on Jun 28 2009, 08:37 AM, said:

this thread was intended to get you to think outside the box; i wanted to do something spontaneous and random. you all selected the same old same old. you took the safe, sure bet. as a relatively young person, im afraid of the sure bet. i want spice and surprise.

i understand your reasons for taking the safe bet. the long-term return on learning to cook are clearly worth the effort. but i already know how to cook, so this was a misconception on your part, in my opinion.

so in conclusion this was a little bit of a disappointment. obviously i didnt meet anyone new. i didnt branch outside any sort of comfort level or anything like that. it was really just like every other week. i guess that was expected, but i was hoping for a little different. perhaps unrealistic on my part.

If you want to do something spontaneous and random, don't ask a committee for their opinion. Just go out and do something.

I'll note in passing: A lot of people provided you with a wide variety of different options. Eat in was certainly the most popular choice. However, 2/3rds of the folks who voted recommended going out and doing something.

You might have also run into issues like the following: For me, really special nights are ones when I get together with a group of friends and we cook something. We go out to dinner when we don't have the time/energy to do things right. Don't get me wrong: I enjoy a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant as much as anyone. However, whats the point of hitting PF Changs or Chipotle??? That's just being lazy.

Your mileage may vary.

[mike777]

" Obviously this restaurant is too expensive to indulge in too frequently, but the quality is certainly worth it. I'm willing to spend a large part of paycheck for you voters, but this is quite an event on a 22 year old's salary."




Yes, getting together with friends and going to a nice restraunt is a special event at any age but esp. at 22. Going to PF Changs once a year and a 4 star Italian restraunt once a year is nice.

I certainly do not get a simple meal that I could have prepared at home in an hour.

btw even my homemade spaghetti sauce takes hours to make.

[blackshoe]

The trick to being able to whip up a good meal in an hour lies in knowing what you're doing and in having the stuff you need on hand.

[cherdanno]

blackshoe, on Jun 28 2009, 12:47 PM, said:

The trick to being able to whip up a good meal in an hour lies in knowing what you're doing and in having the stuff you need on hand.

Still there are many dishes that you cannot cook in an hour. Like Spaghetti with tomato sauce, as Mike says.

[matmat]

mike777, on Jun 28 2009, 12:15 PM, said:

Going to PF Changs once a year and a 4 star Italian restraunt once a year is nice.

the 4 star italian, sure... the pf changs... ... ugh

[hrothgar]

blackshoe, on Jun 28 2009, 08:47 PM, said:

The trick to being able to whip up a good meal in an hour lies in knowing what you're doing and in having the stuff you need on hand.

Agreed

I find making sauces takes much more (active) time than just about anything else. (Especially Indian sauces, which always seem to require caramelizing massive amounts of onions and shallots)

However, most sauces keep. And once you have a nice select of sauces in the freezer / fridge you can make something pretty good with minimal effort.

[mike777]

blackshoe, on Jun 28 2009, 12:47 PM, said:

The trick to being able to whip up a good meal in an hour lies in knowing what you're doing and in having the stuff you need on hand.

Well preparing a meal includes shopping time and driving time. Lets count all the time not just some. No doubt knowing what you are doing in the kitchen will save alot of time. Heck just preparing a nice table setting takes time.

That is why going out to a nice meal is an event, it takes time.
No doubt some posters can make a lovely meal in an under an hour, I just could not replicate a true 4 star meal in one hour, start to finish....or a week.

Yes sauces take time.....

btw 3 stars is a pretty high rating. Even a one star rating puts you near the top of the best.


http://www.micheling...m/us/index.html

[Fluffy]

cherdanno, on Jun 28 2009, 05:55 PM, said:

blackshoe, on Jun 28 2009, 12:47 PM, said:

The trick to being able to whip up a good meal in an hour lies in knowing what you're doing and in having the stuff you need on hand.

Still there are many dishes that you cannot cook in an hour. Like Spaghetti with tomato sauce, as Mike says.

I eat a lot of spaghetti, and it takes around 20 minutes to prepare them, the tomato sacue is bought prepared though wich obviously makes the difference. (I enjoy the industrial sauce more than any other)

[hrothgar]

mike777, on Jun 29 2009, 12:13 AM, said:

btw 3 stars is a pretty high rating. Even a one star rating puts you near the top of the best.


http://www.micheling...m/us/index.html

It should be fairly obvious that any restaurant described as "4 Star" is using something other than the Michelin scale.

[ggwhiz]

Oysters Rockefeller are not that tough off a googled recipe.

Time consuming? yup. Worth it? I wish I was 22 again.

All you really need to do is define "occasion" and if you prefer a high scale restaurant, fine but I would pay attention to a lifelong skill that you are well on the way to. Practice will pay dividends.

[jjbrr]

I like delivery.

[Lobowolf]

First choice, Indian.

Second choice, Indian.

Third choice, Indian.

[mike777]

Lobowolf, on Jun 28 2009, 09:35 PM, said:

First choice, Indian.

Second choice, Indian.

Third choice, Indian.

1) First I was hungry for some yuppie chinese...PF chang yearly run
2) now I need to find a good India place...... Granted I am the last person who knows good India from bad India food.

[Jlall]

This poll makes me miss NY so much...

[Aberlour10]

hrothgar, on Jun 28 2009, 01:12 PM, said:

I find making sauces takes much more (active) time than just about anything else.  (Especially Indian sauces, which always seem to require caramelizing massive amounts of onions and shallots)

However, most sauces keep.  And once you have a nice select of sauces in the freezer / fridge you can make something pretty good with minimal effort.

Making my favourite spaghetti sauce "alla Bolognese" takes me between 2,5-3 hours, At the first look an easy and fast receipt, but all these small details done in the "right time" bring foremost the result I am full satisfy with. ( after years of trying

Unfortunately in this case...after freezing and warming up, the taste is different, not so much but I dont like it this way.

Robert

[blackshoe]

If you're inviting your new girl friend over for spaghetti dinner, by all means make the sauce fresh on the day. If you're planning the next month's meals, make some sauce and freeze it to save time on the day.