Thread: perhaps THE finest thing in life

Having a wife who can cook and bake! My wife of 26+ years learned from her grandmother; a formidable, no-nonsense German woman. She told all of the cousins that if they wanted to learn how to bake, she would teach them. Thing is, they had to get up at 4:30 AM because that's when grandma started baking her bread.

My wife was the only one who ever showed up. Boy, am I glad she did.

How about, having anyone in the family who can cook and bake.

My lovely is an excellent cook, but as a chef turned teacher, I take the cake on that one......it's still fun on the weekends.

Originally Posted by Maxi

How about, having anyone in the family who can cook and bake.

Too true. We both cook and take turns doing so because we're terribly underwhelmed with the self-titled chefs who inhabit our local restaurants. It seems as though anyone who can kill an animal twice (slaughter it first then ruin it on a stove) is a chef these days.

Having a woman that can cook is truly a wonderful thing. Tho its hard to beat being able to spend time cooking together.

My Mom taught cooking and sewing to my
sisters. Osmosis works....

For those sitting on the side try you hand
at popovers this winter. A blender, popover
pan, and go for it with one of the internet
recipes. Hot out of the oven -- almost as good
as bread.

Popovers were the first kitchen adventure for
my Mom's 4H club classes. Quick, simple,
wet and dry measure.

Originally Posted by hamilton946

Too true. We both cook and take turns doing so because we're terribly underwhelmed with the self-titled chefs who inhabit our local restaurants. It seems as though anyone who can kill an animal twice (slaughter it first then ruin it on a stove) is a chef these days.

I completely agree. I used to run across much of that when I was cooking. They would look good on paper, talk a big game, but couldn't make a decent stock or sauce if their life depended on it. Used to drive me nuts!

To me, the mark of a great chef has always been the ability to turn anything in the cupboard into a delicious meal. My wife does that. I've had soups that she's literally created from scratch that were better than anything I've sampled in five-star restaurants. Most people can follow a recipe; a chef knows how to make do with what's on hand.

Originally Posted by hamilton946

To me, the mark of a great chef has always been the ability to turn anything in the cupboard into a delicious meal. My wife does that. I've had soups that she's literally created from scratch that were better than anything I've sampled in five-star restaurants. Most people can follow a recipe; a chef knows how to make do with what's on hand.

My wife is the same. I looked in the pantry and I see nothing to eat, lots of cans and other assorted stuff. Twently minutes later, my wife has made us a great meal.

Oh mannnn,,, can I get a scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream with that?

I've always been pretty handy around the kitchen. These days I do a lot of baking from scratch.

Reminds me of the time when I was a struggling Grad Student in Chicago and there was a blizzard raging outside and we had this yen for cake. I used whatever I could find in the kitchen and made a Grape Juice Cake. Don't ask how it tasted but it came out fine and looked wonderful.