Lots of questions

[wvchick]

My youngest teen is really in to cooking and baking and I need help. After searching the internet for answers to questions I stumbled onto this site and began reading the postings. So many of them were full of great information for me that I believe this site of "culinary" enthusiast will be of great value to the culinary challenged mother.

[roobee71]

Hi there. I'm new too. Just found the site today while looking for a chicken recipe. I love to cook and read about cooking so this site is GREAT for me. I think it's really cool that your SON likes to cook. He should check out this site. I love to check back often for new recipes...
I can't post url's yet so search google for "recipes by ingredient"
It lists recipes by main ingredient. It's nice to use when you're in a bit of a hurry and can't decide what to fix for dinner.
Good luck and Happy Holidays to the both of you.

[KYHeirloomer]

Welcome, WVChick.

Got questions? Chances are we got answers. Don't hesitate to post on any food related topic, no matter how simple you think it may be. Always remember: There's no such thing as a dumb question.

Is your teen pushing the envelope, or just doing everyday kind of cookery? And is (s)he baking sweets or bread? Bread baking can be an arcane art form, very frustrating without some serious help and instruction.

Let us know how we can help.

[wvchick]

Thanks for the input. My teen is tring all of the standard baking things from fruit breads to cookies and cakes but now wants to move into the "full meal" preparation. We have found some recipes that really explain the process but others are defenitely just ingredient lists that don't include how to prep. If you have any good beginner type recipes for main dishes and sides I would love to have them. Suggestions for good recipe sites and books would be great too.

[KYHeirloomer]

Is your teen a boy or a girl? And what age? Both those could have an affect on the answers to your questions.

First, let me suggest that you open a series of threads on the appropriate forums here. That way we can attack the problem piece by piece, and with specifics, instead of keeping it too general over here. For instance, you say "main dishes and sides." But we can help better if you say "pork chops" and "root vegetables." Or even open a thread on menu planning that asks, what's a good way of cooking a whole chicken, and what to serve with it?

Next, see if you can find a copy of "The Joy Of Cooking." Older copies actually are better, if you can find one. But even the latest edition is a good, basic introduction to the how and whys, as well as the whats of cooking.

He/she will still find terms and techniques that need explanation. But that's when you turn to the forums. And keep in mind that google can be your best friend.

On bread making, hands-down the best book on the subject is Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice." Peter really explains the science behind bread, and you come away with an understanding of the process---which, with bread making, is a lot more than blindly following a recipe. Of which, btw, he has some great ones.

So, maybe one or both these books should find its way under the Christmas tree this year?

I don't do sweets myself, so can't recommend any basic books on baking cookies, cakes, and pies.

Menu planning is, itself, an art form because it's based not only on making the individual dishes, but understanding how their flavors work with each other. Many printed recipes include suggestions along those lines, i.e., "serve with X and Y." But really understanding these relationships comes mostly from time in grade. The more one cooks, the more one has a feel for what works and what doesn't.

Make sure you child understands one thing: Short of actually burning it, there is no way to destroy a dish. It may not turn out quite the way the recipe writer had in mind, but so what? And if it turns out to not be to everyone's taste, well then, next time you either don't make that one, or figure out how to improve it. In short, our mistakes are our best classroom.

One help is to read the upscale cooking magazines, such as Gourmet, Bon Appetitie, Saveur, and Food & Wine. To be sure, they are a little high-class and gourmetish for a beginner. But they are a great classroom for both regular dishes and menus.

I would choose just one of them, at first, and get a subscription. Bon Appetite probably makes the most sense, because of the sorts of things they cook and they way they present it.

[wvchick]

FYI - Female age 14 already in trouble in base skills class for not following "french toast" recipe. But hey everyone loved it and wanted to know what she did... lil nutmeg, sugar, vanilla, cloves and who knows what else she threw in we always eat it up.

I have checked out alot of post and am going to sign her up too. We will definitely look into your suggestions. Oh I can't wait to see what she pops up with this weekend.

[KYHeirloomer]

I know what you mean about kids getting into trouble by not following the party line.

Friend Wife and I are living historians, as were the kids when they lived at home. So, after spending a weekend literally living in the 18th century the kids had to return to school in the 20th---where the history teachers, more times than not, got it wrong.

So, until they learned to shut up in class, they were always in deep doodoo.

Try and impress on your girl that the secret is to do what the teacher wants, just to get through it. Her job in that class isn't to learn right vs wrong ways of cooking, but to do what the teacher says. Then, at home, she can forget everything the teacher says and be as creative a cook as she wishes.

Just for the record, while I'm not personally big on cloves, the rest sounds terrif! When I make French toast it always includes vanilla and a touch of nutmeg. I leave the sugar out because we top it with syrup, jam, or a fruit butter, which brings enough sweetness to the party for our tastes.

Unlike her teacher, I present this merely as an alternative, not as one way is right and the other wrong. There are no wrong ways to cook!

Something fun she might want to try. Use a cookie cutter to punch out a circle in the middle of the bread. Then soak both pieces in the egg mixture as usual. When the whole piece goes on the griddle, crack an egg into the hole. Gotta be careful when flipping them, cuz the eqq won't be set on top, yet.

But there ya go: French toast and fried eggs all in one package.

BTW, if making several pieces at once it might be easier for her to first crack the eggs into individual small bowls or pudding cups.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hi KYH,
You are as usual so helpful! Hope your holiday feast was great! Ours was out of this world! Just finished off the turkey for yesterdays lunch. Boy will I be missing the taste of scrumptuous turkey!
One of the things you mentioned above about cracking eggs into a container 1st; is something I allways do when adding eggs to any recipe. It is so much easier to see if a stray piece of shell may have tagged along, as well as picking it out is so much easier if so! I once was invited to eat a georgeous piece of coconut cake - my mouth was watering for this cake - well I took my first big beautiful bite and YUCK Crunched down on a piece of egg shell; just kind of ruined my whole piece of cake and killed my appetite. But as you so beautifully pointed out everything is a learning experience!
Bon Apetite', Cathy

[KYHeirloomer]

Once upon a time, when there were wolves in Wales and snakes in Ireland, I could hold two eggs in each hand, crack and drop 'em, and nary a piece of shell would appear.

But that was a long time ago, before the aches, pains, and stiffness of age changed things. Alas. Now I think it an accomplishment to crack one egg one handed.

The fact is, pre-cracking eggs really is part of the whole mise-en-place thing. If you get everything ready as part of the prep stage, actually cooking isn't difficult at all; nor time consuming for that matter.

[KYHeirloomer]

Thanksgiving was grand, Cathy. For the first time in years we stayed home, just the two of us.

Downside is that I don't make a turkey, not just for two. Was going to make a grouse, but discovered that the one I thought was in the freezer actually was a chicken. Don't know when we ate that grouse.

So I went and bought some game hens instead. Roasted them with a fig/sausage/cornbread dressing; butternut squash polenta; and, of course, my world famous cranbery compote. For starters we had dates stuffed with gorgonzola, followed by an essense of celery consume. Dessert was a simple chocolate/raspberry panna cotta. Homemade bread, of course, to accompany the meal.