Perfect cook

jeffwit · October 2015

A question. What defines a perfect cook for you?
I have just recently (in the past year or so) discovered that I enjoy cooking. I grew up in a traditional home, Mom did the majority of the cooking, but Dad did the grilling (on an old Weber kettle). When I got married, it was the same arrangement. My wife did most of it, and I would chip in occasionally with some form of grilled protein with her fixing the sides. We went from a gasser to an assortment of charcoal grills that would rust out, and finally to the Egg. I have been getting more involved in the total prep of the meal, including sides and dessert. Using the Egg is my favorite, but I don't mind the stove or oven, either. It's fun, and I like the family to enjoy what I've made.
A perfect cook for me? One that is a new recipe, that took several steps to prepare, and that cooked on the Egg. Most importantly, if SWMBO says, "That's really good, make it again sometime!" If the kids don't hate it, then that's a plus, too.

How about you all? Perfect presentation? Perfect doneness (or rawness)? Doesn't make anyone vomit?

I have no reason for asking except that I like to learn how other people think.

Tinyfish · October 2015

Who doesn't like hearing a compliment on their food.

Theophan · October 2015

I think most people are their own harshest critics, and for me I don't think there IS a perfect cook. Even when I'm super happy with it, I'm just about always thinking about ways it wasn't executed quite the way I wanted, or ways to improve it another time.

That said, though, I suppose my idea of a perfect cook might just be that it was exactly what I was in the mood for at the time, that it came out pretty much exactly the way I wanted it to, and that all present thought it was really great. And that could be a simple cook (a "perfect" steak), or something more complex and "fancy."

Hearing other people say it was wonderful definitely helps, and the opposite, of course -- it's a huge disappointment if something I cooked doesn't seem to have gone over well. I will never forget making what was my all-time favorite dessert at that time for some friends, back in the '80s, and I thought it was perfect, just wonderful, and my family had had it on other occasions and raved about it, but my friends in this particular dinner didn't seem very enthusiastic, and I still remember it. I'm not sure I ever made it again, and then years later I tried to find the recipe, but it was lost. I wish I could find it again, but it's "the one that got away," I guess, now.

I've seen a few other recipes for a similar dessert, and once in a while I think of trying them and trying to re-create it by tweaking them. Maybe I will some day.

The last time I smoked some spare ribs, my son-in-law took a look, and smelled the smoky fragrance, as I carried them into the house, and looked like he was about to faint from enjoyment and gratitude for the meal we were about to begin, and everybody seemed to be enjoying them. Yeah, that helps...

Legume · October 2015

Perfect is trying something new and having the timing and execution all come together.

Perfect+ is when my wife doubts what I'm making and ends up eating crow.