2 posts tagged “sous chef”

Who taught you how to cook?
Submitted by Donna.

Books, the Internet, and television. I was a rather spoiled kid growing up, and never really cooked or learned any recipes from my family. So when I moved on to college, I had to sort of improvise. First I relied on the bad stuff: Rice-a-roni, Hamburger Helper, Campbell's soups, etc. You name it, I probably tried it. Then I started buying a whole lot of cooking books -- even Cooking for Dummies. From there, I did some research on the Internet, and slowly learned a few sound cooking techniques. I made a lot of casseroles and baked dishes in the beginning, since they seemed to be the easiest. But then I learned about braising, stir-frying, and started to make soups, stews, etc. Oftentimes I had leftovers for a whole week after a day's worth of cooking (I lived by myself for over five years). Then I started watching a lot of Food Network, and I was simply inspired. Sara Moulton was actually pretty helpful in me learning a few simple chopping techniques, and then Alton Brown changed my viewpoint on almost everything food-related. I became a serious foodie then, buying cooking magazines like Cook's Illustrated, waking up early to go to Farmer's Markets, eschewing Albertson's for Whole Foods, etc. I also learned how to bake by myself -- baking cookie after cookie to get the perfect batch, trying my hand at baking bread, etc. Last year I baked my very first pie from scratch -- it was the apple pie I made for Brandon's birthday.

I wonder if that's unusual; that I learned how to cook in college. I'm sure that's a pretty normal phenomenon.

Who taught you how to cook?
Submitted by Donna.

Books, the Internet, and television. I was a rather spoiled kid growing up, and never really cooked or learned any recipes from my family. So when I moved on to college, I had to sort of improvise. First I relied on the bad stuff: Rice-a-roni, Hamburger Helper, Campbell's soups, etc. You name it, I probably tried it. Then I started buying a whole lot of cooking books -- even Cooking for Dummies. From there, I did some research on the Internet, and slowly learned a few sound cooking techniques. I made a lot of casseroles and baked dishes in the beginning, since they seemed to be the easiest. But then I learned about braising, stir-frying, and started to make soups, stews, etc. Oftentimes I had leftovers for a whole week after a day's worth of cooking (I lived by myself for over five years). Then I started watching a lot of Food Network, and I was simply inspired. Sara Moulton was actually pretty helpful in me learning a few simple chopping techniques, and then Alton Brown changed my viewpoint on almost everything food-related. I became a serious foodie then, buying cooking magazines like Cook's Illustrated, waking up early to go to Farmer's Markets, eschewing Albertson's for Whole Foods, etc. I also learned how to bake by myself -- baking cookie after cookie to get the perfect batch, trying my hand at baking bread, etc. Last year I baked my very first pie from scratch -- it was the apple pie I made for Brandon's birthday.

I wonder if that's unusual; that I learned how to cook in college. I'm sure that's a pretty normal phenomenon.