Cooking is fun. I should have taken time to master being a good cook a whole lot sooner. The problem with that is that I didn't know I wasn't a good cook. I followed recipes, but if the results were not what I expected, I didn't think much of it.
Still today, some of what I make turns out good, some not. I thought I'd jot down some of my mistakes and challenges so I have sort of a benchmark. After devoting more time to learning how to cook properly, I'll review and see how I've progressed. Sounds like a good idea to me.
Here are 10 mistakes I have made cooking and some challenges I have not yet mastered.
1. Sear meat doesn't mean hot hot hot. I had the heat way too high on more than one occasion. The meat got a bit black and burned. Sear means get a nice brown crust on each side, not burn the blazes out of it. Oh woe is me. It took several burnings for me to realize that sear is not done over the highest possible heat. I lowered the heat, but didn't lower it so much as to be a slow low or simmer. Just a nice high heat, not a sunburn heat. That was a long-time lesson that I finally learned.
2. Bacon. Wow! This, too, was a case of too high a heat. Yes, I thought bacon fried over high heat. Again, not sunburn heat. It always turned out blackened. My honey's bacon always turns out crisp and yummy. Once I lowered the heat a bit and added some patience, the bacon cooked perfectly. Crisp but not burned up.
3. Pork chops were a problem. They either turned out tough and overcooked, or not done enough for safety. I finally realized that the depth of the chop had to do with the cooking time. If I had a 1 1/2 inch thick pork chop, I needed to add cooking time, not ramp up the heat. Another trick I figured out was "searing" the chops and finishing them in the oven. Nice result.
4. I love to make meat balls. They always turn out good to eat, but the outside crust was often too crusty with blackened spots. What I did was adjust the size so all the meat balls were about the same size. I used a small ice cream scoop. Then, I lowered the heat. Once again my bad. Once I had all the sides of the meat ball browned, I finished them in the oven, before I added them to the spaghetti sauce. Voila! Perfectly perfect.
5. Eggs have been a bugaboo of mine for years. I seemed to get that edge crust when I fried them. Not a good result. Once again, I lowered the heat a tad, used a frying pan that was thick (All-Clad is good), and made sure I watched the eggs cooking in the pan. It doesn't take long. Slow cooking but not so slow that the yellow yolks get hard boiled. It does take practice to cook a fried egg so it is good to eat.
6. Bread. Ouch! Well, to be honest, I have not mastered making bread. I gave it the true try and got rocks. Yes, I mean the bread rolls were hard as a rock. I see lots of people on TV making bread that people rave over. It looks so easy. Not. I think I kneaded it too much??? Not sure. Except for the rocky part, the bite tasted good. But can't get to the fresh and yummy bread bite. I will try again another time.
7. Scalloped potatoes haunt me. I have tried to make scalloped pots several times with poor results. I even bought a Mandoline to slice them nice and thin, but they just glomped up and my sauce was gag puke. I'll try again some day far far in the future.
8. Coffee seems easy doesn't it? If you have a modern coffee pot, add some water and a few scoops of coffee grounds, it should turn out okay. But nooooo, not for me. The coffee I made was not fit to drink. It was too weak. Too strong. Bitter. Yuk. Yucky. So my honey makes the coffee now, and he does a bang up job. Every cup is delicious and makes me want more. His secret? So simple. Measure, don't guess. Easy.
9. Chopping looked easy. Just get a knife and chop, right? Not really. One of the secrets to cooking is to make sure that whatever you cut or chop ends up close to the same size. For example, you don't want big and small cut pieces of squash or potatoes. For a dish with cooked zucchini to taste right, every piece that is cut up must be the same size. Otherwise, some bites will be raw and some will be too done or mushy. I did find out that cutting and chopping takes practice. A lot of practice. Start with a knife that is ultra sharp. Always. Get a knife sharpener. I got one and it makes all the difference.
10. Plan ahead. Yes, this was my worst mistake that I no longer make. When I first started cooking (for real) this past year, I glanced through the recipe but failed to get the ingredients ready. So when it was time to add X or Y or Z, whatever stage of the recipe I was at… had to wait. It sat and waited until I got the measuring spoons, measuring cups, or the spice or other ingredient out and measured the portion. Now, if something was waiting on the stove… a bad result happened. Overcooking was not what the recipe called for. Now, I read my recipe with more than a glance. I get out all the ingredients, measure what I need or have it ready to measure. It is not only the better way for the recipe turn-out, but it's faster and easier to cook when you're prepared.
Well, that's it. 10 mistakes I made cooking so far. Thanks for following my blog.