# What kind of cook are you? Cooking Personalities



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

While reading a cooking experience here, I was struck by the different cooking personalities on the forum.
What kind are you? Do you throw things together? Do you carefully prepare each ingredient and follow directions?
Here's a questionnaire which will help you decide if nothing else.😊

What's Your Cooking Personality? - The New York Times (nytimes.com)


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

I throw things together...I only measure when I bake.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Two Knots said:


> I throw things together...I only measure when I bake.


I know yours. I just asked for the recipe on the Goulash. There was one personality on another site that loved to share and give and I would say that's you. 😊


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## zircon (Sep 24, 2007)

Republicans measure, Democrats pour.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

I did check out the link but I didn't fit in well.

1. Rely on classic dishes my family has always enjoyed.
2. Beef and chicken.
3. No match
4. Casseroles
5. Another no match

I usually cook too much but love reheating leftovers for a quick meal.
My cooking is limited by the foods I'm allowed to eat and I basically live alone so it is just things I like.

Fast usually wins out over fresh and appearances don't change the taste for me.

Bud

Note I'm presently eating a reheated large serving of sausage stew. Basic stew ingredients with lots of sausage (two types) cut up and added.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Bud9051 said:


> I did check out the link but I didn't fit in well.
> 
> 1. Rely on classic dishes my family has always enjoyed.
> 2. Beef and chicken.
> ...


I didn't fit well either. I think I came out Innovative. Or we don't know what the heck you are. 😀


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

I have evolved from poverty when my mom struggled to put any type of food on the table. One of my favorite stories is coming home from school and mom greeting me at the door with her 410 shotgun. She asked me (age about 12) if I would go out and shoot a rabbit for something to eat and she gave me the gun with one shell. I broke it down to hide under my coat but before I left she stopped me and handed me a second shell asking if I could shoot a bird for her cats.

I returned with a rabbit and a robin and felt a pride that still brings tears to my eyes.

From green grass to road kill we ate whatever mom prepared without complaining.

I took me years after going on my own to get used to buying, preparing, and eating normal food but every meal today is filled with memories of when there was almost nothing to eat.

I'm almost embarrassed by what my food shelves look like.
Bud


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Bud9051 said:


> I have evolved from poverty when my mom struggled to put any type of food on the table. One of my favorite stories is coming home from school and mom greeting me at the door with her 410 shotgun. She asked me (age about 12) if I would go out and shoot a rabbit for something to eat and she gave me the gun with one shell. I broke it down to hide under my coat but before I left she stopped me and handed me a second shell asking if I could shoot a bird for her cats.
> 
> I returned with a rabbit and a robin and felt a pride that still brings tears to my eyes.
> 
> ...


What year was that?


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

mid to late fifties


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

There's also "what kind of cook are you" when it comes to cleaning up. Are you the kind of cook who cleans as they go—or the kind who cleans at the end? Are you the kind who will use a fresh pot for each new task—or the kind who will re-use a pot you already used for something else?


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

huesmann said:


> There's also "what kind of cook are you" when it comes to cleaning up. Are you the kind of cook who cleans as they go—or the kind who cleans at the end? Are you the kind who will use a fresh pot for each new task—or the kind who will re-use a pot you already used for something else?


That sounds like a familiar gripe. Is someone making you do the dishes? 🤣


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

I would be 50/50. I like to deglaze my pans while they are hot, much easier to clean. Plus I don’t have multiples of all sizes so a quick clean makes it available again. 

Utensils, cups, and bowls where I have many can get a quick rinse and stacked for the DW.

When cooking is done I load the DW and run it even if I don't have a full load. That makes sure I have everything clean when I start my next cooking project.

Bud


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Bud9051 said:


> mid to late fifties


I just was wondering if you had welfare payments available. I was surprised they began in 1935. No criticism of your mother.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

My mother accept welfare? Even if it was available doubt she would take it. Besides we weren't without income so may not have qualified, dad was in the air force. He just blew all of the money at the bars. Boy did they have some fights.

It was years later that we got her signed up for some assistance and dad had his 20 year pension for what it was worth.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Bud9051 said:


> My mother accept welfare? Even if it was available doubt she would take it. Besides we weren't without income so may not have qualified, dad was in the air force. He just blew all of the money at the bars. Boy did they have some fights.
> 
> It was years later that we got her signed up for some assistance and dad had his 20 year pension for what it was worth.


Not at all a criticism, please take it as it's intended. . . curiosity & enjoying learning about people. My parents had kids late after the War. They both grew up poor on farms. This forum makes me think about what cooking/eating habits we have that came from them.

Do you think it's why you eat large quantities at a time?


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

I cook large quantities but try not to eat it all at once.
My frugal nature says I benefit from one cooking episode that produces 2 or more meals and reduces the clean up. My dad may be responsible for some of that as he was a part time cook that required him to make big pots of everything. I will be scanning in pictures over the next year and can post some of him in whites.

Not taken as criticism.
Bud


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Nik333 said:


> That sounds like a familiar gripe. Is someone making you do the dishes? 🤣


It's fair, if she does the cooking, I have to do the cleaning.

But when _I_ do the cooking, it's still me that ends up doing the cleaning!


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

huesmann said:


> It's fair, if she does the cooking, I have to do the cleaning.
> 
> But when _I_ do the cooking, it's still me that ends up doing the cleaning!


I've been criticized for using too many bowls & pans. 😊


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

I stay out of the way while she cooks and I NEVER complain. I would rather eat it than wear it.


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## Patrick_Shay (Apr 11, 2021)

Follow recipes exactly and do mise en place. I'm a cook not a chef.


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## J. V. (Jun 1, 2007)

huesmann said:


> There's also "what kind of cook are you" when it comes to cleaning up. Are you the kind of cook who cleans as they go—or the kind who cleans at the end? Are you the kind who will use a fresh pot for each new task—or the kind who will re-use a pot you already used for something else?


I try my best to clean as I go. My wife is the opposite. 
The fewer dishes to wash after dinner, the better.



Bud9051 said:


> I cook large quantities but try not to eat it all at once.
> My frugal nature says I benefit from one cooking episode that produces 2 or more meals and reduces the clean up. My dad may be responsible for some of that as he was a part time cook that required him to make big pots of everything. I will be scanning in pictures over the next year and can post some of him in whites.
> Not taken as criticism.Bud


I always have something frozen at the ready for a quick easy meal. Chili, beef stew and another down there ready to be used.
I just had a hamburger from the left over meat from last night. It was killer. I do not save cooked burgers. I save the meat and make it again. 



huesmann said:


> It's fair, if she does the cooking, I have to do the cleaning.
> But when _I_ do the cooking, it's still me that ends up doing the cleaning!


Wow. She must have some other great qualities! Around here its always team work. I cook and help clean up.



Nik333 said:


> I've been criticized for using too many bowls & pans. 😊


This is why its good to clean as you go unless you can re-use the pan for the same meal. Usually by the time we sit down to eat, the only dishes left are what we are eating on. This is the goal.



Old Thomas said:


> I stay out of the way while she cooks and I NEVER complain. I would rather eat it than wear it.


Do you help her clean up?


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

I make a big mess when I cook...then I clean it up, sometimes I get
help.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

J. V. said:


> This is why its good to clean as you go unless you can re-use the pan for the same meal. Usually by the time we sit down to eat, the only dishes left are what we are eating on. This is the goal.


No, no, no! That would spoil the creativity. 😊


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## BayouRunner (Feb 5, 2016)

I can throw down lol. I p








refer cooking for large get togethers. Rarely measure unless it’s critical. Here’s from Easter Sunday. Guess we had about 40 people. 


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Shocking that a "bayou runner" would have a crawfish boil.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Nik333 said:


> I've been criticized for using too many bowls & pans. 😊


A food critic I often read once did an article on restaurants and dish washing. (IIRC he even spent some time washing in one or two of the restaurants.) He interviewed a number of the chefs. One thing he noted was that chefs who had come up through the ranks starting from washing dishes tended to use fewer pans in their cooking.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jun 15, 2018)

*What kind of cook are you?*

.

.


*friendly, cordial, accommodating - - - - *

.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

huesmann said:


> A food critic I often read once did an article on restaurants and dish washing. (IIRC he even spent some time washing in one or two of the restaurants.) He interviewed a number of the chefs. One thing he noted was that chefs who had come up through the ranks starting from washing dishes tended to use fewer pans in their cooking.


I didn't like working with professional chefs. Pretty high-strung, at least the ones I knew. I much prefer docs.😊


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## mitchleeanderso (Jul 23, 2018)

I'm somewhere between. I almost always have a recipe, but I use it more as a guide. A recipe my call for half an onion. I chuck the whole thing in. I know that half an onion put in the fridge will never see the light of day again until it's fuzzy and rotten. I do similar with celery or bell peppers, or whatever. 

Some recipes are very particular about when to add spice and how much. Maybe it makes a difference to a chef, but not to me. Just put the indicated quantities in all at once and be done. 

For that matter, measured amounts of spice aren't really that critical: What's the difference in flavor between a level teaspoon and a rounded or even a heaping one? Not much. Just get close. It's a meal, not a moonshot.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

@mitchleeanderso , just fyi, if you need half an onion, cut the onion across horizontally, & save the bottom half with roots in a plastic baggie. Instead of rotting overtime, if not used, it will grow more roots & sprout at the top. I keep it in the butter section in the refrigerator door. It can be planted, or the tops used.


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## J. V. (Jun 1, 2007)

John Smith_inFL said:


> *What kind of cook are you?*
> *friendly, cordial, accommodating - - - - *
> 
> View attachment 649374


Now Johnny you can easily leave mushrooms out of individual servings......LOL



mitchleeanderso said:


> I'm somewhere between. I almost always have a recipe, but I use it more as a guide. A recipe my call for half an onion. I chuck the whole thing in. I know that half an onion put in the fridge will never see the light of day again until it's fuzzy and rotten. I do similar with celery or bell peppers, or whatever.
> Some recipes are very particular about when to add spice and how much. Maybe it makes a difference to a chef, but not to me. Just put the indicated quantities in all at once and be done.
> For that matter, measured amounts of spice aren't really that critical: What's the difference in flavor between a level teaspoon and a rounded or even a heaping one? Not much. Just get close. It's a meal, not a moonshot.


General cooking does not require a recipe. Baking requires a exact/precise measure of ingredients. A scientific compilation of ingredients if you will. This is very important to remember.
I rarely use recipes as I make things I already am familiar with. Many of those dishes are not dependent on exact measures. However its a real good idea to know exactly what ingredients are and how they present themselves.
A good example is cayenne pepper. The difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon are so important it could render the meal inedible.
Salt while IMO the very most important seasoning can destroy a meal if to much is added. But on the other hand to little salt can also render a dish tasteless.
I have on several occasions been asked why something like soup is not tasty. In most all instances it was because they used to little salt. Salt is very important in cooking and baking. So important I would choose it over anything else if I could only choose 1 seasoning.



Nik333 said:


> @mitchleeanderso , just fyi, if you need half an onion, cut the onion across horizontally, & save the bottom half with roots in a plastic baggie. Instead of rotting overtime, if not used, it will grow more roots & sprout at the top. I keep it in the butter section in the refrigerator door. It can be planted, or the tops used.


I hate the waste sometimes produced when only a portion of an ingredient is used. 
For onions I have come up with a way to keep and use leftovers. Cutting the onion in half and leaving the skin on the half you plan to save will assit in a fresh product. I wrap the half tightly in plastic wrap and position it to the front of the crisper drawer.
Or I peel and slice the whole onion. I put all of it in an ice water bath and soak the slices repeating the rinsing and re-soaking. This seems to tame the onion some and make it perfect for using raw or cooked.
I wrap the cold, rinsed, soaked and drained slices in paper towels and keep in a plastic freezer bag. They seem to last a long time this way.


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## BayouRunner (Feb 5, 2016)

Forgot to add I also cook competitively. Well crawfish boils anyway. Placed 3rd last year in one particular competition. Made one mistake. Gonna give it my best shot for this year. Have cooked for a few weddings as well and graduations. 


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## J. V. (Jun 1, 2007)

I wish I had a sack of crawfish right now! I love them! What do you season your water with?


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## BayouRunner (Feb 5, 2016)

I like Louisiana boil.
And quite a few other items


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