Do you enjoy cooking from scratch?

[Ban my account ffs!]

I love cooking from scratch.  After our Christmas Eve prime rib roast, I took all the bones and bits of meat along with some store bought soup bones and made a stock.  There's nothing better than a super rich, home made beef stock... especially for making prime rib soup or French Onion soup.

Today I'm making homemade bread and I'll be using the stock to make a soup for supper tonight.. so we'll have homemade soup and bread... one of the simplest, most comforting, and most delicious meals.

What about you?  Do you like cooking from scratch?  Or is your idea of "scratch" ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, green beans, and corn flakes on top for some crunch?

[opebo]

I don't enjoy cooking at all, but I certainly enjoy and prefer eating things which are cooked from scratch, snowfuggin.

[memphis]

I like cooking very much, but none of those awful Minnesota ingredients in the final sentence.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I like cooking very much, but none of those awful Minnesota ingredients in the final sentence.

Oh go eat your chitterlings and pickled pig's feet... I'll stick with my hotdish thank you very much.

[memphis]

I like cooking very much, but none of those awful Minnesota ingredients in the final sentence.

Oh go eat your chitterlings and pickled pig's feet... I'll stick with my hotdish thank you very much.

Think you may have misjudged my ethnic background a hair.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Most of the time, but some creativity with some convenience ingredients can be good too.

[homelycooking]

See username.

Just this past week I've made eggplant parmesan, chocolate soufflés and fresh pasta while home from college. Cooking has been something I've always loved to do - I even briefly considered going to culinary school.

[Associate Justice PiT]

    Definitely! Cooking is always great fun.

See username.

Just this past week I've made eggplant parmesan, chocolate soufflés and fresh pasta while home from college. Cooking has been something I've always loved to do - I even briefly considered going to culinary school.

     Funny coincidence, I made chicken parmesan recently. It takes a long time to make (still less than an empanada or chicharrones), but it's well worth the effort.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Yes- I cook bacon and eggs at least once a day and very often steak

[Franzl]

Yes- I cook bacon and eggs at least once a day and very often steak

That's obviously what "cooking from scratch" means.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Yes- I cook bacon and eggs at least once a day and very often steak

That's obviously what "cooking from scratch" means.

I did not see the "from scratch " part

[Simfan34]

See username.

Just this past week I've made eggplant parmesan, chocolate soufflés and fresh pasta while home from college. Cooking has been something I've always loved to do - I even briefly considered going to culinary school.

Respect! When you say Fresh pasta, do you mean making the dough and using a press? Even more respect then!

I tried making a pizza last week. It was okay, but the pie itself was too fluffy and chewy. I suppose I kneaded it a bit too much and then didn't roll it enough. Suppose using the rolling pin wasn't the best idea.

However, I'd call making eggs and bacon "cooking from scratch", if a simple type of doing. Steaks are another creature. I don't know if they're grilled, fried, baked or broiled!

[angus]

I voted occasionally.  I did enjoy cooking immensely till I got married, but not my wife does most of the cooking.  I never really understood the meaning of the phrase "from scratch" or its etymology.  I never killed a cow and I never raised grains chickens and I don't care much for hunting and fishing, but everything we cook is for real.  Starts out as produce from the produce department, meat from the meat department, dairy from the dairy department, and grains from the grain department.  I don't buy bottled marinara sauce when I make lasagna.  In fact, I don't have to buy much, because we always have lots of whole onions and green peppers in the fridge, and whole garlics in the pantry, and oil on hand.  And when we make bread we start with a package of yeast, and flour, and water, and sugar, and salt.  But I don't actually go to the sea for salt, and I don't beat the cane for sugar, and I don't mill the grain for flour, and I don't swab my yeasty parts and incubate the cultures in a freshly prepared Petri dish.  All that stuff we buy at the supermarket.  So it depends upon how scratchy you want to get when you say "from scratch."  Remember, one man's scratch is another man's itch.  Anyway, you're only telling what you think scratch is not--and in your telling of it (a can of cream of mushroom soup, ground beef, green beans, and corn flakes), one could guess your state of residence even if you didn't have that big red Minnesota shield--but you're not telling us what you think scratch is.  Where do you get your yeast?  Or do we really want to know?

[homelycooking]

Funny coincidence, I made chicken parmesan recently. It takes a long time to make (still less than an empanada or chicharrones), but it's well worth the effort.

Eggplant's tough, though. There's so much bitter liquid in it and you have to salt it liberally to make it at all palatable. But if you take out too much of the liquid, you risk turning the vegetable into a textureless lump of cellulose. My solution is to soak slices of it in heavily salted water, press out some of the juice and broil them before assembling the final dish. Haven't had chicken parm in a while, though, since I'm a vegetarian

Respect! When you say Fresh pasta, do you mean making the dough and using a press? Even more respect then!

Yep, making the dough from scratch, but I don't have a press. I roll the dough out with a rolling pin, which is a pain in the...hand and takes far too long, and cut it with a sharp knife. I guess that's the reason why they invented pasta machines...

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

An example of my 'creative use of convenience ingredients'.

I have a chicken salad I'm known for.

You start with a trimmed chicken breast (roughly 1/2 a breast per person) - marinate the breast in maple syrup (not much), 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic, 1 table spoon of tomato relish and some olive oil.

Cook the breast on a frypan for about 6 mins per side... pre-heat the oven to 150C (fan-forced) - wrap the breast in cooking paper, place it on a tray and cook for a further 15-20mins depending on size.

Get big bag of pre-washed salad leaves
two tomatoes
one medium-sized lebanese cucumber
one avocado...

DRESSING
- any pre-made caesar salad dressing, a squirt of maple, a squeeze of lemon juice, a teaspoon of dijon mustard and a dribble of olive oil and (trust me) some cranberry jam-type-stuff... store at room-temp...

Combine salad leaves and chopped fruit - then get the chicken out and slice into decent-sized chunks... then put the dressing into the M/W for 5-10 seconds - drizzle, then toss and serve

[King]

I've done it a few times, but it's tiring.

[Ban my account ffs!]

An example of my 'creative use of convenience ingredients'.

I have a chicken salad I'm known for.

You start with a trimmed chicken breast (roughly 1/2 a breast per person) - marinate the breast in maple syrup (not much), 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic, 1 table spoon of tomato relish and some olive oil.

Cook the breast on a frypan for about 6 mins per side... pre-heat the oven to 150C (fan-forced) - wrap the breast in cooking paper, place it on a tray and cook for a further 15-20mins depending on size.

Get big bag of pre-washed salad leaves
two tomatoes
one medium-sized lebanese cucumber
one avocado...

DRESSING
- any pre-made caesar salad dressing, a squirt of maple, a squeeze of lemon juice, a teaspoon of dijon mustard and a dribble of olive oil and (trust me) some cranberry jam-type-stuff... store at room-temp...

Combine salad leaves and chopped fruit - then get the chicken out and slice into decent-sized chunks... then put the dressing into the M/W for 5-10 seconds - drizzle, then toss and serve

You just don't have the knack for making food sexy...

A squirt of maple syrup just sounds... well... squirting brownish viscous liquids is never pleasant. 

I think we'd call what you describe as a green salad with chicken breast.  Chicken salad in the U.S. means this:



You usually put it in sandwiches.

It does sound good though.

Tonight I'm making my favorite meal... an odd combination, but so yummy:

Marinade for pork tenderloin:
1 cup soy sauce
half cup water
3 Tbsp white vinegar
3 Tbsp finely diced garlic (buy it in jars)
2 Tbsp grated onion
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp cayenne

Marinade pork tenderloin for about 2 hours

Then wrap tenderloin with bacon and marinade another hour.  The bacon does a great job absorbing the liquid and it can be over powering if you go longer.

Put the tenderloin in a baking dish, along with the marinade liquids.

Broil under the broiler until bacon begins to sizzle

Reduce heat to 325˚F and bake until the internal temperature reaches 135˚F, 130˚F if you're feeling daring.  Baste frequently.  The tenderloin will continue to cook upon resting to 140˚F-145˚F.  At this temperature, any trichinosis is killed within 1 minute.  That temperature will leave the middle slightly pink and make for an extremely tender, cut it with a fork, juicy piece of meat.

After the meat has well rested, slice into medallions and serve.

I like to make a basic risotto with parmesan cheese and chicken stock and steamed and buttered brussel sprouts to go along with it.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That picture looks genuinely disgusting.

[John Dibble]

Sometimes. I especially like baking, probably because it's more of a science and the results are a little more predictable. I would likely cook more often if I didn't have to work, but work limits my time for dealing with other stuff I enjoy doing. I also hate doing dishes, which is a requirement any time I cook.