Let's talk about cooking

[Wendy Summers]

Fraiser? Really, Wendy?
Food looks good though.

It's better than I would have thought. I like getting caught up on good TV I missed.

[sukumvit boy]

Just thought I would reopen this nice old thread to lighten things up a bit and allow new members to share their thoughts.
I see from previous posts that some , like Jericho , limit their culinary endeavors to "fire and smoke" while others seem to be quite accomplished in the kitchen.
With regard to the above unanswered question from eded about how to cook kbab , I just cook it on the broiler pan under the broiler ,no special equipment needed except bamboo or metal skewers . For a simple and quick kabab I just dredge chunks of tender cuts of beef , lamb or chicken breast with chunks of tomato ,onion , bell pepper ,and portabella or shiitake mushrooms in a bath of oil , salt , pepper and soy sauce with Chinese 5 spice powder or curry powder. Arrange them on the skewers and cook them under the broiler.Serve with rice and / or a salad.
Quick and easy.
I grew up in a household where everyone liked to cook and we were all eager to show off and share our latest creations and experiments. So I always felt at home in the kitchen.Something which I later appreciated and saved me a ton of money as a student / single person.
How about you?

[Wendy Summers]

Cooking you say? Here's some food porn I tweeted out a few days ago...

[ILuvGurls]

Bought this smoker last year and it's turned out to be a great investment.....smoked chicken wings...did not last long

[ILuvGurls]

This was Christmas dinner....Standing Rib Roast

[ILuvGurls]

Boston Butt makes some great pulled pork.

[Stavros]

What foods basic to many tables do people find impossible to eat?

Number one: Rhubarb, the most disgusting so-called 'fruit' in the western world. It doesn't matter how you prepare it, it looks like poison, and tastes like poison because it is.

Number two: ancient English tubers like Swede and Turnips, which were used in meals before we imported potatoes from the Americas. Turnips have a sweet edge which tastes like it is derived from pig vomit, it doesn't matter if you boil them, bake them or strip them into 'chips'/fries, they are an abomination and it is because they were a staple part of the diet in Britain that we were so easily over-run by the Romans, the Vikings and the Normans.

Number three: Organs -I cannot put liver and kidney into my mouth, no matter how you cook them. Give some thought to how the liver and kidneys function in the body, and you may understand why. As for brains, I already have one, I don't need to eat more, and let's face it, in the simple case of sheep, why would you want to eat the brains of one of planet earth's most stupid creatures?

[Gillian]

None of the ones you mention ...

There are very few things I won't eat, but I am very fussy about "feel in the mouth". If I'm preparing a soffritto for a ragu, I want finely chopped onions, carrot and celery. My brother on the other hand will roughly chop everything and then tell me it's "rustic".

The look and feel of food, IMHO, significantly affects its appeal and flavour.

[sukumvit boy]

Boston Butt makes some great pulled pork.

Yum , all those look so good makes me wish I had a smoker.

[sukumvit boy]

My paternal grand parents were Italian immigrants and and we had butchers and bakers in the family . That brings to mind two traditional Italian foods that were served at my house for this time of year , Easter and Saint Joseph's Day (this year St. Joseph's day is march 19th).
Roasted sheep's head for Easter which scared the hell out of me as a kid , and still does . And zeppoli for Saint Joseph's Day , still one of my favorites.