As I was cooking recently, I started thinking about all the folks I’ve cooked for over the years who love my cooking and I started wondering: What makes a great cook? We all have different tastes. Are there some commonalities? I came up with a few. So I decided to present my list here, in no particular order, as a jumping off point for others to add to the discussion. I have broad categories and examples of each. And then at the end I present my potato salad, because it’s the 4th of July! It’s a classic for holiday picnics. There are cats because it’s the Internet and every diary should have cats!
my list of what makes a great cook
1) Go-to moves: Things you’ve tried that never (or almost never!) fail. My ever-expanding list includes brown butter, toasted sesame oil for Asian cooking, searing meat before slow cooking, sauteed onions in almost everything, using the broiler setting on the toaster oven instead of the big oven, lots of fruits and veggies for color and taste and health, substituting Neufchatel for full-fat cream cheese, bourbon and wine and liqueurs for flavor especially in desserts, light desserts (people always eat too much dinner for a heavy dessert!). And of course, cleaning the cat fur out of the pans and running them under hot water immediately before use!
2) On the other hand, don’t be afraid to try new things! An expanded repertoire is fun for you and for any frequent guests. And during the pandemic, when ingredient availability was spotty, there were times when we had no choice but to experiment with whatever was available! I recently tried Dixiecollie’s recipe for corned beef, as she presented it to us in the comments of my last WFD diary. OMG, that mustard sauce is SO amazingly good, yet so easy! I think in my hands, corned beef gets tenderer if boiled. I skimped on cooking time a bit, that didn’t work well (OK yes, I was warned and tried it anyway!). But from now on, I will be making the mustard sauce on the side. It’s a definite enhancement for us. And we will be able to drizzle it over every piece!
Also, my bookmarks are littered with different things I’ve tried, including tuna steaks (delish; I cooked longer but until the inside was just done and it was falling-apart tender) with Asian sauce (I didn’t have all the ingredients, so heavily riffed off this one), candied lime slices (tasted great but WAY too chewy; when I have a chance, I plan to fool around with cooking times and sugar content), and broccoli-cheese casserole (I used 2 packages of mixed broccoli-cauliflower and topped with crushed potato chips, which I picked up somewhere else that escapes me now) — fantastic!
3) On the third hand, know your audience! I have memorized pretty much all the preferences of my extended family. Before dinner parties, every invitee gets an email: “What are your food and ingredient likes and dislikes? Are you on any kind of special diet? Do you have any allergies? What are your favorites? Is there anything you absolutely will not eat?” This can be fun when you get responses such as, “I am vegan” versus “I never eat a meal without meat”! But in general, there are enough recipes in the world that you can find something with the ingredients everyone will eat. And better to know that you need both a meat and a meat-free main dish than to be caught without one! Same with a couple desserts so everyone has at least one to enjoy. No, you are not required to cater to everyone’s variety of wishes. But I come from finicky parents, so I’m used to it, plus I’m diabetic so may need special food myself; and I’d rather have everyone enjoy themselves than stick to a one-dish rule. (I will not, however, provide something else to someone who received exactly what they said they wanted!)
4) Attention to detail: This includes some of the above. Plus buying the best, freshest ingredients you can find — even now I usually take about 2 hours grocery shopping! Varying colors and textures, including often using garnishes. Watching cooking closely near the end of cooking time — that brown butter? Take your eyes off it and it’s suddenly black! Pasta and veggies will boil from al dente to mushy in just a minute or two. Knowing when a recipe has to be followed exactly — not usually, but some baked goods are picky. Scrubbing the heck out of things in the time of Covid, plus rinsing the heck out of anything that touched soap. Taste testing as you go and adjusting seasonings, gradually adding less as you get closer to what you want. Removing seeds when something would otherwise be too seedy. Trying to keep tomatoes on the windowsill instead of in the refrigerator.
5) Experience: With time, not only do you have more go-to moves in your repertoire, and more recipe successes. It also all becomes easier, almost instinctive! As y’all know from my other WFD diaries, I almost immediately change every recipe I try! I can often just tell when something will work better another way. When cooking for others, experience gives you confidence, keeps you calm, lets you meet a schedule, and saves you time that you can spend with guests. And with experience, you’re gradually less and less likely to eat some mistakes!
Welp, that’s my list so far. Please add more below!
potato salad
Now onto patriotic potato salad! As usual, more of a description than a recipe!
Choose your potatoes. I usually like Yukon gold, but for the 4th I usually use white potatoes for the “white” in red white and blue! Wash potatoes thoroughly under hot water with a scrub brush. Remove any inedible blemishes. Leave skins on, that’s where the vitamins are! Skins also give salad very slightly more chewiness and better taste, IMO — like whole wheat tastes better than white. Cut potatoes into quarters or smaller — this helps them cook faster. Boil cut-up small-medium potatoes in briskly boiling water. I use about 6-8 potatoes for a large bowl of salad. Potatoes are done when fork pierces through easily. Drain thoroughly in large colander. You want to avoid residual water diluting your sauce!
Hard boil eggs (start with cool water, gradually increase heat intensity so they don’t break). I usually use a ratio of one egg for one potato, depending on potato size. So in this case, 6-8 eggs. I like a very eggy potato salad!
When eggs are done, cool as quickly as possible. I empty into a small colander, run under cold water, continue to run under cold water until all are peeled. You can usually start peeling about a minute or two after they come off the heat! Do your best to keep eggs perfectly smooth. Very fresh eggs and rapid cooling seems to help that. Of course check closely for shell pieces! I rinse them again when done peeling, in hopes of washing away any tiny shell pieces I didn’t see, then blot dry.
Place potatoes and eggs in large bowl. Add equal parts mayonnaise and light sour cream. Stir, chopping up potatoes and eggs with spoon to desired size. Adjust mayo and sour cream to taste. Add mustard of your choice to taste (I highly recommend whiskey mustard!).
Add veggies as desired: Good accompaniments IMO include olives (black or green), pimento, cucumber, chopped sweet onions, green onions, and/or chives. For July 4 I’d probably choose pimento and black olives. There aren’t really any blue vegetables, so we’ll pretend black is blue!
Serve on small beds of lettuce if desired. Garnish as desired.
Below, the potatoes were a bit small and the eggs turned out perfectly and seemed too many when placed in the bowl with the potatoes. So I removed a couple and made deviled eggs out of them, garnishing each plate with a half! The deviled eggs themselves were garnished with smoky paprika.
What’s for dinner at your house? And what do you think are qualities of a great cook? This is an open thread, so please discuss!
PLEASE NOTE: I need to help Mom get ready for bed, so will be a little late to the diary. But please carry on, spread the word, and I will join you as soon as I can!