Can you cook?

[LJay]

Darius, it was probably just not a great recipe.

I do chili by browning about a pound of hamburger [low fat kind] and then chopping 2-3 onions in with it. Salt lightly and put in a good amount of black pepper. The beans will be salty enough. Cook until the onions are soft and then, without measuring, sprinkle heavily with chili powder and CUMIN, which makes a big difference. Taste as you go. Add lots of garlic, too. Let that all cook for a while and then add 2-3 pounds of canned tomatoes in any form. Just squeeze them sadistically until they are small pieces. Cook that all for a while and then add 4-8 one-pound cans of beans. I but beans on sale and use kidney, black, pinto, great northern, black eyed peas or whatever. Check the seasoning and add some pepper sauce if you like and then put the whole thing in the oven for at least an hour or so.

I think the real gimmick here is cooking the meat and onions with the seasonings until the flavors blend nicely. Overseason just a little because the tomatoes and beans will take the edge off.

Jiffy Mix cornbread to go with.

[Darius]

Thanks alot, LJay. I can see how mixing onions, garlic and spices to the meat and letting them cook together is key. My recipe cooked onions first then placed into the crockpot. The meat was also cooked separately then added to the pot. So were spices.
Your last suggestion about overseasoning sounds right because mostly what I taste from the chili is tomatoes and tomato sauce.
You da man!

Have you made chili with beer before? That intrigues me.

I actually made cornbread from scratch and it turns out great. I also bought crusty french bread from a bakery....always great for dipping.

[LJay]

Hopes it helps. Chili is great stuff and you can freeze some for later.

I've made chili with beer, but usually just prefer to drink to beer with it. Or you can use the beer to time the cooking: you know, simmer for the time it takes to drink one six pack, or two six packs. You have to be careful not to dry it out if you simmer it for a case.

[Butterfingers]

I probably learned most of my cooking skills from watching my mother. I grew up with little money around and if she did one thing right it was stretching the food dollars.
I do the same, I can get 3 meals (for 2 people) out of 1 1/2 lbs of hamburger a couple cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup and a bag of noodles.
I do the same with chicken. I don't go fancy on anything, just good stick to your ribs kind of stuff.

[mrex]

Yeah i can cook and bake. I dont follow recipes, i add ingredients, taste it and add more if needed. Just try and learn. Of course when baking you need to be more precise but you can still "do solo"... I learnt to cook/bake when i was a kid 10-12yo...

[Jay]

I learned to cook and bake mostly by myself. But my mom did teach me on how to wash, clean and slice chicken, fish and beef properly. She also taught me how to make stew and few others. Okay, so I did pick up a lot from my mom and big sister.

I used to cook for my boss and entire colleagues whilst working in real estate company (2009 - 2014). I cooked for them daily. Breakfast, lunch, snack and tea time. My boss didn't mind. She enjoyed my cooking. It was a great way to connect with everyone in the office.

Oh yeah, I used to cook for Red Cross Orientation Day (Camping in high school). I was the head cook. That was fun.

These are few photos I took when I was working with the real estate company.











These are few current photos (2015)

[Beaux]

Preparing meals, is one of the (few) things that I am exceptionally good at. That is why I do it for a living!

It is an under-appreciated skill; people who order an event catered do not understand the intricacies of producing several hundred meals at a time. I cannot count the number of times someone has called me, 12 hours before an event is to begin, asking me to cater it at a moments notice. Or, even worse, someone who has hired me to cater an event, calls just hours before it is to begin with a list of last-minute changes that they believe "aren't a big deal", but are virtually impossible for me to accomplish.

This will probably sound "off topic" to people not in the food service community, but the biggest "blow" to the food service industry here in the U.S. in the past 10 years, was the No-Smoking Ban implemented in restaurants. Smokers, as a whole, stopped eating out, which lead to an over all decline in sales, which lead to lower service standards and lower server employment. While many applauded the No-Smoking Bans, those of us in the industry saw early on what the cinsequences would be and, now that they have come to fruition, are slowly shaking our heads that people didn't listen in the first place.

~Beaux

[LONDONER]

My friends tell me I can cook and they usually enjoy what I prepare but of late I have very selfish and been concentrating on my Type II diabetic state and eating a minimal amount of carbohydrate. I don't eat meat or dairy produce but I do eat fish that I will prepare for friends but rarely just for myself.

The consequence of my diet of late is that while reducing my glucose level, I am also losing too much weight and am now at a silly 65 kilos. There has to be a middle way. The things I find that satisfies my hunger but doesn't affect my glucose is sweet potatoes. If it weren't for those I would go to bed hungry at night.

[LONDONER]

Preparing meals, is one of the (few) things that I am exceptionally good at. That is why I do it for a living!

It is an under-appreciated skill; people who order an event catered do not understand the intricacies of producing several hundred meals at a time. I cannot count the number of times someone has called me, 12 hours before an event is to begin, asking me to cater it at a moments notice. Or, even worse, someone who has hired me to cater an event, calls just hours before it is to begin with a list of last-minute changes that they believe "aren't a big deal", but are virtually impossible for me to accomplish.

This will probably sound "off topic" to people not in the food service community, but the biggest "blow" to the food service industry here in the U.S. in the past 10 years, was the No-Smoking Ban implemented in restaurants. Smokers, as a whole, stopped eating out, which lead to an over all decline in sales, which lead to lower service standards and lower server employment. While many applauded the No-Smoking Bans, those of us in the industry saw early on what the cinsequences would be and, now that they have come to fruition, are slowly shaking our heads that people didn't listen in the first place.

~Beaux

I understand 100% everything you say Beaux though personally I am glad about the No Smoking rule.

[Aquarius]

It's the best for everyone around if I don't cook.