# not a great cook

Category: Grub Garage

## Post 1 by UniqueOne (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Saturday, 25-Jun-2011 1:27:12

Hi all!
I'm not that great of a cook and I'd like to improve. I even have one of those talking probe thamonitors to test when meats and such are at good temp. for eating yet I'm not sure how to use it (where to test the meat/turkey things like that..)
I can make great pasta and meatloaf but that's all..
I used to make more when I had a regular oven however I live in a very small apartment I have one of those microwave/oven combos.
Any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated!

## Post 2 by Shadow_Cat (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Saturday, 25-Jun-2011 8:46:09

The George Foreman grill is my friend. You can make lots of things on it: meats, hot sanwiches like grilled cheese, some even have the irons to make waffles or pancakes. The best part about it is that you don't have to flip anything, since the irons cook it on both sides. If you live in a small apartment without much kitchen space, you'd do best to get the small variety of Foreman grill. Not as much fits on it at one time, but it sounds like it'd be best for your limited space. If you're not going to get the actual Foreman brand, I'd recommend the Hamilton Beech brand. I know I use mine almost once every day. Smile.

## Post 3 by HauntedReverie (doing the bad mango) on Saturday, 25-Jun-2011 9:56:25

The only thing that freaks me out about the George is the fact that I'm afraid I'm going to burn the back of my hand on the top part of the gril when working with food. As for testing meat, you always put the thermometer into the center... right?
I use to not cook much, but now, I'm experimenting with recipies like chicken gumbo and lime chicken. it's important not to be afraid of brushing your hand against a hot pot, or getting splashed by juices. yes, it hurts, but as long as you don't leave your hand on the side of the pot, it's not that bad. I base a lot of my cook times on internet recipies for meats. I don't know how people can gage texture using a fork, I can't tell doneness unless I'm working with vegetables. What specifically do you have questions about?

## Post 4 by DevilishAnthony (Just go on and agree with me. You know you want to.) on Saturday, 25-Jun-2011 13:56:17

I do quite a lot of stovetop cooking. Not sure what exact advice you need, but i'm here to help, if I can. I cook in the oven and the microwave as well.

## Post 5 by UniqueOne (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 27-Jun-2011 11:19:41

I have a really slow hotplate..I'm serious, this hotplate is so slow it takes 45 mins to boil water..I wish I was joking! as for the microwave/oven thing..for exp. i had cooked my meatloaf at 350 for 50 mins (had the same amount of meat and everything..) and it took an extra 20 mins to finish cooking all the way through! my friend was over and she's sighted so she told me it wasn't done all the way but if she hadn't been here I could've gotten really sick eating under cooked meat.
That's really what I'm afraid of..not cooking something all the way through and getting really sick.
The George grill..I've thought of getting one but again I wouldn't know when something is done..I would think they have recipies online for the forman grill?

## Post 6 by DevilishAnthony (Just go on and agree with me. You know you want to.) on Monday, 27-Jun-2011 13:19:11

If you search for recipes online, you can look at them and get an idea of how long to cook something. With meatloaf, for example. Find 5 or 6 recipes and compare them all.
Oven calebration has something to do with it as well. Your oven might not be exactly 350 megrees, even though that's what it's set for.

## Post 7 by Shepherdwolf (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Monday, 27-Jun-2011 16:45:41

I'm something of a neophyte as well, but I have a few tips for you.
First, with regard to the George Foreman grill: with ninety percent of meats that go on there (beef, bacon and sausage in particular) you should be able to tell when it's done by a combination of two things: the smell, which alone isn't a reliable enough indicator to trust, and the sound, which usually is. When something's on that grill, if you protect your hand and press down hard on top of the grill while it's cooking for a second or two, it'll hiss like a bunch of angry snakes. If you do that and it doesn't hiss much, your meat is either done or extremely close. I find usually that with burgers and bacon, eleven to fifteen minutes is what my Foreman took to cook; just bear in mind that if the meat on a Foreman is just a tad underdone (or overdone, for that matter), you're not going to get sick. People eat steak that's bloody rare and will look worse than a slightly underdone burger, for instance. You do obviously want to be careful, but if all else fails, aim high, figure out how much your food is overcooked (if it is at all) and then work backward. That's what I did, alongside the inevitable hunting online of course, and it worked for me.
Second, try really hard to overcome the heat reflex, if it's a problem. It is the easiest and most natural thing to keep your hands away from hot things, and wariness is a good thing...but the fact is this. If you're cooking, you are occasionally going to get scalded, singed or spat upon. Keep your hair out of the way, of course, but don't shy away so much and so often that your hands can't do their job. If you have to for the first bit, wear oven gloves or oven mitts and get a feel for how big your hot surfaces are, if that's what it takes; just remember that you really ought to take the gloves off once you've figured stuff out, if for no other reason than self-confidence.
I'm still not exactly a cooking enthusiast, but if there's one thing I've been taught in the last year or so, it's that you won't get better if you don't try...and, incidentally, you won't get better if you don't screw up sometimes. If you want more specific help you can leave another message here and someone, myself included, can always try to help. Best of luck.

## Post 8 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Monday, 27-Jun-2011 17:26:45

Just a few things. First, using the push down method will dry out the meat. That hissing you hear is juice leaving the meat and flash boiling on the hot surface of the pan. Now, I've never used a george forman grill, so I won't touch upon that, but I can give you a few tips for oven and stove top.
First, if you are cooking meat in the oven, brown it first. for instance, if you are making meatloaf, brown your meat first in a pan on top of the stove, then put it in the loaf and bake it in the oven. You will have a much better chance of having the meat be done. Also, don't worry about eating undercooked meat, if its cold, that's a different story, but slightly under cooked meat won't hurt you, you probably won't even notice it.
Now, about browning and cooking hamburgers on top of the stove. Set the meat down, don't move it until it starts to sizzle, for browning at least, them push it down gently and move it around in the pan, your trying to expose all the meat to the hot surface, so dig your spatula in and flip the meat over sometimes, but gently, or you'll throw it halfway across the kitchen. Keep doing this until the meat moves easily around the pan, it will feel like the pan is slick with grease, that is when the meat is browned. It doesn't matter if not all of its brown, or if its not completely cooked, because your going to put it in the oven. Now for hamburgers, set it on, and leave it alone, don't smash it, don't push it, don't sneeze at it, let it sit and cook. After a few minutes, three or four, push it sideways with your spatula, it should slide easily, thats when you flip and repeat.
Next tip, if you are cooking a solid slab of meat, we'll say a chicken breast or a leg of lamb, never puncture the meat more than you have to. It releases the juices, and your left with a chewy bit of rubbery meat that will turn your mouth in to a desert. If you can, get an infrared thermometer, or if you must use a probe, get one that only has one prong, which is thin, and has a cord that extends outside the oven. That way you don't have to open your oven to check the temperature. Next, let the meat rest after its done. If you slice right into it, all the meat will leak out, and you'll have that rubbery bit of meat I mentioned earlier, except it will be floating in a puddle of liquid that should have been in the meat.
For things like meatloaf, don't worry about puncturing it, there are other things that will keep it moist. For taking its temperature, push the probe in as close to the center as you can, at an angle, but don't go in too deep, or you'll take the temperature of the pan, not the meatloaf.
If you want to know more tips, watch the show "good eats", you can look it up on youtube. It has all sorts of things that are very very helpful for cooks, and it explains what not and what not to do.
If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a private message, and i'll be happy to answer them as best I can.
My best advice to you is, just keep trying things. You're going to fail, and your going to get burned a few times, but you'll be alright. The more you do it, the better you'll get.

## Post 9 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Monday, 27-Jun-2011 18:12:00

I feel your pain.
Use cooking times provided for the Foreman. That grill does an amazing and consistent job of cooking meats. I still put my chicken breast on there when it's cold and cook for 12 minutes (plug in the grill and it starts) and get a very reliably juicy but cooked meat (of course defrost it first, if you do not, you can cook it for additional 5 minutes or so, but it is less reliable).
Keep in mind that beef will not make you sick, pork might, but cutting of a bite of the meat and tasting it will tell you how successful (or not) you are.
The other weapon in the blind cook's arsenal is the crockpot, specifically if you use recipes from
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ -
I used to find most crock pot food was no good, always used cream of mushroom soup with some meats and it ended up tasting ok, but always the same (there are good recipes with said soups, but you want variety).
This site shows you how you can even make corn and baked potatoes in the crock pot, just by wrapping them up in foil and placing them in the pot for 2 hours.
I've tried the taco soup (awesome), pulled pork recipe (ok, I overcooked it slightly, the bits that did no burn were awesome), guinnes beef stew (may have been from a different site, awesome), and I want to try the pomogranet beef, and lots of other recipes.
Most of them use simple measurements, like a can of tomatoe or beans, so there is minimum measuring required. Let me second the need to brown grond beef before cooking it in oven or crock pot, much better.
Good luck.
-B

## Post 10 by DevilishAnthony (Just go on and agree with me. You know you want to.) on Monday, 27-Jun-2011 18:15:19

well said, except for the meatloaf. You mix your raw meat up with your other ingrediants and put it straight in to the loaf. At least, not only is that how I've always done it, but that's also how every recipe I've ever seen says to do it. Things like the cracker crumbs or oatmeal or potato flakes or whatever you're using need the grease from the meat to help it stay moist. If you brown the meat, then it already has a shape, even if you break it up in little pieces, it won't be able to absorb the flavors of your tomato sauce or whatever you're using. Personally, I like to use most of a can of manwich, pouring the rest of it over the top.
If I'm wrong, and I can see a recipe calling for browned meat in a meatloaf, I'll gladly stand corrected. I do have about 18 years of experience with cooking.

## Post 11 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Tuesday, 28-Jun-2011 2:35:14

Well, the only recipe I've ever seen for meatloaf was stuffed meatloaf, and it called for browning, there are other recipes like meatloaf that do call for browing though. For example, manacote, not sure on the spelling, its large noodles stuffed with meat and cheese, you have to brown that meat.
I always brown my meat for meatloaf, and it comes out deliciously. Though from a scientific standpoint, i think both ways would work.

## Post 12 by DevilishAnthony (Just go on and agree with me. You know you want to.) on Tuesday, 28-Jun-2011 6:27:09

oh, manicotti. I've heard of it and pretty much know what it is, but have never had it. you'd definitely have to brown your meat first for that. Putting the raw meat in to the noodles and cooking it long enough for the meat to get done would result in the noodles being nothing but pure mush from being overcooked.
That's interesting about browning meat for an actual meatloaf though. i've just never heard of it before. I'll go a lookin'. When I think of meatloaf, I'm thinking of the raw ground beef, something like tomato or speghetti sauce, an egg and maybe some cracker crumbs all shaped in to a loaf and put in to a pan, (probably an actual loaf pan.) I love finding out new ways to do stuff, so now I'm curious.

## Post 13 by turricane (happiness and change are choices ) on Tuesday, 28-Jun-2011 8:44:41

ok bake chicken. put your chicken in the pan. season with spices of choice. bake at 350 for an hour. some people say 50 minutes, but i say they are crazy. this is for bone in chicken.
for boneless chicken cook for 20- to 30 minutes at the same temperature.
you don't need one of those meet thermometers. for a whole chicken if it is done you can freely wiggle its legs. also a lot of whole chickens and whole turkeys have those thermometer things in the breast. if it pops out, then it is done.
never brown meat for a meatloaf. it will be as dry as the desert of sahara. you can cook it at 350 for an hour to an hour and a half depending on how thick it is.
i am not a fan of the crock pot, but i know a lot of folks are. i have a stove with a simmer burner on it which does the same thing. one time i had a crock pot and i filled it with beef short ribs and dumped in a bottle of bbq sauce. went off to work. i checked it before i left and it was working. apparently during the day the heat source busted and i came home to cold rotting ribs. nasty as can be.

## Post 14 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Tuesday, 28-Jun-2011 10:24:52

Lol, second the meatloaf, definitely do not brown meat for meatloaf, or burgers. I just made extremely yummie burgers by combining ground beef, a1 steak sauce, jalapinos, an egg, trotilla chip crums and a few spices, then cooked them on a Foreman, absolutely delicious (I can dig up the link if anyone's interested, it is from the All Recipes site).
We just tried ribs in a crock pot with home made bbq sauce at a family event last weekend, it was absolutely fantastic.
But, of course, if the heat source gives up the ghost in the middle of the day it would be rather unpleasant.
The beauty of ribs in a crock pot is that you dump in the ribs and the bbq sauce and turn the damn thing on for 6 to 8 hours, and Bob is, in fact, your uncle. ;)

## Post 15 by DevilishAnthony (Just go on and agree with me. You know you want to.) on Tuesday, 28-Jun-2011 11:58:32

On the samsclub website, I found a recipe for burgers, using a package of hidden valley ranch dressing and crushed sour cream and onion chips. I haven't tried it, but lordy, it sounds heavenly.

## Post 16 by turricane (happiness and change are choices ) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2011 10:03:19

the sams burgers are fantastic. also you can make them by combining the ground meat with the lipton onion sout or the onion and mushroom.
as for burgers with tortilla chips. bring them on as well. delicious. also you can dip your yard bird in tortilla chips crushed up and oven fry it. that is outstanding as well.

## Post 17 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2011 11:02:03

To anyone starting out cooking: Weren't we all bad at it when first starting out? You watch the food network, etc., and I think maybe get too high a set of expectations. And, I come on here, and see there are higher expectations of young blind people than their average sighted counterparts.
Now I do cook: I love doing all the holiday stuff, etc. and early on in the marriage I was the one who cooked. But I didn't come down the chute that way. You have to learn. And frankly based on two years' experience on here, I think a lot of young blind people seem to be awfully hard on themselves about this sort of thing. Most my sighted peers at 18 couldn't hardly boil water, let alone turn an egg. So first start simple, then do what you like, but do a variety so you learn about different elements. Personally I tend to cook by chemistry, but my daughter is a lot more spontaneous. The first time I did a roast, it came out pretty hard and dry. Know what? Same went for my sighted buddies at that age also.
I have serious doubts about the so-called independence living skills industry. I took a lot of guff for what I may or may not have known at 18, particularly by people employed in that industrial complex. Women in some parts of this country get the same guff on different grounds.
When my wife and I got engaged, she started getting interested in cooking. She really didn't cook much before then, and she was fully sighted. She had the normal concerns about burning things: "What if I burn something?" The way I responded is not recommended relationship building material, but I flat out told her: "Every cook has at least one really fabulous torch-a-thon to brag about, at least once."
So whether you're blind and have been subjected to the independence living skills industry, you've been watching the food network or movies and think everyone produces fabulous-looking dishes all the time, or actually believe the ancient and outmoded myths about wifely meal preparation, all I've gotta say is Earth to you: get real, it's just like anything else. You'll learn as much or as little as it interests you.
Oh, and for all that I do cook, I really have never understood baking. That's just because I haven't yet learned how all the parts work / fit together.
My daughter is just the opposite: spontaneous, completely fluid, doesn't have an interest in the why of things. So, you just learn how you learn. Just don't be hard on yourself, or let the Independence Living inndustry, June Cleaver or the Food network influence your perspective besides just giving you the occasional tip you can use to enhance your knowledge.

## Post 18 by turricane (happiness and change are choices ) on Thursday, 30-Jun-2011 7:09:56

right on leo. you go guy. i totally agree.
i have never had a fear of cooking. this is because back in 1946 when my mom married my dad, she burned jello. yes you can do that gentle readers. her mom was this perfectionsist cook and intimidated he heck out of her daughters. my dad was the youngest child and he and his sister anna were very close. so, she taught him how to cook, and he was a darned good meal preparer. he taught my mom, who did many things well. no one, and i don't care who, could make gravy better or fried chicken. however, her scrambled eggs were toxic as was her meatloaf. one time, when she was working and we were bored, my brother and i took slices of it and bounced them on the kitchen floor. we could have used them for street hockey too if it had been around in the 60s. my point is that any one can screw up. my mom had normal vision. there are lots of good books and websites out there where we can get great three ingredient recipses. these are excellent to start with and will build confidence.
oh as for 18 year olds cooking, my kids are both great cooks. i have friends who have not taught their 20 somethings anything. some of them still do their laundry. these are perfectly normal sighted kids.

## Post 19 by blw1978 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Wednesday, 26-Oct-2011 0:42:51

Okay, how do you keep meat from drying out on the Foreman grill. I have the kind that's a clamshell. Do I need to marinate the meat first? I don't overcook it, it just seems to come out dry and without a lot of flavor. Also, do thinner cuts of meat work best? I'll put a chicken breast on there, and It never gets done right. What's the secret. Do I need a cooking spray or something? Same problem with baked chicken. How do I keep my bbq sauce from sticking to the pan. Could be a temperature thing. How do you cook bacon on the Foreman, does it cook well? Also has anyone made a sandwich or quesadilla on there? I'd like to use mine more, but I'm having trouble getting things to taste right. Help!!

## Post 20 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Wednesday, 26-Oct-2011 16:59:49

What meat are we talking about here? This unnatural boneless skinless flavorless sawdust ... erm chicken breast ... definitely needs to be marinated as that is the only way you will soak up any flavor.
Truth be told most meat can be marinated for 30 minutes defrosted provided you have the following:
acid, usually lemon or orange
a little oil, like olive oil
salt and spices. The lemon or other acidic component breaks down the meat fibers enough to allow other ingredients to seep in.
If you're doing pork you may want brown sugar or molasses as well.
You can find a lot of varying marinade recipes but they pretty much all come down to the above groups of ingredients.

## Post 21 by DevilishAnthony (Just go on and agree with me. You know you want to.) on Wednesday, 26-Oct-2011 18:49:09

This is cheating, and probably isn't what you're looking for, but when I make barbecued chicken, I batter and fry the chicken breasts first, then simmer them in the barbecue sauce. You might want to put just a little bit of water in the sauce as well. The batter will soak up the sauce, so it'll cling to the chicken.

## Post 22 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Thursday, 27-Oct-2011 18:31:43

That is actually a technique we saw on the Food network. So unless the food network is cheating, you're not either ... lol I don't remember what that is called.

## Post 23 by UniqueOne (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Sunday, 08-Jan-2012 0:18:42

This is so cool! All these things!

## Post 24 by OceanDream (An Ocean of Thoughts) on Sunday, 08-Jan-2012 16:27:35

I really like recipes that, as leo pointed out, contain some sort of acid like lemon juice or vinegar. they both really bring out the flavor of the meat, plus they make it really tender, especially when baked, I find. Of course, you'll definitely want to have some sort of seasoning as well.

## Post 25 by changedheart421 (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Monday, 09-Jan-2012 20:20:24

Actually am not that good of a cook either. Am getting married though so thanks all for posting this stuff. I might come back to it a few times. I wanted to ask where the best place is to get a cooking thermometer?

## Post 26 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Monday, 09-Jan-2012 22:30:19

One final comment: the flesh of an herbivore {a vegan} is safe to eat at least rare.
So if you are afraid of undercooking your beef, don't be. The exception is hamburger, but that has more to do with its packaging. Any vegan flesh is fine to eat rare, even raw for those who have a taste for such things: includes big game like deer.
Does not include pig and chicken. Those are omnivorous species. Doesn't include rabbit either, as it is a rodent.

## Post 27 by snowflower (Zone BBS Addict) on Thursday, 12-Jan-2012 0:03:21

Do you have a crock pot? They are easy to use and you can find a ton of recipies on line