SC - period cooking (LONG!)

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/29/99 11:33:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
lorix at trump.net.au writes:

<<  But I was intrigued, so I tried it and because of
 the pre-roasting, the chick peas absorbed the oil and had a completely 
different
 (and enjoyable) taste to what I had envisaged would happen. >>

Interestingly pre-roasted chickpeas have  turned 'red' in my experience. They 
do taste good though, :-)

You sound like what is known as an 'instinctive' cook. I also fit into that 
category. Reading a recipe and knowing what it will taste like is the main 
way I do my redactions. Such skills are very hard to teach and almost 
impossible to describe adequately. :-( This is why I do not usually pretest 
my recipes for feasts. By reading it before hand, I almost always know 
exactly what it should taste like. In the rare instances this has proved 
faulty, the end result has always been edible.

Of course, I would never recommend this method to others who may not be able 
to pick up the various changes and flavors in a particular ingredient as they 
read through the  recipe Unless they are also instinctive cooks. :-)

Another method is to pick a standardized formula and stick to it. For 
instance, 1 lb. of meat= 1 tsp. salt= 1/4 tsp. ground pepper, etc. This 
formula also produces tasty dishes and can easily be adjusted upwards if 
necessary. Practice is the main key though, IMO. I learned to make the 
perfect fried egg once by purchasing several dozen eggs and frying each of 
them one after the other. :-) 

Start by collecting recipes that you know or have heard are good. Prepare 
them. When you get that right, you have a basis for comparing future 
attempts. I know that this is financial impossible for a lot of people but 
when cooking is your hobby both in and out of the SCA, purchasing the things 
you need to do your hobby is no different from purchasing the things needed 
for any other hobby. Also you can take advantage of sales. I recently bought 
eggs for a dollar for 3 dozen. One dollar does not seem too much to me to 
perfect an egg recipe. If it calls for 4 eggs, a dollar gives you 9 chances 
to get it right should you fail the first time. :-)

Ras
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