This thread, which I didn't catch the first time around, made me think. In general, I cook to eat and feed my family. However, I do enjoy baking for special occasions. I think that if I didn't work outside the home I would cook more...and be more adventurous. But, I work and have a long commute so by the time I get home I have to make fast meals with little time for creativity or major prep work. So, we eat a lot of frozen veggies--as is out of the bag, pre-cooked meats warmed up, pasta, soup, occasionally waffles/pancakes/eggs, potatoes, etc. I.e., for the most part things that I can cook fast. One up side to this is that our meals haven't changed that much w/o a kitchen since we do have a MW, Toaster Oven, and hot plate to cook with! One very big downside to this, though, is that my children are not learning to cook like I did from my mom. Back on topic... After finding this site and reading about zones, I realized that one thing that I really wanted was a baking center. So when my kitchen was being designed I had it in the back of my head that whatever we ended up with had to have an area I could designate my "Baking Zone", preferably near the ovens--with room to roll out dough, spread out cookie sheets, and have cookie cutters spread out all at the same time! The other thing I got from this site was our window...having the window down to the counter (OK, not cooking-related, but a very important design element!) Our very first plan that our KD came up with had input from us...but a very naive/ignorant us! (Before GW...BGW!) Then....I found this site.....and the changes began. Actually, I posted that original plan and asked for help (and also asked my KD to start over w/no island) Many, many people here helped me come up with a plan over several weeks (months?). We finally came up with a plan that has changed little since then. Interestingly, when I took away the island "must have", my KD came up with a plan very similar to what we came up with here. The only 3 differences were (1) no mini peninsula, (2) a 36" pantry cabinet rather than a corner pantry, and (3) no separate Message Center cabinets. My KD wasn't completely happy w/our differences, but she, wisely I thought, told me to go home and mock up what I wanted to see how it would work (same advice I got here!) Well, the mock up was great! It proved that I did indeed want the mini peninsula (I liked it so much I left the mock up in place until demo and used it!) When I told her the results, she didn't argue, she accepted it telling me it's my kitchen, so ultimately it's up to me. So in the end, my design was/is based on what I wanted, not what the KD wanted. [If only someone else had measured my kitchen and she was given more authority, I think a lot of subsequent problems would have been avoided.] Our kitchen isn't done yet, but it's close...so I can't yet tell you how it is going to work for us...but we are so...

I think there's a big difference between a "cooking" show and a food entertainment show. The problem is, the networks don't seem to think we need both of them, and the entertainment shows are edging out everything else. I love the names Sandra Lee's food creations have been called, including "edible hate crime." Nigella Lawson is really magnetic, and I love her "Feasts" cookbook. I also agree about Jamie Oliver's passion for food; I loved that series where he toured around Italy. I used to love ATK but Chris Kimball just started to annoy me too much. The formula is always, look what an apocalyptic disaster every apple pie/beef stroganoff/ham sandwich you've ever eaten is! Dry! Soggy! Heavy! Tasteless! Overcooked! Raw! Radioactive! Asbestos-laden! Yeah, if every classic were always so wretched before Cooks Illustrated came along, why would we want to learn how to make them? I also agree that the recipes are generally too complicated for what you get, but I have not had the same fantastic results. Just not worth it to me.

After I got divorced I was living alone and occassionally I would invite a lady over for a home cooked meal rather than going out someplace. My problem was that although I love to cook, I didn't have a clue what the ladies might want to eat so I hit on a solution that worked great for me. First off, I planned meals that are easy to make individual portions such as stuffed baked chicken breasts, chicken cordon bleu, Steak Florentine, Stuffed baked pork chops, Fried chicken, baked fish, broiled salmon, BBQ ribs, meatloaf, my own oriental stir fried shrimp & chicken, Saur Braten, Roast beef, lamb chops and smoked turkey, along with some sides such as shrimp fried rice, rice pilaff, wild rice, my own succotash recipe, and even some twice baked potatoes. I would devote an entire day to cooking and when I cooked I made at least 8 portions of each item and sometimes cooking two or three items in the oven at once. When they were done I put them up with the Seal-a-Meal and popped the portions in my freezer, but not before I had plated at least one portion long enough to take a picture of it, before I sealed that portion too. I then sat down to my computer and made up a menu. When the ladies showed up for dinner they would ask, whats cooking? I would simply hand them a menu and say, "Pick our what you like". The first couple times I presented the menu I got some silly looks, but they were gracious enough to stay for dinner anyway, but after that first experience they all said they wanted to do it again. When they started telling other women in our social set what I did suddenly I had lots of ladies scheming a way to get an invite....LOL Now that I am with Jan, I still enjoy cooking like that, and it is so convenient to just go out to the kitchen and select what you want.

Microwaves are for Cooking, with Donovan Jon Fandre. That show was on at the time microwaves were becoming popular and he had a good show to encourage people to be less afraid of microwaves. He'd deliberately leave a metal mixing spoon in the bowl to prove that metal in a microwave is not such a big deal. I enjoyed the show and learned a few tricks. Favorite show was Justin Wilson. Not so much that I'd do his recipes, but he showed that cooking is cooking, and don't get hung up on recipes. A little too much of this, too little of that isn't the crisis that some believe. Nathalie Dupree was a favorite. Her thing seemed to be to tip the bowl of whipped cream over her head to prove it was thick enough. I watched Galloping Gourmet but never was too thrilled about him or his show. It got old that he couldn't go 5 minutes without some comment about Treena. Liked the Frugal Pervert, er, Gourmet because of the history he'd bring up during the shows. Again, showing that measurements are less critical than many think. There was show, I think it was called Lavonne's Kitchen? Thin, younger black woman who demonstrated a lot of home cooking/family recipes. Haven't seen that for years. Also Franco Palumbo's show was interesting and informative. 2 Fat Ladies was a riot, though few of their recipes would I ever try. Can't stand the 4timeFelon and the Belle of the Bigots so I avoid them like the proverbial plague. I do like Cook's Country/ATK and Kevin Belton's show. ] I had recorded virtually every Cooking Cajun and Outdoor Cooking with Inside Help show and made the mistake of loaning the tapes to a friend. Tapes have never been seen since. :( And the shows aren't broadcast around here anymore. I did get a lot of his recipes downloaded right before and right after he died. He used to post them but after he died they pulled them off the site and won't give them out anymore. But he got me using and appreciating Louisiana Hot Sauce, and a pinch of cayenne. And after putting black pepper and parmesan on garlic bread, it's the only way I make it anymore, though I add Italian seasoning too.