My mom was a home ec teacher as well as a child of the depression and a child who grew up on the prairies with farm crews that needed to be fed. She was for the most part, a simple meat, starch and veg type cook but loved the opportunity to shine at dinner parties. Baked Alaska, Cherries Jubilee, Crepe Suzette, beef bourginoun, shrimp scampi... So I learned early only how cook all the basics but was also encouraged to try new things. I would much rather have a housekeeper than a chef or a cook but I woud truly love that housekeeper to clean up after me in the kitchen!

Mtn: My first gourmet dish? I remember that it was a chocolate dessert in a footed, clear glass bowl. The only details that I remember was that the bowl was lined with upright ”Lady Fingers” (does anyone even remember them???) and there was rich chocolate and fresh raspberries involved. But, Kay was right there talking me through it all. Gosh, I miss her so incredibly much!

My mother loved to cook. She loved to give dinners, and when they hosted bridge night, or Dad’s poker group, she served the perfect appetizers and suppers. She talked with the butcher at the meat market, found the better seafood source, took Cordon Bleu courses. Me, I had no interest.

Even when I got married, not much interest. We both worked long hours, DH traveled, we we just as happy to have a light supper.

I had kids, and soon became a stay-at-home mom. I could go to the store, come home with $200 of groceries, and no idea what to make for dinner. One day, my elder was about 7, he asked ”Are we having chicken or fish with the rice and peas tonight?”

That was my repertoire.

Well, I’d been kind of following the Flylady system, and she often talked about the Saving Dinner menu-mailer, so I subscribed. Everything changed. I shopped for a week at a tome, and used everything I bought. I made things we’d never had before. Just by having a menu for each day, I had something to look forward to, and I learned new techniques, and best of all, everyone enjoyed dinner.

That success got me a little more interested in cooking, watching cooking shows a bit. As long as I have a plan, I enjoy making the meal.

I’m still not a ”foodie”. But having to cook, and having a plan, made me enjoy preparing dinner for my family, and even experimenting a bit.

My dad taught me to cook .. he only cooked on weekends and holidays but I loved the "art" of it. He never followed recipes and taught me to flavor dishes by taste and smell. We had a decent size backyard garden and I spent many hours with him there too-- eating tomatoes, green onions, peppers, carrots etc right off the vine/from the ground. I have always loved vegetables but growing them and then cooking them gave me a different level of appreciation for them!

I was the oldest of 4 and mom was sick for some years and I can still remember dad giving me guidance over the phone from work as I prepared weekday dinners-- I was probably 7 or 8? Again, no written recipes. As I got older I started developing my own recipes-- and my own flavor profiles. This is how I got my first "job" at 14.. I prepared meals for my neighbors (an architect and a lawyer and their 2 kids) 3 nights a week. These weren't especially fancy meals but they weren't fish sticks either!

We continued to cook together as adults .. some of my most cherished memories are around spending time in the kitchen or around the grill with dad.

I had a great teacher for sure-- but I also had a natural affinity for food and cooking. I have a very keen sense of smell and I can often name ingredients with just a few tastes-- I think that helped to develop my interest in food and flavors and helped to create interesting dishes. I still do not use recipes all that often but I READ them --before the internet I would read cookbooks cover to cover to build ideas and learn techniques. To this day, I am more likely to "wing it" than follow a recipe.

This thread was a great idea. Nice stories.

I never cooked a thing until I was an adult. My mother was a average home cook of her time, with a few really good dishes and the rest pretty typical. She did try new things (which I often disliked). We had a housekeeper who cooked occasionally who was about on a par with my mom. At boarding school food was adequate but pretty institutional and I wasn’t interested in food during adolescence anyway. By age 18 I had never even boiled an egg and went to college completely unable to feed myself. When I moved to an off campus apartment I bought The Joy of Cooking and devoured it as reading material. After I read almost every recipe and the wonderful sections on the characteristics and history of different foods and techniques, I bought some gear and started experimenting. My boyfriend at the time was either too polite to refuse anything or just lacked discernment because he ate everything I made, regardless of how terrible it was. Over the course of a year I added other cookbooks, The New York Times‘ ccokbook and Julia Child among them. I learned a great deal about cooking and developed enough skills that I was about a B+ cook by the end of that year. I was mystified why people were really bad cooks when there was so much information and instruction available and food was so cheap— even really good ingredients were not expensive.

Fast forward to family life… cooking for three children for many years was not difficult; my husband almost always at his main meals at the hospital. I was a planner and posted each week’s menu on a gilt framed blackboard that was one of the first things I bought from Ballard Designs 30 years ago (and I still have it!). Our eldest son was very picky but the other two were not, and our emphasis was on healthy fare. I remember one Sunday when we lived in NYC there was a meeting for all the Sunday School teachers after church.. Volunteer moms babysat our kids while we were meeting and fed them a lunch of PBandJ sandwiches and apple slices. When I went to collect my children (just two then) one of the volunteer moms said Oh here is the person who is making us all look bad! She said my kids had refused the sandwiches saying they did not eat that stuff. I said of course they do, they eat PBandJ at home! and my 4 year old DD said emphatically, we do not eat it on a sponge. The sandwiches had been made with white bread which they’d never seen and she was just describing it 🙂

When I eventually went back to work we had a housekeeper who cooked most of our meals. She retired, and I took over the kitchen again, focusing on technique and learning new dishes. A few years later I retired in 2018 and decided to reevaluate my cooking tools food storage, etc. I became a more serious cook or, as DD put it, I “really upped my game.” I have become a dedicated cook and, for better or for worse, a bit of a food snob. I won’t eat any prepared food that doesn’t taste great, isn’t made with quality ingredients in a place I know to be clean and follows safe food handling practices— whether at a restaurant or in someone’s home. I would rather eat a banana and an apple for lunch than a dubious casserole or the ubiquitous rubbery chicken. It means that at potlucks I usually stick to my own contribution and when people offer to bring something to a meal at our home I almost always decline. But, I’m more than willing to do all the work and no family member or guest ever picks at food at my dinner table. I get tremendous satisfaction from feeding people delicious, well prepared food in a congenial setting, even if it is a simple omelette and toast.

My earliest memories are of my mom making mashed potatoes from a box. When I was small everything she made entailed opening cans or boxes. At some point she decided to take some cooking classes and all that changed. She had five kids and didn't seem interested in 'teaching' us much she just tried to stay ahead of everything that needed to be done. She grew up w/o a mom so maybe that's part of it. Home Ec I would say taught me to sew/cook....Mom was thrilled when she could SUPPORT those classes as she was a superior seamstress. I have never had the need to take cooking to the next level. I don't see the big deal. Read a recipe and follow. It's just not that difficult.

I think to love cooking you need to love food. I just don't. I like really simple meals and very much dislike food with a lot of sauces or complex ingredients. I'm that picky person. Good thing I'm also introverted and unlikely to go to or be invited to any dinner party! My son and DIL are true foodies and he is an excellent cook who enjoys trying new recipes. He always liked to help in the kitchen and got his own paring knife and cutting board for Christmas at around age 8.

Great thread! Jlsch- very similar history to mine and I probably didn't articulate it as well as you did but I would love to actually enjoy cooking. After all my soul searching (not really) I think I never really "got" the basics down pat so it is a bit unsettling confidence wise to try. I thought my mom was a decent cook but I don't really recall paying attention to it. Even if I was in the kitchen with her ( and it was a tiny galley kitchen in a NYC apartment) I don't remember really observing much. So I guess I was not interested,. I am a very unfussy eater and like almost any meal that anyone else prepares for me. (as long as it's not spicy or pumpkin flavored lol).

It's really interesting, reading everyone's differing exposure and history.

Baking is more following exact recipes and I can do that well. Also I think the results of baking are always rewarding. Even if the cake or cookies don't turn out exactly as intended, they are almost always still delicious.

My grandmother was a good cook and so was my mother and I followed. At age 7, I was making weekend pancakes and at 12 took over cooking the weekday dinners that included fried chicken and pot roast. My main cook book was a fifties Betty Crocker picture cookbook and while I didn't make aspic, I sure made a lot of the desserts. Eventually everything Southern Living entered the picture. In my twenties and thirties and some forties, my favorite books to read were cookbooks. I read them like novels all the time. I made interesting exotic recipes. I bought many bread cookbooks. Dessert cookbooks, vegetarian, roasting, soup, I belonged to all those cookbook clubs.

I couldn't wait to get the monthly Bon Appetit. Last year I threw out 10 years of magazines.

Cooking is relaxing, creative and a joy.

I cannot sew anything more than a button and have no desire to learn. I am a great gardener though!

The cookbooks in this much different era, that were most influential to me are;

Betty Crocker picture Cookbook 1955 edition

Joy of Cooking, first edition the most and second some.

Julia Child the Way to Cook and her Bread cookbook

Every Southern Living, and later Bon Appetit

A local junior league cookbook

I have A LOT of cookbooks and popular ones that I used and enjoyed reading but those were the trusty ones.

I won a high school cooking contest with cream puffs studded with strawberries. My french teacher raved.

I am blown away watching some of these kids cooking shows, what they can do is amazing! Whaaat?

I don't have a moment in time I can point to; it was a process that began in early childhood while watching my mother and grandmother (she lived with us) and they were both good cooks and bakers. At first it would have been tasks that small hands could manage while standing on a chair by the counter - maybe scraping down a mixing bowl or measuring out an ingredient under watchful eyes. Over time those tasks would increase in number or complexity and need less supervision. Then there were a series of badges to be earned in Girl Scouts that involved cooking or baking of some kind either in the kitchen or over a fire. On to Home Ec classes in school where I learned so much and gained a sense of independence. Later there were dorm antics in the kitchen, then for the first time being responsible for all my own meals (with a roommate) in an apartment and then no roommate, just me.

And now I have a love/hate relationship with the kitchen! I do love to cook, love to try new foods but hate the daily drudgery of it all and have a DH with a limited food palette. Looking forward to the 2 weeks next month when my sons and DIL will be with us. They all love to cook and experiment with different foods ( I have memories and pics of DS and DIL skinning an eel on the deck!) and it makes it fun for me to be in the kitchen with them.

Figure out a few of the kinds of dishes you are most interested in eating because those will be the ones you are willing to prepare.

My mom wasn't interested in cooking as much as most of yours. She made abfew things well. She was in charge of cooking and never thought to teach us.

When I graduated college my first job was as a house manager in a group home for severely disable young adults. It included everything in the care three people!

I was lucky in that none had special dietary needs.

I learned to cook by calling my mom and one by one getting the basic recipes, meat loaf, baked chicken, baked ziti.

This became my base. When I moved on from there into my first apartment to go to grad school, I lived in a neighbor that had many restaurant and take- out options. I rarely cooked except for occasional guests.

Cooking kicked in when I married DH! Like Salonva, I am still a work in progress. DH is not a foodie, prefers basic and simple meals. We both like to keep fit, so streamlined works for us.

I really enjoy hearing everyone’s fancy menu’s. At my last job, a few were gourmet cooks and the joke about me was that my dinner choices would be appetizers in their home.

We often eat just a salad or just soup for dinner.

I am always on the hunt to add recipes into my rotation. I envy all of you who have not only the skills but also love of cooking

I learned to cook after being introduced to my first college roomate. My DF said to her, "I hope YOU can cook!!", to which she replied, "Oh yes!! I LOVE to cook!". She lied....the only thing she could make were those no-bake oatmeal cookies...

Until I was married five years later, I never cooked much, but loved reading The Joy Of Cooking, and that inspired me.

Am I the only one who took Home Ec is school? It was required from around fourth grade through eighth grade. Girls were taught to cook and sew. As old fashioned as it may sound, I use those skills a lot more than algebra.

The women in my family were all good cooks. However, no one ever actually taught me to cook beyond decorating the Christmas cookies. Still, I spent a lot of time hanging around the kitchen watching them and learned a lot that way.

Once I was married I would call my mother and ask how to do this or that recipe. I followed cookbook instructions, and when it said something like “separate the whites from the yolks “ I knew how to do it from Home Ec lessons and observation.

I agree that the daily chore of producing decent meals for the family every day was not much fun especially when kids are picky eaters.

My mom, of Irish heritage, grew up in a meat and potatoes family. She was not a bad cook, but most of my childhood meals were 1970s style cooking, many ingredients coming from a can, or were just kind of basic. Funny thing tho, she did know how to make spaghetti/marinara sauce from scratch so we never ever had jarred, storebought sauce and her lasagna was my favorite childhood meal. Her preference was baking/sweets - she has always enjoyed making desserts.

OTOH, my father, son of Italian immigrants, loves to cook. He didn't make dinners during the week, but for all special occasions and holidays, my father did the cooking. Homemade pastas, interesting meat and seafood dishes, etc. He's 87 and still makes the holiday meals when my parents host the gathering. So I learned quite a bit from him growing up. I also worked in an Italian restaurant in high school, where a little old lady from southern Italy taught me how to make things like arancini.

Dh likes to cook and bake as well. For years tho, dinner was mostly my responsibility since he worked long hours and traveled frequently. It really became a chore, and it didn't help that I was feeding four kids with their own levels of pickiness. When the pandemic hit and dh was home 100% of the time, and our kids are mostly grown up and less picky, dinner became a shared responsibility and much more enjoyable. Only one kid still at home and she is one of my more adventurous eaters making meal planning much easier.

And tho they didn't have much time to learn due to their schedules while living at home, my two older two both like to cook. My 21 y/o son decided to start cooking for himself b/c he was tired of the unhealthy, not very good food at the college cafeteria. He's not making anything elaborate as he only cooks for himself, but at least he's trying and learning!

dedtired, when I was in 7th and 8th grade, Home Ec was required for all girls. I learned some sewing basics (attaching collars to blouses notwithstanding). But I'd already learned to cook and season well at home. The stuff our teacher had us do gave hospital food a run for its money.

My Mom's cooking is not great. And when I first got married, I followed her example. Processed food, odd combinations and bland meat, veg, and starch dinners. She was a good baker which I never really picked up.

I think what turned the tide was my innate curiosity and PBS cooking shows. It took me a while to trust my gut and my senses with respect to cooking. That was all trial and error.

I was the chief menu planner, shopper, and cook for all our 30+ years of marriage and child-raising. I'm done with being so vested in it.

The only thing I remember from home ec was being yelled at when I tamped down flour in a measuring cup instead of using a knife to level it off. And the terrible sewing projects.

Am I the only one who took Home Ec is school? It was required from around fourth grade through eighth grade. Girls were taught to cook and sew.

I think we had a year of it. I only recall making a very simple skirt with an elastic waist and pockets, and something called Ranger cookies. That is the sum total of my Home Ec recollections.

DH is in charge of sewing on buttons, anything more gets sent out. I did go thru a stage of sewing gifts in HS though. Nightgowns, since they would not need to be worn in public. For my poor Mom and Grandmother.

I use those skills a lot more than algebra.

OMG I love algebra and I use it all the time! For everything, not just work. Plus I taught it to all 3 and they are all very good at it. I have dry erase boards, some with graphing on one side, that I love to whip out to do algebra. Ok I am a little weird on this.

Home ec was an option for me in high school, but I did not take it. At that point, it seemed antiquated to me. By the time my kids were in middle school, they did take a version of a home ec class, and it was required in the curriculum.

Cooking is one of my joys in life. If I could cook for a living, I would. I enjoy every process of meal planning, grocery shopping/sourcing and preparation. A friend's DH took early retirement, and is now enrolled in a local culinary school "just for fun." I can't wait to catch up with him to ask how it's going.

My mother--and my father, for that matter--did not like cooking. I learned from my grandmothers, both of whom were excellent cooks. When I started my own family, I became put off by food marketing and what was being added to prepared foods, so I cooked daily meals from scratch. My kids are mostly out of the house now, and I still enjoy cooking even for myself.

I remember being corrected for spelling Brown Betty as Brown Bette. Guess Bette Davis was in the news and I preferred that spelling. Also got yelled at for using too much dish detergent while cleaning up and making a mountain of bubbles.

In Sewing, we always tried to get the treadle machine and get it flying. In general, I was not very well behaved. It is handy to know how to sew a seam and a hem and put a button back on.

Later on, my sons took Life Skills and learned to cook and sew as well as woodworking. I still have their projects around the house. They are both good cooks.

We had the option of home ec or shop but most females took home ec.

My kids's Quaker elementary school taugh them to sew and some cooking. Twice a year they made soups, salads and breads and hosted a lunch for parents and grandparents.

ded, I will always remember my Home Ec. classes with fondness. We learned a lot of useful techniques. Combined with what I learned from my mother and grandmother, I became pretty proficient. I believe that knowing the techniques and the science are both very important skills to have under your belt before you start dragging cookbooks out.

When the young girl who lives next door to me was about six or seven, she began watching cooking demonstrations on Youtube and cooking shows on TV. We had only done a little cooking together when she came over early one morning and asked me if I had a tart pan! At fourteen, she has become a highly proficient cook, pastry chef, and menu planner.

Before preparing anything, she collects all of her ingredients and all of the tools required to prepare the finished product. She will line everything up on the counter according to when it will used and dives into any recipe she cares to try.

She has far outgrown any classes designed for kids, but adult classes teachers are loath to give her serious consideration. It all started with cooking shows and Youtube. You can learn the basics that way, too.

I didn't take cooking in Home Ec .. I knew the dishes they made and either wasn't interested (mac and cheese and tuna noodle casserole) or already knew how to make them (waldorf salad, an uninspired tomato sauce). I took shop one year and sewing the next. And yes-- the classes back in the late 70s were very dated and old fashioned!

@jmck_nc I think you are right-- to love cooking you need to love food but not just to eat. You need to be inspired by flavors and driven and curious about what you can create. But it is not all about eating! I love reading about and talking about food -- and most importantly, cliche as it is, cooking, nourishing and delighting people with food is one of my love languages. I do not spend the time and effort to feed myself that I do to feed others.

LOL @mtnrdredux_gw I don't find your love of algebra weird but my true love was calculus-- it brought everything together in such a delightful way! My first calculus class was a gestalt experience for me.

My boarding school did not offer home ec or woodworking. We did, however, learn sailing and navigation using a sextant. What is deemed a necessary life skill varies quite a bit. 😎 Mtn, during my kids’ middle school years I used to do a 30 minute presentation on using math in daily life called When Will I Ever Need That? I was a SAHM at the time and gave all kinds of examples — mostly algebra and geometry. It’s crazy how many adults can’t figure out ratios or worse, the simple geometry and physics of whether a couch will fit around the bend of a staircase.

To this day I lament that I didn't have the opportunity to take shop or woodworking when I was in school.

Rhizo,

I always follow mise en place, not just because it makes me feel French. It is also a good way to make sure you have what you need before you are mid recipe and go "uh oh." I used to watch a lot of Chopped and after I would find myself buzzing around the kitchen in a big hurry, for no apparent reason

Specific Ibex linked to a NY'er article on the tedium of everyday cooking.

Great quote from it:

Obligation, it turns out, is the real thief of joy; they wouldn’t make so many TV commercials featuring women who seem ludicrously happy to be doing laundry if endless compulsory domesticity didn’t slowly sandpaper away at the soul.

Mis en place always.

My mother didn't enjoy cooking, and was a perfunctory cook at best. I had no interest in learning to cook, and didn't until after I married (at 32), when I decided it would be a sensible skill to have. My husband was in graduate school; together we made a weekly list of menus and ingredients and shopped once a week (I cooked 3 nights, he was responsible for 2 nights). I found I quite enjoyed cooking. After he got his PhD and a job with a long commute (I worked full time with a short commute), I took over preparation of all meals. I still cook 4-5 nights a week, and we entertain on a weekly basis. I find cooking and baking relaxing, enjoyable, and gratifying. I try new recipes often. I'd call myself a decent home cook, and I've a become better at it over the years. Our son and his wife enjoy cooking and we share recipes; our daughter (who had a serious eating disorder growing up) is skittish in the kitchen, but is always happy to take home some of our leftovers after having dinner here.

How could I have forgotten cooking shows!? I grew up watching the PBS shows .. and when my BFF and I lived in the same apartment building we had a standing date on Saturday mornings to go to the farmers market and then return to watch Victory Garden and the run of cooking shows on PBS.

Funny too-- many of the people in my circle also love to cook and experiment with food. SO does not like to cook at all but he loves to eat interesting food. Most of my prior bf's were passionate cooks! I was all sorts of swoony when my first serious adult bf gave me a special olive oil and a Marcella Hazan cookbook for Christmas (along with other items). I thought, "wow-- he GETS me!".

PS to my earlier post: my DD and her fiance are vegan, so I’m trying to learn new ways to cook her old favorites growing up. I’m so enjoying seeing their love of cooking together, and trying new recipes.

We got them an air fryer last Christmas and they love that thing.

Mise en place is too fiddly and extra work for me but I understand why chefs like it.

I don't do the little glass dishes with the spices, etc. portioned out. But I do gather all my ingredients, group them in order if possible, plus pots/pans, utensils. I mean, I have to access them sooner or later anyway, why not all at once before the heat's on and my garlic is about to burn?

I had to take Vocational Agriculture (which included woodworking), and I was not allowed to take Home Ec, although I told the principal that I wanted to. He said I would need a note from my father in order to take it, and that was not going to happen.

When I was very little, the maid did most of the cooking, and she was also our nanny. My father set aside a plot of land for her to grow vegetables, and I liked that. My mother did not like to cook, but her mother did, and I learned a lot from her. She was a school teacher and loved to teach, and later she taught in the local college. She taught me how to make bread when I was nine, and when I was ten, I won grand champion for my bread in the county fair and beat over 200 women. After that, boys were not allowed to enter cooking in the fair, and girls were not allowed to enter their livestock. I forget how long that ban lasted, but it was a silly war of the sexes.

I was allowed to go to 4H meetings that had cooking demonstrations, and one of the county agents gave cooking lessons on one of the local TV stations, which I watched. I also watched Julia Child from her very first show and found her very inspiring when I was a child. I baked all of my own birthday cakes from the age of nine - that was I could get what I wanted. I also loved reading cookbooks, especially the parts on entertaining.

Lynn, your chocolate dessert sounds like tiramisu.

When I was living in San Francisco, I worked part time at a restaurant baking desserts, but I had to work graveyard so that what I baked could be served at breakfast, and so I made a lot of coffee cakes but also cinnamon rolls, or whatever else I felt like making with whatever ingredients I could find. The restaurant was owned by a commune of hippies who sold cannabis upstairs during the day (when I was not there), and they opened the restaurant so that they would have a place to eat and to launder money. I was not aware of this until the restaurant was raided and shut down, but this happened long after I stopped working there.

I took drafting, part of the shop curriculum, instead of home ec. No girl in my school had ever done that and I vaguely remember some bit of kerfuffle over whether or not I would be allowed to.

My mother taught me how to sew and how to do it well. But she never taught me a thing about cooking. Mother was a low-average cook. She had 7 or 8 things on rotation at all times. Nevertheless, we always had an abundance of vegetables. We had a large garden and Mother did a lot of freezing when things were in season. Mother was very particular about the quality of vegetables and fruits. I wasn’t specifically taught that, but I did get it by osmosis.

My father would not eat a casserole of any stripe - not even a side dish type casserole. And my mother was too frugal for ”convenience” foods. Even when Mother was in her 80s and living alone, she would not buy any sort of prepared food. She couldn’t stand the weird taste of it.

As I grew older and lived on my own, I would call Mother for certain recipes. Often she assumed that I knew things I didn’t know. When I lived in Denver, I was dating a southern boy who loved chicken and dumplings (drop dumplings). I called Mother for her recipe. OMG, what a disaster. Mother said to drop the dumplings into boiling broth, let them cook for 10 minutes, then cover and cook for another 10 minutes. If you don’t know to turn the broth down to a simmer and you let it continue to boil the whole time, do you know what you end up with? Chicken and Dumplings Pudding!

It was probably about this time (early 20s) that I began to read cookbooks and learn various techniques. I bought Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The French Chef Cookbook. I watched Julia Child on TV. I remember teaching myself to make crepes using a JC recipe and instructions.

I suppose my act of rebellion was refusing to have a repertoire of just a few dishes like Mother. I’ve gotten more discerning with time, but in my early days, I would try almost any recipe. I made sauerbraten once. I’d never eaten sauerbraten so I had no idea if I had done a good job or not. It was tasty, so I suppose it didn’t matter.

I made Stuffed Veal Prince Orloff for a dinner party when I was in my early 20s. I think it was from the French Chef Cookbook. What a lot of labor. And I have no idea how it turned out. It was part of my philosophy for entertaining…cook something your guests have never eaten then they won’t know if it is good or not. HA!

Since those days, I’ve taken cooking classes from time to time. I have no innate feel for cooking, but I can follow a recipe and I have a good enough grasp of various techniques.

btw, as an update to my question of last week about cooking quail, my friend assures me that her husband would like quail. Cutting it is not an issue. He cannot cut up any of his food because of a tremor in one hand and Depuytren’s in the other. I think my biggest stumbling block is going to be sourcing the quails. I cannot find them anywhere.

Here in MN all students take FACS/Tech Ed for a quarter. Once you get to high school those classes are electives. It's a good thing the powers that be figured out those classes are great skills to have as an adult. I applaud those of you who pushed the envelope and took what interested you--not what was conventional.

BBTSx, can you order them online? I would 100% trust D'artagnan

https://www.dartagnan.com/semi-boneless-quail/product/FQUMA004-1.html

my philosophy for entertaining…cook something your guests have never eaten then they won’t know if it is good or not. HA!

My philosophy for entertaining:

Keep the apps scant and the conversation flowing over drinks first, so they sit down to the meal hungry and happy

Mtn, thanks for the d’Artagnan link. I haven’t started really shopping yet, but I too trust them. d’Artagnan also sells through Costco, but not the quails.

After I got out of my 20s and got a little more experience under my belt, I stopped the ”cook something no one has heard of.” Not only was I more experienced, but my friends had heard of a lot more dishes!

Mtn, re: algebra. I took Algebra I twice and still flunked Algebra II. I did well in Plane Geometry I think because it was more visual. Now that i think about it, i had a math requirement in college and took Algebra for the fourth time and did well. The fourth time was the charm and that was the end of my math education.

I learned a bit growing up from my mother and grandmother, but i really learned much more from them over the phone after I left the nest. Lots of ”how do you make x” kind of calls. As I grew more confident, I learned more through trial and error. I rarely follow a recipe exactly anymore except for baked goods, and often just stand back and toss in what I think will work. That said, family and friends always seem to really like my cooking, so I must be doing something right.

Dedtired, nowadays they call that "sprial" learning!

But I was really good at spelling. 🤭😂😘

Back in the 70's, when I was in middle school (which was called Jr. High) both girls and boys took home ec and shop. I did wood shop and metal shop...I was better at those skills than the home ec...I made a halter dress that had one strappy bodice bit on the front and one on the back...never tried sewing more than a straight line after that. The cooking part was uninspired. Cinnamon toast was one thing I remember. I think my school was fairly progressive for those days.

I couldn't resist.

I don’t remember ever cooking an actual meal myself when I was .young, but my mother usually assigned tasks: cut up the carrots, for example. I found it tedious, and watched her get stressed out about creating a dinner (always with a recipe, either from her boxes of index cards or from one of her many cookbooks) every night, so the whole thing just never appealed to me. I couldn’t understand why she went to all that trouble, day in and day out. We rarely had takeout or ate out, and only had leftovers when my dad worked late.

I have never learned to love cooking, but I have been doing it reliably for 32+ years. DH never cooked actual meals (except for occasional weekend breakfasts) until a couple of years ago, and he probably enjoys it more than I ever have. I do think I am a decent cook, but I stay away from recipes that have too many steps and/or ingredients.

My oldest DS doesn’t seem to cook much at all, though he’s been living on his own for several years. Middle DS does cook, and has been getting more adventurous with the encouragement of his fiancee. They have even taken cooking classes together. My DD is the real cook in the family! She wanted to learn to cook at a young age, mostly baking, so DH learned along with her and they did lots of baking together over the years. She has always been great at following a recipe and has good instincts in the kitchen. PS she also asked if she could start doing her own laundry when she was around 10 or 12, so she is quite domestic!

My mom taught me to cook when I was really little. She wisely started me off with desserts and from there my interest grew to (eventually) include things than desserts. I think the first thing we made was a batch of cream puffs which we filled with ice cream and homemade hot fudge sauce. Mom, at 89, is still an amazing cook.

I did the same with my daughter and an often request from her when she was small was "Let's bake something!" I always happily obliged and she has become an excellent baker in her own right. She's also a very good cook.

Dh is . a great cook and I happily sit at the counter with a glass of wine while he makes dinner. (To be fair, we often work together in the kitchen on things like stews and gumbo). Cooking for me is a joy, but so is going out to eat. (I just never order dessert as I am usually disappointed.)

Wanted to add that I took home ec in jr high. We made A Line skirts snd down vest kits. Once, while baking in home ec, my group was the only one whose the cheese crackers worked. The teacher drmanded to know what I did. I was terrified because I changed the recipe as it seemed too dry.

My mom was a good 'meat and potatoes' cook. She didn't bake much, never anything with yeast. In fact, it was a joke in her family that everyone had an inability to ever make yeast anything. I finally broke the curse by learning how to make bread. I moved (after marriage) to a very small town and became acquainted with a couple of LDS women who taught me all I needed to know in order to bake with yeast. One of them grew wheat, so I had a supply of wheat and bought a grinder so I would even grind my own flour. Those days are over, but I loved it when I finally mastered yeast baking.

My mom taught me how to make the food she prepared and from early teens I could cook all our standard meals. I never ventured out of that realm, didn't look at recipes, etc. I had a high school friend who made delicious pies and she taught me pie baking, but I didn't waver much more than that from Mom's cooking.

Then I started babysitting for a woman who made more interesting food - she had a real flair and even everyday things seemed elevated under her touch. I really love it and became very interested in cooking as she did, so when I married, I really branched out into more adventurous culinary territory.

I am fairly experienced, but I cook mostly from recipes. I don't have a knack for tossing things together and knowing it will be delicious. But I do have a knack for finding recipes that really work for me. Great combinations, visually attractive and delicious. I love perusing recipes and searching for just the right one. I'm not afraid to make substitutions, but generally follow the recipe pretty closely.

If I were learning to cook now, I would suggest finding every video you can of Ina Garten cooking. She is so accomplished yet down to earth and really walks you through how to made a dish. Nothing is too complicated and it's always delicious. (Just cut down on the salt, lol). Her cookbooks are wonderful.

My first cooking experiences were in Jr High Home Ec. I loved that class!! And Mtn, I wish I'd known you when I was strruggling through Algebra....never could understand it & got a D...I learned early on that despite going through nursing school & working as a nurse, I really mostly enjoyed homemaking...still do, but at 78, I have limits!!

My cooking adventures started out with my grandma, she taught me to bake and to cook some fabulous southern dishes. She was a wonderful teacher. My mom did not really enjoy cooking and never tried to get me involved in the kitchen. As a teen, I rarely cooked regular meals, but I did keep our family supplied with baked goods; In high school we had a great Home Ec department, we were offered 5 different cooking classes. Our teachers were very creative, I took all 5 classes, learned a lot and had so much fun.

At this point in my life, I still find it fun to take cooking classes, try new recipes and watch new techniques on YouTube. You would think I would want to cook all the time, but not so much. Enjoy cooking when I am in the mood, but to be honest I find cooking nightly a bore. Maybe I will be more inspired once I retire.