Speaking of masochism, LOL, what is the fussiest, most tortured recipe you're ever attempted? >>

Pinky, I'm on YOUR level, LOL.... Imagine, when I first came on to>>>

the Swap, why I was intimidated by the amazing accomplishments of the Swappers. I have learned soooo very much from being a member, but still RUN as fast as I can, from some of the complicated recipes that I still see posted here, LOL.. I am truly one Lazy Cook.

 
I know the feeling! I'm wondering how many of you who really like to play with the food are also

artistic in other ways? I'm just not that artistic, sorry to say.

 
I, for one, think all three of you- kpinky, Moyn and Curious are accomplished cooks.

I have tried and enjoyed making recipes from all three of you. This is the place where ALL of us learn and enjoy sharing- isn't it great?!

You guys probably raised families- I don't have kids so I had the luxury of being able to spend a lot of time in the kitchen early on. I also have a DH who loves good food, is an incredible host, does prep work and dishes with a smile on his face and thinks everything I cook is the best he ever ate. He is a great grill cook on top of it all AND was a bartender for many years so he handles that portion of entertaining people with a flair. See? That's why I became obsessed with it all.

 
Cathy, keep it coming...love your recipes and expertise. Just wondering though, are you artistic

in other areas also? I still spend a lot of time on food, just not making it pretty. I haven't the patience, interest and probably skills to do the artistic touches that I think we are really talking about here with the tortured food comments.

 
Cathy, there's no need to rationalize or to minimize your fabulous

talent. I totally agree with Curious.... my hat's been off to you.... dozens of times over the years. You are definitely among a handful of the most talented people that I have met here.
(I won't name the others, for fear that I might forget one, LOL). Keep those recipes rollin' in, Girl!!! smileys/smile.gif

 
oh gosh, you guys. I say the same to you- keep 'em coming. Curious, here is an answer

My Mom was an artist and a musician- my Dad was a doc but also a very accomplished musician. In my youth I took art lessons, fancied myself talented in that area (I'm not really) but music was a passion and I was a professional musician (flute) until I decided I wanted to do more than just scrape by financially in life- LOL

Finally, after many, many years of having my flute sit in a drawer (once you stop playing professionally you don't just pick it up once in a while for "fun" 'cause it isn't "fun"- your lip goes quick), I decided I could finally sell it. I sold it and bought my commercial stove. For me, a fitting creative outlet replacement!

How about you?

 
How'd you guess, Curious. I studied art and scraped by as a painter for a while>>

but like Cathy, I got tired of poverty. I still paint, and I should probably spend more time in the studio than in the kitchen, but cooking is a creative outlet too. It involves all the senses and the rewards are immediate, so it's very satisfying.

I used to do tortured art--incredibly detailed multicolor hand-printed lithographs. Talk about obsessive! Now I just paint, and pretty loosely.

BTW, your Pommes Annas are exactly the way Julia does them, though she probably used more butter. I've never tried them, so I'm impressed!

 
I've got this printed, I'm going to try it next week. Thanks!

Looks much friendlier than Christine's.

 
My Mom was a gifted painter and I minored in art in college....

And my Dad's Mother was talented too. Both Grammy and Mom could make ANY dinner (whether hot dogs or coq au vin) lovely to behold. Besides great care in prep and ingredients, presentation was everything with them. We had very little money growing up, so Mom made our humble table as lovely as she could. And we all sat down to dinner together. And Moyn, I second your comments posted below!

 
My father was a baby clothing designer. He also created

toys for children (mostly puzzle types). I never had any formal design training, but have always loved "playing around". I did some commercial interior design, with a friend, some 25 years ago. And since, I've been designing costume & sterling jewelry (with Dana, my daughter) for her business.
Altho, I've never attempted the torturous tasks that Joe & Cathy muse about, a meal never goes to the table without some parsley sprigs, radish roses, or some such decoration. I love to make platters look attractive, since I think that part of what makes food taste so delicious, is the way it's presented.

 
Thanks...you support my theory that artistic people are usually gifted in more than one area. Me,

I'm not gifted at anything! My Mom painted and loved to bake. I think the need to cook 3 meals a day from scratch for a family burned her out on cooking, but she enjoyed it when she got older and had access to more purchased ingredients and choices of what she could make. However, her mother always set the table beautifully and presented the food on plates that complimented it. I'll never forget the lovely blue plate she put sliced tomatoes on, wish I had it.

Even though she was poor as the proverbial church mouse, she had multiple sets of dishes and many table cloths and a meal was never put down without one. I loved to spend time with her and although she's been gone for 40 years, I still miss her. My sister inherited the "set a beautiful table" gene and I inherited the "love to cook and collect recipes" gene. Both my mother and aunt died leaving huge collections of clipped recipes.

 
P.S. The simpler, the better. Except for maybe the occasional "fancy"...

dessert or something, I would rather spend time creating and experimenting than fussing with something.

When you have limited time to cook (and clean up!) I tend to regularly go for the simple stuff.

 
A cake that took 2 days to make (FRC)

I found a recipe for this gorgeous French cake, ground nuts in the cake batter, fresh strawberries, almond paste on the outside. Took me a LOT of hours and two days, but I was making it for our friends Dave and Jody (she passed away a while ago from cancer)...and yes, it was delicious and beautiful...

And I never made it again.

CYH
Cyndi

 
Maybe not a lot of fuss but I made home made pizza

for 25 teenagers at a Halloween party.
Now WHAT was I thinking?
You know how much a hungry teenager can eat?
If I remember correctly, I made close to 50 pizzas!

On top of that, I also served as a "bartender" making alcohol free drinks and slushes for them.
I almost slept for 100 years afterwards.

 
Wow, what stamina! There's a certain point where the guests wanting seconds, or thirds,

stops being so flattering. 50 pizzas!!!

 
Nacotoches Meat Pies, one of the few recipes by

Pritikin that sounded good. I fiddled and fiddled with the dough which I was supposed to wrap around the meat filling. It didn't work! No matter what I tried it was a mess. After 45 minutes of fiddling and failure with the whole mess, to my family's bewildered astonishment, I threw the bowl and rolling pin hard down on the floor and smashed the meat filling against the counter. Some of the meat even ended up splattering on the ceiling, a fact of which I am not proud. I still own that same rolling pin, which from that day on, has had a bent handle from it's contact with the floor. I guess that's what you get when you try a recipe from a diet guru who comes from the scientific viewpoint rather than from the kitchen!

 
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