The one thing I want to learn is (?)
If you had the opportunity to learn one thing about food, cooking, or any extension of those subjects (the connections are endless: writing/reading; sociology; politics; agriculture; art; media; restaurant operations etc) from the expert of your choice, what would that one thing be (and who would your chosen expert be)?
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19 Comments:
I would take all manner of bread baking classes. Ollie Sommers would be my choice of a teacher.
annie1963 at 9:29AM on 04/25/08
annie1963, you've got me stumped already, at the first response! :)
Who is Ollie Sommers? (And where is Ollie Sommers too?)
Karen Resta at 9:44AM on 04/25/08
Not to get too maudlin, but I would love to go back in time and actually learn how to make the pickles my Nana made. In my family we call them "Nana pickles" and they are unlike any other pickle I've ever had. I really ought to know how to carry on the tradition.
psychsarah at 10:20AM on 04/25/08
That's not maudlin, psychsarah.
What was different about them from other pickles? What flavor, or what texture? Maybe someone here might have an idea of how to get close to her recipe.
I had a similar thing happen with pickles - my grandmother's Maine Mustard Pickles, and finally - between a couple of sources - was able to reconstruct the recipe.
Karen Resta at 10:40AM on 04/25/08
Here's mine for today (it changes daily): I'd like to learn how to catch a bear and some dormice then continue on till they're well cooked and delicious. :)
Karen Resta at 12:33PM on 04/25/08
I think I read a Beatrice Potter story about dormice when I was a kid and I always wanted one for a pet. Oh god, Karen, now I have to go rock myself in a corner because that dish looked really good, but then there's that cute little rodent's big watery eyes looking at me...Ach, that old dilemma, if it's cute, is it food?
wookie at 12:46PM on 04/25/08
I have a lot to learn so it was hard for me to pinpoint one thing in particular. So...based on my mood today, I would say I want to learn to make puff pastry. I read from all the experts that it is actually easy but haven't been able to bring myself to take the plunge. It is often either too humid or too warm/hot where I live and I don't currently have a lot of counter space or an island to roll up my sleeves and really spread everything out. (I'm envisioning the cat powdered with flour, twining around my legs!) I don't know who my chosen expert would be. As long as it's not Pepperidge Farm...LOL
Then again, I'd love to become a fantastic cake decorator. Have you looked at wedding cakes lately? Wow! They are works of art. It would be hard to choose one person to teach me but I do admire the cakes at Sweet Melissa's in NYC. To be a fly on the wall. Well, maybe not...potential health code violation plus untimely death at the hands of a fly swatter.
MelsDiner at 3:01PM on 04/25/08
I'd be grateful for any mundane little thing she'd teach me if I could have just one whole day alone in a kitchen with my hero, Julia Child.
Sigh.
LoCo at 3:08PM on 04/25/08
How to stop eating when I'm full. (Any experts out there...? Hmm.)
Also how to cook like the old Ukrainian ladies at my church. No cookbooks, no recipes....just their memory and their skill. Pierogies, borscht....and the breads and tortes....oh gosh. Gradually they've been showing me things, but I swear it's an innate gift.
moibec at 3:58PM on 04/25/08
I'd like to learn about foraging. I'd particularly like to be able to identify edible mushrooms. In Norway everyone seems fairly confident about picking them (there are lots of chanterelles), but I never have done and would love to get stuck in.
caley at 4:31PM on 04/25/08
How to poach the perfect, beautfiul egg
bessfour at 4:34PM on 04/25/08
As a current law student, I'd like to learn how to work for the safety and sustainability of our food supply (domestically and globally) and how to ensure that irresponsible companies are held accountable.
renzata at 5:06PM on 04/25/08
Barring that, I would also like to learn how to decorate cakes. I tried once and, though delicious, it was not a showstopper.
renzata at 5:07PM on 04/25/08
In cooking: How to temper chocolate so well, I can make chocolates.
In life: To live with complete love, peace and joy.
Brownie at 5:34PM on 04/25/08
i would love to learn food photography,
i always tried to take pictures of the food i make, but the pictures alway weren't as good as the food
mochateri at 6:05PM on 04/25/08
They offer a class at LA Burdick's chocolates in Walpole, NH on how to make chocolates and all the steps that go along with it. It is a week-long class, I believe. I live only a little over an hour away. But if I remember correctly, the class is over $800. Gosh, I would LOVE to take that class.
Oh, and I'd love to learn some bread baking too. :)
puppymomma at 12:19PM on 04/27/08
Just one thing?! Geez.
Right now, I'm teaching myself how to manipulate humidity when I make bread to produce the crust I want. It's an interesting experiment.
I also keep saying that Any Day Now I'm going to start on candy-making, particularly replicating my great-aunt's peanut brittle. It took me 10 years to replicate my grandmother's biscuits, but I'm hoping I can accomplish it in 5 years this time. I kind of wish I'd started on this before her Alzheimer's got bad. =/
I also wish I had better knife skills - I'm good in the kitchen, but I'm no pro; and plating skills. I also wouldn't mind learning more about the theories behind cooking (mother sauces, etc) and perfecting my craft. I guess what I'm saying - if the world were my oyster and I had the time, money, and health to do it, I'd enroll in the CIA. Alas, it's not to be, so I do what I can at home to learn all I can.
jenilowrance at 1:02PM on 04/27/08
I'd love to know how to get into being a food critic. I don't think I could learn how to be a good one from anyone - since a lot of the critics out there seem so damn self absorbed and completely one sided. I love to dine out and have been a "foodie" since before foodtv hit the airwaves and even taught us that word.
That would be an incredible thing to do.
bodaciousgirl at 2:17PM on 04/27/08
amazingly crusty/chewy/light artisan bread (which is impossible to find where I live!)... and I don't really know who I would want to teach me... anyone willing to take the time, I suppose?!
annaliseree at 3:34PM on 04/27/08