Culinary Rule Breaking
I'm interested in hearing what culinary no-nos we like to indulge in. I'm not talking about a secret love of Doritos or Twinkies or Lucky Charms; every gastronome has her weaknesses, after all.
I mean taking some of the most basic rules of food and how it's "supposed" to be prepared and breaking them.
For instance, I love cold --not room temperature-- tomatoes, even heirlooms at the height of the season. I store them in the fridge. And I love them that way even though I would probably be laughed out of the kitchen at work for admitting it.
A good friend of mine doesn't like al dente pasta and actually prefers it a little mushy. Whoa!
Another likes parmesan on seafood pasta. Horrors!
Something along the lines of liking well-done steak. Egads!
Any others out there?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
22 Comments:
I can't stand the rind with brie or camembert-yuk
soozm32 at 1:23PM on 02/10/09
Too many sins to count!
I often salt plated food before tasting it. I almost always grind pepper or put hot sauce / red pepper flakes on plated food before tasting it. We're not just talking savory food, either--I have been known to put black or red pepper on sorbet, ice cream, fruit, whatever.
My knife "skills" (ha) would probably horrify a real chef. But I succeed in getting things chopped up, and I figure as long as I don't lose any fingers all is well.
I am so lazy that I cut out steps when making no-knead bread. I do it all in one bowl, and I use a little extra yeast to speed things along. I never fold it, and I add tons of water so that it's basically bubbly glop. Doesn't seem to stop people from devouring it.
Germaphobes would be frightened by my cooking habits. The kitchen stays very clean, which is a darn good thing, because I have no qualms about picking food up off the floor and eating it. I wouldn't feed it to guests, of course, and I tell myself my germ-friendly ways explain my strong immune system.
The list goes on...
annatr at 2:29PM on 02/10/09
There's this breadbaking rule that says that if you're using a Kitchenaid mixer to knead your dough, you should take it out of that bowl after the mixing is done and then put it into a greased bowl to rise. That never made sense to me, unless I needed to use the Kitchenaid for another task and needed the bowl. So I just gather up the dough, put a little olive oil in the bowl, roll it around to coat it, and there we go. And sometimes (horrors!) I don't even put in the olive oil. Yes, it sticks to the bowl coming out, but it sticks a little no matter what you do, unless it's swimming in oil. I just don't see the sense in having another bowl to wash.
dbcurrie at 2:51PM on 02/10/09
@annatr! you crack me up - love it. i love when people don't take themselves so sanctimoniously! i have horrible knife skills, when culinary grads see me chopping they are horrified. but, i get the job done. and i earn a living by my cooking.
yay.
yes, i've been a bit unorthodox in cleaning my oven - usually i loosen baked on stuff with a metal spatula - then vacumm it out....
pooch at 2:53PM on 02/10/09
I don't care what the purists say--I like mayo on my hot dog buns. Ketchup on the dog, also!
beano at 3:14PM on 02/10/09
@soozm32 - ooooh! Send the rinds to me! I luv-em!
hungrychristel at 3:24PM on 02/10/09
I don't like my eggs runny or my fish wet. I alwys cook my eggs firm and fish until flaky with no wetness left.
dmcavanagh at 3:46PM on 02/10/09
I like parmesan on seafood pasta. And ketchup on steak, unless it has some other sauce. I think the microwave steams fish more perfectly than any other method.
I think Creme brulee and vanilla ice cream are not simple perfection, they are the two most boring desserts ever created. God made chocolate because he got bored with vanilla.
Embackus at 4:04PM on 02/10/09
The pairing of wines with foods. Give me a break! Sure, pairing can sometimes provide a pleasing extra dimension to the experience, but as a "rule" I rarely concern myself with it. Many mealtimes my mind gravitates toward a wine and a food that have likely never met each other.
Lorenzo at 4:20PM on 02/10/09
Cucumbers and ranch on veggie burgers (or regular ones)
I don't like traditional condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc) nor traditional sandwich toppers (pickles and tomatoes) . Will avoid all like the plague.
Lizy Yagoda at 4:41PM on 02/10/09
I don't precisely measure when I bake. I figure that if every cup of flour is a little bit off, and different recipes for X call for slightly different proportions anyway, then why would I perfectly scoop and flatten? I shake the canister, stick the cup in, and shake off the excess. If one's a little light, I fill the next one a little more.
I'll never be able to perfectly recreate a recipe for the Pillsbury bakeoff, but everything I make is tasty and I enjoy the process a lot more. I'm sure that the pros are much more precise, and with good reason, but my approach is a lot more fun, and that's why I'm baking in the first place!
cyberroo at 4:43PM on 02/10/09
@ cyberroo I'm the same way. I never measure carefully when I bake or cook. I prefer to use a one cup measure and then guess the half and quarter cup measures. Then spices kind of get pinched in. Until something gets really screwed up, I'm okay with this system.
jennben24 at 4:56PM on 02/10/09
I put ketchup n th hotdog too.
I do not rice and avoid it whe possble. When I eat at Asian restaurants I will pay extra to skip the rice and give me chow mein. Same with Mexican restaurants skip the rice and give me double refried beans.
I also use knives that would make a chef raise a brow, but I am really small and big chef knives grip makes it difficult.
pjracz10 at 4:59PM on 02/10/09
I realize now that I do not like vinaigrette's at all. When eating salad, I'd always much rather have a creamy bottled (gasp!) dressing than a homemade vinaigrette.
PumpkinBear at 5:28PM on 02/10/09
anarchy in the kitchen -- love it!
pooch at 5:32PM on 02/10/09
I often mix cuisines: an Asian-flavored vegetable stir-fry might be served with spaghetti. It usually works ok. Today's lunch was leftovers - Indian style dal with egg fu yung on top. Yum! (Husband had some egg fu yung in a meatloaf sandwich!)
beano:
I wasn't aware that there was a rule! Mayo on my hot dog, always - relish, mustard and onions, too!
Like cyberroo, I generally eyeball measurements, at least for small quantities of dry ingredients.
Hmm, I don't know if this is so much a broken rule as just plain WTF: I defrost the freezer (you know, when the thermostat dies or the door gets left ajar) by turning it off and aiming a blow dryer at the accumulated ice. Sop up any water with a towel and/or turkey baster, but mostly you are removing chunks of ice, rather than dealing with a waterfall. A really neglected freezer can be squeaky clean in an hour or less.
gentlyferal at 6:51PM on 02/10/09
@gentlyferal - my mom used to defrost her deep freeze the same way, sounds normal to me!
joyyy at 9:04PM on 02/10/09
There's a hot dog rule? No way....mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish and diced onion...and if there's room, some sauerkraut. DH and son won't eat sauerkraut but will pile on jalapenos, pickles, tomatoes.
Also, I have never tried a main dish/savory recipe that I haven't altered to our tastes...we don't like cooked carrots, but love them roasted til caramelized, brown and yummy. We love stews, and pot roasted meats but don't like soggy vegs. Will roast the veg in olive oil and herbs and add as a side.
I hate cooked white rice, but love making fried rice, and mexican rice, which I will eat. Also love rice pudding.
I hate raw tomatoes but love them cooked, on a baguette, broiled with cheese, on my homemade tomato, basil and mozz pizza, stewed, spaghetti sauce, etc, and ketchup.
And also the mashed potatoes and ketchup indulgence.
Can't stand ranch dressing, love blue cheese dressing with huge chunks of blue cheese.
Ok, I need to go eat...I'm rambling!!!
lamora at 12:52AM on 02/11/09
I had no idea parmesan on seafood pasta was taboo. Guess I'm guilty of that.
I also had no idea there were hot dog rules. Mine get cheese whiz, chili, diced (raw) or carmelized onions, ketchup, sometimes relish, sometimes mustard, and whatever else I can fit.
I prefer egg whites to whole eggs, and will use them in recipes.
Salad without dressing. Not even for health reasons, because you're supposed to have fat with it to absorb nutrients. I just like it dry.
Pancakes/waffles without syrup. Again not for health reasons. Syrup is gnarly.
I'll occasionally put pineapples on pizza (rarely, but it happens)...sometimes with banana peppers.
I treat white rice like pasta and put pasta sauce on it.
White wine with steak and pasta with red sauce...I don't like reds.
Stir fry without oil...just boiled in tons of some salty sauce (stir boil?).
Mashed potatos so milky and runny they're practically soup.
Eating the bread from restaurants while ignoring the butter.
Too lazy to freeze tofu.
I used to use copious amounts of A1 on really good steak, but got over that. I had a friend who used to put ketchup on steak though, so I guess it's not as bad as that.
I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of.
cycorider at 2:02PM on 02/11/09
@cycorider- I hear ya on the pancakes/waffles, hot dogs, egg whites, salad, and pizza. If I do have any sort of O&V for the salad, I put it on the side and dip the greens into it. I have gotten into the habit of squirting lemon on a salad though... and, that's really just so that I have another way to consume lemon juice. Ha.
meg3j at 2:19PM on 02/11/09
I love cold tomatoes and mushy french fries would be my two big ones.
FrostyGhost at 1:31PM on 02/12/09
I frequently bake without measuring - I just eyeball the measurements. I figure that people have been baking for far longer than standardized measurements (and regulated ovens) have been around. So far, it's worked out just fine.
thebasilqueen at 2:41PM on 02/12/09