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Ask HN: Hackers who cook

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Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#91

Post by br0ke »

1. Fun. The preparation and cooking (and subsequent eating) is a good change of pace and can be zen-like

2. Not really. I plan special dishes once every couple of weeks, but have enough stuff on my 'normal' weekly grocery list that I can do a fair variety

3. Beef stroganoff, lo mein, stromboli, spaghetti, fajitas, tabbouleh, sushi rolls, steak&baked potatoes, etc

4. No, though I've been trying to reduce fat and cholesterol with low/no fat versions or substitutions (greek yogurt instead of sour cream, ground turkey, etc)

5. Mise en place (prepare everything before turning anything on). Experiment; tweak the recipes and try new things. Don't go cheap on essential equipment (knives, pots&pans). Try doing things without countertop appliances (fresh ravioli with a rolling pin and knife, hand kneed breads, mince with a knife instead of using a food processor, etc) to learn what to look for. Have fun cooking so you do it more often and it's a positive thing :)

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#92

Post by CocaKoala »

Cherian wrote: post #63
CocaKoala wrote: post #10

I liked to cook with my girlfriend as a fun and easy date activity, and we've continued to do it now that we're married. Also, cooking our own food is cheaper than going out every night, and tastes better than getting takeout. We try to plan meals for the week and then do a big grocery run on the weekend, and I'll stop by the store after work if we run low on something. We have a few meals that we run through on a ro…

Slow cookers are something I discovered recently. They pretty much give you’re a killer food on the table without much effort. Do you have recommended recipes?

We've been doing the honey pulled pork recipe from http://www.thelawstudentswife.com/2014/05/slow-cooker-honey-...

I doubt it would win any BBQ competitions, but it's dead easy to make and is pretty delicious. We don't bother making the pancakes that the website recommends; we just grab some rolls from a bakery.

We don't make nearly as much use of our slow cooker as we should, but we're definitely looking for more recipes too. As we move into winter, we'll probably start trying to make stew, etc in it.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#93

Post by palidanx »

1. I just like controlling what I eat. So when I cook I tend to be more vegetable heavy which isn't available in restaurants.

2. I tend to look at pictures of what other people are eating on Facebook as inspiration (modernist cooking, serious eats, food lab, etc). I don't plan ahead as I usually cook what is in the farmer's market that week.

3. Pretty much all cuisines. More on the American/Vietnamese side though.

4. The 'just eat food diet'

5. Using a pressure cooker. Having a sharp knife. Watching youtube videos of other recipes.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#94

Post by drtse4 »

daveloyall wrote: post #81

> 1. Why do you cook? Is it to save cash or is it recreation? Or something else? Cooking is an old human activity--and I mean OLD! It's easy to forget what you are in this day and age. Tilling, growing, harvesting, cooking, and eating together helps me remember. > 2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan? I've tried that. No. > 3. What kind of things do you cook usually? Veggies. Sometimes I'd pick a random vege…

> the husks just fall off when you smash the garlic.

Oh, the looks i get when i show someone that is really that easy :)

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#95

Post by ThomPete »

I cook all the time and always found it to be just an extension of designing.

1) I cook because food is fundamental to life and me and my wife want our kids to understand food.

2) No but we have often talked about it. My mom did it with us, perhaps I will take it up.

3) Everything from Coté de Beuf & Fish to Lasagne and more advanced french dishes.

4) As a matter of fact I am on a diet currently (low carb) but I am not religius about it. Instead i work out a lot.

5) Don't learn recipes learn the underlying methods (the difference between being a script kiddie and a proper developer). That way you will understand why things work the way they do and you will always be able to make something good and healthy whether quick or slow.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#96

Post by drtse4 »

jackson1372 wrote: post #38

1. To save money and to eat more healthily. Also, my girlfriend realy appreciates home/cooked meals. 2. We plan out 4 dinners per week. I'm responsible for two of them. I get her two preferences, make a shopping list, and go grocery shopping every Sunday or Monday. We now have a fairly well established list of recipes, and I use Anylist to construct my shopping list easily. 3. I prefer to cook meals where I can easil…

> Buy pre-peeled garliC.

why? If peeling it's the problem, i do it this way: http://youtu.be/Az_7uMKGtuE?t=47s

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#97

Post by darkarmani »

adwf wrote: post #56
cantankerous wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Random question: Do you have any suggestions for learning better knifework/technique? I feel like I'm SO SLOW at chopping anything and there has to be a more efficient way for me to work.

For me a good 90% of it was actually realising my knives were pretty blunt. Or rather, realising just how sharp a knife could be. Once I had that sorted, everything just started going so much smoother as the blade wasn't getting stuck, being deflected on the way down or only cutting partially through.

Yes! It doesn't matter how expensive your wedding registry knives were, they will become dull. Once you have a sharpening kit, you realize that the difference in knives doesn't really matter that much -- you just have to sharpen softer steel more often (neglecting balance and preference). Sharpening my knives is my Zen activity.

Don't ever put knives in the dishwasher. Ever. I have proof after a visiting family member put one of my very sharp knives in the dishwasher and there are three visible nicks.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#98

Post by bcbrown »

cantankerous wrote: post #37
munificent wrote: post #28

1. I've always like the idea of cooking, but rarely got around to it. Then I had kids. Now that I need to provide a good healthy meal every night and it's harder to eat out, I had enough incentive to get over the hump of novice cook. Once I got a bit more skill, it got easier and a lot more enjoyable. I find the physical, analog, informal nature of cooking helps balance my otherwise too-logical, too-digital life. I l…

Random question: Do you have any suggestions for learning better knifework/technique? I feel like I'm SO SLOW at chopping anything and there has to be a more efficient way for me to work.

This book was somewhat helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Knife-Skills-Illustrated-Users-Manual/...

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#99

Post by darkarmani »

elektronjunge wrote: post #39
munificent wrote: post #28

1. I've always like the idea of cooking, but rarely got around to it. Then I had kids. Now that I need to provide a good healthy meal every night and it's harder to eat out, I had enough incentive to get over the hump of novice cook. Once I got a bit more skill, it got easier and a lot more enjoyable. I find the physical, analog, informal nature of cooking helps balance my otherwise too-logical, too-digital life. I l…

I recommend using a square of that foam cabinet liner stuff under your cutting board. It has more grip, you don't have to throw it out every time, and works far better for large cutting boards.

> you don't have to throw it out every time

I use the paper towel as the discard pile (i put the towel half-under the board). Then when I'm done i just crumble it up and wipe down the counter.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#100

Post by percevalve »

I do not cook very often, but when I do, I love doing bread and/or pastries using yeast... It is kind of fun 1. It is just for recreation 2. Nope, sometimes I just wake-up with the need to cook something. 3. All sorts of things, but I find using yeast fascinating... My best so far Kugelhopf 4. Nope, but maybe I should. 5. I have special technics to cut the vegetables... Carrots are my all time favorite...
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