What's Cookin' discussion

We are glad to have you hear. Please tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? What type of cooking do you enjoy most? Do you have any food related hobbies?

My name is Christina. I live in North Central Kansas. I LOVE to cook!!!! I make alot of comfort foods for my family. I try all kinds of receipes. I usually follow a receipe to a "T" the first time I make it, then either add something or take something out the next time. I hope to have fun in this group!!!!

Welcome Christina. So glad to have you. I just took over the group a few weeks ago so it's in the middle of changes. Hope you are able to join us in rebuilding it back to a great group.

My name is Ruth, and I am currently living in Utah. I love to cook and love to read, so I figured this group would be a good fit for me. Right now I am particularly interested in food writing, I also collect cookbooks, and am always looking for a good suggestion on what to read and try. Nice to meet all of you!

Hi Ruth! Glad to have you join us!

I'm Jennifer and I live in Arizona. I like cooking and especially baking. My favorite time of year is Fall because I love squash, cranberries and pumpkin. Year round, chocolate.

I'm looking forward to all the new changes in this group-thanks for you work, Alisa!

Dena here in Wichita Kansas. I like to fix home made foods; like my grandma would have made if she had been a good cook. When I travel I like to take cooking classes featuring traditional home cooking of the region or country I'm visiting.

Hi Jennifer and Dean. Glad to have you both. I love Fall baking too. The options are endless. I've never thought about taking cooking classes when I travel. That is a great idea that I'm going to have to steal. :)

Whoo hoo!!! I'm not the only one from Kansas. I live in Delphos, Kansas. Glad to meet everyone!!!!!

I had to look up Delphos KS. Nice to meet another Kansan.

Hi everyone - I'm psyched to be a part of this group. I'm a food writer. I live in NYC. I write a lot about kids and cooking, parenting and food issues, but I love it all, so looking forward to reading and reviewing with you. Thanks for taking over, Alisa!

Hi Kim! I really enjoy cooking with kids, I taught my 3 sons how to cook and now get to cook with my grandchildren. Or do you mean cooking for kids?

Dena wrote: "Hi Kim! I really enjoy cooking with kids, I taught my 3 sons how to cook and now get to cook with my grandchildren. Or do you mean cooking for kids?"
Hi Dena - No I totally meant cooking with kids. I wrote a book about it called "Sharp Knives, Boiling Oil: My Year of Dangerous Cooking with Four-Year-Olds" and I also make soup every week with my daughter's first grade class. I'd love to hear more about your cooking with your kids and grand kids! Awesome.

Hi Kim! That's a great topic to write about. I have 3 kids under age 8 so I do a lot of cooking w/kids. I always say Top Chef should do a challenge where the chefs try to make a great meal w/kids, a dog & endless amounts of Legos in the kitchen. LOL I think this is a topic a lot of members would be interested in learning more about. I love watching my kids learn to cook & share my passion for all things related.

Alisa wrote: "Hi Kim! That's a great topic to write about. I have 3 kids under age 8 so I do a lot of cooking w/kids. I always say Top Chef should do a challenge where the chefs try to make a great meal w/kid..."
Alisa - that is so funny! Every time I cook with my kids, I'm convinced I'm on an episode of Top Chef. So funny. It's really a shared experience.

That's why I always get upset when I see "cooking with kids" portrayed as obedient, silent children in white chef toques and cute white aprons not making a mess, making every little muffin perfectly, getting all the flour right in the bowl, not trying to eat all the chocolate chips. Anyone who has cooked with their kids knows it's a full body contact sport!

Anyway, I'm happy to gift a file of the book to anyone on this list who wants to read it. Just send me an email at Kim AT FosterEntertainment DOT net and what file you want (mobi for Kindle, epub for all other readers, or a PDF)

Looking forward to hearing all your stories on this topic and others. I love that we already have a cool discussion started! So glad you hopped on as moderator.

Kim wrote: "Dena wrote: "Hi Kim! I really enjoy cooking with kids, I taught my 3 sons how to cook and now get to cook with my grandchildren. Or do you mean cooking for kids?"
Hi Dena - No I totally meant cooki..."

I just downloaded your book from Amazon and have read up to the guacamole recipe. The part about your daughter's smile when you handed her the knife to cut the tortillas is priceless. I think I'm going to like this book. Thanks for the offer of the free file but it sounds like you earned the money the hard way.

Hi everyone, I'm Therinia. I'm in Greensboro, NC.

I enjoy all kinds of cooking, as long as it isn't too fussy. I have a weakness for appetizers. I'm going through a waffle iron phase right now, where all my baked stuff is waffled. It's been....interesting and delicious. Usually. :P

I love reading through cookbooks and food magazines. My favorites have lots of pictures, because I like to see what the finished product should look like. I have a tendency to adapt recipes to include stuff I like. Lately that includes cilantro and sriracha.

Last year I canned some jam, and this year I'm hoping to make some pickles and spicy carrots.

Hi guys -
I'm a food and beer writer from the UK, and a bit of a cookbook/food book junkie! I've got tonnes, and I'm ashamed to say probably don't use them as much as I should. Looking to get recs on new and classic books.

Dena wrote: "Kim wrote: "Dena wrote: "Hi Kim! I really enjoy cooking with kids, I taught my 3 sons how to cook and now get to cook with my grandchildren. Or do you mean cooking for kids?"
Hi Dena - No I totally..."

Hi Dena -

Somehow I completely missed your message. Thank you for downloading it. That was very kind. And am glad you are off to a good start.

I would love to hear what you think. Please do let me know!

xoxo

Welcome Therinia. I'm interested to hear more about your waffle iron phase. I plan to start doing some canning myself this summer. Maybe we can start a thread on that topic.

Hi Debbie, glad to have you. I also started getting into teas about two years ago. I have a little hole in the wall tea house I found where I buy loose tea. Tea & tea pots are always #1 on my Mother's Day list. I love scouring thrift & antique shops for cool old tea pots & cups.

Welcome Leigh. Glad to have you. I'm especially intertested in your beer writing. It's something I think a lot of people are intersted in. Please feel free to start on thread on the topic if you want.

Debbie wrote: "Alisa wrote: "Hi Debbie, glad to have you. I also started getting into teas about two years ago. I have a little hole in the wall tea house I found where I buy loose tea. Tea & tea pots are alway..."

Have you read any good tea books? I have a few I've recently downloaded but haven't had the chance to get through them yet.

Hi, I'm Lit Bug. I love trying new cuisines and experimenting with food - am no expert but my love for food keeps pushing me to try newer avenues and perfect existing recipes. So far, I cook a bit of the Indian, Italian and Chinese cuisines - but am keen to discover new worlds - African, British, American, Spanish, Russian, Persian and so on... Looking forward to learning a lot of new things, including a long-time dream of mine - bread.

Hi Lit Bug! Glad to have you. Sounds like you have an eclectic taste. I recently took a day long bread course. It was a great experience.

Hello, all...I'm Jerry Greenfield, The Wine Whisperer. Love talking about wine, and especially food and wine pairing, bridge flavors, unlikely combinations (like grilled scallops with white chocolate sauce, dill, and capers). New book out soon...I'll keep you informed. Cheers!

Hi Jerry. So glad to have you. Would love to learn more about wines & will definately want to check out the new book.

Hi everyone, I'm Brian from eastern long island, New York. I enjoy cooking, especially Italian. I look forward to being in this group.

Hi Brian. Glad to have you.

Thank you Alisa

Hi Everyone,
I’m thrilled to say hello and join this group. I’ve been obsessed with historical food for a number of years with a focus on the 18th century. I have studied with food historian Ivan Day and experienced Georgian life with a re-enactment society which was a real revelation (especially the corsets!) After writing non-fiction for years I set out to write the book I’d love to read, about historic food, travel, mystery and murder. An Appetite for Violets is set in the 1770s and is written as a book of recipes and takes a sharp-witted young cook on a murderous trip from England to Italy. Historical research is my passion and I review books on Goodreads with a focus on 18th century social history which of course includes food.

I have just returned home after nearly two years living in New Zealand and now write full-time in Chester, England. I’m a keen home cook with an interest in British food as well as Dutch and Indonesian cuisine, as a result of my family history. I also intend to start blogging soon about my attempts at historic recipes at www.martinebailey.com

Hi,
I am happy to have found this group, and I look forward to hearing what everyone is cooking. I also collect cookbooks especially Italian cookbooks. I authoredA Tuscan Table: The Secrets of Three Generations of Tuscan Family Cooking I will be starting a blog at Blogger shortly.

Hey I'm brand new too Addendum, maybe we can talk a little and share some recipes if you have any good ones or for anyone really. I really appreciate the opportunify you are giivng me. Thank you.

Hi, I'm a Brighton based author and freelance food and drink journalist. I love to cook at home and have done a few pop up events in Brighton too. Always on the look out for inspiration for new ingredients, techniques and recipes. Love baking bread and recently made my own butter and curd at home for the first time. I've also been experimenting with some basic pickles.

Hey guys ready to share one of my amazing herb and olive bread recipes where should I put it?????

Hi everyone! I'm Sarah and I am the social media gal for Shadow Mountain Publishing and I also happen to love cooking, especially desserts :) I'm always looking for new recipes and love spreading the word about great recipes I make. Shadow Mountain Publishing has some great cookbooks coming out and I will share info about them as well in an appropriate, non-annoying way. I'm excited to be in this group!

Hello - My name is Deborah and I am a fooaholic :)

I live in Brisbane, Australia and yesterday I had a dinner party with a few friends. I cooked a couple of things out of "the art of Chinese cooking' by the benedictine sisters of Peking 1956.

After dinner one of my friends asked me very seriously if I had photocopied the book, it is old and shabby after all.

A while back, I had a project to put all my recipes onto a website - much like goodreads and books - so I joined this group hoping to plumb your experiences.