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cook in the kitchen with someone else?

Does it make you crazy???

I don't mind cooking with DS because I want to teach him how... and he does everything I say.

FWSO is another story!!!

It really depends on the situation. I do my best, most creative work alone, usually. My two are always getting hungry the second I start boiling water, so I'm always having to stop and do something else. That drives me nuts!

Before we moved, we had a HUGE kitchen and now we have a tiny kitchen, so I definitely prefer to be in there alone.

Our kitchen is almost big enough...

but... he doesn't want to follow a recipe or use "proven" kitchen techniques... and he thinks he knows it all.

I can't stand cooking in my kitchen with someone else UNLESS they know WTF they are doing and don't need me to teach, supervise, or do it the hell over. I have no problem teaching my kids how to cook. I do NOT want to "teach" another adult what to do.

I usually end up taking over a bit when SO is cooking in the kitchen. If it's something that has a lot of steps I either want him to follow my exact directions, or let me do it myself!

Even taking the meat out of the pot involves a "discussion".

The only time I cook with someone else is when I'm at my sister's. We were trained by the same master chef - Mom - so we work incredibly well together.

Only when I'm making Gator stew

Moo

Even taking the meat out of the pot involves a "discussion".

I apologize for laughing, but that just struck me as funny. I know it's not funny to you, though. If it causes too much stress between the two of you, then don't cook together. Agree beforehand who will be preparing the meal and then have the cook with the 'meal off' go do something, away from the kitchen.

I live with a trained chef and I'm self-taught, but we do AWESOME together. I have the creative ability and palate and he has the technical skills, so I can say, "I'd like to do *this thing* with *this flavor* and *this texture*..." and we brainstorm through it. Whenever it becomes a struggle, one of us exits the kitchen because it's not worth it. We have a saying around here: "It's just lunch." No need to sweat it.

I go crazy when he wants to take a 5lb pork butt roast and put it on the gas grill to cook!!!

He said he saw a guy at one of the BBQ places in town do that...

So I asked him to describe it... he described the guy putting the pork roast in a brick house and then adding wood to the bottom and "grilling" it.

I said... That's smoking, not grilling... it's a slower, lower heat and longer...

Yes, about 6-7 hours to "grill" (you are correct about him describing a smoking process) that pork butt, but I bet he wants it done in half an hour!

I slow cooked it in the oven... at the 1/2 way mark... 3 hours in, he had to cut a small piece of and "sample" it.

H and I have cooked together but we usually take turns - he'll even remind me when it's my turn. It's worked for us,

I slow cooked it in the oven... at the 1/2 way mark... 3 hours in, he had to cut a small piece of and "sample" it.

Mine is like that, too. Well, he got a bit better about it when we started thinking about entering amateur (we have to enter under my name) BBQ contests and we started practicing. He was able to see how 'just a taste' off of the outside will impact the final product.

Recently, I cooked a turkey while he was at work. He commented on how juicy it was and asked me how I did it. I replied that it was juicy because he wasn't here to rip a leg off right out of the oven and let all of the steam out.

I'm afraid that in my house I make the turkey dry because I eat all the browned crunchy skin as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Based on the same theory, you might be drying it out.

If I CAN, if I have time and no one is around, I'll wrap mine in foil as soon as it comes out and let it cool for about an hour, then toss it in the fridge to cool completely. It comes out so tender and juicy, but that's not practical in a lot of situations.

I cook incredibly well with my son. I have well-developed kitchen skills and he is a pro chef. I've baked huge numbers of Christmas cookies with my daughter for 30 years and last year introduced the young GD to the tradition. Don't mind teaching at all. In fact, at one point I thought my retirement fun would be owning a cooking school.

Yes Lynn... I love teaching DS to cook.

Where we have issues is when FWSO thinks he KNOWS everything!!!

I usually step back and let him mess it all up on his own... and then he can only blame himself.

I love sharing the cooking with someone else ... whether its LF helping to put the pizza together or friends helping to cook a big Sunday dinner, cooking is more fun when someone else is sharing in the fun.

To me, cooking is not just a culinary skill but rather its a social activity.

If the potatoes are not cubed perfectly, its not the end of the world. If you put more carrots into the mix as compared to the peas, I'm not worried that no one will eat the veggies.

Mind you, I understand the frustration of teaching basic cooking (I did teach our four to cook) but unless they burnt the gravy (again), I think the solution is to have another glass of wine and laugh about it ...