Cooking with the Spacesuit Wearing Editor #1

As I work on my story and writing blog, I did say I wanted to do a fun cooking blog. Not to disappoint, I present to you said blog.

Starting off, I’m going to keep this blog more on the informal side because I like to keep cooking fun, and on American measurements. I apologize for those using the metric system and Celsius, but I’m going to be lazy on this point. Without further ado let’s get into it.

I love to cook. For me, it is more than a basic skill of survival. It is an achievement I can share with others. It’s culture. Both mine and others. I remember making paella last year (the first time ever and the first time enjoying eating it in over thirty years) and it was as though I had transported myself back to Spain in the 80’s. I love paella and I plan to make it again soon, however it is an expensive dish. The saffron alone costs a quarter of the whole dish. So it isn’t something I want to have often or want to mess up.

Speaking of messing up dishes, I have had my fair share of experiments go awry. Sometimes it’s my fault, sometimes it is the directions, especially when they are generic (like the temperature on a pizza box) or they assume you’ve done the prep work (as is the case with some of the cookbooks I own). Sometimes a dish becomes better by modifying it. I removed the parsnips from one recipe and it was vastly better. I hate parsnips.

Taste is going to be the key factor here when cooking. A recipe can be set up a certain way, but if you don’t like it, change it. That is the fun part of cooking. You can adjust it to your taste instead of adjusting your taste to the dish. Be bold.

Now, currently, I have been delving into cooking as a hobby. It’s enjoyable, requires creativity, and I can see the results much sooner than writing. Just like writing, cooking is subjective—to a point. Writing won’t give you salmonella poisoning. Under prepared food will. So if you are interested in cooking as I am, the topics you can expect from this blog will be about cookware, recipes, and other food related stuff, like people burning water. Yeah, that is a thing. For this post, I’ll delve into my collection of cookware.

When I approached cooking as a hobby I still had my old disk clad cookware (two wok-skillets, a frying pan, two 2 qt pots, one 3 qt pot, an old 4.5 qt pot, the mysterious Dutch oven, and the 10 inch cast iron skillet I never used (which so happens to be the pan that started my desire to take on cooking as a hobby). Currently, I have upgraded all my stainless steel to full-clad that is similar to cooking with my cast iron. Both take longer to heat up but both also retain heat as opposed to disk clad (which tends to heat up and cool down quickly, also is lighter in weight. There are also other factors but the point is made that there is a difference). The important thing to note is to use the cookware that works best for you. You don’t need to have fancy cookware to make good food. Your tools should compliment your skills, not be a replacement for them.

My collection varies from full-clad stainless steel, cast iron, carbon steel, stoneware, anodized aluminum, and nonstick. 

Viking (3-ply full clad)

• 4.8 qt sauce pan (with lid)
• 3.6 qt sauce pan (with lid)
• 12 inch frying pan
• 5.2 qt pot
• 3.2 qt pot
• 2.4 qt pot

All-Clad (nonstick alloy steel)

• Quarter pan (9x13)
• Jelly Roll pan (12x15)
• Cookie sheet (11x16)

Lodge (cast iron)

• 12 inch skillet (purchased lid separately)
• 10 inch skillet
• Two burner griddle (that I use on the grill)
• Grilling basket (12 inch)
• Square pan (11 inch griddle)
• 9x13 casserole  pan
• 10x15 baking pan
• Dutch oven (non-Lodge brand of some mysterious size)
• 3.6 qt inch enamel casserole dish
• 6 qt enamel Dutch oven (technically it is a French oven)

Le Creuset (anodized aluminum nonstick)

• 9.5 inch frying pan

de Buyer (carbon steel)

• Mineral B pro (11 inch frying pan)
• 11x15 baking sheet (it’s a cookie sheet)

CorningWare (stoneware)

• 2.5 qt round (with lid)
• 2.5 qt rectangle (with lid)
• 1.5 qt round (with lid)
• 1.5 qt rectangle (with lid)
• 9x13 casserole
• A pizza stone from some other brand

Wüsthof Knives

• Chef’s knife
• 2 paring knives (3.5 inches each)
• 6 inch utility knife
• Bread knife
• Honing rod
• Sharpener

Utensils

• An assortment of teak wood, silicon, metal, and bamboo spatulas, tongs, spoons, and a cutting board. My most used utensil is a cheap metal spatula that is super thin. Because it is so thin it is able to get under food very easily without tearing it up.

I do have more pans and such, but I think this is enough of an example.

The idea here is the right tool for the job and while my old cookware was able to do double duty, my newer cookware is more specific in its dimensions to justify the purchases. For example, my 12 inch frying pan and the 4.8 qt saucepan, both from Viking, are 12 inch pans, however, the key difference is the height of the pans. The saucepan has a higher and steeper side where the frying pan is half the height and angles out a little more to allow more air flow. The saucepan needs some time to warm up, where the frying pan is ready to cook.

In other cases a particular material is preferred for an outcome. If I have an oven dish that is going to be a pain when cleaning I use the stoneware. If I want to go from the stove top to the oven I use the cast iron. Acidic foods are cooked in the enamel or the full-clad. When cooking eggs, the anodized aluminum is for my wife and the carbon steel is for me. Overall, the full-clad is lighter and meant more for my wife, with the cast iron being heavier and more for me.

All in all this is what I use. Normally, I stay away from the gizmos and gadgets, though the occasional one does find its way to my kitchen. A good egg slicer is a blessing and those are few and far between. Same with an ice cream scope. Always consider your cookware an investment. The more you take care of it, the more it will be around to take care of you.

I’m going to keep these blog posts short and hopefully more frequent than the other stuff (which is more non-existent—Lol!). Anyway, if you guys have questions, post them in the comments below and I’ll see you there.