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Started By
Message
Cooking Resume'
Posted on 3/14/12 at 1:51 am
Posted on 3/14/12 at 1:51 am
This is a spin off from "The Best Cook on the Food and Drink Board" thread.
What's your background? How did you get started? Your favorite things to cook? Your specialties? Your challenges? Etc...
I will start...(it does not have to look like a Resume')
1. I grew up with a Grand Mother that was a great cook who taught my dad. My dad might be the greatest cook of all-time because he had my mother do all the prep work (which is the hardest part of cooking) yet he got ALL of the credit
2. At 20 I got a job working as a waiter at an Italian Family restaurant in Coppell, TX. We served the 1992/1993 Dallas Cowboys once a week. Nate Newton, Russell Maryland, Troy Aikman,and one of the Coaches came to the restaurant. Even Evangelist Robert Tilton came in to eat. Troy came with Lorrie Morgan...I waited on them. On Sunday's it was dead...so when I got an order, I would have the cooks teach me how to cook the dishes.
2. My Uncle was a Shrimp broker so I had all the Shrimp I could cook...so I cook a lot.
3. I moved back to Baton Rouge and started working at a local restaurant waiting tables...and I also decided I would cook. When I left...the restaurant eventually closed down but I got all the recipes.
4. I eventually moved to Pennsylvania...(LSUPHILLY)...and my best friend in PA was a restaurant manager and we would cook every weekend.
5. I started to watch "Good Eats"...and gain weight.
6. Moved home to Baton Rouge and my brother and I would cook all the "Good Eats" recipes we could.
7. Became a fan of "America's Test Kitchen". Started to cook their recipes. They are the best.
My specialties are Italian dishes, crawfish boils, Red Beans and Rice, Etouffee, Gumbo, and Mustard Greens.
Weakness...baking! And desserts. I have never applied myself to that.
I want to become an expert in Pressure Cooking...I think that is underrated!
What's your background? How did you get started? Your favorite things to cook? Your specialties? Your challenges? Etc...
I will start...(it does not have to look like a Resume')
1. I grew up with a Grand Mother that was a great cook who taught my dad. My dad might be the greatest cook of all-time because he had my mother do all the prep work (which is the hardest part of cooking) yet he got ALL of the credit
2. At 20 I got a job working as a waiter at an Italian Family restaurant in Coppell, TX. We served the 1992/1993 Dallas Cowboys once a week. Nate Newton, Russell Maryland, Troy Aikman,and one of the Coaches came to the restaurant. Even Evangelist Robert Tilton came in to eat. Troy came with Lorrie Morgan...I waited on them. On Sunday's it was dead...so when I got an order, I would have the cooks teach me how to cook the dishes.
2. My Uncle was a Shrimp broker so I had all the Shrimp I could cook...so I cook a lot.
3. I moved back to Baton Rouge and started working at a local restaurant waiting tables...and I also decided I would cook. When I left...the restaurant eventually closed down but I got all the recipes.
4. I eventually moved to Pennsylvania...(LSUPHILLY)...and my best friend in PA was a restaurant manager and we would cook every weekend.
5. I started to watch "Good Eats"...and gain weight.
6. Moved home to Baton Rouge and my brother and I would cook all the "Good Eats" recipes we could.
7. Became a fan of "America's Test Kitchen". Started to cook their recipes. They are the best.
My specialties are Italian dishes, crawfish boils, Red Beans and Rice, Etouffee, Gumbo, and Mustard Greens.
Weakness...baking! And desserts. I have never applied myself to that.
I want to become an expert in Pressure Cooking...I think that is underrated!
13
Posted on 3/14/12 at 7:03 am to LSUPHILLY72
I'll bite.
Cooking / good food was not a priority in my house growing up. We ate, but only ate well when we dined out.
Worked for two years in college in the building that is now Ruffinos. Started as an expeditor in the kitchen then made the jump to the floor for the money. The kitchen staff gave me a rash of sh*t for this, but I was the only waiter they didn't universally despise. The fact that I bought them all beers after good nights didn't hurt.
Restaurant job was awesome. Dealing with customers was a great learning experience. Waited on Swaggart, Tim Brando, Ed Buggs, Allan Copping, Joe Dean, Nathan Fisher, Lewis Unglesbee, Curley Hallman. Made good coin but place went under due to poor management and a lethargic early- to mid-week dinner crowd.
Left the state and missed the food. First stop was Oklahoma where I thought I'd starve. Watched cooking shows (internet was brand new, but I didn't have a computer yet) and started fooling around in the kitchen. Could make 3-4 dishes from the restaurant I worked at (meniuere, shrimp pasta, etc.) but struggled with the basics.
Took about five years of trial and error to become above average. Got married and learned a TON from my mother-in-law who is a whiz in the kitchen. Consistently got better over time. I now consider myself fairly handy.
Cooking / good food was not a priority in my house growing up. We ate, but only ate well when we dined out.
Worked for two years in college in the building that is now Ruffinos. Started as an expeditor in the kitchen then made the jump to the floor for the money. The kitchen staff gave me a rash of sh*t for this, but I was the only waiter they didn't universally despise. The fact that I bought them all beers after good nights didn't hurt.
Restaurant job was awesome. Dealing with customers was a great learning experience. Waited on Swaggart, Tim Brando, Ed Buggs, Allan Copping, Joe Dean, Nathan Fisher, Lewis Unglesbee, Curley Hallman. Made good coin but place went under due to poor management and a lethargic early- to mid-week dinner crowd.
Left the state and missed the food. First stop was Oklahoma where I thought I'd starve. Watched cooking shows (internet was brand new, but I didn't have a computer yet) and started fooling around in the kitchen. Could make 3-4 dishes from the restaurant I worked at (meniuere, shrimp pasta, etc.) but struggled with the basics.
Took about five years of trial and error to become above average. Got married and learned a TON from my mother-in-law who is a whiz in the kitchen. Consistently got better over time. I now consider myself fairly handy.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 7:20 am to LSUPHILLY72
Short version:
Liked cooking in high school, had no real idea what I was doing. Graduated from EHS and while all of my friends went to fancy shmancy universities all around the world, I went to culinary school at a community college.
Worked at a smattering of restaurants, longest stint was at Vega.
Realized that:
a) While I loved cooking, I despised culinary school
b) I could make 5x more money in IT
c) I never got to see my girlfriend (now wife) since I was always working nights/weekends
d) I had one day off (first date with my wife) during a 7 month stretch excluding Christmas.
So, I quit, moved back to BR, and have worked in IT ever since.
I miss cooking professionally. It was a boat load of fun. Culinary school was really a complete waste - I learned more in two weeks working than I did my entire time in school. Delgado's program is pretty good, too, so I don't think it was the caliber of the education provided that caused me to dislike it so much.
I've contemplated getting a part time gig, even as a prep cook, just to get back into it for fun, but that's never gonna happen realistically. For now, I have to be content cooking for family/friends.
Liked cooking in high school, had no real idea what I was doing. Graduated from EHS and while all of my friends went to fancy shmancy universities all around the world, I went to culinary school at a community college.
Worked at a smattering of restaurants, longest stint was at Vega.
Realized that:
a) While I loved cooking, I despised culinary school
b) I could make 5x more money in IT
c) I never got to see my girlfriend (now wife) since I was always working nights/weekends
d) I had one day off (first date with my wife) during a 7 month stretch excluding Christmas.
So, I quit, moved back to BR, and have worked in IT ever since.
I miss cooking professionally. It was a boat load of fun. Culinary school was really a complete waste - I learned more in two weeks working than I did my entire time in school. Delgado's program is pretty good, too, so I don't think it was the caliber of the education provided that caused me to dislike it so much.
I've contemplated getting a part time gig, even as a prep cook, just to get back into it for fun, but that's never gonna happen realistically. For now, I have to be content cooking for family/friends.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 7:37 am to GarmischTiger
This will be short. My mom is an excellent cook. My father taught her the basics early in their marrige and she took it from there. I think she helped me learn to love food, it's preparation and entertaining others. I've been cooking since I was 12. I took a keen interest in La cuisine as a teenger due to family ties in the state, travels here related to the cattle industry, and this intensified once I moved to LSU for post grad work. I cooked with a bunch of coonasses just about every week for several years. I've cooked all styles of cuisine that I like except for Indian, and I haven't done much true Chinese in a long time. Maybe I can branch out more if life slows down in a decade or so. I'm proficeint in what I like; however, and the monthly range of fare goes from traditional Southern foods, South La cuisine, and BBQ to Thai, Vietnamese,and Italian dishes.We put a number of donated meals and events in a few local fundraising auctions, and prep'ing for those has raised my game significantly in the last 10 years.I have zero commercial experience...a slight regret...but cooking is a hobby and passion. Probably would have ruined that if I'd taken a different turn in life.
This post was edited on 3/14/12 at 7:57 am
Posted on 3/14/12 at 7:54 am to LSUPHILLY72
I got the love for cooking from my dad who's one of the best I know. Plus my grandma could really throw down.
But hunting camps and marrying a girl who can't make toast is how I honed my skills. I'm 34, I think by the time I'm 50 I'll be a cooking force to be reckoned with. I when get 70 like otis I'll be the best in the south.
But hunting camps and marrying a girl who can't make toast is how I honed my skills. I'm 34, I think by the time I'm 50 I'll be a cooking force to be reckoned with. I when get 70 like otis I'll be the best in the south.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 8:37 am to LSUPHILLY72
I once made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 8:52 am to OTIS2
quote:i'm a pretty fair offshore and camp cook, specializ'n in Cathead Biscuits and stuff..
This will be short
balls, re: getting to Otis's age (70),,, he WISHES he was still 70, i bet he can't even remember passing 70..
Posted on 3/14/12 at 9:11 am to LSUPHILLY72
im just the guy that everyone wants to cook at gatherings and what not. i usually defer in barbeque settings because im more of a stovetop/kitchen guy (no homo).
Posted on 3/14/12 at 9:12 am to xXLSUXx
I have more food/seafood/food service knowledge than cooking although I can cook pretty descent. Most of my cooking knowledge is in seafood and Louisiana dishes. I hope to expand my knowledge out into other areas in the future like BBQ and more fine dining type recipes.
1)I have been in the food industry my whole life(33 years old now) up until 7-8 months ago. My parents opened up a seafood wholesale business before I was born in Venice. So I grew up on the seafood dock watching incredible amounts of seafood being unloaded every day. We bought upwards of 100,000+ lbs of shrimp on some days, 75,000+lbs of yellowfin tuna on some days, and just tons of other types of fish(snapper,drum,shark,mullet,grouper,mahi,wahoo,amberjack,etc.)and other seafood(crabs,oysters,etc.) every day. We also shipped gulf fish all over over the country and sometimes we shipped bluefin to Japan. We also processed alligators for about 7-8 years and sold the meat wholesale to processors. This is where I got my love and knowledge of seafood from. My family owned the seafood dock until I was around 21 years old.
2) My grandparents and most of my family grew up in Pilottown, LA (12 miles south of Venice) so they had to cook every day. There are no restaurants in Pilottown and not even any cars or roads. It's an island on the mississippi river banks south of Venice for those that don't know. I learned to cook from my grandparents who are some of the best cooks I know and especially when it comes to seafood. I grew up eating a lot of seafood because of my family and where my family grew up.
3) Around the age of 10, my family got into the restaurant distribution business and we sold processed seafood (fish fillets,shrimp,etc.),fresh seafood, and frozen seafood to restaurants. We also got into other food service items such as dry goods,fresh chicken, and other fresh meats. This is where I learned a lot about the restaurant business. I delivered into tons of restaurants and learned what the restaurant business was like to a certain extent. We did this up until I was around 31 when we shut it down. One of my brothers works for a shrimp processing plant in Delcambre so I still get to see some seafood action from time to time.
4) Opened my seafood restaurant/seafood market in Baton Rouge and ran that for 1.5 years. Really loved the restaurant business and learned a lot about cooking and cooking in a restaurant. Learned that restaurant cooking is not like cooking for your family or for a get together. When you cook for a get together, you have a set time where everyone will eat so you know your timetable. It's not like this at all in a restaurant and it takes a lot of planning and trial and error to get better at it along with the food ordering,supply problems on certain items,food costing,employee issues,etc. I hope to get back into the business one day again and do a mix of seafood wholesale and a restaurant/market but borrowing money from banks is hard to come by now days.
Maybe in the future things will loosen up again or I will hit the lottery.
1)I have been in the food industry my whole life(33 years old now) up until 7-8 months ago. My parents opened up a seafood wholesale business before I was born in Venice. So I grew up on the seafood dock watching incredible amounts of seafood being unloaded every day. We bought upwards of 100,000+ lbs of shrimp on some days, 75,000+lbs of yellowfin tuna on some days, and just tons of other types of fish(snapper,drum,shark,mullet,grouper,mahi,wahoo,amberjack,etc.)and other seafood(crabs,oysters,etc.) every day. We also shipped gulf fish all over over the country and sometimes we shipped bluefin to Japan. We also processed alligators for about 7-8 years and sold the meat wholesale to processors. This is where I got my love and knowledge of seafood from. My family owned the seafood dock until I was around 21 years old.
2) My grandparents and most of my family grew up in Pilottown, LA (12 miles south of Venice) so they had to cook every day. There are no restaurants in Pilottown and not even any cars or roads.
It's an island on the mississippi river banks south of Venice for those that don't know. I learned to cook from my grandparents who are some of the best cooks I know and especially when it comes to seafood. I grew up eating a lot of seafood because of my family and where my family grew up. 3) Around the age of 10, my family got into the restaurant distribution business and we sold processed seafood (fish fillets,shrimp,etc.),fresh seafood, and frozen seafood to restaurants. We also got into other food service items such as dry goods,fresh chicken, and other fresh meats. This is where I learned a lot about the restaurant business. I delivered into tons of restaurants and learned what the restaurant business was like to a certain extent. We did this up until I was around 31 when we shut it down. One of my brothers works for a shrimp processing plant in Delcambre so I still get to see some seafood action from time to time.
4) Opened my seafood restaurant/seafood market in Baton Rouge and ran that for 1.5 years. Really loved the restaurant business and learned a lot about cooking and cooking in a restaurant. Learned that restaurant cooking is not like cooking for your family or for a get together. When you cook for a get together, you have a set time where everyone will eat so you know your timetable. It's not like this at all in a restaurant and it takes a lot of planning and trial and error to get better at it along with the food ordering,supply problems on certain items,food costing,employee issues,etc. I hope to get back into the business one day again and do a mix of seafood wholesale and a restaurant/market but borrowing money from banks is hard to come by now days.
Maybe in the future things will loosen up again or I will hit the lottery. 
Posted on 3/14/12 at 9:31 am to S
quote:
im more of a stovetop/kitchen guy (no homo).
Same here
I'm terrible if I have to light a fire
Posted on 3/14/12 at 9:42 am to LSUPHILLY72
Well, my maw maw was the best cook i knew. I'm from Pointe Coupee Parish, so the food she cooked was rustic/cajun. Rice Dressing, green beans, roast, jambalaya, gumbo, etc...
Every sunday, after church the family would go to her house. There was usually about 10-20 people there every sunday. As a kid i'd go pick figs, play on the indian mound, shoot turtles in the bayou behind her house. It was heaven for a kid.
My mom is a really good cook as well. She is originally from North Louisiana, but moved to Baton Rouge. The food she cooked was more country food, cornbread, cornbread dressing, fried chicken, fried porkchops, etc....
My cooking started in college. It went from Ramen noodles and tuna fish out of a can, to hamburger/tuna helper. I then started seasoning it the way i liked it. Then moved on to the zatarrain's box jambalaya and the like. I started adding the sausage i liked, the vegetables i liked.
Then, a couple years out of college, i decided to cook gumbo from scratch. First attempt, it was ok. But i enjoyed the process. I evolved my cooking, then moved on to jambalaya, white beans, etc...
Now, for the past 4 years i cook only from scratch. The taste of something from a box, disgusts me. I have evolved my cooking from only cajun, to various other disciplines. I subscribe to fine cooking magazine and am confident in saying, that i can cook anything there.
Recently i've noticed i have been experimenting with different tastes. I'll cook something, and i'll think "i bet that would taste good in here" or "i bet cooking it this way would be good". I feel i have expanded my cooking knowledge greatly, yet there is always room to grow.
I own 2 bbq pits, 1 smoker, an electric fish fryer, and a food dehydrater. I even brew my own beer.
Every sunday, after church the family would go to her house. There was usually about 10-20 people there every sunday. As a kid i'd go pick figs, play on the indian mound, shoot turtles in the bayou behind her house. It was heaven for a kid.
My mom is a really good cook as well. She is originally from North Louisiana, but moved to Baton Rouge. The food she cooked was more country food, cornbread, cornbread dressing, fried chicken, fried porkchops, etc....
My cooking started in college. It went from Ramen noodles and tuna fish out of a can, to hamburger/tuna helper. I then started seasoning it the way i liked it. Then moved on to the zatarrain's box jambalaya and the like. I started adding the sausage i liked, the vegetables i liked.
Then, a couple years out of college, i decided to cook gumbo from scratch. First attempt, it was ok. But i enjoyed the process. I evolved my cooking, then moved on to jambalaya, white beans, etc...
Now, for the past 4 years i cook only from scratch. The taste of something from a box, disgusts me. I have evolved my cooking from only cajun, to various other disciplines. I subscribe to fine cooking magazine and am confident in saying, that i can cook anything there.
Recently i've noticed i have been experimenting with different tastes. I'll cook something, and i'll think "i bet that would taste good in here" or "i bet cooking it this way would be good". I feel i have expanded my cooking knowledge greatly, yet there is always room to grow.
I own 2 bbq pits, 1 smoker, an electric fish fryer, and a food dehydrater. I even brew my own beer.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 9:56 am to LSUPHILLY72
As a very young child I starved during the week because my mom couldn't cook and my dad worked as a roughneck. When he was home on weekends he cooked and I watched him. He explained what every step was for. I stocked up on calories for the weekend and remembered all of his techniques when I was older and cooking in my first apartment (about age 20).
Favorites/Specialties... traditional one-pot Cajun. Gumbo, Etouffee, Court Bullion, Jambalaya, etc.
Weakness... deserts. I have never baked a cake or a pie. I don't like desert. But my wife and dog do and they keep whining for a cake.
Re: Cooking shows... I started watching Jeff Smith way back in the day. He mixed cooking and history much as Alton Brown mixes cooking and chemistry. IE, Jeff might have a show about cooking the way colonists did in 1700. Explaining what foods they could grow, how they preserved foods and how the typical meals were made.
With all the cooking shows we have now I'm surprised that none of them have carved out that niche.
Favorites/Specialties... traditional one-pot Cajun. Gumbo, Etouffee, Court Bullion, Jambalaya, etc.
Weakness... deserts. I have never baked a cake or a pie. I don't like desert. But my wife and dog do and they keep whining for a cake.
Re: Cooking shows... I started watching Jeff Smith way back in the day. He mixed cooking and history much as Alton Brown mixes cooking and chemistry. IE, Jeff might have a show about cooking the way colonists did in 1700. Explaining what foods they could grow, how they preserved foods and how the typical meals were made.
With all the cooking shows we have now I'm surprised that none of them have carved out that niche.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 10:07 am to Zach
To answer the OP's question:
I don't have any serious formal training
I always had an interest in helping out in the kitchen and making a mess of things when I was a kid
I would say that it probably wasn't until somewhat recently (2005ish) that I actually got good at cooking anything. I've gradually gotten a little better with techniques and understanding flavor combinations that tend to work together well. Wouldn't say that it's really a hobby of mine but I do enjoy cooking from time to time.
I took an Indian cooking course through the LSU leisure course program and it was pretty helpful albeit very very informal.
I experiment a good deal now. I think there are probably no more than a dozen dishes I'd feel comfortable serving any food critic.
Only people here who have tasted my cooking are skygod and rex
I don't have any serious formal training
I always had an interest in helping out in the kitchen and making a mess of things when I was a kid
I would say that it probably wasn't until somewhat recently (2005ish) that I actually got good at cooking anything. I've gradually gotten a little better with techniques and understanding flavor combinations that tend to work together well. Wouldn't say that it's really a hobby of mine but I do enjoy cooking from time to time.
I took an Indian cooking course through the LSU leisure course program and it was pretty helpful albeit very very informal.
I experiment a good deal now. I think there are probably no more than a dozen dishes I'd feel comfortable serving any food critic.
Only people here who have tasted my cooking are skygod and rex
Posted on 3/14/12 at 10:29 am to LSUPHILLY72
Resume:
1 year dishwashing in TexMex cuisine(awesome as it sounds)
1 year on the grill in TexMex cuisine
1 year Fry cook in American Bistro
1 year Grill cook in American Bistro.
2 years grill/prep in fine dining Italian working with actual chefs. Learned a lot.
After I learned what the waiters were making when I was about 20 years old, it was a no brainer to join the enemies for the next 5 years of my life.
Now I read. I read cookbooks front to back. It suits my ADD nicely, as I can flip through courses and cuisines when I get ideas. Food shows occupy about 50% of my TV watching. It's generally food or sports.
I learn a lot from this board as well.
Hopefully when I get to Otis' age I'll have learned all there is to learn.
ETA: I co-owned/operated a catering company specializing in boils/jambalaya/gumbo in college and a couple of years after. Still do a couple of large boils a year since we still have the equipment.
(1 rig capable of up to 1,200/lbs at a time and 1 rig capable of up to 350 lbs at a time).
Learned a lot about feeding masses at that time.
1 year dishwashing in TexMex cuisine(awesome as it sounds)
1 year on the grill in TexMex cuisine
1 year Fry cook in American Bistro
1 year Grill cook in American Bistro.
2 years grill/prep in fine dining Italian working with actual chefs. Learned a lot.
After I learned what the waiters were making when I was about 20 years old, it was a no brainer to join the enemies for the next 5 years of my life.
Now I read. I read cookbooks front to back. It suits my ADD nicely, as I can flip through courses and cuisines when I get ideas. Food shows occupy about 50% of my TV watching. It's generally food or sports.
I learn a lot from this board as well.
Hopefully when I get to Otis' age I'll have learned all there is to learn.
ETA: I co-owned/operated a catering company specializing in boils/jambalaya/gumbo in college and a couple of years after. Still do a couple of large boils a year since we still have the equipment.
(1 rig capable of up to 1,200/lbs at a time and 1 rig capable of up to 350 lbs at a time).
Learned a lot about feeding masses at that time.
This post was edited on 3/14/12 at 10:43 am
Posted on 3/14/12 at 10:35 am to LSUPHILLY72
Most of what I know comes from my mom whos family is all in Acadiana where I lived for 7 years before leaving for college. I did all the cooking pretty much during college and all the tailgating stuff.
After college spent a lot of time in New Orleans with some of my sisters friends some that were cooks. One was Corbin Evans who taught me a lot. He had opened a small cooking school for people and had various cooks from around town teach and I took about one class a month there for a year or so.
Then I became obsessed with BBQ for a good while entering some backyard competitions. Only thing I have ever been paid for cookingwise was doing some catering work boiling crawfish or shrimp ad hoc.
Specialize in anything made with a roux, bbq,jambalaya and boiled seafood and poboys. Also big into brewing beer which I have done off and on since I was 19.
After college spent a lot of time in New Orleans with some of my sisters friends some that were cooks. One was Corbin Evans who taught me a lot. He had opened a small cooking school for people and had various cooks from around town teach and I took about one class a month there for a year or so.
Then I became obsessed with BBQ for a good while entering some backyard competitions. Only thing I have ever been paid for cookingwise was doing some catering work boiling crawfish or shrimp ad hoc.
Specialize in anything made with a roux, bbq,jambalaya and boiled seafood and poboys. Also big into brewing beer which I have done off and on since I was 19.
This post was edited on 3/14/12 at 10:40 am
Posted on 3/14/12 at 10:49 am to LSUAfro
quote:Crap, guys.
Hopefully when I get to Otis' age
I'm half the age of that fossil, Ole Geauxt. He must be going on 140, by now...Posted on 3/14/12 at 11:11 am to LSUPHILLY72
No formal training, just always interested in food and how it prepared. I have four influences on my cooking.
1) Grandmother. She was Cordon Bleu trained. She and my grandfather would go to France for a 6 week vacation every summer. She spent it in cooking classes, not sure what gramps was doing.
2) Aunt, daughter of my grandmother. Owned a catering company that I worked for during summmers in college. Did everything from picking up produce, setting up parties, delivering and filling in for a sick or absent cook. Can't tell you how many finger sandwiches I have made.
3) New Orleans maid. Jesse was the best creole home cook I have ever known. To this day the best red beans, stuffed peppers, and creole seafood gumbo I have ever tried. Used to help her, even though she never wanted help.
4) Vacation maid. Dorothy was the cook for some friends of my parents from the Mississippi Delta. From the age of 8-18 we spent two weeks in Sea Island, GA and my parent's friends would bring Dorothy and she stayed with us. Pan fried chicken, fried pork chops, best biscuits I have ever had. I used to wake up early just to watch and help her cook breakfast.
1) Grandmother. She was Cordon Bleu trained. She and my grandfather would go to France for a 6 week vacation every summer. She spent it in cooking classes, not sure what gramps was doing.
2) Aunt, daughter of my grandmother. Owned a catering company that I worked for during summmers in college. Did everything from picking up produce, setting up parties, delivering and filling in for a sick or absent cook. Can't tell you how many finger sandwiches I have made.
3) New Orleans maid. Jesse was the best creole home cook I have ever known. To this day the best red beans, stuffed peppers, and creole seafood gumbo I have ever tried. Used to help her, even though she never wanted help.
4) Vacation maid. Dorothy was the cook for some friends of my parents from the Mississippi Delta. From the age of 8-18 we spent two weeks in Sea Island, GA and my parent's friends would bring Dorothy and she stayed with us. Pan fried chicken, fried pork chops, best biscuits I have ever had. I used to wake up early just to watch and help her cook breakfast.
This post was edited on 3/14/12 at 11:12 am
Posted on 3/14/12 at 11:12 am to JasonL79
I've been through Pilottown on a few occasions before, and damned that place is remote as hell. The reason you don't have cars or roads is that you have almost no solid land to speak of, and no one is gonna build a bridge or run a ferry to that place.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 11:22 am to OTIS2
Learned to cook at the hunting camp. As kid, we had to chop/cut everything up for the pot and were tasked with stirring to make sure nothing burned. After years of watching what went in and how it cooked, you just pick it up. Those old Cajun men knew how to cook as well/better than their wives.
My specialties are gumbo, stews, jambalaya, courtbouillon, sauce piquant, cole slaw, and potato salad.
My specialties are gumbo, stews, jambalaya, courtbouillon, sauce piquant, cole slaw, and potato salad.
Posted on 3/14/12 at 11:54 am to CITWTT
quote:
I've been through Pilottown on a few occasions before, and damned that place is remote as hell. The reason you don't have cars or roads is that you have almost no solid land to speak of, and no one is gonna build a bridge or run a ferry to that place.
That and the banks flood every year during high river season. Most of my family lived there until hurricane Camille when most of them moved north to get more protection from the hurricanes. My grandparents lived there until Katrina. It was a great place to visit and grow up. At one time there were 500+ residents there and they even had 2 bars, a small grocery store, and a school(k-8). My dad actually owned one of the bars for a while but before I was born. It was a unique place for sure.
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