re: How did so many of you learn to cook so well?

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Glasser it's all in the GRAD STUDENTS

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Now we are cooking with GASS!!!

I just cook a lot. I like cooking, and people I know say it reflects in my food.

Hey, just want to thank everyone for their responses.

I've learned a lot here. Hopefully I can learn some things. I'm not young (I have a child at LSU), but I can give it a go.

I already set my DVR for Alton Brown.

And I am seriously impressed with the food knowledge and abilities here.

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kinda brought a tear to my eye

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Mine too,
because I haven't had the opportunity to EAT any of that good food you are always cooking!!
Everytime I get on this board, I go home and eat WAAAAAAAAAY too much! NEW YEAR Resolution out tha door.....

My parents are great cooks and we were always in the kitchen helping in one way or another. Making rouxs, chopping veggies, strirring things, etc...

my dad was a gourmet cook and taught both my brother and I. The brother is now a chef and culinary instructor.
I shook pans in a couple of BR restaurants, which provided some invaluable experience.

Watched my Mom, my Uncle, and my Grandfather for years... the whole family loves to cook...

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Serious question.

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At the risk of sounding cliche; it starts with one thing: attitude. You must decide you want to be a good cook (chef, whatever) and then follow through with the commitment of learning and putting into practice what you know. I got into cooking in college as a way to save money. I also started college late so I only have a couple years under my belt. Anyway, maybe it's the same thing that led me into a degree in computer science, but I approached it the same way. I acknowledged that there's good food and there's bad food and I should figure out how good food is made. And also it helps to have goals. My goal is to be the best cook I know to the point where when someone I know needs advice they come to me. Your goal could be more of a time-line. The Alton Brown advice is the route to go and is the route I took. I do own cookbooks, but I seldom use them. What I do use is cooking books; the reference type. You should invest in On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee. Amazon Link
It's where Alton gained most of his vast knowledge. And it's the way to get to know the most important thing; the ingredients. Cooking is a science. It's the chemical transformation of ingredients by application of heat or technique to deliver a pleasing flavor and texture. Put in a year of hard work and you'll be amazed then how far you've come.

I love to eat, my wife doesn't like to cook, the formula for success. I hang around with a lot of good cooks, although seriously I'm the best of the bunch, and I steal ideas ruthlessly and then improve on them. I'm never afraid to fail, so I will try almost anything.

Never think you have THE Recipe for any dish, always look to improve everything you cook. Your world's greatest gumbo could always be better.