This is for men who can actually cook...?

Question

My husband is a fantastic cook and as we were dating he's always been the one in the kitchen. But now that we're married and I'm a wife and mother I've taken over and I have no experience cooking. I've tried to make things off the top of my head a few times from scratch (like he does) but ruin meals quite a bit. Now the question...As a man with a talent in the kitchen, would you look down on your lady if she resorted to cookbooks and other people's recepies?? Because that is what I'm going to have to do if I want to put a decent meal on the table and I don't want him to look at me as if I were juvenille for not being more original with my cooking.

Answer 1

I'm a man and cooking is my passion in life. (after my family, of course)

I really like to look through cookbooks and websites and magazines and everywhere else to find ideas. I almost always follow some sort of recipe. My wife is like you in that she had almost no cooking experience when we married.

I would absolutely never look down on my wife for using a cookbook. We shouldn't compare our gifts with the gifts of another, because we all have different things we're good at.

Over time, we develop "standard" meals that we can cook from memory, but most people use some sort of reference materials to cook most of the time if they want some variety in their meals.

Answer 2

Hey, your hubby and I were not born knowing how to cook - we each had to learn. Why should anyone look down on you 'cause you're still learning? In fact, I know several professional chefs who use cookbooks and other folks' recipes now and then. I mean, there's a million recipes out there, hon: how the heck could anyone, man or woman, memorise 'em all? Ain't gonna happen, is it?

Don't sweat it; use the cookbooks and borrow recipes from other folks. I'm the cook in my house; nobody ever goes hungry from my table. Every meal is a nutritious one. I'm gonna cook Christmas dinner for my wife and me, my six grown kids and two grandkids and two of my kids' spouses. And you're darn right I'm gonna use a cookbook - even though I've made several of the dishes many times in the past. I visit with my kids while I'm cooking and it's easy to forget an ingredient and ruin a dish. That AIN'T gonna happen - hence the cookbook. If your hubby thinks that's being juvenile, you tell him for me: SEMPER FI, mister!

Answer 3

Hey there, my hat's off to you....very good question, and NO I WOULD NOT LOOK DOWN ON MY WOMAN at all......and any man that would, I'd suggest you walk away from him.......another way to quell your fears about cooking, if your husband is a great cook, he had to learn, so you might want to make cooking a joint effort........Gives some time for conversation, decision making, time for a good laugh, etc......Don't be afraid to ask him, as he has the expertise in the kitchen, so take it slowly and as far as "using other people's recipes", heck, where do you think food ideas come from?? I exchange recipes with people all the time, and am being CONSTANTLY called about food related questions, and I consider it a kind of pride that people value my judgment and know that I can help them out of a cooking dilemma.........Hope this helps, and I'll bet if you start hanging around him in the kitchen, things will spark up for the both of you.......And don't stress out over cooking, it's supposed to be therapeutic.........Happy Holidays to you both............Enjoy

Christopher

Answer 4

I cook 99 per cent of the meals for my family(I'm a male) I generally don't use recipe books now...........but every now and then I do..........I did not learn to cook by looking at ingredients then decide how to combine them and how to heat them......Iearned from cook books and recipes from friends. So use what you need to until you're comfortable cooking from scratch. For many people that never happens and some of the people I know (both male and female) are some of the best cooks I know. In most cases they start with a recipe and make little changes to allow for their particular tastes.

Have a YUMMY time.

Answer 5

My husband is a Chef! He doesn't look down on me if I'm not sure how to do something. He really likes helping. Make it a good thing for you two. If you want to learn something new, ask him to help you. When my husband and I are both in the kitchen, I think it's a pretty good time. You have someone to talk to while chopping/cooking food and it may bring you two closer!

Answer 6

Of course not !!! he married you because he loves you & love doesnt belittle or demean people ! love cares for people, love supports people, protects & encourages them. I'm sure your husband would be supportive of your efforts & not look down on you at all (at least I do with my wife who also cant cook). Being able to cook is not a requirment for love ! So your husband can cook & you cant big deal I'm sure there are things you can do, qualites you have that your husband cant do or doesnt have but that doesn't mean you look down on him or consider him juvenile at all. Why dont you ask him to help you & teach you my wife & I often cook togather & it is actually a nice way to spend time togather & it is more enjoyable sitting down togather to a meal you both have made togather. Good luck.

Answer 7

Absolutely NOT !! It wouldn't be fair to look down on someone (spouse especially) who is LEARNING !! I learned thru my Mother because she had 4 boys and no daughters... so she tasked us to chop, shred, grate, dice, mince, and stir !! Years of practice involved there... 6 yrs old through 18 yrs old.

Mom got HER skills through PRACTICE also... and her recipes from:

1) Her past
2) Sunset Magazine
3) Dad's travels (and the chinese, japanese, and persian cookbooks she bought to cook those new foods.).

I learned MY skills and recipes from HER and also:

1) Sunset cookbooks
2) The Frugal Gourmet (Jeff Smith)
3) Food Network
4) My Wife... she's filippina, and I'm learning a whole new cuisine set from her !! And she's learning from me !! We laugh in the kitchen alot as we merge the two.

Answer 8

If you've landed with someone who would judge you as you describe -- sorry !!!

We are not born with recipes in our head -- all of us need to learn them from some source -- mother, grandmother in-laws mother, or Recipe Book. Heck, even if your husband has one or two recipes that you are both fond of, have him write them down so you can try these--have him guide you the first couple of times and make it a couple event.

There are very good cooks that have preceded us, and have years of practice on the same recipe prior to writing their book.

Expand your horizons, use recipes freely and often -- enjoy the discovery.

Answer 9

My daughters have suffered through this same pain. I did most of the cooking and now they are learning. Here is an easy thing to remember, anything you don't have to cook tastes great. He will appreciate you using recipes. In the business, we used a recipe even if you knew how to prepare.

Answer 10

Use the cookbooks to make the meal but add a few spices or ingredients of your own to personalize them. Even though I use spaghetti sauce from a jar everyone loves it, why? because I add my own spices to kick it up a notch. Keep in mind your husband had to have someone teach him at some point in his life, so there is nothing wrong with you using the cookbooks to teach you.