I'm no cook and are impressed when I see people do this (masterchef) Everything can't finish cooking at the same time can it?
lilyfield,
May 9, 5:41am
timing timing timing--- a big secret
buzzy110,
May 9, 5:59am
Of course everything can finish cooking at the same time. What did your mother do when you were growing up - serve you one thing at a time?
deus701,
May 9, 6:08am
they use heat lamps or keep it in a low oven until serving time
white_elephant,
May 9, 8:30am
If I knew how it was done I wouldn't have asked about it on here.
uli,
May 9, 8:34am
In my kitchen I do not use heat lamps, nor microwaves, just gas and a wood stove. And yes everything is ready at the same time. It is not very difficult to judge how long something takes to cook once you have done it a few times.
So yes - everything can finish cooking at the same time! Just try it out and in a years time - or two - you will be perfect!
glenleigh,
May 9, 8:37am
I heat my plates, this sure helps to keep the food hot rather than dishing up on cold plates.As someone said, timing is important to have your food ready at the same time, practice practice practice.
white_elephant,
May 9, 8:45am
Thankyou uli. I perhaps I should say that cooking doesn't come natually to me, I hate doing it, when I asked around at work I found I wasn't alone, more than half the women I spoke to reeled off a stack of jobs they'd rather do than cook, including cleaning the toilet. I cook because I have a family, I love to eat & I can't afford restaurants.
glenleigh,
May 9, 8:54am
white elephant why not try one pot cooking.Lots of lovely recipies out there for stir fries, casseroles and other delicious easy to prepare meals..Go to the Healthy Food Guide recipies on line.You can get all sorts of good nutritional meals from this site, very easy to follow recipes and great variety.Good luck and enjoy.
nfh1,
May 9, 8:54am
It is trial and error, I still have things ready too early or others too late!I always use hot plates, I have a thing about it and hate restaurants and cafes who put hot food on cold plates.
muppet65,
May 9, 9:04am
timing ..I remember cooking at school and thinking the timing was a complete waste of time ...how wrong was I
jenner4,
May 9, 9:05am
OK how about giving this a try , next time you cook potatoes time the process, and write the time down , next try doing it with each veg , that way you will soonknow what cooks the fastest and the slowest and will soon see your pattern of timing things , as for meat if you use the "Edmonds Cook Book" for time it will help you out a lot , hot pads for the table if you dish up a casserole are great and warming plates in the warming drawer of your oven, having dishes that go from oven to table are also great to have , in the case of a roast, do the meat in 1 roasting pan and veg in another , when cooked remove veg into a oven dish and place back in oven [turned off ]remove meat ,cover in foil and place in oven , make gravy , put aside to keep warm , cut meat and serve on to the warm plates add veg and greens, take to table, put gravy in sauce boat that has been sitting ready with very hot water in it for last 5mins[ tip water out], place on table , it takes about 6 mins to serve up after meat goes on plate[ for 4 people], sit down and eat , remember while meal is cooking to get every thing ready before the next step [ flour , butter] set the table so your not going back to the kitchen , and yes its practice .........
ribzuba,
May 9, 9:10am
i work as a chef, you get to the point where it's instinctive, mind you in a kitchen almost everything is precooked anyway and you are just reheating a lot of it.but always the magic rule of meat first..
jenner4,
May 9, 9:15am
Oh so true , as a way of getting past the " I hate cooking " look for a new recipe every 2 weeks , there are a few NZ sites that email you every week with a new or updated idea , will come back with the sites , every time I get a new recipe we all like I print it out and put in a seal bag so I can put in my bag on shopping day , doesn't take long to get a lot of recipes that the family like and are simple to do even doing enough for 2 meals , freeze 1 for a day off next week
white_elephant,
May 9, 6:44pm
Thankyou for all the helpful advice, I can see jenner4 that I need to be more organised, I will check out the web sites mentioned. It's a funny thing but I have about 50 cook books because I do enjoy looking at the pictures and planning to make 'that' one day. I remember my mother heating the plates, can't think why I've never done that!
asue,
May 9, 11:36pm
Different food holds the heat better.Like meat with fat will stay hot longer so dish that up on plate first and veggies can cool off quick so serve them last.
cookessentials,
May 10, 3:00am
You can keep vegetables at a simmer and I use the heat of the oven for other items, usually covered with tin foil to keep hot. I zap the plates in the microwave as well as the serving dishes. It is just a matter of doing the things that cook the longest first and the quick cook items such as some vegetables, last.
cookessentials,
May 10, 3:01am
dont worry white_elephant, not everyone on recipes is like that, just ignore it.
buzzy110,
May 10, 3:25am
Gosh. I was merely asking her to think back to when her mother was providing her with food.
She asked this question, "Everything can't finish cooking at the same time can it?" and I merely asked her to remember what her mother used to do to demonstrate that food can certainly all finish cooking at the same time, unless, of course, her mother served them one article of food at a time, which I am sure she didn't do.
Still, if she cannot even be bothered to remember whether her mother served up an entire meal at once or not ... ***shrugs***. It is not my fault if she takes exception to my answering her literal question.
She didn't ask how to achieve synchronicity with regards cooking end times btw.
charlieb2,
May 10, 3:36am
white_elephant, I find a lot of it is trial and error.. and just picking things up as you go along, like if you are doing a roast, you know the meat has to 'rest' for a bit before you carve it, so that gives you time to get other bits sorted.....some good tips here.
jessie981,
May 10, 3:54am
I have trouble keeping cauliflowerhot. Gets cold quite quickly & I always use heated plates unless i am serving a salad with the meal. If all else fails, I put plate in the microwave & do a quick zap before serving Sure you're doing ok white_elephant
indy95,
May 10, 4:06am
I guess it just comes with experience, white elephant and it definitely gets easier after a while.
herself,
May 10, 4:40am
What a Load of Rubbish - I think you were being condescending and rude!
white_elephant,
May 10, 5:00am
Well I may not have learned cooking times from my mother, you obviously didn't learn good manners from yours.
Thankyou everyone else for all the helpful input :)
buzzy110,
May 10, 5:02am
**Waves** to herself. I also think you are being very rude and condescending to me. I answered the literal question because I genuinely thought she wanted to know whether food could all be cooked at the same time. I am sad that you could not understand my response and took exception to it. That is your prerogative, of course, but to then berate me for your failure to understand my logic is kinda rude in itself.
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