I'll bite a couple of these...

1. I like to cook. I'm not the biggest guy on eating out, and I like my own cooking.
2. I've been told many times that I am, indeed, a good cook!!!!!

@Satch_the_man said:

I'll bite a couple of these...

1. I like to cook. I'm not the biggest guy on eating out, and I like my own cooking.
2. I've been told many times that I am, indeed, a good cook!!!!!

That is great that you enjoy cooking and are good at it! I have a limited catalogue of things I can make well, and the meal delivery kits seem to work well, too. It's just when I try new stuff- the recipe I burned yesterday was something new- that I mess up. The fact that I'm impatient and probably cook most things on a heat level that is too high probably doesn't help...

@Lemons said:

@Satch_the_man said:

I'll bite a couple of these...

1. I like to cook. I'm not the biggest guy on eating out, and I like my own cooking.
2. I've been told many times that I am, indeed, a good cook!!!!!

That is great that you enjoy cooking and are good at it! I have a limited catalogue of things I can make well, and the meal delivery kits seem to work well, too. It's just when I try new stuff- the recipe I burned yesterday was something new- that I mess up. The fact that I'm impatient and probably cook most things on a heat level that is too high probably doesn't help...

My sister does that too! She cooks her grilled cheese on high and her soup on high and it irks me, lol! Definitely ups the chances of burning something. She is like you, just doesn't have the patience.

@Lemons said:

I mean really, how did I manage to burn my attempt at macaroni and cheese so badly just now that there is a brown film stuck to the bottom of the pan? Sigh. We have started this meal delivery thing (Plated) and with a recipe card spoon-feeding it to me in 6 steps I can make things that taste good, but leave me to my own devices and there's at least a 50% chance I'm gonna screw it up. Poor Mr. Lemons has the fanning of the smoke-detector thing down pat.

Anyway:
1.Do you like to cook?
2.Are you a good cook?
3.Be honest, how many nights a week do you get take-out? (Since the poor BBT characters have often been maligned for it, let's show our cards.)

Ain't gonna lie. We get take-out anywhere from 2-4 nights a week in my house.

1: I love to cook but not a gourmet chef by any stretch.My roommate is a better cook, so she handles the bulk of it.

2:Above average

3: Every Friday night we get Chinese and Saturday we go out to eat!

Too many people just automatically use the high setting on microwave ovens, too. It's like they live at 7-11 or something, where the microwave is either High or Off.

Hint people: many times, even "fast" food turns out better if you don't just use High. And also if you stop it occasionally to stir, move things around, etc. The carousel/turntable thing doesn't really do it well enough.

@Lemons said:

I mean really, how did I manage to burn my attempt at macaroni and cheese so badly just now that there is a brown film stuck to the bottom of the pan? Sigh. We have started this meal delivery thing (Plated) and with a recipe card spoon-feeding it to me in 6 steps I can make things that taste good, but leave me to my own devices and there's at least a 50% chance I'm gonna screw it up. Poor Mr. Lemons has the fanning of the smoke-detector thing down pat.

Anyway:
1.Do you like to cook?
2.Are you a good cook?
3.Be honest, how many nights a week do you get take-out? (Since the poor BBT characters have often been maligned for it, let's show our cards.)

Ain't gonna lie. We get take-out anywhere from 2-4 nights a week in my house.

1. I confess, I'm very lazy and don't enjoy cooking all that much. I do get the urge on occasion though

2. As for skill, I'm ok when I put my mind to it. I make a great meatloaf, and for Thanksgiving this year I made sweet potato casserole from scratch - it was much easier than I thought it would be and came out great, if I do say so myself!

3. My husband and I are only home for dinner together three nights a week. We usually do something quick and bad, like frozen pizza or some other frozen meals. He eats fast food for lunch or an early dinner sometimes - I don't do fast food at all, so I will again do something quick and crappy like a frozen dinner or snacks. He will also sometimes order Chinese, which I don't eat either, unless it's PF Chang's from the grocery store. I also do pasta and frozen meatballs a lot.

When I'm trying to eat healthier (hah!) I will get a premade salad and add some chicken strips - frozen ones, of course, not real chicken. I'm terrible! And then I wonder why I'm so bloated and lethargic!

1.Do you like to cook? Yes. Wish I could do it more often. The key to cooking, imo, is timing timing timing.

2.Are you a good cook? I'm decent. I can whip up great breakfasts, steaks, roasts. My big downfall is cooking fish. It intimidates me to the point I make stupid errors and seem to always come up short.

3.Be honest, how many nights a week do you get take-out? (Since the poor BBT characters have often been maligned for it, let's show our cards.) Honestly? I don't cook nearly as much as I'd like to. My wife's schedule is very very hectic. So - and this is nuts, we dine out nearly every single night. Mainly because it's just easier. And the thing we both hate the most isn't the cooking, it's cleaning up afterwards. So a big part of it is laziness. When we first got married, we cooked in a lot. But in the last 15+ years, restaurants from family places, to chains, to nice steakhouses and fine dining have been our crutch. Our retirement years have probably been impacted by the amount of cash we've blown on dinners. But we enjoy it, so I'm not gonna sweat it. Cooking for two is a pain anyway. I find it easier too cook for a group between 4-10.

@Gothish520 said:

1. My husband and I are only home for dinner together three nights a week. We usually do something quick and bad, like frozen pizza or some other frozen meals. He eats fast food for lunch or an early dinner sometimes - I don't do fast food at all, so I will again do something quick and crappy like a frozen dinner or snacks. He will also sometimes order Chinese, which I don't eat either, unless it's PF Chang's from the grocery store. I also do pasta and frozen meatballs a lot.

One of my favorite things from childhood was mom's home-made sweet and sour meatballs. They take a good deal of time to make, though, and go pretty quickly even when there's just me eating them. (Partly because they're so good!) I realized a while ago that the sauce involved actually turns out pretty similar to Manwich canned sauce for "sloppy joes" so one of these days I need to start experimenting with various types of frozen meatballs, simmer them in Manwich sauce (probably the thick and chunky version), with a small (tuna-size) can of crushed pineapple added for the "sweet" and probably red wine vinegar for the "sour," to see how close I can get. It would sure be a huge time saver! And much easier to make a large batch too.

Some other things I make myself, from mom's recipes, are something called Sausage Bean Chowder which came from a recipe in Parade magazine, White House Chili (from the LBJ era), and mom's recipe for spaghetti sauce which is still my favorite. It starts with Campbell's Tomato Soup which would get you the death penalty in Italy, but it's really good, substantial, sticks to the pasta... I've been to some "authentic" Italian restaurants where it's like they bring you a huge plate or platter of "noodles" with a spoonful of sauce on top, and you're supposed to go "Yum, PASTA!" But I LIKE SAUCE! And lots of it!

@Knixon said:

@Gothish520 said:

1. My husband and I are only home for dinner together three nights a week. We usually do something quick and bad, like frozen pizza or some other frozen meals. He eats fast food for lunch or an early dinner sometimes - I don't do fast food at all, so I will again do something quick and crappy like a frozen dinner or snacks. He will also sometimes order Chinese, which I don't eat either, unless it's PF Chang's from the grocery store. I also do pasta and frozen meatballs a lot.

One of my favorite things from childhood was mom's home-made sweet and sour meatballs. They take a good deal of time to make, though, and go pretty quickly even when there's just me eating them. (Partly because they're so good!) I realized a while ago that the sauce involved actually turns out pretty similar to Manwich canned sauce for "sloppy joes" so one of these days I need to start experimenting with various types of frozen meatballs, simmer them in Manwich sauce (probably the thick and chunky version), with a small (tuna-size) can of crushed pineapple added for the "sweet" and probably red wine vinegar for the "sour," to see how close I can get. It would sure be a huge time saver! And much easier to make a large batch too.

Some other things I make myself, from mom's recipes, are something called Sausage Bean Chowder which came from a recipe in Parade magazine, White House Chili (from the LBJ era), and mom's recipe for spaghetti sauce which is still my favorite. It starts with Campbell's Tomato Soup which would get you the death penalty in Italy, but it's really good, substantial, sticks to the pasta... ** I've been to some "authentic" Italian restaurants where it's like they bring you a huge plate or platter of "noodles" with a spoonful of sauce on top, and you're supposed to go "Yum, PASTA!" But I LIKE SAUCE! And lots of it!**

I like a good amount of sauce and a good amount of grated cheese - romano or a blend , please, but I will do straight parmesan if that's all that available. I like a robust sauce and cheese!

Yes, grated cheese is important too. I like straight parmesan, or parmesan and romano. Once I made the mistake of getting a blend that included asiago because the store was out of everything else. Big mistake!

@Knixon said:

Yes, grated cheese is important too. I like straight parmesan, or parmesan and romano. Once I made the mistake of getting a blend that included asiago because the store was out of everything else. Big mistake!

LOL, oh I like the asiago too. But for grated cheese, romano is my favorite. Usually get the prepackaged, but I've had freshly grated a few times and that is just heavenly!

At least for me, the asiago had a kind of bitterness or sour-ness or something, that made it impossible to really enjoy the food.

@Knixon said:

At least for me, the asiago had a kind of bitterness or sour-ness or something, that made it impossible to really enjoy the food.

Ahh gotcha, yeah it has a twang to it!

@Knixon said:

Yes, grated cheese is important too. I like straight parmesan, or parmesan and romano. Once I made the mistake of getting a blend that included asiago because the store was out of everything else. Big mistake!

What kind of Parmesan? Do you buy real 'Parmigiano-Reggiano' & 'Pecorino Romano, Caprino Romano'? Because the real versions of those cheeses have a sharp/tangy taste, more so than an 'Asiago'.

As for the original questions.

1. I love to cook, started as a young child (5 or 6) with cookies and went from there.

2. Yes, have won a couple of recipe/cooking contests.

3. Zero. I'm really picky about what I eat & prefer my own cooking. I have ordered pizza in the past but that was years ago. I also have a local Chinese place that makes a killer Mongolian Beef (but I pick my order in person, although it's been a couple of years since I've done that).

@Lemons said:

I mean really, how did I manage to burn my attempt at macaroni and cheese so badly just now that there is a brown film stuck to the bottom of the pan? Sigh. We have started this meal delivery thing (Plated) and with a recipe card spoon-feeding it to me in 6 steps I can make things that taste good, but leave me to my own devices and there's at least a 50% chance I'm gonna screw it up. Poor Mr. Lemons has the fanning of the smoke-detector thing down pat.

Anyway:
1.Do you like to cook?
2.Are you a good cook?
3.Be honest, how many nights a week do you get take-out? (Since the poor BBT characters have often been maligned for it, let's show our cards.)

Ain't gonna lie. We get take-out anywhere from 2-4 nights a week in my house.

First of all my quick recipe for mac and cheese: Stouffers (or your choice of food in a box) + Microwave = Yum

Do I like to cook? I do but not nearly as enough to keep in good practice

Am I a good cook? I would like to think so but when I do it is "aloof but effective"

Take Out - Not too often. Mostly if I have a coupon.

By the way how many people here are fans of Debbie Wolowitz's fav restaurant "The Olive Garden" ?

Oh and when I do have take out I don't eat out of the cartons like the gang on the show does. Ewww!