I just finished reading an article titled "Top Ten Signs of a Bad Cook," by Joyce Slaton on Chowhound http://www.chow.com/food-news/84109/top-ten-signs-of-a-bad-cook/. She took snippets from member responses on the cooking boards and put them together to form a list of the Top Ten Signs of a Bad Cook. It's an interesting read, and some of the comments that follow are quite funny.
Number one on the list is the cook has long, acrylic, manicured nails. From there, the list moves on to a pantry with too many processed foods (complete with a discussion of the infamous green can parmesan cheese). The third sign of a bad cook on her list is that the kitchen is too clean with fancy appliances that look like they've never been used. Yow, I would be more suspect of a cook whose kitchen looks unclean. The list then moves on to a cook who uses no salt, the cook who babbles on about Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee, and the cook who has dull knives and poor knife skills. Last on the list is "They make well-done steaks. Need we say more?"
I must admit that some of those signs apply to me. My knife skills aren't great, and I do have some of those processed foods and gravy packets in my pantry. My kitchen is usually pretty clean, and I keep my appliances pretty spiffy (no fingerprints or splatters for me). Number ten on the list, however, redeemed me. Maybe I'm not that bad of a cook after all. I like my steaks very rare, so make mine moo please.
