Hi everyone,

I'm currently enrolled in college and I want to finally learn how to cook
for myself. I can only handle the basics: boiling ramen noodles,
scrambling eggs, making a ham and cheese sandwich. I've always been
meaning to enter the realm of actual cooking, but I'm either too busy or
lazy...

My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially for
someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking something without
too many steps or ingredients, but is actually something to be proud of.
And more importantly, something that would encourage me to dig deeper into
cooking.

Thanks for any help. I hope that I can at least say that I've cooked a
decent dish before I graduate.

-Patrick R.
UC Berkeley

Patrick Rodriguez wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm currently enrolled in college and I want to finally learn how to
> cook for myself. I can only handle the basics: boiling ramen noodles,
> scrambling eggs, making a ham and cheese sandwich. I've always been
> meaning to enter the realm of actual cooking, but I'm either too busy
> or lazy...
>
> My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially
> for someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking something
> without too many steps or ingredients, but is actually something to
> be proud of. And more importantly, something that would encourage me
> to dig deeper into cooking.
>
> Thanks for any help. I hope that I can at least say that I've cooked a
> decent dish before I graduate.
>
> -Patrick R.
> UC Berkeley

This is admirable but I need more info, Patrick. What cooking facilities do
you have available? Are you living in a dorm or in a place with a full
kitchen - that is, stovetop and oven? Microwave? Are you limited to a
cookplate? Or a cookplate and a toaster oven? Do you have a full set of
pots & pans (including baking dishes) or just a pot and a skillet?

What do you like to eat? What sort of "dish" would you like to prepare?
Are you vegetarian? Do you want to learn about 'ethnic' cooking, such as
Mexican, Italian, Asian? Or just some good ol' U.S. "home cooking" like
meatloaf and mashed potatoes?

Jill

No matter what you end up cooking, it would help to have a copy of "Joy of
Cooking". Besides recipes, it's got general overviews of a multitude of
ingredients which will teach you to select, use and store things you may not
familiar with. For a new cook, the book's almost worthwhile for those things
alone.

In article y.EDU>,
Patrick Rodriguez > wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm currently enrolled in college and I want to finally learn how to cook
> for myself. I can only handle the basics: boiling ramen noodles,
> scrambling eggs, making a ham and cheese sandwich. I've always been
> meaning to enter the realm of actual cooking, but I'm either too busy or
> lazy...
>
> My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially for
> someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking something without
> too many steps or ingredients, but is actually something to be proud of.
> And more importantly, something that would encourage me to dig deeper into
> cooking.
>
> Thanks for any help. I hope that I can at least say that I've cooked a
> decent dish before I graduate.
>
> -Patrick R.
> UC Berkeley

Stir fry. :-)
There are fresh frozen veggie mixes ready to go that make it easier.
Add sliced meat and some cocktail shrimp and you are good to go!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

"Patrick Rodriguez" > wrote in message
keley.EDU...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm currently enrolled in college and I want to finally learn how to cook
> for myself. I can only handle the basics: boiling ramen noodles,
> scrambling eggs, making a ham and cheese sandwich. I've always been
> meaning to enter the realm of actual cooking, but I'm either too busy or
> lazy...
>
> My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially for
> someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking something without
> too many steps or ingredients, but is actually something to be proud of.
> And more importantly, something that would encourage me to dig deeper into
> cooking.
>
> Thanks for any help. I hope that I can at least say that I've cooked a
> decent dish before I graduate.

Brings back memories - I had to cook or starve.

My suggestions-
First, get a basic cookbook like Betty Crocker - nothing fancy. You look
up a lot of stuff even after years of cooking.
Second, get grounded in WORKING WITH the basics, which means sauces and
noodles/rice and meat/fish. Its a lot easier than you think, since most of
that cooking uses the basic mix (see below) If you can cook ramen, you can
cook any noodle or rice (instructions are on the packages).
The frying, boiling, and steaming are straightforward actions- you can't
screw it up too badly if you follow the cookbook - and these ingredients and
methods have easy tells, like smoke and black, or pale floppy veggies. An
iron pan or a grill and beer forgives a lot of sins.

two things to get up to speed in an hour.

1)- first 30 minutes:
Make a medium white sauce a couple times and don't be afraid to toss the
result. Gives a sense of what gives, teaches you that the heat in the food
has to come thru the pan and it doesn't come thru at your speed when you
turn up the heat, it comes thru at its speed (WARNING -milk tends to blacken
the bottom of the pan of sloppy stirrers and impatient cooks).
White sauce comes in thin, medium, thick, and croquette. It is the base
for gravy, hot dishes, "puddings", etc. You can quickly cover a lot of
mistakes by adding them in emergencies, they are bases for your own flavored
sauces, you get an early feel for the chemistry, and it lets loose some
creativity.
They all are basically liquid (cup), fat (tablespoon - tbs) , and
thickener (tbs). The easy one is white sauce, in 1-1-1 (thin), 1-2-2
(medium), 1-3-3 (thick), and 1-4-4 (croquette) ratios, i.e., 1 cup milk
added to 1, or 2 or 3 or 4 tbs each of flour and butter.
Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat, add flour and heat it, then
add milk "slowly and rapidly" to keep the temp up so you don't get a cool
flour-milk mix (which makes lumps) - that is, a little milk in will make the
mix a lump, adding a bit more to the heated lump makes a looser lump, a bit
more to the heated loose lump makes a slurry, etc.
Variations -Brown the butter for a different flavor, fry onions in the
butter for an onion sauce, add pepper for a pepper sauce, add nutmeg for a
scandinavian sauce, etc., etc.
Save the last batch.

2) Second 30 minutes -
Fry a pound (maybe two cups) of hamburger to crumble in half cup
increments - don't use lean until you have experience on cooking lean meat -
drain off the fat instead after cooking.
Start with a cold pan and oil and meat, then remove it and set it aside
and put the next half-cup into the heated pan, then at a higher and lower
heat. Use half cups. Fry/cook/saute each of that amount using the different
heats and look at the result.

3) boil some noodles for 3-10 minutes. Or make some toast for 2 minutes. Or
boil some rice for 20 minutes. Or if you have 45 minutes, boil some
potatoes.

Now that you have a feel for two of the basic processes of cooking - you
now can flavor the white sauce before you add it to the meat - pick your
flavor and add it to the sauce first - onion? pepper? nutmeg? canned drained
tomato pieces? canned mushrooms? Mix well.
Pour it over the drained noodles/whatever - serve with a sprinkle of
paprika or parsley or whatever on top.

You can vary this basic approach and ingredients to get stroganoff to SOS
to french sauces. Use meats/other from beef tips to veal to chicken to ham
to dried beef to mushrooms to onions to spam to combos of them all . Oils
from butter to beef fat to chicken fat to flavored veggie oils. Liquids
from milk to water-wine to coffee.

4) cook a few breakfasts of eggs, toast, coffee, and bacon. It teaches
timing and multi-tasking.


It's a lot like swimming - you try a basic stroke, and then work at it until
first you don't drown, then you work at it some more so you can stay afloat
and actually move, and then after a fair amount of practicc, you can stay in
the lanes and move pretty fast. Same stroke as ever and its the same one we
all use, its just that after a bit of practice, YOU are able to use it

fwiw.





>
> -Patrick R.
> UC Berkeley

Very simple roast chicken.

First, go out and buy a probe thermometer. It will allow you to cook
many things perfectly the first time.

First and a half, turn on the oven to 350 degrees.

Second. get a whole chicken. Unwrap it. Look under the skin at both
ends and remove anything that doesn't look like it is attached (hearts,
livers, necks, packets of sauce). While you are doing this, remove any
excess chunks of fat. Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry
with a paper towel. Let the chicken air dry for a few minutes.

Third, find some sort of roasting pan. You can use the aluminum kind
from the grocery store. Coarsely cut up some onions, carrots, and/or
cellery and mound this up in the bottom of the pan. Put mister chicken
on the pile of vegetables, breast side up (the legs will be pointing
up).

Fourth, rub the skin of the chicken with olive oil (or any cooking oil)
and sprinkle with ~ 1 tsp of salt. Insert the probe thermometer into
the thickest part of the breast. Make sure that you don't hit any bones

Fifth, put the pan into the oven, and roast the chicken until the
thermometer tells you it is 165 degrees F. If you are concerned about
the placement of the thermometer, you can move it in and out a bit to
find the coolest spot.

Sixth. Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest 10 minutes
before eating.

You can make roast chicken as simple or as fancy as you want, and
while the chicken is cooking, you have plenty of time to make salad
and/or
vegetables to accompany your meal.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Very simple roast chicken.
>
> First, go out and buy a probe thermometer. It will allow you to cook
> many things perfectly the first time.
>
> First and a half, turn on the oven to 350 degrees.
>
> Second. get a whole chicken. Unwrap it. Look under the skin at both
> ends and remove anything that doesn't look like it is attached (hearts,
> livers, necks, packets of sauce).

I don't know about the chickens in your stores, but here, the loose parts
are inside the skeleton, not under the skin.

Yes but (at least here) covering the skeleton is a big giant flap of
loose skin and fat so they
can get an extra pound of profit out of me.

Point taken. Look under the big flap of loose skin in the front of the
birdy, and take a
look up its back end for extraneous stuff before cooking your bird.

Patrick Rodriguez > wrote:

> My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially for
> someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking something without
> too many steps or ingredients, but is actually something to be proud of.
> And more importantly, something that would encourage me to dig deeper into
> cooking.

Some links from the rec.food.cooking FAQ:

* http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/
Cooking guide for beginner cooks.

* http://wywahoos.org/wahoos/cookbook/contents.htm
"Introduction to Cooking for Graduate Students and Other First Time
Kitchen Dwellers."

* http://www.azcentral.com/home/food/cooking101/
Cooking 101.

Victor

On Fri 21 Oct 2005 02:02:14a, Patrick Rodriguez wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm currently enrolled in college and I want to finally learn how to
> cook for myself. I can only handle the basics: boiling ramen noodles,
> scrambling eggs, making a ham and cheese sandwich. I've always been
> meaning to enter the realm of actual cooking, but I'm either too busy or
> lazy...
>
> My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially for
> someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking something
> without too many steps or ingredients, but is actually something to be
> proud of. And more importantly, something that would encourage me to dig
> deeper into cooking.
>
> Thanks for any help. I hope that I can at least say that I've cooked a
> decent dish before I graduate.
>
> -Patrick R.
> UC Berkeley
>

Here's an assortment of books on Amazon that will get you started.

http://tinyurl.com/blu4v

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________

http://tinypic.com/eikz78.jpg

Meet Mr. Bailey

Victor Sack wrote:

> Patrick Rodriguez > wrote:
>
> > My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially
> > for someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking
> > something without too many steps or ingredients, but is actually
> > something to be proud of. And more importantly, something that
> > would encourage me to dig deeper into cooking.
>
> Some links from the rec.food.cooking FAQ:
>
> * http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/
> Cooking guide for beginner cooks.
>
> * http://wywahoos.org/wahoos/cookbook/contents.htm
> "Introduction to Cooking for Graduate Students and Other First
> Time Kitchen Dwellers."
>
> * http://www.azcentral.com/home/food/cooking101/
> Cooking 101.

Note that cookbooks for children are a step up in difficulty from ones
for college students. However, the pictures are better. (Note: This
is not hyperbole.)

Generally speaking, books for adults who have to learn in a hurry ("I
know you were hired to teach English, but we need you to teach
calculus") are simpler than ones for children.

--
Dan Goodman
Journal http://www.livejournal.com/users/dsgood/
Clutterers Anonymous unofficial community
http://www.livejournal.com/community/clutterers_anon/
Decluttering http://decluttering.blogspot.com
Predictions and Politics http://dsgood.blogspot.com
All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.
John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), Scottish writer, physician.

A common troll.

--
Best
Greg


"Patrick Rodriguez" > wrote in message
keley.EDU...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm currently enrolled in college and I want to finally learn how to cook
> for myself. I can only handle the basics: boiling ramen noodles,
> scrambling eggs, making a ham and cheese sandwich. I've always been
> meaning to enter the realm of actual cooking, but I'm either too busy or
> lazy...
>
> My question: what are some of the easier dishes to make, especially for
> someone with no experience such as myself? I'm thinking something without
> too many steps or ingredients, but is actually something to be proud of.
> And more importantly, something that would encourage me to dig deeper into
> cooking.
>
> Thanks for any help. I hope that I can at least say that I've cooked a
> decent dish before I graduate.
>
> -Patrick R.
> UC Berkeley

In article .net>,
"Gregory Morrow"
<gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:

> A common troll.
>
> --
> Best
> Greg

I don't think so...
This is all too common of a request,
and it's a reasonable one.
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
...
> In article .net>,
> "Gregory Morrow"
> <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
>
> > A common troll.
> >
> > --
> > Best
> > Greg
>
> I don't think so...
> This is all too common of a request,
> and it's a reasonable one.
> --
> Om.

But the folks who ask never come back to read the replies. Why bother to
reply?

kili

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
...
> In article .net>,
> "Gregory Morrow"
> <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
>
>> A common troll.
>>
>> --
>> Best
>> Greg
>
> I don't think so...
> This is all too common of a request,
> and it's a reasonable one.

There's another way to look at it: It's laziness, and a special kind that's
rampant nowadays for some reason. I have some theories which explain this
disease, but it's too early to elaborate. Not enough coffee yet. But,
briefly, it involves TV and the internet, and an inability or unwillingness
to follow printed instructions.

The OP said "but I'm either too busy or lazy...", and "I hope that I can at
least say that I've cooked a decent dish before I graduate." Admissions of
laziness, and total lack of confidence.

You (and I mean specifically YOU) can probably think of 3 dishes to suggest
to a new cook, which, if instructions were followed, would turn out fine.
Example: Apple crisp. Anyone who couldn't successfully make it should
probably not be operating anything more complicated than an electric
toothbruth, not to mention a motor vehicle. How difficult is it to go to a
book store, browse until an interesting book is discovered, take it home,
and follow the instructions???

"Doug Kanter" > wrote in message
...
> "OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article .net>,
> > "Gregory Morrow"
> > <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
> >
> >> A common troll.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Best
> >> Greg
> >
> > I don't think so...
> > This is all too common of a request,
> > and it's a reasonable one.
>
> There's another way to look at it: It's laziness, and a special kind
that's
> rampant nowadays for some reason. I have some theories which explain this
> disease, but it's too early to elaborate. Not enough coffee yet. But,
> briefly, it involves TV and the internet, and an inability or
unwillingness
> to follow printed instructions.
>
> The OP said "but I'm either too busy or lazy...", and "I hope that I can
at
> least say that I've cooked a decent dish before I graduate." Admissions of
> laziness, and total lack of confidence.
>
> You (and I mean specifically YOU) can probably think of 3 dishes to
suggest
> to a new cook, which, if instructions were followed, would turn out fine.
> Example: Apple crisp. Anyone who couldn't successfully make it should
> probably not be operating anything more complicated than an electric
> toothbruth, not to mention a motor vehicle.

>How difficult is it to go to a
> book store, browse until an interesting book is discovered, take it home,
> and follow the instructions???
>

Sadly, IMHO that is a skill not taught, nor accepted in the age of Rush
Limbaugh, where The Everyman can use his common sense in brain surgery,
social engineering, and political discourse - even though he has no
experience in medicine, he hasn't any concept of social diversity above
"me-them", nor does he have empathy or recognizes even one of the 13 logical
fallacies.

As someone once said, "Common sense is the lazy man's excuse for lack of
knowledge"

Do you really believe Ann Coulter goes to a book store, reads it, and
follows the instructions - any written instructions? She uses her common
sense, just like Torquemada did.



>

"hob" > wrote in message
news
>
> "Doug Kanter" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > In article .net>,
>> > "Gregory Morrow"
>> > <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
>> >
>> >> A common troll.
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Best
>> >> Greg
>> >
>> > I don't think so...
>> > This is all too common of a request,
>> > and it's a reasonable one.
>>
>> There's another way to look at it: It's laziness, and a special kind
> that's
>> rampant nowadays for some reason. I have some theories which explain this
>> disease, but it's too early to elaborate. Not enough coffee yet. But,
>> briefly, it involves TV and the internet, and an inability or
> unwillingness
>> to follow printed instructions.
>>
>> The OP said "but I'm either too busy or lazy...", and "I hope that I can
> at
>> least say that I've cooked a decent dish before I graduate." Admissions
>> of
>> laziness, and total lack of confidence.
>>
>> You (and I mean specifically YOU) can probably think of 3 dishes to
> suggest
>> to a new cook, which, if instructions were followed, would turn out fine.
>> Example: Apple crisp. Anyone who couldn't successfully make it should
>> probably not be operating anything more complicated than an electric
>> toothbruth, not to mention a motor vehicle.
>
>>How difficult is it to go to a
>> book store, browse until an interesting book is discovered, take it home,
>> and follow the instructions???
>>
>
> Sadly, IMHO that is a skill not taught, nor accepted in the age of Rush
> Limbaugh, where The Everyman can use his common sense in brain surgery,
> social engineering, and political discourse - even though he has no
> experience in medicine, he hasn't any concept of social diversity above
> "me-them", nor does he have empathy or recognizes even one of the 13
> logical
> fallacies.

Proof of this is the fact that my college roomate and I were able to buy a
couple of cookbooks and make some pretty good things, using minimal utensils
and a hot plate. (Illegal hot plates, of course. We had to bribe the R.A.
with food, and a promise to unplug the hot plate and hide it as soon as it
cooled down). We asked questions at the cooking supply store, where we found
a guy who I suspect was amused by two hippies who kept walking in and buying
tools just to make a particular dish (the right way to buy tools anyway).

We were clueless, but we managed some miracles.

In article >,
"kilikini" > wrote:

> "OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article .net>,
> > "Gregory Morrow"
> > <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
> >
> > > A common troll.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Best
> > > Greg
> >
> > I don't think so...
> > This is all too common of a request,
> > and it's a reasonable one.
> > --
> > Om.
>
> But the folks who ask never come back to read the replies. Why bother to
> reply?
>
> kili
>
>

Because they are college students? ;-)
Generally lazy and inconsiderate.

You are right. Why bother answering them?
They can google for old threads......

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

In article >,
"Doug Kanter" > wrote:

> "OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article .net>,
> > "Gregory Morrow"
> > <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
> >
> >> A common troll.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Best
> >> Greg
> >
> > I don't think so...
> > This is all too common of a request,
> > and it's a reasonable one.
>
> There's another way to look at it: It's laziness, and a special kind that's
> rampant nowadays for some reason. I have some theories which explain this
> disease, but it's too early to elaborate. Not enough coffee yet. But,
> briefly, it involves TV and the internet, and an inability or unwillingness
> to follow printed instructions.
>
> The OP said "but I'm either too busy or lazy...", and "I hope that I can at
> least say that I've cooked a decent dish before I graduate." Admissions of
> laziness, and total lack of confidence.
>
> You (and I mean specifically YOU) can probably think of 3 dishes to suggest
> to a new cook, which, if instructions were followed, would turn out fine.
> Example: Apple crisp. Anyone who couldn't successfully make it should
> probably not be operating anything more complicated than an electric
> toothbruth, not to mention a motor vehicle. How difficult is it to go to a
> book store, browse until an interesting book is discovered, take it home,
> and follow the instructions???
>
>

Because I've been cooking long enough, I no longer need to steenkin'
specific, written recipes? ;-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

In article >,
OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:


> I don't think so...
> This is all too common of a request,
> and it's a reasonable one.

So do you have any recipes from Europe?


:-)

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

In article >,
Dan Abel > wrote:

> In article >,
> OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:
>
>
> > I don't think so...
> > This is all too common of a request,
> > and it's a reasonable one.
>
> So do you have any recipes from Europe?
>
>
> :-)

I'm not from Europe, but I'm sure I could google some:

Good database:

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=european

Cheers! :-)
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> Dan Abel > wrote:
>
>> In article >,
>> OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:
>>
>>
>> > I don't think so...
>> > This is all too common of a request,
>> > and it's a reasonable one.
>>
>> So do you have any recipes from Europe?
>>
>>
>> :-)
>
> I'm not from Europe, but I'm sure I could google some:
>
> Good database:
>
> http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=european

"down under" is Europe? Hang on.....were you George Bush's geography
teacher?

In article >,
"Doug Kanter" > wrote:

> "OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >,
> > Dan Abel > wrote:
> >
> >> In article >,
> >> OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> > I don't think so...
> >> > This is all too common of a request,
> >> > and it's a reasonable one.
> >>
> >> So do you have any recipes from Europe?
> >>
> >>
> >> :-)
> >
> > I'm not from Europe, but I'm sure I could google some:
> >
> > Good database:
> >
> > http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=european
>
> "down under" is Europe? Hang on.....were you George Bush's geography
> teacher?
>
>

Well... The website came up under a search for "european recipes" so
blame google. <lol>

Besides, Australia was originally settled by the British.

Were you George Bush's History teacher? ;-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Doug Kanter" > wrote:
>
>> "OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > In article >,
>> > Dan Abel > wrote:
>> >
>> >> In article >,
>> >> OmManiPadmeOmelet > wrote:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> > I don't think so...
>> >> > This is all too common of a request,
>> >> > and it's a reasonable one.
>> >>
>> >> So do you have any recipes from Europe?
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> :-)
>> >
>> > I'm not from Europe, but I'm sure I could google some:
>> >
>> > Good database:
>> >
>> > http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=european
>>
>> "down under" is Europe? Hang on.....were you George Bush's geography
>> teacher?
>>
>>
>
> Well... The website came up under a search for "european recipes" so
> blame google. <lol>
>
> Besides, Australia was originally settled by the British.
>
> Were you George Bush's History teacher? ;-)
>
> Cheers!

The only history GWB knows is that he choked on a pretzel.