Having been brought in a kosher home, until about the age of 10, I never knew what “rare” was.
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I was brought up in a Protestant one and didn’t either. I remember being taken to the St. Francis in San Francisco by a friend’s parents when I was about 14. Everyone ordered beef filets. I ordered mine “very well done”, all the others requested “medium rare.” When the steaks arrived, everyone was served a sumptuous 2 1/2 x 4" hunk of meat, glistening with pan juices. I received a 2" x 2" chunk of what looked like coal. I was a fast learner. Never again.
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Growing up, mom and dad preferred rare (mom) or medium rare (dad). I always ordered well-done and agreed when the chef asked if my steak could be butterflied. My parents just shook their heads.
Sometime in my 30s I had an epiphany–medium rare really did taste better 
For our 50th birthday, 4 friends from high school got together for dinner at a very nice steak restaurant. I was so sorry to see what was on their plates 
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Not important how I liked it…Kosher law dictates no blood… have never learned Protestant food culture,but shame on me…
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No shame at all. I believe that modern science upholds that prohibition re meat, and certainly about cooking poultry, fish and eggs. Am not sure there is a Protestant food culture, or one that we all celebrate or even agree on.
But how about when your friends actually prefer the food that you or I cook, but can’t be bothered to do it themselves, either because they don’t think about it enough or just have bad habits that are hard to break?
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Ooof. Well said. There is indeed that. A lot of that.
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bcc, I’ve actually thought about this a lot. It comes to me that to be a really good cook you need to have taste buds in your brain. You need to THINK about food. About what flavors you enjoy. Textures. The results of different cooking methods. Combinations. Throw out recipes but learn techniques. Not cooking school techniques but the way different processes result in different results. Boiling, poaching, steaming, braising, sauteing, frying, baking, roasting. Mentally combine different things and cook them in various ways. Be an unapologetic thief of good ideas you find in restaurants, magazines, cooking shows. Then tweak them and make them your own.
DO NOT BE AFRAID! Most of the “almost great” cooks I know are just timid when it comes to pushing the envelop beyond the tried and true, the expected.
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I agree completely. If a person does not think deeply about food, this does not devalue that person in my estimation. It just devalues the food that they cook.
By the way, I am not a great cook. I would hope that I would reach your category of “almost great.”
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Beautifully said.
Thank you!!
Big Red is “fruit” flavored. 
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Ah, right. I love red flavor! YUM!
Wow. I love this comment/observation!
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I LOL’d!
Someone of little means?
Because poor folks can’t cook?
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Thanks, Winecountrygirl! I am excited to share cooking ideas and tips with new friends.
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Whenever I see a Cool Whip container I think about my grandmother’s turkey dressing.
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Yes … that’s exactly what I meant! Shame on both of you, SMH
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