As we make this a monthly tradition, we expndeda to having another member. This time around, we had DmytNro Malikov from Accenture come along.
Dish of the day: Apple flavored Baby Back Ribs
Part of Cook and Code is developing dishes that cook on their own while we spend our time on projects. Jimmy and Charlene brought a rack of baby back ribs, and plan to cook it in a pressure cooker pot.
Recipe
https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/easy-bbq-instant-pot-ribs/
We used a modification of the recipe above, but replaced water with apple juice and apple cider.
We did our best to keep everyone involved. Accompanying the ribs, Dmytro and I prepped some vegetable side dishes.
I love that cooking is an activity that everyone can participate. No matter what their skill level, we all have some experience in different areas of cooking.
Jimmy and Charlene had some minor difficulties in cleaning the ribs, pulling away the membrane on the underside. Dmytro, our resident expert in butchery, stripped the membrane cleanly and quickly with his knife skills.
So Tender
The ribs came out very tender. Fell apart the bone. 10/10 would 1000% recommend.
For vegetables. I cooked up some sweet potato fries in the oven, as well as a slaw from Costco.
Meetup Lessons Learned
As our second meetup, we picked up a few lessons to work on in future meetups.
- Too many cooks
- Too Complicated to make food
- Bring Snacks
- Time to Talk vs Time to Code
Issue: Too Many Cooks
We wanted to bring more focus on the working on the coding and the side projects. We had issues with people butting heads together and not having everything available for cooking available.
We're seeing this could lead to scalability issues.
Solution: Less Chefs
So instead of having everyone participate in the cook, we're going to try in the next Cook and Code having a dedicated chef.
We're calling this having a Lead Chef, Senior Chef as well as having an assistant chef or two.
Issue: Complex prep recipes
I'm used to spending a lot of time prepping and cooking, but this doesn't work well while we're trying to optimize for time. So from now on, we're trying to use a more simpler recipe to cook.
Solution: Simplified recipes
Simple enough. Make easier stuff, simpler items.
Issue: Time to Talk vs Time to Code
So there are some awkward moments where people weren't sure when it is a good time to talk, or focus on work. This occurred mostly during the early period of coding, or during cooking.
Solution: Dedicated Scheduling
So this was brought up by Jimmy. We probably need to have dedicated time slots so people know when to do what.
We built a template of the schedule, and try to adhere to it.
- Social Periods: Intro and Eating. Talk as much as you'd like
- Work Periods: Keep chit chat to relevant projects. Or take chats to IMs messaging instead. Follow the headset rules.
