Cooking & Recipes Thread

[Yagathai]

Serve with a little creme fraiche or, if you're feeling like sweet, creme anglaise... delicious!

[ztemhead]

*dips toe in the thread*

I have criteria for what makes a decent recipe.

1) must be simple

2) preferably healthsome

3) no kooky ingredients

4) tasty and interesting

5) must be simple

so when I discover something that meets those criteria, it excites me no end.

lately I've taken to halving a pepper and stuffing the halves with onions and zucchini sauteed in olive oil, plus a bit of diced ham, sticking in the oven for ten minutes or so, then topping with cheese. It's a sneaky way to get me to eat my vegetables. ;)

[Eyelesbarrow]

My favorite sandwich these days:

Rub chicken breast with cumin, salt and pepper and then pan fry. Slice thinly.

Make coleslaw: julienne cabbage carrots and apple. Mix in mayo and bit of mustard, lemon.

Place coleslaw on bread, top with chicken slices. Then eat.

[Deedles]

I fell off the wagon big time on Saturday. After a week of raw veggies, low fat greek yogurt, chicken broth with chili, ginger, fish sauce, bean sprouts, mint and corriander I went nuts yesterday.

For lunch, mouclade with toasted wholegrain bread. 750 g of m ussels steamed with shallot and a splish of chablis, then taking the empty shell off. The mussel juice was added to 100mls of creme fraiche, 100 mls of chablis, a teaspoon of curry powder, 2 finely chopped shallots, salt and pepper. This was reduced down for 25 minutes. While reducing I arranged the mussels in the half shell on an oven proof plate. I preheated the oven to 180. Mixed an egg yolk with a spoon of creme fraiche and added to the reduced sauce. Then poured the sauce onto the mussels and baked for 5 minutes. It was yum.

For starters I did a scallops and asparagus dish. Sliced a shallot and softended. Added 6 scallops and fried for 2 minutes with a generous pinch of saffron. I then added 100mls of creme fraiche *well I had it anyway) and a tablespoon of Noilly Prat. This was heated and left to simmer for 4 minutes. While simmering I steamed some asparagus tips, before adding them to the saffron cream. It was a really pretty dish with the yellow sauce, green asparagus and white scallops. More importantly it was tasty.

For mains I did a lamb dish. 4 centreloin chops baked in natural yogurt, 2 garlic cloves, half an onion, salt and pepper. I served this with steamed baby potatos, steamed carrot batons and snowpeas. After 45 minutes I took the lamb out of the roasting dish and set aside to rest. I added 150 mls of red wine to the left over yogurt mixture, brought to the boil and reduced for 5 minutes to make a relatively tasty, but pretty ugly sauce.

There was a lot of taste yesterday.

[Shryke]

It's been a delicious day today.

Since I'm headed home for Thanksgiving, I've been baking shit like crazy.

Pumpkin Muffins (Delicious) and Pumpkin Pies (also delicious).

Sadly, the cream I was able to obtain for the Pumpkin Pie was only 35%, but it should still turn out good.

Also, the urge hit me and I know my dad loves it, so I figured "WTF, I'm making Corn Bread!". So Corn Bread is currently baking in the oven. Yum.

PS - For those of you paying attention: Yes, I am making Corn Bread at 3:30 in the morning.

[Warg Arry]

Also, the urge hit me and I know my dad loves it, so I figured "WTF, I'm making Corn Bread!". So Corn Bread is currently baking in the oven. Yum.

PS - For those of you paying attention: Yes, I am making Corn Bread at 3:30 in the morning.

never in my life tasted corn bread, but always wondered what it would be like.

Well I've learnt a valuable lesson. making cream rice in the slow cooker = bad idea.

I thought I had it all figured out. the taste of off milk..despite the vanilla bean and golden syrup. was not the taste sensation I imagined it would be. :(

[Eyelesbarrow]

Shryke: As somebody who cooks a pasta dish at 12 mn, I say 3:30 am is the best time to bake break IMHO :thumbsup:

The times I made bread were disasters so i convinced a colleague to take a baking class soon. Wish us luck!

I recently bought a bottle of mirin. I'm thinking of chicken, some broth, leek, corn, and a tablespoon of mirin. Other ideas are welcome. :)

[Xray the Enforcer]

PS - For those of you paying attention: Yes, I am making Corn Bread at 3:30 in the morning.

Best time for it, I say! (well, any time, actually. I love corn bread.)

Have a great weekend with all of that awesome food. :)

Not sure what I'm cooking this weekend. Carnitas? Char siu pork? Fish tagine?

[Rubies & Jade]

I recently bought a bottle of mirin. I'm thinking of chicken, some broth, leek, corn, and a tablespoon of mirin. Other ideas are welcome. :)

I love mirin. my favorite thing to use it for is more of a warm weather dish--soba noodles tossed with slivered red bell pepper & carrots and a dressing of equal parts: mirin, toasted sesame oil, ume plum vinegar and rice vinegar. if I have sesame seeds, I'll toast them and throw that in, too. Eat at room temperature. Its really simple and hugely tasty.

I just made pumpkin muffins the other day too! I make a huge batch, freeze them and then eat them for breakfast for a couple of weeks. yummo.

[Yagathai]

Yeah, I have to plan a menu and I don't know what I want to do either. Maybe if I get out of bed early enough on Saturday (ha!) I'll hit the farmer's market and see what presents itself.

Dinner last night was a bag of beef jerky, some diet coke and a pumpkin spice "latte" from the machine at 7-11. Hey, not every night is gourmet night, you know?

[Tears of Lys]

I fell off the wagon big time on Saturday. After a week of raw veggies, low fat greek yogurt, chicken broth with chili, ginger, fish sauce, bean sprouts, mint and corriander I went nuts yesterday.

For lunch, mouclade with toasted wholegrain bread. 750 g of m ussels steamed with shallot and a splish of chablis, then taking the empty shell off. The mussel juice was added to 100mls of creme fraiche, 100 mls of chablis, a teaspoon of curry powder, 2 finely chopped shallots, salt and pepper. This was reduced down for 25 minutes. While reducing I arranged the mussels in the half shell on an oven proof plate. I preheated the oven to 180. Mixed an egg yolk with a spoon of creme fraiche and added to the reduced sauce. Then poured the sauce onto the mussels and baked for 5 minutes. It was yum.

For starters I did a scallops and asparagus dish. Sliced a shallot and softended. Added 6 scallops and fried for 2 minutes with a generous pinch of saffron. I then added 100mls of creme fraiche *well I had it anyway) and a tablespoon of Noilly Prat. This was heated and left to simmer for 4 minutes. While simmering I steamed some asparagus tips, before adding them to the saffron cream. It was a really pretty dish with the yellow sauce, green asparagus and white scallops. More importantly it was tasty.

For mains I did a lamb dish. 4 centreloin chops baked in natural yogurt, 2 garlic cloves, half an onion, salt and pepper. I served this with steamed baby potatos, steamed carrot batons and snowpeas. After 45 minutes I took the lamb out of the roasting dish and set aside to rest. I added 150 mls of red wine to the left over yogurt mixture, brought to the boil and reduced for 5 minutes to make a relatively tasty, but pretty ugly sauce.

There was a lot of taste yesterday.

Oh. My. God. Where have you been all my life? :P

I had a big dill pickle for lunch yesterday.

[Arataniello]

Dinner last night was a bag of beef jerky, some diet coke and a pumpkin spice "latte" from the machine at 7-11. Hey, not every night is gourmet night, you know?

This is what puts people off cooking/catering - the assumption that every night there has to be some sort of prepared dish(es) prepared each night. Some night cooking should just be something really basic, others it can be the whole nine yards.

As long as you have bacon, onions, cheese, lemons and butter in the fridge and dried pasta and tinned tomatoes in the store cupboard, there is always going to be a hot dinner available if needed.

Last night I roasted up red and yellow bell peppers with onions and garllic. Blitz in the food processor with tomato puree for a great veggie spread that is great on toast, or as the base of a pasta sauce.

Got the latest Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall book two weeks ago and am looking through that for some more ideas for simple and quick dinner recipes.

[Eyelesbarrow]

This is what puts people off cooking/catering - the assumption that every night there has to be some sort of prepared dish(es) prepared each night. Some night cooking should just be something really basic, others it can be the whole nine yards.

As long as you have bacon, onions, cheese, lemons and butter in the fridge and dried pasta and tinned tomatoes in the store cupboard, there is always going to be a hot dinner available if needed.

:agree:

Hell, one can even make a dish from olive oil, pasta, pepper flakes and garlic. Yummy comfort food for me.

But I'd like to include one more basic ingredient: Eggs.

During weekends, I try to make spreads (cream cheese/yogurt/herbs/tuna/mashed chickpeas) so that when I'm too lazy to cook, I can just make a sandwich with the spread of the week, bacon, and scrambled egg. Breakfast food for dinner!

@BJT: I hear you on soba noodles. I'm buying them next week. Now it's 11:30 pm here in my part of the world. Time to cook dinner. :)

[Rubies & Jade]

But I'd like to include one more basic ingredient: Eggs.

it would be interesting to hear what other people always have in the kitchen for their quick and easy dishes... Cause I for one don't often use lemons and eggs, and don't buy them unless I need them for something specific.

I also make pasta dishes for my quick and easy things, usually with sauted veggies of some kind. so my staples that I always have around are:

pasta

pecorino or Parmigiano grated cheese

onions

tomatoes of some kind (fresh, dried or canned)

garlic

olives

canned beans

Now that I'm trying to cook meat, I'm trying to have some animal flesh around a little more often, but I haven't figured that out yet! but with the above I can make a very yummy & quick dinner. and if I happen to have bell peppers or other veggies (even frozen veggies like peas) all the better.

[Jed o' Tarth]

Two things:

Speaking of books, my BiL is wanting a good 'healthy' Italian cookbook for his Christmas present. Any suggestions?

Secondly, speaking of cornmeal, anyone know of any killer tamale recipes? I used to make them with my grandmother and aunts for various holidays (not just Christmas, so shutit!). However, it's been a while and I don't remember the recipe. I've tried it on my own several times and they end up sucking... taste wise. The end up being bland, tasteless.

My dinner last night was my dearest's awesome steak and my mac n cheese (Kraft... cause I R teh lazy). Some gormet, some junk.

[seastarr]

My kitchen staples:

garlic and onions

sweet potatoes

brocollini

asparagus

squash

ghee

bell peppers

tomatillos

avocados

lemon

meat (any variety)

Mauldon sea salt

fresh ground pepper

The fast meal I do 3-4 times a week is to put any of the above on the grill. I lightly brush the veggies with the ghee and lemon juice and then season them with salt and pepper and other herbs or spices. maybe some basil or oregano. I often just roast the garlic whole and then have the soft cloves to put on the rest of the veggies like butter.

I also really love guacamole and make that at least once a week:

2 avocados

juice of one lemon

2-3 cloves crushed garlic

Mash it all together and put it on salad or corn tortillas.

[Eyelesbarrow]

My cupboard must-haves:

Ginger, tomato, onion, soy sauce, vineger, garlic, oyster sauce, curry powder

Pasta, rice, eggs, noodles (soba, rice), bread

carrots, young corn, bell peppers, cabbage, peas

canned tuna, ground meat, chicken breast, ham/bacon, eggs

[boiled leather]

I tend to be spur of the moment, but in order to keep the RedWoman happy, certain items are always on hand -

Herbs & Spices (a good brine or rub comes in handy)

Chili Powder (CA and NM)

Paprika (hot, sweet and smoked)

Chipotle Powder

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Cumin

Kosher Salt

Thyme

Basil

Oregano

(always fresh Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Basil and Oregano in the garden)

Fresh Veggies

Onions

Garlic

Carrots

Celery

Jalapenos

Meats

Bacon - god's perfect food

Sausage

Chicken Breasts

Panty, etc.

Butter

Bacon Fat

Olive Oil

Good Vinegar

Multiple Types of Pasta

Canned Tomatos, Tomato Paste, Tomato Sauce

Chicken Broth

Beef Broth

Rice (long grain and arborio)

Polenta

Flour

Biscquick (because I don't make pastry :tantrum: )

I will always sing the praises of whole spice. High quality spices, for the price 2 of the little jars in the store (1oz, ussually), you can get 1/2 to a full lb of very high quality herbs and spices. If you saw modern family the other night, its the Costco of spices.

I made a great spicy, deconstructed chicken pot pie the other night. not too tough, but not really "simple", if anyone wants the recipe.

[Tobin]

Mom was telling me about this BYU program she catches now and then called Living Essentials.

They teach you how to do stuff like make your own canned foods, preserve stuff for emergencies, etc.

She said it was really interesting, but I don't get the channel up here - so I have to find it elsewhere.

The show isn't limited to food - she says they even try to help you with stuff like balancing your checkbook (I think that was a not so subtle hint aimed at me though, :rolleyes: ).

[Eyelesbarrow]

Mom was telling me about this BYU program she catches now and then called Living Essentials.

They teach you how to do stuff like make your own canned foods, preserve stuff for emergencies, etc.

She said it was really interesting, but I don't get the channel up here - so I have to find it elsewhere.

The show isn't limited to food - she says they even try to help you with stuff like balancing your checkbook (I think that was a not so subtle hint aimed at me though, :rolleyes: ).

I'd love to learn how to can veggies, but I'm afraid of botulism.

I just made my Japanese-inspired dinner for the 1st time. It's filling, healthy, and cheap and it took me only 20 mins. The mirin is really good. A small dose goes a really long way.