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What should I put in my mouth? [Cooking]
Cognisseur
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend almost a year ago and it spurred me to start learning to cook better (girlfriend doesn't cook much). I've learned certain new things but overall I'm not too thrilled with the amount of progress in expanding my repertoire that I've made.
Rather than beating myself up about lack of willpower or initiative or blah blah blah, I've come up with a plan. I'm making a thread where I'd like you guys to post recipes or even just the name of dishes that I should learn to cook that will result in my thinking:
"Oh man, that wasn't so hard and it resulted in something so amazingly delicious! I need to put more effort into learning to cook so I can make something different and equally amazing everyday".
My girlfriend is also somewhat of a picky eater (me too but to a lesser degree) so that partly explains why my repertoire is lacking. Here's some things that I doubt I'll be cooking: any kind of seafood outside of white fish, pork, really cheesy dishes, whole chicken. Well, I guess I'd eat pork if I can make it in a small enough quantity to bring with me to school for a few days.
Things I currently cook:
-Chicken breast / white fish in every variety of breading, marination, and mixing with veggies/pasta
-Chili (turned out great but requires a decent amount of planning / unusual ingredient buying so I dont do it often)
-Steak (have gotten much better at it over the course of a year)
-Lots of varieties of eggs
-Stuffing
-Bacon
-Rice/ Seasoned Rice
-Pasta
-Garlic mashed potatoes
-Probably some other stuff I forget, but as you can see it's a limited repertoire
Thanks in advance. Can't wait to see what you guys consider to be mind-blowingly delicious dishes.
-Edit- I added some 'things I probably wont cook' things above... so the people who commented below aren't just insensitive dicks.
Rather than beating myself up about lack of willpower or initiative or blah blah blah, I've come up with a plan. I'm making a thread where I'd like you guys to post recipes or even just the name of dishes that I should learn to cook that will result in my thinking:
"Oh man, that wasn't so hard and it resulted in something so amazingly delicious! I need to put more effort into learning to cook so I can make something different and equally amazing everyday".
My girlfriend is also somewhat of a picky eater (me too but to a lesser degree) so that partly explains why my repertoire is lacking. Here's some things that I doubt I'll be cooking: any kind of seafood outside of white fish, pork, really cheesy dishes, whole chicken. Well, I guess I'd eat pork if I can make it in a small enough quantity to bring with me to school for a few days.
Things I currently cook:
-Chicken breast / white fish in every variety of breading, marination, and mixing with veggies/pasta
-Chili (turned out great but requires a decent amount of planning / unusual ingredient buying so I dont do it often)
-Steak (have gotten much better at it over the course of a year)
-Lots of varieties of eggs
-Stuffing
-Bacon
-Rice/ Seasoned Rice
-Pasta
-Garlic mashed potatoes
-Probably some other stuff I forget, but as you can see it's a limited repertoire
Thanks in advance. Can't wait to see what you guys consider to be mind-blowingly delicious dishes.
-Edit- I added some 'things I probably wont cook' things above... so the people who commented below aren't just insensitive dicks.
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Shogun Streams Vidya
I make a decent pot roast type thing and a good stew, those are pretty easy.
- Fry a tortilla in a pan with some butter, cinnamon, suger, and honey. Make sure to get both sides!
- Fry an egg to taste. You can also used poached eggs, who's dimensions are perfect for this particular dish
- wrap torilla around egg
- consume
It's simple and delicious. I know, the combination of sweets and egg seems weird but I promise it's good and not weird at all.
Lamb racks of any type are also among my favourites.
Creme brulee is my current project. You get to use a blowtorch!
Satans..... hints.....
0) BUY A MEAT THERMOMETER- you NEED one to do any kind of roast, braise, grill, etc well. Get a DIGITAL one, they are far more accurate, preferably one with a long cord so that you can leave it in the roast and have the cord poke out of the bar-b or oven.
1) Take a roast (my local butcher carries Eye of Round roasts dirt cheap).
2) Buy some spices. A good recipe is 2 tablespoons dried rosemary and crushed fennel seeds, 1 tablspoon each dried sage, salt, ground pepper.
3) combine spices in a bowl
4) coat roast in olive oil, put the rest in the bottom of the roasting pan (about 2-3 tablespoons olive oil total)
4.5) rub the spices on the meat, using all of them (they'll do a 3-4 lb roast, but if it's smaller you just get more spices!)
5) chop up some garlic cloves into thin slices, NOT minced, maybe 10 cloves, enough to cover the bottom of the pan that the roast will be sitting on
6) put the roast fat-side up on the garlic
7) bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then turn down to 300 and bake until it reaches an internal temperature of about 120 for rare, 130 for medium-rare (don't want to go much farther than that), let rest for 15 minutes to let the juices settle, carve and serve
Optional pan sauce: 1/4 cup dry white wine, 2/3 cup beef stock. As the meat rests (covered with foil), pour the fat from the bottom of the pan into a saucepan and scrape off any brown bits (they'll be garlic and spices- delish) into the pan. Add the wine and stock and simmer to reduce by half.
None of the measurements are terribly precise and the whole thing is virtually effortless and tastes fantastic.
Source: The complete meat cookbook by Aidells and Kelly. You should pick it up. Most of the recipes are very simple, all building off common themes and techniques, but there is some more challenging stuff in there once you're ready for it.
If you really want a challenge, pick up classic indian cooking by julie sahni. The recipes are just amazing, I can't recommend it enough, but they are quite difficult and time-consuming. Indian food requires careful planning and making sure every ingredient is prepared ahead because everything is time-sensitive and you don't have time to measure the seeds while the onions brown or you'll burn them, as I have done many times.
Chicken Cacciatore: brown some chicken breasts, then take them off. Cut an onion and a green pepper into thin strips and cook until caramelized. Once that's done, add the chicken, and one to two cans of tomato soup (depending on how much chicken is used), and half that amount of white wine. Cook on medium-low for 30-45 minutes until the alcohol is reduced. Serve over pasta.
Veal/chicken picante: Buy veal cutlets or chicken breasts and make sure they're cut thin. Then pound the shit out of them with a meat tenderizer and cover them in flour. Brown on both sides. Then cook half a bag of diced onions (they sell these frozen at the grocery store). Once cooked, add a can of chicken stock, a can of white wine, and the chicken. Slice lemon and place on top of the simmering meat. Cook on medium-low for 30-45 minutes until the alcohol is reduced. Serve over pasta (again). For extra flavor, add alfredo sauce to the pasta.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Custard(Star anises optional), great with berries which are starting to come into season.
Beer and Dill carrots(don't use * light)
Chicken/Veal/Eggplant Parmesan (not sure if these fall under too cheesy)
When I started learning to cook I'd watch Dinner Impossible/Iron Chef on the food network, and between them there'd be a recipe or two that was simple enough that I'd take a shot at it. Didn't always work, but it gets you to try different things.
Really forgiving ratatouille recipe
Another very forgiving recipe, for spanakopita
Beef and broccoli is pretty simple to make, the link I had to a recipe for that is now broken though so I can't give you any good recipes for it.
You can also make really lazy pulled pork for sandwiches in whatever quantity you want; 3lbs of tenderloin is enough to make probably 8-9 sandwiches so I'd find a small 1-2lb roast of pork or a pork tenderloin, really any cut works fine as long as it doesn't have any bones (so you can be lazier later), drop it in a crockpot, cover it with a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce, and let it simmer until the meat can be shredded with a fork, about 3-5 hours. Shred it, stir it back in with the sauce, and let it simmer in the crockpot for another 30-60 minutes. Serve on rolls with chips and coleslaw, and you can freeze any leftovers and have them for dinner or lunch some time when you're feeling lazy.
Do you make lasagna? It's a little work intensive depending on the recipe you use but it's great, filling, and can also be frozen for a quick meal when you're feeling lazy.
If you're looking for more specific kind of food, it could be useful to know what kind of groceries you want to/are willing to buy; if you don't ever want to buy fresh veggies, you're going to get different advice than if you're a veggie whore.
Also flip through sites like tastespotting and foodgawker, yes they're just pictures but most of them include recipes if you click through and it's a good way to flip through a ton of possible ideas very quickly.
I just gave this a shot and it was delicious. I don't know why I didn't think about it, but it's a pretty tiny amount of food though so I should've made two. Still, hurrah for another food added to my culinary repertoire. Thanks!
It works great (better, in fact) with cheap cuts of meat, and for not too much money, you can make enough to feed yourself for days.
It's also one of the single most satisfying dishes to have in the winter.
Most people serve it over egg noodles, but I prefer it on garlic mashed potatoes.
Only things that are "not healthy" in that dish are the sugar and honey. Assuming they are kept to a minimum, the dish itself isn't unhealthy, especially if the tortilla is whole-wheat or whole-grain.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Any recommendations for pulled-pork barbecue sauce?
1. Mash some potatos (with butter, milk and salt - my variation is to add some smoked paprika for colour and cayenne pepper for heat).
2. Lightly fry some spring onions/scallions (whatever they're called where you are). You want them to still be crisp when you:
3. Mix the two things together.
4. Delight in your highly original potato-based foodstuff!
Lomo Saltado
Instead of Tri-tip, I would use Ribeye as it's much, much, much softer and soaks up the juices better. It's pretty easy to make and tastes great. If you want to cheat with the fries (we do sometimes), just run over to some fast food joint and pick them up before you finish. Making your own is awesome too, but it can be a little time consuming if you want both the meat side done at the same time.
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It's really easy. Get yourself some good ground beef. I go with 80/20 chuck from Whole Foods. Grass fed is definitely better, and while it's not exactly cheap, it's not too expensive, either, especially if it's an occasional indulgence.
When I'm making a burger with good meat, I'm a firm believer in keeping it simple. Accordingly, I only flavor the meat with some kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. A very small amount of Siracha is also good. No chopped onions, or eggs or bread crumbs are necessary, or desirable (seriously, people, you're not making meatloaf).
Mix all your flavorings into the meat, form it into patties of the desired size, and get the skillet very, very hot. Cook the burgers about 4 minutes per side, and don't even think about touching them until they're ready to be turned. Let them rest for a few minutes, and enjoy.
I have a cast iron skillet but I'm in a bit of a pickle. I didn't know you had to take care of it or how you had to clean it so it's completely unseasoned now. I found numerous guides for how easy it is to season a skillet so I gave it a shot. I live in a one bedroom apartment and even with windows open, within no time at all the apartment was smokey and was giving me a headache. Then the smoke alarm in the hall outside went off. I deemed this a failure in seasoning. What should I do about it? Do I need to buy a new one?
I'm real horrible with actual measurements, so this is all to taste.
Boil some water for pasta
Dice up the onion and garlic, cut the meat and veggies to however you like.
Put some olive oil on a pan, then cook the beef, onions, garlic, and your greens together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the basil, thyme and parsley. Add a little soy sauce. When cooking with meat, I like to put all the onions and garlic clumped up on the meat, so it can absorb some of the flavor. Same with the veggies.
Once the noodles are done, get a big tupperware bowl, put everything to include the pasta into it. Close, shake rigorously.
Eat.
Another:
Get some rice, lipton onion soup, ground beef, salt, pepper, and a can of mushroom soup.
Begin cooking the rice. I have a rice cooker, so I just plop it in there and push a button.
Pour the contents of the onion soup into a bowl with your ground beef. Hand make some meatballs. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
Put some olive oil on a pan and cook the meatballs. Add about half a can of the mushroom soup, and 1/4 to 1/2 the can of water. Cook but don't let it boil.
Once the rice finishes, serve over the rice and eat. It's not too shabby, pretty quick and easy to make.
I've started grilling tortilla on a pan, adding in spinach leaves, cheese, and some sandwhich meat, wrapping it up like a burrito.
I'd buy a pre-seasoned one (Lodge is a good brand, and they're pretty cheap). Regular maintenance is still necessary, but the super-smoky initial seasoning can be skipped. After every use, when the pan is still hot, clean it by scouring it with kosher salt and a paper towel.
Rinse all the salt away (obviously important to keep it from rusting), put it on the stove, turn the stove on high, and rub a very thin layer of vegetable oil around the inside of the pan with a paper towel. Let it sit there until it starts smoking again, but stop before the smoke fills your apartment.
Wipe away the excess oil, let it cool, and you're good to go.
You should avoid scrubbing it with soap. This can take off the seasoning that you worked so hard to get. Don't worry if a few little bits of food are hard to get off. Just let them burn to a crisp when you're re-seasoning the pan after every use, and they should brush off. And if they don't, just consider them part of the pan.
Take a bunch of brussel sprouts (even if you don't normally like them, try this once). Normally, they sell a bunch of them in a netted bag here. you can use the whole bag.
Cut the bottoms of them.
Cut them in half from top to bottom (not along the middle)
In a pan heat up some olive oil.
Add some onion. I like to use small yellow onions, because you can use a whole one and I really like onions. Make it translucent, not brown. This shouldn't take too long.
Add the brussel sprouts.
Add some lemon juice. I generally add half a lemon.
Add salt and black pepper.
Cook not too long. Make sure you don't over cook them. You want them tender but firm and not mushy. You may be tempted to put them in your mouth to test and see if they're ready. Do this often.
I'm not good with measurements, and I don't really use recipes because they're too bossy.
One thing about doing this is sometimes brussel sprouts can have a bitter taste. However, the lemon you add to this makes it all go away!
This is fast, really easy and tasty.
Edit: That page that I stole that pic from has a recipe that looks decent too. They also had a point where you may want to boil the sprouts a little bit before adding them to the pan with all the other stuff with them. I kind of like my veggies on the fresh side, though and not too cooked and think it'd be fine even if you didn't boil them.
For pulled pork I use just a basic bbq sauce with honey in it (kraft barbecue with honey, generally), but really you can use any kind of bbq that you particularly like.
I use Sweet Baby Ray's sauce myself. But here's how I make my pulled pork. I prefer Boston Butt - however much you want, 2 lbs will get you about 8 sammiches.
Sometimes I rub Adobo (the spanish kind, not the filipino version) on my butt (tee hee).
Put the butt in the pot.
Chop up a pack (1 lb-ish) of bacon and put it on top.
Pour a half can of your favorite beer down the sides of the pot and drink the rest.
Cook on low for 10 hours.
Take the butt out. The bone will slide out and the meat will just fall apart.
Put the meat in a bowl, take two forks, and 'pull' the pork. Make sure you get rid of any fat that I forgot to tell you to remove earlier.
Take all this meat, onion, and bacon substance and put it back in the crock pot.
Pour a quarter bottle of BBQ sauce over the top and stir it in.
Put another quarter of the botttle on top of the meat, but just let it sit there.
Turn the pot back on to low.
After about a hour, stir the pork up.
Then you can stir it up every fifteen minutes or so and it should be done in about two hours after you turned the pot back on.
On a similar note, you could take that Boston Butt, stab the shit out of it, rub sea salt in the wounds, and pour a little liquid smoke over it. Put that butt in the crock pot for about 14 or maybe 16 hours and voila!, a ghetto Kalua Pork.
Meatballs:
Ground Beef
Green Peppers
Onions
Bacon
Bread Crumbs
an Egg or two
Mix all that shizz together. Make into whatever size balls you want. I make them pretty big. Then just cook 'em up in a pan and you're good to go.
Ultimately, once my wife stopped being a control freak and let me experiment, I started cooking some pretty good stuff. My favorite was an all meat lasagna (not even lasagna noodles or cheese, so I doubt it can even be called lasagna).
-I made the breakfast wad thing this morning and it was delicious.
-For dinner, I went to the grocery store and bought some stuff and made chicken gyros for the first time! They turned out awesome too (they didn't have tajikistan sauce so I had to go to a restaurant and ask for some of theirs)
-Tomorrow, I'm making pulled pork in my crock pot all day
Keep the suggestions coming, I'm eagerly listening and learning.
The other way that I season my cast iron is a very long process but results in a seasoning that will stand the occasional soaping. I just use the pan as normal but never use soap to clean it, just a nylon scrubby. Then put on the stove to dry. It may take years to make the seasoning perfect but I have one dutch oven and one frying pan that is so well sesoned I haven't been able to make anythign stick to it that I could not take off with just water and a green scrubby. These are the tips my mother taught me, her Cast Iron were always done like this and are in the same great shape.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-lava-muffins-recipe2/index.html
Best chocolate recipe I've ever had. I love it. The recipe on the linked site is actually missing one small tidbit, and I included that below:
Also, can watch it here from 7 minutes on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W-aihG2Xb4&feature=related
I've never bothered with the ice cream espresso sauce, personally. The muffins are great served as is, or with some vanilla ice cream served on top. I've always wanted to try them with a bit of Bailey's spooned over one.
Also, if you don't like chocolate, you're inhuman.
Keep up the awesome recipes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO8EiScBEjA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XMTWJNZEjQ&feature=related
edit: another thing for the pibil, the splash of tequila can be omitted if you'd like(I didn't notice a difference.) Also pork butt is the shoulder of the animal.
Then bake them for roughly half an hour at about 200 degrees C. Should crisp up nice, even without skin on them, and the lime makes for a really fresh flavour. Great for summer time
Also go to a decent butcher if there's one nearby. Those guys tend to know great ways to prepare different cuts of meat