Poll: Anyone like to cook?

[Mercutio]

This was, I think, the second-ever thread from the Pub. Maybe the third. It's, uh, pretty old.

 

[Buck]

This was, I think, the second-ever thread from the Pub. Maybe the third. It's, uh, pretty old.

After two years and 8 months, it has awaken.

 

[Handruin]

I'd guess the search feature works, or you went through a hell of a lot of posts.

 

[Buck]

I'd guess the search feature works, or you went through a hell of a lot of posts.

I just went to the very first page.

 

[Mercutio]

The search works just fine. I can find anything here that I'm looking for. The benefit of omnipresence.

Anyone know a good mix of spices for chili? I've been using packaged stuff but looking at the ingredients list on a spice packet, I'll bet all that stuff is in my spice rack.

I mix three 12oz cans of kidney beans, 2 cans of "spicy" beans and a can of light refried beans to a 12oz. can of corn, a large chopped onion, 16oz. of diced tomatoes, 2 chopped green peppers and about a pound of fried, mixed ground beef and pork. I season with chili powder and a bunch of whatever hot sauces (e.g. "Dave's Insanity") I have available, plus onion and a little garlic powder, tons of ground pepper and a packet of chili seasoning.
I throw all of the above in a that in a crock pot - using the juices from the beans and tomatoes for a base, and I let it sit the "low" setting for, oh, 10 hours or so.

Then I'll serve it with some rice or egg noodles and some brick, jack or meunster cheese. It's yummy and I can put it all together in about 15 minutes if the meat is thawed.

 

[Buck]

Anyone know a good mix of spices for chili? I've been using packaged stuff but looking at the ingredients list on a spice packet, I'll bet all that stuff is in my spice rack.

I mix three 12oz cans of kidney beans, 2 cans of "spicy" beans and a can of light refried beans to a 12oz. can of corn, a large chopped onion, 16oz. of diced tomatoes, 2 chopped green peppers and about a pound of fried, mixed ground beef and pork. I season with chili powder and a bunch of whatever hot sauces (e.g. "Dave's Insanity") I have available, plus onion and a little garlic powder, tons of ground pepper and a packet of chili seasoning.
I throw all of the above in a that in a crock pot - using the juices from the beans and tomatoes for a base, and I let it sit the "low" setting for, oh, 10 hours or so.

Then I'll serve it with some rice or egg noodles and some brick, jack or meunster cheese. It's yummy and I can put it all together in about 15 minutes if the meat is thawed.

Your mixture sounds great Mercutio. The only change would be to switch some fo those powdered spices into minced pieces of the real thing, such as Anaheim Chiles, or Habanero Chiles. The only drawback to that is if someone gets a small piece in their mouth and it is still too spicy. So, I wouldn't necessarily budge from your method.

As a note, I have also added carrots and potatoes to my chili.

 

[blakerwry]

cilantro?

 

[ddrueding]

I love cooking, but the combination of no time and no company makes it much less rewarding. I look forward to living with my girlfriend, every time we get together we cook something good. Last time it was enchiladas, lasagne, and tequila-lime chicken. I think some Thai food is on the list this time around...

 

[Gilbo]

I make chili regularly and I also usually use some habaneros to give it some zing. That's rather dangerous advice though Buck. Habanero's are not to be given to the unprepared. The first time I used them in my chili I almost blew my face off. I'd been using jalapenos before, and thought I could exchange them one for one. I mean habaneros are so much smaller . It turned out that they make jalapeno's seem, well, not-spicy...

I also use a crock pot and patience for my Chile Mercutio. In my experience the pieces of pepper aren't anything to be worried about after a couple hours of cooking.


By the way, some friendly advice for anyone who's going to handle habaneros (warning, not for the faint of heart):
You have to treat these things with respect. I once touched the internals a little, washed my hands, and then went to the washroom to quickly, innocently relieve myself. Despite the soap and water I apparently transmitted a little... spiciness to a tender area. It will go right through areas of thinner skin. I don't think anything could be more painful and uncomfortable --it was terrible. It was worse than thistles, worse than chlorosulfonic acid (on the hands anyway). I can't really even compare it to anything else (jellyfish got nothing...). I actually had to shower in cold water for about an hour...

I hope that wasn't too much information. I'm just trying to save other amateur male chefs from a potentially traumatic experience. Besides in retrospect it's really kind of funny... if you enjoy other people's suffering anyway .

 

[LiamC]

This is simple to make, but the cutting up is a bit of a pain.

Good for three or four. Bit of a fave. It's not too hot, but you could easily leave out the chilli.

Spicy sausage pasta with tomato, chilli, shallots & cheese

2 Chorizos (spicy Spanish sausage). Slice.

Dice (small cubes) two tomatoes.

Finely slice a half bunch of shallots/eschallots. If your supermarket doesn't sell this things in bunches, just grab a fist full of the suckers, drop a few out and you should have the right amount.

Grab a good hand full of parsley (either kind). Chop finely.

1 chilli. Finely sliced. 2 cloves of garlic

150 grams of fresh Ricotta. 150g of Fetta (cube it)

Cook enough pasta for three or four people--penné or spirals.

Brown/seal the sausage in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Remove and place in bowl.

Clean pan (or use another).

With little oil over a medium heat, saute (gently cook) the shallots, chilli and garlic (three to four minutes).

Add tomato, parsley and ricotta. Cook for a minute or two. Add Fetta, and sausage and cook for another minute or two. Add pasta-stir through.

Serve. Bellisimo!

PS. For those in the states, I believe that what we refer to as shallots is different to what you call them. This is what I mean:

http://www.vegies.com.au/store/productpage.cfm?productID=102

 

[blakerwry]

they're called green onions in the midwest

 

[Mercutio]

I eat hot peppers at any opportunity. I've never had Gilbo's, uh, experience, but I've had the odd burn on my hand from insufficient washing.

 

[Tea]

I supppoze that I better not ask you about the burning ring of fire, then Gilboo00##—

Tea! Get off the computer!)

(But I woz—)

(No you weren't!)

(But you said I coullll&—

 

[Tannin]

Sorry about that. She's a little willful at present.

Anyway, as I was going to say in the first place, I like the sound of your rice, Buck. I'll bookmark this and try it for myself one day. Son, I hope.

 

[Buck]

All these recipes sound good, plus we have a new food: Chile Mercutio, thanks Gilbo.

Good suggestion Blake with the Cilantro. I was surprised when I first ate Indian food that they use Cilantro a lot. I was only used to it in Mexican food.

PS: I haven't made that mistake with peppers, but I have worked with Jalapenos, hurriedly rushed to my neighbors house to help with a computer problem, forgot to wash my hands, and rubbed my eye. Talk about tears, ha!

 

[e_dawg]

Speaking of spiciness and the perils of chili peppers, just had a sinus exploding experience with wasabi today. The place I went to made their wasabi fresh right in front of us, so you know that stuff has kick. Hidden in one of the sushi pieces -- a sea urchin roll, IIRC -- was probably a grape sized ball of wasabi. It's not like I haven't had wasabi before, but this was a lot more than I was used to, and I don't often get to have the freshly made stuff. Man did that sting. It was like someone set off napalm in my sinuses and I was having an aneurysm -- at the same time.

(now I know this chef likes to use a lot of the stuff, I will tell him to take it easy next time...)

... as for the "do I like to cook?" question, I used to in university. But it's tough to want to cook and clean up after a long day at work. Eating out with friends is so much more enjoyable I find...

 

[Mickey]

Yes, I like to cook. Lack of time (and company to share it with) tends to limit my cooking, though. Also love to bake (cookies, cake, cheesecake, etc).

An acquaintance in uni used to make this horrid dish called "glop." Sauteed hamburger meat, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, a bottle of BBQ sauce, and I *think* cinnamon, all ladled over cooked pasta. I tried it once and never did so again.

Of course, he *also* used to leave toenail clippings in a tidy little pile on his coffee table. :eekers: Never did figure out why he did so.

 

[Buck]

Of course, he *also* used to leave toenail clippings in a tidy little pile on his coffee table. :eekers: Never did figure out why he did so.

How to ruin a perfectly healthy appetite. uke-r: uke-l:

 

[Fushigi]

Of course, he *also* used to leave toenail clippings in a tidy little pile on his coffee table. :eekers: Never did figure out why he did so.

Stew. :lol:

 

[Onomatopoeic]

Poll: Anyone like to cook?

Yes. Pancackes in the nude.

 

[Mickey]

Poll: Anyone like to cook?

Yes. Pancackes in the nude.

Better than bacon in the nude. Painful, that.

 

[i]

Pancacks?? Yuck!

Pancakes on the other hand ... mmmm ... pancakes.

 

[BooST]

Better than bacon in the nude. Painful, that.

Bacon in clothes can be painful... Why even try it in the nude?

 

[time]

Oliver burns meat and two veg

 

[JSF]

My father was a proprietor/chef for 28 years in a small town in British Columbia. As a kid and teenager I ate well. Through college and post-college I got so hungry for well-prepared food I taught myself to cook by reading several of Julia Child's cookbooks. Now I have moved from French cooking to Italian cooking using the cookbooks of Marcella Hazan. My shift from French cooking is not for political reasons, although I have boycotted French products since 9/11.

A few weeks ago I prepared the following meal for 19 guests:
1. Open bar, self-serve (a friend prepared martinis)
2. Antipasto---Assorted parboiled veggies with tuna in a tomato sauce with Italian bread
3. Insalata---Butter lettuce, sliced pear, pine nuts, crumbled Stilton cheese & dressing
4. Il Primo---Homemade pasta (tonnarelli) with a porcini mushroom sauce
5. Il Secondo---Roast leg of lamb
6. Contorni---asparagus and prosciutto bundles
7. Dolci---fresh fruit salad laced with maraschino liqueur
8 .Bevanda--- Pinot Grigio with pasta, Montepulciano red with the roast, coffee with dessert and Vecchia Romagna Nera after dinner (ranks with VSOP cognac).

I deviated from a traditional Italian meal by serving the salad at the beginning of the meal rather than at the end. My guests left my home happy and content.

Joe.

 

[Onomatopoeic]

OK, so I mispelt pancakces. Whoopdie doo.

Better than bacon in the nude. Painful, that.

I was talking about the pancakes being nude, with the opposite being pigs in blankets, which is, as I understand, southern breakfast cooking at its finest. Here's the recipe:

На 50 штук

375 гр. муки с разрыхлителем
1 ч.л. соли (с верхом)
25 гр. тертого сыра Чеддар (или любого другого твердого сыра с ярко выраженным вкусом)
250 гр. цельного молока
1 яйцо
3 ст.л. растительного масла
50 коктейльных колбасок (1 пакет готовых к употреблению)

 

[Onomatopoeic]

...Now I have moved from French cooking to Italian cooking...

Absolutely run like hell from French cooking.

Italian cuisine is vastly superior to French in every way -- and just about anything else as far as that's concerned.

 

[Buck]

Nice job Joe, I wish I could cook like that.

 

[Buck]

So, I'm at home sick today. Being sick, we unanimously decided no computer work (that was an easy decision too). So, what to do? First, take care of important chores: do some laundry. After that, I decided to cook -- what a way to enjoy the day. Two and half pounds of rib eye chopped up and now slow cooking on the stove with some yummy seasonings. I tell, it's great getting up late (7:30 am), relaxing with a little breakfast, start dinner, take a nap, clean up, take another nap, all the while sipping on some nice Darjeeling. If I could afford this, I'd do it more often (minus being sick). Now that the afternoon has started, I guess it's time for some lunch, and then another nap. Oh, and it helps to toss in a few Buffett CDs and listen to them all morning too. I guess in the afternoon we'll switch modes and change the music over to some Sinatra and Dino.

 

[Buck]

Dinner turned out very good. I cut the slab of beef into long strips about 1.5 inches thick and seared them in a pan before putting them in the pot with the seasonings (deglazed pan with a little red wine and added that to the pot). In the pot I sautéed some onions and garlic in a little oil, added a liberal dash of some ground Thai peppers (very spicy). Then I added one can of diced tomatoes, two jars of Trader Joe's salsa, and about two cups of beef stock. I let the beef cook in this concoction from about 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and then I removed the beef, shredded it, and put it back in the pot until 5:00 pm. Made a little rice to go with the beef, and voila, dinner was served. Yummy. Both the rice and the beef had a nice spicy kick to it, which was helpful in alleviating my sinus misery.

 

[Mercutio]

One of my personal favorite quicky meals - and I freely admit that this barely qualifies as cooking, is to take a couple precooked chicken patties, cover them with "Pizza Quick" sauce (or my own marinara if I have some on hand), a little bit of minced garlic, and some mozzarella cheese.

Cooking for one person sucks mightily.

 

[Handruin]

I like cooking tacos. They aren't the most interesting meal, but I love how they taste.

I did make some homemade bruschetta loaf a couple months ago. I took a fresh bake loaf of sourdough (usually it's Italian) bread and sliced it up. Laura and I baked a garlic in the oven with extra virgin olive oil. Once it was done we spread the garlic over the sourdough bread. We then added fresh scallions, chunks of blue cheese, fresh tomatoes, and finally some shredded mozzarella over the top. We cooked it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes so that the bread was slightly crispy, and the mozzarella was melted.

yum.

 

[Mercutio]

Bachelor Chow is accomplished with as little work as possible and ingredients I might actually have on hand.

With that in mind: Lasagna.

1 Package of fresh, cheese filled ravioli from freezer part of the grocery store.
1 package frozen spinach.
1 jar of Pasta sauce (I use Prego Garden Vegetable)
Some Shredded Mozzarella.

I usually go ahead and freeze the fresh ravioli, but that's OK. This still works. Actually I've never tried it with un-frozen ravioli. It probably takes even less time.

Heat oven to 300 or 350 degrees. Something like that.
Get out a baking dish.
Put frozen ravioli in the bottom of the dish.
Then a layer of frozen spinach.
Then a layer of sauce.
Then another layer of ravioli.
Then another layer of spinach.
Then another layer of sauce.
Then Mozzarella on top of that.

Put in oven, covered with tin foil. Cook for a while (15 - 20 minutes?)
Take the tin foil off. Cook another 5 minutes.

It's lasagna, and I'm not screwing around with ricotta cheese or noodles I have to cook before I can cook them.

I made this for dinner tonight. It worked pretty well.

 

[Chewy509]

Holey cow batman, what an old thread? but anyway voted, I can cook...

Being a bachelor for the last 2 yrs, I've cooked for myself pretty much every day, with the odd occasions in having friends/family over...

Last Sat night made a pretty basic lamb vindaloo with papadums and rice... Takes about 20mins, but mostly waiting for the rice to cook.

Makes for 1.

200-250g lamb, chicken or beef, cubed/diced in smallish pieces. Leave fat/skin on.
2 teaspoons of Vindaloo curry paste (I like Par-taks). More for extra hot.
100ml milk.
2 cloves garlic - crushed.
1/4 onion, finely chopped.
1 cup rice.
Papadums
Oil.
Chicken stock powder.

Rice, cook the rice until done. Stove Top: add 1.5cups of water to 1 cup of rice, add teaspoon of chicken stock. Bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce to low simmer for 15minutes. Rice ready when all water has been absorbed. Or whatever your preferred rice cooking method.

Papadums, v.lightly coat with oil, (oil in spray can works really well here). place on paper on plate, and 60sec in microwave or until done.

Curry. Place 2 teaspoons of oil in medium-hot fry pan (make sure you have a lid for your fry-pan). Add onion, garlic and curry paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add meat and lightly brown meat. Turn down to simmer, add milk and cover. Let simmer for 10-15minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or as needed.

Once all cooked, serve curry on top of a bed of rice, with papadums on side. Goes really well with beer. Substitute other curry pastes if vindaloo a little too hot.

 

[ddrueding]

I've just started cooking again in the last week. For the last decade or so I've been eating out pretty much every meal of every day. Now I have an actual apartment that I'm happy with (proud of?) and someone worth cooking for. So far it's been real simple; quesadillas, pancakes, pasta, sandwiches. Soon I hope to buy actual cooking utensils, and perhaps make something that requires measurement of some kind (volume, mass, weight, or time). Kinda stoked on the idea.

 

[Buck]

Holey cow batman, what an old thread? but anyway voted, I can cook...

Being a bachelor for the last 2 yrs, I've cooked for myself pretty much every day, with the odd occasions in having friends/family over...

Last Sat night made a pretty basic lamb vindaloo with papadums and rice... Takes about 20mins, but mostly waiting for the rice to cook.

Makes for 1.

200-250g lamb, chicken or beef, cubed/diced in smallish pieces. Leave fat/skin on.
2 teaspoons of Vindaloo curry paste (I like Par-taks). More for extra hot.
100ml milk.
2 cloves garlic - crushed.
1/4 onion, finely chopped.
1 cup rice.
Papadums
Oil.
Chicken stock powder.

Rice, cook the rice until done. Stove Top: add 1.5cups of water to 1 cup of rice, add teaspoon of chicken stock. Bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce to low simmer for 15minutes. Rice ready when all water has been absorbed. Or whatever your preferred rice cooking method.

Papadums, v.lightly coat with oil, (oil in spray can works really well here). place on paper on plate, and 60sec in microwave or until done.

Curry. Place 2 teaspoons of oil in medium-hot fry pan (make sure you have a lid for your fry-pan). Add onion, garlic and curry paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add meat and lightly brown meat. Turn down to simmer, add milk and cover. Let simmer for 10-15minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or as needed.

Once all cooked, serve curry on top of a bed of rice, with papadums on side. Goes really well with beer. Substitute other curry pastes if vindaloo a little too hot.

Yum.

I think it's time I try my hand at making another curry.

 

[Mercutio]

I do not know where to get curry- anything, except the yellow powder that I have been assured is nothing like actual curry.

I have one of these and I really like it.

Indoor Steak, No Grill - I learned this one from, of all places, Slashdot

Preheat Oven to 500 degrees
Wait 15 minutes for it to get that hot
Warm a burner on your stove to "arson"
Take a nice steak - season both sides with pepper and some kind of coarse salt (usually ground sea salt, but not table salt), then a light coating of cooking oil.
Lay your steak down on a skillet, on the burner set to "arson"
Don't touch it for 30 seconds. It will hiss and smoke and stuff.
Flip it. 30 seconds more on side #2.
Grasp skillet with appropriate protection.
Put skillet in 500 degree oven.
Cook for about five minutes.

Take it out.

Set it aside for another five minutes. Making a salad and cooking a potato seems to be about right, timewise.

Enjoy a wonderful steak.

 

[ddrueding]

Nice steak recipe Merc. I love steak, and was actually shopping online for a grill last night (my complex lets me BBQ on my deck).

 

[timwhit]

What kind of steak do you use?

 

[Sol]

I've been living in backpackers hostels since the start of September so it's been a while since I've really thought of cooking. Mostly it's slightly modified pizzas from the fridge section or pasta and a basic pre-packed sauce.
Generally I eat whatever comes in packets that I can finish in one or two days. Hostel fridges seem not to keep food very well, it either goes off or just goes if I leave it longer than that.