Any cooks or chefs here?

[Dreqqus]

Thought I would steal, errr, I mean ughh..., share in an open exchange of cooking tips and recipes with the members of the board. Yeah thats the ticket, we'll go with that. So tell me:

• What have you cooked/prepared recently?
• Care to share the recipe?
• What do you consider you specialty?
• What style of cooking do you prefer?

My own answers to my own questions:

• As I type I am preparing a meat loaf with a new recipe of my own devising.
• Sure I'll put it at the bottom of the post.
• My specialty falls with one of three dishes: Sausage/Shrimp Jambalaya)I say 3 alarm, everyone elses insists as 4[pansies]), Stuffed chicken breasts( a delicisious concoction), and the ominously titled, THE CAKE, which is a 3 layer cake with the 2 outer layers being devil's food the center being red velvet, and frosted in cream cheese Icing with red vanilla rosettes.
• Though I flip-flop around on it it falls in between: Japanese(I love making Gyoza, and ramen(real stuff not maruchan or top), and even sushi, Cajun I just love the unique blend of spices, and the spicyness, or Italian(for the sheer ease of it). I have intended for time to try out carribean and Indian methods of cooking but haven't as yet.

The meat loaf recipe:
2 pounds ground beef
2 Eggs
about a cup of plain bread crumbs(don't use crackers, honestly bread crumbs cost 98 cents)
about a quarter of a diced onion
A couple of diced mushrooms(I used ake as thats what I had with me, portabello would probably be better)
a dash of salt
2 minced cloves of garlic(smells like one might of been plenty)
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 bay leaf chopped
a little thyme(no pun intended, and if you intend the pun it does actually ruin the recipe)

Combine all ingredients with a dash of cooking sherry, and bake in the oven at 350 for approximately one hour. This recipe is still in the proto-phase, and I think I will need to go up on the onion and down on the garlic.

Use this Mushroom Gravy recipe:
1 pound mixed fresh white and exotic mushrooms such as cremini, oyster, or shiitake
(discard shiitake stems)
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/2 cups cold water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Slice mushrooms. In a 10-inch heavy non-stick skillet cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened. Add mushrooms and soy sauce and sauté mixture over moderately high heat, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown.

Add wine and vinegar and boil until liquid is evaporated. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to skillet with sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and season gravy with salt and pepper. Gravy may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. When reheating gravy, add water if necessary to thin to desired consistency.

I scaled it in half since I am the only eating here today, but it is delicious.

Sorry for the longer than expected post, but I am somewhat of a cooking enthusiast.

 

[maegann]

ok...i'll play!

I love making parmesan crusted chiecken...ITS EASY

*Chicken breast
*parmesan cheese (grated)
*italian bread crumbs
*mayo (trust me!!)

ok, mix the mayo and cheese 50/50. coat both sides of the chicken breast with this mixture while oven is preheating to 350*F. spray pan with non stick cooking spray and place chicken on the pan. sprinkle the top of the chicken with bread crumbs and bake about an hour (deppending on the thickness of the chicken. ***here is a tip: DONT BE AFFRAID TO OVER DUE THE MIXTURE OF MAYO AND CHEESE!! THE MORE THE BETTER!!!

 

[Susan]

I strictly cook for my family, and that is even limited now that my husband is on a no-carb diet. I don't mind cooking, but I rarely use a strict recipe...I tend to guesstimate a bit more, especially on the spices. My Mom is the real chef and most of what I do, or used to do, was a direct off-shoot of her recipes. The only exception is my meatloaf, which is part my Mom's, part my mother-in-laws, and part mine. The spices tend to vary a little each time I make it, but some stay the same...onion, salt, pepper, tablespoon spicy brown mustard and a couple of tablespoons of BBQ sauce (whatever variety I have on hand). The eggs are mandatory, but I also use fresh bread instead of crumbs, soaked in broth (if available) or just water and then hand wrung. It makes for a much moister meatloaf. Just add another egg or 2 to help keep the loaf together. I also use some ground pork instead of all ground beef (mother-in-law's donation to the recipe). It adds to the flavor and now, at today's prices, makes for a more economical meatloaf. I like your addition of garlic and mushrooms and may do that the next time I make one. I've had to eliminate the bread from my meatloaf now that hubby is controlling his diabetes with diet, so I need all the help with it as I can get.

 

[ghosthousecorns]

My specialty is bread & butter pickles! And recently, I made a mango/pear chutney that came out pretty good. I would have to look for the recipes, I don't have them on the computer. I hate to cook per se, but I enjoy the process of home canning and putting things up in jars. Maybe it is because I also like gardening. Things taste better when you grow your own ingredients!

 

[susang]

What have you cooked/prepared recently?
Simple but dips for Thanksgiving our family favorites: shrimp dip, olive dip and salsa (pretty hot)
Care to share the recipe?
Sure
What do you consider you specialty?
I do a lot of Mexican food, but I really like making bread, from scratch no machine. I also like canning season.
What style of cooking do you prefer?
This is really a hard one as I like to cook and cook lots of ethnic dishes, can't pick just one favorite.

I make a taco, burrito meat that my whole family likes, so I'll share it:

Large piece of cheap beef 5+#'s
Pork shoulder or butt which ever is on sale
Cook in large pot with onions and garlic (to taste) you may need to add small amount of water as you don't want it to brown.
When the meat starts falling apart, I remove all bones. The meat will be shreaded not chunked.
Then I add a large can of tomatillos, a can of chilis (whatever type you prefer). A small amount of cinnamin. More garlic or onion, fresh habenero, anaheim and jallapeno. I know both fresh and canned but it really busts the flavor. Cook on low for another couple hours. I then freeze it serving size bags. Individual amounts of seasoning is hard depending on taste and size of meat.
I like this recipe because it uses cheap cuts of meat (it is very good if you can find goat meat) and I do it once a month and have meals all month.

 

[diamondlil]

I made jam this year! I found a stand of wild plum trees, and made a batch with the sweetest yellow plums, then made another batch with red plums and blackberries! The plums were tiny, about the size of an acorn, but it was worth the effort of sieving the cooked fruit and I gave jars of it to friends.

 

[mustangfreak]

I don't cook, but I do brew!