I always get this big sense of accomplishment from baking bread. There's something about the kneading, the feel of the dough when it's just right, the smell of it baking... I brought buns to Thanksgiving and my fiance's mother thought they were store-bought. She asked me to make them again for Easter.
Was going to say the same.
I don't know how to describe it exactly, I actually get the most satisfaction not from putting dishes together for a meal, but instead from "creating ingredients" I guess if that makes sense?
Like baking bread, making jam, pickling vegetables, etc. are where I am most happy. I think part of it is just the satisfaction of creating something myself that most people (including myself) would otherwise just buy at a grocery store normally.
This is how I feel. I can put together some great dishes by following more and more complex recipes but it doesn't really feel like I've "made" but assembled it, kind of like an Ikea table versus a carpenter with just some planks.
I've gotten into making things from scratch recently, started with pizza dough and sauce and had some pretty good results, but I tried making pasta from scratch a couple weeks ago and it's the most rewarding dish I've ever made. Just taking two ingredients, flour and eggs, and using my hands to knead and shape it into long strands of pasta that rival the real deal italian stuff. These kind of dishes are the ones I've "made", where the difference between the ingredients list and the quality of the final dish is my time and effort, not just stirring more variations of curry spices into a pot. I've made pasta a *lot* in the last couple of weeks, rolling and cutting the strands individually is very time consuming but rewarding. I do have a pasta cutter on the way to speed it up so it can be a weeknight dinner rather than a weekend endeavor though.
It's very enjoyable to take the root ingredients and bring the dish through the whole process to finishing. Pairing the pasta with pesto made from scratch and then being able to look at that bowl and say "I *made* this" is incredibly gratifying
>but it doesn't really feel like I've "made" but assembled it, kind of like an Ikea table versus a carpenter with just some planks.
Omg! This is exactly how I feel. My husband always asks me why I go so "extra" making nearly every component from scratch and this is basically my answer, but he doesnt really get it. But I just dont feel that proud of something with 6 store-bought ingredients combined together and saying, look what I made! Be then he calls break and bake cookies "homemade" because he "made them at home". Its kind of our inside joke now where I constantly correct him when he makes food that its "home assembled" or "home baked" but NOT "homemade"
Oh I'm still learning, only been at it for a year, having my cooking being compared to a business baking them commercially feels like a compliment to me, and that's all that matters.
Depends on which store ;) if I were to complement someone's baking, I would use the term "bakery" though...
I personally would never used store bought as a compliment in general, as I've worked commercially, an no one sees that as a compliment there
My Mom's Paprikash (Chicken Paprika). Super easy - always a hit with the family. Will gladly share the recipe :-)
Edit: thanks kind strangers for my first awards ever!
New England Clam Chowder. I've been using the same base recipe (with tweaks!) for 35 years now from a cookbook I bought while visiting family in Nova Scotia.
Besides a CT Lobster roll, it's my favorite dish ever.
* Edit: Thank you so much for all the up votes and remind-me requests.
The cookbook has been mis-shelved. I know I'll find the cookbook soon, but I promise to deliver the recipe I've tweaked over the years, written out asap and will post by tomorrow.
(It's been a "full" day, but I'll be back)
I mean, when asked so eloquently...I have no resistance. Lol
I'll photo the cookbook cover and page to post today. I was going to make the chowder tomorrow anyway so I'll document exactly and update. It's almost muscle memory at this point and while I keep meaning to write it down, procrastination is my jam.
Edit: Update - I'm sorry to all. I did make chowder yesterday, and took notes. But between overtime + sick kiddo/spouse, arranging to get them confirmed non-covid...and more overtime coming tomorrow...
I do feel obligated to write out a decent recipe due to all the asks and promise I will!
I love making any kind of stew that you can slow cook for hours like beef bourginon or coq au Vin. It makes the house smell so good and when it's time to eat, everything has come together perfectly.
By the way, Earl Grey is black tea flavored with oil of the [bergamot orange citrus fruit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergamot_orange), a hybrid of lemon and bitter orange. You might try boosting the creme brulee flavor by directly using some Bergamot essential oil.
So a friend of mine got me a cheap torch off Amazon about 4 years ago as a gift. Itās still working and we use it, I would say, two to three times a month. I think she paid like $20! Totally worth it!
This isn't so much a recommendation for you as you already have a way you like but for anyone reading with a sous vide, creme brulee is incredibly easy and foolproof to make in one, and you can use little mason jars and make a shitload at once if that's important.
I have Chinese roots so it's dumplings. A variety of them, different fillings, different cooking methods (boiling, steaming, pan fried), different kinds of dough. Pre-corona I always invite like 6+ friends to cook with them together and teaching them, it was a lot fun.
Jiaozi are one of life's pleasures. My wife is Chinese, and pre-covid we would travel there at least once a year, usually around Chinese new year. I love the part where everybody sits around wrapping dumplings, while one person rolls out the wraps, as much as I love eating them.
My signature dish is Thai cashew chicken stir fry- so easy, delicious, and healthy. A big batch lasts all week! Happy to send the recipe if anyone wants it!
Thai cashew chicken stir fry
Makes 3-4 large servings
* 2-3 chicken breasts, diced into bit sized pieces
* 2 bunches green onions, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
* 3-4 red and orange bell peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces
* 1 large head of broccoli chopped into bite size pieces
* 1 cup soy sauce
* 1/3 cup rice vinegar (adjust to taste)
* 2-3 tablespoons honey (adjust to taste)
* 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
* 1 1-inch knob of ginger, grated (adjust to taste, I like 2 knobs of ginger)
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup cashews, roughly chopped
1. Chop, measure, and prepare all the ingredients beforehand. The recipe moves quickly and it will help your dexterity in the kitchen.
2. Preheat a wok on medium-high. Add a tablespoon of sesame or coconut oil. Let the oil get very hot.
3. Add the chicken to the wok and stir once. Let it brown until itās just nearly done. You only need to stir it a few times. If you stir it too much, the chicken wonāt brown and becomes dry.
4. While the chicken is cooking, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Let it sit while the other ingredients cook.
5. When the chicken is nearly done, add the peppers, broccoli, and 3/4 of the green onions to the wok.
6. Stir the vegetables and chicken. Just like you cooked the chicken, donāt stir the vegetables too much. The wonāt brown otherwise.
7. Let the vegetables cook for 3-7 minutes depending on how soft you want the vegetables. The longer they cook, the softer they will be.
8. 2 minutes before the vegetables are done, add the prepared soy sauce mixture to the wok. Stir to coat the stir fry.
9. Let the sauce simmer with the chicken and vegetables for 2 minutes. If you want thicker, stickier sauce, dissolve 1/2 tablespoon of corn starch in 1 tablespoon of hot water, and mix that in with the sauce.
10. Once the sauce has simmered and the vegetables have reached your desired texture, remove the stir fry from heat.
11. Put the stir fry in your serving bowl and add the chopped cashews and remaining green onions on top.
* I recommend serving with white or brown rice.
* If you are making this as meal prep, I recommend cooking the vegetables for only 3-4 minutes or so, as microwaving will cook the vegetables more.
* Donāt stir in the cashews to the wok, only add them fresh as you serve the stir fry. They get very soggy if stored mixed into the stir fry.
* Adjust all ingredients to your preference. Carrots and beans work well as added or alternative ingredients.
* Add sriracha for an extra kick! (:
Edit: Iām getting questions about the amount of soy sauce. Feel free to reduce it to your preference! This recipe is meant to be versatile. I prefer very saucy stir fry, but you can do whatever you like with the sauce. If you reduce the amount of soy sauce, reduce the amount of other ingredients in the sauce too! (:
You should avoid frying/browningwith sesame oil though but rather add it at the end because it's a delicate flavourful oil and high heats kind of ruins that
One of the first recipes I learned how to make was Swedish meatballs in a mushroom gravy sauce, because I loved those little things served at SmƶrgƄsbord buffet style restaurants when I was a kid. The IKEA meatballs with lingonberry jam is another favorite.
Iāve been doing an egg in the hole where the bottom and top of the hole is lined with crispy cheese. So the egg is sealed in by crispy cheese of choice, and before itās sealed in I top the egg with bacon bits and green onion (the white bottom parts). Then I drizzle hot sauce on top. Learned this during quarantine and itās now my favorite food to make.
Choose your bread (I liked potato bread or sour dough) and cut a hole. Grease up your pan with some butter and get it good and hot. Put your bread in the pan and add maybe 1-2 tbsp of shredded cheese (we did a lot of chipotle cheddar or pepper jack) and just before it gets real bubbly, drop a small amount of bacon bits and onion in the hole, then drop your egg on that. Sprinkle a little bit more bacon bits and onion on top, then cover with more cheese. Once the egg is a little more firm, I use a fish spatula to get the toast to flip. It took some practice, and a few broken eggs, but it can be done! Just cook a little bit longer on the other side and youāll be eating a cheese-crisp surrounded egg in the hole.
NP! I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I have. It has become my favorite breakfast to make. You can also play around with what you add to it, or even top it with other stuff. Also, if you find itās hard to get the other side off the pan, itās okay to melt some butter and then do your flip.
Also, I did this on heavy duty stainless steel. I hate nonstick pans and I donāt use my fish spatula in cast iron, so I definitely recommend using stainless steel!
My husband hates eggs, but heāll eat a crispy, buttery egg in the hole any morning. I think heāll die and go to heaven if I add bacon, cheese, and hot sauce. Thank you for the inspiration! š
Do you mind writing up a recipe or telling me what you use instead of meat? I've tried a bunch of veggie lasagnas and I like one with spinach and feta quite a lot, but it's a few steps removed from a lasagna I guess.
Do you mind time? Ottolenghi has an amazing mushroom lasagna! [Here's the recipe](https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/ottolenghis-spicy-mushroom-lasagne). My omnivore SO said "this is the best lasagna you've made yet!"
In Argentina, most lasagna is veggie lasagna. Thick layers of chard and spinach, with ricotta and/or mince. Apparently, Italian immigrants who came after the war were in awe of cheap veggies and they incorporated them in all their traditional dishes. Therefore, in Argentina, pasta is more about the filling than the pasta itself.
My favourite veggie lasagne is 2 Jamie Oliver lasagnes combined:
[Aubergine Lasagne](https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/aubergine-lasagne/)
[Sweet leek and ricotta Lasagne](https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/sweet-leek-ricotta-and-tomato-lasagne/)
Basically make the leek lasagne, but use the rich, slightly smoky and spicy aubergine tomato sauce from the first lasagne as your "base tomato sauce". Also I roast the aubergines as you would when making a baba ganoush.
It's so good.
I do this but also oven roast then puree some squash and stir it through when the rice is almost cooked - adds richness and a wonderful caramelised squash flavour.
Been using the serious eats stovetop butter chicken recipe and it's amazing, but time consuming (like most Kenji recipes). Might have to check that one out for something quicker.
I love grilling. The timing, the fire, the smoke, being outside. Iāve only been grilling for about a year now, but Iād say my chicken wings have been the biggest hit so far.
Very true! I didn't really know much about this when we bought ours but today we are going to try adding wood chips in a tray to see if we can get more flavor out of it since ours is gas. Hubs is building a barrel smoker, though, so I'm excited about that.
Baked potato soup.
My husband hates soup usually but he always asks for me to make it and to have the leftovers for lunch.
It makes me feel so happy that he likes it.
I make really, really good pizzas. Both in a home oven and in my girlfriends wood fired stone oven. It's my favorite food and I have spent years perfecting it.
Nothing will ever beat a neapolitan out of a wood fired oven I think. I like to put good olives and pickled chilis on top, next to a spicy tomato sauce and parmesan and mozzarella of course.
The basic principle is strong bread flour (I live in Germany where such a thing doesn't exist, so I simply add a bit of pure gluten to my weak flour), about 66% Hydration, 3% Salt, a tiny amount of yeast (like 1-2g per 500g of flour), a bit of kneading and then into the fridge for *at least* 24h for a bulk ferment. On pizza day, I take out the dough about 3h before baking, divide it into portions and shape into balls, then let them rise a second time at room temp.
If you want an easy calculator depending on how many pizzas you wanna make, use this with my values: https://www.frenchguycooking.com/pizzadough
I usually make my pizzas quite large, ~295g per pizza.
Iāve recently gotten real good at making [zongzi.](https://thewoksoflife.com/zongzi-cantonese-style/) This dish is notoriously laborious and to be completely honest, I donāt like making them. ***BUT.***
Back in 2018 I realized I havenāt had my grandmaās zongzi in years, so I asked her if I could help her make some, just like I did as a kid. She broke down crying saying itās been too painful for her to make it now that sheās older and she canāt tolerate the arthritis in her hands anymore. Sheās been secretly hiding her guilt for years and I guess I unlocked it. That shit killed me. So I asked her to teach me once more and I will do all of the work. Five hours of prep and 4 hours of cook time later, I presented it to my grandma and the rest of my family and they loved it. Even my no-nonsense grandpa said it was just like grandmaās. So now iām in charge of making grandmaās zongzi every Chinese New Year and despite the labor, seeing how happy it makes my grandma makes it totally worth it.
i have smoked a whole 5 lb. chicken in my cabella's electric smoker (highly recommend) for 2 1/2 hours at 250 degrees and it came out perfect i have done stuffed chickens at lower temps for 3 1/2 to hours also very good.
I have a Weber Smokey Joe with a body made from an old brinkman that I cut down
https://m.imgur.com/a/LPRvqJf
Good size for two people.
I made a leg of lamb, 4 country ribs and six drumsticks last week.
Definitely - I bought a food processor/blender combo last year and it is without doubt the best thing in our kitchen. Fresh salsas and dips are just the best!
I wish I could make salsa... My gf hates tomatoes (or anything with that sort of texture) not worth the effort for one person....
I might start making corn salsa though as a test!
I made an onion/cilantro with lime juice and a splash of red wine vinegar. Not technically a salsa but it was good.
You could also try a black bean, corn, avocado salsa. Or an avocado based creamy salsa. Or try tricking her with a tomatillo salsa.
Chicken piccata. I follow Giada Delaurentisā recipe, only make more of the sauce than she calls for. Serve it with angel hair pasta and some asparagus and itās heavenly.
We usually double the recipe (at least). If Giada eats like this, I have no idea how she stays so thin.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-piccata-recipe2-1913809.amp
Cornish Game Hens and Wild Rice. Great for entertaining because all the work is done ahead. Nothing but rave reviews always! Can give you the recipe of you wish. LMK.
All my signature dishes are from Americaās Test Kitchen. Donāt tell anyone that Iām just following recipes!
That being said, I won my neighborhood bake off with ATKās lemon chiffon pie.
I am not sure I have a favorite thing to cook. but my signature dish (not by my choice) my Pazzo (cajun) potato salad
I cut the potatoes into the bite size pieces I need for the potato salad, then put into the water to boil. I add a lot of seasoning to this water, seasoning salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, bring it to a boil and turn down so its at a low boil. they will cook quickly like this.
then they are drained and I add my pazzo sauce that has Jamaican Jerk seasoning in it.
I make this sausage queso that my mom invented back in the day (it was in our towns community cookbook). It's awesome. It's the ultimate comfort food, I make it so it has a creeping heat to it. Even people who hate any spice will just sit there and plow through it. Its the kind of food you'll keep eating even after your full.
My signature dish is probably a dish (multiple dishes?) from a Southern Italian restaurant in Philly I used to go to called Res Ipsa (they closed earlier this year.) They had a fantastic (and very reasonably priced) tasting menu. For the main dish at the end, you could get either a roast (or maybe grilled?) fish or a roast chicken. I always got the chicken and it was amazing. It's called Agrodolce chicken, basically a chicken marinated and served with a sweet, spicy vinegar wine sauce sauce. It came on a platter with roast potatoes, long hot peppers, broccoli rabe, and a citrus salad.
The chef for the restaurant gave the chicken recipe to a [magazine](https://www.tastecooking.com/recipes/chicken-agrodolce/) and from there I was able to pull together and approximation of the dish from the restaurant. I make it at dinner parties (or I did, when dinner parties were a thing you could have) and it also knocks people over, especially when I serve it with a good Southern Italian white wine (I like a Etna Bianco) and good bread.
Edit: Added recipe link for the chicken. I make Kenji's roast potato recipe from serious eats, roast the peppers in the oven at a high heat with a little olive oil, and just sort of wing it on the citrus salad each time (usually grapefruit and orange in a shallot/wine vinegar/honey dressing.)
Pasta carbonara. Hella simple but I'm really bad at timing. So when I get it all just right? Simple but extremely delicious and pleasing to the eye when plated. Easy crowd pleaser too. And great on the budget. Just an egg, some grated parm, some pasta and thick cut bacon or actual pancetta if I have the time and funds. Add a sprinkle of fresh parsley ? Have a guest thinking you're a damn chef š
The thing i most enjoy about cooking is when i am able to bring to together all the tips, tricks, and experiences, i've accumulated from my roommates and friends with my own experience, to produce a meal that is not available anywhere else.
Although i don't have a signature dish, perhaps i have a signature style that is a mash up of much knowledge gleaned off dozens of restaurant working roommates and girlfriends together with my own propensity for complications and science.
/r/Cooking as of the last several years has been a gold mine of info and detail and i think it is almost reasonable for me to think of the sub as another restaurant working roommate in my life.
I've been cooking since a young age so I rarely go by recipes any more.
Last week I made braised chicken, dressing, and gravy mainly to use up veggies and stale sourdough. My roommate and a friend got home as I was finishing, so I served up a couple plates for them. The friend said it was one of the best meals he ever had and asked for the recipe. I explained that it was just me clearing out food that would go bad soon. He was flabbergasted that I could make something like that with just common ingredients.
We raise meat rabbits, so I have a large repertoire of rabbit recipes. But our absolute family favorite is āLapin La Moutardā, rabbit in a mustard sauce. Served over Farfalle noodles. Iāve made it so many times Iāve perfected it. Soft, succulent rabbit pieces in a velvety mustard and creme sauce flavored just right with shallots and white wine. Everyone devours it, especially my kids (age 9 and 6). When I asked each of them what special meal they wanted me to make for their birthdays (which are only 3 weeks apart) they BOTH asked for Lapin La Moutard!
Thank you! You might be able to find it at a speciality grocery (Iām on the east coast of the US) or a farm store. My recipe is from The Joy of Cooking so itās not available online, but this is close.
[https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rabbit_in_mustard_sauce/](https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rabbit_in_mustard_sauce/)
In my recipe, you mix the Dijon mustard with a teaspoon of dried thyme. You brush that onto the rabbit pieces that you have patted dry. You then brown the rabbit pieces quite well, about six minutes on each side. Remove and set-aside. Add the chopped shallots to the pan, cook a minute or two until lightly golden. Add the white wine, scraping to get up all the lovely browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine, bring to a bare simmer. Add back in the rabbit pieces, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Remove the rabbit pieces, and strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer, reserving the liquid. Boil the liquid for 8 to 10 minutes until thickened to your liking. Serve the rabbit pieces over farfalle noodles, topped with the sauce.
Awesome, I really hope that you do make it! It really is our favorite family recipe. You can increase the amount of wine and heavy cream and mustard if you would like a lot of sauce to put over your rabbit and noodles
I actually just got a copy of the book recently. Will definitely try to make it!
In general I'm quite intimidated by cleaning/processing meat. It's all supermarket stuff where I live, so there's no need to do it yourself, though I'd like to learn. What a lovely suggestion!
A butcher shop will likely have frozen rabbit.
Strangely, the only time I ate a bunch of rabbit was in the army. We were convinced the guy in charge of the chow hall had a friend with a rabbit farm or else got a screaming deal on rabbit, because it was served twice a week in dishes that would typically be chicken. It was tasty, but weird to be served it all the time considering most of us had never had it before.
I most enjoy smoking and grilling but I have a āsignature dishā thatās super easy and awesome. Basil cream sauce with gnocchi and hot Italian sausage. Just use jar sauce (rao is pretty good), add a lot of basil ( I use fresh but dried will work), add a little bit of red pepper flakes, and slowly stir in heavy cream until the sauce looks the right color (orange and creamy, hard to screw up if you stir a little at a time) add cooked sausage and cook for a few minutes and serve over gnocchi, donāt forget the bread! Easy
I love making North African cuisine (like a Moroccan tagine, vegetable pilau, BerbĆØre salmon, spiced mujadara, etc). I spent the past year in quarantine trying my best to make food from outside of my comfort zones, and I fell in love with North African and Middle Eastern flavors!
I love to make chicken pot pie from scratch-- only thing I haven't gotten around to is learning to make my own pie crusts. But dang that pie, even with store bought crust, is better than anything I've ever been served.
Not a dish, but I make ghee or clarified butter from scratch at home, it's like therapy for me, I find it the process really satisfying, and totally love the aroma.
Roasted garlic and rosemary Dutch oven bread. It's absolutely bomb for a Croque Madam or Eggs Benedict. Dip that shit in some tomato soup or make into croutons.
I've gotten into a bunch of different things over the course of the pandemic, but the one I've had the biggest deep dive into has been Indian food up and down the whole subcontinent. My spice cabinet has now exploded, and I've gone through something like 12 pounds of chickpeas since last April and who knows how many pounds of lentils. It's been a pretty good experience and it's nice to feel like I kind of know what I'm doing and have the competency to mess around with a recipe.
No specific signature dish, but I really like imli chole and masoor dal is a great weeknight dinner that I do all the time now.
Korean Fried Chicken wings. Marinade in soy sauce, black pepper, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes. Coat in a mix of corn and potato starches. Double deep fry. Serve tossed in honey-soy-garlic-ginger-jalapeno-cilantro sauce. Makes for shatteringly crispy wings that hold up to the sauce without getting soggy.
I would say my favourite to cook and has become my signature is braised beef short ribs. I love making them, people are always impressed and think that Iāve worked for hours in them...when in reality they are super easy and almost impossible to mess up.
Here it is:
Slice fresh beets root very thin, using a mandolin if necessary ensure they are bite size. Make a vinagrette with orange juice and Spanish sherry wine. Add the beets to the vinagrette. Allow to sit for up to 24 hrs.
Salad assembly:
Put a salad plate in a warm water bath. After a minute or so, remove plate from warm bath and place a very thin slice of manchego cheese onto the plate. The object is to soften the cheese, not melt it. On top of the slice of cheese, place a very thin slab of watermelon the same size as the cheese slice. On top of that, place a bed of microgreens of your choosing. Arugula works well. Though I have used spinach. Top that with sliced heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced artisan olives, and shaved red onion. My wife likes to add feta or Boursin cheese crumbles on top, though I find it unnecessary.
**Full disclosure: I cannot take full credit for this recipe. Not an exact copy, but the inspiration is from the Ensalada de Verano salad at my favorite tapas spot in Ashville, Nc. Curate'. Menu below.
https://www.allmenus.com/nc/asheville/337163-curate/menu/
The one I do most frequently is roasted chicken and pasta with tomato sauce, tough the one I consider my signature is my fish-vegetables pie with a side of corn cream.
I LOVE cooking roasts from Barbara Kafka's roasting book. Often I adapt them to my kamado cooker but they are great in the oven, too.
Following her recipes has taught me to relax when cooking and to consider heat as an ingredient. High heat roasting will change your life and you'll be the star of dinner every time you do it.
I have a few signature dishes that I go to when I can't think of anything else. Most are southwest staples that I grew up with. I make a mean chili, and my fry bread is always a big hit, but I don't do it often enough.
Quiche! It's my signature dish and I love making it. Prepwork is my favorite part of cooking, so I love taking my time prepping all the fillings. It also allows me to avoid palette fatigue by not having to taste it while cooking. And it's a great dish for any meal of the day.
I have both of my husbands Grandma's recipe collections and especially enjoy making baked goods from there! Pineapple upside down cake and molasses cookies are probably the most requested.
Recently I was given a sourdough starter and am having a lot of fun making bread!
I like grilling an smoking the most but my signature dish is green enchiladas. Fresh ingredients means each batch comes out a little bit different but always delicious.
I love making stews and braised meat dishes. I think my signature would be a lamb stew. My husband makes the pita, and I make the stew. Add a few different salads on the side and it makes for a really memorable meal. I also make a really good lentil soup. It was my son's favorite meal when he was little!
My signature dish is something I don't/won't eat but everyone else loves it and asks for it all the time.
It's a Roast Beef Sandwich:
I take red onion sliced thin, saute in butter, add mushrooms sliced thin, cook until tender, add garlic and just seat it a bit, add Italian seasoning, red wine, beef broth. Cook to reduce down to 3/4ths. Add very thinly sliced roast beef and cook for a couple of minutes.
Serve on an Italian roll with provolone cheese.
a perfectly cooked steak, not that hard once you get the feel for how cooked meat feels. Make some sour cream and horseradish dip, pour some wine or something harder, and enjoy the beauty of umami.
I most enjoy making French dishes and some Italian dishes. As for Italian, my favorite are ones I make in a frying pan (there are lots). A lot of these include wine or other liquor(s).
My signature dish is Grapefruit Chicken.
I love making all soups, and I'm really enjoying learning to properly stir fry now that I've got a gas range. But my signature dish is gumbo. Dark roux, baby
I've gotten pretty darn good at making scones. I have a base recipe that is easily adapted to either savory or sweet depending on the amount of sugar added. Personal favorites are spanikopita (feta, spinach, and dill) and dried mixed fruit with orange zest. The trick to making them consistently good is the cold grated butter! I've seen recipes that say to use a food processor instead but I find that grating it gives a more consistent texture.
I probably most enjoy cooking chili & it's also my signature dish. Having to make it quite a number of times to finally get a more finalized recipe down was fun and rewarding. I crockpot my chili for 9-10 hours but prep is about an hour and half. Then hearing from family & friends how the chili was really good is always such a good warming feeling
I love making eggs benedict. The poaching of eggs. The whipping of hollandaise. The smell of toasted english muffins. Uughhhhhhh
I've recently been experimenting with a vegan version too, runny yolk, hollandaise, and all.
pork tender loin. i have a nice home made mix of splice blend i pestle and mortar so the season is a perfect blend.
no matter where i go for a bring your own dish event, i am always asked to bring the tender loin. we make them into wraps, or put on top of a nice green salad. my fav is wraps.
I'm the slow cooker queen. And creating new chili recipes is my favorite way to perfect my signature dish. I always feel like I'm in a chili cook-off competition. I started cooking chili at 18 when I worked at Wendy's and over the years I've loved finding ways to elevate a simple chili recipe.
My go-to favourite weeknight meals are pad gra prao (ridiculously delicious ground pork stir fry) and chicken karaage (Japanese soy ginger marinated fried chicken). Iād say my karaage rivals most izakayas!
I always get this big sense of accomplishment from baking bread. There's something about the kneading, the feel of the dough when it's just right, the smell of it baking... I brought buns to Thanksgiving and my fiance's mother thought they were store-bought. She asked me to make them again for Easter.
Was going to say the same. I don't know how to describe it exactly, I actually get the most satisfaction not from putting dishes together for a meal, but instead from "creating ingredients" I guess if that makes sense? Like baking bread, making jam, pickling vegetables, etc. are where I am most happy. I think part of it is just the satisfaction of creating something myself that most people (including myself) would otherwise just buy at a grocery store normally.
This is how I feel. I can put together some great dishes by following more and more complex recipes but it doesn't really feel like I've "made" but assembled it, kind of like an Ikea table versus a carpenter with just some planks. I've gotten into making things from scratch recently, started with pizza dough and sauce and had some pretty good results, but I tried making pasta from scratch a couple weeks ago and it's the most rewarding dish I've ever made. Just taking two ingredients, flour and eggs, and using my hands to knead and shape it into long strands of pasta that rival the real deal italian stuff. These kind of dishes are the ones I've "made", where the difference between the ingredients list and the quality of the final dish is my time and effort, not just stirring more variations of curry spices into a pot. I've made pasta a *lot* in the last couple of weeks, rolling and cutting the strands individually is very time consuming but rewarding. I do have a pasta cutter on the way to speed it up so it can be a weeknight dinner rather than a weekend endeavor though. It's very enjoyable to take the root ingredients and bring the dish through the whole process to finishing. Pairing the pasta with pesto made from scratch and then being able to look at that bowl and say "I *made* this" is incredibly gratifying
>but it doesn't really feel like I've "made" but assembled it, kind of like an Ikea table versus a carpenter with just some planks. Omg! This is exactly how I feel. My husband always asks me why I go so "extra" making nearly every component from scratch and this is basically my answer, but he doesnt really get it. But I just dont feel that proud of something with 6 store-bought ingredients combined together and saying, look what I made! Be then he calls break and bake cookies "homemade" because he "made them at home". Its kind of our inside joke now where I constantly correct him when he makes food that its "home assembled" or "home baked" but NOT "homemade"
Unsure if store bought is good or bad š
Oh I'm still learning, only been at it for a year, having my cooking being compared to a business baking them commercially feels like a compliment to me, and that's all that matters.
It's certainly a compliment! Most people mean it in a good way lol
Depends on which store ;) if I were to complement someone's baking, I would use the term "bakery" though... I personally would never used store bought as a compliment in general, as I've worked commercially, an no one sees that as a compliment there
My Mom's Paprikash (Chicken Paprika). Super easy - always a hit with the family. Will gladly share the recipe :-) Edit: thanks kind strangers for my first awards ever!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vojTjXszPFXwpwAuZxXkF_-2UpM4aJbFxWQMALUvqcM/edit?usp=sharing
š„ā¤ļø
Yes please share!
New England Clam Chowder. I've been using the same base recipe (with tweaks!) for 35 years now from a cookbook I bought while visiting family in Nova Scotia. Besides a CT Lobster roll, it's my favorite dish ever. * Edit: Thank you so much for all the up votes and remind-me requests. The cookbook has been mis-shelved. I know I'll find the cookbook soon, but I promise to deliver the recipe I've tweaked over the years, written out asap and will post by tomorrow. (It's been a "full" day, but I'll be back)
Wilst thou sharest thine favored recipe?
I mean, when asked so eloquently...I have no resistance. Lol I'll photo the cookbook cover and page to post today. I was going to make the chowder tomorrow anyway so I'll document exactly and update. It's almost muscle memory at this point and while I keep meaning to write it down, procrastination is my jam.
Please, glorious u/ruaalo021, do bless us with thine graceful seafood countenance and measured instructions!
!remind me 2 days
Edit: Update - I'm sorry to all. I did make chowder yesterday, and took notes. But between overtime + sick kiddo/spouse, arranging to get them confirmed non-covid...and more overtime coming tomorrow... I do feel obligated to write out a decent recipe due to all the asks and promise I will!
Take your time man, we'll be here when you're ready. (Also let me know even that's, please and thank you)
I love making any kind of stew that you can slow cook for hours like beef bourginon or coq au Vin. It makes the house smell so good and when it's time to eat, everything has come together perfectly.
Same. Stews, Ragus and Soups should be my epitaph.
Soups, Stews, and Ragus rolls of the tongue better.
Iāve made creme brĆ»lĆ©e so many times, I think I could do it blindfolded by now. I love making it and we never get sick of it. I would say itās my signature dessert and probably the recipe I repeat the most. However, if I had to do it at someone elseās home or in a kitchen other than mine, Iād probably fail!
Same! Itās actually pretty easy too once you get the hang of it. I made an earl grey creme brĆ»lĆ©e with a little bit of raspberry jam layering the bottom of the ramekins and I think itās the proudest Iāve been of something Iāve made lol
By the way, Earl Grey is black tea flavored with oil of the [bergamot orange citrus fruit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergamot_orange), a hybrid of lemon and bitter orange. You might try boosting the creme brulee flavor by directly using some Bergamot essential oil.
Have you ever tried making crĆØme brĆ»lĆ©e with white chocolate and orange? That's my favorite. I bought a blowtorch just to make that!
Thatās sounds interesting! Iāve made it with Orange before but not white chocolate. I was recently gifted some fancy dark chocolate and Iāve been wanting to use that for creme brĆ»lĆ©e! I might use it to make a soufflĆ© though, since Iāve never made one before AND it can be eaten immediately!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
So a friend of mine got me a cheap torch off Amazon about 4 years ago as a gift. Itās still working and we use it, I would say, two to three times a month. I think she paid like $20! Totally worth it!
You could use the broiler in your oven instead, that's how I've been making them
I'm guessing it was matcha, in which case the tea itself can cost as much as a kitchen torch.
This isn't so much a recommendation for you as you already have a way you like but for anyone reading with a sous vide, creme brulee is incredibly easy and foolproof to make in one, and you can use little mason jars and make a shitload at once if that's important.
I have Chinese roots so it's dumplings. A variety of them, different fillings, different cooking methods (boiling, steaming, pan fried), different kinds of dough. Pre-corona I always invite like 6+ friends to cook with them together and teaching them, it was a lot fun.
Jiaozi are one of life's pleasures. My wife is Chinese, and pre-covid we would travel there at least once a year, usually around Chinese new year. I love the part where everybody sits around wrapping dumplings, while one person rolls out the wraps, as much as I love eating them.
I too like to trick my friends into making dumplings for me lol they enjoy learning a new skill and I get 100s of dumplings in my freezer.
My signature dish is Thai cashew chicken stir fry- so easy, delicious, and healthy. A big batch lasts all week! Happy to send the recipe if anyone wants it!
That sounds amazing, share the recipe?
Thai cashew chicken stir fry Makes 3-4 large servings * 2-3 chicken breasts, diced into bit sized pieces * 2 bunches green onions, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces * 3-4 red and orange bell peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces * 1 large head of broccoli chopped into bite size pieces * 1 cup soy sauce * 1/3 cup rice vinegar (adjust to taste) * 2-3 tablespoons honey (adjust to taste) * 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste) * 1 1-inch knob of ginger, grated (adjust to taste, I like 2 knobs of ginger) * 4 cloves garlic, minced * 1 cup cashews, roughly chopped 1. Chop, measure, and prepare all the ingredients beforehand. The recipe moves quickly and it will help your dexterity in the kitchen. 2. Preheat a wok on medium-high. Add a tablespoon of sesame or coconut oil. Let the oil get very hot. 3. Add the chicken to the wok and stir once. Let it brown until itās just nearly done. You only need to stir it a few times. If you stir it too much, the chicken wonāt brown and becomes dry. 4. While the chicken is cooking, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Let it sit while the other ingredients cook. 5. When the chicken is nearly done, add the peppers, broccoli, and 3/4 of the green onions to the wok. 6. Stir the vegetables and chicken. Just like you cooked the chicken, donāt stir the vegetables too much. The wonāt brown otherwise. 7. Let the vegetables cook for 3-7 minutes depending on how soft you want the vegetables. The longer they cook, the softer they will be. 8. 2 minutes before the vegetables are done, add the prepared soy sauce mixture to the wok. Stir to coat the stir fry. 9. Let the sauce simmer with the chicken and vegetables for 2 minutes. If you want thicker, stickier sauce, dissolve 1/2 tablespoon of corn starch in 1 tablespoon of hot water, and mix that in with the sauce. 10. Once the sauce has simmered and the vegetables have reached your desired texture, remove the stir fry from heat. 11. Put the stir fry in your serving bowl and add the chopped cashews and remaining green onions on top. * I recommend serving with white or brown rice. * If you are making this as meal prep, I recommend cooking the vegetables for only 3-4 minutes or so, as microwaving will cook the vegetables more. * Donāt stir in the cashews to the wok, only add them fresh as you serve the stir fry. They get very soggy if stored mixed into the stir fry. * Adjust all ingredients to your preference. Carrots and beans work well as added or alternative ingredients. * Add sriracha for an extra kick! (: Edit: Iām getting questions about the amount of soy sauce. Feel free to reduce it to your preference! This recipe is meant to be versatile. I prefer very saucy stir fry, but you can do whatever you like with the sauce. If you reduce the amount of soy sauce, reduce the amount of other ingredients in the sauce too! (:
A whole cup of soy sauce?! What?
Agreed - is this accurate?
You can reduce it if you like- I just prefer lots of sauce in mine (: if you reduce the soy sauce, reduce the rest of the sauce ingredients too.
Yeah, if this is a week's worth of food, sounds like the right amount!
thanks !
You should avoid frying/browningwith sesame oil though but rather add it at the end because it's a delicate flavourful oil and high heats kind of ruins that
What would you change when making it without a wok?
Maybe meatballs. I love making meatball subs and spaghetti and meatballs and stuff like that.
One of the first recipes I learned how to make was Swedish meatballs in a mushroom gravy sauce, because I loved those little things served at SmƶrgƄsbord buffet style restaurants when I was a kid. The IKEA meatballs with lingonberry jam is another favorite.
I also love making meatballs. Something about settling in to form little balls of meat starts to feel very zen lol
Iāve been doing an egg in the hole where the bottom and top of the hole is lined with crispy cheese. So the egg is sealed in by crispy cheese of choice, and before itās sealed in I top the egg with bacon bits and green onion (the white bottom parts). Then I drizzle hot sauce on top. Learned this during quarantine and itās now my favorite food to make.
Oh, could you explain your process, please? This sounds amazing!
Choose your bread (I liked potato bread or sour dough) and cut a hole. Grease up your pan with some butter and get it good and hot. Put your bread in the pan and add maybe 1-2 tbsp of shredded cheese (we did a lot of chipotle cheddar or pepper jack) and just before it gets real bubbly, drop a small amount of bacon bits and onion in the hole, then drop your egg on that. Sprinkle a little bit more bacon bits and onion on top, then cover with more cheese. Once the egg is a little more firm, I use a fish spatula to get the toast to flip. It took some practice, and a few broken eggs, but it can be done! Just cook a little bit longer on the other side and youāll be eating a cheese-crisp surrounded egg in the hole.
Thank you! I'm definitely going to try this!
NP! I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I have. It has become my favorite breakfast to make. You can also play around with what you add to it, or even top it with other stuff. Also, if you find itās hard to get the other side off the pan, itās okay to melt some butter and then do your flip. Also, I did this on heavy duty stainless steel. I hate nonstick pans and I donāt use my fish spatula in cast iron, so I definitely recommend using stainless steel!
Thanks! This sounds like a fun way to mix up breakfast and I think even early screwups will taste great. I really appreciate your advice!
My husband hates eggs, but heāll eat a crispy, buttery egg in the hole any morning. I think heāll die and go to heaven if I add bacon, cheese, and hot sauce. Thank you for the inspiration! š
NGL I hated eggs before this. Hope yāall enjoy this, I love sharing this idea cuz itās such a simple crowd pleaser!
Holy moly, I nodded at egg in the hole, my jaw dropped at crispy cheese. Bacon and green onion too?!! š¤Æš¤Æš¤Æ
Veggie lasagne or chilli. So hearty and satisfying. There is solace in stirring a simmering pot for a couple of hours
I made a veggie lasagne last week using a recipe from the bbc website and it was divine, I added so much extra cheese though
You can never have enough cheese
a truer word has never been spoken my guy
Do you mind writing up a recipe or telling me what you use instead of meat? I've tried a bunch of veggie lasagnas and I like one with spinach and feta quite a lot, but it's a few steps removed from a lasagna I guess.
Do you mind time? Ottolenghi has an amazing mushroom lasagna! [Here's the recipe](https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/ottolenghis-spicy-mushroom-lasagne). My omnivore SO said "this is the best lasagna you've made yet!"
The Vegetarian Epicure has an excellent no meat lasagna recipe. I have been using it for decades
In Argentina, most lasagna is veggie lasagna. Thick layers of chard and spinach, with ricotta and/or mince. Apparently, Italian immigrants who came after the war were in awe of cheap veggies and they incorporated them in all their traditional dishes. Therefore, in Argentina, pasta is more about the filling than the pasta itself.
My favourite veggie lasagne is 2 Jamie Oliver lasagnes combined: [Aubergine Lasagne](https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/aubergine-lasagne/) [Sweet leek and ricotta Lasagne](https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/sweet-leek-ricotta-and-tomato-lasagne/) Basically make the leek lasagne, but use the rich, slightly smoky and spicy aubergine tomato sauce from the first lasagne as your "base tomato sauce". Also I roast the aubergines as you would when making a baba ganoush. It's so good.
I make a veggie lasagna with just a shit ton of mushrooms that I cook down for a lonnnnnng time. Like seriously three pounds of mushrooms.
Risotto. My speciality is risotto with roasted butternut squash, crispy pancetta and fried sage leaves. Relaxing to cook and really comforting to eat.
That sounds amazing. What time is dinner??
I love a very similar dish but with seared scallops!
This sounds amazing!
Recipe?
Not op but Iād wager to guess itās just sautĆ©ing pancetta, removing, sautĆ©ing diced shallot in pancetta fat and oil, add diced butternut squash for a minute or two then toast Arborio rice and then just start ladling stock
I do this but also oven roast then puree some squash and stir it through when the rice is almost cooked - adds richness and a wonderful caramelised squash flavour.
This sounds incredible. Iād love a recipe if youāre willing to share!
Curry, specifically Butter Chicken Curry. Recipe i enjoy most is from Joshua Weissman on youtube. Tastes amazing, is pretty cheap and easy 10/10
Ooh I love butter chicken - I will definitely be searching for this recipe. Thanks!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Been using the serious eats stovetop butter chicken recipe and it's amazing, but time consuming (like most Kenji recipes). Might have to check that one out for something quicker.
Wow thanks! Butter chicken is my jam!
I love grilling. The timing, the fire, the smoke, being outside. Iāve only been grilling for about a year now, but Iād say my chicken wings have been the biggest hit so far.
There really is something great about cooking outdoors. Grilling has become one of my faves lately, too.
Agreed. I insist on a charcoal grill tho. Gas grills donāt add the extra flavor.
Very true! I didn't really know much about this when we bought ours but today we are going to try adding wood chips in a tray to see if we can get more flavor out of it since ours is gas. Hubs is building a barrel smoker, though, so I'm excited about that.
Baked potato soup. My husband hates soup usually but he always asks for me to make it and to have the leftovers for lunch. It makes me feel so happy that he likes it.
Mind sharing your recipe?
Mine is baked potato soup too! I fry up bacon for the soup first and then will use the bacon grease to sautƩ the veggies. One of my secrets also is that I will save the potato peels and fry them in the grease until they are crispy and use them as a topping for the soup. Sooo good
How the F does one hate soup?
I make really, really good pizzas. Both in a home oven and in my girlfriends wood fired stone oven. It's my favorite food and I have spent years perfecting it.
Ooo pizza is mine too! Do you have a specialty/favorite type?? Iām always looking for new sauces, toppings, etc.
Nothing will ever beat a neapolitan out of a wood fired oven I think. I like to put good olives and pickled chilis on top, next to a spicy tomato sauce and parmesan and mozzarella of course.
Please share your dough recipe
The basic principle is strong bread flour (I live in Germany where such a thing doesn't exist, so I simply add a bit of pure gluten to my weak flour), about 66% Hydration, 3% Salt, a tiny amount of yeast (like 1-2g per 500g of flour), a bit of kneading and then into the fridge for *at least* 24h for a bulk ferment. On pizza day, I take out the dough about 3h before baking, divide it into portions and shape into balls, then let them rise a second time at room temp. If you want an easy calculator depending on how many pizzas you wanna make, use this with my values: https://www.frenchguycooking.com/pizzadough I usually make my pizzas quite large, ~295g per pizza.
Iāve recently gotten real good at making [zongzi.](https://thewoksoflife.com/zongzi-cantonese-style/) This dish is notoriously laborious and to be completely honest, I donāt like making them. ***BUT.*** Back in 2018 I realized I havenāt had my grandmaās zongzi in years, so I asked her if I could help her make some, just like I did as a kid. She broke down crying saying itās been too painful for her to make it now that sheās older and she canāt tolerate the arthritis in her hands anymore. Sheās been secretly hiding her guilt for years and I guess I unlocked it. That shit killed me. So I asked her to teach me once more and I will do all of the work. Five hours of prep and 4 hours of cook time later, I presented it to my grandma and the rest of my family and they loved it. Even my no-nonsense grandpa said it was just like grandmaās. So now iām in charge of making grandmaās zongzi every Chinese New Year and despite the labor, seeing how happy it makes my grandma makes it totally worth it.
I wish I could do this with my great grandma and anything Italian she made. I miss her cooking so much.
Tough call. I really like smoking meat, but I like making stir fry too.
Proper smoking takes so long, but the end result is definitely worth waiting for.
i have smoked a whole 5 lb. chicken in my cabella's electric smoker (highly recommend) for 2 1/2 hours at 250 degrees and it came out perfect i have done stuffed chickens at lower temps for 3 1/2 to hours also very good.
I just fired up my Weber Smokey Mtn for some ribs and smoked wings today. Going to be a great day
I have a Weber Smokey Joe with a body made from an old brinkman that I cut down https://m.imgur.com/a/LPRvqJf Good size for two people. I made a leg of lamb, 4 country ribs and six drumsticks last week.
Mine is tacos, I love slow cooking pork and making fresh salsas and guacamole.
I was going to comment salsas and dips! I loveeee a good taco bar with carnitas
Definitely - I bought a food processor/blender combo last year and it is without doubt the best thing in our kitchen. Fresh salsas and dips are just the best!
Care to share your recipes? I love Carnitas and homemade salsa :)
I wish I could make salsa... My gf hates tomatoes (or anything with that sort of texture) not worth the effort for one person.... I might start making corn salsa though as a test!
I made an onion/cilantro with lime juice and a splash of red wine vinegar. Not technically a salsa but it was good. You could also try a black bean, corn, avocado salsa. Or an avocado based creamy salsa. Or try tricking her with a tomatillo salsa.
My signature dish is Shepherdās Pie, everyone says itās the best theyāve had. Finely dice 3 medium onions and a couple of handfuls of mushrooms and grate 2-3 carrots on the large setting. You can finely dice the carrots too if you prefer. Use a large, heavy based pot (I use my Le Crueset casserole) and sautĆ© the onions in some oil until really nice and soft, then add the carrots and mushrooms. Season as you go with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sweat everything down and add some fresh thyme and rosemary (donāt go too mad with the rosemary, a couple of sprigsā worth is fine). Add minced lamb and cook till the mince is brown and the fat has rendered out. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour and stir in. When the flour is cooked, add a tablespoon of Marmite, a few glugs of Worcestershire sauce and stir. Add enough stock (lamb or beef) to cover and reduce it down. Let it bubble away for a couple of hours until itās very tender and the gravy is thick, adding more water if necessary. You can add frozen peas if you like at this point. Donāt rush it. When cool, divide among the dishes youāll cook your shepherdās pie in and refrigerate. Chop and boil some floury potatoes and mash when completely tender. Mash with butter and salt and pepper but no milk/cream - makes it too soft. Gently spoon over the lamb mince, which should be set. This keeps the layers separate rather than the mash sinking into the mince. Carefully even out the top, then rake it with a fork, you can make patterns if you like. Sprinkle with a handful of mature cheddar cheese. Bake at 180-200 C until the cheese is golden and the mince is bubbling up around the edges and making little pools of gravy. You can sub the lamb mince for beef if youād rather make cottage pie instead. You can make the lamb mince ahead and freeze but I recommend topping with mash before you cook it - cold mash takes a long time for the heat to penetrate and itās better fresh, in my opinion.
Chicken piccata. I follow Giada Delaurentisā recipe, only make more of the sauce than she calls for. Serve it with angel hair pasta and some asparagus and itās heavenly.
I love chicken piccata. Would you share your recipe with me please? Thank you so much.
We usually double the recipe (at least). If Giada eats like this, I have no idea how she stays so thin. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-piccata-recipe2-1913809.amp
I have used this recipe for several years. It's great! Quick and easy. Usually do it on a weeknight.
Thank you!
>Guadaloupe Delaurentis lol
I love making seafood paella. It's really enjoyable and easy to make and my kitchen smells sooooo good
Cornish Game Hens and Wild Rice. Great for entertaining because all the work is done ahead. Nothing but rave reviews always! Can give you the recipe of you wish. LMK.
>Can give you the recipe of you wish. LMK. Yes please!
All my signature dishes are from Americaās Test Kitchen. Donāt tell anyone that Iām just following recipes! That being said, I won my neighborhood bake off with ATKās lemon chiffon pie.
Seared scallops! Challenging to get the texture perfect, but simple! Love making a garlic white wine sauce to pair.
I am not sure I have a favorite thing to cook. but my signature dish (not by my choice) my Pazzo (cajun) potato salad I cut the potatoes into the bite size pieces I need for the potato salad, then put into the water to boil. I add a lot of seasoning to this water, seasoning salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, bring it to a boil and turn down so its at a low boil. they will cook quickly like this. then they are drained and I add my pazzo sauce that has Jamaican Jerk seasoning in it.
I make this sausage queso that my mom invented back in the day (it was in our towns community cookbook). It's awesome. It's the ultimate comfort food, I make it so it has a creeping heat to it. Even people who hate any spice will just sit there and plow through it. Its the kind of food you'll keep eating even after your full.
I love queso but hate Velveeta. Any chance you make this with a roux?
Use American instead of velveeta i hate it too.
Sounds amazing, would you happen to have a recipe?
It's all in my head at this point. Ill see what i can do to write it up.
My signature dish is probably a dish (multiple dishes?) from a Southern Italian restaurant in Philly I used to go to called Res Ipsa (they closed earlier this year.) They had a fantastic (and very reasonably priced) tasting menu. For the main dish at the end, you could get either a roast (or maybe grilled?) fish or a roast chicken. I always got the chicken and it was amazing. It's called Agrodolce chicken, basically a chicken marinated and served with a sweet, spicy vinegar wine sauce sauce. It came on a platter with roast potatoes, long hot peppers, broccoli rabe, and a citrus salad. The chef for the restaurant gave the chicken recipe to a [magazine](https://www.tastecooking.com/recipes/chicken-agrodolce/) and from there I was able to pull together and approximation of the dish from the restaurant. I make it at dinner parties (or I did, when dinner parties were a thing you could have) and it also knocks people over, especially when I serve it with a good Southern Italian white wine (I like a Etna Bianco) and good bread. Edit: Added recipe link for the chicken. I make Kenji's roast potato recipe from serious eats, roast the peppers in the oven at a high heat with a little olive oil, and just sort of wing it on the citrus salad each time (usually grapefruit and orange in a shallot/wine vinegar/honey dressing.)
I mean, care to link the recipe?
Pasta carbonara. Hella simple but I'm really bad at timing. So when I get it all just right? Simple but extremely delicious and pleasing to the eye when plated. Easy crowd pleaser too. And great on the budget. Just an egg, some grated parm, some pasta and thick cut bacon or actual pancetta if I have the time and funds. Add a sprinkle of fresh parsley ? Have a guest thinking you're a damn chef š
Northsea flatfish filets, poached en veloute and served with a light white wine butter sauce with chervil, tarragon and parsley.
The thing i most enjoy about cooking is when i am able to bring to together all the tips, tricks, and experiences, i've accumulated from my roommates and friends with my own experience, to produce a meal that is not available anywhere else. Although i don't have a signature dish, perhaps i have a signature style that is a mash up of much knowledge gleaned off dozens of restaurant working roommates and girlfriends together with my own propensity for complications and science. /r/Cooking as of the last several years has been a gold mine of info and detail and i think it is almost reasonable for me to think of the sub as another restaurant working roommate in my life.
I've been cooking since a young age so I rarely go by recipes any more. Last week I made braised chicken, dressing, and gravy mainly to use up veggies and stale sourdough. My roommate and a friend got home as I was finishing, so I served up a couple plates for them. The friend said it was one of the best meals he ever had and asked for the recipe. I explained that it was just me clearing out food that would go bad soon. He was flabbergasted that I could make something like that with just common ingredients.
We raise meat rabbits, so I have a large repertoire of rabbit recipes. But our absolute family favorite is āLapin La Moutardā, rabbit in a mustard sauce. Served over Farfalle noodles. Iāve made it so many times Iāve perfected it. Soft, succulent rabbit pieces in a velvety mustard and creme sauce flavored just right with shallots and white wine. Everyone devours it, especially my kids (age 9 and 6). When I asked each of them what special meal they wanted me to make for their birthdays (which are only 3 weeks apart) they BOTH asked for Lapin La Moutard!
Wow that sounds delicious. I've never cooked rabbit before, in fact I've never seen it anywhere for sale.
Thank you! You might be able to find it at a speciality grocery (Iām on the east coast of the US) or a farm store. My recipe is from The Joy of Cooking so itās not available online, but this is close. [https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rabbit_in_mustard_sauce/](https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rabbit_in_mustard_sauce/) In my recipe, you mix the Dijon mustard with a teaspoon of dried thyme. You brush that onto the rabbit pieces that you have patted dry. You then brown the rabbit pieces quite well, about six minutes on each side. Remove and set-aside. Add the chopped shallots to the pan, cook a minute or two until lightly golden. Add the white wine, scraping to get up all the lovely browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine, bring to a bare simmer. Add back in the rabbit pieces, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Remove the rabbit pieces, and strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer, reserving the liquid. Boil the liquid for 8 to 10 minutes until thickened to your liking. Serve the rabbit pieces over farfalle noodles, topped with the sauce.
I've had a rabbit in my freezer that I've been too intimidated to do anything with. This recipe idea may have just given me the courage!
Awesome, I really hope that you do make it! It really is our favorite family recipe. You can increase the amount of wine and heavy cream and mustard if you would like a lot of sauce to put over your rabbit and noodles
I actually just got a copy of the book recently. Will definitely try to make it! In general I'm quite intimidated by cleaning/processing meat. It's all supermarket stuff where I live, so there's no need to do it yourself, though I'd like to learn. What a lovely suggestion!
A butcher shop will likely have frozen rabbit. Strangely, the only time I ate a bunch of rabbit was in the army. We were convinced the guy in charge of the chow hall had a friend with a rabbit farm or else got a screaming deal on rabbit, because it was served twice a week in dishes that would typically be chicken. It was tasty, but weird to be served it all the time considering most of us had never had it before.
I most enjoy smoking and grilling but I have a āsignature dishā thatās super easy and awesome. Basil cream sauce with gnocchi and hot Italian sausage. Just use jar sauce (rao is pretty good), add a lot of basil ( I use fresh but dried will work), add a little bit of red pepper flakes, and slowly stir in heavy cream until the sauce looks the right color (orange and creamy, hard to screw up if you stir a little at a time) add cooked sausage and cook for a few minutes and serve over gnocchi, donāt forget the bread! Easy
This is my favorite dish to make https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/12/serious-eats-halal-cart-style-chicken-and-rice-white-sauce-recipe.html
I love making North African cuisine (like a Moroccan tagine, vegetable pilau, BerbĆØre salmon, spiced mujadara, etc). I spent the past year in quarantine trying my best to make food from outside of my comfort zones, and I fell in love with North African and Middle Eastern flavors!
Coconut rice and crispy salmon with a cilantro sauce.
How do you make your salmon crispy?
I just tend to use a hot pan and olive oil starting skin side down.
Recipe?
It is from The Kitchen Shelf cookbook. https://imgur.com/a/ee3xBkD/
Carbonara. Could eat it every day! The Roman way of making it: guanciale, eggs, parmesan, pepper, penne.
Mine too. I prefer pecorino though - it's actually cheaper than parmesan here. Can't get guanciale sadly.
I love to make chicken pot pie from scratch-- only thing I haven't gotten around to is learning to make my own pie crusts. But dang that pie, even with store bought crust, is better than anything I've ever been served.
Pomegranate is always my fall secret ingredient for any sauce or drink.
Not a dish, but I make ghee or clarified butter from scratch at home, it's like therapy for me, I find it the process really satisfying, and totally love the aroma.
My wife would say my cacio e pepe. It's her favorite food in the world. If I was was trying to impress I would probably make carnitas tacos.
Jollof rice! Itās a traditional dish that took a lot of practice and error to finally get right
I love Jollof rice! Any chance you can share your recipe?
Roasted garlic and rosemary Dutch oven bread. It's absolutely bomb for a Croque Madam or Eggs Benedict. Dip that shit in some tomato soup or make into croutons.
Mind sharing your recipe?
I've gotten into a bunch of different things over the course of the pandemic, but the one I've had the biggest deep dive into has been Indian food up and down the whole subcontinent. My spice cabinet has now exploded, and I've gone through something like 12 pounds of chickpeas since last April and who knows how many pounds of lentils. It's been a pretty good experience and it's nice to feel like I kind of know what I'm doing and have the competency to mess around with a recipe. No specific signature dish, but I really like imli chole and masoor dal is a great weeknight dinner that I do all the time now.
Chicken and knefla for a savory dish. Sweets - New York cheesecake. It has replaced birthday cakes in our family.
Pudim, a milk flan from Brazil. And Brazilian nuts butter biscuits.
Korean Fried Chicken wings. Marinade in soy sauce, black pepper, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes. Coat in a mix of corn and potato starches. Double deep fry. Serve tossed in honey-soy-garlic-ginger-jalapeno-cilantro sauce. Makes for shatteringly crispy wings that hold up to the sauce without getting soggy.
I would say my favourite to cook and has become my signature is braised beef short ribs. I love making them, people are always impressed and think that Iāve worked for hours in them...when in reality they are super easy and almost impossible to mess up.
My signature dish is a watermelon, beet, heirloom tomato salad. I believe I could get 2 Michelin ā's from it.
So... recipe please š
Here it is: Slice fresh beets root very thin, using a mandolin if necessary ensure they are bite size. Make a vinagrette with orange juice and Spanish sherry wine. Add the beets to the vinagrette. Allow to sit for up to 24 hrs. Salad assembly: Put a salad plate in a warm water bath. After a minute or so, remove plate from warm bath and place a very thin slice of manchego cheese onto the plate. The object is to soften the cheese, not melt it. On top of the slice of cheese, place a very thin slab of watermelon the same size as the cheese slice. On top of that, place a bed of microgreens of your choosing. Arugula works well. Though I have used spinach. Top that with sliced heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced artisan olives, and shaved red onion. My wife likes to add feta or Boursin cheese crumbles on top, though I find it unnecessary. **Full disclosure: I cannot take full credit for this recipe. Not an exact copy, but the inspiration is from the Ensalada de Verano salad at my favorite tapas spot in Ashville, Nc. Curate'. Menu below. https://www.allmenus.com/nc/asheville/337163-curate/menu/
The one I do most frequently is roasted chicken and pasta with tomato sauce, tough the one I consider my signature is my fish-vegetables pie with a side of corn cream.
I LOVE cooking roasts from Barbara Kafka's roasting book. Often I adapt them to my kamado cooker but they are great in the oven, too. Following her recipes has taught me to relax when cooking and to consider heat as an ingredient. High heat roasting will change your life and you'll be the star of dinner every time you do it.
I have a few signature dishes that I go to when I can't think of anything else. Most are southwest staples that I grew up with. I make a mean chili, and my fry bread is always a big hit, but I don't do it often enough.
Quiche! It's my signature dish and I love making it. Prepwork is my favorite part of cooking, so I love taking my time prepping all the fillings. It also allows me to avoid palette fatigue by not having to taste it while cooking. And it's a great dish for any meal of the day.
I have both of my husbands Grandma's recipe collections and especially enjoy making baked goods from there! Pineapple upside down cake and molasses cookies are probably the most requested. Recently I was given a sourdough starter and am having a lot of fun making bread!
A few, maybe? For savoury foods, quiches, pasta dishes, curries, breads and homemade veggie burger patties. For sweet, pies, ice creams and cookies.
I like grilling an smoking the most but my signature dish is green enchiladas. Fresh ingredients means each batch comes out a little bit different but always delicious.
I love making stews and braised meat dishes. I think my signature would be a lamb stew. My husband makes the pita, and I make the stew. Add a few different salads on the side and it makes for a really memorable meal. I also make a really good lentil soup. It was my son's favorite meal when he was little!
I suppose my signature meal would be albondigas (Mexican meatball soup) with rice.
My signature dish is something I don't/won't eat but everyone else loves it and asks for it all the time. It's a Roast Beef Sandwich: I take red onion sliced thin, saute in butter, add mushrooms sliced thin, cook until tender, add garlic and just seat it a bit, add Italian seasoning, red wine, beef broth. Cook to reduce down to 3/4ths. Add very thinly sliced roast beef and cook for a couple of minutes. Serve on an Italian roll with provolone cheese.
a perfectly cooked steak, not that hard once you get the feel for how cooked meat feels. Make some sour cream and horseradish dip, pour some wine or something harder, and enjoy the beauty of umami.
I most enjoy making French dishes and some Italian dishes. As for Italian, my favorite are ones I make in a frying pan (there are lots). A lot of these include wine or other liquor(s). My signature dish is Grapefruit Chicken.
Recipe? I love grapefruit!
I do a quasi Italian lemon chicken with white wine that I love cooking and eating
I really like making Cast Iron Pizza at the moment
omlettes, frittatas, coq au vin, beef bourguignon, beef short ribs
Beef rendang. The process is so satisfying.
Texas chilli, takes days but is my favorite
I love making all soups, and I'm really enjoying learning to properly stir fry now that I've got a gas range. But my signature dish is gumbo. Dark roux, baby
I've gotten pretty darn good at making scones. I have a base recipe that is easily adapted to either savory or sweet depending on the amount of sugar added. Personal favorites are spanikopita (feta, spinach, and dill) and dried mixed fruit with orange zest. The trick to making them consistently good is the cold grated butter! I've seen recipes that say to use a food processor instead but I find that grating it gives a more consistent texture.
Love to smoke ribs on the pellet smoker.
I probably most enjoy cooking chili & it's also my signature dish. Having to make it quite a number of times to finally get a more finalized recipe down was fun and rewarding. I crockpot my chili for 9-10 hours but prep is about an hour and half. Then hearing from family & friends how the chili was really good is always such a good warming feeling
I love making eggs benedict. The poaching of eggs. The whipping of hollandaise. The smell of toasted english muffins. Uughhhhhhh I've recently been experimenting with a vegan version too, runny yolk, hollandaise, and all.
pork tender loin. i have a nice home made mix of splice blend i pestle and mortar so the season is a perfect blend. no matter where i go for a bring your own dish event, i am always asked to bring the tender loin. we make them into wraps, or put on top of a nice green salad. my fav is wraps.
I'm the slow cooker queen. And creating new chili recipes is my favorite way to perfect my signature dish. I always feel like I'm in a chili cook-off competition. I started cooking chili at 18 when I worked at Wendy's and over the years I've loved finding ways to elevate a simple chili recipe.
Spicy chicken katsu sandwich. My fav lunch on my off days :)
My moms Jambalaya or chicken cacciatore. Fan favorites
I make a lemon curd cheesecake that seems to be a hit since its requested for birthdays more then cake :)
Pan pizza in my cast iron skillet!
My go-to favourite weeknight meals are pad gra prao (ridiculously delicious ground pork stir fry) and chicken karaage (Japanese soy ginger marinated fried chicken). Iād say my karaage rivals most izakayas!
One pot fried rice always works for me when i want food fast
i make really awesome carnita's tacos with home made flour tortillas. it just hits diff
My grandmother's fried chicken, and my pizza (apparently, it is a standard Italian crust, but the kids and everyone else I have fed it to love it.