[radrd]

I'm (finally!) about to move out on my own into an apartment. I've never really done a lot of cooking, but I am looking forward to learning and doing a lot of cooking for myself. (I'm tired of eating the crappy food that others have prepared for me, not that I don't appreciate it.

)

I'm looking for good recipes to try, no preferences for what type of foods or length of preparation time.

I don't know a lot of cooking lingo or about cooking in general either, so sites and tips would also be greatly appreciated!!

 

[KYTGuy]

A real easy way to get recipes and instructions you like is to look at the packaging on all the condiments you use: Tabasco, etc...they usually have a free recipes offer - follow them on everything you think you might like, and you will have many new things to cook, along with the instructions.

Follow the recipes at first, then experiment.

Get ready to cook prepared meals from Costco/ASDA, etc, for prepared food for fancy dates....observe how they are made, and then you can try to duplicate them or improve them.

Link we use all the time is Foodnetwork.com


Get a good french chef's knife, 8 or ten inches long - I Like VICTORINOX, but Sabatier, Henckels or Chicago Knife is OK too. Just don't get a piece a uknowhat.

Get a paring knife too, and a cutting board.

Don't buy any thin pots of any brand, and avoid bare aluminum. Look for stainless interiors, and thick aluminum discs in the bottom of the pots, or thick copper pots, but these are expensive. Start with a 10 inch diameter or so skillet/saute pan, and a one nad a half to three quart pot, same specs.
Glass tops for each are a bonus, but just a tight fitting plain top is OK too

You will need a set of measuring cups, and a pyrex measuring cup of two cups or so.

That should get ya started.

 

[PinkFloyd]

do you have a pressure cooker? If so I will give you a very easy starter recipe which you can make in 20 minutes.. it's for porcupine meat balls and is delicious with spaghetti or even boiled potatoes.

 

[stet]

whoa. I like the sound of this thread. I love to cook -- big feasts, ghetto quickies, fancy meals. Mostly Asian stuff, though. Always the cheapest and freshest supermarkets, and I used to live near them in a Chinatown.

But my old standby recipe isn't Asian: pasta e fagioli, or "pasta vazool." It got me through some serious poor times, lazy kitchen times, old vegetarian days and that year I was vegan, and Lenten Fridays back when I was practicing. It's super easy, minimal ingredients, and makes a bunch that will last a few days. IMO, it tastes better cold on day two.

This recipe makes a lot; it's based on one package of pasta, but it's easliy cut into half, which may be better if you're doing this for just yourself.

1 lb. ditalini
2 15 oz. cans cannelini (aka white kidney beans. Great Northern can substitute)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
a few cloves garlic
1 medium red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
some basil and oregano, salt and pepper
grated Paremesan cheese (Romano if you want to step it up, Locatelli if you're going all out. God, I love locatelli.)

Get two pots out and start boiling water in one for the pasta. Add some salt to it to get it to boil faster.

Pop 2 or 3 cloves of garlic (4 if you really like garlic) out and peel off the outer layer and skin. Crush each clove between two spoons (they sell garlic crushers, if you want). This will pop some of the juices out. Now mince the cloves up.

Put the olive oil in the other pot and set it on a medium flame. Throw in the garlic and swish it around, browning it. You can take it out after it browns. I used to, but now I leave it in. If it's getting black, though, take it out. If you chomp on that during your meal, it won't be so yummy.

Put in the cans of beans. I usually drain one, and maybe a little of the second can. If you search online, this is one of the divergent points; I don't really like my pasta vazool soupy, but rather like a pasta dish. It's up to you. I ate this recipe every Friday of Lent growing up becuase my family's close friends in the apartment complex were pretty heavily religious Italians. We didn't have any family in the area, so we got to be real close, and sometimes it'd be kinda funny -- in these holiday and family events there'd be all this great Italian food and a couple Filipino dishes my mom made. And, uh, yeah, the same for the people. Anyway, this is how Aunt Charlotte did it, not at all like soup.

Cook the beans on low-medium about 10-15 minutes, stirring it occassionally.

Around here somewhere your water should be boiling. Add a splash of olive oil to it so the pasta doesn't stick to each other. Throw in the ditalini and occassionally stir it up a bit.

Back to the beans, throw in the tomato sauce and mix it up. Add a little bit of basil, oregano salt and pepper and stir that in, tasting it until you're satisfied. Keep it cooking on low, stirring occassionally, esp. if it boils. Boiling is no good, because the beans will get burnt and stick to the bottom of the pot.

Chop the onion up. I like it in kinda big chunks. My girlfriend is learning to cook now, and whenever she asks me how to cut something, I always say to imagine eating it and what size would be good. (don't psychoanalyze that; there was no other way to phrase it.) Throw the onion in the beans and mix it up. I liike onions barely cooked, still juicy and crunchy, so I'll turn off the flame after a minute, then put the lid on. Or you could cook it till it's flimsy, if that's your steez.

Check the pasta. It should be a little firm to the bite, not mushy and soft. Drain it and run cold water through it, and mix it up to make sure the pasta isn't clumping.

Combine everything into one pot and stir. You can add more spices if you wish. I like a lot of black pepper (A LOT). I used to add a ton here, but my gf doesn't like it so I just add it at the table now.

If you're using locatelli, grate it now. otherwise, get the shaker of cheese and you're good to go. make sure you get a vegetable in you. I think it goes nicely with snap peas (with a lil' tomato sauce and fresh mozz) and a Coke.

If you do this one, let me know how it goes.

 

[PinkFloyd]

OK, I assume you will have a pressure cooker so will present you with the top secret Porcupine meat ball recipe

Don't be put off by the simple ingredients, this really is one of the tastiest dishes ever and one of my favourites.

You'll need:

1 tin of cream of tomato soup
1lb of mince (ground beef)
1 teacupful of American long grained rice
1 onion finely diced
1tsp salt
Black pepper.

told you it was simple.

First off wash your hands. Pour the tomato soup into the pressure cooker.

arm yourself with a mixing bowl and add the beef, rice, onion, salt and pepper into the bowl. OK now go wash your hands thoroughly and scrub your nails. (always do this at every stage of cooking...... it becomes second nature)

Go back to the mixing bowl and squeeze the ingredients through your hands ensuring everything is mixed together evenly and tightly.... when I say squeeze I mean take a handful and clench your fist to force the mixture out of your hand..... you are in effect mixing and mashing.

When you're happy everything is evenly mixed go back to the sink and wash your hands again leave the tap running..... this time return to the mixing bowl with wet hands (this prevents the mixture sticking to your hands) form the mixture into balls, bigger than a grape but smaller than a golf ball, and add them into the tomato soup..... keep returning to the tap to keep your hands moist.

You've now got a pressure cooker containing tomato soup and balls... easy as pie. Now bring to the boil and when boiling stick the lid on the pressure cooker, bring up to maximum pressure and cook for 15 minutes..... turn off the heat and let the pressure go down in it's own time (about 5 minutes) don't depressurize manually..... let the cooker do it, it's all part of the process and the secret to a truly great porcupine meatball.

Voila! get your teeth into one of those and I guarantee you'll be hooked for life.

They are best served on a bed of buttered and peppered spaghetti (cooked until it's al dente') grate some fresh parmesan over them for a more intense flavour.

They're also surprisingly good served with boiled potatoes.

I've cooked and conconcted many recipes over the years ranging from simple to positively exotic and I can seriously say that time after time this recipe is, by far, the easiest to prepare and the most delicious to eat....

Great thread BTW. I hope it lasts and becomes a good reference point for interesting recipes, I'll be back next week with something a tad more adventurous

maybe get you started with dough and the secret to making a "good" dough.... dough is a very important component in pizza making which I'll cover in depth further down the line.

All the best and welcome to the world of culinary alchemy

Mike.

EDIT: sorry I didn't explain "Al Dente" your spaghetti should be cooked but still have a "bite" to it...... a good way (the only way) of ensuring your spaghetti is spot on is to take a length from the pot and throw it on the wall (or ceiling) if it adheres to the wall then it is ready........ if it says 10 minutes on the packet (if you're using dried stuff) then start throwing it on the wall after 7 minutes...... once it sticks it's optimum.

 

[kunwar]

If you want to know about indian food stuff, ask me via pm as to what you like in terms of meats and vegetables.
I can suggest recipes.
BTW check my profile, you'll know why to ask

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunwar If you want to know about indian food stuff, ask me via pm as to what you like in terms of meats and vegetables. I can suggest recipes. BTW check my profile, you'll know why to ask

any chance of a public recipe containing chicken? remembering the guy is new to cooking.. a simple chicken dish maybe?.

Cheers man.

 

[Old Pa]

1. Drive to Costco and purchase broasted chicken hot from deli . . .

 

[AuroraProject]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd any chance of a public recipe containing chicken? remembering the guy is new to cooking.. a simple chicken dish maybe?. Cheers man.

^^ Ditto, I could go for a good chicken tikka masala recipe.

 

[Nightfall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Pa 1. Drive to Costco and purchase broasted chicken hot from deli . . .

Great advice! They're easily twice the size of those offered at other stores, completely delicious, and a wonderful value. I go through one a week myself. Highly recommended.


JC

 

[Nightfall]

and is a cooking thread truly needed here? With what being associated with this site drives us to spend on audio gear, headphones, and cd's, ramen noodles are about all that can be afforded!

JC

 

[neueziel]

Hey man continue this thread, I'm a college student tired of eating Tostinos pizza and ramen.

 

[kunwar]

Ingredients

2LB/900 gms. of Chicken thigh fillet
4 onions chopped fine ( about 400 gms.)
150 gms. Tomato paste/concentrate (preferred) or 400 mL. tomato puree
120 ml. Yoghurt
60 gm. clarified butter/"Ghee"
100 ml. Full fat cream (preferred) or skim/lite cream

Spices
2-4 pods Green Cardamom
2-3 Cloves
2-3 dried red chillis whole optional
2 tsp. Salt
Chilli to taste
{1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cummin powder
1 tsp. coriander powder} or 3 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. Garam Masala

Put the clarified butter/ Ghee in a cooking utensil preferrably a stockpot style pot with a thick bottom. When Ghee is melted, add cardamoms, cloves and chillis(optional). Stir till contents are popping/changing colour and add onions. Cook onions till light to medium brown. Blend the mixture in a blender till smooth.
Return to stock pot and add tomato paste / puree and yoghurt to the mixture. Add remaining spices. Mix mixture until uniformly mixed and then add the thigh fillet.
The thigh fillet can be cut into small pieces to allow for quick cooking.
If using tomato paste please add 400 mL. of water.
Cover and cook on low heat until the chicken is cooked. Test with a fork to see if the chicken is cooked. Before serving add the cream and stir it through.
Serve with hot rice or Indian bread. It goes quite well with just plain toasted and buttered Bread slices as well.