Recipes - Basic and Advanced

I second the Silver Spoon recommendation, but it is very much a map (and not the territory). I would say it is not for the novice cook because it only gives you the bare bones and the English translation (although a beautiful book) leaves out a ton of explanation.

The "French Cooking Academy" Youtube channel has several easy to follow recipes that will yield quality meals and give you lots of insight into the strategies and tactics to improve your food prep skills.

Two mini-series recommendations are "Two Greedy Italians" and "Marco's Great British Feast". Food and culture are inseparable and these shows do a great job of giving you background and color that will (believe it or not) make you into a better cook.

I urge everyone to be thoughtful about purchasing ingredients, source quality products and befriend local farmers or market distributors, learn about olive oil and butter production, make your own sauces and condiments. Rather than a waste of time it's all very meditative and of course healthier and more satisfying.

Here is a very simple and delicious lamb stew recipe that I have made for nearly every dinner guest and they have all enjoyed:

 
My father made some amazing fried turkey yesterday. He brined it for days- it was more moist than usual, and he used bread crumbs instead of flour, which gave it more flavor.
 
Hannibal said:
Hamburger steak. My favorite cheap meal that tastes good.

Small batch
1 lb 80 20
1 piece of bread
1/2 an onion
1 egg
Salt pepper to taste


Toast or airfry the bread until it is very dry
Crumble it up

Chop up onion very fine

Mix all together in a bowl

Form into patties, makes 4 but you can do it smaller if you want

Use big glob of lard in the pan

Pan fry 6 minutes a side at about 5 out of 10 on the stove

Give the patty a squish when you flip

Eat
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I recently made almost this exact recipe but doubled. It was a Greek version (Bifteki), where you take what you have, add some garlic powder or minced garlic, oregano (could probably use Italian), and diced onions, then sear each side, then to that add sauteed onions and a can of diced tomatoes. Slow cook that for 15 minutes, then you can serve as is with a side of your choice or on a bun with cheese. You can find more gourmet versions online that add feta to the burger mix but that's what I made.
 
DanielH said:
I recently made almost this exact recipe but doubled. It was a Greek version (Bifteki), where you take what you have, add some garlic powder or minced garlic, oregano (could probably use Italian), and diced onions, then sear each side, then to that add sauteed onions and a can of diced tomatoes. Slow cook that for 15 minutes, then you can serve as is with a side of your choice or on a bun with cheese. You can find more gourmet versions online that add feta to the burger mix but that's what I made.
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I'll have to give that a try. Looks good. Generally, adding garlic, spices, and tomato improves every dish.

Where I'm at in the midwest, we have a handful of small convenience stores that sell the basics, ground beef, bread, eggs, milk, cheese, onions, potatoes etc. Many of my fast, cheap, amd easy recipes revolve around a 5 minute stop after work at one of these stores.
 
@Brewer thanks for all the detail look forward to trying this. Will stick with butter for the frying..
Brewer said:
For oven temp: something in the range of 425ºF, it's not critical.
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220ºC
Brewer said:
There's another technique you can try, which is called the reverse sear.
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That is interesting but I'll stick with sear first oven second for the moment.

Can see there is yet another method, 'sous-vide'
..but I can't get into so much complexity with it for the moment.
Brewer said:
A note on steak quality: it's important. Nice restaurants generally have access to a higher grade of steak than what you'll find packaged in your local supermarket, which is part of why they're more flavorful.
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I do not really try to outdo restaurants at home, I enjoy the magic that they do.

Still, I look forward to my home cooked steak being that bit better than it has been up till now.
 
stadtaffe said:
@Brewer thanks for all the detail look forward to trying this. Will stick with butter for the frying..

220ºC

That is interesting but I'll stick with sear first oven second for the moment.

Can see there is yet another method, 'sous-vide'
..but I can't get into so much complexity with it for the moment.

I do not really try to outdo restaurants at home, I enjoy the magic that they do.

Still, I look forward to my home cooked steak being that bit better than it has been up till now.
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Sounds sensible to me... keep it simple and have fun, you can always try new techniques later.

As far as sous vide, it gives similar results to the reverse sear. The main advantage of sous vide is it's very hard to screw up - you can essentially leave it unattended and it won't overcook, since the water bath is tightly controlled at whatever temperature you want your meat to end up at. This is helpful for doing volume in professional kitchens, or as a cool technique if you're a hobbyist and into tech. Not necessary to get good results unless you want to drop $$ on a sous vide setup.

One final piece of information that may be helpful. Butter has a smoke point of 350ºF/175ºC. When searing a steak, the pan can easily get hotter than that, so the butter can burn.

What chefs will generally do is start searing with a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola/rapeseed or grapeseed, and then add a little butter about halfway through the cooking process to get the flavor. (They'll use a spoon to periodically baste the steak with the butter, which really adds some nice flavor.)

I try to avoid seed oils, so I don't use canola or grapeseed. You can try olive oil, which is what I use in combination with butter. Olive oil has a slightly higher smoke point than butter (400ºF/200ºC), and it won't burn as badly. It also has natural antioxidants which help. Opinions vary about whether olive oil is suitable for searing.

If you like butter, the ultimate option might be ghee (clarified butter), which is a healthy saturated fat, but has the milk solids removed so it has a much higher smoke point. You can also try refined coconut oil, which is also a healthy saturated fat and has a high smoke point. Virgin coconut oil is fine too, but has a stronger coconut taste.
 
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Atlas Shrugged said:
Does anyone have a recipe for dip they love. I’m looking to try more dips either with tortilla chips or to spread on naan or pita. I’ve only had the basic dips and I’m looking for something with more veggies and spices etc etc. Warm or cold dips. Thank you.
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I recently made spanish rice with hamburger, and since I happened to have some salsa con queso, I mixed it in, and ate it as a dip with corn chips. It was fantastic.

I use rice a roni spanish rice, which calls for a can of diced tomatoes. I added chopped onion green pepper, plus a pound of hamburger. I used Tostitos Salsa con Queso.

This recipe is obviously high in processed foods, but I think you could make something similar from scratch with all fresh, organic ingredients.
 
Atlas Shrugged said:
Does anyone have a recipe for dip they love. I’m looking to try more dips either with tortilla chips or to spread on naan or pita. I’ve only had the basic dips and I’m looking for something with more veggies and spices etc etc. Warm or cold dips. Thank you.
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This is my all time favorite dip.

Its deliciousness is deceptive in its simplicity...

Recipe:
1 pack cream cheese
1 can Hormel Chili with Beans

Dump the ingredients into a sauce pot and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the cheese and chili have incorporated and are warmed through, nice and hot.

Best served with Tostitos Scoops, but any tortilla chip will do. Celery and carrot sticks pair well with this dip too, imo.
 
There was a recipe I discovered on a trip to Taiwan that I have been practicing. After a near miss and a few *meh* attempts I've got people telling me it tastes great now:

Hard boiled eggs (6 or so)
2/3 cup soy sauce(can be adjusted for taste)
Spoonful of ground cinnamon
Half a spoonful of ground cloves
A few pinches of brown sugar
A pinch of black pepper
5 cloves or so of garlic, finely sliced*
A shallot or two, also finely sliced*

*doesn't have to be the most thin, just sliced, is all

Boil your eggs and let them cool for a bit. They can go in the fridge for a bit, too, in case you have to run to the store for the other ingredients before moving on to the next part or something.

Put your dry ingredients together in a jar. Mason jars or just repurposed Costco-sized jelly jars work well. Pour in soy sauce. 2/3 cup is probably a bit much, but a whole cup is definitely too much; it'll drown out the other flavors. Whisk it up a bit and then from here you have two options:
Crack your eggs, but don't peel them.
-or-
Peel your eggs.

1000004184.webp

Today I'm trying it with the eggs completely peeled for the first time. We'll see how it turns out. Either way, give it a day or two for those eggs to really soak up the flavor. Great as a snack, or as a side with chicken and rice, or on top of a bowl of Ramen, etc. Oh, I almost forgot- you will have to top off the jar with a bit of water once those eggs are dropped in.
 
Actual taqueria style "Mexican red rice" recipe:

Ingredients:
1/4 c butter, lard, or other fat
1 1/2c rice
2 tsp chicken bouillon (if using cubed bouillon, dissolve in water before adding)
1 small can (~7 oz) El Pato Jalapeño Salsa
Optional: frozen peas and carrots

Method:
-Melt fat in skillet over medium heat. Toast rice until lightly golden.
-Add El Pato salsa to simmering rice and stir until most liquid is absorbed.
-Add 2 cups water and the bouillon. Stir to incorporate.
-(Add optional peas and carrots.)
-Bring to a boil.
-Turn heat to low and cover. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
-Once done, fluff the rice with a fork to stir. The rice should look dry. If it's not, turn the heat up a bit and stir every now and then (uncovered) until all extra moisture is gone.

Bueno Appetito 🌶️
 
If you can get Haddock (deep-water Atlantic whitefish, better than cod, IMO), this recipe is super simple and nourished me for many years until I got married and she took over:

JayR's Bachelor Baked Haddock (USA units):
  1. Melt 1/4 stick of butter in saucepan and keep warm
  2. Rinse a fresh 1/3rd-pound Haddock fillet and place on toaster-oven baking sheet
  3. Sprinkle generous layer of bread crumbs of your choice on top of fillet
  4. Bake in toaster oven for 5 minutes at 325 degrees
  5. Remove Haddock from oven and drizzle melted butter onto now-dried breadcrumbs topping the filet.
  6. Bake another 25 minutes at 325 degrees.
Serve with sides of your choice.
 
dove of the sun said:
I am here if you are interested in any kind of authentic Mexican dishes and recipes. In exchange I would like to know more about Asian or Anglophone countries dishes. Thank you.
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I asked you for salsa recipes months ago with no response lol.

If this post is because of my "taqueria rice" recipe then you should know that this is actually "authentic" to how the rice is made in my region.
 
starlight said:
I asked you for salsa recipes months ago with no response lol.

If this post is because of my "taqueria rice" recipe then you should know that this is actually "authentic" to how the rice is made in my region.
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I am sorry it sounded like something against your previous post. I am personally not bothered about people in other countries creating their own version of ethnic food.
About the salsa recipes, I am not sure if people in USA have access to fresh produce or not canned/packaged as I do living in Mexico since it changes every recipe. I will try to translate my recipes since I am self taught in English and my translations might not be that good. Sorry about not responding back then, I really don’t log into here that often but will commit myself to be more engaged with posting. Thanks.
 
dove of the sun said:
I am sorry it sounded like something against your previous post. I am personally not bothered about people in other countries creating their own version of ethnic food.
About the salsa recipes, I am not sure if people in USA have access to fresh produce or not canned/packaged as I do living in Mexico since it changes every recipe. I will try to translate my recipes since I am self taught in English and my translations might not be that good. Sorry about not responding back then, I really don’t log into here that often but will commit myself to be more engaged with posting. Thanks.
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No problem. And I apologize for jumping to a conclusion. It can be difficult to tell if someone is being passive aggressive or not on the internet. But anyway, I really hope you will share your recipes. I'm curious as to how they would compare to what's made locally. :)
 
Today I'm making chicken pot pie for hubby, requested by him, with a double crust 🤤 I'm using this recipe. I've baked quite a few recipes from this site (Sally's Baking Addiction), mostly cakes and crusts, and they've all been very good.

I'm excited because I'll get to use fresh thyme from my herb garden - fresh herbs really take cooking to the next level.

I'm also going to be harvesting some of my fresh basil to make homemade pesto.
 
Does anyone have experience broiling steak? Tried it my first time this morning for a breakfast of steak, eggs, and coffee. Feeling really good after a workout and that for brealfast, but I definitely overcooked my steak.

Edit: was using the broiler function on my fancy, expensive Ninja air fryer, FWIW.
 
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