What's your culinary repertoire?

Discussion in 'The Cookbook' started by Sabre, Feb 27, 2016.

  1. Mr. Freeze93

    Mr. Freeze93 Prefers the baby blue dress

    Sounds good. I'll be over on Friday. :eatdrink023:
     
  2. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    Bring adult beverages of your choice! Are you on the South Coast?

    Did you know dachshunds like crawfish? Also satsumas.
    Who would have thunk.
     
  3. MattCB

    MattCB Well-Known Member

    I'm a pretty decent cook overall, but I have a few excellent dishes
    1). Cheesecakes (name the flavor and I can find a variation of it. Mocha is my current favorite).
    2). Leg of lamb
    3). Homemade yeast risen waffles

    If I can just figure out the homemade fruit wine, I'll be set :)
     
  4. Mr. Freeze93

    Mr. Freeze93 Prefers the baby blue dress

    Nope East. :( About an hour or two west of Boston.

    I had a Dachshund when I was younger and I remember taking him fishing and eating and him sneaking over to eat/try to eat the Trout or Hornpout I had on the stringer.. :angry019::angry019::angry019:

    That dog had no fear what so ever... There where a few times where he dove in the water after Water Moccasins and Snapping Turtles.
     
    RyX likes this.
  5. barbersurgeon

    barbersurgeon Well-Known Member

    Eggs, I cook eggs about daily. Sounds simple but they are one of the harder foods to cook properly. I was once told the chef's hat has 100 folds, each one for a way to cook an egg.

    Italian.
    'Que
    Gumbo
    Chili
    Curry
    Ceasar Salad

    Pretty much anything on a stove/broiler/grill. Baking not so much. I'll roast meat or veg, but haven't made bread in years. I don't have the patience to leave anything alone that long.

    Lots of 'what's in the cupboard' concoctions, have gotten pretty good at that over the years.

    Not big on desserts, so not much skill there.
     
    BamaT likes this.
  6. steve207

    steve207 Well-Known Member

    I end up doing a lot british irish german stuff and some American and a little Russian a tiny bit of Asian but i'd like to get into Scottish and Norway stuff to:drool:
     
    BamaT likes this.
  7. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    Now you're talking! But I can't make biscuits that don't come out of the frozen section at the grocery store. AKA "Grands"

    But if you want to talk sausage gravy..... First off, you "must" do it in a well seasoned "black iron", cast iron, frying pan. Fry a good quality, well seasoned when made whole-hog pork sausage. Fry this until it starts turning a little "crispy" on the outside. Take the sausage out and put aside keeping "all" the pan residue in the pan. If there's an inordinate amount of grease, get rid of "some" of it, but not all of it. You need some grease in this. Scrape and loosen the pan residue at the bottom of the pan. Slowly add a goodly amount of flour stirring as you go and brown the flour. When properly browned, add milk and water while stirring to prevent lumps, creating a good pan around at least 1/2 full of gravy. Crumble the cooked sausage into this, add salt and pepper to taste, stirring occasionally, and let simmer until it starts to thicken a bit. Break open your biscuits and ladle the gravy you've just made over them. Enjoy!

    Disclaimer: This is "NOT" a health food! Sausage gravy and biscuits were not intended to be healthy.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2019
    BamaT, Sara-s, wristwatchb and 2 others like this.
  8. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I cook loads of stuff, but have a few favorites;
    Pizza (I make the crust)
    Bread
    Buttermilk biscuits
    Air-fryer chicken
    General Tso’s Chicken
    Spicy rice noodles
    Chicken Provençal
     
    BamaT and barbersurgeon like this.
  9. Leclec13

    Leclec13 Well-Known Member

    Unfair question for me
    My first carded in life I did a culinary apprenticeship and work as chef
    I no longer cook professionally
    but still enjoy cooking
    As long as I can find ingredients, It’s in my repertoire
    I’ve been going back and deconstructing and writing recipes down that existed only in my hands and head
    For example I finally broke down and measured how I make hummus from scratch......
    Visited a bunch of local ethnic food stores to find a good olive oil
    Found an inexpensive gray salt
    Since it virtually Impossible to find a real hollandaise I made that recently
    I often revisit french and Italian home style cuisine
    Revisited the different styles of omelets
    Making soup recently .. avgolemno and matzoh
    I can’t believe I found an organic bakery that makes old country style bread
    I know where there is a local organic farm I will occasionally pick food for a meal
    Rendered beef fat for cooking and making soap.
    Rendered pork fat for cooking
    I’m in the south so i really enjoy smoking
    Any thing slow food 12 plus hour braised pork belly
    Slow roasting anything
    Onzen eggs
    I have an induction cooker and have been fine tuning and playing with cooking temps
    Revisiting and mastering southern cooking. Biscuits, smoked brisket, real grits, onion gravy, sausage gravy, fried chicken, fried cabbage, collard greens, hoppin John
    I could go on and on........

    was saddened at a party recently where nothing was scratched cooked........
     
    BamaT, PLANofMAN and barbersurgeon like this.
  10. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    My wife and I have a system that works pretty well for us. If it goes in the stove, she preps and cooks it (unless it's a waterbath item. Then I prep and cook it. Creme brulee, cheesecake, etc.). If it goes on the stovetop, I am allowed to touch, season and occasionally cook it.

    If it's grilled or seared, I cook it, unless it's seafood... Then she usually cooks it. Sous vide and instant pot is a toss-up, depending on the dish. Air fry and deep fry she cooks it. Soup is another toss-up. Depends on the soup.

    Breakfast. I usually do the eggs if they are fried, poached or omelet. She does them if they are scrambled. I make the biscuits and gravy, she makes the creme brulee french toast, pancakes and breakfast burritos.

    She handles the potatoes, except for mashed potatoes. She handles pasta, except when we make the pasta from scratch, then it's a team effort.

    She buys meat in bulk, so she is the butcher when it comes to portioning it for the freezer. I'm the meat carver in the family. Even at large family gatherings. :) (apparently being a professional welder grants one the ability to perfectly slice meat.) Watching Gordan Ramsey break down chickens a few times will give a person the know how needed to cut up poultry.

    We both do rice. She handles grits, quinoa and other things that wish they were rice but aren't. I do the sushi and sashimi. She does the prime rib. We both bake breads from scratch.

    We actually cooked most of the food for our own wedding. (With a little help from her brother). If you want to feed 100+ people good, cheap food, I recommend the following:
    Penne, spaghetti and fettuccine noodles in seperate pans, a pan of red sauce, a pan of white sauce (Alfredo), a pan of pesto based sauce, a pan of chopped grilled chicken, and a pan of meatballs. (That is what is on the table. There are multiple pans of this stuff). 20 sliced loaves of everything bread from Wal-Mart. (It's good bread and for $20, can't be beat). Tubs of whipped garlic butter. Lots of Caesar salad.

    It was a kid friendly, build-your-own pasta buffet. I think it ended up costing about $200 to feed about 120 people. We had lots of leftovers of everything. The only thing that had to be cooked on site was the noodles. Everything else we made ahead of time, so it was just heat and serve. Our pastor was quite impressed. So much so, that he and his wife have asked my wife to run the kitchen for the church's annual camp two years in a row, and for the foreseeable future.

    Any advice? Duck fat is the best oil in the world to sear steaks with. Sous vide is the best way to cook steaks and a few other things.

    When outdoor grilling, indirect heat is your friend, keep the lid closed and invest in an infrared thermometer and a digital timer.

    Five things every good kitchen should have (but most don't).
    1. Sharp knives
    2. A large cast iron skillet
    3. A cast iron dutch oven
    4. A large stock pot
    5. A good supply of both fresh and dried herbs.

    My favorite thing to make is my take on Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana.
     
    BamaT and S Barnhardt like this.
  11. Leclec13

    Leclec13 Well-Known Member

    sounds like I need to hang out with you and wife!!!!
    I love making the Olive Garden also
    For general use fat.... chicken, pork, and beef fat are also good.
     
  12. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    This has nothing to do with food, but your comment about being a welder piqued my curiosity.

    What kind of welding to you predominately do? Ironworker? Pipe? Nuclear? Shipbuilding? Etc.??
    I know most welders I've known do one if they can choose, but are capable of many.

    I am not a welder, but worked for a largish welding supply company here in Piedmont NC back some years ago. Dealt with a number of things from small job shops to places building turbines for nuclear plants and companies building power plants here in the US and overseas. My first wife's dad was a pipe welder, pressure vessels, and a few others. It was an interesting few years.
     
  13. MntnMan62

    MntnMan62 Well-Known Member

    Interesting thread. Mine is pretty limited although it has begun to expand as I have more time on my hands to do some cooking.

    My first go to dish was NY Strip steaks marinated in a combination of teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, garlic, pepper and rosemary. I use the same recipe with flank, hangar, skirt steaks. I've tended to not marinate my NY Strips as much since I find that cut of meat to not need anything more than some olive oil, garlic and pepper.

    My second dish that I learned from the restaurant I worked in as a teen and into my early 20's is called Chicken Gizmonda. It's essentially a francaise sauce. Chicken breasts pounded to tenderize, dipped in flour and egg and half cooked in oil. Dump the oil and sauce in white wine, lemon, butter and garlic until tender and cooked through. I impressed many a date in my early days with this dish.

    I've made Split Pea Soup
    I made an amazing Mac & Cheese for a party
    I've made authentic Buffalo Wings, complete with a propane fryer and the classic Anchor Bar sauce recipe. Frank's Hot Sauce, lots of butter, cayenne (I think) and probably other stuff. They were a hit at last year's Super Bowl party.
    I've made lots of of other things that I can't remember off the top of my head. I have come to really enjoy hearing people so "OMG! This is delicious". In fact, I just made dinner for my wife, son and sister in law consisting of the aforementioned steak marinade. I used Flank Steak. As an accompaniment I made some Near East Garlic & Herb cous cous and Carmelized Butternut Squash. Cubed butternut squash tossed with butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper, and baked for 50 minutes.

    Here's the thing though. Any can follow a recipe, which is what I do 99% of the time . So I don't consider myself anything special. In fact I'm quite ordinary. I've toyed with the idea of trying to learn how to truly cook by taking some classes. We'll see. For the time being, I can be found checking out Epicurious recipes as well as others I find from searching Google.
     
    BamaT and S Barnhardt like this.
  14. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    I've two friends who were graduates of Johnson & Wales. Both quite adept in their particular area. They.went back to recipes from time to time. So don't sell yourself short!
     
    MntnMan62 likes this.
  15. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Old post. Whoops. I was a pipe fitter for the hydraulic brake systems on Maxi 1, 3, and 4 railcars. Also welded frames for refrigerated boxcars. Welded together buckets for scoop loaders, crane arms for same. Made rock sorters and conveyers for mining, a water tower. Some other structural stuff, mostly pre-fabricated gas station buildings. Currently building ocean going barges.
     
    BamaT, richgem and Edison Carter like this.
  16. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    Since the pandemic I've gotten into my own pasta making as I've mentioned in another thread and I've jumped on the sourdough bread wagon. Both have been successful enough to keep me happy. Whatever that means. LOL
     
  17. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    I will kindly debate the fact that anyone can follow a recipe. I have seen that it is not necessarily so and even "just" following a recipe presupposes understanding of at least basic (and sometimes not so basic) techniques and skills. :)
     
    MntnMan62, Sara-s and PLANofMAN like this.
  18. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Well things have to be spelled out sometimes.

    Sneak preview of an upcoming article:

    The World's Best Carrot Cake Recipe.

    First, by reading this, you swear never to reveal this post to my wife, the current custodian of my family's "secret family recipes." Second, Merry Christmas!

    Now that we've gotten the inconsequential life & death stuff out of the way...

    This is a secret recipe. Well, it used to be secret. Now it will be on the internet, and we all know what that means. People are gonna eat real good and claim their granny was given this recipe by a dying Frenchman in Normandy or some such rubbish. Call it "Le Grande Imperiale Carrot Cake" or something.

    The truth is far more pedestrian... My mother clipped the original recipe out of a newspaper, the Silverton Herald, I think, back in the 1970's. She tweaked the recipe slightly over the years, but quickly perfected it and jealously guarded the recipe for the next 50 years.

    Moist. Rich. Decadent. The world's finest Carrot Cake. This is the best of the best, my Christmas gift to you all.

    Company Carrot Chiffon Cake
    (Yes, that's really what it's called. It probably sounds way more impressive in French or Spanish).

    Sift together and set aside:
    2 cups of flour (general purpose is fine)
    2 teaspoons baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    2 teaspoons cinnamon
    2 teaspoons baking powder

    Beat together:
    1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil
    2 cups sugar

    Add:
    4 eggs, one at at time, beating well after each addition.

    Blend in the dry ingredients at low speed. Last of all, fold in:
    2 cups carrots, grated very fine
    1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
    3/4 (to 1) cup of chopped raisins

    Note: well drained means "well drained." Dump it in a mesh strainer and let it sit. Don't press it, wrap it in paper towels or anything like that.

    Chopped raisins means mince the suckers. Chop them until you hate yourself. They will stick to the knife, the board, your fingers... I mix the chopped raisins, pineapple, and carrots together before folding into the cake batter. It helps to keep the raisin bits from clumping together. This might be a good time to note that the pineapple and raisins are not very noticeable in the final cake, unless you forget to add one or the other.

    The original recipe called for "1 cup of nuts" instead of raisins. Absolute madness. Adding nuts is a fantastic way to ruin a great cake. YMMV.

    Bake in an ungreased 8" x 12" x 2" baking pan or dish at 350° F (177° C) for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This is a self-lubricating cake. Greasing the pan will add a lovely scorched flavor to the outside and underside of the cake. Don't do it. (A light spray of PAM or equivalent on the bottom of the pan or dish is acceptable). The rectangular 2 qt baking pyrex casserole dish is usually what I use.

    Cool for a hour before serving. Overnight is better.

    It needs frosting. Lots of frosting. A great carrot cake needs an equally great cream cheese frosting. This is the world's best recipe for that too... It's called:

    Cream Cheese Frosting
    (What? You thought the names would suddenly get fancy now?)

    Mix together:
    1 - 8 oz package cream cheese, room temp
    1/2 cup butter, room temp
    1 lb. of powdered sugar, sifted
    1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

    This frosting recipe is the one that originally came with the carrot cake recipe, save for two omissions. The original frosting recipe called for 1/8 teaspoon rum flavoring and 1 cup of shredded coconut in addition to the above ingredients. (I've never tried it that way... don't plan on it either, sounds nasty). Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

    Our family also uses this frosting recipe (doubled) for The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. Those are fantastic as well. I recommend using softened butter rather than melted butter if you do try that recipe. Much less messy. The final result is an epic Cinn-a-bon level cinnamon roll.
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2020
    Edison Carter likes this.
  19. MntnMan62

    MntnMan62 Well-Known Member

    I suppose you might be correct about that. I suppose there are three kinds of cooks in the world. Those who can't cook to save their lives even if the recipe spells everything out. Then there's those like me who can do well but need to follow a recipe for the most part. And then there are those who can open the refrigerator and just start pulling stuff out to use to make something delicious with only their own creative food knowledge. I've always been kind of jealous of people who fall into the latter category.

    I will pat myself on the back though. Last week I made a killer beef chili. And tonight I made a quiche with some of the leftover ham from Christmas. I thought it was delicious. Never made a quiche before. Also made some split pea soup again with the same ham. So many things you can do with that stuff.
     
    BamaT and richgem like this.
  20. Terry

    Terry Tool Admirer

    Beef.
    Rump Roast, fat trimmed, browned all sides on an iron skillet that's crazy hot.
    6 or 7 hundred degrees F.
    On the largest burner, on high for about 10 to 15 minutes. It should be ready.
    Cooked in a bag with spices and soy sauce And air squeezed out.
    130 degrees F for 10 or 11 hours.
    Yes 10 or 11 hours.
    I use my food dehydrator and a digital thermometer to set temperature.

    Sea food
    Shrimp and/or scallops Cooked in an iron skillet with clarified butter (not ghee).
    About 350 to 360 degrees F.
    Takes less than 2 minutes per side.
    Don't crowd the pan.

    Chicken
    Dark meat de-boned and flattened covered with beer batter.
    Gluten free of course.
    Rested in the fridge at least an hour, more if possible.
    Deep fried in 350 degrees F peanut oil.

    Potatoes
    Baked at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes night before, rested in the refrigerator.
    Cut in large chunks , deep fried at 375 degrees F till golden brown.

    Onions
    Sliced in 1/4 inch rings..
    Frozen for half an hour scattered on a large baking pan so I can remove the inner skin.
    Dipped in beer batter and deep fried in 350 degree peanut oil till golden brown.


    Just a few....



    tp
     
    wristwatchb likes this.

Share This Page