Chief_waterchanger
- #1
I was wondering how many of us on this site enjoy cooking?
I know I enjoy cooking for many reasons, some of which would include:
The look on people's faces when they are presented with a plate of food that they didn't have to pay for that looks like a master piece.
The way a good meal makes anyone happy.
The compliments given when a good meal is had and the thanks given for investing one's personal time into something for others.
The way culinary arts are a 'set-in-stone' type skill. What I mean by that is if you cook the same size cut of beef at the same temperature for the same time doing everything the same you will always get the same results.
I love being in the kitchen, just me and the food. It is kinda relaxing to drain away my problems/worries for the day and see what unique dish I could come up with.
----------------------------
I got to thinking about this because I spent yesterday afternoon cooking a Valentine's meal that will be served today. (Thankfully I chose a dish that could be made a day ahead of time since I get off of work an hour before the meal is to be served. )
I cut chicken breasts in half as to give 3/4 inch-1 inch chicken cutlets. Setup 3 containers side by side: 1st had flour, salt, pepper; 2nd had beaten egg and water; 3rd had bread crumbs, cheese, the zest of 4 lemons, thyme, parsley, basil. The chicken cutlets got all of that in order and then fried for 3 minutes on each side. They turned out amazingly well... (of course we had to taste to be sure.. )
The 2nd part of the meal is a spaghettI dish.
It is a normal wheat RotinI (I think it is... inch long spiral noodle things ) boiled just as most spaghettI is. The sauce however is home-made. 7 cans of diced tomatoes, 3 large onions, 2 bell peppers (red and orange in my case), a large amount of basil, italian seasoning (which contains basil and other things), and pizza seasoning (a nice commercial sauce taste added so the kids are happy.) The peppers and onions are sauteed for about 5-8 minutes before the tomatoes are added along with the seasonings and it is suppose to cook for 5 minutes or so blah blah blah... I did my own twist to the recipe.
I cooked the sauce for a good hour or so before turning it off to cool. I also added atleast 2 cups of Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of chicken stock, and then near the end about half a cup of flour (to thicken it up a bit).
The recipe I went from says it served 4, but what I listed above is what I used because we are having 12 people over. My family always cooks extra.. If there is no food left someone must've left the table hungry was the philosophy dad instilled me with when teaching me to cook... so.. yeah... 5x the recipe originally for 4 people and only needing 3x the recipe.
(Not to mention my parents are going to do some side dishes. They live with us and tend to try to helpout with the fish and the cooking.)
Just thought I would see if there is a ball worth rolling around on the cooking topic amonst the fishkeepers.
Everyone feel free to jump in: Bakers, non-bakers, southern-style cookers, non-USA cuisine cookers. Toss in your favorite recipes if you would like, I love new ideas.
I know I enjoy cooking for many reasons, some of which would include:
The look on people's faces when they are presented with a plate of food that they didn't have to pay for that looks like a master piece.
The way a good meal makes anyone happy.
The compliments given when a good meal is had and the thanks given for investing one's personal time into something for others.
The way culinary arts are a 'set-in-stone' type skill. What I mean by that is if you cook the same size cut of beef at the same temperature for the same time doing everything the same you will always get the same results.
I love being in the kitchen, just me and the food. It is kinda relaxing to drain away my problems/worries for the day and see what unique dish I could come up with.
----------------------------
I got to thinking about this because I spent yesterday afternoon cooking a Valentine's meal that will be served today. (Thankfully I chose a dish that could be made a day ahead of time since I get off of work an hour before the meal is to be served. )
I cut chicken breasts in half as to give 3/4 inch-1 inch chicken cutlets. Setup 3 containers side by side: 1st had flour, salt, pepper; 2nd had beaten egg and water; 3rd had bread crumbs, cheese, the zest of 4 lemons, thyme, parsley, basil. The chicken cutlets got all of that in order and then fried for 3 minutes on each side. They turned out amazingly well... (of course we had to taste to be sure.. )
The 2nd part of the meal is a spaghettI dish.
It is a normal wheat RotinI (I think it is... inch long spiral noodle things ) boiled just as most spaghettI is. The sauce however is home-made. 7 cans of diced tomatoes, 3 large onions, 2 bell peppers (red and orange in my case), a large amount of basil, italian seasoning (which contains basil and other things), and pizza seasoning (a nice commercial sauce taste added so the kids are happy.) The peppers and onions are sauteed for about 5-8 minutes before the tomatoes are added along with the seasonings and it is suppose to cook for 5 minutes or so blah blah blah... I did my own twist to the recipe.
I cooked the sauce for a good hour or so before turning it off to cool. I also added atleast 2 cups of Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of chicken stock, and then near the end about half a cup of flour (to thicken it up a bit).
The recipe I went from says it served 4, but what I listed above is what I used because we are having 12 people over. My family always cooks extra.. If there is no food left someone must've left the table hungry was the philosophy dad instilled me with when teaching me to cook... so.. yeah... 5x the recipe originally for 4 people and only needing 3x the recipe.
(Not to mention my parents are going to do some side dishes. They live with us and tend to try to helpout with the fish and the cooking.)
Just thought I would see if there is a ball worth rolling around on the cooking topic amonst the fishkeepers.
Everyone feel free to jump in: Bakers, non-bakers, southern-style cookers, non-USA cuisine cookers. Toss in your favorite recipes if you would like, I love new ideas.