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Discussion Cooking & Baking — The Chaat Chat

Suswave

Suswave

𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖔
Founder
On My Way Soon Horse Can Work This Out of the Shadows AI Survivor
Pronouns
𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 / 𝖘𝖍𝖊
C2ZXmTy.png


Hey gang! Suswave here.

This thread is for everyone to share their cooking tips and tricks, recipes, experiments, and more!

Why Though?​

Alright, alright, let me justify myself here.
  1. @Brofield said he can’t cook. So let’s m̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈ǎ̴̯̀͠k̵̘̺̦͉͖̪̪͖͉͊̆̔́̈́̍̃̈́͒̂̑̀̚͜͝ë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝ ḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝i̶̡̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅm̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈
  2. Cooking is fun!
  3. Cooking is useful!
  4. Cooking is never insurmountable!
  5. You get better at cooking the more you do it!
  6. Hell hath no fury like a Suswave bored
and look. I’ll say it. Going on a date where someone’s masterpiece menu item is Wet Butter Spaghetti kind of blows. And even if you make it fun, it’s pretty dire by the third go.

By sharing our techniques and recipes, my hope is that we’ll all be emboldened to try new things and hone our skills.

The Structure​

Freeform! for now. Let’s just talk about what we like and what we do! I request most recipes be noted as vegetarian or vegan if that happens to be the case, but otherwise go off!

Happy cooking, everyone. Let’s chaat chat! : - )
 
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I am feeling a range of emotions from admiration to fear having a whole thread spawned from my cooking incompetencies 😂😂

But! My optimism is emboldened by the great yearly reset, so onto the pile of resolutions goes being semi-adept at cooking!

Not that it's all bad; I've had some modest success making a lemon-blueberry loaf cake in the past. I can't quite seem to figure out why it's so dense even after it's finished baking after slicing it open, but it's still delicious and I employ my full mental resistance in not eating the entire thing in one go.

For the most part, I do like spicy foods and I'm a fiend for carbs.
 
I’ll start with some basics!

1. Always Taste Shit

Giving things a taste as you go is crucial. I’m serious! Got a glaze? Taste it. Soup? Taste it constantly. A base soak for noodles? I don’t care, taste it. Raw meat? …I mean, don’t, but maybe taste what you’re gonna slather it with.

2. Season At the Front End

Many things taste better if you get the seasoning right — or close — from the get go. Sure, there are sometimes better times to add things, sometimes times to back off, but you want the flavors to bloom and mingle!

3. Balance Your Flavors

My brain is wired weird, so i definitely have a pitch-based sense for taste. Some things are sharper, some things are bass clef, and all of it can use the same balance that a mix would!

On top of that, we have different tonalities of flavor — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Get to know them! Get to know your relationship with them!

You’d be amazed how using something you didn’t anticipate can make a meal better. A teaspoon of brown sugar in a savory setting can embolden the undertones. A splash of vinegar can make a lacking soup soar. Just give it a shot!

4. Stop Talking Shit About Garlic and Onions

I don’t care, you should use them a lot. Starting a cheese sauce by letting chopped garlic get golden brown in butter on medium low — that shit’ll do wonders. Humanize yourself and face to delicious.

That’s it for my quick general suggestions! Probably more later, or even ~specifics~!
 
the hottest most useful cooking tip: unless you need to decrease your intake for medical reasons, use salt generously. when professional chefs talk about 'seasoning' something they're almost always referring to using enough salt. proper amounts of salt wont make a dish taste salty, it will enhance the natural flavors of the food youre eating.

some dishes need it early, some need it right before serving, but most need salt at some point. use it!!
 
Brofield said:
Not that it's all bad; I've had some modest success making a lemon-blueberry loaf cake in the past. I can't quite seem to figure out why it's so dense even after it's finished baking after slicing it open, but it's still delicious and I employ my full mental resistance in not eating the entire thing in one go.
Click to expand...
see, that loaf looks delicious!

usually when I bake something too dense, it’s one of these things:
  1. The Baking Powder was expired
  2. The Baking Powder was actually Baking Soda and I’ve made a horrible mistake
  3. I overworked the dough
  4. I put too much salt in, even though tons of baking recipes don’t list enough salt
and about fear…

don’t worry! I promise I was joking!

the real reason for this thread… is that I also want to get better at cooking!

I love the notion of just sharing recipes and trying things, so I want to stoke the fire in us all

plus, there are a lot of things I used to cook that I don’t anymore — my wife and I have allergies / aversions / etc to some ingredients that mean a handful of my old tricks are benched. I’d love to share!
 
Ayo if anyone here is talking shit about garlic and onions I will FIGHT THEM.

When I still lived with my parents it was hell when I wanted to make my scrambled eggs with minced garlic because it was always my dad complaining about too strong an odour. Like okay man, you sure I shouldn't have been named Alucard???

Suswave said:
see, that loaf looks delicious!

usually when I bake something too dense, it’s one of these things:
  1. The Baking Powder was expired
  2. The Baking Powder was actually Baking Soda and I’ve made a horrible mistake
  3. I overworked the dough
  4. I put too much salt in, even though tons of baking recipes don’t list enough salt
and about fear…

don’t worry! I promise I was joking!

the real reason for this thread… is that I also want to get better at cooking!

I love the notion of just sharing recipes and trying things, so I want to stoke the fire in us all

plus, there are a lot of things I used to cook that I don’t anymore — my wife and I have allergies / aversions / etc to some ingredients that mean a handful of my old tricks are benched. I’d love to share!
Click to expand...
See, admittedly my baking powder came from Bulk Barn in extremely small quantities because I don't need much, so while I only got it a couple weeks ago, just as likely who knows how long it's been sitting on the floor lol.

But yeah, overworking the dough may be the only logical conclusion, so if I try making the loaf again on Sunday I'll try to be quicker with mixing everything together and if it has the same fluffiness like my Oma's lemon bundt cake that she makes
 
Brofield said:
But yeah, overworking the dough may be the only logical conclusion
Click to expand...
...or underworking the butter/sugar. When you cream butter and sugar together, you're making tiny pockets of air that expand in the oven. Then the flour sets when the cake gets hot enough. Overwork the flour, it's too strong and the gas doesn't get a chance to form bubbles before the flour sets. Don't cream the butter and sugar enough, you don't have enough air whipped in. Tricky balance.

When creaming everything I'd just go to the point it's almost embarrassing how long you've been beating sugar into eggs. You should think something has gone wrong. Then just barely get the flour and the rest incorporated. Let us know how it goes!
 
oldpuck said:
...or underworking the butter/sugar. When you cream butter and sugar together, you're making tiny pockets of air that expand in the oven. Then the flour sets when the cake gets hot enough. Overwork the flour, it's too strong and the gas doesn't get a chance to form bubbles before the flour sets. Don't cream the butter and sugar enough, you don't have enough air whipped in. Tricky balance.

When creaming everything I'd just go to the point it's almost embarrassing how long you've been beating sugar into eggs. You should think something has gone wrong. Then just barely get the flour and the rest incorporated. Let us know how it goes!
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You know, I'll give that a whirl! Admittedly maybe I should be mixing the sugar and eggs for a lot longer, but yeah I may also be overthinking how long the flour needs to be just barely mixed in before I add in more.

oldpuck said:
This one pan farro might be the most reliable recipe in my personal quiver. Partner made it for dinner last night. Amazing.

This cheesy black bean bake might be the best effort to reward ratio of anything I've ever cooked
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I am very eager to try out that cheesy black bean bake too; literally the only thing missing from my pantry for that recipe is the black beans themselves 👀
 
Suswave said:
4. Stop Talking Shit About Garlic and Onions

I don’t care, you should use them a lot. Starting a cheese sauce by letting chopped garlic get golden brown in butter on medium low — that shit’ll do wonders. Humanize yourself and face to delicious.
Click to expand...
This! Diced or minced onion should pretty much be the start for almost any savory dish you make. You will need a sharp blade and practice to get the pieces small so you are better able to release the juices. You don’t want to be hacking away though, so sharp is important to get fine cuts and not make yourself cry a ton.

Would investing a garlic press as well. Does wonders for getting it super fine. I usually add garlic before I add my protein or main ingredients to prevent burning. And add way more than the recipe says. Like 3-4x. They always seem to under represent the amount needed in recipes.
 
Suswave said:
I’ll start with some basics!

1. Always Taste Shit

Giving things a taste as you go is crucial. I’m serious! Got a glaze? Taste it. Soup? Taste it constantly. A base soak for noodles? I don’t care, taste it. Raw meat? …I mean, don’t, but maybe taste what you’re gonna slather it with.

2. Season At the Front End

Many things taste better if you get the seasoning right — or close — from the get go. Sure, there are sometimes better times to add things, sometimes times to back off, but you want the flavors to bloom and mingle!

3. Balance Your Flavors

My brain is wired weird, so i definitely have a pitch-based sense for taste. Some things are sharper, some things are bass clef, and all of it can use the same balance that a mix would!

On top of that, we have different tonalities of flavor — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Get to know them! Get to know your relationship with them!

You’d be amazed how using something you didn’t anticipate can make a meal better. A teaspoon of brown sugar in a savory setting can embolden the undertones. A splash of vinegar can make a lacking soup soar. Just give it a shot!

4. Stop Talking Shit About Garlic and Onions

I don’t care, you should use them a lot. Starting a cheese sauce by letting chopped garlic get golden brown in butter on medium low — that shit’ll do wonders. Humanize yourself and face to delicious.

That’s it for my quick general suggestions! Probably more later, or even ~specifics~!
Click to expand...
No. 2
If you want to cook really good, portion out your seasonings and add them at every stage of a dish. Say you are making a spaghetti sauce, add all of your spices when you add the onion and garlic, then the meat, then the tomatoes, then when it's simmering, then when you serve. That is how you add depth to a dish, because you each version of the spice adds something different to the sauce.

This is an old Italian tradition that's been passed through my family for centuries.
 
More basics(ish)

Garlic - If you think you've used enough, you haven't. It tastes good and it's good for you.

Black pepper - specifically for recipes that call for a generous amount of fresh ground. You twist that shit until you have to swap hands.

Spices - if they're whole, toast em. If they're whole but being ground, toast em before grinding. If they're already ground, cook em properly before adding any liquid.

Roux - liquid in slowly and stir constantly.

Fond - the bits on the pan is the good shit. Sweat your veg in it, make a sauce, deglaze with water and add it to your stew/broth etc. Don't waste it.

Recipes - for cooking they're guidelines, for baking they're rules (Mary Berry will find you, even though she has a job).

Soy sauce - light for flavour, dark for colour.

Pasta/Noodle water - don't chuck it until you're done. This is also the good shit, loosen or emulsify sauces or even use it as a bit of seasoning.

Cooking booze - if you wouldn't drink it, don't make your food do so.

Soffritto/mirepoix - onion, celery and carrot (some variations depending on cuisine). The start of many great soups, stews, stocks and sauces.

Mashed spuds - white pepper gives it some great depth.

Roast spuds - preheat your fat of choice in the tray.
 
Lozjam said:
No. 2
If you want to cook really good, portion out your seasonings and add them at every stage of a dish. Say you are making a spaghetti sauce, add all of your spices when you add the onion and garlic, then the meat, then the tomatoes, then when it's simmering, then when you serve. That is how you add depth to a dish, because you each version of the spice adds something different to the sauce.

This is an old Italian tradition that's been passed through my family for centuries.
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ooooh because the spices will have a different flavor after cooking than they will if they've bee cooked? So adding them in stages draws different flavors from the same spices?? That's friggin genius.
 
chocolate_supra said:
ooooh because the spices will have a different flavor after cooking than they will if they've bee cooked? So adding them in stages draws different flavors from the same spices?? That's friggin genius.
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You nailed it.

Also, it has to do with giving flavor profiles depth. Typically, the first bite of any dish is typically the best, and then the dish gets a little worse each bite until it's gone. This, allows the newer flavors to hit your taste buds first, and then the older more mixed flavors to gradually reveal themselves when the taste buds get used to the pop of a dish. It essentially makes it so each bite of a dish gets better and better and better each time you bite into it, because your taste buds will notice a lot more intracacies the more used to the dish it is.
 
So I don't cook much but sometimes I try, and sometimes I'm pressured into it by friends, and the most recent time I really did something that was out of my comfort zone I got pretty good reviews and people were asking for the recipe so I thought I'd post it in case anyone here is a breakfast lover:

Cheesy Quiche with Hash Brown Crust -

spicedblog.com spicedblog.com

It's sort of a cheater quiche that uses hashbrowns for the crust and it came out pretty good! And I made a few modifications (because there were some vegetarians eating with us and because I don't like jalapeños):
-Omit bacon and jalapeños
-Add 1/4cup of drained, chopped sundried tomatoes at the same time as garlic
-Omit salt and pepper (for the filling), add 1/2tsp "Slap Ya Mama" cajun spice instead

The sundried tomatoes worked as a fantastic stand-in for the meat, and it actually won people over more than the sausage one I did alongside it. And using cajun spice in place of salt and pepper worked because that particular brand and blend is mostly s&p anyway (plus I told yall it goes on everything)

I'm sure there's more you could add if you're more aware of seasonings and things but this was gone in like a matter of minutes so 😅
 
God I love cooking and baking.

Newest tip- get a bullion or similar item (there's a brand I use called better than bullion) and use that for a super easy super tasty shot of flavor in many dishes.

Like, making a pasta sauce? Pour your jarred or canned sauce into an pan, then put a spoon full of bullion into the jar/can with a bit of water, shake it up to get all the residual sauce off the walls and mix in the bullion, then pour into your panned sauce.
 
The good thing about cooking is you can be as lazy or as involved as you want, and still get something good out of the experience. If you have an apple pie you want to make, spend free nights trying to slowly work on it. You will not see amazing results initially. Wasting ingredients will happen, but that apple pie you make later on will make it all worth it. If you don't want to put more than 30 mins a night or a weekend into this, work on something that you can leave overnight.

Brofield said:
Ayo if anyone here is talking shit about garlic and onions I will FIGHT THEM.
Click to expand...
Bro garlic is so good it should be $70.
 
Onions, garlic, and ginger rule and go in so many things. Cooking with a college friend who liked to make a lot of kung pow/cashew/teriyaki/etc. chicken, so many recipes start with "chop up a ton of garlic and ginger". I like to use a potato peeler for ginger, it's generally easier than slicing off the outer skin with a knife unless you're incredibly good with fine knife work.
 
SammyJ9 said:
Onions, garlic, and ginger rule and go in so many things. Cooking with a college friend who liked to make a lot of kung pow/cashew/teriyaki/etc. chicken, so many recipes start with "chop up a ton of garlic and ginger". I like to use a potato peeler for ginger, it's generally easier than slicing off the outer skin with a knife unless you're incredibly good with fine knife work.
Click to expand...
I use a spoon to scrape off the ginger peel
 
Suswave said:
Stop Talking Shit About Garlic and Onions
Click to expand...
SammyJ9 said:
Onions, garlic, and ginger rule and go in so many things
Click to expand...
You have made us Asians proud!

Lots of good tips in this thread. Main thing I’ll add is to invest in a good, sharp knife if you can. It will make many steps in the process easier, and it’s safer to cut stuff up if you’re not struggling with the cutting on the first place.

BozPaggs said:
Recipes - for cooking they're guidelines, for baking they're rules
Click to expand...
For real, baking is tough. Any other type of cooking I can generally wing it, but even just baking cookies has me glued to the recipe lol
 
To celebrate the new thread, thought I'd give y'all two – easy – recipes from where I'm from :

Sausage rougail (think I already mentioned it in another thread but here's the full recipe)

Ingredients:
  • 4 smoked sausages (or like cajun andouille for our US friends)
  • 4 small chilies (adjust to taste)
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 2 onions
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • A bit of ginger
  • Half a teaspoon of turmeric
  • A bit of thyme

Method:
  • Boil the sausages for 10 minutes
  • Meanwhile, dice the onions and tomatoes (separately)
  • Crush the chili, chopped ginger, garlic, thyme and turmeric in a pestle (or just use a blender)
  • Drain the sausages and cut them into large slices
  • Pan fry the sausages slices in vegetable oil (medium-high heat) until brown
  • Add the onions, cook for 5 minutes
  • Add the spices, cook for two minutes
  • Add the tomatoes and cook on medium-low heat until you have almost no liquid left
  • Serve over basmati or jasmine rice with some additional chili

Sweet potato cake

Ingredients:
  • 1,5kg / 3.3 lbs sweet potatoes
  • 100g / 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 250g / 1 cup butter
  • 200g / 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 vanilla beans (or 2 tbsp vanilla extract)
  • 2 tbsp rum (if you want)

Method:
  • Preheat your oven at 180°C / 350°F
  • Peel sweet potatoes and steam or boil until tender, then mash to obtain a purée
  • Cut butter into pieces and add into the hot mashed potatoes
  • Mix well and stir in sugar and eggs
  • Cut vanilla beans in half to extract seeds, then add (or just add vanilla extract)
  • Add rum, if you want
  • Stir in flour until you have a nice paste (you can also do all the steps above in a blender if you want!)
  • Put your paste in a buttered mould
  • Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 20 minutes, then at 150°C / 300°F for 40 minutes
  • Leave to cool before unmolding
  • Eat (it's even better the next day)
 
Skittzo said:
Newest tip- get a bullion or similar item
Click to expand...
oh yeah, this is a good one!

One of my tricks at home to add some tenor to pasta, a little pizzazz, is to put some bullion paste, plus other ingredients depending on the dish (sometimes lemon juice, sometimes balsamic, sometimes sugar, sometimes pomegranate molasses — so many options!)

got a little lost there

but I put some paste and other ingredients in a bowl to make like a “soaking sauce” for the pasta. I’ll take some of the boiled pasta water right before I drain it and use that to bring the ingredients together

then, once I have that made up, I’ll pour some into the drained noodles — enough to form a “base coat” that gets absorbed into the noodles while you prepare the veg / etc to go with it

then, I’ll finish off with a tonally complimentary or contrapuntal “main sauce” or cheese, plus the veg / etc

call me crazy but I love what it does to it. gives more intrigue to the noodles themselves, and balances whatever the “main sauce” is doing
 
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Gonna pull in some things I'm pretty proud of from my older cooking thread.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

I like this one quite a bit. It could be pretty easily modified to be either vegetarian or vegan, though this is the iteration I usually make as a low carb, high protein meal.

Here's most of what goes into it:
304858093_593120052542879_750785796229581103_n.jpg


That is about 1/3 of a head of cauliflower (I use a cheese grater to rice it, but you can get it prericed or use another tool), some frozen peas and carrots, a chopped Serrano pepper, diced garlic and ginger, green onion, bacon, diced pork, and some scrambled egg. I cook the eggs first, chop up, and set aside, then cook the bacon. The bacon's purpose is mostly to render fat, which will be used to fry the dish. Once the bacon is cooked, I dice it and set aside, then toss the green onion whites, ginger, and garlic into the fat to begin flavoring on medium heat, then adding the diced pork as well. After a minute or so, I also add in the cauliflower rice, peas, carrots, and serrano pepper (any pepper works, I've used jalapeno, or you can forgo it entirely), increase the heat to medium high to high, and begin stirring and letting everything cook down. There is a lot of moisture in the cauliflower, so don't be alarmed that a lot of steam will come off it at this point. Season the mixture while cooking with some soy sauce and MSG, and if you wish, some red pepper and sriracha sauce. When the cauliflower rice has begun to lose steam and brown, add in your cooked eggs and bacon, and add a small amount of Toasted Sesame Oil (a little bit goes a long way), and let go a couple more minutes. Once it is cooked, add to a bowl, and top with your diced green onion stalks and more sriracha for color, and it comes out something like this!

304825182_1246018419528645_2237889563492310361_n.jpg


This is probably enough to feed two people if you have another side or a single person as a single large meal.
 
Lozjam said:
I have to say, my grocery bill each week went from $200 a week, to $100 a week just from shopping at Costco, and the quality of the ingredients is just so much better. Especially the meat. You really cannot beat it. I will spend about $80 at Costco, and then $20-30 at Aldi for fresh produce. You really can't beat that.
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it sounds like you’re talking about US Costco

I should probably note that I don’t have a car and have to carry everything home

I should also note that I can’t shop in person at big stores anymore — my wife and I are chronically ill / immunocompromised and everyone else stopped even trying to mitigate plague.

grocery shopping in a small-to-medium-sized No Frills for 20 minutes with an N95 on is how I got COVID for what we think was the first time last year, and now I have Long COVID.

So the best I can do without starving is smaller fruit markets and grocery stores — which are far more robust in Canada than the US — in and out in 15 minutes

but, all of that said, even my friends who shop at the massive places say things are brutal in CAD grocery prices

we’ve uh… kind of had an ongoing crisis and some massive price fixing / colluding / corporate greed happening

even the worst / cheapest little block of mild cheddar is running like $7 or $8 before tax
 
Skittzo said:
God I love cooking and baking.

Newest tip- get a bullion or similar item (there's a brand I use called better than bullion) and use that for a super easy super tasty shot of flavor in many dishes.
Click to expand...
It's a really great brand. We use it a lot, very happy about it

Suswave said:
I should probably note that I don’t have a car and have to carry everything home

I should also note that I can’t shop in person at big stores anymore — my wife and I are chronically ill / immunocompromised and everyone else stopped even trying to mitigate plague.
Click to expand...
I can't recall where you're located, but we are in a similar situation here. For a long time we leaned heavily on delivery, which adds to cost, but the counter is the ability to buy in bulk from places like Costco. On net, we still save money that way and don't have to leave the house or haul stuff up and down stairs.
 
anyways, back to cooking fun instead of depressing shit

underappreciated ingredient of the day:

Sesame Oil!​

want something to taste a bit nuttier and richer? cook it in sesame oil! I’m a huge fan of what it does to flavors overall

for brussels sprouts:

- Pan-fry the sprouts on medium heat — even frozen ones! — plain with some salt to make them nice and crispy. Establish brown spots on multiple sides.

- Once they seem delightful, scooch them off to the side and lower heat to a 3 or 4 - then start frying some sesame oil

- Drop a FAT spoonful of chopped garlic into the oil

- Let simmer til golden brown, and then…

- add maple syrup! or another sweetner

- let that cook down for a lil bit, careful not to burn it

- then splash some Rice Wine Vinegar on the garlic mix!

- cook a little longer, til the smell is less acrid

- once it’s just right, roll the sprouts through the pan until everyone’s evenly coated

- serve and enjoy!

You can also use balsamic vinegar as a shortcut at the sweetener phase. That makes the rice wine vinegar unnecessary, unless you’re feeling it.
 
Suswave said:
and sometimes it also takes getting married so your in-laws will pitch in for a stand mixer
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I initially pictured your in-laws standing over the counter whisking the shit outta stuff by hand before I realized you probably meant "pitch-in" in the financial sense and not in the "come help do this" sense 🤣
 
Suswave said:
anyways, back to cooking fun instead of depressing shit

underappreciated ingredient of the day:

Sesame Oil!​

want something to taste a bit nuttier and richer? cook it in sesame oil! I’m a huge fan of what it does to flavors overall

for brussels sprouts:

- Pan-fry the sprouts on medium heat — even frozen ones! — plain with some salt to make them nice and crispy. Establish brown spots on multiple sides.

- Once they seem delightful, scooch them off to the side and lower heat to a 3 or 4 - then start frying some sesame oil

- Drop a FAT spoonful of chopped garlic into the oil

- Let simmer til golden brown, and then…

- add maple syrup! or another sweetner

- let that cook down for a lil bit, careful not to burn it

- then splash some Rice Wine Vinegar on the garlic mix!

- cook a little longer, til the smell is less acrid

- once it’s just right, roll the sprouts through the pan until everyone’s evenly coated

- serve and enjoy!

You can also use balsamic vinegar as a shortcut at the sweetener phase. That makes the rice wine vinegar unnecessary, unless you’re feeling it.
Click to expand...
Sounds awesome! Brussels sprouts are so OG. Simply one of the best vegetables, it goes well with everything (rice, potatoes, pasta, tofu, chicken...), it's fairly cheap, it's easy to cook and it's delicious.
 
chocolate_supra said:
okay maybe not pancakes but I'd try it once just to say I did
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?

But Irish, British and French style pancakes can be savory! Of course this goes on in a cheese onion bacon pancake. 😋
meatbag said:
I admire all of you that can bake
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...I was a baker before I got my degree. 😅

I sure HOPE I can still bake! The last thing I made was a trifle, the last thing I baked was the sponge layer for the Christmas day tiramisu.

Skittzo said:
Baking is all about following directions to the letter, and slapping yourself in the face if you even think about deviating from the recipe.
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You HAVE TO DO THE COOKING BY THE BOOK.

No, SERIOUSLY. Handwritten notes by a friend, a printed guide from a website, a cookbook from the library, if you want to bake, recipes recipes recipes! My bakery had a handwritten notebook kept by the head baker. Wonderful woman, as tiny as she was strong.


Cooking is, in my view, practice and recipes, and if I might recommend a recipe book, it's The Victorian Way. It's not just good, it's fascinating, it's a modern adaption of a notebook from a Victorian manorhouse's head cook. Incredible stuff and lots of advice. It's also from a charity, English Heritage, and not a celebrity chef, so, that's bonus points in my eyes. If you have access, libraries usually have great cooking sections, just keep them away from the work surfaces. For a complete beginner, The Good Housekeeping Step By Step Cookbook does everything step by step and breaks down techniques and ingredients separately, at least in the edition I have.

For websites, English Heritage hosts a lot of the recipes in The Victorian Way on their website, as well as great videos on YouTube. For more modern dishes and a huge catalogue, I can recommend BBC Good Food.
 
Made Red Beans and Rice tonight. Kind of winged it this time, but I'll give my process.

Started by cutting two onions (I decided to leave them as rings instead of dicing to give them a different texture), a few stalks of celery, two green bell peppers, four diced cloves of garlic, and two jalapenos, and letting them cook down in some olive oil, a little more than half an hour on medium. Seasoned with some salt, cajun seasoning, and paprika.

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After the veggies softened up a bit, I mixed in some tomato paste (I had a small 6 oz can, and just used all of it), then added 4 cans of small red beans (note: do not confuse Red Beans for Red Kidney Beans, very different texture and flavor), about 3 cups of water, and some sliced Andouille Sausage (I used a package of 5 links).

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Let it cook for another 45 minutes or so on medium heat. As it cooked, I would smash some beans against the side of the pot with the spoon, which helps thicken up the sauce. Once it was sufficiently cooked and the sauce was thick enough, I removed it from the heat and served over brown rice.

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Usually, you use white rice for this kind of dish, and it might have been a cleaner taste if I did, but it still tasted fine all the same. I got a pretty large pot of the beans mixture, which will probably give me leftovers for 4-5 more meals. This would be pretty easy to make Vegan, just don't add the andouille sausage, the beans provide plenty of protein as is. If I wanted to make it more photogenic, I'd probably have added some green onion to the top. But this all turned out really well though, the beans component was very flavorful. If I wanted to adjust anything, I may use vegetable stock next time instead of water when adding liquid to the mixture.
 
WestEgg said:
Made Red Beans and Rice tonight. Kind of winged it this time, but I'll give my process.

Started by cutting two onions (I decided to leave them as rings instead of dicing to give them a different texture), a few stalks of celery, two green bell peppers, four diced cloves of garlic, and two jalapenos, and letting them cook down in some olive oil, a little more than half an hour on medium. Seasoned with some salt, cajun seasoning, and paprika.

GDhpADUXMAENzSW


After the veggies softened up a bit, I mixed in some tomato paste (I had a small 6 oz can, and just used all of it), then added 4 cans of small red beans (note: do not confuse Red Beans for Red Kidney Beans, very different texture and flavor), about 3 cups of water, and some sliced Andouille Sausage (I used a package of 5 links).

GDhpADXWwAAN7uX


Let it cook for another 45 minutes or so on medium heat. As it cooked, I would smash some beans against the side of the pot with the spoon, which helps thicken up the sauce. Once it was sufficiently cooked and the sauce was thick enough, I removed it from the heat and served over brown rice.

GDhpADWWcAE9qVx


Usually, you use white rice for this kind of dish, and it might have been a cleaner taste if I did, but it still tasted fine all the same. I got a pretty large pot of the beans mixture, which will probably give me leftovers for 4-5 more meals. This would be pretty easy to make Vegan, just don't add the andouille sausage, the beans provide plenty of protein as is. If I wanted to make it more photogenic, I'd probably have added some green onion to the top. But this all turned out really well though, the beans component was very flavorful. If I wanted to adjust anything, I may use vegetable stock next time instead of water when adding liquid to the mixture.
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Love red beans and rice.
 
Lots of 'yicious pics in here. I've been slacking on taking snaps of what I cook! I'm gonna try my best to remember.
 
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Brofield said:
Okay, in hindsight after I finished I realized I'm probably inviting a ton of "what in the caucasian happened here" comments, but dammit I took a bite and I like it. (Me having the taste palette of a toddler is not new information)

One Pan Taco Spaghetti

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That looks like a revelation

Now whether that's the good kind or the biblical kind I'll leave for others to determine but it's definitely one of em
 
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