Unlike may of the posters here, I never had "my own" specialty until I was a young adult and started making lasagna. It was a hit with my family (we're of Swedish heritage and I don't think I've ever served it to an Italian) so whenever there was a family gathering, I was asked to make my lasagna (my dad always wanted it for his birthday). IMO it's pretty good for my not being Italian :>) My other specialty was Swedish Coffee Braid, another item that no one in my family ever tried to make and always requested at Christmas.
I always keep chicken ramen on hand for nights/days when I don't feel like cooking. Just boil filtered water with the seasoning, then toss in some pieces of cooked chicken and sliced (on the diagonal!) carrots, chopped shallots and then add the noodles and voila - a pretty fast, easy, delicious meal. I always sprinkle fresh lime juice into the soup just before serving/eating.
Initially, to me cilantro in food tasted like soap. I heard that I was one of the 25% who experienced this. Then I began eating food from Viet Nam and Thailand where fresh cilantro, combined with fresh lime juice, really makes the soup or food "pop" as they say. Totally changed my opinion of cilantro (thank goodness).
One more suggestion: make a big bowl of salad consisting of various greens (romaine and ice berg are a good combo & won't spoil easily); sliced radishes; sliced carrots on diagonal; sliced onions. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator. Each night take out some of the salad and add some cherry tomatoes and a few slices of cucumber and voila! Instant salad. All it needs is your favorite dressing.
Vermicelli, spaghetti, and mezza penne.
I make my own Teriyaki sauce (the jarred sauces I find in stores look thick and are called teriyaki sauce & marinade--I prefer my sauce to be thin). Also, I always have a little bottle of sambal oulek in the fridge (that I buy in a Thai grocery shop). I only use a teence but my husband really pours it on! If you live near a Wegman's Supermarket, they carry a wonderful marinara called Mario's (not the famous Mario altho' his is pretty good but it's too expensive IMO). The Mario's sauce I love is from a Rochester restaurant called Mario's & is the closest jarred sauce to home-made that I can find (w/o costing a small fortune!) Here's a recipe for my Teriyaki sauce:
Teriyaki Sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup (filtered)water
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp garlic powder
5 Tbsps brown sugar
1 Tbsp honey
Mix all ingredients in saucepan and heat. Store in refrigerator.
Stay safe, all you blizzard area folks. Y'all know the basics (what to stock up on and what to have on hand in case the power goes out). I hope your pantries/freezers are full of stuff that can be turned into delicious meals. I'll have a cup of cocoa (with lots of mini marshmallows floating on top) in honor of what you're enduring this weekend.
Since I don't care for graham cracker crust, I use a shortbread crust. I top the pie with whipped cream that has vanilla bean flavored powdered sugar in it and some times I stir in a tiny bit of sour cream into the whipped cream to counteract all the sweetness (in the pie and the cream).
The first time I requested a recipe I was about 8 years old and had tried apple crisp for the first time (have been a fan ever since). I asked my friend's mom for the recipe and still have that piece of paper with the recipe written down in my awful script. I also check cookbooks out of the library for new recipes to try. If the book has quite a few keepers, I'll order it used from amazon.
Which cookie would help us all live in harmony?
according to Jerry Seinfeld: the Black & White Cookie
Lots of hilarious posts here tonight. The only time I ate a pint of ice cream it was Hagen Daz Coconut, several years ago...but not in one sitting. I started out with a scoop or two in a bowl. Went back and got some more. Then I finally just grabbed the pint and sat on the couch and finished it off. Haven't done it since (but then, HD doesn't seem to sell coconut ice cream any more). And for me, ice cream has to be rock hard...can't stand mushy ice cream. I wonder if I wrote to HD..maybe they could tell me if they still produce coconut???
That secret sauce used on eastern NC barbeque. It has to be more than just vinegar and dried red pepper flakes, but what's in it? Can't find anything like it in northern VA. That light sauce just makes the pork fantastic.
@Mr. Nick - thanks for the chuckle! And I agree.
I haven't experienced this (most times there is no bagger & the cashier has to do the bagging him/herself). My gripe is the stop/start jerking of the conveyor belt so that bottles crash over on top of other items. I've learned to put firm items behind the bottles to prop them up.
A chicken casserole we could pop in the oven to warm up (while we unpack, maybe take hot showers in our own bathrooms, and put on comfy clothes--like sweatsuits & warm socks). And a big bowl of salad with some dressing on the side, and a chilled bottle of pinot grigio. You are a blessing to do this for your parents!
I created something I call my Kitchen Bible - only our favorite recipes go in it (so when I get a craving, I only have to reach for one source). It's really called a Recipe Keeper, bought it at Borders then ordered more via amazon (I've made two copies of the "mother book"...not sure why :>). It's sectioned but doesn't have tabs so I bought tiny post-its and made them into tabs. I love being able to access a recipe I want so easily. It's not high tech but it works for me.
Interesting how being sick prompts many of us to make the foods our moms gave us. I think the nostalgia of those days is very comforting when one is feeling awful. I'm another pastina devotee (just butter, salt and pepper please if I'm under the weather). For GI ailment recovery, I sip room temp ginger ale and eat water crackers, then move on to Ramen chicken soup and then tapioca pudding once I'm well enough to cook a little. For colds (or whatever I've been battling this past week), I eat whatever's easiest to prepare (or order delivery)...but I avoid soup as it makes my schnoz run too much.
The only cooking shows on PBS that I watch are America's Test Kitchen, the country cooking show run by the same people as ATK, and Lydia. I'd like to watch Martha but that voice of hers affects me like fingernails on a blackboard. IMO Food Network is a disgrace (except for the Barefoot Contessa & a couple other shows) considering what it used to be in its early days.
Love love love Double J's post! I must admit, though, that my husband was able to fend for himself while working long assignments overseas (mostly in Jordan in the past few years). He was able to find, in local supermarkets, boxes of spaghetti and jars of sauce (something he loves) plus a simple salad, and had that quite a bit when he was tired of eating out. I think it might be a bit of a challenge for someone who never cooked while home to try to grocery shop & cook overseas but I like surcredibility's suggestions
Bolognese sauce; grilled London broil; try out new recipes; and anything that has booze in it (my husband doesn't like it in his food & doesn't eat red meat). Or, order delivery!
I made, for the first time a few months ago, Ina Garten's Lobster & Shells only I used shrimp instead of lobster. Love the fresh corn (that gets into the little shells) and the dill. Just found some fresh corn at Harris Teeter so I'm getting ready to make it again some time soon. I have to really practice self-control so that I don't eat the whole bowl by myself.
Rotisserie chicken with pilaf (or microwaved russet potato) and salad. The next day: cut off some of the chicken and mix into Ramen chicken soup along with diagonally sliced carrots and simmer for a while. After pouring into soup bowl, squirt a little fresh lime juice into the soup. Leftover pilaf is great sauted in a little butter/light olive oil. Serve with leftover salad.
I recommend How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Even though I have a lot of cookbooks, there's always a time when I can't remember (or don't know) how to prepare a certain food and Bittman always comes to my rescue. It's a great resource. Also, I like the latest version of Joy of Cooking. I bought the Bittman cookbook for practically nothing plus shipping from amazon a couple years ago. I also like several of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks (good recipes plus lots of helpful tips on entertaining)
Since I just became re-addicted to chai tea while passing through several airports this past week, I ran to the store and bought an instant mix, Pacific Chai decaffinated vanilla chai latte. No pots, no pans needed and it's almost as good as the chai tea made "from scratch".
I have wondered about recipe directions in which you're told to bake at, say, 425 for so many minutes, "then lower the temperature to 350 and continue baking" for so many minutes. So the food stays in the oven while it's cooling down? Doesn't that negatively affect (eg., dry out, overbake, etc) that food? I hate to admit it, but I've always avoided recipes that require doing this.
I'm on a new food regimen - low carb, low sugar - and the cookbooks I've perused at the library are depressing. Have any of the really good chefs/cooks published a cookbook for healthy eating? I need to go into this new food plan with a positive attitude which means I have to focus on great foods I *can* eat (and not think about those that I need to avoid). Thanks.
Remember all those loaves of lowcarb bread that were on the supermarket shelves several years ago? What happened to them? I ask because I'm trying to lowcarb it and am really having a hard time going w/o toast in the morning. Thanks!
We have a wide variety of supermarkets in our area (northern VA) yet I cannot find sweet potatoes in any of them. It's all those big, ugly yams and I loathe yams. They are definitely not the same as sweet potatoes - IMO they're dry and have little taste. What's going on? Our stores are local and national chains (Wegmans, Safeway, Giant, Harris Teeter). Are other areas selling sweet potatoes?
I'm searching for an entree to make for a small dinner party (3 couples) and for some reason, can't think of anything good. Our guests will arrive at 6:30-ish, we'll serve wine and light appetizers, and chat for a while. So whatever I make, needs to be able to sit a while w/o drying out. Whatever I make cannot have wine in it (2 people cannot eat anything with alcohol in it)...so I'm beginning to stress over these little challenges. Any suggestions? Thanks!
I'd like to make an ice cream pie for a dinner party this weekend. I'm thinking of using a pie crust (from the refrigerated package) in a 9" pie plate, adding two flavors of ice cream and maybe putting something between the layers, then I need a topping or two to make it Xmas-festive (but no nuts...one guest has serious allergies to nuts). Does anyone have a recipe similar to this? I know I've had it in the past...but never got the recipe. TIA :)
We recently stopped at a little cafe in W. Virginia and my husband (the adventurous one) ordered a squash, feta & walnut sandwich. I tried it and asked for part of his sandwich - it was delicious! Has anyone else had a sandwich like this? The squash might have been acorn, it wasn't overly sweet. It was served on homemade wholegrain bread. Cannot get this sandwich out of my mind :)
I recently enjoy a glass of pinot grigio at a party and noticed (while looking at the label) that the alcohol was 11.5%. I meant to find a pen and paper to jot down the name but unfortunately never got around to that. Any recommendations for low alcohol, dry white wines (crisp but not bite-y)?
Growing up in southern NYS, we always had hard rolls for breakfast on the weekend (purchased at the local bakery) or for lunch with cold cuts. I'm no longer living in the metro NY area and cannot find anything similar. Does anyone have a recipe for these rolls? Some had poppy seeds on them (as a kid I always knocked them off before taking a bite...didn't like them). Crispy crust, and like a baguette on the inside. They looked like Kaiser rolls but were not soft on the outside. thanks!
I had it briefly and can't remember where I found it. It's made with mayo and sour cream and dillweed. The other day I was so desperate I made Ina's chicken salad (the one with the walnuts and grapes which is wonderful in itself!) and left out the nuts and fruit, sprinkled it with dillweed and a little lemon juice and it was "sorta" like Junior's. But I'd love to have the original. It is soooo good on toasted rye. Thanks!
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I think I clicked on a link to SE at an old recipe exchange type forum several years ago.