Cook's secrets.......?!
Answers: To those who love to cook - what do you consider to be your 'specialty' - something that you make especially well? Wanna tell us how you do it ??
I love making lasagna! First, I take it from the freezer and remove it from its packaging. Then I punch some holes in the top cellophane cover so it can vent. I then pop it into the microwave for 15 minutes or so and it's ready to eat!
CAUTION: If you use the above method always remember to let it set for two (2) minutes before opening because it's hot!
PS: I also make pizza using a variation of the same basic method except I have to use the oven
I make the best chicken soup (not to brag...)
I start with a package of chicken bones, and keep them on a slow boil in a large pot of water for as long as possible - no less than 6 hours. I also put in an onion, some garlic, bay leaves, celery, and 15-20 black peppercorns. You don't have to chop anything, just cut them in half. (If you put in the carrots at this point, the soup will end up very dark.)
After everything has boiled for ages, I take out most of the bones and vegetables with a slotted spoon, and then pour the rest of the soup through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a smaller pot. Once it has cooled, I divide the stock into meal-size portions and freeze it.
To finish the soup, I defrost a package, and add chopped vegetables (garlic, onion, celery, carrots) and spices (rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, pepper or salt as needed) and keep it on a slow boil for 1-2 hours.
You can add cooked egg noodels or bits of chicken to the bowls before you put the soup in, butyou don't really need to. The soup is very rich from cooking for so long!
I use the spiciest bloody mary mix in my chili instead of tomato sauce, along with the cheapest light beer possible. I can also make the lightest beer battered fish. The secret is heavy on the Cajun seasoning for the flour and the batter which is made again with a super light cheap beer. And garlic is good for you, I always double it in anything. My balsamic vinaigrette has a good drizzle of honey in it that nobody can detect. I do a blend of Parmesan-Romano-asiago and people think they're just getting Parm but they love the blend. And my hubby swears by my enchiladas because I make my own tortillas and he loves the mole sauce I make. Part of the intrigue is people not knowing what's in it!
My "speciality" is in presentation. I make most everything very well because I know how to cook and what to pair with what (one of the downfalls of Newspaper recipes).
But what I work on is a plate or platter that makes you go OOOOH! Last night my wife ate Garlic and rosemary porkchops served attop a mound of sauteed spinach with a lemon wedge on the side. this accompanied by a golden mashed potato pancake with a dollop of Crem Frache. All served restraunt style on an oversized red dinner plate.
She is a pampered woman!!
I make the best of every thing any thing u throw at me will be the best can I put my foot into my cooking really my foot.sike just playing but u will love my cooking
I like to cook, and can cook almost everything. I may start with a recipe and then I will change it. I "cook on the go". I list ingredients, but only as a reference, so I don't forget something. So I sample a lot. To list things would take too long, but if you have trouble with pie crust, I have one that I use vinegar and egg in. It isn't as flakey, but it is easy to handle. If anyone wants, E mail me and I will send it.
Everone loves my spaghetti. Little do they know all it is is Ragu with a can of Campbells Cream of Chicken soup, chopped olives and cheese. It's delicious. My salmon is always a hit as well. I cover it in Dales sauce and Liquid Smoke then shake on garlic salt and seasoned salt and bake. It's fantastic!
Two things, Shrimp Alfredo with salad and garlic bread & Pork Medallions served over egg noodles again with salad and garlic bread.
i have my grandmother's and mom's dressing recipe. i have passed it on to my daughter, who now helps me make it at thanksgiving and Christmas. can't share. lol. it's a family secret. shhhhhhhh. guess my family will just keep passing it on! i also have all of their candy recipes. with both of them now gone, my daughter and i carry on the family traditions. it's something my daughter and i enjoy together during the holiday season every year. :)
I am a good cook in the style of home cooking and southern food. Most secrets are just simply an added touch. If there was a national gravy cookoff, I would expect to finish in the top 10, yet I could not clearly tell my own daughter over the phone how to do it. It is just a touch you have with your tools and a "feel" for when it's
right. I can bake some good bread too........it is all in how you handle the dough. You have to "caress" the dough.
A lot of cooking involves a sense of timing, a sense of the food, and experiece. This is why different cooks get different results from the same recepie. It is the "sense" and timing. When the batter "looks" right, or the smell of the blending ingredients.
New cooks tend to expect too much of themselves. It is not necessary to suddenly be able to put on a gourmet dinner party. Master cooking, one step at a time. You will never run out of new ideas, and don't be afraid to experiment in the kitchen, this is how recepies are "born".
A simple touch all can use is to add a hint of brown sugar to your vegetables, especially those that have a bitter taste such as greens or carrots. Just a hint, the goal is not to make them sweet but to take the bitterness out.
Well, I made crock pot chicken wings using just what ever I had on hand as I had bought wings that I THOUGHT were ones you just heat them and eat them! OH NO. I had worked all night, no time to go back to the store before getting to bed, and had to work that night. Everyone LOVED them ! Dang what did I put in there?????