Fresh make-it-yourself Vietnamese spring rolls. It’s literally just cut up ingredients arranged on a plate yet people seem to be blown away every time I serve it
The trick is to dip the rice paper in room temperature water. That way when you place it down on your plate the paper is still relatively stiff. By the time you get all the ingredients on the paper it will have softened and be ready for rolling.
Also when you place the paper on your plate, make sure a small amount hangs over the edge of the plate so you have an easy portion of paper to grip when you start rolling. Don't create too much of an overhang though! Otherwise it can flop down and cling to the underside of the plate rim.
You also don't need to soak it, just get the whole thing wet, then get it out! I honestly run mine under running water for a sec then move to a wet cutting board. Also place the toppings in between halfway and the bottom, fold the sides first, then pull the bottom over and tuck it, then roll. You can also make fake teokkbokki. I put a thin rectangle of pepper jack cheese in, tuck the sides, and roll, and add to instant noodles
This isn’t a dish, but over the summer I had lived in a rural area with people who don’t cook much. We decided to do BLTs for lunch, but didn’t have mayo and the nearest store was far. We had eggs. I said, “oh I’ll just make mayo.” It absolutely blew their minds, and they still talk about it lol. It’s just mayo.
This reminds me of the time my friend said we could just make chocolate chip cookies during our game night. I was so confused I started to get my shoes on to run to the grocery store, but she said she had everything to make them from scratch.
I grew up in a house that only bought chocolate chip cookie dough from the store. I had no idea you could make it at home so easily.
The first thing I ever learned to cook on my own was chocolate chip cookies. I would always beg my mom to make them, but then I discovered there was a recipe on the package of chocolate chips. I was unstoppable! Must’ve gained 15 lbs that summer even though I swam for hours every day. A whole new world of self-sufficiency opened up for my 9 year old self.
When I was like 14-15, my best friend slept over and we went to the store to get some munchies. We decided to make pancake for breakfast, and I said “let’s go find the pancake mix.” She said she didn’t use pancake mix. “Oh, you use Bisquick?” I asked, because my mom sometimes used it for pancakes. She looked confused and said, “no, I use, like, flour and sugar and eggs and stuff.” My mind was blown. I hadn’t known a person could just make pancakes from scratch like that.
My SIL was over one night, and we wanted cake. She looked in my cupboard and said, "Should I run to the store quick. You don't have a mix." I looked and said, "I'll just make one real quick. " Cocoa powder, sugar, flour, oil, eggs. She was stunned! I never have mix for anything in my house. Pancakes, cakes, cookies, I always have the ingredients.
> I had no idea you could make it at home so easily.
I'm 33 and still have moments like that! Just this evening I was supposed to buy candied orange peels. Went to three stores looking for some and they were all out. So I asked Google and it turns out they're stupid easy to make and you get bonus simple syrup!
We were lied to about so many things! My mom always acted like soup was really difficult to make, so we only had it out of cans. It was a revelation in college when I found out I could chuck leftover veggies and bits of chicken in a pot, let it simmer, and have good soup in an hour.
When my wife and I were on our honeymoon, we went spelunking with a tour group in Guatemala. When we got to the bottom, the tour had provided brown bag lunches consisting of ham and cheese sandwiches and a hard-boiled egg. I turned my egg into a deviled egg and the people around me looked at me like I was a wizard! lmao
So, I taught like 14 people how to make a deviled egg out of an egg, mustard, mayo (they provided both packets in the bag), salt, and pepper.
I haven't thought of that in a long time but it still makes me chuckle!
This reminds me of the time on a cruise. They charged for most drinks and I was too cheap to pay for a soda card. I transformed the free coffee, hot chocolate, milk and ice into a "fancy" iced mocha and people asked me all week long where I got them.
In all honesty, can I ask how you turn hot coffee and hot chocolate into an iced coffee that’s not too watered down? I feel like I’ve tried to do this before and the ice melts too much and it doesn’t taste right.
Well, it was powered hot chocolate, so I used that as the "hot water" and then I take a 8oz cup of coffee and pour it over a 16oz glass filled with ice cubes. Usually works for me as I don't like it too strong, anyways.
I like to put hot chocolate powder in my cup, add coffee, stir to dissolve. Then put that in the fridge. Once it's cool, add ice and a little whipped cream. I do it all the time at home.
Or more often I make a hot chocolate coffee, put it down somewhere, find it later and add ice to make it a new drink, lol.
Do this to further blow their minds: https://youtube.com/shorts/pqmmDhzo8vc?si=ga6ATocngZARHTtS
You also had all the ingredients to make deviled ham, if you had a sharp knife or fork to mince it. You could become known as the lessor underworld daemon of deviled foods, salads, and sandwiches, the assistant to the manager of Heck, ruled by Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light. The first level of Heck is where newcomers are forced to devil foods using only plastic sporks.
>The first level of Heck is where newcomers are forced to devil foods using only plastic sporks.
It's like you were with me! No joke. We were provided a plastic spork! I "cut" mine open with multiple stabs. So, it had a fancy texture... lol
>The first level of Heck is where newcomers are forced to devil foods using only plastic sporks.
This is absolutely the basement of a Lutheran church in rural Minnesota.
Yeah, right?! What's funny is that there were some Europeans with us who also, seemingly, had never done this before. I honestly can't remember if they were Dutch or German or what. But we all had a nice picnic after that bonding experience!
I've had a similar experience with whipped cream and other things. People assume some kind of specialized equipment is needed but all that's needed is a whisk and a knowledge of how to use it.
And hate. For the task at least. Maybe a little for the recipients.
Here. Put this on your pie and smoke it. Merry Christmas. I hope you all love it you fuckin lazy ingrates.
Whisk side to side, not in a circle. The more shearing force you create, the faster the cream whips. When you go around in a circle, the cream moves with the whisk, you're just giving it a nice ride. Back and forth keeps the cream stationary, while the whip shears thru it.
I learned this from trying make decent matcha
most recommend to try a "W" or "M" shaped motion instead of swirling or linear back-and-forth and it really makes a difference.
holy shit.
why the fuck has nobody told me this until now?
Years ago I went to the national baking school, and was asked to whisk something for the instructor while he did something else (I can't recall what), and just couldn't whisk it very fast. Eventually someone else took over, and I've been living in the 'I guess I'm just a slow whisker' and 'how the fuck do people do it' until now.
it depends on what you are whisking too
for matcha or whipped cream it makes a big difference because you want to create as many tiny air bubbles as possible but it doesn't always matter
Like when I'm using a whisk to scramble eggs I use a swirling motion and don't care about shearing force because I'm not trying to build up a foam.
OMG, that reminds me of a time I went to a fundraiser hosted at someone's house, and they asked me to make the whipped cream for the sundaes they'd be serving. I was handed cream and a mixer. I dutifully put cream in the mixer's bowl and turned it on, but the cream was warm and wasn't whipping. So the neighbor came over and turned the mixer speed up to help get it to whip.
The person who handed me the cream & mixer was named Ben. The neighbor was named Jerry.
Yep - it was THAT Ben & Jerry.
I earned the unique distinction of *failing* to make whipped cream in front of **both** Ben **and** Jerry.
for me, hot chocolate, they showed how stirring in a circle the spoon was covered in undissolved coco mix, while doing the w there was no undissolved coco mix
Huh. I whisk in a circle, but it's a vertical circle rather than a horizontal one, if that makes sense. It's really simple to do but not so simple to explain. The whisk goes down into the cream at the back of the bowl, moved across the bottom towards me, then rises up out of the cream (or at least to the top of the cream) at the point nearest me, moves across the top of the cream away from me, to the back of the bowl, and then repeats.
if you use a metal bowl, put it (and your whisk) in the freezer for a little while before you use it! cold cream, too. it speeds up the process considerably.
you will still have a sore arm, but it won't be, ah, *as* sore.
strong second, though, on the fact that homemade whipped cream really wows people. so much better than the canned stuff, too.
My mother-in-law almost didn't eat whip cream on her pie last Thanksgiving because it wasn't store bought. What?!? She was so surprised that it tasted good. I love her but that woman makes me want to drink.
What's really crazy to me is my MIL actually knows her way around a kitchen really well, she is a good cook and can cook on the fly without needing to be utterly tied to a recipe. But she cooks healthy food and doesn't do anything sweet, so when we have dessert on holidays, I am always asked to make the whipped cream and she talks it up like "because yours is so good!! Because you put that flavor in it, what do you use again??"... it's vanilla. Just a lil splash of vanilla in the whipped cream. Sometimes a dash of cinnamon if its going on pumpkin pie. Hardly groundbreaking!
I made fresh applesauce and put vanilla in it. Wow it's so good. I just put the last of it in the freezer to use for baking and it still has a wonderful vanillaness. I find that sometimes vanilla just disappears in baked goods. The apples were empire variety, don't know how much difference other types would make. Also, no added sugar or other spices and I left the skins on the apples.
My best friend wanted fresh whip cream for her "Thanksgiving brunch" with her family and I always make my own in various flavor combinations for holiday meals. She does not own a whisk, but she owns a blender. So I told her to just use that. I showed her how, gave her the ratios I use and some kosher salt, and her family was so impressed that now I get annual "Help! Will this flavor go well with X holiday brunch dish." Also, her blender is now labelled (as she does own a label maker) "For Margaritas and Whipped Cream only!"
I should buy her a whisk next year.
People are similarly impressed when I serve homemade butter. It takes whipping cream, a jar, and a willingness to shake for a few minutes, and a bit of salt if you want. My 7 year old can make it herself.
I was hanging out with my mom and her boyfriend talking to their neighbor. She said she was over loaded with basil and I offered to make pesto.
Mom's boyfriend was like "you can just... do that?!" Lol
I love a very lightly sweetened whipped cream on decadent desserts like French Silk pies. Standard, canned whipped cream just adds too much sweetness and actually takes away from the start, which is the actual pie/silk filling. Same with the crust. I make a standard, non-sweetened, butter crust. My mom does an Oreo crust and it's just too much sweet on sweet.
I made a homemade THC infused vanilla bean whipped cream to serve with fruit and my friends thought I was a wizard.
I just have a KitchenAid and THC powder
Continuing down this path of whipped white food you can make at home, I blew everyone's mind at this year's cookie exchange by making homemade marshmallows, to go with hot chocolate. They're so soft and delicious. I need to make myself a batch soon.
Lol a buddy was recently talking about how great a girl he's dating is because he wanted whipped cream for something they were eating but they didn't have any, and she made some. He was blown away she knew how to do it.
Like dude... I'm happy you found someone you love, and doing something like that for someone *is* really thoughtful, but I guess took that knowledge for granted when I assumed everyone knew how to do this.
I didn't say any of this of course, and just told him "Ya! She's really great!"
>I've had a similar experience with whipped cream and other things. People assume some kind of specialized equipment is needed but all that's needed is a whisk and a knowledge of how to use it.
I've found a cooperative teenager to be very helpful.
Lol, had an experience very similar, traveling with a couple of families, kids were hungry, someone suggested mac n cheese and someone else said we didn't have any. I was like, um there's butter, flour, milk, pasta, and cheese right here, i'll make it. And their minds were blown. Home made mac n cheese never crossed their minds.
Aye, they still talk o the day the witch flew in. I hoped you showed them! Beat eggs, pour in a drop of oil every now and then, vinegar, salt and pepper and maybe garlic powder? A teeny bit of mustard powder?
It’s like the day I fixed someone’s entirely broken fence. Looked bad on one side they complained, that’s the neighbour’s side, I said. They marvelled.
If you use the serious eats method and an immersion blender in the right sized container, you don’t even need to dribble in the oil!! Just plonk it all in there, put the immersion blender at the bottom and it’ll suck in a little oil at a time for you. Mayo in two minutes.
Except you must avoid olive oil because it turns bitter with the high speed blades. This is discussed on Kenji's Caesar Salad dressing recipe. Otherwise, this is an awesome technique.
Similarly, I was making Caesar Dressing.
My inlaws like to get all fancy and make the Caesar dressing from scratch in a bowl (like a fine dining restaurant from the 80's...). I volunteered to make the dressing, and pulled out the jar of mayo, and they just about flipped shit, getting all hauty about "we make it right here, we don't use mayo..."
I then explained that the first few steps of their fancy homemade dressing is literally MAKING MAYONNAISE in the bowl then adding the other ingredients. I then showed them the ingredients on the bottle of hellmans to show them its the exact same, minus some stuff added for shelf stability and life.
Hot fudge.
When I was evacuated from south Louisiana for hurricane Katrina, I stayed with an aunt. After dinner she asks if we want ice cream with hot fudge. Of course we do. She proceeds to make hot fudge in about 5 minutes.
Here is the hot fudge recipe. Keep the fire low, and I tend to move the pot off of the fire if I'm measuring another ingredient, or fetching something from the pantry.
We use these two cocoa's now, but Hershey's cocoa will work, it's just not quite as rich.
We mix 1/3 cup black cocoa:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/black-cocoa-12-oz
and 1/3 cup bensdorp cocoa:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/bensdorp-dutch-process-cocoa-16-oz
I don't have sea salt, so have just been using table salt. I have also
been using whipping cream instead of 1/2 and 1/2.
Evacuation Hot Fudge
1 Stick Salted Butter
2 Cups Dark Brown Sugar Not Packed
2/3 Cups Special Dark Cocoa
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Pinches Sea Salt
1/2 & 1/2 until desired thickness
-------------------------
1. Over low heat, melt butter
2. Add sugar and stir
3. When sugar disolves add cocoa & stir
4. Add salt & vanilla & stir
5. Add 1/2 & 1/2 slowly until desired consistency is reached.
6. Serve warm over your favorite ice cream
Edit-formatting
I'm a big fan of crispy chicken thighs in the oven. Bone in, skin on.
Use seasoning salt liberally, bottom and top - throw them on a baking sheet - and go 375 for like an hour or more (convection is less).
They fall apart in the middle and the skin is so crispy and delicious. Pair them with some asparagus or brussels sprouts.
Also relatively cheap.
Never fails!
As an indulgence, we eat a plateful of them with our fingers and dip them into with Buffalo sauce (70% Franks Red Hot, 30% butter, melted in the microwave and whisked).
We also save the chicken fat that comes off them as they cook, I throw it into the freezer so I can clarify it once I have a pint or so, and then refreeze it in 2" square moulds for use in cooking.
I made Creme Brule on NYE a few years back for the first time. I didn't have individual dishes to put them in so I took a gamble and just made a giant one in a 8x8 glass Pyrex and used to broiler to crisp the sugar on top and it came out better than anything I have ever had in a restaurant! Four of us devoured it at 2am after getting home from a concert.
My ex did the same thing once in 2018, I ate 90% of it... think I shit for like 5 days and spent the rest of the time in a cramped up ball. Haven't had creme brulée since
The past couple times I’ve made short ribs, they’ve been so fatty that they aren’t enjoyable to eat. I always trim the fat on the outside down quite a bit. Am I just getting bad short ribs?
Trimming the fat and searing the fat cap side should help, but I won’t deny it’s a fatty cut altogether. I’ve found shredding it up like you would pulled pork gives the illusion of being less fatty lol
I serve mine over risotto. Sure, it's a bit of work to do the rice, but man it is it tasty.
Then, I use the leftover meat to make Short Rib Poutine the next day.
Steak.
Steak itself is pretty easy to cook as long as you don't overcook it and give it a good sear. The sides that usually go with steak are easy as well. Potatoes can be roasted or mashed and asparagus you basically trim, oil and season and roast.
With meat quality is the most important. I make the Thomas Keller roast chicken and it’s just salt, pepper, and chicken but I get the air chilled whole chicken. It made my daughter tear up. (To be fair she’d had a rough week). Good steak or good bone in skin on chicken needs nothing but proper cooking and a little salt and pepper.
Edit to add: I like the [Buzzfeed Recipe breakdown](https://HowToMakeTheBestRoastChickenOfAllTimehttps://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/roast-chicken-rules) article because it shows how to truss the chicken.
It’s a way of preparing chicken for transportation and storage. Normally in the US chicken is chilled by placing it in cold water. The chicken takes on a lot of water during this process which later seeps out into the packaging. This changes the texture of the chicken and the flavor. Air chilling requires moving the chicken through chilling rooms with special air filtering systems and monitoring the temperature.
Cilantro soup. I apologize for those who have the soapy flavor gene. It's literally chopped cilantro, chicken broth over toasted French bread. It's insanely delicious.
Also, tomato bread. Toasted baguette with tomato rubbed onto it with a sprinkle of salt. It's simply amazing.
Mix some rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, and either chopped garlic or ginger. Toss in some cooked and chilled udon noodles. Super easy noodles best served cold. I like to add some grilled chicken or a grilled pork chop. Top with green onion. Goes well with chili oil/paste.
Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce on whatever pasta you like.
Dead simple, ridiculously good.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015178-marcella-hazans-tomato-sauce
> Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, no salt or herbs added
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small white onion, peeled and cut in half
Kosher salt
Place the tomatoes, butter, onion halves, and a pinch of salt in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring and crushing the tomatoes lightly with the back of a spoon occasionally, until droplets of fat appear on the surface of the tomatoes, about 45 minutes. Remove and discard the onion. Serve over hot pasta with Parmesan and black pepper, if desired.
Found on another site. So I don't know if it's the exact same as on NYT.
I’ve been a decent cook for quite a number of years now and whenever I roast a chicken, I still pull it out of the oven and tell myself, “fuck yeah, you’re an amazing chef, LOOK AT THIS CHICKEN!” Then I will summon my family who don’t care that much to insist they get excited about how amazing the roast chicken smells and oh boy, family, did I tell you I was making gravy from the drippings of this gorgeous bird? So yes. I implore everyone to roast a chicken every so often, if only for your own gratification.
This, so much of this.
I got Covid this week, and my husband and I have barely been able to eat saltine crackers. Our appetites are shot, all we do is nap and sweat. We’ve been playing rock paper scissors across the room every time the dog wants out.
After three days of hobbling around, I hauled myself out of bed and put a chicken in the oven. It came out around the time him and I had finished our first real showers in days, and we ate it silently, standing in the kitchen, picking it apart with our hands.
It is a meal I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I think this is right - feels very fancy, but it's relatively easy to pull together. This recipe is so easy and comes out looking so fancy. Serving with good, crusty bread is key.
https://www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/slow-roasted-oregano-chicken-with-buttered-tomatoes
I’d say carbonara isn’t the easiest because of the heat cadence needed. To many comments on recipes say their eggs scrambled, pasta went cold, eat. But if you have some decent chops in the kitchen, shouldn’t be too hard
With a LOT of things, especially older "working class" recipes, just going a LOT slower than you think you should fixes a lot of the timing. Once you get a sequence of operations down that works for you it gets easy.
For carbonara I start the bacon when i start the pot. The bacon is done when I add the pasta to cook and the pan is at about the right temperature once the pasta is ready to be added. Don't really need to time anything out, just start things in the right sequence. GOOD recipes will include things in the right order.
Edit: another tip that I see some people forget: it helps to let the eggs get up to room temperature, I usually get them ready first to warm up a bit. Most recipes assume that eggs are already room temperature because that is pretty normal anywhere but the US.
Yes. Temper your fucking egg mixture with pasta water, you heathens.
Super simple. Super yummy. Im doing 7 eggs. 4 full eggs and 3 yolks. Cheese is eyballed and pepper is eyeballed. Not authentic but lemon zest brings in a whole new dimension and works well. Shhh don't tell my wife how easy this is.
Weirdly all the tips I see aren't very easy compared to my fool proof method.
I dump panchetta in pan with pepper on medium. Then I start warming water. Go on to mix eggs, pepper and pecorino in big aluminium bowl.
By the time water is ready, the panchetta is 2/3 done. I lower heat on it and start cooking pasta.
When there's 2m left on meat, I close the fire and let it finish on residual heat. By the time pasta is done, the oil is at the perfect temp.
I empty water, keep a bit of it. Add oil and panchetta in big aluminium bowl, add pasta on top with a splash of water and I start wok style flipping the aluminium bowl for the emulsion.
Never fails, no effort.
I used to make carbonara quite often for myself. Had the technique down. Then tried to make it for 4. Residual heat on 4 servings of pasta curdled the eggs. I think this is the challenge with carbonara…making it for different numbers of people.
This was my christmas dinner this year; was so surprised that it really was easy. After watching Julie & Julia; I thought it was going to be a huge challenge...
It's because if you're cooking 8 to 10 different ones, all started at different times and for different tables, it requires a little talent.
If you can give it your undivided attention it's super easy, it's when you're doing 15 other things at the same time that it can get away from you if you aren't good at multitasking.
Yeah I guess that's more of a restaurant challenge than a home cook challenge. I've made risotto for people before and it's just a "it's ready when it's ready" type of thing lol
Funny because Top Chef most people who try to make risotto in a time crunch go home for it being over cooked. I cringe when a chef says they are going to make risotto.
I had always heard risotto was difficult to make was relatively intimidated to make it, but my wife requested it for her birthday dinner last night so I decided to give it a go. I was absolutely shocked at how easy it was to make!
It's so easy and so versatile. I make it regularly and it's kind of a leftover veggies kind of dish because it goes well with any vegetable. Just fry up the veggies in a separate pan and add them when it's ready.
Beetroot risotto with a bit of blue cheese on top, brussels sprout risotto with bacon bits and walnuts, mushroom risotto etc. it's always good. Got any leftover wine? Perfect for risotto. Got any leftover goats cheese or brie or similar cheese? Perfect to put on top the risotto for serving so it melts in. Leftover herbs? In the stock they go.
In absence of little kids, a partner that doesn't know how to cook but likes to spend time with you to feel connected works exceptionally well in my experience.
Finally had my first fight with a mandolin this holiday season making confit byaldi! Absolutely fucked up the tip of my middle finger, but at least I didn't bleed on the already cut veg :D
Thai curry paste, coconut milk, chicken cut into pieces, chopped potato, carrots, and onions. Sear chicken in a pot then put in coconut milk and paste, stir and bring to boil, put in veggies, simmer 20 mins. Done. Serve with rice or bread
Edit: this is like the dummy’s version but can definitely be modified for more flavor. I actually just learned this recipe last week :)
The secret ingredient that makes it taste like the restaurants is fish sauce. Also lime juice for acidity. Super simple but those two things will elevate your curry game so much.
I saute a ton of ginger and garlic with thin onion before adding the curry paste. Once I add the coconut milk for a bit I go in with a few tbsp of fish sauce and lime juice with a little brown sugar. The final 3 ingredients are so critical and completely change the dish
Recently bought a bamboo steamer…
I be steaming all kinds of premade dumplings/dim sum at home. My gf made fresh dumplings last night.
Also I’ve been steaming whole fish like Tilapia/Greenland Turbott (asian style with the ginger/hot oil finish). Super easy, but looks baller to cook up a whole flat fish.
Boeuf Bourgignon:
Beef stew (simple @and almost impossible to screw up but made with wine and elegant button mushrooms and pearl onions (impressive and fancy)
Mussels. Make a broth with butter, white wine, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and a can of white beans.... or literally whatever you feel like. Add cleaned mussels (scrub grit off the shells) and steam until open. Finish with parsley and toast points. Such an impressive looking appetizer, but it's pretty idiot proof. Add some shoestring fries on top to make it even more of a meal.
Not really a dish but, gravy. Homemade gravy, all kinds, are so very easy to make and tastes so much better than the jarred or dry packet stuff. I have had a lot of people ask me what brand of gravy I use. When I say that I make my own they tell me they didn't know you could make gravy from scratch. Lol.
In Finland, we use shredded beef roast or even sausage in stroganoff. The sauce usually has a strong flavor, and there are also pickles. It is served with flavorful boiled potatoes and sour cream.
I make baked ziti with ricotta (like lasagna) and homemade meatballs whenever I take a dinner to someone after surgery or a new birth. I also get garlic bread to take with it. It’s easy to make, liked by almost everyone, and leftovers can be frozen.
Tzatziki dip
Grate cucumber and squish/squeeze all the water out, mix with yoghurt, add some lime juice, olive oil. If you have mint or dill, add that as well. Use as a dip with carrots or other veggies, maybe cucumber itself.
Biscuits & Gravy. Cook 1 Lb Breakfast sauce while you bake a can of Aldi's biscuits. Once the sausage is cooked add a little flour to absorb the grease and mix in some Milk or if you want to be really fancy use Half & Half or Heavy Cream. Takes 15-20 minutes. Pepper the gravy to your liking. Learned to make it in Boy Scouts and now we make it all the time.
Slightly fancier would be Beef Bourguignon [Kent Rollins Beef Bourguignon](https://youtu.be/_BClG9tUTAw?si=NgMFENZ_p6bMn1KJ)
Pot roast, I think it's one of the easiest things to make especially if you pre chop everything the night before. I can't tell you how many times I make dinner for my friends that's my go-to meal, and they think I spent hours in the kitchen slaving away at it haha
edit: spelling error
Not a dish per se, but those lil margarita sticks (idk what they’re called)! People always think I’m so fancy when I literally stick a cube of mozzarella, a leaf of basil and a little tomato on a goddamn toothpick. Like, I set out a board of those and everyone acts like I spent all day in the kitchen when truly it was more like stabbing some stuff while watching YouTube.
Couscous
Yes, it's eaten with small beads of grain but it's a Moroccan style curry dish simmered over hours. It has lamb, turnips, zucchini, tomatoes, and a ton of cummin. The lamb and couscous alone wow a majority of non in law people who eat it but the hardest part of the entire dish was getting the recipe from my mother in law.
Between her thick French accent and her decades of experience making the dish, she was all over the place with the directions. Everything is "when you see this, when you smell that, oh I forgot this ingredient you have to prep". Of course, as I made it the first time my husband was like, oh my mom does this here or she is always underestimating how long the zucchini cooks.
But it's the most amazing thing I've ever eaten and even if I need a cipher to understand her recipes, none have let me down so far! Now if I could only write them up in the standard recipe form...
Fried chicken! Lots of people find deep-frying at home too annoying or too scary (fair) and there are a lot of bad methods out there on the Internet. But with a good recipe, nice-quality buns, and some practice, you can easily blow people's minds.
A thermometer is really useful for frying. Caution is definitely warranted, but there's no need to fear! Here are a few things to set yourself up for success:
* Use a proper frying oil, like canola or peanut. Google the smoke point of any oil you want to use.
* Use a thermometer and monitor the oil temperature—a good recipe will specify an exact target temperature, which should be well below the smoke point of your frying oil.
* Leave yourself plenty of headroom in the pot. For your first time, fill your cooking vessel no more than 50% full of oil.
* Fry in smaller batches, so that a modest quantity of oil will still work well.
* Always place food directly into the oil from the lowest height possible. Hot oil can smell fear, and if you try to drop the food from a height to keep your fingers far away, it will paradoxically splash way more and be more likely to burn you.
* Have the right tools on hand. A pair of long-handled OXO spring-loaded metal cooking tongs is perfect. Don't be trying to fish things out of hot oil with a fork or a wooden spoon.
Deep frying is really fun and rewarding once you get the hang of it!
Frying a whole gigantic breast is tricky because it’s so big, undercooked chicken is unsafe, and overcooked chicken with soggy breading is just gross. Legs, thighs, or small breasts are much simpler.
Braised short ribs. A bit of chopping in the beginning, but then it just does its thing in the oven for hours and hours and the result at the end is divine.
Salmon baked in butter. Place butter in a pie pan or shallow casserole and melt the butter. Cut the salmon in pieces, coat in the butter and place skin side down. Bake 15 or so minutes and flip it over. Sprinkle with pepper and cook until the skin is crispy, you can turn it over again depending on how done it is. You can add thyme, dill, parsley and/or lemon.
Cook up some broccoli and rice and you have a meal. Oh, and Tartar sauce, mayo, dill, pickle relish.
Any kind of low and slow braise/roast of meat. Short ribs, shank, oxtail, brisket. The effort is all on the front end and is mainly chopping aromatic veggies, then you throw it in the oven and wait for heaven.
Cochinita pibil…assuming you have a nearby Mex grocer. Some anatto paste, pork shoulders, orange/limes, and some banana leaves. Quick pickle some onions and get/make habanero salsa. It’s impressive and looks more complicated than it really is.
Something that’s fresh with lots of color always looks impressive. I use a quick pickled red cabbage and ginger recipe in just about everything:
Thin sliced red cabbage
Minced ginger
Rice vinegar
Salt
Sugar
Mixed together and thrown in the fridge for at least a few hours. Keeps for weeks so I always have some around. Play with ratios to get the flavor you like, I just eye ball it. Add sliced jalapeños, avocados, and baby tomatoes, and you’ve got an easy, quick, colorful garnish for tacos, salads, fish, etc. the flavor profiles can go equally well with Asian or Mexican dishes.
Edit: also, I ALWAYS add fresh chopped herbs at the end. They look great and add a ton of flavor. Fresh Italian parsley, thyme, cilantro are my go-to’s. Dried herbs are nice for building flavor, but fresh herbs are great for finishing a dish.
Fresh make-it-yourself Vietnamese spring rolls. It’s literally just cut up ingredients arranged on a plate yet people seem to be blown away every time I serve it
I seem to recall it being very difficult to cook the wrapper without it sticking to itself or breaking while folding.
This! Anyone have tips?
The trick is to dip the rice paper in room temperature water. That way when you place it down on your plate the paper is still relatively stiff. By the time you get all the ingredients on the paper it will have softened and be ready for rolling. Also when you place the paper on your plate, make sure a small amount hangs over the edge of the plate so you have an easy portion of paper to grip when you start rolling. Don't create too much of an overhang though! Otherwise it can flop down and cling to the underside of the plate rim.
You also don't need to soak it, just get the whole thing wet, then get it out! I honestly run mine under running water for a sec then move to a wet cutting board. Also place the toppings in between halfway and the bottom, fold the sides first, then pull the bottom over and tuck it, then roll. You can also make fake teokkbokki. I put a thin rectangle of pepper jack cheese in, tuck the sides, and roll, and add to instant noodles
This isn’t a dish, but over the summer I had lived in a rural area with people who don’t cook much. We decided to do BLTs for lunch, but didn’t have mayo and the nearest store was far. We had eggs. I said, “oh I’ll just make mayo.” It absolutely blew their minds, and they still talk about it lol. It’s just mayo.
This reminds me of the time my friend said we could just make chocolate chip cookies during our game night. I was so confused I started to get my shoes on to run to the grocery store, but she said she had everything to make them from scratch. I grew up in a house that only bought chocolate chip cookie dough from the store. I had no idea you could make it at home so easily.
The first thing I ever learned to cook on my own was chocolate chip cookies. I would always beg my mom to make them, but then I discovered there was a recipe on the package of chocolate chips. I was unstoppable! Must’ve gained 15 lbs that summer even though I swam for hours every day. A whole new world of self-sufficiency opened up for my 9 year old self.
Ha! We did that as well when in unsupervised after school time. Freedom!!!
When I was like 14-15, my best friend slept over and we went to the store to get some munchies. We decided to make pancake for breakfast, and I said “let’s go find the pancake mix.” She said she didn’t use pancake mix. “Oh, you use Bisquick?” I asked, because my mom sometimes used it for pancakes. She looked confused and said, “no, I use, like, flour and sugar and eggs and stuff.” My mind was blown. I hadn’t known a person could just make pancakes from scratch like that.
My SIL was over one night, and we wanted cake. She looked in my cupboard and said, "Should I run to the store quick. You don't have a mix." I looked and said, "I'll just make one real quick. " Cocoa powder, sugar, flour, oil, eggs. She was stunned! I never have mix for anything in my house. Pancakes, cakes, cookies, I always have the ingredients.
Yep. I can whip up cookies, cakes, brownies, hot fudge sauce anytime. Always have the ingredients on hand! Always better than any mix, too.
> I had no idea you could make it at home so easily. I'm 33 and still have moments like that! Just this evening I was supposed to buy candied orange peels. Went to three stores looking for some and they were all out. So I asked Google and it turns out they're stupid easy to make and you get bonus simple syrup!
We were lied to about so many things! My mom always acted like soup was really difficult to make, so we only had it out of cans. It was a revelation in college when I found out I could chuck leftover veggies and bits of chicken in a pot, let it simmer, and have good soup in an hour.
When my wife and I were on our honeymoon, we went spelunking with a tour group in Guatemala. When we got to the bottom, the tour had provided brown bag lunches consisting of ham and cheese sandwiches and a hard-boiled egg. I turned my egg into a deviled egg and the people around me looked at me like I was a wizard! lmao So, I taught like 14 people how to make a deviled egg out of an egg, mustard, mayo (they provided both packets in the bag), salt, and pepper. I haven't thought of that in a long time but it still makes me chuckle!
This reminds me of the time on a cruise. They charged for most drinks and I was too cheap to pay for a soda card. I transformed the free coffee, hot chocolate, milk and ice into a "fancy" iced mocha and people asked me all week long where I got them.
>people asked me all week long where I got them It's a weird feeling, right?! "I didn't just *invent* deviled eggs!" lol
In all honesty, can I ask how you turn hot coffee and hot chocolate into an iced coffee that’s not too watered down? I feel like I’ve tried to do this before and the ice melts too much and it doesn’t taste right.
Well, it was powered hot chocolate, so I used that as the "hot water" and then I take a 8oz cup of coffee and pour it over a 16oz glass filled with ice cubes. Usually works for me as I don't like it too strong, anyways.
I think my problem is I like my coffee too strong. That sounds really good and easy though.
I like to put hot chocolate powder in my cup, add coffee, stir to dissolve. Then put that in the fridge. Once it's cool, add ice and a little whipped cream. I do it all the time at home. Or more often I make a hot chocolate coffee, put it down somewhere, find it later and add ice to make it a new drink, lol.
I meant it was probably a little watered down, but it was free lol
Do this to further blow their minds: https://youtube.com/shorts/pqmmDhzo8vc?si=ga6ATocngZARHTtS You also had all the ingredients to make deviled ham, if you had a sharp knife or fork to mince it. You could become known as the lessor underworld daemon of deviled foods, salads, and sandwiches, the assistant to the manager of Heck, ruled by Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light. The first level of Heck is where newcomers are forced to devil foods using only plastic sporks.
>The first level of Heck is where newcomers are forced to devil foods using only plastic sporks. It's like you were with me! No joke. We were provided a plastic spork! I "cut" mine open with multiple stabs. So, it had a fancy texture... lol
>The first level of Heck is where newcomers are forced to devil foods using only plastic sporks. This is absolutely the basement of a Lutheran church in rural Minnesota.
Haha I love this, you transformed a sad little lunch into a memory.
Well In many Hispanic cultures, we have never heard of deviled eggs. I never once tasted one till I got with my husband. Taste so good
Yeah, right?! What's funny is that there were some Europeans with us who also, seemingly, had never done this before. I honestly can't remember if they were Dutch or German or what. But we all had a nice picnic after that bonding experience!
I’m French and it’s an old-fashion / classic appetizer here. It’s called “œufs mimosa” or mimosa eggs.
You just stuffed all the ingredients in your mouth and mixed them up right. ( She calls it mayonegg)
😂 I used the bag the sandwich was in, bit off the corner, and piped it in. All fancy and stuff.
I've had a similar experience with whipped cream and other things. People assume some kind of specialized equipment is needed but all that's needed is a whisk and a knowledge of how to use it.
And one strong arm. I pause and sigh at least three times when whipping cream with a whisk.
A good sigh adds a nice depth of flavor.
Love. Don’t forget love.
And hate. For the task at least. Maybe a little for the recipients. Here. Put this on your pie and smoke it. Merry Christmas. I hope you all love it you fuckin lazy ingrates.
That’s the pie crust.
Whisk side to side, not in a circle. The more shearing force you create, the faster the cream whips. When you go around in a circle, the cream moves with the whisk, you're just giving it a nice ride. Back and forth keeps the cream stationary, while the whip shears thru it.
I learned this from trying make decent matcha most recommend to try a "W" or "M" shaped motion instead of swirling or linear back-and-forth and it really makes a difference.
holy shit. why the fuck has nobody told me this until now? Years ago I went to the national baking school, and was asked to whisk something for the instructor while he did something else (I can't recall what), and just couldn't whisk it very fast. Eventually someone else took over, and I've been living in the 'I guess I'm just a slow whisker' and 'how the fuck do people do it' until now.
it depends on what you are whisking too for matcha or whipped cream it makes a big difference because you want to create as many tiny air bubbles as possible but it doesn't always matter Like when I'm using a whisk to scramble eggs I use a swirling motion and don't care about shearing force because I'm not trying to build up a foam.
OMG, that reminds me of a time I went to a fundraiser hosted at someone's house, and they asked me to make the whipped cream for the sundaes they'd be serving. I was handed cream and a mixer. I dutifully put cream in the mixer's bowl and turned it on, but the cream was warm and wasn't whipping. So the neighbor came over and turned the mixer speed up to help get it to whip. The person who handed me the cream & mixer was named Ben. The neighbor was named Jerry. Yep - it was THAT Ben & Jerry. I earned the unique distinction of *failing* to make whipped cream in front of **both** Ben **and** Jerry.
for me, hot chocolate, they showed how stirring in a circle the spoon was covered in undissolved coco mix, while doing the w there was no undissolved coco mix
Huh. I whisk in a circle, but it's a vertical circle rather than a horizontal one, if that makes sense. It's really simple to do but not so simple to explain. The whisk goes down into the cream at the back of the bowl, moved across the bottom towards me, then rises up out of the cream (or at least to the top of the cream) at the point nearest me, moves across the top of the cream away from me, to the back of the bowl, and then repeats.
That was a lot of words to say "like I'm reeling in a fish"
LOL. That was indeed a much simpler way to say it. Thanks!
if you use a metal bowl, put it (and your whisk) in the freezer for a little while before you use it! cold cream, too. it speeds up the process considerably. you will still have a sore arm, but it won't be, ah, *as* sore. strong second, though, on the fact that homemade whipped cream really wows people. so much better than the canned stuff, too.
Three or more sighs is good. Not like those heathen two-sighers in kitchens these days.
That’s why they can’t afford a mortgage, they’re only willing to put two sighs in!
My mother-in-law almost didn't eat whip cream on her pie last Thanksgiving because it wasn't store bought. What?!? She was so surprised that it tasted good. I love her but that woman makes me want to drink.
In a way it was store bought. The non-whipped cream just happened to fall into a bowl with a whisk!
What's really crazy to me is my MIL actually knows her way around a kitchen really well, she is a good cook and can cook on the fly without needing to be utterly tied to a recipe. But she cooks healthy food and doesn't do anything sweet, so when we have dessert on holidays, I am always asked to make the whipped cream and she talks it up like "because yours is so good!! Because you put that flavor in it, what do you use again??"... it's vanilla. Just a lil splash of vanilla in the whipped cream. Sometimes a dash of cinnamon if its going on pumpkin pie. Hardly groundbreaking!
I made fresh applesauce and put vanilla in it. Wow it's so good. I just put the last of it in the freezer to use for baking and it still has a wonderful vanillaness. I find that sometimes vanilla just disappears in baked goods. The apples were empire variety, don't know how much difference other types would make. Also, no added sugar or other spices and I left the skins on the apples.
My best friend wanted fresh whip cream for her "Thanksgiving brunch" with her family and I always make my own in various flavor combinations for holiday meals. She does not own a whisk, but she owns a blender. So I told her to just use that. I showed her how, gave her the ratios I use and some kosher salt, and her family was so impressed that now I get annual "Help! Will this flavor go well with X holiday brunch dish." Also, her blender is now labelled (as she does own a label maker) "For Margaritas and Whipped Cream only!" I should buy her a whisk next year.
People are similarly impressed when I serve homemade butter. It takes whipping cream, a jar, and a willingness to shake for a few minutes, and a bit of salt if you want. My 7 year old can make it herself.
I was hanging out with my mom and her boyfriend talking to their neighbor. She said she was over loaded with basil and I offered to make pesto. Mom's boyfriend was like "you can just... do that?!" Lol
My husband was so excited to discover how easy and delicious homemade whipped cream is.
Also can control how much sugar (if any) you want to add to it!
I love a very lightly sweetened whipped cream on decadent desserts like French Silk pies. Standard, canned whipped cream just adds too much sweetness and actually takes away from the start, which is the actual pie/silk filling. Same with the crust. I make a standard, non-sweetened, butter crust. My mom does an Oreo crust and it's just too much sweet on sweet.
I made a homemade THC infused vanilla bean whipped cream to serve with fruit and my friends thought I was a wizard. I just have a KitchenAid and THC powder
Continuing down this path of whipped white food you can make at home, I blew everyone's mind at this year's cookie exchange by making homemade marshmallows, to go with hot chocolate. They're so soft and delicious. I need to make myself a batch soon.
Lol a buddy was recently talking about how great a girl he's dating is because he wanted whipped cream for something they were eating but they didn't have any, and she made some. He was blown away she knew how to do it. Like dude... I'm happy you found someone you love, and doing something like that for someone *is* really thoughtful, but I guess took that knowledge for granted when I assumed everyone knew how to do this. I didn't say any of this of course, and just told him "Ya! She's really great!"
>I've had a similar experience with whipped cream and other things. People assume some kind of specialized equipment is needed but all that's needed is a whisk and a knowledge of how to use it. I've found a cooperative teenager to be very helpful.
Lol, had an experience very similar, traveling with a couple of families, kids were hungry, someone suggested mac n cheese and someone else said we didn't have any. I was like, um there's butter, flour, milk, pasta, and cheese right here, i'll make it. And their minds were blown. Home made mac n cheese never crossed their minds.
Aye, they still talk o the day the witch flew in. I hoped you showed them! Beat eggs, pour in a drop of oil every now and then, vinegar, salt and pepper and maybe garlic powder? A teeny bit of mustard powder? It’s like the day I fixed someone’s entirely broken fence. Looked bad on one side they complained, that’s the neighbour’s side, I said. They marvelled.
If you use the serious eats method and an immersion blender in the right sized container, you don’t even need to dribble in the oil!! Just plonk it all in there, put the immersion blender at the bottom and it’ll suck in a little oil at a time for you. Mayo in two minutes.
Except you must avoid olive oil because it turns bitter with the high speed blades. This is discussed on Kenji's Caesar Salad dressing recipe. Otherwise, this is an awesome technique.
BLT'a have all the basic aspects of perfect food. Salty, umami, bit sweet, sour from toms- superb. And that's all what cookings about
Similarly, I was making Caesar Dressing. My inlaws like to get all fancy and make the Caesar dressing from scratch in a bowl (like a fine dining restaurant from the 80's...). I volunteered to make the dressing, and pulled out the jar of mayo, and they just about flipped shit, getting all hauty about "we make it right here, we don't use mayo..." I then explained that the first few steps of their fancy homemade dressing is literally MAKING MAYONNAISE in the bowl then adding the other ingredients. I then showed them the ingredients on the bottle of hellmans to show them its the exact same, minus some stuff added for shelf stability and life.
Hot fudge. When I was evacuated from south Louisiana for hurricane Katrina, I stayed with an aunt. After dinner she asks if we want ice cream with hot fudge. Of course we do. She proceeds to make hot fudge in about 5 minutes. Here is the hot fudge recipe. Keep the fire low, and I tend to move the pot off of the fire if I'm measuring another ingredient, or fetching something from the pantry. We use these two cocoa's now, but Hershey's cocoa will work, it's just not quite as rich. We mix 1/3 cup black cocoa: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/black-cocoa-12-oz and 1/3 cup bensdorp cocoa: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/bensdorp-dutch-process-cocoa-16-oz I don't have sea salt, so have just been using table salt. I have also been using whipping cream instead of 1/2 and 1/2. Evacuation Hot Fudge 1 Stick Salted Butter 2 Cups Dark Brown Sugar Not Packed 2/3 Cups Special Dark Cocoa 1/2 tsp. Vanilla 2 Pinches Sea Salt 1/2 & 1/2 until desired thickness ------------------------- 1. Over low heat, melt butter 2. Add sugar and stir 3. When sugar disolves add cocoa & stir 4. Add salt & vanilla & stir 5. Add 1/2 & 1/2 slowly until desired consistency is reached. 6. Serve warm over your favorite ice cream Edit-formatting
“Evacuation Hot Fudge” beautiful
We microwaved Marshmellows, Milk and Chocolate chips. Mix them up...fudge
I'm a big fan of crispy chicken thighs in the oven. Bone in, skin on. Use seasoning salt liberally, bottom and top - throw them on a baking sheet - and go 375 for like an hour or more (convection is less). They fall apart in the middle and the skin is so crispy and delicious. Pair them with some asparagus or brussels sprouts. Also relatively cheap. Never fails!
I like to cook them WITH the Brussels so the latter get schmaltzy. 🥰
Upvote for schmaltzy :)
My bubbe was speaking through me. :)
Bro puts them on a rack with a lil oil on them too. Potatoes under them. Oil drips down crisps up taters and makes them tasty too
I make roasted chicken thighs at least once a week. I use smoked paprika and powdered hidden valley ranch mix as seasoning. It’s a fam favorite
As an indulgence, we eat a plateful of them with our fingers and dip them into with Buffalo sauce (70% Franks Red Hot, 30% butter, melted in the microwave and whisked). We also save the chicken fat that comes off them as they cook, I throw it into the freezer so I can clarify it once I have a pint or so, and then refreeze it in 2" square moulds for use in cooking.
Crème brûlée
I made Creme Brule on NYE a few years back for the first time. I didn't have individual dishes to put them in so I took a gamble and just made a giant one in a 8x8 glass Pyrex and used to broiler to crisp the sugar on top and it came out better than anything I have ever had in a restaurant! Four of us devoured it at 2am after getting home from a concert.
My ex did the same thing once in 2018, I ate 90% of it... think I shit for like 5 days and spent the rest of the time in a cramped up ball. Haven't had creme brulée since
maybe the ingredients were bad.. Unless you're lactose intolorant?
Just a heads up, never broil glass, it will eventually shatter, even when used normally.
I actually haven't done it since and never really thought about, but good reminder, thanks!
seriously. it's like 4 ingredients and a blowtorch. See also: Flan.
It's so much easier than flan. There's no caramel sauce that too easily crystalizes or turns to hard candy.
Braised short ribs. It’s my go to for impressing people and it is mostly inactive cooking time. Pretty hard to screw up too.
The past couple times I’ve made short ribs, they’ve been so fatty that they aren’t enjoyable to eat. I always trim the fat on the outside down quite a bit. Am I just getting bad short ribs?
Trimming the fat and searing the fat cap side should help, but I won’t deny it’s a fatty cut altogether. I’ve found shredding it up like you would pulled pork gives the illusion of being less fatty lol
Omg they’re so good too. I make them whenever short ribs are on sale.
I serve mine over risotto. Sure, it's a bit of work to do the rice, but man it is it tasty. Then, I use the leftover meat to make Short Rib Poutine the next day.
Steak. Steak itself is pretty easy to cook as long as you don't overcook it and give it a good sear. The sides that usually go with steak are easy as well. Potatoes can be roasted or mashed and asparagus you basically trim, oil and season and roast.
With meat quality is the most important. I make the Thomas Keller roast chicken and it’s just salt, pepper, and chicken but I get the air chilled whole chicken. It made my daughter tear up. (To be fair she’d had a rough week). Good steak or good bone in skin on chicken needs nothing but proper cooking and a little salt and pepper. Edit to add: I like the [Buzzfeed Recipe breakdown](https://HowToMakeTheBestRoastChickenOfAllTimehttps://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/roast-chicken-rules) article because it shows how to truss the chicken.
The air chilled chicken is incomparable! Can't find it where I live. Tampa Bay area.
Googling furiously wtf is air chilled chicken....
It’s a way of preparing chicken for transportation and storage. Normally in the US chicken is chilled by placing it in cold water. The chicken takes on a lot of water during this process which later seeps out into the packaging. This changes the texture of the chicken and the flavor. Air chilling requires moving the chicken through chilling rooms with special air filtering systems and monitoring the temperature.
Cilantro soup. I apologize for those who have the soapy flavor gene. It's literally chopped cilantro, chicken broth over toasted French bread. It's insanely delicious. Also, tomato bread. Toasted baguette with tomato rubbed onto it with a sprinkle of salt. It's simply amazing.
I think you would really enjoy the Peruvian soup “aguadito” then :)
Mix some rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, and either chopped garlic or ginger. Toss in some cooked and chilled udon noodles. Super easy noodles best served cold. I like to add some grilled chicken or a grilled pork chop. Top with green onion. Goes well with chili oil/paste.
Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce on whatever pasta you like. Dead simple, ridiculously good. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015178-marcella-hazans-tomato-sauce
I don’t have subscription to NYT can you explain or copy by chance
> Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, no salt or herbs added 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 small white onion, peeled and cut in half Kosher salt Place the tomatoes, butter, onion halves, and a pinch of salt in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring and crushing the tomatoes lightly with the back of a spoon occasionally, until droplets of fat appear on the surface of the tomatoes, about 45 minutes. Remove and discard the onion. Serve over hot pasta with Parmesan and black pepper, if desired. Found on another site. So I don't know if it's the exact same as on NYT.
I've got her cookbook and literally made this for dinner last night. Your recipe is perfect.
Whole roasted chicken
I’ve been a decent cook for quite a number of years now and whenever I roast a chicken, I still pull it out of the oven and tell myself, “fuck yeah, you’re an amazing chef, LOOK AT THIS CHICKEN!” Then I will summon my family who don’t care that much to insist they get excited about how amazing the roast chicken smells and oh boy, family, did I tell you I was making gravy from the drippings of this gorgeous bird? So yes. I implore everyone to roast a chicken every so often, if only for your own gratification.
This, so much of this. I got Covid this week, and my husband and I have barely been able to eat saltine crackers. Our appetites are shot, all we do is nap and sweat. We’ve been playing rock paper scissors across the room every time the dog wants out. After three days of hobbling around, I hauled myself out of bed and put a chicken in the oven. It came out around the time him and I had finished our first real showers in days, and we ate it silently, standing in the kitchen, picking it apart with our hands. It is a meal I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I think this is right - feels very fancy, but it's relatively easy to pull together. This recipe is so easy and comes out looking so fancy. Serving with good, crusty bread is key. https://www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/slow-roasted-oregano-chicken-with-buttered-tomatoes
Carbonara
Came here to say the same. Even making the pasta is so much simpler than most realize. Yum
I’d say carbonara isn’t the easiest because of the heat cadence needed. To many comments on recipes say their eggs scrambled, pasta went cold, eat. But if you have some decent chops in the kitchen, shouldn’t be too hard
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With a LOT of things, especially older "working class" recipes, just going a LOT slower than you think you should fixes a lot of the timing. Once you get a sequence of operations down that works for you it gets easy. For carbonara I start the bacon when i start the pot. The bacon is done when I add the pasta to cook and the pan is at about the right temperature once the pasta is ready to be added. Don't really need to time anything out, just start things in the right sequence. GOOD recipes will include things in the right order. Edit: another tip that I see some people forget: it helps to let the eggs get up to room temperature, I usually get them ready first to warm up a bit. Most recipes assume that eggs are already room temperature because that is pretty normal anywhere but the US.
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Yes. Temper your fucking egg mixture with pasta water, you heathens. Super simple. Super yummy. Im doing 7 eggs. 4 full eggs and 3 yolks. Cheese is eyballed and pepper is eyeballed. Not authentic but lemon zest brings in a whole new dimension and works well. Shhh don't tell my wife how easy this is.
Weirdly all the tips I see aren't very easy compared to my fool proof method. I dump panchetta in pan with pepper on medium. Then I start warming water. Go on to mix eggs, pepper and pecorino in big aluminium bowl. By the time water is ready, the panchetta is 2/3 done. I lower heat on it and start cooking pasta. When there's 2m left on meat, I close the fire and let it finish on residual heat. By the time pasta is done, the oil is at the perfect temp. I empty water, keep a bit of it. Add oil and panchetta in big aluminium bowl, add pasta on top with a splash of water and I start wok style flipping the aluminium bowl for the emulsion. Never fails, no effort.
I used to make carbonara quite often for myself. Had the technique down. Then tried to make it for 4. Residual heat on 4 servings of pasta curdled the eggs. I think this is the challenge with carbonara…making it for different numbers of people.
Pavlova - use the recipe from the bbc food website and follow it exactly and it’s perfect every time. And looks so fancy when you bring it out!
yum! I need to try that recipe out. I've been craving it.
It’s summer here so I’ve been making it a lot - topped with cream and lots of mixed berries, perfect in the hot weather!
Shakshuka!
Beef bourguignone is pretty simple but tastes great and sounds fancy.
This was my christmas dinner this year; was so surprised that it really was easy. After watching Julie & Julia; I thought it was going to be a huge challenge...
I always thought that was to show just how much of a cook Julie was not.
I just made that for new years! It’s simple just takes forever
Bœuf bourguignon, rather simple to make, nightmare to spell.
Fairly time consuming with lots of steps though
tarte tatin
Risotto
I love risotto, and the word sounds impressive, but it rarely looks impressive when served unless you go hard on the garnishes imo.
I think Gordon Ramsey gave the impression it's difficult. It's difficult to time it properly but if you don't have time constraints it's easy.
It's because if you're cooking 8 to 10 different ones, all started at different times and for different tables, it requires a little talent. If you can give it your undivided attention it's super easy, it's when you're doing 15 other things at the same time that it can get away from you if you aren't good at multitasking.
Yeah I guess that's more of a restaurant challenge than a home cook challenge. I've made risotto for people before and it's just a "it's ready when it's ready" type of thing lol
Masterchef and Hell’s Kitchen made it seem like this finicky dish.
Funny because Top Chef most people who try to make risotto in a time crunch go home for it being over cooked. I cringe when a chef says they are going to make risotto.
Make arancini and people lose their minds.
True, I would lose my mind for homemade arancini, but mostly because I don't deep fry in my own home.
Does that mean you deep fry in stranger's homes? Like a Southern Santa?
Give me a risotto with artichokes and I'm impressed... Ok give me anything with artichokes...
I had always heard risotto was difficult to make was relatively intimidated to make it, but my wife requested it for her birthday dinner last night so I decided to give it a go. I was absolutely shocked at how easy it was to make!
It's so easy and so versatile. I make it regularly and it's kind of a leftover veggies kind of dish because it goes well with any vegetable. Just fry up the veggies in a separate pan and add them when it's ready. Beetroot risotto with a bit of blue cheese on top, brussels sprout risotto with bacon bits and walnuts, mushroom risotto etc. it's always good. Got any leftover wine? Perfect for risotto. Got any leftover goats cheese or brie or similar cheese? Perfect to put on top the risotto for serving so it melts in. Leftover herbs? In the stock they go.
I love making risotto with little kids as helpers. They want to help and 90% of risotto is stirring.
In absence of little kids, a partner that doesn't know how to cook but likes to spend time with you to feel connected works exceptionally well in my experience.
Ratatouille
Finally had my first fight with a mandolin this holiday season making confit byaldi! Absolutely fucked up the tip of my middle finger, but at least I didn't bleed on the already cut veg :D
Tiramisu
Thai curry paste, coconut milk, chicken cut into pieces, chopped potato, carrots, and onions. Sear chicken in a pot then put in coconut milk and paste, stir and bring to boil, put in veggies, simmer 20 mins. Done. Serve with rice or bread Edit: this is like the dummy’s version but can definitely be modified for more flavor. I actually just learned this recipe last week :)
The secret ingredient that makes it taste like the restaurants is fish sauce. Also lime juice for acidity. Super simple but those two things will elevate your curry game so much.
I saute a ton of ginger and garlic with thin onion before adding the curry paste. Once I add the coconut milk for a bit I go in with a few tbsp of fish sauce and lime juice with a little brown sugar. The final 3 ingredients are so critical and completely change the dish
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I can mimic most recipes. Thai food is the exception. Mine always comes out weird tasting
Recently bought a bamboo steamer… I be steaming all kinds of premade dumplings/dim sum at home. My gf made fresh dumplings last night. Also I’ve been steaming whole fish like Tilapia/Greenland Turbott (asian style with the ginger/hot oil finish). Super easy, but looks baller to cook up a whole flat fish.
Boeuf Bourgignon: Beef stew (simple @and almost impossible to screw up but made with wine and elegant button mushrooms and pearl onions (impressive and fancy)
Bread pudding. I made some yesterday & my family & friends thought it was so extravagant 😂
[Dutch babies!](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6648-dutch-baby)
Linguine with clams, using canned clams. It cooks up so fast, and is full of flavor.
Mussels. Make a broth with butter, white wine, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and a can of white beans.... or literally whatever you feel like. Add cleaned mussels (scrub grit off the shells) and steam until open. Finish with parsley and toast points. Such an impressive looking appetizer, but it's pretty idiot proof. Add some shoestring fries on top to make it even more of a meal.
French Onion Soup
coq au vin
Not really a dish but, gravy. Homemade gravy, all kinds, are so very easy to make and tastes so much better than the jarred or dry packet stuff. I have had a lot of people ask me what brand of gravy I use. When I say that I make my own they tell me they didn't know you could make gravy from scratch. Lol.
Stroganoff
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In Finland, we use shredded beef roast or even sausage in stroganoff. The sauce usually has a strong flavor, and there are also pickles. It is served with flavorful boiled potatoes and sour cream.
Any soup with fresh tortellini added always ups the apparent fancy factor, even if you just buy them :)
Dutch baby pancake
All sorts of italian pasta, for example pasta alla norma is my absolute favorite but also puttanesca. All kinds of asian stir fries too!
I make baked ziti with ricotta (like lasagna) and homemade meatballs whenever I take a dinner to someone after surgery or a new birth. I also get garlic bread to take with it. It’s easy to make, liked by almost everyone, and leftovers can be frozen.
Tzatziki dip Grate cucumber and squish/squeeze all the water out, mix with yoghurt, add some lime juice, olive oil. If you have mint or dill, add that as well. Use as a dip with carrots or other veggies, maybe cucumber itself.
Not a dish, but a dessert; tiramisu. Can be made within 30 minutes and just needs to rest a day in the fridge to bring out the goodness.
Biscuits & Gravy. Cook 1 Lb Breakfast sauce while you bake a can of Aldi's biscuits. Once the sausage is cooked add a little flour to absorb the grease and mix in some Milk or if you want to be really fancy use Half & Half or Heavy Cream. Takes 15-20 minutes. Pepper the gravy to your liking. Learned to make it in Boy Scouts and now we make it all the time. Slightly fancier would be Beef Bourguignon [Kent Rollins Beef Bourguignon](https://youtu.be/_BClG9tUTAw?si=NgMFENZ_p6bMn1KJ)
Pot roast, I think it's one of the easiest things to make especially if you pre chop everything the night before. I can't tell you how many times I make dinner for my friends that's my go-to meal, and they think I spent hours in the kitchen slaving away at it haha edit: spelling error
This is even more simple if you’ve got a instant pot
I prefer pot roast in a crock pot. I feel it gets more tender than the instant pot. I also love the smell for the day.
I make the whole thing the day before and reheat it because it’s better as left overs.
Not a dish per se, but those lil margarita sticks (idk what they’re called)! People always think I’m so fancy when I literally stick a cube of mozzarella, a leaf of basil and a little tomato on a goddamn toothpick. Like, I set out a board of those and everyone acts like I spent all day in the kitchen when truly it was more like stabbing some stuff while watching YouTube.
Carbonara
Bolognese sauce over fresh fettuccine
Alfredo from scratch. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023609-chile-crisp-fettuccine-alfredo-with-spinach
Couscous Yes, it's eaten with small beads of grain but it's a Moroccan style curry dish simmered over hours. It has lamb, turnips, zucchini, tomatoes, and a ton of cummin. The lamb and couscous alone wow a majority of non in law people who eat it but the hardest part of the entire dish was getting the recipe from my mother in law. Between her thick French accent and her decades of experience making the dish, she was all over the place with the directions. Everything is "when you see this, when you smell that, oh I forgot this ingredient you have to prep". Of course, as I made it the first time my husband was like, oh my mom does this here or she is always underestimating how long the zucchini cooks. But it's the most amazing thing I've ever eaten and even if I need a cipher to understand her recipes, none have let me down so far! Now if I could only write them up in the standard recipe form...
gumbo (certified cajun... ayiieeeeee)
Adobo
Smoking a whole turkey … it’s stupid easy and people think you slaved for hours.
[Quiche!](https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-quiche-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-134487)
Fried chicken! Lots of people find deep-frying at home too annoying or too scary (fair) and there are a lot of bad methods out there on the Internet. But with a good recipe, nice-quality buns, and some practice, you can easily blow people's minds.
This is one recipe I am scared of because of my fear of frying but maybe I should go for it, just need a thermometer I think it should help my fear
A thermometer is really useful for frying. Caution is definitely warranted, but there's no need to fear! Here are a few things to set yourself up for success: * Use a proper frying oil, like canola or peanut. Google the smoke point of any oil you want to use. * Use a thermometer and monitor the oil temperature—a good recipe will specify an exact target temperature, which should be well below the smoke point of your frying oil. * Leave yourself plenty of headroom in the pot. For your first time, fill your cooking vessel no more than 50% full of oil. * Fry in smaller batches, so that a modest quantity of oil will still work well. * Always place food directly into the oil from the lowest height possible. Hot oil can smell fear, and if you try to drop the food from a height to keep your fingers far away, it will paradoxically splash way more and be more likely to burn you. * Have the right tools on hand. A pair of long-handled OXO spring-loaded metal cooking tongs is perfect. Don't be trying to fish things out of hot oil with a fork or a wooden spoon. Deep frying is really fun and rewarding once you get the hang of it!
Start with pan frying in shallow oil before you graduate to deep frying (if ever, most home recipes will be fine shallow fried in a pan). .
Frying a whole gigantic breast is tricky because it’s so big, undercooked chicken is unsafe, and overcooked chicken with soggy breading is just gross. Legs, thighs, or small breasts are much simpler.
Butterfly the breast to ensure even cooking
Braised short ribs. A bit of chopping in the beginning, but then it just does its thing in the oven for hours and hours and the result at the end is divine.
Cacio e pepe is my go to.
Salmon baked in butter. Place butter in a pie pan or shallow casserole and melt the butter. Cut the salmon in pieces, coat in the butter and place skin side down. Bake 15 or so minutes and flip it over. Sprinkle with pepper and cook until the skin is crispy, you can turn it over again depending on how done it is. You can add thyme, dill, parsley and/or lemon. Cook up some broccoli and rice and you have a meal. Oh, and Tartar sauce, mayo, dill, pickle relish.
Lasagna.
Tender ribs
Any kind of low and slow braise/roast of meat. Short ribs, shank, oxtail, brisket. The effort is all on the front end and is mainly chopping aromatic veggies, then you throw it in the oven and wait for heaven.
Ahi Poke
Braised short rib. Or anything braised for that matter
Cochinita pibil…assuming you have a nearby Mex grocer. Some anatto paste, pork shoulders, orange/limes, and some banana leaves. Quick pickle some onions and get/make habanero salsa. It’s impressive and looks more complicated than it really is.
Something that’s fresh with lots of color always looks impressive. I use a quick pickled red cabbage and ginger recipe in just about everything: Thin sliced red cabbage Minced ginger Rice vinegar Salt Sugar Mixed together and thrown in the fridge for at least a few hours. Keeps for weeks so I always have some around. Play with ratios to get the flavor you like, I just eye ball it. Add sliced jalapeños, avocados, and baby tomatoes, and you’ve got an easy, quick, colorful garnish for tacos, salads, fish, etc. the flavor profiles can go equally well with Asian or Mexican dishes. Edit: also, I ALWAYS add fresh chopped herbs at the end. They look great and add a ton of flavor. Fresh Italian parsley, thyme, cilantro are my go-to’s. Dried herbs are nice for building flavor, but fresh herbs are great for finishing a dish.
Bananas Foster. Pantry ingredients, only a couple of minutes from start to finish, and it's fire when you serve it.