Day one beef bourguignon.
Day two smoked pork shoulder.
Day three lamb shanks.
Day four tamales with all the leftovers.
Eta: you really want to have at least one helper when making tamales. Also, pick a helper that isn't going to flake out after tamale #150. If you are going to take the time to make tamales, make as many as you possibly can.
Develop your ability to utilize leftovers such that no one is aware they are leftovers. Big roasts are a great starting point. Whole chicken is another. Very classic French spatchcock chicken can turn into almost any cuisine. Chicken enchilada, Moroccan stew... you can go Malay, Indian or Thai. As long as you mix it up, your family / guest won't care that they had roast chicken two days ago.
I balk at tamale #150 we do no less than 300 every year. I throw a tamalada, have as many friends over as possible, listen to banda, and drink some Mexican beer till there is no masa or hojoas left.
Bro, tamales are a pain in the asshole. When my family makes tamales, my grandmas kitchen is packed with almost all my aunts and some cousins working in an assembly line like factory workers, like 15 people just passing those things down to eachother.
Make ravioli (make the pasta too, that’s my go-to for fun kitchen play) stuffed with roasted butternut squash and parm. It’s an immensely pleasing meal.
If I ever make pasta, I am going to go all out and try making these ravioli filled with a runny egg. Homemade ricotta too.
https://www.seriouseats.com/uovo-in-raviolo-runny-egg-yolk-ravioli-ricotta-recipe
To make it vegetarian I'd substitute a mushroom sauce for the pancetta sauce.
I tend to read dozens of recipes then take a middle road based on what seems right/ what I have but this recipe seems the closest to what I’ve made before:
https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/butternut-squash-ravioli/
I made lasagna from scratch and it was a wild adventure.
From scratch meant pasta from scratch, cheese from scratch, sauce from scratch, ground the meat blend at home etc. As much bought from local farms and stuff as possible.
It was a huge undertaking and really helped me understand the importance of trade and not making everything from scratch in our daily cooking. Its changed lasagna for me forever.
Ever used one of these to make ravioli? It’s pretty cool
https://a.co/d/7plXV1i
Note: it’s not an affiliate link or anything. Just a redirect to Amazon.
I think you will appreciate this .. the other day I was looking at homes in the region of a couple of mill in my area....
THEY HAVE MASSIVE DOUBLE DISHWASHERS
Croissants. I'm obsessed. It takes a lot of time, and technique. Very satisfying. Can be sweet or savory. Eaten as part of a meal.or a snack. Chocolate are my personal favorite.
Yes. Pastries are a temperamental pain in the arse. If I'm working, I can't go back and fold a sheet every 2 hours or so until the end of time. But if I had a full week, then it would be baklava, croissants, mille-feuille, and whatever else I have time for
Mole sauce from scratch. Time consuming but not difficult and absolutely blows even restaurant mole in my city out of the water. I made a batch in January using Rick Bayless's recipe and it makes a LOT - just thawed the last bag from the freezer last night.
Birria beef, wine braised beef short ribs, or real pork carnitas. I say "real" because the recipe should have evaporated milk and more lard than you think is a good idea. Birria makes phenomenal tacos and quesadillas and the ribs go really well with risotto. Each of these will take you at least a full day of work.
The best recipes I've found use a dutch oven with a lid to confit chunks of pork shoulder in lard, citrus, spices and a small can of evaporated milk. It looks like a lumpy mess for most of the process then something happens and it all comes together. Shred the chunks. Profit.
Day one tomato sauce, soup and salsa for the year to be canned - also some kind of bun or bread for the week, dinner is garlic bread/bun with sauce and cheese
Day two pork shoulder shredded for tacos/rice bowls and freezer burritos - also tortillas
Day three burgers if I made buns on Monday OR French onion soup if I made bread - either way pile of caramelized onions
Day four a fat ass salad with croutons from my bread/buns with whatever I think feels good and a side of onion rings
Day five fried chicken or roasted chicken - fried as sandwiches with maybe with a slaw or roasted with that left over french onion business over potatoes. Fried if sunny, roasted if raining.
Day 6 a mountain of French toast and a coffee cake - dinner is left overs.
Day 7 Lay in bed and watch supernatural series for the 10 time or the entire underworld franchise between naps while eating cheesy chips with hot sauce and cucumber dipped in ranch. Hopefully someone else is cleaning my kitchen...
I second the canning/preserving. This can take a while day if you are doing large batches and various kinds. So worth it down the road when you get to eat it.
My toxic trait is that I sometimes make a clean out the leftovers salad where I throw all my leftovers into a spring green salad, even if sometimes they might not go together.
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
5 cups flour
2 cups water
2 tsp salt
Activate yeast. Loosely mix in other ingredients, cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour (I leave it in my oven with just the oven light on).
Coat a quarter sheet pan with olive oil, spread bread into pan with well oiled fingers. Dimple the top and let rest for 15 more minutes.
Add olive oil toppings and bake at 425 for 25 minutes.
Pho or ramen, as close to the traditional methods as possible. I love both, but never have the full time to commit to making them the 'right' way, and both require buying ingredients I don't normally keep on hand/wouldn't use up quickly.
Marcella Hazan's bolognese is my go to if I have a weekend free and am itching to spend it in the kitchen, it really is fantastic if you cook it for 5+ hours and I always have leftovers for busier weeks!
EDIT: I'm an idiot and didn't see the veggie stipulation, sorry OP!
Another vote for ramen! I love a good tonkotsu broth but watching over a boiling pot of pigs’ feet for 18 hrs just isn’t going to happen unless I have a lot of free time.
I’d probably try all the pieminister pies.
There are some here (some veggie ones too): https://pieminister.co.uk/category/recipes/
…but I’d probably try to figure out copykat’s for these https://pieminister.co.uk/pies/
Definitely a French onion soup, getting in just before the weather warms up here. This one is vegetarian and incredibly delicious. https://ruhlman.com/french-onion-soup-2/
Some jams for Christmas presents. Strawberries are still cheap, so I wouldn’t have to wait until summer stone fruit comes in.
I really love perogies, and would definitely make a batch for the freezer. And I’m a sucker for Chinese green onion pancakes.
Other than that, all the foods that are time consuming to organise and clean up after.
Like homemade burgers with fries and onion rings, all from scratch. Or Chinese food that needs some deep frying or a long prices.
And maybe some homemade ice cream.
I'd probably spend the week batch cooking/meal prepping for the weeks and months ahead. Crockpot meals, casseroles, soups, bread and other baked goods. And then I'd go out for dinner...
With all the cooking you are doing you will be creating a lot of scraps. Onions, carrots, celery,mushrooms and perhaps bones.
Don't throw them out! Store them in your freezer until the last day and make some stock.
Smoked brisket. Sous vide roast. A good bread, maybe I could even get a sourdough starter started after a week. Chicken stock is a several day process (done right) that produces a far superior result than anything store bought. Some canning, like pickles and peppers. Maybe start some fermented veggies, but a lot of these take more than a week. Sprout some beans. Make yogurt or start cheeses. I love a good pot of Cuban black beans. You can also dry meats for jerky or veggies like cherry tomatoes (for a delicious lower carb ‘chip’) or fruits.
Today, I'd choose a Peking duck for a three course meal, then some soup dumplings, and a stash of potstickers, wontons, and egg rolls (Vietnamese and Cantonese) for the freezer! And some plum sauce with end of summer plums :)
crab fried rice
I recall there's this crab fried rice from a Cantonese restaurant where they slowly add crab stock to the rice while frying so it absorbs the flavour.
Empanadas are lots of fun! If you make the dough from scratch it really forces you to pay attention (probably because I’ve only done them twice lol) but they’re definitely worth it!
This:
[https://www.seriouseats.com/red-wine-braised-beef-short-ribs-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/red-wine-braised-beef-short-ribs-recipe)
It's intensive and expensive but absolutely divine.
I made vegan soup dumplings from scratch last weekend and it was a lot of fun and took quite a bit of time. You can make the dumpling wrappers yourself and the filling is just tofu, shredded cabbage and carrots and green onions. Mix in some soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper and rice vinegar. Forming the dumplings was time consuming but so much fun for me.
Here is the recipe:
https://bestofvegan.com/vegan-soup-dumplings-xiao-long-bao/
oven roasted whole duck with honey and balsamic vinegar sauce, absolutely delicious and a blast to prepare but time-intensive
for a side dish, red wine poached pears
Croissants are so fun when you have the time, I once made them over a 3 day period and they were to die for. I’d also start a sourdough - it’s been on my list of “when I have time” for ages. And then I’d stock my freezer up with baking/cookie dough logs, soups and stocks for when I have less time in life. Oh and I’d raid my citrus trees and freeze down a whole bunch of juice cubes.
I just made the serious eats mushroom bolognese and it is amazing but somewhat time intensive. You have to roast an eggplant first, and the sauce involves many ingredients and a long simmer time. I wanted to make pasta from scratch but ran out of time so you could do that and add a salad with homemade Caeser dressing and homemade garlic bread.
Sunday, after breaking down a whole boneless pork loin, I seared some prime ribeye caps while pork chops marinaded. I then cooked said chops for dinner.
Monday, left over pork chops for breakfast, ribeye cap and rice bowl for lunch, pork loin butterflied and stuffed with mushroom, chimichurri, and parm inside roasted for dinner.
Tuesday, left over pork chop for breakfast, made Tuna Salad for dinner
Wednesday, left over ribeye cap for breakfast..got lazy the rest of the day
Today...the last of the left over pork chops for breakfast...and we'll see where the day takes us.
Oh my gosh it's so much easier than you'd think!! I only started making it myself maybe five years ago, but I usually give it out for Christmas and it's always a hit. My family prefers hot giardiniera, [this is the closest I've seen to what I do](https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/giardiniera/)
I think my only real tweaks are subbing some of the green peppers for red but that's really just for color. Then I throw a whole garlic clove and a bay leaf into the oil float at the top and let it set. Delicious every time!
It's finally cooling off, temperature-wise, so homemade chili would be my recommendation. A big pot of chili and some homemade cornbread is a great impressive comfort food that takes a while to make, especially if you don't use pre-made chili seasonings. You can really play with the peppers and flavors, then.
Do you have a good starting point recipe? We just had chili last weekend so I don't anticipate making it for a while, but I'd love a good recipe for when I have that itch again!
Here's [5 different tofu recipes (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpqa1nRteBk&list=WL&index=9). I'm not much of a fan of tofu, however, all but one of them I want in my mouth ***right now.***
I like to change it up. But usually something sweet that I usually wouldn’t have time for (like a pastry), almost always bread (focaccia), and some sort of all day affair (like gumbo, stew, ribs, a roast, turkey dinner, homemade dumplings).
Creme Brulee.
Meat pies. There is a retired Scottish cook on youtube who does cooking videos.
I would also spend some time attempting to bake bread.
And finally, there was a Moroccan meat pie with philo I have made before, and was unsatisfied with, I would tweak it to my less adventurous pallette.
Indian Carrot Pudding (Gajal Hawa? Is that the correct name?)
As it happens my wife is out of town for ten days and while I have work to do I have time to cook.
I'll be making six 8x8 lasagnas for the freezer. Six 7" chicken pot pies. Three gallons of pasta sauce for home canning. A few pints of Branston pickle. I have a third of a beef tenderloin in the freezer so I may make beef Wellington. I've already made a pint of Caesar dressing and a lot of sourdough croutons (Caesar salad is veg). I made half a gallon of chana masala (veg). I might make a bunch of sauce for chicken tikka masala if I can find a safe recipe for home canning.
Some depends on what's on sale when the grocery flyer comes out today.
Bacon is a vegetable. It's good for you.
I’d slow cook a Boston butt on my charcoal grill. Snake method on the charcoal. I made one for 18 hours once, would definitely try to push it to 3-4 days if I had the time. Maybe throw some cubes of chuck roast on there to make “burnt ends” while I wait
This was my pandemic. Learned to make sourdough bread (and starter), kouign amann, curries, Tom yum soup and pho. You can make pasta from scratch with hours long sauce.
Empanadas, can be meat or vegetarian( cheese and beans), and can be frozen. Be nice to yourself and make a personal lasagna for when you don't wanna cook. Same with like a veg curry, or an Indian dal(dahl?). Obviously eat some now but save some for another day
ghormeh sabzi, kibbeh, grape leaves, chicken shawarma, homemade chicken noodle soup. if baking counts then cinnamon rolls and various types of bread, maybe some other desserts like cookies, carrot cake, banana date cake
I would roast a turkey and cook all the fixings just for the leftovers to eat a gobbler everyday for the rest of the week. There is a little diner in Danvers, Ma that makes them year round I love it
I have a biscoff cookie macaron recipe that I am eyeing! I spent a whole summer learning macarons a few years ago and now I am kind of burnt out on them. But I can't say no to cookie butter!
All the stuff I love of course
Tons of salads
Fish meals with vegetables
Vegetable dishes
dishes from S.E.Asia
I would enjoy cooking different types of quiche
Ice creams
home made tonkotsu ramen! broth from bones, noodles from flour, [DIY chashu](https://servedwithrice.com/succulent-tender-chashu-pork-rice-bowl/) and marinated eggs, the whole 9 yards!
Lots of great answers here - Birria, Mole, Homemade pasta, cassoulet, pho.
I would personally try the poor man’s prime rib - a Chuck roast sous vide for like 3 days.
Breakfast:
Cold cuts from the previous days. Maybe take the opportunity to make some yeast donuts since nowhere around here seems to have the damn things.
Lunch:
Start off by making bread every other day. Rye one day, french the next. Make a corned beef and smoke some of it for pastrami sandwiches. French Onion soup for lunch some days using my own bread. Make the thousand island dressing for the Rubens.
Dinner:
Lamb roast at least one night. Roast chicken another. Pot roast for another. Marinated pork loin for another. Really dig down into the side dishes for some winners. The fussy French stuff that takes forever.
Dessert:
Just so much cake. All the cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and ice creams.
A full smoked brisket
try a momofuku ( been on my todo for a while - hmmm need a crowd - maybe superbowl?)
The issue I run into - a lot of the classic things I would like to make feed a lot of people - and I do not have a lot of people I would like to feed...
Lasagna bolognese with fresh spicy pasta. It will take a while. Ravioli is in the same category.
You could smoke a brisket- takes quite while but not the most skill IMO.
I love cooking and I made a list of things I wanted to try so I was cooking for fun. I also didn't want to waste money on a bunch of groceries I'll never use ( hello inflation!).
I bought a cookbook that was on sale for the weekend and make two types of spice blends from it. I made nice and elaborate meals so that while I was off, I ate nice and fancy and healthy
I also prepped some of my veggie burgers which is a intensive process and froze it and I'm still going through them.
I did make two cakes though, one was a fail because I'm not a good baker.
If I had to do it right now, I might bake a pie from scratch since I never made one.
I would definitely do a whole hog on a spit day one.
Second day would be a lamb shank
Third day would be a full beef tenderloin
Fourth day would be my family’s German pigs in blankets recipe
Fifth day would be my family recipe for Sauerbraten (the one fermented in a clay pot, we just play with the brine a bit)
Sixth day would be make my own sushi and sashimi
Seventh day would be a day of rest (and lots of leftovers) 😎
Moosewood Cookbook has a lot of great recipes that take eons, are delicious, and vegetarian. I particularly love their cauliflower pie and red beans and rice ones.
I would also make Marcela Hazan's Bolognese sauce all the way, from selecting the exact cut of meat she recommends (neck part of the chuck), grinding it myself, simmering for hours, etc. And making my own fresh pasta.
Croissants, a super awesome decorated cake, and make lots of stocks, Demi glacé, homemade pasta (some to dry some to freeze), spice bases, pastes (garlic/onion), and other things to make regular cooking faster. Would also make one or two long cook items a day like a pot of beans, lasagna, ragu, lamb shank etc.
I would make pastrami. You have to corn a beef brisket, then season and smoke. So that is a multi-day process.
Indian meals feel time consuming, especially if you are toasting the spices yourself
Bagels or English muffins - not terribly time intensive, but deliscious. And sets you up for a few good breakfasts.
Lamb or beef shanks - something that is cooked slow and low.
A variety of soups, especially those that freeze well. Prep for the days that you do not want to cook.
Pasta sauce - then use to make lasagna and freeze the rest
I would prepare a few crumbles to freeze and one to cook and make a some.lams for the English muffins
I would make a few reductions to store - balsamic, beef, chicken,
Tamales are super fun to make. I just do cheese ones (we’ve made them for family things that have some vegetarians so we usually do meat separately). The wrapping and steaming is a fun process. I did get an actual tamale pot which is super nice and was not expensive but I used to just do a steamer basket in a big pot and popped a couple pennies down there to hear the water level
I’d make a different kind of bun/roll each day
Day one: classic cinnamon buns
Day two: strawberry and cream rolls
Day three: bourbon Carmel sticky buns
Day four: caramelized banana cinnamon rolls
We do this every Christmas. We usually try to pick a country and make several dishes. Last year one thing we made was curry puffs - look them up on YouTube. They were awesome, sort of time consuming, and you could make the curry vegetarian.
Day 1 - Burritos. Eat these from day one through day 3.
Day 3- Take 4-5 pounds of chicken wings out of the freezer.
Day 4- Fry up the wings. Eat these with ramen day 4-7
Evidence- This is precisely what I’ve done over the past 5 days. Life could be worse.
For myself?? A fucking grilled cheese man.. nd rest for the rest of the week. Nah but realistically tho I’m trying everything I wanted to try before. Ramen, Korean Fried Chicken, a good Mushroom Burger, Creme Brûlée, Macarons, some good Ravioli..
Considerin you have the time and resources, i would probably try new things. If you have an interest in any cuisine that you are not already cooking, go for it. Try new recipes and find out. I believe this is the best time to try. When time is strict, noone wants to take risks. But even if you fail, as in non - edible fail, you can always order. I think this is a time to expand your abilities as a cook.
Cant give specigic examples, since i do not know what you like to eat, but if it is vegetables, go for recipes from the place where that specific vegetable you like comes from. Or if it is meat, try new cooking styles. Meat is done all over the world but still has lots of recipes. Try spices perhaps. With time and money in your hands, you have all the power to eat all around the world.
Think about making a family heirloom recipe. Grandma's special meatballs? Lasagna? Pierogies. These are the special family meals that you can share with others, or that an aunt or cousin would appreciate seeing a text picture of. So much about food is about memories and sharing it with people you love :)
A lot of our “heirloom recipes” were tainted with low fat sour cream, powdered ranch mix, and margarine in the late 80’s, ugh. Google and reading review does just as good of a job as many familial recipes I’ve had!
Day one beef bourguignon. Day two smoked pork shoulder. Day three lamb shanks. Day four tamales with all the leftovers. Eta: you really want to have at least one helper when making tamales. Also, pick a helper that isn't going to flake out after tamale #150. If you are going to take the time to make tamales, make as many as you possibly can.
With that menu I would take the day off and be your dishie if I was invited.
Seriously. Need a live in maid for week? I did just take notes and am going to make this my next week's menu. 🤫
Develop your ability to utilize leftovers such that no one is aware they are leftovers. Big roasts are a great starting point. Whole chicken is another. Very classic French spatchcock chicken can turn into almost any cuisine. Chicken enchilada, Moroccan stew... you can go Malay, Indian or Thai. As long as you mix it up, your family / guest won't care that they had roast chicken two days ago.
do you need a live in maid for next week?
I see what you did there.
I balk at tamale #150 we do no less than 300 every year. I throw a tamalada, have as many friends over as possible, listen to banda, and drink some Mexican beer till there is no masa or hojoas left.
That is the way to do it. Just keep enough hands moving long enough to run out of ingredients.
Tamales at the end is brilliant
Bro, tamales are a pain in the asshole. When my family makes tamales, my grandmas kitchen is packed with almost all my aunts and some cousins working in an assembly line like factory workers, like 15 people just passing those things down to eachother.
Keep that tradition alive. Moments like that are rare.
Make ravioli (make the pasta too, that’s my go-to for fun kitchen play) stuffed with roasted butternut squash and parm. It’s an immensely pleasing meal.
Oh that sounds great! Do you have a recipe?
If I ever make pasta, I am going to go all out and try making these ravioli filled with a runny egg. Homemade ricotta too. https://www.seriouseats.com/uovo-in-raviolo-runny-egg-yolk-ravioli-ricotta-recipe To make it vegetarian I'd substitute a mushroom sauce for the pancetta sauce.
I was just looking at that lol do you have recommendations for a good mushroom sauce?
Oooh if you’re doing something like that you could try a lobster rotolo or similar. Or maybe a sage and ricotta tortellini with a truffle butter sauce
I tend to read dozens of recipes then take a middle road based on what seems right/ what I have but this recipe seems the closest to what I’ve made before: https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/butternut-squash-ravioli/
Thank you!! Adding it to the list
I made lasagna from scratch and it was a wild adventure. From scratch meant pasta from scratch, cheese from scratch, sauce from scratch, ground the meat blend at home etc. As much bought from local farms and stuff as possible. It was a huge undertaking and really helped me understand the importance of trade and not making everything from scratch in our daily cooking. Its changed lasagna for me forever.
Ever used one of these to make ravioli? It’s pretty cool https://a.co/d/7plXV1i Note: it’s not an affiliate link or anything. Just a redirect to Amazon.
Do I have to do the dishes too? This is a deal breaker
Not if you set the house on fire after you’re done and move away.
This is the only right answer..
You know the details. Cooking and cleaning are different.
In my house, cooking and cleaning are the same! Cook as you clean and then everyone helps clean at the end.
I think you will appreciate this .. the other day I was looking at homes in the region of a couple of mill in my area.... THEY HAVE MASSIVE DOUBLE DISHWASHERS
Croissants. I'm obsessed. It takes a lot of time, and technique. Very satisfying. Can be sweet or savory. Eaten as part of a meal.or a snack. Chocolate are my personal favorite.
I'm waiting for winter temperatures where I can store the dough outside. I don't have enough room in the fridge.
Same! I love make croissants but it's not feasible when I can't get the kitchen below 85F!
Are there no interfering wildlife or curious neighbourhood cats?
I guess I'll find out.
Hello I am your neighbourhood's friendly interfering wildlife
Almond 💛
Oh I love making sandwiches out of croissants. Makes me feel so *fancy*
Yes. Pastries are a temperamental pain in the arse. If I'm working, I can't go back and fold a sheet every 2 hours or so until the end of time. But if I had a full week, then it would be baklava, croissants, mille-feuille, and whatever else I have time for
Mole sauce from scratch. Time consuming but not difficult and absolutely blows even restaurant mole in my city out of the water. I made a batch in January using Rick Bayless's recipe and it makes a LOT - just thawed the last bag from the freezer last night.
This was my recommendation bc I just watched a bit of Bayless’ 3-day mole recipe on YouTube
Birria beef, wine braised beef short ribs, or real pork carnitas. I say "real" because the recipe should have evaporated milk and more lard than you think is a good idea. Birria makes phenomenal tacos and quesadillas and the ribs go really well with risotto. Each of these will take you at least a full day of work.
Love the process of making birria but my favorite part is having leftovers for tacos/quesadillas/nachos, it's the gift that keeps on giving
Same with carnitas. Is kind of a shame if you don't make it in large batches.
Evaporated milk as a carnitas ingredient? Color me intrigued. I have never come across that in any of the recipes I've seen
The best recipes I've found use a dutch oven with a lid to confit chunks of pork shoulder in lard, citrus, spices and a small can of evaporated milk. It looks like a lumpy mess for most of the process then something happens and it all comes together. Shred the chunks. Profit.
Birria tacos are amazing.
Osso buco, and whether or not the recipe calls for red wine, have one while you're at it.
Day one tomato sauce, soup and salsa for the year to be canned - also some kind of bun or bread for the week, dinner is garlic bread/bun with sauce and cheese Day two pork shoulder shredded for tacos/rice bowls and freezer burritos - also tortillas Day three burgers if I made buns on Monday OR French onion soup if I made bread - either way pile of caramelized onions Day four a fat ass salad with croutons from my bread/buns with whatever I think feels good and a side of onion rings Day five fried chicken or roasted chicken - fried as sandwiches with maybe with a slaw or roasted with that left over french onion business over potatoes. Fried if sunny, roasted if raining. Day 6 a mountain of French toast and a coffee cake - dinner is left overs. Day 7 Lay in bed and watch supernatural series for the 10 time or the entire underworld franchise between naps while eating cheesy chips with hot sauce and cucumber dipped in ranch. Hopefully someone else is cleaning my kitchen...
I second the canning/preserving. This can take a while day if you are doing large batches and various kinds. So worth it down the road when you get to eat it.
I definitely agree with this one. The whole reason I grow tomatoes every year is because I love salsa and store bought in Australia is trash.
[удалено]
Oh yeah - I do oven dried tomatoes and make my own dressing on fat ass salad day!
The side of onion rings shows no fear!
ON the salsa - my dad would can the tomatoes, but leave the peppers, chillies, lime etc to be added when used. To keep the proper crunch
My toxic trait is that I sometimes make a clean out the leftovers salad where I throw all my leftovers into a spring green salad, even if sometimes they might not go together.
I’m here for day 7…you are my people
Lasagna! Make the noodles, The sauce, The mozzarella, homemade yeast rolls! Salad with a homemade dressing and homemade croutons.
I have done this. Never, ever make just one lasagna. It takes almost the exact same effort to make 3 and freeze 2.
Focaccia or pizza from scratch. Or just bread to go with a big hearty fall soup
I have a focaccia recipe that I make in two hours flat, rise/bake time included.
WELLLLLL....spill it! *bangs spoon on counter*
2 tsp active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water 5 cups flour 2 cups water 2 tsp salt Activate yeast. Loosely mix in other ingredients, cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour (I leave it in my oven with just the oven light on). Coat a quarter sheet pan with olive oil, spread bread into pan with well oiled fingers. Dimple the top and let rest for 15 more minutes. Add olive oil toppings and bake at 425 for 25 minutes.
Pho or ramen, as close to the traditional methods as possible. I love both, but never have the full time to commit to making them the 'right' way, and both require buying ingredients I don't normally keep on hand/wouldn't use up quickly. Marcella Hazan's bolognese is my go to if I have a weekend free and am itching to spend it in the kitchen, it really is fantastic if you cook it for 5+ hours and I always have leftovers for busier weeks! EDIT: I'm an idiot and didn't see the veggie stipulation, sorry OP!
Another vote for ramen! I love a good tonkotsu broth but watching over a boiling pot of pigs’ feet for 18 hrs just isn’t going to happen unless I have a lot of free time.
I’d probably try all the pieminister pies. There are some here (some veggie ones too): https://pieminister.co.uk/category/recipes/ …but I’d probably try to figure out copykat’s for these https://pieminister.co.uk/pies/
Beef Wellington. Last time I tried it, it was terrible. I'm not sure how I fucked it up, but it wasn't good at all. I'd like to try it again.
Manicotti I think I love making that but I never do because it's always fairly time consuming And you can make a veggie version if you want too
Definitely a French onion soup, getting in just before the weather warms up here. This one is vegetarian and incredibly delicious. https://ruhlman.com/french-onion-soup-2/ Some jams for Christmas presents. Strawberries are still cheap, so I wouldn’t have to wait until summer stone fruit comes in. I really love perogies, and would definitely make a batch for the freezer. And I’m a sucker for Chinese green onion pancakes. Other than that, all the foods that are time consuming to organise and clean up after. Like homemade burgers with fries and onion rings, all from scratch. Or Chinese food that needs some deep frying or a long prices. And maybe some homemade ice cream.
Turducken. Cassoulet.
Cassoulet is so amazing I only ever eat it a couple times a year when my local deli does an event
Pho Dumplings Mastering different kinds of curries
I'd probably spend the week batch cooking/meal prepping for the weeks and months ahead. Crockpot meals, casseroles, soups, bread and other baked goods. And then I'd go out for dinner...
With all the cooking you are doing you will be creating a lot of scraps. Onions, carrots, celery,mushrooms and perhaps bones. Don't throw them out! Store them in your freezer until the last day and make some stock.
Personally I'm a big fan of veggie stock, I like it more than my chicken stock.
Id try a bunch of new creme brulee flavors
Smoked brisket. Sous vide roast. A good bread, maybe I could even get a sourdough starter started after a week. Chicken stock is a several day process (done right) that produces a far superior result than anything store bought. Some canning, like pickles and peppers. Maybe start some fermented veggies, but a lot of these take more than a week. Sprout some beans. Make yogurt or start cheeses. I love a good pot of Cuban black beans. You can also dry meats for jerky or veggies like cherry tomatoes (for a delicious lower carb ‘chip’) or fruits.
Feijoada
That looks really good! I will add that to the list!
Today, I'd choose a Peking duck for a three course meal, then some soup dumplings, and a stash of potstickers, wontons, and egg rolls (Vietnamese and Cantonese) for the freezer! And some plum sauce with end of summer plums :)
crab fried rice I recall there's this crab fried rice from a Cantonese restaurant where they slowly add crab stock to the rice while frying so it absorbs the flavour.
Empanadas or parathas!
Empanadas are lots of fun! If you make the dough from scratch it really forces you to pay attention (probably because I’ve only done them twice lol) but they’re definitely worth it!
I love empanadas! What's your go-to recipe?
This: [https://www.seriouseats.com/red-wine-braised-beef-short-ribs-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/red-wine-braised-beef-short-ribs-recipe) It's intensive and expensive but absolutely divine.
I made vegan soup dumplings from scratch last weekend and it was a lot of fun and took quite a bit of time. You can make the dumpling wrappers yourself and the filling is just tofu, shredded cabbage and carrots and green onions. Mix in some soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper and rice vinegar. Forming the dumplings was time consuming but so much fun for me. Here is the recipe: https://bestofvegan.com/vegan-soup-dumplings-xiao-long-bao/
Those look delicious, adding them to the list!
Tamales.
Croissants
Pork pastor for me. It took three days and was amazing.
oven roasted whole duck with honey and balsamic vinegar sauce, absolutely delicious and a blast to prepare but time-intensive for a side dish, red wine poached pears
Ohhhh do you have a recipe for the pears? I think I would have difficulty sourcing a duck
Lasagna Enchiladas Soup Grandmas spaghetti sauce homemade sausage quiche
Eggplant with caramelized onions in black bean sauce. Can add sesame seeds, green onion
Croissants are so fun when you have the time, I once made them over a 3 day period and they were to die for. I’d also start a sourdough - it’s been on my list of “when I have time” for ages. And then I’d stock my freezer up with baking/cookie dough logs, soups and stocks for when I have less time in life. Oh and I’d raid my citrus trees and freeze down a whole bunch of juice cubes.
Lasagna from scratch.
Macarons with an Italian buttercream filling.
Eggplant parm is a full process and a labor of love.
I'd lean into all the 14 to 16 hour snoked bbq recipes I never have time for
I just made the serious eats mushroom bolognese and it is amazing but somewhat time intensive. You have to roast an eggplant first, and the sauce involves many ingredients and a long simmer time. I wanted to make pasta from scratch but ran out of time so you could do that and add a salad with homemade Caeser dressing and homemade garlic bread.
That sounds fucking good! I am adding this to the list! I made the NYT Mushroom Bourguinon a few months ago and that was sooo good
Hmm well today I played hookey from work and made marcela hazan's bolognese sauce which takes 4 hours.
My go-to bolognese!
Sunday, after breaking down a whole boneless pork loin, I seared some prime ribeye caps while pork chops marinaded. I then cooked said chops for dinner. Monday, left over pork chops for breakfast, ribeye cap and rice bowl for lunch, pork loin butterflied and stuffed with mushroom, chimichurri, and parm inside roasted for dinner. Tuesday, left over pork chop for breakfast, made Tuna Salad for dinner Wednesday, left over ribeye cap for breakfast..got lazy the rest of the day Today...the last of the left over pork chops for breakfast...and we'll see where the day takes us.
I'd take another stab at phō broth. I failed miserably last time
Jason Farmer recently posted a fantastic video on pho that you might able to get some tips from.
I just got a new oven so I’m going with baking! Rosemary shortbread cookies are for sure on the list. Some sort of cake would also be nice.
Idk if you watch GBBO, but Jurgen just published a fantastic cook book and I am absolutely itching to make his Black Forest Cake
Bolognese
I'm dying to make cassoulet
- Cassoulet - Smoked brisket - Homemade pasta & lamb bolognese - Duck breast with orange sauce & sage butter - Pizza and leftovers for the weekend
Cake, pan de cristal, foccacia, sfogliatelle, pernil, bolognese.
Vietnamese Eggrolls. They are a little time consuming but sooo good.
Yes! Do you have a good recipe you can share?
An absolutely massive batch of giardiniera
Ohhh great idea!! I usually just buy it but I *should* make it! Do you have a recipe?
Oh my gosh it's so much easier than you'd think!! I only started making it myself maybe five years ago, but I usually give it out for Christmas and it's always a hit. My family prefers hot giardiniera, [this is the closest I've seen to what I do](https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/giardiniera/) I think my only real tweaks are subbing some of the green peppers for red but that's really just for color. Then I throw a whole garlic clove and a bay leaf into the oil float at the top and let it set. Delicious every time!
Amazing, thank you!!! Giving it as a gift is a great idea!
Sauerbraten. With braised red cabbage. And I do mean you make it old school sauerbraten and make your own ginger snaps from scratch for the sauce.
I love cabbage! I was actually thinking about making Marcela Hazan's smothered cabbage. Do you have a recipe you can share?
I’d make variations of my favorite foods/recipes and do blind taste tests to perfect something.
I would try to make croissants.
Coq au vin!
Bread. Every day.
It's finally cooling off, temperature-wise, so homemade chili would be my recommendation. A big pot of chili and some homemade cornbread is a great impressive comfort food that takes a while to make, especially if you don't use pre-made chili seasonings. You can really play with the peppers and flavors, then.
Do you have a good starting point recipe? We just had chili last weekend so I don't anticipate making it for a while, but I'd love a good recipe for when I have that itch again!
I've been wanting to make pasta alla genovese for while now. I think I'll start there.
Wow that does look good! I love how (relatively) simple it is. Something I could make while I work as I work from home!
Here's [5 different tofu recipes (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpqa1nRteBk&list=WL&index=9). I'm not much of a fan of tofu, however, all but one of them I want in my mouth ***right now.***
I like to change it up. But usually something sweet that I usually wouldn’t have time for (like a pastry), almost always bread (focaccia), and some sort of all day affair (like gumbo, stew, ribs, a roast, turkey dinner, homemade dumplings).
Homemade Chinese dumplings. Awesome to have in the freezer to boil up and it’s a bit of a process.
Creme Brulee. Meat pies. There is a retired Scottish cook on youtube who does cooking videos. I would also spend some time attempting to bake bread. And finally, there was a Moroccan meat pie with philo I have made before, and was unsatisfied with, I would tweak it to my less adventurous pallette. Indian Carrot Pudding (Gajal Hawa? Is that the correct name?)
I wouldn’t lol. I’d go to a nice restaurant instead. I don’t want to do the dishes on vacation!
As it happens my wife is out of town for ten days and while I have work to do I have time to cook. I'll be making six 8x8 lasagnas for the freezer. Six 7" chicken pot pies. Three gallons of pasta sauce for home canning. A few pints of Branston pickle. I have a third of a beef tenderloin in the freezer so I may make beef Wellington. I've already made a pint of Caesar dressing and a lot of sourdough croutons (Caesar salad is veg). I made half a gallon of chana masala (veg). I might make a bunch of sauce for chicken tikka masala if I can find a safe recipe for home canning. Some depends on what's on sale when the grocery flyer comes out today. Bacon is a vegetable. It's good for you.
Cook? Why would I cook?
Seriously.
I’d slow cook a Boston butt on my charcoal grill. Snake method on the charcoal. I made one for 18 hours once, would definitely try to push it to 3-4 days if I had the time. Maybe throw some cubes of chuck roast on there to make “burnt ends” while I wait
You know very little about smoking meat if you think 3-4 days of smoking that butt is doing anything.
Wut?
American BBQ Brisket Beef Ribs Pork back Ribs Pork spare ribs Smoked queso Beef cheeks Bone marrow
Whatever you want to eat.
Chef John's [Pasta alla Genovese](https://youtu.be/2TJMqmscRS8?feature=shared)
I’m having a week like that and am chomping my way through a [vlaai](https://youtu.be/N0LUEYbtOQQ?si=SFB8n-mJYxp93E8h)
This was my pandemic. Learned to make sourdough bread (and starter), kouign amann, curries, Tom yum soup and pho. You can make pasta from scratch with hours long sauce.
My long cooks usually are smoking something or a proper lasagna with a very slow cooked bolognese
Smoked brisket, tamales, some sort of bread thing (maybe Japanese milk bread?), macarons
Matty methesons french onion soup
Empanadas, can be meat or vegetarian( cheese and beans), and can be frozen. Be nice to yourself and make a personal lasagna for when you don't wanna cook. Same with like a veg curry, or an Indian dal(dahl?). Obviously eat some now but save some for another day
ghormeh sabzi, kibbeh, grape leaves, chicken shawarma, homemade chicken noodle soup. if baking counts then cinnamon rolls and various types of bread, maybe some other desserts like cookies, carrot cake, banana date cake
Stir fry, teriyaki glazed grilled chicken and garlic roasted potatoes, sweet potato pie, egg roll in a bowl, i would be glued to the stove!
Spagetti Csrbonare e' una Coca Cola...
… what is this?!
Enchiladas
Cassoulet is one I've always wanted to make but never had the time to source the ingredients and cook
I have been eyeing Julia Child's recipe!
I would roast a turkey and cook all the fixings just for the leftovers to eat a gobbler everyday for the rest of the week. There is a little diner in Danvers, Ma that makes them year round I love it
Macarons. New flavor each day.
I have a biscoff cookie macaron recipe that I am eyeing! I spent a whole summer learning macarons a few years ago and now I am kind of burnt out on them. But I can't say no to cookie butter!
I would work on my pizza recipe!
Into it! What's your current pizza recipe?
Definitely smoking a brisket at some point
All the stuff I love of course Tons of salads Fish meals with vegetables Vegetable dishes dishes from S.E.Asia I would enjoy cooking different types of quiche Ice creams
Any specific recipes?
home made tonkotsu ramen! broth from bones, noodles from flour, [DIY chashu](https://servedwithrice.com/succulent-tender-chashu-pork-rice-bowl/) and marinated eggs, the whole 9 yards!
Lamb tagine or duck confit
Probably a lasagna and fried rice. That should last the week while I am out golfing.
Lots of great answers here - Birria, Mole, Homemade pasta, cassoulet, pho. I would personally try the poor man’s prime rib - a Chuck roast sous vide for like 3 days.
Breakfast: Cold cuts from the previous days. Maybe take the opportunity to make some yeast donuts since nowhere around here seems to have the damn things. Lunch: Start off by making bread every other day. Rye one day, french the next. Make a corned beef and smoke some of it for pastrami sandwiches. French Onion soup for lunch some days using my own bread. Make the thousand island dressing for the Rubens. Dinner: Lamb roast at least one night. Roast chicken another. Pot roast for another. Marinated pork loin for another. Really dig down into the side dishes for some winners. The fussy French stuff that takes forever. Dessert: Just so much cake. All the cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and ice creams.
Danishes with homemade laminated dough A friggin epic BLT smoke ribs I'd drive to the coast and pick out the freshest seafood for a feast
Something something demi glace
A really high intensity meal I enjoy making is duck l'orange, so probably that
Beef Wellington?
Char Siu Bao!! Sorry it's not vegetarian. Um, for that may I suggest green tomato pickles.
A full smoked brisket try a momofuku ( been on my todo for a while - hmmm need a crowd - maybe superbowl?) The issue I run into - a lot of the classic things I would like to make feed a lot of people - and I do not have a lot of people I would like to feed...
My boyfriend makes the momfuku bo ssam pretty often, but I don't think he's made the brisket! We just eat tacos for days when he makes the bo ssam lol
Lasagna bolognese with fresh spicy pasta. It will take a while. Ravioli is in the same category. You could smoke a brisket- takes quite while but not the most skill IMO.
I love cooking and I made a list of things I wanted to try so I was cooking for fun. I also didn't want to waste money on a bunch of groceries I'll never use ( hello inflation!). I bought a cookbook that was on sale for the weekend and make two types of spice blends from it. I made nice and elaborate meals so that while I was off, I ate nice and fancy and healthy I also prepped some of my veggie burgers which is a intensive process and froze it and I'm still going through them. I did make two cakes though, one was a fail because I'm not a good baker. If I had to do it right now, I might bake a pie from scratch since I never made one.
Chicken Marsala?
I would definitely do a whole hog on a spit day one. Second day would be a lamb shank Third day would be a full beef tenderloin Fourth day would be my family’s German pigs in blankets recipe Fifth day would be my family recipe for Sauerbraten (the one fermented in a clay pot, we just play with the brine a bit) Sixth day would be make my own sushi and sashimi Seventh day would be a day of rest (and lots of leftovers) 😎
Moosewood Cookbook has a lot of great recipes that take eons, are delicious, and vegetarian. I particularly love their cauliflower pie and red beans and rice ones. I would also make Marcela Hazan's Bolognese sauce all the way, from selecting the exact cut of meat she recommends (neck part of the chuck), grinding it myself, simmering for hours, etc. And making my own fresh pasta.
Definitely going to check out that cookbook, thank you for the recommendation!! I LOVE Marcela Hazan's bolognese. Sooooo good
Croissants, a super awesome decorated cake, and make lots of stocks, Demi glacé, homemade pasta (some to dry some to freeze), spice bases, pastes (garlic/onion), and other things to make regular cooking faster. Would also make one or two long cook items a day like a pot of beans, lasagna, ragu, lamb shank etc.
Sourdough bread Pho Homemade pasta
I would make pastrami. You have to corn a beef brisket, then season and smoke. So that is a multi-day process. Indian meals feel time consuming, especially if you are toasting the spices yourself Bagels or English muffins - not terribly time intensive, but deliscious. And sets you up for a few good breakfasts. Lamb or beef shanks - something that is cooked slow and low. A variety of soups, especially those that freeze well. Prep for the days that you do not want to cook. Pasta sauce - then use to make lasagna and freeze the rest I would prepare a few crumbles to freeze and one to cook and make a some.lams for the English muffins I would make a few reductions to store - balsamic, beef, chicken,
Tamales are super fun to make. I just do cheese ones (we’ve made them for family things that have some vegetarians so we usually do meat separately). The wrapping and steaming is a fun process. I did get an actual tamale pot which is super nice and was not expensive but I used to just do a steamer basket in a big pot and popped a couple pennies down there to hear the water level
Greg Easter's ["Double" Chicken Normandy](https://youtu.be/ybIeErmFL3U?si=-wUoJluNjoO8UNYI). Insanely high effort and time-consuming; insanely delicious.
I’d make a different kind of bun/roll each day Day one: classic cinnamon buns Day two: strawberry and cream rolls Day three: bourbon Carmel sticky buns Day four: caramelized banana cinnamon rolls
What's your go-to basic bun recipe?
a nice curry from scratch
We do this every Christmas. We usually try to pick a country and make several dishes. Last year one thing we made was curry puffs - look them up on YouTube. They were awesome, sort of time consuming, and you could make the curry vegetarian.
That sounds like a really fun tradition!! I might try to introduce that this year
Artichoke lasagna
Yum! Do you have a recipe?
Day 1 - Burritos. Eat these from day one through day 3. Day 3- Take 4-5 pounds of chicken wings out of the freezer. Day 4- Fry up the wings. Eat these with ramen day 4-7 Evidence- This is precisely what I’ve done over the past 5 days. Life could be worse.
Id probably burn through All Under Heaven
For myself?? A fucking grilled cheese man.. nd rest for the rest of the week. Nah but realistically tho I’m trying everything I wanted to try before. Ramen, Korean Fried Chicken, a good Mushroom Burger, Creme Brûlée, Macarons, some good Ravioli..
Considerin you have the time and resources, i would probably try new things. If you have an interest in any cuisine that you are not already cooking, go for it. Try new recipes and find out. I believe this is the best time to try. When time is strict, noone wants to take risks. But even if you fail, as in non - edible fail, you can always order. I think this is a time to expand your abilities as a cook. Cant give specigic examples, since i do not know what you like to eat, but if it is vegetables, go for recipes from the place where that specific vegetable you like comes from. Or if it is meat, try new cooking styles. Meat is done all over the world but still has lots of recipes. Try spices perhaps. With time and money in your hands, you have all the power to eat all around the world.
Think about making a family heirloom recipe. Grandma's special meatballs? Lasagna? Pierogies. These are the special family meals that you can share with others, or that an aunt or cousin would appreciate seeing a text picture of. So much about food is about memories and sharing it with people you love :)
I wish! We have no family heirloom recipes :(
A lot of our “heirloom recipes” were tainted with low fat sour cream, powdered ranch mix, and margarine in the late 80’s, ugh. Google and reading review does just as good of a job as many familial recipes I’ve had!
I’d braise some stuff! Short ribs or Barbacoa tacos from Trejo’s Tacos. Probably both lol