Does anyone love to cook ?

[BAB PEEG]

Mmm I'd rather help cook then do the cooking.

[uscno84]

44 minutes ago, BAB PEEG said:

Mmm I'd rather help cook then do the cooking.

Helping with the cooking is an excellent way to learn how.

[Kendo 2]

I was a chef for 10 years.  I hate the kitchen.

[Kendo 2]

Italia Squisita has a Youtube channel.  They are purists so most likely not all of the ingredients will be available unless you live in Italy.  The videos have English subtitles and recipes listed.  In bocca al lupo.

[wokking56]

On 5/12/2020 at 8:07 PM, GimmeBACON said:

I used to love cooking, even thought of making a career out of it at one point, but two years working as a line cook killed my passion.

I can relate I worked in the industry off and on for years when I was young. Yet these days what with my slow cooker and rotisserie it's so easy to just put things and and go about my day. Then hours later I have something decent to eat.

[wokking56]

17 hours ago, endgameaddic†ion said:

I've been craving lasagna. Haven't had some in a very long time. I won't ever cook that. I'll buy a pre-cooked frozen pack and toss it in the oven.

I was just thinking about making some lasagna myself. Mine will be home made however since stovetop mult-tasking is so easy I can make mine in less time than it takes for frozen and tastes better. Frozen takes about 1 and 45 mins in my oven (not counting preheating) whereas mine takes 1 hour and 10 mins from start to finish for a massive 5 pound 12 serving monster.

[AKM]

Hate cooking, personally.  But if you're looking for a good place to find recipes: allrecipes.com

[KoolHndLuke]

I may not like cooking, but I think I better start doing more of it. Everything that I like to eat is loaded with salt and I have to cut way down. Being a lazy eater is a sure way to bad health I am discovering much to my regret.

[Kendo 2]

8 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

I may not like cooking, but I think I better start doing more of it. Everything that I like to eat is loaded with salt and I have to cut way down. Being a lazy eater is a sure way to bad health I am discovering much to my regret.

With you; cucumbers are your friends.  Not bullshitting you.  Search for 'health benefits of cucumbers'.

[landess]

My Mom and Dad had very complimentary recipe libraries to each other. Speaking of cucumbers She had a recipe for a cucumber salad. Basically thinly sliced cucumber in a bowl with a tasty vinaigrette style dressing generously filling the bowl. I can feel the sweat starting to appear on either side of my nasal bridge next to my eyes as I speak of it...... Tangy!

 

Cucumber spears with ranch dressing for the more 'moderate' is also a good choice. Add broccoli, squash, cauliflower, carrot, and any other raw vegetable for a great snack. My mom couldn't believe I was eating vegetables - I told her what ever boiling water does to them, they could keep it......  Raw is awesome.

 

I know - raw isn't cooking, but I started getting hungry reading posts....

[Kendo 2]

Fuckit.  Even thought I HATE cooking I'll share a recipe no one has...Old School Rice Pudding.

 

Spoiler

step #1

glass or ceramic bowl 

small handful of raisins or sultanas

2 fingers of bourbon

2 fingers of water

 

Put the raisins in the bowl and add the liquids.  Toss it and cover it with something.

 

step #2

big soup pot with a lid

1 cup white rice

6 cups real milk

2 knobs butter

1/2 cup white sugar 

1/4 tea sp table salt

 

Stir the step #2 ingredients in the pot on med high heat then wait for the bubbles to start forming on the edges.  Be patient.  Once the bubbles form lower the heat to low and cover.  This needs to go for an hour (or until the rice is soft).  You can't walk away from this process since you need to babysit the pot at about 15-20 minute intervals.  Don't let the mixture stick or scorch, but don't over-work it either.  Let the rice starch do it's thing.

Once the rice is soft (the mix should be thick like loose cottage cheese) remove from the heat and let set stand 10 minutes uncovered.  Fold in 1 tea sp vanilla extract.  Wash your fucking hands.  Squeeze out and discard the excess liquid from the raisins and fold them into to the pudding.  Cover the pot with a clean cloth and let it rest until room temp.  DO NOT place a lid on the pot as a cover; the condensation will weep into the pudding and fuck it up.

Once it's room temp spoon it into bowls.  This will make 8 restaurant servings or 4 human servings.  Eat it room temp (the best) or refrigerate.  Top with fresh-grated nutmeg.

 

NOTE on my chef speak; none of this shit is precise.

* one 'knob' is how much you put on toast plus a little bit more (be generous it doesn't matter)

* one 'small handful' is the size of a big golf ball

* one 'finger' is the height of liquid poured in a drinking glass when you level your finger with the inside well

 

 

 

[Kendo 2]

HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK the gourmet way.  Disclaimer: This is an unreasonable amount of work for a home cook.

Spoiler

 

8 hrs of your life
3 parts chicken bone-in scraps with the fat and skin on them (wings, necks, backs, whuddever)
1 part white or yellow onion
garlic cloves
1/4 part carrots or parsnips
1/4 part celery with the leaf greens
coarse salt (not the saltshaker iodized shit)
olive oil
whole black peppercorns
thyme
tomato paste (I use Contadina brand)
water

 

PREP #1
Rinse the chicken parts under running cold water to remove any bone chips or coagulated bits.  Place them in a large bowl with cold water and two big pinches of the salt.  Wash your hands.  Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the chicken soak for at least an hour at room temp.

 

PREP #2

30 mins into the soak time for the chicken...Cut the root end off the onions and quarter them, leaving the tip and skin on and smash the whole garlic cloves with the skin on; you need the skins for color.  Don’t worry about removing the cores from the garlic for this.  Wash the celery and carrots and cut them into 2 finger-wide chunks; no need to peel the carrots but you can if that makes you feel better.  Turn on the oven to 425f (220c).

 

COOK IT #1
Drain the water off the chicken.  Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the bowl.  Spoon in enough tomato paste to coat all the ingredients (your call).  Toss it all together with your hands and work in the paste with everything.  Wash your hands.  Squirt some oil into a roasting pan or baking sheet big enough to handle the contents of the bowl in one layer (that is important); ONE FUCKING LAYER.  Roast in the pan @ 425f for 45 min to an hour.  You WANT the blistered blackening that will appear, but don't cremate it.

 

COOK IT #2
Dump the contents of the roasting pan into a tall stock pot and scrape in anything that sticks.  You want it all, the chicken parts, veggies, juices and burnt-on bits.  All of that is flavor.  Add in the peppercorns and thyme (your call but don’t under-do-it or over-do-it).  Add enough cold water to cover the pot contents with about an inch.  Turn on the burner to med-low and let it go uncovered for a minimum of 6 hrs (12hrs is chef standard).

 

COOKIT #3
Babysit the pot every hour to skim off the trashy foam and add water to maintain the 1 inch level.  DO NOT let this shit boil as that will make your stock cloudy.  The idea is to extract the flavors of everything without breaking them down into mush.

 

URDONE
Remove the pot from the heat, cover it with a clean cloth (do not use a lid) and let it rest for at least an hour undisturbed.  Slow strain the liquid through a fine sieve into containers or use directly.  Don’t get greedy; if there’s trash/sediment in to bottom of the pot just write off that little bit of liquid left.

Refrigerated this will last about a week or you can freeze it indefinitely.

 

 

 

EDIT: done posting in this thread until someone puts up a recipe I don't know.
 

[wokking56]

19 hours ago, Kendo 2 said:

HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK the gourmet way.  Disclaimer: This is an unreasonable amount of work for a home cook.

That's basically what I do every Thanksgiving. After dinner I clean the Turkey carcass so I have snack meat for a few days, maybe make some Turkey Salad. Then I throw the bones, a similar veggie mix, the roaster dripping and some water into a huge stock pot (I actually have a 20 quart one) and slow simmer for the rest of the evening. I do end up freezing a lot of it, so soup, gravy and sauces for months.

 

Thankfully I have a large freezer because I use my huge stock pot 4 or 5 times a year. Aside from Thanksgiving I will make a massive batch of soup or chili a couple time a year for last minute snacks or quick meals. An unreasonable amount of work, well maybe. Yet spending hour on end a few days for literally over a months worth of just pop it in the microwave seems worth it to me and that's not even to mention I have two slow cookers that see near constant use (heck I have had tonight's Beef Stew in the large one for several hours now).