That means you!  And Rebel and Rocky too!!!

Sigh.  I don't know about anyone else, but I miss the cooking thread.  Okay.  Maybe not everyone does.  But now I get stuck trying to think about meal preparations so I had a thought.  After cooking many many meals, we can get repetitive.  Those dishes you prepare over and over and over because everyone loves them -- you know what I mean?  That's why I'm interested in knowing.  

What main dish do you find is always popular?  What do you fix when you want to be sure it'll be good because you've made it so many times?  What ONE dish would you say defines the best of your dinner recipes/meals?

It doesn't even have to be your own recipe but just the dish you prepare.

Mine is...

Favorite Chicken  -- Easy and always tasty

12 pieces of chicken

4 T Butter

Pinch minced garlic 

1/8 C Worcestershire Sauce

Couple dashes Choluba Hot Sauce

Sprinkle of Ground Ginger

1 T Dijon Mustard

1/2 Cup Orange Juice

1/2 Cup Red Currant Preserves

Melt butter in a small saucepan.  Add garlic.  Add all remaining ingredients but chicken, whisk together and simmer low until blended.  Pour over chicken pieces in a casserole dish.  Cook uncovered at 350 for one hour.  Serve with farfel, rice or couscous and a vegie.  Perfectly wonderful always.  

This was originally derived from a Vincent Price cookbook!

Anyone else?

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

I miss the cooking thread too--why don't we start another one?

Hmm...there three dishes that get requested if we're going to a party or if I offer the choice if we have guests over for dinner. One is a main dish, and the other two are desserts.

This sauce is my own creation...

PASTA SAUCE ALA ROCKSANDBOTTLES

Olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 pound mild Italian sausage
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 medium yellow sweet onion *like Vidalia*, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced fine
5-6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
3-4 ribs celery, chopped
1 very large can tomato sauce (De Fratelli/Hunt's/Any works dandy...depends on your sauce liking/spice level)
Crushed red pepper
Salt/Pepper
Garlic powder
Oregeno
Basil
1/4 cup sugar

In large skillet, drizzle olive oil in pan and add onions, red pepper, garlic, and celery. Sprinkle with all of the above spices (to taste---I make mine spicy). Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes; add beef and Italian sausage. Cook until thoroughly browned and crumbly. Add more spices as meat is cooking, stirring often. Add sauce, sugar, and tomatoes. Cook about 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve over your fave pasta.

**Sometimes I put a little splash of red wine into sauce mix, which is tasty if ya like wine!

Alright, Rocky!  I knew I could count on you!!!  Printing those out for my recipe file pronto.  Lucky Eric!!

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Because only about five people used that whole forum and it was mostly there to bolster post counts.

My ONE go-to recipe is at home, but I'll try to remember to post it after work.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

cheesy scalloped potatoes

I tried this easy recipe last week, it's delish!

1/2 cup of real mayonaise (hellmanns)

2 Tablespoons of flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper, I added a bit more, I like black peppercorn (grinded)

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 cup of shredded chedder cheese

2 - 4 Tablespoons of chopped chives or chopped white onion

4 cups thinly sliced baking potatoes (about 4 large potatoes)

parmesan cheese for topping

1. combine 1/2 cup of mayonaise & the next 3 ingrediants in saucepan, gradually add the milk & cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. remove from heat. add the shredded cheese & chives or white onion, until the cheese melts & is well blended.

2. place half potatoe slices in a lightly greased pan (11x7 inch baking dish)

3. pour half the cheese mixture over the potatoes. repeat layer with thre remaining half potatoes slices & cheese mixture.

4. sprinkle evenly with parmesan cheese.

5. bake covered at 350 for an hour.

6. uncover & bake another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown.

ENJOY!

Oh, boy, I saw Angel was posting here and thought to myself, this ought to be an interesting dish! 

Ramen!

Come on, girl! You must have something else, right? I know you do. What do you take when you go to a pot-lock dinner party?

I'm waiting patiently while I knosh on Rocky's pasta, cake and carmelitas and Rebel's 'taters. Glad we're sticking to the low cal recipes here, ladies!

Also looking forward to Amanda's recipe.  

Don't any of you guys cook???  I know you must have some special plats du jour.  Come on now!  Spill those beans. 

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Sorry, I got home from school last night and went straight to bed. Applied calc and analytical geometry does that to me. :D I'll get it up tonight. The recipe, that is.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

oh look its the TPG knitting circle!

;-)

Geez, I had my pad and pencil all set for the Let's Roque Irish Stew or Belfast Borscht. What do I receive instead?!

Besides, I have heard rumors that you do know how to cook, James, so let's not play coy. Go through your recipe file box and come back in here with your fave.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Posting to annoy Susan.

I only know how to cook 10 different things anyway. None of them are very interesting.

Look us blokes don't care what you sheilas cook, just make sure you clean up the kitchen when you're done.

Oh...and fetch me a coldie before you do the dishes...cheers!!

>cyba ducks head and runs for cover under a shower of pots and pans<

Hah! Hiding behind your boyish cyber safety net, huh, guys?

I really really wonder what it is you guys do when you're not microwaving cold pizza.   My husband hasn't been a bachelor for years and is not any kind of cook, but he has a small repertoire of one-man meals he's able to put together. He could bake a potato, make a tuna sandwich, boil an artichoke, put together an avocado salad and fry an egg. I recall him frying up a hamburger patty or a steak too. 

Booth, you have 10 whole dishes!!!! You probably don't want to tell me because it will give away your undisclosed geographical locale. My guess is Paella is one of them. Hmmm, maybe Falafels?  Chicken Tempura?  French Toast? Beef Wellington? 

Cyba, I'm sure your wife has had days where she expected you to fix a meal at least for the kids, right?  What did you do?  A bowl of cheerios?

Erwin, I believe you have experimented with cooking over the years. Come on!

None of us girls in the knitting clatch will think any the less of you Nancy boys just because you occasionally COOK! In fact, it might even elevate you in our eyes.  (if that's possible)

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Keep your eye on the doughnut, not on the hole -- DL

 Nobody makes Irish Stew quite like my mum, but I would say that!

 My favourite dish from student days is spicy chicken tikka masala.

-chop a clove of garlic and 500g chicken breast add to a heated pan of olive oil, gently fry for about 5/10 mins until chicken is golden brown.

-then throw in some chopped green and red chillies, a chopped red pepper, some chopped coriander, a jar of tikka masala sauce and squeeze in a little lime juice. Mix together and simmer for 15mins.

-Whilst thats cooking, stick some garlic and coriander naan bread in the oven and craic open a cold can of guinness to congratulate yourself on not having to phone your mum 10 times for advice !

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

No way, Amanda! Like I believe that.

Besides, I thought it was going to be a glossy, illustrated, pricey, hard-copy cookbook.  Maybe Martha Stewart could pick up the project from here on out?  

We have already established that the non-cooks would buy it.  They (and I'm not naming any names) can laugh and joke about "calling all chefs" threads, but hey, the proof is in the pudding -- they came in the kitchen to read about recipes!  Obviously they planned on jotting down their faves.   

I'm seeing it all in my head.  Rocky and Eric, dressed in their festival costumes, sitting down to a candlelight dinner of Rocksandbottles Pasta.  Rebel with her apron laying out her spread with the dogs salivating alongside the kitchen table.  James in his kitchen mincing garlic gloves with the phone nestled under his chin as he gets final coaching from his mother.  Angel in her white satin corset and 6' platforms with strings of ramen dangling from her red lips.  I'm telling you, it's a big seller!  There cannot be anywhere near 10 billion more important things.

James, could you please call your mum and ask her for a copy of her Irish stew recipe???   Don't post it here.   PM it to me. We wouldn't want the secret recipe to be circulated far and wide.  I'll keep it secret, I promise.  Mum's the word!

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Yes no problem Susan, I'll ask her tomorrow when I'm round at the house. Do you have HP (brown) sauce in the states? I always get a clip round the ear when I cover the stew with that stuff!!

Susan. Private msg sent. Welcome to the circle of trust  lol

one of my favourites:

Wine-Onions

Ingredients (4 Persons):
1 kg little onions (diameter max. 5 cm = 2 inches), 30 g margarine, 1 tee-spoon sugar, salt, pepper,
¼ liter dry white wine (or dry Sherry), 1/8 liter broth (chicken-broth),
1-2 tee-spoon basil, 600 g meat cut into strips, 1 table-spoon oil, 2 table-spoon soy sauce

for the marinade: 3 table-spoon Sherry, 3 table-spoon soy sauce, 1 table-spoon cornflour,
one pinch of salt, one pinch of sugar

Preparation:
cut the meat into thin strips and put it into the marinade, peel the onions (let them entire);
melt the margarine in the pot, add sugar, then add the onions and stew them 10 minutes while stiring;
add then the wine and the broth, boil up and season it with salt, pepper and basil;
stew it for another 20 minutes (onions should get vitreous),
roast the meat in hot oil in 3 minutes; season it with soy sauce, few salt and pepper, mix it with the onions.

Garnishing: Curry-Rice

Ah, Rebel, how I wish I was going to be at your Academy Awards dinner-party!  Sounds fabulous.  Now I don't even feel like going through the motions and buying my party meal ingredients. 

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin