Five "Go to" recipes/dishes

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Some kind of casserole to your liking. ''Broccoli rice cheese Bake'' Chili mac'' '' Baked ziti'' ''Chicken Pot pie'' ''Breakfast'' eggs, bacon, and cheese strata, or desert ''Bread pudding''. One of the favorites I used to serve was a ''Seafood Pot pie'' On the pot pies and strats we used a very thin layer of liquid Bisquick mix spread across the top. Or whatever tickles your tastebuds.Hope this helps.
 
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I think I have breakfast covered, as long as he likes EGGS! LOL! I don't do a lot of pasta, but I do make a mean turkey casserole and let's not forget MN wildrice hot dish. And, my rice pudding is pretty darned good. I'm leaning toward teaching him how to shop and use what is on special/in season. That is how I cook.

I have way too many spices/herbs/salts in my cupboard. I'm trying to come up with the essential spices/herbs one should have.


Oregano
garlic
chili powder (my favorite is chilpolte)
cayenne powder
paprika (I like smoked if I had to pick one)
basil
curry powder
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
fennel seeds
cumin seeds (one can roast and grind them)
coriander seeds

Did I forget something?

And I'm going to do Chief's trick to train his palate to recognize the taste/aroma of the herbs/spices. Don't know if he will go for the blindfold...poor thing, he has no idea what he's gotten himself into!
 
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I didn't count S&P because I have so many varieties of salt and red, white, and black pepper. Figured those were a no brainer <g>. I also didn't include the fresh herbs--rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon grass, chervil, French tarragon, mint, and parsley--was trying to put myself in the position of s/one who doesn't have access to a garden or a spice/herb cupboard that is um, well stocked. I'll check the links, thanks!.
 
That post wasn't clear - sorry :) I meant fresh parsley but dried rosemary and thyme. I think woody herbs - like rosemary, thyme, sage and bay - are better dried, but soft herbs are better fresh.

I think this is a great opportunity to teach him the difference between fresh and dried herbs. I cooked with dried herbs for years, because that's what my mom did and I received a gift box of filled herb/spice jars as a wedding present, so I just used what I had.

After I'd been married about 7 years, I took a class in cooking with fresh herbs and my cooking was transformed. I had no idea it would make such a difference. We lived on the third floor of an apartment building, and I had DH attach window boxes to the outside of the fire escape balcony so I could grow my own fresh herbs. I think it's a really important part of beginning cooking to understand this. Sorry, do I sound too demanding? :LOL:
 
I only use fresh bay because I have had a bay tree for years...not sure what the difference would be between dried bay and fresh...Rachael Ray seems to prefer fresh. I assume his mother cooks so he probably grew up with some herbs, but probably dried, not fresh. The only fresh herbs my mother used were parsley and chives.
 
When woody herbs dry, their flavor generally becomes more concentrated due to the loss of moisture. I just know that when I started using fresh herbs, my cooking got a lot better, so for me, it's an important part of it and something I wish I had learned when I was younger.
 
When I was younger I remember a little herb made any cooking experience enhanced... just sayin' :rolleyes:
 
And I'm going to do Chief's trick to train his palate to recognize the taste/aroma of the herbs/spices. Don't know if he will go for the blindfold...poor thing, he has no idea what he's gotten himself into!


I need that training very badly. I will eat a dish that tastes so wonderful, but I cannot recognize exactly what is used to create that taste.

Once he knows the basics, I think teaching him to follow a recipe and understand the different terms used, would be a good idea. Then he would be able to cook most any recipe he finds.
 
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