What's Your Signature Dish?

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Well, the original question was what is your favorite go-to or the dish your family and friends request the most? Presumably those people like what's in it ;) I promise my self-worth is fine even if you don't like Italian sausage in your lasagna.

It's funny to read through a thread started four years ago, though. I think Addie answered it once a year :LOL:
 
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A dish doesn't have to be universally praised to be a person's signature dish.

I see it as a dish one is proud of that is praised by family and friends. Maybe it's that dish that is always requested whenever you sign up for a pot luck. It's that dish that people always ask for the recipe after eating it.
 
A dish doesn't have to be universally praised to be a person's signature dish.

I see it as a dish one is proud of that is praised by family and friends. Maybe it's that dish that is always requested whenever you sign up for a pot luck. It's that dish that people always ask for the recipe after eating it.

But that's exactly what I mean-- my food and I evolve together. How would you like that restaurant if it had the *exact* same "customer favorites" on the menu today as it did in 1983? Sounds like an episode of Kitchen Nightmares! :)
I think the casual cook can have that one dish, but anyone who cooks a little more seriously has an ever evolving repertoire.
 
Well, hold the phones... I'm going to do a minor retraction... in a second. First, who is the one with the "my deepest condolences" beef stew? That made me laugh out loud. Imagine bringing it to a church picnic and suddenly everyone around you is buzzing, "who died?!" It killed me. :)

Now, where's Addie.... Addie, Addie, Addie... Sweet Mother of Jesus, I just made that chocolate cake on the back of the hershey's cocoa can. Now *that* is a recipe I wouldn't mind being associated with.. holy cow. So here's what I did...I added buttermilk to the cake batter and espresso to the frosting .... so now (if you like) you can (in effect) lick it and claim it as your own.

I'm gonna have to frost this sucker and give it away.... holy cow... what a cake!
 
One definition I have for what constitutes a good cook is the ability to improve on the same dish, i.e. knowing how to make it better next time....maybe a few tweaks here and there.

That said, I guess there comes a point though where you reach close to the ultimate point - that it's as good as can be at that moment in time?
 
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But that's exactly what I mean-- my food and I evolve together. How would you like that restaurant if it had the *exact* same "customer favorites" on the menu today as it did in 1983? Sounds like an episode of Kitchen Nightmares! :)
I think the casual cook can have that one dish, but anyone who cooks a little more seriously has an ever evolving repertoire.

Hey, it took me 20 years to develop that lasagna recipe! ;)

I don't think those things are either-or. We have some favorites that I repeat, but I also tweak and sometimes don't use a recipe at all. But signature dishes are called that because people love them as they are.
 
Hey, it took me 20 years to develop that lasagna recipe! ;)

I don't think those things are either-or. We have some favorites that I repeat, but I also tweak and sometimes don't use a recipe at all. But signature dishes are called that because people love them as they are.

Sorry, Garlic - I've been reading posts on here all day because the husband and I decided to take a day of rest (for a change!), and I like the way you think... and I didn't mean to disparage your lasagna - and hey, I've got my pot roast that I've perfected over the years - I'd just like to be known as that lady that no matter what she brings, it's awesome - rather than "pot roast" ya know? :)

That chocolate cake made it as far as my husband's chair.....
 
Sorry, Garlic - I've been reading posts on here all day because the husband and I decided to take a day of rest (for a change!), and I like the way you think... and I didn't mean to disparage your lasagna - and hey, I've got my pot roast that I've perfected over the years - I'd just like to be known as that lady that no matter what she brings, it's awesome - rather than "pot roast" ya know? :)

That chocolate cake made it as far as my husband's chair.....

No worries, that was a joke. And I know what you mean. I'm that lady, too :) In fact, I've been adding more seasonings to a lot of my older recipes in the last several years, especially after I discovered Penzey's Spices in 2002.

I just made lasagna again last week, as I do every year, for my husband's birthday. We happened to be at my FIL's so he had it for the first time and loved it. Not sure DH would be happy if I changed it ;)
 
I rarely make the same dish twice at home. At work, is another story, but soups are ones that I get to make on the fly using what is at hand. I work with food all day, think of food all the time, and I dream about food. I am currently working on tweaking flavor profiles when I actually get to the stove (or oven). Right now I'm playing with various soup "ideas" that are vegan/vegetarian and gluten-free with a flavour profile that reflects Tex-Mex. I have a little notebook that I use to write down ideas of ingredients. I don't need quantities, I just need to jot down the ingredients I want to use and the low, mid, and high notes I want to hit re: the flavour profile.
 
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