What was the first recipe you claim as your own?

[larry_stewart]

So one of my winter projects is cleaning out my house of crap that I either never use , never will use, or haven't used in a very very long time. This came as a result of my parents recently moving to a new home, downsizing, and being one of the ones responsible for going through decades of stuff ( most of which was crap that should have been tossed ages ago). Me and my wife promised not to put my kids in a similar situation . And before anyone jumps in to try and defend my parents hoarding, even my mom admitted how much useless stuff there was.

Anyway , back to my situation. I came across stacks and stacks of cooking magazines ( mostly food network) that I have already looked through and took what I can out of them, ultimately tossing them in the basement to accumulate dust.

As I was bringing them to the curb, I saw something that looked real familiar jetting out from the neatly stacked pile. I pulled it out, and realized that it was one of the first, if not the first recipe that I altered, added to ... until I considered it my own.

It was one of those Del - Monte Pamphlets that you get when you save up enough proofs or purchase from their cans of veggies, Mail it back with a self addressed/ stamped envelope...

I opened it up and sure enough , there was the recipe with all my notes still written on the side, a few things crossed out, a few things added. It was back when I was in high school and still living its home. Sure, I cooked at that point, but it was more either following a recipe exactly as it was (as I didnt have the experience, know how, or confidence at the time to do anything else but). I then graduated to doctoring upside jarred marinara sauces ( like rage..) adding mushrooms, wine, butter. and things like that .

But this one I guess I felt the urge to do my own thing.

It was a vegetable soup. Sure it called for ' Del - Monte ; canned veggies along with other stuff. My guess is I wanted to make it, probably didn't drive so I was only able to use what I could that I had in the house and my dads garden, and went with it.

So the answer to my own question is , vegetable soup, I do still make it today. I wouldn't say I follow an exact recipe so it is always going through some sort of change or variations, but the same in general. If I had to list my first recipe, this would be it. Second would be a bean salad I though together ( probably at the same time period) when I had to bring something to someone's house, and just grabbed stuff from my moms pantry and went with intuition.

So, what would you consider your first recipe that you developed , and are you still making it today ? Just curious.

 

[GinnyPNW]

I think the first one that I can claim as my own is a dish I call, Shrimp Ginny. It is modeled after a dish I had at a friend's house. They had returned from a trip to Greece and were attempting to recreate a past dish served with a sauce that was tomato sauce, chicken and feta cheese. I took that and made a much more elaborate sauce with San Marzano tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, a host of other things...and shrimp. Yes, I still make it today for special occasions. Still love it, still tweak it here and there.

 

[taxlady]

So one of my winter projects is cleaning out my house of crap that I either never use , never will use, or haven't used in a very very long time. This came as a result of my parents recently moving to a new home, downsizing, and being one of the ones responsible for going through decades of stuff ( most of which was crap that should have been tossed ages ago). Me and my wife promised not to put my kids in a similar situation . And before anyone jumps in to try and defend my parents hoarding, even my mom admitted how much useless stuff there was.
...

That sounds like Swedish death cleaning. What Is Swedish Death Cleaning?

It's something I need to start doing.

 

[taxlady]

I guess the first recipe that I "invented" and still use is my take on pasta sauce, that has loads of stuff in it. I don't actually make it now, because it's based on cooked tomatoes, but, I will be checking to see if it bothers me when made with pasata, rather than canned tomatoes. It might be okay, because pasata has the seeds strained out of it.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

....... snipped ......
Anyway , back to my situation. I came across stacks and stacks of cooking magazines ( mostly food network) that I have already looked through and took what I can out of them, ultimately tossing them in the basement to accumulate dust.

As I was bringing them to the curb .....

Just a touch off topic, but Larry I hope you donated those magazines to your local public Library. Ours was called The Friends Of The Library and they sold those donated books and magazines.
Did you know that you can claim the face value of each book or magazine that you donate on your taxes (US that is). Have you seen how much they want now-a-days for a magazine that's half filled with advertisements!?
Do ask for a receipt. Our tax guy had made this suggestion.
I did that when we left Hawaii, I had boxes and boxes of books and magazines, like you, mostly Cooking Mags and books.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

... snipped ...
So, what would you consider your first recipe that you developed , and are you still making it today ? Just curious.

As to the question at hand, I started cooking as soon as I could reach the stove without using a chair.

From the get go, I was changing this and that from a recipe and making it my own, mostly because some the called for ingredients in recipes either I didn't have on hand or couldn't afford them.
I really could say what the dish was that I first called my own. It was far too long ago.

 

[larry_stewart]

That sounds like Swedish death cleaning. What Is Swedish Death Cleaning?

It's something I need to start doing.

Thats EXACTLY what it is

I am a saver and my wife is a Thrower outer. I guess they say opposites attract.

Bottom line is I look through my stuff, she looks through her stuff and we both look through the common stuff. No one can throw away the others without them looking at it first ( all my rules, cause I know she'll get a dumpster on a day im not home and just fill it up).

The only exception I made was I do have some boxes of stuff that I dont need, but I just cant get myself to throw them out. No one else will have any use for them now or when I croak and they are of no value. So, I just labelled those boxes " Crap, just throw it out" to save who ever gets blessed with the chore of cleaning out my house the burden of sorting through the stuff.

As for donating the magazines too the Library, unfortunately most of them, having sat in the basement for so long are in poor condition ( musty, some water damage ...). But , whatever my daughter doesn't want ,we have donated . Most stuff is in good condition (for whomever would want it), and Im not a garage sale kinda guy. We did that with my parents. Many helped out that day ( for like 8 hours) just to make about $400 - $500. Which wouldn't be bad, until the town left a notice on their door the next day that everything at the curb needed to be removed by the end of the day or else they would get a violation. So, we had to get a dumpster ( $400) and spend another few hours loading ( with no help). Wont do that again, ever. Not to mention I dont need strangers arriving at my house or digging through my trash. Ill get more satisfaction donating it or giving it away. As ive gotten older, time is much more valuable.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I was about 12 years, and home alone. I was hungry, looked in the fridge, and found a single pork chop. My dad always overcooked, and over salted his fried pork chop. I was in the mood to flex my creativity. I took the chop, and gently fridge it over medium heat until just starting to brow on both sides. I then added a tbs. of sherry wine over the chop, covered, and cooked for another three minutes. The result was a juicy, and tender chop that was barely cooked through, flavored lightly wit salt, pepper, and sherry. It was yummy.

I no longer use any kind of alcoholic beverage, even for cooking. I will always remember that first chop, the first I ever made. And since I'd never had one cooked like it by anyone, and was experimenting,
I'm calling it my first recipe.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

I didn't actually start reading and following recipes until I was 24 or 25 years old. Up until then, I just copied what I saw other people do or followed instructions that explained how something was made. Of course, I made changes to the things I had just seen other people do. Okay, I followed a recipe for cooking brown rice, when I was about 20. I still follow that recipe.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I would say my grandmother's Sunday sauce, which has been handed down from her to my mother, to me, and now to my son, Plague of Locusts. But then, none of the descendents have made any changes to the original recipe, which probably started back in Sicily.

So I would have to say my first bestest self-created recipe would be my Huevos Rancheros Especiale. There are a multitude of huevos rancheros recipes out there, but nobody makes it like I do.

 

[blissful]

SirLoin, I was sure you'd say Sirloin steak recipe, how wrong I am. Did you name your son, Plague of Locusts, during this teen years while he suffered from malnutrition while the family budget took a big hit or is this the name of the recipe for the family italian recipe?



I don't have a recipe that I invented. Maybe the "how to start your housecoat on fire" recipe at age 10, or the "how to catch your fingers in the electric beaters" recipe at age 12 (no I didn't know how to release them). No one needs my recipes. Every single recipe is changeable over the course of my life so every one of them I have even in my recipe cards, is changeable. Ask me in 2 weeks if I changed one of the recipe cards and the answer will be yes.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

SirLoin, I was sure you'd say Sirloin steak recipe, how wrong I am. Did you name your son, Plague of Locusts, during this teen years while he suffered from malnutrition while the family budget took a big hit or is this the name of the recipe for the family italian recipe?

I named my son Plague of Locusts when he was around 14 because he just ate everything in his path. I could drop 200 bucks on groceries on Friday night and Monday morning I'd be lucky to find something for breakfast. I'm talking 1995 dollars here. When he was older he would get home from work at oh dark thirty, throw two Marie Callender or Stouffers entrées in the microwave, and while he was waiting he would eat a mixing bowl full of cereal and milk.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I named my son Plague of Locusts when he was around 14 because he just ate everything in his path. I could drop 200 bucks on groceries on Friday night and Monday morning I'd be lucky to find something for breakfast. I'm talking 1995 dollars here. When he was older he would get home from work at oh dark thirty, throw two Marie Callender or Stouffers entrées in the microwave, and while he was waiting he would eat a mixing bowl full of cereal and milk.

I had two boys, both very athletic, both big eaters, not quite like your boy, but close. Myself, I grew up a skinny one, until I finally started filling out at about age 21. I graduated high school at 92 lbs., soaking wet, and jpined the Navy a year later at 103. At the end of one snowmobile trail ride with my parents, andthe club they belonged to, we went bavk to the clubhouse where the had hot food waiting for everyone. 19 hot dogs, and 2 plates of baked beans were needed to fill my belly. Eating a whole, 16 inch pizza, with the works wasn't uncommon. And at dinner time, I was the one who got 2nds, and 3rds. Those were the days when a Thanksgiving feast was relished, as I could eat some of everything served, and still have room for desert. I'm glad I can't, and don't require as much food now. I couldn't afford to feed myself. I mean; 2 Wendy's tripples, with baked beans, large order of fries, and a bowl of chili costs a pretty penny now days. Back when I ate that, I did it when challenged bt a shipmate who said I couldn't eat one triple. H said he'd pay for everything if I could eat one and an order of fries. He was sure surprised. Ah, such are the memories.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Andy M.]

As a child I didn't have the cooking bug. I watched my mom cook. Helped my dad create recipes (he was a chef) but never felt the urge to cook.

When I was married, I was not allowed to cook except for pancakes for the kids on the weekend.

That urge started growing when I saw cooking on TV. Julia, Jacques, Jeff Smith, Martin Yan, Caprile Pence, etc.

After my divorce, I had little choice. I had to cook if I wanted to eat. I wanted to eat. I watched a lot of cooking shows and copied a lot of recipes.

This led to my wanting to create my own recipe. I thin my first real creation was pasta sauce. I knew it continued tomatoes. I think I figured if a few ingredients were good a lot of ingredients would make it better! Logical, right?

I put everything into the sauce. I though it was great!

Then I started to date a woman with Italian heritage who was a really good cook. She was very kind in her evaluation of my sauce. I watched her make sauce and tasted how good it was. My eyes were opened.

I haven't used that recipe in decades. Here's the ingredient list:

Diced Sun Dried Tomato
Pancetta
Olive Oil
Diced Green Italian Pepper
Diced Crimini Mushrooms
Diced Onion
Diced Carrots
Garlic - Minced
Sweet Italian Sausage
28 oz. Can of Tomato
Oregano
Basil
Parsley
Parmesan Cheese
Tomato Paste
Chicken Broth
Dried Porcini
Red Wine
Bay Leaf
Black Pepper

Please keep you laughter to yourself.

 

[larry_stewart]

I haven't used that recipe in decades. Here's the ingredient list:

Diced Sun Dried Tomato
Pancetta
Olive Oil
Diced Green Italian Pepper
Diced Crimini Mushrooms
Diced Onion
Diced Carrots
Garlic - Minced
Sweet Italian Sausage
28 oz. Can of Tomato
Oregano
Basil
Parsley
Parmesan Cheese
Tomato Paste
Chicken Broth
Dried Porcini
Red Wine
Bay Leaf
Black Pepper

Please keep you laughter to yourself.

Thats an impressive list of ingredients

 

[larry_stewart]

I named my son Plague of Locusts when he was around 14 because he just ate everything in his path. I could drop 200 bucks on groceries on Friday night and Monday morning I'd be lucky to find something for breakfast. I'm talking 1995 dollars here. When he was older he would get home from work at oh dark thirty, throw two Marie Callender or Stouffers entrées in the microwave, and while he was waiting he would eat a mixing bowl full of cereal and milk.

My son would have a Pre dinner, dinner and post dinner, follow it up with dessert, and still say he was hungry. I've never seen anything like it.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

larry, sounds about like our son. We would call him "stomach with legs". Constantly ate and stayed skinny as a reed. Still thin, but doesn't pack away nearly as much as he did...when his parents were footing the bill.

 

[Andy M.]

My son would have a Pre dinner, dinner and post dinner, follow it up with dessert, and still say he was hungry. I've never seen anything like it.

It's fine to eat like that when you're a teen. My cousin used to say about me: "
"He's the first one to sit down at the dinner table and the last to get up and he don't talk much!"

The trick is to tone it down as you get older.

 

[blissful]

I had 3 teen boys. The oldest one ate such a large volume until he got to about 21 and then started putting on weight and it went a little overboard. He mentioned that he didn't realize this would happen and was kind of unhappy I didn't mention it. I didn't mention it because I didn't know when he would start to put on unwanted weight.



My ex husband and I were married when he was 25, for about 3 or 4 more years, he ate huge amounts. He was about 28-29 before that slowed down for him. He'd have 4 cups of spaghetti noodles with meat sauce, which is a large amount (compared to me) and not put on weight, so I had no idea how different people were in how much food was 'normal'.



It really depends on the person.
Other things also affect a person's eating habits. My husband grew up in a mainly single parent household with 6 siblings. They had little to no money and so they depended on commodities from the gov't. Fake cheese, real cheese, corn biscuit mix, canned pasta, real butter. And with all those siblings, who ever got there first got more and they were hungry. So there seemed to be a feeling of me first me first, in fear of not getting enough (food insecurity). I also grew up with food insecurity due to their miserly qualities. So I made and still make large amounts and let the person decide how much they want so they have some control over things and never feel a want or a hunger. It's worked well and there isn't a feeling around food of, me first, I want more. The food is there, we'll be fine. He eats when he is hungry, I do too, and sometimes we coordinate and eat the same thing at the same time, when we try new things.