When did you last try cooking something new? How did it turn out?

[Mel!]

I made gnocchi. I am pleased and amazed that they actually turned out like they are supposed, rather than a pot full of watery potato mush.

I now feel very encouraged to take the step of making homemade pasta. I have been putting off making homemade gnocchi and pasta for a long time, thinking they would be complicated and take some trial and error.

It always seemed more sensible to buy readymade gnocchi and pasta until now. What encourages me about the pasta is that I dont need a pasta maker. Pasta shells can be made with fingers.

There used to be a time several years ago, when I was afraid to make bread. Now, I make great bread.

Mel

 

[Claire]

If you can bake bread, then making pasta should be easy-peasy. D'ya know what my very hardest first dish was? I was maybe 15 and had to make gravy for the first time. My mom somehow (she was sick, that's why I was cooking supper) neglected to tell me that a slurry has to be made with COLD water. I wound up with something resembling ... well, lumps of goo. Luckily, Mom didn't believe in throwing anything away, and told me to take out the blender and all was well. And, luckily as well, Mom made my sisters wash the dishes, since there was extra because of my mistake (heck, none of them volunteered to make dinner!).

 

[Frenchys]

Sometime we can also try new recipes by doing mistakes... for exeample droping a peanuts in an omelet... whet dit I do ? I add the packet in the omelet and it was really good

 

[Andy M.]

I tried to make hand rolled pasta for the first time. I followed the recipe for the dough, let it rest then rolled it out. I rolled it really thin (I thought it was thin). I then folded it over several times and sliced it into fettuccine and cooked it.

I made some Alfredo sauce for the noodles. The pasta turned out not great. I guess thin means REALLY REALLY thin, because the fettuccine was too thick and heavy as a result. I'll try again and keep shooting for thinner.

 

[pacanis]

The last time I tried something new was last week. I was looking for something new to do with ground turkey. I saw someone mention that it was good in Koenigsberger Klopse, which I had no idea what that was, so I Googled, found three internet recipes I liked bits and pieces of, combined them and went for it. And I'll be making it again. It was delicious.
Gnocchis scare me though. I've only recently graduated from frozen to the packaged fresh.

 

[chefmac]

I love this quote: "If it's good enough for my dog, it's good enough for me.
But he's fussy."

 

[simonaskitchen]

...just a few days ago!

 

[CookLikeJulia]

A week ago, I have made a Chinese vegetables Spring rolls. And it turned out great!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I'm always working on something new, even if it's just adding something to scrambled eggs I've never tried berfore. The downside of this, Shrek doesn't like change unless it's forced on him...so I have to coax him to just try it. He always seems to enjoy it and he's definitely not starving.

 

[CharlieD]

Couple of days ago I tried to make Chachapuri, it is a Gergian recipe, Georgia as a country that is. I do not know how to describe, it is like a flat bread filled with cheeze inside and baked or fried. i did not have buttermilk, so I used yougurt, it was somewhat sweet, my wife liked it, I did not. Also i did not rolled it thin enough. I'll make my own buttermilk next time and try it again. It supposed to be really good. I make a pastry dough version of it and it is awesom.

 

[Zhizara]

I made enchiladas for the first time last week. Definitely will make again, but with the tweak of toasting the flour tortilla wrapped enchiladas, without any sauce and use the warmed sauce for dipping.

 

[pacanis]

I made enchiladas for the first time last week. Definitely will make again, but with the tweak of toasting the flour tortilla wrapped enchiladas, without any sauce and use the warmed sauce for dipping.

I make a dish using tortillas and after folding in my ingredients, rub them with canola oil before placing in the oven. They brown/crisp quite nicely.

 

[snickerdoodle]

I lose interest in cooking altogether if I don't try something new on a regular basis. Last week I made pork & lentil soup for the first time, delish! This week I'll be trying scalloped potatoes & ham for the first time. I'm also trying 2 new cookie/candy recipes for xmas this week. There's just too much good food out there to get stuck on a meal rotation.

 

[Alix]

I've done a few new things recently. I tried a new cookie recipe (ok, but we like our old standby better) I also tried a new chicken recipe, also meh.

 

[jabbur]

Just this week I made egg foo yung and sesame noodles. The egg foo yung was a combo of several recipes and we liked it. The sesame noodles came out as expected but DH didn't care for them. They were okay but not something that I really fell in love with. The egg foo yung will be made again but doubt the sesame noodles will be repeated.

 

[Mel!]

I made some Alfredo sauce for the noodles. The pasta turned out not great. I guess thin means REALLY REALLY thin, because the fettuccine was too thick and heavy as a result. I'll try again and keep shooting for thinner.

A tip: After taking it out of the water, leave it on a plate and let the steam rise off it for a few minutes, before adding the sauce etc. And put it on a new plate if the plate gets wet. That can take some of the wet, gooiness off it. It worked like that for my gnocchi.

 

[Mel!]

A week ago, I have made a Chinese vegetables Spring rolls. And it turned out great!

Yummy! I make them sometimes, but I never manage to get them neatly into a roll. It generally turns square shaped, instead of like the cylinder shaped ones that are in the shops and restaurants.

 

[Zhizara]

No one mentioned LPB's wonderful Mushroom Gratin so many of us tried. It hasn't been all that long, but has definitely been added to our TNTs.

 

[justplainbill]

Taxlady's Mock Armadillo, two days ago. Turned into two days of tasty meals for two people. Was amazing how far one can stretch 1.1 lbs of ground pork and 5 strips of bacon accompanied by potatoes and some creamed weinkraut.

 

[taxlady]

I made the mushroom gratin and will be doing it again, but more recently I made moussaka. That's another keeper.