Do You Even Cook, Bro?

[RJ]

Been cooking (aka: reading recipe cards) since I was 12 or so.

My mom started College in her forties, and I shared cooking duties during the week's she was away during my High School years. Later in life, I was single for a while, and cooked for my son and I. Nothing fancy, just basic stuff.

I retired this year at age 56. Lately, I've been sharing cooking duties with my wife, and I've had a lot of fun rediscovering the whole kitchen thing.

I would guess a lot of you have experience cooking for yourselves, so am interested in your recipes, tips, spices, favorite kitchen tools, etc.

From time to time, I'd also like to post some recipes that have worked for me.

So, what do you like to cook?

[RJ]

Here's one of my favorites, easy Schnitzel Chicken.

Easy Pan-Fried Chicken Schnitzel

This easy to follow recipe is quick to prepare and makes a delicious main course for 2

Ingredients

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 T Milk, or Half and half
1 Egg
1 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 t fresh finely diced or dried Parsley
1/8 t pepper
1/8 t salt
1/8 t nutmeg
1/2 c Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/4 stick butter
Lemon juice

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Add the egg and milk, then whisk smoothly.
Place the chicken breasts inside a gallon sized sealed zip-loc bag. Pound them flat (my 2 1/2 lb Harbor Freight dead-blow hammer works well.) to approximately 1/2" thickness.

Spread the Bread Crumbs in another shallow bowl.

Take the chicken out of the zip-loc bag, and dip it into the mixing bowl, covering the chicken on both sides with the wet mixture. Then drop it into the bread crumbs, making sure you coat it evenly.

Place the coated chicken in a pan, and leave it in the fridge for an hour.

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan. Cook the chicken evenly on medium heat, about 7 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Spritz with lemon juice and serve.

Adapted from: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/78117...el/?mxt=t06rda

[BN]

I'm a crock pot cook.

Put some carrots in the crock pot, followed by some potatoes cut up into bite sized pieces, some chunks of onion, and a 2# or bigger beef roast of your choice. Set for 8 hours on low. At suppertime, I'm a hero.

[Les Pepperoni]

Alton Brown's: Good Eats.

Great cooking show on Netflix (formerly Food Network)

Apparently, he's a shooter to.

His coconut cake recipe is pretty awesome! (from scratch)

[Fly320s]

I, too, am a fan of Alton Brown. "Good Eats" gives you the science behind cooking. He also has a YouTube channel.

Also check out foodwishes.blogspot.com He shows how he cooks each recipe and most are simple, but good.

[JAD]

I have never followed an Ina Garten recipie correctly and not had it be fantastic. I will say improvising around her stuff is not productive in my experience.

Last night I made a popular one, to go with some grilled lamb chops:
Red potatoes, quartered
1/2c olive oil
salt and pepper
2Tb fresh rosemary, minced
1Tb fresh garlic, minced

Put all in bowl and toss. Put all on sheet pan and roast at 400 for an hour, turning a few times.

I have successfully turned up the garlic. I have unsuccessfully tried to use Yukon Gold taters -- too sugary, and they formed a tough skin.

[littlejerry]

Big fan of Alton. Met him when I was younger and worked at a grocery store near his house. Some of his recipes can be a bit too much effort, but a lot of great stuff in there.

[scott]

I love to cook. It's how I relax. I'm for some reason incapable of following a recipe though, so here's my best attempt at one of my favorite ways to cook pork chops.

2 very thick bone in pork chops
Salt
Pepper
Dry sage
2-3 onions, sliced thin
~6 cloves of garlic, minced
White wine or dry vermouth
Bay leaves

Heat a bit of butter or olive oil in a Dutch oven that will fit the meat
Season chops generously with salt, pepper, and sage. Really use a lot of sage. More than you think.
Sear the chops so both sides have a nice brown crust.
When you flip them to sear the other side, pile all your onions and garlic on top.
Once you think the second side is nice and brown, add a couple splashes of vermouth and the bay leaves.
Cover tightly, then either turn the heat low or transfer to a ~275 oven. Leave it alone for around 2 hours checking only occasionally to add vermouth if it dries up.
It's done when the onions are broken down into a thick sauce and the pork can't be picked up without breaking. Remove the chops carefully, add butter and a bit more wine to the pan. Deglaze and pour the pan sauce over the meat.

Serve with good bread and a simple vegetable (my favorite with this is Brussels sprouts or braised greens)
If you like, add some sliced apples to the pot when it's not quite done. They compliment it well.

Never had a complaint when I've made this, and it's really easy since you pretty much just ignore it while it cooks. Can be scaled arbitrarily, if you have a big enough pot.

[Joe in PNG]

I cook a fair bit, but will have to change up my diet, as I've found out that MSG give me... problems.

Speaking of Alton Brown, his show "Cutthroat Kitchen" is worth a look, even if you're not into cooking.

[ACP230]

My wife and I make most of the bread we eat.

Last batch I made was a light rye. This morning it was a basic white bread
with some quick oats thrown in. The white bread like this makes excellent toast. It also freezes well.
A couple of the loaves I made today will be frozen for use later.

Don't really have a recipe. Start with a couple cups, or more, of warm water, add oil, salt, and sugar (sometimes honey).
Add yeast from the local food co-op (it's the most enthusiastic yeast we can find).
Put in a half cup of flour to give the yeast something to work on.
Go do something else for 15 or 20 minutes. If the yeast is slacking and the mix isn't bubbling
add a bit more and wait another 10 minutes or so.

Then start adding flour, and whatever other grains you feel like.
Some recipes call for five to eight cups of flour. I just add it till I can't mix it with a spoon anymore.
Then knead it, by hand, adding more flour, till it gets elastic and feels ready to be put aside to rise.

About an hour later (give or take) it can be made into loaves and put in pans, or on cookie sheets for the
rustic look. Let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes then bake at 350 for 40 minutes to an hour. Check after 20 minutes or so and
turn the pans around if necessary. Cool on wire racks. My wife often puts butter on the crust to soften it up.
I usually don't bother.

Fresh bread with egg salad, tomatoes from the garden with olive oil, pepper and a touch of garlic powder for supper tonight.