Anyone got a good recipe?

As my cooking skills are probably well.. basic. Please do share!

I bought the cookbook after trying this:

https://littleseedgardens.wordpress....ional-cooking/

My two cents.
1. Quality ingredients: The recipe above uses just salt, butter, fresh cabbage, and fresh pepper. I would also switch to freshly ground salt. I think sea salt, pink salt, whatever-weird-salt-you-find actually does taste better than plain old Morton's. I also think organic vegetables taste better, but I can't afford everything organic so that's that.
2. Read cookbooks: I read cookbooks the way others read comic books or magazines. I just open them and read them. You get a feel for techniques and pairings without sacrificing ingredients.
3. Prep ingredients: Have ingredients pre-measured. Makes everything go more smoothly.

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs on a charcoal grill. Needs zero seasoning. Eat them hot off the grill.

Same for Captain's Cut Cod, Salmon, and corn on the cob. (pre boil the corn and put it on the grill to sear it)

Weber Smokey Joe (14", knee height grill) is all I've ever needed.

Hake fillets with curry (this is a personal recipe of mine and can also be done with a similar soft-taste fish like sole or cod):

Brown some garlic, onion and pepper. When they're brown, add some tomato and fry a bit more. Add curry (be generous!), some black pepper and salt. Finally add the hake fillets and some water. Let it cook until the water has evaporated (but don't let it dry a lot). Eat with rice and salad.

i love to cook my own food, but i don't want to spend a long time at it.
here's a fast recipe i recently found:

- this works best in a pot that can be used both as a pan on the stove and a casserole in the oven.
- get some chicken thigh+drumstick, aka legs
- pre-heat the oven to 180 - 200 degress celsius
- heat the pan on the stove (pretty hot), put in some oil (i use 50-50 normal cooking oil and olive oil), and fry the chicken legs top (the side that's all skin) side.
- if you're really quick, you can cut up some veggies and garlic and onions etc. meanwhile - if not, you have to start a little earlier.
- turn the chicken over, add spices (i like to go mediterranean here, so garlic, thyme, oregano etc.), salt and/or soy sauce(*) and pepper and vegetables
- put the whole thing in the oven and bake (?) it for 20-30min. no lid.

doing it like this, you reduce the meat's cooking time by 50%, and it also tastes really good.
if you put plenty vegetables in (tip: broccoli, potatoes), it's a complete meal.

(*) I'm aware soy sauce is not mediterranean, but it adds not only saltiness but also flavor to food, comparable to meaty broth maybe. useful.
and about salt: i like to use good himalayan rock salt. i know this might trigger a discussion about whether it's humbug or not, but i simply trust my taste buds: it gives a better saltiness.

There's a series on cooking and recipes at Hacker Public Radio.

I also have some recipes on my blog.

I found you can buy little cans of crabmeat (just like the tuna ones) so I mixed it in with some butter and lumpy mashed potatoes all to a casserole pan baked at golden-brown; then if you please, back in with some cheese...

If you want a great primer on cooking, get James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking. It's the text he wrote for his cooking school and contains chapters on the theory of various cooking techniques (boiling, roasting, creating sauces, etc.) and selected recipes for practicing and illustrating the various techniques.

For a good general cookbook, you can't beat Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook. I've worn out two copies and am working on wearing out a third.

I'm not sure whether either is in print, but both are readily available on the used book market.

I also heartily recommend Craig Claiborne's New York Times International Cookbook, if you can find it.

Afterthoughts:

Yes, I realize I'm dating myself. I have to date somebody, don't I?

Don't watch cooking shows on television. Cook something instead.

Do we have more fun now or when the stars set...

Ovenbaked chicken with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, and cayanne pepper.. It produces a sweet and spicy flavor that I like alot..

A favorite of mine too.

A simple one I tried yesterday: Pork chopped smallish and stir-fried with pepper, broken-up flatbread added for the last few minutes to crisp up, served on a bed of salted salad.

Surprisingly nice, the only problem was an excess of rocket in the salad.

For anyone who watched Breaking Bad and wondered about "the perfect cup of coffee" made by an advanced chemist monitoring exact temperatures with a laser temp probe, this is definitely for you and probably for most on LQ. There are a number of good books about the actual chemistry of cooking (why does the first pancake look like the runt of the letter with genetic deformities and the subsequent ones look perfect?) but - The Food Lab - is a cut above. It gives the answer to the pancake question and so much more. It explains the most basic stuff (one whole page just on salt) as well as whether meat should only be flipped once of if it matters. It is a delight to read and will improve anyone's cooking skillz.... truly a must-have source.

For those a little less concerned with "why" and the paint-by-numbers crowd both AltonBrown.com website and Allrecipes.com provide a rich assortment of solid recipes whether for simple oatmeal or Châteaubriand.

Personally, I like food cooked over an actual fire and prefer so-called "Cowboy Charcoal" or lump charcoal. I grille even when it is snowing. I grille shrimp and whole chickens and turkeys. I prefer globe grilles with vents at the South and North poles or some approximation of them. I like to get a really hot set of coals going and then shut it all down after placing the food and let the temps fall off while the goods cooks and smokes. I wish I had a supply of fresh banana leaves to wrap items in for really primitive styles.

BBQ - My all-time favorite commercial BBQ sauce is KC Masterpiece Original. I've been using it since it was made in the inventor's kitchen with photoshopped hand-glued labels. It it is a vinegar-based sauce so works great for marinades (breaks down protein strings... tender!) but is mitigated with a healthy dose of molasses that rather magically goes delightfully sweet when caramelized. For a few recipes where vinegar is not helpful I like "Sweet Baby Ray's". I also like some onion-garlic-salt based oils for an alternate.

Here's a family recipe that has thankfully evolved since galvanized metals are not healthy around foodstuffs (another reason chemistry is so important)


Garbage Can Turkey - Originally this recipe was as advertised made with a clean, new garbage can but has since been vastly improved by stainless steel. My brother-in-law bought a used beer keg and had a machine shop saw off one end which works amazingly well, maybe because of increased mass as well as reflectivity. Anyway here it is...

Drive a steel stake into the ground, rebar with one or both ends slightly sharpened is a good choice. Stack charcoal (especially lump charcoal) around the stake in a cone and use whatever method you prefer to get it all glowing. Once evenly lit and glowing hot, spread the coals in a circle roughly the size of your can's aperture. Whether you use a a hook or suspension device or simply spear the turkey does make some difference as a central stake does transmit heat to the inside of the whole turkey but radiating heat and smoke does the heavy lifting so most think it makes little difference as long as one gets the turkey suspended above the coals and drops the can over the entire affair.

You can put whatever dressing sauce and condiments you like on it beforehand but this cooks very quickly and unbelievably deliciously in it's own juices and smoke. It renders tender, moist turkey that must be experienced to be believed. One can use this same method for several whole chickens or other meats but for a 15+ pound turkey nothing I've ever experienced even comes close.

ENJOY !!

Wow, any recipe that starts with "Drive a steel stake into the ground" must be worth the effort, whether the meat is dry or moist in the end!