The Cooking Thread

[Bluto11]

I am having lobster tail and steak for dinner tonight. It's my bros bday and thats what the cheeky ******** has asked for :D



Also I like to add I made my best curry the other week ! I was very proud of myself :d
got a recipe for that curry?

[FIFARay007]

Had to resurrect this thread. 5 months is way too long.


Made some texas caviar this week. Came out friggin awesome!

2 cans black eyed peas, drained
1 can hominy, drained
1 jalapeno, chopped fine
2-4 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic so occasionally I put in even more)
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped

Throw it all together and then dump in your favorite italian dressing. I usually use a zesty one and you only need about 8-10 oz or so. You won't want to too liquidy.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours, but I prefer overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.

[MtP07]

Can anyone recommend a good cookbook? Preferably something with everyday meals that aren't too hard to make.

[Raj222]

Try Delia's range? Look on the BBC Shop website (good range).

[Sapphire]

I feel kind of silly recommending this one, as it's so well known (it's like someone asking for a good movie and recommending Citizen Kane :)):

http://www.bfeedme.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/joy-of-cooking-cookbook-75-birthday-11-15-2006.gif

This is basically the holy bible of American cooking. There are tons of simple everyday recipes as well as more complicated things; the downsides might be the bulk and cost. There is also a lot of information about food generally. For example, I bought haddock recently, which I'd never cooked before; there are a bunch of little blurbs in the book about different kinds of fish, their characteristics and how they're best prepared, which helped my figure out what to do with my haddock. I cook from this book all the time, and new recipes are almost always a success.

[FIFARay007]

Agree. I'm pretty sure there's not one bad recipe in that book. It is the one cookbook that you MUST own.

[benni...]

Just sautee'ing some onions, red and green peppers, with some kind of sauce i found in the frige.

Got rice cooking with some chicken and pilaf seasoning... bout to throw the two together... and probably throw some beef in there as well.

[Raj222]

I'm going university next year, and all I am confident in making is chips, omlettes, jacket potatoes...

Anyone able to recommend a small book for my needs? :D

[FIFARay007]

I'm going university next year, and all I am confident in making is chips, omlettes, jacket potatoes...

Anyone able to recommend a small book for my needs? :D

Are you even going to be able to have a kitchen available to you or just a microwave?

[Raj222]

I'm gonna have to share a kitchen.

[Sapphire]

Raj, one thing I did when I went off to college was bought a blank cookbook and asked my mom, older sister, and friends to put easy recipes in it. It was helpful and had things in it they knew I would like. You could try that.

Does anyone have a good recipe for a vegetarian soup that's not tomato-based?? I've been craving soup like crazy and I make a really good tomato barley soup, but the acid from the tomatoes is killing me with this never-ending pregnancy heartburn I've got. The cream-based soup recipes I have are also sort of blah and boring -- they end up tasting like warm milk + the vegetable. Any ideas?

[Bluto11]

Raj, one thing I did when I went off to college was bought a blank cookbook and asked my mom, older sister, and friends to put easy recipes in it. It was helpful and had things in it they knew I would like. You could try that.

Does anyone have a good recipe for a vegetarian soup that's not tomato-based?? I've been craving soup like crazy and I make a really good tomato barley soup, but the acid from the tomatoes is killing me with this never-ending pregnancy heartburn I've got. The cream-based soup recipes I have are also sort of blah and boring -- they end up tasting like warm milk + the vegetable. Any ideas?
never made it, but if you like lentils, I would imagine this would be good. There are tomatoes in it, which you might be able to omit if needed.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lentil-soup-recipe/index.html

[Raj222]

Raj, one thing I did when I went off to college was bought a blank cookbook and asked my mom, older sister, and friends to put easy recipes in it. It was helpful and had things in it they knew I would like. You could try that.

Does anyone have a good recipe for a vegetarian soup that's not tomato-based?? I've been craving soup like crazy and I make a really good tomato barley soup, but the acid from the tomatoes is killing me with this never-ending pregnancy heartburn I've got. The cream-based soup recipes I have are also sort of blah and boring -- they end up tasting like warm milk + the vegetable. Any ideas?

Good idea Sapphire, might try it. Thank you.

[FIFARay007]

Does anyone have a good recipe for a vegetarian soup that's not tomato-based?? I've been craving soup like crazy and I make a really good tomato barley soup, but the acid from the tomatoes is killing me with this never-ending pregnancy heartburn I've got. The cream-based soup recipes I have are also sort of blah and boring -- they end up tasting like warm milk + the vegetable. Any ideas?

Since I know you have the Joy of Cooking, you should maybe try either the lentil soup or leek soup recipes. I've made both, with variations, such as more meat, but they both came out great.

Other than that I can't help much... not familiar with vegetarian things.

[Sapphire]

Lentil soup sounds good, guys. Thanks for the suggestion.

I don't think I've ever eaten a leek, Ray. I'll look at the grocery store and maybe try it.

[FIFARay007]

Lentil soup sounds good, guys. Thanks for the suggestion.

I don't think I've ever eaten a leek, Ray. I'll look at the grocery store and maybe try it.

If you do, definitely make sure to follow the cleaning directions in the book. Dirt really gets into those things. Very yummy, but better if you throw in some kielbasa or something. My $.02.

[Bluto11]

Saurkraut soup is awesome, at least the stuff that a Ukranian secretary at my Dad's office makes. It freezes well also, which I'm sure all soups do! :D

[FIFARay007]

Saurkraut soup is awesome, at least the stuff that a Ukranian secretary at my Dad's office makes. It freezes well also, which I'm sure all soups do! :D

They definitely do. I had some lentil soup a few days ago that's been in the freezer for probably 4-5 months. It was still real friggin good.

[Chaz Striker]

Lentil soup sounds good, guys. Thanks for the suggestion.

I don't think I've ever eaten a leek, Ray. I'll look at the grocery store and maybe try it.

A college version I came up with was buying a couple of bags of frozen vegetables labeled vegetable soup mix. Stick them in a crock pot. Then I add some canned veggies like corn and okra etc. Then I add a bay leaf and a clove and some chicken stock. Then I add a packet of beef soup mix. Add other spices and herbs. Add some water. My secret ingredient is a couple of diced jalapenos, but that would probably help the heartburn. Anyway it's cheep and delicious.

[MANUTDGAL]

Two weeks ago I won a family version of Throwdown with my award winning beef and barley soup. Next is spaghetti and meatballs and I plan on winning that one as well.....:cool::cool: