Hey, dont know if anyone likes to cook or knows how to cook well here. However, ill ask anyways. Ive started cooking since the last year (im 20 btw), and I have to say i keep getting better. Ive made buffalo wings, something that here no one what the hell they were, and other dishes and slowly made progress. I like to try new dishes and get tired of same plain foods. My problem is that Im sick of eating pasta the same way. For once 1. I cannot make them like in a restaurant I ate, they were drier and stickier. 2. Need a new way to make a pasta dish, so far I always eat it the the tomato sauce and meat, want a new way. Apart from that, any other dishes (without pasta) that are not too exotic or hard to make that are not plain?
i don't know what kinds of pasta you are cooking, but types like penne and fusilli hold sauce well, so you're getting more sauce per bite. the secret to cooking pasta is not over-cooking it. if you take a piece out before the cooking instructions ( 7-9 minutes, for example ) say it's supposed to be done and bite it in half, if it still needs to be cooked some more, you will see a lighter center of the pasta, where it hasn't finished cooking. pasta will continue to cook for a shot time -- like eggs -- after it's removed from the boiling water, until you rinse it. here is a link to simple steps for cooking pasta. i like pesto a lot. it's basically olive oil, garlic, basil, parmesan cheese and either pine nuts or some other nut meat. no tomatoes. here is a basic pesto recipe. another thing i like to do is to make a peanut sauce, which is sort of asian. here is a recipe.
Here's one of my favorite ways to eat spaghetti: 1) cut up five or six pieces of bacon and fry them up in a pan until crispy. 2) in the meantime, cook about half a pound of spaghetti until al dente (if you use really skinny noodles it should take about 5 minutes) and then drain it 3) After the bacon is cooked, remove it to a dish and drain out all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat. 4) Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil, butter, or a combination. 5) Over medium heat saute two or three finely-minced cloves of garlic in the oil until fragrant. 6) Add the bacon and noodles to the pan and toss. Add freshly grated parm to taste. It's basically a carbonara without the eggs or cream.
Thanks for the recipes. Gonna try em tomorrow. Gonna back off the traditional Chilean food for a couple of days. Not that I dont like it, just that like everything, gets boring after a while. Also want to try some American or foreign foods.
I like to mix (Italian) Pasta with Asian sauces, I think it goes down well: Fry some chicken in a pan, or better a wok. Add cream, Peas and a Paprika cut in small pieces, and a lot of Curry Powder. cook for 5 minutes, and then add some Pasta (Penne goes well). Other than that, I'd google for Ragout Bolognese and try to cook that once. Much better than plain tomato sauce. I may recomment some German food later this week, problem is that you usually need some special tools to do it.
You might want to clarify that recipe a tad. In the US paprika comes powdered so I'm not sure what you mean when you say to cut it into small pieces. Here's a recipe for shrimp scampi. I haven't tried it but it looks delicious.
Leo says it's Capsicum or Pepper. I mean this: And anybody who speaks German, Dutch or Spanish knows perfectly what I meant
One big mistake that a lot of people make is the way they serve it: they put pasta on a plate and put the sauce on top of the pasta. Instead do what Italians do (and surely they know best in the pasta department!) add the pasta to the sauce in the pan rather than the other way round, and mix the two together. The simplest pasta sauce and in my view still the best is the following. Put olive oil in a pan. Add one finally sliced onion. Add a can of tomatoes, stir, turn down the heat to a minimum, and let reduce for about 15 minutes while occassionally stirring. Right at the end, add fresh basil, then add the pasta and stir. Serve with parmesan of course.
The important thing is that point of that is so that the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce so it can absorb the flavors, so it's important to cook your pasta until just short of done. If you cook it all the way before adding it to the sauce, it can turn mushy.
Both parents are Chileno . I was born in Florida (not Florida in Santiago)but Hallandale, FL and have been back and forth many times. Most of my family lives in La Reina.
The real solution is to buy real pasta. Nothing from the box. Get it as fresh as possible and you will never be let down.
Hooey. Fresh pasta is good, yes, but not practical for every day cooking. Dried pasta is a great pantry staple to have around for quick weeknight meals.
Meals should never be quick. Quick meals with impure foods are the quick path to a fat ass and lots of health problems. And fresh pasta takes shorter to cook so your point doesn't hold there either.
Why don't you come cook for me? I'm putting the baby down for a nap and I have to tidy up the living room and take a shower and then go to work.
If your going to get dried pasta, try and get Barilla its very good. I use it at home and at the restaurant I work in. As for Sauces, I'm partial to white sauces. two very easy recipes are as follows: Prosciutto and Cream (for a 1lb of pasta, 500grams) 1 medium onion, sliced thin, 1 - 2 cloves a garlic 1/4 - 1/2 pound of Prosciutto cut up in strips (depending on your budget, if not use a bit of bacon to fill up) about 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream chopped parsley at the end tossed with a couple table spoons of fresh Parmesan cheese Saute onions and prosciutto till onions are soft, add garlic saute another minute, add cream until slightly thickened and your done, salt and pepper to taste but be careful on the salt as the Prosciutto is a bit salty. Toss the sauce with the pasta (long strips like linguine or spaghetti) with the Parsley and Cheese. Smoked Salmon recipe (this is a family favorite) 1 medium onion diced and sauteed till soft, add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, add a good handful of snow peas (if not just get frozen regular peas but add at the end) and cook them till they are almost al dente, add 1/2 cup to a cup of heavy cream till slightly thickened (depends on how much sauce you like), add the smoked salmon broken up and toss with the pasta. Let me know if anyone tries any of these and when you get a chance try Risotto!! edit: btw you must cook your pasta al dente, if you overcook it your f****d, Gordon Ramsey himself couldn't come over and rescue your meal. And please do not ever rinse your pasta with cold water.. the only exception is lasagne when you dont to burn your hands from handling it.
Not everyone can go to the market every day to buy super fresh food. Dried pasta keeps for months in the pantry. Anyway, fresh pasta every bit as much a path to a fat ass as dried. And dried pasta takes only five or six minutes longer than fresh so that's immaterial to my point. Edited to add that even fancy italian chefs use dried pasta and I'm much more inclined to trust their judgment over yours in this matter.
Just to clarify something that royalstilton said on page 1... you do not want to rinse your pasta after draining it. You'll end up washing off all the starch which holds the sauce to the pasta. As for me, as much as I like going all out, simple is always good too. Cook up some nice hot italian sausages, once they're a little bit cooked thru, cut each of them into 3-4 pieces and throw in some broccoli rabe and garlic. Combine that with your favorite pasta of choice and some more garlic and olive oil. Load it up with some fresh parm and you're all set!
the idea that a box of pasta from Trader Joe or Whole Foods is "impure" is pretty silly. it's just as likely that "fresh" pasta is impure. what Alice probably means by "quick" is 15 - 20 minutes in preparing the pasta, making a salad while the pasta cooks, etc.