how to cook a great meal for my gf (i don't cook) - Page 2

Go to your local library or bookstore and look at Mark Bittman's _How to Cook Everything_. Check out his list of the 100 essential recipes, all of which are easy to make. Bittman's recipes taste great, and his directions are foolproof.

This guy's trying to get the fish taco, not make it.

Linguini with clams and saffron sauce. So easy.

Chop some garlic and add it to a pan with virgin olive oil. First cook the pasta and then steam the clams until they open up. When they open up add some saffron and add the clams to the pasta and pour the sauce from the pan over the clams and pasta.

Soooo easy and delicious.

Salmon steaks with asparagus is the easiest, semi-impressive thing you can cook.

Take a pot and fill it with an inch or two of water and set it to boil on your stove. Take your asparagus and gently bend them so the hard, bitter ends come off (they'll snap off exactly where they should with a little bit of pressure, so don't worry about making them exact).

Take the salmon steaks, rub a bit of cayenne pepper and fresh ground pepper on both sides (or a general "cajun" spice). Get out a frying pan, put some olive oil in the bottom, set the element to Medium heat. Cook each side for about 7 minutes; cut away the back of the skin on the salmon to have a peek to see if the middle is cooked before you take it off. If you've ever eaten sushi, you'll know the red colour of raw fish. Cooked salmon is pink, but keep in mind that fish keeps cooking after you take it off the stove, so don't overcook it either.

After you've cooked one side of the salmon, put the asparagus into the boiling water in the pot. Cook for the seven minutes or so that the salmon is being cooked. Don't let them get limp and overdone (taste one at the 7 min. mark; if done, put them on a cold element).

Put some olive oil on both of your plates (more for the aspargus than anything). If you want to dress the plate with some flair, take 5 or 6 pieces of asparagus and lay them across the plate in a row, laying the salmon on top.

I can't cook worth a damn either, but I can cook this.


Your other option I'd suggest is the old Italian standby, Spaghetti agli olio (spaghetti with oil and garlic). All you need is to make spaghetti and then add it to a pot where you have crushed garlic, olive oil, a bit of italian seasoning, a touch of cayenne pepper and some fresh ground pepper. If you want, throw some cooked (and warmed) shrimp in there as well. Stir the ingredients into the spaghetti and you have a very tasty dish in under 10 minutes.

Chicken Marsala Ingredients: 2 Chicken Breasts Marsala Wine Sweet Cooking oil and extra virgin olive oil Flour Cornstarch Mushrooms Garlic Pasta Water, Salt, Pepper Optional: Sage and Parsley 1) Pound out thicker end of chicken breast to even out thickness 2) Season chicken breast with salt and pepper. Leave it for 10-15 minutes or longer in the fridge. I normal season in the morning and cook it when I come home. 3) Lightly dusk chicken with a mixture of flour and a bit of cornstarch. 4) Heat a fry pan with regular olive oil or any neutral oil until oil is forms streaks but before smoking. 5) Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. 6) Lower the fire to medium and cook for ~4 minutes each side. Color should be golden brown. 7) Take out chicken, reserve covered with foil. 8a) Take sliced mushrooms and a bit of crushed garlic and saute for ~ 8 minutes until mushroom is colored and all liquid from the mushrooms is evaporated. Add a pinch of salt and pepper but add the salt halfway into cooking the mushrooms. 8b) Water should be boiling. Salt water and put pasta into water. I recommend thin spaghetti. This should cook for ~6-7 minutes. Should put the pasta into the boiling water halfway into cooking the mushrooms. 9) Add back the chicken with the juices on the plate and 1 1/2 cup of sweet marsala wine. You can add a few sage leaves right now if you like. 10) Cook till alcohol has evaporated. Basically liquid should be reduced by half. 11) Serve with the pasta sprinkling chopped parsley and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Cook Time ~ 20 minutes.

Pasta ala Ragu™. 1. Boil 2. Pour 3. Eat As an added bonus, if you happen to get sick and vomit somewhere between steps one and three, nobody will be able to taste the differance.

As a more serious suggestion, a good starting point would be a quality italian sausage. The flavor elements in a sausage should already be taken care of so you only have to worry about not killing the meat. Put the sausage in a frying pan and add water to 1/3-1/2 or so the height of the sausage. Cover and boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Then uncover and let the water boil off and brown both sides of the sausage (you may have to pour off some of the extra water). I usually wait to poke some holes in the sausage until after the boiling stage so you can sort of fry it in its own juices...just dont let it explode. What I have enjoyed a few times recently would have you then chop that sausage up and throw it into a vodka sauce with some pasta... For the sauce, finely dice a medium onion and a few cloves of garlic. Put 2 tbsp butter and 2tbsp olive oil in a pan and heat until melted, add the onions/garlic and cook for a few minutes. Then add about a cup of vodka and let the alcohol boil off/continue to cook for a few more minutes. Throw in a can of tomato puree (not sauce or paste) and stir for a bit on a low heat. then pour in a cup of cream and stir. You will need a good amount of salt since cooking with vodka isn't quite like cooking with wine and I always like a bunch of fresh groud pepper. Throw in the chopped sausage (I'd go with a little over a pound for this much sauce) and toss with a pound of pasta. If the sauce is too thick, you can save a little of the water the pasta was boiled in and use it to thin the sauce. Serve with some bread...you can just buy this...I ended up making beer bread last time since I didn't want to go to the store. I usually go with: 3 cups flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp sugar 1 12oz can beer (usually the cheaper the better, I have found Old Style to make the BEST bread while nicer beers impart the wrong kind of flavor) whisk the dry stuff together. This will taste fine by itself but I usually tailor it to the food it is being served with by throwing in some extra seasonings. Often that's as simple as some Penzey's "Italian Pasta Sprinkle" or "Fox Point Seasoning" that I got as gifts...just add until it looks like a reasonable amount of herb particles (I would estimate a tbsp or so...its easy and ingredients are cheap so you can fool around). Pour in the can of beer while mixing to just combine and then put the dough (should be pretty sticky) into an 8" loaf pan and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes (toothpick should come out clean...be careful not to dry it out too much though). You can eat it right away, otherwise cool for a little bit in the pan and then remove to a rack. You can do a little glaze on this if you like (I always do)...1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp of cold water and brushed on the top seems to work fine.