Second attempt... I have a penchant for cooking and I have wanted to do this for a while... Post a recipe! More obscure/regional or ""ethnic" (I hate that term) even better!
I'm 20, and don't spend too much time in the kitchen. Nothing fancy, not obscure or original at all, but its easy and quick to make. Steam bell peppers, onions, mushrooms in saucepan for a few minutes to soften. In the meantime, cut up some chicken breast, add salsa and mix. Throw in frying pan with a bit of oil, garlic, and hot peppers (jalepeno, serrano, etc) if you want a bit of zing. Add more salsa if you wish. Once chicken is somewhat cooked, add veggies and fry. Cover half of a tortilla with shredded cheese. Add fully cooked contents of frying pan. Cover with more cheese, green onion. Fold in half, and stick in warmed toaster oven until tortilla browns (or in the frying pan if it is large enough).
An easy side-dish: Preheat toaster oven. Cut potato into cubes. Place potato in oven-safe pyrex glass baking dish, along with garlic, herbs (rosemary, oregano), salt, pepper, and olive oil. Put on lid, shake. Take off lid, place in oven. Cook until potatoes tender. If you want them to be more crispy on the outside, throw in frying pan for a few minutes. Put on serving dish, sprinkle with some shredded cheese.
THis is one of my favourites, afelia (af-ae-leea). The smell of braising meat in strong wine is amazing. It is one of those recipes that really sounds like what you find in old stories and the Homeric tales Usually done with pork (cubed) and small potatos; can try other things such as only potatos or use mushrooms... Lets see, ingredients: Pork (preferably in nice rustic chunks) Coriander seeds (lots!) Strong red wine; not a merlot nor a typical cabernet; think like a Sangiovese, or something else with cojones . Maybe somewhat acidic. My mother likes using white wines but I like having the full effect. Some cooking oil; maybe canola. Olive oil is nice but its heating point is rather low, will splatter heavily. So, lets see... Put some oil in a frying pan - should not be shallow, very important! Brown the pork/cubed (or whole small) potatos. The potatos are nice if left cubed with their skins on them (wash them really well of course first). Once the potatos/pork/et.c. have browned, pour a liberal amount of wine in the pan (lower the heat first a bit). Don't make it in to a soup; maybe to where it goes halfway up the pork cubes. Remember this will have to braise for a while; cannot put sop little that it will dry out. Here is the good part (bit of a tradition really). Finish the rest of the wine (oh no ) and use the bottle to lightly crush the coriander seeds in a paper towel. Don't mash them; they need to be, again, a little rustic looking. Put the coriander over the food, lower the heat and let it braise (uncovered) until the potatos are soft - if you used a red wine the meat and spuds will be rather red. Enjoy the smell. P.s. you can naturally add more salt, but usually the stronger wines give it enough flavour. Serve with a hearty red wine; perfect side dish would be pourgouri (bulgur wheat) with yoghurt. That can be tricky... I will make another post on that one. Edit: Forgot to mention this: DO NOT USE COOKING WINE! That is pure unadulturated simian pee-pee! At the very least get a cheap bottle of domestic wine; ideally go with a low-mid range Italian wine made of a more acidic and full-bodied varietal; even better (if you have access to these things), a strong Greek/Cypriot wine (I know they are hard to find in the USA but will work better )
rub a whole chicken with a mixture of salt, pepper and rosemary. run a slit through the skin big enough for you to put in your hand and rub some more on the meat. put a whole lemon (spearing a few holes on it with a fork), a couple of onions, some garlic, lemongrass and spring onions in the chicken's cavity. rub a little olive oil on the skin. place the chicken on top of a bed of sliced potatoes in a roasating pan and cook it in the oven until golden brown.
Thaw 2 frozen, boneless chicken breasts and cut into bite-size pieces. Cook chicken in electric frying pan until no longer pink. Add 1/2-cup water, 2 packages chicken flavored Ramen noodles, one packet of Ramen noodle flavoring, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce and simmer until noodles are soft. Add 1 package frozen, mixed veggies of your choice. Simmer until veggies are heated. Enjoy! Makes ~3 servings, total prep time is less than 30 minutes. Variation: substitute steak and beef flavored Ramen for chicken and chicken flavored Ramen.
1 can tuna, drained 1 package of microwaveable mac and cheese mix salsa to taste. It's ghetto, but it'll work.
Disclaimer: This is *not* a low-cal recipe. People have been known to gain weight while it cooks. Thaw 3 skinless, boneless frozen chicken breasts and cut into bite size pieces. Cook chicken until no longer pink (optional--sprinkle chicken with cumin while it cooks). Mix cooked chicken with one 14.5 oz. can black beans (drained), one 4oz. can chopped green chilis, 1 Tbsp. cilantro. Spray 9" x 13" baking dish with non-stick cooking oil and put a thin layer of green enchilada sauce (from 14oz. can) in the bottom of the pan, just enough to wet it. Cover the bottom of the pan with corn tortillas, spoon in 1/2 the chicken/black bean mixture to form a second layer atop the tortillas, spoon 1/2 the enchilada sauce atop the chicken/black bean layer, top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese (from a 1 lb. bag; I buy it pre-shredded--expensive, but a time-saver), add dollops of sour cream (from 8 oz. container) until you've used 1/2 the sour cream. Repeat the layers, beginning with tortillas and ending with cheese/sour cream. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until cheese in the center of the pan is bubbly. Uncover, add another thin layer of cheese, and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or until the top cheese layer is melted. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Enjoy! Makes ~5-6 servings that slide down smoooooth. You can use non-fat sour cream, but don't even *think* about using low-fat cheese; it just doesn't melt right and tastes like rubber. I've used as much as an entire pound of cheese, so be forewarned.
Here's a recipe for the grill, for the last few weeks of summer: Foil Packet Tilapia: Take an 18" long sheet of aluminum foil, and fold in half. Place two Tilapia filets in the center, sprinkle with salt and pepper, some fresh chopped basil, and a few lemon slices. Wrap up the packages, taking care to roll the edges so the juices don't escape. Grill for a few minutes on each side, checking the package after about 6 minutes to see if the fish is firm, white, and flaky. You'd be surprised at how tender and moist the fish is, without any oil or butter. For an excellent side dish to go along with the fish: Slice up some zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, and onion, and place in a similar packet. Add a splash of olive oil, salt & pepper, and lemon juice. Place on grill until vegetables are tender.
I'm an excellent cook, and baker. Later, I'll post the recipe for my Halloween, chocolate cake . . . pictured, here. And also, my grandfather's favorite recipe: lamb brains.
Here's a recipe for the grill, for the last few weeks of summer: Foil Packet Tilapia: Take an 18" long sheet of aluminum foil, and fold in half. Place two Tilapia filets in the center, sprinkle with salt and pepper, some fresh chopped basil, and a few lemon slices. Wrap up the packages, taking care to roll the edges so the juices don't escape. Grill for a few minutes on each side, checking the package after about 6 minutes to see if the fish is firm, white, and flaky. You'd be surprised at how tender and moist the fish is, without any oil or butter. For an excellent side dish to go along with the fish: Slice up some zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, and onion, and place in a similar packet. Add a splash of olive oil, salt & pepper, and lemon juice. Place on grill until vegetables are tender. My variation on your recipe is to grill the veggies and fish in the same packet, without the lemon juice and with tarragon instead of basil. I use red onion for stronger flavor and sometimes include julienne sliced carrots. The veggies cook in about the same time as the fish and the water in the veggies steams the fish. Easy, quick, and Deeelish!! How I love tarragon.... This can also be done in the oven, at about 350F, if you don't have a grill. Cooking time must be adjusted for oven temperature.
rub a whole chicken with a mixture of salt, pepper and rosemary. run a slit through the skin big enough for you to put in your hand and rub some more on the meat. put a whole lemon (spearing a few holes on it with a fork), a couple of onions, some garlic, lemongrass and spring onions in the chicken's cavity. rub a little olive oil on the skin. place the chicken on top of a bed of sliced potatoes in a roasating pan and cook it in the oven until golden brown. that is almost exactly how I roast a chicken, although I have never tried lemongrass. I need to check that out.
how about an honest to goodness bedouin stuffed camel like what mom used to make? Whole Stuffed Camel preparation time: 1/2 day serves: 100 1 \t whole camel, medium size 1 \twhole lamb, large size 20 \twhole chickens, medium size 60 \teggs 12 \tkg rice 2 \tkg pine nuts 2 \tkg almonds 1 \tkg pistachio nuts 110 \tgallons water 5 \tlbs black pepper \tsalt 1. Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken. 2. Boil until tender. 3. Cook rice until fluffy. 4. Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice. 5. Hard boil eggs and peel. 6. Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice. 7. Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens. 8. Add more rice. 9. Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice. 10. Broil over large charcoal pit until brown. 11. Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice. 12. Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts. 13. Serves a friendly crowd of 80-100.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin: Pork rub: 4 parts paprika 1 part each salt, cinnamon, ground cloves Soak tenderloins in brine solution (1 part salt, 2 parts sugar, lots of water) for 4-12 hours. Clean and dry pork tenderloins, add rub, wrap in foil and let sit one hour. Grill over charcoal until done, let rest 10 minutes under tented foil before slicing. Side carrots: Peel 1 lb carrots and cut 1/4" thick on the bias. Cook in covered 10" skillet (over med heat) with 2T butter and 2T water until tender. Remove cover and increase heat to cook off water. Add 2T dijon mustard and 1 1/2T brown sugar to carrots, stir until glazed. Top with chopped green onions and serve. Thanks to C. Kimball.