What do you cook best?

[MrG]

So the wife and I have decided to stay in for dinner on Valentine's Day. Being in a college town can make it tough to find a great meal, especially on nights of the year when the frat boys storm the decent restaurants in town trying to use a good meal to get Suzy sorority to put out. Given we're not going out, I'd like to cook a great meal. I'm a pretty good cook, but I've pretty much exhausted my repertoire; I'd like to try something new.

Here's where the friendly contributors of SF come in (some of you have to cook as well as you dress): Does anyone on the forum have a recipe they'd like to share? I'm not picky, though I've been in the mood for lamb lately, so a lamb dish would be all the more appreciated. Also, if you've found a perfect wine pair for your recipe, I'd be eternally grateful.

Thanks ahead of time!

 

[sho'nuff]

im pretty good with making any kind of red sauce pasta with all sorts of ingredients in it.
parmesan, basil, parsley, mushrooms, yellow and orange peppers, zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, pancetta, proscuitto, sausage, chicken, egg, you name it.

it's not that hard, simmer a little minced garlic or whole cloves in a little olive oil and put in the mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, brown em.

the main keys are freshness of the ingredients.
and a sharp knife.

if you have those two, you can make just about anything good.

 

[Tardek]

I specialise more in desserts, sadly for this thread. I make a great creme brulee. I'll post the recipe later tonight.

PS. You will need a blowtorch, and ramekins.

 

[blackjack]

Originally Posted by MrG

So the wife and I have decided to stay in for dinner on Valentine's Day. Being in a college town can make it tough to find a great meal, especially on nights of the year when the frat boys storm the decent restaurants in town trying to use a good meal to get Suzy sorority to put out. Given we're not going out, I'd like to cook a great meal. I'm a pretty good cook, but I've pretty much exhausted my repertoire; I'd like to try something new.

Here's where the friendly contributors of SF come in (some of you have to cook as well as you dress): Does anyone on the forum have a recipe they'd like to share? I'm not picky, though I've been in the mood for lamb lately, so a lamb dish would be all the more appreciated. Also, if you've found a perfect wine pair for your recipe, I'd be eternally grateful.

Thanks ahead of time!

I'd recommend visiting Nibbledish.com http://www.nibbledish.com/ (formerly Open Source Food)

Lamb recipes are here: http://www.nibbledish.com/recipes/search/lamb

Depending on which lamb recipe you chose, try this 'wine matcher' http://www.nataliemaclean.com/index.aspx?from=matcher from NatalieMaclean.com

 

[Tarmac]

my best dish ever has to be warm-smoked salmon in my 30 year old weber charcoal grill.

 

[untilted]

italian food. pasta in general.

i grill pretty well, can make good tasting burgers, steaks, seafood...

 

[InsBrokerTX]

Steak with a mushroom wine sauce and grilled veggies on my Weber grill.

 

[RedLantern]

Baklava always goes over well.

 

[Spatlese]

Meat braised for hours until very tender, glazed with its own reduced cooking liquid (a red wine based braise). Short ribs are my favorite.

I think food like this can be quite sensual.

Note: if you have the time, make a big batch of it a day or two beforehand, and portion it out for future servings to reheat at a snap.

 

[why]

Cacciatore.

 

[Tardek]

Originally Posted by Tardek

I specialise more in desserts, sadly for this thread. I make a great creme brulee. I'll post the recipe later tonight.

PS. You will need a blowtorch, and ramekins.

Here is the recipe I used. It made a really quality creme brulee. The actual blog looks like it's been discontinued, so you might want to save the page while you can (I have linked the google cache).

This recipe will make quite a lot of creme brulee. I think 5-6 good-sized serves.

 

[globetrotter]

I make a great red sauce, a great rissoto, good curries, a great beef stew, and a great turkey

 

[Kas]

Coq au vin is becoming my signature dish.

 

[Tardek]

You folks should paste your recipes, damnit.

 

[vinouspleasure]

Originally Posted by Tardek

You folks should paste your recipes, damnit.
This pasta dish from Sicily was posted in a bbq forum where we make (cure/smoke) our own bacon. I've made it with great, artisinal bacon from a butcher and it comes out well. The dish really has a sense of place. You and your SO will know you're eating a dish conceived in Sicily. It pairs well with a dry champagne. It has become our favorite special occasion pasta dish and I can't recommend it enough. ================= Local Sicilian version of Carbonara (sometimes known as ten ingredient pasta) Very rich. Usually only made for special occasions. Ingredients- About 100gms. of pasta per person (usually spaghetti) One full egg plus one more per person About 50gms of Parmesan plus 25gms more Parmesan per person Good handful of chopped basil One tsp. chopped chili (your choice) 3 cloves of garlic roughly crushed 1clove of garlic mashed Olive oil 3 or more slices of good smoked bacon cut into small pieces 1 tsp. of anchovy essence 1 onion roughly chopped (may need more depending on how many for) Plenty of fresh ground black pepper Salt Good knob of butter Method- In an appropriate glass container crack eggs and whisk lightly. Add finely grated Parmesan, finely chopped basil, 1 clove of mashed garlic, 1 tsp. of anchovy essence, and good grind of fresh black pepper. Leave to side. In a good-sized fry pan put a good tbs. of olive oil and butter bring to low heat and add chopped chilli, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, bacon, and onion. Fry slowly allowing flavors to develop. Cook your pasta in large pasta pan with a little salt and tsp. of olive oil. Cook pasta until al dente. As pasta approaches cooked raise heat on frying pan to crisp up bacon and give a little color to onion. Drain pasta, wipe pasta pan with a little olive oil, replace pasta and put back on cooker over very low heat. Now empty fry pan into pasta and toss still on very low heat. Now add egg mixture and mix well for two or three minutes until egg mixture coats pasta without becoming scrambled. Serve with lots of fresh ground black pepper. If everything has gone well it should look like a cream sauce (Carbonara like), but of course, no cream. When I first had this I was convinced that it had to be cream in the sauce, having only had Carbonara in the UK, but my Italian relative told me that no self-respecting Italian would use cream for a Carbonara. I have always enjoyed this and hope you do to.