Calling all Cooks

[Dug]

I just cook a mountain of chicken breast and veggies+cheese every Sunday to last me till the next. I don't even enjoy eating anymore it's just a necessary evil to me. Unless I'm on a cheat day then I pig out

[Tyrianth]

http://www.budgetbytes.com/

That blog got me through college, and 4 years after graduating it's still one of my main go-to sites for recipes. Great food and easy to read recipes.

[Thelin]

I bought myself a kitchen aid with some of the attachments, best decision ever made. I make lots of homemade breads, dough, ice cream ,pasta, etc.

[Deleted]

I just cook a mountain of chicken breast and veggies+cheese every Sunday to last me till the next. I don't even enjoy eating anymore it's just a necessary evil to me. Unless I'm on a cheat day then I pig out

You're obviously watching your macros for lifting I guess

Note that eating clean doesn't mean you can't have great flavour - the right kinds of spices and preparation can really jazz up those chicken/veg/brownrice meals without messing with a clean diet

[Thelin]

http://www.budgetbytes.com/

That blog got me through college, and 4 years after graduating it's still one of my main go-to sites for recipes. Great food and easy to read recipes.

Yes!

I've made a few things off there.

This one was one of my favorites;

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/10/t...cha-meatballs/

[Tyrianth]

Yes!

I've made a few things off there.

This one was one of my favorites;

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/10/t...cha-meatballs/

I haven't made those yet, mostly because I forget to buy ground turkey, but one day I will! Love me my Sriracha!

[Dug]

You're obviously watching your macros for lifting I guess

Note that eating clean doesn't mean you can't have great flavour - the right kinds of spices and preparation can really jazz up those chicken/veg/brownrice meals without messing with a clean diet

Oh yeah I experiment with flavors and seasonings so I don't get too bored but the act of eating the same thing over and over again gets tiring after awhile. Occasionally I'll cook some beef instead but I'm more familiar with making decent chicken than I am beef hah

[Thelin]

I haven't made those yet, mostly because I forget to buy ground turkey, but one day I will! Love me my Sriracha!

The only thing I changed was adding a bit more brown sugar and some rice wine vinegar but other than that its a great recipe. I tried making regular ground chuck meat balls one night but they weren't nearly as good as the turkey ones with the sauce.

[Deleted]

Oh yeah I experiment with flavors and seasonings so I don't get too bored but the act of eating the same thing over and over again gets tiring after awhile. Occasionally I'll cook some beef instead but I'm more familiar with making decent chicken than I am beef hah

Here's a great trick

Get a bunch of these purees in a supermarket:



coriander puree, lemongrass, ginger, chilli, garlic, turmeric, paprika, etc

Throw them in randomly (not kidding) every time you cook something, different ones each time, work out a few favourite combos and experiment

And get this stuff:



Put a little bit in everything with black/white pepper

That's it, that's all cooking is really, experimentation and finding good combinations, like chemistry

[Deleted]

You're obviously watching your macros for lifting I guess

Note that eating clean doesn't mean you can't have great flavour - the right kinds of spices and preparation can really jazz up those chicken/veg/brownrice meals without messing with a clean diet

My spices cupboard has really expanded since the chicken/brown rice/veg recipe has become a weekly occurence for me . You really learn how to be creative with all ingredients to spice it up. (I'm so sorry).

[Aunai]

In another thread, I just mentioned that we have cooks here, and that a thread about cooking would probably be able to generate a list of suggestions and resources (cookbooks and videos, for example). I'm going to go ahead and put that to the test.

Let's hear some stories of how you got started, something you would recommend new cooks know, or whatever you feel like sharing!

Chef here, best thing i can say is get the Flavor Bible, and Ad Hoc at home. My first 2 books i got years ago that i still use today.. Cooking for 50 is a great catering book that teaches you how to make a recipe and change it to feed 50+ people.

[Deleted]

Oh yeah I experiment with flavors and seasonings so I don't get too bored but the act of eating the same thing over and over again gets tiring after awhile. Occasionally I'll cook some beef instead but I'm more familiar with making decent chicken than I am beef hah

I need a steak on the regular or I will die after all that chicken .

I cook killer steaks. My trick is very simple: 2 knobs of butter after the steak has cooked for 1 min on each side, add a sprig of rosemary and 1 clove of garlic (whole). Start basting the steak with the mixture. Heaven.

I know, it's butter, but you can't have proper steak without some butter. Got to follow the rules!

[Deleted]

Do some research and upgrade that butter to a herb-infused compound butter

Aha, but that's what you use to serve with the steak! So you can have that buttery goodness dripping on your plate instead of slightly flavoring the steak.

Haven't made one of those on my own though, but herb-infused compound butter is readily available in stores here.

[Doomislav]

I taught myself to cook late in life. A great reason to cook is because you know what goes into your food. It's a lot healthier and it easier to drop the extra pounds when you make it yourself.

I sometimes worry that I'm becoming a food snob because I don't like fast food anymore. Then I cook a pot of white bean and sausage soup and embrace the monster I've become!

[zEmini]

Know how and when too season your food. Most herbs need heat to release the flavors.

If you are new to a dish - and without a cook book - follow my sacred cooking trinity and use just 1 herb, 1 seasoning and 1 spice the first time you cook it. A lot of newbies tend too over season things with everything in the pantry and spice cabinet. As you get better with it, add a new herb or spice and see if that improves it or not.

[Celista]

You're obviously watching your macros for lifting I guess

Note that eating clean doesn't mean you can't have great flavour - the right kinds of spices and preparation can really jazz up those chicken/veg/brownrice meals without messing with a clean diet

I agree actually. I eat cleanly for endurance running.

Tumeric, paprika, mustard, pumpkin, cinnamon, curry powder etc are all useful to have on hand for cooking and shouldn't make much of a difference calorie/macros wise.

Get the best quality spices/ingredients you can, that is what truly makes the difference in cooking (also proper cookware).

- - - Updated - - -

Know how and when too season your food. Most herbs need heat to release the flavors.

Also, if you are new to a dish (without a cook book), follow my sacred cooking trinity; using just 1 herb, 1 seasoning and 1 spice the first time you cook it. A lot of newbies tend too over season things with everything in the pantry and spice cabinet. As you get better with it, add a new herb or spice and see if that improves it or not.

Putting the spices in the pan first with a bit of oil helps bring out the flavor. Then add the meat, etc for cooking.

[zEmini]

Putting the spices in the pan first with a bit of oil helps bring out the flavor. Then add the meat, etc for cooking.

Yep and it makes wonderful fried eggs. You can pretty much use any spice or herb combo you like. My personal favorite is paprika and dill.

[shadowmouse]

@Aunai Both The Flavor Bible and Ad Hoc at Home are after my time. Thanks for suggesting more recent references.

The Flavor Bible sounds like something that I would have enjoyed. I don't get to play around as much as I used to, but I always found it fun to see if I could get things which sounded as if they had no place together to work. It isn't the same kind of thing, but I enjoyed Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Spice Kitchen as a primer for a different set of tastes such as asafoetida and kalonji.

Ad Hoc at Home sounds somewhat like the more modern iteration of James Beard's work. I felt like his books were good for starting, so I can see how this would be too.

@Xarim Alright, I feel older than usual. I'm glad to see modern packaging is giving people more options, those purees look like they'd be fun.

@Nymrohd I'd go one step further on your advice to taste things frequently. I'll let the professional cooks correct me, but I recall reading about early problems with frozen dinners. Something would start off very popular, and then enthusiasm would wane. Over the course of their study, they discovered that if the taste of the food never varied, they would have that problem. Small changes in flavor actually kept people more enthusiastic about the dishes. For my part, I aim to have "a good flavor" and not necessarily to make each batch identical to the last. If the garlic is nice, I may play it up, another day I might have a nice bundle of herbs to play with. Then again, there are those days that something surprising turns up in the market and it would be a shame not to experiment. More than a couple of times I've come home and wondered "now, how the hell does one cook this stuff?"

[Advantage]

I wouldn't call myself a cook, but I have won several BBQ competitions. I do make my own bbq sauce and rub. My favorite ingredient is Kentucky bourbon [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gamdwelf]

I agree actually. I eat cleanly for endurance running.

Tumeric, paprika, mustard, pumpkin, cinnamon, curry powder etc are all useful to have on hand for cooking and shouldn't make much of a difference calorie/macros wise.

Get the best quality spices/ingredients you can, that is what truly makes the difference in cooking (also proper cookware).

- - - Updated - - -


Putting the spices in the pan first with a bit of oil helps bring out the flavor. Then add the meat, etc for cooking.

Turmeric is my home boy.

After 2 knee surgeries an anti inflammatory I can put in my food that make it tastes better is amazing.