I figured since there was a food thread, we could have a thread to exchange recipes (I hope I'm not the only one here who loves to cook).

Come on, I know every one of you has some comfort food or favorite dish that you've perfected. Tell us your secrets.

Rofl. This is my kind of place :p I'd have to write my recipe for my cookie cake down though, I just threw in what I thought would make a good cake and it came out well.

Sorry, the closest I get to cooking is dumping half a bottle of vodka in the eggnog bowl at my family's big Christmas parties when no one's looking. =P

This is how I make my chicken quesadillas. I make a whole bunch of them at once, and I can keep them in the fridge and snack on them for days.

This recipe should make about twelve whole quesadillas, depending on how much filling you put into each tortilla.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package taco seasoning
1 white onion
1 green pepper
1 package sliced mushrooms
2 vine ripe tomatoes
3 packages shredded Mexican blend cheese
Vegetable oil for sautéing
Twelve large tortillas
Butter

Slice chicken into small 1-2 inch long strips. Brown in a frying pan. Add taco seasoning (I usually use only half the package). Set aside.

Chop peppers and onions. Sauté peppers, onions, and mushrooms until tender (I do them all in the same pan at once, but you don't have to). Dice tomatoes.

Arrange veggies, chicken, and cheese over half the tortilla and fold over (if you have small tortillas, just use two and make it like a sandwich). Put just enough butter in the pan so that nothing sticks, and cook the quesadilla over medium heat, about 4 minutes for each side, or until the tortilla is golden brown. Cut in half or into quarters. Repeat for each quesadilla. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole.

Edit: If you don't like veggies, you can omit any or all of them. It's still good with just chicken and cheese.

A lot of my cooking never actually becomes a written recipe. But here is one from my other website, an older website I cannot even update any more: Dave's Space (http://www.lightband.com/~det/index.html))

Spicy Peanut Soup
Serves 6

1 lb stewing beef, cut in ½" cubes
6 cups cold water
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1-2 dried habañero chilies, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper to taste

This is my version of a Brazilian recipe, and is one of my son's favorites. The original used creamy peanut butter, but I find chunk style a bit more interesting. Also, the original version did not include cumin, but I find it gives the soup a warmer, earthier flavor.

Combine the beef, water, bouillon cubes, onion, and salt in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours until the beef is tender. Place the peanut butter in a bowl, and gradually add 1 cup of the hot stock, stirring well, then blend the mixture back into the soup.

Stir in the red and green peppers and the habañero chilies, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. For best flavor, roast whole cumin in a dry frying pan before grinding it, together with the ground black pepper, into the soup stock, just before serving.

One Wife love her to bits. Problem of recipes for me solved. ;)

One Wife love her to bits. Problem of recipes for me solved. ;)

Well, us women folk like to be cooked for sometimes, too! I have yet to date a guy who can cook. I can only hope that I'll eventually find such a gem, and manage to hold onto him.

Hmmmm Well I can cook and do frequently But hey I have a legit excuse at least for a week or two. ;)

I wish I could cook. Never really been "taught" ... thusly I limit myself to cereals, ramen, the toaster, some oven heating, and the microwave.


Hull's Excuse:

"Uh... my sunglasses make it too dark for me to cook anything."
"Well, why don't you take them off?"
"And risk seeing light?!"

Yeah same here my shades make it too dark to cook anything. I like that excuse. ;)

I started learning to cook in high school, in the evenings I was left to fend for myself (with plenty of ingredients on hand). I really developed the interest more during and after college, especially after sampling so many wonderful restaurants in Boston.

Also, working as a chemist, it was practically mandatory. At least amond the crowd I knew, all chemists love to cook. :)

Spag Bowl for Noobs (lewl)

500g of Angel Hair spaghetti
500g of lean mince, can be pork or beef or chicken or moose (eh, maybe not moose)
One can of tinned tomatoes (roma works nicely)
One can of tomato soup
Two teaspoons of garlic, minced
Three tablespoons of mixed herbs (I’m a herbivore, heh-heh, bad joke)
Three rashes of bacon, diced

Thoroughly cook the mince and garlic in a frying pan
Fry up the bacon in another pan
Put fried bacon into thoroughly cooked mince
Stir
Put in tinned tomatoes and tomato soup
Stir-stir-stir
Lower the heat
Let it bubble for about ten-fifteen minutes- stir-stir
Add the herbs
Stir-stir
Boil the angel hair spaghetti for 3 minutes
drain spaghetti and stir into the sauce- stir-stir-stir
serve-serve-serve (add cheese if you like, something nice and potent)

Does it have to be recipe's we've made? Or can it be ones we know by heart and use a lot?

I think the determining factor is the taste. :)

Cogito, is the road to learning how to cook just trial and error? I've always wanted to do something, but didn't want to mess up a whole bunch of food.

Trial and error, ya just gotta keep going! I make a yummy potato back... mmmmmmmm potato bake and rissoles! I make good ones as well and I have only just started making potato salads!

I don't like trial and error ... that's going to lead to a lot of messed up food. Though, I'll try getting a nice girl to teach me during college. :)

yeah yeah, righto then. I also don't really follow recepies much either... normally.

I will post my recipies sonner though. If ya interested!

I don't like trial and error ... that's going to lead to a lot of messed up food. Though, I'll try getting a nice girl to teach me during college. :)

You never learn if you don't try. I always make new foods without knowing how they'll turn out. If I mess it up the first time, then I know what I need to change the next time. And when in doubt, go with your tastes.

When you're learning, just keep the heat low, and taste as you go.

I think the determining factor is the taste. :)

Cogito, is the road to learning how to cook just trial and error? I've always wanted to do something, but didn't want to mess up a whole bunch of food.

I started with simple recipes from cookbooks. For some things I still refer to the cookbooks, but more as a reminder. Experimentation can wait until you have some confidence with basic cooking techniques.

Not every meal will turn out great, but we learn from errors as much as from successes.

I did also work in the food services when I was in college the first time, but I knew the basics by that time anyway.

Cogito, if it weren't for the age difference and the fact that you have a family, I might have to say that you're the perfect man. I mean, you're into science and space travel, you cook, and you post with proper grammar (huge pet peeve of mine)!

Just saying.

I have this really odd time with measurements (I don't know how to measure butter for instance)... though I have had to make some things (a chocolate cake, stir fry, etc), but that was in home economics. Haven't tried since...

Butter sticks are 1/2 cup each, and typically have tablespoon division marks on the wrappers (in the US anyway).

Yeah, sticks aren't that bad... but what about the spread kind? and when actually using a spoon for measuring, how much to put on? Is a liquid cup the same for solids?

A cup is a cup, no matter the liquid or solid.
Same with Tablespoons and teaspoons.
By the way, most people (if you're measuring a cup for instance) fill it up completely and use a knife to even it up.


As far as recipes go, I'll haveta look around and post my favorites..

The same with measuring spoons. But tableware teaspoons and Tablespoons are not accurate measures, so invest in some measuring spoons. I'd recommend stainless steel measuring spoons, but really, any kind will do for most purposes.

^^ That's what I meant when I said teaspoons and tablespoons. : p

Don't EVER get the plastic kind, they're a devil to wash and end up getting incredibly grimy most of the time. (Well, you can, they're just not fun.)

also the plastic ones melt if you need to measure something hot.

Hmmm.. I use just normal culery half the time :D Normaly my stuff turns out alright, but most teh stuff I cook I don't use measuring spoons. But the last cake I made I used a measuring spoon.

Cakes I usually measure everything - or more often, just use a mix. :)

A lot of other things I don't measure at all.

Cake mixes are horrible. :p

I'd much rather do the entire thing by scratch, same with pies.

Geeze I need to bake something. Seriously. Like now.

You can make me a cheesecake :)

I used to make cakes.. from packet mixes all the time when I was younger, I havn't made on in years now. I want to try and cook one from scratch but the last time I tried it fell apart. :(

My sister has one of the best cheese cake recipes ever. I must steal it.

Seriously, tomorrow I'm going to bake something.. maybe bread. : ) (and I'll be sure to get the pretty recipe)

So.. I finally did it.

Pinwheels = happiness.

If anyone wants the recipe I'll definitely put it up, same with the pretty photo I took. : p

Kool feel free to share. ;)

Special Occasion Chili

Serves 10-20
1 oz dried mild New Mexico chilies
1 oz dried hot New Mexico chilies
¼ oz dried Cascabel chilies
4 dried habañero chilies
2 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (Caribe chilies)
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 pounds lean beef, cut small
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
20 fresh serrano chilies, chopped small
1 large red bell pepper, chopped coarsely
2 large green bell peppers, chopped coarsely
2 Tbsp dried oregano
56 oz canned ground peeled tomatoes
6 tsp salt

This is the chili I served at a special event far from home. All the measurements are approximate - nothing was actually measured, but this is my best estimate of what actually went into it.

Grind all the dried chiles, including the Caribe flakes, in a blender. You will probably have to do it in several portions, as the dried chilies take up a lot of volume until they are ground up. The stems should be removed, but not the seeds. Mix the cumin with the ground chilies. CAUTION: Wash hands thoroughly after handling dried or fresh chilies, particularly the habañero chilies.

In an 8 quart or larger kettle, brown the ground beef and the cut up beef. Add the garlic, onions, ground chili mixture, chopped serrano and bell peppers, and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

This was not a particularly mild chili, but it is not blisteringly hot either. Of course, there is a lot of variation from one individual chili pepper to the next, so the actual spiciness may vary. It may seem like a lot of trouble to grind the various dried chilies, but it really isn't and the difference in flavor is well worth it. The Cascabel chilies may be a bit harder to find, but they have a subtle smoky character that adds to the flavor.