Rhubardodendron, I'm not entirely sure I guess whichever would go with a pecan pie. I have some other pie recipes I'm wanting to try when I get back home as well. The recipe book that my Grandmother made was for all her children (6 total) and included all their favorite recipes growing up and then all the rest she used to do. It includes everything from appetizers to drinks to desserts. She was a beast in the kitchen!! I have the book now because it came to me when my father passed away 2 years ago (he was only 57). I have yet to try any of her recipes but plan to do so when I get home. Some of the things I remember her making from when i was a child were so good!
I'm really sick to death of cooking, as I said in the veggie thread I enjoy assembling. Even making cold vietnamese rolls is more about assemblage. I do however love eating.
Can anyone recommend a good strawberry cake recipe? I tried the Pillsbury cake mix and think it's too... dense.
Yep, I cook a lot. Well, at least every week or two. I do lasagna, chili con carne/ bolognese and other pasta dishes quite well. I took a catering course (and did some work experience) 2-3 years ago so I can do that thing where you chop vegetables really fast (while avoiding my fingers!) which is genuinely fun. I also do baking on occasion (usually biscuits/cakes and such) and a few deserts; I suppose my 'specialty' would be lemon or lime cheesecake. I also flip pancakes, which is always a laugh.
If salads count, I can make some pretty decent veggie salads. And I like my salads tossed. Vinaigrette is the best dressing to use for this type, though I hardly if ever eat salads at home.
I cook every night except Fridays (takeout pizza) and Saturdays (fast food or eat out), and by cooking I mean meat, starch, veg. Right now I'm in love with making soup (the slower cooked, the better) so I'm a little bummed that the weather is finally getting warmer. We've had soups every Thursday since October, except on Thanksgiving. I've got quite the repertoire now. As for cooking mags, I recommend Every Day, which is a Martha Stewart publication. The recipes are easy, and they rarely take more than 30-45 minutes start to finish. They use regularly available ingredients usually, and introduce other ingredients in a way that you'd actually want to eat them. I think it's available in an app.
In that case a plain shortbread dough would be best: Sift 250 g ( a good 2 cups) of flour onto the table or into a big bowl. Add a pinch of baking powder, 1 pinch of salt, 60-70 g (slightly less than 1/3 cup) sugar and the finely grated zest of half a lemon and mix these dry ingredients a bit with your hands. Make a crater in the flour-heap and cut 175 g (a good 3/4 cup) cold butter or margarine into small bits and spread them on the flour-mountain. Crack a very large egg open and put it in the crater. (You can also use 1 smaller egg and 1 yolk or 3 yolks - the more yolks, the more brittle the dough gets) and add 2 tablespooons of milk, sour cream, water or white wine. Now with a fork beat some flour from the rim into the egg/milk mixture. Knead in the rest of the flour and the butter. Work very quickly, the ingredients must stay cold else the dough gets too soft to properly roll out. Leave to rest in a cool place for at least half an hour (you can make the dough 1 day in advance). Then roll the dough out and press it into your pie dish. Cool again before filling if the dough gets too soft. Now you have 2 options: fill the pie crust with dried peas and bake it. (The baked peas can be reused for future pie shells.) Then insert the filling into the readily baked crust. Or: fill the pie immediately and bake it with the filling. Bake at 200-225°C / 400-430°F (lower temperature when filled, higher one when not filled. Depends a bit on the oven, though.) ====== simplified version / grandmother method: 1/2 lbs of flour , 1/4 lbs of butter, 1/8 lbs of sugar plus a pinch of salt, baking powder (or baking soda), 1 egg and a dollop of milkor water. Lemon zest or vanilla to taste. The trick with this simplified version is the relation 4:2:1 with flour, butter and sugar It's easier to as the above version. To improve this basic recipe simply take a little more butter and eggs and - voila! - you'll have the same as the long version
I love too cook, but my cooking is pretty limited. Want to find new recipes and learn to cook healthier. My parents are leaving for a trip for a few weeks so that might be the time I experiment with new meals.
Thanks for the recipes and the magazine recommendation. I've found some easy-to-cook items from Food Network mag that are worth a try, using simple ingredients, too.