Cooking and spices!

[nailz]

Anyone here enjoy cooking? I've kind of found it to be a relaxing thing to do and fun to experiment with different flavors and such. I've come up with a few variants of recipes I've found around the web as well, just wondering if anyone here has any kind of talent for this kind of thing, or any recipes to try out.

On a related note, I was watching The Food Network and Road Tasted with the Neely's when I found this online spice shop:

http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/

Thinking about placing an order for a few things, but wondering if anyone can offer some suggestions?

 

[Bear]

I will say that I make a mean Cali Cheese Steak Sammich!! and I have been told my Echiladas Suprema Ala Oso are the BOMB!!!!

Also I fancy myself a pretty good BBQer

Bear

 

[Evil Penguin]

On the contrary, I found cooking to be very high stress. After a couple of dinners wound up on the kitchen floor, I was exempt from cooking elaborate meals. I make a wicked pop-tarts, though.

 

[J-Man]

wellllll now we are talking something up my alley. Having just spent over $17K to remodel my kitchen to include a six burner, plus grill and griddle chef's oven by Wolf I guess you could say I am fair cook. My spice cabinet has over 100 spices in it. plus i keep some fresh ones nearby(basil, chives, parsley, rosemary)

One of my best dishes is a saffron infused, beef storgonaff, with portabello mushrooms and parsley, side dishes are a cucumber tomato, red onion parsnip salad with a carmel vinagrette, asparagus with dill sauce.

Here are some Herbs and Spices I would get.

Wasabi Powder
Basil European
Bay Leaves Turkish
Celery seeds
CHERVIL
Cumin(ground)
Ginger(crystallized)
Gumbo File Powder
Honey powder
Lemon grass
Lemon, lime and orange peel (crystallized)
Nutmeg (whole)
Oregano(Mexican)
Paprika (spanish smoked)

also get a grinder and peppercorns for fresh black pepper, smoked sea salt, fresh garlic cloves, shallotts, onions, and parsley and cilantro.

With this collection of herbs and spices you can cook like EMIRIL or RACHEL RAY, and even BOBBY FLAY.

 

[yardleybates]

High 5 J-Man!

I have been told once or twice in my life that I can cook My favorite thing to do is fussy appetizers and such. I LOVE to throw a party and make tons of finger foods. I have an entire floor to ceiling bookshelf of cookbooks and cooking magazines, though I've also been known to throw together an awesome (sadly often non repeatable) meal on occasion.

 

[J-Man]

High 5 J-Man!

I have been told once or twice in my life that I can cook My favorite thing to do is fussy appetizers and such. I LOVE to throw a party and make tons of finger foods. I have an entire floor to ceiling bookshelf of cookbooks and cooking magazines, though I've also been known to throw together an awesome (sadly often non repeatable) meal on occasion.

Shannon you do the appeitizers and I will do the main courses and we can get Colleen and Alicia to do the deserts.

I just bought Rachel Ray's and Paula Dean's latest cookbooks to add to my collection(Mario Battili, Emeril, Bobby Flay, Jamie Oliver,Tyler Florence)

 

[nailz]

I don't know if ANYONE can cook like Bobby Flay. That guy is one of my heros. Good list though. I should definitely get some kind of a cookbook. Currently, my go-to spice mix consists of Paprika, Oregano, dried Rosemary, Garlic Powder, Nutmeg, Old Bay seasoning, Pepper, and that-other-red-spice-thats-not-paprika that I can't think of. lol.

 

[mëtålspëd]

Quality of ingredients trump use of spice in my book.

 

[nailz]

what about quality spices?

 

[Yippee38]

I have been told once or twice in my life that I can cook

Yeah. She can really cook. But then again, that's none of your business.

I can make breakfast. My best are fruit pancakes and chocolate chip waffles. Then again, there's not much to making them.

 

[rushzil2112]

I have been told I can cook my ass off, and to tell the truth, I only use salt, pepper, and if I am cooking for myself, some cayenne pepper. I'll use the occassional basil or rosemary, but not often. I make, what my mother-in-law calls, comfort food. Too me, if you can cook, you can make shit ingredients taste amazing. I love to make a good stir-fry(my signature dish), and just about anything I can come up with. I like to come up with things on the spot and use what I've got. It is easy to cook when you have everything at your disposal, but I love it when you have to come up with something because you are low on groceries and don't have any money and it ends up becoming a great dish.

 

[spag]

I never cook anything that combines more than maybe three ingredients, though one ingredient might be "can of chilli." I do find it all fascinating though, and if I've had to in a pinch, I can follow recipes really well and get decent results. Friend of mine bought me the "Americas Test Kitchen Cookbook", and it rocks. I can appreciate the scientific approach they take to coming up with the best recipes for each thing they make.

 

[sh0kr0k]

Mmm, I really love cooking! I would like to cook more often but I rarely have anyone to share it with, and that's half the fun for me. Some of the best recipes I've made have come from this site: http://www.recipe4living.com

The recipes I like best have been passed to me from some of the older women at my church. They've been cooking for huge families for years, so their recipes are usually fine-tuned for taste and ease. Some of the best are this really great slow-cooker swiss chicken, pumpkin soup, cape cod chicken pie, and pork chops with mushroom sauce. I also make a killer chicken noodle stew and several variations of casseroles. Overall I'm most partial to/best with crock-pot recipes. Maybe it's smelling good food cooking all day that makes it the most fun. YUM!

As for spices, I think the one I can't live without is plan ol' garlic salt. I know it's basic, but I'm hooked on it.

 

[nailz]

I love. love. my crockpot. I did an herb crusted whole chicken in it one day for like 6 hours and ... the smell .. you're dead on, it permeates the whole house. When I do chili with it.. oh, the aroma is second to none. Fuck candles. You want your house to smell amazing, cook in a crockpot.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

I love. love. my crockpot. I did an herb crusted whole chicken in it one day for like 6 hours and ... the smell .. you're dead on, it permeates the whole house. When I do chili with it.. oh, the aroma is second to none. Fuck candles. You want your house to smell amazing, cook in a crockpot.

Seconded. I just made a VERY fucking basic pot roast in my crockpot the other day with just some pepper, oregano, onions and rosemary. The house smelled awesome, the meat was killer, and i was happy.

Also, not to derail the thread too much, but I find Rachel Ray to be a horrific chef. She doesn't know how to cook and she takes PRIDE in using inferior quality ingredients in her cooking. I feel sorry for Mario, Emeril, Flay, Alton Brown, Giada (sp? The italian broad) and other people on the food network who actually know what the fuck it takes to cook a decent meal. While not all of them are my favorite tv personalities, they sure as hell know what they're doing in the kitchen. Rachel Ray, Paula Dean and the WORST is that Sara Moulton bitch. They are all just an abomination to cooking.

Sorry about the rant, it's just sad to see the food network accept sub-par bullshit.

 

[BABS]

Well dang it Mr. Bear, cook us up some enchiladas at Progpower this year!

I will say that I make a mean Cali Cheese Steak Sammich!! and I have been told my Echiladas Suprema Ala Oso are the BOMB!!!!

Also I fancy myself a pretty good BBQer

Bear

 

[Kaosaur]

Don't overlook sauces.

Learn the basics of being a saucier and you can dress up an otherwise bland dish.

There are hundreds of varieties but when you learn the mother sauces and expand on that it gets easy.

 

[BABS]

and we can get Colleen and Alicia to do the deserts.

Now that is a mighty find idea! Creamsicle Cheesecake Alicia! Remember my great quest for that last summer?

 

[nailz]

Rachel Ray, Paula Dean and the WORST is that Sara Moulton bitch. They are all just an abomination to cooking.

Paula Dean is amazing. You just probably don't like food that puts 10 pounds on you just by looking at it. What's wrong with butter?

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Paula Dean sucks. And trust me, it ain't about what they're cooking. have you seen some of Mario's stuff? Not exactly low fat Same for Emeril, who's not my favorite chef but is still great at what he does. And he fucking loves butter.

Anthony Bourdain did an awesome article on Celebrity Chefs that can be found here, and while I can't say i agree 100%, he's pretty damned dead on in his observations. Plus he's awesome overall. They should let him run the food network. i can guarantee it would be a thousand times better.