Home cooking

[ng_moonmoth]

Happy Thursday! Spouse and I are foodies, which means that whenever it's running, Thursday night belongs to Top Chef: the reality show where professional chefs, all high-level and some of them quite successful, square off in a weeks-long series of culinary challenges that allow them to showcase their skills across the entire range of what one needs to be a big-time, big-name chef -- and rewards the winner with the exposure and stake that they can use to do precisely that, if they wish. Many winners have indeed done so, while others have gone the media route and been successful there.

But today's post isn't about the show, other than using it as inspiration. Each season, the chefs are likely to face a challenge like, "Make the dish that convinced you to take up cooking as a career," or "recreate a treasured family recipe." And with lots more people doing lots more home cooking these days, I'd like to offer up a similar challenge.

What is/are your signature dish/dishes? Have you made any of them recently? Even if someone else in your household is the primary cook, there may be one or two things you make that are special; you are welcome to just share those. If making your best dish amounts to cutting things up, adding some flavors, and putting the result in a bowl, that totally counts, too. And, as an escape clause for those whose culinary skills include the ability to burn water, and the best thing they make in the kitchen is "reservations": pick exactly one dish from a restaurant you often order food from, that you wish you could make yourself.

Comments

[angelofthenorth]

I suppose my signature dish is risotto

[annofowlshire]

I cook most of the meals in our house from scratch, even before Lockdown and especially during. We’re always put off by the cost of takeaway even on the nights we consider it and although we like to go to nice restaurants that hasn’t been happening as much since our son was born.

My signature dish is also risotto (carmelized fennel and onion, but lately I’ve been putting in extra veg and sometimes bacon), we have some variation on it about once a week. Maybe followed by lamb tagine (though it’s been a while for that one) or lemon paprika roast chicken (thighs or whole chicken).

I also keep the household in homemade bread, if that can be considered a signature dish XD

[annofowlshire]

My husband, however, says it’s jambalaya. Which I think makes sense, but I make it less often now because I find getting the “right” sausage difficult in this country. (Andouille is not a thing here. I have found some substitutes but it’s never quite the same.)

[lash_larue]

Agreed.

There is no adequate substitute for Andouille.

L

[annofowlshire]

Once upon a time, a Lousiana-raised friend made jambalaya for me using normal American hot dogs, so I’ve started using frankfurters and liberal spicing/seasoning to make up for the lack of Andouille. It’s not the same, but I figure it’s as close as I’m going to get on this side of the pond. (We learned the hard way what the French call Andouille is not what is called Andouille in US. O_O)

My list

[ng_moonmoth]

Four things I make that people really like:

Minestrone. I don't do this often, because it's a multi-day operation for me. I make my own stock from beef back rib bones, and want to have the variety of vegetables that go into it all fresh. That makes it mainly an autumn dish, because that's the best time for that around here. And, like many soups and stews, it only gets better over the next couple of days.

I made some last November.

Not your grandma's oatmeal cookies. I work off a basic oatmeal raisin cookie (which I find boring, and have limited tolerance for dried grapes as well), replace the raisins with bits of crystallized ginger and dried mangos, and pistachio nut meats, and add Indian spices to the cinnamon. This one was inspired by an after-dinner party I attended that had a steampunk theme. Looking into how the steampunk community defined their cuisine, it read like "late Victorian fusion" to me -- and got me envisioning what someone stuck in India without the usual components would do if they were craving oatmeal cookies. Which is why I call them "steampunk oatmeal cookies".

Adventurous eaters can use hot curry powder and chili-lime mangos. The sugar and fat in the cookie moderate the heat nicely. And, for a different Indian taste that is suitable for those with gluten issues who can tolerate oats, replace the all-purpose flour in the base recipe with chickpea flour.

I made some last fall, for a party we were going to, using the chickpea flour.

Latkes. I'd been making them for us, quite successfully. A few years ago, wanting to host something during the busy end-of-year holiday season, and frustrated by our friends' schedules being crowded with too many other events and parties, we decided to try out a latke party on the Sunday afternoon of Hanukkah. We did well enough with the attendance that it has since become an annual affair. We supply the latkes and the usual accompaniments, and ask people to bring something that aligns with Jewish custom (no pork or shellfish, nothing combining meat and dairy, that sort of thing -- doesn't have to actually be kosher or come from a kosher kitchen) to share.

Because latkes are best when prepared à la minute and served up on the spot, I have necessarily worked out how to get them out at a scale suited to the size of our party. Means I wind up doing a lot of prep the night before and the morning of, and spend the first half or so of the party entirely over at the cooktop, but I have a lot of fun with that.

We had our usual latke party last December. On the Sunday that Hanukkah was starting that evening, because we would be visiting family the following weekend.

Chopped liver: Once again, no shortcuts here. We have a jar of schmaltz in the fridge, which I keep as full as the chicken that passes through our house with skin on permits. And then, on a suitable day, chicken livers and onions make a trip through the skillet and the meat grinder.

I made some for Passover this year.

Funny thing about the last two is that I'm the house goy. But these are both things that connect with my family's German culinary roots, which made them familiar enough for me to do well.

Re: My list

[zdenka]

Those oatmeal cookies sound interesting and good! Do you use specific quantities, or just eyeball it?

Re: cookies

[ng_moonmoth]

The mixins are pretty consistent: 1/2 cup pistachios and ginger bits, 1 cup mango bits. Spices can vary, but typically work out to 1/4 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp curry powder (hot or mild) and coriander, 1 tsp garam masala and cinnamon. But let the contents of your spice cabinet and your personal preferences be your guide. If you decide to go with the flour substitution, 1:1 replacement works fine. The resulting mix won't hang together quite as well, but will bake into a reasonable cookie.

Re: cookies

[zdenka]

Cool, thanks!

[petrea_mitchell]

Hmm... One of my long-time standbys is a Hawaiian recipe for chicken marinated in lemon and soy sauce (and a few other things). It's easy to make, too: place ingredients in bowl, allow to marinate in the fridge for a few hours, and then either bake for an hour or put on the barbecue.

[write_out]

That sounds delicious!

[aome]

My signature dish - if you can call it that - is a homemade chocolate cake I've been making since I was 10 (*cough* awhile ago). It is the standard request for family birthdays, anniversaries, etc, except for my teenagers who - horrors - grew up to prefer vanilla cake. :P (But they got the chocolate cake for the first few years! I've got great "chocolate cake everywhere" birthday photos to prove it.)

I last made the cake for Easter dinner - not the standard Easter sort of dessert, I guess, but we hadn't had it in awhile and we all needed some cheering up, what with quarantine and all.

Am happy to share the recipe (in American units) with anyone who asks. :)

[readera]

Yes please!

[aome]

Otherwise known in my house as "Death by Chocolate Cake". There is absolutely no pretense to health. ;-)

Chocolate cake (credit: Hershey's cocoa tin circa 1981)

3/4 C butter (1.5 sticks), softened
1 3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 C water, room temperature
2 C flour
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Grease and flour two round cake pans (8" or 9") and set aside.

In a mixer cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and blend again. In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Alternate adding the flour mixture with water when adding to the butter/egg mixture.

Divide batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake at 350F for 30-35 mins (9" pans) or 35-40 mins (8" pans), until toothpick comes clean. Cool in pans about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate buttercream frosting (credit: Better Homes & Gardens cookbook)

1/3 C butter, softened
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
1 lb (approx 4.5 C) sifted powdered sugar
1/4 C milk (a little extra may be needed)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In mixer, cream butter by itself until fluffy. Add cocoa and completely combine. Scrape bottom of bowl. Add about half the powdered sugar. Add the milk and vanilla, then the rest of the powdered sugar to desired sweetness. You may need to add a little milk, a tsp at a time, until spreadable consistency is reached.

Happy baking!

[readera]

Thanks!

[write_out]

I'd love the recipe!

[aome]

Here! :)

[readera]

Im working on sandwich bread but its not quite perfected.

I do make a mean chicken noodle soup with fresh veg and garlic +ginger.

Also J loves my japanese style curry. I make it with homemade roux/spice mix as we couldn't find it in the store. We use chicken or beef with carrots, potaotes and sweet potatoes and grated apple.

[shati]

My favorite meal is blackened salmon with frozen (not homemade) cheese/potato pierogis boiled under a steamer tray of fresh broccoli (steamed until it's bright green and just barely soft). I could probably improve my blackening technique (I coat with spice and then pan-fry pretty gently until the pan gets hot enough to blacken the spices, because I'm timid about high temperatures) but the combination of flavors is perfect to me.

I haven't made it in over a year, though -- I was told to stop eating dairy by my doctor, and I'd just started reincorporating cheese when this began and freezer space became even more precious. Someday!

[light_of_summer]

When really good local tomatoes are in season, my signature dish is tomato rice arugula feta salad, sometimes with cucumbers added, served at room temperature or cooler, lightly dressed with a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. When I can get them, I particularly like to use brown basmati rice, Brandywine or dry-farmed Early Girl tomato varieties, Bulgarian feta cheese, and arugula varieties that tend toward a spiky leaf shape and a strongly spicy taste. But the salad is also good with less distinguished individual ingredients. I came up with this salad idea, myself, and am quite proud of it. 😊

+1 local tomatoes

[ng_moonmoth]

Yeah, that's something I wouldn't bother with when all the tomatoes one can get are sports equipment (pink footballs, orange golf balls, yellow baseballs). But in season, yes!

In similar times, my tomato thoughts turn toward tabbouleh. It's got personal resonance, too; it was a component of a pack-along lunch I made for spouse on our first real date.

[naath]

My favourite thing to make is dhal.

Got any recipes?

[ng_moonmoth]

I'd love to make it more often, to go with other Indian dishes I make.

Re: Got any recipes?

[naath]

Heat a finely chopped onion in (a bit of) oil until soft (evey recie starts this way no?). Add garlic, ginger, chilli, tumeric, and cumin (to taste) Add 2 ish sweet potatoes chopped up (I use pre chopped sweet potato/butternut squash mix). stir. add 250g red split lentils and 600ml veg stock. bring to boil, simmer for 20mins or until soft. Stir in 80g spinach, until wilted. then add fresh basil and/or coriander (cilantro?). I think that serves 4 with rice or naan as a meal; I guess if you have more than one dish you need less of it. Fridge and reheat and it's fine (there are 2 of us, if I make for four that's 2 meals); scales OK (I did it for 16) but you have to be careful about stiring it lots or it burns on the bottom.

[works with probably any spices, veg, greens, but roughly that sort of order of proceeding]

Re: Got any recipes?

[ng_moonmoth]

>> Heat a finely chopped onion in (a bit of) oil until soft (evey recie starts this way no?). <<

Well, maybe not *every* recipe, but it does seem standard for lots of Indian ones.

Anyway, thanks for your recipe. It's different from other ones I've seen and experimented with. I'll want to give it a try sometime.

Perhaps you can help with this. Some of the recipes I want to try call for a small amount of cream. I don't do them often enough that I won't wind up with most of a carton of cream going bad in the fridge. Do you prepare similar recipes? Do you know of/prefer a vegan substitute I could prepare at home that would work well enough? Thanks for any help you have.

Re: Got any recipes?

[naath]

So, generally I go with 'it goes off in the fridge' um, because I'm useless. MAybe a good idea is 'serve it on pudding' (crumble, pie, tart, triffle, etc. go nice with cream) or make a cream based thing - I'm sure some things like creme brulee and fools use cream (some want other kinds of dairy)

Re: Got any recipes?

[ng_moonmoth]

Tried it out last night. Took somewhat longer to cook (30-40 minutes?) until the liquid was absorbed. I diced the sweet potatoes; might try shredding them next time. We enjoyed it. I'm interested in collecting more of these; pulses are useful if kinks in the food supply develop, and tasty preparations (of which Indian food has lots) keep them from getting boring.

Re: Got any recipes?

[naath]

yay

[write_out]

Fun question! What are your signature dishes?

Like a couple of others, one of mine is risotto. Shallots, mushrooms and sausage risotto or just shallots and mushroom risotto tend to be the versions I make most often. I need to branch out, maybe try a seafood risotto (which was the first kind of risotto I ever had, about 18 years ago).

My other go-to dishes are baked ziti (from Smitten Kitchen), homemade marina, sausage gravy, and a breakfast pie (courtesy of Paula Deen).

[shadowhive]

Ohh nice! I love watching cooking shows too, though I tend to favour baking shows

Likewise, I usually do baking over cooking. I’m told the raspberry and white chocolate muffins I did we’re nice. The last thing I baked were cookiees a few weeks back which were pretty good

[lash_larue]

My dish would be cheesecake.

People have taken my cheesecake with them on airplanes. I have no idea how they got it past security.

L

[ng_moonmoth]

Maybe by offering the screener a piece? :-O :-)

[ayebydan]

I am the main cook. A lot of my work is 'toss this in, ooh that is wilting bugger it is going in the dinner'.

Signature dishes: chicken bacon and leek pie with white wine seasoning. Potato topped though I have done it with from start pastry.

Bacon and brie risotto based from a jack Monroe recipe and poked enough to become my own.

'Spicy Chicken' Never the same twice. Involves chicken, fresh veg, passata veg and my spice rack. yay!

[zdenka]

One of my standards is beer bread. It's quick and easy to make, and it's usually a hit at potlucks. I made some a couple days ago using hominy beer and with a pinch of cardamom sprinkled on top.

[gatheringrivers]

And, as an escape clause for those whose culinary skills include the ability to burn water, and the best thing they make in the kitchen is "reservations"

*falls over cackling at that*

Admittedly, I *WAS* that bad years ago. However, I've since watched many many years of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" and have gotten much better.

My "signature dish" at the moment seems to be FRESH brussels sprouts, gently cooked in a fry pan in butter, then once they're dished up, adding malt vinegar and more butter, and some salt.

The key is GENTLY cooking - you overcook them, and they get bitter. Undercook them and they're tough to chew. Just right, and the leaves are bright green heading into dulled.

Never EVER buy frozen brussels sprouts, and NEVER freeze the fresh ones! I don't know the chemistry behind what happens to them when they freeze (I froze a bag of fresh one time), but OMG never EVER again will I do that...

[cynthia1960]

I make a mean pasta sauce. Italian sausage, zucchini, bell pepper, carrots, San Marzano tomatoes, onions, at least 4-5 cloves of garlic.

[liseuse]

I live alone so am the only person in the house doing any cooking (the cat can't/won't help!) so it's lucky that I do enjoy it.

If I am feeding other people, I think my signature dish is some sort of lasagna or casserole. Something I can make beforehand and then just ensure is hot for serving.

If I am baking for people I always have success with cinnamon buns and in usual times I make hot cross buns every Easter and then take them in to the office. One year I didn't, because I was away for a bit of the Easter weekend, and my colleagues were horrified.