Post the last thing you cooked

[Infinite Jerkgrinders]

I like cooking and I do it often! Post the last thing you cooked or made for a meal (doesn't have to be cooked) and how it turned out!

Last night I made ...

What'd I make? Korean-Style Sesame Beef and stir-fry vegetables with rice

how was it? Tasty!  I'd give it a B+ but only because I botched the rice  (I like my rice cooked just so so when its off ... meh)  The sauce could have been hotter, though. Next time I'll probably add some Jalapeno pepper and Cayenne powder to 'knock it up a notch' Additionally, I made a big batch so I had food for two nights!

What's next? Porkchops with teryaki sauce, string beans, and potato salad. Simple, yet fulfilling summer food!

[Larry Flyntz]

Roasted jerk chicken with roasted peppers and rice with herbed cheese.

Not bad.  Probably a B or a B+.

I made a sausage and spinach lasagna a few nights ago that was an A or an A-, though.  It wasn't an A+ because I somehow managed to forget the garlic. WTF FLYNTZ!??

Next up: some sort of pasta dish that incorporates the leftover chicken.

[Infinite Jerkgrinders]

I made a sausage and spinach lasagna a few nights ago that was an A or an A-, though.  It wasn't an A+ because I somehow managed to forget the garlic. WTF FLYNTZ!??

I got a nice jar of minced garlic about a year ago and the stuff is still good and only about half gone for just this reason.  Works great

Jerk food style I'm looking forward to learning, any tips?

[CadmiumYellow]

me and an made vegetarian sushi yesterday

[WWW.SETH.COM]

A pair of Egg-In-The-Baskets for my parents for breakfast  Sunday morning.

They seemed to be pretty good. I melted some Vermont cheddar on top of each. An A- I think because the yolk wasn't as runny as I wanted it in one of them.

Next? Probably some Chicken a la Seth, a dish with a recipe that often changes slightly.

[Coney_Island_n*gga1983]

These past few weeks I've brought my mastery of the pancake to a level few can hope to attain. I've also made banana bread (a staple in this house whenever I am home) and various forms of muffin and they have all been SPECTACULAR.

[Larry Flyntz]

any tips?

I don't know if I really learned any big lessons about jerk.  I guess I wished I had added more salt.  The jerk spices (cinnamon, allspice, cumin, and paprika - at least according to this recipe) bring a lot of flavor, but they definitely need more salt to bring them out fully.  Although, I think that's true of almost all food.  Undersalted (and oversalted, for that matter) food is bad bad bad.

[Shire Le Buff]

My Kick-Ass Ramen

I honestly do make really good Ramen. It has to be Oriental flavor though because that is the only flavor that's veggie-core. I add lots of spinach, two eggs are cooked in the boiled water for some protein, and some rosemary for flavor right before I turn off the heat.

I'd give it an B- because I ate too much and it gave my an angry tummy.

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

I haven't legitimately cooked in a very long time, and that makes me sad. I've always been more of a baker, however, so I'm gonna go with the last thing I baked which was my mom's birthday cake back in May.

I called it a Neopolitan cake. It was a three layer cake, the bottom being chocolate, the middle being white cake, and the top being strawberry. The icing in between the layers and on top was strawberry cream cheese, and the icing on the outside was regular cream cheese icing. I also sliced a few strawberries in half and layed them decoratively in a circle around the top of the cake, and took two of the nicest, larger ones, dipped them in melted chocolate (one dark, the other white), then drizzled the opposite chocolate flavour over top, and arranged them decoratively in the middle of the cake. I did cheat and make the cake layers from a box, but since it was for my mom's birthday I wanted the cake layers to be perfect, and white cake is a real BITCH to make from scratch. However, I did make the strawberry layer by taking half the white cake batter and adding about half a packet of strawberry jello to the mix, which made for a really delicious and moist strawberry cake. I also used this same tecnique with the cream cheese icing (which I did make from scratch), with fresh diced strawberries added in for texture, and that turned out pretty good as well.

All in all, I'd give the cake a B+. There were a few things I would change around if I did it again, and I was a little worried that it wasn't going to stand (but it did!), and although the cream cheese icing was delicious, it could have been better. However, I would give just the presentation an A+; when you cut a big ol' slice of the cake and layed it out on plate, it looked exactly like a quart of neopolitan ice cream, which was exactly what I was going for. I'd like to try it again tho.

Up Next: Some manner of chocolate/vanilla cream pie, I think. I haven't worked it out in my head just yet, but I'm thinking chocolate graham cracker crust, layer of melted (then frozen) white chocolate shell, then alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla cream, POSSIBLY topped with a layer of homemade whipped cream. I'm also toying with the idea of doing this in muffin tin and making lots of individual pies, but I haven't decided.

[Larry Flyntz]

That cake sounds spectacular.  Baking scares me. 

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

Thank you! It was pretty tasty, just not as perfect as I'd like for it to have been. Baking isn't really scary at all. Unlike regular cooking, if you stick EXACTLY to the recipe you should be fine. Recipes are VERY important in baking. At least until you more or less know what you're doing...then you can make up your own. 

[Pube Truth]

I made shrimp and spinach aglio olio tonight for dinner. It was pretty ok. I used whole wheat pasta which just doesn't do the trick for me. It just doesn't have the same texture as regular pasta does. Also, usually using whole wheat adds some flavor to a dish, but it didn't seem to do that with the pasta. Also, I think i used a bit too much garlic. All in all, I'd give it a B. Carly had the brilliant idea to add some feta cheese to her portion, but by the time she came over to my house and had some, mine was all gone...in my tummy. Basically, it's not the best thing I've ever made or been involved in making. But it's definitely not the worst.

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

I can attest to the dish being quite tasty. It WAS a bit heavy on the garlic, but that really only came through in the spinach. Plus I like a lot of garlic so I didn't mind so much. I give it an A-, but then we're always harder on ourselves than on others aren't we?

[WWW.SETH.COM]

I cooked some chicken and rice for my Dad and I to eat for dinner tonight. I ground up some rosemary in with a mortar and pestle and sprinkled it on the bottom of the greased pan, then added garlic powder, paprica, salt, cayenne pepper, oregano and ginger to the chicken. I also added some ginger and garlic powder to the rice to make it tastier.

In the end, I would have to rate this meal a B. A solid, well-executed effort but not one for the records.

Up next? Probably some cookies.

[Infinite Jerkgrinders]

I haven't legitimately cooked in a very long time, and that makes me sad. I've always been more of a baker, however, so I'm gonna go with the last thing I baked which was my mom's birthday cake back in May.

I called it a Neopolitan cake. It was a three layer cake, the bottom being chocolate, the middle being white cake, and the top being strawberry. The icing in between the layers and on top was strawberry cream cheese, and the icing on the outside was regular cream cheese icing. I also sliced a few strawberries in half and layed them decoratively in a circle around the top of the cake, and took two of the nicest, larger ones, dipped them in melted chocolate (one dark, the other white), then drizzled the opposite chocolate flavour over top, and arranged them decoratively in the middle of the cake. I did cheat and make the cake layers from a box, but since it was for my mom's birthday I wanted the cake layers to be perfect, and white cake is a real BITCH to make from scratch. However, I did make the strawberry layer by taking half the white cake batter and adding about half a packet of strawberry jello to the mix, which made for a really delicious and moist strawberry cake. I also used this same tecnique with the cream cheese icing (which I did make from scratch), with fresh diced strawberries added in for texture, and that turned out pretty good as well.

All in all, I'd give the cake a B+. There were a few things I would change around if I did it again, and I was a little worried that it wasn't going to stand (but it did!), and although the cream cheese icing was delicious, it could have been better. However, I would give just the presentation an A+; when you cut a big ol' slice of the cake and layed it out on plate, it looked exactly like a quart of neopolitan ice cream, which was exactly what I was going for. I'd like to try it again tho.

Up Next: Some manner of chocolate/vanilla cream pie, I think. I haven't worked it out in my head just yet, but I'm thinking chocolate graham cracker crust, layer of melted (then frozen) white chocolate shell, then alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla cream, POSSIBLY topped with a layer of homemade whipped cream. I'm also toying with the idea of doing this in muffin tin and making lots of individual pies, but I haven't decided.

Damn. Sounds delicious; you sound like quite the confectioner!  I used to be more of a baker when i was younger but it became harder to bake when I left the house, and then I became more partial to baking, as it was more useful (more occasions to cook than bake, unless I was on the 'cake-for-dinner, cookies-for-breakfast' diet ;))   I also got good at cookin' meat and barbecue, which I'll hopefully be doing when I move outta the sublet i'm in and into my new apartment.

[FAGGOT WATCHIN TRON]

I love to bake. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, too, I just rarely have time to do. But there's something just special about baking. I love baking things for other people, or because I want to try something and then having just a little bit, and sharing the rest with everyone else. One time, I baked like 30 cupcakes and brought them into work with me (when I worked at the Cheesecake Factory) just because I felt like making cupcakes. I guess I like baking more because you can share it with more people, whereas cooking is very intimate and unless you're entertaining (which I also love to do by the way) its usually done just for two. Which can be nice, as well.    I usually reserve cooking for special occassions and then I like to plan out full menus.

[oatmeal fetish....]

I have decided it is time for me to pick up a cook book, as lately I have really been getting into making meals, but I don't really have any technique - I pretty much think of what I want to eat and then find a recipe online. I was thinking of ordering this -

http://www.amazon.com/NAKED-CHEF-Jamie-Oliver/dp/1401308236/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212964347&sr=8-2

All the reviews look great and it looks to be the type of thing I'm looking for. Does anyone have any other recomendations?

E: Also would you guys mind including some recipes for your meals? We could turn this thread into a neat little cooking thing!

[oatmeal fetish....]

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is one of those meals that I started making through the meathod outlined in the above post. I always liked getting it an Indian resteraunts and just figured I could try and make it myself, found and combined some recipes online, and I have been pretty happy with the results!

    (The chicken)
    * 1 cup yogurt (plain, but flavors work as well - try lemon or peach)
    * 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    * 2 teaspoons ground cumin
    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
    * 2 teaspoons pepper
    * 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
   
    (The sauce)
    * 1 tablespoon butter
    * 1 clove garlic (or just some powder, though its not as good)
    * 1 jalapeno pepper
    * 2 teaspoons ground cumin
    * 2 teaspoons paprika
    * 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
    * 1 cup heavy cream

Combine all of the ingredients for the chicken into a large bowl (yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, peppers). Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and combine them in the bowl, then cover it and let it it sit (at least an hour, but the longer you let it marinade the better it will be in the end).

Put the chicken onto skewers and put them over a grill on medium to high heat. Cook it about 5 minutes on each side, or until the marinade is clear.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Put the garlic (if you have a clove) and the jalapeno pepper in and saute for about a minute. Season with the cumin, paprika, and a dash of salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Keep on low heat until sauce thickens (about 20 minutes). Add in the grilled chicken, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

NOW YOU ARE READY TO EAT DID YOU MAKE RICE AS WELL BECAUSE YOU CERTAINLY SHOULD HAVE!!!

[Pube Truth]

Ethan, the one and only cookbook you should ever need in your life is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Fannie-Farmer-Cookbook-Anniversary/dp/0679450815/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219616866&sr=8-1

It will tell you how to properly cook pretty much anything. It's filled with basic, yet perfect recipes. All you need to make a great meal is this cookbook and some good taste, and you can alter the recipes a little bit to make them your own. Seriously.

[oatmeal fetish....]

Thanks I think I'll pick this one up as well