[March Discussion]: Mmmmmm....Yummy!

[Niniel]

In the March Roll Call I asked you about your favourite food and the factions have a dinner challange. So of course we will have a food discussion this month! We will be able to discuss food, share recipies and ask each others questions. 

 

As most of you know I can´t barely cook, so I´m happy that we have a mod that can.   Let me introduce - Cindy!

 

 

Cindy has been here at DM for quite a while know. She started reading RJ´s blog and listening to the podcasts but later on she found her way to the social groups. She is a member of BT, Shayol Ghul, The Kin and Ogier.

 

Cindy started to cook so early that she can´t even remember when it was. She started cooking simple food for herself when she was 4 or 5 and cooked for her whole family at the age of 8. (Very impressive, I might have been able to make my own sandwiches at that age.) Her favourite food is  pizza or fried chicken or roast turkey and sweet potatoes or.... Well, for someone who loves to cook it´s hard to choose.  

 

 

 

Wait until Cindy has posted and then let´s discuss. As always, remember to show each other respect. Everyone that participate will get 10 points. 

 

 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

Ohai, hey, howdy, welcome and stuff

I’m no expert in this field, like some of your other mods have been in theirs... but I love cooking. I love anything to do with food, from growing it, to gathering it, to processing, preserving, storing it…

Food is security, warmth, safety ,,. support…  sharing… love.  And food makes people happy.  And that makes me happy. 

I’ve never moderated a discussion before, and I’m not very organized by nature, so if there’s anything you want to ask, or add, or talk about here, please, jump right in.

Aside from sharing recipes – and I will warn you, I shall steal your recipes, and I expect you to steal mine (there’s a bunch of them typed up over in the Ogier main board, for a start) – I thought I’d start by asking y’all some questions, answering some you haven’t asked, and hoping for lots and lots of typing.

So, to get an idea of what you want to talk about –

 

How, and when, and why did you learn to cook?

  I learned as a very young child, doing all the fun things in the kitchen.  Patting out dough, cutting biscuits and cookies.  Smashing bags of ice to chips in a pillow case against the back stoop, pouring it into the hand crank with rock salt, and churning the ice cream until my arm nearly fell off… when I got a bit older, I’d make my own snacks and things, because nobody was going to cater to a finicky kid back then. And by the time I was 8 I was cooking dinner for the family most nights.  Everyone else was too busy, or… just not interested.  And it was something real I could contribute to the house.  Most of my friends my age did the same. 

Do you like any particular cooking shows?  Hate any?

   I love most cooking shows... I started out with Julia child and the galloping gourmet... anything on PBS is great. Iron Chef, always entertaining and even educational. The Frugal Gourmet was adorable in his day.. sad about that. Alton Brown is wonderful if a bit obsessive and overly analytical.. sort of like an engineer’s guide to food. I can even watch Rachel Ray if the sound is turned down. And I don't mind Jamie Oliver now and then. OK, I'll admit it... Gordon Ramsey, when not being insane, has taught me a few things. Like new uses for the word donkey. 

 

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

  The New York Times cookbook and Julia’s How to Cook were required on every shelf when I was growing up.  Fanny Farmer as well.  And they were battered, literally, covered in actual batter… because we used them in the kitchen.  Now cookbooks are more like art.  Something to treasure, and not to rest the mixing bowl on. I’ve just gotten an absolutely stunning gem, “From a Polish Country House Kitchen”… and I can look at the pictures in it and read the recipes like stories for hours.

Do you keep a family recipe book?

  It makes me very sad that we’ve lost most of our family recipes.  My great grandmother was a great cook. Hungarian-Austrian, so of course the baking was incredible. Flavors like rosewater and orange blossom… raspberry and apricot jam instead of sugar… the flakiest, most buttery doughs, kugels, savory or sweet… we liked our noodle kugel with lots of salt and pepper and farmer cheese. Strudels, as long as the big table… airy little mountains of cookies… but I’ve only been able to recreate some of them through years of trial and error because she was cooking for twelve kids and never wrote anything down.  I’m trying to write everything down, but I’ll never match her skill or style.

Do you like to cook alone, or with company?

   In my home I like to cook alone most of the time.  I have a tiny kitchen and I’m a bit single minded in what I want to do and how.  But there are one or two people I’ve cooked with so long that it’s almost like a dance. 

 

I’ll answer some of the rest of these later… I’m really a lot more interested in reading what you have to say.

 

What memories do specific foods, or cooking certain recipes invoke? Does food make you think of any special times, or people?

Do you follow recipes to the letter or work on whim and whimsy?

Do you try to make food healthy, or good, or… is it possible to do both? 

Do you have any favorite recipes to share?

Do you want any recipes?  I love to share.  Recipes.

 

 

How, and what and... why do you all like to cook? or.. why don't you, if you don’t?

 

I have a few million more questions, and I hope you’ll ask some of your own.

 

I'm hoping for a lot of participation on this most universal of subjects. it will make a kitteh smile. 

And yes, Smiley… we wants us some pretty pictures.

 

Aaaaaannnnndddd… Go!
 

 

[Nolder]

Hmmm well Pad See Ew (AKA Phat Si Io) is my favorite dish. It's flat noodles cooked in a sweet fish sauce usually with broccoli, egg, and a meat. I prefer it with chicken.

 

 

Broccoli Cream/Cheese Soup is a close second though. 

Unlike Pad See Ew I've made broccoli soup a few times but either through bad recipes or my own failings I've yet to make a really delicious batch.

 

Other than that I mostly stick with baking for things I make. I've made several different kinds of cookies (usually around the holidays) and a couple different pies and other random things. I'm not really much of a cook, I'd die without a microwave.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

nolder, I had no idea you cooked!

 

I love pad see ew, and I've never made it... but now I must... as well as the soup, which I've never tried but I'm mentally making a batch right now... I think I'd start by trying it simple, cream base with a little chicken stock, salt, pepper, cream cheese... I'd be tempted to give it some cheddar, and a bit of dry mustard, ,maybe a scrape of nutmeg... I'd have to look it up though... sounds great. I might try it in a cheese beer format... can you give us a hint at any of the recipes?

 

would very much love some good cookie recipes...

 

oh, and nothing at all wrong with microwaves. I can't remember the last time I melted chocolate any other way.

 

that reminds me, since we're in the black tower, which as we now know is black with dark, dark chocolate... my favorite hot chocolate recipe... and... take it easy with this, it can kill.

 

heat light... or go ahead with your bad self, heavy cream, to almost a simmer. melt a combination of dark and milk chocolate in it -goooood chocolate, don't skimp- and equal volume to the cream. hot it with a tiny pinch of salt, very tiny, and an even tinier teeny tiny little itty bitty bit of cayenne pepper (optional but oh yummmm).

 

float unsweetened whipped cream on top.

 

forgive me or what this will do to your tush.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

is anyone else ever driven from sleep with a sudden recipe that demands expression, or is that just me?

[Niniel]

Nolder, I would probably not die without the microwave because there is still sandwiches.    I´m really happy that my daughter has a dad that can cook because it´s not really my thing. Sure, I can do some basic things but nothing complicated. 

 

I liked baking and cooking when I was a kid. I had a "Donald Duck cookbook" that I used some recipies from, like the seven dwarf´s muffins.   I was too lazy to keep that up. My mother is a great cook and my sister learned from her but I prefered them cooking for me. 

 

I like cooking sometimes when I do it with others. Due to my illness I can´t do many things at the same time. I can´t mix the sallad while I roast the meat. So if I want to do a real dinner it takes me forever since I only do one thing at the time. 

 

I have always been better at baking but nowdays it´s mostly before Christmas. I´m really good at cheesecake and tiramisu. 

 

 

 

Hm... it´s getting late so I will write more another day. I would love if some of you could share some easy recipies with me. Food that is easy to make and that doesn´t involve too many ingredients. 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

cheesecake is wonderful... and so easy. 

 

what kinds of recipes are you looking for, tina?  i have lots of very easy ones. pasta, rice, meats, salads?  anything at all, i'll find them if i don;t have them.  but as lazy as i am, and as tired as i am when i get home, i bet i have some to hand that you can make without thinking about them at all. 

 

i love taking shortcuts using pre-prepped products, like salad dressings to marinate meats, or pasta salads, etc.,  or some very good prepared stir fry sauces, things like that. 

 

simple foods are good as well, recipes that tell you what they are with the name, like macaroni and peas. olive oil, garlic, pasta, pepper, romano cheese, peas... or chick peas.... or... actually anything in the world... something as simple as fried cheese on green salad. 

 

noting easier than plain old steak or seafood... cooked without any accompaniment, absolutely delightful.

 

i used to have a hard time doing a few things at once until i realized that most things could be prepared ahead... like the mashed potatoes could keep nice and warm in the oven, the turkey can sit for 2 hours after it cooks... the salad can come from a bag, which is a really nice convenience.

 

anyone want a link to the ogier cookbook?  some very easy, and some not quite as easy but still awesome recipes there.

 

i think what's important to remember when you're cooking is... you can't really mess it up.  even if it's not the way the recipe says it should be, if you use good ingredients, and just watch it while it cooks a bit... it will please you, nourish and feed you.  it doesn't have to pass anyone else's tests to be good food for you.

[Turin Turambar]

How, and when, and why did you learn to cook?

I Like to eat what I want when I want --->> I learned to cook for myself.
 

Do you like any particular cooking shows?  Hate any?

I like a lot of them. I used to watch Emeril untilhe got too full of himself.Alton Brown is like mad scientist of Cooking. Iron Chef the original Japanese version were great. I never really liked Gordon Ramsay. He came across too "soup nazi" for me.
 

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

No. I have a few general ones. My mom had the New York  Times one. Might have been the Better Homes & Gardens one. I rmember it had the red and white cover that looked like a tablecloth. I think my sister got it when my mom passed. It and her recipe card box.
 

Do you keep a family recipe book?

I don't have it.
 

Do you like to cook alone, or with company?
I prefer to cook with others there. My current kitchen is too small to do much cooking at all. Food in general is a social thing so having more people around helping and contributing is awesome.
 

What memories do specific foods, or cooking certain recipes invoke? Does food make you think of any special times, or people?

Certain dishes that my mom used to frequently make remiond me of her. As does baking Christmas Cookies cause we did that every year. I always had to hepl because a couple of the recipes made some really stiff dough that hand to be hand mixed. It was too thick for her small mixer to handle. So I was elected to use my muscles to stir that crazy cookie dough.

 

Do you follow recipes to the letter or work on whim and whimsy?

First time by the book, after that I will tinker a bit and write notes on what I did. If it comes out really good I will insert note page into book.

 

Do you try to make food healthy, or good, or… is it possible to do both? 

I try to do both, sometimes at the same time. I am very much a contradiction in food. Very healthy at times. very not at others. There aresome healthy things Ilike so I do my best to be healthy as much as possible so I can "cheat" when I really feel like it.

 

Do you have any favorite recipes to share?

I pretty much just cook simple things most of the time.

 

Do you want any recipes?  I love to share.  Recipes.

I will look at your list in the Ogier.I can't really try much until I get a real kitchen.

 

How, and what and... why do you all like to cook? or.. why don't you, if you don’t?

I like to eat... Therefore I cook.
 

[Davrick]

Here is my favorite cookie recipe!  I first stumbled upon these cookies when a former co-worker of mine brought some in cause his fiance's family makes a ton of cookies around christmas.  After trying them I asked for the recipe and made them the next year and they were awesome.  I can't find the recipe card but looked online and this one fits best with what I remember.

 

Chocolate Mint Cookies

 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 12 ounces chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 24 Andes mints

 

    Directions

• In a medium-sized saucepan, melt together the butter, brown sugar, and water, stirring occasionally.
• Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Let stand 10 minutes to cool. Add the remaining ingredients and combine to form a dough.
• Chill the dough at least 1 hour.
• Roll the dough into balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving ample space between the dough balls.
• Bake at 350°F for 8 to 9 minutes.
• Remove the cookies from the oven, and on top of each cookie, place half of an Andes mint. Allow the mint to melt and then swirl the
  mint over the cookie with the back of a spoon or a knife.

[Nolder]

Oh I don't really cook much. I know some great dishes from my mom but I'd have to ask her how to make most of them. Most of the time if I cook it's for a special event like a family get together or a birthday party or something. The last thing I made was some monkey bread which is traditionally really sweet but the way I (aka my mom lol) makes them is kind of like garlic bread.

 

Let's see so you get a few cans of premade biscuits and a cake pan that looks like this.

Then you take a dry packet of italian dressing mix and some parmesan cheese and you mix them up in a regular bowl.

You take another bowl and put a stick or two of butter in it and melt them in the microwave.

Then you open the biscuits, dunk them one by one in the butter, then pat them into the italian dressing/cheese mix and place them into the cake pan.

Bake at I think 350 for 8-12 minutes and you should have a pretty awesome party snack or side dish for pasta.

 

It should come out looking something vaguely like this. Don't worry if it's a little bit burnt on the outside it's usually fine on the inside.

 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

you all are awesome... I will respond with greater lucidity and way too many words and recipes tomorrow.

 

 

food is it really is.

 

also... going on a mega shopping for mass quantities tomorrow which will dictate the foody directions of the next two weeks.

 

what dictates your foody directions?

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

oh, hey, before I sleep, here's some really yumm recipes, but so many more in the queu...

 

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/21946-to-serve-ogier/

[wheeloftime13]

How, and when, and why did you learn to cook?

 

I think I was eight or nine, and because my mom didn't like me around the stove or oven, i started off easy... macaroni and cheese... i was always hungry for this, so my mom finally told me to make it myself and so I taught myself how... then when I was nine my aunts deemed me old enough to make my family's recipe for whipped cream cake, and so I learned... the main reason i learned to cook was so that I didn't have to rely on anybody and i could make certain things such as pasta, the way i wanted to...

 

Do you like any particular cooking shows?  Hate any?

 

i don't really watch TV, but when i do it's just for my shows... although I occasionally watch one where people go to different countries and states/restraunts to try their food and "grade" it...

 

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

 

I like the pasta, candy, chicken, and family cookbook... some have so many recipes that I make them for special occasions such as a parent's birthday or Christmas.... 

 

Do you keep a family recipe book?

 

there are multiple ones, and my parents let me look at one that is a combination of my mom and dad's side of the family's recipes...

 

Do you like to cook alone, or with company?

 

i prefer to cook alone because sometimes i'm lazy and other times i like to experiment and would prefer people not telling me how it should taste... especially when im cooking for myself...

 

What memories do specific foods, or cooking certain recipes invoke? Does food make you think of any special times, or people?

 

i think of my aunts whenever i make the whipped cream cake for my dad or my birthday... when i make pizza i think of my friend samantha, and when i make garlic bread i think of my nene because she showed me how to make it...

 

Do you follow recipes to the letter or work on whim and whimsy?

 

i follow it, but when i can't remember i just go with what i think tastes good... i have my own way of making hot cocoa...

 

Do you try to make food healthy, or good, or… is it possible to do both? 

 

more good, but when i cook it's either because im hungry, im giving it to someone, or im bored and just need something to do...

 

Do you have any favorite recipes to share?

 

I have 2 that I'll share tomorrow...

 

Do you want any recipes?  I love to share.  Recipes.

 

I'll take a look at what i can find... :)

 

How, and what and... why do you all like to cook? or.. why don't you, if you don’t?

 

i like yummy food, im hungry, im trying to impress somebody, or im bored... i tend to cook more when im hungry or trying to impress somebody... i made 3 whipped cream cakes when i tried to impress this guy... it was worth it at the time and it was delicious... i also added my own flair by making the whipped cream green, blue, and white... it was epic because nobody in my family has ever done that before...

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

will be trying most of these... love that version of monkey bread, btw, and the cookies are getting made for Easter for sure.

 

have you ever tried putting random candy bars into cookie, cake... especially ice cream cake, or brownie recipes? a friend at work got me started doing that with brownies after a batch of Reese's PB cup brownies, and a peppermint patty ice cream cake. we try to raise the overall gloom level at work with food as often as possible. then we run around the building to try to make up for it... both things make work better

 

lol, Turin, I know what you mean about the kitchen... mines a six foot long galley with about two square feet of counter that's useable for prep. the microwave has to be on the dresser I use for a pantry, and most of the real prep gets done in the living room.

 

but as long as there's a stove, a couple of pans, a knife, fork, spoon... meh, it's workable. I dream of better kitchens for sure. bigger ones, anyway.

 

ahem, time, most excellent post but... I must have the whipped cream cake recipe naow...

 

please

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

and since this is the black tower, I'll c/p a recipe I posted in that thread.

 

is good. and way evil.

 

 

fudge brownies... deadly and dead easy.

 

 

melt 1-1/4 cup butter

beat with 4 cups sugar

 

beat in slowly, one at a time, 8 large eggs

 

stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla (fake is fine, don't believe that nonsense about having to use the real thing, it doesn't hold up to the heat of baking, and most humans prefer the fake whether they know it or not)

 

 

************

 

sift or whisk together 2 cups flour, 1-1/2 cups cocoa, and 1 teaspoon salt

 

***********

 

stir the dry into the egg mixture until just combined

 

*************

 

optional:

 

stir in 2 cups chopped nuts if desired

 

stir in 2 to 4 cups chocolate chips, or candy pieces (chopped snickers, peppermint patties, milky ways, good chocolate bars, heath bars,, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips... your funeral, and it'll be yummy one) if desired.

 

go ahead, i dare you.

 

***************

 

you can either spread the batter into a greased 15 x 10 pan, a 13 x 9 pan, or say, twp 13 x 9 pans, depending on how thick you want the brownies.

 

**************

 

bake at 325, about 40 - 35 minutes in a 15 x 10 pan, about an hour or so in one 13 x 9, check it after a half hour in two 13 x 9's...

 

don't overbake, you're going for not quite set in the center.

 

if the brownies crack and rise... it's overbaked.

 

don't panic, they're still good, and you get to slice the crunchy edges off them when they're cooled, and either gobble those up in secrecy and shame, or crumble them between layers of ice cream for ice cream cake... or use them in a trifle, but that is sort of another recipe.

 

if you like you can spread chocolate bars or chocolate chips on them while they're still hot, they'll melt in ten minutes, and you can use a spoon or knife or spatula to spread them smooth for a nice hard chocolate coating.

 

or you can wait till they're cool and frost them with this (and... if you do this, have some insulin ready)

 

 

**********************

 

very optional brownie frosting

 

 

melt 1/2 cup butter with 1-1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate

 

beat into 3 cups confectioner's sugar, with 5 tablespoons milk (or bourbon yum), and 1 teaspoon vanilla,

 

 

spread this over the brownies when they're cool., and it's real purty to put nice whole or halved walnuts or pecans or candy thingies decoratively over the top, and...

 

um, yeah.

 

be careful with this, i've nearly killed a couple diabetics this way...

[Nolder]

have you ever tried putting random candy bars into cookie, cake... especially ice cream cake, or brownie recipes?

Yeah I actually made a "cookie pizza" two or three years in a row for christmas. It's basically a giant chocolate chip cookie with melted peanut butter on top and topped with all sorts of candies. Mine never turned out quite as detailed as this but it gives you the right idea.

 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

that's flipping gorgeous... I think I'm going to have to do this with my friends' kids...

 

reminds of another question/topic related to cooking, and one I think is really important.

 

do you teach kids to cook, pass on your recipes and secrets, and spend time cooking with kids?

 

I do as much as I can, and I think aside from teaching them a life skill they'll need, it's a good way to ... I can't stand this phrase but... it's a good way to spend "quality time" with them.

 

by that I mean time doing something fun, relaxing, exacting... and something that opens up all kinds of discussions, not just about food, but about family, history, economics... just about everything that matters.

[Niniel]

I would love all sorts of easy recipies. I like meat, pork, chicken, vegetarian.... My favourite is sea food but that is something I rarely make at home. I looked at Jamie Oliver cooking amazing dinners in 15 minutes. I´m saying to myself that it doesn´t look that hard but he is using like 1000 ingredients. I never have all of that at home and it would cost a fortune to buy it just to be thrown away when it starts to become moldy. So a basic recipie without a lot of ingredients would be great. :)

[Niniel]

BTW. I ate my mothers Lemon Marengue pie today. It´s pure heaven. 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

sea food is the easiest thing to cook at home, especially quickly.

 

if you want simple and few ingredients, you might want to try using shortcuts like spice mixes or dressings you like as marinades.

 

i could try a million years and not come up with anything better than old bay for shrimp.

 

and any italian dressing is a great marinade for any meat.

 

i'll think of a few simple ones from scratch and post them later, or maybe later in the week (or i'll be a very bad girl and post some from work.... shhhhh... don't tell....).

 

in the meantime, i hope everyone will post whatever simple recipes they like, too.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

ahhhh... that reminds me.. simplest dessert of all, key lime pie.

 

i'll type that one up in a bit unless someone beats me to it.

 

lemon meringue is awesome, but slightly less simple. 

[Nolder]

Do you guys ever watch cooking shows?

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

if i watch anything, it's almost always a cooking show.

 

i learned half of my cooking from TV.

 

what shows do you like?

 

do you learn from them or just watch them for entertainment?

[Turin Turambar]

I look at techniques when I watch the shows as well as just enjoy seeing the yummy food.

 

Some of the hosts are more entertaining than others.

 

 

Key Lime is quite nice.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

will gather up some recipes to post later in teh week... trying to get into the time change for work tomorrow but prolly have all kinds of time from thursday on.

 

but key lime.... nothing easier.

 

i do that one first but likely not tonight.

 

i watch the shows for technique mostly,even Iron Chef, of course the Japanese version, it rocks... first few years i wouldn't have attempted anything they cooked but it did get me using ingredients i never would have otherwise.

 

those chocolate bar looking curry pastes spring to mind.

 

if you can find those in an asian market, try them.  so easy, so good.