Food Help

Ok, Tuesday nights are now "cook a real meal for the lady" night at my house. This is the 3rd week of the new tradition. The 1st week, I made some really tasty butterfly chops, with fresh green beans and mashed taters. Last week I went simple, and made a very nice angelhair pasta with crumbled sausage and a delicious cheese/tomato sauce. It was excellent. The thing is, I'm really not a cook, but I have good cook instincts once I get going. In other words, I just need a little more experience and recipes.

I need an idea for tonight. Not too overly time consuming, difficult, or expensive. I know I could google this but I thought I'd ask the resident master chef.

Reasonable big bottle of wine too I wanna get crunk.

Take some tilapia and pan fry it. Over the top of that, place some chopped chives and other greens. Drizzle with sesame oil.

Serve with rice with sesame seeds sprinkled over it.

that is certainly an option

  On 3/9/2010 at 9:34 PM, acidphakist said:

Take some tilapia and pan fry it. Over the top of that, place some chopped chives and other greens. Drizzle with sesame oil.

 

Serve with rice with sesame seeds sprinkled over it.

Alternately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=patWgtO-mx0

chicken cordon bleu is quite tasty and fairly easy to prepare.

fajitas are also a very easy option, chicken, steak, pork and/or shrimp.

fajitas...... hmmmm.... not a bad idea.....

FRED WHERE ARE YOU?

I really love food.

For something extremely quick, tacos work in a pinch. Try grilling some chipotle-chicken sausage with some diced onions in a little lime juice. Chop (coarsely) some fresh, washed cilantro. Quickly heat some small corn soft tortillas in a pan. Dice the sausage, sprinkle onto warmed tortilla along with the grilled onions, garnish with the cilantro and a little salsa. Not the generic chunky pico de gallo kind, but something like this:

http://www.redsalsagreensalsa.com/burned_red.html

or, if you're adventurous,

http://www.redsalsagreensalsa.com/roasted_habanero.html

Can also garnish with a sliced radish.

Obviously you can do some chicken or carne asada instead of sausages, but I stumbled on the sausage thing when I was starving in my apartment and I think it works rather well.

I mean, it's so simple it probably doesn't count as cooking unless you rock your own salsa, but it doesn't taste half-assed. I still don't have ton of experience with cooking, so I like this thread.

it is flattering to be the subtitle of a food advice thread, but i must confess that there are probably much better cooks on here than me, but i just tend to flap my trap the most about it. yeah cant go too wrong with a fish dish if you want to do something quick and if you're going to nab one of those big ass 1.5Ls of vendange. sear it up in some oil, salt and pepper it, then throw in some lemon, garlic, and cilantro. i've seen some cheap mahi mahi lately. some rice would be easy. sautee up some mushrooms in some butter, real simple, then a real easy salad, some baby arugula tossed in a red wine vinaigrette, a little pear, and some blue cheese if you have it or like it. if you dont like it, throw in some goat cheese. or just leave out the cheese.

i've been obsessed with trying to do the perfect salad and i came pretty close last night. i got a couple of handfuls of baby arugula, put them in paper towels, and dried the fuck out of them . there should be no water on any of the leaves. then i made the vinaigrette - a shallot finely diced, 2 tsp of dijon mustard, 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. whisk the fuck out of it while you drizzle in a half cup of olive oil. then you get a big bowl out and you get a spoon, and you spoon the dressing around the rim of the bowl and let it coat the sides. dont use a lot. it should be subtle. then grab the handfuls of arugula and put them in the bowl and toss them around so that they're all nicely dressed. then you plate the salad and i put in a little diced pear, some crumbled stilton, and finished with a twist of pepper and a little sea salt. it was glorious. so simple and delicious. the key is having no water involved with a salad. water fucks your salad up. so many people wash their lettuce and think that hey the lettuce is moist now so it's going to be tasty. incorrect. leaves need to be bone dry. that way the oil coats the leaves and it's nice and lipidy. and then the salt sticks to the oil. which is slightly important because the word salad means salty. a few weekens ago i was at my aunt-in-law's house and her friend had made a salad that she claimed was wonderful. it was a sloshy watered down mess and i almost yakked in the bowl. i couldnt finish it. once you've had properly prepared salads you wont have the stomach for salads that are watered down and taste and look like a damp sweat sock was wrung out on top of it. anyway. forgot where i was... oh right, the meal tonight.

if it were me, tonight, i'd do pan-seared scallops, pesto of some kind to go under the scallops (include a little rice or pasta if you want--but not necessary), a side of brussels sprouts sauteed in bacon, butter and shallots, finished with balsamic vinegar and topped with a little goat cheese, and the salad mentioned above. and throw some tollhouse chocolate chip cookies in the oven for dessert. FUCK YES i'm hungry and now i have a proper raging food boner--off to lunch with me!

wow good fucking call about the wet salad. I never thought of that but it totally makes sense.

Ok, i'm thinking either mahi or tilapia, pan fried in oil, then putting that on top of a bed of rice and a NICE salad on the side.

Any tips on how to make the rice flavorful?

THANKS BY THE WAY EVERYONE!

Fuck mexican sounds good too. ok mike get it together. fishy.

  On 3/9/2010 at 10:08 PM, Fred McGriff said:

it is flattering to be the subtitle of a food advice thread, but i must confess that there are probably much better cooks on here than me, but i just tend to flap my trap the most about it. yeah cant go too wrong with a fish dish if you want to do something quick and if you're going to nab one of those big ass 1.5Ls of vendange. sear it up in some oil, salt and pepper it, then throw in some lemon, garlic, and cilantro. i've seen some cheap mahi mahi lately. some rice would be easy. sautee up some mushrooms in some butter, real simple, then a real easy salad, some baby arugula tossed in a red wine vinaigrette, a little pear, and some blue cheese if you have it or like it. if you dont like it, throw in some goat cheese. or just leave out the cheese.

 

i've been obsessed with trying to do the perfect salad and i came pretty close last night. i got a couple of handfuls of baby arugula, put them in paper towels, and dried the fuck out of them . there should be no water on any of the leaves. then i made the vinaigrette - a shallot finely diced, 2 tsp of dijon mustard, 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. whisk the fuck out of it while you drizzle in a half cup of olive oil. then you get a big bowl out and you get a spoon, and you spoon the dressing around the rim of the bowl and let it coat the sides. dont use a lot. it should be subtle. then grab the handfuls of arugula and put them in the bowl and toss them around so that they're all nicely dressed. then you plate the salad and i put in a little diced pear, some crumbled stilton, and finished with a twist of pepper and a little sea salt. it was glorious. so simple and delicious. the key is having no water involved with a salad. water fucks your salad up. so many people wash their lettuce and think that hey the lettuce is moist now so it's going to be tasty. incorrect. leaves need to be bone dry. that way the oil coats the leaves and it's nice and lipidy. and then the salt sticks to the oil. which is slightly important because the word salad means salty. a few weekens ago i was at my aunt-in-law's house and her friend had made a salad that she claimed was wonderful. it was a sloshy watered down mess and i almost yakked in the bowl. i couldnt finish it. once you've had properly prepared salads you wont have the stomach for salads that are watered down and taste and look like a damp sweat sock was wrung out on top of it. anyway. forgot where i was... oh right, the meal tonight.

 

if it were me, tonight, i'd do pan-seared scallops, pesto of some kind to go under the scallops (include a little rice or pasta if you want--but not necessary), a side of brussels sprouts sauteed in bacon, butter and shallots, finished with balsamic vinegar and topped with a little goat cheese, and the salad mentioned above. and throw some tollhouse chocolate chip cookies in the oven for dessert. FUCK YES i'm hungry and now i have a proper raging food boner--off to lunch with me!

You don't have a salad spinner, Fred? Dude, if you eat salad more than 2 times a week, a spinner is a MUST.

  On 3/9/2010 at 10:42 PM, sneaksta303 said:

wow good fucking call about the wet salad. I never thought of that but it totally makes sense.

 

Ok, i'm thinking either mahi or tilapia, pan fried in oil, then putting that on top of a bed of rice and a NICE salad on the side.

 

Any tips on how to make the rice flavorful?

 

THANKS BY THE WAY EVERYONE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuck mexican sounds good too. ok mike get it together. fishy.

For flavourful rice, use Jasmine rice - it has enough flavour on it's own, but some dill seed works with white steamed rice as well. Don't use too much though, as dill is pretty strong.

You could also do chicken parmigiana, which is quick and easy, and is ready in 30 minutes (sans prep time).

Make a sauce that is comprised of sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar. mix in some finely chopped fresh ginger.

Pour over the rice.

I find salad spinners to always leave the salad a bit moist, no matter how much it's spun.

joyrex - i do indeed have a salad spinner and use it a lot but mostly when i get heads of lettuce and break them down. i bought the baby arugula loose, just two handfuls, so it was just as easy to pat them down with paper towels -

sneaksta, flavor up that rice by sauteeing some onion in some butter or oil first till it starts to turn translucent, then proceed with cooking the rice in the pot as normal. subsititue some of the water with chicken stock if you have any laying around. and then when it's done, finish with lime/lemon juice and chopped cilantro. that'll at least send the meal headed in a vaguely mexican direction

  On 3/9/2010 at 11:15 PM, 277: 930-933 said:

I find salad spinners to always leave the salad a bit moist, no matter how much it's spun.

yeah that too. i tend to pat my lettuce dry even after the salad spinner

Then you guys aren't spinning enough - I get nice and dry salad outta mine...

fuck me running thanks fellas. I think I'm all set.

Or you could go for thai food? It's easy to make and tastes fucking amazing! Ooooor... fresh vietnamese springrolls!!

Easy to prepare and you get to make them yourself. I've made these lots of times and every girl I've introduced to these wonderful springrolls have gone absolutely nuts

transparent wrapz creep me out.

  On 3/10/2010 at 12:33 AM, Squee said:

Or you could go for thai food? It's easy to make and tastes fucking amazing! Ooooor... fresh vietnamese springrolls!!

 

 

Easy to prepare and you get to make them yourself. I've made these lots of times and every girl I've introduced to these wonderful springrolls have gone absolutely nuts

omg omg recipe?

pl.z?

also sneaksta, will you give us a post-dinner report?

  On 3/10/2010 at 1:58 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

 

also sneaksta, will you give us a post-dinner report?

will do. with pics.

just got home from the store and am boiling my rice water.

i cant make shit for shit it seems...i can make bibimbap, and an "ok" chicken asian salad,

i love moule frites, but that doesn't take too much prep at all.

if your lady likes seafood moule frites ftw...awesome meal everytime, especially with some good beer.

if you're not much of a cook, i would use few ingredients, but use the absolute best ingredients you can. no supermarket meat or vegetables - go to a butcher or a fishmonger and a greengrocer. even if it means driving for half an hour or whatever. don't even think about using dried pasta - use fresh or better yet make your own.

don't buy a bottle of salty sugary crap, make your own sauce - whatever sort of food you're cooking, you can get the makings of any sauce on the tubes now.

all that being said general tso's chicken with fresh broccoli and fragrant rice is not too hard and absolutely delicious.

Eagerly anticipating first bite facial expression image.

  On 3/10/2010 at 3:35 AM, Fred McGriff said:

lolol I guess I am a little more appreciative for the revealing nature of transparent wraps now

I found the wine. We polished it the fuck off. not bad for 8 bucks.

Ok, sorry about the pic quality, shitty cell cam. Ok, I bought 2 nice sized tilapia fillets, then gave them a parmesan (sp?) breadcrumb coating. I made some rice, and drizzled a butter/onion sauce over the rice, then put teh fishies on top. I sided it with a ceasar salad, no biggie, just some romaine and caesar blah blah. I reckon Imma seduce her with the newest tim and eric and a couple episodes of Archer before I tear into her vag and what not.

I like tuesdays.