The Foodie Club

[nevermore]

I've noticed over the years that often the #1 thread on our forum at any given time has to do with food. The food thread. The what are you eating thread. The candy-bar thread. What can I say? We love to eat.

So join the foodie club!

Not only will we talk about all our wonderful favorite foods, but we can talk about foods that are unique to our area, as well as sharing recipes so that we can get a taste for one another's homes/cultures.

We'll talk about our favorite restaurants, the special meal that we request on our birthday, and desserts we could die for.

PLUS DRINKS! There's more to being a foodie than just eating! There's lots of wonderful teas out there, soda-pop that is exclusive to certain regions, amazing floats, milkshakes, cocoa... you get the gist.

Who's in?

NEVERMORE'S AWESOME-FANTASTIC FOODIE CLUB MEMBERS

Arcticrose
Burningfire
Dawnfire
Kalik2486
Leeny
Mally
Midnight
Nevermore
PJY310
PrettyInPointe
QueenTheatrics
Qwill
Ren'ai
RussianGirl
Sumi_Rox
Sunlight
Vampyre
Weirdkid20
YouStupidBoy
Zelda
Zigzag

[QueenTheatrics]

I would loooove to join.

I love food. It is a wonderful invention. :D

[Arcticrose]

Ahhh food. It tastes great, smells great, and looks great. Plus we'd all be dead without it! I totally live to eat! Count me in!

[Leeny]

I'm eating right now...


I'm totally joining.

[Malz]

Sign me up!!

I am currently eating my moms secret recipipe amazing cheesy-potato-yummy soup!

[nevermore]

I love cheesy-potato-yummy soups! They make my stomach hurt afterward, but for the several minutes of bliss while I indulge in a bowl, life is good. :o

I'd ask for the recipe, but as you just said it's secret, I know better. :D

Tonight, being friday, is takeout night. Normally we get pizza, however I had a dream last night that I was getting Chinese takeout (schezewan beef, fried rice, and I think I had an egg roll too), and since a brand-new chinese restaurant just opened across the street from our favorite pizza joint, I'll be dashing across the street to grab some chinese while my boyfriend's pizza cooks. :D

[Qwill]

meh will join and i bring some penguin cupcakes to signify my joining
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/3578764287_9af739924d.jpg

[Malz]

I love cheesy-potato-yummy soups! They make my stomach hurt afterward, but for the several minutes of bliss while I indulge in a bowl, life is good. :o

I'd ask for the recipe, but as you just said it's secret, I know better. :D



haha actually it isnt really a secret... i just thought it sounded cool :p But yes, i will get the recipe for you. And what is good about this soup that it isnt too light, or too heavy and you could have like 2 bowls and be satisfied perfectly. :)


Right now iam eating snickerdoodles made from scratch...yummmmm :D life is good right now

[ZigZag]

Me, me, me, me, ME!!!!

I love how the penguin cupcakes are all lopsided.

[Kalik2486]

Count me in Nevermore!! I love to eat (just like a friend I have --> she's pretty funny when it comes to food) but not cook myself hahaha.... Foooood is goooood...

Qwill, did you make those penguin cupcakes yourself? I couldn't have made anything myself... I feel bored in the kitchen, but interested at meal times *wide grin*

[zelda]

I will tolaly join nevermore I espesaly(i am not so good at spelling)like sausage rollsYUM!!!
:D:D

[nevermore]

I broke down and got pizza instead. :(

Aw who'm I kidding? It was gooooood. :D My local pizza joint makes amazing pizza, and the absolute BEST hot wings I have ever had in my entire life. Ever. I will not debate this.

[Vampyre]

Add me to the list!

Personally, I think the best thing about Singapore is the food. You can get practically anything here; Malay, Indian, Chinese, Western, Japanese, Korean...EVERYTHING.:D

I'll try to take pics of some of the more traditional dishes I eat at home and post here. ^___^

[Qwill]

No i didn't make them myself, I'm a cookie baker not a cupcake creator but I love them anyways.
This may be random but as of the new year my goal is to be a vegetarian for until....June I guess.
it's pretty easy since I don't like meat a lot

[Vampyre]

I can never be a vegetarian. I love meat too much. XD

[PrettyInPointe]

Ooh! Me, me! I love food! I shall join, please.

I love the penguin cupcakes. :D

[zelda]

Hey Quill i am gonna start doing vegetarion for about 3 weeks in feburary
how cool we are both doing vegetareoin for a bit
__________________________________________________ ________________________
does anybody like regular whole wheat bread
the reason I am asking is because once i ran away for about 10 minutes came home and i got 1 peice of whole wheat bread for my dinner that was no fun

[Dawnfire]

Can I join? I <3 food. :D

I love Chinese food, and seriously, I had it every week of my life until I was eight. I think I'm addicted... xD I love sushi, too, we go out for that every week.

If I were a vegetarian, I don't think I'd be able to give up fish. I loooove steak and all, but fish... I could live on it. <3

[Malz]

I can never be a vegetarian. I love meat too much. XD

Oh amen to that. I really hate vegatarians most of the time just because of some of their attitudes (this is not for some, but for most) they are all animal-lover and stuff. Not that i hate animals...but lemme just say that animals are YUMMY! I have this friend who lives on a farm and my vegatarian friend was like, "How are your cows?" and my farm friend was like, "They're good, they're good." my vega-friend asked, "Where are they? I mean, it is winter." my farm friend said, "Oh, they're in my freezer." I was dying laughing..heehee

sorry for my short little rant.... i could defend my yummy meat forever. :D

[sunlight]

^^^ hehe xD

Can i join please??

Foods yummy :D i'm eating pizza right now! xD

I dont eat meat or fish as i don't like it but im not sure if that counts as a vegetarian!

[nevermore]

I think that counts. I was a vegetarian for a while back in middle school (it felt like a long time, but it might have only been for like, six months... I can't remember). Then about a year or two ago my sister eliminated red meat from her diet, which she kept up on quite well, but my mom was less than supportive so she eventually gave up on it, which is a shame.

The important thing to remember if you're going to go veggie is that you have to find sources of protein and iron from other places, and it's important to know what foods you have to eat a lot of. Beans and other legumes (like lentils) need to be a big part of your diet, and you've got to boost your diet with some high-iron foods like spinach, broccoli, and bok choi. Tofu is good to eat too, because it's high in protein and iron (I have a whole cookbook full of tofu recipes. Did you know you can make amazing chocolate mousse using tofu?! My grandpa makes it, and it's crazy good!). Where am I going with this? Ah. Make sure to read a book like the idiot's guide to veganism (I flipped through it recently at the library for kicks and it was in really simple terms, had good recipes, and taught you which vegetarian foods to use in place of meat) that will help you learn how to safely, and healthily, adopt a vegetarian lifestyle.

Zelda to answer your whole wheat bread question... we... we get along ok because I understand it's good for my body. It makes miserably dry toast, however, it is insanely delicious with a bit of butter spread on. I love to have a slice of buttered wheat bread right before bed. It makes me sleepy. :o
What I prefer is rustic black bread (http://www.formanandfield.com/images/r9269.JPG) like pumpernickel. Russia (and probably a bunch of other European countries, but I'm russian so that's what I'm familiar with) makes what's just called black bread (ah, I googled. It's made of rye flour instead of wheat flour, and that's what gives it such a different flavor/consistency). There's something about it that is simply awesome. I love it with a good chunky soup (like split pea? *OMG die*), or even just spread with a bit of jam for dessert. Yep. Plain black bread for dessert. With a cup of sweetened tea, it's amazing. And super, duper good for you. If your family are health nuts who are big on whole wheat products, you should try a loaf of black rye bread (pumpernickel is the most readily available in stores) and see if you like it. It's not as dry as whole wheat bread, and it only has *slightly* less fiber than whole wheat. Even my youngest sister likes it, and she's one of the pickiest eaters I know.


Tofu Chocolate Mousse

ingredients
* 8 ounces silken tofu, room temperature
* 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

method
* Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
* Puree the tofu in a food processor until smooth.
* Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and puree again until the mixture is very smooth.
* Pour into four serving dishes and chill until ready to serve.

[sunlight]

Tofu Chocolate Mousse? Cool :D i've nevered heard of that before. It seems really nice. I'm going to write the recipe and buy the ingredients. Most of my friends don't now how i live without meat!

[nevermore]

well, if done right, you don't even notice the meat's missing. I like to make hearty soups and pasta dishes (especially with whole grain or spinach-infused pasta) when I make something vegetarian for dinner.

Nom, I'm making a pot roast in my slow cooker for dinner tonight. It's only been cooking for about an hour and I'm already climbing the walls. I've also just started baking a loaf of bread. I love rainy-day weekend dinners. :o

[sumi_rox97]

Can I join???

I love meat!! But don't like fish or any other seafood.
I dont usually make food, mum does that. I just make stuff like muffins/cakes etc.

[nevermore]

What was the first thing you guys ever cooked?

I remember mine--a scrambled egg. It was for my mom for mother's day when I was seven or so. I remember it so well! I had this awesome cook book called Kid's Cooking (http://www.amazon.com/Kids-Cooking-Slightly-Messy-Manual/dp/0932592147/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264898299&sr=8-12) (I loved that book. It had breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes, as well as instructions to make dog biscuits, face paint, soap bubbles, and even play dough! I am still devastated that the book was lost over the years *sob*). At school, we made these handkerchiefs that we painted with fabric paint to give to our moms, and the idea was that we'd make our moms breakfast in bed, and then give them the kercheifs as napkins (My mom sewed hers into a pillow that she still has). But anyway, I tried making scrambled eggs, and apart from adding waaaaaay too much salt (:D) they came out ok. I made another batch after my mom politely choked down the first bite and asked if she could have another egg without any salt, and after that I've never messed up scrambled eggs again. Haha.

What about you? Do you remember your first efforts?

[Dawnfire]

...

I haven't cooked... anything... yet... I mean, unless you count rice in a rice cooker... and throwing things together in a pot to make pasta... or potstickers...

[nevermore]

I count that! :D

[BurningFire]

Can I join Nevie!

[QueenTheatrics]

The first thing I ever cooked waaas... Um... Ooh, pancakes, when I was seven. I'm a master at baking pancakes. :D So I was helping my mum bake them and she was like "Hey, you try on your own" So I did. And since then I've been baking massive chocolate cakes, fairy cakes, biscuits, cookies, pancakes... Basically anything sweet. I have GransI' old cookbook and it's full ofthese brilliant recipes that I've stuck by for so many years. :D I'm terrible at healthy meals though. You should have seen my first attempt at pasta. >.<

[Vampyre]

I think the first thing I cooked was scrambled eggs.:D I love them with bread. Especially when the eggs contain chopped onions and bits of chilli. -drools-

[sunlight]

The first thing i made was rice-krispy cakes when i was 7 years old. Now i am a master at making them even though they are not hard at all to make! I taught my little cousin how to make them, so now every time he comes down he wants to make them.

Oh and the first time i cooked pasta it was fresh pasta and i soon found out that you are not meant to cook it as i put it in a pan by itself and it all burnt =/

[Midnight]

^^^That was funny :D

Can I join please? I love food but I'm very picky. I like (cooked and warm)meat, fish, bread, fruit, chocolate and lots more.
I don't like anything spicy, eggs, chinese or indian food, pasta, and cold meat.

[nevermore]

mmm I like my eggs with onions, too! And also with tomatoes, and fresh mushrooms *nom*
In california (and probably everywhere else in the southwest) we put salsa on our eggs (well, not everyone, but it's not unheard of at all). Eggs with melted cheese and salsa is soooooo good! I just like the spiciness. I drown them in tabasco sauce whenever I eat out at a restaurant. :D

Scrambled eggs might be the first thing I ever saw my youngest sister cook, too. They really are one of the easiest things to cook: crack an egg in a bowl and stir it up. Dump it in a pan (nonstick, otherwise with a bit of melted butter) and stir them around until they're the way you like them. Presto. Eggs! mmm... I want eggs now... :(

Midnight, you don't like pasta?! :eek: How... how is that possible? What's not to like?!

[Malz]

Hmm.... the first thing i have ever cooked was probably... breskvice. That Croatian Christmas dessert. Yum. I have been making that ever since i was 3 years old, and it never gets old.

[ZigZag]

The first thing I ever cooked? Goodness, I have no idea. I've been cooking for as long as I can remember, first helping out my mom and sisters in the kitchen. I'm not sure when I started doing that but I know that by the time I was six or seven it was the norm, so I'd guess I started "helping" when I was maybe five. Of course, my helping was mostly "Zoe, stir the batter and try not to eat too much of it" and "Zoe, watch this pot of water on the stove, call me when it starts bubbling." Not really helping that much, but I thought I was making a big contribution and I really loved it.

I don't know when I started branching out into making my own food either. I know I was nine when I learned how to make pasta by myself, which I realize is pretty young to be allowed anywhere near a hot stove but my family had taught me fire safety at a very young age, as cooking was an integral part of our family life. Can you believe that my best friend only just learned how to make pasta two weeks ago? She's nineteen), so I'm going to guess that pasta was the first food I made myself. No, wait, I was making myself grilled cheese sandwiches before then, so I guess my first food I made myself was a grilled cheese sandwich.

But I don't count those, because 1) they are so simple and 2) I don't really love to cook. No, that's not entirely true. I do love to cook, but my passion lies in baking. I can't tell you when I first decided that I wanted to be a baker. I know that by the time I was twelve I was having fantasies of owning my own bakery, a fantasy I still entertain.

The first baking experience I can remember is the same as most peoples: making chocolate chip cookies with my mother. And later with my older sister Hannah as a surprise for my mother, or to sell at the street corner to make a little money, like other kids did with lemonade.

The first thing I baked by myself was apple crisp. I actually wrote my cooking school admittance essay on it. See, the basic facts are these: my sister Hannah ruled the making of desserts for the big Saturday lunches my mother would make, lunches in which we invited family friends and served way too much food. Hannah must have been about thirteen or fourteen at the time, putting me at ten or eleven. Hannah's crowning dessert, the one she loved to make, the one that got the most praise, was apple crisp. Apple crisp is the simplest dessert in the world to make, you just cut up some peeled apples, toss them with cinnamon sugar and a tiny bit of lemon juice (which I now know is to offset the sweetness to keep it from being too cloying and to keep the apples from turning a thoroughly unappetizing brown) and sometimes a few raisins and then you top it with a topping made of oatmeal and more cinnamon sugar. Easier than pie (which in fact, is not all that easy).

So, as I said, Hannah got a lot of praise for her baking expertise. People loved her crisp. So I decided, being the little spotlight diva I've always been (hence my old screenname LimelightQueen) I decided that I wanted that attention. I wanted to be adored like that, praised like that. So I started to help Hannah, so that I could share the praise. But that wasn't enough. Soon I was demanding that I make the dessert myself. Hannah, knowing that arguing with me was pointless and never having the intense love of baking I now have, let me.

So I made it myself. Does the word disaster cover it? I decided that I wanted it to cook faster so I turned the oven up to 400 instead of the recommended 350. Oops. The topping burned and the apples didn't bake enough and stayed too firm. My mother then taught me that baking was a science, that you had to follow the direction very carefully or the dessert wouldn't turn out (this is actually the reason that my mother doesn't bake, she now leaves that to me).

So the next time I made it I followed the directions to the letter. And low and behold, it turned out perfectly. That was the moment I realized I loved to bake.

I'm not sure when I branched out from apple crisp, but I know by the time I was fourteen I was baking new desserts at least once a week, normally on Saturday nights after spending a couple hours on Saturday, Shabbat to Jews (when cooking is not allowed), combing through cookbooks and deciding what new treat I'd bake that week.

Now I want to know: What was your biggest cooking disaster?

I know I've already mentioned the apple-crisp disaster that nearly turned me off baking completely and if it had my life would have gone in an entirely different direction and I'd probably now be at Brandeis double majoring in English Lit and Education in preparation of being a high school English teacher. As it was I still debated long and hard between those two life paths, but eventually my passion for baking beat out my passion for reading and admiration of Educators.

However, my biggest disaster was a dense brownie-like chocolate cake with caramel buttercream frosting I decided to make for my father's birthday. I was excited for it because caramel is possibly my favorite flavor in the world and I had never made it before. First let me state that cooking sugar, which is how you make caramel from scratch is very, very difficult. It requires extreme care, precision and a good thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer I did learn a couple months ago in my cake course how to test it by hand, texture and color, but I don't recommend that unless you really know what you are doing as cooking sugar is really hot and sugar burns are about the worst of all the kitchen burns.

Well, I didn't have a thermometer. So I figured I could do without it. The directions told me what color it was supposed to be when it was finished (amber, not too dark), so I figured I'd go by color. Baaaaaaad idea. So I'm cooking the sugar.It started to bubble and the sugar along the sides of the pan were just starting to turn the lightest of amber. And then the oven timer went off. So I figured that testing the doneness of the cake, pulling it out of the oven and turning off the oven wouldn't take too long. So I left the pan where the sugar was cooking, leaving the flame on but turning it down real low, and took the cake out of the oven, realized I didn't have a toothpick, got one from the cupboard, inserted into the cake, debated for about thirty seconds whether the cake was done (it's hard to test the doneness of chocolate cakes, especially if it's dense), decided it wasn't, stuck it back in the oven and set the timer for another five minutes. This whole process took maybe two minutes minutes.

Which was probably about a minute and forty-five seconds too long. See, what I didn't realize is that once the sugar starts to turn color it goes from light amber, to done, too burnt in about thirty seconds. Even when the flame is on at the lowest my stove will allow.

So when I get back it's a deep, deep brown with a few small black spots. I quickly turn off the heat and figure I'll take off the black spots and all will be good.

Here's the rube though: when you take stuff off the heat it still continues to cook. For most foods the cooking is minimal and makes little to no difference. This is not the case with caramel. My recipe recommended filling a large bowl with ice water and sticking the pan in the water when you take it off the flame to "shock" it, or stop the cooking process completely. I decided this was too much work and decided not to do it. After all, how much more cook after it's been taken off the flame? Want to know the answer? Enough. It cooks enough.

I've lost count of how many mistakes I made during this horrible caramel process but I know it was a lot. So the caramel continued to cook until it was completely and totally burnt. So burnt in fact that I couldn't wash the pan out. See, cooked sugar is hard to clean anyway, most people recommend filling the pan with water, sticking it back on the stove and letting the boiling water do the majority of the work. I was not aware of this trick. So, I had ruined the pan completely I thought. Freaked out about what my parents would say I ran outside and threw it into the garbage can. To this day my parents haven't a clue what happened to their good saute pan.

To make matters worse, remember when I said I thought the chocolate cake wasn't done? Well it was. And the extra ten minutes I baked it ruined it and made it thick and dry and a bit burnt on the top.

So I rooted out a box of Duncan Heines' chocolate cake mix from the back of the cupboard, frosted it with the buttercream I made- sans caramel, and I told everyone I made it myself. They all complimented me on a delicious birthday cake and I felt really guilty for cheating.

So, I shared mine. what's yours?

Wow, this is a crazy long post. Chocolate cake with caramel frosting for those who get through it all. I promise, I now know how to make it correctly!

[PrettyInPointe]

I don't know the first thing I ever cooked.... macaroni and cheese, maybe?

Right now I'm in the middle of making Greek Rice Pudding (http://greekfood.about.com/od/dessertspastriessweets/r/ryzogalo.htm). I like making Greek food and desserts. Especially the desserts, because their very sweet, just how I like them. :D

[nevermore]

Oh gosh, the worst cooking attempt ever? That would be macaroni and cheese soup, shortly after I learned to make scrambled eggs. I wanted macaroni and cheese. Mom was busy. Since mom knew I knew how to use a stove at that point, she handed me the box, said follow the instructions, and away I went.

Instructions: you will need--six cups water, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup butter, pasta, cheesy powder.
blah blah blah large pot, blah blah blah add pasta, blah blah blah milk, butter, cheese...

Thus, into my large pot, I added six cups of water, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup butter, pasta, and cheesy powder, stirred it all around, brought it to a boil and watched in disappointment as the pasta cooked more and more but it never looked anything remotely like mac and cheese. At which point I went to my mom and said "I think I added too much water."

"Too much water? That's impossible."

"no... come see."


And then I learned one of cooking's most valuable lessons: ALWAYS follow directions when making something for the first time. :o


But in response to Zoe loving to bake because of the science, I love to cook because of the art. A little of this. A pinch of that. A taste, then a bit more salt. The experimentation involved. I adapt and evolve my recipes all the time, and they only ever get better. Each one is like a painting and each time I create it, I try using a technique that I hadn't thought to use before. If I'm out of onions, I'll use a shallot. If I don't want a cream soup, I'll try making it "golden" using stock instead. I love the creativity I have while cooking....

that, and the fact that baking is a painful test of my patience. It took me THREE HOURS yesterday to bake a loaf of bread. One loaf of bread. And the whole time I was terrified I had killed it because I forgot to punch it down after its first rising. If fresh bread wasn't so amazing, I probably never would have agreed to do such a thing. :D

[You stupid boy]

I want to join too. :D Though I have nothing interesting to contribute right now.

Mmm... macaroni and cheese soup... :p

[nevermore]

yeah... nearly twenty years later and my mom still teases me about that one... :rolleyes:

[Malz]

Mmm... i just made some tapioca. 'Twas delicious. :p

I remember this story that my grandma told me. She was making tapioca for the first time for my grandpa and she was following the instructions as perfectly as she could. But by the time she was finished with the instructions, she noticed that there were a bunch of lumps everywhere in the bowl and so she kept stirring and stirring for over 2 hours and the lumps never went away.. it was only then did she realize that the lumps were supposed to be there.

I laugh everytime i remember her telling me that... sooo funny. :p

[QueenTheatrics]

Haha, my worst cooking disaster? Oh, where do I start?

Well, I was baking a chocolate cake for my baby brother's birthday, and I had just mixed the mix and put it in the tin and just put it in the oven when I realised that i'd forgotten to add the sugar. So I took it out of the oven where it had already started to cook, added the sugar and put it back.

That was when I learned that magic of flopping. When it came out, it was completely flat. So I went and bought one from the shop. :p

[ZigZag]

But in response to Zoe loving to bake because of the science, I love to cook because of the art. A little of this. A pinch of that. A taste, then a bit more salt. The experimentation involved. I adapt and evolve my recipes all the time, and they only ever get better. Each one is like a painting and each time I create it, I try using a technique that I hadn't thought to use before. If I'm out of onions, I'll use a shallot. If I don't want a cream soup, I'll try making it "golden" using stock instead. I love the creativity I have while cooking....

that, and the fact that baking is a painful test of my patience. It took me THREE HOURS yesterday to bake a loaf of bread. One loaf of bread. And the whole time I was terrified I had killed it because I forgot to punch it down after its first rising. If fresh bread wasn't so amazing, I probably never would have agreed to do such a thing. :D

Firstly, don't judge all baking by bread baking. Bread is hard and it does take serious patience. Not all baking is like that. I can go from a bunch of raw ingredients to pulling chocolate chips out of the oven in half and hour flat.

Secondly, while baking is a science I resent the thought of baking not being an art or being a vehicle for creativity. Although, yes, there is more precision needed you can definitely be creative with it. Sure, you have to know what you are doing (for instance, if you decide that you want fresh fruit instead of dry in a cake recipe you probably should use less liquid or eggs) but you can definitely be creative.

I can give you two examples:

1) Cake decoration. This is the field I want to go into, and I think it's one of the most artistic sections of the food industry. The amount of hard work that goes into a single cake is incredible, and the detail you can go into is insane. But the final product? You are crazy if you don't realize that a well decorated cake is a work of art.

2) Plated desserts. I'm taking a Custards and Cold Desserts class in cooking school right now. For our final (which is on Wednesday) you have to team up with a partner and make two identical plated desserts. The only limitations are: you must have five components (a custard dessert, a baked cookie or cake, a sauce, a cooked fruit and a garnish that you make yourself- meaning fresh fruit or mint leaves don't count but spun sugar or molded chocolate do) and you have to turn it out by 6:00. For every minute after 6:00 you don't turn out your plates you lose a point on your grade.

The possibilities on what you can make are endless. Here are some examples of the desserts people made during our practice run last Wednesday:

A caramel ice cream, served with baked blood oranges, with a French meringue cookie garnish, caramel cream sauce and topped with spun sugar.

A white chocolate Bavarian mousse, served on top of a snickerdoodle cookie, surrounded with fried bananas, and topped with hot fudge and a crisp, paper-thin ginger cookie.

Cinnamon ice cream, served in a hollowed out an apple poached in port, the bottom of the apple "plugged" with sponge cake to soak up the melted ice cream and keep it from leaking, caramel sauce and a white chocolate cigarette.

Finally, there was Tiffany and my dessert: Banana Bavarian mousse, on top of a sugar cookie, served with a cooked down kiwi sauce and a strawberry sauce, garnished with strawberries, blackberries and a vanilla tuile, which is a paper thin cookie that, when pulled out of the oven, can be molded into different shapes.

[nevermore]

oh I agree with the plating/decorating aspects, definitely! I am soooo addicted to Ace of Cakes on the food network (I've even gotten my boyfriend into it). I mean seriously, what fan of the show could ever forget Elena's Rambo Rubber Duckie? That is still my favorite cake, to this day. Frankly, I love pretty much any cake she makes.

And also, Chef Duff's knowledge of baking blew my mind on the day that he baked the world's biggest cupcake. It was funny too, because he even commented to the camera "contrary to popular belief, I did go to culinary school and I do know what I'm doing." He even made an alcoholic White Russian cake for Lebowskifest recently. Very impressive.

My patience for baking goes about as far as slice and bake cookies or Betty Crocker cake mix, which I know is positively shameful, but other than christmas, I just do not get into the baking-from-scratch spirit. I'm trying really, really hard to learn more though (for instance I baked my first ever loaf of bread about a month ago, and the one I made last night--my second--already came out significantly better). I'm trying to learn and master all sorts of culinary skills. In the event that I ever became a crazy hermit who lived out in the woods writing novels, I realized I'd better know how to make my own bread. My next efforts will be learning to can food, because my grandma's strawberry preserves are something I cannot bear to go through life not knowing how to make. *nom*

[ZigZag]

I have no idea how to can foods, although I adore fresh preserves and can't stand most commercial types like Smucker's. When you learn how please share!

[nevermore]

I watched Alton Brown do it on Good Eats once... let's see if I can find that episode before I post...

Yay! Found it! (http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/educational_and_howto/watch/v196898508jhqHs8j)

Good Eats amuses me greatly. If you're reading this and have never seen Good Eats, it's all about the science behind cooking, and while it's technically made for adults, the host explains things using sock puppets (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqxkMqsEQI0), paper mache, and who can forget the evil supervillain, Lactose Man? :D

I have always thought that if by some weird twist of fate, I became a home ec. teacher, we would base each week's class around an episode of good eats, because the show really is that amusing. Haha

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT:

I will merge, but this thread is dying and there is lots more I wanted to discuss!

What's your favorite thing to eat in the whole wide world? Like... if you could only eat one thing, ever again, for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I think mine is roast chicken. And turkey. Oh my goodness I looooove roast turkey. I look forward to thanksgiving all year round just because I'm so excited to get to have roast turkey again. I know, I could just make a turkey in March, but I'm always worried that if I make it all the time, it won't be special anymore, and then maybe I won't like it as much... :(

What about you? What's the food you look forward to until (and probably including) the minute you're eating it?

[QueenTheatrics]

I haveto agree Nevvie. Roast chicken is my weakness. I just love roast chicken with gravy and mashed potatoes... Oooh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. :p We have that exact meal every Christmas and I look forward to it all year. I mean, we do have it during the year, but it's never quite as special as on Christmas day when you're surrounded by family, friends, your boyfriend's stupid mother and a screaming baby. :rolleyes:

[Ren'ai]

I'm having a delightful time eating delicious cookies and milk. ;O

Pancakes are the best food, no matter which way you look at it. :D

My luv for when it comes to dinner is my very own home-cooked bratwurst, cut up and into coins and cooked in a skillet, along with some sauce. d(>w<)b

[nevermore]

oh em geeze! *tacklehuggles* I MISSED YOU! :'O

Welcome to the club, incidentally. :cool:


Honestly, if there is one food on the planet I completely, utterly detest, it's gravy. I can't stand the stuff. I've heard of this concoction up in Canada called "poutine" which is apparently french fries drowned in cheese and gravy. >_< sounds repulsive to me. Ketchup is a close second. It makes guest appearances on hot dogs and hamburgers, but otherwise I avoid the stuff like the plague. *gag*

I'm going to make my grandma's cheese blintzes soon. They're... like crepes, sort of, and rolled up with this creamy cheese filling (not like... stringy pizza cheese. Soft fluffy cheese like ricotta), and topped with butter and cooked in cream and then smothered in fresh warm homemade strawberry sauce. Oh my gosh. I'm probably going to die after I eat it *knock on wood* because dairy + nevvie = pain and suffering (I get horrible awful stomach aches when I eat things with a lot of milk), but sometimes we must suffer the pain to enjoy the things we love. Haha.


OH OH OH! I don't know if Sheree looks in on this thread, but I have a burning question that only an aussie can answer:
Okay. So. Kangaroo. I have heard from several different sources (mostly food network) that kangaroo is quite a popular kind of meat in australia. Is this true, or is this something you feed to tourists while snickering behind your hands? If true, have you ever tried it? If so, is it good? O.O (I'm growing quite adventurous in my culinary endeavors and buffalo, alligator and kangaroo are rather high on my list of exotic things I'd like to try)

[ZigZag]

I hate olives. They are the only food I cannot eat without gagging. They are so gross. I wish I liked them, but I don't.

My favorite food? SUSHI!

[Kalik2486]

MMMMMMMmmmm.... I love roast chicken too!!! and with mash potatoes and gravy... wonderful! I love turkey too! My mom tried to make a small turkey last year, for the first time, and it was actually pretty good. Sushi is good too... my favourite is always salmon sashimi - don't know why.

[QueenTheatrics]

See, for some reason, I only like turkey when... Um... When it's in dinosaur nugget form. :o

[nevermore]

I thought nuggets only came from chickens! :eek:

Haha, that reminds me of a really funny ad (http://vidbunker.com/carls_jr_chicken_nuggets) from Carl's Jr. (a western US hamburger place... I think it's called Hardee's on the east coast) back in the day. The slogan for their white-meat strips was "because chickens don't have nuggets" :D

[Wierdkid20]

I'd like to join. Does anyone here like Tamales? Their my new favorite type of Mexican food. That and last night when I threw all the taco leftovers in a bowl heated it up and ate it Nacho style

[nevermore]

yes yes yes! I LOVE tamales! Actually, I love just about any mexican food, being a California girl. Enchiladas are probably my favorite, but tamales and "everything" burritos (which pretty much contain everything but the kitchen sink, and weigh about as much as I do, haha) are definitely high on my favorite mexican foods list. Nom!

For the rest of the world:
Tamales (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamale) can probably be described as the mexican equivalent to a meat pie. The outer part is made out of a corn substance called masa (basically a very course corn flour mixed with water and oil to create a very soft crumbly dough), stuffed with meat, and steamed wrapped up in a corn husk. They are insanely good, and I encourage everyone to give them a try if you ever have the opportunity. They come with just about every stuffing imaginable (I've even had fruit-filled breakfast tamales) but you can't go wrong with chicken tamales. Mmmm-mmm! :o

[Wierdkid20]

Breakfast Tamales!?! There are such wonders in the world? Favorite breakfast food for me is chorizo and eggs.

[nevermore]

oooh chorizo. YUM. Although I prefer my mexican-style eggs just scrambled and drowned in salsa. haha. Yeah, there's a farmer's market in my home town with a family tamale stand that's open every weekend, and in the morning they sell these amazing breakfast tamales that come stuffed with bananas, strawberry, and... I think pineapple? I've only ever had strawberry, but it was heaven on earth. :o The masa is sweet instead of savoury... it's like the best jelly doughnut in the world. haha. I wish they'd served them with some icing or something, the way they do for cinnamon rolls.... crazy good though. *nodnod*

oh oh, have you had fresh, heavenly, homemade tortillas? I don't think there can be anything on earth as simple and as delicious. I always order extra tortillas whenever I go out to a good mexican restaurant, and the waiters just watch in amazement as I eat my way through piles of them (I can admit... I don't really look like I should be able to eat as much as I do. People who don't know me generally watch in fascination... haha)

[Wierdkid20]

Drat I'm hungry now. :) Best local food we've got around here is 50 miles south of me. Theres this place called China Pavilion. I swear they have the best Chinese food ever. Then theres this place called Tasty treat that has awesome lemon Ice cream.

[nevermore]

ooh I'm not a fan of lemon anything except lemons and lemonade. lemon pie, lemon candy, lemon cake... ugh. I don't know, I guess I'd rather just eat the real thing (yes, I am one of those freaks who eats salted lemons. It drives my sister crazy because she thinks it's the grossest thing on earth. I really made her scream one day when I ate my lemon slices skin and all, just to make her squirm. haha)

[Wierdkid20]

When I was 3 I pulled a lemon out of my granmas cup and ate it. I made a face then apparently went back for more. Even now I hold a special place in my heart for the sour stuff

[nevermore]

have you ever tried putting salt on lemon wedges? I know it sounds nuts, but the salt actually helps cut through the sourness, and actually makes lemons taste sweeter, in a weird, inexplicable way. A friend introduced me to salted lemons when I was about 10. The apartment complex we lived in had lemon trees bordering the walls, and we would spend whole summer days lounging under the trees with our salt shakers, just eating lemons and watching the clouds pass. :o

[Wierdkid20]

I haven't tried salt but My uncle did get me started on coating them with sugar.

[nevermore]

nono! Try salt! I swear it's better! It gives them a whole different flavor! Once I tried salt, I never used sugar again :eek:

[Wierdkid20]

Huh I guess I'll have to try it then.

[Duende]

OH OH OH! I don't know if Sheree looks in on this thread, but I have a burning question that only an aussie can answer:
Okay. So. Kangaroo. I have heard from several different sources (mostly food network) that kangaroo is quite a popular kind of meat in australia. Is this true, or is this something you feed to tourists while snickering behind your hands? If true, have you ever tried it? If so, is it good? O.O (I'm growing quite adventurous in my culinary endeavors and buffalo, alligator and kangaroo are rather high on my list of exotic things I'd like to try)


A little from column a and a little from column b. You can buy it in supermarket, and it's a popular pet food. Apparently it's really nice and you can often get it in swanky restaurants. But I think the majority of people who eat it are ones who have lived rural or the posh people who like anything different. Us average joes don't really eat it. There's a restaurant near here that sells a platter with Kangaroo, Emu, and Crocodile meat. I'll take you there ^_^ Come taste our animals

[ZigZag]

I don't think I could eat a kangaroo. Although, I have this chef at school who is constantly yelling at us to try everything at least once. When we go to France at the end of our associate's program he's the one who yells at people who refuse to eat the escargot. I would try escargot, though.

Speaking of salted lemons- does anyone else eat salted tomatoes? It's literally the only way I like tomatoes (except as sauce or salsa). You need to try it with good, locally grown summer tomatoes. The huge ones teeming with juice. You slice it like an apple, pour on salt and eat it. It's delicious. You can also add a bit of pepper, which is also good. My sister thinks it's super weird, but it's the only way to appreciate a good tomato. I use Jersey tomatoes.

[nevermore]

Escargot is quite good, actually. My dad loves it and orders it whenever it's on a menu, and I've had a bite once or twice. It's nothing like your brain tells you it's going to be. I won't say it's like chicken but... more like shell fish, like clams or oysters...

Is kangaroo even kosher? I know there's rules about cloven hooves and certain numbers of legged insects but... is there a ruling on things with pouches? :confused:

And yes, salted REAL tomatoes (grocery store kind are not real tomatoes, and they are the reason I thought I hated all tomatoes but my grandma's... which come from the back garden). With pepper too, mmm! My grandpa eats them like that. Just a big plate of seasoned tomatoes from his garden. :o I used to think it was weird until I tried a bite one day.
We make this kind of Russian-style finger salad (you just shop stuff up and dive in) with tomatoes, wedges of iceberg lettuce, and cucumbers, topped with lemon juice and seasoned salt (like Lawry's or whatever they make in each person's region. The salt with a little bit of weird red stuff that I suspect to be paprika). It's so simple, and it is pure heaven. Mmmm. I love fresh veggies.

[Wierdkid20]

My mom dips sliced jalopenoes (sp?) in cheese like chips. or crisps depending on where you live

[nevermore]

oh man I love those. The kind from the jar? YUM. I love jalapenos. Peperonchinis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peperoncini), too. I used to eat them straight from the jar when I was a kid.
Basically, I just adore pickled things. Pickles, capers, olives, pickled jalapenos and peperonchinis. I like those pickled veggies you can get at pepper bars in some mexican restaurants too, with the carrots and cauliflower and radishes all soaked in vinegar. Mmmmmm!

[Midnight]

I can not eat anything pickled. They taste horrible to me.
Right now i am eating a bagel. I love bagels :D

[nevermore]

one of my siblings detested pickles when they were younger... I think it was my brother... I can't remember if he likes them or not now. Or maybe it was my sister... either way, it always amazed me, because I love them so much haha.

Oh man I miss bagels. I love them with cream cheese, but those are two food products that I NEVER have at home, so whenever I want a bagel and cream cheese, I'll stand in the store holding my $3 bag of bagels, and my $5 package of cream cheese, and mentally add it up and just think "do I really want to shell out this much money for a bagel?" I wish there was a bagel shop near me where I could just have one. Around here though, it's sort of all or nothing. Either you buy enough to last you a week, or you don't eat a bagel. *sob* My mom often has them at her house though, and when I go over to visit and find bagels and cream cheese, I pretty much swoop down on her refrigerator. Haha. :D

[ZigZag]

I love pickles. No amend that. I love some kinds of pickles. I like the regular dill kind and this spicy Israeli kind that comes in a can. But kosher dill and sweet pickles make me gag.

If I have the time tonight I'm going to make cookies.

[nevermore]

Yeah, I'm at kind of a weird place with Kosher dills, too. I'm not sure why they taste so radically different from regular dills, or why I hate them so much. There's just an odd sweetness or something in the background that I have a hard time with. I mean, I'll still eat them, but give me a good tart dill any day. I love those giant kind you can get at the fair. Yum!

[Wierdkid20]

I love pickles! Unfortunately I just got my Bottom braces on and my teeth hurt alot. So if anyone has a recipe for a smoothie that's not fruit I'd be very happy.

[nevermore]

ooh yes! Well, it's not a smoothie, but there are lots of delicious pureed soups that you can make. Split pea, tomato, and squash soup are all really good. I make those for dinner all the time. I'll give you recipes for all three. You can drink them out of a coffee cup like a smoothie, too. :o

Split Pea Soup
1 carrot, cubed
1 potato, cubed
1 rib cellery, cubed
1 onion, diced
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced smoked meat (I like ham, a smoked turkey leg, or kielbasa sausage)
1/2 package split peas (2 cups I believe)
Salt, pepper, and bay leaf
6 cups water or stock (or half of each)

Method:
Sautee meat over medium heat in 1 T oil until it begins to brown. Add vegetables (not the peas) and continue to cook until onions become translucent (kind of cleary brown). Add water, spices and peas, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 1 hour or until peas are soft.
Once it's done, it's pretty mushy on its own, but you can add it to a blender (in small batches--hot soup expands in a blender so be careful also be sure you're not blending the bay leaf. Bad eats.) and puree it. It would be just as delicious. You can also omit the meat and make it vegetarian, but the smokiness ads an extra depth of flavor.


Squash Soup
Squash (I like butternut or acorn for this recipe), halved and seeded
1 carrot, cubed
1 onion, diced
1 celery rib, cubed
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
4 - 5 cups chicken stock
Salt, pepper, and bay leaf
1/4 cup cream (I use milk because there's never cream in my fridge)

Method:
Season your halved, seeded squash with salt and pepper, and roast at 350 (180C) for about an hour, or until fork tender (you can stick a fork in and pull it right out without having to tug on it). Remove from oven and allow to cool while you do the following:
In soup pot, saute vegetables over medium heat until onions turn translucent. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Now that your squash is cool, scoop the pulp out of the squash, and add it to your soup. Season with salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Simmer about 20 minutes or until veggies are tender, remove the bay leaf and puree (I have one of those immersion blenders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion_blender) which is perfect for doing an entire pot, but you can also do it in small batches in a countertop blender). Add cream and serve.


Tomato Soup
1 onion, chopped
2 pounds tomatoes, quartered (you can also use one big can of tomatoes in the winter)
2 carrots, cubed
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chipped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup cream (again, milk works fine)

Method:
Saute onion in 1 T oil until translucent. Stir in tomatoes, carrots, stock, and herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 - 20 minutes. Puree, add salt, pepper, and cream, and you're good to go. :)

[zelda]

For dinner I just now had : an almondbutter sandwitch[almondbutter is just like penutbutter but with almonds]and chips i've never had penutbutter i'm allergict to penuts and soy

[Dawnfire]

Allergic to soy? Ack. :(

My friend's sister is allergic to all wheat/gluten products, shellfish, and all sorts of stuff. They say she's not Asian because she can't eat soy sauce or fish. xD

[nevermore]

Poor thing. :( I am sooooo glad I'm not allergic to any food (well, milk, but other than a tummy ache I can pretty much eat milk products without drastic problems). I have a friend who's allergic to cherries, and once a year during cherry season she buys a whole bag, takes some benadryl, and eats the whole bag in one sitting before the benadryl wears off. "Otherwise my throat swells up and I can't breathe" :rolleyes: Crazy girl. Haha.

[zelda]

When I was about...1or2 my family was vegan(how i managed i don't know) and our main sourse of protien was soy that is how we found out i was allergic to soy_we never did vegan again
***************************************
I just ate a bowl of cheerios i added honey. my brother(he is going to join)had outmeal with honey[yes we love honey]

[nevermore]

I LOVE HONEY! I seriously can eat it by spoonfuls. Mmmmmm. :o You know what I really miss is warm milk with honey in it. My grandma used to make it before bed when I was little. You warm up the milk like you're making cocoa, but instead of adding chocolate, you add honey. I swear, it's right up there with cocoa. Maybe better! :eek:

Woohoo! It's friday night! That's junkfood night in my house, because we try to eat really healthy the other 6 days a week. We're going to our favorite pizza place to get pizza and hot wings. I think hot wings are on of my favorite junk foods EVER.

What about you guys? What's your favorite junk food?

[zelda]

oh my gosh nevie I LOOOOOOVE warm honey milk[big suprise]xD
I like chedder rice cakes[mini] ,potato chips,brownies,honey grahm crackers[of course]xD hey I am eating one now but i eat mostly healthy but am at my friend's[queen of junk food] house

[Russian Girl]

Can I join your club?

[nevermore]

Yes yes yes! We'd love to have you! :D

Mmmm graham (really, that word has two a's in it? thank you firefox spell check, I had no idea) crackers. I do believe they're a healthy alternative to cookies, too, but I'd have to compare labels. A lot of times when I babysat my youngest sister, I'd buy some hershey's bars and a bag of marshmallows, and we'd make stovetop s'mores. This works even over an electric stove. Basically you spear your marshmallow on something like a metal kabob skewer, and toast them over a low temperature stove burner. BE CAREFUL IF YOU DO THIS because even on an electric stove, your marshmallows can still BURST INTO FLAMES IN YOUR KITCHEN so be sure you have a grownup on hand to make sure you don't burn the house down. If you can convince your parents though, a night of popcorn, s'mores and board games is a lot of fun. :D Like a living-room camping trip. :o

Nom, I'm cooking some brown rice right now (I prefer it to white rice, which is too bland for me, not to mention not as healthy) which I plan on smothering with cream and cinnamon for breakfast... even though it's quite late in the morning, but brown rice takes a while to cook and for most of the morning I wasn't sure what I wanted to eat, so I got a late start. Haha.

[Russian Girl]

Hmm...
I love blintze, sushi, cookies, candy...Yum.
But most of all I love baking))
Yum))
However, I have very little time to cook yummy))

[nevermore]

blintze and sushi?!

:eek:

I love the same foods as you! :D (I bet you weren't expecting that reaction! haha) We should have a dinner party together. We'd eat sushi, blintze, and cookies, and it will be awesome. :cool:

[Wierdkid20]

I will never fail to understand the wonders of toast. How such to simple thing can be so delectable, it almost makes me weep.

Ok obviously the feeling of being poetic doesn't go well with hunger.

[Kalik2486]

OOH, I love toast!!! and Garlic bread! Yummmmm... at Christmas parties, my great-aunt always makes super good garlic bread and I'd be the one to eat the most slices while there are roast turkey/beef and clam chowder, etc... XD

What spreads do you people use on bread or toast? I use margarine, nutella, peanut butter, and sometimes assorted flavours of jam.

[nevermore]

Mmmm toast. :o So toasty. :D
Answer: toast tastes so much better because toasting the bread caramelizes the bread's natural sugars and toasts the grains in the flour. Toasting nuts and grains heats their oils and brings out their natural flavors, and caramelized sugar is just gooood.

On my toast, I usually just put butter (especially if it's rye or sourdough toast, which are pure heaven just on their own). On things like wheat toast, if I'm feeling extra creative, I'll sometimes put peanut butter instead of butter, or my favorite--cinnamon and a light sprinkle of sugar (usually I make this cinnamon toast for dessert).
I don't put jam on toast very often, which is odd, because I LOVE jam. Especially orange marmalade, which (I have admitted this before) I eat by spoonfuls. Haha.

Sometimes I'll have a thick slice of russian black bread spread with jam and a cup of sweet tea for dessert, but that's about the only time I put jam on toast.

[pjy310]

Can I join Nevvie?
One of my favourite food is chicken wings in teriyaki sause.:DI love toast! I usually put jam, lettuce, egg, cheese,ham and tomato. My friends say it's a very weird sandwich:o

[nevermore]

all at once?

o_O

That does seem like a weird sandwitch... however I dip french fries into milkshakes, so I'm hardly one to talk. :D
I mean, it sounded good right up until the jam part... can't say I'm in a big hurry to try that one. :p

[Kalik2486]

Hah, it's ok, I do really weird things with food and sauce. I would probably dip fries into whatever is edible just to experiment around with it. My mom would then give me weird looks and my bros would make a big fuss =)

[Wierdkid20]

You know what fries are really good with? Cheese. There's this one place here that serves really good burgers and awesome Cajun fries with spicy cheese. Yum.

[QueenTheatrics]

Chips taste AMAZING with curry sauce. You cook them, let them cool a bit and then smother them with curry sauce. *drools*

[Russian Girl]

blintze and sushi?!

:eek:

I love the same foods as you! :D (I bet you weren't expecting that reaction! haha) We should have a dinner party together. We'd eat sushi, blintze, and cookies, and it will be awesome. :cool:

Yes, blintze&sushi))
Obvious, but incredible.

[Vampyre]

Yesterday, I went to this steamboat and barbeque buffet restaurant with my classmates. It's not the first time I've been there but it's awesome regardless. I had like, one and a half plate full of chicken. The chicken bulgogi was so delicious -drools-, and the fact I got to cook it the way I liked it made it better, haha. Then I dumped some vegetables in the steamboat but I didn't finish them cos they were bitter and I had two bowls of ice cream!:D:D:D

[nevermore]

Oh I love barbecue. :o I've been dying for ribs lately. I make very nice barbecued ribs. *nom*

I bought some butter pecan cake mix the other day (don't beat me zoe! We've talked about this! I don't bake cakes from scratch! haha), and I also have a package of pecans in my pantry... I was thinking of melting some butter and sugar in my cast-iron pan to make caramel, adding some pecans, then adding the cake batter and baking the whole thing in the oven. My theory is it will make a butter-pecan upside-down cake. Or it will all stick in the pan and make a terrible mess... I'm eager to try it though. Maybe I will tonight. :D

[Vampyre]

You're not alone in the cake mix department, Nev.:D And your cake sounds yummy! Tell us how it goes.

And is it just me, or does food taste better when you eat with your fingers? Like barbequed wings. It always tastes a lot yummier when I use my fingers as compared to when I use a fork (cos I couldn't wait for it to cool down enough for me to hold it XD).

[Kalik2486]

You know what fries are really good with? Cheese. There's this one place here that serves really good burgers and awesome Cajun fries with spicy cheese. Yum.


Mmmm... that does sound good. Well, the only type of fries I've tried it with cheese and gravy is poutine! Awesome!

Yesterday, I went to this steamboat and barbeque buffet restaurant with my classmates. It's not the first time I've been there but it's awesome regardless. I had like, one and a half plate full of chicken. The chicken bulgogi was so delicious -drools-, and the fact I got to cook it the way I liked it made it better, haha. Then I dumped some vegetables in the steamboat but I didn't finish them cos they were bitter and I had two bowls of ice cream!:D:D:D

Yum, I love BBQ wings and ribs when it comes to Barbeque!

Has anyone ever tried Korean BBQ? It's fantastic, I love the beef ribs!

[PotatoesRule]

Phew! I thought this thread was gone and archived.

I baked these white chocolate coconut cookies the other day and they were a big hit with my friends! I felt so good. :D They ate so many we all had to go run and do some workouts. It feels good when people like the food you make.

[nevermore]

I love that feeling, when you make something special for people and they go crazy for it. I think that's why people who love to cook, love to cook. It's that look they give, and reaction you get, when they see the food, taste it, and go "wow, you made this?!" :o

I don't think I've ever had Korean barbecue. How does it differ from like... american southern barbecue?

[Wierdkid20]

Oh Nevvie Korean bbq is ten times better

[nevermore]

haha, that's a bold statement, my friend!
But really, what's different? I mean, I know there are as many barbecue sauce recipes as there are cooks, but is there something that sets Korean barbecue apart from any other kind of barbecue?

[nevermore]

So. Scrambled eggs. I made them today. I THOUGHT I had been eating scrambled eggs for years. You know. these kind. (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2953806346_6e045b93c3.jpg) The kind that are basically a chopped-up omelet. I have always shied away from runny eggs because they looked slimy and weird and I was CONVINCED that I liked my eggs well done. Always. No debate.

Then yesterday, I was watching my favoritest new chef, who is a beautiful woman who makes lovely french food, and for the last year, she has been teaching me that thee is a whole world of french food that might look icky sometimes, but Oh Em Gee. So yesterday was egg day. She made lots of eggs, but the ones that caught my eye, oddly, were the scrambled eggs. She separated the whites from the yolks and explained to me that the yolks cook faster, so we add those last. Who knew?
But wait! There's more! She cooked them in lots of melty butter. Then she stirred and stirred and stirred the eggs in a pot until they looked like lovely cream. And then? *squee* She added MORE butter! And then they got glossy and insanely beautiful looking. Like this. (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1720/images/1720_MEDIUM.jpg)

And remember, this from someone who thinks watery eggs look like the grossest thing on the planet.

So she explained to me that eggs scrambled this way are the richest, creamiest, butteriest thing you will ever eat. Ever.

So this morning I took the last two eggs in my fridge and tried it for myself. I stirred and stirred and stirred over low heat for a good ten minutes, and when they were finally done, they were runny and creamy and something that, two days ago, would have made me run, screaming, from the room. I tentatively licked the spoon I had been using to stir my eggs.




And I realized that, until about 10 minutes ago, I had never eaten scrambled eggs in my life. That was the single most amazing thing I have ever eaten. I am not exaggerating. I am glad those were the last two eggs in my fridge and it's pouring rain today so I can't walk to get more, because seriously, if there were a dozen eggs in my fridge right now, I would probably cook, and eat, the entire dozen. :o

[DayDream]

French toast that tastes like pancakes? Recipe:

- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of milk
- tbsp margarine/butter
- 1 vanilla flavoring/extract

Crack egg into a bowl and whisk until it looks, er, whisked. Then add the milk and a dash of vanilla extract.
Melt the marge in a frying pan, but not too much marge as it can make your toast soggy with margarine.
Cover two slices of bread in the mixture and then throw gently onto the melted-marge pan. Use a spatula to make sure the bread doesn't stick and to push the bread down more into the pan so it goes brown in some places. Once the bread has become toast flip it onto a plate, and start on your other piece of toast.

If, like mine, your french toast ends up tasting like pancakes, I would recommend putting some sugar on it, and squeezing some orange juice too. However, if it all goes to plan, I would recommend cinnamon, powdered sugar, fruit, syrup ... alas there are many things.

[nevermore]

All I can think of then is maybe it was the bread you used? I really don't know. :confused:

You know what I like to do is add cinnamon and nutmeg straight to the egg mixture. Then the heat from the frying pan draws out the spice's oils and makes it taste crazy good. I don't put any syrup on my french toast (or pancakes or waffles for that matter) because I feel like it destroys the flavor of what you just cooked. All you can taste is syrup, so what's the point of all that vanilla and cinnamon you just drowned? I prefer just a little pat of butter on top, so you can really taste the toast or pancakes or waffles (I add cinnamon and vanilla to my pancake/waffle batter).

Oh, you know what else is good, is instead of vanilla extract, if you have some almond extract instead? WOAH! Go easy on the stuff though. Seriously, 1/4 teaspoon is almost too much (for a whole bowl of pancake batter. If you're making french toast, seriously, use one drop.). You can make pancakes or waffles with almond extract, and if you've got some almonds hanging out in your pantry that you can chop up and add to the batter, you're really golden. :o

[nevermore]

I'm going to bring this thread back to life by taking a page out of Midnight's book and introducing weekly discussion questions. (You can feel free to go as off-topic as you like--as long as we're still talking about food in some way).

This week's question:

How do you like your toast? Burnt to a crisp? Warm and mushy? Golden-brown? Topped with butter? Jam? Cream cheese? What kind of bread?


My go-to is toasted golden-brown with butter. I've never met a bread I didn't like, but if I woke up tomorrow and all that was left in the world was sourdough, I'd die happy. :D Buttered toast and a cup of sweetened black tea is one of my all time favorite breakfasts. I rarely use jam (sometimes if I want something sweet but not heavy for dessert) or cinnamon and sugar (same as above). I also put peanut butter, blue cheese, or cream cheese once in a while, but not nearly as often as straight butter.

[sunlight]

I like my toast golden, with flora margarine (i hate butter) melted all over the top of it on warburtons bread :)

My family say i am really weird as i only eat toast in the morning if it is the end slice because the other slices usually go all soggy and not crispy and golden, in the toaster, in the morning. At night time i eat all types of toast! I think im just picky!

My older sister has her toast burnt black and i dont see how she can eat it as it is completely burnt!

[nevermore]

oh I looooove butter, but rarely get it because, let's face it. When you do your own grocery shopping, and margarine is a dollar cheaper than the butter, it's really hard to talk yourself into getting the good stuff. :D But oh. Those days where butter is on sale feels like heaven is smiling upon me, because everything I cook that week will taste like it was prepared by a master chef. :o

mmmm.... butter.... *homer drool*

[Leeny]

I love golden brown toast with margarine. Sometimes I'll put peanut butter on top of it as well.

[nevermore]

Anyone have a favorite type of jam/jelly?

I could probably survive off orange marmalade, given the chance. I love the sweet chewy texture of the orange zest. Mmm.

In contrast, I hate grape jelly with a fierce passion. I don't understand why there's no grapes in it. You never, ever see grape jam. Only jelly. That strikes me as odd and disturbing. Why? Why is grape jelly so popular but there's no jam?

[Leeny]

I'm going to a party on Saturday and I need to bring a dish. Anyone have any ideas?

[ZigZag]

What type of dish do you want to bring? If you want an entree I totally recommend homemade macaroni and cheese. Everyone loves mac and cheese and homemade kicks boxed in the butt. Here's my mom's mac and cheese recipe which was a staple in my house growing up and is my ultimate comfort food:

I lb elbow macaroni
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2-1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. In medium saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add flour and stir- this will be very thick. Ad 1/2 cup of milk and stir thoroughly, continue to add milk slowly; stir to keep mixture smooth. Cook over low-medium heat stirring frequently until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour half of the macaroni into a casserole dish. Layer half of the white sauce over macaroni and top with half of the cheese. Repeat with remaining macaroni, sauce and cheese. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top. Cover the dish. Bake at 350 for fifteen minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional five minutes.

This macaroni is to die for. Seriously, just writing this down made me crave it. I'm probably going to make it for my birthday party on Saturday.

Oh, I should add that this recipe is great for experimentation. It can handle almost anything. I've added tomato sauce, tuna, vegetables, jalapeños (which I added for my birthday dish because the theme is Fiesta), I've made it with soy milk and cheese. It would probably be good with beef or hot dogs in it, although I've never tried that due to keeping a kosher kitchen.

[nevermore]

Oh for sure Mac and Cheese if you bring an entree. I can sit and eat twice my body weight in Mac and Cheese when set before me. :D Reason #1 why I never make it myself. :o

Hmmm.... for appetizers I love the go-to veggie tray. Just cut up the usual (carrots, celery, broccoli, cucumber) but then you can jazz it up with things like radishes, zucchini, blanched asparagus, olives, etc. and bring along some ranch dip (or onion dip, or dill dip, etc) At parties, I generally park myself in front of the veggie tray (assuming no one brought mac and cheese, lol)

Oooooor you can make artichoke dip (http://www.cookingnook.com/artichoke-dip-recipe.html), which is KILLER with crackers, or spinach dip (http://www.cookingnook.com/knorr-spinach-dip-recipe.html), which is easy to make and can be served in a bread bowl for extra wow-factor (they usually sell bread-bowl loaves either in the bakery or deli aisle of your local grocery store).

For some reason at parties, I find that desserts usually sit and languish. I'm not sure why this is, but it's usually the chips, dips, and veggies that get gobbled up. :confused: Unless you're me of course, who has no qualms following up a bite of brownie with a salsa-loaded chip. :p

[nevermore]

So, about a week ago, at the suggestion of several of our forum's members, I tried bubble tea.


I actually tried it with my boyfriend's mom, who was up visiting, and there was a bubble tea house near my place and we were feeling adventurous, so we bought one and split it.


All I can say is...


OMG EEW.

Seriously. Where do I start?! First of all, the tea itself was pretty good, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if the frigging barista (or whatever you call them when they make tea instead of coffee) who was walking us through what, exactly, bubble tea was, if she would have thought to say "oh by the way, I'm going to drown this in milk is anyone allergic to milk?" then I would have stopped her immediately. Instead I got a cup of cold tea-flavored milk.

Also, if she had said, "oh by the way, this tea flavored milk? I'm not even going to serve it to you hot, I'll be dumping it over ice" I would have at least been prepared for watered down cold milky tea.

But I can overlook the waves of nausea that overtook me ten minutes after drinking my glass of tea flavored milk because she didn't know I'm lactose intolerant, IF it hadn't been for the "pearls." There is only one way we (boyfriend's mom and I) could describe them: Booger Bubbles. A couple of them might have been fine and interesting. But we're talking about 1/4 of the cup was nothing but booger bubbles, these frigging boogers kept rocketing up my straw and into my mouth where I'd have to swallow my tea in order to chew on the boogers with every. single. sip. of. tea. So between the glass of milk and the boogers I kept having to chew on, let's just say we immediately had to head home because I thought I was going to violently hurl.

Thus ends my days of trying bubble tea. We are done. *dramatic sigh*

OH WAIT. THERE'S MORE. This glass of tea-flavored milk watered down by ice with the floating booger bubbles? FIVE FREAKING DOLLARS.

/rant

[Myr49]

I Want to join. I just read the thread and I'm now hungry.
My favorite jelly? Probably strawberry. Yum!