Italian Restaurants, Bread, Oil, and ?

[Mental Magpie]

Y'all are getting waaaaaay out of my cooking league. 

[jpcher]

Y'all are getting waaaaaay out of my cooking league. 

Don't think that way!!!!!! 

I am amazed at what the DDs are teaching me as far as cooking easy & delicious.

DD#1 comes home from school and all of a sudden balsamic vinegar is a must do for salad dressings. Her dressing is simple, olive oil and balsamic mix well and lightly drizzle on the salad . . . it's a huge difference from any of the bottled dressings that I usually buy (and drown my salad in.)

She's also added things to the salad like sliced mushrooms, dried cranberries, nuts and red onions. I felt her forehead one day thinking she was ill . . . "Whatever happened to the little girl I knew that always said ewww! to onions!?" All of a sudden with a few easy steps my usual salad (of iceburg lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes . . . boring!) has been transformed into something amazingly yummy.

DD#2 has requested "different" foods for dinner . . . that's why I posted here for recipes for salmon and lamb.


I thought that salmon and lamb was soooo completely out of my league of cooking.

You know, gourmet stuff. Not my usual home hardy meats and potatoes.

I've tried 3 of the salmon recipes that were posted here . . . I was amazed to find how simple and easy those recipes were.

The lamb was delicious and oh so easy to prepare.



I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be scared.

The recipes posted from doodlemor and Kaypeep? Use to be out of my league. But I'm going to be adventurous and try them.

Go for it, Dark Magdalena! Try something completely different.

Maybe you'll be happy that you did.

[Mental Magpie]

Haha, that is what is kind of and slowly happening to me.  My aunt bought me a crock pot (aka slow cooker) for Christmas...I just marinaded my first meal last week and am doing another tonight (Hawaiian marinade and I decided at add honey dew for the last few minutes).  I can cook just fine if I have a recipe to follow, but don't expect me to think up anything as I go!

[buvezdevin]

Dark Magdalena, I, too, prefer to have a recipe to follow for anything I have not cooked really often, but also play with recipes - like you are doing by deciding to add honeydew to a Hawaiin marinade (which sounds delicious).  To jpcher's point, it can be fun to try new recipes or ingredients - and more so when you realize so many options are not intimidating, and don't require mad skills, just a willingness to try different things.

One tip I picked up from a thread here is so simple, roasting asparagus in a 350F oven after tossing with some olive oil and salt.  We have been eating and enjoying asapargus steamed, grilled or sautéed for years - it never occurred to me to roast it and that's our favorite way to cook it now.

Hope you'll let us know how the honeydew works with the dish you're making tonight!

[Mental Magpie]

I'm almost scared to ever "play" with anything.  I called/asked about five different people who I consider to be great at cooking if they thought it would taste good (the honeydew...I would have used pineapple but I didn't have a pineapple).  The only thing I ever "play" with is spices when I'm grilling/frying something, and I'm pretty good at that.

[jpcher]

I'm almost scared to ever "play" with anything.  I called/asked about five different people who I consider to be great at cooking if they thought it would taste good (the honeydew...I would have used pineapple but I didn't have a pineapple).  The only thing I ever "play" with is spices when I'm grilling/frying something, and I'm pretty good at that.

I am so much the opposite!

I play with ingredients . . . for example a chopped chicken dish that I use often from leftover chicken. I'll saute peapods, red peppers, onions, garlic, broccoli, pineapple, nuts, water chestnuts, corn, beans, etc. (not all in one dish but it's whatever I have on hand) in some butter or olive oil, add the chicken and some chicken broth with corn starch (or flour) to lightly thicken. Serve it over rice or with potatoes along with a salad and it's a healthy hardy meal.

The only spices I use are salt and pepper.



I'm scared of spices.

[Mental Magpie]

Haha!  Spices are my best friend!  You'd be impressed with how many different flavors I can create just cooking cubed chicken in a frying pan.

The Hawaiian marinade and honeydew was absolutely DELICIOUS.  I threw in the honeydew the last ten minutes and it was so soft and succulent.  (*Goes to find the leftovers because her mouth is simply watering*).

[NestHolder]

Balsamic vinegar is also delicious with, wait for it, strawberries.  Balsamic vinegar plus sugar, marinade the sliced strawberries (don't refrigerate unless you live in an oven) for a few hours.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Moray]

My grandmother swore by throwing 1/4 to 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar in with every pot roast she ever made. It was incredible, so I tried it with balsamic last weekend and died of pleasure.  Then I reduced some of the drippings down and served it over potatoes and died all over again.

I like to think I type pretty well for a corpse.

[Shoo]

My grandmother swore by throwing 1/4 to 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar in with every pot roast she ever made. It was incredible, so I tried it with balsamic last weekend and died of pleasure.  Then I reduced some of the drippings down and served it over potatoes and died all over again.

I like to think I type pretty well for a corpse.

I have got to try this!  Do you think it would work in a crock pot?

[Moray]

It absolutely does! Just reduce the amount of whatever other liquid you were planning to throw in so you don't swamp the meat.

[Mental Magpie]

Oh ye deities, that sounds absolutely delicious.  We now know what Dark Magdalena will be trying for dinner tomorrow night...

[Mikayla]

Odd.  In the area that I live, I've NEVER seen vinegar with the oil & herb combo for the bread.

Same here.  It seems to be high quality EVOO and then freshly ground pepper.  This is based on Midwest, DC metro and Denver metro and it's wicked good.

However, I also operate off the premise that balsamic makes the world go round, so I may have to give this a try. 

[Mental Magpie]

Odd.  In the area that I live, I've NEVER seen vinegar with the oil & herb combo for the bread.

Same here.  It seems to be high quality EVOO and then freshly ground pepper.  This is based on Midwest, DC metro and Denver metro and it's wicked good.

However, I also operate off the premise that balsamic makes the world go round, so I may have to give this a try.

You will not be disappointed.  Add parmesan, too.

[Mikayla]

^Considering I put parmesan on everything from popcorn to zucchini, I can do that!

Also, in line with what VorPal Bunny, I'm going to try this with chicken this weekend and I'll report back.  Based on another thread in here, I've become a huge fan recently of cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot.  It couldn't be easier and the meat just falls off the carcass.  But my favorite part is the carrots, onion and celery I put on the bottom.  I can't imagine how good they'd be with chicken droppings and balsamic.  They're not healthy eaten this way -- just good.