I'm beginning my cooking odyssey, give me your starter recipes

[Da6s]

Just like the title states. Never been much for the culinary art, but I've decided fuck it, I'm going to learn to cook.

I'm looking for cheap and easy for starters, and no insane prep times.

I'm actually going to force myself to make anything I think that is within my ability to follow directions that's posted here, so yeah.

Educate a noob with your wisdom. Please.

[Triple Zero]

Take two slices of bread, and place them next to eachother on a plate.

Use a butter knife and carefully lift a glob of peanut-butter from a jar (careful not to drop it on the counter!).

Use the knife to spread the paste somewhat evenly on one of the slices. Don't worry if it's not exactly evenly spread, you'll get the hang of it as you do it more often.

Now here comes the trick, once the paste is implied, you place the other slice of bread on top of the first slice (that is covered in paste) so that it sticks together. And then, you can use the same knife to cut the entire thing in half.

If you want to get fancy, for extra presentation points, you can stack the two halves on top of eachother, so that you can see the cut surfaces.

I prepare this recipe for my girlfriend every morning for her to take to work as lunch, and she loves me for it

[Rumckle]

Chocolate mousse (good for when you want to impress womens or whatever):

Melt 100g of dark chocolate and 100g milk chocolate (either nuke it, or put a pot of boiling water on the stove and put a bowl over the boiling water to melt the chocolate in, don't do it directly on the stove top).

Now, beat 300mL of cream using an electric beater.

Whisk an egg into your melted chocolate.

Fold the chocolate into the cream, and put in the fridge.

I also like to add a bit of hazelnut liqueur, just beat it in with the cream.


Also, this is a useful recipe for cooks starting out:

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2010/07/boiled-water-recipe.html

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

We call this spanish pepper steak......


4 - 6 cube steaks
a quart of your favorite salsa ( I make my own but you can use jarred)
2 cups rice
1 - 2 jalapenos
2 poblanos
1 med onion chopped
3 1/3 cups water

2 cans black beans
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1 package tortillas


Roast your peppers either on the grill, in a pan, in the oven....  clean and chop into bite sized pieces for the poblano and slice the jalepeno.  If you don't have the time or patience for this, use canned roasted jalapenos.

Lightly salt and pepper your steaks and brown them lightly in the bottom of a nice sized pot that has a tight fitting lid, add onions to carmelize.  Once browned, cover with the roasted peppers, then pour all the salsa over the meat.  Let simmer on low for approximately 20 - 30 minutes.  Now here is where the difference between jarred and homemade salsa is.  If you are using home made salsa, let it cook for almost an hour.

Add water and bring to a boil.  Add rice, cover and reduce the heat, let simmer for 30 minutes.  When done you should have chunks of meat mixed in with the rice all covered with the salsa and peppers.

While simmering, put your olive oil in a nice sized skillet.  Add garlic and swizzle till a touch translucent.  Add both cans of beans,  stir a bit to get rid of a touch of the liquid, then mash the fuck out of them with either a potato masher or the back of a fork.  Continue cooking on low until they are a bit thickened, not runny but not paste.  Salt and pepper to taste. If you used canned roasted peppers, you can add a touch of the juice to your beans for a kick.  If you used chipotle, add a bit of the sauce mmmmm

Heat your tortillas, I do mine in the microwave in a damp towel.

Now you can make wraps with this or use your tortillas as bread, either way is good!

[LMNO]

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place a whole chicken (check the cavity for extra bits, and remove) in a roasting pan, and season all over with salt and pepper.

Place chicken in oven.  Wait an hour.  Remove chicken, place on cutting board, let rest.

Crank oven up to broil.

Put asparagus (tough ends trimmed off) on a broiling pan.  Season with olive oil and salt.

Place pan under the broiler for about 4 minutes.  Check to see if it's lightly charred yet.  If not, give it another 4 minutes.  Remove.

Carve chicken, serve with asparagus.

[Da6s]

We call this spanish pepper steak......

Sounds almost like a spicier alternative to jambalaya. I think this will be one of my first attempts.

[Da6s]

Take two slices of bread, and place them next to eachother on a plate.

Use a butter knife and carefully lift a glob of peanut-butter from a jar (careful not to drop it on the counter!).

Use the knife to spread the paste somewhat evenly on one of the slices. Don't worry if it's not exactly evenly spread, you'll get the hang of it as you do it more often.

Now here comes the trick, once the paste is implied, you place the other slice of bread on top of the first slice (that is covered in paste) so that it sticks together. And then, you can use the same knife to cut the entire thing in half.

If you want to get fancy, for extra presentation points, you can stack the two halves on top of eachother, so that you can see the cut surfaces.

I prepare this recipe for my girlfriend every morning for her to take to work as lunch, and she loves me for it

I'm sick of this recipe, which is why i'm seeking to expand my knowledge.

[Da6s]

Soup.

Quite hard to fuck up a soup. Try this bad boy.

Next snowstorm we have I'll make an attempt at this.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

We call this spanish pepper steak......

Sounds almost like a spicier alternative to jambalaya. I think this will be one of my first attempts.

Well different spices, and meats but ok... 

You can also do with chicken, just cook the pieces almost completely before covering with the salsa.  If my sons are any indication this will be come a favorite.  It freezes beautifully and is (as it should be) even better the next day!!

I will post a few more later.  Is there anything you won't eat or absolutely hate?  Any meats or veggies you prefer?

[Da6s]

I loathe eggs, pears, gourds/squash of any kind, not huge on beans.

[Triple Zero]

This recipe is very simple, explained in small steps, and also delicious:

http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=26305.msg969260#msg969260

[Freeky]

I got one!


You will need bread, tomatoes, and mayo/miracle whip and mustard.

Take the bread and toast it until it's lightly toasted.
Cut the tomato into thin slices.
Put the mayo/miracle whip on the toast.
Layer tomatoes neatly.
Add a little bit of mustard.

You now have a Tomato Sammich! Enjoy it!

(All the recipes I do are complicated and have extensive ingredient lists, sorry I couldn't help more. )

[Triple Zero]

the secret trick is to add the mustard on top of the mayo, so you can mix it when you spread it out with a butter knife. easier than trying to spread mustard on tomato slices, IMO.

and improve the recipe by adding:
- cheese
- sliced cucumber
- sliced gherkins
- ketchup
- bacon
- chilli flakes / sambal / shiracha / etc
- piccalilli

extra tip on slicing cucumber or gherkins: use a cheese slicer (link to pic because although every Dutch kitchen has one, I know a few English people that had no idea what it is, so apparently they're not as common everywhere). Slicing tomato still requires a sharp kitchen knife though.

[Sister Fracture]

the secret trick is to add the mustard on top of the mayo, so you can mix it when you spread it out with a butter knife. easier than trying to spread mustard on tomato slices, IMO.

and improve the recipe by adding:
- cheese
- sliced cucumber
- sliced gherkins
- ketchup
- bacon
- chilli flakes / sambal / shiracha / etc
- piccalilli

extra tip on slicing cucumber or gherkins: use a cheese slicer (link to pic because although every Dutch kitchen has one, I know a few English people that had no idea what it is, so apparently they're not as common everywhere). Slicing tomato still requires a sharp kitchen knife though.

Those are all pretty good suggestions. I have, in the past, put bread and butter pickles on the sammich. But if you put bacon on, it just becomes a BLT without the L.

Mostly tomato sammiches don't have anything else on them because I eat them as a diet food. A whole roma tomato is like, 70 calories. The mustard I get comes in a squeeze bottle, and I find that brown mustard is tastiest on it.

And you don't need a sharp knife, though it helps, all you need to slice a tomato is a serrated knife, if you're not going for pretty.

[Bella]

Thai Green Curry

2 Chicken breasts
1 can coconut milk, or low fat coconut milk
Thai Green Curry Paste
Diced onion to taste
Any kind of vegetable you like - I like mushrooms, very thin slices of carrots and sweet red peppers.

1) To make the curry, cook the paste in a large non-stick wok or large frying pan over a low heat, for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into strips and add to the pan with the chopped onion. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until no longer pink.

2) Stir in the coconut milk and veggies and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice.