Calling all Cooks

[Maisie]

I thought we could have a thread where us newbie cooks can ask the more experienced cooks for help and advice.

I will start by asking something really simple! I want to make my own garlic bread but don't know how to make garlic butter. I know I could look it up on line but thought this would be nicer! Can anyone help?

 

[taovandel]

Since getting married to a chef I've been trying to hold my own in the kitchen also.

Here is a recipe we tried the other day and liked

1 loaf Italian bread
5 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (You don't need this...we just threw it on at the last minute)

1.Cut the bread into slices 1 to 2 inches thick.
2.In a small bowl, mix butter, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly on the bread slices.
3.On a medium baking sheet, arrange the slices evenly and bake for 5 minutes, or until slightly brown. Check frequently so they do not burn.
4.Remove from oven. Top with cheese and return to oven 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is slightly brown and melted. Serve at once.

Yum!

I'm always looking for a good Alfredo recipe....I can never get it just right and it makes me mad!

 

[lliang_chi]

Take out a stick of butter and leave it on the counter
Go to the store and get:
a loaf of bread from the grocery bakery section
fresh garlic
fresh flat leaf parsley

Byt he time you're back from the store, your butter should be soft. Take your loaf and slice it along cross sectionally along the equator if the loaf is lying on the counter.

In a bowl mix together the softened butter, a few glugs of olive oil, chopped or crushed garlic, and chopped parsley. Use a spatula and spread it on the bread. Bake cut side up at 350F checking on it every now and then.

In a pinch you can used garlic powder and dried parsley. It won't taste as good but it can be done

Alfredo sauce:
butter
garlic
cream
parm cheese
flat leaf parsley, chopped

On medium heat, melt butter in pan, add garlic and stir. Don't let garlic burn.
Add cream and simmer for a few mins. Add cheese, and sprinkle with the parsley. Sorry for no exact measurements, I always kinda did things by taste.

If anyone has some authentic recipes for Murg Makhani or muttar paneer?

 

[somethingshiny]

Another way to do garlic bread is to toast your bread in the oven with a little olive oil or butter, then while it's still hot rub a fresh garlic clove on it. The more you rub, the more flavor. My husband prefers this because he doesn't like garlic chunks.

 

[Matata]

and if you like a more mellow garlic bread, you can roast the garlic in foil with a bit of olive oil which will make the garlic sweeter and give it a bit of a nutty taste.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

What a fun idea! I am been spending lots of weekends in the kitchen since graduating residency.

I like all the garlic butter ideas. I don't really have much to contribute there.

I do have a question. I was going to look it up, but I thought I would post it here first. I was reading a cookbook app on my iphone while on an airplane today. I found a simple recipe for homemade salsa, and I would love to make it as my husband LOVES mexican food. The recipe makes about 2 cups of salsa. For the spicy ingredients, it just says fresh chili (like jalapeno) to taste. Does anyone have any idea of what a typical amount is for mild or medium salsa?

 

[lliang_chi]

Ltl, congrats on finishing residency. Re: the salsa heat-i-ness, I guess it depends on how much you can take the heat. I eat pretty spicy and every jalepeno is different so what I normally do is slice off the stem and stick the cut end on my tongue. If it's a "good" one (meaning hot) then I'll use it accordingly.

If you're not feeling that, you can slice stem off the pepper, then cut it in half, from tip to stem. Then you can remove all the ribs and seeds (this is the hotter part of the pepper). Chop up the pepper and add a little at a time until you're good. You can keep the remaining chopped pepper on the side in case DH eats hotter than you do.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Thanks lliang_chi, I am hoping to give this a try next weekend.

 

[Maisie]

What is murg makhani? It sounds very exotic!

Thank you for the garlic bread recipes. I appreciate it!

 

[dragonfly411]

Lit - For the salsa, I'd use about a teaspoon for fresh peppers or you mouth will be on FIYAH

I agree with rubbing fresh cloves on bread for Garlic Bread.


I have a question, though I could go read it. Can someone explain what adobo is?

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I'm in the market for a good chicken marsala recipe. The one I made this weekend was too darn sweet!

 

[lliang_chi]

What is murg makhani? It sounds very exotic!

Thank you for the garlic bread recipes. I appreciate it!

Murgh Makhani is an Indian dish also called Butter Chicken. It's creamy and chicken-y and sooooo tasty! I'm hoping one of these lovely ladies will ahve

I'm in the market for a good chicken marsala recipe. The one I made this weekend was too darn sweet!

Hmm... my brother has a good recipe, I think it depends on your marsala wine too. Sigh! I'm secretly jealous you get to eat mushrooms. I adore them but DH detests them, so I sadly can only have them when I eat out...

 

[geckodani]

Another way to do garlic bread is to toast your bread in the oven with a little olive oil or butter, then while it's still hot rub a fresh garlic clove on it. The more you rub, the more flavor. My husband prefers this because he doesn't like garlic chunks.

This is how we do it at my place. I use the same trick to flavor meats with garlic. Slice a big 'ole clove and rub it all over the meat. Mmmm.

 

[Maisie]

Sounds like a plan. My garlic crusher is rubbish and doesn't crush adequately!

 

[dragonfly411]

Maisie - I generally chop my garlic with a knife. You could do that and just put the chopped cloves ON the bread whilst it is toasting in the oven.

 

[kama_s]

If anyone has some authentic recipes for Murg Makhani or muttar paneer?

Unfortunately, making murg makhani (butter chicken) at home is quite impossible. One of the msot important flavour comes from the chicken, which is actualy chicken tikka. So you will need to marinate the chicken in tikka spices and then grill on a TANDOOR. It's the grilling in the tandoor that gives the chicken, and ultimately the sauce, the smoky rich flavour.

I have my mum's mattar paneer recipe at home, I'll post it tonight. Do you make your own paneer or buy cubes from an Indian store? Also, do you like the paneer soft or fried? We make it both ways, depending on how rich we want it to be. Restaurants also add cream to mattar paneer, but the authentic dish has none.

 

[kama_s]

Maisie: If you haven't much time before supper, you can also melt butter with garlic powder instead of real garlic. It doesnt taste as good, but it makes do when in a pinch for a quick meal/snack.

 

[Octavia]

Maisie - I generally chop my garlic with a knife. You could do that and just put the chopped cloves ON the bread whilst it is toasting in the oven.

The best way to get all the yummy flavor out of garlic is to smash it, which releases the oils. Peel the clove, then slice it in half lengthwise so you get two flat-ish pieces. Put cut side down onto a cutting board. Put a nice big chef's knife flat on top of the piece of garlic, with the sharp side of the blade facing away from you. Smash down on the blade like you mean it...grrrrr!! Then mince up any larger pieces that are left.

Or, if you're lazy like me, you can do this maneuver with a whole, unpeeled clove, and the peel will shatter and become much easier to pick off. The garlic doesn't get as smashed, but after I get the peel off I just whack it a couple more times.

 

[April20]

Another way to do garlic bread is to toast your bread in the oven with a little olive oil or butter, then while it's still hot rub a fresh garlic clove on it. The more you rub, the more flavor. My husband prefers this because he doesn't like garlic chunks.

We do it this way, only we don't add olive oil until after we've rubbed it with fresh garlic. We rub it with the garlic and then dizzle with oil olive and sprinkle with salt and pepper. SO GOOD.

 

[dragonfly411]

<--- wants to know about these yummy sounding Indian dishes and why one is impossible.

<---- also still wants to know what adobo is.

 

[elrohwen]

Adobo is a sauce used to pack chipotles in (which are smoked jalepenos). It's usually a tomato based sauce with other spices and peppers in it. It's typically used as a marinade or a sauce for meat.

 

[Matata]

Adobo is a sauce used to pack chipotles in (which are smoked jalepenos). It's usually a tomato based sauce with other spices and peppers in it. It's typically used as a marinade or a sauce for meat.

There is also this all purpose seasoning -- garlic, onion, cumin and a host of other stuff.

 

[Ninna]

Yeah, soo many kinds of adobo. The mexican chipotle adobo is more like a condiment and a little piquant for me
Spanish [citrus], Latino [vinegar] and Filipino [soy] use wet adobo for marinating, grilling and stewing meats. My favorite is Puerto Rican dry rub version [with brujo oregano] on grilled fish.

Garlic: I like to puree garlic cloves for garlic bread or dressings. First, I do a rough mince with the chef's knife then sprinkle some kosher salt. Using the side of the knife, go back and forth over the garlic a couple times until creamy.

Can't wait for K's recipe

 

[elrohwen]

Garlic: I like to puree garlic cloves for garlic bread or dressings. First, I do a rough mince with the chef's knife then sprinkle some kosher salt. Using the side of the knife, go back and forth over the garlic a couple times until creamy.

This.

 

[somethingshiny]

OOH! I'm going to try this!

 

[Maisie]

Thanks for all the garlic advice! Its going to make my life so much easier!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

So I got suckered into signing up for a hot dish for a work potluck. So I bought a slow cooker, and make a mashed sweet potato recipe I found online. Although I got complements on my dish, I was not personally that impressed with it. And it really did not save me any time. The only advantage was that I could prep it the night before, and than actually cook it in the morning while working so that it would be hot. But it was no less prep time than a dish I would make in the dutch oven or regular oven.

So I guess that has led to the following question. Does the "warm" function on the slow cooker just keep already hot dishes warm, or will it re-warm a cold dish? Is it possible to make a dish for the potluck the night prior, and than use the slow cooker to re-warm it and keep it warm for serving?

We have a lot of potlucks at work, so I see myself making another hot dish in the future.

 

[dragonfly411]

A) Thank you guys for the Adobo information! Very very helpful!

B) Litl - I would say that the warming function could definitely be used to re-warm a dish before serving. It can also keep the dish warm. If I leave mine on warm though it tends to get a bit too warm before serving and I get that crusty stuff at the top - mainly with cheesy dishes, so I wouldn't leave it on keep warm for over a few hours.

 

[lliang_chi]

Oooh, Kama, please post your muttar paneer recipe. I buy the paneer, i haven't made it at home. And I have it soft paneer style, not fried.

Sigh, sad about the murgh makhani. I love that dish and I"m trying to introduce Indian food to DH and I think that would be a good one to get him started on.

 

[lliang_chi]

LTL, the warming function can be used to heat up a cold dish. It'd probably take a few hours though. My sis has an awesome cooker that switches to warm after the cook timer expires so she always has hot meals. I have to use an electric timer, my cooker isn't as fancy. But it's fantastic time saver. I use it a lot int he winter when it's cold out and you need those hearty meals to stay warm