Where do the smells in your kitchen come from?

[Eaquae Legit]

In the other thread, we post yummy foods. But this is more general, I suppose. I'm wondering what books, websites, or other places pwebbers go to for never-fail recipes.

For myself, it's Simon Rimmer and The Accidental Vegetarian. I have never had a recipe from that book that wasn't at least "great". More often, they're at "instant classic, lovelovelove" status. I've had other books that had a strong baking section, or a strong soup section, or whatever, but no other one has been so consistently delicious. The BBC recipe finder has lots of his recipes online.

From the other thread, I've been introduced to Smitten Kitchen, which provided me with amazing cinnamon buns. I haven't had time to try other recipes, though.

My other runner up is Better Homes and Gardens, for baking. It's the book my mom wore out twice when I was a kid, so they have that added nostalgia touch, too.

Anyone else?

[Jayelle]

I had to really think about this when we were getting rid of our books! In the end, I only kept a few cookbooks, as well as my binder of random recipes.

Joy of Cooking is my go-to reference book for general advice/basics. It's been around forever and the most recent edition has tons of good stuff in it. It lacks in pictures, but is great for those "How do I carve a chicken?" moments.

My other one is the MCC bookMore With Less. It has a whole theory of living that I agree with about eating well and not using up the world's resources. Great recipes for people on a budget!

On the other end of the spectrum, I did own all of Nigella Lawson's books, which were fun to read, but tended to be insane to actually make any of the recipes. Between the Britishness and the expense of the ingredients, it was cool to dream, but difficult to enact. We mostly used her as inspiration.

As for websites, I am really fickle. I tend to just google and read a bunch of sites before making up my own thing.
I do really like Manjula's Kitchen for indian food. Her videos are really easy to follow, and I find that with ethnic recipes, having a video is a really helpful thing.

Also, the food network's website. I tend to trust those recipes more then other sites, since they seem well tested.

[mr_thebrain]

most of our recipes are from our parents. hand me downs from other generations. this is especially true with desserts. we have a few meals we've taken from a couple magazines and some from books. but still most of those are my parents books and magazines that we copied from. i think we only have like 3 books and we never touch them. i've pulled a few from the internets.

[locke]

marcella hazen's essentials of Italian cooking

Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Nancy Silverton's A twist of the Wrist

Peter Reinhardt's Crust and Crumb

Alton Brown's Good Eats (TV Show)

and if I'm fermenting or culturing something or making something with said fermented/cultured stuff probably Nourishing Traditions or Wild Fermentation

we also have my sister's cookbook of family recipes and I of course like Smitten Kitchen (gah, I still struggle not to write smitten kitten every single time, I even think the phrase and have to consciously self correct after seeing it written) and pioneer woman and the LA times posts terrific recipes that have rarely steered me wrong (one squash casserole was just utter failure, but it reminded me that even homemade vegetarian food is generally ick when it is trying to be replacement food rather than itself).

[Eaquae Legit]

(one squash casserole was just utter failure, but it reminded me that even homemade vegetarian food is generally ick when it is trying to be replacement food rather than itself)

So true. Sometimes you can get a decent replacement, but definitely there's just a difference. You can tell when a veggie recipe is there to rejoice in food for its own sake rather than a grudging "it'll do".

[Claire]

even homemade vegetarian food is generally ick when it is trying to be replacement food rather than itself).

I actually disagree, but I'm one of the only vegetarians I know that feels that way. I looove making chick pea/black bean/soy burgers. And I make a "tuna" salad out of chick peas that is DELICIOUS because it weirdly tastes like the real thing.

Also, I like fake processed meat too when I'm too lazy to cook, though I know its bad for me.

I posted this in the other thread, but I love www.foodgawker.com. I'm not good at cooking, but I love looking at pictures of food and trying things out. They never come out exactly right, but the almost always taste good, and I have fun!

[fawkes]

Some of my favorite recipes came from a free cookbook I got when we went to Costco one day (yay for free stuff!). I also like Alton Brown <3 for ideas, and my awesome Alton Brown cookbook my sweetie got me for a present. A lot of stuff I make just comes out of my head, using other books or cooking shows for ideas and tips, and mashing it all together.

[Eaquae Legit]

Okay, I do occasionally indulge in veggie lunchmeat or something. But Claire, it sounds like you enjoy your "tuna salad" just for itself, and I think that's the difference. "This is close enough" is different from "no, actually, I really like the way this substitution tastes, it makes a whole new thing that is very yummy."

Also, Jan! Brent's mom has More With Less, and she hasn't ever really used it, so she gave me her copy! I was flipping through it, and I already like it a lot.

[zeroguy]

fake processed meat

veggie lunchmeat

What?

[Jayelle]

Also, Jan! Brent's mom has More With Less, and she hasn't ever really used it, so she gave me her copy! I was flipping through it, and I already like it a lot.

Great recipes are the Kusherie, Pakistani Kima and Honey Baked Chicken.

...though I think only the Kusherie is vegetarian of those. Are you a vegetarian, or do you just eat alot of vegetarian meals? I can't remember.

I love the chapter on cereals.

[VelvetElvis]

I have a "Church Suppers" cook book that is filled with pretty much any comfort food you can think of.

I also have a subscription to a magazine called Southern Lady that you probably can't get where y'all live, but gave me a recipe for Lemonade Cake that hasn't been topped ANYWHERE.

[steph]

I inherited from my maw-maw cooking without recipes. When I want to make something I don't already know how to make, I'll go online, google it, look at 5-10 recipes, take what I like from each of them and then go cook it however I want to. It drives Brian crazy, but he enjoys the results. I hate having cook books and I hate it when people give them to me. (I know this is not normal at all.)

I did have to learn technique. Most of it is self-taught, direction from my mother (starting about the age of 3) or learned from watching way too much Food Network over the years. Alton Brown is fabulous for explaining why things need to be done a certain way, which is a great thing for the daughter of an engineer who always wants to know why.

There are some things that do need a recipe, like baking. I generally wander online until I find one that seems to fit my cooking personality and then try it. If I like it, I keep it. If not, I try a new one. I also will tend to use the recipes that come in an appliance manual, like my bread maker or my kitchen aid.

[Jayelle]

I am really similar, Steph. It's fun to make your own recipe!

Chef at Home (on the Canadian Food Network) is all about cooking without a recipe. He gave me serious confidence to just dive in.

[Young Val]

THE FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK is indespensible. It's just a great, comprehensive, go-to book. This one is also sentimental to me. I have my mom's old edition from the 70s. It was given to her at her wedding, and she passed it on to me when David and I moved to Minnesota.

HOW TO ROAST A LAMB by Michael Psilakis is WONDERFUL.

And of course, you've all heard me sing the praises of Deb, from Smitten Kitchen. That woman can do no wrong in my eyes.

Those are my standard go-tos. A lot of if I make up as I go along. Or recipes have been passed down by family and friends. I read a LOT of food blogs and get many ideas that way. I also love a challenge. I own quite a number of other cookbooks as well, but the two above get the most use by far.

[Eaquae Legit]

I admit to not following recipes very well. I love having cookbooks for inspiration, and sometimes I'll make a recipe as-is, but rare is the occasion when I can resist adding a little of this spice, or taking out that veggie I don't like, etc. I tend to like really strong flavours (whence my love of curries??), so it's not unusual for me to double or triple spices. I do enjoy having somewhere to start from, though.

The exception is baking. I'll usually stick pretty close to a recipe for baking, though recently I've gotten more experimental. Maybe someday I'll achieve "Grandma" baking status: a pinch of this, a bit of that, and voila! a cake!

[Dr. Mobius]

Recently the smell in my kitchen has been coming from the trash can, but I just changed the bag so hopefully that will fix it.

[Eaquae Legit]

Jan, I'm reading the More With Less book, and I'm really struck by how much of the discussion could have come right from Michael Pollan, except it's 40 years older. I really hope Pollan's got this book.

[Eaquae Legit]

Browsing sakeriver today, and I found this blog post. What a lovely meditation on cooking! I really do fine the act of preparing food to be meditative (unless it's a rush). The kitchen/dining room is the heart of any home I've been in. Rare is the get-together that doesn't involve at the very least a pot of tea.

I know why it's necessary, sort of, but I'm also a bit sad that all the cooking at the homes I work at takes place overnight. It just feels like something's missing.

Anyway.

[Paul]

Where do the smells in your kitchen come from? Errr, my sink. I guess its time to do the dishes.

Ninja edit:

Recently the smell in my kitchen has been coming from the trash can, but I just changed the bag so hopefully that will fix it.

err, i guess i should have read the entire thread, sorry for stealing your joke mobius...

[Mich]

I forgot to post in this thread! Last year for Christmas my mom gave my siblings and me separate copies of a recipe book she had made, that chronicled how to make all of the different things that she had made over the years that we liked, or that were legendary around the house. Some were from her gigantic old Betty Crocker recipe book, but most of them were the kind often found on postcards or specific recipe notes, tucked away into some homemade container. She typed them up, bound them with plastic spirals, and then hand-wrote notes on almost every recipe, about specific times we had it, or how the recipe came into her hands.

I've only made one thing out of it, but it's my favorite recipe book in the whole world.

[Eaquae Legit]

I have one of those! My sister made us one for Christmas one year. We all contributed. It's awesome.

[Eaquae Legit]

I've fallen in love with Alessandro. I was looking for a meatball recipe, because I don't like them flat and hard like they get when they're fried. Sadly, it doesn't look like it's vegetarian-adaptable, but perhaps for a dinner party sometime...

Anyway, his other recipes are also delicious-looking! I may try the mushroom one or the mediterranean fusilli one sometime soon...

[LilBee91]

*bump*

Does anyone have any tips for a good Alfredo sauce? My mom's recipe just isn't as creamy and flavorful as the restaurants make it, and chicken Alfredo is pretty much my favorite food in the whole wide world.

[Eaquae Legit]

Whoa, dude, I never replied to that??

Okay, if you're still looking, here's what I do. Sadly, I can'y give you exact measurements, because it always sort of happens on the fly.

First I melt some butter in a small/medium pot. Maybe 1/8th of a cup? a few tablespoons, I guess. Then I add a big handful of flour (this depends on the size of your hands). Stir it together and let it cook, stirring occasionally, until it looks like it might be toasting. For me, it usually becomes pretty thick and not quite doughy. Turn down the heat to medium.

Add in a couple cups of milk, and a cup of cream. If you really want low-fat, you can use just milk, but I like the creaminess of the cream. Whisk it with the flour to get a smooth consistency. Get someone else to add a bit of salt (to taste) and lots of fresh cracked black pepper. Keep whisking! Don't let the milk burn!

Stir in 1/4 to 1/3 cup shredded or grated parmesan. Keep whisking! The cheese will melt and the sauce will start to thicken up. Keep a good eye on it, and take it off the heat as soon as it hits the right consistency. Pour it over your cooked pasta and serve immediately. Serves 4-6??

****

Meanwhile, I really want to make this: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/201 ... =obnetwork

I just have to wait until Wee Brontosaurus is here, due to the raw eggs in the special sauce.

[LilBee91]

Thanks! I forgot I asked that. I don't know when I'm going to try it, but I'll let you know how it goes.

[steph]

Meanwhile, I really want to make this: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/201 ... =obnetwork

I just have to wait until Wee Brontosaurus is here, due to the raw eggs in the special sauce.

Eggs in mayonnaise isn't really a problem. When you make mayo, the lemon juice basically kills all the bacteria. Commercial mayonnaise is even less of a problem, since they probably pasteurize eggs before turning them into mayo anyway. (Homemade mayo is SO much tastier, though!)

ETA: For a quick, easy, tasty alfredo, melt a stick of butter and a cube of cream cheese together. Add garlic and parmesan cheese to taste. Thin to your desired consistency with milk. Season with salt. Pepper and nutmeg optional, but highly encouraged. (Italian's use nutmeg in all white sauces.)

[locke]

Fettucini alfredo, I used to make that once a week for my family back in high school era. haven't made it in years so I'll have to look up the recipe.

you can increase creaminess by using either half and half or cream. we tried cream once, and it was too creamy for the family. We tried Half and half and that was very rich, we liked it but still not crazy about it. Our favorite variation was a mix of half and half and whole milk.

keep in mind that creamyness can be achieved in a lot of different ways, and while adding cream or half and half will give your sauce more body, if you're using grated parmesan cheese it will still have a somewhat grainy texture. But don't use fresh grated parmesan cheese, if you try to substitute it it will just melt into a parmesan ball rather than emulsifying into the butter/milk mixture.

iirc our recipe was

stick of butter
spoonful of chopped garlic
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese (green can cheese)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half and half

melt the butter with the garlic. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir until you have a yellow mess in the bottom of your pan and the cheese has warmed. over medium heat, Very slowly drizzle the milk in as you whisk the mixture, make sure it has warmed again, and you can let the mixture get hotter overall. Do the same slow drizzle with the half and half. Heat it up, stirring constantly and toss with cooked pasta.

[Eaquae Legit]

Right! Garlic!

I forgot to say, crush two cloves of garlic into the melted butter and fry them for a few minutes before adding the flour. Very important step!

[Jayelle]

Hopefully soon, the smells in my kitchen are going to be coming from the Little House Cookbook! We've been reading Little House on the Prairie aloud to Ginny and I found the cookbook for $2 at Value Village today. I'm totally excited to make some of the recipes with Ginny.


(side note: Is Value Village a Canadian thing?)

ETA: Ah, I see. It's called Savers in the States.

[Luet]

I've never heard of either place.

[ender1]

(side note: Is Value Village a Canadian thing?)

ETA: Ah, I see. It's called Savers in the States.

Also called Value Village in the States too, or at least in some places, as there is one nearby here.

[Jayelle]

I've never heard of either place.

It's a chain of thrift stores.

[Eaquae Legit]

For tonight, the smells in my kitchen are coming from that mysterious zone you enter when you look in the cupboard and say "I really don't want to go to the shop, what can I combine in here to make something edible and satisfying?"

Edit: Soup of barley, dried porcini mushrooms, fried fake sausage chunks, and crispy fried onion. Could be worse.

[Gravity Defier]

Where do the smells in your kitchen come from?

You all, hopefully.

It's still half a year out, at the earliest, for me to worry about having to cook for myself but I will have to face that eventually and I'd like to do the smart thing and start gathering info now versus in the middle of or after moving, when I'll need things to be as stress-free as possible. I will have some family recipes, of course, but to be honest, it's been a long, long, very long time since anyone in this house put any real effort into food and so we tend to eat the same few things over and over again.

So, my huge favor to ask of the foodies on this board, probably Steph especially: would you help me build a set of recipes? I'm not sure what I'm looking for but whatever it is can't be too difficult, preferably would make a lot to freeze for later, relatively cheap, and tasty. That last one is probably the hardest to account for, since I'm a picky eater.

For those of you who would like to push me towards making my own stuff from scratch, now would be the time to do that. A new start means trying new things.

Right, I think that's all. Any and all help is appreciated, so thanks in advance.

[Jayelle]

This so confirms what I've been thinking lately - we need a pweb cookbook.