What do you cook the most?

Kinda meat and potatoes fare, but I've been experimenting more with French cooking (without the seafood angle). Maillard reaction, misen en place, even made a couple batches of demi-glace. It's difficult these days to get beef bones, I've found. You can order them online, but only in larger quantities.

French sauces - bordelaise, beurre blanc, bechemel, and hollandaise (but only when I have guests, which isn't often).

Steak au poivre (but I'd rather use a ribeye rather than tenderloin). I like to use my outdoor grill and smoker for pulled pork, chicken thighs, baby back ribs, and grilled zucchini, onions, and peppers.

Italian sausage with cabbage; homemade Boston baked beans. My potato salad is made from russets cooked in their jackets, peeled when they're hot, chopped leeks, celery, and bell pepper, with a bit of red wine vinegar and mayo -- the mayo is added when the potatoes are hot so the mayo soaks in and you don't have a soupy mess. Some fresh dill.

I make my own cole slaw dressing, though I'll buy the shredded cabbage in the package.

I used to make my own sausage, but I haven't in quite a while.

My sister won't ever let me visit her or her visit me without making lasagne. Back in January, I made her make it while I supervised. I don't use a recipe for my own stuff. I do what looks right.

But I'm known to eat cold pizza on Sunday mornings and cold baked beans out of a can. I like to cook, but not every day.
 
I cook quite a varied menu, not relying on the same thing too regulalrly..... chicken features a lot...


I love Bacon and egg pies... Fish chowder... French toast... Lamb Moussaka... Minced beef and vegetable with mash or boiled potatoes... Bacon and Lentil Soup.... Mac & cheese with chopped bacon and broccoli... Lamb shanks... jacket potatoes with Egg Mayo filling..or Blue cheese.. sometimes both.... these feature most in my menu... all aside from the Moussaka are cooked from scratch...
 
Forgot to add a couple of things -- I lived for a very short time in Texas, but long enough to know what chili is. Chili consists of the following:
  • Beef (chuck or other braised cut)
  • Chiles (preferably Hatcher's out of New Mexico). Poblano, serrano (not too much because of the heat), ancho, maybe a jalapeno or two).
  • Seasonings -- yeah, I use onions, garlic, cumin, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, s&p, and whatever else I might have in mind.
  • Maybe some beef stock, and masa to thicken
That's it. No tomatoes, no beans. Those things don't sit well with Texans.

I make chicken broth every couple of weeks, freezing some of it. In the pot goes mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery) dried thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, rosemary. I cut up a whole chicken, add water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the thigh gets to 180 deg. F. Strain, reserving the veggies (except for the onions) and feed to the dog. Cool the broth and refrigerate half, freezing the other half. Debone the chicken when cool. Some of the bones will go to Jackie, my parrot, who eats the marrow out of the bone. Freeze the meat and use it sparingly for whatever, most often spiking the dog's kibble along with a splash of the chicken broth.

Jackie (the parrot) and Pepper (the dog) love me. I think I know why.
 
Most often for dinner would be Mexican chicken and rice. I like a chicken and dressing casserole that I bake often. Both of those are served with a green vegetable or salad.
Most often for lunch would be avocado toast or toast with pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella. The mozzarella is melted in the oven and it is kind of like a vegetarian pizza when done.
Breakfast is nearly always oatmeal with blueberries.
 
Alizerine said:
Cooking has become simplified as I age. I like chicken thighs, fish fillets, meatballs, pork tenderloin, pasta, potatoes, rice and beans, fresh or frozen veggies. Various prepared sauces and herbs for flavor.
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Bingo on the fresh or frozen veggies. I just can't do canned veggies of any type. ETA -- beans, i.e., black beans, bbq beans, pinto beans I'll buy and use, but anything else -- nope. But pinto beans are especially challenging -- I love them, but they don't love me, especially when I cook them from scratch. :oops:
 
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RadishRose said:
I also seem to make a lot of chicken dishes besides soups.
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You bring up a great point about chicken. I'd like to add a comment about chicken and food safety. Lots and lots of commentary about salmonella and maybe some other critters that raw chickens bring to the party. I have to admit, I am not as wonked out about food safety as, say for example, Chef Jean-Pierre is on his YT channel (I love his style), but at the same time I have not ever made anybody sick. I make sure to check chicken temps before cooking is complete and I carefully wash cutting boards and utensils without bleach solution sanitizing. Maybe I'm living on the edge -- dunno -- but in 50 years of cooking, I've never made anyone sick AFAIK.
 
Eupher said:
You bring up a great point about chicken. I'd like to add a comment about chicken and food safety. Lots and lots of commentary about salmonella and maybe some other critters that raw chickens bring to the party. I have to admit, I am not as wonked out about food safety as, say for example, Chef Jean-Pierre is on his YT channel (I love his style), but at the same time I have not ever made anybody sick. I make sure to check chicken temps before cooking is complete and I carefully wash cutting boards and utensils without bleach solution sanitizing. Maybe I'm living on the edge -- dunno -- but in 50 years of cooking, I've never made anyone sick AFAIK.
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I think, if washed thoroughly with hot, soapy water things are ok. I use a bit of bleach tho' on cutting boards.
 
I'm pretty sure most everybody on this thread has heard of, and watched, Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) when he had his TV program in the 70s. AFAIC, he and Julia Child really brought cooking to the masses and I was especially enthralled with his use of clarified butter in his cooking.

I've since rediscovered clarified butter and, OMG, what a wonderful fat it is to use in all manner of cooking. And so simple! Just remove the milk solids, skim off any foam, and you can bring those temps up, baby, up to 450 deg. F. if you need to. So rich and flavorful and adds so much to French cooking. EVOO is great too, but it has a completely different flavor profile.
 
RadishRose said:
I think, if washed thoroughly with hot, soapy water things are ok. I use a bit of bleach tho' on cutting boards.
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Definitely a good idea, but I gotta say in being honest, I'll use bleach more as an agent to remove stains from nylon or delrin cutting boards more than as a sanitizer. I don't use bleach on a wooden cutting board, but will definitely use mineral oil as maintenance. Like I said, maybe I live on the edge -- dunno.
 
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I only cook about once a week.

This time of year it’s usually a small boiled dinner, sheet pan vegetable hash, soup, pork chops with cabbage or potatoes, pancakes.

The rest of the time I rely on portion controlled frozen foods or deli grab ‘n’ go.

Sort of my own personal version of meals on wheels. 😉🤭😂
 
I prepare chicken the most, usually in soups or stews but occasionally in a stir fry or with noodles. I like beef also and prepare that frequently like beef kabobs, beef stew, barbecued beef or beef and broccoli stir fry. I serve all this with fresh fruit. No cooking required there?
 


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