Do you cook? What are some notable things you cooked and what were the results?

[Eja117]

I'm not as god as my wife, but not bad. She thinks the best thing I made was steak cordon blue. I think it might have been the egg nog croissant french toast.

[Roy H.]

I'm not much of a cook.  I grill, and I make a mean chili or beef stew, but my wife does most of the day-to-day cooking.  Dishes I can pull off with some degree of success:  pork tenderloin, baked stuffed scallops, chicken parm, home mac and cheese.  I think a monkey could probably do all of that with a minor degree of training.

[Eja117]

pork tenderloin seems pretty accomplished. I guess maybe I need to do that next.

[BleedGreen1989]

It's what I currently do to pay bills so I hope I'm at least decent at it lol.

Fish is probably one of my favorite things to cook. A simple piece of marinated salmon cooked medium over a grill.

[BleedGreen1989]

pork tenderloin seems pretty accomplished. I guess maybe I need to do that next.

Yeah, pork tenderloin is great for impressing guests because it's pretty simple and always looks like it took a lot of time to do lol.

Saute up some apples, red onions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, brandy, and butter to lay over the top and yum.

[fairweatherfan]

I'm the main cook in our house - I eat a pretty protein-heavy diet so I specialize in meats and don't often make sides or desserts.

The best thing I make is a pretty mean spicy fried chicken.  Also have gotten pretty good with steaks, pork tenderloins, roasted fowl (chicken down to quail).  Next up I think I'm going to try and master an espresso crust for a good New York strip.

[thirstyboots18]

My best?  To entertain, probably Paella; my favorite, Thai red curry (also the easiest); my husband's fav, chicken soup.

[TheWatersEdge]

I love to cook and generally try my hand at preparing something new at least once a week.  One of the new favs that we have is a spicy Thai grilled chicken w. those mean little bird chiles, coconut milk, coriander and yellow curry.   Just made a corn chowder with bacon and scallions to give a little comfort as we endure this serious snow season in Boston.

If anybody is also a cookbook fanatic; I definitely recommend The New England Soup Factory cookbook.  It has tons of great and inspiring soups/stews for the winter and I've found these are well-tested for the home chef quantities.  This has also made a great gift for the holidays.   I also love doing all of Bobby Flay's recipes which you can find all over the net.  His dishes seem to offer up such nice depths of flavor and although they can take a bit of time and effort, they also provide a nice way to develop new skills in the kitchen. 

[clover]

My best?  To entertain, probably Paella; my favorite, Thai red curry (also the easiest); my husband's fav, chicken soup.

Thai red curry (also the easiest) sounds great--recipe?

[thirstyboots18]

My best?  To entertain, probably Paella; my favorite, Thai red curry (also the easiest); my husband's fav, chicken soup.

Thai red curry (also the easiest) sounds great--recipe?

will post it later when I am on the computer...too much trouble on iPad. ?. Thanks for asking.

[krumeto]

As with others, my wife does the heavy lifting. I usually cook on Saturdays. It's a great stress reliever to me - some light music, closed kitchen doors, etc...

My best one - moussaka. It is pretty common all over the Balkans. Not difficult and pretty delicious. That one is the closest to how I do it: http://www.findbgfood.com/bgmeals-moussaka.htm

The ones I like most (another common Balkan dish) - sarmi. More or less small balls of rice and meat in cabbage or grape leaves. http://www.findbgfood.com/bgmeals-sarmi.htm

Absolutely delicious! My trick is to make them really small, but it is quite the hassle.

[krumeto]

It's what I currently do to pay bills so I hope I'm at least decent at it lol.

Fish is probably one of my favorite things to cook. A simple piece of marinated salmon cooked medium over a grill.

That's a good idea for this Saturday. I might add some vegs and cooked rice on the side.

[Eja117]

I do more grilling in the summer. This time of year I only cook maybe once a week. My wife isn't as good at grilling

[thirstyboots18]

My best?  To entertain, probably Paella; my favorite, Thai red curry (also the easiest); my husband's fav, chicken soup.

Thai red curry (also the easiest) sounds great--recipe?

Thai Curry

Basic Ingredients:
   
- 1 can coconut milk,
- one can baby corn,
- Thai Red Curry Paste (my husband likes the smokey one, I like the hot one...but if you use      the hot paste, go light until you find the heat level you like) 
- Fish Sauce (or sea salt for a substitute), 
- 1/4 cup thin sliced green peppers, about an inch in length.
 
What ever veggies you like...I like mushrooms, broccoli, maybe green beans...you don't need a lot...it should be more like a sauce with ingredients than like a thick stew.

You can also add meat (about 1 lb. cooked.)  I like boneless pork loin or chicken breast. (I usually  slice the meat into thin strips and sauté in coconut oil, but you can use pre cooked meat, like rotisserie chicken) If I make it with pork, I  add a can of chunk pineapple.

Directions:  1.  sauté meat

                  2.  add coconut milk

                  3.  add fish sauce (or salt) and curry paste to taste (about 1 - 2 tablespoons), stirring well (I also add garlic  powder,  just because I like it!  lol

                  4.   drain corn and add, together with other (fresh) veggies and pineapple (add the pineapple juice, too).   If  you go for the hot Thai paste beware...for some reason it  seems to concentrate a lot of the heat in the pineapple.

                  5.  cook on low for about 20 minutes, or until the meat is completely cooked.

                  6.  serve with rice (I like jasmine or basmati).

Sorry for the freestyle recipe...I hope you can follow it.  lol.  I don't have a recipe, was taught how to make it by a Thai friend's (chef) brother.  It really is an easy thing to make, is mostly from cans, and uses just one pot or skillet.  Really, if you have coconut milk, veggies and curry paste you can make a curry.  It is like chicken soup...no matter what you put into it, or leave out of it, you can't ruin it. 
                 

[Quetzalcoatl]

My girlfriend has gotten really busy in the last year so I've become a ridiculous cook by default.  My mom was an excellent cook which helped, too.

I typically do the following:

I get 1-2 fish entrees and 1-2 meat entrees a week.  Every other week or so I'll get a whole chicken or a roast for our slow cooker.  I also get vegetables that are good as stand alone sides but can also fit in along with other meals.

The entrees are typically salmon, mahi mahi, black cod, pork chops, chicken breast (bone in skin on), lamb chops or something like that.  Usually no steaks, as they are played out.  Depending on how much time I have, I'll either do something fancy or I'll just sear it on the stovetop.  Vegetables are usually asparagus, potatoes, butternut squash, egg plant, shi****o peppers, peas, okra, etc.

So for salmon, if I'm busy, I can just come home, put it on a plate, then cut a lemon in half and squeeze one of the halves onto the salmon.  I usually puncture the meat with a fork.  Then I'll walk the dog while that sits.  When I come back, I'll throw a random marinade together (usually something like olive oil, white wine vinegar, soy sauce, a pinch of Worcestershire sauce and some salt and pepper) and let that sit while I prep the vegetables.  Throw that on the stove top at a low/medium heat for 15 minutes and it's good to go.

If I have more time, I can make more elaborate marinades or on the weekend if I have a ton of time, I can use every dish in the house and make stuff like this: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Braised-Lamb-Shanks-Wrapped-in-Eggplant-107589

It takes forever but it's so good.  Basically, just have the groceries to be flexible.  Once you get a system down, you can use leftovers to make fried rice or you can make fancy stuff.  It doesn't cost any more or less.

Oh and wow, my favorite pepper is censored here.