Food...BAM!

Do you ever contract yourself out as a personal chef?

No.
I would cook for you though...


Today I want to make Cajun Blackened Chicken... for some reason I'm craving hot food. I would use fresh peppercorns, smashed by mine own hand... ok now I'm getting hungry and it's only 5:45 am...

What would you serve with the chicken?*smaking lips together*

I can hear a Julia Child voice in my head when you say, "Today, I'm going to make..."

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"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

Not me. I hear Bobby Flay.

Oh! probably some Alfredo with black pepper and sliced jalapenos. Baked apples for dessert.

Alfredo? I told you...alfredo is a sin...but I would take a chance on it.

aflredo baby! i have yet to find one that truly TRULY inspired me.

i have been on a lifelong search for the perfect alfredo. one that isn't bland. one that requires no pepper. one that's tangy and sour and cheesy and creamy and perfect! i've yet to encounter one that I even think is GOOD.

this is what i made this past weekend for christmas. don't laugh! my best friend and i celebrated late for reasons explained elsewhere.

-home made macaroni and cheese - bread crumbs on top, innards containing sharp white cheddar and gruyere cheese - per Martha Stewart's online recipe

-tiramisu - with mascarpone! forget the fake stuff. the sauce was cream hazelnut sherry with Kona Vanilla Macadamia nut coffee (strong); dashes of ghirardelli chocolate

-collard greens cooked with ham hocks

-brown sugar/mustard crust ham (per Alton Brown's recipe on Good Eats on the Food Network) - my best friend made this

-very pathetic stuffing (we forgot to add some things so it was just cornbread with chick stock )

-yams - brown sugar, marshmallows, and more of the hazelnut cream sherry

- my stellar home-made mashed potatoes - oh yes, baby, with spices and two kinds of potatoes witha wee bit of skin, plenty of butter and cream, and a green peppercorn gravy sauce, MMHMM!

topped off with a bottle of champagne. aww yeah. that's comfort food babeee!

I love a good tiramisu. I haven't had one in so long... I'm feeling the need to go search for one. I am such an obsessive/compulsive I have trouble cooking with alchohol. There's rarely any left for cooking

Brown Sugar, Mustard crust ham? Sounds deeelightful. Is that the guy that cooks like a science experiment? Explaining where eggs come from, and then every part of the egg as he's cooking it? If so that dude is on my nerves. It's like asking someone what time it is and you have to listen to how to make a watch.

Sadie, I have to admit my Alfredo is not stellar. It's pretty good and it fills the plate and it is pretty. I'll think of something else. Maybe potatoes roasted in butter and sage. Yeah, that's better.

know what's better than Alfredo? Alla Panna. Oh...just saying those words...* I'm melting*....mmmmmmmm.<<<<That's me, licking my lips.

what's alla panna?

yeah, Alton Brown's the guy who's like a sci experiment but if you listen to him he's also a goof, funny, and explains stuff I always wondered about/how to do. so it's cool. he's totally goofy, he explains stuff because most folks don't know the background behind what they're doing. one might assume mashed potatoes are some idaho potatoes boiled to death with a bit of butter. my best friend did.

alton brown said - there are 4 kinds - we know this of course. but then he described the difference, how they all come out, which are best for baking, which get waterlogged faster and which come out fluffiest for mashed potatoes. and knowing this, i made better mashed potatoes than i ever had in my life. i used to use all idaho; now I mix idaho and russet and leave a bit of skin on the idaho and all the skin on the russet. and seeing what i made - i always used to make the potatoes with cream, butter, and spices - my best friend tasted the result and realized there was more to mashed potatoes than salt, pepper, butter! she is now a slave to my glorious mashed potatoes!!

seeee!

I'm not sure what Alla Panna is either... Sades, spill it. You are obligated to cook now

Alla Panna- Yumminess. Creamy, mushrooms...something else...I don't know, but it's magic.*drooling* It's served over tortilini.

Another believer? Or casual use of the word?

Some things are magic to my palate. Sage, wine, kalamata olives, raspberry anything... so many to list.

BTW I made my own grill sauce once. I used raspberries and chipotle peppers... sweet and sour... yin and yang... I have to make more soon.

a firm believer.

i'm no expert in the kitchen but does Al Fredo require a certain type of white cheese? Might one add some Asiago? yummy yummy......it's terrific.

i really like Marsala sauce with marinated mushrooms.....over pasta.
restaurants usually offer it as Chicken Marsala.

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on dance seul, on dance seul.....

I make the best pancakes you would have ever tasted.

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www.esotericrabbit.com

patti - alfredo is a basic butter/cream sauce; those who make the basic (cheap restaurants) do not add much else; but it should contain some sharp white cheese, pepper, fresh herbs and spices. asiago, romano, parmesan, anything like that, and then of course, top more on!

one would imagine it's a less acrid more buttery version of caesar salad dressing (THE FRIGGIN BEST!).

as for pancakes ... buttermilk pancakes, Bullet? i have a secret recipe one, can't give it away, you substitute some other liquid in for the milk and BAM! then serve with honey instead of syrup. oh yes, it's called: MAGIC.

mmhmm, i believe.

No, just plain pancakes. Which is probabaly buttermilk.
What is with you mad yanks?! What the hell is buttermilk?! You make the weirdest words and we all have no idea.

I once saw someone washing a pig with buttermilk. No you tell me you make pancakes with it?! A bet it makes some brilliant TNT too?

You all sound like great cooks, so could someone help me out, everytime I make a pot noodle it turns out all watery and turns into soup, is it meant to do this or does exceeding the recommended water level slightly cause my dilemna?

I took the "recommended" literally, and normally I may end up pouring boiling water above the line, but I fear pouring excess water back out may dilute the powdery sauce stuff (and I may drop some noodles!)

All help muchos appreciated

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henry hill - Disclaimer: This disclaimer disclaims any claims that could be claimed from my post.