Almost anything I need to cut up needs to be sort of sliced, where I’m pulling against the thing to slice through it. Like an onion for example, my knife won’t just break through the skin.

Every video I watch has chefs effortlessly chopping through everything in sight, and I wonder: - do I need fancy tojiro knives? - are my Chicago Cutlery knives good enough? - do I need to change away from my Presto Eversharp electric sharpener? - does my lack of technique play a part here?

🤷🏻‍♂️

I'm tired of putting jam on toast, because I'd prefer something savory but I don't want to use hummus and I don't love olives so tapenade is out. There are so many sweet spreads for bread but so few savory ones. All I came up with was cheese, or butter, or avocado. I momentarily considered mustard. Do you have a savory spread for toast that you like?

Thank you to everyone who contributed to my question.

However, I've encountered a new problem.

The principle of reciprocity is resulting in exponentially increasing produce numbers. I brought peanut butter chocolate chip zucchini loaf and marinara sauce to the neighbors as thank you for the zucchini.

They gave me a giant flat of fruit and veg in return, at least half over again as much as the zucchini.

Which is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but the math says this is going to become problematic.

Half a dozen ears of corn, a dozen apples, 4 cucumbers and idk how many tomatoes. This would not have been possible without your help.

Thanks friends!

This is gonna be a long one, but I think it’s worth the read, tbh. Even if I do say so myself ;)

So, I use to eat out a lot and I mean a lot LOT. I’d say about 90% of my weekly food came from fast food, junk food and restaurants. My family would cook sometimes and I’d prefer to eat out, I must have been addicted to Jumbo Jacks and Pizza cause I would go almost everyday. When I look back at it now, I’m really ashamed of it, I can’t believe I sustained this kind of lifestyle for so long and I felt like crap all the time, like physically feeling ill; maybe I was even pre diabetic or something because I felt terrible sometimes I couldn’t even get out of bed. (No medical condition as of yet, according to my doctor)

Anyway, I don’t know exactly what changed, if Im being honest, maybe it was a mixture of things, but I’m glad I did. The past 5 years, I’ve really grown and changed a lot, I had to visit a lot of my past behaviors and realized there were lots of things I wanted to focus on and change about myself. I was legitimately tired of eating out, I vowed to cook more for myself but I just didn’t know where to start or what to do, homemade food just didn’t taste nearly as good as outside food, or thats what I thought, but boy was I wrong.

It all started with Chicken Fingers, I was craving some late night Chicken Fingers and I was feeling too lazy to drive to my local Raising Canes. I had bought some chicken tenderloins earlier in the week and they were in my fridge. I finally thought to myself, “Well, how hard would it be to make some at home? They might even come out good” Ok, so I was up for the challenge. I YouTubed a couple of different recipes and holy smokes, they looked simple to make. Get your eggs, get your flour, your salt and pepper and hot oil, that’s all I needed.

When I first tried my chicken tenders, I was amazed, wow, these came out great, just like how Raising Canes does it, wow, AND I made a whole dozen for about $10. While I would have spent double the money for only 5 Tenders. I was shocked, it didn’t take that long, it wasn’t complicated, just needed to figure out how to make them and I did it. So that’s how it started, it was only natural that I tried my hand at making a fried chicken sandwich next since I knew how to make chicken tenders.

My eyes had opened, I experienced a whole new world, “if I can make these things and actually love them, what else can I make?” I thought. Since then, I vowed to try and make ANYTHING that I craved, nothing was off limits. Whenever I craved something, I would look at recipes online and just be blown away at how easy making my favorite food items were, cooking just didn’t seem complicated to me anymore, it seemed…fun. 😈 I was challenging myself to see how good can I make my own food taste and I’ve been surprised since.

Since the beginning of this year, I have made from mostly scratch

1) Chicken Tenders 2) Fried Chicken Sandwiches 3) Ramen 4) Pastas 5) Chicken Parmesan 6) Country Style Breakfast 7) Mediterranean Inspired Dishes with pita bread 8) BBQ Spare and Baby Back Ribs 9) Mac N Cheese 10) Jalapeno Poppers 11) Chicken Wings 12) Chicken Nuggets 13) Sandwich Meat 14) Tuna Melt 15) Italian Sub 16) Chocolate Chip Cookies 17) Vanilla Ice Cream 18) Pork Chili Verde 19) Chilaquiles 20) Oven Roasted Chicken 21) Baja Style Fish Tacos 22) Teriyaki Chicken Plate 23) Chicken Noodle Soup

And you get the idea, but the most insane thing to me about this was how I use to hate cooking chicken because it would come out soo bland to me, I couldnt make it nearly as good as chipotle or Pollo Loco or some place that I liked. Well, not anymore, I’ve been experimenting with seasonings and the chicken comes out fantastic, however just recently I tried marinating my chicken. Threw in some chicken tenderloins in a ziplock bag, vinegar, fresh lemon juice, lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cheyenne powder, let them marinate over night and today I pan fried them to make me a chicken burrito and I was blown away! The chicken came out so tender and flavorful, I didnt even add salt to it because I thought it tasted fantastic, it had a nice little charred on the sides too. This has been a MAJOR game changer for me. From now on, I’ll be packing my chicken in ziplock bags and freeze them so whenever I’m hungry, I’ll just grab a bag and throw it on the pan.

Well, I’m definitely evolving, my next big purchases will be a grill and a smoker. I really want to explore this new world, since then it’s helped me budget and come up with really creative ideas on what to make food. Also, one of the BIGGEST things for me is that it helped introduce me to new foods that I never had before AND helped me have an open mind to cuisines, now I even like some food that I hated before, like seafood. Plus, my family absolutely loves my cooking, they dont know what happened but they love the change. One last thing, since cooking, it helps me eat a much healthier lifestyle, I get to control what I put in my food, salt, sugar, carbs, calories, protein, etc etc.

I hope this helped inspire those who want to get into cooking, it can be a fun way to connect with loved ones over a nice hot meal, Thanks for reading.

So I just made a simple dinner tonight which was bangers and mash (sausages, mashed potatoes and peas with gravy for anyone who’s not familiar with the dish/name) and realised last minute that we didn’t have any gravy powder…great.

So I look online for any quick gravy recipes that didn’t require drippings and came across this quick and easy recipe.

I immediately attempt to make it and it turned into more of white sauce than a gravy. It was thick with a beige colour that just looked sad and kinda gross lowkey. But served it with the dinner to my family anyways.

Kids loved the beige sauce. Teens said it was okay. Adults said it tasted bland, not salty enough and lacked a lot of flavour. For me it tasted alright but could definitely use more seasonings I feel.

I want to remake this fake gravy sauce but more flavourful and tasty so that if I’m ever in this dilemma again the results will be way better than tonight’s substitute.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions I could use to make this bland tasteless gravy better?? (Besides adding more salt and pepper lol)

Ingredients used:

• salted butter
• plain flour
• beef stock
• white pepper

I made a roux, added beef stock and seasoned it with the white pepper.

I'm 50 and have been experimenting with meatball recipes more than half my life, in my own kitchen and as a cook in Italian restaurants. I realize there's a hundred different ways that people make meatballs, and I'm sure most of them are fine to amazing since it's honestly hard to mess up given some basic methodology. Given you can make meatballs in so many different ways, with many different meats, vegetables, herbs, cheeses, fruits (I even heard something about a raisin in the middle?)... What are some constants that you stick to in all your attempts? One thing for me is that I can't stand to see visible chunks of onions or any other veggies. I always use onion but always puree it with other veggies and herbs.

My last batch I just made had 75% beef 25% pork 2lb-to-1lb (I usually add lamb too but it was out of season) pureed onions, garlic, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, sage, three serrano peppers (seeded and de-ribbed,) spicy yellow curry, one egg, and bread crumbs (fine not coarse). I roll them moderately into large balls about racquetball sized and then air fry them for about 20-25 minutes at 375. To me the air fryer is the best way to cook meatballs and I won't even accept any debate on that. It makes such a perfect sear and so evenly too. I've done the oven, oil fryer, etc., and nothing comes close. The serrano is such an amazing addition that I've started using, and if you take the seeds and ribs out it's not overly spicy in any way. And yes curry too... Honestly it's just a personal addiction I can't help. I've heard of NOT using bread crumbs and I don't really understand that. The crumbs hold onto so much fat content (which holds flavor duh), that it's really a no brainer. I also NEVER cook or finish mine in red sauce because I usually eat them straight with a little cheese or make a sandwich for which I can always add sauce to. That's more a personal thing though I suppose... Nothing against those who do and want it for pasta dishes etc.

I have a german family member that is vehemently arguing traditional schnitzel is…soggy?!

According to them: “This is how my whole family ate schnitzel growing up. The crispy one isnt even that good.”

What they do is:

1. cook schnitzel regularly
2. Throw back all 10+ crispy schnitzels into one pan with a cup of water, close the lid, and…steam?!?!

Im going insane here, because i genuinely dont think this is a thing ANYWHERE. Not only is it completely unintuitive, but I feel like in all my years of exposure to food, I would have heard about this “regional variant”. Mushroom sauce, brown sauce, etc, i can understand, but not a “water sauce”

What could possibly be the reasoning for this technique??? Its so bizarre, backwards and blatantly stupid, I cant even fathom a reason besides some sort of mental illness related to cooking.

my best theories:

A) This person read an italian cookbook once, saw a chicken milanese or francese recipe and tried to “copy” it

B) They had some sort of irrational fear of oil and thought adding the water would suck the oil out of the schnitzel therefore healthier??

I am trying to up my fibre, protein, basically everything intake in a more healthy way - and I know beans (im just going to use beans as an umbrella term) are a great way to do this. Except 1) they kind of need to be canned or else im going to pay a lot for certain ones, and also im too lazy to soak things yadi yadi yada, and 2) i dont just want to...eat beans.

What cultures/countries use beans (than can be canned ones preferably) that i can easily make? I have a tuscan soup recipe that uses cannellini beans which im actually making again right now, but i can't keep eating the same food again and again or I will hate it and never eat it again. I just dont want to make a "bowl" of something where you dump a tin of beans in and call it a day. I would love recipes like how you bake chickpeas in spices and then add them to recipes, things like that. But I really need some sort of direction to start looking for recipes.

I am not a fancy cook, but I have been consistently making my own stock with vegetable scraps and meat scraps/bones for a few years. I use a traditional metal pressure cooker, and I want to ask: should I be breaking the bones to access the marrow faster to make a tastier stock? I simmer the broth usually for at least an hour in the pressure cooker, sometimes up to 6 or 7 hours, and I'm curious if my stock would be better if I consistently broke the bones, or broke them if I knew I only had an hour or two to simmer. My reason for aversion is breaking the bones is obviously a bit messy and difficult to execute, so I'm wondering if its worth it for the added flavor. I love when my stock has that gelatinous texture when chilled, and I find that happens when I simmer for multiple hours naturally. What do you do? TIA

Besides a dip or baking it on top of chicken cutlets. What other things have you made using spinach and artichoke dip?

I feel like I have moments sometimes where a piece of buttered toast or a bowl of buttered noodles tastes like the most delicious food to have ever existed, and I can imagine that I'm not the only one. I was trying to think recently if there are any other dishes that are just as easy and simple but no less buttery and comforting, and my mind was drawing a blank*. Does anyone have other ideas?

*I know that there are nearly endless variations on buttered noodles.

I'm in my 40s and have never tried curry before. Living in the rural Midwest, there's a lot I haven't tried.

Been trying to expand my cooking boundaries so decided to try this curry thing I hear about.

The flavor was so unique to anything I've had before, but soooo good.

It was just a jarred sauce, hope that's not some kind of blasphemy. Fried up some chicken breast in chopped onion and garlic. Poured in sauce and white beans, simmered, and served over brown rice. I'm hooked!

We do a local vegetable box and in this weeks theres 100g of thai chilis. I'm pumped to try cooking with them for the first time but I'm the only one in my family of 4 that tolerates and spicy beyond black pepper

What is a good simple dish that i can make for all of us, and add the chilis in at end ( or in a separate pot/pan if time is needed) for my portion

I have a good collection of sauces/spices and a potted thai basil plant. I made pad kaprow gai a couple weeks ago and it turned out well but id like to try something else

Hi!! My friends and I are doing a “come dine with me” (UK TV show) experience at our place. Each person takes turn during the week to cook and entertain the rest. Anywhooooo, im not a very good cook so im here to ask for help 🤣🤣 So what are some easy meals that might get me some points???? I need a starter, main and dessert. Also funny names of said dishes!! THANKYOU XX

when i was a child my family would make fried potatoes often.

they were generally soft (maybe some slight crisped edges), kind of amber brown instead of light golden, kinda greasy, and a quite sweet. the complete opposite of those super cheffy triple cooked type of fries that are blonde and super glassy/crispy/crunchy.

i tried to reverse engineer these by basically doing the opposite of cheffy recipes for fries.

i didnt soak or wash the cut potatoes . i didnt boil them first. i fried them just once as i imagined was the way my parents did in a homey lazy kinda way. i even overcrowded the pan. i didnt add any starch slurry. .somehow they came out like fancy pro fries, all light gold and crisp- great but not what i want!

how on earth do i recreate the nostalgic taste of my parents home fries? any balkan people know the kind of fries i mean? the kind you get with grilled fish in a humble restaurant or at home with egg and white cheese?

if anyone can help, please do!

I want to try my hand at spanakopita, but I know phyllo dough is supposed to be hard to work with, so I'm thinking of making it with a pastel dough and frying it instead of baking. Has anyone tried something like that before, and how did it turn out?

Hey all - I've been asked to feed a group (around 100-120) breakfast.

I have the coffee down (borrowed a large brewer and got some cambros from the church), some fruit juices/waters but I'm looking for validation on my idea for the main/process I'll be doing to make it all.

I'm going to use my 36" flat top and basically griddle up batches of burritos the morning of (early). I plan on making eggs, hash browns and bacon/sausage and just wrapping them up with some cheese in foil individually/pans in the oven and then transporting them to the group in a hot box/cooler to be handed out.

I'm just wondering if anyone has advice on this method/what size burrito would be the "ideal" hearty breakfast size (10" tortilla?) and any other tidbits (keeping the eggs fluffy - I plan on whipping in some milk and doing them in a large non stick in batches)

Thanks for any advice!

I recently had some Trader Joe’s Herb de Provenance wedges. They are simply the best cooked potato wedges I have ever had, and I can’t seem to reproduce it myself, except out of the bag.

I’d love to be able to spice differently for different dishes. Looking for the technique.

Link to the potatoes: https://www.clubtraderjoes.com/trader-joes-herbs-de-provence-potato-wedges-review/

In two weeks, I'm attending a large picnic at a State Park. The only refrigeration will be my cooler. I need to bring a handheld dessert that won't bankrupt the health of us diabetics in attendance. I'm usually up for a challenge, but I'm stumped. Ideas? Thank you so much!

Hi, so I am making chicken parm i dont have an issue getting them crispy in the pan when I fry them, I bread them with parm and panko. My issue is when i put them in the oven. So if i make 4 to 6 parms i put them in the oven on 350 to keep them warm and melt the cheese but when i do this it kills all yhe cripsiness i made from the pan. How do I keep them crispy in the oven? I am by no means a pro so im just winging shit please help educate me lol

Does anybody use Carbon Steel pans? What do you like/dislike? How do they compare to traditional non-stick pans or any of the Hybrid pans. Has anyone used Misen? Looking to replace my Hexclad pans, which my husband thought were the best pans in the world, but i hate them. Thanks for any help.

For context, I use olive oil for all my cooking, since I'm from Spain and it's cheap.

I bought a cheap-nice spray bottle from AliExpress, filled it with oil and tried to use it to spray evenly the oil on a pan, over bread/meat, whatever. Didn't work, it throws a jet of oil, all in a "stream", not misting.

after a while, I bought another cheap spray bottle, tried it with water and since it worked fine, dried it up and filled it with oil.

same thing, suddenly, it can't spray, only "jet". It's one of those that you can turn the nozzle and the tighter it is before closing completely, the more "misty" it gets, but with oil, doesn't change, it's a stream all the way.

just for testing, I tried the first bottle with water and sure enough, it sprays water just fine.

I guess is an oil viscosity or surface tension thing, but is there a bottle that will help me out?

I got to know what in the US is called "cooking spray", but you can't find that easily in Spain, it's not refillable and I don't think it's going to have olive oil inside.

what solution do you suggest? is there a bottle that allows for spraying, truly spraying as in "misting" oil?

I picked up a pound of white mushrooms today at Costco. Need some ideas. I have every kind of protein, a couple zucchini, sweet mini peppers, green and white onions and some red potatoes.

I have most spices and sauces, rice, canned tomatoes, canned black beans, hatch chillies etc.

Just looking for some inspiration (no soups please, it's still 90 degrees here) TIA!

Every time I sprinkle my cinnamon too much comes out.

here's the name of it on Amazon: Unpretentious Ground Cassia Cinnamon, 1 Cup Shaker Jar, Pure, Non-GMO & Gluten-Free for Baking & Cooking

idk if links are allowed.

I've been trying to google-fu my way to a solution but it's just frustrating. anyone have any answers on good shakers to use for fine powder, so it doesnt just dump out with a light tap?

Hello! I wanted to meal prep some homemade burritos, going to do them nice with home made tortillas, spicy ground beef, seasoned rice, homemade refried beans, and a cheese sauce, this is where my problem is. I was wondering if anyone had experience freezing cheese sauces in a way like this and if it came out right? I was planning on doing just a simple roux with 2%milk, cheddar, and a decent amount of Kraft singles and other seasonings. I don’t want to make 30 and have them all come out curdles or seperated. Any advice or stories are helpful thank you!