Cherry & Peach Oat Crumb Bars

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Fat Witch Bakery White Chocolate Bars

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A Beginner’s Guide to Cooking without Recipes, Part 1

I was talking to a friend the other day who is in awe of the ability to cook, without following a set recipe. She doesn’t feel confident in her ability to cook unless she’s following instructions step by step. If you’re a seasoned non-recipe, experimenting chef, this article is not for you. But if you feel intimidated in the kitchen, step right in, and I’ll see if I can provide a few tips.

First off, cooking is both an art and a science. The key to successful experimentation in the kitchen is knowing when you can be an artist, and when you must be a scientist. For example, baking is much more of a science. There are formulas and rules that you need to follow, or things just won’t work as planned. That’s not to say that you CAN”T experiment when baking, but you need to understand what rules you’re dealing with to minimize the utter failures! Much of cooking does allow for artistic license, however.

Second, you have to practice! There is really no substitute for experience when you’re experimenting with food. The more you do it, the better you get. And you will have failures, or sub par dishes, but you learn just as much from those as the successes. “I sure won’t do THAT again next time!”

“That’s all well and good, Dot”, you say, but I’ve heard that before and that’s not really a concrete tip! OK, so some more concrete ideas?

Phase 1: Basic tips – Losing Your Fear

1.  Start with something you know, and go from there.  You have a few recipes that you feel you can get right, correct?  You follow the recipe and it comes out well.  Well, that’s a good place to begin.  When I first started cooking I followed my mom’s recipe for red bean chili to the letter.  It was always really good, and not hard to make.  But Chili is definitely a dish that you can have all kinds of artistic license with, and it will still come out edible.  So I started experimenting.  Keep the basic building blocks the same, and add some new ingredients.  Or sub out the beef for chicken.  Or replace tomatoes with tomatillos and green chili peppers.  Or change the beans.  Or up the amount of cumin.   All of a sudden, the world of bean soups, in one form or another, opens up.  Check out other recipes for similar dishes and get ideas for things that might make your original dish more interesting.  Like maybe adding chipotle chilis in adobo sauce for a spicy smoky kick.  The more you try things, the more you find out what works and what doesn’t, and incrementally you learn.

2.  Watch “Good Eats“. Seriously, if you’re not a fan of Alton Brown, you’re missing out!  The great thing about Alton is that he explains a lot of the ‘why’ behind doing what is in the recipe, rather than just giving you the recipe.  If you know why things work the way they do in a recipe, you’ll have more confidence in making changes.

3.  Try new recipes (or at least read them!). Don’t be afraid to just try new recipes.  Many times I’ll see a recipe for something that looks tasty, and try it.  I generally will follow the recipe to the letter the first time, depending on how different it is from what I generally cook.  Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t come out as nice as I thought they would.  But I may learn a new technique I didn’t know, or a new flavor combination I wouldn’t normally have tried, and I can add that to my stable of ideas for future experimentation.  I’m so glad to have tried Niki’s overnight pork roast, for example, because I love that technique now.  Sometimes I don’t even have to try a recipe for new ideas… Just reading other recipes can help.  If you’re wondering what herbs are good with roast chicken, or what spices work well together, look at recipes (like here at Foodwhirl, of course!)  for similar dishes for ideas.

Coming soon… phase 2:  What now?

What about you?  What have you done to lose your fear of experimenting in the kitchen?

Bittersweet Chocolate Marquise & Cherries

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Quick & Easy: Peanut Chicken Noodles

Sooo… It started when I asked my son “What do you want for dinner tonight?”.  Immediate answer: “Macaroni & Cheese”  Translation: Bright orange and from a box of course. Confession: I do have a weakness for the boxed Mac & Cheese, and I do make it better than anyone*, but…. it’s not exactly a healthy dinner.

I countered with a No on that one, and he says “Then, Noodles.”

Noodles I can do.  Mentally cataloging my pantry, I remember a package of the super thin rice noodles.  Meat-wise, I have a package of chicken tenderloins in the fridge.  Veggies check in at fresh zucchini and some frozen edamame.  I’m seeing an Asian inspired meal in our future.  A one dish, serve in the pan meal that won’t require a lot of dishes to wash later.

Yes, this is yet again one of Dot’s annoyingly approximate recipes**.  Really, you don’t have to measure this stuff that exactly to get a good meal, so don’t stress over it.

Peanut Chicken with Noodles and Zucchini

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 package very thin rice sticks (mine was 6.75 oz)
• ~1 lb chicken tenderloins
• ~1 cup (whatever I had left in the package) frozen shelled edamame.
• 2 zucchinis, sliced into rounds
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed & coarsely chopped
• Olive oil
• 1-2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter (I like Simply Jif)
• Soy sauce
• Rice vinegar (seasoned)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Teas cornstarch

In a ziplock bag***, spoon in a big glob of peanut butter, and add equal parts soy sauce and seasoned rice vinegar (a couple of splashes of each–maybe 2 Tbls?)  You’re looking for enough liquid to thin out the peanut butter so it can coat the chicken.  Squish the peanut butter around in the baggie until it’s mixed in, and add your chicken tenders.  Smush the marinate around the tenders until they are coated.  Set aside.  Let marinate for ~ 30 min if you can.

Soak your noodles in hot tap water for 10-20 min. Drain.  Noodles should be soft but al dente.

Prep your veggies, sprinkle your zucchini a little kosher salt.

Saute your onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft, and maybe a little brown.

Remove onion/garlic (or push to the side, and add your chicken strips.  Cook for several minutes on each side until just cooked through, and nicely browned.  Remove from chicken from pan.

Add your zucchini (and a little more oil if necessary), and stirfry on med-high 2-3 min until the zucchini is browned but still a little underdone.  Add any remaining marinade & 1/2 cup chicken broth.  Cover and steam over med heat for several more minutes until the zucchini is soft.  Add the rest of the broth (mixed with 1 tsp cornstarch).  (optional:  add a dash of fish sauce and a squeeze of lime)  Stir, and toss in your noodles and frozen edamame.   Continue stirring and cooking until noodles have absorbed the liquid.

Turn off the stove, top with Chicken, cover, and let sit for a few minutes.

Take the whole pan to the table, and serve family style!

—————-

* I have a secret method.  One day I’ll share it with you, if you’re nice.

**They tend to be approximate because I’m always experimenting in the kitchen

*** I know, I know, not environmentally friendly.  But it’s seriously the best way to marinate with the least amount of liquid, and no extra dishes to wash.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

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Espresso Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

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Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

When the weather is gorgeous like this, and the days are long, the last thing I want to do in the evening is be inside cooking dinner.  So I’ve been working on recipes where I can do the prep work ahead of time, then just stick the dish in the oven to bake, while I go outside and hang out with the neighbors.  Then at dinner time an hour or so later, I just come in and it’s ready, easy peasy.

So this dish is born of that tradition.  I’ll share the rest of the meal with you as well, but the truly outstanding part was the sweet potatoes — so creamy and soft and tasty!

Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

• Sweet potatoes (2-4), peeled cut into 1/2-1 inch cubes.  I used 2 very large potatoes which was at least 4 cups.
• Olive oil
• 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt / fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil in an iron skillet (or roasting pan), enough to coat the bottom. (Place in oven while you do the next steps)

In a large bowl combine your potatoes, rosemary, and garlic, sprinkle liberally with salt and fresh ground pepper.  Drizzle with additional olive oil, tossing to coat.

Pour your potatoes into your hot iron skillet.

Bake for about an hour, stirring halfway through or until the potatoes are soft on the inside and a little crispy on the outside.

Rosemary Chicken & Sweet Potato, with Zucchini

To turn this into a whole meal:

After you put the sweet potatoes in the oven…

slice up ~3 (single) chicken breasts into strips.

Toss chicken with the same mixture as above: rosemary, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Heat up a second skillet (oven proof) on high, add olive oil, and brown the chicken pieces quickly, but don’t cook through.  May need to do in two batches.  Set aside.

Slice up 2 large zucchini in 1/2 inch slices, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, set aside.

Go have a cocktail with the neighbors.

At about the 30-40 minute mark, stir your sweet potatoes, and place the zucchini slices on top.

Reduce temp to 325.

Put the chicken skillet in the oven.

Go play outside.

Check after 15-20 minutes to see if the chicken is cooked through (it will depend on how big your strips were, and how much you browned them prior).  If cooked through, remove chicken skillet to stovetop.  There should be some liquid from the chicken in your skillet, remove it the broth and stir it in to your potato skillet.

Check your zucchini and potatoes for doneness.  Zucchini should be soft, but solid–not falling apart.

Give it another 10 minutes if necessary.

Remove veggies.  If necessary, give the chicken a quick heating/browning on the stovetop, then serve!

Cold Spinach & Prosecco Soup

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Speedy Mexican Beef Skillet

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