What are the most favorite epic recipes in your rotation?

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
31

Awesome, thank you so much! Have you tried Ina’s Chicken with Croutons (I believe that’s what it’s called?). It is so amazing to me.

Onions get crispy and flavored under the roasting chicken, then you quickly make croutons on the stove and dump the onions and drippings and chicken over the top and squeeze the roasted lemons over. It’s one of my favorites, and a definite crowd pleaser.

32

Bugialli’s Italy cookbook in my Amazon cart, I’m about to purchase just for that one recipe. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: Any other recipes in there that make it a great buy?

33

Your recipe is quite similar to two of his recipes, except he adds bay leaves, 1 T peppercorns, 1 bunch parsley and a can of tomatoes rather than porcini, rutabaga, and garlic.

Yours sounds excellent, I especially like the porcini addition, it’s a great idea, and one I never would have thought of.

34

Zuni chicken recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015770-zuni-cafe-chicken

I once asked on CH if anyone had fixed this chicken and found another way better. No one had.

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35

Zahav braised lamb shoulder (http://andrewzimmern.com/2015/10/20/zahav-lamb-shoulder/)–takes 3 days, but it is EPIC.

Stuffed cabbage rolls.

Lots of Korean food. (like my mom’s Pyongyang-style chicken soup recipe, braised eggplant, braised short rib stew)

Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce.

Ottolenghi’s chicken w arak & clementines.

Chicken marbella.

John Legend’s macaroni & cheese

Kalyn Kitchen’s spaghetti squash and chard

Emeril Lagasse’s red beans and rice

Ottolenghi’s caramelized garlic tart

Pim’s pad thai

Barbara Lynch’s spicy tomato soup

David Lebovitz’s french onion soup

Roasted cauliflower

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36

I read a lot of recipes, for inspiration, but when it comes to actual cooking, I almost always free-style. The ones that I actually FOLLOW include:

Nobu’s Miso-Ginger Cod - Dead-simple marinade, which works on any firm fish

Chicken Marbella - but I halve the amount of sugar in the Silver Palate recipe and brown the skin in a skillet first

Sara Moulton’s simple, unstuffed roast chicken: 4.5# chicken, 450F, 45 minutes

Food & Wine curried pan-roast chicken thighs http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/curried-chicken-and-vegetable-pan-roast but use less than half the oil called for, or it will be very greasy. You can use whatever yogurt, onion, curry powder, and oil you like, and thighs/legs with/without bone

Jacques Pepin’s Braised Pears in Caramel Sauce http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/18/braised-pears-in-a-caramel-sauce/
is equally good with a firm variety of apple

This stew from A Flash in the Pan, which I use for monkfish or hake. On my stove, I have to cook it longer to reduce the liquids:
Cod braised with potatoes and golden onions (4 servings)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3/4 pound small red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup bottled clam juice
1 pounds cod fillets, cut into 1-inch strips or chunks
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large, deep skillet with a lid, heat the butter. Cook the onion and potatoes over medium heat, stirring often, until the potatoes are nearly cooked through and the onion is tinged with gold, about 6 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the chopped thyme, the cream, wine, and clam juice. (The recipe can be prepared up to 30 minutes ahead to this point and kept at cool room temperature.) Bring to a simmer, and add the fish. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer, stirring gently once or twice, until the fish is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. Stir in the remaining I tablespoon of chopped thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve in shallow soup bowls, garnished with thyme sprigs.

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37

Thank you for taking the time to share all of this! I’d give you a big hug if I could!!!

I can’t wait to try it all out, especially the Zahav lamb. And my interest is definitely piqued now on Korean food.

38

Yay, thank you so much! It all looks really good, and I absolutely will try the recipe you wrote for me.

39

Zuni chicken is on my radar, it is indeed good. Thanks for the suggestion.

I’ve used the salting method, but haven’t ever tried it with the bread.

Haha, I’m trying to think of what to ask you because I want to know everything you have to tell me!

Any other great ones you can think of would be much appreciated.

I’ve learned a lot from the old chowhound posts, and I’m sure you are partly responsible for that. :blush:

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40

The Zuni chicken is outstanding. Needs a little TLC the first time you make it since regulating the heat and the smoke from the oven can be challenging and interesting.

41

Ya know, j, it’s funny. Almost everyone talks about the smoke but I’ve never found it to be a particular problem. But it’s worth it IMneverHO :slight_smile:

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42

Great post, thank you for starting this!

Garlic Studded Butter Baked Chicken

This is a baked chicken recipe from Gayle Pirie of Foreign Cinema in San Francisco. It is spectacularly delicious. I love garlic and the indulgent richness that this dish creates. It’s good after resting from the oven as well as cold the next day, if there’s any left. The accompanying article speaks of how this is one of her family’s heirloom recipes so I highly suggest you co-opt this and make it your own!

http://www.sfgate.com/food/chefsnightin/article/Grandma-s-chicken-stirs-childhood-memories-2470007.php

Double Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova by Katie Quinn Davies

I have a tremendously generous friend who often entertains at her wine country home. Her parties are always carefree, sun-soaked, rose-champagne-fueled gatherings. To contribute to the decadence, I always try to bring something spectacular to their table. This summer, I brought this confection to them and it was demolished in about 5 minutes by 20 people. There are a few components to it but this is such a simple recipe and will require more time vs actual effort. Let me forewarn you: The combo of crunchy, gooey, sticky, marshmallow-y textures against the softness of the hand whipped cream (stiff peak) with the flavor duo of chocolate and raspberry will bring any party to a halt, complete with silence, as people eat devour this.

http://www.whatkatieate.com/double-chocolate-raspberry-pavlova/

I hope you give these a try and enjoy them as much as I have.

43

When it’s time for an ‘epic’ recipe, I usually fall back on the Momofuku Ssam Bar recipe for Bo Ssam. It’s easy to find, ridiculously easy to make, and super impressive.

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44
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45

Thanks!! There you go :slightly_smiling:

My one caveat is the inclusion of the raw oysters. I love them, myself, but as most of my friends hate oysters, I don’t usually bother with them when I make this recipe for a group; they double the cost and hassle of the meal. I also use store-bought kimchi rather than make my own.

46

I do the same as you for both the oysters and the kimchi.

47

Had another go at the flemish carbonnade yesterday. Turned out much better! I eye-balled everything to make sure I had the space to make adjustments.

Method

  • Cut the onions
  • Smear mustard on spiced bread (use prepared mustard, not old style because you want it to dissolve.) I used store bought european spiced bread.
  • Put half olive oil and half butter in the bottom of a hot dutch oven
  • At medium-high heat (7/10).Brown your beef (I used cubed stew beef). Make sure you develop a nice dark brown crust. Caramelised meat sticking is ok and encouraged. The onions added later will melt and deglaze it.
  • Reduce your heat to medium (5/10) add the onions and cook 5-10 minutes until they are soft. Ideally, you’ll cook them until golden so they concentrate the sugars but soft is the most important.
  • Add flour and cook 2-3 minutes. Add a bit of butter if there is not enough liquid (there should be). You are looking to make a roux so it will be thick.
  • Add the spiced bread on top of the meat, mustard down. I used about 2 regular slices (mine were small so I put 4). The bread will dissolve in the stew, give flavour and body so don’t be scared to be generous with it.
  • Add 1 bay leaf, a couple of cloves and a few crushed juniper berries (this step is optional, some recipes don’t do it)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Add beer “à fleur” (just so it almost cover the meat but not exactly). Make sure to pour the beer along the sides of the dutch oven if its cold not to shock the meat (I don’t know how important it is but its a trick I saw and it doesn’t ask for too much extra effort so I just did it). I used brown beer but you could substitute a red if it comes to that I guess. I used a spare sleeman honey brown that was in the fridge.
  • Bring to a boil and cook uncovered until the alcohol vapours are gone (your nose will stop itching with you smell the stew, its pretty easy to gauge)
  • Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 hours (careful, the dutch oven keeps a lot of heat so make sure you check 30 minutes in to see if the simmer is gentle enough)

Optional: Its not traditional you could add your starch by adding a diced uncooked potato 1 hour before the end. The potato will cook in the delicious stew and will result in a fuller meal.

Observations:

  • Next time I need to work with higher heat to make sure the beef browns properly (I used less beef but I was on medium-high (6/10) and it really need to be at high (at least 7/10, I almost never work at 8-9-10). The liquid the beef made in my initial test was probably a result of the heat being not high enough so the meat stewed instead of being seared… the crowding might not have been the cause.
  • I need to put less spices. Went a bit to hard on the juniper berries (2-3 beans and cloves are enough)
  • Tried adding carrots but it clashed and didn’t mesh well­. Next time maybe adding mushrooms along with the potato? I could see button mushrooms or cremini working well… ?
48

Agree! tried it once and it was very good!

49

Will do a day of cooking this saturday with friends. Well be two cooks in a great kitchen so we’ll be inviting friends, cook for them and we’ll all split the bill. I’m still in my “Marcella Hazan” phase and he wants to try a classic from his native region (pâté lorrain). We’ll be doing “russian service” to have a better harmony with the italian dishes even if we start the meal with a classic french dish. I had fun with naming the sequences and claim no authenticity (I’m not italian and can’t exactly remember where I saw “primi” and “secondo” to indicate the sequences but it just made sense… it was mostly for flair and for fun :grin:)

I actually proposed 10 variations with what I found interesting in Hazan’s book and my colleague chose #7 :smiley: .

Antipasti
Paté Lorrain
Meat pâté in a puff pastry

Insalata
Small salad to clean the palate

Primo
Risotto with its spring vegetables
Risotto with zuchini, onions, carrots, celery, green peas, tomato and basilic prepared with a homemade meat broth.

Secundo
Roast beef braised in red wine with its mushrooms
Roast beef braised in red wine with mushrooms prepared in olive oil, garlic and parsley.

Dessert
Mystery dessert by our friend’s sister (she has carte blanche)

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50

I looked at the video, though my French is quite limited. I gather that genever beans = juniper berries, spiced bread = gingerbread, and, of course, laurel = bay. So this is very similar to typical sauerbraten. Mustard bread atop the meat is something I haven’t seen before but it’s a good idea. You could put a slice of your preferred bread in any braise, to help give body to the sauce as it develops.,