The simple cooking thread

Nicci said:
Is it just me, or when cooking a chicken breast strips / chicken fillet / chicken cubes, it always is so tough and dry? Like you really have to douse it with sauce to even eat it? Mine never so soft like KFC or Nandos always so hard and dry.
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Yes that's the major thing you have to get right with chicken. If it dries out, the dish is ruined. One way to keep it from dehydrating is to brine it ahead of time as someone else suggested - overnight is best. Otherwise, just take care of how much time you leave it on the pan and how much heat you use. It should be white throughout, but more than that and it starts to dry out.
 
These are some combo's I enjoy, as someone said visualise (tasterise?) the end result before you start, then decide what herbs and spices to use.Taste as you go along,with spices less is better than to much (especially red pepper).

Lamb,carrot,onion,garlic,cloves,rosemary,sherry,black pepper,olive oil,salt = great combo for braised lamb chops.

chicken,soy sauce,honey,paprika,red pepper,sherry,peanut/sesame oil = chicken stirfry.

mutton,all spice,black pepper,cloves,green beans,sherry,beef stock,cloves,thyme,garlic,olive oil = green bean stew
 
KingBel said:
I think I have all the ingredients for a chicken tikka masala.. might attempt that as well.
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Perhaps you could start by coming up with a list of common dishes that you like, and plan to make them one by one. Find a recipe that you can handle and work through them. That will get your confidence up and break you out of a rut of cooking without direction. Maybe something like this, just off the top of my head:

* Tikka Masala
* Lamb curry
* Shepherd's Pie
* Lasagne
* Stir fry beef with noodles
* Steak and kidney + Guinness pie
* Roasted lamb chops with sauce
* Roast chicken
* Chicken enchiladas
* Handmade burgers
 
cerebus said:
Perhaps you could start by coming up with a list of common dishes that you like, and plan to make them one by one. Find a recipe that you can handle and work through them. That will get your confidence up and break you out of a rut of cooking without direction. Maybe something like this, just off the top of my head:

* Tikka Masala
* Lamb curry
* Shepherd's Pie
* Lasagne
* Stir fry beef with noodles
* Steak and kidney + Guinness pie
* Roasted lamb chops with sauce
* Roast chicken
* Chicken enchiladas
* Handmade burgers
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As a result of my misdirected/no-direction cooking, I am not really that fussy when it comes to what I cook. There are obviously meals that I grew up on, that I would like to attempt. I think perhaps I should get one of my sister-in-laws to give me a masterclass in indian cooking.
 
Also got a recipe for lamb curry from KSINGH that i'm looking forward to trying out. Got a few packs of stewing lamb specifically for that.. just haven't gotten around to the attempt yet.
 
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