ECN Forum Forums Off Topic Discussion Off Topic Discussion Your favourite food?

All Right,
It's high time we had one of these threads...........
I'm going to start it off, with Oven Roasted Chicken Thigh Fillets (skin on), Marmalade/Spicy coating.
Guttered potatoes with cream corn/bacon filling.
Roast pumpkin and yams.
Washed down with a cold pint of pulpy orange juice.

Please, no fast food in this thread, just stuff you'd cook at home.

Hard to beat "been smoked all day" ribs.

My wifes lasagna !

I can't cook to save my life.
!

Burgers on the Grill
Scrambled Eggs w/Cheese Sauce & a pile of crispy Bacon on the side
Belgian Waffles with Butter & Maple Syrup.

I can't make it right, but one of my all time favorites is Mac n Cheese the way some places make it with Bread Crumbs (I think), etc.
(Mac n Cheese @ Golden Corral is pretty Good from what I remember)

The biggest trick with mac and cheese is not to skimp on the cheese. I usually do it with potatoes but it is a very similar process. If you don't mind an unhealthy indulgence, use heavy cream instead of milk. A little onion in there is good too, shaved thin enough that it just cooks away. If you are not that handy with a knife, a mandolin is a great tool. The bread crumbs is just adding them before you bake it. Some fresh ground pepper is good but be careful with the salt if you are using an aged cheddar cheese since it already has some salt that will show up when it cooks. I still add a little, depending on how much was in the water for the pasta or potatoes.
You do need to pre cook those, no matter what the "lazy" cook book says. It gets some of the excess starch out. The chef at my wife's club used to parboil french fries before they hit the fryer. Not long, just enough to soften them a little.

If I could figure out how to make that to my liking I'd be a real happy camper.

Trader Joes has an Excellent frozen Mac n Cheese that's about the best I've ever had. It says it's made from 4 different cheeses. That might be the secret I'm missing.

You certainly want to mix up the cheese. I usually use mild cheddar, sharp cheddar and some kind of white cheese, whatever I have.

I'm now thinking that the different cheeses is what gives it the texture that I thought might be from Bread Crumbs.

I'll have to investigate this further...

Now I have to go to Trader Joes to try that!

Thanks Bill.

You definitely get different textures from different cheese. The sharp cheddar gives it a grainier texture and the mild is smoother, White cheeses like Provolone will add smoky flavor, Parmesan a little "bite". Some folks also throw in some velveeta to make it smoother.
It is all just what you like I suppose.

You won't be disappointed.

The way I've always made Macaroni Cheese, is to start off with a Roux sauce, made from flour, butter and milk.
You then add (after the roux is stirred out), cheese to your liking and make sure that it is still smooth and not
lumpy at all (you must keep stirring it).
You then pour the roux all over the cooked macaroni in a baking dish, cover this with bread-crumbs and a layer
of parmesan cheese and bake it until the top layer is crispy.

Ohh Greg,
Why did I not see this before?
One of the best things I had in the US, when I was there, was BBQ (actual slow cooked meat).
BBQ here is stuff tossed on a grill outside and cooked in minutes, not hours.
We stopped in a place in South Carolina, that the tour host recommended, this was the only good place that he
had recommended, for the whole tour.
The brisket, the coleslaw, pulled pork, it was so nice.
I don't own a decent grill, per se but I'm looking to build a good in-directly heated smoker/BBQ.
There is nothing like slow cooked meat, if you can apparently rise above the cancer-causing elements that we are all supposed to avoid.........

The best is always going to be a smoker. Treager pellet smokers seem to be the current state of the art for back yard chefs.
You can make reasonable ribs if you slow cook them, sealed up in foil at around 275f (135) for about 3-4 hours then "smoke" them on a closed up grill with a bunch of hickory chips in there for about a half hour but you want low heat and a lot of smoke.

The recipe we have used in our Fish Fry events at church calls for a roux. It's good. Our recipe also calls for a small amount of mustard powder added for a little extra kick.

I remember my Dad insisting he have first choice of the crunchy top layer.

I didn't know what roux was until I looked it up. Sounds like a good thing to use in recipes.

I agree with your Dad, the crunchy/crispy top of almost any dish is always the best part!

I love to eat Chinese, Italian and Mexican.

Don't get me wrong guys,
But what is the seeming obsession with Macaroni and Cheese in the US?
When I was over there in the 90's, they had that at most places we went to.
But they didn't do it the "English way"
You start with a Roux sauce and build up your cheeses and then add your pre-cooked and drained
Macaroni elbows in a large baking dish and then top it with more cheese and breadcrumbs.
And a final flourish of Blue cheese on the top, before it is served.

Kids seem to like it, or that is just what Mom gives them and it gets carried over to buffets and family restaurants. It is pretty cheap if you don't use real aged cheese.
When I made some like you describe, my grandson wouldn't eat it it. He wanted the kind from the box, made with "processed cheese food". (not to be confused with real cheese)

A lot of kids will eat Mac and Cheese when they won't eat anything else at a restaurant, but it's certainly not the same as the "English Way", as you say. Some of the TV chefs here will make an "adult" Mac and Cheese, which starts with the roux and a mix of cheeses that melt well, like cheddar and gruyere, breadcrumbs, Parm on top after baking. Just like your recipe.

I could eat home-made pizza for every meal. We don't make the crust from scratch...we use the boxed crust mix, but we love to mess with the sauce, and ratio of meat to cheese, and different cheeses. We don't normally stray from onion, black olives and peppers for the veggies...some things just don't belong on pizza! Our youngest daughter is lactose-intolerant, so we'll make a separate pizza for her with the fake shredded cheese she prefers. Finding a fake cheese that sort-of melts in the oven without turning into a puddle of oil was quite a struggle. Home-made burritos and enchiladas are also a favorite.

Always thought the "English Way" was boiling peas to the "proper" shade of gray.

There's nothing better than pizza

I'll take re-heated slices over fresh from the oven anytime, I like the crust a little crisper on the bottom.

pizza with pineapples

Try ground hog burgers! Use pork sausage in place of ground beef— then let everyone think you said “groundhog.”
An Arkansas specialty.

One of my neighbors drops off some "ground hog" now and then, wild hog.

Rollie,
You've never been to England have you?
And experienced Fish and Chips (decent ones) and mushy peas and salt and vinegar all over the chips.
The chips there are NOT fries like you Americans have, they are bigger.

To an American, all of this might sound gross, but it isn't, the further north you go, the better the Fish and Chips get and the added accoutrements that go with them are.

English food being poor is a thing with Americans that seem to think that once the troops left there after WWII they took the good food with them.
I mean God Bless America but they could have joined the war a bit sooner (like 4 years sooner).

Fast food joints have corrupted the meaning of "fries" with those skinny ones, just because they cook faster. Before McDonalds, fries had a cross section of 1/2" or larger. I really prefer the crinkle cut fries that are larger than that but the crinkle cut allows them to cook pretty fast.
I learned a lot about fries when I was on the fast food project with IBM. We actually got a big part of the Burger King management training in that rollout when the whole financial structure got reintegrated into the cash register system. I am not sure how many times I saw the fries video but it ran pretty often in the break room, along with a half dozen other training tapes. If the kids were watching a tape they didn't have to punch out on a break (manager discretion)

It was said as a joke, which was the reason for this, Some countries have a better reputation for food but no way could everything be bad.

Ever since the do-gooders forced the removal of beef tallow from the fryer oil, all fries taste meh.

Wendy's fries are pretty good. They use fries with skin still on, and guarantee that they are 'fresh & hot'

Great fries are at "The Ark" a pub/bar in Point Pleasant. They are 'wedge' style.

Worst Fish & Chips I ever had here in NJ, USA , was at a 'new' seafood place on the Point Pleasant boardwalk. I think if Trumpy was with me, the two of us would have walked out!!

I love pizza — only to find I’m now allergic to tomatoes 😩

These days I’m really fond of a good breakfast. A place near me serves it with potato pancakes (latkes). A great start to the day.

Pizza with pepperoni, anchovies, shrimps, ham, olives, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, capers, Garlick, onions, jalapeno chili, some tomato.

or the simpler item

Macaroni, Mince(beef), Tomato-Garlick (pizza sauce), some butter and parmesan cheese.

Or French fries with mayonnaise and fresh onions, with a croquette or fricadel (Dutch Takeaway food)

This post made me hungry now.

All that on the same Pizza?
Wow!

Reno:

Breakfast here for me is Taylor Ham (Pork Roll), egg, and cheese on a kaiser roll with salt, pepper and catsup.

It's a NJ thing.

Breakfast Sandwiches are my favorite. i can't agree with the catsup though...

I like sausage egg and cheese on a bun myself. (no ketchup please) I get that big 3 pound roll of sausage from Costco and separate it into individually wrapped and frozen patties so that makes a quick thing to cook. I also like fried potatoes and onions but that takes a little longer if you start with fresh potatoes. It is a lot faster with the frozen diced or shredded hash browns.
Right now I have a rib roast in the oven with some baked potatoes. That will be dinner tonight and some sandwiches later. Start it at 450 or so for 4-5 minutes a pound, then turn off the oven and don't open the door for a couple hours. I just use the oven timer so it is "set it and forget it".

It's tough for me to pick just one, but if I had to choose, pizza takes the crown. I mean, who can resist that perfect combination of melty cheese and scrumptious toppings? I've been to literally every brunch near me looking for the best toppings.

Choosing a favorite is tough, but lately, I've been all about all natural foods. There's just something satisfying about the simplicity and purity of ingredients. From crisp veggies to organic grains, it's a game-changer. Anyone else on the all-natural bandwagon? If not, give it a try – your taste buds and body will thank you!

I, for one, eat only processed vegetables.

I process my veggies by feeding them to cows

If I had to butcher my own meat, I would be a vegetarian, but don't have a problem with vegetarian food, but not interested in vegan, the vegans themselves have made that idea distasteful. But I still like a good steak.....

LOL!

Shepherds pie, because I learned to make it for my cooking merit badge about 50 years ago. And in the spirit of the cat for Christmas, I must say that dog prepared in a tomato like sauce is pretty tasty.

Shane