What's Your Best Dish?

[subsalac]

You need to impress a date or the family-- what are you cooking?

 

[mikefu]

Coq au vin, Bolognese, Caponata, or Murg Makhani

 

[kanaia]

Pasta Puttanesca, Caesar salad and a nice quality crunchy baguette.

 

[bullet08]

spaghetti with white clam sauce, korean style skirt steak, gumbo..

 

[warren]

Chicken stewed in wine (French or Italian style), North Carolina style vinegar based BBQ sauce coated pulled pork, home made iced cream (butter fat percentage is really up there, a heart breaker), grilled meat Russian/Georgian style (Shashlik). But, for an objective answer you'd need to ask the people I cook for. The above are some of the most requested dishes.

 

[mso489]

I'm married to a restaurant reviewer and food writer who learned to cook under the loving eyes of a grandma who lived to be 99 cooking for a farm family and farm hand workers. My cooking experience goes back to childhood when my mom was never interested in cooking but did it dutifully, and my dad was a fine cook but only did so on weekends. So my cooking, as a kid, was by way of keeping the family peace, not a fun or creative endeavor. So if I want to show love to friends and family, I would tend to take them out to eat or let my gifted wife do the cooking. I have a brother-in-law who is a U.S. citizen who grew up in The Netherlands who cooks Dutch food at the executive chef level.

 

[prndl]

Biscuits and gravy for breakfast.
Cornbread and milk for lunch.
Pintos and mashed taters for supper.

If they don't like it, I don't need to be feeding 'em anyways.

 

[augiebd]

Depends what their tastes are, I am reasonably versatile. Beef Wellington, ravioli al uovo, slow bbq ribs, Boston butt or brisket, wor wonton, mushroom chicken chow mein, sweet and sour pork, tacos, Spanish rice...

 

[olkofri]

Have them cook. I hate cooking and am not good at it.

 

[sablebrush52]

That's a tough one. I make a pretty good beef stroganoff, pirogi, chicken milanesa, zuppa inglese, flowerless chocolate cake and tortes, various pasta, chicken kiev, satay chicken and beef, lamb curry, saag, chicken masala, vindaloo, texas style chili, omelettes, as well as a bunch of other dishes.

 

[workman]

Several variations of lamb, whale beef bearnaise, cod fillets with sauce and vegetables, homemade fish & chips, some kind of chicken (when there isn't time to plan it).

 

[cshubhra]

In general I don’t like cooking (In fact I am very lazy unless I am super motivated to do something)

When somehow nudged properly to motivation, I can cook a wide variety of Indian food, (much more variety than you would get in a restaurant) which better than any Indian restaurant in America, comparable to the most popular restaurants back in India, and even comparable to the food cooked by the great old ladies of yesteryears.

While I do not have a signature dish I can cook a goat curry in at least 20 different flavor variations, and 10 years back I used to cook an aromatic biriyani which took 10 hours to prep and cook and was superb.

Since my wife does not eat beef, I have only cooked steak in the last couple of years for my son and me. (Although cooking a steak is probably cooking 101)

 

[jpmcwjr]

I'm best with an omelet pan, so I can impress anyone staying overnight.

But for dinner, most anything grilled on the Barbie, which is not quite gourmet. Can cook and crack a Maine lobster pretty well, but that's a bit messy for a date.

I guess I'd broil a nice fish filet such as Petrale Sole, make some hollandaise sauce for some veggies, baked potato with lots of sour cream and chives. .

I wish I could make a great Stroganoff. Someday!

 

[aquadoc]

Oysters Rockefeller, my Dad's bolognese sauce, okra-green tomato-jalapeño fritters, chicken tortilla soup, gnocchi, homemade pasta...

 

[Apipeinthewoods]

I usually do the desserts and bread. Tiramisu cupcakes and almond and lemon drizzle cake are the favourites.

 

[sumusfumus]

Thanks a lot! My new year's vow was to drop two or three tons...NOW!...not possible after reading this.

Subsalac: Good luck with the date....

I can only loosen my belt just so far before I run out of leather.

 

[subsalac]

In general I don’t like cooking (In fact I am very lazy unless I am super motivated to do something)

When somehow nudged properly to motivation, I can cook a wide variety of Indian food, (much more variety than you would get in a restaurant) which better than any Indian restaurant in America, comparable to the most popular restaurants back in India, and even comparable to the food cooked by the great old ladies of yesteryears.

While I do not have a signature dish I can cook a goat curry in at least 20 different flavor variations, and 10 years back I used to cook an aromatic biriyani which took 10 hours to prep and cook and was superb.

Since my wife does not eat beef, I have only cooked steak in the last couple of years for my son and me. (Although cooking a steak is probably cooking 101)

This is so nice to hear. Indian is one of the cuisines I've dedicated most of my energy towards(the others being Thai and Chinese). I've been practicing for about.... 14 years now ever since I first discovered vahchef's youtube channel, he taught me everything I know. Biriyani is still a very challenging dish for me, at least kacchi biriyani is. If I had to impress someone from the North I would make shahi paneer, from the South it would be sambhar which I'm most confident in.

You mention the great old ladies, I think Indian cuisine is one of those cuisines where it's one of the most enriched by the wisdom of those cooking master aunties and uncles-- for instance, to speak of sambhar again the recipe for it on vahchef's channel comes from a 90 year old chef he learned under. Or his dal makhani video, that recipe is from the Bukhara hotel which is most famous for the dish.

I hope you get the inspiration to make your epic biriyani again some day @cshubhra , because these recipes ought to be made more often, to borrow from vahchef's words which he ends every video with: "To inspire others to cook, and so others can benefit from your great cooking"

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have so many dishes that my family is impressed with. I am a winger, winging it as I taste my way through the preparations instead of using a recipe. I would love to do that show Chopped. My wife will sometimes ask me to work in this or that into a dish, like Red Hots or some bottle of a strange sauce she picked up at a market.

I would probably make pasta dish, with rabbit, fresh garden veggies, and a homemade pasta, with a tossed salad. I can't even enjoy a salad at a restaurant that isn't tossed. Something about an evenly distributed dressing that just beats bringing ma bowl of dressing on the side. Hard to enjoy as much.

 

[didimauw]

I don't cook. But the wife says I make a mean sandwich!

 

[bullet08]

In general I don’t like cooking (In fact I am very lazy unless I am super motivated to do something)

When somehow nudged properly to motivation, I can cook a wide variety of Indian food, (much more variety than you would get in a restaurant) which better than any Indian restaurant in America, comparable to the most popular restaurants back in India, and even comparable to the food cooked by the great old ladies of yesteryears.

While I do not have a signature dish I can cook a goat curry in at least 20 different flavor variations, and 10 years back I used to cook an aromatic biriyani which took 10 hours to prep and cook and was superb.

Since my wife does not eat beef, I have only cooked steak in the last couple of years for my son and me. (Although cooking a steak is probably cooking 101)

need a recipe for lamb vindaloo. tried couple on the web and didn't work out.