What is your signature dish?

Meatballs....and my sauce isnt bad either.

Macaroni, and Meatballs and Sausage in a Sunday Gravy/Sauce (call it what you will.)

Raves every time.

Brioche bread with cream cheese. Gets the girls going

Better than Sex Cake

Chocolate Cake with caramel sauce inserted in thru holes (tee hee) and crumbled Heath bar on top.

Reservations.

Tacos

Beef Stroganoff

My po boys look like they take time. They don’t.

Spaghetti and meatballs

I make a baked chicken recipe that I found on the internet and then changed some ingredients. My secret ingredient is Mrs Dash- then I add salt.

I know and I don't care.

Revenge .... served cold.

This.

Well R12 that meal doesn't look that appetizing.

Chili. I've won awards.

Apple pie

Lasagne alla Bolognese. And when I don't feel like making my own lasagne, I substitute cavatappi, using the two sauces and the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Pancakes Barbara!

Potato salad, lemon chiffon pie, short ribs. I made a quiche Lorraine once (Joanne Chang’s recipe) that was a huge hit but it was time-consuming so I only made it one other time.

Pierogies with sour cream, fried onion and bacon.

My breakfasts are loved. Perfect omelets that are not dry or overcooked. Poached eggs. Eggs over medium without brown edges. And a personal favorite: matzo brei (pronounced bry, not bree, for my goyische friends). Plus fresh-squeezed juice, freshly ground coffee. The works.

Friends always ask me to make pasta, too. My secret... very very slowly sautéed whole garlic cloves.

Sow Belly 'n' Hand Slung Chitlins

Crêpes Suzette

Steak Diane

Bananas Foster

Ice water

I put butter in the margarine fountain.

Simple breaded (egg, milk, crumbs) chicken breasts, sauteed in butter and olive oil.

Otherwise, I make food with too many spices for my friends' tastes.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Double crust peach pie

Fried chicken

Homemade biscuits

R18, I hear ya. For a birthday dinner I once made a fabulous Crab Strudel, with the phyllo pastry baked to perfection. Too much trouble to serve again!

[quote]Ice water

Do you use a mix or do you make it from scratch using the Julia Child video?

PB&J

Old family recipe. We’re Eskimos.

Saltimbocca alla Romana

Shrimp Jambalaya, Daub Creole, Stuffed Acorn Squash.

Veal Prince Orloff

Gin. Regret.

Bread pudding. My chili, Swiss steak, lemon bars, pecan bars and Mexican casserole are always well-received.

^^ Daube Creole

Noodles Romanov

Lemon pie and fried fish.

Lemon ice box pie, tuna casserole, spaghetti and meatballs.

Please include tips tricks and if possible where you get the recipes!

That better than sex cake looks good.

r35 Bronzie, if it's not too much trouble, how do you make your Mexican casserole?

Ina’s salmon dip is amazing. I add a little liquid smoke to it, and double the salmon. It is always the first thing gone at parties. The orange beef from NYT cooking is restaurant quality. Mushroom leek soup with thyme cream from epicurious...so simple but perfect if you like mushroom soup. Fred’s chicken salad. The salmon dip is what I’m known for, but I looked through my bookmarks to find other recipes that I love.

That's what your wearing?

Cum.

Is this the recipe you're talking about, r43, for Ina's smoked salmon dip?

Yes, r46. It is absolutely amazing, but double up on the salmon.

I have several Italian dishes learned from Nonna that would qualify as signature but for some reason this NYT Provencal Chicken is requested often by my guests, it is ridiculously easy to make. Double the vermouth, 1/3 cup not enough.

For Dessert, I am famous for Ricotta Pound Cake from Gina DePalma's Dolce Italiano Cookbook

My pasta salad. I buy tri-colored rotini, baby tomatoes, sliced black olives from Trader Joe's, canned artichoke hearts that I drain and cut into quarters, toss it with Trader Joe's Romano Caesar salad dressing, a bit of Parmesan and I just serve it chilled.

Thanks, r48. I saved the recipe to make next week.

You're welcome r50!

I never receive complaints about whatever I cook, but people genuinely seem to love my Chicken and Dressing.

With what do you dress your chicken, r52?

My DREAM BARS

Sausage casserole

Here's the NYT Provencal Chicken recipe from a blog, no need to sign up for a nyt recipe account.

R53 It is just another term for stuffing. Instead of being placed in a bird's cavity it is baked in a casserole dish.

[quote]What is your signature dish?

Don't ask.

What's chicken and dressing? And please don't say 1000 Island or Ranch.

I make a Greek avogolemono soup to die for...the secret is you have to wash the rice 5 times and leave it to soak in water with salt 24 hours. You need to mix the juice of 3 lemons with 400 grams of sour cream 3/4 and Greek yogurt1/4 and 3 egg yolks....then pour a bit of the hot chicken soup slowly over it and mix it and then slowly pour it into the hot soup so it becomes nice and creamy and tangy but doesn't curdle.

R12, It looks like a lollipop.

Pancakes Barbara

I make a Bolognese sauce for which the base is finely grated red onion, carrot and celery and which I cook with olive oil and minced beef until it is browned a bit before adding tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and juice (make my own in a juicer)...I add oregano, salt and pepper.

R59 Chicken and stuffing. You prepare the stuffing and place it in a casserole dish with the chicken, usually shredded, on top or throughout. This isn't a picture of mine, but it will give you an idea. The secret is to make the several types of bread in the stuffing, yourself, from scratch.

R64, the chicken is cooked twice?

I always get compliments about my trademark pasta dish. I make a mornay sauce in one pan; stir fry onions, garlic, peppers and basil in a wok (to which I later add both tomato puree and chopped tomatoes); and then boil pasta (ideally rigatoni, but I'll use whatever's available so long as it's gluten-free) in another (larger) pan. Once all three are done and the pasta's drained, I'll integrate them all in a large ceramic bowl, and heat it under the grill for approx. 10-15 minutes until I get a crispy coating. And voila! Dinner is served.

Italian Cheesecake

R66 - no cheese or butter?

R65 It is usually boiled first. You can then use the leftover broth created by boiling the chicken in the dressing(stuffing). But, I have used a grocery store Rotisserie Chicken before. The chicken doesn't dry out, because of the moisture from the dressing.

R14, what's so good about your chili?

Both of my "signature" dishes are tomato-based: (1) bruschetta and (2) salsa / pico de gallo.

Those are the 2 dishes that people ask me to make.

A great regional cookbook for Cajun dishes, including Natchitoches Meat Pies, "Cane River Cuisine". A bit of Steel Magnolias right at home.

Cioppino. I merged the San Francisco and Seattle recipes together.

Mornay sauce contains both cheese and butter, R68.

My Genoese friend taught me how to make authentic pesto. Simple and delicious. I know, pesto is dated as a trendy food, but it’s still good.

Veal Prince Orloff

R73, I love cioppino. Didn't know there was a Seattle recipe. I'm sure it's not cheap to make, with all that seafood. My preference is when everything in the cioppino is peeled / shelled.

R75, Pesto may have been a trend in the 80s, but it's still a classic. Just like avocado toast may be a trend now, but my mom was eating avocado on toast in the 70s.

r62 Really?

Reading that Better Than Sex cake recipe gave me diabeetus.

r35 What's your Swiss Steak recipe? I used to love my mother's, but I don't have the recipe. I've been using Alton Brown's, which is pretty good. Only problem is that I haven't been able to find cube steak or even round steak lately.

[quote] Reading that Better Than Sex cake recipe gave me diabeetus.

"Diabeetus" needs to be added to the DL dictionary as part of the lingua franca.

I like having people over for martinis, so I usually make little 1.5” squares of toast fried in butter topped with smoked salmon, a dollop of crème fraîche, a bit of caviar and a pinch of paprika. The sweetness of the butter and the savoriness of the caviar compliment the martini.

I’m a pretty good cook and get few complains but I would have to say iced tea and smoked ribs.

We are 83 replies deep and no one thought of red dragon cheese or canned frosting or even graxy?

You bitches are slipping

r42 Only if you promise not to throw rocks......... Everything in it, except for a rotisserie chicken, comes from bottles, jars and cans.

1. Two boxes Rice-A-Roni Spanish Rice prepared as directions indicate, plus 2 bay leaves.

2. All the meat you can get off one regular-size supermarket rotisserie chicken, shredded.

3. 2(or 3, if you want it very bean-y) 15oz. cans of beans(pink, black, kidney, your choice) rinsed and drained.

4. 8 oz(total) shredded yellow cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.

5. 2 16oz jars of salsa.

6. 2 cups chicken broth.

7. S&P, chili powder and/or taco seasoning, Tabasco sauce and Worchestershire sauce, to taste.

Mix the seasonings into the chicken, layer all ingredients, twice, in a casserole dish. Make sure you save half the cheese for the top layer. Pour the chicken broth over everything. Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes at 300F. Everything in it is cooked, you're just heating it through. Check it halfway through and if it seems dry, add some broth or water. I like to eat this with tortilla chips. It's carb-heavy, but worth it.

This is a double recipe, leftovers are great. For a big crowd I do a triple.

Lemon pound cake

Coffee flan

Dark chocolate gelato with candied ginger

R83, how do you make your iced tea? I'm not joking. I've tried to make a good, strong iced tea (black tea) and just can't seem to do it. The closest I've come is with PG Tips tea bags. Haven't tried loose tea.

[quote] like having people over for martinis, so I usually make little 1.5” squares of toast fried in butter topped with smoked salmon, a dollop of crème fraîche, a bit of caviar and a pinch of paprika. The sweetness of the butter and the savoriness of the caviar compliment the martini.

Gay Gayerson has finally returned to Datalounge. Welcome back Gay!!!

Lasagna. Although often I only make a quick sauce for parties that people love as well.

r81 I believe it already has been, thanks to the numerous references to Wilford Brimley. And of course, this.

After years of practice, I do a steak to perfection. But the one thing I make that blows everyone away (except me, I don't care for it) is osso buco.

[quote] Lasagna. Although often I only make a quick sauce for parties that people love as well.

R89, sounds delicious. Would you mind sharing how you make your "quick sauce"? TIA.

R88 didn’t mean to get your flannel panties in a wad old girl. We’d all love your recipe for Rice-A-Roni surprise.

I always do steak with sous vide these days. And there was an interesting recipe on ATK the other day for doing a huge chuck eye roast in sous vide for 24 hours.

r85 Thanks, Bronzie. As soon as I assemble all the ingredients, I'm going to make one.

r42

I make a smoked salmon appetizer that layers smoked salmon on Trader Joe's potato latkes and I top it with mustard dill sauce from the New Basics cookbook. Everyone loves it.

r80 The Swiss steak recipe was my MIL's and is very old school. I haven't seen cube steaks in many years, and I used to work in a supermarket. The meat dept. had a special machine to make them, but I would always see it gathering dust in a corner. You'll have to buy a bottom round of beef, have it sliced 1/4" thick, and then pound it with a heavy duty meat tenderizer(not a flat-sided one, you need a textured one to help break down the tough meat fibers[you, in effect, become the cubing machine]), working in plenty of well-seasoned flour(S&P, paprika, thyme). It's a messy(flour flies everywhere), exhausting job,I used to do it outdoors. Fry in hot fat until crusty, you don't need to cook the meat thoroughly.

In the skillet you fried the meat in, saute long strips of onion, red and green pepper, and long, shreds of carrot(use a potato peeler), until they begin to soften. Layer the meat and veggies, and a small can of crushed tomatoes, well-drained( you don't want the dish too tomato-y) in a casserole, then pour over enough mixed beef and chicken broth to cover. Put the lid on and pop it in a 325F oven for about an hour or so(it depends on how many layers you've made), until fork tender. The last 15 minutes check the liquid level, if too dry add broth, if too wet leave off the cover. Serve with mashed potatoes and plenty of gravy from the pot.

This keeps well in the fridge AND freezer. It's so good though, leftovers don't last long. It makes terrific sandwiches.

I didn't give measurements for the meat or veggies, you'll just have to wing it. It'll look like you have too many veggies for the amount of meat, but they almost disappear once cooked.

Swiss Steak became popular (IMO) because it was a way to use a cheaper cut of meat (and it had a lot of flavor). Why not just buy whatever beef is available and pound it out as you would for chicken-fried steak.

R97 Maybe it is a regional thing. All the supermarkets near me, in the South, have cube steak all the time.

r98 That's basically what it is: chicken-fried steak baked with veggies and liquid. Since the meat is sliced and pounded, then braised, even the toughest cut becomes tender.

Turkey meatballs and graxy. Served over drained pasta.

Donkey fazul

Stuffed cabbage and sauerkraut.

USAid gruel topped with flies and washed down with cholera water.

Another vote for Pancakes Barbara! R17, what's your recipe?

For breakfast, Oeufs en Cocotte with chives and cream. The sex the night before has to have been really great to warrant this.

For a cookout, I smoke pork ribs. Everyone loves them.

In the winter, I use Julia Child's recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon and also her Cassoulet.

R87, I started with a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated that explained that you should not heat the water to boiling or boil the tea because that is what causes the tannins to get bitter. I used to heat water in the stove and use an electric thermometer to keep it at a certain temperature for a certain time, but discover I could get the same result by boiling water in my electric kettle and pouring it over the tea in a two-quart Mason jar. I use good quality tea bags just to make it simple, for that size jar, I use four strong black tea bags (like an English breakfast blend), and one bag each of peppermint and chamomile. I let it steep overnight, add the juice of one lemon and sweeten to taste (I use stevia powder, one level teaspoon, because I don’t like it too sweet). I am almost famous for it in my friend group...you should try it!

A fancy mac and cheese, made with Gruyere and prosciutto.

Thank you, R87. I actually have one of these devices to tenderize the meat if I can't get it done at the meat counter (and since I'm no longer going into stores, that's not an option.) Now if I can just find round steak ...

Your recipe is actually pretty similar to Alton's. My mom used to make two versions -- one with a more tomato-based sauce, and one with more of a brown gravy. I loved them both. I'll post Alton's recipe in the next post.

Alton Brown's Swiss Steak.

I'm looking for a really good chicken salad.

[quote]I'm looking for a really good chicken salad.

Whatever else you do, don't overcook your chicken, use a vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise, and season with plenty of salt.

Try poaching your chicken breasts using this method.

Red wine braised boneless short ribs over cheese grits with garlic collard greens.

Thomas Keller's short ribs with grain mustard sauce-- labor-intensive so good for special occasions.

r110 Pioneer Woman's Chicken Salad has been my favorite for years. The dressing is mayo/sour cream or yogurt/half n half with brown sugar and lemon juice, so good. I use rotisserie chicken.

Note: Half n Half is listed in ingredients but omitted in directions, don't leave it out although you may not need entire 1/2 cup, I generally use 1/4 cup.

r110 I like the Whole Foods Sonoma Chicken Salad recipe.

Brown sugar in Chicken Salad sounds interesting.

This is Amurrica. There are never enough new ways to add more sugar to your unhealthy diet.

Can I use canned chicken breast in the salad above?

I've. made Chicken Marbella a lot, it's super easy and tastes. more involved than it. actually. is. Good hot or room temp, so works for parties outside. The Silver Palate ladies claim to have invented it and there are lots of adaptable versions.

An Indian chicken recipe of some sort, a normal or creamy milder rather than spicy hot dish, usually from Madhuri Jaffrey with some minor adaptation. An appetizer, some Indian store bought bread heated, and a vegetable dish.

Chicken l'Orange. My secret is sprinkling Tang while grilling or broiling.. Everyone thinks I peeled and squeezed oranges.

When I was little my mom occasionally bought cube steaks. I remember supermarkets usually had a small, open chest freezer with individual, plastic-wrapped cube steaks. They always came with a pat of butter in the middle of them. But haven’t seen them in years.

Caille en Sarcophage

This is how I make turkey salad for sandwiches (can be adapted to chicken salad):

Turkey meat, small cubes. Can be a mixture of white and brown meat, depends on what you like.

Finely-chopped onion and celery. Can leave out celery if you dislike it.

Mayo, Best Foods (Hellman's) is the brand usually available to me.

Salt and pepper.

Bread.

That's all.

^^^ I always like celery chunks in my turkey, chicken, egg, or tuna salads for the crunchy texture it adds.

R123 - what time is dinner?

The Molotov Cocktail.

I am an experienced home cook and have really perfected my coconut cake. It’s a soggy cake and not that sweet, frosted with a sour cream frosting.

It’s a lot of work and normally only make them for funerals and holidays. One of my distant cousins joked the last time that I saw her that she has started looking forward to family funerals because she knows she’ll get some of my coconut cake.

Baked Pears Alicia.

[quote]It’s a lot of work and normally only make them for funerals and holidays. One of my distant cousins joked the last time that I saw her that she has started looking forward to family funerals because she knows she’ll get some of my coconut cake.

Sounds like the setup for a really awful episode of "Murder, She Wrote."

"What was the motive, Jessica?" "Well, she was so desperate for that coconut cake that she had to kill someone so there'd be a funeral."

R124 - so your 'secret' chicken salad is diced chicken, minced onion, mayo and salt and pepper?

Good grief - now you'll never start a chain of chicken salad restaurants! That's like giving away the Colonel's secret recipe!

Please - don't give away your recipe for ice or jello. You'll be out of business!

Ina Garten lemon-thyme chicken.

I've done variations of this for years. Works with breasts, thighs, a whole chicken, whatever. Perfect over rice, orzo, spaghetti, whatever you like. It's super-easy, unbeatable, and impresses company.

R131, I hear your point about my super-basic way of making chicken salad. My point was more a comment on the Pioneer Woman recipe with mayonnaise, sour cream, and yet another dairy ingredient (half ‘n’ half, maybe). Who knows, maybe it’s good with all that stuff.

My lasagne is always requested.

My turkey-and-spinach lasagna, which is the Obama White House turkey-and-spinach lasagna: