I Cooked!

[blas]

And I didn't blow up my kitchen or set anything on fire! And it was edible. So edible, I couldn't even save any for later or for someone to sample to prove I did it. I ate the entire thing.

I've found a new love for hotdishes since a potluck we had last fall at work.

I decided to make my own version of it. My dad taught me how to brown beef (don't laugh, I really didn't know how!).

I took a pound of lean ground beef, a few handfulls of medium shell noodles, Ragu's marinara sauce, and a couple of handfulls of mozarella cheese.

It was so good!

[Rapscallion]

Now it's experimentation time! Welcome to a whole new world of fun and frolics

I think we have a few recipe threads around here.

Rapscallion

[Dave1982]

Sounds good.

[TelephoneAngel]

Great! Its so interesting cooking new things and experimenting and of course EATING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ArcticChicken]

My mom's BF is 56. He called her the other day to learn how to cook noodles.

[iradney]

you...you didn't save us any?? That's just mean

it sounds delicious!!!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Recipe or it didn't happen.

In all seriousness, that sounds really good and I'd like to try and make it myself.

[Dave1982]

Recipe or it didn't happen.

In defense of blas....objection! Asked and answered!

I took a pound of lean ground beef, a few handfulls of medium shell noodles, Ragu's marinara sauce, and a couple of handfulls of mozarella cheese.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I was thinking more of how long to cook it and at what temperature, smarty pants.

It sounds similar to a casserole my mom used to make. Maybe I can get a recipe out of her.

[AccountingDrone]

This is one of my go to meals. I recommend making the meatball gloop the day before and letting it hang out in the fridge melding flavors. I also tend to double the ginger and add a clove or two of smashed garlic, and use real mirin instead of sherry [cooking sherry is godaweful salty and nasty] and I eliminate the added salt, the soy is salty enough. I serve it on udon noodles, the kind that are soft and not a hard brick that I get at a chinese grocery. You could substitute that linguini from the refrigerated aisle, it would work ok.

It is dead easy, just remember to dip your hands in iced water to keep the meatball stuff from sticking to your hands, and I usually make the meatballs the normal 1 inch diameter ones instead of the 4 huge ones the recipe calls for, they cook faster =)

[Jester]

Blas, congrats! And welcome to the fun world of cooking! As you may have noticed, there are a few of us cooks on here, and if you ever have any questions or need some advice, I am sure we'd all be happy to help you out. I know I would. (Cooking is right up there with sports, politics, and women as one of my favorite subjects to talk about.)

I eliminate the added salt, the soy is salty enough.

Cooking tip: Any time you use soy sauce, you don't need to add sale. Soy sauce basically IS liquid salt. There are exceptions to this, of course (there are ALWAYS exceptions when it comes to cooking), but overall, this is a good rule of thumb to have!

[AccountingDrone]

Blas, congrats! And welcome to the fun world of cooking! As you may have noticed, there are a few of us cooks on here, and if you ever have any questions or need some advice, I am sure we'd all be happy to help you out. I know I would. (Cooking is right up there with sports, politics, and women as one of my favorite subjects to talk about.)



Cooking tip: Any time you use soy sauce, you don't need to add sale. Soy sauce basically IS liquid salt. There are exceptions to this, of course (there are ALWAYS exceptions when it comes to cooking), but overall, this is a good rule of thumb to have!

Some soys have less salt and a more complex flavor, it is an artifact of how it is made. We prefer golden mountain which adds a dab of fish sauce to the ingredients for the umami instead of MSG, though it is a fairly salty one.

As another tip, avoid any grocery store 'cooking wine' like the plague - the temperance nuts back in the day forced manufacturers to salt the living bejebus out of it so people wouldn't drink it. You should never cook with a wine that you would not also drink.Same with cooking ingredients - you should never cook with an ingredient you wouldn't eat [ref quality - bruises and age/spoilage]

[Jester]

Some soys have less salt and a more complex flavor, it is an artifact of how it is made.

As I said, it's a general rule of thumb, not a hard and fast ironclad certainty. Obviously different soys will make this a variable thing.

You should never cook with a wine that you would not also drink.

Yes and no. In general, yes. If wine is a key ingredient to your dish, use something of quality. If wine is just a tertiary ingredient, as it is in my German stew, cooking wine is just fine. (I am NOT opening a bottle of Marques de Caceres Crianza Rioja just to put a dab of it in a big ole pot of stew. No, not, nyet, hell no.)

Same with cooking ingredients - you should never cook with an ingredient you wouldn't eat [ref quality - bruises and age/spoilage]

Again, yes and no. Many recipes call for "stale crusty bread," which I dare say many people wouldn't want to EAT. But it does make for a good ingredient in many of the recipes in question. Just one example, but there are others. These things must be judged on a case by case basis. Of course, I always favor fresh ingredients, as it makes a better final product....but as with the wine, it varies from case to case.

[MaggieTheCat]

Congrats, blas! I hope you have fun trying new recipes, and remember not to get discouraged if something doesn't turns out. Practice and experience are the best way to learn and improve...I remember when I first moved out on my own, I wasn't a very good cook, but over the last couple of years I daresay I've gotten quite skilled.

I've found a new love for hotdishes

(sorry for the upcoming threadjack) I'm so glad to know that my family and I aren't the only ones who call casseroles "hotdishes!" When I first moved to Texas, whenever I said "hotdish" everyone looked at my crosseyed like I was from Jupiter. NO ONE had ever heard of a "hotdish" except for one friend who has family in Minnesota. It is apparently a northern term, or so I'm told!

[blas]

It must be a Wisconsin thing, all I have ever heard them be called is hotdish.