Here at DK we are blessed with many great cooks who write great cooking diaries. I am a HACK cook. My goal is to get a few of you non-cooks to stop LURKING around the kitchen and COOK SOMETHING. Once you find out how EASY it is to cook something passable, maybe you be inspired to try some of the recipes posted by REAL cooks. I warn all of you REAL cooks that you will cringe at times if you read this diary. Remember that my intended audience is the many non-cooks who wish to get started. I'll try to take as little for granted as possible. No question is too stupid! My answers might be.
By the way, what are you having for dinner? Please also share some of your time-saving strategies and your hackistic techniques!
My particular specialty can be aptly described as ONE PAN COOKING. This is out of no particular virtue other than laziness and organizational difficulties. One pan cooking minimizes actual preparation time, leaving plenty of free time to write rant diaries while you cook! That's why I include a timer as a necessity. You will need:
ALL YOU NEED
- A large skillet (heavy frying pan) with a well fitting lid. A Dutch oven will also do. (my skillet barely holds 2 1/2 quarts)
- A chef's knife (these are long and tapered) poultry knife is 2nd choice.
- Cutting board (or clean, dedicated counter space)
- Measuring cup (I recommend 2-cup size)
- Timer (you can use a clock, but I need the beep)
- Kitchen spoon (this is larger than a table spoon, which will suffice)
- Fork (I use the same one I will eat with)
My spice/condiment shelf includes; salt, pepper, garlic powder (never buy garlic salt, because salt is practically free), chili powder, ground cumin, basil, oregano, soy sauce (which I generally use in lieu of salt), olive oil, and sesame oil.
To begin with, you need to learn what SIMMER means. It means the lowest burner setting that will maintain a soft boil. Learn it by bringing 3 cups of water to a boil in your skillet. Put the lid on and turn the burner down to a low setting. Check in 5 minutes to see if the water is still boiling. If it is, turn the burner down. Continue this process until you discover the lowest setting that will boil water. That's called SIMMER. MAKE A NOTE OF IT.
CHICKEN AND RICE
Ingredients:
Approx. 2 lbs. of chicken drumsticks
1 Cup rice
1 Large onion
1 Large bell pepper (green OK, yellow or red prettier)
4 Celery stalks
1 Cup frozen peas (leave these in the freezer for now)
2 1/2 cups water
1 ounce of soy sauce
About rice: Any raw rice will do (don't use instant rice....ever).
I use 3 parts long grain brown rice and 1 part wild rice. Brown and wild rice have distinctive flavor, and substantial fiber. If you use white rice, the cooking time is reduced by about 1/2.
For beginners, cut the vegetables first. When you are an experienced hack cook like me, you can save time by cutting the vegetables while the chicken is browning.
Onion: Cut both ends off of the onion. Make a shallow cut from end to end and remove the peel. There are layers. I try to take as thin a layer off as possible, but it's easier to peel off a thicker layer. Cut it in half from end to end, and cross-cut both halves.
Bell Pepper: Split the pepper from the point, breaking it in half. This will reveal the core, which you discard. It's easiest to dice the pepper with the skin side down.
Celery: Clean the celery stalks and cut the bases off. You can discard these, but I eat them. Stack the stalks, and dice them into 1/4 inch pieces.
Place the chicken legs in the skillet, skin side up. Add a couple of ounces of water. You don't need any stinking oil, there's plenty of oil in the chicken. Turn the heat up to just below medium, and put the top on the skillet. This is the only thing you can screw up. The only way you can screw up is by burning the chicken. The water you put in will boil away quickly, but you will notice the steam. When it stops steaming, take the top off and turn the chicken. Don't freak out if it sticks, just scrape under it with your fork. Let it cook on the other side for a couple of minutes and turn it again. Turn the heat down to SIMMER and finish cutting the vegetables.
Remove the chicken from the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium and add the cut vegetables. Brown the vegetables in the skillet, stirring them with the kitchen spoon every couple of minutes. Stir the rice into the browned vegetables, add 2 1/2 cups of water, place the chicken on top and replace the lid. When the water starts boiling, turn the heat down to SIMMER and leave it for 1 hour (1/2 hour if you are using white rice). After 1 hour, add the frozen peas, 1 ounce of soy sauce, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Replace the lid and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon sesame oil (optional).
Servings: This recipe makes about 4 servings for normal people. It serves me for 2 days. It is great reheated. Total calories for this recipee is about 1900.
Substitutions: Any chicken will do. If you use thighs you will want to drain the fat after browning. If you use more than 2 pounds of chicken, you might run out of room in your skillet. With boneless chicken, you can use 3 pounds. Recipe also works well with spareribs.
POT ROAST
Ingredients:
Approx 2 pounds of boneless beef roast.
1 Large onion
2 Medium parsnips
2 Medium (or one large) rutabaga or turnip
4 Medium or 3 Large carrots
1 Ounce soy sauce
2 Ounces of dry wine (optional) (cheap is cheaper)
Choose a roast that will fit under the lid. If the roast is too big, you won't be able to fit sufficient vegetable into the skillet, and a loose top will compromise the cooking.
Place the roast into the skillet and place the lid. DON'T ADD ANY LIQUID. Turn up the heat to medium and wait till you hear the roast start to sizzle. Turn the roast and brown the other side for 5 minutes. Don't worry if it burns a little, that's OK. Turn heat down to simmer, and simmer covered for 2 hours. Pour off any liquid, but DON'T scrape the skillet. Cut the carrots and parsnips into 1 inch lengths. Cut the turnips or rutabagas into quarters. Peel the onion and cut into quarters. Place the vegetables around the roast in the skillet. Jam as many in as you can, but make sure the lid still fits tightly. Add the soy sauce (not optional) and 2 ounces of wine (optional). Simmer for another 2 hours.
This can be served as is. If you must have gravy (and I MUST), remove the roast and vegetables to a serving platter, or you can stack it all on an extra plate. Turn up the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons of flour. Scrape the flour around in the drippings until it's greasy and starts to brown. Gradually add 2 cups of water. Stir and scrape constantly, mashing any lumps that appear. After all of the water is added, stir and mash until the water boils. Add a cup of frozen peas (optional) bring gravy back up to boil. Turn off the stove, you are done. Salt and pepper the gravy to taste and spoon it onto the roast and vegetables as they are served.
This recipe serves four. Total calories is about 2500.
This government website is great for looking up nutrition information for bulk items, produce, meat etc:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/...