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We all have certain 'recipes' that produce our go-to meals: those dishes that we make when we want a sure bet for guests or when we just want something easy, tasty, and amazing for ourselves. These are the meals you try to feed others and want to pass down to your kids.

I don't care if you created the recipe on your own, your grandmother handed it down to you, you picked it up at your restaurant, or got it from some cookbook or magazine. It's just about good food.

Post one recipe that you will 100% vouch for as being amazing -- this is your time to evangelize. And yes, I know that we all have many good dishes to share, but you need to self edit here: ONLY ONE. Please take a photo of the recipe page, give a link, or provide some cooking instructions. And maybe tell us what is so good about it. I'll post my contribution in a day or two.

We have a lot of amazing members here, and I know we make a lot of great food.

k.
 
freaking brilliant..MR D!!

i know what i am gonna do..i just got to wait for the weekend, so i can take a pic. hahaha..FUN. so many pro cooks here..i'm nervous.

my dish is uber simple..but NONE of my friends can make an edible version.
 
Thomas Keller's Fried Chicken from Ad Hoc, hands down an unbelievable dish every time! I'll take a photo of the recipe tomorrow.
 
Thomas Keller's Fried Chicken from Ad Hoc, hands down an unbelievable dish every time! I'll take a photo of the recipe tomorrow.

Interesting. My second choice was a Keller recipe from that same book, but I am going to submit Molly Stevens' roast chicken pieces Dijonnaise. Cooked it for the first time in November and I have made it about 8 times since. It's easy, and the sauce that comes out of it is like crack cocaine.

Again, I will post more info in a day or two.

k.
 
Do we have to give measurements, cooking times, temperatures etc? While this is obviously the way most of the world cooks, those of us who cook for a living almost never use recipes like that except for baking and pastries. We deal in ratios and techniques and the recipes we do write down wouldnt do much good to the average non-professional.

That said, all the Thomas Keller talk made me remember another simple, yet delicious recipe of his. The Lemon Sabayon tart with pinenut crust from The French Laundry Cookbook is great.
 
2: All beef patties
Special sauce
lettuce
cheese
pickles
onion
sesame seed bun
 
Do we have to give measurements, cooking times, temperatures etc? While this is obviously the way most of the world cooks, those of us who cook for a living almost never use recipes like that except for baking and pastries. We deal in ratios and techniques and the recipes we do write down wouldnt do much good to the average non-professional.

That said, all the Thomas Keller talk made me remember another simple, yet delicious recipe of his. The Lemon Sabayon tart with pinenut crust from The French Laundry Cookbook is great.

Quick answer. For the pro cooks, you don't need to provide all the nitty gritty details -- just enough for inspiration.

k.
 
I'd have to go with my summertime brunch go-to. Eggs Benedict, Maryland Style.

Long story short, instead of english muffin, the base is a local tart panko breaded fried green tomato (high heat so still pretty sturdy inside) but nicely warmed through.
Replace canadian bacon with local virginia ham or pancetta, sauteed/fried until slightly crispy.
On top a local perfectly poached large farm egg with a gorgeously vibrant runny orange yolk.
Top egg with fresh jumbo lump maryland crabmeat, delicately turned with fresh minced garden chive and cold steamed eastern shore corn, and topped with a homemade old bay hollendaise.

Why it's amazing? FGT = crunch and tart, ham gives texture, fat, umami, runny poached egg is just gorgeous and silky, local crab meat is pefectly sweet and tender and seafoody, local chives give color and hint of onion, corn gives incredible sweet complement to crab, and old bay hollendaise, because it is just a part of my soul growing up here. All together, one big messy bite = summertime in maryland.

Credit is years of living in this area, and countless versions of traditional eggs benedict with bits and pieces of this, e.g. traditional with crab, or traditional with old bay, etc. I'm sure it's been done before, but this to me, in a nutshell, is a perfect maryland summertime brunch, and the dish that I would request on my deathbed, assuming somehow I was dying during that brief summertime window when the stars align and I can get all of these things in optimal condition from farmers market. Also, I am not big into even numbers, so when I do this, I have 3 towers, not the eternally traditional two. :hungry:
 
PS - this MD Style benedict pairs extraordinarily well with an old-bay rimmed bloody mary, replacing the traditional celery stalk with a spicy pickled green bean.
 
We got this recipe from Bon Apetit magazine about 20 years ago. It didn't have the salt or liqueur in it, I think they add but aren't mandatory. It's just about the perfect chocolate cake, IMO. Dense, moist, and rich. It's also one of the easiest to make cakes in the world and almost foolproof. (Leaving the wax paper on the bottom or overcooking a little bit are recoverable. Dropping the cake onto the bottom of the oven when you take it out to cover it with foil isn't so great, but if you have the ingredients you can have another whipped up and in the oven in minutes.)

Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake

10 oz bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
5 large eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
A couple glugs of liqueur (Grand Marnier & Chambord are nice--use what you like)
A couple pinches salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour 10 inch springform pan, and line the bottom with waxed paper. Melt together chocolate & butter, remove from heat and stir in liqueur.

Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until well blended and starting to thicken. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt over eggs and fold in. Gradually fold in chocolate mixture, then pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, then cover pan with foil and bake about 30 minutes longer, until tester comes out with moist crumbs still attached (don't overcook!)

Cool in pan on rack (cake will fall). Remove cake from pan (don't forget to take off the waxed paper.) Dust with powdered sugar and cocoa.

Good with ice cream, whipped cream, unwhipped cream, fruit, or naked (you, the cake, or both.)

ChocolateCake.jpg
 
Here is one I posted on B&B a few years ago- never fails to please. A few guys tried this out with great results, the only failure was those that hurried the browning of the tomatoes and rushed the cooking.

OK lets get started~

What you need:



3- 28 ounces cans of plum tomatoes, San Marzano is best.

1 cup of chopped onion

4 cloves of garlic chopped

A large handful of fresh basil

2 lbs of veal, cubed

1 tsp of red pepper flake

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 oz EVOO

Dice, slice and cube everything to start.

Heat oil in large enough pot to fit all the tomatoes with plenty of room left over.
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Brown cubed veal and reserve.

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Lightly brown onions and half way through add garlic, reserve.
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Brown 2 cans of tomatoes, Don't rush this part!
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Add onions and garlic red pepper and salt.
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Add the rest of the tomatoes.
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Simmer on low for many hours, add water as needed.
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(After 3 hours)
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(After 6 hours)
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Add reserved meat and Basil to sauce, cook one more hour.
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Cook Pasta.
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Enjoy!
 
Jim - that looks awesome. Does the meat come out braised but intact? Thinking of trying this (and also feeding to my toddler) who loved everything pasta - just curious about how the chunks turn out.
 
I make a ragu bolognese that is very similar to this (not as much tomato and a little bit of cream at the end), and it is always killer, provided you give it the time to reduce properly.
 
I just had an idea: what about a KKF Cookbook?

There was one in progress about a year ago, but it seems to have dropped off the map. There was supposed to be recipes along with the knives and pictures of the work in progress with the knives.
 
I'll search, but it's more inspiration à la Adam Perry Lang.
 
Jim - that looks awesome. Does the meat come out braised but intact? Thinking of trying this (and also feeding to my toddler) who loved everything pasta - just curious about how the chunks turn out.


Yes the meat stays together as they are only in the sauce for about an hour. If you wanted to you could substitute ground veal as well.. like most of these things it's just a place to start.
 
My go-to for guests is the forum bird, but that's been done to death around here, so I'll go with Coniglio All' Ischitana. Something about rabbit in garlicky tomato sauce just makes me happy. I like it with lots of thick sauce and a hunk of bread to mop it up.

A go-to around the house that I do a lot I ripped off from some seafood place I went to in Vancouver. Basically all it is is sauteed chicken (they used breasts, I use thighs) and mushrooms in a Hoisin sauce wrapped in lettuce. It takes like 10 minutes and makes the wife happy. Reheats well too.
 
Home made popcorn.

1 handful of popcorn kernels, unless you prefer more. or less.
enough oil to coat the kernels and have a small pool underneath.
I like EVOO, and grapeseed oil, esp lemon-infused varieties...though I did have 1 garlic infused oil that was suprerb (most of them are awful)
garlic salt, to taste. Must be applied immediately after removing from heat.
pan about 12-15X the volume of the corn you are using, about 4 qt for one z-sized handful.

place 'corn and oil in pan with loose-fitting lid over high-heat
pop until popping slows to 1 kernel/s....-ish
dump in bowl, immediately salt...stainless steel mixing bowl is traditional

total time: 10-ish minutes...if you clean your pan while it's hot.

Been enjoying and developing this recipe/approach for nearly 20 years, hope you enjoy it too!
 
Home made popcorn.

1 handful of popcorn kernels, unless you prefer more. or less.
enough oil to coat the kernels and have a small pool underneath.
I like EVOO, and grapeseed oil, esp lemon-infused varieties...though I did have 1 garlic infused oil that was suprerb (most of them are awful)
garlic salt, to taste. Must be applied immediately after removing from heat.
pan about 12-15X the volume of the corn you are using, about 4 qt for one z-sized handful.

place 'corn and oil in pan with loose-fitting lid over high-heat
pop until popping slows to 1 kernel/s....-ish
dump in bowl, immediately salt...stainless steel mixing bowl is traditional

total time: 10-ish minutes...if you clean your pan while it's hot.

Been enjoying and developing this recipe/approach for nearly 20 years, hope you enjoy it too!

Replace your garlic salt with vinegar powder and Maldon salt and you've got my recipe. Salt and vinegar everything!
 
Funnily enough, my true go-to (especially for a crowd where I need to truly entertain as well as cook) would also be a Bolognese. I started with this recipe, and have customized from there, but it's rarely the same thing twice. I always skip the celery, usually skip the liver, and often sub the meat (just use a salty meat then a meaty meat). It's always a hit, probably because everyone hears "bolognese" and then expects Prego "Meat" Sauce.
 
The Pommes Boulangere from Coliccio's Craft of Cooking is so badass. It's a PITA to peel a bunch of fingerling potatoes, but it's sooooooooooooooooooooooo worth it.
 
Home made popcorn.

1 handful of popcorn kernels, unless you prefer more. or less.
enough oil to coat the kernels and have a small pool underneath.
I like EVOO, and grapeseed oil, esp lemon-infused varieties...though I did have 1 garlic infused oil that was suprerb (most of them are awful)
garlic salt, to taste. Must be applied immediately after removing from heat.
pan about 12-15X the volume of the corn you are using, about 4 qt for one z-sized handful.

place 'corn and oil in pan with loose-fitting lid over high-heat
pop until popping slows to 1 kernel/s....-ish
dump in bowl, immediately salt...stainless steel mixing bowl is traditional

total time: 10-ish minutes...if you clean your pan while it's hot.

Been enjoying and developing this recipe/approach for nearly 20 years, hope you enjoy it too!

I do this too. One trick I use is I cover the pan with a pizza screen so the steam can escape easier. Makes for more excitement and a louder popping noise which is fun too.
 
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