Food that looks difficult to make but isn't.

ErezMA · Nov 5, 2015

Hey, all!

So I have a day coming up where I get out of work early and my fiancee will be at work for another four hours after I am, and I thought I'd be romantic. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but she's recently got me hooked on Cutthroat Kitchen and I thought I'd be cute by taking one of her stuffed teddies and having her walk home with both of us next to a dish (obviously both cooked by me) and I wanted to impress her with a nice dish.

Problem is that I'm not much of a cook. It's not that I'm infamous for what I cook up, but more of I have little experience. Before I moved out with my fiancee, most of my food has been takeout. (Yes, I know. Bad and unhealthy.)

So, all you connoisseurs, what dishes can I make that would have her take a look at it and say, "I can't believe you did this!" without my success rate being closer to the single digits than the triple. Don't worry too much about tastes. I have a picky palette, but she doesn't. The only thing is that recently, she hasn't been a big fan of chicken. So meat, seafood, vegetarian, etc.

(Also - as a subtopic, we've recently moved in and we don't have such an extensive collection of spices. We have salt, pepper, Italian, herbs&garlic, and garlic powder. I like adobo, and oregano and I want to get that, but I'm expecting one of you telling me, "You NEED this!")

With love and thanks,
ErezMA!

Maryn · Nov 6, 2015

Mr. Maryn's impress-me meal is astonishingly simple. It's seared ahi or yellowfin tuna, roasted new potatoes, and a salad out of a bag, with added cherry tomatoes, cucumber, whatever to fancy it up.

To sear the tuna, a non-stick skillet helps, but it's not required.

PAN-SEARED AHI

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in pan on MEDIUM-HIGH, until oil faintly smokes. (If oil smokes too much, pan is too hot, causing seafood to burn on outside and stay raw on inside.)

While oil heats, dust both sides of ahi with pan-searing flour. (Make your own by blending 1 Tablespoon while all-purpose flower with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.)

When oil is hot, set ahi in pan. Turn when it is cooked light brown 1/4 of the way up, about two minutes depending on thickness. Remove when the other side is also 1/4 of the thickness cooked. The center will be quite red--and adds a steak-like taste. For those who cannot abide steak cooked rare, cook both sides 1/3 of the way up instead, leaving a smaller area red. Do not cook all the way through.

We always cook this last, since it's so fast. One person is searing the ahi while the other is serving potatoes and salad.

ROASTED NEW POTATOES

1.5 pounds new potatoes, any variety with a thin skin (red-skinned seem to burn the worst)
1 large onion, optional
2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon dried parsley

Preheat the oven to 325F. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Wash potatoes. Cut into halves or quarters so they're no larger than one inch in any direction. If using onion, cut into chunks the same size, taking care not to let the chunks break into layers.

In a mixing bowl, mix oil with garlic, salt, and parsley. Add potatoes and stir well to mix so potatoes are well coated. If using onion, add chucks last and mix a little more, very gently.

Pour potatoes (and onions) onto prepared cookie sheet. Position them in a single layer with the skin side down. Bake 30 minutes at 325, then increase heat to 425 and bake for an additional 12 to 15 minutes, removing when the exposed surfaces show many well-browned areas.

I'm assuming you can do a bagged salad without my help. Voila! Dinner is served. A Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc complements this meal nicely.

Maryn, literally having this tonight

GeorgeK · Nov 6, 2015

eggs benedict

hollandaise sauce is more time dependent than difficult so don't add the egg to the sauce until everything else is done and you can devote your full attention to the sauce and as soon as it's thickened remove it from heat. That also means taking it off of being over the water if you are using a double boiler

Maggie Maxwell · Nov 6, 2015

Risotto. Sounds fancy, looks fancy, tastes fancy, not as hard as people will make it out to be. It can be intensive, requires a lot of attention, but worth it in the end.

Tomato, Sausage & Spinach Risotto (substituting the sausage for shrimp is an idea for this one)

Asparagus Lemon Risotto

Burst Tomato & Basil with Marscapone Risotto

Smoked Mozzarella Risotto - This is the only one I've made. It's good, easy, and I messed it up too and it still tasted good (when the recipes says small pieces, they mean SMALL. Almost shredded. I cubed it and it didn't melt at all). Make a basic meat dish to go with it, like steaks or shrimp or something.

I've got more recipes. If you like the idea but none of these appeal, PM me.

ErezMA · Nov 6, 2015

Maryn, excellent! I'm not much of a tuna person (shellfish only) but I know she would love this! Now could I find ahi at the average seafood department?

I'm assuming you can do a bagged salad without my help.

You know what they say about assumptions! (Hah, just kidding. I'm sure I got this.)

GeorgeK, I forgot to mention that she's been against eggs right now, but I think that she might like it because of the hollondaise. If anything, I might just try it for me. It is a very intimidating dish because of the egg. I think the sauce might be easy enough.

TAMaxwell, I love Risotto! Thank you so much for suggesting this! Since I don't know how to do this, I might do a test run with simple risotto balls and maybe I can build my confidence for that.
Can I do this with a simple pan or do I need to deep fry?

Maggie Maxwell · Nov 6, 2015

ErezMA said:
TAMaxwell, I love Risotto! Thank you so much for suggesting this! Since I don't know how to do this, I might do a test run with simple risotto balls and maybe I can build my confidence for that.
Can I do this with a simple pan or do I need to deep fry?

Looking up a few recipes, it seems like the options are deep fry or bake. I wouldn't call it quite simple though, since most of the recipes that actually use risotto instead of regular rice involve making the risotto first, then making arancini from the leftovers. Not to say don't go for it, arancini's awesome and definitely a "WOW" dish.

I'd just call making a basic risotto the practice run before the balls.

Maryn · Nov 6, 2015

I suppose it depends on your grocery store--mine happens to be excellent, mainly because some of its customer base is upper middle class or wealthy--but they have ahi all the time, delivered fresh five days a week. They'll even cut me the size pieces I want off a larger chunk of fish.

Maryn, who did indeed buy it this morning

P.S. Many people who don't care for fish except for shellfish find that they do like ahi and swordfish, both of which have a meaty taste that's similar to beef.

ErezMA · Nov 6, 2015

TAMaxwell said:
Looking up a few recipes, it seems like the options are deep fry or bake. I wouldn't call it quite simple though, since most of the recipes that actually use risotto instead of regular rice involve making the risotto first, then making arancini from the leftovers. Not to say don't go for it, arancini's awesome and definitely a "WOW" dish. I'd just call making a basic risotto the practice run before the balls.

I see what you're saying, but I'm still going to practice this. This is something I'll risk if there's even a SLIGHT possibility of making risotto balls.

I don't have a deep fryer, but I do have an oven and I can bake.

I suppose it depends on your grocery store--mine happens to be excellent, mainly because some of its customer base is upper middle class or wealthy--but they have ahi all the time, delivered fresh five days a week. They'll even cut me the size pieces I want off a larger chunk of fish.

I'm sure they have it. I just never looked.

P.S. Many people who don't care for fish except for shellfish find that they do like ahi and swordfish, both of which have a meaty taste that's similar to beef.

Maybe I'll give it a try if it doesn't have a fishy taste. When of my good friend's dad has often been the exception as he's cooked bluefish and has give it a teriyaki taste that I've been able to eat because it rarely had that flavor.

Maggie Maxwell · Nov 6, 2015

ErezMA said:
I see what you're saying, but I'm still going to practice this. This is something I'll risk if there's even a SLIGHT possibility of making risotto balls. I don't have a deep fryer, but I do have an oven and I can bake.

I'm sure they have it. I just never looked.

Maybe I'll give it a try if it doesn't have a fishy taste. When of my good friend's dad has often been the exception as he's cooked bluefish and has give it a teriyaki taste that I've been able to eat because it rarely had that flavor.

Tilapia's a pretty good fish without a fishy flavor as well, although it's not the classiest one you can make.

Let me know how the risotto balls turn out!

You can usually fry things even without a deep fryer using a few inches of oil in a deep pot, but 1) that's a lot of oil and 2) I'm too chicken to try it myself. After going to school with someone with massive burns from a deep frying accident, you get a little cautious when it comes to frying... Baking is nice and safe.

ErezMA · Nov 6, 2015

Well I thought my reduced day was this upcoming Monday but it turns out it's the Monday after that.

I also though of making a middle eastern dish since I'm middle eastern and have a fondness, and because it's been too long since I've made it. I can make hummus and learn shawarma.

MAS · Aug 1, 2016

Pot roast to die for... and so easy!

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 5 pound rump of beef
- 2 or 3 tablespoons fat or oil
- 2 onions, sliced, or 10-12 small white onions, peeled
- 1 or 2 carrots, scraped and cubed
- Herbs and other seasonings as desired
- 1 cup liquid (wine, bouillon, tomatoes, vegetable broth, etc.)
- Other vegetables as desired
- Season the flour with the salt and pepper and dredge in flour (gluten free baking mix works too). Brown meat on all sides in the hot fat or oil. Add the onions, cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Add the carrots, herbs, seasonings and liquid. Cover tightly and simmer 3 1/2 - 5 hours, until meat is fork tender. Add desired vegetables during the last 20 or 30 minutes.
  
  This is a really flexible recipe and always turns out well. You can make a gravy out of the liquid by adding flour or cornstarch. Personal notes: I usually use chicken broth as the liquid and 1 TBSP Herbs de Provence for the seasoning, but am going to try a mixture of thyme, oregano and rosemary next time. Due to allergy issues I omit the onions, and it's still wonderful. I cook it way longer than the recipe calls for, and the rump roast almost falls apart. So tasty, it's the best I've ever made, and it turns out every single time. Can be made in a crockpot or put in the oven if you wish, but I always do it stovetop.

Food that looks difficult to make but isn't.

ErezMA

Maryn

At Sea

GeorgeK

ever seeking

Maggie Maxwell

Making Einstein cry since 1994

ErezMA

Maggie Maxwell

Making Einstein cry since 1994

Maryn

At Sea

ErezMA

Maggie Maxwell

Making Einstein cry since 1994

ErezMA

MAS