Recipes by heart?

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   ChrisSnilposted 15 years ago

   Going by an article I read recently, I'm curious to know; do you have any recipes that you know off by heart and enjoy making frequently or do you have any dishes that you consider your speciality?

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      ForTheInterimposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Most of my favourite recipes I know by heart.  Many of my recipes I can make just once, and then remember them. I don't bake by heart however..it's too fussy and specific.  Which is likely why I enjoying cooking more than baking.
      
      I do love looking at new recipes for ideas, and then adapt them to my tastes, my ingredients, or my budget.  If I had to follow a recipe each time, I don't think I would enjoy cooking very much.
      
      However, I would say most of my cooking is improv - based on what ingredients I have and think would go well together.. likely amalgamation of past meals I've made.
      
      How do you do most of your cooking?  What did the article you read say?

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         Maddie Ruudposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Your post is spot on for me, as well!  However, I always keep some scrap paper and a pen by the stove to write down as I go, if I'm making something that diverges a great deal from anything I've made before, so that if it turns out well I know what I did--and can post it here on HubPages!

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      2. 61

         ChrisSnilposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         It was about a survey, carried out by a TV station about food, and it listed the top 10 dishes that Britons can cook without having to use a recipe - surprisingly Spaghetti Bolognese came top of the list, but out of the others I rather prefer Shepherds' Pie and Chili Con Carne
         
         As for myself, well I'm pretty okay with stir-frys, using lots of lime, ginger and chilli in a bit of soy sauce tastes lovely with king prawns and noodles (dammit now I want it for dinner )
         
         I'll give anything a try really, I've not long got a slow cooker, so that should be interesting to experiment with

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      Christa Dovelposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I have many recipes that I make by heart, either because I have made them so frequently that I have them memorized or because they have never been written down.  Breads and cakes are something that I almost always make by feel, from heart. 
      Soups are another thing that I cook by heart, but they are more improvised than a set recipe.

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         ChrisSnilposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Whenever I make soup I tend to keep the same sort of recipe but add little touches to them, my mother does the same with her butternut squash soup - one batch'll contain red pepper, the other extra onions, she even put pumpkin in with it once and it was deliciously sweet

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         ForTheInterimposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I envy your ability to make breads and cakes by hand! I definitely don't have that skill, and tend to be too lazy to make bread by hand. I've tried a few times, but without too much success. Now I cheat and let my bread machine make the dough, and from there I will create whatever kind of loaf I want, and bake it in the oven.
         
         Spaghetti Bolognaise is quite common in the UK I believe! I was watching an Italian cooking show once, and apparently it's not Italian? Interesting how such recipes become popular.

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            ChrisSnilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            There's nothing nicer than the smell of freshly-baked bread, there was a bakery on the route to work, back in the days when I used to cycle to work, and it was delicious.
            
            I believe Bolognese sauce is Italian, though the recipe we use nowadays is vastly different from how they cook it, basically they use a lot less tomato and they add different ingredients depending on the region. I'll admit I'm guilty of dunking an entire tin of plum tomatoes in mine, tastes good if you let it simmer and reduce it down nicely

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               Janettaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               [There's nothing nicer than the smell of freshly-baked bread, there was a bakery on the route to work, back in the days when I used to cycle to work, and it was delicious.]
               
               I agree! yum!!
               My specialty is a unique banana pudding. It has cream cheese in it-nuff said, right
               And I have a meatball recipe I really love. I still glance at the recipe every now and then on both, but I know all the ingredients by heart. And I don't ususally use exact measurements on things when I cook, I prefer to play it by ear.

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   Colebabieposted 15 years ago

   Hmm I know my baked ziti, chili, two versions of pasta salad, veggie lasagna, spinach and artichoke dip, and I'm sure a lot more.
   
   But most of my cooking is just improvised, I know what should go in it, but as far as measuring, yeah.. not so much!
   
   I'm known in my family for my apple pies, I always make them around holidays. That one is stuck in my head.

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   1. 61

      ChrisSnilposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I do rather like apple pie, with custard of course but wouldn't say no to ice cream either

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   kathibbetsonposted 14 years ago

   Well, let’s see. Yes I know hundreds of recipes by heart and the number never ends because once you know the basics and then a few combination techniques you can keep making up new ones all the time. Interesting that we Brits can usually cook “spag bol”, I wonder if that’s from a readymade sauce? This sort of thing really upsets me because making your own tastes so much better and also allows for fresh herbs and a new twist here and there when you have different things in the store cupboard. The key to Italian food is fabulous, fresh ingredients and simplicity. With these two things there is no limit to what you can do.

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   The Misty Roseposted 14 years ago

   I am in love with peanut butter cookies!  My fave recipe for them is actually flour-less:
   
   1C Peanut butter
   1C Sugar
   1  Egg
   
   Preheat oven to 350.
   Mix all three ingredients together, drop onto cookie sheet by teaspoonful, bake for 8 to 10 min.
   
   YUMMY!!!

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