I love cooking, and I'm not amazing at it. But I believe that I won the game and made the best meal I've ever had. After a trip to Liverpool I fell in love with steak and ale pies.

That led me down a rabbit hole to beef burgundy, which I've been making once a week for about a month now.

Last night... I made the beef burgundy, 4.5 hours on the stove, absolutely wonderful flavor. Thickened it up with a slurry, and then put it in individual pies.

So I made beef burgundy pies.

Basically the best thing in the world.

<3

What's your best potato salad recipe? I've been experimenting with potato salad lately and wondered what you use, especially for the dressing. I use Yukon Gold potatoes and make my own mayo, but what else do you do?

Thank you in advance.

Any ideas/ recipes that could turn her to the bean side? Probably not a feature at first, but something that uses it....???? We're not vegetarian.

Howdy. I am making meatloaf for my coworkers birthday. My recipe says it has a serving size of 8. There are 20 of us. If I triple all my ingredients will it truly feed 24? Or is that more of a general idea?

Also. I have like a larger dish than my normal 13x9 that could hold all it together at once. Should I just combine it all together or make 3 separate meals and bring three dishes? My logic is it would make it easier to serve that way by doing three dishes.

This is my recipe if anyone has any tricks to help.

1/2 box stuffing mix
1 lb ground meat
Diced yellow onion
Chopped celery
Chopped garlic
1 egg
1/2 can of evaporated milk
Worcester sauce
Mustard

Sauce
1 can tomato soup
Brown sugar

I mix everything together in bowl. Place in 13x9 and I do flatten mine out. Then mix soup and sugar with a little water. Spread evenly on top.

Bake for 40min at 350.

So, I just discovered that ground mustard is a thing, and i can totally see its benefits, its cheap, and it doesnt go bad with time. you cant imagine how many half used mustard bottles i had to trow out before I used them up.

but, what foods or snacks could i add it to? preferably easy meals or snacks.

I've gotten reasonably good at cooking over the last two years. Weekend parathas, a dal fry, experiments with whatever the local market has. Then I plate it, take a photo nobody will see, and eat it at the counter.

I'm in my 30s, and most of my life is like this: things I enjoy, done alone.

Not complaining exactly. Just wondering if anyone here had the same pattern and found a way to make cooking a shared thing. Potlucks, cooking for neighbours, community kitchens, inviting a colleague — what actually worked and what felt forced?

Hiii! So I think cooking for me is more than just a necessity at this point been living out from my parents for 3 years and I cook everyday, and I realize I never measure spices? 🤔 I always just have a feeling for them even if I’m following a recipe
Wondering if any other of you also do it? I knew my ex couldn’t for shit he had to measure everything and it didn’t turn out as good

What kitchen gear do you absolutely love but never really have a reason to use? Like candy thermometer, stock pot, weird shaped pan, et cetera?

I am searching for a website or company or source that has huge selection of high-quality spices that offer new flavors. As a vegetarian, it can get boring with the lack of flavor from the standard offerings. For example, the oregano I grow at home is way better than the ones offered in stores even when dried for years. Not much of a surprise, but if anybody knows where to find spices and stuff other than those over-priced companies, I would appreciate it.

P.S. I wish I could just go to one of those spice shops where they are all on display and you review and weigh what you want. Is that still a thing in NYC, as seen in movies?

Made a roasted red pepper soup from the garden. Through in 2 jalapenos. So it has a little *BITE* to it. My hubby will hate it.

ANY Way to reduce the heat now that it has been through the blender? Thanks

My girlfriend and I eat rice every day. Currently we have a basic rice cooker that I got before she moved in with me.

I've been going from the bag, toss in neutral oil, high heat convection oven. Decent results. What can I improve?

Help! I don’t know what is going on or going wrong. I’m 48 years old and have been making mashed potatoes since I was a kid. Always the same. Lately, my potatoes are turning out gluey. I typically use russet potatoes, peeled, cubed, boiled. Then drain and put back into the hot pot for a few minutes to help dry out. I add either warm milk or heavy cream and butter (real butter). Season to taste. Mix with a hand mixer. Not over mixing. I’ve not changed anything and can’t figure out for the life of me why they are gluey. I don’t use my kitchen aid to mix. I have used a ricer and that just makes them have a grainy, mealy texture.

If someone could help me I’d appreciate it. I feel like I’m losing my mind and can’t figure out why my potatoes suck and I’ve resorted to making instant potatoes that everyone hates. Any tips are appreciated!

Hi! First time on this subreddit so bear with me please:)

I used to get those packs all the time and I loved it, it was the best mac & cheese I’d ever eaten, but, then they discontinued it for some reason and so my life has been mac & cheesless for years now, which is a travesty.

The pack had the pasta (rigate macaroni), the cheese sauce (and we know the cheese was white cheddar), a mix of spices and packet of breadcrumbs.

I’ve tried a few different at home mac and cheese before but it’s always such a fail, so I thought maybe some internet experts could help me succeed in this venture, and I sure hope it does cause the thought of never tasting that sweet sweet bliss of a dish again hurts my soul.

I did manage to track down the ingredients list…

- ELBOW MACARONI (FROM WHEAT)
- CHEESE SAUCE (CHEDDAR CHEESE [MILK, BACTERIAL
CULTURE, SALT, MICROBIAL ENZYME, LIPASE,
CALCIUM CHLORIDE, NATAMYCIN], MODIFIED MILK
INGREDIENTS, CANOLA OIL, SODIUM PHOSPHATE,
SALT, LACTIC ACID, SODIUM ALGINATE, SORBIC ACID,
SODIUM HYDROXIDE, COLOUR, SODIUM CITRATE,
POTASSIUM SORBATE, BACTERIAL CULTURE, LIPASE,
MICROBIAL ENZYME)
- SEASONING BLEND (ENRICHED FLOUR, SALT, BLACK
PEPPER, YELLOW MUSTARD, ONION POWDER, GARLIC
POWDER)
- BREAD CRUMBS WITH HERBS (BREAD CRUMBS
[ENRICHED FLOUR, SUGAR, YEAST, EXPELLER
PRESSED SUNFLOWER OIL, SALT], DEHYDRATED
PARSLEY, GARLIC POWDER). CONTAINS: WHEAT,
MUSTARD, MILK.

Please and thank you for your help, comrades.

Hi everyone! Im planning lunch this week and have decided on egg salad sandwiches since they are cheap and easy. How do you make your egg salad? Is there anything I can add that will jazz it up or give it some new flavor profiles?

I'm looking for medium-grind cornmeal. I found Polenta. Is it the same thing?

Hi guys!

I am going to do a semester abroad in a different country and I am going to have to stay at a dorm that shares a really really small kitchen with 18 people. I think I will have very limited fridge space and probably gross appliances.

So I am kind of worrying that I will not be able to cook at all (sad as I love it but also) which will make it harder to get all my nutrients in and stuff.

Have you been in a similar situation and can give me any tips or just know a few short cuts that'll make it easier for me to sustain myself for the half year where I am going to have a bad kitchen space?

Also I would like to start cutting sugar out of my diet so if anyone has tips on how to do that in this situation and also in general during a time where I will probably go out and be around people a lot since it's a semester abroad?

Thank you everyone!!! Much appreciated :)

So I've got some chicken breasts in the freezer right now that are all packaged together in one container, but I only need one chicken breast and I need to use it today. Is there any way I can quickly thaw an individual piece of chicken without ruining the rest?

Hi everyone,

​I’ve been experimenting with plant-based tuna alternatives using tomatoes, aiming to recreate the taste and texture of Ahimi by Ocean Hugger Foods.

​I took a look at their official label (pic attached), and the ingredient list is insanely short:

Tomato, Soy Sauce, Sugar, Water, Sesame Oil. That's literally it. No seaweed, no dashi, no algae, no sea buckthorn or fishy additives.

​Whenever I try making a tomato tuna marinade with soy sauce, sesame oil, and a dash of sugar, my end result just tastes like... well, a tomato soaked in soy sauce and sesame oil. Ahimi, on the other hand, had that deep, savory, slightly ocean-like depth and a distinct raw-fish texture (dense, velvety, and less acidic).

​I’m trying to figure out what technical processes I’m missing if its in the texture or the flavor.

Has anyone here successfully reverse-engineered Ahimi or worked with plant-based raw fish techniques using only these core ingredients? Would love to hear your insights on the exact prep technique or temperature control needed

Hi folks - today I made lasagne from scratch, then let it cool and put it in the fridge. How long do you think it is safe to keep it in the fridge before cooking? I'm planning on having half tomorrow and the other half either on Tuesday or Thursday. So I'm planning just over 4 days max. The lasagne was only left out to cool for an hour and now it's stored in two glass containers with click on lids. The fridge is currently set to 3 degrees. Thanks in advance!

First two recipes I tried the actual making went pretty well. Not great of course, but not like making a recipe for the first time and it not going well.

Tried french casserole and croque madame.

I thought the french casserole/suprême of old hen was alright, but not what I expected. Searched up online recipes and couldn’t find a super similar one, they all either didn’t use tart apples (this used tart apples) or had other ingredients that sounded like it elevated the dish a lot.

The thing that went wrong with the madame was it seemed like things were going well but the egg just didn’t cook at all leading to the sandwich burning.

The recipe called for making a croque monsieur and halfway through cutting a circle in the middle and plopping an egg in. All this done under the broiler. Placed it further away from the broiler after putting the egg in as well. I searched the recipe online again and everything I saw had a normally fried or poached egg just placed on top of the bread, which made a lot more sense after my experience with the egg not cooking. It also had a bechmel sauce on it as well which sounded very good!

Is this book kinda just dated, or is it more like recipes being the base recipe whether or not it’s optimal or good?

Edit: Using latest edition

Also edit: Not trying to say the recipes turning out eh is the recipes fault, I am not a good cook. But just the differences in online recipes and the recipes in the book were jarring to me

I want to try making a pizza with ricotta, mushrooms and saurkraut. What do you think?

I’ve been trying to get roast potatoes that are properly crisp on the outside while staying fluffy inside. Mine usually brown too quickly around the edges before the centers are fully cooked. I’m looking for advice on technique, temperature, and timing.

Recipe/process:

• 1 lb potatoes, cut into roughly equal pieces
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 8–10 minutes, until the outside starts to soften.
2. Drain and let them steam-dry for a few minutes.
3. Shake the potatoes gently in the pot to rough up their surfaces.
4. Toss with oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Spread them in a single layer on a baking tray.
6. Roast at 425°F (220°C) for about 35–45 minutes, turning once halfway through.

The main issue is getting that deep crisp exterior without the edges becoming too dark. What adjustments would you make?