I've never made paella.

[redqueen]

I'm going to rectify that soon.


What dish have you never made yourself, but you'd like to?

[bicentennial_baby]

1. Beef Bourguignonne

:)

[redqueen]

3. Yum!

I'd like to try that one too.

[tigereye]

2. my husband and a friend of his made two types of paella last summer

both were excellent!



I did recently make spanakopita after long wanting to.... buttering all those sheets of filo was a pain, but worth the effort!


:hi:

[redqueen]

4. I can imagine...

what'd you put in the filling?

[tigereye]

9. onions, spinach, eggs, feta and dill I think - I'd have to look at the recipe

[bicentennial_baby]

5. Isn't that tedious?

But man, the result is sooooo worth it. :9

[tigereye]

8. yeah I was thinking about tiropita next

but it's been too hot. I'll probably wait until it cools off...



it was very good. I can't believe I had never done it before- I think I thought that it would be too much work... until I heard a friend tell me about how the matriarch of an Italian restaurant family near here makes her tomato sauces! :wow: A process that takes hours... if not a day or two...

[bicentennial_baby]

10. My sauce takes 5-6 hours, but I don't make it that often

Tiropita....Yum. I should make that. :9

[tigereye]

12. I used to work in a Greek restaurant when I was in college

wow, did they make some great stuff. Pastitsio, mmmm. I gained a good bit of weight while I was working there.


have you ever made this? We used to get it at our favorite Greek restaurant here (sadly now closed) :cry:

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Egg-Lemon Soup) (here's a recipe I just looked at)

A classic and flavorful soup, originating in Greece.
SERVES 10 (change servings and units)
Ingredients
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 egg yolks, beaten
2 quarts chicken stock
1/2 cup long grain rice
1/4 cup butter
chopped parsley
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
1 lemon, rind of, grated
salt and pepper
Directions
1Stir the milk and cornstarch together and beat in the egg yolks.
2Set aside.
3Bring the stock to boil in a 4 quart soup pot and add the rice.
4Cook, covered, until the rice is puffy and tender, about 25 min.
5Remove the soup from heat, add milk and egg mixture, stirring carefully.
6Continue to cook for a moment until all thickens.
7Remove from the heat again and add the butter, chopped parsley, lemon juice, and finely grated lemon peel.
8Note: the amount of lemon juice in this recipe has been halved from its original 1 cup amount.

[Rhiannon12866]

20. My mother's sauce takes three hours to cook, not counting all the chopping and browning,

think I shared that recipe with you in the C&B Group. But I've made it so often, I can breeze through it. Those are my favorite recipes, those that I could make in my sleep...:-)

[redqueen]

24. It takes so long cause all those spices have to

do something. I'm not sure what it is they're doing in there, but it takes a while for them to taste just right.

[skygazer]

6. Cheesecake

I've just never gotten around to trying it. :9

[redqueen]

25. Oooh yes...

I should try a new recipe for that.

[Bunny]

7. I made paella once, and it was completely unremarkable.

Much to my disappointment. :(

[tigereye]

11. it's not fancy - well, unless you have it at Majorca on Pgh's South Side

(well, or in Portugal somewhere)


:hi:


Have you ever been to Majorca? (the restaurant) It's great for a special occasion.

[bicentennial_baby]

13. Y'know what my favorite Pgh restaurant is?

La Feria, in Shadyside. I miss that place.

[tigereye]

14. the one on Walnut? I was there not too long ago with a friend of mine

the food was excellent.


Susies in SQ HIll was one of my faves - now it's a Sports Bar. :grr: We also used to go to Babylon on Atwood St- for years. Their son turned it into a night-club, sadly.

[bicentennial_baby]

15. Yep, that's the one!

My BF at the time worked there. Love, love, love that food. If I ever get back down there, it's the first place I'm going.

Aw man, Susie's? That sucks.

I wish I could remember the name of this place I used to go on the outskirts of Oakland. Only served burgers, in every possible variety, and they were HUGH!

I also liked MadMex.

Man, I gotta get back to the 'burgh. x(

[Bunny]

21. No, I've never been there, but I have heard of it.

I'd like to check it out sometime! :hi:

[tigereye]

35. they have scrumptious waiters... (I've never said that before!) ;)

and they used to give you a complimentary glass of almond liqeur at the end of the meal. Lovely.



:hi:

[KayLaw]

29. I read some cookbook that talked about that.

Actually, it was a book by Bonnie Wolf. There's a lot more to it than it seems. I once spent an entire day making croissants that were no better than Pillsbury cress ant rolls. A lot of work for nothing.

[HEyHEY]

16. My house is FILLED with Spaniards right now

Four of em for the next week. Shall I ask about a recipe?

[redqueen]

26. That would be lovely!

Yes, please. :)

[XemaSab]

17. I'd like to learn how to can

:)

[leftofthedial]

18. believe it or not, steamed artichokes.

[redqueen]

28. Oh yum...

now I have to have some. :9

[leftofthedial]

36. delish.

organic. on sale.

[Rhiannon12866]

19. Clams, mussels, any kind of shellfish, and calamari.

I've been watching The Food Network long enough that I know all about how to do it, and those are my favorites when I go out to eat, but, of the guys I cook for, one is allergic to seafood and the other won't touch any kind of seafood. *sigh* So I'll probably never make it...:-(

[redqueen]

31. Yeah same problem here.

Nobody eles likes seafood but me...

[Rhiannon12866]

33. I know. It's frustrating, but I'm not going to go to the effort just for myself.

:-( :hi:

[many a good man]

47. You don't NEED seafood for a paella

That's the traditional paella a la valenciana but there are many other varieties. Try a combination of pork and chicken. Just make sure you get some real saffron, not the cheap stuff. It's the world's most expensive spice but you only need a little bit. Also try to get good medium grain rice, like arborio or better yet bomba. If you don't go cheap on the ingredients it will be a smash!

Check out http://www.tienda.com/paella/index.html

[Rhiannon12866]

48. Thank you for such a terrific idea!

The thing is that I love seafood, but I don't have anybody that I can make it for. *sigh* But this recipe sounds very good, and I appreciate the advice about the ingredients. I've used arborio race for risotto, but I've never used saffron, though I've seen it used on cooking shows. Do I have to go to a special market, or can one find it in the grocery store, probably not. I live in a pretty small town and they're not a lot of shopping options...:hi:

[Debi]

22. Tiramisu

YUM! Debi, Jr. and his friends used to demand it when they'd gather at our house. So I'd go down to the local Italian restaurant and get them some. I never learned to make it but really want to learn how.

[redqueen]

32. Oh yes... yum...

this thread is making me hungry. :P

[crim son]

23. Cioppino

if that's how it's spelled. A spicy seafood soup I've been meaning to make for years but never have, mainly because my kids don't like seafood and it would be fairly expensive to make it for just me. But I wanna. Good luck with your paella!

[davsand]

41. Yes! That is exactly what I was thinking as I looked at this thread!

For me, the biggest barrier up to recently was a lack of good fresh seafood here in the midwest. I have since discovered a decent source of fresh seafood in my area and I am wanting to give Cioppino a try now.

The best Cioppino I've ever had was in some restaurant on the ocean in Bodega Bay California many years ago. I'd love to recreate that!



Laura

[crim son]

43. Cool!

You know, I think I'm going to make some this week. I have a great recipe from the California Culinary Institute. Here's to great seafood! :toast:

[Taverner]

27. Souffle

[Akoto]

30. I'd really like to try fried chicken with cornflake breading.

:yoiks:

[jakefrep]

34. I've always wanted to make one of those big slabs of gyro meat

So I can make my own doner kebabs.

[SeattleGirl]

37. Anything Thai.

I did just get a Thai cookbook though, so I'm ready on that front.

[trof]

38. Playboy Paella

Haven't made this in years.
The recipe was in a Playboy magazine years and years ago.
Highly recommended.
http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Playboy%20paella

[redqueen]

40. Thank you!

[HamdenRice]

39. I've made Puerto Rican style, with achiote oil rather than safron--was delish!

I haven't made it in a while and it's one of my favorites.

As for a dish I'd like to make, I'd love to know how to make crispy crusted French bread. I make bread sometimes, but I can't make it the way I want it to be.

[yorgatron]

42. ever watch Posh Nosh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfN4_52loC4

[tigereye]

46. I think you have to brush the crust with water the right way

that's how my husband does it. It's kind of tricky, actually. He hasn't really been satisfied with it when he's make it, either.

[Enthusiast]

44. I've never made it but

I HAVE made the Louisiana version called Jambalaya. We love Jambalaya. I would like to try Paella.

[Xipe Totec]

45. I am a gourmand, but not a gourmet

Paella a la Valenciana is my favorite!

And there is no substitute for good saffron.