Can ya' COOK???

You know, the oven is a very fine place. So many people burn food on the stove, and the reason is they can't put the pans they have in the oven.

It's amazing how well things turn out when started on the stove and transferred to the oven (in the same pan).

Tonight, chicken parmesan,...a bit of onion, shallot and some garlic.

WOW! Wife want's salad, okay. This will go well.

It's amazing how far you have to look for pans which will go in the oven, and they're usually pretty high-end pans. (the De Buyer pans work really well).

It's a simple dish.

But it's REAL!!

(P.S. Wife is a professional "Chef", so I'm learning. Already knew how to cook, but now I'm getting better!

Honestly, I think it's a "conspiracy" that so many cooking ware pots and pans cannot go into the oven!!!

It's amazing how much money you have to spend to get a pan which can go on the stovetop...and then the oven! Just shocking!

On a side note; we will not own a cooking vessel which cannot go into the oven! Sorts a lot of the crap out!

I'm loving my old cast iron pans. They go everywhere, and the last couple of non stick fry pans - stuff stuck 😕 and then they started to get ruined.

Cast iron is non stick once they're well used, and if stuff does stick, they can soak, be scraped, and scrubbed....

I've even baked bread in them.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I love my Weber grill but on the days when I don't want to deal with rain or snow I just pull out my cast iron grill pan. I get some really great results by searing on the cooktop and finishing in the oven.....somehow that sounds wrong?

Cast iron. Good cast iron isn't exactly cheap, but it will go anywhere you want to put it, even over a camp fire.

I am angling for the Dutch oven this year, 6 qt or slightly above.

a reply to: ketsuko

I found most of mine at garage sales. I bought cheaply two medium size, a 10 and 12 inch, a four small ones, around 6 inches.
My small Dutch oven and griddle I bought new, can't remember the prices.

The small fry pans are great for apple crumble, start on the stove, add crumbly topping, finish in oven, serve with ice cream 😋

Cooking seems to be a dying art .....people are too busy to cook diner, they buy the frozen crap....there even frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the grocery store ( yuck ) .

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Caste iron is the best way to cook with a pan that can go from oven to stove to broiler and back and forth until your heart desires.

I will often cook an entire breakfast or dinner from the very same pan, using the flavors along the way and de-glazing for gravy.

For instance, breakfast, I start with bacon and sausage under the broiler until well done.

Remove and de-glaze pan with butter and a little olive oil, throw my onions and green peppers in for a quick saute and then add potatoes, pan fried and then a little broiler action to brown on top, add a slice or 2 of provolone layer the bacon and sausage on top and then crack open 3 eggs, letting them cook under the broiler until glazed over, take out and place a cover on it for 2 minutes to let everything settle.

originally posted by: Meldionne1
Cooking seems to be a dying art .....people are too busy to cook diner, they buy the frozen crap....there even frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the grocery store ( yuck ) .

Yeah, but it doesn't have to be.

We taught ourselves to cook dinner most nights by watching those speed cooking competitions on food network like Iron Chef and Chopped. We got an idea of the sorts of things your could get away with in a very short amount of time.

A lot of times, our weeknight dinners will end up being a fish filet or chop prepared in a skillet with either a green salad or some simple roasted veggies. It usually takes about 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer depending on the veggie we're roasting, but roasting a veggie is not very intensive in terms of effort. So, roast and take a quick shower or something and then finish your cook so it all evens out.

We're also in the habit of cooking a big Sunday dinner that leaves leftovers for the week. We rotate that in for those evenings when cooking just isn't what we want to worry about.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I like to cook chicken in various ways, but my proudest dish is a big old ham every X-Mas and Thanksgiving for the whole family.

Also I did make a grilled cheese earlier for my grandfather. we ate it with tomato soup. yum. simple and yum.

I just learned a technique for making risotto in the oven. It takes longer but you only have a few minutes of stirring vs stirring for thirty minutes stovetop. It came out amazing. Creamy but not mushy.

a reply to: floppynoodleson666

I made a pastrami. It took over a week with curing and sitting and desalination and sitting and smoking and sitting and finish by steaming. I now know why a pastrami sandwich at Kats deli is $20.00 .
I can understand your pride in your ham!

Do you have a wood cook stove on your farm?

Cooking can be so therapeutic, and it is truly a blessing to have a stove and an oven.
i've been thinking of investing in a Mandoline to help me get back into the kitchen groove.
Spring seems a good place to focus more on vegetables, for me anyway.
i have been thinking over a stuffed tomatoe recipe a bunch lately paired with
something simple like sauteed kale with a special treat,
pine nuts with a sweet/savory sauce over my fave, turnips.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

It's the only way (as in the best way) to cook a thick steak...

Yuuuum

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: Meldionne1
Cooking seems to be a dying art .....people are too busy to cook diner, they buy the frozen crap....there even frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the grocery store ( yuck ) .

Yeah, but it doesn't have to be.

We taught ourselves to cook dinner most nights by watching those speed cooking competitions on food network like Iron Chef and Chopped. We got an idea of the sorts of things your could get away with in a very short amount of time.

A lot of times, our weeknight dinners will end up being a fish filet or chop prepared in a skillet with either a green salad or some simple roasted veggies. It usually takes about 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer depending on the veggie we're roasting, but roasting a veggie is not very intensive in terms of effort. So, roast and take a quick shower or something and then finish your cook so it all evens out.

We're also in the habit of cooking a big Sunday dinner that leaves leftovers for the week. We rotate that in for those evenings when cooking just isn't what we want to worry about.

Good for you ! Most would not take the time to learn ....I used to be a head chef in an Italian restaurant ....now I own a Gourmet Rum Cake company ....two different extremes . ...but you should try other avenues in the cooking world, you never know .... Years ago, I was taught by an older Italian gentlemen who owned a restaurant .He took me under his wing and gave me an amazing opportunity to learn tricks of the trade that I otherwise would have to go to school for.....he was wise and I listened !! ....One bit of advice he said over and over , was to "understand your seasonings" ...meaning, how they taste, their strength, and how they mingle with food . ....sounds complicated, but not really ....I started out studying 3 different herbs and slowly worked my way through more,... and I tasted a lot !! ...in today's world you can google all about seasonings, but back then we didn't have internet and I had to buy a book . eventually I grew plants and harvested my own herbs ( I still do ) , which ironically helped me understand the plant even more . ....anyway, my point was to pass on the words of wisdom to anyone here listening , ....once you know a seasoning , ( even just a. Few ) you can create endless dishes .

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I don't have a lot of pans that do double duty like that, but I can cook, and virtually never burn anything!!

The chicken sounds good. Home-cooked meals are virtually always better, if one can cook, than pre-prepared stuff. I make a chicken and rice that's awesome. Sauteed mushroom and onion, with seasonings in the butter while they cook, same stuff on the chicken, which I bake, and mix the stuff into the rice when it's done. Very simple, not too time consuming, and everyone loves it!

originally posted by: snowspirit
I'm loving my old cast iron pans. They go everywhere, and the last couple of non stick fry pans - stuff stuck 😕 and then they started to get ruined.

Cast iron is non stick once they're well used, and if stuff does stick, they can soak, be scraped, and scrubbed....

I've even baked bread in them.

They are awesome for cornbread, too! BEST way I have ever found for that, especially if the butter for the cornbread is melted in the pan, and then added to the batter. Good old cast iron is what I have that IS that versatile!