Originally Posted by RJ

Well, if I gotta choose one meal....

Fried chicken
Mashed taters
Gravy

It is amazing how impressed folks are by such a simple meal. And yes, good fried chicken can get you laid........no egg joke intended.

Originally Posted by mcan

I'm not really a cook, as I don't have the time to practice nor do I have the space or hardware in my apartment to do very much. When I DO cook though, I make a big deal out of it and try to make some great stuff.

The one "date" that I've cooked for ended up being a decent meal. A couple of very nice Ribeyes with some fried rice and garlic mashed potatos. I really dug the mashed potatos, so I made them again the next night just for myself. She was impressed. Not enough to take her clothes off though... I hardly ever get that recipie right.


Some other things that I LOVE to make for games are

Chili: (with a V8 and refried beans base that's amazing and a ton of beef and sausage ground up and thrown in).

Nachos: (Very simple, Velveta, rotel, spices, ground beef and sour cream on the side so people can put however much they want in their bowl or plate)




Refried beans in the chili? I am intrigued. Explain yourself please sir.

When served, a REALLY nice trick is to throw some nacho cheeze INTO the chili with some Fritos. :drool:

Originally Posted by RJ

Ok, try that again....

I'm curious about the refrieds in the chili. Explain yourself sir.

Originally Posted by mcan

Nachos: (Very simple, Velveta, rotel, spices, ground beef and sour cream on the side so people can put however much they want in their bowl or plate)

Originally Posted by mcan

Instead of a big bunch of tomatos or tomato sauce making your base (I don't like the texture of chunks of tomatos and the tomato sauce takes too many spices to make palatable) I use whatever grade of V8 that strikes my fancy. Much of the time (if I'm cooking for a crowd) I'll use the regular V8 in the big bottles to make a pot of chili. Sometimes I'll go with the "spicy" V8. The problem with the V8 is that it is too thin, unless you want your chili soupy... So, to thicken up that stuff it is the first thing to go in the pot. I get it REALLY hot and put in a whole can (the big cans on the bottom shelf) of refried beans. The V8 by now is hot enough that it absorbs the refried quite nicely (with some stirring) and almost turns it into thick GRAVY. Make sure it isn't globbing up at the bottom and it completely absorbs. Then whatever else you want to put in there.

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

It don't mater if you're cooking hot dogs when it's on a VIKING

Originally Posted by Phobia

I'm not sure what you're making here but it sure as heck isn't chili. It sounds like a meaty bean soup to me. That's what you should start calling it from now on. Please.

Originally Posted by mcan

Prey tell Phobes, what makes it "not-chili?"

Originally Posted by mcan

Prey tell Phobes, what makes it "not-chili?"

Originally Posted by tooge

Chioppino (sp). San Francisco seafood stew. It takes a while and is rather expensive, but it presents well and simply kicks ass.

basically the ingredients are as follows, but there are variations. Here is mine.
2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato puree
1 large diced onion
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cups white wine
capers
1 cup green olives minced
1 lb king crab legs cut in 2 inch pieces (shell on)
1/2 lb large shrimp (shells on)
1/2 lb scallops
1/2 lb fish cubed in 2 inch cubes (walleye, snapper, cod, or other )
2 lobster tails cut length wise (shell still on)
olive oil
clam juice
linguini noodles
fresh basil
sourdough bread bowls
Place seafood in pot with wine, onion, capers, garlic and olive oil. Bring to a boil and cover. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. In another pot, add tomatoes and puree geen olives salt, pepper, and fresh chopped basil and linguini noodles. After noodles are soft, add all the seafood and liquid from pot one to pot two . Serve in a sourdough bread bowl. Serves 4 to 6.