Accidental Cooking Mama

[nightfall8705]

Cooking Mama, the video game that essentially teaches its players how to cook...

I have never played that game before because I consider myself a fairly good cook. I love to cook and I love to feed people, and as a Southerner, cooking is in my blood. That's just how we do. But to humor myself, I have been watching this Youtube channel for hours in the last week. This channel is called "Cooking With Dog" and it involves a mysterious Japanese woman cooking various dishes (usually Japanese dishes) called "Chef" or more lovingly "Chef Okasan" (meaning "Chef Mama" in Japanese) by her fans, and her adorable dog (and host of the show via a voiceover) named Francis.

This woman is a delight to watch, and I really enjoy the channel a lot. The problem is, I've essentially become an accidental Cooking Mama myself, as I have been inspired to cook things all week, and everyone who's eaten my food wants to know how I made it.

I hosted a dinner for some friends recently, and on a budget. They wanted a southern dinner, so what more southern than fried chicken, potatoes, mac n' cheese, and various veggies? I turned 6 trimmed, boneless, and skinless chicken tenders into battered bites of fried chicken. I turned 4 medium potatoes into a pot of mashed potatoes, and a half of a box of pasta noodles into something people were almost fighting over for second helpings. I fed a total of 8 people.

I fed 6 people with an inspired Mexican style tortilla casserole this past week that was a real hit with dinner guests. I've made a beef stir-fry in the last week, as well as various breakfast style egg dishes and dishes with pasta and lots of vegetables.

 

I made a second stir fry in the last week, this time with pork, and it was in a spicy orange sauce that I had made. This stir fry had edamame, sugar snap peas, shallot, mushrooms, carrots, and water chestnuts in it, and when served over rice, it fed four people. Here's what it looked like:

 

 

 

I have been experimenting with other dishes involving rice and vegetables and I think that by watching those videos, my own technique in the kitchen has greatly improved. I am really happy with this. I'm also happy to teach others how to cook, but I'm not going to give away all of my secrets. ;)

 

I've made some snacks for a movie night the past week involving thin bagels turned into chips, and varying salsas. I made homemade cheese sauces for nachos and fries and probably my next project will be something different with chicken and ground beef. I always try to keep my food kid friendly, and on a budget, because times are tough nowadays. Food is expensive, but a good, home-cooked supper shouldn't have to be. I learned how to make desserts on a budget too! I know how to make fresh fruit ice creams with a food processor. I'm dying to make it, but I don't have a food processor.

 

I've really been a cooking machine as of late. I really enjoy it, but my fridge won't be so full for much longer. I guess I am lucky that I am inspired at all, you know? Food really does bring people together...

 

Tonight, I threw together something that was in the end, absolutely amazing. Fresh, and slightly sweet green beans with red roasted potatoes and bite sized sauteed pork tossed in a light garlic, parmesan, and olive oil sauce. I really outdone myself on this one, and it cost me less than 5 dollars to make.

 

 

Since I love to cook, and I love to share, I'd like to ask all of you what country you are from, and what you like to cook. What are your favorite things to make in your kitchen? I am always open to new recipes! I am trying to focus more on healthier dishes to make, so any suggestions will be great.

PS: If I had a camera, I'd do my own "Cooking With Dog" show, since my puppy Athena refuses to stay out of the kitchen while I'm cooking!! Grr!! >:C

[Aquamentis12]

LOL Sounds neat Angel! Is this the channel you mean?
https://www.youtube.com/user/cookingwithdog

I went looking because I've got a friend who really "digs into" cooking shows, though they apparently never really cook. But my friend is also an avid animal lover, and has a couple of dogs, very small poodles. lol I think she'd get a kick out of this channel. :)

 

As for food, I'm no foodie, there's not a lot I actually like or cook. But my late Dad and I used to make this candy called Seafoam. A similar creation is known as Divinity. It's a white, and if done right, fluffy candy. I don't recall the proportions off hand, but it's got Sugar, egg whites, karo syrup (the light colored stuff), vanilla extract and water. In fact if I remember, the recipes are SO close that you'd think they were the same, but I guess one has slightly different steps than the other. My dad always insisted on doing "Double Batches". In fact the recipe card was written to make a double-batch. I suppose because he had a LOT of siblings. LOL Funny story, one year, we were making seafoam, the last year we would do it as gifts to the family, we had to get a new mixer, the Kitchen-Aid mixer we bought was worthless, you need a 2-beater mixer, one that gets the stuff off the walls of the mixing bowl. So we found a Sunbeam mixer with 2 Beaters. And we got the extended warranty, just in case. Well, wouldn't ya know, the seafoam being mixed was so hard on the poor appliance that the gears stripped in the motor. We had to travel back about 50 miles away to return and get a replacement. THANK GOODNESS FOR WARRANTIES! LOL We burned out motors in FOUR mixers that week! The 5th survived and worked for YEARS after! Though we maybe only did one more batch of seafoam again, though I think it was a single, at MY insistence. When the mixer breaks, you have to physically/manually LIFT the seafoam to expose as much of it to air as possible. When it changes from shiny to dull, and if you can make "peaks" in it and they stay without drooping over, it's time to spoon it out of the bowl. And that too is a time-crunch, before it gets TOO solid.

 

But after ALL of that, it's probably the best (sweetest) candy around. Best I've ever tasted anyway. LOL And it's SO light and fluffy, it LITERALLY dissolves in your mouth. :D

 

SOMETIMES you can find it at candy shops or bakeries, but darnit! A LOT of people put pecans in there... Just, why even bother making it to screw with the sweetness?! It's candy-blasphemy in MY opinion. ;) Though I can't stand nuts of any sort in anything. Although I like several varieties of salted nuts. Peanuts, Cashews, Hazelnuts, Pistachios are all pretty good. But not IN anything, imho.

 

Good luck with your cooking fun! :D

[Ranaki]

You have a new puppy? This is the first I've read of you having a puppy! D=

 

I am partially of Asian ethnicity, but basically a mutt. I love various Asian foods, but potstickers have got to be my absolute favorite! I don't cook very well (that wasn't passed on to me by any of my cultures <.< ) but these are VERY simple and very versatile. The recipe can be just about whatever filling you like + won ton wraps.

Here's a quick google search ingredient/recipe for you http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pot-stickers-traditional/

[nightfall8705]

I agree with you, Brian! Candy blasphemy! I'd like to try some sea foam someday. It sounds delicious, and yes! That was the channel I referred to. I highly recommend you watch Chef's bento video, and the video about making pineapple ice cream. Francis is a cute little poodle, so your friend would love the channel, but I warn you to never watch if you're hungry. Chef makes things look so easy and everything looks so good when she is done. Last time I checked, massive drool plus a computer keyboard equaled a disaster. XD

 

Ranaki, yeah! Actually, Athena isn't "new" anymore. We've had her since the day after Thanksgiving in November. My brother got her for Christmas. She's still a puppy, only 3 months old. She is a mess and chews up everything, but I love her. Sherbert and Sydney are not happy about having a dog in the house, but it won't be for much longer. When she gets older, she will be a BIG dog. She's part Boxer and part Labrador.

 

Thanks also for the recipe suggestions! On the CWD channel, Chef has quite a few videos about making gyoza and different types of buns and potstickers, if you want to have a look! Chef also has a video of how to make the gyoza skins from scratch!

 

[Ranaki]

Yeah, I've actually been watching her videos since I posted xD

Got hungry in the process <.<

[nicolelouise]

Hmmm... I don't know that I love to cook. I suppose it's just one of those things I have to do to feed my family. Tonight I made a Sausage Bake for dinner. You simmer sausages in water, slip off the skins, chop them into 3cm pieces (roughly) and place in a lasagne dish. Then I made a tomato, bean and vegetable sauce to go over it, and then I put mashed potato on top of the whole lot and baked it in the oven for half an hour. It's yummy, it's cheap to make, it makes lots (we ate half tonight and will have the other half in a couple of days) and nobody in the family complains about it, unlike other things I sometimes cook. My only issues with it are that I use a lot of pans in the cooking of it and I don't know that sausages are the healthiest thing on the planet. I will say though that this way beats frying them and you'd be amazed at how much fat you see floating in the water you cook them in, which you then drain off. So, maybe it's an improvement?

[nightfall8705]

Haha! I warned not to watch while hungry! Glad that you have enjoyed Chef's videos, Ranaki. She makes the toughest things look simple. You should see Chef's Hiroshima Okonomiyaki video. Talk about skill!

 

NicoleLouise, that sounds like a great recipe. It actually sounds similar to a southern recipe called Shepherd's Pie, which is crazy delicious. Some people put biscuit dough on the bottom, but my family likes to serve biscuits on the side. My family likes to use a mix of ground pork and ground beef in our shepherd's pie, along with a lot of veggies. Usually the common veggies like peas and carrots and green beans and corn plus other veggies like lima beans and butter beans. People like to use instant potatoes on top, but I say if you're making a Shep Pie, you might as well do it right and make real mashed potatoes. My mama used to put real mash over the meat and veggie mixture and then top it off with cheese.

 

Chef has a few "western" inspired meals on the CWD channel if you want to take a look. She does Japanese pancakes and spaghetti, and even a hamburg steak with vegetables. It's fun to watch! :)

 

PS: I LOVE sausages. I like the rolled breakfast sausage the best. The hot kind. Otherwise, I get a joy out of cooking with various chorizos and polish sausages. Yum!

[nicolelouise]

Haha! I warned not to watch while hungry! Glad that you have enjoyed Chef's videos, Ranaki. She makes the toughest things look simple. You should see Chef's Hiroshima Okonomiyaki video. Talk about skill!

 

NicoleLouise, that sounds like a great recipe. It actually sounds similar to a southern recipe called Shepherd's Pie, which is crazy delicious. Some people put biscuit dough on the bottom, but my family likes to serve biscuits on the side. My family likes to use a mix of ground pork and ground beef in our shepherd's pie, along with a lot of veggies. Usually the common veggies like peas and carrots and green beans and corn plus other veggies like lima beans and butter beans. People like to use instant potatoes on top, but I say if you're making a Shep Pie, you might as well do it right and make real mashed potatoes. My mama used to put real mash over the meat and veggie mixture and then top it off with cheese.

 

Chef has a few "western" inspired meals on the CWD channel if you want to take a look. She does Japanese pancakes and spaghetti, and even a hamburg steak with vegetables. It's fun to watch! :)

 

PS: I LOVE sausages. I like the rolled breakfast sausage the best. The hot kind. Otherwise, I get a joy out of cooking with various chorizos and polish sausages. Yum!

 

I do make shepherd's pie, but it has quite a different flavour profile to the sausage bake. No tomatoes, for starters. Instead, I have beef stock, mixed herbs, worstershire sauce and sometimes a little gravy. I do very similar veggies in my shepherd's pie to you and you're right about the instant mash thing. I never use it for shepherd's pie and the sausage bake recipe calls for it but I find it incredibly salty so I'd rather make my own. When you say biscuits, do you mean the scone type things that go on a cobbler? If I haven't put cheese in the mash itself, then I might add cheese to the top of it, along with breadcrumbs. You get that crispy, crunchy gratin thing happening then.

 

I'm not sure that I've ever had Japanese food. I would have no idea what she was cooking!

 

P.S. I also have no idea what rolled breakfast sausage is. The ones I used last night are usually cooked on the barbecue. Recently I had my local butcher make me some sausages because I was trying to eliminate a particular food additive and they were divine! Just slightly spicy and they crisped up beautifully when fried. She only does them in 4kg or more batches though, so I froze the majority of them and I just ran out last week. Need to put another order in.

[nightfall8705]

 

I do make shepherd's pie, but it has quite a different flavour profile to the sausage bake. No tomatoes, for starters. Instead, I have beef stock, mixed herbs, worstershire sauce and sometimes a little gravy. I do very similar veggies in my shepherd's pie to you and you're right about the instant mash thing. I never use it for shepherd's pie and the sausage bake recipe calls for it but I find it incredibly salty so I'd rather make my own. When you say biscuits, do you mean the scone type things that go on a cobbler? If I haven't put cheese in the mash itself, then I might add cheese to the top of it, along with breadcrumbs. You get that crispy, crunchy gratin thing happening then.

 

I'm not sure that I've ever had Japanese food. I would have no idea what she was cooking!

 

P.S. I also have no idea what rolled breakfast sausage is. The ones I used last night are usually cooked on the barbecue. Recently I had my local butcher make me some sausages because I was trying to eliminate a particular food additive and they were divine! Just slightly spicy and they crisped up beautifully when fried. She only does them in 4kg or more batches though, so I froze the majority of them and I just ran out last week. Need to put another order in.

 

I am talking about American style biscuits. Like these: http://thebarking.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/biscuit.jpg

 

Soooo yummy!

 

Rolled sausage... it's the most common kind of breakfast sausage here in the States. http://www.hillshirebrands.com/~/media/JimmyDean/Images/Products/Packaging/premium-pork-regular-sausage.jpg

 

You can form it into patties and cook it. http://www.saveur.com/sites/saveur.com/files/images/2008-12/626-114_breakfast_sausage_300.jpg

 

I don't eat it often, but I love it. All it is is ground up pork, sometimes seasoned with sage. You can get it at the butcher and form it and fry it up yourself, but generally, it gets sold in rolls like I showed you. There's different kinds of sausages, the patties, the links, then there's the franks, which include smoked sausages, kiebasas, and those in casings that you put on the grill. All equally delicious, I think. :)

[Lia Seeya]

I love Cooking Mama and Cooking With Dog. :D I have tried several of Chef's recipes, including the tofu salad. :9

 

I'm Filipino, and my favourite Filipino thing to make is adobo. HOOO-BOY do I love me some adobo! The salty/sour taste, garlicky and peppery, the meat that soaked up the marinade, all over lots of rice. MMMMM, so good!

 

Other things I like making are quesadillas, omelettes, grilled cheese sandwiches. Basically anything with lots of cheese. Especially nachos, I love nachos!

[nightfall8705]

Haha, really? I love cheese too! What's your favorite cheese, Lia? Mine is a toss between Colby and Cheddar. I love nachos and lots of stuff with cheese too! I don't think I've ever outright had adobo before but I want to try it. I didn't know adobo was Filipino too. Yum, that chicken recipe looks so good! I think it might could use some heat though. I want to try Mexican adobo too. I love Mexican food more than the average person!

 

I love spicy foods, but they don't love me! D:

[Lia Seeya]

Ooohh, I looove cheddar cheese in grilled cheese sandwiches. Or mozzarella. But mozza is expensive so I tend to mix it with normal cheddar. :D

 

I've never really had Mexican adobo, but Wikipedia says that it's pretty similar to our own in terms of the kinds of flavour it has. Hee! I looove spicy food. SO MUCH. I could slather my pizza slice in Sriracha and never look back. <3

[nightfall8705]

Ooohh, I looove cheddar cheese in grilled cheese sandwiches. Or mozzarella. But mozza is expensive so I tend to mix it with normal cheddar. :D

 

I've never really had Mexican adobo, but Wikipedia says that it's pretty similar to our own in terms of the kinds of flavour it has. Hee! I looove spicy food. SO MUCH. I could slather my pizza slice in Sriracha and never look back. <3

 

There's only a few cheeses I don't like. Have you tried Asadero? It's sooo good!

 

Lia, you should watch some of Chef's videos where she makes desserts. I actually made some of the Okinawan donuts on her channel. My brother ate half the pan!

 

I need to get a new bottle of sriracha. I'm half through my jar of cayenne pepper powder, and I'm completely out of hot sauce. I love that hot sauce in packets that they serve in Chinese restaurants. I would order some online, but it's quite expensive. For that amount, I can have my hot sauce and a big place of fried rice, lol.

 

I want to try some of Chef's noodle dishes. They always look so good!

[Lia Seeya]

No, I haven't tried Asadero. :c What is it like? Have you tried haloumi? It's SO GOOD when fried!

 

I want to try making some of Chef's dessert dishes, and her noodle dishes. I feel like it would add lots of variety to my food experience. c:

 

Ohhh, Sriracha! <3 I hope you get a new bottle soon.