The Secret to Good Home Cooking



Never trust a recipe.

That's it. That's the secret. Sorry, don't get me wrong--recipes are invaluable. But they are, after all, just opinions. The secret to good home cooking is to inform yourself with as many opinions as you can, then form your own.

In a way (and I know this is NOT an original sentiment) cooking is like Jazz. Somebody calls out the standard (the dish) and you have to decide how you want to play it with the combo (ingredients) you have.

That being said, I have a passion for leftover inventions. Tonight yielded a good one.

Ian: I have no idea what to do for dinner.
Linda: What fresh vegetables do we have?
Ian: We have lots of leftovers--Colcannon, creamed peas, KFC, your Thai rice...
Linda: Yeah, but what fresh vegetables do we have?
Ian: OK, a couple old green peppers, some nice tomatoes...
Linda: Why not stuff the peppers with the rice?



Whoa. I've done stuffed peppers before but never dreamed of:

THAI STUFFED PEPPERS
-------------------
Quantities and measures? You're on your own. Guesses only below.

1-2 cups leftover rice from a nice Thai coconut curry dinner (3 days old MAX)
1/4 cup diced sweet onion
2-3 sliced button mushrooms
1 cup or so leftover diced chicken from KFC, or filling from chicken Gyoza, whatever, just get some chicken!
Seasonings like sweet Chili sauce (Maggi) and/or Soy, and/or Fish Sauce or your fave asian flavors
2 green bell peppers with their lids off.
Peanut Oil
a Lime, and maybe some extra chili flakes.

Mix the first 5 ingredients and shove it into the peppers. Rub those cuties with peanut oil and place in a pan.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Once on the plate, hit them with lime juice and chilies to taste.


I love improv. The secret to good home cooking is how you handle leftovers.

Posted: Sun - March 12, 2006 at 01:29 AM            

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