Cooking for one!

[Matt1986]

Well I live on my own and being a 20 year old male I am both lazy and talentless at cooking, I've done the hole student thing and have had enough of Pasta and take outs for two years and now I want to eat something with some flavour. So I put it to you lot to give me some simple easy recipies that can be easily cooked and satisfy my palet. I don't mind doing a big dish and freezing the rest from time to time, but I would prefer small easy to do but tasty stuff.

over to you.

Matt

oh yes and the best way to cooking a steak (very rare, almost alive is how i like it) and also i like spicy food, not just a curry.

[toastboy]

Get the Wagamama cookbook. All the dishes are for 2 people instead of the usual 4-6 people and are pretty easy to cook as well as being damn tasty. Add chillies according to taste.

[king arthur]

Basically make up some bolognese sauce, you can go anywhere from there. Big load of quality minced beef, cook it and drain off the fat, then add chopped onions and tomatoes, tomato puree, seasoning, and whatever else you feel like chucking in. You can straight away use some with some spaghetti for spag bol, you can add kidney beans and chilli powder for chilli con carne, you can put in a dish and cover with mashed spud and bake for cottage pie, you can do all sorts with it. Make lots more than you need and store the rest in the fridge.

[Twincam16]

Go to your local bookshop and find a few of those 'cheap, simple food ideas' recipe books. I've got a great one about 100 one-pan meals (they aren't necessarily 'simple' or 'basic', but they mean not much washing up and only one pan, so they're easily justified if you're just cooking for yourself or two of you).

Some Indian cookery books are worth a look if you like spicy food. You'll need some more exotic ingredients but once you've got some jars you won't use much so they'll keep. Many Indian meals are also one-pan, and you introduce the ingredients one by one. It's all about creating a balance of flavours with the quantities.

One-pot meals are a great way of digging yourself out of the 'pizza/freezer meal/microwave trash' rut, and you learn a bit more about food as you go along. And most can be frozen and reheated too.

[ZR1cliff]

Just been down to Sainburys,they have a 'sold by' shelf where some goods are lowered in price for being too near the sold by date.[they might do the same at the store near you].
Ive just got some Cod fillets from that shelf for £2.44 add to that some sweetcorn for 39p and two potatoes mashed[might grate some cheese in the mash]
and that will give a wholesome meal for around £3.

[Matt1986]

Twincam16 said:

so they're easily justified if you're just cooking for yourself or two of you).

are you suggesting i am schizophrenic? good idea though. I have cooked lots of currys in the past but they have always been big dishes for lots of people and if i do say so myself, my currys are killer and best eaten when hot.

the bollognaise thing is good, i hadn't thought of it like that.

but still importantly. the best way to lighty cook my steak, it isn't something i have got right yet.

[Twincam16]

Matt1986 said:

but still importantly. the best way to lighty cook my steak, it isn't something i have got right yet.

What kind of oven have you got? Most restaurants have huge fan-assisted things that cook evenly from all sides to a timer and it's difficult to get it right in a stove at home.

Which is kinda why I've given up on steaks at home until I can get a better oven

[ali_kat]

Twincam16 said:

Matt1986 said:

but still importantly. the best way to lighty cook my steak, it isn't something i have got right yet.

What kind of oven have you got? Most restaurants have huge fan-assisted things that cook evenly from all sides to a timer and it's difficult to get it right in a stove at home.

Which is kinda why I've given up on steaks at home until I can get a better oven

Hold on one cotton picking second here

STEAK in an OVEN ??????





Cook steak on an iron cast griddle, 2 mins either side for bleu

[Toni896]

ali_kat said:

Cook steak on an iron cast griddle, 2 mins either side for bleu

thought it was 45 secs each side for bleu ?

[Twincam16]

ali_kat said:

Twincam16 said:

Matt1986 said:

but still importantly. the best way to lighty cook my steak, it isn't something i have got right yet.

What kind of oven have you got? Most restaurants have huge fan-assisted things that cook evenly from all sides to a timer and it's difficult to get it right in a stove at home.

Which is kinda why I've given up on steaks at home until I can get a better oven

Hold on one cotton picking second here

STEAK in an OVEN ??????





Cook steak on an iron cast griddle, 2 mins either side for bleu

Well you know what I mean - great big cookers with settings for everything.

[Matt1986]

ali_kat said:

Twincam16 said:

Matt1986 said:

but still importantly. the best way to lighty cook my steak, it isn't something i have got right yet.

What kind of oven have you got? Most restaurants have huge fan-assisted things that cook evenly from all sides to a timer and it's difficult to get it right in a stove at home.

Which is kinda why I've given up on steaks at home until I can get a better oven

Hold on one cotton picking second here

STEAK in an OVEN ??????





Cook steak on an iron cast griddle, 2 mins either side for bleu

she is right, even i know to do it under the grill. so 2 minutes is enough? as long as it still bleeding and mooing it is perfectly cooked for me? more than that and it looses its flavour and then you have to drown it in peppercorn source, and thats just not cricket!

[nightfever]

Theres a new forum for this here :-)

I'd say you can't go wrong with steak, pork chops or lamb steaks. Pop them on a very hot griddle pan and serve with diced roasted vegetables.

[Tina K]

The secret of cooking steak is to make sure the meat is at room temperature before you start. That, and a 'rest' before serving.

Melt a knob of butter in a pan (any frying pan will do) with a teaspoon or so of oil, this stops the butter burning. As soon as the butter starts to colour and smoke a bit, lob the meat in, salt the uppermost side and keep the meat moving in the pan for 30 seconds or so.

Then, turn the meat over and lightly salt the uppermost side, turn the heat down to medium and give it a minute or two on that side. Turn it again, and give it a minute or two on the other side as well.

Then, keep turning the meat until it is nicely brown on both sides, and still has a bit of 'give' when pressed with the blade of a knife.

Finally, let the meat 'rest' in a warm place for 5 minutes before you eat it.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'River Cottage Meat Book' is a must-have for any carnivore, not least because it gives you the 'why' of cooking, and not just the 'how'.

[Fruitcake]

Don't whatever you do cook a steak for just one

























Why should just one person have to eat a rubbish overrated meal?

[Road_Terrorist]

I prefer stir frys, quick, easy, plenty left for reheating later on and very flexible depending on what ingredients you have to hand. It's also generally a pretty healthy and balanced meal as well.

Dont even need much skill to make them

I made a variation of this the earlier week and it was delicious
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1884/sizzling+garl...

I'll be making a slightly modified version of this tommorrow as well
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/13750/thai+beef+st...

plenty more ideas here
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/stir+f...

[kiwisr]

Tina K said:

The secret of cooking steak is to make sure the meat is at room temperature before you start. That, and a 'rest' before serving.

Melt a knob of butter in a pan (any frying pan will do) with a teaspoon or so of oil, this stops the butter burning. As soon as the butter starts to colour and smoke a bit, lob the meat in, salt the uppermost side and keep the meat moving in the pan for 30 seconds or so.

Then, turn the meat over and lightly salt the uppermost side, turn the heat down to medium and give it a minute or two on that side. Turn it again, and give it a minute or two on the other side as well.

Then, keep turning the meat until it is nicely brown on both sides, and still has a bit of 'give' when pressed with the blade of a knife.

Finally, let the meat 'rest' in a warm place for 5 minutes before you eat it.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'River Cottage Meat Book' is a must-have for any carnivore, not least because it gives you the 'why' of cooking, and not just the 'how'.

I always thought you just add the steak to a very hot griddle pan, cook on one side first for 2-3 minutes without touching it, then turn over to the other side. The reason is this sears the outside and keeps the flavours in properly. I think if you do this for 4 minutes in total (IIRC), 2 on each side then it is rare, 6 mins for medium and 8-10 for well-done.

Edited by kiwisr on Saturday 4th August 16:16

[ali_kat]

Matt1986 said:

ali_kat said:

Twincam16 said:

Matt1986 said:

but still importantly. the best way to lighty cook my steak, it isn't something i have got right yet.

What kind of oven have you got? Most restaurants have huge fan-assisted things that cook evenly from all sides to a timer and it's difficult to get it right in a stove at home.

Which is kinda why I've given up on steaks at home until I can get a better oven

Hold on one cotton picking second here

STEAK in an OVEN ??????





Cook steak on an iron cast griddle, 2 mins either side for bleu

she is right, even i know to do it under the grill. so 2 minutes is enough? as long as it still bleeding and mooing it is perfectly cooked for me? more than that and it looses its flavour and then you have to drown it in peppercorn source, and thats just not cricket!

More than enuf !!

I said 2 minutes just to appease the non carnivores

[ali_kat]

kiwisr said:

Tina K said:

The secret of cooking steak is to make sure the meat is at room temperature before you start. That, and a 'rest' before serving.

Melt a knob of butter in a pan (any frying pan will do) with a teaspoon or so of oil, this stops the butter burning. As soon as the butter starts to colour and smoke a bit, lob the meat in, salt the uppermost side and keep the meat moving in the pan for 30 seconds or so.

Then, turn the meat over and lightly salt the uppermost side, turn the heat down to medium and give it a minute or two on that side. Turn it again, and give it a minute or two on the other side as well.

Then, keep turning the meat until it is nicely brown on both sides, and still has a bit of 'give' when pressed with the blade of a knife.

Finally, let the meat 'rest' in a warm place for 5 minutes before you eat it.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'River Cottage Meat Book' is a must-have for any carnivore, not least because it gives you the 'why' of cooking, and not just the 'how'.

I always thought you just add the steak to a very hot griddle pan, cook on one side first for 2-3 minutes without touching it, then turn over to the other side. The reason is this sears the outside and keeps the flavours in properly. I think if you do this for 4 minutes in total (IIRC), 2 on each side then it is rare, 6 mins for medium and 8-10 for well-done.

That' how I would do it Kiwi.

I agree with Tina on the room temperature bit, and the butter, but the rest - only if you want a nice evenly cooked medium steak

And salt? , but each to their own, we've debated the art of cooking steak many, many times here before!

[Marf]

Matt1986 said:

but still importantly. the best way to lighty cook my steak, it isn't something i have got right yet.

1. add a little olive oil to your pan and get it smoking hot. Put the steak in and seal off the outside.
2. turn the heat down to about 1/4 on the hob and cook for about 4 minutes a side, turning once.

Thats for about medium rare.

It'll take you a few goes to get it perfect as the time does also depend on the thickness of a steak, just cut into it in the pan to see how done it is and cook more if need be.

[bodhi]

Steak is easy, lob it on a George Foreman grill, watch TV for 5 minutes, come back, done. I use various steak seasonings to add flavour, cook some chips, serve with Ketchup and some beans. You'll also find the cheapest way to cook for one is slabs of meat (steak, pork chops, lamb steaks), and a Foreman grill will be your friend. I have one of them and a deep fat fryer (I'm scottish, can't eat without one) and that's literally all I've got apart from a frying pan. I'm also 6 foot 2 and 11st so it doesn't seem too fattening either.