please,

Never had Pavlova with cranberry; sounds delicious.

..."My favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations."

The secret is one tablespoon of cold water for every two eggs. Then whisk briskly in a mixing bowl for several minutes until frothy. Then cook over medium heat until fluffy, but not shiny. Never, ever add milk. You’ll just get matted, not fluffy, eggs that don’t taste good.

good.

I learned that from her.

Back in the mid-80s, I watched my girlfriend's kids, boy and girl aged 6 and five, respectively, for 30-days while she attended an on-base military school. I asked them what they wanted for lunch and they said "grilled cheese sandwiches" but they wanted it made like their mom makes them. I told them I make the best grilled cheese sandwiches and they were skeptical. I made them their sandwiches and after one bite their eyes lit up and they dug into the sandwiches. The said my grilled sandwiches l were better than their mom's and asked if I'd show her how I made them, which I did. They're mom was surprised when they asked her to make the grilled sandwiches the way I did.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are a staple around here and I'm always willing to improve.

I use dried fruit not that weird candied stuff. I bake it the weekend before Thanksgiving, wrap it in cheese cloth, and soak in Capt Morgan’s Rum until Christmas.

Savory dishes, but also bread, pies, cakes, and cookies. Homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs, soups and chicken and dumplings. No one goes hungry around me. I enjoy feeding people.

A traditional Sicilian dish.

With cast iron cornbread. When I hit the red wine to broth ratio just right it's the perfect meal. Home grown beef and veggies are the secret.

have the perfect meal. Thank you.

Now I know what it is called, so thank you!!

greens, shrimp dipping sauce, frijoles negros, red beans/rice. I am a great cook, just don't ask me to bake anything other than chicken. I couldn't bake a cookie if you spotted me the dough.

Long time no see. I hope all is well.

I am becoming best at preserving. Canning, freezing, drying. Nothing goes to waste.

my specialty is buying the napkins and Solo cups.

She says I am best at making cocktails - specifically a traditional Mai Tai

On a tin can out of Norfolk, Virginia.
Okay, so making eggs to order is no big deal, but I fried and served them TO ORDER for 400 guys every morning I was on duty.

And I cracked them one - handed.

In the kitchen they had these extremely long metal pans. About ?10" inches high, ?18" wide, and ? 15' - 20' Ft long!

Hey it was a destroyer, not an aircraft carrier.

Obviously No handle, so maybe a metal bin? Maybe 10' Ft long. I'm telling ya - they were sitting on long wooden tables! 👍

I'm glad I didn't have to deal with those!

Leg of lamb
Place lamb in roasting pan.
Surround with rough cut carrots, celery, and onion.
Dust lamb with cardamon and cayenne.
Drizzle molasses over the top.
Pour a white wine in pan up to 1/2 inch.
Roast at 350f to medium rare.
Let lamb rest.
Make sauce from pan drippings.

Will vary the sandwiches and desserts based on who is coming, allergies any one has, and personal preferences, but love to do afternoon tea.

Polynesian oven baked beans…

My dad, dog bless him, loved my lemon meringue pie…

Give me a pound of meat, a pound of pasta, and an assortment of cans and/or jars of sauces or soups - and perhaps some vegetables - and I can work wonders.

I have a well-tempered old wok that I'm still putting to good use. My Mongolian Beef continues to receive compliments.

I don't often, any more, but I'm really good at it. I used to make all our bread when the kids were growing up.

I'm also good at improvising meals from whatever is on hand. I do that most evenings.

because of my pumpkin cheesecake, although at other times of the year my spaghetti squash casserole is becoming a favorite.

cook it with a special ingredient---love.

I would have to say a garlic crusted ribeye steak, with properly cooked pork chops being a distant second. (Properly as opposed to leathery lol.)

(I just wish you had posted this in cooking & baking a forum I'm trying to wake up.)

Since you asked, I do have particular specialties,

1st Sichuan Chinese, 2nd Shrimp, with a minor in Grilled Cheese and Submarine Sandwiches ..

You are a real master in the kitchen. Thank you very much for sharing.

I even made eggs on a grill once when the electricity went out!

But meats, fish and vegetables are staples on our grill.

I only make about 4 a year now for family events.
Also salade nicoise and pork or chicken green chili.

salade nicoise, and pork and chicken green chili. You have talent.

First—grilled teriyaki tuna steak. Düsseldorf has a large Japanese community, so there are a few Japanese grocery stores near us, and I can get the right stuff with which to make it.

Second—Indian crustacean curry. Usually once a year here on Cape Cod when we have friends and family over, I’ll make a big curry with lobster, scallops and shrimp. Major Grey mango chutney is a requirement. Without that, it doesn’t work. Over rice with finely cut scallions on top. I have made a few converts with that one!

I really enjoy making them. There is something so satisfying about taking the pie out of my oven and see it cooling on the counter. My family’s most requested are apple, pumpkin streusel, and pecan. I learned to make pie when I was young from my mom and grandma. I still use my grandma’s pastry blender and her wooden rolling pin that has one handle broken off. Loved reading all the replies!😊

unfortunately Daughter-in-law can't stand any pepper hardly at all, so even my mild ones are too spicy for her. Hubby loved my enchiladas though, and for his birthday supper every year I fixed the enchiladas and a peach cobbler. He liked them Hot!

Russet potatoes boiled and cubed, yellow onion, green onion, orange and red bell peppers, celery, green olives, all finely chopped, sliced radishes. Dressing a mix of mayo (Hellman's only, lol), yellow mustard, Guilden's Spicy Brown mustard, salt, pepper, a few dashes of Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix it up & pour over veggies and mix. Cover the top with sliced hard-boiled eggs and sprinkle with paprika.

Folks like my egg salad, too. Hard-boiled eggs, yellow onion, and parsley, all finely chopped. Mix 1/2 mayo and 1/2 good-quality olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix together.

gatherings. You have the talent.

I can make many things, but I am good at only one.

(Buckle in.)

Many years ago now (gods, where did the time go?), I worked with a children's musical theater touring show out of Mobile, Alabama. One of my fellow performers was an actor who had spent some time in L.A. working on movies and the like. (He was in 'Close Encounters...' among a few others when it filmed in AL and then went back to L.A. for more work.) He also was a great chef. He took classes from a few famous people. One of them was the incomparable Vincent Price, who had a school at the time. Price himself came in to teach the recipe and my friend taught it to me a few years later.

It is 'Fettuccini Alfredo with Wok Chicken Ginger'.

Of course, technically I cannot make it anymore, as I am not supposed to have cheese or pasta. And, I have only made it once since the quadruple bypass five years ago.

But, Holy Frijoles, is it good!

- Gumbo
- Shrimp Etouffee
- French Onion Soup
- Thai Shrimp Curry
- Beef Bourguignon
- Beef Wellington
- Shrimp Scampi
All have drawn rave reviews, especially since not everyone makes these dishes. So, they're good & feel special.

I also make a unusual taco where the meat is 50% roasted poblano & jalapeño peppers, & onion. I also add tequila and flame it when the meat is partially cooked, to get a little char. I've had a half dozen people tell me they are the best tacos they ever tasted.

go to cooking school or are you self taught? Your short list would be our of my league to make. But not to eat. LOL. You are very talented and I wish I had your talent in cooking.

Mainly learned seasoning by watching the Food Network. Am a disciple of Mark Murphy whose book is called Season With Authority. I've bought into that philosophy.
I started cooking seriously when I retired. I took my experimenting from the lab to the stove, I guess.
I don't have any recipes. I just have a general theme & go from there.
I still can't get Chinese food right. I make a couple good dishes but they're not authentic. Haven't figured out why. Came pretty close on a soy marinated pork dish, but still was a C at best.

Got a wok, seasonned it. Did meat, or meat and vegetable dishes.
In NYC I could zip down to Chinatown in Manhattan; 1970's (now there are others in other Burroughs, too). Get bok choy, Chinese cabbage [neither of those were in regular supermarkets back then], dried or fresh shitake mushrooms, woods ears, ginger, lotus root, housin, oyster sauce, etc. You get the idea! 👍
.
Got 2 books on Chinese cooking.
The only thing remember right now is shredded pork w ?____ . I loved the texture of that.
.
But why didn't my stuff taste like restaurant meals??!!! 😢
.
The only thing I could think of especially for back then - was No MSG!
No one had a "NO MSG" announcement on their take out menu waaay back then!

It remsins a mystery!

My wife bought me a really nice one for Christmas a few years back. Pre-seasoned cast iron.
I also use MSG. I have a bottle of Accent in our spice cabinet.
As you said; a mystery.

It's about 98% MSG, with the other 2% as:
• Chili Pepper
• Tricalcium Phosphate (as an anti-caking agent)
• Cumin
• Oregano
• Extractives of Paprika (color)
• Extractives of Garlic
• Extractives of Onion
• Yellow 6 Lake
• Yellow 5 Lake
They don't publicly disclose the other percentages, but with 9 ingredients making up 2% or less, there's not much of any of them.
I would guess the anticaking agent is at least a half-percent, or it wouldn't be effective.

Accent goes back to 1947! Ha, who knew!

from the mountain of tomatoes my garden is producing this year. My favorite is a chicken taco soup I came up with and got hooked on.

... with the box of Macaroni & Cheese, I didn't need the cup to measure the milk anymore! Just threw in whatever I had - sometimes no milk and a little more margarine. That was probably the most complicated thing I could cook. My best is probably anything in a can. I can crack open a mean Beefaroni!

Today, berries and peaches.
But it came out very runny. Tastes good.

I crushed up some walnuts too, to add some texture to the cobbler part.
Yummy.

I make a pretty mean greasy spoon breakfast. Top secret couple of tricks. First haha must have salt added to the coffee as it brews.

•Cook lentils from scratch (about 30 mins), cool down, add olive oil, a small amoint of yellow mustard to give it a light tang that makes it unique, garlic (minced or powder), minced red onions, and I think finely chopped parsley.
Very tasty, and great in the summertime!

•My Summer Bounty Salad from The Green Market!
Crisp green romaine lettuce, or no lettuce; chopped yellow, orange, maybe red peppers, sliced, halved red onions, garlic, lots of (heirloom) tomato wedges, or cherry tomato halves, olive oil, and chunks of mozzarella cheese!
I'm smiling thinking of it.

•Grilled Cheese with either a farmer market's- hearty Country White Bread, or store bought pumpernickle bread, possibly a touch of mayo inside, extra sharp cheddar, and single layer of ?2 thin tomato slices. Yuuuum!

•As I mentioned to ProfessorGAC I learned (2 books) to cook authentic Chinese meals in a wok in my 20's. I'd go to Chinatown for my ingredients.

you to share.

Whatever meat is left over from a meal goes into a ziplock bag in the freezer, when the bag is full, I get out the onions, the Ro-Tel, and the meat, and make a filling for enchiladas or burritos. It's so good, I even feed it to visitors! But, the majority of our visitors are like family to us.

And I take pride in my ability to disguise leftovers in such a way that you don't know you're getting them!

Macaroni Salad

Cooked and drained medium elbows - 1 cup

Microwaved frozen mixed vegetables - half cup

3 tablespoons Duke's mayonnaise

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon hot wasabi horseradish

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Mix and chill to allow absorption