I'm not sure how much interest this will get, but I thought I'd write it anyway, even it it ends up becoming a personal log of what I've been making.
25 years old and luckily live with a girlfriend that does most of the cooking. Until Friday last week all I'd make was either stir fry or whack pre-prepared food in the oven, but it's time for a change.
I did basic cooking at school and I have made basic stuff like chilli before, but maybe once a year and not following a recipe, just whack stuff in a pan. I want to get better and cook real food. I'm starting off with basic recipes, getting to grips with the basics before trying anything complicated, or making something complicated without a recipe.
Chilli con carne
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3228/chilli-con-carne
No pictures for this one I'm afraid.
It was good, but ended up being too watery and not hot enough for my liking. I believe it was too watery because I was too cautious where it says "Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes.", I think I turned it down way too low and it didn't reduce enough.
8/10 - I would try this recipe again as it was nice, but I'd defintiely want it hotter, probably double the 1 tbsp chilli powder it recommended.
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Meat and potato pie
Recipe: http://paulhollywood.com/recipes/meat-potato-pie/
Pictures:
The meat and potatoes inside were OK, but the gravy was watery/thin and pretty bland. I'm honestly not sure what I could have done to improve it, use a stock cube? I'd love some suggestions.
I didn't make my own pastry for the top either, as I thought I'd just make a mess and wasn't ready to try pastry yet.
6/10
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Smoked salmon carbona
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/884646/smoked-salmon-carbonara
Didn't take any pictures, sorry
Nice and creamy, the gf loved it but I thought it was a bit boring. I think it needed something extra to make it more exciting, chunks of bacon maybe?
The gf liked it so much she had seconds that had been sitting in the pan longer. It was nicer than the first because the sauce was a bit thicker, as it'd been sitting in a hot pan for longer, so I'll leave it in the pan a little longer before serving next time.
8/10
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Paella
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/764637/easy-paella
It was nice, but it was too watery. I assume this is because I wasn't able to cover it (no deep frying pan with lid) for the last 5 minutes. However we both enjoyed it and the gf was very keen to take leftovers to work the next day. It was better the following day as it had dried up.
I would make this again, but going to wait until I've got a large frying pan with lid.
9/10
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Apple pie
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2052/ultimate-apple-pie
Really nice! Nice pastry, nice filling. I really enjoyed it and was so proud of my first apple pie.
However I did think it was laborious doing the apples. Quarter, core, peel, slice about 5mm thick then lay them evenly on paper towels on baking sheet. I thought it was a lot of work and tbh I may look for another recipe where I can just chop up the apples, or something quicker.
It was also my first time making my own pastry. I had a lot of trouble with the pastry sticking to both the counter and the rolling pin. I tried flouring both, it helped but was still tricky. When I eventually made an almost round portion I had to patch up several holes once I'd got the pastry into the bottom of the tin, and a few holes in the lid. The taste was great though and I don't think you can really tell how much trouble I had with the pastry if you look at the finished product.
I also made a huge mess in the kitchen, flour everywhere, even on the cat.
I didn't use all the apples so the pastry and filling balance wasn't quite right. I only filled it until the apples were level with the top of the pie dish, next time I will use all the apples and lay the lid over the mound of apples.
9/10 - I personally prefer a wetter filling inside the apple pie, so it's not 10/10, but it was really nice and I would make it again.
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Yorkshire Puddings
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9020/best-yorkshire-puddings
My first time making yorkshire puddings. I know it's not a meal, but the gf made a sunday roast and I wanted to help.
They were really nice. Recipe suggested 20-25 minutes, I took them out after 20 minutes as they were very brown on top and I didn't want them to burn but they ended up being undercooked and a bit squishy inside.
I think they may have risen a bit too much which may have also been a factor in being under cooked, but I don't know why they ended up so big. Too much oil? Oil too hot, or not hot enough? Too much batter in the tin? Advice would be greatly appreciated.
8/10 - Tasted really nice, but a bit undercooked.
I really enjoyed making all of the above. It was much easier than I expected to get delicious results. It was fun and I'm really pleased with the results so far. I'm already planning what I'm going to cook this week and looking forward to it.
Any suggestions with what I could have done to improve what I made above, or any tips you have for a beginner cook would be greatly appreciated.
As I said at the start I'm not sure how much interest this will get, but I thought I'd write it anyway, even it it ends up becoming a personal log of what I've been making.
25 years old and luckily live with a girlfriend that does most of the cooking. Until Friday last week all I'd make was either stir fry or whack pre-prepared food in the oven, but it's time for a change.
I did basic cooking at school and I have made basic stuff like chilli before, but maybe once a year and not following a recipe, just whack stuff in a pan. I want to get better and cook real food. I'm starting off with basic recipes, getting to grips with the basics before trying anything complicated, or making something complicated without a recipe.
Chilli con carne
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3228/chilli-con-carne
No pictures for this one I'm afraid.
It was good, but ended up being too watery and not hot enough for my liking. I believe it was too watery because I was too cautious where it says "Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes.", I think I turned it down way too low and it didn't reduce enough.
8/10 - I would try this recipe again as it was nice, but I'd defintiely want it hotter, probably double the 1 tbsp chilli powder it recommended.
----
Meat and potato pie
Recipe: http://paulhollywood.com/recipes/meat-potato-pie/
Pictures:
I didn't make my own pastry for the top either, as I thought I'd just make a mess and wasn't ready to try pastry yet.
6/10
----
Smoked salmon carbona
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/884646/smoked-salmon-carbonara
Didn't take any pictures, sorry
Nice and creamy, the gf loved it but I thought it was a bit boring. I think it needed something extra to make it more exciting, chunks of bacon maybe?
The gf liked it so much she had seconds that had been sitting in the pan longer. It was nicer than the first because the sauce was a bit thicker, as it'd been sitting in a hot pan for longer, so I'll leave it in the pan a little longer before serving next time.
8/10
----
Paella
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/764637/easy-paella
I would make this again, but going to wait until I've got a large frying pan with lid.
9/10
----
Apple pie
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2052/ultimate-apple-pie
However I did think it was laborious doing the apples. Quarter, core, peel, slice about 5mm thick then lay them evenly on paper towels on baking sheet. I thought it was a lot of work and tbh I may look for another recipe where I can just chop up the apples, or something quicker.
It was also my first time making my own pastry. I had a lot of trouble with the pastry sticking to both the counter and the rolling pin. I tried flouring both, it helped but was still tricky. When I eventually made an almost round portion I had to patch up several holes once I'd got the pastry into the bottom of the tin, and a few holes in the lid. The taste was great though and I don't think you can really tell how much trouble I had with the pastry if you look at the finished product.
I also made a huge mess in the kitchen, flour everywhere, even on the cat.
I didn't use all the apples so the pastry and filling balance wasn't quite right. I only filled it until the apples were level with the top of the pie dish, next time I will use all the apples and lay the lid over the mound of apples.
9/10 - I personally prefer a wetter filling inside the apple pie, so it's not 10/10, but it was really nice and I would make it again.
----
Yorkshire Puddings
Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9020/best-yorkshire-puddings
They were really nice. Recipe suggested 20-25 minutes, I took them out after 20 minutes as they were very brown on top and I didn't want them to burn but they ended up being undercooked and a bit squishy inside.
I think they may have risen a bit too much which may have also been a factor in being under cooked, but I don't know why they ended up so big. Too much oil? Oil too hot, or not hot enough? Too much batter in the tin? Advice would be greatly appreciated.
8/10 - Tasted really nice, but a bit undercooked.
I really enjoyed making all of the above. It was much easier than I expected to get delicious results. It was fun and I'm really pleased with the results so far. I'm already planning what I'm going to cook this week and looking forward to it.
Any suggestions with what I could have done to improve what I made above, or any tips you have for a beginner cook would be greatly appreciated.
As I said at the start I'm not sure how much interest this will get, but I thought I'd write it anyway, even it it ends up becoming a personal log of what I've been making.
Last edited:
Shows how often I make Yorkshires 