Build a Recipe Repertoire

Everyone over the age of 15 should have a recipe repertoire. What I’m talking about is a set of simple, go-to recipes for dishes that you love, ones that you know how to cook without looking at a recipe and that you know will turn out perfectly every time. Or maybe they are your “signature” recipes. Ones that your friends and family beg you to cook for them every chance they get. Or recipes that elicit “oooohs” and “aaaahs” when you bring them to a potluck, not knowing how quickly and effortlessly you threw the dish together.

Why have a repertoire? Because everyone, including and maybe especially teenagers, should know how to cook a decent meal to feed themselves and the people around them with some basic pantry and/or fresh ingredients. There’s not always a recipe book at arm’s reach or an open restaurant or your Mom close by.

If you are just starting to cook or are evaluating the recipes in your repertoire, think about trying to master one recipe in every major food group. And keep it simple – the best recipes aren’t complicated but can still be flavorful, delicious and nutritious. Here are some ideas:

• Breakfast
• A classic omelet with herbs and/or cheese
• Savory breakfast casserole
• Appetizer
• Guacamole or a simple dip for chips or crudite
• Crostini
• Meat Entrée
• Grilled/broiled steak
• Roast chicken
• Chili or a stew
• Seafood Entrée
• Grilled/baked salmon
• Shrimp scampi
• Pasta
• Pasta with garlic and olive oil
• Macaroni & cheese
• Vegetable (as a side or a main dish)
• Mashed or baked potatoes
• Sautéed green beans
• Roasted carrots and root vegetables
• Spinach and mixed greens salad with chickpeas, walnuts and a light vinaigrette
• Sweets
• Chocolate dessert (mousse, brownies or cookies)
• Cheesecake
• Fruit pie

Once you’ve decided where you want to start, there are several places you can go to get a recipe so you can learn how to make the dish, try and perfect the technique and put your own unique spin on it.  The best place to start: family. Who better to be able to share with you recipes from your childhood or your heritage to remind you of home or to preserve before they’re gone? Or how about a friend whose cooking skills you admire?



Courtesy Simple Bites

There are always cookbooks (you know how I feel about those) – my suggestion for a great place to start is Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food. It’s massive at almost 1,000 pages but don’t be intimidated by the size of the book. The recipes are simple and approachable with the beginner cook in mind. I love that he provides a solid, basic recipe and then variations to elevate the recipe to something great.  A few other great starter cookbooks are Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook, any of the books by the folks at America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated, How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart by Pam Anderson and The Illustrated Quick Cook: Easy Entertaining, After-Work Recipes, Cheap Eats which has hundreds of easy recipes with pictures of each dish (very helpful when you are starting out). Simple Bites has this great list of cookbook picks just in time for the holidays.

Or you can eschew the cookbook route and hit the Internet. Here are some great recipe sites/blogs:

Epicurious

Food & Wine

101 Cookbooks (for vegetarian and vegan recipes)

Serious Eats

Tastebook (I will devote an entire post to how awesome Tastebook is soon)

Over the next few weeks, I will share some recipes from my repertoire. I hope you will come back to read the recipes and then try them out for yourself – they are all easy, fast and have my Indian flavor/spice twist. Like these Masala Scrambled Eggs. “Masala” is a catch-all Indian term for spicy mixture whether it's a wet or dry spice rub or just a spice paste. In this case, the masala comes from the addition of hot green chilies and toasted cumin seeds. This is a variation on a traditional Indian egg recipe known as Akoori or Bhurji except that these versions include tomatoes which I think is sacrilege!

Recipe: Lynn’s Masala Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

1 small red onion, minced (about ¾ cup)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1-2 medium Thai or Serrano green chilies, minced (or less for tamer eggs)

½ teaspoon ginger paste (optional)

4 large eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon cream or half and half
1-2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When the seeds have browned slightly, add onion and sauté till slightly brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Once the onion begins to brown, add the garlic, chilies and ginger paste and sauté for 1 minute.
3. Add the chopped cilantro, salt and cream or half-and-half to the beaten eggs.
4. Turn the heat to low and add the egg mixture. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, scramble the eggs slowly in circular motions for about 1 minute or till the eggs are no longer runny but still creamy – less than 2 minutes.
5. Turn the eggs out onto a plate and add freshly cracked pepper and more salt to taste.

The eggs are great served in warm tortillas like a breakfast taco or with buttered toast. This recipe can be doubled or tripled easily for a larger crowd. And a side of thick-cut peppery bacon doesn't hurt :)