Sam's Food Workshop

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Hey there, welcome to my Food Workshop.

Basically, I have decided to turn to cooking as a way to get some more enjoyment in my life in between leaving University and finding a job. I did cook when I was at Uni... at bit... but barely anything from scratch. However, that changes now.

I have been cooking for a short while, but I never thought of showing the people from Fakku my results. I figured that some people on here might enjoy keeping up to date with my cooking, and might even offer any other recipes or tips that I might appreciate.

I don't profess to be a very good cook, nor even a good cook. I can throw a few ingredients together and get somewhat desired results. But, who knows? Maybe you'll notice a change in my skill as time progresses? For some meals, I'll present them neatly, for others, I won't. That's because it's a mixture of me not being bothered to and the simple fact that some meals work better without presentation. They need to be communal and more family friendly, I feel.

Anyway, I might post recipes and such in the future, but only if people really, really want them. I'm sure many of you know the recipe to a much better degree than I, anyway.

On with the first list. This will be updated daily, by the way:


Banana Bread



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Smothered Pork Chops on Rice Patties



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chicken Balti with Indian Spicy Rice



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Leek and Ham Pasta in a Cheese sauce.





[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Lemon Drizzle Cake



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Curried Pork Chops on Indian Spicy Rice Patties



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chilli and Vegetable Soup



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Sweet Chilli and Garlic Chicken Stir-fry



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Spaghetti Bolognese:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Bruschetta



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Blueberry Cake





[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Beef Stroganoff:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chilli con Carne



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Peppered Steaks with buttered mushrooms and caramalised onions



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Spaghetti and Meatballs



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Egg Florentine



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Pork Belly with Apple Confit



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Roast Lamb...



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]with Mediterranean Vegetables...



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]and Roast Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Roast Lamb with Mediterranean Vegetables and Roast Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes:





[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chocolate and Banana Cake



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Ratatouille (with Jacket Potato)



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chicken Tikka Masala



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Lemon-baked Cod



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Beef stir-fry



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Apple Cake



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Toad in the Hole with Onion Gravy and Mashed Potatoes.



[align=justify][font=verdana][color=green]Smothered Pork Chops (Revisited):



[align=justify][font=verdana][color=green]Carrot and Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:







[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chicken Korma:





[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]French Onion Soup:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Macaroni Cheese:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Tomato and Basil Soup:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chilli con Carne over tacos:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Medium-Rare-Rare Steak with Potato and Sweet Potato wedges with side salad:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Cottage Pie with Cheesy Potato and Sweet Potato mash topped with cheese:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Rosemary and Lemon marinated Lamb with rice:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette (must buy a bottle for this... )



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chicken Madras:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]with dyed-rice:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chicken Madras with dyed-rice:





[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Ginger and Pineapple Beef Stir-fry with Egg-fried Rice



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Carrot and Coriander Soup:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Honey, Orange, and Ginger Pork Chops with Noodles:



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Anywho, let me know what you think. I appreciate any comments.

1) YESSSSSSSSS

2) The banana bread looks good, maybe add some nuts too it, seems like the banana''s could have used a bit more mushing and more flour added, but still looks tasty...was it very...banana like and less like bread? if you remember

3) the leek and ham pasta with cream sauce looks the best, out of all of these, when plated, and such. What did you use for the cream sauce?

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Haha, I had a feeling that you would approve of this. I've got two more meals to show here, but I need to upload them first.

Oh, I used crunchy peanut butter as well as normal butter, which added a certain nutiness to proceedings. I would have added some sunflower seeds as well, but I didn't have any. The problem with that bread was the fact that I used slightly too much banana - I used three bananas, but they were big bananas. If I used two instead, it should have been more bready. I'll make it again in the future, hopefully with improvements.

I used butter, flour, milk and cheese, with pinches of salt and pepper. In hindsight, a dash of lemon would have gone really well with it. That meal was definitely the best out of the ones shown here, but didn't involve the technicalities that the curry did.

sometimes, simplicity is best.

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]It's the Italian way. It's why Italian food is so highly regarded - much better and easier than any other country.

and baguettes...only 4 ingredients....makes delicious piece of noms.

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]And bolognese... polpetta... risotto... bruschetta... carbonara... lasagna... should I go on? Lol.

I object to the pasta dishes, since you need more ingredients to make the pasta themselves O_O lol they dont count in my book

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Hmm, true, but it's not exactly hard to make if you have the basic ingredients. It still counts as "pasta" though.

true...I suppose....

looks like we're the only two who are gonna comment on this stuff lol....

Your pasta reminds me of Alfredo, and how real easy it is to make.

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]@Bookie Lol, it seems so. Ah well. It doesn't matter overly much - this subforum is pretty inactive most of the time anyway.

@Devon Well, I never said it was difficult. But, like I said, simplicity is the Italian way.

Anywho, time for a second list upload:

Curried Pork Chops on Indian Spicy Rice Patties




[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Chilli and Vegetable Soup




[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Sweet Chilli and Garlic Chicken Stir-fry

Yeah I understand, when cooking Italian, what takes your time is the preparation, not the cooking process itself.

And, I like how your Curry Pork Chops looks, I wanna taste them bad, but if you use chicken or beef I would have been able to eat them, since I can't eat pork lol

[align=justify][font=verdana][color=green]Yes, that's exactly right. The focus on Italian cooking is the ingredients, not the style. That's why it'll always be tasty, no natter if you're professional or amateur - unless you burn it or something.

I'll bear that in mind next time. I do have some chicken breasts in the freezer, so I could get them out sometime soon - plus the spices I already have. Shame you can't eat pork though.

Watch this space later tonight.

[align=justify][font=verdana][color=green]Just something else I made today:

Spaghetti Bolognese:

Fancy you..... XD

looks good, how did it taste?

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Lol, a nice sprig a basil does make it seem more fancy than what it is.

It was very aromatic and quite delicious. My mum could even smell it when she was outside the house parking her car. I definitely prefer serving it that way than the usual pasta-on-bottom-meat-on-top method. I didn't have any red wine though, which would have given it a lot more depth and colour. But, the use of honey instead of sugar gave it a different sweet edge than usual.

Oh, I love italian food!

Nice and cheap for us students too :3

Im going to Italy and taking a food course when in Rome, so Im all excited now.

[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Indeed it is. You cannot fault the Italian's for their cooking. Let me know if you discover any great recipes whilst in Rome!

Time for the third image dump:

Bruschetta



[align=justify][color=green][font=verdana]Blueberry Cake

...I opened up the Bruschetta and was shocked to see so much leafy greens....not much of the Bruschetta in the picture...but how did that one turn out for ya?