apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What is everyones favorite Broiled Recipe. I'm on a broiling kick lately since I started trying it about a week ago. My favorite so far is Broiled Tilapia with a parmesan butter sauce!

I cooked a festive Japanese breakfast today in honor of Hina Matsuri (Girls Day or Princess Day or Peach Day). I made osekihan (red rice) which took a day to prep; homemade black gomashio; and tamagoyaki. I made green tea and probably should have made a clear soup too but I was NOT up to it before 7 a.m.

Making Japanese food turns me into a psycho. My family appreciates it but it makes me CRAZY! Anyone cook this cuisine frequently have tips for sanity? Traditional meals have many components--do you have a stash or a set of secret recipes or what?

No help here, cmcinnyc... I want to come over! The only time I've eaten that well is when a friend's mom did the cooking.

I'm planning something completely different and could use some help. Gnocchi with sauteed fresh spinach and toasted walnuts. Notice that it's all quick cooking?

It needs something else... something to bring it all together. Any ideas?

My friends and I have been discussing good and easy meals to impress a date when you're cooking for the first time or are trying to do something special. What is your go-to dinner to impress?

Mine is penne ala vodka, but I'd like to try something a little more unusual or complex.

@kushkush--saute it in browned butter? That stuff is awesome, and tastes even more awesome with nuts.

And thanks. I was proud of myself. Psycho, but proud of myself.

i just noticed a new specialty butcher shop near me in chicago. i find it hard to find good quality meat, especially in my non-trendy neighborhood, but now i'm excited to check this place out, find some great cuts, and go from there!

I plan on making some grapenut pudding over the weekend. I have a recipe from the cook at the cafeteria where I work and she doesn't use a water bath.....and it comes out great. Anyone have experience with making grapenut pudding?

I'm not vegetarian, but I'm decreasing the amount of meat (esp. beef) in my diet, and increasing the vegetables. I got a CSA farm share recently so I'm excited by the fresh, local veggies I'll enjoy every week. So I'm very interested in vegetarian recipes lately. I've found lots of Indian vegetarian recipes, but growing a little tired of curry. I just purchased Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything Vegetarian" and hoping to be inspired!

These are some of the best cookies I've ever made, and pretty healthy, too.

http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes/cookies/43-cookies/58-healthy-oatmeal-cookies.html

They're not that sweet... like, on a sweetness scale from kale to pixie sticks, these would be a muffin. Between me and my roommates, they were all gone within 24 hours.

We do CSA as well and find that our very dog-eared copy of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison has become our go-to. Local Flavors, again by Deborah Madison, is getting some seasoning.

There are lots of greens this time of year, so that's what we're cooking - chard, collards, spinach, kale, cabbage - with beans, in soups and salads.

kushkush: browned butter would be good as cmcinnyc suggested. Maybe a cream sauce type of thing too?

I would love to make french onion soup. Anyone have any tried and true recipes?

I made the spicy sesame broccoli from the New York Times and it was soooooooooooo good! My go to recipe is a roasted chicken-- easy to prepare, impressive and mostly cooking time, so you don't have to be all crazed in the kitchen.

kushkush: maybe some mascarpone with a pinch of nutmeg. let us know how it goes!

I recently made an orange-almond cake with whole oranges, and then a batch of scones with orange zest. They both came out well, though to me, there was something I couldn't put my finger on--something that seemed a little off. Was it possibly something about the orange rinds? Wax? What was it?

@britcher: My fave broiling recipe is a cheat's way to make Korean BBQ beef (from Sunset magazine).

@jkpenny: Our go-to dinner to impress is a chorizo encrusted fish from the Hairy Biker's Ride Again cookbook, served with roasted potatoes and a lime/avocado salad. That, or the adobe lamb (from the same book). It's our favorite BBC cooking show :)

This week's menu is simple. Sesame soy chicken and rice with snow peas and carrots. Whole wheat vegetarian pizza. Grilled pork chops with foil grilled red potatoes. A treat for the week: banana nut cake with peanut butter frosting. My boys are going to devour that.

@Tracy Another good book to try would be "Almost Meatless" by Joy Manning and co-author (I wish I could remember her name!)

@jkpenny My most recent impressive meal was apricot and apple stuffed pork chops with a Bearnaise sauce. Big hit and the chops can be prepared the night before.

we're having some unseasonably warm weather this weekend, so we're grilling swordfish kebabs with some unseasonable vegetables--tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchini or yellow squash if it looks decent. i just can't stand winter food anymore. :)

We'll be going to celebrate with a friend, so it'll probably be a "going out" weekend. I like to think of it as a time for inspiration!

If I have time when we get back, I think I want some more veggie soup.

i'm looking for suggestions for easy, healthy, no cook meals--lunch or dinner. i'm sure this is a pretty common request for people without much time, but i have an added constraint: no kitchen. i'm renting a room with only a fridge and a microwave. so... i'm pretty much limited to chopping and microwaving as culinary techniques.

i love bread, cheese, and fruit, but i'm sure i should expand my diet to include other things. bean salads? other simple combinations?

I am in serious need of inspiration. I need to use up the following ingredients this week:

potatoes
cabbage
carrots
tofu

What do I make?

My aero garden is going gangbusters,and I have too much dill, chive and mint. What can I do with it?
I am thinking of making some dill, chive and cheddar biscuits, but am not sure if that is too much.
What about the mint?

CallieKoch, the cabbage and potatoes could go into perogis or you could roll all of it into a cabbage soup- either euro style or asian style as a hot & sour soup. you could sautee off the tofu first and add it to the bowls of soup as a crunch crouton or extra protein.