For me it was caramelizing onions. I either burned them or gave up too soon thinking they were finished. Once I figured it out properly, it changed a lot in how I cook.

What’s the one thing that seemed simple but took you way too long to get right?

So my gf and I both love our veggies for sure, admittedly she more than I, but she’s told me recently that she just wants “more veggies”. Now she’s great but she can’t cook to save her life and will not specify on what she really means.

So what do you guys like to make? Could be main dishes, side dishes, easy, complex, etc.

Looking for inspiration

For all the decades I've spent on this planet, I've always had a bottle of generic cooking oil in my pantry. Unnoticed by me, I ran out. Currently, I have avocado, olive, and sesame oil, but none of the all-purpose type. I know vegetable, corn, and canola are the ones we usually think of for this category, but I've never had a preference for type or brand. I usually just grab the largest size for the lowest price.

So, before my next shopping trip, I'd like to hear some opinions on which type is best, and why. Brand, too, if you feel strongly about it, lol.

Thanks!

I have been making Greek salad almost every night for weeks, as fresh tomatoes and cucumbers come in from my wife's garden. Last night, the family finally said "enough," even though I could eat this salad daily forever. So, while we've pretty much run through the tomatoes anyway, I have about 3/4 lb. of feta in brine in the fridge. I think all I have ever used this cheese for is the aforementioned salad and on pizza. Any ideas?

I have had a hate-hate relationship with kitchen towels, sometimes called tea towels, because they all seem to not be very absorbent. Everyone says “the longer you lose them the softer they get“ but I still find them to be basic and sucky towels. What do you use as a kitchen towel that you swear by?

For example, could I be using the skins to flavor water or tea? Are dishes where a little bit of peach is used to pack an oversized punch? What about uses for springtime blossoms (tea?)?

If it helps guide you, I have the standard set of kitchen basics, a full set of cast iron, sous vide, and a chamber sealer. For dishes and preparations, she loves seafood in almost any flavor combo except cream. She also loves to watch me cook, so recipes with a lot of steps are not a worry at all.

The tree really does produce some wonderful peaches. It’s a shame to have it right there and have her be afraid to enjoy it.

For me its 2 things: keep a notebook and make notes on new recipes so you can refine them over time, and don't expect a perfect dish the 1st time you try a recipe. What are yours?

Wtf do i do with "hot honey". I live in New Zealand, we make some of the best honey in the world. But now I keep seeing "hot honey" or "spicy honey". What do i do with this? Im very much a sucker for "oh, this looks new, I'll buy it" so now u have hot spicy honey in the cupboard and no clue what to do with it!

Hello! I don’t know if this is a silly question, but I’m curious to know what sort of solution is in those spray bottles that people use to wipe their cutting boards. I was watching a YouTube short and after the person cut some chicken, he sprayed some liquid onto to cutting board to wipe. Is it just alcohol? Is that enough to clean/disinfect the cutting board and proceed to prepare other ingredients?

My friend is quite predisposed to being depressed and also just went through a breakup and I'd like to make her some meals that she can heat up and eat. She's also kind of a picky eater. If you're wondering what kind of things she eats, just think about child picky eater's safe foods, and you've probably got a good idea of what she's into. Would like it to be halfway decent reheated and maybe be freezable. We aren't really worried about a balanced diet here. That's not really a realistic expectation right now. Just calories that she'll be willing to consume.

Just like the title says. I’m the primary cook in the house, I can make some decent meals, sometimes I put some effort in other times I’m lazy. I learned to cook in a firehouse, I can make most meals or get creative at times. Anyways I’ve been wanting to try to my hand at making a braised short rib at home.

Is the price really worth it? I feel like I always hear Le Creuset is the bees knees in terms of Dutch ovens. I don’t think I’ll use it terribly often so I’m having a hard time justifying the price. Talk me into it or out of it lol.

I tried making chicken stock yesterday. The recipe said to leave to cool then skim off the gelatinous fat from the top. After a few hours in the fridge the whole lot has gone gelatinous.

What should I do? Heat it up and add more water? Or is it fine to use as is?

Help me Reddit, you’re my only hope.

I have SOOO many jalapeños from my garden and CSA and am getting sick of pico de gallo and guac. Any ideas?

Hi! I’m testing out uncommon (more than just a fried egg and green onions :p ) ways other people prepare their instant ramen; especially Samyang Buldak would be awesome!

If you have anything to share, maybe even something that is commonly done in your country, please feel free to reply with it! :D

Thank you!

For context, this time of year is especially hard for my mom work-wise. It’s the time she has the most to do, and it’s over all very overwhelming. I promised I could make dinner every night so she wouldn’t have to worry, but I want to try something new and fun to mix things up, however this has turned out difficult due to her allergies.

She is allergic to all nuts, sesame, and eggs. Not to mention her body can’t properly process onions and usually tomatoes, and she has very bad heartburn. The eggs normally aren’t a big deal when I’m baking, since I’ll just sub it for a few flax eggs, but a lot of times it doesn’t seem to work for cooking. So could someone please drop their favorite dinner recipe that doesn’t have any of these things in it?? Because I’m getting close to just making pumpkin waffles!! 🤣 Much love!

I want to incorporate turmeric into my cooking, but it has to be keto/paleo so no rice. I was thinking is there an easy recipe to make curried stew meat in a pan, adding turmeric, tomatoes, coconut milk or plain yogurt, peas? I don't eat sugar but I have allulose as a sugar substitute. I can't do complicated recipes, but is there i simple recipe I could follow to make something like this for dinner without screwing up the recipe?

I accidentally picked up Tre Stella Paneer at the grocery store. What recipes do you recommend?

Can someone help me with this, its like theres a dip in the middle which is like ranch and just some chopped vegetables surrounding it, can anyone help and send me some pictures of it

My parents and my much younger siblings (10 & 12) are coming over for dinner soon from another country. I’m almost 30 and want to make something that feels grown-up and presentable, but I’m still kind of a beginner in the kitchen.

I have a few constraints:

-No seafood (allergies) -Small oven, so ideally stovetop-based -Not used to cooking for more than two people

What are your go to recipes or simple menu ideas that are family friendly, not too complicated, and still look impressive on the table?

Thanks for any advice you may have!

why is it the instruction videos for cooking a pot of beans say to inspect the raw beans first. Pull out any broken beans. What’s wrong with a broken bean?

I work in outside sales, so I’m in the car all day and don’t usually have access to a microwave to heat up my lunches. What are your favorite make-ahead lunches that can be eaten cold/room temp? (I have an insulated lunchbox, so no worries about it needing to stay cold.) Looking for something with a decent amount of protein. I also, for some reason, don’t like the taste of cold leftover chicken… but other meats don’t both me. Thanks!

Hello foodie friends! I am fortunate enough to finally have some Hexclad pans to cook with after a lot of hemming and hawing about the expensive purchase. I tried them out tonight and made lamb in the 12” pan and Brussels sprouts in the 10”. It all turned out fabulous.

My fellow foodie friend is coming over for dinner tomorrow, and I wanna impress him with a lovely dinner made from my new pans, but also something idiot-proof. I have to learn the nuances of cooking with these verses the cheap garbage I’ve been cooking with since I started my cooking hobby 15+ years ago. Kind of impressive that I’ve turned out any quality meals with that equipment :)

I have experience with cheap cooking vessels (that probably have already given me some kind of cancer), cast iron, oven, grill, slow cooker, stove top, Dutch oven, steamer basket, air fryer… I’m up for anything.

Just hoping for simple and clean. Also not debating if Hexclad is something to argue over- not returning these pans.

Hey y'ens, I recently made some shallot-garlic oil (and it's awesome!) but I was hoping to have some nice, crispy shallots and garlic for toppings. Alas! While delicious, my shallots and garlic were soft and gooey and not useful for crunchy topping. Any ideas about what I did wrong?

Okay Chefs,looking for input. Some context first. I love in a third world jungle mountain town with moderate tourism. My house is between a couple medium hotels and a "Lotus" which is la sort of grocery/convenience store. My country is famous.for food, but it is either edgy or the same handful of dishes that theovals all hate the test of the food is... Well, you can learn to love it, but if you are on holiday from the Netherlands or Nebraska you want nothing to do with it. All day I see tourists hiking in front my house to buy potato chips. My wife opened a "Thai salad shop" which specializes in exactly the thing tourists don't want. It's a sour spicy pix of some creepy mushrooms, fish balls, and the worst hot dogs you can imagine. I've convinced her to add a side hustle doing french fries. Now, stipulation... Street food here is not taken seriously if there is no show. So I want to run the potato through the cutter and start frying so they can ooh and ahhh... This means no pre cooking, no washing the starch, none of it. I've been reading about starting them in cold oil- I could make this work with multiple pots to let one cool down while we run another... I've ordered some chunky Himalayan salt and a grinder. Also some ketchup packets and because many europeans- mayonnaise.

Hit me with some culinary wisdom.