What do you cook/bake differently from the way other people make it?

[Boardwalk Jedi]

Certain quirks I've just done for whatever reasons over the years:

More parmesan cheese than bread crumbs in meatballs.
Steam meat balls in oven in about an inch of water. Haven't fried a meatball in years.
Leave butter out overnight if going to bake with it. Eggs too
Leeks and parsnips in my chicken stock. For some reason, most of my friends have never heard of those two vegetables
No pine nuts in pesto sauce. One child has nut allergy and pine nuts are freaking expensive
Sour cream in my pancake batter. Makes for a moister pancake. Most pancakes are too dry for me.
A few muffin recipes, I actually mix in the food processor. It's genius!
Parmesan rind in broth when starting a soup (if I have any left over)

 

[Kitty 34]

According to my sister, I make a lot of things differently. But she considers herself very gourmet; me? Not so much.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I have a rule when I'm baking and the recipe calls for vanilla extract. I double the vanilla, then add a little more. I've been told I make the best sugar cookies ever. Extra vanilla is the secret!

 

[lynxstch]

We use valveeta and tomato soup in our mac and cheese.

I used to make it like that all the time, but haven't done it in ages. That goes on my menu for next week..and it HAS to be served with lightly fried Spam, lol!

For apple crisp I never use oats and I double the sugar mix to go on top of that apples. It's really crisp with a few apples added in.

Same here..another one I am stealing and adding to next week's menu for things not made in ages..thanks!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

For green bean casserole, I use cheddar fried onions and add sharp cheddar cheese. I also top baked spaghetti with sharp cheddar. I add corn to fried rice as well as to soy crumble cheeseburger Mac. Eggs scrambled with fritos (or Fritos and Just Egg for me) is fairly common in this house.

I'm vegetarian so I also pretty routinely make a separate portion of meals for me by swapping out the meat with fake meat or veggies- like soy veggie meatloaf, cauliflower tacos, etc.

 

[DLgal]

I have a rule when I'm baking and the recipe calls for vanilla extract. I double the vanilla, then add a little more. I've been told I make the best sugar cookies ever. Extra vanilla is the secret!

I do this too.

My other baking secret is NEVER use unsalted butter. Salted only. Baked goods taste so much better with salted butter and you are sure that the salt is evenly distributed (vs using unsalted butter and then adding salt).

 

[Kitty 34]

Same here..another one I am stealing and adding to next week's menu for things not made in ages..thanks!

And just remember nothing has calories during quarantine.....I'm sure I read that somewhere on the Internet!!

 

[Minnesota!]

I don't use recipes...go based on what my brain thinks will work

Never syrup on waffles.or pancakes or French toast...only sharp cheddar cheese.

Sweet potatoes are only used in savory stuff...made a spicy veggie stew.last week with them.

Vegetarian so I have learned to get creative in a house of carnivorous boys

 

[FigmentSpark]

Anyone else dress your morning grits like they were oatmeal? Milk and brown sugar?

 

[barkley]

I have a rule when I'm baking and the recipe calls for vanilla extract. I double the vanilla, then add a little more. I've been told I make the best sugar cookies ever. Extra vanilla is the secret!

similar technique with pumpkin pie-double the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. i was raised on this/my kids as well-now any other than our homemade tastes bland.

 

[LiteBrite]

Sweet potatoes are only used in savory stuff...made a spicy veggie stew.last week with them.

Me, too. I can't stand sweet potatoes with sugar and marshmallows. My favorite way to have them is baked, just like you would a white potato, and then eat it with butter and salt.

 

[Imzadi]

Sweet potatoes are only used in savory stuff...

I make a roasted, diced sweet potatoes tossed with olive oil, garlic, oregano, s&p. Top with shredded or grated Parmesan cheese the last 10 min of roasting.

 

[DisneyOma]

Oh, my kids will tell you how "differently" I make food - other people make their food edible

It's the truth - I'm a lousy cook. There are a few things that I make that are edible though. Tonight I sliced up some sausages and fried them, cooked some saffron rice in the instapot, and nuked some frozen peas and corn. Once everything was done, I mixed it all together in a big bowl.

 

[SamFaniam]

I beg to differ. The absolute BEST key lime pie recipe I have is from the old restaurant that used to be at Port Orleans, and it has 4oz of heavy cream added to the egg yolks, juice, and condensed milk. It makes a HUGE difference in the texture of the final product.

And NO meringue on top. No. That's for lemon pie. Fresh whipped cream on key lime.

Agreed!

Nope! The reason that Keylime pie shouldn’t have any fresh cream in it is because fresh cream was very rare on the islands. My grandmother grew up on Big Pine and when she was a kid milk came from a can, or was reconstituted with water from powdered milk in a box.

 

[low-key]

everything, and when I assemble a desk I have left over parts

 

[tasha99]

I make lasagna the old fashion way: boil the noodles.
The no boil noodle that my friends all make comes up mushy and more like a soup than nice solid squares.

Same. Plus, many modern recipes add extra sauce to moisten those noodles. I am not a fan of wet, soggy lasagna.

My cooking quirk is finding small chicken--2.5-4 pounds. I will dig through the pile at Whole Foods to find them. It's the one thing we go to WF for, because the other grocery stores in my area sell 6-7 pound chickens, which are too big for my taste.

 

[DLgal]

Nope! The reason that Keylime pie shouldn’t have any fresh cream in it is because fresh cream was very rare on the islands. My grandmother grew up on Big Pine and when she was a kid milk came from a can, or was reconstituted with water from powdered milk in a box.

I'm not saying that the original recipe isn't correct. It's just not the best. The original recipe also calls for not baking the pie. I don't make it that way either. I bake mine.

 

[dhardawa]

I cook my ramen noodles in boiling water but then drain them and toss them with the seasoning and a bit of oil.

I eat the noodles dry and toss the seasoning packet!

 

[Chupaca bruh]

Macaroni and cheese made with Velveeta and Caraway Seed.

 

[DVCjj]

I have a rule when I'm baking and the recipe calls for vanilla extract. I double the vanilla, then add a little more. I've been told I make the best sugar cookies ever. Extra vanilla is the secret!

I always double the vanilla....and even double the almond extract also when called for.