Hey! Might have seen me from the steak au poivre thread in this same forum I’m a newly living on my own 20 year old and I love to cook. In fact, it takes up a lot of my activity time and it’s a fun little hobby for me to have. That said, I’ve wanted to push myself and learn something that’s hard to make and not one of those “put everything in the crockpot and leave it for 4 hours” kind of meals. I’ve made coq au vin and it was fun getting to spend the afternoon off and on with a dish and taste the fruits of my labor. It was also pretty fun making risotto and see the constant attention pay off.
So while I don’t want to have to source a baby goat to slaughter by hand or find someone that has chicken blood, what’s something fun, challenging, and supremely rewarding to cook?
Homemade ravioli and/or chinese-style dumplings are a good challenging and fun way to spend an afternoon. Plus it’s the kind of thing that once you get the technique down, you can experiment in a hundred different ways. They both also freeze well, so it’s a super-win situation; you can spend an afternoon making them, have a great meal, and freeze a bunch so the next time you need a quick meal or appetizer, you have them.
It’s not a huge challenge but if you’ve never made real Risotto it’s something worth trying. I made something similar to this Mushroom Risottoa few weeks ago. You have to slowly add about a cup of broth to your Arborio rice and reduce it repeatedly for at least 20 minutes to get the rice done right, then it get it on the table and served in short order before it becomes a giant rice blob.
Same idea. I made this recipe for Armenian/Turkish manti several years ago. Damned delicious, but lord what a pain in the ass to make so many tiny stuffed dumplings. I hate making pierogi for this reason, but this is like doing pierogi at like a sixth of the size.
Chile Rellenos are a labor intensive multi-step recipe that yields a wonderful dish. It can be “half-prepped”, roast/clean chiles, make filling & sauce, fridge it until you are ready to batter and fry. Lots of room for creativity w/ different peppers, fillings, cheese and sauces. I usually will make 8-10 and eat them all week, fridge to microwave, not sure how well they would freeze or how to re-heat frozen. Lots of “easy” recipes out there that are baked chile rellenos casseroles, not recommended.
I haven’t made cassoulet in a while. The SO doesn’t care for duck.
I haven’t made raviolis in a while, either. I do have a hand-cranked pasta machine, and Alton Brown had a nice tip about making a long ribbon of pasta that could be filled folded, cut, and sealed in almost an assembly line. But I didn’t have the machine last time I made raviolis. I used a pierogi press and made them one at a time. That was time-consuming.
I’m against ‘half-making’ chiles relleno. Too many restaurants make them ahead of time and freeze them. I make them from blow-torching to eating.
Pretty easy, but prep takes time if you’re hand-chopping: Jambalaya. May as well make dirty rice, too. (Hold the gizzards, add extra filtration units.) I still need practice on the fried chicken.
Fish’n’chips. Start with Alton Brown’s recipe. Use haddock if you can get it. I’ve found an electric skillet provides the most consistent results. Being 20, you’ll have trouble getting the Newcastle Brown Ale, though.
This is easy and not in the spirit of the OP, but as long as you’re getting the electric skillet out… Wiener Schnitzel. Get a ricer and make your own Spätzle.
Samosas are my go-to when I’m looking to invest. They are a pain in the butt, but it’s kind of amazing to end up with dozens of delicious samosas.
Learning to make bread is something that will keep you occupied for a while. THe basics are actually pretty easy, but you can spend a lifetime learning all the variations. Fermentation is another fun thing to learn. I used to make saurkraut, yogurt, sourdough and honey wine.
There’s a Mexican restaurant I go to from time to time that makes the most awesome Chile Verde. But it’s not very close to my house, so I decided to make it myself one weekend. It was every bit as good as the restaurant version, but suffice it to say that I’ve never made it again.
Seafood paella. And I mean the real deal, first making the sofrito, then using clams, mussels, shrimp and scallops (seared first). Getting all this timed to come out without overcooking the seafood and getting a good crusty socarrat on the bottom is a real challenge.
Sunday gravy. Beef, pork, chicken, meatballs in a tomato sauce. Done right, you’ll have women throwing themselves at you. Recipe.
I’m a newly living on my own 20 year old and I love to cook. In fact, it takes up a lot of my activity time and it’s a fun little hobby for me to have. That said, I’ve wanted to push myself and learn something that’s hard to make and not one of those “put everything in the crockpot and leave it for 4 hours” kind of meals. I’ve made coq au vin and it was fun getting to spend the afternoon off and on with a dish and taste the fruits of my labor. It was also pretty fun making risotto and see the constant attention pay off.
