What is your favourite ingredient?

Question

Whatever the recipe, I'll try it or cook it if it contains mushrooms OR blue cheese OR chilli. I always have them in my fridge, they are my favourite things to cook with.

What do you love to cook with? Not finished dishes but the basics, please ... plus any ideas to convince me away from my own 'top 3'!

Answer 1

We love mushrooms - especially the huge open cup type, and stuff them with all sorts of things and finish off with grated Parmesan cheese - but I can't cook a mushroom without adding Worcester Sauce!
I recently 'found' a really interesting ingredient. It's only ginger - but it is pickled and (at Tesco's at least) called Sushi ginger. Why it should be used exclusively for Sushi is beyond me! Still, hubby started complaining that the stir fry's were boring - then I added some of the Sushi ginger! It is very finely sliced and fantastically 'zingy!' You have really got to try it! I had actually previously bought it in Australia where they call it 'pickled ginger' but didn't make the connection!
The other thing is garlic - it's a must! I tend to use the puree, though - guess that I'm just lazy.
Not finishing a recipe for you, but take a couple of huge open cup mushrooms, a few shakes of the Worcester Sauce and top with your blue cheese (Gorgonzola well matured is best) or Parmesan. Pop in oven for 10 minutes - bliss!

Answer 2

Traditional Peanut Brittle

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. baking soda

Heat and stir sugar, syrup and water in a heavy 3-quart saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add salt. Cook over medium heat to soft ball stage (234 degrees). Add peanuts at 250 degrees. Cook to hard crack stage (290 degrees), stirring often. Remove from heat.

Quickly, stir in butter and soda. Beat to a froth for a few seconds. Pour at once onto 2 well-buttered 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch pans, spreading with spatula. If desired, cool slightly and pull with forks to stretch thin. Break up when cold.

Yield: About 1-1/2 pounds of peanut brittle.

Answer 3

Ground black pepper and Italian seaonings! My 3yr old grandaughter will try anything that has these 2 in it! I love the smell of basil and oregano cooking away. I used to rely on bacon grease for spicing up green beans and other veges..but I knew it was really bad for the body. When I tried black pepper and Italian seasoning, everybody went nuts and the green beans were not tinny tasting and disappeared!

Don't give up your faves, but do try my seasoning choices on your veges, eggs, any kind of pasta, roast meats, chicken salad..you get the idea!

Answer 4

I would make Blue Cheese on Toast

Put blue cheese on bread and grill, then put mushrooms in butter in bowl in microwave for 6 mins, get the cheese/bread out and cover in mushrooms and then add Rosemary.

Answer 5

hmm much as i love garlic Id hafta say cinnamon .. when i was preggie with my oldest i started experimenting cuz every night it was chicken and rice due to finances.. so around month 4 i decided to experiment and used cinnamon and brown sugar (and sometimes ginger too) and it was great.. I had never thought to use it on meats before but was pleasantly surprised.. its also good on corned beef ( with sugar or brown sugar optional ginger and if brown sugar mustard gives it some tanginess) .. almost always i use cinnamon in baking but it works well with meats too and even certain veggies.. so yeah id hafta say cinnamon :D

Answer 6

Well, I'll put egg with anything. But if not, try something wild? Seaweed is good deep-fried; look for 'bladderack' - you'll find pictures on the internet. I think that's how it's spelt. It could have two rs.

Answer 7

Cayenne pepper

Answer 8

Cinnamon - it is so versatile - it can go with both savoury and sweet recipes. Use it mainly though in cakes and puddings - but can also be added to spicy curries.

Answer 9

Fresh ginger, pepper and sweet corn

Answer 10

Onion, Peppers and tomatos