I’m sad to say that thecheatingcook.com is now closed down.. but has become…
http://www.howcookingworks.com!
This new site is going to focus on teaching solid cooking fundamentals as well as stand alone recipes. All videos will be in hd with state of the art film production.
Thank you all so much for supporting thecheatingcook on its great journey. Feel free to follow us on
I’m happy to announce a new online book from thecheatingcook.com! You can visit…
http://book.thecheatingcook.com
This is a new repository which contains ingredients, sauces, and recipes of everything I have ever cooked. To kick it off, check out the new kimchi fried rice recipe!
http://book.thecheatingcook.com/index.php?title=Kimchi_Fried_Rice
When I cook for myself and a friend, I usually spend a couple days thinking about what I want to cook. I think about what do I want to show case as the main dish, and then how to build sides around the dish to not overpower it. Here is my final menu.
Main course:
+ Butternut squash
Roasted, and then mashed with kosher salt, pure maple syrup, and butter
+ Asparagus with a wine glaze
Poached asparagus with a port/miso reduction
+ butter garlic spaghetti noodles with sundried tomatoes
Spaghetti noodles cooked al dente with garlic sweated with butter. Accented with fish sauce and topped with sundried tomatoes
+ Ribeye with sauteed shittake and onions
Marinated in kosher salt, black pepper, white pepper, and garlic powder. Pan seared in a cast iron skillet and then finished off in the oven. Deglazed with onions and shittake
Dessert:
+ Assorted fruits
Satsumi tangerines, blood tangerines, blueberries, strawberries, asian mangos
When creating this menu, I wanted to make sure that the star of the dish, the steak, would live harmoniously with the sides being presented. Since ribeye has a lot of marbling (fat content), it would definitely need to be paired with lighter side dishes. So for me, creamed spinach, and potato gratin were out of the window.
To focus on the meat itself, I choose a carb dish that was really simple. Noodles, butter, and garlic. I didn’t want a creamy (white sauce) or a tomato sauce to overpower the taste of the steak.
Butternut squash is a wonderful side because it has the sensation of being rich without actually being fatty. Adding pure maple syrup and a bit of salt creates the sensation of salty and sweet. Pairing it with asparagus and a wine glaze gives the sensation of a slight bit of fruit and nuttiness (from reducing the port).
So when creating your own menu, be sure to think about the following items
+ what do you want the focus of the dish to be?
+ are the dishes harmoniously balanced?
+ am i giving myself enough time to cook?
