Post: #1

I'm throwing this data sheet down on the culinary arts. It's a vital part of the minimalist lifestyle, healthy, rewarding, and a great way to game women. It DVH's and is also fun. I've bang many a broad over the years by throwing down a proper spread on the table. Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, and is both an art and science.

I started the day I separated from the military, and learned for my own benefit. Swooping chicks was a awesome bi-product. It started w/ basic box dinner, to cougars showing me, to now where I can put together just any dish. Whatever you cook, no matter how simple, presentation is key. If your just starting out consider taking some classes. Hell, it might be packed w/ girls. Learn different styles and dishes from several regions. I'm strong on Japanese, and Filipino for Asia, Italian and Spanish for Europe, anything for CA/SA, and well......borsch for EE and Russia. My weak points are baking and desserts.

Now for a breakdown on gaming girls. Rounding up ingredients opens up venues like fresh markets and specialty/grocery stores. I love being the white guy picking out intricate ingredients in an Asian stores. Girls eat that up. Start a convo and they'll ask what you're going to make. This is a good way to invite them over for a taste. Learn an easy Asian noodle dish and invite a girl over that can't use chopsticks. Teaching her how is a great way to kino. Keep your kitchen immaculate, and understand the order of preparation. Don't taint your veggies with raw chicken. Girls will probably notice, especially when she's in the hospital w/ salmonella. Don't spend too much time in the kitchen. If it's a long dish do as much prep work as possible.

Grilling is another way to bring the venue to your house. Steve Raichlen is the authority. Pick up his bible b/c he has a lot of exotic dishes that will impress anyone. Be careful with this though. You may look like the man but if it's hot outside everyone will be inside and someone else will be gaming your target.

Showing an interest in culture is crucial in gaming foreign girls. From here on in hostels and hotels are out. I'll be staying in furnished apartments. Practice the countries dishes beforehand, then go to the market and grab some ingredients. Start a convo w/ girls and bring up food. Tell her you are cooking whatever dish the next day and would like some local advice. Invite her and a couple of her friends over to eat. Later if they ask for an American dish, hook it up. This has worked for me w/ foreign girls in the U.S., and am sure it'll work abroad.

Always let the girls assist you in the kitchen. It keeps her involved and lets you escalate. Her mind is on the task and less on your advances. Open a bottle of wine during the process. This data sheet was was mainly constructed for the younger players, as I'm sure most of us lifestyle bachelors already have this down. If I left anything out feel free to add.

Post: #2

I've always been interested in cooking, even though I can't cook shit. Should be a nice addition to my hobbies and lifestyle though

Post: #3

It's also a great way to convince girls to come over to your place -- "Yeah, I make this awesome pan-seared redfish, you should come over for wine and dinner..."

Post: #4

I once brought a girl over to eat and she fucked up the entire oretchiette pasta dish I was making, now I'll only give girls simple tasks even though timing boiling pasta is not a difficult concept to master...

Post: #5

(02-03-2011 11:48 PM)YoungGunner Wrote:  I once brought a girl over to eat and she fucked up the entire oretchiette pasta dish I was making, now I'll only give girls simple tasks even though timing boiling pasta is not a difficult concept to master...

Next time don't let her touch anything in the kitchen. The girl should be sitting on a barstool pulled up to the island, drinking wine, gazing at you with lusty eyes.

Tucker Max has a hilarious story about culinary game, involving the girl blowing him mid-prep. Best line: "The food burned, but whatever. She still ate well."

Post: #6

(02-03-2011 09:25 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  I'm throwing this data sheet down on the culinary arts. It's a vital part of the minimalist lifestyle, healthy, rewarding, and a great way to game women. It DVH's and is also fun. I've bang many a broad over the years by throwing down a proper spread on the table. Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, and is both an art and science.

I started the day I separated from the military, and learned for my own benefit. Swooping chicks was a awesome bi-product. It started w/ basic box dinner, to cougars showing me, to now where I can put together just any dish. Whatever you cook, no matter how simple, presentation is key. If your just starting out consider taking some classes. Hell, it might be packed w/ girls. Learn different styles and dishes from several regions. I'm strong on Japanese, and Filipino for Asia, Italian and Spanish for Europe, anything for CA/SA, and well......borsch for EE and Russia. My weak points are baking and desserts.

Now for a breakdown on gaming girls. Rounding up ingredients opens up venues like fresh markets and specialty/grocery stores. I love being the white guy picking out intricate ingredients in an Asian stores. Girls eat that up. Start a convo and they'll ask what you're going to make. This is a good way to invite them over for a taste. Learn an easy Asian noodle dish and invite a girl over that can't use chopsticks. Teaching her how is a great way to kino. Keep your kitchen immaculate, and understand the order of preparation. Don't taint your veggies with raw chicken. Girls will probably notice, especially when she's in the hospital w/ salmonella. Don't spend too much time in the kitchen. If it's a long dish do as much prep work as possible.

Grilling is another way to bring the venue to your house. Steve Raichlen is the authority. Pick up his bible b/c he has a lot of exotic dishes that will impress anyone. Be careful with this though. You may look like the man but if it's hot outside everyone will be inside and someone else will be gaming your target.

Showing an interest in culture is crucial in gaming foreign girls. From here on in hostels and hotels are out. I'll be staying in furnished apartments. Practice the countries dishes beforehand, then go to the market and grab some ingredients. Start a convo w/ girls and bring up food. Tell her you are cooking whatever dish the next day and would like some local advice. Invite her and a couple of her friends over to eat. Later if they ask for an American dish, hook it up. This has worked for me w/ foreign girls in the U.S., and am sure it'll work abroad.

Always let the girls assist you in the kitchen. It keeps her involved and lets you escalate. Her mind is on the task and less on your advances. Open a bottle of wine during the process. This data sheet was was mainly constructed for the younger players, as I'm sure most of us lifestyle bachelors already have this down. If I left anything out feel free to add.

I was wondering if I'd ever see a thread like this on here. I cook for a living, been cooking in some of the better restaurants in L.A. over the past 10 years. All good input here. To me, there are some basic guidelines for cooking for girls at home:

Keep it easy and repertoire that you know like the back of your hand. You don't want to be stressing out over some complicated dish as she's walking in. Everything should pretty much be ready by the time she gets there, and it's just a matter of last minute heating up, plating, dressing salads, etc. The Les Halles cookbook by Anthony Bourdain is a great resource and illuminates this point further.

A few notes on grilling. Not to hate, but from a professional's standpoint, 99.99% of guys haven't a goddamn clue how to grill. Read up and practice practice practice. Practice steaks, burgers, chicken (white meat and dark), fish, kebabs/skewers, fresh sausages (not precooked). Everything has its own trick. Forget that stupid nonsense about "only flip once". Think about a rotisserie, constantly turning and cooking evenly, right? Even caramelization (actually, Maillard reaction but whatever) and constantly circulating the juices inside. And if you're a real man, get rid of that stupid fucking gas grill, grow a pair and buy the biggest Weber you can find and don't cook over anything except hardwood. Charcoal if you must, but learn how to build a fire using white oak or whatever camping wood you can find. Takes longer but the flavor it imparts into the food is absolute incomparable, and every girl I've ever grilled in front of always has something to say about it. There's no better way to get the attention of every present girl and jealousy of every present male then by grilling successfully, on a Weber, with natural firewood. You are officially the chief of the tribe.

Presentation makes a good impression. Donna Hay magazine has a good aesthetic to how to make food look pretty. Just be careful with going overboard, you don't want to get all metrosexual and shit.

Most girls, at least the girls worth knowing and banging, respond well to a dinner of steak, potatoes, and red wine. Likewise, sushi and sake is another solid route. Great sushi is hard to make though.

And on that note, obviously keep things light. I used to make elaborate 6 course meals that wore me out and got both of us stuffed and if we weren't passed out, the sex was lazy.

As far as aphrodisiac foods go, most American girls are too squeamish and ignorant about the good stuff like oysters, foie gras, and caviar, which is unfortunate because I love those things. However, most girls love cheese, and they love soft, creamy cheeses...ahem....Look for the following: Saint Andres (I believe trader joes carries this) Robiola, Brillat-Savarin, Explorateur, Camembert, Brie (with camembert and brie, make sure it's imported from France. Domestic shit is horrible). Always serve cheese room temperature so it's all oozy, with some toasted baguette and honey or quince paste.

Homey comfort food works well. Last night I made roast chicken with root vegetables for a girl. There's a specific method I use that takes about 3 hours for a perfect roast chicken that's juicy as hell and super crisp skin. PM me if interested. Chicks flip over it.

I don't like getting girls involved because my kitchen is small and they just stress me the hell out. My typical game at this point is to start with finger foods and snacks to tide her over, the main event, and then some high end chocolate or if it's in season, fruit from the Santa Monica Farmer's market. I don't bother with elaborate homemade desserts because by then, both of us are usually pretty full, and at that point it's not that appreciated. Find a good chocolatier and have some sea salt caramel truffles on hand. Girls love salty and sweet.

And I always have about 3-4 bottles of wine on hand. When there's good food involved and the chemistry is good, it's crazy how fast you can plow through wine. I generally keep 2 bottles of sparkling, a bottle of white, and a bottle of red on hand. Make sure the sparkling/white are very balanced, neither sweet nor dry, and make sure the red is light on tannins, which most girls aren't into. Girls tend to go for fruitier, spicier reds like Syrah, Grenache, and funkier grapes like Mourvedre. Wines from the Rhone and Languedoc-Roussillon are solid bets.

Any further questions regarding best cookbooks, equipment, ingredients, anything related to cooking, feel free to ask or PM me. I've cooked everything from Thai, Indian, French, Italian, Spanish, American, butchered whole pigs, made homemade pasta, made ice cream from scratch, done the "molecular" bullshit.

Post: #7

No matter the food. I want desert. hahahahahaha. Kidding.
Do you know that your taste on food says a lot about your sex life?

Post: #8

(02-03-2011 11:48 PM)YoungGunner Wrote:  I once brought a girl over to eat and she fucked up the entire oretchiette pasta dish I was making, now I'll only give girls simple tasks even though timing boiling pasta is not a difficult concept to master...

It's a shame how few women know even the slightest bit about cooking anymore.

This is a great thread, I've been wanting to get into cooking for awhile. I admit, I've been just lazy about learning when I can satisfy myself with a turkey sandwich or some takeout.

Post: #9

(02-05-2011 11:56 AM)speakeasy Wrote:  

(02-03-2011 11:48 PM)YoungGunner Wrote:  I once brought a girl over to eat and she fucked up the entire oretchiette pasta dish I was making, now I'll only give girls simple tasks even though timing boiling pasta is not a difficult concept to master...

It's a shame how few women know even the slightest bit about cooking anymore.

This is a great thread, I've been wanting to get into cooking for awhile. I admit, I've been just lazy about learning when I can satisfy myself with a turkey sandwich or some takeout.

Most girls I find in the U.S. that can cook are foreign. I think cooking is a necessary skill for any bachelor. I love eating out but it is expensive and generally unhealthy. Most restro's use fatty cooking oil whereas I use coconut oil, which cuts down on the fat. When you cook well enough it's hard to find a restro that is better than your kitchen.

Dude3737- +1 from me. I was hoping someone would follow up w/ a professional flair. You hit every point I missed. Thanks bro.

Post: #10

Dude37's post on Culinary Game takes the cake and Thanks Ali for starting the thread.

It is quite entertaining to see forum members from every facet of Life, we have Lawyers/Doctors/Musicians/Entreprenauers/ Now Culinary experts/Military contractors/Gymnists/Entreprenauers etc etc etc...... makes this forum a well rounded source of Info from every angle, I am going to pat all of us on the back and special props to Roosh for starting the forum.......

Dude37 you have talent your post on Wine and Culinary game get 1 + to say the least.......

Continue my friend.........

Post: #11

A couple years back I was flying through D.C. I sat down in the bar next to a hot light-skinned sista, and started working my mojo. She wasn't hearing it but was conversing just enough to be "polite". The subject changed to food, then soul food got brought. Told her I was a soul food cooking fool. She gave me the "your fulla shit" look. I belted out my recipe for southern style collard greens. As Emeril would say, "BAM"! 15 minutes she's twirling her with elbow leaned on the bar, laughing and touching my hand and knee. She was from NYC but remembered as a girl visiting relatives in the south. It was a big deal for her to see that table packed w/ fried chicken, greens, cornbread, sweet taters, and proper southern style tea. Shit, I thought she was gonna attack when told her my from scratch hoppin' john meal. Haha. I don't believe there was anything else that would've opened her. This was her comfort food.

And yes, this white boy is a soul food cooking mofo.

Post: #12

Sure thing. As a funny anecdote, I've been practicing some approaches at Whole Foods (I have yet to close or have a successful run, but I'm new to day game) I had one really promising lead but I totally fucked it up, but my opener to this recent cutie was basically,
"Hey, do you cook? Because I'm just now getting into this cooking at home thing and could use some advice..."
"Oh, um, sure, yeah I cook a lot actually, what are you making?"
"Well (I point to my basket), I've got chicken, and I've got rice, where do I go from here?"

She proceeded to give me a 30 minute tirade as to all the things that I could do with chicken and rice, and I could have interrupted her at any point to steer the trajectory of the convo, but I, well, kind of got lost and by the end I was like, "Um, sounds...great. Thanks." She even followed me to the produce section to make sure I was buying what she recommended. Big screwup on my part not to do anything with it, but it proved to be a solid opener. Hell, I could have just been honest with her and said, "You know what, I do this for a living. I know exactly what I'm making for dinner tonight. I just wanted to say hi." That would have been better than what I did.

I met a super cute Honduran girl at a bar recently and on our first date I told her what I did for a living and she reacted visibly, like..."Shit, you cook, that's hot" I do have a bit of a hesitation in offering to cook for girls, because I don't want to seem overly eager to DHV or divulge my career, so I usually tease something like, "Well, since I cook professionally, I only cook for people who are *really* important to me..." Not surprisingly, most white girls I've met are super picky and relatively uninterested in food, while I've had a good amount of success recently with Latinas and Southeast Asians, whose culture values food immensely more.

Mrs. Chocolate, there is one dessert that I've seen girls get visibly aroused by. There's an Italian restaurant here called Mozza that makes something called Budino, basically Italian for pudding. Theirs is a butterscotch pudding with sea salt caramel and rosemary cookies. Every single girl that I've fed this to literally stops talking, slows down their breathing, closes their eyes like they're in some ridiculous ice cream commercial, and lets out some sort of audible sigh. Follow this up with a Vin Santo from Tuscany and well, it's a done deal.

Post: #13

Thanks for the solid info dude3737. I agree with you on gas grills but some people might not be able to go the charcoal route. At my condo they aren't allowed so I got around it by getting a Traeger wood pellet grill.

They really do kick ass, it's hard to dry something out unless your real inattentive. Everything comes out good, steaks, burgers, potatoes, veggies, the best chicken you'll ever have, etc. You can go high heat for fast cook with smoke, or low heat and all day smoke something. The only thing tricky to cook with a Traeger is Pizza, there's a fine timeline between crisp crust and scorched. My favorite pellets are Mesquite and Garlic, and I bought some Grapevine to try out (hear it's really good with seafood). Rave reviews from guests, every time.

Post: #14

Love making food too and who cares if they can cook? the only thing is like the chief mentions that it might be waisted to go overboard with fancy expensive delicious stuff if she prefers McD to french cousine.. but solid thread..nice topic...

I posted the smoked salmon, mangosalat somewhere, but thats killer for any woman/girl that eat fish and she will love you for making a nice salad as base (mango, tomatoes avocado..then some lime juice). Light..tasty and the coloring of the salad can be beautifully arranged, served best with white wine, some aussie one will do. But excellent idea with her helping and wine..women dream about that happening.. if its summer and hot, showing her your ripped body working in the kitchen before you slip a nice shirt on, might not be to bad either..

Post: #15

simplest thing to do is to read the part of anthony bourdain's kitchen confidential called 'cook like the pros'

spent ten bucks on some ring molds and squeeze bottles, use a goddamned thermometer when cooking any protein (you don't have to just guess on how it's cooked if you're a rookie), and please, please- make risotto!!! it's a lot easier then its reputation and a lot of people don't have it much so it's comes across as special.

there's no reason at all to not have decent cooking game. there's just too much information out there not to. read a little, try it out once or twice, and you'll have no problem.

Post: #16

Hey Alib do you have any tips on starting out? I want to get real into it but I feel I don't know where to even start :/

Post: #17

(02-06-2011 12:20 PM)FretDancer Wrote:  Hey Alib do you have any tips on starting out? I want to get real into it but I feel I don't know where to even start :/

Crock pot cooking is a good way to start. It's hard to mess that up. I started by picking lasagna or large shells and followed the recipe on the box. Over time you'll understand what you like as far as seasonings, and can modify the recipes as such. Dude3737 can give you better advice. He's the culinary master of the forum. I've learned a lot from his posts on food and wine.

Post: #18

(02-06-2011 12:20 PM)FretDancer Wrote:  Hey Alib do you have any tips on starting out? I want to get real into it but I feel I don't know where to even start :/

Equipment (buy the best you can afford. It's worth it because it'll last years as opposed to one year of regular use):
-Large cast iron pan by Lodge. Find it at a camping store. Pancakes, pan roast chicken, steaks, lamb chops
-Nonstick pan. Omlettes, eggs, fish
-Large aluminum pan. Finish pasta, sauteeing vegetables
-Large pot. Making soup, stock, or boiling pasta water
-Small pot. Making risotto, polenta, or a sauce accompaniment
-large chef's knife. Spend as much as you can here. Visit http://www.korin.com and go with Japanese, and pick up a 1000/3000 ceramic wetstone and the instructional knife sharpening DVD
-small pairing knife. Go cheap here and just buy a new one every year. Cheap victorinox go for like 5 bucks.
-Serrated bread knife.
-metal bowls of various sizes. Mixing batters, dressing salads (or tossing them, as the case may be)
-pair of tongs
-wooden spoon
-rubber spatula
-fish spatula

Ingredients:
olive oil-all purpose low temperature cooking
canola/coconut/peanut oil-high temperature cooking like searing meat
butter. Can't stress this one enough. Margarine sucks. If you need to cut out calories or saturated fat, do it elsewhere. Don't skimp on butter.
kosher salt
finishing sea salt like Maldon
Pepper mill (always use fresh cracked)
Dried pasta
Dried beans
Long grain rice
arborio/vialone nano/carnaroli rice for risotto
canned tomatoes
tomato paste
fresh greens like arugula, endive, chicory
garlic
vermouth (i use this instead of cooking white wine, much better)

This is just a very brief list of where to start. Obviously you're not going to go out and buy this all at once. This represents a fraction of what I keep stocked in my kitchen. Obviously I have things on hand that aren't commonplace nor do they need to be, like anchovies, pimenton d'espelette, Framboise, fine mesh strainers, heat diffusers, etc...but they are necessary for more involved cooking.

Cookbooks that I consider the bible:
Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertolli
Pork and Sons by Stephane Reynaud
French Feasts by Stephane Reynaud
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
Any of the River Cottage cookbooks by Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall

Additionally, you can actually buy most of the curriculum cookbooks that they use in the Cordon Bleu or Culinary Institute of America programs. The book will literally show you how to hold a knife, how to use a knife, how to make stock, how to scramble eggs, etc.

Start small. Build a repertoire of 3 dishes that you can make perfectly. Surprisingly, after all these years, it's still the simple things that are the most challenging. Perfect hash browns are a goddamn art form.

I'd say find one chicken dish, one pasta dish, and one breakfast dish that you really like and master them. Practice them weekly if you can. Move on from there.

Post: #19

Wow. Thanks for the info guys. I think we have most of that stuff around here so I just have to start messing with it I guess, I'm sure it will be a fun experience .

By the way what do you think about Food Press? The blog keeps showing everyday on the Wordpress homepage.

Post: #20

Thedude, can you throw out some of your favorite receipies, when you have the time would love to be inspired

Post: #21

Dude 37 I second the request from Quasi Specially the Budino dessert that you described earlier,......... Also some starter recipes for chicken/Fish with rice etc.........

I feel like you are giving us more info then we are giving you feedback, after all you are here to learn game..... So I am going to give you some friendly suggestions on your game as you described it.....

(02-05-2011 09:39 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  Sure thing. As a funny anecdote, I've been practicing some approaches at Whole Foods (I have yet to close or have a successful run, but I'm new to day game) I had one really promising lead but I totally fucked it up, but my opener to this recent cutie was basically,
"Hey, do you cook? Because I'm just now getting into this cooking at home thing and could use some advice..."
"Oh, um, sure, yeah I cook a lot actually, what are you making?"
"Well (I point to my basket), I've got chicken, and I've got rice, where do I go from here?"

She proceeded to give me a 30 minute tirade as to all the things that I could do with chicken and rice, and I could have interrupted her at any point to steer the trajectory of the convo, but I, well, kind of got lost and by the end I was like, "Um, sounds...great. Thanks." She even followed me to the produce section to make sure I was buying what she recommended. Big screwup on my part not to do anything with it, but it proved to be a solid opener. Hell, I could have just been honest with her and said, "You know what, I do this for a living. I know exactly what I'm making for dinner tonight. I just wanted to say hi." That would have been better than what I did.

I met a super cute Honduran girl at a bar recently and on our first date I told her what I did for a living and she reacted visibly, like..."Shit, you cook, that's hot" I do have a bit of a hesitation in offering to cook for girls, because I don't want to seem overly eager to DHV or divulge my career, so I usually tease something like, "Well, since I cook professionally, I only cook for people who are *really* important to me..." Not surprisingly, most white girls I've met are super picky and relatively uninterested in food, while I've had a good amount of success recently with Latinas and Southeast Asians, whose culture values food immensely more.

Post: #22

I thought i wouldn't see this gaming option here, since most alpha teachers seem to say you shouldn't give attentions to your targeted women.

BUT
While I was studying at the conservatory in the Hague, I became better and better at cooking and a mate of mine told me the trick to bang 100% of the girls we invited home: cook for them!

Everytime I searched for a chamber music partner, i picked up hot viola, violin, piano, singer and what not. I made sure we did at least one rehearsal at my place, which was quite nice and big, so they noticed how neat and nice my housemate and me keep the place.

When our exam or gig was over, a few days later i would call them to thank them for playing (for free) with me and at short notice..and to thank them i invited them for an evening meal at my place.
I can say i banged ALL of my guests in that way.

Cooking sets you apart, specially if they see you like a macho and then you cook like a chef.

Post: #23

Foodpress seems like a solid lead. As rinestone mentioned above, food has never been bigger, from TV shows, to blogs, hell, go check out the cookbook section at Barnes and Noble. I go almost weekly for ideas and to jot down recipes/methods (as a good excuse to do some approaches as well) You can find ideas and methods everywhere now, it's just a matter of what rings true to you so you can start developing your own style.

Doc, I feel you man, for that particular approach I think it was just a matter of being way outside my comfort zone. I'm comfortable in bars and darker, more intimate surroundings. Being under fluorescent light with a complete stranger with tons of people milling about is just going to take a little getting used to, but practice makes perfect I guess. A buddy of mine and I are actually gonna start hitting up the 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica for improving our day game...

As far as recipes are concerned, I'm a little reluctant, and here's why: I feel that there are 3 main phases of cooking skills.

Starting out-gaining some rudimentary skills like chopping an onion, mincing garlic and parsley, basic egg and starch cookery, cooking vegetables, etc.
Recipe cooking-most people stay here for quite a while. They understand how to read a recipe and execute it with relatively consistent success
Method cooking-when you move beyond recipes and feel comfortable in your technique, be it making homemade gougeres or homemade smoked salmon, scooping quenelles or making a perfect souffle, you start to branch out and rarely look at recipes again.

My point in this is I could write you an exact recipe for a dish, in this case let's say Pan roasted chicken with Kabocha squash puree, braised brussel sprouts and bacon, with a warm cider vinaigrette. That's not really a "dish". A "dish" is something that's been made for decades, like Coq au Vin, or Cassoulet. But if you have the technique, you can literally walk into a grocery store or farmer's market and assemble a dish in your head. Since we're coming out of winter, Kabocha squash and brussel sprouts are both in season. To render a squash puree, you can peel it, steam it and then pass it through a food mill http://www.amazon.com/RSVP-Endurance-Sta...107&sr=8-3 or you can cut it in half with the skin on, with the cut side facing up, and spoon in a sage, lemon, and garlic infused butter over the top and roast it at 350 for 45 minutes or until completely tender and browned, and then scoop out the flesh and run it through that food mill. For the brussel sprouts, clean them by removing the tough green outer leaves, cut them in half, set aside. Cut your bacon into lardons, or 1/2 inch strips, and cook over medium heat until they render their fat and are evenly browned. Set them aside and reserve half the bacon fat. Put the brussel sprouts into the bacon fat and cook, cut side down, until they lightly brown on one side. Add enough chicken stock to come 3/4 up the brussel sprouts and simmer them on medium heat, add a sprig of thyme and a smashed clove of garlic to the pan. When the chicken stock is almost completely reduced, add 2 T of butter to the pan, the browned bacon, and set aside. Request some "airlined chicken breasts, skin on" from a butcher or grocery store. Heat up some peanut oil in a cast iron pan, season your chicken with salt and pepper, and lay it in the pan. It should sizzle, not pop. Let it brown lightly and then put the pan into a 350 degree oven with the skin side down. Check after 8 minutes. Using a thermometer, check the breasts and when the chicken reaches 150 degrees, flip it and put it under a broiler to crisp the skin further. It should be dark but not burnt. When the skin is brown and crispy, pull them from the pan and let them rest for 6 minutes. In a separate small pot, heat up half the reserved bacon fat and 1T olive oil. Add a sliced shallot and sweat until translucent, add 1/2T whole grain mustard, sweat for another minute, add 2T apple cider vinegar, reduce until almost dry, and then add 4T apple cider/juice, reduce by half, and swirl in 2T butter. To plate, spoon some squash puree down on the plate, slice the chicken breast into four slices on a bias, arrange some brussel sprouts and bacon in between and around the chicken, and spoon the warm vinaigrette over the top.

This would take me about 3 hours to make, and by the time a girl comes over, I'd have the puree in a pot being kept warm, the brussel sprouts already cooked and in a bowl ready to reheat, probably in the same pan as the chicken which I'd already have seared and cooked about 75% of the way, and the sauce would be ready in another saucepot. Two pots and one pan pickup.

See what I mean about recipes? Everything I just typed is off the top of my head, so it's a matter of being super comfortable with cooking starch, protein, vegetables, and saucemaking, so that I could just say, "Just pan roast a chicken breast and serve it with some brussel sprouts cooked with bacon, some kind of squash puree, and a warm cider vinaigrette". You'll have your own version of each one of those components and instead of copying a recipe, you'll have your own personal flair to add. You might make your puree with cream and lots of butter, or you might emulsify some olive oil into it. You might marinate your chicken first or rub it with herbs. You might cook the brussel sprouts with prosciutto, speck, or pancetta instead of bacon. Instead of a cider vinaigrette you might do sherry. Any one of those variations would yield awesome results.

The one place I'd say recipes are mandatory is baking, and even after a lot of experience there some people can eyeball it. Also, if you delve into molecular gastronomy and start handling stuff like sodium alginate and xanthan gum, you'll need exact measurements there too. Want to really flip a girl's lid? Make her a "spherification". I used to work at the Bazaar in L.A., this blogger did a pretty in depth and obsessive review of it, and we did some wacky shit there. Definitely stuff that would set you apart and blow a girl's mind: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http...sAO_hu2dCg

Post: #24

Butterscotch budino with caramel sauce

(serves 10)

3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

To make budino, in a large bowl, combine the cream and milk and set aside.

In a large, heavy pot, combine brown sugar, water, and salt and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally to keep the mixture from scorching, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the mixture is a deep brown and smells nutty and caramelized. Remove from the heat and immediately whisk the cream mixture into the caramelized sugar to stop the cooking. The mixture will steam vigorously and the sugar will seize. Use caution to keep from getting burned by the bubbling mixture. Whisk until smooth and the caramel is fully incorporated. Return to high heat, bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. While whisking constantly, add about half of the caramel cream, 1/2 cup at a time, to the egg mixture. Pour the combined mixtures back into the saucepan holding the remaining caramel cream and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes, or until a very thick custard forms.

Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the butter and rum. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into ten 3/4-cup ramekins or glasses, dividing it evenly and filling to within 1/2 inch of the rim. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until well chilled, or for up to 3 days.

Caramel sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

About 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup crème fraiche
1 1/4 teaspoons Maldon salt


To make the caramel sauce, pour the cream into a small saucepan. With the tip of a knife, scrape the seeds from the split vanilla bean into the bowl, and then add the pod. Place the pan over medium heat and heat for about 3 minutes, or until the cream comes to a simmer. Add the butter, remove from the heat, and set aside.

Have ready a large bowl filled with ice water. In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the corn syrup and sugar. Add enough of the water to make a wet, sandy texture. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, and cook without stirring, occasionally swirling the pan slightly to gauge the caramelization, for about 10 minutes, or until the sugar turns a medium amber.

Remove from the heat, add the cream mixture — be careful, as it will steam and bubble vigorously — and whisk to combine. Place the pan in the ice-water bath and let cool.
In a chilled bowl, whip the cream with a whisk until it begins to thicken. Add the crème fraiche and beat until thick and fluffy. This may be done up to 3 hours ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Just before serving, remove ramekins from the refrigerator. Reheat the sauce over medium heat, discard the vanilla pod, and spoon 1 tablespoon of the sauce over each budino. Top each with about 1/8 teaspoon Maldon salt and a dollop of the whipped cream.

Post: #25

(02-07-2011 12:48 AM)thedude3737 Wrote:  Butterscotch budino with caramel sauce

(serves 10)

3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

To make budino, in a large bowl, combine the cream and milk and set aside.

In a large, heavy pot, combine brown sugar, water, and salt and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally to keep the mixture from scorching, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the mixture is a deep brown and smells nutty and caramelized. Remove from the heat and immediately whisk the cream mixture into the caramelized sugar to stop the cooking. The mixture will steam vigorously and the sugar will seize. Use caution to keep from getting burned by the bubbling mixture. Whisk until smooth and the caramel is fully incorporated. Return to high heat, bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. While whisking constantly, add about half of the caramel cream, 1/2 cup at a time, to the egg mixture. Pour the combined mixtures back into the saucepan holding the remaining caramel cream and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes, or until a very thick custard forms.

Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the butter and rum. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into ten 3/4-cup ramekins or glasses, dividing it evenly and filling to within 1/2 inch of the rim. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until well chilled, or for up to 3 days.

Caramel sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

About 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup crème fraiche
1 1/4 teaspoons Maldon salt


To make the caramel sauce, pour the cream into a small saucepan. With the tip of a knife, scrape the seeds from the split vanilla bean into the bowl, and then add the pod. Place the pan over medium heat and heat for about 3 minutes, or until the cream comes to a simmer. Add the butter, remove from the heat, and set aside.

Have ready a large bowl filled with ice water. In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the corn syrup and sugar. Add enough of the water to make a wet, sandy texture. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, and cook without stirring, occasionally swirling the pan slightly to gauge the caramelization, for about 10 minutes, or until the sugar turns a medium amber.

Remove from the heat, add the cream mixture — be careful, as it will steam and bubble vigorously — and whisk to combine. Place the pan in the ice-water bath and let cool.
In a chilled bowl, whip the cream with a whisk until it begins to thicken. Add the crème fraiche and beat until thick and fluffy. This may be done up to 3 hours ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Just before serving, remove ramekins from the refrigerator. Reheat the sauce over medium heat, discard the vanilla pod, and spoon 1 tablespoon of the sauce over each budino. Top each with about 1/8 teaspoon Maldon salt and a dollop of the whipped cream.

Again, in terms of actually assembling this, everything should be ready. Puddings made the day before, caramel sauce already made and sitting at room temp, whipped cream already whipped in the fridge. So for dessert you literally unwrap a ramekin or jar of pudding, top with caramel and whipped cream, and sprinkle with sea salt. As complicated as the recipe sounds, by the time the girl's there and you've already wowed her with the first two courses, dessert only takes you 2 minutes to "plate" because everything's already made. And again, serve this with about 4 oz of this: http://www.cheapercigars.com/product22188.html and if you don't get any that night, the girl probably doesn't have a heartbeat or a soul.