For years now I've been saying that I'm trying to learn how to bake or that I'm working on gaining an appreciation for sweet things. I just realized that I've been saying this now for about five years [or, in the way that I mark time - two apartments ago]. So I guess this officially means that I now know how to bake and that I have cultivated my sweet tooth. I'm certainly fatter if that counts for anything. I still haven't yet tackled the construction of a massive chocolate cake, but I can make my own pastry [with varying degrees of success], roll out cookie dough [again, with varying degrees of success - usually Joseph's patience is required for these activities] and I can make a souffle [okay, savoury souffle, but the same principles apply]. On a semi-weekly basis I've been baking something and while tonight's was not highly complicated, it was something brand new - an apple brown betty.
The main/only reason I know of apple brown betty is due to King of the Hill. This is one of Peggy Hill's signature dishes [along with SpaPeggy and Meatballs and Frito Pie] and she calls it an Apple Brown Peggy. She adds a bit of orange juice before baking, which, according to her, no one else does. This dish has come up a number of times within the context of the show - her neighbour Minh improves the dish by adding nutmeg, she is suspected of trying to poison Randy Travis with one, and etc. I'm still not entirely sure what I made was an apple brown betty - the recipe said it was an apple pudding [in this case pudding being just British for any dessert - I know, they are a confusing lot those wily Brits]. But upon closer inspectation it appeared to be a form of betty. It lacked bread crumbs, instead using a sort of batter. The flavouring seemed consistent. And yes, I did add plenty o' nutmeg and, my own secret ingredient - in place of cinammon I used pumpkin pie spice [okay, because I gave up finding the cinammon]. It was dang tasty and pretty simple to prepare...Joseph had three servings.
But it made me start to think about signature dishes. I love cooking and apparently I officially bake now...but I'm having a hard time thinking of what items that I create consistently and with a bit of flair that I could call my own. I really don't think I have one. I love making homemade thin crust pizza, but it's pretty generic [my side gets just an assortment of cheese and spicy sauce and fresh herbs if available, Joseph's side gets some sort of vegetable maybe or sausage in extra special cases]. Excessively tasty, but not really groundbreaking. Otherwise I make a lot of pasta, stir-frys, soups...but nothing I can really lay claim too. I think I should work on this. What's your signature dish? And can I rip it off somehow?
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I don't really have a signature dish. I do make a good appetizer out of garlic triscuits and I make a mean peanut butter-chocolate chunk cookie.
ReplyDeleteI tend to think of a signature dish as something that you not only make your own with respect to playing around with ingredients, etc., but also one that you would make for other people. (So it would be the thing you take if you're going to a potluck, for example). Anyway, using that definition, my signature dish would have to be cheesecake. I've made many variations for many different people/occasions.
ReplyDeleteI also have a slow cooker stew recipe that I have apparently made my own because a couple of years ago one of my sisters was visiting & she offered to make the stew. I was eating it, and it tasted a little different. It turns out she actually followed the recipe.
Speaking of homemade pizza crusts...I was just thinking that I wanted to start doing that. Would you mind sharing your recipe??
ReplyDeleteThe only "signature" dish I have is a meatloaf recipe that I've improved on over the years. But, I doubt that would help you, haha.
I love peanut butter and chocolate cookies. Someone @ my former workplace used to make them and put Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on top. Gah.
ReplyDeleteAgreed that a signature dish should be something presentable and palatable to others. In that case, I'm the Pope of Chili Town. The problem is that I make a zillion different kinds, so no real signature.
Jen - I will Facebook you a recipe for the crust. However, most times I use a pre-made dry mix for crust. You add the oil, seasoning [I like everything spicy] and water and let it rise and spread it out yourself.
And I have made meatloaf - once or twice! I made it with half lean beef and half turkey.