Ok, I need some food assistance...

Cooking for 3, me, sniffa, and the Mrs...I'm pretty ok with most foods, but these two have very specifice aversions. #1) No mushrooms! Ever!, #2) No seafood!! Unless it's tuna in the can for sniffa or swordfish for the Mrs. Otherwise, nothing. Sniffa hates tomato sauce, and Mrs. Sniffa is wary of new foods...Help! I want to cook so many yummy things, but I need some solid foundations to start from.

Any ideas?

Well, I have been known to cater to particular (and peculiar) tastes, but my general philosophy is that when you eat in someone else's kitchen, you eat on their terms and do it gracefully. I've discovered some wonderful recipes that way.

Sniffa does a lot of the cooking, but I'm tiring of salted, cured pork products and heavy starches...and I know that there are vegetables out there other than asparagus and broccoli, hehe... :P

Search in this forum -- Politicat's butter chicken is a big hit in Casa de Eyesroll. I made it for whoisalhedges and dolo amber and her kid and my SO and his kid, and everybody except the very picky three-year-old loved it. There is some tomato paste in the sauce, but it is by no means tomato-y. I also made matar mushroom, which I know is out, and hedges made daal. He just sauteed some onion and garlic and some spices (hmm...cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, garam masala...not sure exactly) and then threw in the daal and then made it like a risotto, adding water little by little and then a whole bunch at once and cooking it down.

Or else, try Thai. (Again, look in this forum -- I posted a recipe for masaman curry and for pud see ew.) The techniques are easy and can translate to other recipes.

:pals:

Do you want a chicken dish? Beef? Something veggie? How much time do you want to put into the meal? What is your culinary skill level? Do you want to do a dessert, too? Is there a type of cuisine you are particularly interested in exploring?

Everything that I can think of that's easy, like lasagna, is out. I have a couple of suggestions. How about chicken? Baked in the oven, bone-in chicken breasts or thighs, so you can use the drippings for gravy, with mashed potatoes. Everybody likes that, right?:shrug:

Or, if you think they'd prefer pasta, it doesn't have to be tomato sauce. I'll post my recipe for basil pesto sauce, if you think they'd like it. This is really easy, except for finding fresh basil and picking off and washing the leaves. I use a salad spinner.:-)

My last suggestion is Shepherd's Pie. This is just layers of meat, with a sauce, then I use frozen corn kernels, and seal the whole thing with a layer of mashed potatoes, dotted with butter, and melt cheese on top of it at the end. I'm not big on beef, so I have used ground chicken for the meat layer, adding minced garlic that I cooked with it, and some cream of chicken soup. I pretty much just made this from the seat of my pants, LOL, but I'll give you more specifics, if you want them...:D

Rhiannon:hi:

On edit: And there is also quiche, if they can stand eggs. This is very easy, with a ready-made crust. I used to make this for my Dad, the pickiest eater I've known, and the options are endless.:-)

Hey you! Long time no see! :hi:

I was thinking Shepherd's Pie the other day actually...I bet they'd eat it... :)

Two cups of packed fresh basil leaves, rinsed and dried (I use a salad spinner).

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Two or three tablespoons of pine nuts. They call for two, I use three.

Three or four cloves of fresh garlic, depending on the size, peeled.

1/2 teaspoon salt.

Process this very well in a blender, pushing the mixture down, until it's well incorporated. You can also do this with a mortar and pestle, which is recommended, but who has the time or patience? And this way comes out fine.

Remove basil mixture and stir in 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese and a couple of tablespoons of fresh grated romano cheese. I usually use more cheese than it calls for, so it's less oily.

Some recipes call for adding the cheese to the blender, but I never do. The lady who wrote this cookbook that I got this recipe from said that stirring in the cheese by hand gives a better texture, and I agree.

Serve over hot pasta, mixing really well. A little goes a long way with this. I like linguine, but any kind will do. The important thing is that you don't want to cook the sauce, which will cook the cheese, but just let it be heated by the hot pasta. You can refrigerate leftovers and serve with heated pasta, anytime. :-)

I also sprinkle more of the grated romano cheese on top, when serving. This gives it a little kick.:-)

Good to see you, too, my friend! I sure hope that these recipes help. I'll share the Shepherd's Pie recipe with you, too, if you'd like. I sort of made that one up, but my SO liked it a lot...:D

Rhi:hi:

Sorry, my sympathies on pickiness are at an all time low right now. (In a circle of 15, there's no seafood, no strawberries, no onions, no chilies, no peanuts, no cheese, no pork and at least a couple others I'm forgetting.) In my horribly jaded opinion, not eating new foods is a childish remnant of the poison suspicion, and reflects badly on a person's ability to trust others. Allergies are one thing, but claiming to hate something never tried is just bad manners. (Grr. Supertaster wanders away and a nice person comes back to finish this post.)

However, with those limits, I'd look at Northern Italian (pestos and the light cheese sauces) with chicken or mediterranian inspired dishes. Koftas, a gyros-type meatloaf or falafel with pita and tabouli are tasty, easy and different.

When people ask me what he will eat when we are asked over to dinner, I won't tell them. I just say, cook what you like and we will eat it. Same goes for my kids. I won't allow people to make special meals for them when we visit. Teaches them bad manners.

...I make 'em for myself when I'm fed up with the DH's "no veggies" policy. Risotto is dead easy, but you do need patience and you can't set it & forget it. Heat some chicken broth. Throw some garlic, olive oil, shallots, pepper, & salt in a skillet over medium heat & saute. Add uncooked short-grain arborio rice (about 3/4 cup) and saute until the edges are just turning translucent, then dump in a half cup or so of white wine, and add your veggies (I particularly like a mix of coarse-grated zucchini, tiny broccoli florets and thin broccoli stem slices, and bits of red bell pepper.)

Let the wine bubble and fizz for a few moments, then turn the heat down to "low" and add a couple of soup ladles full of the heated chicken broth. Stir everything around and walk away. Check in about 10 minutes, if it looks like all the chicken broth is gone, add another ladleful. Repeat this process until the rice is tender. (Takes about 2 qts of chicken broth here at 7000 ft, probably less at sea level. Takes about an hour here at 7000 ft, probably less at sea level.) Then stir in some fresh-grated hard Italian cheese(s) (about a tbsp, doesn't need much since the rice is already so creamy) and eat.

HEAVEN!! Absolute HEAVEN!!! I eat half (if I can restrain myself that much) for a main meal (the DH gets a fish pattie or a PB sammitch) and put the other half away for lunch the next day. Or it makes a nice side dish (with, say, a grilled chicken breast) for 3 or 4 people. Increase the recipe, add poached chicken breast chunks, and you've got a one-bowl main dish.

helpfully,
Bright

This sounds excellent! Yay! :D