Hmmm... What to Make

[Chris Amirault]

Yesterday morning, my wife was sick and hadn't eaten well, and while we were talking, instead of thinking about the prescription I have to get, I was thinking, "What should I make her for dinner that will really make her happy...."

Throughout the day, I sat in meetings and thought about ways to use both a half-bottle of Pouilly Fuisse and a dozen pitted kalamata olives in the fridge....

Then I went to Whole Foods and saw these titanic cod fillets on sale, thick enough to roast at 450, and then I remembered that onion confit thread, and....

I think that this process is often the most interesting part of cooking for me, but it's usually invisible. Few cookbooks or TV hosts talk about it, having already made determinations about the meal and ingredients. In addition, it's not really a part of restaurant cooking life for most chefs, save for the very few who head out to the farmer's market every morning, pick the best stuff, and make it.

So I'd be really happy to hear more about how and when you think about what to make!

edited to remove a stray paren -- CA

Edited December 2, 2004 by chrisamirault (log)

[jackal10]

a) What's in season

b) What's in the fridge (not always the same)

c) What have I read recently on eG, or in a new cookbook and want to try

d) Any special theme or occaision (Xmas, Burns Night, etc)

e) Dietary restrictions of the guests etc.

That usually gives me the main course or courses. Can then work the decorations and small courses around that.

[Suzanne F]

I'd love to say that I go to the market each day and pick out what looks best to cook that night . . . but that would be a lie.

Since I tend to buy vegetables once a week, and other items even less often, I buy and cook far more than the two of us can eat at one time (can you say, seven 3-cup containers of beef chili? ) I often have items in my fridge that need to be used up before they go bad. So in the morning I will have a look and decide, Hmmm, better have those potatoes tonight; and those cooked turnips won't last much longer . . . etc. And that forms the basis of that night's dinner, even if it's only a side dish. Once I make that decision, I can then spend the rest of the day figuring out just what to do with the "basic" food -- ethnicity/spicing, cooking method, accompaniments, etc.

When I have a packed fridge, I may plan a few days ahead; but the process is the same: what to use before it rots.

Edited to add an example: today's show is brought to you by CARDOONS. Haven't yet decided whether to serve them over pasta, or add them to a risotto. Not in a stew with meat, I think, because we've had meat at just about every meal for the last week. All I know is: tonight, we eat cardoons.

Edited December 2, 2004 by Suzanne F (log)

[lovebenton0]

The planning, creating, anticipating process is often one of the most satisfying aspects for me. Cooking is good fun once I have the play set in my mind.

What do I have on hand? Unless it is a shopping day it is necessary for me to make choices from what is in the fridge and pantry. What am I physically able to handle that day? Out of that what do I want to focus on for a main? Meat, bird, fish, vegs, fruits, pasta, soup, etc.? Do I want or need to make bread? What is most appealing to me as a main -- or what sounds appealing to my mr, if he's around at the time I'm initially planning? Basically he'll eat anything I want to cook so asking is a courtesy not a requirement. Or perhaps he wants to cook, which means I'll being doing sides and bread only.

After the main food choice is decided I go from there -- what do I want to do with it? Taking into consideration my options what will be the theme or flavor of the meal? Maybe I've been wanting to try something and will work towards that end. Then sides come together to go with that.

When during the day I start this process helps me pare down my choices, as well as what I'm realistically capable of accomplishing on that day. Obviously if I start thinking about dinner at 4:00PM and want or need to eat early by 6:00 or 6:30, I have restricted myself to staying within a schedule. But if this starts tickling me in the morning, or I already have something I know I should fix fresh (ooops! damn, better do that asparagus, or fish, or whatever, tonight! ) I have all day to play with food and the menu can become much more involved from there.

[NulloModo]

I am another one who is prompted by things in the fridge that need to be used up.

I also get on kicks where I will keep trying variations on a certain recipe, such as the week I cooked a different version of gumbo every night last summer.

This week, the name of the game as been eating through Thanksgiving leftovers. Some of the meals have been straight reheat specials, keeping everything in its original form. Some have been just figuring out how to best use what I have combined with what I would like to do. I have been experimenting trying to bake the perfect flax roll, and while I haven't made it there yet, my failures when drowned in turket, collard greens, and gravey, have still been pretty tasty.

[Chufi]

Great thread. ..

I often think that the process of thinking about food, possible combinations and flavours, is for me at least as satisfying as the actual cooking.

For my daily meals I tend to think: what do I feel like.. what sort of food, what style or theme. Sometimes I have a dish all figured out and only have to stop at the market to get the groceries. But when I have more time, I love to spend hours or even days planning a dinnerparty, changing my mind every hour.

But some of my best dinners have been when I went to the market and simply bought stuff that looked good and appetizing, without knowing what they would turn into. If you have a good store cupboard of basics, you can make fresh stuff go many different directions.

I love the creative process of thinking about food. I like to think that I have a big pile of foodrelated info in my head - things I once read about, recipes, things I once ate, memories etc. When the creative thinking starts, all these things connect and if it works, can create new surprises to be added to the pile!

[kiliki]

For just ourselves (not dinner parties): We walk the dog to the store almost every night after work and just see what looks good (or we talk about what we feel like having on the way there). I do usually have a well stocked pantry and in season, produce from the farmer's market on hand. Neither of us have ever been able to meal plan-what if you don't feel like having what you've planned that night?

For more elaborate meals (on weekends)and dinner parties, there is nothing more fun that sitting down with a pile of cookbooks and magazines and choosing a menu, based on what is in season (and easily available-I no longer have time to run all over town finding specialty items).

Edited December 2, 2004 by kiliki (log)

[Megaroo]

I make a meal plan once a week and then buy accordingly. However, I head to certain places once a month to stock up on supplies - the Asian market, the local butcher to pick up burger/chicken breasts... that sort of thing. Since we are definitely living on a budget (husband is in school and I work two jobs) it's MUCH easier on both of us to know what's for dinner and by knowing what we're buying straight out when we head to the different stores we shop at.

To make my weekly food plan, I take the weekly flyer from our two local grocery stores and then write out what foods are on sale (that we would eat). Then I take a quick inventory of what's in the fridge and cupboards and make a meal plan from what we have and what's cheap. Everyone figures when I say we're eating on a budget that means all we eat is mac and cheese and spaghetti. However, we eat pretty well I must say... fresh salad greens with french onion soup... tonight we're having vietnamese food... I just like being creative

Edited December 2, 2004 by Megaroo (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Edited to add an example: today's show is brought to you by CARDOONS. Haven't yet decided whether to serve them over pasta, or add them to a risotto. Not in a stew with meat, I think, because we've had meat at just about every meal for the last week. All I know is: tonight, we eat cardoons. 

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Thanks for adding the example, Suzanne!

I think that this single-ingredient focus -- I've got X; what to do with it? -- is probably the main way I think about most meals. Either I find the thing in the fridge and need to use it soon, or I find it on sale at the store or, even better, as a complete surprise somewhere. (The latter happened two weeks ago when I found an ice chest filled with whole quail at one of the stores on my usual Saturday shopping rounds.) To me, the fun is then to think, ok, what's the best I can do with X, given what I have and can easily get?

[Chris Amirault]

Though I truly envy Megaroo's weekly plan (and we occasionally flirt with creating one in our house), my house is a lot like kiliki's:

For just ourselves (not dinner parties): We walk the dog to the store almost every night after work and just see what looks good (or we talk about what we feel like having on the way there). I do usually have a well stocked pantry and in season, produce from the farmer's market on hand. Neither of us have ever been able to meal plan-what if you don't feel like having what you've planned that night?

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kiliki's post suggests to me that people who are responsible for cooking but also work and get home late-ish may do this a bit differently. I'm always trying to figure out 45-60 minute meals that don't involve sauteeing or frying -- quick roasts, say, not the biggest category of recipes....

Then there's the problem of coming up with what you think is a good idea but what your partner thinks is not....

[Kevin72]

Every New Year's I make the resolution that this year I'm going to finally cook much more spontaneously and just go to the store and pick what looks best. But I'm so neurotically obsessive about meal planning that I can never make it. We usually have three major meals each week (Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday) and then live off of the leftovers the rest of the time. So around mid-week I start obsessively dwelling on what the weekend meals will be and usually around Monday I start thinking about Wednesday's meal. This time of year, there's alot of traditional Holiday dishes so it's really just a matter of fitting all of those in.

[chow guy]

Most of the time I build a meal around what's on sale, what looks really good in the store or is left over in the fridge. Sometimes if I have a craving I'll do a whole planned menu thing but most times I stay loose.I always have alot of condiments and a good supply of frozen proteins, so it's easy to be creative.

A friend came down to Florida to help me rebuild after Hurricane Andrew. After a month or so he made a point of mentioning that he had not been served the same thing twice since he arrived. I must admit I do bore easily.

[torakris]

I try to have a weekly plan as we are on a tight budget and planning really does save a lot of money. I use the supermarket flyers to figure out what is on sale and work my meals around that food, I try not to shop more than twice a week, so they first days after shopping are when I use the things that will spoil quickly and the root vegetables get saved for the end of the week.

We only get paid once a month, so that first week is when we splurge a little and by the last week I am digging around to the back of the cupboards.

I often make of lists of things I want to make and then when the ingredients go on sale I put it on my menu, or else I buy whatever is cheap and then brainstorm with cookbooks.

Twice a week now my kids have activities they take us out of the house from 4:30 to 6:00, so on those two days now I plan meals that can either be prepared beforehand or very quickly when we get home.

[purplewiz]

I have only a general plan about what I want to make when I go grocery shopping. I know the types of meals I'm most likely to make, so when I see things that look good or are on sale, I know if they'll be easily worked into a dinner, or if I need to plan a meal around them.

Occasionally there will be a new recipe I want to try as is, without substitutions or tweaking. (Hey, it's been known to happen!) I have a reasonably well stocked pantry, but if I have something specific in mind (like the cream of cashew soup in Bon Appetit), I plan ahead and put the stuff I don't have on the list.

So when I'm home from shopping, I generally have ingredients for at least a week's worth of meals available. What meal gets made when, with what sides, depends a lot on what I feel like any given day of the week. Some days I don't really feel like cooking, so I put together something that doesn't need much thought. Some days I feel like it, so I cook something more elaborate.

It also depends on what my mouth wants to taste. Even if I've pretty much settled on something, if my mouth says "No, I don't want THAT, I want soup", I'll change plans and make soup.

The only time I really sit down and plan out a meal is when we're having guests. I put a lot of thought into what will work with what, how long things will take, dietary preferences, and stuff like that. The rest of the time it's sort of winging it.

Marcia.

[lala]

I have a list when I go to the store, but am very flexible. I look at the flyer, and if something appealing is on sale, I'll get it. I'm also highly suggestible from browsing EG and other food sites, or if I'm craving something, and it's not too harsh on my diet (WW), I'll make that. I do have a stash of frozen stuff that I've made, so if there is no inspiration, I can still eat.

Really, anything goes...

[Knicke]

Hmmm. Up until recently, I didn't - not very well, anyway. I really didn't have the monetary resources to just make whatever I wanted.

I still don't, but there's a lot more wiggle-room now. I hate shopping in that 'after-work rush', so what I try to do is plan at least three meals at a time ahead of time. On Mondays and Thursdays, I have band practice, so I only have about an hour and 15 minutes to make and eat dinner. Thus, I am pretty much locked in to what I have around the house; not much time for changing plans! Planning ahead ensures I'll actually make something halfway nutritious.

I'm only cooking for myself (always), my roommate (half the time), and her boyfriend (about a quarter of the time). I try to plan meals around dislikes - I won't make shrimp unless I want to eat it all myself. Also what I'm in the mood for, what the weather calls for, what uses up what I have on hand, etc. Usually it's simple - a main and a veg, or a main and a salad, or soup and sandwiches - two dishes is about all I can handle on a weekday evening.

[suzilightning]

i tend to plan in half week increments. this morning my scratchings looked like this:

Thursday:

lunch - leftover venison stew

dinner - leftover soup

Friday:

lunch - (turkey) bacon blue cheesburgers, salad

dinner - pizza and salad

Saturday:

for johnnybird and his friend mike

late lunch- ziti with turkey sausage and meatballs

to take to the concert in the city- turkey sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches

for me

lunch - leftover soup

dinner - ziti with turkey sausage and meatballs, salad

Sunday:

breakfast for johnnybird and mike - whatever they want to make; i'm going to the gym

lunch - sandwiches for hiking

dinner - macaroni cheese and salad

Monday:

lunch - raid the freezer

dinner - raid the freezer

it should be noted that both thursday and monday both dinner and lunch are eaten at work for both john and i since we both work until 8 or 9. i'm also working till 5 on sunday.

saturday night i'll sit down with the supermarket flyers and see what is on sale that i use, create my list, pull my coupons and work on the menu from tuesday(my day off) through thursday. i already know tuesday lunch is taken care of as we are going to a retirement party for john's secretary.

we are also trying to eat meatless at least 2 time per week and i am having fun trying to cook things that john will enjoy.