Benzene's Culinary Crusade

[Benzene]

Hey all. Benzene here. Like most, I've pretty much wasted the last 5 months of my life in quarantine, and I've decided that I want to take up a new hobby that'll be beneficial in the future, as well as allow me to enjoy life a bit more; cooking. My goal is to make a new meal every week, something that I've never made before and something that's outside of my comfort zone, or something that I usually wouldn't try.

 

Growing up in a rather isolated Asian family, I never really got to try any food that wasn't encompassed in my little cultural bubble. Most of my meals consist of white rice, and some dishes that involve meat or vegetables. I don't go out to eat often, and when I do it's usually fast food. I'd like to try expanding my pallette, and trying some new foods, all the while staying safe by making them myself at home.

 

I'm going to be documenting it all here, because why not? Also, if you have any ideas on what I should try to make, feel free to tell me and I'll try my best! I'll also be posting the recipes here as well, if you want to try it out for yourself. I hope you guys enjoy my culinary crusade!

 

Week 1: Oven-Baked Cajun Fries

 

Recipe:

 

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Ingredients:

Russet Potatoes (4-6)

Distilled White Vinegar

Olive Oil (a shit ton)

Seasonings to taste (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cajun powder)

 

Recipe:

(Pre-heat oven to 450F first)

1. Peel the potatoes and wash them.

2. Cut them into wedge shapes (or any shapes that you want. The smaller the pieces, the faster the cooking time but the most susceptible to falling apart while boiling or burning in the oven)

3. Place your fries into a large pot and cover with water; add some white vinegar (the vinegar will help prevent the potatoes from falling apart, as well as helping them boil faster). Boil the potatoes until just about to crumble - this will ensure a fluffy inside.

4. Strain and dump your potatoes into a large baking sheet or pan, and douse with olive oil. There should be enough to cover all the potatoes and some oil in the pan.

5. Lightly shake to cover the potatoes completely in oil, then bake at 450F for 15-30 minutes, then turning the potatoes and shaking them. Repeat this step 4-5 times, or until your potatoes get golden enough for your liking.

6. Remove the potatoes from the sheet once done and place in a large bowl.

7. Add seasonings: I used pink himalayan salt (I was going to use just some regular salt but my sister yelled at me to use the fancy kind), fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, and some cajun powder.

8. Optional: Add some grated / shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar as it was what we had at the moment.

9. Enjoy!

 

 

 

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I really enjoyed these fries, and they were super crunchy and really good. They probably weren't the healthiest, but whatever. I'd give this a 9/10, because I didn't make enough and I'm sad now.

 

Come back next week for the next meal, thanks for reading!

[RemixedPixel]

maybe melt the cheese but besides that looks good

[Rob.]

My favorite dish that im slowly getting a hold on making is the Empanada, it very good when done right but i mess it up every time. You should for sure try it out one day its 100% worth, toss some of your favorite meats and cheese in some bread dough and its absolute fire. Good luck with your future culinary endeavors!

[Vanya]

Make some pulled pork it's pretty easy to make (from personal experience) and in the end you get lots of food to get fat. Good luck not burning your kitchen down!

[Bondairy]

I can make fresh pasta from scratch and it tastes really good, melt the cheese and these would look amazing!

[Benzene]

Week 2: Chicken Parm except I didn't have Parmesan cheese so I used Mozzarella

 

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If you look closely, you can see my dog's paw in the upper right hand corner. Took me about 45 minutes to make, and it tasted pretty good! Would rate it a 9.5/10!

[Amazing]

Looks good but I think we all really want to see your dog :O

[Astral]

@Benzene ngl that shit looks so good, i wanna start learning how to cook any tips?

[gween]

  Astral said:

@Benzene ngl that shit looks so good, i wanna start learning how to cook any tips?

 

First step, don't go to benzene.

 

Im joking

[Benzene]

  Astral said:

@Benzene ngl that shit looks so good, i wanna start learning how to cook any tips?

 

  gween said:

First step, don't go to benzene.

 

^

 

If you want tips on how to cook there are a lot of great basic cooking channels. Some include You Suck At Cooking, Basics with Babish, Adam Ragusea, those kinds of channels. But the best cooking channel is HowToBasic.