How does Missy-ga cook with variety?

I have been cooking for my roommate and myself for about a year, and since Missy has answered other food questions well, I would like to direct this question to her. I would like to know easy ways that Missy adds variety to her cuisine. For example, one vegetable I often make is steamed broccoli, which I service with cheddar cheese sauce. What are some other ways to prepare and serve vegetables that require about the same time a steps and broccoli with cheese sauce? Other than by practice, how does Missy know what spices and in what amounts compliment a given food item? I know you can consult a cookbook, and I know that practice and experimentation is important, but what advice would you give a beginning cook who wants to be innovative and have variety. Since I am specificly wanting to know that cooking style of Missy-ga, I doubt any researcher, other than Missy-ga, would be qualified to answer this question. With that said, I feel that the only acceptable answer can be from Missy-ga. -S
Well, Hi! What a nice surprise to see my name looking back at me! Come on, we%26#39;ll go play in the kitchen. Get your apron out, I%26#39;m going to make you cook in a minute. I know what goes where in my cooking because...I *really* like to eat. I admit to being a complete and utter foodie, and will happily eat anything at least once. Trying new things while away often inspires ideas for cooking at home. It%26#39;s sometimes hard for me to explain things. I cook by taste, touch and smell, for the most part, just like Oma, so ask me to explain again if I confuse you, OK? Practice makes perfect, but research is a great help too. Here are some of my favorite recipe sites: Epicurious (some of my favorites have come from here) http://www.epicurious.com Top Secret Recipes on the Web http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/ Cooking.com http://www.cooking.com/recipes/ I taught myself sushi using StickyRice.com and CherryBlossomGardens.com: StickyRice http://www.stickyrice.com/sushi/recipes/recipes.html CherryBlossomGardens http://www.cherryblossomgardens.com/recipe_sushi.htm The best advice I can give the novice cook is %26quot;Be adventurous.%26quot; Don%26#39;t look at a recipe and immediately tell yourself %26quot;I can%26#39;t do this.%26quot; Tell yourself %26quot;This is going to taste *so* good!%26quot;. Then *make* it. Honestly, I thought I was going to die the first time I made a cheesecake, I was so worried it would be terrible...It was lopsided. It was *ugly*. It didn%26#39;t look like the picture in the cookbook *at all*...but it didn%26#39;t get burnt, nobody died, and my roommate at the time asked me to make another one when her dad came to visit. If it looks good to you, try to make it. If you blow it the first time, try it again. A few tries, and the dish will make itself. Taste everything! From start to finish, taste, taste, taste! (Yes, even your meatloaf before you bake it, if meatloaf is your thing. Season a little bit at a time, and taste after every addition. It%26#39;s the only way to get it just right.) And of course, buy cookbooks. And read the extra bits besides the recipes. My very first cookbook was the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. This is affectionately referred to as %26quot;Cooking for Dummies 101%26quot; - my copy is 15 years old and falling apart, but I still consider it a very important part of my collection. It%26#39;s simply organized, and the back contains so many helps for the kitchen greenhorn - most helpful being a list of herbs and spices, and what dishes they go with. I%26#39;ve found that list reproduced for you here: Sheryl%26#39;s Country Cooking http://www.geocities.com/sheryl_33982/seasoning.html ...but still highly recommend purchasing the BHG cookbook. It%26#39;s available in paperback for around $8, and is handy to tote around the kitchen. (When learning your herbs and spices, it also helps to taste each on its own - a nip of a basil leaf, or the tip of your pinky dipped into the pepper. Get to know what reactions they cause in your mouth, and think about how each would taste along with something else. It%26#39;s a good way to get started, and will make you think more about experimenting.) Also in my collection, and highly recommended if you%26#39;re looking for tips on everything from basic prep-work to a seasoning guide, to incredible sauces that look hard but aren%26#39;t: The Professional Chef, produced by the Culinary Institute of America. Although this is one of the CIA%26#39;s advanced texts, I find it%26#39;s absolutely indispensable. If you%26#39;re really interested in learning about your food and how best to prepare it, this beautifully illustrated and incredibly detailed book is a must. The book discusses *everything*, including menu planning and shopping for ingredients. Don%26#39;t let the %26quot;Professional%26quot; in the title scare you - this cookbook is very precise and helpful. The price is steep - $65! - but a worthy investment. My children got this one for me for Christmas. If you buy no other cookbooks, buy those. You%26#39;ll thank yourself later. When it comes to vegetables, we keep our local farmers very busy. %26quot;Trees %26amp; Cheese%26quot; is a great favorite here, too. Try serving cauliflower, or the more exotic and somewhat oddly colored broccoflower with cheese sauce. Same steps, different veggie. In the Spring, we%26#39;re completely ga-ga for asparagus. Just rinse it in cold water, whack off the bottom inch of the stem (it%26#39;s woody at the bottom) steam it, serve it with cheese sauce or plain, or with a dab of real butter. Or for something completely different, what about baby carrots, glazed, with fresh tarragon? Try this (you%26#39;ll need a heavy pan with a cover): 1 lb. baby carrots 1 stick butter (NOT margarine) 3 tbs. dark brown sugar 1 tsp. red wine vinegar 1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves, chopped Melt the butter over medium heat, then add the entire pound of carrots. Stir to coat, then cover and allow to cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Uncover, then sprinkle the brown sugar, red wine vinegar and tarragon over the carrots. Stir well, until sugar is completely dissolved, and allow to cook uncovered until the glaze is slightly thickened (about 3 or 4 minutes). Stir several times during the cooking, and once more before serving. Tarragon has a slight licorice-y flavor that works surprisingly well with the sweetness of baby carrots. For summer, a simple tomato and zucchini casserole is always a favorite. You just need a microwave safe dish, 2 large tomatoes, one zucchini, and some shredded mozzarella. Butter the dish. Thinly slice the zucchini and set aside. Thinly slice the tomatoes, taking care to remove the pulp and seeds. Now make alternating stripes of each vegetable in the baking dish, overlapping them slightly. Sprinkle with cheese, then add another layer. Sprinkle that with cheese, then pop it in the microwave for 2 - 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted. That%26#39;s it. Works well as a side for lasagna, spaghetti, stuffed mushrooms. Don%26#39;t be afraid to watch Food TV, either. All jokes aside, Iron Chef is incredibly educational! Iron Chef http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,IC,00.html Of particular note for cooking novices: Alton Brown%26#39;s %26quot;Good Eats%26quot;. Love this guy, he not only explains and illustrates how to make tasty dishes, he explains *why* they work the way they do in amusing and interesting ways. The chemistry of food is fascinating! Good Eats! http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,EA,00.html Mario Battali has two shows - Molto Mario concentrates on cooking, usually for a cluster of men at the counter. He discusses the origins of each recipe, and carefully explains everything. Mario Eats Italy focuses more on the history and significance of some dishes - lots of fun to watch. Mario Eats Italy http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,IT,00.html Molto Mario http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,MB,00.html ...and even though I can hear my UK colleagues screaming %26quot;NO! Not HIM!%26quot;, I really adore Jamie Oliver, also known as %26quot;The Naked Chef%26quot;. He%26#39;s very thorough, and explains some super easy dishes that even my cat could make - how about a nice roast of beef and some stuffed onions? Yummy! The Naked Chef http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,NC,00.html Incidentally, FoodTV.com is a terrific resource for the novice - instructional videos, nifty recipes, even a wine guide. Wander around in there for a while, pick something out, and make it for dinner tomorrow. Wander around tomorrow and pick out something new for the next day. It might mean an extra trip to the grocery store to pick up missing ingredients, but that%26#39;s half the fun of learning new dishes anyway. (Not to mention, if your grocer sees your face often enough, you can persuade him to special order things for you later.) FoodTV http://www.foodtv.com Most importantly: never look at cooking as a chore or drudgery. Have fun with it, enjoy it, and you%26#39;ll be the neighborhood Kitchen Deity in no time. *tsk* You people really shouldn%26#39;t get me started about food. I could go on for weeks, and it always ends up making me hungry. Bad for my figure, you are. ;) Happy cooking! missy-ga