Cooking

I like cooking. I also like to think I am not entirely useless as a cook. Why do I think that? As far as I know, no-one has suffered any serious ill effects from my cooking. As far as I know. I do not count mild discomfort or being bothered by the noise or the smells. Not that I am particularly noisy or smelly either, but sometimes the noise of the pots and pans, or just my swearing, could get to someone. The smells, I think I should not need to explain, but just to be sure I am not talking about escaping gas. There’s a couple of dishes that I do that usually turn out well. The first one I would like to mention is a Finnish dish called Lihamakaronilaatikko. It is an oven casserole of mincemeat and macaroni. Other types of pasta could be used, but then it would not be lihamakaronilaatikko. One could also skip or substitute the meat and drop the liha (meat in Finnish) from the name. Some do. Add some finely chopped onion, garlic, perhaps some paprika and corn, maybe peas, and it is turning into a feast of a dish. The pasta is cooked separately, though one may want to leave it a bit al dente. The sauce, cooked with mincemeat and vegetables, seasoned with salt, pepper, some herbs, is mixed with the pasta and poured into a greased oven dish. Leave a couple of centimetres to the top edge of the oven dish, to avoid things from boiling over. It’s better to have the oven dish a bit less full, than try to fit as much as possible, so if it looks a bit full consider using two dishes or saving some of the mixture for another time. Then a mix of milk and eggs is poured over the mixture. Optimally just about coming to the level of the pasta-sauce mix. Sprinkle some (and then some) grated cheese on top, and into the oven for about an hour at 175 degrees Celsius. The dish is ready when the egg-milk mixture has solidified, and the cheese is nicely brown. Take it out and let it settle for a bit. Enjoy with a nice side of a salad, or on its own. I usually try make enough to have leftovers that can be enjoyed on another day. Next one is a burger mix. I use it to make burgers, meatballs, and meatloaves. I am not one to brag much and often, but I have been told by other people, who are not me or paid by me or threatened with bodily or other harm by me, that my burgers taste good. So, the burger mix is made up of the following ingredients: milk, breadcrumbs, egg, minced beef or pork (or a mix of both), finely chopped onion, finely chopped garlic, salt, pepper, powdered paprika, Worcestershire sauce. I usually do not measure the ingredients very carefully, but I try reasonably hard to not put too much or too little of anything into the mixture. Form into patties, meatballs, or meatloaf. Put the patties on a grill (cooked according to personal preference), meatballs on a pan (medium heat, keep turning till they have a nice colour and transfer to a sauce to finish cooking) or in the oven, meatloaf in the oven (200 degrees Celsius for about 30-40 minutes depending on the size and shape). Third one I would like to mention is a Christmas dish, a potato casserole. Boil potatoes, then mash them. Add a bit of milk, salt, pepper, a bit of flour and mix well. Keep in warm place for a day or so. 50 degrees Celsius in oven works well. Warning, the mixture may develop a smell that one might find slightly unpleasant. If you do not like it, do not sniff it. After a while, the mixture should be getting a bit sweet. If not, or not enough to your liking, add some syrup and mix well. Pour into oven dishes, leaving space to avoid boiling over and bake in the oven in 150 degrees Celsius for a couple of hours. Delicious. So, there you have it. Don't try these at home, unless you really, really want to. I am not responsible for your results though.