I didn’t mean my post to be a recipe, just wanted to give a bit of detail, but it kept expanding as I was writing :) Fair enough, I’ll try to make it a bulleted list.

Haha, they were looking pretty dank before prepping them :))

Thanks! The question is - can this be considered a burrito? I used random stuff about to go bad from my fridge and pantry :)

For the couscous:

• roasted a cup of pearl couscous for a few minutes in a few tablespoons of oliveoil
• added finely chopped garlic, shallots, let it simmer for a minute (about a spoon of each)
• added finely chopped carrots, celery (about a spoon of each)
• I dissolved a tablespoon of chicken bouillon in two cups of boiling water, added it to the couscous
• I let it simmer for a few minutes until the meatballs were ready and the couscous soaked the humidity
• turned off the heat when the couscous was chewy/soft enough
• before serving, I added some roughly chopped bell peppers, scallions, one mild Italian chili, and a squeeze of lemon
• for plating I added lemon zest and chopped chives

For the meatballs:

• I had some two days old pork belly and chicken breast, about 1kg in total, which I minced and added to a bowl
• I added to the mince: a couple eggs, 3 handfuls of panko, salt, pepper, handful of fresh parsley
• I finely chopped 4-5 garlic cloves and a medium onion, added them as well
• incorporated the ingredients well, used a spoon to portion the meatballs and rolled them in my hand
• fried in some lard until lightly brown

It was a pretty ad-hoc dish, made with what was in the fridge…

I finely chopped some garlic, shallot and carrot (like a spoon of each). Roasted them in a bit of olive oil for a minute or two, added some tomato paste (about 3 spoons) and let it simmer for a few minutes. Added salt, freshly ground pepper and oregano to taste. When done, I used an immersion blender to paste it real good. Oh, I also added a teaspoon of turmeric, hence the orangy color.

Săru’mâna.

Oh, I was not sure what “braised” chicken was, but I think that fits better than “stew”.

The ingredients were tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, onions, garlic, parsley. On the spices side, it was heavy on paprika, thyme, bay leaves, salt & pepper.

It’s a “Balkan” dish, but I think many cuisines in eastern and southern Europe have variations on this.

I make this by heart, but I’ll try.

• beat 4 eggs (I make 4 portions of pasta) with a handful of Pecorino Romano, set aside
• fry guanciale in a pan, remove when crispy, keep the fat
• meanwhile, boil pasta according to package instructions, I usually take them out 30-45 seconds earlier, as they will continue to cook in the pan
• transfer pasta to pan, mix with the guanciale fat, add a little pasta water to deglaze the pan
• add about a cup of pasta water to the egg mixture, slowly, continue to mix until it reaches the liked consistency
• turn the pan heat off, add egg mixture, drown the pasta in sauce. Add more pasta water if needed, the starches will work wonders on the creaminess.

That’s it. Plate with the crispy guanciale, some freshly cracked pepper and a hefty amount of pecorino on top.

I don’t have a formula… I know that for the usual quantity of pasta, I beat 4 eggs with some pecorino in a bowl, and I add enough pasta water to fill it up. The pasta water must not be too hot, or the sauce might curdle. Even if I made this so many times, I still mess up once in a while and my kids eat pasta with scrambled eggs :)

Oh, I love me some whipped cream! Not in carbonara though :D (whipped or otherwise).

My family pickles watermelons, for generations. They are delicious.

Oh, it’s fluffy. I added a bit of milk and a butt load of butter. I did add a couple cloves of garlic. No Tabasco though, I don’t think that fits the flavor profile I was going for. (Also, not a big fan of Tabasco in general.)

Keeping it simple. Use a wok, peanut oil, day old rice, msg, good soy sauce…

Why is no one actually believing me? I literally had to knock it out to let go of the spatula. The shell cracked, so I just fried it, and added it on top of the rice…

From time to time, when I go grocery shopping, I pass by the Barilla section. Their “collezione” edition is usually quite expensive, but my local grocer does random 50% off. When that happens, I just get 2-3 boxes of everything, which last for months…

These were tagliatelle n.16 from Barilla, fettuccine are a bit thinner.

I used the og air fryer, a convection oven :)

No worries, thanks for the tips. Still learning, so I’m okay with constructive criticism:)

Of course, salad is almost always present.

I do have a thermometer, I bought it as I started learning how to cook. Yet, I never used it…

How would it be useful in this case?