Best Restaurant Dish you have recreated at home...

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

Doesn't have to be from a famous restaurant, but it can be. Obviously, as a professional chef myself, a task like this is easier for some than others.

The one dish I enjoy recreating most of all is....Scarpetta's spaghetti with tomato and basil. I can supply a recipe if anyone would like...

 

[Chewbaccer]

I'm mostly a meat and taters kind of guy, so my favorite restaurant dishes are easily recreated at home.

 

[Cyder]

I make a helluva lasagna.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Shrimp N Grits

Chicken marsala

Chicken piccata

Cuban and rueben sammiches


I didn't recreate this particular dish from any particular restaurant, but instead from a Mario Batali cookbook and it turned out fantastic, and it was his Baked Ziti.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Chicken Stir-Fry (recreated from Ling & Louie's restaurant menu)
*Cubed chicken. Then I mix and match with onions, sprouts, water chestnuts, bell peppers, baby corn, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, walnuts, cashews, etc. Mixed in with soy/brown sugar/vinegar reduction sauce.

Walnut/Garlic Chicken Bow-tie Pasta (can't remember the restaurant I first tried it)
*Chicken & farfalle pasta tossed with creamy garlic & walnut sauce.

Pad Thai (PF Changs)
*Basically my stir-fry's mixed with rice noodles.

Honey Duck (Mai Thai)
*duck breast marinated in honey & soy overnight then slow roasted in a crock pot. Served with rice & soup.

Venison Steak Tacos (My twist on a pub staple)
*Butterfly cut backstrap venison marinated overnight then packed with onion, peppers, spices & spanish rice. Crock pot them over a bed of corn & black beans for 3-6 hours and cut into strips and mix it all together. Leave the tortillas next to the crock pot and self serve with plenty of hot sauces & sour cream!

Cordon Bleu Schnitzel (Andrea's Keller)
*breaded pork pounded out and rolled into a cordon bleu with ham & swiss cheese. Fried in a pan and served with spaetzle.

 

[romeo212000]

Doesn't have to be from a famous restaurant, but it can be. Obviously, as a professional chef myself, a task like this is easier for some than others.

The one dish I enjoy recreating most of all is....Scarpetta's spaghetti with tomato and basil. I can supply a recipe if anyone would like...

Damn right I would.

 

[williewilliejuan]

I make the same macaroni and cheese that comes in 95% of all kids meals.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

Damn right I would.

No prob, I'll type it up for you tmrw afternoon/night after work

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I make the same macaroni and cheese that comes in 95% of all kids meals.

Hell I use those sometimes, but of course I add all sorts of sauteed goodies to it

 

[Rex Racer]

I make the same macaroni and cheese that comes in 95% of all kids meals.

No kidding and it was dry as hell the last time I was at your place.

I think you forgot the milk.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

Chicken Stir-Fry (recreated from Ling & Louie's restaurant menu)
*Cubed chicken. Then I mix and match with onions, sprouts, water chestnuts, bell peppers, baby corn, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, walnuts, cashews, etc. Mixed in with soy/brown sugar/vinegar reduction sauce.

Walnut/Garlic Chicken Bow-tie Pasta (can't remember the restaurant I first tried it)
*Chicken & farfalle pasta tossed with creamy garlic & walnut sauce.

Pad Thai (PF Changs)
*Basically my stir-fry's mixed with rice noodles.

Honey Duck (Mai Thai)
*duck breast marinated in honey & soy overnight then slow roasted in a crock pot. Served with rice & soup.

Venison Steak Tacos (My twist on a pub staple)
*Butterfly cut backstrap venison marinated overnight then packed with onion, peppers, spices & spanish rice. Crock pot them over a bed of corn & black beans for 3-6 hours and cut into strips and mix it all together. Leave the tortillas next to the crock pot and self serve with plenty of hot sauces & sour cream!

Cordon Bleu Schnitzel (Andrea's Keller)
*breaded pork pounded out and rolled into a cordon bleu with ham & swiss cheese. Fried in a pan and served with spaetzle.

Those Steak Tacos sound really good. For some reason I've been neglecting my crock pot for years now. Good reason to break it out and give it some use!!!

Also, I've always called it(as a joke) Chicken God Damn Bleu

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Those Steak Tacos sound really good. For some reason I've been neglecting my crock pot for years now. Good reason to break it out and give it some use!!!

Also, I've also called it(as a joke) Chicken God Damn Bleu

Crock pot meals are awesome. My solution for laziness lol. You can use the leftovers of just about anything you make to put into a completely different recipe. I use the steak taco leftovers to make taco soup.

 

[williewilliejuan]

No kidding and it was dry as hell the last time I was at your place.

I think you forgot the milk.

Milk? You think I'm made of money?

 

[Rex Racer]

I'm gotta agree with Chewbacca, I'm mostly a meat and potatoes guy. My taste buds have never been in tune with funky or pungent tasting food.

I could get all 3 of my adult children and my future ex-wife to attest to my ability to whip up some diner/comfort food as well as working the grill. The fancy chef stuff is impressive, but.....................

Hey LTRF, got a simple recipe for a tortilla encrusted haddock (or whatever white fish I buy) that has a little zip to it?

 

[Rex Racer]

Milk? You think I'm made of money?

Powdered milk is cheap and comprised of 98% WATER. You had the power to keep us off the UNICEF commercials, but no..............

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I'm gotta agree with Chewbacca, I'm mostly a meat and potatoes guy. My taste buds have never been in tune with funky or pungent tasting food.

I could get all 3 of my adult children and my future ex-wife to attest to my ability to whip up some diner/comfort food as well as working the grill. The fancy chef stuff is impressive, but.....................

Hey LTRF, got a simple recipe for a tortilla encrusted haddock (or whatever white fish I buy) that has a little zip to it?

Not off the top of my head, but I could certainly figure one out by zip do you mean spicy zip? a vinegary/citrus zip? Both? or something else I'm not thinking of?

I'll actually be working with tilapia at 8am tmrw, so I can test a few things out with it

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

@romeo212000

First recipe: Scarpetta's Spaghetti with tomato and basil. Not the exact recipe they use, but pretty damn close, plus at home you can change things to the way you like it!!!

You'll need:
6-12 fresh tomatoes(ripe but not overripe) Plum tomatoes seem to work best.
If using 6 fresh tomatoes, you'll need 6 or 7 good quality whole canned tomatoes(san marzano preferred)
1 bunch fresh Basil
Butter(a couple tablespoons)
Olive oil(I personally don't use extra virgin, I find the taste too strong, but its up to you)
A few cloves of garlic(cut thick)
Red Chili Flakes
Kosher salt
Good Parm or Romano cheese
1 lb Spaghetti(but you could use Linguine, Angel Hair, etc...)


Ok, there are basically three parts to this dish.
1. The tomato sauce
2. The flavored oil
3. Cooking the Pasta

Let's start with the sauce since the prep takes the longest. First you have to peel the fresh tomatoes. Get a pot of water just boiling on the stove. Slice a small x on the bottom of each tomato, you can also cut out the little spot on top where the root was, but its not important. Have a bowl of ice water next to you before you put the tomatoes in. drop them in, wait about 15-20 seconds, drop them in the ice water to let them cool and the skin should peel right off. Sounds complicated, but its really not, its one of the first things we were taught in cooking school and we knew nothing at that point.

Now the pain in the ass, you have to clean out all of the seeds from the inside, this is much easier with fresh tomatoes than the canned. The seeds are kinda bitter and ruins the flavor. Get out all the seeds and cut up the tomatoes a bit but it can still be a bit chunky since it will cook down, plus you'll be mashing it as it cooks.

Once everything is cleaned and chopped you're ready to cook it. Put about a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and put it on medium heat once hot, add the tomatoes, a pinch of chili flakes(amount is up to you) and a pinch of salt. This is going to have to cook for about 35-40 minutes until it starts to get thick, BUT!!! every 10 minutes or so, you are going to have to go to the pan and smash down on the tomatoes with something like a potato masher. Also, every few minutes you have to give it a stir to make sure it doesn't stick or burn. Also, make sure its a nice sized saute pan, or something similar, NOT high sides...

Now, on to #2 The oil

As the tomatoes are cooking, grab a small saucepan, put a few tablespoons of good olive oil in there If your basil has nice big leaves I'd put about 4-6(depends on how much you like basil, like it more add more, less add less). Make sure you washed them and dried them VERY well. Add a pinch of chili flakes(again, to taste), and the thick cut garlic. Put it on a very low flame and let it cook until the garlic starts to SLIGHTLY brown. turn it off put it to the side until it cools a bit. You can strain it at that point if you'd like, but I usually don't bother since I'll be using it so soon. Probably take 10-15 minutes, at most 20...

#3 The pasta.

Even before the tomatoes get cooking, your pot of water for the pasta should be on. You COULD use the water you used to dip the tomatoes, just make sure you salt the water AFTER the tomatoes and not before. How salty should the water be? I get that question alot. It should be pretty damn salty, but not to the point that its gross.

A few keys here...
1. Follow the directions on the package but pull the pasta a full minute before it tells you to(VERY IMPORTANT)
2. about 30 seconds before you drain the pasta, grab a full cup of the pasta water out of the pot and keep it to the side(Also Important!!!)
3. Do not rinse the pasta or anything like that. Its going right in the pan with the tomatoes.

So here we go, lets put this thing together. To finish, you'll need some more of the Basil, It can be torn or GENTLY chopped/chiffonade, The Parm or Romano cheese, the butter.

Once you pull the pasta and drain it(a minute early) add it to the tomatoes and pump up the heat to about med high. Little by little, add some of the pasta water to keep the pasta cooking, but do not add a lot to thin everything out too much, its supposed to be thick in the end.

After about a minute, taste the pasta, if it seems cooked the way you like it, pull it off the heat but keep it in the pan. Now add all the goodies, the butter, a drizzle of the flavored oil(but not too much, save some for later), the basil and the cheese. Mix it up real well.

And you are good to go. Drop some into a plate or bowl, add a little drizzle of oil over the top, you can add some more cheese if you like...

Wow, I'm exhausted after typing all that lol. It might seem complicated, but its really not. Skinning and cleaning the tomatoes is by far the most challenging/annoying part...

Any questions, let me know...

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I'm gotta agree with Chewbacca, I'm mostly a meat and potatoes guy. My taste buds have never been in tune with funky or pungent tasting food.

I could get all 3 of my adult children and my future ex-wife to attest to my ability to whip up some diner/comfort food as well as working the grill. The fancy chef stuff is impressive, but.....................

Hey LTRF, got a simple recipe for a tortilla encrusted haddock (or whatever white fish I buy) that has a little zip to it?

One thing I forgot to ask before I have a recipe for you, do you have a food processor that you can use to make the crust? You asked for easy, using one of those will make it SUPER easy!!!

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

@romeo212000

First recipe: Scarpetta's Spaghetti with tomato and basil. Not the exact recipe they use, but pretty damn close, plus at home you can change things to the way you like it!!!

You'll need:
6-12 fresh tomatoes(ripe but not overripe) Plum tomatoes seem to work best.
If using 6 fresh tomatoes, you'll need 6 or 7 good quality whole canned tomatoes(san marzano preferred)
1 bunch fresh Basil
Butter(a couple tablespoons)
Olive oil(I personally don't use extra virgin, I find the taste too strong, but its up to you)
A few cloves of garlic(cut thick)
Red Chili Flakes
Kosher salt
Good Parm or Romano cheese
1 lb Spaghetti(but you could use Linguine, Angel Hair, etc...)


Ok, there are basically three parts to this dish.
1. The tomato sauce
2. The flavored oil
3. Cooking the Pasta

Let's start with the sauce since the prep takes the longest. First you have to peel the fresh tomatoes. Get a pot of water just boiling on the stove. Slice a small x on the bottom of each tomato, you can also cut out the little spot on top where the root was, but its not important. Have a bowl of ice water next to you before you put the tomatoes in. drop them in, wait about 15-20 seconds, drop them in the ice water to let them cool and the skin should peel right off. Sounds complicated, but its really not, its one of the first things we were taught in cooking school and we knew nothing at that point.

Now the pain in the ass, you have to clean out all of the seeds from the inside, this is much easier with fresh tomatoes than the canned. The seeds are kinda bitter and ruins the flavor. Get out all the seeds and cut up the tomatoes a bit but it can still be a bit chunky since it will cook down, plus you'll be mashing it as it cooks.

Once everything is cleaned and chopped you're ready to cook it. Put about a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and put it on medium heat once hot, add the tomatoes, a pinch of chili flakes(amount is up to you) and a pinch of salt. This is going to have to cook for about 35-40 minutes until it starts to get thick, BUT!!! every 10 minutes or so, you are going to have to go to the pan and smash down on the tomatoes with something like a potato masher. Also, every few minutes you have to give it a stir to make sure it doesn't stick or burn. Also, make sure its a nice sized saute pan, or something similar, NOT high sides...

Now, on to #2 The oil

As the tomatoes are cooking, grab a small saucepan, put a few tablespoons of good olive oil in there If your basil has nice big leaves I'd put about 4-6(depends on how much you like basil, like it more add more, less add less). Make sure you washed them and dried them VERY well. Add a pinch of chili flakes(again, to taste), and the thick cut garlic. Put it on a very low flame and let it cook until the garlic starts to SLIGHTLY brown. turn it off put it to the side until it cools a bit. You can strain it at that point if you'd like, but I usually don't bother since I'll be using it so soon. Probably take 10-15 minutes, at most 20...

#3 The pasta.

Even before the tomatoes get cooking, your pot of water for the pasta should be on. You COULD use the water you used to dip the tomatoes, just make sure you salt the water AFTER the tomatoes and not before. How salty should the water be? I get that question alot. It should be pretty damn salty, but not to the point that its gross.

A few keys here...
1. Follow the directions on the package but pull the pasta a full minute before it tells you to(VERY IMPORTANT)
2. about 30 seconds before you drain the pasta, grab a full cup of the pasta water out of the pot and keep it to the side(Also Important!!!)
3. Do not rinse the pasta or anything like that. Its going right in the pan with the tomatoes.

So here we go, lets put this thing together. To finish, you'll need some more of the Basil, It can be torn or GENTLY chopped/chiffonade, The Parm or Romano cheese, the butter.

Once you pull the pasta and drain it(a minute early) add it to the tomatoes and pump up the heat to about med high. Little by little, add some of the pasta water to keep the pasta cooking, but do not add a lot to thin everything out too much, its supposed to be thick in the end.

After about a minute, taste the pasta, if it seems cooked the way you like it, pull it off the heat but keep it in the pan. Now add all the goodies, the butter, a drizzle of the flavored oil(but not too much, save some for later), the basil and the cheese. Mix it up real well.

And you are good to go. Drop some into a plate or bowl, add a little drizzle of oil over the top, you can add some more cheese if you like...

Wow, I'm exhausted after typing all that lol. It might seem complicated, but its really not. Skinning and cleaning the tomatoes is by far the most challenging/annoying part...

Any questions, let me know...

Forgot to add to this. Obviously, the best way to do this is with fresh tomatoes, Scarpetta most certainly uses all fresh toms...This can also be made with fresh pasta(Spaghetti, Linguine, a fettuccine could be nice)but be careful about the cooking time of fresh pasta. It'll go real fast and you do not want to overcook it in the sauce.

Also remember, the tomatoes are the key, so make sure they're just ripe(2 to 4 of them can even be a little underripe. If using 6 fresh toms, I wouldn't use more than 2 slightly underripe. and 4 per 12), never soft and mushy though...

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

@Rex Racer

Ok, I'm going to give you two ways to do this. Both ways are a little different, one is much easier but not as tasty.

1. Very simple way...

You need:

White flesh fish of your choice
Kosher salt
Fresh Pepper
2 to 3 eggs(depending on how many pieces you make, you may only need 1 egg)
cumin(optional)
cayenne(to taste)
a few limes
Tortilla chips crushed, but not to dust. Still has some texture but not huge pieces.

1. clean the fish and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. squeeze the fresh lime juice all over the fish.
3. sprinkle the salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne all over the fish.
4. Beat the egg/s on a plate or in a bowl, then dip the season fish into it so its coated and the chips will stick
5. dip the fish into the crushed tortilla chips and make sure its nicely coated but not thick.
6. place fish onto a cookie sheet, baking pan, oven proof dish, whatever you like to bake something in.(would be a good idea to spray the bottom of whatever you're using to cook it in with some Pam/non-stick spray)
7. place into a 375-400 degree oven. How long it takes depends on the fish. Something like tilapia would take about 15-18 minutes because its so thin. Halibut would take longer because its thicker.

Note: if you want, at step 3, after squeezing the lime juice. You could add the seasonings to some flour and dip it in there before the egg. Make sure the flour is well seasoned and it would produce a MUCH better crust!!!

2. More difficult(sort of) but more tasty way...

You need:

Same fish
Tortilla chips
A spicy pepper or two(depending how you like it) can use a Jalapeno, Serrano, Habanero, up to you
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
Chili powder(optional)
Cumin(optional)
Kosher Salt
Fresh Limes(1 or 2 at least) I love lime juice so I tend to add a bit more than many.
Eggs(1 or 2) broken onto a plate/bowl and mixed up
Flour(optional, same deal as last recipe, can be used if you'd like but make sure you give it some salt and pepper before you put the fish in)
Blender or food processor

Ok, lets get right to it...

First, wash and pat the fish dry just like last time. Not hard running water, gently.

Next part depends on how spicy you like it. Wash the Jalapeno(or whatever you want to use). At this point, some people cut it open and pull out the seeds and all that. Depends on how spicy you like it. Definitely give it a few cuts and add to the blender/processor. give it a few go rounds so its chopped well.

Now add in the cilantro, the lime juice, some salt(but not too much, the chips have salt), the chili pow and cumin(if using) to the processor/blender and get it good and pretty smooth.

Time to add the chips. At this point you don't want to mix it too much, you still want the chips to have some texture. You're adding them last so they keep some crispness to them. You do want the crumbs to be pretty small, but not powder. put the mixture onto a plate or in a bowl.

Now its the same as last recipe. If you want, you can start with seasoned flour(but not necessary) otherwise start with a dip into the eggs and then into the crumb mixture.

Once again, into a baking dish or pan of some sort with nonstick coating or pam/nonstick spray. Place into a 375-400 degree oven. The timing will once again depend on the thickness of the fish.

Any questions, let me know