10 hours Ago
Redditor Chatfinity asked, "What’s your best ‘cheap but impressive’ recipe that makes people think you spent hours in the kitchen?" Lots of people chimed in with their go-to recipes that are cheap and easy but feel fancy. 6. "I think Marcella Hazan's tomato pasta sauce recipe is the ultimate example of this type of easy but impressive meal.
1 can San Marzano tomatoes. 5 tablespoons butter. 1 onion, and salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for about 45 minutes, then discard the onion. One of the best tomato sauces you'll ever have, only three ingredients, 45 minutes cooking time, and you don't even have to chop the onion — just slice it in half." — tree_or_up 8.
"I am always surprised by how impressed people are with bread. For parties and potlucks, I usually make the Dutch oven no-knead bread, then hollow out part of the loaf and fill it with Alton Brown’s scratch-made onion dip. (Except being a Southerner, I fry them onions in bacon grease!) I put the bread I hollowed out on the side, and some chips and vegetables, and people act like I made a miracle.
" — deleted 10. "Roasted chicken is my number one go-to. I dry brine for 48 hours, then season with fresh herbs and butter.
Stuff with garlic, shallot, and lemon, and roast. It is so easy, but people love it." — headcoatee 13.
"Minestrone soup. You can get all the veggies for a very fair price at most grocery stores. I add chickpeas and cannellini beans.
The special trick to give it that 'hours in the kitchen' flavor is to use some Parmesan rind as the pasta is cooking in the soup. Serve with fresh parm and a crusty piece of bread." — katiemus 15.
"Chocolate mousse. The amount of praise it gets compared to how little effort it takes is astonishing. I use 12— 16 ounces of whichever chocolate you like, four eggs separated (plus two more whites), a cup of heavy cream, a cup of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla.
Melt the chocolate, ribbon the egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar, add the melted chocolate, and set aside. Whip the 6 egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form, and set aside. Whip the cream and vanilla with 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form, and set aside.
Fold the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture until combined, and then repeat with the cream." — IronChefPhilly 17. "The miso black cod made famous at Nobu has to be the easiest high-end restaurant dish to replicate at home.
Mix white miso, sake, mirin (and/or sugar), oil, and soy sauce. Marinate black cod fillets or Chilean sea bass in this for, oh, 30 minutes to two days. Broil them skin-side-down until the edges start to singe, which takes about five to ten minutes.
Check for any pin bones; they'll pull right out. Serve. It takes about two minutes of active work.
" — Philip_J_Friday 18. "Chicken tacos. Pick up a Costco rotisserie chicken , shred it, and mix it with green chili salsa.
Serve with tortillas, sour cream, cilantro, and lime." — RobertMesas 21. "Cottage Pie.
It’s ground beef, veggies, and mash all in one dish. Super easy, cheap, and everyone usually loves it!" — RJMonkhouse 23. "Pistachio poppyseed cake.
It requires one box of white cake mix, one package of instant pistachio pudding, and one small container of poppy seeds. Follow the instructions on the cake mix and make it in a Bundt pan. Top with powdered sugar when cool.
It's truly more than the sum of its parts and could not be easier. I'm a real 'cook it from scratch' guy for 99% of things, but this is one of the rare exceptions. People go nuts for it.
" — TrivialitySpecialty Do you have something to add? What is a deceptively low-effort and affordable meal that tastes fancy or worthy of a special occasion? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form ..
