>>221505I love cooking.
>what recipes nextI want to practice patisserie again. I haven't made puff pastry in ages and I was never really satisfied with the results.
>secret ingredientsI'm Polish and I've always put 2-3 whole balls of allspice for every bayleaf in most things I cook. I've never seen this in a recipe. It's also important to get good flour. Where I live, there is only 'plain' flour which sort of sucks, though I can get cake and pastry flour from the Polish shop. Also herbes de Provence and a dash of soy or worcestershire sauce in everything.
>favourite dishesI enjoy making stews. English-style calls for a lot of carrots and has these 'dumplings' which are nothing like actual dumplings but are really tasty and some good ale. Simple and absolutely heavenly. Chef Jean-Pierre has a nice recipe where he combines a stew with onion soup.
>>233533If you're new to baking, try out this recipe for scones. Easy and quick while being tasty. I aim for them being as tall as two fingers are wide and if you don't have a cutter, you can try a glass. They should be flat on the sides though. A glass may may not be sharp enough, dunno. They go well with jam and clotted cream but since they're not very sweet, I'm sure you could have them with just about anything. Butter and ham like a croissant seems like it would go well with warm scones.