Restaurant vs. Home Cooking: I Win!

Saphire

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 28, 2000
Messages
4,035
I'm telling you, it is getting so that I can cook a better meal at home than I can get at a restaurant. This was sooo easy, and it tasted better at my table than spending $50 (or more!) anywhere else. Who else feels they can do much better at home?

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi: Barefoot Contessa


Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.
 
That sounds yummy!! I agree that cooking a good meal is very satisfying, but I just hate all that work and cleanup just to watch my family inhale it.:rotfl:
 
Not me. I envy those who can do it and enjoy it but dining out is probably my biggest vice and I love every minute of it. Not having to wash dishes is the cherry on top. ;)
 
I always feel that way, but of course my goal is to own a restaurant by 1-1-09 so take that for what you will :rotfl:
 

I make a very similar recipe that I tried to copy from a local restaurant, but it also has artichokes and roasted red peppers. Yum!
 
I was just talking to my husband about this! There are several things that we make so much better at home, but when it comes to going out, we love to do appetizers. Plus, we love to indulge in deep-fried foods, and we don't keep a deep fryer at home, so there's another thing.

I definitely do better steaks at home, as well as breakfast foods and a few other things. I haven't mastered ethnic foods, though.
 
Man, this is my favorite Ina recipe!:goodvibes

I am pregnant so I cannot stand the smell of cooking food so we have been eating takeout of the foods I am craving. I hope I get over being sick soon because we are spending so much money!
 
I have a Culinary Degree....so I know I can do better. ;)

In general that is....

Kimya
 
I would rather eat burgers, steaks, & chicken that I make at home. Esp. burgers...every restaurant stinks imo.
Give me a homemade burger anyday.:thumbsup2
 
Hey SwedishMeatball and freckles and boo...you need to have those who enjoy the meal do the cleanup! That's my dream, anyway. :guilty: Jipsy, good luck opening your own place! What an exciting goal to have. HeyIt's Me...you won't believe it but I have a magnet on my fridge that says that! I do love to eat out, just finding that the better I get at it, the more I like to cook at home. Tinijocaro and nannerbadnanner, glad you like a similar recipe, it's awesome! MushyMushy, yes there are some things I will never be able to make as well at home. Nachos come to mind. I have tried many times, but they don't compare to some of our local restaurants. LadyyRedd, I'll be over tomorrow...PaulaSue, come on over Monday, we are having marinated chicken on the grill. ;)
 
I fancy myself a good cook, and so does my husband. We only eat out once a week at the most. I love to cook, it's a stress reliever for me. But there are a few things that I haven't learned how to cook, so to have them out is a treat for me, like meals at P.F. Chang's :)
 
if i crave something from one of my favorite restaurants i look in one of my 'top secret restaurant recipie' books and make it for myself (and while i've never made any-i think there are lots of p.f. chang recipies)-the ones i've done taste identical and are'nt difficult to do.

dh and i were talking the other night though, and we've noticed that since produce, meat and some dairy have gotten so costly-with some foods you can save money by going out vs. preparing them at home (well save if you don't do appetizers, cocktails and dessert:rolleyes: ). i watch the ads and buy things like good cuts of beef when they are on sale, but if we're craving a t-bone or prime rib with all the fixins-it costs out much less to go to a reasonable steak house vs. purchasing the steak, the mushrooms, the whiskey (we like whiskey sauce:thumbsup2 ), asparagus, baked potato and fixins-let alone to prep. some kind of soup or nice dinner salad and rolls. while i much prefer homemade grilled burgars-the same can be said for these. add together the cost of ground beef, buns, onions, tomatos (insanely expensive around here),lettuce, pickles, all the condiments-i can get a very good one at my local diner for less than $3 and it includes a side of frys.
 
Not me. I envy those who can do it and enjoy it but dining out is probably my biggest vice and I love every minute of it. Not having to wash dishes is the cherry on top. ;)

Same here. I never enjoyed cooking but admire people who love to do it.
There are so many types of restaurants, includings Diners where you get everything that I don't think I'll ever get tired of eating out. :blush:
 
I prefer to eat at home. Not that we are chefs or anything, but the quality and freshness is better. My husband makes the most amazing planked salmon, grilled tuna steak and I like to make sautéed dishes, breakfast foods and deserts.
 
dh and i were talking the other night though, and we've noticed that since produce, meat and some dairy have gotten so costly-with some foods you can save money by going out vs. preparing them at home (well save if you don't do appetizers, cocktails and dessert:rolleyes: ). .

Where we live, that's especially true about seafood. If we want to have any kind of decent seafood, we have to go to a restaurant to get it.
 
I love, love, love to eat out, but nothing makes me madder than to eat someplace and realize I make it better at home.

There are a few things that I know I will never make at home as well as you can get eating out. One of them is broasted chicken, and another is a great breaded tenderloin, so those then to be the things I order when I eat out.
 
I miss cooking. I just don't have the energy for it lately. Hopefully I can get out of this rut after my baby is born. The fact that it is just so darn hot outside doesn't help either.
 













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