The General Questions thread - for quick questions, recipe requests, help.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The General Questions thread - for quick questions, recipe requests, help.

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Indentured Servant: Aug 31, 2008

Yesterday I tried making a sponge cake for my birthday. The recipe I used called for vanilla extract to be added to the batter. I noticed when I added it the batter went from perfect to somewhat deflated with large bubbles. I tried baking it and it didn't rise. I tried making the cake again and the same thing happened: the batter deflated, large bubbles appeared, and the cake didn't rise. Would I be right in thinking the extract, specifically the alcohol in it, ruined the batter? If not, what else could I try to do differently? I used the whole egg method if it matters.

e: this was the recipe: http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2010/02/strawberry-shortcake-japanese-style.html

Indentured Servant fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Nov 14, 2011

# ? Nov 14, 2011 23:11

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# ? May 11, 2024 15:03

Gaj: Apr 30, 2006

Im starting a quest to find the finest sources of beef available. Do any of you have any recommendations for a good butchers within 20 miles of Albany, New York?

# ? Nov 15, 2011 01:15

Yehudis Basya: Jul 27, 2006; THE BEST HEADMISTRESS EVER

Emnity posted:

Looking for a little help from those with a little more cullinary flair. Since leaving the forces and becoming a Civil Engineer I've piled on the pounds.. Add to this long working hours and a newborn son and preparing reasonably easy meals in the evenings that arent overly-run with carbs is becoming difficult.

The wife and I dabble with salads but neither of us are really sold on the idea, we always want to add some pasta or other such item to make them more interesting. Does anyone have any suitable solutions out there for something practical, tasty and not overladen with carbs? We normally dont get to eat until 7pm so trying to cut the carbs out for that reason.

Check out the older, closed low carb megathreads in W&W, there is A LOT of food chat in there. Some of it is gross and frankenfood with artificial ingredients (especially the OP), but a large portion of the food chat is talking about yummy things to do with meat, fish, veg, and eggs.

Off the top of my head, you should invest in a large dutch oven or crockpot so that when you braise meats in it, you make at least 6 servings at a time. Braised foods are wonderful as left overs and heat up really well (which is convenient with a newborn, I imagine). It will give you lots of lower carb, delicious, and hearty meals- pot roast and beef cheeks are the first to come to mind. Braising can be as easy or complicated as you want. I just got All About Braising by Molly Stevens yesterday, which has been really helpful to learn the principles of braising and for recipe ideas.

Another thing that comes to mind is chili, which can be really low carb friendly with lots of portions.

One of my favorite meals is getting a gigantic whole chicken, stuffing the cavity with celery, putting a gently caress ton of a garlic-sage-butter mixture (or just butter!) under all the skin, seasoning it with salt, pepper and onion powder, and then roasting it over sweet potatoes. Very minimal work, just a wait time for it to cook.

Just because you're doing lower carb doesn't mean you have to eat meat only with no veg nor beans, nor does it have to mean really complex meals. Ugh I feel like I'm outing myself on this subforum, but I eat low carb for weight loss (55 lbs down so far), so you can always PM me with questions if you want. Though I'm a definite newbie in this subforum, so my culinary expertise is more of "housewife who really likes cooking" than "actual chef".

# ? Nov 15, 2011 03:13

Gerblyn: Apr 4, 2007; "TO BATTLE!"; Fun Shoe

Indentured Servant posted:

Yesterday I tried making a sponge cake for my birthday. The recipe I used called for vanilla extract to be added to the batter. I noticed when I added it the batter went from perfect to somewhat deflated with large bubbles. I tried baking it and it didn't rise. I tried making the cake again and the same thing happened: the batter deflated, large bubbles appeared, and the cake didn't rise. Would I be right in thinking the extract, specifically the alcohol in it, ruined the batter? If not, what else could I try to do differently? I used the whole egg method if it matters.

e: this was the recipe: http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2010/02/strawberry-shortcake-japanese-style.html

I'm not a baking expert by any means, but vanilla essence is a very common thing to add to cake recipes, so it seems odd that that would be the culprit. If I were you I'd try a different cake recipe, this one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/aclassicspongecakewi_9406

Uses a different method which I've used to make chocolate cakes successfully a few times before and it's much simpler (sift dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, mix, bake).

# ? Nov 15, 2011 11:32

Dangphat: Nov 15, 2011

Quick question about interesting options for the top layer of a lasagna:

Other than just the standard cheese topping to a lasagna (after the final layer of white sauce), does anyone know of any interesting options to improve texture/flavor/aesthetic?

I personally have tried making a finely sliced mushroom topping with a small amount of cheese (raclette in this case), but this lacked any texture although did look pretty. I have also gone for a pinenut/hard goats cheese/mozzarella topping which had great flavor.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 15:38

Plastic Jesus: Aug 26, 2006; I'm cranky most of the time.

Grant Achatz just published the Next Paris 1906 cookbook here (and only there). Every recipe, 200+ pictures, 5 bucks.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 15:44

Indentured Servant: Aug 31, 2008

Gerblyn posted:

I'm not a baking expert by any means, but vanilla essence is a very common thing to add to cake recipes, so it seems odd that that would be the culprit. If I were you I'd try a different cake recipe, this one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/aclassicspongecakewi_9406

Uses a different method which I've used to make chocolate cakes successfully a few times before and it's much simpler (sift dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, mix, bake).

Thanks! I think I will also experiment with the other sponge cake method.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 18:14

Nephzinho: Jan 25, 2008

Gaj posted:

Im starting a quest to find the finest sources of beef available. Do any of you have any recommendations for a good butchers within 20 miles of Albany, New York?

Add a 0 to that and come on down to Arthur Ave.

Have you tried Fresh Direct? When I'm strapped for time and know I have something coming up, I just put an order in with them and their tri-state offerings are quiet good. Not the "finest source of beef available", but it might be a good place to check for convenience/as a benchmark for what is local.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 18:18

Squashy Nipples: Aug 18, 2007

Anyone got a cake donut recipe that they like?

# ? Nov 15, 2011 18:31

Gerblyn: Apr 4, 2007; "TO BATTLE!"; Fun Shoe

Squashy Nipples posted:

Anyone got a cake donut recipe that they like?

Someone posted this recipe for Doughnut Muffins:

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/doughnut_muffins.aspx

a couple of weeks back, he said they were great.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 18:42

by.a.teammate: Jun 27, 2007; theres nothing wrong with the word panties

I'm looking to buy a friend a whetstone for his snazzy chef knives, any recommendations? I'm not really sure what I should be looking for.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 18:47

davey4283: Aug 14, 2006; Fallen Rib

I'm thinking about making veal parmigiana tonight for dinner. I have an authentic Italian grocery store/deli right by my house that I can pick up all of the ingredients. I found this recipe which I think sounds pretty good:

code:

    * 4 veal cutlets, weighing 1/3 pound each.
    * 4 thin slices fresh grana (this is the young, and therefore relatively soft version of Parmigiano;
    * you may substitute a mild cheddar or Gruyere if need be)
    * 4 thin slices prosciutto
    * 1/2 cup unsalted butter
    * 2 eggs, beaten
    * 1/2 cup finely ground breadcrumbs, toasted in the oven
    * 1/2 cup tomato sauce, heated
    * Salt
    * Freshly ground pepper
    * A little butter for the baking dish

I think the prosciutto will add a nice touch. What I'm looking for are ideas for sides.. Maybe asparagus? I'd appreciate any suggestions.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 19:55

Nephzinho: Jan 25, 2008

davey4283 posted:

I'm thinking about making veal parmigiana tonight for dinner. I have an authentic Italian grocery store/deli right by my house that I can pick up all of the ingredients. I found this recipe which I think sounds pretty good:
code:
    * 4 veal cutlets, weighing 1/3 pound each.
    * 4 thin slices fresh grana (this is the young, and therefore relatively soft version of Parmigiano;
    * you may substitute a mild cheddar or Gruyere if need be)
    * 4 thin slices prosciutto
    * 1/2 cup unsalted butter
    * 2 eggs, beaten
    * 1/2 cup finely ground breadcrumbs, toasted in the oven
    * 1/2 cup tomato sauce, heated
    * Salt
    * Freshly ground pepper
    * A little butter for the baking dish
I think the prosciutto will add a nice touch. What I'm looking for are ideas for sides.. Maybe asparagus? I'd appreciate any suggestions.

There is a spinach salad I like to do as a side for chicken/etc parm. Basically just heat about a tbsp of butter and a tbsp of olive oil over med heat before adding ~16oz (whatever size package, really) spinach. Keep moving and wilt it before adding a half lemon worth of juice, a handful of sliced almonds, and either a sprinkling of garlic salt/powder or a healthy dose of minced garlic + kosher salt. Stir, cooking the garlic a bit before removing from heat and adding crumbled feta on top.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 20:10

Yehudis Basya: Jul 27, 2006; THE BEST HEADMISTRESS EVER

davey4283 posted:

I'm thinking about making veal parmigiana tonight for dinner. I have an authentic Italian grocery store/deli right by my house that I can pick up all of the ingredients. I found this recipe which I think sounds pretty good:
code:
    * 4 veal cutlets, weighing 1/3 pound each.
    * 4 thin slices fresh grana (this is the young, and therefore relatively soft version of Parmigiano;
    * you may substitute a mild cheddar or Gruyere if need be)
    * 4 thin slices prosciutto
    * 1/2 cup unsalted butter
    * 2 eggs, beaten
    * 1/2 cup finely ground breadcrumbs, toasted in the oven
    * 1/2 cup tomato sauce, heated
    * Salt
    * Freshly ground pepper
    * A little butter for the baking dish

Could you describe how to cook this/the recipe? It sounds delicious and I would love to make it.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 20:36

davey4283: Aug 14, 2006; Fallen Rib

Yehudis Basya posted:

Could you describe how to cook this/the recipe? It sounds delicious and I would love to make it.

I was googling veal parmesan recipes and happened to find it:

http://italianfood.about.com/od/beefbracioleetc/r/blr0229.htm

It's on about.com but it seems pretty legit.

zerox147o posted:

Spinach salad

About how long should it take to cook? I've made spinach salads before but have never never cooked it. What should the consistency be like? I'm feeling creative so I'm down to try it.

They also sell some really awesome risotto with mushroom cakes that are pretty awesome. I'll probably make the veal and put on top of of some noodles, probably whole wheat barilla spaghetti. Probably make homemade garlic bread, too.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 21:07

forbidden dialectics: Jul 26, 2005

Does anyone have any advice for cooking a goose? I'm being a special snowflake this year and roasting a goose for thanksgiving this year, but I've never done it before.

I'm aware of the pre-cook liposuction (and to save the precious goose grease). I'm planning on brining the bird like I would a turkey, I'm assuming that still works the same.

I'd really like to keep it whole, but I'm not opposed to cutting it up. Some of the recipes I've found say to cook it to 180 degrees, which seems way too high. Is it not like duck, where you want the breasts to still be a little pink in the middle?

Poking holes in the skin was also a common theme, which makes sense. I was thinking blast it at 500 for 30 minutes, then lower to 350 and roast until the thermometer in the breast is at 140-150? Or is it more like chicken turkey where it really does need to be 160-165? This is a fresh, free-range, organic goose.

As for the giblets, obviously the gizzard, neck, and heart can just go in the roasting pan. But the delicious liver I'm just going to lightly saute in the reserved goose grease until it's just barely pink in the middle. Is that a good plan?

Thanks in advance.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 21:09

Nephzinho: Jan 25, 2008

davey4283 posted:

About how long should it take to cook? I've made spinach salads before but have never never cooked it. What should the consistency be like? I'm feeling creative so I'm down to try it.

From putting the spinach in the pan to crumbling the feta and serving is probably 5 minutes? It's just long enough to wilt the spinach and heat through the garlic/almonds.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 21:29

CuddleChunks: Sep 18, 2004

I made my first Bechamel sauce the other night. It was 2 cups milk, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup flour. Flour and butter were cooked together foor about a minute to make a pale roux. then the hot milk gets added in until it's all a big thick saucy kind of goop. A little salt went in according to the recipe I was following and there we go, Bechamel.

What is this supposed to taste like? It was thick and white and mostly tasted like bland flour. Is that correct? I seem to recall that this is a mother sauce so from here do I start adding things like cheeses or whatever to give the sauce a specific character?

In the end, I added some other stuff before putting it on my lasagna but it was a mystery why they wanted this bland stuff at all.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 21:41

physeter: Jan 24, 2006; high five, more dead than alive

Girlfriend decided to do turkey her way, which in accordance with her amazing chicken cooking skills means lots of turkey meat well-brined in soy sauce and perfectly scented with the flavors of lemongrass and onion.

My job is the sides and obviously traditional is out. I plan on stuffing acorn squash, but I need a stuffing that's Asiany enough not to clash with the turkey, but not so Asiany that its....Asian. Help. Anyone have a good rice-based stuffing recipe that incoroprates lemongrass, cilantro?

physeter fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Nov 15, 2011

# ? Nov 15, 2011 21:56

Found Your Answer: Jul 9, 2004; That's like killing a unicorn!

So, I enjoy getting steaks whenever I go to a fairly nice restaurant, but I've never cooked them myself. I'm pretty confident in my ability to season and pan fry a steak (rare), but do you guys have any pointers about how I should pick out a steak in the first place? I'm planning on going to QFC/Safeway/Whole Foods but I don't really know what to look for.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 22:05

Steve Yun: Aug 7, 2003; I'm a parasitic landlord that needs to get a job instead of stealing worker's money. Make sure to remind me when I post.; Soiled Meat

windwaker posted:

So, I enjoy getting steaks whenever I go to a fairly nice restaurant, but I've never cooked them myself. I'm pretty confident in my ability to season and pan fry a steak (rare), but do you guys have any pointers about how I should pick out a steak in the first place? I'm planning on going to QFC/Safeway/Whole Foods but I don't really know what to look for.

Do you know what cuts you like for your steak? NY Strip? Ribeye?

# ? Nov 15, 2011 22:09

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

CuddleChunks posted:

I made my first Bechamel sauce the other night. It was 2 cups milk, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup flour. Flour and butter were cooked together foor about a minute to make a pale roux. then the hot milk gets added in until it's all a big thick saucy kind of goop. A little salt went in according to the recipe I was following and there we go, Bechamel.

What is this supposed to taste like? It was thick and white and mostly tasted like bland flour. Is that correct? I seem to recall that this is a mother sauce so from here do I start adding things like cheeses or whatever to give the sauce a specific character?

In the end, I added some other stuff before putting it on my lasagna but it was a mystery why they wanted this bland stuff at all.

Yeah it's pretty bland by itself. When I'm using it in bolognese, I add salt, white pepper and fresh nutmeg.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 22:14

Thumposaurus: Jul 24, 2007

CuddleChunks posted:

I made my first Bechamel sauce the other night. It was 2 cups milk, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup flour. Flour and butter were cooked together foor about a minute to make a pale roux. then the hot milk gets added in until it's all a big thick saucy kind of goop. A little salt went in according to the recipe I was following and there we go, Bechamel.

What is this supposed to taste like? It was thick and white and mostly tasted like bland flour. Is that correct? I seem to recall that this is a mother sauce so from here do I start adding things like cheeses or whatever to give the sauce a specific character?

In the end, I added some other stuff before putting it on my lasagna but it was a mystery why they wanted this bland stuff at all.

If it tastes like flour still you didn't cook it long enough.
A classic way to flavor it is to take a chunk of onion and use a whole clove to attach a bay leaf to it and add that to the milk you use to make the sauce.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 22:21

CuddleChunks: Sep 18, 2004

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

Yeah it's pretty bland by itself. When I'm using it in bolognese, I add salt, white pepper and fresh nutmeg.

Heh, I ended up throwing in some more salt, black pepper and fresh-ground nutmeg along with some dried oregano. The recipe I had seemed to be lacking in the whole oregano department and I figured the Bechamel was a decent place to add that back in.

Thumposaurus posted:

If it tastes like flour still you didn't cook it long enough.
A classic way to flavor it is to take a chunk of onion and use a whole clove to attach a bay leaf to it and add that to the milk you use to make the sauce.

That sounds awesome. Next time I make a Bechamel I'll try this.

# ? Nov 15, 2011 23:11

Kenning: Jan 11, 2009; I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.

So I'm gonna be running the show at Thanksgiving this year and my girlfriend has requested I make something vegetarian too. Eggs are fine, so I suppose I could do a quiche of some sort, but I was wondering if y'all had any good ideas for hearty Thanksgiving-ish vegetarian main dishes to serve alongside turkey etc. I really dig fennel bulbs, so something with fennel would be awesome.

# ? Nov 16, 2011 00:58

Birdie: Mar 12, 2005; i will now provide the world's first 100% accurate translation of birdsong into english fuck offffffffff

I accidentally boiled the milk instead of scalding it for a cinnamon roll recipe. Can I still use it or do I need to start over? Thanks!

Birdie fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Nov 16, 2011

# ? Nov 16, 2011 01:08

LikeFunOnlyBoring: Sep 3, 2008

So, I'm going to culinary school (at a tech college, mind you) and one of my classes is American Regional Cooking. Each week we've been doing different regions of the US. Next week we're doing a Native American thanksgiving.

I am stumped as to what to make. After a couple hours searching I haven't been able to find anything that really caught my eye.

I've decided I either want to do a soup or a dessert. I was wondering if anyone here had any good traditional Native American recipes they'd like to pass along.

# ? Nov 16, 2011 01:29

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

Birdie posted:

I accidentally boiled the milk instead of scalding it for a cinnamon roll recipe. Can I still use it or do I need to start over? Thanks!

It will be fine. Just make sure it's cool enough when you add it that you don't kill your yeast.

# ? Nov 16, 2011 01:32

Nephzinho: Jan 25, 2008

Kenning posted:

So I'm gonna be running the show at Thanksgiving this year and my girlfriend has requested I make something vegetarian too. Eggs are fine, so I suppose I could do a quiche of some sort, but I was wondering if y'all had any good ideas for hearty Thanksgiving-ish vegetarian main dishes to serve alongside turkey etc. I really dig fennel bulbs, so something with fennel would be awesome.

I'm going to be making a roasted butternut squash and apple soup as the vegetarian option this year.

# ? Nov 16, 2011 01:51

Chard: Aug 24, 2010

LikeFunOnlyBoring posted:

So, I'm going to culinary school (at a tech college, mind you) and one of my classes is American Regional Cooking. Each week we've been doing different regions of the US. Next week we're doing a Native American thanksgiving.

I am stumped as to what to make. After a couple hours searching I haven't been able to find anything that really caught my eye.

I've decided I either want to do a soup or a dessert. I was wondering if anyone here had any good traditional Native American recipes they'd like to pass along.

Make some frybread and make tacos with it? It's absolutely delicious although it will kill you with grease.

# ? Nov 16, 2011 01:51

LikeFunOnlyBoring: Sep 3, 2008

Actually, someone made fry bread a couple weeks ago in the class for the southwest and rocky mountain region. We even made tacos with them. It was delicious.

# ? Nov 16, 2011 02:35

Drimble Wedge: Mar 10, 2008; Self-contained

Kenning posted:

So I'm gonna be running the show at Thanksgiving this year and my girlfriend has requested I make something vegetarian too. Eggs are fine, so I suppose I could do a quiche of some sort, but I was wondering if y'all had any good ideas for hearty Thanksgiving-ish vegetarian main dishes to serve alongside turkey etc. I really dig fennel bulbs, so something with fennel would be awesome.

It doesn't have fennel, but people have been going absolutely ape over this, and you could probably serve it over mashed potatoes instead of rice?

# ? Nov 16, 2011 02:46

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Reading up on baking in an America's Test Kitchen cookbook I have, and it said that Buttermilk Powder is a good substitute for Buttermilk in baking. Even better than making clabbered milk. So I figured hey, why not give it a try since I don't use Buttermilk often enough to buy it fresh all the time.

However it's proven to be nigh impossible to find where I am (Vancouver Island, BC). Does anybody know if it's available in the region (I live in Nanaimo, a smallish city)? Also is it really worth tracking down?

# ? Nov 16, 2011 02:52

CuddleChunks: Sep 18, 2004

SatoshiMiwa posted:

However it's proven to be nigh impossible to find where I am (Vancouver Island, BC). Does anybody know if it's available in the region (I live in Nanaimo, a smallish city)? Also is it really worth tracking down?

I'll mail you a box of that if you send me all the Nanaimo bars in the city. All of them!

:3:

I loves me some Nanaimo bars.

Edit: I think this is what I can get at local stores.

PS: *all* nanaimo bars, for my mouf

CuddleChunks fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Nov 16, 2011

# ? Nov 16, 2011 03:03

Drimble Wedge: Mar 10, 2008; Self-contained

SatoshiMiwa posted:

Reading up on baking in an America's Test Kitchen cookbook I have, and it said that Buttermilk Powder is a good substitute for Buttermilk in baking. Even better than making clabbered milk. So I figured hey, why not give it a try since I don't use Buttermilk often enough to buy it fresh all the time.

However it's proven to be nigh impossible to find where I am (Vancouver Island, BC). Does anybody know if it's available in the region (I live in Nanaimo, a smallish city)? Also is it really worth tracking down?

Never used it, but here you go: http://gallowaysfoods.com They're in Richmond. These guys might have it too http://www.sloanvalley.com or at least be able to tell you where their stuff is sold. It seems that it's also used in making soap and body products, so also check out places which cater to those sorts of enterprises. I wonder if the Bulk Barn would have it?

# ? Nov 16, 2011 03:06

Chinatown: Sep 11, 2001; by Fluffdaddy; Fun Shoe

I have a cold steak (cooked medium rare) from Ruths Chris and want to reheat it without totally overcooking it. Is this possible? How should I go about it?

# ? Nov 16, 2011 03:12

Found Your Answer: Jul 9, 2004; That's like killing a unicorn!

Steve Yun posted:

Do you know what cuts you like for your steak? NY Strip? Ribeye?

I am literally so na�ve about steak that I really couldn't tell any cuts apart. I suppose the answer to this is just, "buy random steaks until you find one you like?"

# ? Nov 16, 2011 03:46

BagelMaster: Mar 20, 2008

If my bread dough is too wet and sticky when I make it in bulk, can I just incorporate more flour before I bake it when I separate a ball from the bulk dough?

# ? Nov 16, 2011 04:36

Emo Rodeo: Dec 28, 2006; This is one mystic quest

Tried to make peanut butter heath cookies with this recipe:

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/6142/HEATH-Bits-Peanut-Butter-Cookies.aspx

They came out really flat and gummy. They still tasted good, but no good on presentation and texture. Any suggestions?

# ? Nov 16, 2011 05:32

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# ? May 11, 2024 15:03

His Divine Shadow: Aug 7, 2000; I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do.

If I can't find brisket and I want to make my own pastrami, is there another cut that could work?

# ? Nov 16, 2011 09:38

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The General Questions thread - for quick questions, recipe requests, help.

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