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dino. posted:Although a little tilted towards North Indian food, Madhur Jaffrey's An Invitation to Indian Cooking is a solid work. Dino is too humble. He wrote an AWESOME cookbook which, while certainly not a primer on classic indian cooking, still contains a boatload of indian or indian-inspired dishes and did I mention it rules? http://www.amazon.com/Alternative-Vegan-International-Straight-Produce/dp/1604865083/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326563037&sr=8-1
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Jan 14, 2012 18:46
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 Thanks, Wrought. You're too kind. <3Mine is more tilted towards South Indian food, as that's the stuff that my mum used to make when I was growing up (still does, in fact), and it's what I know best. South Indian food tends to be challenging to folks who've gotten used to the North Indian style. South Indian is generally lighter, has less fat, and tends to be milder in regards to spices, and heavier on the chiles. There's a fair bit more water in, making it good for a hot climate (even though the black pepper warms you from the inside), and less cream and milk. Madhur tends towards the authentic, while using ingredients that you can generally find in most large cities, with maybe an occasional trip to the Indian store. I tend towards the "whatever tastes good is worth making, and gently caress the traditional way of doing things, because I have an oven damnit".
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Jan 14, 2012 19:09
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Ooh, can I throw in a plug for Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni? I picked it up cheaply at a used book store, and am really glad I did so. As someone else who is new to cooking Indian food but really wants to be good at it, I'm finding it quite accessible! Manjula's Indian Kitchen is a good site, but I like having the text and binding and food stained pages more than internet links.  Incidentally, I also recently picked up your book dino. after reading the vegan thread. While I am not a vegan nor vegetarian (you should have seen my husband' surprised expression when I excitedly thrust the book into his face!), I really strongly love your philosophy of "no fakey poo poo" and just making food that tastes good. It's a fantastic resource, thanks for it. Okay, question time! I tasted the most aamazing (vegeterian) dish yesterday: toasted baguette spread with goat cheese, basil, and roasted peppers. If heaven exists, it better be waiting for me there. So I want to replicate this. My plan: - the King Arthur recipe for baguette - the same goat cheese the restaurant used (locally prepared, yeah!) - fresh basil chopped to pieces - peppers But how do I prepare the basil and peppers? Will raw basil be overpowering or do I put it over heat? And, um, are roasted peppers typically bell peppers just cut into strips and then covered in olive oil and some magic array of spices? Help me goons, I must be able to make this dish!
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Jan 14, 2012 21:05
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Thank you all for the advice on those books...I put in an order for them thru Amazon so should have them in my hands shortly. Appreciate all the help!
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Jan 14, 2012 21:08
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Yehudis Basya posted:Ooh, can I throw in a plug for Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni? I picked it up cheaply at a used book store, and am really glad I did so. As someone else who is new to cooking Indian food but really wants to be good at it, I'm finding it quite accessible! Manjula's Indian Kitchen is a good site, but I like having the text and binding and food stained pages more than internet links.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:17
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Yehudis Basya posted:My plan: Raw basil is fine, don't do anything to it. Tradition states that you shouldn't cut it, but tear it. As for the peppers, the best thing to do is to put them on an open flame, like this.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:20
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What the gently caress is it with you Yanks and "Steak Sauce". Yes, I'm singling out you people. I've read about Steak Sauce in books. I've heard it on many a sitcom. What kind of smokey, sweet, beefy creation could this be? Desperate for a burger, I bought two varieties. It's rancid vinegary crap in a bottle, and tastes about as much as steak as my balls do. I tried two in the name of science: A1 Steak Sauce and Jack Daniels Smokey sauce. You should all be ashamed.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:21
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As far as I understand it, isn't steak sauce just brown sauce? Like HP or daddies? It's not meant to taste of steak, but to go with steak. Just like "seafood sauce" isn't made of seafood, but is supposed to go with it.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:23
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Then please don't call it Steak Sauce, because that conjures images of meaty goodness, not vinegary crapness. Though the HP sauce = Steak Sauce makes perfect sense. Since no-one likes either.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:25
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You are a very silly individual. Brown sauce is lovely, and just the thing with a fry-up. Bacon, sausage, black pudding, haggis, fried eggs, hashed browns, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried slice are all immeasurably enhanced by the judicious application of a dollop of HP. I do agree that brown sauce and steak is a travesty, though.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:28
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FatmanSA posted:What the gently caress is it with you Yanks and "Steak Sauce". Not sure if trolling or legitimately thought it should taste like steak. Even says to put on steak. Which is a horrible idea unless the cook made a godawful steak.
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Jan 14, 2012 22:11
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My mom just called me and left a voicemail lecturing me about using swear words on my food blog  She wants me to "sanitize" it so she can give the link to some kid she knows, I guess it's a friend's kid? I'm really tempted to tell her to go to hell.
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Jan 14, 2012 22:11
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RazorBunny posted:My mom just called me and left a voicemail lecturing me about using swear words on my food blog Ahahah this is one of the best posts ever, I love it. Thanks for the pepper and basil info, everyone. I had NO clue the skin was even supposed to come off when roasting them! 
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Jan 14, 2012 22:16
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Splizwarf posted:Oh poo poo, I have this one. One sec. Amazing, thank you!!
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Jan 14, 2012 22:43
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RazorBunny posted:My mom just called me and left a voicemail lecturing me about using swear words on my food blog Tell her that she's a braindead oval office for not using the superb word "bowdlerise" in its proper motherfucking context.
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Jan 14, 2012 23:29
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Yehudis Basya posted:And, um, are roasted peppers typically bell peppers just cut into strips and then covered in olive oil and some magic array of spices? Help me goons, I must be able to make this dish! I strongly recommend against the olive oil, and recommend buying them packed in water. The olive oil flavor is over-riding with roasted red peppers.
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Jan 15, 2012 00:49
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Another question. Last week, I made mayo for the first time using an immersion blender. I dumped 2 egg yolks, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 3/4 tsp coarse salt, 1 tsp dijon mustard, and 1.5 cups of canola oil into the container and it whirrred away into yumminess. It was ALSO supposed to have a tablespoon of lemon juice, but my lemon had gone bad and since the vinegar is already acidic, I figured it would be okay without the juice. It tasted a bit vinegary, but was nice. Tonight, I made more mayo, in the exact same way, but also with the lemon juice. However, the emulsion would not hold, and within 20 minutes it was gross liquid. What gives? Volumetrically, it was just another tablespoon of liquid, so it shouldn't affect the total volume appreciably... but it did increase the aqueous phase volume a good bit pre-emulsification-attempt. Solutions? Obvious anything?
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Jan 15, 2012 02:23
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Yehudis Basya posted:Another question. Last week, I made mayo for the first time using an immersion blender. I dumped 2 egg yolks, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 3/4 tsp coarse salt, 1 tsp dijon mustard, and 1.5 cups of canola oil into the container and it whirrred away into yumminess. It was ALSO supposed to have a tablespoon of lemon juice, but my lemon had gone bad and since the vinegar is already acidic, I figured it would be okay without the juice. It tasted a bit vinegary, but was nice.
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Jan 15, 2012 02:39
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Speaking of making your own mayo, how long does it keep?
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Jan 15, 2012 02:46
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FatmanSA posted:Then please don't call it Steak Sauce, because that conjures images of meaty goodness, not vinegary crapness.  YOU MONSTER!HP sauce is glorious stuff and goes well with a ton of meat dishes. I wouldn't slather it over a properly cooked steak but sometimes you are at a friend's place and only HP can help you gag down the shoe leather they serve.
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Jan 15, 2012 02:51
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Psychobabble posted:You'll need a greater quantity of oil to hold that much extra liquid, yes. However if you are saying that it did come together but then later it became even more liquid then your emulsion broke which could come from a variety of things. I generally make a mayo thicker than I want it and then thin it with lemon. Ohhhhhhh, good to know! So the emulsion never came together perfectly in the first place, but it did have a little bit of thickness to it, enough for burgers. However, the burgers weren't even on the grill yet before the emulsion completely broke down, so uh, yeah, no mayo on those guys tonight! I'll definitely try mixing lemon in after the fact come tomorrow morning when I remake it. I am exasperated that I wasted 1.5 cups of oil tonight- that's a few bucks down the drain quite literally- but I learn something new every day in the kitchen... Do you think vinegar and lemon are both necessary functional components? Provided the total amount of acidic liquic is appropriate in the final mixture, I'm not sure why you'd really need both, beyond a flavor reason. 2508084 posted:Speaking of making your own mayo, how long does it keep? Make the mayo, you'll be so psyched about it- it tastes so much better than the soybean oil store crap, and if I recall, you're a big deviled egg fan, yes?
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Jan 15, 2012 03:15
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don't toss your broken mayo! it can be fixed! whisk an egg yolk and slowly add the broken mayo into it, it should re-emulsify just fine.
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Jan 15, 2012 03:57
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FatmanSA posted:Then please don't call it Steak Sauce, because that conjures images of meaty goodness, not vinegary crapness. Next, I expect you'll be angry that cocktail sauce doesn't taste like a gimlet?
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Jan 15, 2012 04:12
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I just bought some bitters to make one of the recipes on the wiki, should I refrigerate it after opening? I'm guessing no since you don't refrigerate most other things with that sort of alcohol %.
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Jan 15, 2012 06:13
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C-Euro posted:I just bought some bitters to make one of the recipes on the wiki, should I refrigerate it after opening? I'm guessing no since you don't refrigerate most other things with that sort of alcohol %. I have never refrigerated bitters in my many years of drinking.
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Jan 15, 2012 06:14
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Is there any way to get rice to retain moisture, or to return moisture to cooked rice? Every time I make rice, it turns out great but I still haven't really figured out how to store it so it doesn't just turn hard.
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Jan 15, 2012 06:23
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User-Friendly posted:Is there any way to get rice to retain moisture, or to return moisture to cooked rice? Every time I make rice, it turns out great but I still haven't really figured out how to store it so it doesn't just turn hard. Freeze single portions in plastic ziploc bags shortly after its done cooking Steve Yun fucked around with this message at 09:41 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 07:10
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Yehudis Basya posted:dumped...whirrred away into yumminess. This is your problem. If you dump all the ingredients into a blender and expect it to whir away into mayonnaise, it will fail if you get the proportions even slightly wrong. It takes a tiny bit more time, but doing it properly works much more often. By properly, I mean that you whisk up the eggs yolks, garlic and mustard and keep whisking as you very slowly add the oil. When the mayonnaise starts to thicken (after you've added about half your expected oil volume) add the acid. Then, keep whisking and trickle in more oil. When it gets really thick and mayonnaise-y, you're done! You may have to add more or less of the oil than you expected, but it will actually work and be mayonnaise. Not only does this way work every time (because it takes into account variations in measurements and sizes), but you will become a better cook for doing it. Making mayonnaise is one of the things that makes you realise that your senses are the best test in the kitchen, that you should rely on knowing how things look, smell, feel and taste more than how a recipe says things should be done.
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Jan 15, 2012 09:34
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It's Sunday, and it's cold outside, which means I'm makin' soup. Today's gonna be a potato-leek thing. Every recipe I've seen calls for just the white portion of the leek. Is there some sort of side dish I can make with the green parts, or are they destined for the compost bin?
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Jan 15, 2012 16:45
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JacquelineDempsey posted:It's Sunday, and it's cold outside, which means I'm makin' soup. Today's gonna be a potato-leek thing. Every recipe I've seen calls for just the white portion of the leek. Is there some sort of side dish I can make with the green parts, or are they destined for the compost bin? Veggie stock.
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Jan 15, 2012 17:29
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I always use the whole leek, I think calling for the white only is to maintain the creamy color and I personally don't care if my soup comes out a little green. The green part also has a little bit stronger flavor, but I like it
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Jan 15, 2012 18:02
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Started the soup before I read your reply, RazorBunny, but duly noted! I'll hang on to the greens for stock as per Two Headed Calf's suggestion. Good gods my house smells fantastic. I make a different soup every Sunday; would "Sunday Soupday" be thread-worthy?
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Jan 15, 2012 18:46
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Scientastic posted:This is your problem. If you dump all the ingredients into a blender and expect it to whir away into mayonnaise, it will fail if you get the proportions even slightly wrong. It takes a tiny bit more time, but doing it properly works much more often. I totally respect everything you just said in here (in particular, the bits about smelling/feeling/tasting--i.e. thinking-- rather than blindly following a recipe), but you missed the part about where I used an immersion blender. You don't have to slowly add the oil in when you use one of those things. Pour in your aqueous stuff first, then your oil layer on top, and they'll stay separated. Start by putting the immersion blender in the very bottom of the aqueous layer and very slowly (well, that's a relative term for an immersion blender!) lift up, emulsifying your way to the top. I don't mean to discount traditional whisk methods of mayo prep, but I also don't see the point in avoiding the immersion blender when I already own it for when I want less chunky soups, particularly when I can spend the time working on another component of the food. That said, it IS a method I need experience with, and not something I'm discounting entirely. I just don't appreciate the insinuation that I'm some monkey-see-monkey-do-must-follow-recipe pod person.
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Jan 15, 2012 20:01
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Yehudis Basya posted:you missed the part about where I used an immersion blender. You don't have to slowly add the oil in when you use one of those things. Putting everything in a bowl and blitzing it with a blender is not a good way of doing mayonnaise, a notoriously tricky and sensitive thing. A bit of finesse and patience will serve you better, and your mayo will work every time. Yehudis Basya posted:I just don't appreciate the insinuation that I'm some monkey-see-monkey-do-must-follow-recipe pod person.
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Jan 15, 2012 21:45
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JacquelineDempsey posted:Started the soup before I read your reply, RazorBunny, but duly noted! I'll hang on to the greens for stock as per Two Headed Calf's suggestion. I would be so down for this.
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Jan 15, 2012 22:07
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RazorBunny posted:I always use the whole leek, I think calling for the white only is to maintain the creamy color and I personally don't care if my soup comes out a little green. The green part also has a little bit stronger flavor, but I like it I know some people just throw out the green part, and I really think it's a shame. It has way more flavour, and I also like to think most of vitamins and minerals are there.
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Jan 15, 2012 22:25
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Such a shame. And so wasteful! I hate to see anything that's usable get thrown out. Before I trained my husband and stepkid to eat leftovers, it broke my heart to have to go through and throw away all the stuff that didn't get eaten in our house. But I guess it's not a majority of people who don't like the green part, because my local grocery store sells pre-washed leeks in 4" sections, and it's all green. The pre-prepped veggie section at those stores (Wegmans) is kind of astonishing, actually. Definitely a big help if you're in a hurry or just feeling lazy. Peeled and cut squash, perfect little portions of asparagus, green beans, baby zucchini...I hope never to get so lazy as to buy the pre-diced onions, but they're there, and they always look nice and fresh and not slimy. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me, since their produce department is so awesome overall. I would totally be behind a generalized soup thread. I make a lot of stock, but my soup repertoire is kind of limited (even though I love the stuff). I do have a couple of really nice recipes I can share, too, if you like.
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Jan 15, 2012 23:01
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mustard contains a small amount of lecithin and is a fantastic stabilizer for mayonnaise. a Tb per quart will almost guarantee that it will not break and won't affect the flavor
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Jan 16, 2012 00:13
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Darval posted:I know some people just throw out the green part, and I really think it's a shame. It has way more flavour, and I also like to think most of vitamins and minerals are there. Eh. It's tough. Use the light green and white part for eatings, then the tough dark green part for stock/sauce (it's fine to, say, simmer with shallots in a reduction sauce).
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Jan 16, 2012 00:23
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Iron Chef Ricola posted:Eh. It's tough. Use the light green and white part for eatings, then the tough dark green part for stock/sauce (it's fine to, say, simmer with shallots in a reduction sauce). I always blend my potato leek soup, so the texture doesn't really matter.
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Jan 16, 2012 02:26
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