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Econosaurus posted:If I want to make vegetable soup do I just throw a bunch of veggies in water? What spices/how much is good to toss in? Do I need to get some kind of chicken or beef broth as a base? Please don't do that. It'll taste like wet dog. To make a vegetable soup, you need to start with a solid flavour base, and then build it up by layers. Here's a relatively quick one: 2 TB olive oil 2 large Spanish or red onions, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces 2 carrots, diced 3 ribs of celery, diced 1 dried thai red chile, crumbled 1 tsp thyme 1/4 tsp sage 5 - 8 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tsp paprika (optional) 1 cup white wine 3 medium potatoes, diced (if it's a baking potato, peel it too) up to 3 lbs of vegetables of your choice, chopped into 1 inch pieces 6 cups water 1 bunch parsley, chopped finely Salt, to taste Pepper to taste In a stock pot, add the olive oil and onions, and cook until the onions turn translucent. Add the carrots, celery, thyme, sage, garlic, thai red chile, and paprika, and stir to combine with the fat and onions. Cook over medium heat until the carrots are tender. Increase the heat to high, and stir constantly, until you hear everything sizzling like mad. If little bits stick to the bottom, this is good. You want this to happen to build flavour. Add the white wine, and stir well. Scrape off the little bits that stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and any long-cooking veggies. Stir to combine, until most of the wine has evaporated off. Add water to just cover the vegetables, and cover the lid. Let the water come to a boil, then drop it down to a bare simmer. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Finish with parsley, and add salt and pepper to your taste. I've found that dried chiles tend to be more spicy than the fresh ones. Use them more sparingly, and you'll be fine.  For me, the above soup would be a little on the bland side, because I'm used to a more Indian version, with lots more spices. Here's an example of a South Indian one that's absolutely lovely: 3 TB peanut or canola oil 1/2 tsp black mustard seed 1/2 tsp cumin seed 1/2 tsp crushed coriander seed 3 - 5 dried red chiles broken in half 3 large Spanish onions, diced 6 cloves garlic, minced 3 inches ginger, grated 1/2 tsp turmeric 3 chayote, diced 2 potatoes, peeled and diced 2 carrots, chopped 1 head of cabbage, chopped finely 1 head of cauliflower, broken into small florets 1 bunch of collard greens, mustard greens, or kale, chopped roughly (stems chopped finely) 2 cups coconut milk 4 cups water 1 bunch cilantro or parlsey, chopped finely In a deep stock pot, heat the oil over highest heat. When the oil shimmers, and is hot, add the mustard seeds, and step back. The mustard seeds will pop and crackle like mad, and will likely fly out of the pot, and try to hit you in the face. When the popping subsides, add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds, and lift the pot off the heat. Swirl the pot around to combine all the spices into the hot fat. The cumin seeds will pop for about 30 seconds. Immediately add the onions, garlic, and chiles, and stir well. When the onions are softened, add the ginger and turmeric, and stir well. The turmeric will go from bright yellow to an orangey golden colour. The smell will be absolutely incredible. Add the chayote, potato, and water to the pot at the same time. Let the water come to a full boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and greens. Allow the water to come to a boil. When the water is boiling, drop the heat to a bare simmer. Let it simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the cabbage, coconut milk, and cilantro to the pot, and DON'T STIR. Turn off the heat, slam on the lid, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Now feel free to stir. Serve piping hot, over rice. dino. fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Feb 26, 2012 |
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Feb 26, 2012 18:27
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dino. posted:Oven cleaner. The kind you don't have to turn the oven on for. Let it set overnight, and the grease will wipe off, as if by magic. There's a product called Krud Kutter that works really well too, I use it to degrease the parts of my smoker. It even took the pork fat stain out of the driveway.
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Feb 26, 2012 20:27
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Econosaurus posted:If I want to make vegetable soup do I just throw a bunch of veggies in water? What spices/how much is good to toss in? Do I need to get some kind of chicken or beef broth as a base? Someone's already hit you up with a decent soup recipe. Your rice and lentils. What's your budget, we can go a lot of ways. If you're familiar with 'spanish' rice, you can do a lot of things. In a pan over medium high heat, melt a decent pat of butter or a couple tbsp of olive oil. Add 3/4 to a cup of rice, right out of the bag. Stir lazily until the rice begins to brown. It should kind of smell like toast and butter at this point. The rice should be glossy and slowly tanning. It should not be swimming in butter or oil, and you should be thinking "This seems too dry..." when you look at it. This should take somewhere about 5-10 minutes. At this point, add a big can of crushed tomatoes and a cup of water, or add 2 cups stock of whatever variety. There will be a lot of steam and bubbling. Stir to combine and cover. Let it cook 15-25 minutes or so, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing's sticking to your pan. The rice should absorb all the liquid and be 'fluffable' at the end of the cooking process. Once you master this, you can go crazy. Start with diced onions and garlic in the oil before you put in the rice. Add canned and rinsed beans to the rice. Brown hamburger in the pan first, keep a little of the grease, and use that to toast the rice. Add saffron. Add italian seasonings, add sausage, do whatever you like. I see that there. fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Feb 26, 2012 |
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Feb 26, 2012 21:02
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Now I have a question. I'm not sure this is 'quick' or not, but I think this is the best place for it. I'm getting married this summer. It's going to be a small service and reception (20-30 people). My good friend who's a fine chef and I will be doing the cooking. We're doing grilled porterhouse and lobster. With the lobster, should we do a boil or grill them on the halves? I'd prefer grilling, but I'm not adept at cooking lobster. If we quickly boil them, then halve them, then grill them, will that gently caress it up? Should I just boil them and be done with it? I've got a turkey deep fryer rig for doing the boil. Basically, has anyone out there done a lobster boil or cooked it for a decent number of people, and if so, what do you recommend?
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Feb 26, 2012 21:13
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I picked up some fresh organic dandelion greens from the farmer's market, and scored on foraging some chantarelles (and yes, they are most certainly chantarelles... and if I get sick or die, the experts at the Chantarelle Festival will have some goddamn explaining to do). I was thinking of preparing the dandelion greens as I would spinach in a wilted salad with hot bacon dressing, but I'd like to know if you guys have any other ideas than "salad". I've only ever had them with hot bacon dressing before and loved them, but I'd love to see what else I can do with them. What can they replace in a dish? Any greens? I have NEVER cooked chantarelles before, but I have eaten them, and they're one of the few mushrooms I enjoy. I was considering doing a flatbread pizza with fresh-made tomato sauce or fresh-made pesto, fresh mozzarella, roasted garlic, and caramelized shallots. I'm just worried the other stuff will overpower the flavor of the chantarelles, and I have no idea what else to do with them other than "pizza".
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Feb 26, 2012 21:14
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Sorry to rapid-fire posts here... Saute the greens in butter and add slivered almonds by the handful and maybe a quick squirt of honey. Alternatively, soak some sun dried tomatoes in white wine until reconstituted. Caramelize about a teaspoon of tomato paste in olive oil. Dump in some finely chopped garlic. Add the hydrated tomatoes and get everything hot. Add the greens at the last second and toss. Dust with grated asiago once you plate it. You could also saute the chantarelles in a poo poo load of butter and toss the greens in with them, if you'd like. I love mushrooms in my greens, the contrast between the dark and bitter unctuousness of the greens, and the light, meaty chunks of mushroom is awesome. (edit: You could also chop up 2 strips of bacon and brown it, rendering the fat and use that in place of the butter if you're a hedonistic bastard) If you want them separate, make a cream of chantarelles soup. Make a blonde roux. Add mushrooms, add chicken stock, add cream. Done. I see that there. fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Feb 26, 2012 |
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Feb 26, 2012 21:23
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I see that there. posted:Sorry to rapid-fire posts here... I am DEFINITELY doing the dandelion greens amandine, that sounds DELICIOUS. I'm also so very much going to do some of the chantarelles with some of the greens in bacon. Thank you SO MUCH  Would pizza with the chantarelles still be a good idea? I'm not sure of what's going to be too overpowering. I enjoy basil and spinach on my pizza sometimes, so would some of the dandelion greens work as well?
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Feb 26, 2012 22:01
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Dandelion greens on pizza wouldn't be bad. They would be a little overpowering I think. I'd use some pretty righteous cheese on that thing though if you go that way. Think goat cheese and super sweet cherry tomatoes or roasted red peppers as a balance. If you opt against using the greens, but still want to do a cool pizza, go for roasted (almost to the point of being burnt) broccoli. Frankly, if I was doing a chanterelle based pizza I would do a cracker thin crust, white sauce, buffalo mozz and nothing else. Maybe a sprinkling of oregano between the sauce and cheese, but that'd be pushing it. I see that there. fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Feb 27, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 00:12
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Just bought a really nice whole 4lb chicken (aka "happy" or expensive organic). I salted the outside to make the skin more cripsy and have it in the fridge waiting. I usually put a ton of lemon slices and bay leaves and garlic under the skin and put it on a bed of lemon slices and bake it, but I'd love to try something new. Anyone have an amazing recipe they'd like to share? I also bought some red potatoes and asparagus, was thinking of throwing the bird in a cast iron and baking it at 350 for a while then putting the veggies in with it until the end...
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Feb 27, 2012 00:58
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:Just bought a really nice whole 4lb chicken (aka "happy" or expensive organic). I salted the outside to make the skin more cripsy and have it in the fridge waiting. I usually put a ton of lemon slices and bay leaves and garlic under the skin and put it on a bed of lemon slices and bake it, but I'd love to try something new. Anyone have an amazing recipe they'd like to share? I also bought some red potatoes and asparagus, was thinking of throwing the bird in a cast iron and baking it at 350 for a while then putting the veggies in with it until the end... Butterfly and broil it, use a bed of hearty aromatics instead of a rack in your pan, and you can also use the drippings to make a jus. You can use the same seasonings even.
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Feb 27, 2012 01:19
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Got two cast iron pans? Crush herbs into butter. Stuff into skin. Preheat your oven to about 475 with both pans in it. Butterfly the chicken and put it in one pan, breast side down. Put the other red hot pan on top of it. Put something heavy in the top pan to weigh it down.
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Feb 27, 2012 01:36
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^^^This sounds like cast iron porn and I'm most definitely doing this, my mom gave me my grandpas old cast iron for xmas I love gravy and au jus more than anything but I can never make them right and they usually taste TERRIBLE. So sad  , how do I do I make it not bad? Also, I don't know what aromatics are.. but rosemary sounds like it fits? (I had to google butterflying but I swear I love cooking!) Also you were saying broil, I was planning on doing 350 until it hits 160 ish, what do you think?
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Feb 27, 2012 01:37
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:^^^This sounds like cast iron porn and I'm most definitely doing this, my mom gave me my grandpas old cast iron for xmas Honestly I like his idea even better than my own, going to try it tomorrow.
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Feb 27, 2012 01:42
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How long and at 475? Or just until internal temp is 160? Also, aromatics=herbs? Just for future reference
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Feb 27, 2012 01:43
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:How long and at 475? Or just until internal temp is 160? Also, aromatics=herbs? Just for future reference I'd guess, with a small bird, about 45-60 minutes or less. Hitting that internal temp at the thigh joint is key. If you have the equipment, monitor it from the beginning. I don't have that kind of thing, so I just do it and guess. I've been lucky. You might not be. Do it a few times and you'll get better at it. Yes. Aromatics equal herbs. For this chicken recipe, I'd shoot for rosemary or crushed red pepper. If you don't butterfly, I'd shoot for lemon, basil, garlic, onion, etc. In terms of gravy, here's what you do: Remove meat item from roasting vessel. Tilt roasting vessel and skim off fat. stir in two tbspn of flour. pour in 1.5 cups of liquid. This liquid should either be wine, stock, water, or a mixture of some/all of them. Stir for a bit. The more vegetables present in the roasting vessel the better this will be. I see that there. fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Feb 27, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 01:59
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I have a thermometer that you stick in and it has a cord outside of the stove, but I feel like its sketchy and doesn't give accurate temps. Someone told me breast was a good place for the temp, but thigh seems pretty deep in there and better. I grew a bunch of rosemary and was definitely going to throw a bunch of that in. I'm not trained at all in regards to cooking, I just love to mess around and come up with some good things
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Feb 27, 2012 02:03
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If you butterflied it, yes, 160 at the joint. and the rest will be done. If not over done. I undercook chicken all the time based on this. Don't tell anyone though.
I see that there. fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Feb 27, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 02:07
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^Your secrete is safe with me, no one gets sick from food anyway unless its handled wrong/bad, if you've ever been to third world countries you see meat can handle some poo poo A million posts later, can we talk the gravy/au jus for a second? Throw some flour/water/salt/pepper into the pan and hope the drippings turn into something magical? Also I'm using an 11 inch cast iron so I was thinking of throwing some of those red potatoes and other veggies in for the last 30 minutes or so to roast up, should I do them seperate? GWS is still the best part of SA by the way, so glad I found this part of the forums
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Feb 27, 2012 02:11
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Gravy is roux. When you're done roasting a thing: If you roast a thing, and that thing gives you 3 tbspns of fat, you add 3 tbspns of flour. This will give you a very generous roux. Very generous. (you don't need all that fat). You can then add stock to this roux to thin it and reduce over heat. A very basic example: You roast a chicken over onions, carrots, celery. The bird is done. you remove it from the pan. There's lots of fat and juicy vegetables. Squeeze the vegetables out to get their juices. Remove them. Skim the fat off. Estimate how much juice you have in the pan. Add an equal amount of flour. Over a burner, stir the flour in. It will be thick. Add some wine or some stock until it looks just thinner than the gravy you want. The end.
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Feb 27, 2012 02:26
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That is awesome and a great breakdown, thank you so much. Last question I promise for tonight: Something is baking(in this case the bird in the oven), and I am worried it is too hot so the outside is cooking too fast compared to the inside.. can I turn down the oven 50 degrees or so to try and slow it down so the inside gets cooked? edit: most definitely not cooking too fast, note to self stop being a pussy and use the cast iron like a boss Harry Potter on Ice fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Feb 27, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 02:53
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I see that there. posted:Now I have a question. I'm not sure this is 'quick' or not, but I think this is the best place for it. Straight-up steaming or boiling is king for flavor, but I actually prefer splitting and grilling for large groups -especially if they're not seasoned lobster eaters. It looks just as good, if not better, for presentation and is easier for plating, and it's easier for people to eat. Also, people eat more of the delicious and overlooked body meat at the base of the legs when it's opened up and more accessible. I would recommend steaming or boiling them just to the point where the meat inside is firm enough that when you split them it doesn't slide around much. With your rig it sounds like you'd be boiling 10 lobsters at a time, so after about 5 minutes they should be firm enough to grill nicely. If you decide to just boil them you want to do 8 minutes + 1 minute per lobster to compensate for the heat loss when you put them all in. Throw a bunch of big clams (quahogs) in there to make awesome flavor.
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Feb 27, 2012 07:02
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My mind is kind of blown that people pay for dandelion greens. I mean, they're delicious and make a good booze, but actually paying for em? 
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Feb 27, 2012 07:53
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I end up eating a fair amount of black beans, and was going to move from canned to bulk/dry beans, but I seem to have issues consistently end up with good beans from dry beans. I'm a decent cook, but must be missing something here. I soak them overnight in the fridge, then simmer for about 1.5-2 hours. They've turned out fine a couple times, but other times some of them end up underdone and I haven't noticed until I ended up using them in things. Any suggestions? Am I just getting wildly different aged beans out of the same bag? Does anyone cook dry beans in a crockpot? I've seen that mentioned a few times, but haven't tried it yet.
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Feb 27, 2012 08:45
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I can't help with the some beans are undercooked problem, except for saying that I suffer from that too, but I can say that the crock pot method does work fairly well for beans. You just need to be prepared to pull them out after 8 hours or so on low, so scheduling it would be kind of a pain. However, you  MUST pre-boil kidney beans for 10 minutes before slow-cooking since they have some weird toxin in them or something.A few notes on beans while I'm at it: Contrary to popular belief, you can cook beans with salt. A lot of people claim that it makes them harder, but as far as I know this is not the case. You can even soak them in salted water before cooking. However, you should only add acidic ingredients after beans are fully cooked, acid will halt the cooking process and if beans are not cooked, they will not finish cooking very well in acidic liquid.
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Feb 27, 2012 09:11
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Will jambalaya keep in the fridge or is the rice going to go weird and crunchy? Wondering if it might be wet enough to avoid that.
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Feb 27, 2012 14:22
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dino. posted:Brown Rice & Beans I seem to have accidentally bought long grain rice (my Czech isn't great). Do I still need to soak it?
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Feb 27, 2012 14:53
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Eeyo posted:However, you Can anyone illuminate this?
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Feb 27, 2012 15:11
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Splizwarf posted:Can anyone illuminate this? Wikipedia but: quote:Some kinds of raw beans, especially red and kidney beans, contain a harmful toxin (lectin phytohaemagglutinin) that must be removed by cooking. A recommended method is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes; undercooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans.[8] Cooking beans in a slow cooker, because of the lower temperatures often used, may not destroy toxins even though the beans do not smell or taste 'bad'[8] (though this should not be a problem if the food reaches boiling temperature and stays there for some time).
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Feb 27, 2012 15:51
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I like turtles posted:Wikipedia but: I made a chili with red kidney beans cooked in a crock pot on low, been eating it for a couple weeks and haven't died ye 
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Feb 27, 2012 17:15
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CzarChasm posted:^^^^^ Seems about right 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 packets or 2 scant tablespoons active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F) 2 cups warm milk (105°F to 115°F) 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoons salt 6 to 7 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour* egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water sesame, poppy or caraway seeds or coarse salt (optional) http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/hamburger-or-hot-dog-buns-recipe Use whole milk!
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Feb 27, 2012 17:44
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Maneki Neko posted:I end up eating a fair amount of black beans, and was going to move from canned to bulk/dry beans, but I seem to have issues consistently end up with good beans from dry beans. Just cook them until they're done. Taste a bean before you take them off the heat.
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Feb 27, 2012 18:08
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Nibble posted:I made a chili with red kidney beans cooked in a crock pot on low, been eating it for a couple weeks and haven't died ye I think time in the cooker has something to do with it. I use red beans a lot without a proper boiling stage, but they'll be in the cooker for 12 hours usually at a simmer.
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Feb 27, 2012 19:01
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So... I tried to make steak the other day. Somehow, I hosed it up. I put my cast iron skillet on my electric coil range, turned it to as high as it would go, and let it preheat on there. I gave the meat a light coating of canola oil, then added salt and pepper. Then, I put it on the skillet. Holy poo poo -- after a second, white smoke just billowed off the sides of it like mad, quickly filling the kitchen. I turned on all the fans, opened the front door and window, etc. I had to run over and fan the smoke detector after it went off. The white smoke just kept coming. After ~30 seconds on each side, I put the whole thing in the 500 degree preheated oven for two minutes on each side. The meat actually came out done approximately how I wanted it. The crust, however, tasted terrible. Now, I'm assuming that I underestimated the temperature my electric range could reach, and it exceeded the smoke point of the canola oil. Is this right? Or did I do something else wrong?
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Feb 27, 2012 19:18
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Mr. Wiggles posted:I think time in the cooker has something to do with it. I use red beans a lot without a proper boiling stage, but they'll be in the cooker for 12 hours usually at a simmer. Yeah mine was at a simmer for 8+ hours, I'm not too worried. Plus most of it I've eaten frozen and reheated, if that helps at all. On the other hand, I recently learned my dad has problems eating red kidney beans specifically, any other kind of bean is fine, and I wonder if this is the culprit. Nobody else in the family seems to have an issue, but maybe he's just really sensitive to this toxin.
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Feb 27, 2012 19:20
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I've never seared a scallop. I wish to do so tonight. Please correct my intended method here: Dry scallops with paper towels, season. Get oil really loving hot in non-stick pan Sear on side 1 until deep golden. Flip over. Remove from pan and hit with lemon juice.
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Feb 27, 2012 20:10
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Phummus posted:I've never seared a scallop. I wish to do so tonight. If you don't get a golden sear after 2-3 minutes, flip them anyway. Far better to have no sear than to have overcooked scallops. Then next time make the pan hotter. On the other extreme, if the scallops are seared after less than a minute, that's no good either because it's either going to be burned or undercooked. Remove scallops and set aside, reduce temperature and wait a few minutes, then cook the other side.
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Feb 27, 2012 20:14
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TychoCelchuuu posted:Just cook them until they're done. Taste a bean before you take them off the heat. I also had some bean trouble lately. I left the last batch simmering for 7 hours before I gave up and accepted that they would be a little harder than I wanted. There was some tomato paste in with the beans, could the acid from that cause them to not become soft? I did a hot soak for 2 1/2 hours before the simmer. The recipe I was following (that said to use tomato paste) said it would only need to simmer for 2 hours.
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Feb 27, 2012 20:29
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dakana posted:Now, I'm assuming that I underestimated the temperature my electric range could reach, and it exceeded the smoke point of the canola oil. Is this right? Or did I do something else wrong? I think you've got it the problem figured out. An empty pan on an electric stove can get quite hot. Electric stoves get a bad rap as not being hot enough, but really they are just slower than gas.
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Feb 27, 2012 20:34
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taqueso posted:There was some tomato paste in with the beans, could the acid from that cause them to not become soft? Yes, that and if you added salt to the water, that contributed too. If you have this problem again, add some baking soda to swing the Ph of the water over to Base, which will actively help with softening your beans (and you don't have to boil them all day anymore). I like this especially for trying to soften black beans to make a beany slurry for awesome burritos.
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Feb 27, 2012 20:43
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taqueso posted:I think you've got it the problem figured out. An empty pan on an electric stove can get quite hot. Electric stoves get a bad rap as not being hot enough, but really they are just slower than gas. I mostly don't like electric stoves because you can set them to either be not hot enough to do anything, or  and not much in between. I'm sure there are some better, more modern ones that do better, but the default cheap apartment model is a problem.
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Feb 27, 2012 20:54
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