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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Vomik: Jul 29, 2003; This post is dedicated to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan

Kenning posted:

Tossing out the occasional failed meal is the price of learning how to cook

Eating a failed meal is the price of learning how to cook.

# ? Feb 28, 2012 20:34

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# ? May 13, 2024 21:10

Mr. Wiggles: Dec 1, 2003; We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.

RazorBunny posted:

I made the mistake of leaving my marble rolling pin out, so when my kid did the dishes he decided to be helpful and put it away. He knew it went on top of the fridge, so he just stuck it up there...facing out. It has a cradle to keep it from rolling around, but he ignored it.

This morning he opened the freezer and hey, guess what? The rolling pin rolled off the top of the fridge.

He's lucky he didn't break his head open. I think it glanced off his foot, no broken bones. The handle shattered, and I was too upset to look at the stone and make sure it was okay.

I just...

And of course his attitude is that it's just a rolling pin, I can get a new one on Amazon for like sixteen bucks. My mom owned this rolling pin and a matching marble pastry board years before I was even born, it has sentimental value as well as being a damned fine tool.

When I get home from work I will assess the damage and decide if it's just a matter of gluing the handle back together or if there's more damage than that. I really hate to have to replace it Plus I just really hate the careless attitude that destroying something doesn't matter as long as you can get a new one.

The handle broke off mine years ago, but I still use it. It's just a big cylinder of marble with a hole down the middle - it's not like you really need the handles.

Glad the kid's okay.

# ? Feb 28, 2012 21:22

RazorBunny: May 23, 2007; Sometimes I feel like this.

That would be an interesting thing to have to explain to his father, though. "I swear I didn't hit him with it, he did it to himself!"

I'm calm now. If the marble is damaged, I'm buying one of the Vic Firth ones.

I do have a question for the thread, though. Is there a type of potato that will stand up to spending the whole day in the crock pot? I want to make beef stew, but I normally add the potatoes in late in the cooking process. I feel like if I "set it and forget it" the potatoes will turn to total mush. I don't want to have to add the potatoes when I get home, because they wouldn't be ready for a while longer.

My other thought is to cook the potatoes separately and just toss them into the stew a few minutes before we eat to warm them back up.

# ? Feb 28, 2012 22:10

SubG: Aug 19, 2004; It's a hard world for little things.

Turkeybone posted:

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT LIFE SKILL!!!!

Seriously, at the restaurant many instructions were simply "cook like a scallop." I'd go and buy scallops and post a video if I had time. You want a decent amount of oil, and for the pan (gently caress non-stick.. the best ones we had were stainless steel that could hold some heat) to be hot -- the oil should be just barely smoking. Then add your scallops and lower the heat to about mid. It's about heat management now -- you want a good even browning (which is why you need sufficient oil) without burning.. you should definitely see the color coming up the edge a little. Flip it when it's sufficiently brown, and do the same or slightly less (mediumish in the middle is the preferred method). Flip only once, dont move them around or shake them unless absolutely necessary.

Once you master this, you can pretty much cook any fish, too.

The only thing I'd add to any of this is that duck fat is a really great fat for searing scallops. I'd use it over olive oil any day of the week, unless you want to keep the scallop flavour isolated for some other reason. But then I'd probably go with a more neutral oil like canola anyway. I really wouldn't use olive for searing anything; it starts to lose that distinctive olive-y flavour at a fairly low temperature (way below the smoke point) and either just becomes bland---in which case you might as well have used a neutral oil in the first place---or it gets this weird plastic flavour. If you've got a bunch of other poo poo going on flavourwise this isn't that big of a deal---so if you're like sweating some onion or garlic or whatever---but with something that's got a clean, fairly delicate flavour like scallops I'd be careful with it.

# ? Feb 28, 2012 22:27

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

Vomik posted:

Eating a failed meal is the price of learning how to cook.

I meant a well and truly failed meal. Burnt, inedible, over-spiced, foul. I don't consider it a failed meal if it's still pretty much food. Then it's just a not-as-good-as-possible meal.

RazorBunny posted:

I do have a question for the thread, though. Is there a type of potato that will stand up to spending the whole day in the crock pot? I want to make beef stew, but I normally add the potatoes in late in the cooking process. I feel like if I "set it and forget it" the potatoes will turn to total mush. I don't want to have to add the potatoes when I get home, because they wouldn't be ready for a while longer.

My other thought is to cook the potatoes separately and just toss them into the stew a few minutes before we eat to warm them back up.

Fingerling potatoes stay firm and tasty a loooooot longer than russets. Dunno it they're an all day potato though.

# ? Feb 28, 2012 22:45

Wroughtirony: May 14, 2007

CobiWann posted:

Can anyone recommend a basic cookbook? Basic as in "you're finally ready to move on from the George Foreman grill and actually do some prep work that's more than thawing a piece of meat in the sink for four hours?"

Most of my cooking experience comes from reading the direction on the back of a box. I'd like to change that.

I'm a big fan of The Joy of Cooking. It has great descriptions and explanations of various techniques and ingredients. A lot of the recipes are a little dated but I find it to be a great reference, especially for baking.

# ? Feb 28, 2012 23:40

CuddleChunks: Sep 18, 2004

RazorBunny posted:

I do have a question for the thread, though. Is there a type of potato that will stand up to spending the whole day in the crock pot?

Baby red potatoes will work fine. Yukon golds will also do well. Russets will turn to mush as you've already found out but the other two potatoes will stand up to much longer-term cooking without losing cohesion.

# ? Feb 28, 2012 23:52

EVG: Dec 17, 2005; If I Saw It, Here's How It Happened.

Splizwarf posted:

How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman for the practice.
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee for the theory and a wealth of background.

I just bought the How to Cook Everything app for my iPad, and I LOVE it. It has the entire text of the book with all of the recipes, is searchable, cross-referenced, updates, was cheaper, and doesn't weight 50lbs.

Example: I search for "lentils" and get a list of recipes. I select a soup recipe and it lists stock as an ingredient, with a link. Clicked and it opens to the stock recipe in a new column (so you can still see the previous recipe). It says to chop an onion, and you can click THAT to get a popup on the best way to chop an onion.

It also has clickable timers whenever it says to cook something for X amount of time, and the timers are labeled so you remember WTF you were timing, and will still go off if the app is closed.

Best $10 ever spent.

I agree that it does look like a lot of the recipes may be underseasoned/spiced, but it's still looking to be a very useful guide for someone who doesn't know the basics that good cooks take for granted.

EVG fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Feb 29, 2012

# ? Feb 29, 2012 01:37

RazorBunny: May 23, 2007; Sometimes I feel like this.

CuddleChunks posted:

Baby red potatoes will work fine. Yukon golds will also do well. Russets will turn to mush as you've already found out but the other two potatoes will stand up to much longer-term cooking without losing cohesion.

Thanks. I think I'll get smaller ones too so I don't need to cut them, that seems to be part of the problem.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 02:39

squigadoo: Mar 25, 2011

This ground pork I buy from a specific market is weird. It feels very grainy when raw, and grainy when cooked. I've worked the meat to try and get it to bind, and have added cornstarch or egg, but nothing works. What is going on?

# ? Feb 29, 2012 04:28

I see that there.: Aug 6, 2011; by Y Kant Ozma Post

squigadoo posted:

This ground pork I buy from a specific market is weird. It feels very grainy when raw, and grainy when cooked. I've worked the meat to try and get it to bind, and have added cornstarch or egg, but nothing works. What is going on?

What's happening is that you're still giving money to a specific market for a product you don't like.

Stop doing that thing.

Try buying your meat from somewhere else. If you want to get real adventurous, try grinding your own. Though that's cost prohibitive unless you're eating a lot of it, have a chest freezer, or the equipment to do it.
Basically, if you don't like what you're spending money on now, stop spending the money.

If you want a report on the meat, well I don't know what to tell you. You've already said you personally don't like it, so what would someone else reviewing it have to offer? "It sucks?"

You don't like it, but you do like ground pork. Go out adventuring. Pork adventuring.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 04:48

wasey: Apr 6, 2009

I have some leftover chicken wing trimmings from a weekend snack, and I'm not sure what to do with them. There's not a lot of meat left on the joint bone area, but add it all up and it's a fair amount of chicken...

# ? Feb 29, 2012 05:20

Drink and Fight: Feb 2, 2003

wasey posted:

I have some leftover chicken wing trimmings from a weekend snack, and I'm not sure what to do with them. There's not a lot of meat left on the joint bone area, but add it all up and it's a fair amount of chicken...

Stock.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 05:26

Brennanite: Feb 14, 2009

I have half-a-pound of anise. What on earth can I do with it? I've never used it before.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 06:28

Casu Marzu: Oct 20, 2008

Brennanite posted:

I have half-a-pound of anise. What on earth can I do with it? I've never used it before.

Braise a beef, make a pho

# ? Feb 29, 2012 06:38

Turkeybone: Dec 9, 2006

Brennanite posted:

I have half-a-pound of anise. What on earth can I do with it? I've never used it before.

Anise like, fennel? anise seeds? star anise?

This time of year salad with raw shaved fennel and orange would be nice. There's good recipes out there for braised anise, too.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 07:13

baquerd: Jul 2, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

Brennanite posted:

I have half-a-pound of anise. What on earth can I do with it? I've never used it before.

Absinthe would work out, but you'll need some other herbs and spices.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 15:36

CzarChasm: Mar 14, 2009; I don't like it when you're watching me eat.

squigadoo posted:

This ground pork I buy from a specific market is weird. It feels very grainy when raw, and grainy when cooked. I've worked the meat to try and get it to bind, and have added cornstarch or egg, but nothing works. What is going on?

I'd echo what I see that there said, and add this little tidbit:

Ground pork is not regulated/graded/restricted/labeled the same way that ground beef is. Ground beef has a specific ratio of meat to fat printed on the label, usually anything from 80/20 to 95/5 (I think premade frozen patties can be as bad as 75/25). Ground pork isn't labeled the same way, ever, because it is not required to do so. There is nothing stopping a cheap butcher from selling "ground pork" that could be 50/50.

So, either change brands, change stores, or buy and grind your own (Food processor will give you acceptable results as opposed to a dedicated grinder). If nothing else though, stop giving this guy/brand/store your money.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 15:38

Wroughtirony: May 14, 2007

Most butchers will grind meat for you if you ask. Just buy a cut of pork with the meat/fat ratio you want and ask nicely.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 15:52

squigadoo: Mar 25, 2011

CzarChasm posted:

I'd echo what I see that there said, and add this little tidbit:

Ground pork is not regulated/graded/restricted/labeled the same way that ground beef is. Ground beef has a specific ratio of meat to fat printed on the label, usually anything from 80/20 to 95/5 (I think premade frozen patties can be as bad as 75/25). Ground pork isn't labeled the same way, ever, because it is not required to do so. There is nothing stopping a cheap butcher from selling "ground pork" that could be 50/50.

So, either change brands, change stores, or buy and grind your own (Food processor will give you acceptable results as opposed to a dedicated grinder). If nothing else though, stop giving this guy/brand/store your money.

Wroughtirony posted:

Most butchers will grind meat for you if you ask. Just buy a cut of pork with the meat/fat ratio you want and ask nicely.

Thank you. That was more helpful. Next time I will try to ask the butcher at the Asian market to grind my pork. Non-asian markets near me tend to not carry much pork.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 16:44

Doh004: Apr 22, 2007; Mmmmm Donuts...

squigadoo posted:

Thank you. That was more helpful. Next time I will try to ask the butcher at the Asian market to grind my pork. Non-asian markets near me tend to not carry much pork.

Definitely ask them to. My butcher does it for me when I want the beef/veal/pork combo for meatballs and they're out of ground veal.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 17:37

EVG: Dec 17, 2005; If I Saw It, Here's How It Happened.

I have 3 chicken carcasses from roasted birds, a couple lbs of chicken wings (raw), carrots, celery, onions, and an entire cupboard of dried herbs from Penzeys.

How do I turn this into delicious chicken stock? Looking for amounts of herbs, water, etc because I've never done this before. I do have a crockpot but it is making pulled pork right now, but if it's still the best way to go I can do the stock overnight tonight.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 18:48

Phummus: Aug 4, 2006; If I get ten spare bucks, it's going for a 30-pack of Schlitz.

EVG posted:

I have 3 chicken carcasses from roasted birds, a couple lbs of chicken wings (raw), carrots, celery, onions, and an entire cupboard of dried herbs from Penzeys.

How do I turn this into delicious chicken stock? Looking for amounts of herbs, water, etc because I've never done this before. I do have a crockpot but it is making pulled pork right now, but if it's still the best way to go I can do the stock overnight tonight.

Here's what I have used in the past for making stock. Its about half the way down the page, but the article above is worth a read (why you should not leave stock out on the stove top)

http://ruhlman.com/2011/08/stock-clarifications/

# ? Feb 29, 2012 18:54

RazorBunny: May 23, 2007; Sometimes I feel like this.

One of my friends is ordering pastured beef and pork from these folks and I'm getting in on that action. I asked for the bones, since she didn't want them, and I'll be getting the pig's cheeks. I hear that braised pork cheek is simply amazing.

The next available slaughter date is in April, so I've got a bit of a wait, but man am I looking forward to filling my freezer with this stuff.

Would anybody be interested in a thread about buying local meat like this, when the time comes? Or, is there already a thread and I'm just not finding it?

Hollin Farms also does pick-your-own fruit and vegetables, and is just generally an awesome place. If you're in driving distance of Delaplane (northern Virginia), you should definitely check them out during their picking season.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 19:13

I like turtles: Aug 6, 2009

RazorBunny posted:

One of my friends is ordering pastured beef and pork from these folks and I'm getting in on that action. I asked for the bones, since she didn't want them, and I'll be getting the pig's cheeks. I hear that braised pork cheek is simply amazing.

The next available slaughter date is in April, so I've got a bit of a wait, but man am I looking forward to filling my freezer with this stuff.

Would anybody be interested in a thread about buying local meat like this, when the time comes? Or, is there already a thread and I'm just not finding it?

Hollin Farms also does pick-your-own fruit and vegetables, and is just generally an awesome place. If you're in driving distance of Delaplane (northern Virginia), you should definitely check them out during their picking season.

I'd like to see such a thread.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 19:19

Brennanite: Feb 14, 2009

Turkeybone posted:

Anise like, fennel? anise seeds? star anise?

This time of year salad with raw shaved fennel and orange would be nice. There's good recipes out there for braised anise, too.

Anise seeds. I don't know if that changes the recommendations any.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 19:42

Cowcatcher: Dec 23, 2005; OUR PEOPLE WERE BORN OF THE SKY

Phummus posted:

Here's what I have used in the past for making stock. Its about half the way down the page, but the article above is worth a read (why you should not leave stock out on the stove top)

http://ruhlman.com/2011/08/stock-clarifications/

I have a jar of home-made duck stock that has been sitting in my fridge for two months, this article has me worried, should I throw it out?

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:07

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

Cowcatcher posted:

I have a jar of home-made duck stock that has been sitting in my fridge for two months, this article has me worried, should I throw it out?

Probably. Some things can still grow at fridge temperatures, and stock is a pretty ideal medium for bacterial growth. I don't keep stock in my fridge longer than a week.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:10

EVG: Dec 17, 2005; If I Saw It, Here's How It Happened.

Phummus posted:

Here's what I have used in the past for making stock. Its about half the way down the page, but the article above is worth a read (why you should not leave stock out on the stove top)

http://ruhlman.com/2011/08/stock-clarifications/

When I was googling around, most of the recipes I flipped through said that in addition to the bones I should also add sme raw met such as wings or it wouldn't have much chicken flavor. I went and bought wings for this purpose, was that unnecessary? If also using wings, would I still follow the same recipe, or do I need to cook longer or differently becaus of the raw meat?

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:20

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

EVG posted:

When I was googling around, most of the recipes I flipped through said that in addition to the bones I should also add sme raw met such as wings or it wouldn't have much chicken flavor. I went and bought wings for this purpose, was that unnecessary? If also using wings, would I still follow the same recipe, or do I need to cook longer or differently becaus of the raw meat?

Meat is good, it gives the stock flavor. If you're using whole wings, that's pretty ideal because you get flavorful meat along with a lot of gelatin from the collagen in the wing tips.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:31

Very Strange Things: May 21, 2008

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but...
Would anyone eat a big piece of pork loin that was salted heavily then left out on the counter in a cool (mid-50s) room for about an hour, then put back in the fridge last night?
Uncovered.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:34

Drink and Fight: Feb 2, 2003

How long does duck fat last in the fridge?

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:35

I like turtles: Aug 6, 2009

Drink and Fight posted:

How long does duck fat last in the fridge?

I'm seeing about 6 months online, up to around a year in the freezer.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:38

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

Very Strange Things posted:

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but...
Would anyone eat a big piece of pork loin that was salted heavily then left out on the counter in a cool (mid-50s) room for about an hour, then put back in the fridge last night?
Uncovered.

If it were only left out an hour, yes. You don't want it to spend more than 4 hours total in the danger zone. Given the short period of time and relatively cool room, I would be ok with it.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 20:39

midnightclimax: Dec 3, 2011; by XyloJW

How long does it take for a can of opened coconut milk to go bad?

I don't find much use for it, and basically sprinkle it on everything. But there's so much left, ugh. I think I opened it 5 days ago.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 22:15

Jyrraeth: Aug 1, 2008; I love this dino
SOOOO MUCH

midnightclimax posted:

How long does it take for a can of opened coconut milk to go bad?

I don't find much use for it, and basically sprinkle it on everything. But there's so much left, ugh. I think I opened it 5 days ago.

I learned the hard way that it only lasts about 3~5 days in the fridge. It freezes beautifully, though. Freeze it in an ice cube tray or muffin tin so that you can just grab a little bit each time.

# ? Feb 29, 2012 22:28

baquerd: Jul 2, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

midnightclimax posted:

How long does it take for a can of opened coconut milk to go bad?

I don't find much use for it, and basically sprinkle it on everything. But there's so much left, ugh. I think I opened it 5 days ago.

Make coconut curry chicken, quick!

# ? Feb 29, 2012 23:55

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

Isn't coconut milk $1 at most stores? Toss it.

# ? Mar 1, 2012 00:45

Proust Malone: Apr 4, 2008

Going back to browning in a pan: if I fill a pan to brown say, chicken breasts, should I add more oil to the pan when I flip them? The second side seems to stick more than the first. Or is it about the temp? I try to have just smoking oil.

Also, is there a strategy for keeping the fond from burning if I have to do two batches in the same pan?

# ? Mar 1, 2012 00:50

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# ? May 13, 2024 21:10

SubG: Aug 19, 2004; It's a hard world for little things.

Drink and Fight posted:

How long does duck fat last in the fridge?

Cold or hot rendered? If it's hot rendered---like you roasted a duck and saved the schmaltz yourself---the bits of things other than fat in it will cause it to go rancid in a month or two.

Cold rendered fat---like if you buy a tub of duck fat at the grocer's---will last pretty much forever. If and when it goes south it'll probably be because something starts growing on it. Figure around a year, assuming your fridge is maintaining temperature correctly.

In either case unless it has stuff growing on it or smells like death it should be good to go.

# ? Mar 1, 2012 01:03

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

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