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

Tsurupettan posted:

Going to make some eggs and bacon for breakfast. I went out and bought some 'real' bacon last night, rather than the precooked crap I'm used to eating. Obviously I have to cook it in the pan, so my question is this:

You don't have to cook it in a fry pan. Line a cookie sheet with some aluminium foil (to make the cleanup trivial), lay the strips out flat, put in an oven at 400 or thereabouts until they're done.

I wouldn't gently caress around with this if I was just frying off two rashers or whatever, but if you're making a bacon for a shitload of people it saves a hell of a lot of labour.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2012 19:59

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 21:55

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

SatoshiMiwa posted:

I brined my turkey for about 24 hours this holiday season and it turned out more than okay. As long as you keep it in the fridge a 24 hour brine should be no problem

Turkey's a a sturdier meat than chicken, and the carcasses tend to be bigger. Both of these will influence the effect of brining.

In answer to the original question, it really depends on the brine, the bird, and what you're doing with it. I pretty much never brine a chicken if I'm planning on roasting it, particularly if I want to make gravy from the drippings---the flavour of the brine will end up in the gravy, which is generally not what you want. I will brine bigger birds that will be in the oven longer (e.g. turkeys that I'm doing in the oven) or if I'm cooking the bird in a smoker.

That all being said, the failure mode for overbrining poultry is usually just a bird that tastes a little too salty. I routinely brine birds for smoking overnight, and while I haven't done any a-b experimentation to verify it, I'd be surprised if you could actually detect much in the way of difference in texture unless your mouth is doing some serious Princess and the Pea poo poo.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2012 00:58

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

GrAviTy84 posted:

If you have the money, Modernist Cuisine may be what you're looking for. It is, however, $450.

Haven't gone through all of it, but a lot of Modernist Cuisine seems more focused on `deconstructing' technique rather than explicating it, if you understand the distinction. McGee's On Food and Cooking is really the first thing that comes to mind as a purely expository text on why kitchen techniques work the way they do.

That's not to look down on Modernist Cuisine. But it's sorta like, I dunno, something like the Fat Duck Cookbook in that it feels very revisionist, rather than being an exploration of traditional cooking techniques like, say, all the Keller books I've read, or even the Cook's Illustrated books (e.g. The New Best Recipe) that are very focused on working out what makes a traditional recipe works, rather than taking it apart and trying to come up with something similar than better. If that distinction makes sense.

I'll also repeat that basic textbooks like Prochef are really invaluable for novice cooks that just need all-around schooling on the basic mechanics of prep work and cooking---even though a lot of what they teach ends up feeling kinda safe and boring once you get your feet under you.

scuz posted:

It's more of a coating but since it's on a cake it's a frosting. Meh!

5 strips thick-cut uncured bacon
1C panko bread crumbs
2T butter

Place bacon on cold griddle and fry over medium heat. Melt butter in small sauce pan and combine with panko. As bacon fries, drizzle the grease into the breadcrumb/butter mixture and stir. When bacon is just shy of crispy, chuck it in a food processor or crumble by hand, combine with breadcrumb/butter/grease mixture.

Here's the thing:

edit: I realize how absurd this is and just wanted to see if it could be done, don't judge

If I had to frost a cake with pork fat, I'd definitely go with something like apfel griebenschmalz, which is apples, crispy scraps of pork, and usually onion in rendered pork fat. It's a traditional German spread for dark bread.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2012 20:37

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

Phummus posted:

I'm doing pork chops with a cider/shallot sauce tonight. I want to do something different for a side, and I'm thinking a puree. I supposed canned beans would be quick, but are there any other quick purees I could do that would go well with the pork and cider?

Can I do a decent puree with an immersion blender, or should I get out the food processor?

Potato pur�e using a very potato-y potato (like fingerling) and topped with egg.

If you're using a stick blender the main thing I'd worry about is overmixing. I usually do pur�es by hand with a food mill. But if you can use a low speed setting or manually pulse the blender and avoid whipping in to much air or overworking things, it's not that big of a deal. And it's more of an issue with potatoes than it is with fruit or vegetables---like I really wouldn't worry about overworking a broccoli pur�e or something like that unless you're dozing off while you're hitting it with the blender.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2012 01:53

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

kiteless posted:

Ok, so I got that berkshire pork linguisa for a song... now what do I do with it?

This might sound pedestrian, but I like it on pizza.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2012 05:52

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

pnumoman posted:

If the knife block is washable and breathable, it should be fine. Just remember to wash it often.

What are you doing to your knife block that it needs washing at all, much less needing it often?

# ¿ Feb 26, 2012 03:30

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

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

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

razz posted:

Can somebody please give me a beef stroganoff recipe that doesn't involve cream of mushroom soup and canned mushrooms? Searching with google just gives me a bunch of "quick and easy Beef Stroganoff!" crap.

The one CuddleChunks linked looks fine. That said, the way I make it follows pretty closely with the version Keller gives in Ad Hoc At Home. You can find it online, for example here. One of the main deviations from the recipe I consistently do is doing the beef in the puddle machine instead of braising it. I think I actually prefer it this way, the meat ends up with a very straight-up-the-middle beefy flavour which, along with the absence of the braising liquid in the final product, lets the mushroomy-ness come out more.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2012 00:14

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

Casu Marzu posted:

Okay so I think I'm going to smoke a brisket this weekend. Thing is, I'm bored of the usual faux-tex mex rub I usually do. Someone give me an interesting one.

For beef brisket? Don't tart it up. Save that for poultry (where you can use the extra flavour) or pork (where you usually want to throw in some sweetness to balance the flavours). For beef brisket (and really for beef ribs) your basic rub starts out as equal parts salt, (black) pepper, and paprika. Whenever I say paprika in the bbq context, I'm talking about Hungarian hot paprika, not the bland sweetish poo poo on the sad little deviled eggs at the church potluck.

The basic flavour knobs you want to turn on a beef rub are usually: the heat, which you can up by adding chili powder (in this I include cayenne, chipotle, and so on); earthiness, which you usually get out of cumin---get some seeds, roast them, and then crush them in a mortar and pestle if you really want to add more complex, darker flavours; and the various aromatics, which you're going to use powders for in a rub---garlic powder is in most rubs, but onion powder, celery powder/celery salt and so on are also pretty common. You can also add additional stuff like rosemary or marjoram or whatever, but then you're getting off into pretty fancy poo poo for a beef rub.

I'd say start out with something like a 1:1:1 mix of salt, pepper, and paprika. To this add the other stuff starting at about a half a part, and play it from there. So like a half a cup each of salt, black pepper, and paprika, and a quarter cup each of chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. My personal preference would be to add more chili powder and less cumin and garlic, but your preference may be different.

I also wouldn't blush to use just the 1:1:1 mix of salt, pepper, and paprika as a rub by itself. At least on a smoked brisket. It really doesn't want to be complicated.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2012 23:42

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

Penguin Radar posted:

So, I just harvest a metric shittonne of Kale, and have no idea what to do with it. Like, none at all. I was thinking perhaps a Kale and Feta filo pie or something? But surely someone has something far better.

I have recently (thanks to the thread) become a convert to kale in kimchi.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2012 08:50

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

razz posted:

How long will fresh mushrooms last in the fridge? The kind that come in a little foam tray with plastic wrap? My package just has a "picked on March 3" label but no indication as to how long this will last.

If you take them out of the plastic wrap and keep them in your fridge's crisper (or if your fridge is just naturally dry), expect them to last a week, week and a half. If you leave them in the plastic they'll want to get slimy/gummy from the moisture and'll go south faster.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2012 04:35

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

razz posted:

Thankya! Will plan on using them tomorrow then!

If they haven't gotten all nasty and slimy, they're good to go. I have no idea if otherwise safe culinary mushrooms will eventually become unsafe to eat, but they get pretty gross pretty quick once they start to go bad, and they'll be all wilty, deflated-looking, and slimy. Exactly how long that takes will depend on the type of mushroom---those big king oyster guys and shiitakes seem to keep pretty well compared to, say, creminis or those white button mushrooms, and they last longer than portobellos. Never actually tried to do any rigorous measurement of their respective shelf lives though.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2012 05:17

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

Kenning posted:

Also "curry" literally means "sauce," so any narrow definition you want to define is going to be pretty arbitrary.

Yeah, it's interesting how people try to shoehorn food loanwords into narrow niches regardless of their original scope. Like the American insistence that kebab means `cubed meat on a skewer' and sushi means `raw fish in roll'.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2012 23:06

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

Jose posted:

I've got a tin of chipotle chili's in adobo sauce and was wondering if I use them for something whats a good way of storing them. Getting them requires me going out of my way a bit. I'm guessing there is a decent mark up compared to getting them in the US, they were around �3.50 here.

Any recommendations what I can use them in other than chilli?

I make a pasta thing with chipotles in adobo that I like. Brown some butter in a saucier or whatever. Hit it with some cream, let it warm up, then when it's warm but not simmering add some smoked gouda or p. reggiano. Figure like two Tbsp of butter to half a cup of cream and a couple Tbsp of finely grated cheese. When that's come together, throw in your chipotles sliced really thin, like you're chiffonading them, along with a Tbsp or so of the adobo sauce. Let that set up while you boil some pasta, I tend to use penne or mostaccioli, and sear off really rare a piece of beef like a NY strip or something. When the beef is seared, cut it really thin across the grain. When the pasta's done, toss it with the sauce, plate it, lay the strips of beef on top, and then drizzle with a little bit of the remaining sauce and top with some crumbles of a salty young goat cheese like b�cheron. You can throw in some crushed red pepper if the chipotles aren't giving the sauce enough warmth.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2012 00:37

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

CzarChasm posted:

So I went out to dinner tonight to a place that does American Southern cooking. Tried collard greens for the first time...

Are they supposed to taste like someone tortured cabage and tossed with bad vinegar? I only ask because the rest of this restaurant's offerings were pretty bad and I wanted to know if I was broken or they were.

No, they shouldn't taste like that. I mean it's possible you just don't like them, but they're not what I'd call a bitter or unpleasant or aggressive flavour unlike, I dunno, the wild chicories or something like that, which I could easily see someone finding off-putting.

They tend to run tough, so they're usually wilted in some way before serving. The classic Southern presentation (or at least the one I think of first) is wilting them with some kind of pork---salt pork or bacon---and maybe some onions. I guess they could have just been underprepared (and so too tough to be palatable) or overprepared (and so just gross).

# ¿ Mar 27, 2012 03:35

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

Jose posted:

Since UK and US cuts of beef are different, what specifically do I want when trying to get american brisket? I know that its not a totally different cut but I'm after the kind of thinner cuts that seem standard in the US. The cut I bought was round if any of this makes sense

The cut right behind the front shank:

What are you planning on doing with it? If you're planning on smoking it you want what's sometimes called a `packer's cut', which includes a thick layer of fat, and includes a flat slab of meat usually called the flat of the brisket and a round lump of fattier meat usually called the point (although also sometimes called a deckle, although this seems to be something I only hear from old-school butchers anymore). If you're planning on making corned beef you can get away with just the flat of the brisket, sometimes (in the US) identified as a `cap off' brisket.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2012 01:11

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

Casu Marzu posted:

Coq au vin.

Seconding this. The tricky part of making really good coq au vin these days is usually finding a tough, gamey bird.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2012 00:58

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

dis astranagant posted:

The whole point of it is to make a tough old cock worth eating. Chickens don't tend to survive a slow braise like that with much texture intact unless they're pretty old.

And the combination of extra connective tissue to render down and the gameyness of a wild bird (or an old rooster) add a lot of flavour that your typical bred-to-be-breast-meat bird doesn't have. While coq au vin appears to be a traditional recipe developed to make use of an otherwise tough bird, the greater assertiveness of the poultry flavour is one of the draws in a modern culinary setting.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2012 02:43

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

GrAviTy84 posted:

No offense to AB, but I would do Julia Child's Coq instead http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/chicken-in-red-wine-with-onions-mushrooms-and-bacon-coq-au-vin-recipe/index.html

Or maybe Bourdains: http://kitchenmusings.com/2007/02/wineing_chicken.html

or Kellers: http://www.all-clad.co.uk/Pages/Elevate%20talent/Coq-Au-Vin.aspx

I'd go with Child's as well. I like the looks of Keller's, but (like so many of Keller's recipes) it looks pretty loving fiddly. I like that in a lot of his stuff, but I sorta feel like something like coq au vin is something that has some fixed basics (gamey bird, lardons of pork, mushrooms, red wine) but past that a lot of wiggle-room for personalising the recipe and improvising around whatever happens to be available. I do like the leeks and pearl onions in there though. Throwing in a bunch of different kinds of mushrooms sounds like a great idea in principle but is something I'd probably never actually bother with unless I was trying to get laid out of the meal or something.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2012 04:06

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

pnumoman posted:

Just because your oven is set to 400 does not mean your food will get to that temp.

This is true. It's also true that you'd still be wasting a high quality olive oil by putting it on something in a 400 degree oven. I think some people just have this idea in their head that extra virgin olive oil is `the good stuff' and so specify it in recipes, even where it isn't going to do any good.

If you're using a run-of-the-mill supermarket brand of olive oil (Star, Bertolli, and brands around that price point/level of quality) you won't notice much of a difference, because they're not that `olive-y' to start out with, and they already contain some of the bitter/plastic-y off flavours that overheating a better quality olive oil will get you.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2012 22:55

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

taco show posted:

Now for a question: I have a grater that looks like this and I have no idea how to use it. I tried grating zucchini on it today but that didn't work out so well.

This doesn't actually answer your question, but as general advice: Unless you've already got a grater that you just loving love, buy a coarse microplane and a fine microplane and never look back. They'll run you around US$14 apiece from e.g. amazon and are seriously way the gently caress better than the generic grater that seems to magically materialize in everyone's kitchens and just mangles the gently caress out of whatever you try to use it for.

Buying a couple microplanes was my second biggest `holy gently caress why have I been doing it any other way all these years' moment in the kitchen, right behind when I bought a decent vegetable peeler.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2012 02:22

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

Turkeybone posted:

Okay, I actually have a question!

I have (sigh) some boneless skinless breasts, some eggplant, and also some kohlrabi (which I've never cooked before, though I ate the leaves already). Thoughts on how to cook kohlrabi/put these ingredients together in some way?

Basically Id like to use all these things, but its not necessary, also assume I have/can get most other ingredients.

Make kimchi with the kohlrabi, add it to a stir fry with the chicken and eggplant.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2012 00:40

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

SmokeyXIII posted:

Is there something we could do differently to keep them chips dry and crispy?

I'm trying to think of a reason why you wouldn't want to make nachos in a microwave instead of an oven. I can't come up with anything. Anyone?

And I've never really had any problems with this sort of thing, but if I did, the first thing I'd look at trying would be to use tempering---heat up the individual ingredients to approximately whatever temperature you want to hit before combining them, then just giving them a quick hit under the broiler or whatever to let it all come together.

That all being said: what's getting your chips soggy? Figure out what ingredients are contributing the liquid, and make sure you have other ingredients between the wet ones and the chips. Normally I'd expect a layer of grated cheese between the chips and whatever else you're throwing on there would be sufficient (and if your chips are getting soggy from contact with the cheese either your prep time is too long or you're using the wrong cheese), but I don't know what kind of wacky horseshit might be going on under the label of `nacho' out there.

But seriously, I can't think of any reason not to do this in a microwave. Someone convince me that there's something to be gained from doing it in a conventional oven.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2012 08:51

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

Splizwarf posted:

Haven't you ever microwaved corn chips? That's why.

Yes, I have. If you're going somewhere with this I'd love to hear it.

CuddleChunks posted:

Really, the only major difference between the two prep methods is that the oven is going to allow you to brown the cheese a bit when you hit it with the broiler.

That's all I can think of, and I wouldn't even say that browning the cheese is normally something I'd consider even desirable with nachos. Normally I wouldn't even expect the top ingredient to be cheese---I'd expect it to be sour cream or pico de gallo or something like that that I wouldn't want browned.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2012 15:51

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

Splizwarf posted:

Sour cream or pico de gallo are usually added after the nachos come out of the oven.

Can be. In which case...why would you care whether or not the cheese under them is browned or not?

Splizwarf posted:

Well, here you go then: that awful plastic "it's hard like a chip so you think it's okay but it doesn't break when you bite it and then your teeth are stuck together" issue that you get with chips that have been heated and then left out overnight?

Well, you can certainly overcook things in a microwave. But that isn't an argument against microwaving, any more than that awful `it's black and sooty like charcoal' thing is an argument against using the oven.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2012 16:13

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

Splizwarf posted:

Because the browning is a series of Maillard reactions that change the flavor and consistency of the cheese significantly, and gooey cheese will keep the nachos from clumping and not protect the chips from the other liquids.

Well you can go for whatever flavour you want, but I normally associate clean, bright flavours with nachos, not a deep and complex flavour profile like you traditionally associate with browning. I'm also pretty skeptical that you're going to get much of that even if you want it out of browning the cheese on nachos---I just wouldn't expect to have that much browned surface area compared to the total volume of a `completed' nacho, and it's (presumably) competing against a bunch of other assertive flavours. But whatever.

Splizwarf posted:

I wasn't suggesting you "overcook" them in the microwave, microwaving them enough to melt cheese changes the texture of the chip into something that most people consider to be "ruined".

I don't believe this. As in I do it and don't have this problem, and there is no reason from first principles why this would be true.

What you're describing is, in fact, just overcooking. I don't know about the microwave you're having these problems with, but you might try: not using the highest setting (this just changes the microwave's duty cycling, effectively turning the microwave on and off during cooking); breaking up the cook time up (so for example instead of running the microwave for 60 seconds continuously, run it for four 15 second intervals); putting a glass of water in the microwave with the food (to absorb some of the energy).

I suppose it's also possible you just have bad chips as well. I'd actually expect a hard corn chip to be pretty drat resilient under microwaving, as it won't be particularly moist to start out with and so won't be soaking up that much energy.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2012 17:02

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

Ron Jeremy posted:

poo poo sticks when the pan gets cold. Make sure your pan and the fat in it is hot when you put your meat in. Also, letting your meat come up to room temperature can help.

But really don't sweat it. The pork chop will release once it's build up a nice brown surface, which is delicious, as is the brown poo poo left stuck on the pan.

This is correct. Stop loving with it, squigadoo. I suppose you could gently caress it up if you put a cold slab of meat into a lukewarm pan or something. But if you're trying to sear off a steak or pork chop or whatever, just let it warm up some before it hits the pan (so it's not at fridge temperature when it goes in), make sure you're using a really hot pan, use just a tiny bit of oil (like less than you probably think you need---just enough to give the pan kinda an oily sheen), and then throw it in. It'll stick, but you shouldn't be loving around with it so who cares? By the time you want to flip it, it'll release. If it doesn't, you hosed up one of the earlier steps. Or possibly you're just trying to flip it too soon.

But don't gently caress around with it or try to skate it around in the pan or whatever. I guess everyone wants to futz around with it because it makes you feel like you're doing more cooking or something. But as a general matter you should just keep your hands to yourself and let the thing cook. There are exceptions---like if you're basting the meat in hot fat while you're cooking the down side or poo poo like that---but if you were at the point where you were doing any of those things you wouldn't be asking how to keep a pork chop from sticking, so don't worry about that poo poo for now.

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

If you add enough of it, sure. But a half cup or so won't absorb enough heat from the pan to cool it down like that.

And it's not like you need to use ice water or anything. If you were worried about it, you could heat your water up to near boiling before throwing it on the pan you want to clean.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2012 20:48

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

Socratic Moron posted:

Well, I now have a ton of kohlrabi in my garden and have no idea how to prepare them. Any suggestions?

Kohlrabi is pretty awesome in kimchi.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2012 02:33

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

Agent355 posted:

I'm not sure that was right however. What veggies take the longest to cook? I'm assuming there is alot of variables but just in general.

Yeah, it really depends on what you're trying to get out of them. Like potatoes (and other hard, starchy root vegetables) generally take a longish time to cook compared to, say, greens, but how long you actually cook a bit of potato depends a lot on how they're prepared (little cubes versus just a potato sliced in half or whatever) and what kind of end product you want (soft on the inside and a little crispy on the outside like frites, fork-tender like mashed potatoes, or creamy smooth like a potato pur�e).

At the other end of the spectrum from root vegetables are leafy greens, which are often eaten uncooked and are usually just lightly wilted or something like that if they're cooked at all. In between there's a lot of variation. Galic? You can use it raw if you want a lot of bite, or slow roasted if you want a warmer, richer flavour. Happy Abobo mentions onions. If you're making something like soupe � l'oignon you want long slow cooking to evenly and thoroughly caramelise them. But on the other hand you might want to just quickly sweat them for a punchier flavour. Or use them raw in quick pickles or just as a garnish. And so on.

I guess what I'm saying is that `vegetables' is just a little less broad than `food', and it's difficult to give a meaningful (and not misleading) generalisation for something that all-encompassing. If you're interested in getting a general feel for how to approach different kinds of vegetables you could do worse than to check out the chapter on vegetables in Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

For stroganoff, looking at your description the first thing I'd recommend is preparing the cream of mushroom separately from your beef and combining them at the end. Especially if you're stuck using ground beef.

I'd saut� about half of the mushrooms in butter (melt butter in fry pan, medium heat; add mushrooms, wait for them to stop weeping liquid and start to brown---don't gently caress around with them while they're saut�ing, but watch them so you can pull them when you've cooked off the liquid without drying them out).

In a stockpot, melt some more butter and sweat your onions. When they're getting translucent, toss in the other half of your mushrooms, and cook them until they're no longer giving off liquid. Add in your cream and your garni, bring to a simmer, and keep it going until it's reduced by about half.

When it's done, strain your cream sauce (removing the garni and half the mushrooms) then return it to a low heat. Add in the saut�ed mushrooms (the ones that you haven't simmered into mush with the sauce). Adding some cr�me fra�che at this point would be nice, but if you're using ground beef you probably don't have cr�me fra�che. Leave the sauce over a low heat to keep it warm.

Put on your pappardelle or other noodles. While they're cooking, brown the meat, seasoning with s&p. When the meat's browned, drain off any excess liquid (if there's a lot, you need to use a higher heat, bigger pan, or cook in batches (so you're not crowding the pan)). Drain the pasta, top with the meat and add your sauce. Garnish with some chopped parsley if you want to tart it up.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2012 01:26

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

GrAviTy84 posted:

I like them just sauteed with some browned butter. Or blanched then dipped in pakora batter and deep fried. Or wrapped around something and braised. Or pretty much any way you would use kale.

Like in kimchi. Seriously, whoever it was that commented in the kimchi thread that they'd been making kimchi with all the random greens that were coming in their CSA box changed my loving life.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2012 23:08

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

Scott Bakula posted:

Does anyone have a good barbecue sauce recipe and a good rub for smoking pork shoulder? For the sauce ideally I'd like one that is spicy and one that isn't

For a classic pork rub you're looking at sweet and salty in fairly equal parts, with spicy and everything else following. So as a general template I'd start with a ratio of 2:2:1 salt, dried brown sugar, and chili powder. You generally want some aromatic powders in there as well; garlic and onion are common, but you can also go with something like celery salt or what have you.

I usually use something like:

12 parts salt
12 parts dried brown sugar
6 parts chili powder
2 parts ground cumin
1 part onion powder
1 part garlic powder
1 part ground black pepper

That's using homemade chili powder, which has a lot more kick to it than generic McCormick (or whatever) dried chili powder.

It's also not uncommon to omit the sugar from a pork rub and use pretty much equal parts salt and chili powder (or hot paprika) and add sweetness in the sauce.

For the sauce I usually start out with a base of homemade ketchup and whatever peppers I can get locally at the time. I use a stock pot and a fry pan (or wok). You get your ketchup base simmering, add some molasses, flat beer, chili powder, and some cider vinegar. While that's going you melt a stick of butter in the fry pan and sweat a chopped onion. If your peppers are earthy (like say jalape�os) I'd add them when the onions are almost translucent. If you get some colour on the peppers it'll bring out the warmer flavours but take a little bit of the edge off the heat. For a fruitier pepper like a habanero I prefer to just slice them and add them to the sauce.

When the onions and peppers are done, add them to the simmering sauce. I usually throw in a couple cloves of minced garlic, and the juice of a lemon. Let the sauce simmer until around when it starts looking like the right consistency, then take it off the heat, let it cool, and throw it in the fridge overnight. The following day I put it through the fine disc of a food mill---you could use a food processor or hit it with a blender. You want it smooth enough you can put it in a bottle and you can use it like a condiment sauce, but I actually prefer to leave it with a little texture.

Anyway, if I had to guess proportions I'd guess something like:

1 quart ketchup
1 stick butter
1 onion, chopped
3 or 4 fresh chili peppers
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup cider vinegar
4 Tbsp chili powder
1 lemon (juiced)

Really this is something that I don't do a lot of measuring with, it's mostly done based on what happens to be available, and adjusted by taste as it goes.

I'd be comfortable using a sauce like the above on pretty much any kind of bbq as is. For something like pork ribs I'd tend to cut the sauce with some honey before brushing it on the meat while it was resting. For a pork butt you might want to do something similar, especially if whoever you're making it for expects sweeter sauces with pork (which is pretty common). In that case I'd mix it at something like 4:1 sauce to honey.

It's also pretty common to serve pork with a much more vinegary sauce, feel free to ask if you'd prefer something like that. Not really my cup of joe (being firmly of the Texas bbq school of thought) but none of this poo poo is exactly rocket science.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2012 06:11

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

NinjaDebugger posted:

Seed your jalepenos, that's where almost all the heat is.

The hot stuff in hot peppers is (mostly) capsaicin. Most of the capsaicin isn't actually in the seeds themselves, but usually in the membranes surrounding them. When you seed a pepper, you usually end up scraping out all of the other stuff as well, so it has the effect of lowering the heat.

The punchline here is that if you're seeding peppers to lower the heat, you really want to be sure to get all the ribs and mucilage (collectively the placenta of the pepper), because that's where most of the heat is. You could in theory leave the seeds themselves in there. Except most pepper seeds are kinda bitter and I can't think of any that really contribute much flavour, so it's usually worthwhile to get them out anyway.

Some hot peppers (like habaneros) also have gland-like structures on the inner lining of the outer wall of the pepper. These also contribute a fair amount of heat (although not as much as the placenta). These are harder to cool down. If you're really set on doing it, I'd suggest soaking the peppers in a hard (high proof) liquor (like mescal or vodka) for a couple of hours. This'll work because capsaicin is soluble in alchohol; you can't use water because capsaicin isn't water soluble.

Edit: Oh hey look a new page.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2012 01:37

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

bringmyfishback posted:

It's just not an option for me. When I say I'm fine with fish sauce, I mean that I can't really taste the fishiness if it's in a curry or something- but I've tried anchovies before, and ended up retching from the fishy taste. Sigh. Lame.

Add some acidity during the prep. What you're smelling/tasting as `fishy' is almost certainly methyl amine (or one of the other amines commonly found in fish), which will be converted from the volatile (and therefore smelly) form it naturally occurs in to a less volatile (and therefore essentially odourless) salt in the presence of an acid like lemon juice or vinegar. This is also one of the reasons why you don't get a `fishy' note off of tomato sauces containing fish sauce, or `traditional' marinaras containing seafood.

I mean I can't get inside your head and from the way you're talking about it it might be enough that you just know that there's fish in there. And I can't help you with that. But I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that most of what's tripping the freak-out circuit in your brain is the odour more than the flavour, just because we're way more sensitive to the scent of amines (and just about everything else) than the flavour.

Scott Bakula posted:

Not really sure where to ask this but, I'd like to grow my own chilli plants. A few different varieties I guess. How important is the time of year (am I too late?) and what sort of conditions do they generally need? I'm in England so they would definitely be grown indoors

I've never grown hot peppers indoors, but I have grown them in planters and I've never found them to be that picky. Most (all?) hot peppers are perennials and will grow any time of year. About the only `trick' is that they seem to be calcium-hungry, so adding some bonemeal (or something similar) to the soil every once in awhile is a good idea---if they start looking kinda sad and wilty, this is probably the first thing you want to check. Assuming you're giving them enough water. I'm not master gardener and I just grown things for cooking (and not competition) so I'm willing to be convinced that I'm Doing It All Wrong and there's all kinds of crazy poo poo that you need to worry about to which I'm entirely oblivious.

Some peppers---like all fruiting plants---will flower but won't produce fruit unless they're pollinated. Since I've never grown 'em indoors I don't have any knowledge to lay down on this; maybe ask in the gardening thread.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2012 02:42

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

GrAviTy84 posted:

oh empty beer can, I mean. Just to keep the chicken upright.

Edit: Even the Modernist Cuisine guys agree.

A beer can works, but I'd actually perforate the beer can so it doesn't become a moisture trap even when it starts out empty. You can also buy these poultry butt plug things that accomplish the same thing and work better for larger birds.

NinjaDebugger posted:

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/02/the-burger-lab-how-many-times-should-you-flip-a-burger-while-cooking.html

It's explained pretty well here, basically you're cooking both sides more or less simultaneously, so you get about the same crustiness with a smaller overcooked layer in less time.

One thing they don't cover there that I'd be willing to wager is significant is the size of your cooking surface and the stability of the heat source. I bet if you're frequently flipping on the same spot on a skillet you're minimising the heat of the cooking surface under the meat---throw cool meat on a hot surface and you're cooling down the surface as you're heating the food. If you're then flipping to put the cold side of the food on the same spot, then you're amplifying the effect. Whether this is relevant will presumably be dependent on the stability of the heat source and the temperature of the meat.

The article comments on warming the meat in an oven before searing it. Of course you can do the same thing with a puddle machine. But they don't talk about what temperature the patties they prepare `conventionally' start out at, which has to be relevant; my presumption is that the effect from multiple flipping they observe is more pronounced the colder the meat is. So if you're taking the ground beef out of the fridge and throwing it directly on the grill you're going to see more stratification of doneness than if you let the meat warm up (just by sitting out on the counter a bit) before cooking. This is certainly true of e.g. steaks, and I can think of no reason why burgers would be any different.

In short, I suspect that flippiness is probably one of those things like Ducassing that has theoretical merits but probably just adds additional complexity (and therefore great opportunities to gently caress things up) for most home cooks.

# ¿ May 4, 2012 01:55

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

Nifty posted:

What are cool things to do with cauliflower?

Kimchi.

I haven't run into a Brassica that doesn't work in kimchi, and it ain't for lack of trying.

# ¿ May 11, 2012 00:38

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

Lullabee posted:

I picked up some asparagus this weekend and I want to make it to go with dinner tonight. The recipe I have is just simple olive oil, garlic, basil, S&P and lemon juice, roasted in the oven. Is this the best way to cook them? I just want to make sure. This is the first time I'm cooking them.

Yeah roasting with just a little oil and salt and pepper is good in general for hardy greens (as opposed to leafy greens).

That said, favourite thing to do with asparagus is to slice it into roughly bite-sized pieces (bias cut to make it look all snooty) and steam it until it just starts brightening up. While that's going on, saut� some mushrooms sliced or chopped a little thick (about as thick as the asparagus is around) in some butter. King oyster mushrooms are perfect, others will work as well. Just cook them until they're tender and just are taking some colour. Then just throw the asparagus in with them, turn the heat off, and throw some (real) balsamic vinegar in the hot pan and just let the carryover heat reduce it a little while you're tossing things around. Adjust as usual with some salt and pepper.

# ¿ May 22, 2012 00:06

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

Happy Abobo posted:

I ended up burning the foie, unfortunately. Looks like the hottest pan I could muster was actually a bit too hot. Still ended up really tasty though. Had it on some grilled buttermilk quick bread with caramelized apples and brussels sprouts.

I'm not really a plating snob, but drat that plate needs some colour. I'm sure it tasted fine, but it looks like a grease trap emptied onto a burnt household sponge.

Speaking of which, are there any standard references on plating? Mostly I just wing it and steal ideas I like from other people. Seems like there ought to be something like Larousse (or at least Prochef) just on the presentation end (and I mean on a everyday working level, outside of crazy Haute cuisine poo poo).

# ¿ May 23, 2012 01:57

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

Turkeybone posted:

So my ideal plan is to roast this thing at home, drive over there, fire up the apps (30m or so), and then make on with the dinner. I have other stuff to fire too, so I'd rather make the beef fire and forget.

I'd just cook it, wrap it in heavy duty aluminium foil, then throw it in an ice chest. It'll keep at serving temperature for an hour, hour and a half that way, easy.

# ¿ May 28, 2012 00:36

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 21:55

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

Miranda posted:

I've just put two quiches in the oven. Its my first time cooking them on my own (dad held my hand last time)
Just wondering what kind of cooking time should I allow? They are tomato & basil goats cheese and bacon! I'm very much a newbie when it comes to cooking and I want to give one to my boyfriend's parents so I want them to turn out edible at least!

I went through an awful lot of different techniques for making a quiche, and summarised by findings here and here.

Short version, I'd scald the milk/cream before putting it in the crust (not an option if they're already done), and cook longer at a lower temperature to develop the correct custard consistency and flavour development.

# ¿ May 28, 2012 21:04

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

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