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Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Bean posted:

Our farmer's market sells frozen meat. It is delicious, but there's only two of us. Is there a way to reportion and store the meat in the refrigerator without using power tools? I know better than to thaw the meat all the way and refreeze, but I've had some luck with just barely thawing it and then hacking at it with a chef's knife.

No idea what the hell to do with our pork shoulder, though. Our crock pot won't hold that fucker, there has to be a way to cut it.

The best option is to just tell whoever you are buying it from the way you would like to purchase it and they can do it for you before it gets frozen.

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Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006
The best way is just to put it in a cooler with dry ice and it will stay solid for hours. Just make sure to leave a vent open.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Wandering Knitter posted:

I want to make my own greek yogurt at home but I have no idea where to start. Can anyone help me?

Make it out of milk and culture or just by draining regular yogurt?

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

LogisticEarth posted:

So I recently took a crack at Chicken Fricasee for the first time, just used a recepie that popped up near the top on Google:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chicken-fricassee/detail.aspx

Turned out quite tastey, although I substituted chicken broth for water, and couldn't find andouille, so I substituted chirizo. However I've read some other things about how traditionally there isn't any sausage in it, and some other modification. So what's you're favorite recipe, or how could the one I used be improved? This seemed pretty easy and only mildly time consuming, so I'd like to work this into my regular schedule.

That seems to come from someone confusing chicken fricasee with a chicken etoufee. Fricasee is just a white stew, so you sear the meat until the fat renders but it does not color too much, then braise it with a bit of chicken stock, celery, carrots and leeks. It's basically a white chicken stew.

e- it appears that is a thing in cajun cuisine. My only familiarity with a fricasee is the French type.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Nione posted:

I thought there was a cast iron megathread, but if it survived the Whirled Peas thread massacre, I can't find it. So I'll ask here.

I'm the proud owner of a brand new, already seasoned, super awesome cast iron skillet/dutch oven (really deep skillet with lid and frying basket thing) that my cajun aunt gave me as a wedding gift. Last night I used it for the first time to do breaded pork chops.

I know that NO SOAP is the rule. I dumped the oil, wiped it out with a paper towel, then used my dishcloth (which had been used with soap on it, but had been rinsed since then) and hot water to scrub off any stuck on food bits. I was terrified of removing the seasoning, but I think I did okay. Then I dried it really well and rubbed a little vegetable oil on it before I put it away. (I also made my husband stand in the kitchen and watch me wash it because I'm a mean kitchen nazi harpy and I don't want him ruining it by 'soaking it in the sink' after he uses it to make grilled cheese sandwiches or something.)

My main question is, if I got cooked on food bits using 1/4-1/2" oil to fry something, what's going to happen if I try to sear a steak in it using significantly less oil? Should I stick to high fat items like bacon and deep frying for the first 5 uses or so until it's better seasoned? How much can I scrub the stuck on food bits without rubbing off the seasoning? Is there anything else I need to be doing?

I really want a perfectly seasoned, 'nothing will ever stick to it' pan. Can I 'reseason' it when I don't need to, just to get it to that point eventually? Honestly, I'm not cooking a lot of bacon or deep frying, so I'm concerned that it won't get enough use to get it like I want it in order to cook eggs and cornbread in it...
The more you use it the easier it will be to use. Get a stiff bristled plastic brush to clean it.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Chard posted:

What exactly is a simmer? I know it is "less than boiling" but in practice I find it somewhat difficult to gauge. Should bubbles be forming but not rising to the top?

Bubbles should be as few as possible while still being active.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Hawkgirl posted:

Dear GWS, I simultaneously love and hate you today. You convinced me that chicken thighs are way better than breasts if I simply have to eat boneless, skinless versions. Before I did not know that I was eating terrible dry poo poo. Before I thought chicken thighs were kind of gross tasting. Now here I am, having successfully made coconut milk curry with peas and onions, sincerely regretting having ever bought chicken breasts and definitely regretting putting them in this awesome-tasting curry. God drat are these ruining my meal.

So, I think I've now eaten all remaining chicken breast in my house with this meal. But just in case I'm hungry one day and all there is is chicken breast, is there anything on earth I can do to make it not suck?

On a related note: How is coconut milk so freaking awesome? I was under the impression that I thought coconut things were pretty mediocre. I tried a taste out of curiosity and almost drank the whole can.
In the case of curries, slice the chicken into bite size pieces of the same general dimensions, bring your sauce to a boil, stir in the chicken, bring it back to a boil then kill the fire and let the residual heat cook the protein.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Iunnrais posted:

I've been trying to cook more and more from scratch lately, but I'm a little stumped how to go about approximating a prepackaged recipe.

Basically, the prepackaged method is chop up potatoes, mix chopped potatoes with oil and pre-packaged onion soup, and bake. (as seen on the back of the box)

Any recipes for this sort of thing without the dehydrated prepackaged onion soup? Google searches just get me dozens of "recipes" identical to the above link, except without the name brand.
If you're just looking for a good recipe for roasted potatoes you can have that easily enough. If however you are looking for that exact taste you might as well use the packaged mix because you will need to use the same ingredients and just blend them yourself. Tossing potatoes with minced garlic, some rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper will give you delicious roasted potatoes though.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

fatherdog posted:

I wouldn't mind eating the pumpkin as well, but mainly I just wanted to cook it enough that some of the flavor would infuse into the custard. The structurally sound issue is likely, I had planned to put it in an oven-safe dish or something while it cooked and while serving.

If it were me, I would roast the pumpkin and then just make a stove-top custard, pour it into the pumpkin and then chill it.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Junior G-man posted:

I made chantarelle mushrooms again this weekend, and I find that they're a bitch to clean/de-grit:

If I wash them with hot water they get kind of soggy, and I don't get the nice browning effect when I sautée them afterwards. If I don't wash them, well, it's gritty.

In short, how do you get rid of the sand without making them all soft and soggy?

Wash them in cold water, change it enough times until they are clean then squeeze them gently and lay them on towels to dry.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006
You could always just pick up a can of aerosol whipped cream.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

LittleBob posted:

Tiny little thing, but - tips for frying eggs? Specifically, how to stop the egg white spreading out so much in the pan?

The older your egg the more it is going to spread. The only way to stop this is to do as others have mentioned and cook it in a ring mold or in a smaller pan. Another option is to crack the egg in and tilt the pan over the flame with the egg nestled in the side of the pan. It will set up a bit and then you can level out the pan and it will cook nice and tight.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Capsaicin posted:

How the gently caress do I cook rice without a rice cooker?

I've been using twice as much water as rice, boil it, drop the heat, and cover with aluminum foil. The rice always turns out kinda watery.

Every single type of rice has different needs. Some rice should be cooked at 2:1, whatever kind you have shouldnt be. If its turning out watery check the bag instructions and use less water.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

C-Euro posted:

What sort of blade design should I look for in a bread knife?

VV It's just that I bought one a couple weeks ago and it's not that great.

What everyone else said, with the addition of it being offset.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

plaguedoctor posted:


1) Are those strips going to be strong enough to withstand constant use?

No, you will be lucky if you can even get them to hold the bar itself for fifteen minutes.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

PokeJoe posted:

Anyone have a good biscuits and sausage gravy recipe? More specifically the gravy, but every time I seem to follow one it ends up tasting a bit off from what I want. I can't quite describe what I'm looking for but the average recipe I see just ends up kind of bland.

I don't use a recipe, but the basic technique is to brown off whatever sausage I have, add butter if there is not enough fat left and add in a good quantity of minced onion. Cook it down until very soft, sprinkle in flour and cook it out. Then hit it with milk and simmer it for ten minutes or so. Then add in the sausage, season pretty heavily with salt, pepper and hot sauce and finish it with a bit of cream.

Butter, sausage fat, onions, hot sauce and dairy are the main components, they just need to be in enough quantity to make it rich.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

kiteless posted:

I did read it, I just had to huff into a paper bag for a while afterwards and take a walk around the block. Thanks for doing the sperging for me.

I've been thinking of purchasing an electric rice cooker/Zojirishi, but I already have so many kitchen contraptions and big pots that I'm not sure I even have space for it, and I have no problems making good rice in a pot. Is really worthwhile? Does anybody in here even make rice on the stovetop any more?

Edit: I just took count of all my kitchen electronics. Large crockpot, tiny crockpot warmer, large food processor, small food processor, hand blender, countertop toaster/convection oven, Sous Vide demi, Kitchenaid stand mixer, hand mixer, electric spice grinder, electric burr grinder, electric coffee bean roaster, food saver, electric griddle, panini maker, waffle iron, and those are just the electronics not counting big things like roasters, woks, or canning size stock pots, lord help me I'm not kidding when I say I don't have room.
While I appreciate the convenience, the only time I regularly used a rice cooker was when I lived in the dorms. Its just as easy for me to bang out a pot of rice while I'm already standing there cooking. Once you learn the techniques needed for different styles of rice it's nothing complicated. I suppose if you were the type to make a giant pot of rice and eat it for days it would be good, but that never really appealed to me.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

WanderingMinstrel I posted:

So I've been looking at the stuffed baguette recipe from king arthur flour ( http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-baguettes-recipe )and I was wondering if it were possible to half bake it and keep it in the fridge or freezer so it can be heated up whenever. Would I bake it for half time or just until it starts to look cooked but not brown?

Also what condiments would go nicely with roast beef and pepperjack for this? Mustard seems like a bit of overkill.
I would use pepper jelly and bake them fully, and reheat them wrapped in foil.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Mammon Loves You posted:

Can somebody help me with an ice cream problem? I want a simple easy base ice cream recipe to add flavors to and I keep messing it up somehow even though I swear I'm following the same recipe each time:

2 cups half & half
2 cups whipping cream (can never remember if its heavy or not)
1 cup sugar
vanilla extract

I made a cinnamon ice cream with this recipe a couple months ago and it was perfect.

The next batch I flavored with boiled down bourbon and it was way to airy with a consistency more like whipped cream than ice cream. I thought maybe it was because of the alcohol in it or maybe because I used regular whipping cream instead of heavy.

Last night I did pureed and strained raspberries and this time specifically remembered to buy heavy whipping cream but I got the same result, more like whipped cream than ice cream.

What am I doing wrong that my ice cream comes out like this sometimes and other times it does not? What simple base recipe should I be using for ice cream?
I have a sneaking suspicion that perhaps your first batch was cold before churning perhaps? That recipe is similar to one my friends tried once that I found honestly pretty revolting. Just really really cold whipped cream. While I can't troubleshoot this recipe itself, I've never had a bad experience using a custard style base.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Hawkgirl posted:

Hey can I sub kale for spinach? Specifically I once made shrimp risotto with garlic and spinach, but I don't have any spinach. Think it would work?

It would but you should blanch it first and then chiffonade it before adding it to the risotto.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Gerblyn posted:

200g-300g is a nice amount of steak for one person, in my experience. Assuming you have enough veg and stuff to go with it.

Tomorrow, I want to try and make this Black Forest Gateaux:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/blackforestgateaux_74843

The recipe calls for tins of black cherries, but I don't know if the cherries I've found around town are actually black. They're in jars and they're a dark red color, will it mess up the cake if I use them?

Also, I need to heat cream up to scalding temperature (which I think is about 80 degrees C). Unfortunately, I don't have a thermometer :( Is there a way to tell when the cream is hot enough by eye somehow?

Your cherries will be fine. For the cream, just heat it until you see bubbles rising and then pour it over the chocolate.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Yehudis Basya posted:

Another question. Last week, I made mayo for the first time using an immersion blender. I dumped 2 egg yolks, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 3/4 tsp coarse salt, 1 tsp dijon mustard, and 1.5 cups of canola oil into the container and it whirrred away into yumminess. It was ALSO supposed to have a tablespoon of lemon juice, but my lemon had gone bad and since the vinegar is already acidic, I figured it would be okay without the juice. It tasted a bit vinegary, but was nice.

Tonight, I made more mayo, in the exact same way, but also with the lemon juice. However, the emulsion would not hold, and within 20 minutes it was gross liquid. What gives? Volumetrically, it was just another tablespoon of liquid, so it shouldn't affect the total volume appreciably... but it did increase the aqueous phase volume a good bit pre-emulsification-attempt. Solutions? Obvious anything?
You'll need a greater quantity of oil to hold that much extra liquid, yes. However if you are saying that it did come together but then later it became even more liquid then your emulsion broke which could come from a variety of things. I generally make a mayo thicker than I want it and then thin it with lemon.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

CzarChasm posted:

Looking to make some hummus and having trouble finding tahini in a reasonable sized container (found some 36oz monster, which might be overkill for only using a tablespoon at a time). I have a few local markets that I'll check out later to see if their selection is better. Making my own tahini is not an option at this point.

I have heard that peanut butter can be used in a pinch, but I currently have a very sweet PB on hand (Honey Roasted Skippy), and again, don't want to buy much larger than what I'll need if I can help it.

1) Can I sub in the sweet PB for tahini, and if so, should I increase the ammount of lemon or garlic to compensate?

2) Is either necessary? Could I forego adding either paste with a minimal loss of flavor/texture?

3) If I break down and buy the big container of tahini, can I freeze it for storage, or will the oil get funny?

TIA

If there is only a tablespoon of tahini in your hummus you're doing it wrong.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006
Honestly, the way I do it is just dump it into a clean dish towel, tie it together with some butcher's twine and then tie it to something to hang over my sink for an hour or so.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Gerblyn posted:

I tried making this last weekend:

http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1167476-bhuna-gosht-or-lamb-bhuna

And it didn't turn out that great, probably due to me messing about with the recipe. I halved everything, except I used a whole can (400g) of tomatoes and about 200ml of water. The problem I had was that after an hour simmering, it had almost boiled dry and the meat was kind of tough. Am right in thinking that I should have added more water to deal with the increased amount of tomatoes? (My saucepan is quite wide, and I was worried that having only 1 medium tomato +125ml water would mean it would burn).

Also, I went to a fairly cheap butcher to buy the lamb shoulder, I guess this might be a stupid question, but would better quality lamb give better results in terms of tenderness?

Edit: Also, does this look like a good recipe for Naan bread?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/naan_86626

I've never made any kind of bread before in my life, but I have a sudden urge to give it a try.
You just didn't let it cook long enough. You should have added more water and returned it to a light simmer until it was completely tender, then cranked the heat to reduce it down to the point you wanted it.

e- I generally wouldn't even touch a braise like that for a minimum of 2 hours.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006
Braised shortribs in borscht are pretty bomb.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

scuz posted:

They were deep fried.

Behind the shed I go. Thanks for the info. I also discovered that I fried them for about ~3x longer than I should have. They're really thick so I thought I was doin good :ohdear:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilaquiles

Just make them extra wet.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006
Seriously you can't walk ten minutes to the grocery store?

You motivate yourself to walk ten minutes because the other option is eating ramen. That's your motivation.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

indoflaven posted:

Is there a cheese that is good on a fish taco? I usually just top them with a cabbage slaw and a sour cream sauce.

Cotija or queso fresco are both Mexican leaning and good options. Feta if I have some in the fridge and someone is begging for more dairy.

Xandu posted:

Thanks. I was thinking about chili specifically, so the meat should already be basically cooked by the time I add everything else to the pot?
It should be cooked in the sense that the pieces have been seared and the interior is still pretty rare. Although if you're using ground meat then yes, it should basically be cooked through.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

anachrodragon posted:

I decided to try preparing dried beans, as I eat a lot of beans and I'm getting tired of canned. This way I can have healthier beans, and I'll freeze them in small portions so they'll be handy for the next few weeks. I got a bunch of dried black beans and soaked them overnight. Now cooking them on low heat, in a big pot with bay leaves, shallots, garlic, a couple habanero peppers, and a little dried cumin. The thing is, the broth smells delicious, and over the course of the last couple hours I've decided I must save it and do something with it.

So any ideas for what to do with a spicy black bean vegetable stock?

Honestly you should just cook it down until the beans are almost dry so that your delicious spicy bean stock adds its flavor to the beans.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006
It depends on how you cook them, I usually throw them on the back burner and top them off with more water depending on where they are at and the let them reduce down until they are almost dry.

Psychobabble fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Jan 29, 2012

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Cowcatcher posted:

Does anyone have a tried and tested beef wellington recipe?

Should I sear the meat before wrapping for extra flavour? Can I skip the refrigiration?

I don't have a recipe, but you most definitely need to sear the meat. You could skip the refrigeration, but only if you're looking for a medium-well to well done piece of meat. Warm meat will also gently caress up your pastry, the butter will start to melt from the residual heat before the heat from the oven can set/puff the layers.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Mister Macys posted:

Does sriracha sauce need to be refrigerated after opening?

It doesn't explicitly say it on the bottle, and I've thrown it in my fridge anyways (better safe, etc.), but I'd like to know for sure, as I'm only used to sauces/condiments needing refrigeration.
Especially since not everything in our local asian mart has english text.

Depends on how quickly you use it. It degrades faster at room temp.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Irish Revenge posted:

Whenever I buy crumbled feta cheese, like President or Athenos, it is always dry. However every time I go to a restaurant and get a salad with feta on it, it is always very moist, almost like cottage cheese, and it tastes 10 times better. What are they doing differently with their feta and how can I get mine to taste like that?

Its going to come in to restaurants in large square hunks packed in brine. If you want moist feta, then buy it in chunks packed in brine.


Cowcatcher posted:

Beef Wellington trip report: it was easy to make but unfortunately I overcooked the meat (not bloody==overcooked). Not sure if my pastry was too thick or if it got cooked while I was searing it

I'll try again since I have leftover duck foie gras

Did you chill the meat between steps? Also, how big of a piece of meat did you use?

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Sutremaine posted:

ginger
shredded beef
black eyed beans
asafoetida
fish sauce

This sounds kind of terrifying me. It looks like you were going in the direction of chili but then added a bunch of disparate ingredients to it.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

St. John Coltrane posted:

How do you make a nearly finished dish less salty? I'm talking about immediately before plating, you taste, and something got hosed up and it is way too salty; what do you do?

Real-life example (admittedly, super-lame):

I was improvising for some friends, which ended up being box mac 'n cheese with blackened shrimp, onions, and garlic. The pasta ended up being way too salty by the time it was finished (it was pretty clearly a result of over-salting the cooking water). I didn't know what to do to help the situation, and it really ruined any sense of what I was trying to do with the meal (some sort of balance between the rich, less salty pasta, and the salty, sweet shrimp/onions).
The mac was cooked separate from the whole shrimp/onion thing, so I basically had to address a super salty sauce/pasta situation. I'm curious if anyone has any emergency procedures which might help in such a situation, or any other helpful tips to use when seasoning otherwise goes awry...
Acid will cut the salt. I mean it won't make it less salty but the acidity will make it seem less salty. The only way to really make it less salty though would be to increase the volume of what you are cooking, such as cooking off more unseasoned pasta.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

cereal eater posted:

Can anyone tell me the differences between different oils for cooking/frying/deep frying? As in when I want to use vegetable vs olive oil vs bacon grease vs butter, and what I should be considering when making this decision.

Thanks guys, you are always so helpful for a newbie cook such as myself.

Your main concerns are smoke point and flavor. Generally speaking the more flavorful, the lower the smoking point. Safflower, grapeseed, and peanut oils are all good for high temperature cooking and deep frying. The other fats are more delicious but they require a bit more attention or else they may burn. Bacon grease, butter, duck fat, are basically entirely interchangeable, it just depends on what flavor profile you are going for.

Psychobabble fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Feb 14, 2012

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Niwrad posted:

It was a family recipe from a friend originally from Europe who recommended using it. But it seems to happen with any thick sauce or fatty meat. Some meatballs I made did the same thing. If it doesn't matter, I won't worry, it just looked sort of weird to me in the slow cooker and wasn't sure if I was doing it right.

Sort of new to cooking so learning on the fly about a lot of things.

It's just your sauce breaking. Just stir it back together to re-emulsify.

Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Gerblyn posted:

In a probably misguided attempt to impress my girlfriends grandmother, I've been trying to make a Dutch pastry called Tompoes, which is thick custard between two layers of flattened puff pastry, with icing on top of it. The problem I'm having is I simply can't get the custard to be thick enough; as soon as I spoon it on to the pastry, it goes to liquid and drips off the sides, and I'm reaching my wit's end here.

Apparently this is because the bonds made by the flour and cornflour I've used as thickening agents are quite weak, and they start to break down once I start spooning out the cooled custard.

Online research as yielded the following ideas:

Use full milk instead of semi-skimmed.
Use cream instead of milk
Instead of using 3 egg yolks to 250ml milk, use 4, or use 2 egg yolks and one whole egg.
Melt a tablespoon of gelatin into water, and add it to the custard somehow. Either while it's thickening, or afterwards I guess.

Am I on the right track with any of these ideas? I'm thinking the gelatin has the best chance of working, but from what I've read, it shouldn't be necessary to make this kind of custard...
I don't have recipes off-hand but look for pastry cream or Bavarian cream recipes. It could also be that you are not cooking your mixture long enough for the eggs to properly set, the starch is mainly there to keep the texture smooth.

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Psychobabble
Jan 17, 2006

Turkeybone posted:

Yes -- one of the "classicly awesome" CIA recipes is for a guava-paste based bbq sauce.. it takes heat really well, too.

That is such a great sauce.

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