BobCescaIs a girlBirmingham, UKRegistered Userregular
New thing to love and adore: kedgeree made with risotto rice. Seriously good.
We made these breaded fritter things with it, but I think next time we'll have it as risotto and then crush up some croutons to put on top. Also highly recommend a poached egg rather than hard-boiled.
New thing to love and adore: kedgeree made with risotto rice. Seriously good.
We made these breaded fritter things with it, but I think next time we'll have it as risotto and then crush up some croutons to put on top. Also highly recommend a poached egg rather than hard-boiled.
I'm not sure there's ever a reason to eat hard boiled eggs when poached eggs are an option.
New thing to love and adore: kedgeree made with risotto rice. Seriously good.
We made these breaded fritter things with it, but I think next time we'll have it as risotto and then crush up some croutons to put on top. Also highly recommend a poached egg rather than hard-boiled.
I'm not sure there's ever a reason to eat hard boiled eggs when poached eggs are an option.
Scotch eggs can be made with a soft boiled eggs, which I prefer, but yeah they're awesome.
However to add to your list would be Ouefs Mayonnaise. Just cut a hard boiled egg in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, squeeze a lemon over them, put a small dot of good mustard on each half and a nice dollop of good mayonnaise. Maybe a little paprika over the top, and I've seen people sprinkle chives and/or parsley for color. You can put them on top of a simple salad and serve with some bread to make a nice lunch or light dinner. And the hardest part of prep is hard boiling a few eggs, so really fast to make.
I will say that I find more cause to either poach or make eggs over easy than hard boiling them.
User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
New thing to love and adore: kedgeree made with risotto rice. Seriously good.
We made these breaded fritter things with it, but I think next time we'll have it as risotto and then crush up some croutons to put on top. Also highly recommend a poached egg rather than hard-boiled.
I'm not sure there's ever a reason to eat hard boiled eggs when poached eggs are an option.
Egg and cress sandwich
Salad nicoise
Ham salad
Key word is when they're an option. If a dish depends on the physics of having a solid egg white and yolk to hold itself together, poached isn't really an option.
Though you can do a nicoise salad with a poached egg and do an eggs benedict interpretation of the sandwich . . .
Egg curry seems like it would benefit from soft cooked eggs too. Semi-liquid yolk goes well with soups and broths.
In other news, I picked up two duck legs from a Chinese supermarket since the Western markets didn't have any in stock unless I was willing to pay $whole foods for them. There was a ton of excess skin on these that I trimmed off before rubbing in salt and spices and setting them to semi dry brine overnight. At the price I paid though, it feels more like getting extra duck fat and duck cracklings and I have it stored in a bowl in the fridge.
New thing to love and adore: kedgeree made with risotto rice. Seriously good.
We made these breaded fritter things with it, but I think next time we'll have it as risotto and then crush up some croutons to put on top. Also highly recommend a poached egg rather than hard-boiled.
I'm not sure there's ever a reason to eat hard boiled eggs when poached eggs are an option.
Egg and cress sandwich
Salad nicoise
Ham salad
Key word is when they're an option. If a dish depends on the physics of having a solid egg white and yolk to hold itself together, poached isn't really an option.
Though you can do a nicoise salad with a poached egg and do an eggs benedict interpretation of the sandwich . . .
Egg curry seems like it would benefit from soft cooked eggs too. Semi-liquid yolk goes well with soups and broths.
In other news, I picked up two duck legs from a Chinese supermarket since the Western markets didn't have any in stock unless I was willing to pay $whole foods for them. There was a ton of excess skin on these that I trimmed off before rubbing in salt and spices and setting them to semi dry brine overnight. At the price I paid though, it feels more like getting extra duck fat and duck cracklings and I have it stored in a bowl in the fridge.
Uh...
I just had the idea of confit smoked duck with crispy skin...
Hold on guys I just all the drool.
User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
New thing to love and adore: kedgeree made with risotto rice. Seriously good.
We made these breaded fritter things with it, but I think next time we'll have it as risotto and then crush up some croutons to put on top. Also highly recommend a poached egg rather than hard-boiled.
I'm not sure there's ever a reason to eat hard boiled eggs when poached eggs are an option.
Egg and cress sandwich
Salad nicoise
Ham salad
Key word is when they're an option. If a dish depends on the physics of having a solid egg white and yolk to hold itself together, poached isn't really an option.
Though you can do a nicoise salad with a poached egg and do an eggs benedict interpretation of the sandwich . . .
Egg curry seems like it would benefit from soft cooked eggs too. Semi-liquid yolk goes well with soups and broths.
In other news, I picked up two duck legs from a Chinese supermarket since the Western markets didn't have any in stock unless I was willing to pay $whole foods for them. There was a ton of excess skin on these that I trimmed off before rubbing in salt and spices and setting them to semi dry brine overnight. At the price I paid though, it feels more like getting extra duck fat and duck cracklings and I have it stored in a bowl in the fridge.
Uh...
I just had the idea of confit smoked duck with crispy skin...
Hold on guys I just all the drool.
Confit kind of gets in the way of smoking though. Although if you found a way to cold smoke the duck and then cook it confit . . .
Making corned beef for Monday in my slow cooker. Going to be using potatoes, carrots, onions, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and of course the corned beef. Strategy involved will be placing the taters and veggies on the bottom placing the brisket on top and then hitting it all with a few dashes of the Worcestershire. There anything I should use on the brisket prior? It's going to be in my fridge for a day and a half beforehand.
PSN: JesterKing13 Blizz Battletag: tehjester#1448
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AlazullYour body is not a temple, it's an amusement park.Enjoy the ride.Registered Userregular
edited March 2014
I could see either brine or at the very least rubbing that thing down with some spices before tossing it in. Probably a healthy blend of salt, pepper mixed with small amounts of paprika, coriander, thyme and allspice. Go light on the allspice, its an awesome flavor but can be a little overwhelming.
Alazull on
User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
So obviously I was experimenting with duck confit given my last few posts. Two recent dinners were sous vide duck confit with a side of asparagus. I've never made confit the traditional way since it takes a lot of fat (I don't have quite that much on hand), I don't have the ideal cooking vessels for it, and there's a lot of overhead for someone that lives and normally eats alone. Doing it sous vide lets for less fat to be used and since each leg can be individually bagged and sealed, it's simple to stick the ones you're not eating immediately into the fridge for another day. You also can play with the temperature and time. These were done at a lower temperature for a longer period of time for moister meat.
Specifically the legs were cured a bit with salt, pepper, and thyme overnight in the fridge before being sealed, cooked for 24 hours or so at 151 F, then browned in a pan before serving to render fat out and crisp the skin.
After I scooped out the fat from the bag and off the leg, I still had what appeared to be a brownish gelatin. That went into the pan after the duck was out along with some watered down Marsala to deglaze and make a small bit of sauce. The first leg had a chunk of fat that separated from the skin and meat that I saved for further rendering. The one pictured had less fat that stuck to the skin and acted like duck butter for the meat.
The sauce really wound up being more of the asparagus since the duck had plenty of flavor. The asparagus did too for that matter since I rolled them in leftover oil from sauteing some maitake mushrooms I had for lunch that I was too lazy to immediately clean out of the pan, then roasted in the same pan. It just still benefited from the duck flavor.
HO. LEE. SHIT. Oh man, did that corned beef turn out awesome! Ended up using salt, pepper and some thyme and the seasoning pack that came with the brisket for the meat itself. For the potatoes, onions and carrots I used rosemary, salt and pepper. Place the meat and veggies in separate bags in the fridge overnight. Placed veggies on the bottom of the crock pot and the meat on top. Slowly poured a Guinness over the meat and set to low and let the whole thing brew for like 10 hours. I was afraid though, I thought it was all going to be over cooked but I had no choice but to let it all stew cause I was at work all day. Awe shit! So tender, so delicious!
The pro to that con is that you don't need to use very many to get your desired results. Even in the most savory stews and in large quantities (I work at a restaurant so my minimum batch size on a soup is about five gallons) I use maybe five to at most eight. Again, as I've said before becoming friendly with someone who works at a restaurant could be helpful, talk them into letting you buy a huge container of them at cost and you'll have enough bay leaves to last you years. Also good for grabbing whole nutmeg and vanilla beans. Seriously, its hard for me to shop at regular grocery stores knowing that I'm paying near to double what I would going through a food supplier.
@tehjester Glad to hear it turned out so well! I'm guessing you left the onions and carrots in pretty large chunks? That's always a good way to do veg you're going to cook a long time, as it'll still have some body to it so you're not dealing with a lot of mush.
User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
I was doing sous vide short ribs using a temperature that goes best with a 3 day cooking time to melt down all the connective tissue and fat. Turns out if you salt the beef before the three days of cooking, you corn the beef. Still pretty tasty and the liquid released by the meat made for a really good sauce when reduced with some wine and smoked salt.
Next time I'll do it more by the book and see how it turns out.
The pro to that con is that you don't need to use very many to get your desired results. Even in the most savory stews and in large quantities (I work at a restaurant so my minimum batch size on a soup is about five gallons) I use maybe five to at most eight. Again, as I've said before becoming friendly with someone who works at a restaurant could be helpful, talk them into letting you buy a huge container of them at cost and you'll have enough bay leaves to last you years. Also good for grabbing whole nutmeg and vanilla beans. Seriously, its hard for me to shop at regular grocery stores knowing that I'm paying near to double what I would going through a food supplier.
It's been discussed here as well as several other places that in general buying spices or dried herbs at western supermarkets is paying way too much. Outside of restaurant suppliers, Indian and Middle Eastern stores will have spices and herbs comparable in quality to the grocery store at much, much cheaper prices if you're willing to buy a $1-$2 jar you refill yourself. Dedicated spice shops like Penzeys are more expensive but can net higher quality stuff (when I sniff my extra large Tellicherry black peppercorns, part of me thinks "So this is why Europe was willing to send so many sailors to their deaths in search of a route to India") or things the Indian and Middle Eastern stores don't bother with and still compare very favorably to Western grocers. Trader Joe's has been the sole exception to highly inflated prices for this stuff in that buying a jar of their stuff is usually about what it would have cost to buy a jar and fill it up with stuff from another place but it's still cheaper to refill from one of the aforementioned sources.
On a related note, my favorite place to pick up saffron (and a few other obscure ingredients) is from a place that has an Iranian restaurant on one side of the space and an Iranian store on the other. I suspect that they just split off some of the saffron they buy from their restaurant supplier and put it into small bags for a really good price.
I was doing sous vide short ribs using a temperature that goes best with a 3 day cooking time to melt down all the connective tissue and fat. Turns out if you salt the beef before the three days of cooking, you corn the beef. Still pretty tasty and the liquid released by the meat made for a really good sauce when reduced with some wine and smoked salt.
Next time I'll do it more by the book and see how it turns out.
The pro to that con is that you don't need to use very many to get your desired results. Even in the most savory stews and in large quantities (I work at a restaurant so my minimum batch size on a soup is about five gallons) I use maybe five to at most eight. Again, as I've said before becoming friendly with someone who works at a restaurant could be helpful, talk them into letting you buy a huge container of them at cost and you'll have enough bay leaves to last you years. Also good for grabbing whole nutmeg and vanilla beans. Seriously, its hard for me to shop at regular grocery stores knowing that I'm paying near to double what I would going through a food supplier.
It's been discussed here as well as several other places that in general buying spices or dried herbs at western supermarkets is paying way too much. Outside of restaurant suppliers, Indian and Middle Eastern stores will have spices and herbs comparable in quality to the grocery store at much, much cheaper prices if you're willing to buy a $1-$2 jar you refill yourself. Dedicated spice shops like Penzeys are more expensive but can net higher quality stuff (when I sniff my extra large Tellicherry black peppercorns, part of me thinks "So this is why Europe was willing to send so many sailors to their deaths in search of a route to India") or things the Indian and Middle Eastern stores don't bother with and still compare very favorably to Western grocers. Trader Joe's has been the sole exception to highly inflated prices for this stuff in that buying a jar of their stuff is usually about what it would have cost to buy a jar and fill it up with stuff from another place but it's still cheaper to refill from one of the aforementioned sources.
On a related note, my favorite place to pick up saffron (and a few other obscure ingredients) is from a place that has an Iranian restaurant on one side of the space and an Iranian store on the other. I suspect that they just split off some of the saffron they buy from their restaurant supplier and put it into small bags for a really good price.
if you don't have an ethnic market handy, you can always check the mexican section of your grocery store. they often sell spices there for about 1/4 the price of the "spice aisle"
I was doing sous vide short ribs using a temperature that goes best with a 3 day cooking time to melt down all the connective tissue and fat. Turns out if you salt the beef before the three days of cooking, you corn the beef. Still pretty tasty and the liquid released by the meat made for a really good sauce when reduced with some wine and smoked salt.
Next time I'll do it more by the book and see how it turns out.
The pro to that con is that you don't need to use very many to get your desired results. Even in the most savory stews and in large quantities (I work at a restaurant so my minimum batch size on a soup is about five gallons) I use maybe five to at most eight. Again, as I've said before becoming friendly with someone who works at a restaurant could be helpful, talk them into letting you buy a huge container of them at cost and you'll have enough bay leaves to last you years. Also good for grabbing whole nutmeg and vanilla beans. Seriously, its hard for me to shop at regular grocery stores knowing that I'm paying near to double what I would going through a food supplier.
It's been discussed here as well as several other places that in general buying spices or dried herbs at western supermarkets is paying way too much. Outside of restaurant suppliers, Indian and Middle Eastern stores will have spices and herbs comparable in quality to the grocery store at much, much cheaper prices if you're willing to buy a $1-$2 jar you refill yourself. Dedicated spice shops like Penzeys are more expensive but can net higher quality stuff (when I sniff my extra large Tellicherry black peppercorns, part of me thinks "So this is why Europe was willing to send so many sailors to their deaths in search of a route to India") or things the Indian and Middle Eastern stores don't bother with and still compare very favorably to Western grocers. Trader Joe's has been the sole exception to highly inflated prices for this stuff in that buying a jar of their stuff is usually about what it would have cost to buy a jar and fill it up with stuff from another place but it's still cheaper to refill from one of the aforementioned sources.
On a related note, my favorite place to pick up saffron (and a few other obscure ingredients) is from a place that has an Iranian restaurant on one side of the space and an Iranian store on the other. I suspect that they just split off some of the saffron they buy from their restaurant supplier and put it into small bags for a really good price.
if you don't have an ethnic market handy, you can always check the mexican section of your grocery store. they often sell spices there for about 1/4 the price of the "spice aisle"
Goya, Cento, and some of the other similar companies are really good for some of this stuff and other harder to find ingredients. So much so that Korean markets here stock those brands for spices (which would likely be even cheaper than those brands at Western stores).
if you don't have an ethnic market handy, you can always check the mexican section of your grocery store. they often sell spices there for about 1/4 the price of the "spice aisle"
In my area it's the Asian or Indian section, but the same thing applies.
:so_raven:
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
Made colcannon last night for St. Patty's
3 large (I used 5 medium) russet potatoes -- if you're using a ricer, peel them, if not, don't... I didn't
1 head white cabbage
1 bunch scallions
8 tbsp butter (I pulled it out and left it on the counter for 20-30 mins before i started so it would be soft)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp-ish garlic (three or four cloves, smashed and chopped)
1 tsp salt (plus salt elsewhere to taste)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
Slice the cabbage into 1/4" thin strips.
Chop the scallions down to the white. Save the white parts for stock or whatever, but you won't be using them here.
Cut up the potatoes, bring to a boil and then let simmer, covered, until you can slide a fork through them.
Toss 2 tbsp of butter and the cabbage into a large frying pan or a stock pot (it's a lot of cabbage before it wilts). Cook over medium-high until the cabbage starts to brown a little bit. This will take 10-15 mins probably.
While that's happening, put the cream, garlic, and peppercorns in a saucepan and bring just to a simmer, then remove from heat. Add salt and sugar to the cream and set aside, covered.
When the potatoes are done, get a big bowl, chop the other 6tbsp of butter into chunks, add the cream so the butter softens, then add your potatoes and mash (or rice) and gently fold in the cream.
Don't mash too much or it'll get all gluteny, also it will look a bit soupy at first, but it'll thicken up.
When the cabbage is done, fold it and the scallions into the potatoes until everything's just a big bowl of colcannon.
Serves 4-6 people.
To serve, get a bowl and scoop out a portion. Dig a little volcano hole out of the top and put in a pad of butter.
Then eat.
I served it with chicken and apple sausages and it was p alright.
I would have taken pictures but my phone was dead at the time and then we ate it all.
Also, if you have some leftover the next day, you can make potato cakes out of them by adding a bit of egg to bind the potato together, forming patties, and then just baking or browning them in a pan.
You're welcome.
Allegedly a voice of reason.
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lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
was it in this thread that somebody was asking abut Salt Potatoes?
How does one buy a standing mixer? I want to start baking more to make home cooked meals more exciting, but kneading dough is a workout that I cant always commit to. The range is, seemingly, from 200 to "worth its weight in diamonds" and I am still on a modest-ish budget. I'm not a "serious" baker yet but it seems like the specific use I want it for (bread making) Takes me out of the cheap bracket.
I would make an H/A thread, but I'm more speculating about making a purchase than about to actually make a purchase. Just wondering if any of you had some experience or have some tips from when you acquired yours. I may start thrift shopping in hopes of getting lucky.
How does one buy a standing mixer? I want to start baking more to make home cooked meals more exciting, but kneading dough is a workout that I cant always commit to. The range is, seemingly, from 200 to "worth its weight in diamonds" and I am still on a modest-ish budget. I'm not a "serious" baker yet but it seems like the specific use I want it for (bread making) Takes me out of the cheap bracket.
I would make an H/A thread, but I'm more speculating about making a purchase than about to actually make a purchase. Just wondering if any of you had some experience or have some tips from when you acquired yours. I may start thrift shopping in hopes of getting lucky.
First step is knowing that you want one. It's often a hefty chunk of change but you can take comfort in knowing that the quality of a good mixer has stood the test of time as well as many kitchens putting theirs through frequent use for years and years. The adage that you only regret paying a lot for a useful and high quality item once applies. Plus I'm pretty sure I've saved myself from shoulder surgery bills down the line by not having to involve my arms in the process, not to mention time saved.
With that, you can keep your eye out for sales and deals. No one really follows MSRP on some of the more established brands but of course they all advertise how much below it their standard price is. But Kitchenaid mixers definitely go on real sales around Black Friday and all the big retailers manage to sync up discounts as well. I wound up ordering mine from Kohl's online since they threw in a generous amount of store credit on top of the sale price matching Target and Amazon. I think I paid between $200 to $250 for one of their midrange models (the cheapest had a glass bowl and smaller capacity. Glass bowls tend to get chipped so those were a no go for me). Sales can occur at other times of the year but holiday season is the best bet. Oddly enough, I never see other brands of stand mixers having their discounts pushed as hard but that's fine since Kitchenaid has been king of the hill forever.
So, I've recently started trying to do some cooking on my own, and my hardware is proving inadequate. As a bachelor I mostly attempt soups, stews, and occasionally something more complex (like pierogi, which I have not yet gotten quite right).
I've got one cheap pot given to me when I first moved out of my parents' house, and it's too small. I seem to always end up with too much stuff to fit in the pot. It's also about a 50/50 mix of bare aluminum and peeling low-grade Teflon. I know you can eat Teflon without harm, but it's not exactly good eats.
What is my best option for a stew pot? I put tomatoes in nearly everything, so reactive metals are out (no bare copper or iron). Cast iron sounds like a little more effort than I'd like in terms of maintenance, although enameled cast iron is an option. Should I buy a stainless/aluminum stock pot? An enameled stock pot or Dutch oven (some people seem to swear by those things)? I have very little kitchenware so I'd like something that's as versatile as possible while still filling the fundamental role of boiling stuff on the stove.
@Steel Angel thanks for the advice. I can probably wait untill the holidays, maybe I'll try and fish for some giftcards to put towards it too. I think if I go thrift shopping around the richer parts of town, I may get lucky and find a body of a kitchenaid that I can snatch up.
-fairly highwalled Cast iron pan
-Enameled Dutch Oven 7.8 quart
- A very small nonstick fry pan (Like 5inches across)
- A small non stick saucepan
- A slightly larger, lidded non stick pot
- A huge tall aluminum stock pot.
I make 90% what I cook in the cast iron pan/dutch oven. Once you get the cast iron pan seasoned well, It can do a lot of nonstick jobs, but mine is a little to big to fry an egg for one. I have the nonstick saucepan and the pot for the same reason, really, they are smaller and good for like, instant mac and cheese and boiling pasta. My mom insists that a stock pot should be big enough to fit a whole chicken or two in, so I have that thing now.
The cast iron going from stove top to oven opens up a lot of recipes and uses. You can make potato cakes and a bunch of other stuff without breaking out a casserole dish.
So, I've recently started trying to do some cooking on my own, and my hardware is proving inadequate. As a bachelor I mostly attempt soups, stews, and occasionally something more complex (like pierogi, which I have not yet gotten quite right).
I've got one cheap pot given to me when I first moved out of my parents' house, and it's too small. I seem to always end up with too much stuff to fit in the pot. It's also about a 50/50 mix of bare aluminum and peeling low-grade Teflon. I know you can eat Teflon without harm, but it's not exactly good eats.
What is my best option for a stew pot? I put tomatoes in nearly everything, so reactive metals are out (no bare copper or iron). Cast iron sounds like a little more effort than I'd like in terms of maintenance, although enameled cast iron is an option. Should I buy a stainless/aluminum stock pot? An enameled stock pot or Dutch oven (some people seem to swear by those things)? I have very little kitchenware so I'd like something that's as versatile as possible while still filling the fundamental role of boiling stuff on the stove.
You might look at one of the imported, very thin, cast-iron woks from some place like The Wok Shop (sells through amazon). Seasoning it isn't a real issue, and I do 3-4 hour tomato sauces in mine often, without affecting the seasoning (I still heat it up, rub it with oil, heat that up, then let it cool at least once a month). I use a plastic brush from a local $1 store to clean it, under hot water, then I heat it up until dry.
I find it the perfect 1-pan pan for 1-4 people.
Throwing in some olive oil, diced anchovy fillets, some capers, garlic, chopped olives, chopped tomato and red pepper flakes, then tossing in some nearly cooked pasta, a splash of pasta water and some grated hard italian cheese (I use romano, asiago and parmesean interchangably for this kind of thing) makes a fantastic Spaghetti Puttanesca... better than any stainless skillet can do (or at least as good).
Plus, you get to make that ultimate quick dinner: stir-fry. There's nothing quicker or easier than a simple (or complicated) stir-fry.
Yep, I'll always recommend a decent wok as the ultimate 1-pan pan. It does stews and soups just fine, as well.
What is my best option for a stew pot? I put tomatoes in nearly everything, so reactive metals are out (no bare copper or iron). Cast iron sounds like a little more effort than I'd like in terms of maintenance, although enameled cast iron is an option. Should I buy a stainless/aluminum stock pot? An enameled stock pot or Dutch oven (some people seem to swear by those things)? I have very little kitchenware so I'd like something that's as versatile as possible while still filling the fundamental role of boiling stuff on the stove.
A dutch oven would be the most versatile choice. It's thicker than a stock pot so it'll take longer to boil stuff which may be a consideration but it wins on versatility.
It's going to be really good at braising, good at stews and soups, and functional at being a roasting vessel (it's thicker and bigger than a pan so it'll behave differently and that can be good or bad depending on what you're making) or pan (cast iron is heavy as is, dutch ovens more so so it could be a bit unwieldy but it'll work). You also can make bread in one: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/the-food-lab-the-science-of-no-knead-dough.html
The Lodge dutch ovens have the best quality to budget ratio and are a solid choice.
AlazullYour body is not a temple, it's an amusement park.Enjoy the ride.Registered Userregular
Yeah, enameled Dutch ovens are probably your best bet. As everyone has pointed at their versatile and actually relatively cheap.
I've inherited a Le Creuset one and its like my life has been changed for the better thanks to it. It's one of the first times I've truly enjoyed home cookware since I've started working in restaurants.
User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
Yeah, enameled Dutch ovens are probably your best bet. As everyone has pointed at their versatile and actually relatively cheap.
I've inherited a Le Creuset one and its like my life has been changed for the better thanks to it. It's one of the first times I've truly enjoyed home cookware since I've started working in restaurants.
LaCreuset's cost $BANK though. It's like noting that your copper pots and pans seem to cook better.
CostCo has a Kirkland brand ripoff of the LaCreusets that sells for like $60, good stuff.
I haven't seen the costco brand, but there is no real difference between my Lodge Oven and my moms LaCreuset, for a nearly $200 difference, I would go with Lodge.
It smelled like burnt steak in the hallway when I left for dinner, so I guess someone burned some meat and blamed the pan. So, of course, I picked that shit up and now I have a free grill pan. I'm stripping currently off the old seasoning and I'm going to redo it with the flax seed oil that worked so well on my other pan.
AlazullYour body is not a temple, it's an amusement park.Enjoy the ride.Registered Userregular
That's awesome! Always cool to find something like that for free.
Yeah, don't go dropping Le Creuset money while you're trying to build up your cookware. Ask for them as presents when appropriate, and if you can find someone willing to part with one cheap you should jump on it. I've heard that the CostCo brand enameled cast iron is actually pretty good, and as Joe K pointed out its not expensive, so friendly to the idea of building up your set. Lodge is also a good product, I've seen a lot of their product in professional kitchens and people swear by them as holding up to abuse, obviously a little more expensive.
Another thing I've seen done is checking antique stores for rusted over cast iron pans, buying them for very little as people consider them decorations at that point, and then scrubbing it down until you take off all the rust and seasoning the pan. It's a large amount of work to pull off, but it could get you something and on top of that makes for a story while say making dinner for a special someone.
User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
Another thing I've seen done is checking antique stores for rusted over cast iron pans, buying them for very little as people consider them decorations at that point, and then scrubbing it down until you take off all the rust and seasoning the pan. It's a large amount of work to pull off, but it could get you something and on top of that makes for a story while say making dinner for a special someone.
I have a very small wagner pan that i got this way. You cover it in easy off and put it a trash bag, toss it outside for 16-18 hours, and pretty much everything comes off. You have to start the seasoning from scratch, but I think that's a good policy for found things you are planning to cook in anyway.
Only trouble is I cant figure out what to cook in my wagner, its so tiny.
AlazullYour body is not a temple, it's an amusement park.Enjoy the ride.Registered Userregular
Small pans are like that, they're the more specialized pan because you'll need it maybe one of every fifty times you are in the kitchen.
It'll be handy for smaller jobs like say a fritata for a couple of people, a nice oven-finished omelette, sauces or small sautee jobs. But yeah, its nice that you got it for cheap since you probably won't be using it much.
User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
Another thing I've seen done is checking antique stores for rusted over cast iron pans, buying them for very little as people consider them decorations at that point, and then scrubbing it down until you take off all the rust and seasoning the pan. It's a large amount of work to pull off, but it could get you something and on top of that makes for a story while say making dinner for a special someone.
I have a very small wagner pan that i got this way. You cover it in easy off and put it a trash bag, toss it outside for 16-18 hours, and pretty much everything comes off. You have to start the seasoning from scratch, but I think that's a good policy for found things you are planning to cook in anyway.
Only trouble is I cant figure out what to cook in my wagner, its so tiny.
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We made these breaded fritter things with it, but I think next time we'll have it as risotto and then crush up some croutons to put on top. Also highly recommend a poached egg rather than hard-boiled.
I'm not sure there's ever a reason to eat hard boiled eggs when poached eggs are an option.
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Egg and cress sandwich
Salad nicoise
Ham salad
Scotch eggs can be made with a soft boiled eggs, which I prefer, but yeah they're awesome.
However to add to your list would be Ouefs Mayonnaise. Just cut a hard boiled egg in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, squeeze a lemon over them, put a small dot of good mustard on each half and a nice dollop of good mayonnaise. Maybe a little paprika over the top, and I've seen people sprinkle chives and/or parsley for color. You can put them on top of a simple salad and serve with some bread to make a nice lunch or light dinner. And the hardest part of prep is hard boiling a few eggs, so really fast to make.
I will say that I find more cause to either poach or make eggs over easy than hard boiling them.
Key word is when they're an option. If a dish depends on the physics of having a solid egg white and yolk to hold itself together, poached isn't really an option.
Though you can do a nicoise salad with a poached egg and do an eggs benedict interpretation of the sandwich . . .
Egg curry seems like it would benefit from soft cooked eggs too. Semi-liquid yolk goes well with soups and broths.
In other news, I picked up two duck legs from a Chinese supermarket since the Western markets didn't have any in stock unless I was willing to pay $whole foods for them. There was a ton of excess skin on these that I trimmed off before rubbing in salt and spices and setting them to semi dry brine overnight. At the price I paid though, it feels more like getting extra duck fat and duck cracklings and I have it stored in a bowl in the fridge.
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Uh...
I just had the idea of confit smoked duck with crispy skin...
Hold on guys I just all the drool.
Confit kind of gets in the way of smoking though. Although if you found a way to cold smoke the duck and then cook it confit . . .
Crispy skin is a given of course.
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Specifically the legs were cured a bit with salt, pepper, and thyme overnight in the fridge before being sealed, cooked for 24 hours or so at 151 F, then browned in a pan before serving to render fat out and crisp the skin.
After I scooped out the fat from the bag and off the leg, I still had what appeared to be a brownish gelatin. That went into the pan after the duck was out along with some watered down Marsala to deglaze and make a small bit of sauce. The first leg had a chunk of fat that separated from the skin and meat that I saved for further rendering. The one pictured had less fat that stuck to the skin and acted like duck butter for the meat.
The sauce really wound up being more of the asparagus since the duck had plenty of flavor. The asparagus did too for that matter since I rolled them in leftover oil from sauteing some maitake mushrooms I had for lunch that I was too lazy to immediately clean out of the pan, then roasted in the same pan. It just still benefited from the duck flavor.
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that is all.
The pro to that con is that you don't need to use very many to get your desired results. Even in the most savory stews and in large quantities (I work at a restaurant so my minimum batch size on a soup is about five gallons) I use maybe five to at most eight. Again, as I've said before becoming friendly with someone who works at a restaurant could be helpful, talk them into letting you buy a huge container of them at cost and you'll have enough bay leaves to last you years. Also good for grabbing whole nutmeg and vanilla beans. Seriously, its hard for me to shop at regular grocery stores knowing that I'm paying near to double what I would going through a food supplier.
@tehjester Glad to hear it turned out so well! I'm guessing you left the onions and carrots in pretty large chunks? That's always a good way to do veg you're going to cook a long time, as it'll still have some body to it so you're not dealing with a lot of mush.
I was doing sous vide short ribs using a temperature that goes best with a 3 day cooking time to melt down all the connective tissue and fat. Turns out if you salt the beef before the three days of cooking, you corn the beef. Still pretty tasty and the liquid released by the meat made for a really good sauce when reduced with some wine and smoked salt.
Next time I'll do it more by the book and see how it turns out.
It's been discussed here as well as several other places that in general buying spices or dried herbs at western supermarkets is paying way too much. Outside of restaurant suppliers, Indian and Middle Eastern stores will have spices and herbs comparable in quality to the grocery store at much, much cheaper prices if you're willing to buy a $1-$2 jar you refill yourself. Dedicated spice shops like Penzeys are more expensive but can net higher quality stuff (when I sniff my extra large Tellicherry black peppercorns, part of me thinks "So this is why Europe was willing to send so many sailors to their deaths in search of a route to India") or things the Indian and Middle Eastern stores don't bother with and still compare very favorably to Western grocers. Trader Joe's has been the sole exception to highly inflated prices for this stuff in that buying a jar of their stuff is usually about what it would have cost to buy a jar and fill it up with stuff from another place but it's still cheaper to refill from one of the aforementioned sources.
On a related note, my favorite place to pick up saffron (and a few other obscure ingredients) is from a place that has an Iranian restaurant on one side of the space and an Iranian store on the other. I suspect that they just split off some of the saffron they buy from their restaurant supplier and put it into small bags for a really good price.
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They're charging you for the bottle.
Check out the bulk spice section in any megamart.
damn, that would have been smarter
oh well, at 4 crushed ones a pop, I'll be out by my second pancetta lol
also you could look into buying a laurel bush if you have a house and the right climate, or grow one as a houseplant
they are pretty and smell nice
if you don't have an ethnic market handy, you can always check the mexican section of your grocery store. they often sell spices there for about 1/4 the price of the "spice aisle"
Goya, Cento, and some of the other similar companies are really good for some of this stuff and other harder to find ingredients. So much so that Korean markets here stock those brands for spices (which would likely be even cheaper than those brands at Western stores).
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Counterpoint: bay trees are pretty easy to grow and you can keep them shrub sized.
And they smell nice in summer.
In my area it's the Asian or Indian section, but the same thing applies.
3 large (I used 5 medium) russet potatoes -- if you're using a ricer, peel them, if not, don't... I didn't
1 head white cabbage
1 bunch scallions
8 tbsp butter (I pulled it out and left it on the counter for 20-30 mins before i started so it would be soft)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp-ish garlic (three or four cloves, smashed and chopped)
1 tsp salt (plus salt elsewhere to taste)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
Slice the cabbage into 1/4" thin strips.
Chop the scallions down to the white. Save the white parts for stock or whatever, but you won't be using them here.
Cut up the potatoes, bring to a boil and then let simmer, covered, until you can slide a fork through them.
Toss 2 tbsp of butter and the cabbage into a large frying pan or a stock pot (it's a lot of cabbage before it wilts). Cook over medium-high until the cabbage starts to brown a little bit. This will take 10-15 mins probably.
While that's happening, put the cream, garlic, and peppercorns in a saucepan and bring just to a simmer, then remove from heat. Add salt and sugar to the cream and set aside, covered.
When the potatoes are done, get a big bowl, chop the other 6tbsp of butter into chunks, add the cream so the butter softens, then add your potatoes and mash (or rice) and gently fold in the cream.
Don't mash too much or it'll get all gluteny, also it will look a bit soupy at first, but it'll thicken up.
When the cabbage is done, fold it and the scallions into the potatoes until everything's just a big bowl of colcannon.
Serves 4-6 people.
To serve, get a bowl and scoop out a portion. Dig a little volcano hole out of the top and put in a pad of butter.
Then eat.
I served it with chicken and apple sausages and it was p alright.
I would have taken pictures but my phone was dead at the time and then we ate it all.
Also, if you have some leftover the next day, you can make potato cakes out of them by adding a bit of egg to bind the potato together, forming patties, and then just baking or browning them in a pan.
You're welcome.
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How does one buy a standing mixer? I want to start baking more to make home cooked meals more exciting, but kneading dough is a workout that I cant always commit to. The range is, seemingly, from 200 to "worth its weight in diamonds" and I am still on a modest-ish budget. I'm not a "serious" baker yet but it seems like the specific use I want it for (bread making) Takes me out of the cheap bracket.
I would make an H/A thread, but I'm more speculating about making a purchase than about to actually make a purchase. Just wondering if any of you had some experience or have some tips from when you acquired yours. I may start thrift shopping in hopes of getting lucky.
First step is knowing that you want one. It's often a hefty chunk of change but you can take comfort in knowing that the quality of a good mixer has stood the test of time as well as many kitchens putting theirs through frequent use for years and years. The adage that you only regret paying a lot for a useful and high quality item once applies. Plus I'm pretty sure I've saved myself from shoulder surgery bills down the line by not having to involve my arms in the process, not to mention time saved.
With that, you can keep your eye out for sales and deals. No one really follows MSRP on some of the more established brands but of course they all advertise how much below it their standard price is. But Kitchenaid mixers definitely go on real sales around Black Friday and all the big retailers manage to sync up discounts as well. I wound up ordering mine from Kohl's online since they threw in a generous amount of store credit on top of the sale price matching Target and Amazon. I think I paid between $200 to $250 for one of their midrange models (the cheapest had a glass bowl and smaller capacity. Glass bowls tend to get chipped so those were a no go for me). Sales can occur at other times of the year but holiday season is the best bet. Oddly enough, I never see other brands of stand mixers having their discounts pushed as hard but that's fine since Kitchenaid has been king of the hill forever.
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I've got one cheap pot given to me when I first moved out of my parents' house, and it's too small. I seem to always end up with too much stuff to fit in the pot. It's also about a 50/50 mix of bare aluminum and peeling low-grade Teflon. I know you can eat Teflon without harm, but it's not exactly good eats.
What is my best option for a stew pot? I put tomatoes in nearly everything, so reactive metals are out (no bare copper or iron). Cast iron sounds like a little more effort than I'd like in terms of maintenance, although enameled cast iron is an option. Should I buy a stainless/aluminum stock pot? An enameled stock pot or Dutch oven (some people seem to swear by those things)? I have very little kitchenware so I'd like something that's as versatile as possible while still filling the fundamental role of boiling stuff on the stove.
@CycloneRanger I have one of these hulking monsters: http://www.lodgemfg.com/enameled-cast-iron/dutch-ovens-casseroles/color-enamel-dutch-oven-EC7D33. I got it as a gift, but if you are more of a kitchen minimalist when it comes to equipment, cast iron is a worthy investment of time. I use the black monolith that is my castiron pan, and my dutch oven for pretty much everything. I have a total of 6 pots/pans for general cooking.
-fairly highwalled Cast iron pan
-Enameled Dutch Oven 7.8 quart
- A very small nonstick fry pan (Like 5inches across)
- A small non stick saucepan
- A slightly larger, lidded non stick pot
- A huge tall aluminum stock pot.
I make 90% what I cook in the cast iron pan/dutch oven. Once you get the cast iron pan seasoned well, It can do a lot of nonstick jobs, but mine is a little to big to fry an egg for one. I have the nonstick saucepan and the pot for the same reason, really, they are smaller and good for like, instant mac and cheese and boiling pasta. My mom insists that a stock pot should be big enough to fit a whole chicken or two in, so I have that thing now.
The cast iron going from stove top to oven opens up a lot of recipes and uses. You can make potato cakes and a bunch of other stuff without breaking out a casserole dish.
You might look at one of the imported, very thin, cast-iron woks from some place like The Wok Shop (sells through amazon). Seasoning it isn't a real issue, and I do 3-4 hour tomato sauces in mine often, without affecting the seasoning (I still heat it up, rub it with oil, heat that up, then let it cool at least once a month). I use a plastic brush from a local $1 store to clean it, under hot water, then I heat it up until dry.
I find it the perfect 1-pan pan for 1-4 people.
Throwing in some olive oil, diced anchovy fillets, some capers, garlic, chopped olives, chopped tomato and red pepper flakes, then tossing in some nearly cooked pasta, a splash of pasta water and some grated hard italian cheese (I use romano, asiago and parmesean interchangably for this kind of thing) makes a fantastic Spaghetti Puttanesca... better than any stainless skillet can do (or at least as good).
Plus, you get to make that ultimate quick dinner: stir-fry. There's nothing quicker or easier than a simple (or complicated) stir-fry.
Yep, I'll always recommend a decent wok as the ultimate 1-pan pan. It does stews and soups just fine, as well.
A dutch oven would be the most versatile choice. It's thicker than a stock pot so it'll take longer to boil stuff which may be a consideration but it wins on versatility.
It's going to be really good at braising, good at stews and soups, and functional at being a roasting vessel (it's thicker and bigger than a pan so it'll behave differently and that can be good or bad depending on what you're making) or pan (cast iron is heavy as is, dutch ovens more so so it could be a bit unwieldy but it'll work). You also can make bread in one: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/the-food-lab-the-science-of-no-knead-dough.html
The Lodge dutch ovens have the best quality to budget ratio and are a solid choice.
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I've inherited a Le Creuset one and its like my life has been changed for the better thanks to it. It's one of the first times I've truly enjoyed home cookware since I've started working in restaurants.
LaCreuset's cost $BANK though. It's like noting that your copper pots and pans seem to cook better.
CostCo has a Kirkland brand ripoff of the LaCreusets that sells for like $60, good stuff.
Joe's Stream.
So last night, after I posted, I took the trash out and found one of these just sitting on top of a bag of recycling: http://www.lodgemfg.com/seasoned-cast-iron/grill-pans-and-griddles/pro-logic-square-grill-pan-P12SGR3
It smelled like burnt steak in the hallway when I left for dinner, so I guess someone burned some meat and blamed the pan. So, of course, I picked that shit up and now I have a free grill pan. I'm stripping currently off the old seasoning and I'm going to redo it with the flax seed oil that worked so well on my other pan.
Yeah, don't go dropping Le Creuset money while you're trying to build up your cookware. Ask for them as presents when appropriate, and if you can find someone willing to part with one cheap you should jump on it. I've heard that the CostCo brand enameled cast iron is actually pretty good, and as Joe K pointed out its not expensive, so friendly to the idea of building up your set. Lodge is also a good product, I've seen a lot of their product in professional kitchens and people swear by them as holding up to abuse, obviously a little more expensive.
Another thing I've seen done is checking antique stores for rusted over cast iron pans, buying them for very little as people consider them decorations at that point, and then scrubbing it down until you take off all the rust and seasoning the pan. It's a large amount of work to pull off, but it could get you something and on top of that makes for a story while say making dinner for a special someone.
I have a very small wagner pan that i got this way. You cover it in easy off and put it a trash bag, toss it outside for 16-18 hours, and pretty much everything comes off. You have to start the seasoning from scratch, but I think that's a good policy for found things you are planning to cook in anyway.
Only trouble is I cant figure out what to cook in my wagner, its so tiny.
It'll be handy for smaller jobs like say a fritata for a couple of people, a nice oven-finished omelette, sauces or small sautee jobs. But yeah, its nice that you got it for cheap since you probably won't be using it much.
You use it to make your cornbread, I reckon