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Cooking |OT| If you can read, you can cook!
- Thread starter Kraftwerk
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Okay, so I've learned how to make "homemade" sushi, but it was with a gas stove to "dry"/get most of the moisture out of the sea-weed. As I have an electric stove at home: What is the protocol for drying the seaweed there? Use another source of heat or what?
Joel Was Right
Gold Member
Sub'd
Yes. Oven bacon is the best bacon.
triplestation
Member
I learned this from Epic Meal Time.
echoshifting
Banned
Hey now, it's not how I feel personally, but I have heard it said often enough.
triplestation
Member
I am but a an electron within a termite colony when I am in IronGaf.. )))):
Hopefully. I want to be able to come in, and try at least one new dish/recipe a month. Google can only take you so far. Being able to discuss techniques, and ask advice would really motivate me.
way more
Member
All of cooking seems to have gone that way. It's all about taking nice pictures of plated food. Time was that it used to be a compliment when a customer took a picture of a dessert you teased to beauty. Now you wonder why people just can't enjoy food without scrap-booking it.
Went to Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco this past week and couldn't bring myself to take a picture. Even being a tourist mecca it was still local, and I witnessed it several times while just sitting on a stool for about an hour.
I have opinions on the place, but this is not the place..
I do appreciate food pictures, but am honestly looking for more information on the how to in food. In the sharing of the secrets.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Can I thank you now?
I have a whole book of bread recipes and I only make 3 or 4 recipes over and over again :l (french bread, naan, soft pretzels)
I should make more breads.
That's good sharing. Thanks.
TheKaeptain
Banned
I need to make some Kimchi but I am afraid of fucking up. Which is weird because it is super easy.
Bacon burns because you over heat it pretty much. Here's the thing about bacon it has two parts to it: fat and meat.
The entire slab has been cured with spices but most importantly among them is sugar. Now sugar tends to burn at high temperature... see where I'm going?
Now if you want to do it right start with a high heat and just a wee bit of oil to coat the pan or if you reserve your bacon fat then use some of that. Let it get hot but not quite smoking and set your bacon in the pan and turn down the heat to medium and eventually to med-low or low depending on your stove.
If you want your bacon crispy you got to let that fat render out which takes time. The thing is if you try to force it quickly over high heat then the sugar in the meat will burn which is your problem. Eventually enough fat should render out that your bacon will be "frying" in it's own fat thus you get that nice crispiness.
Yes I know this will take 2-3 times longer than normal but it's a good way to season a cast iron pan. You can oven bake it too as others have suggested but it takes a while too. Just be sure to let it cool slightly so it can become crunchy if that is what you want.
well considering people usually don't ask and sometimes it takes more effort to type it out and we aren't sure if anyone will really make use of it.
One thing I've found that makes cooking REALLY easy for beginners is if you set up your "mise en place" before you start cooking. Mise en place means "putting in place" or "everything in place". Basically it means you get all of your ingredients ready BEFORE you start cooking. Measure and separate everything before hand and cooking becomes easy. That way you know before you start that you have all your ingredients and when they are required you can just add them, no other work needed, meaning your food won't burn/overcook while you are getting other things ready.
It might sound like common sense, but I've seen it happen again and again where people don't realize that they are short of a single ingredient until the moment they need to add it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00080FPZM/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Great little addition to any kitchen.
It might sound like common sense, but I've seen it happen again and again where people don't realize that they are short of a single ingredient until the moment they need to add it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00080FPZM/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Great little addition to any kitchen.
oktarb
Member
Does anyone have cardinal rules they count on. I have some - all rules are meant to be broken but I always found these trust worthy.
* Rest ALL meat before serving.
* Salt the hell out of your pasta water. Like seawater salty.
* Take bacon out of the pan before it done. It will cook further on the towel.
* Making a white/cheese sauce. Low and slow. Add in the cheese in small amounts. Stir a lot.
* Sharp knives mean less crying during onion cutting.
* Presentation is half the fun, try new things on your loved ones.
* Using a recipe? Write down notes. What worked, what didn't. Think it needed more salt? Write that down right on the recipe. You will forget.
* Do not rinse your pasta in any way. Some people add butter or some of the sauce. I prefer the later. Butter seems to coat and protect the noodles from sauce saturation which is what you want. This is just my theory though.
* Get a cast iron skillet. Learn how to take care of it.
* Rest ALL meat before serving.
* Salt the hell out of your pasta water. Like seawater salty.
* Take bacon out of the pan before it done. It will cook further on the towel.
* Making a white/cheese sauce. Low and slow. Add in the cheese in small amounts. Stir a lot.
* Sharp knives mean less crying during onion cutting.
* Presentation is half the fun, try new things on your loved ones.
* Using a recipe? Write down notes. What worked, what didn't. Think it needed more salt? Write that down right on the recipe. You will forget.
* Do not rinse your pasta in any way. Some people add butter or some of the sauce. I prefer the later. Butter seems to coat and protect the noodles from sauce saturation which is what you want. This is just my theory though.
* Get a cast iron skillet. Learn how to take care of it.
Not real cooking, but one of my rules is when it comes to making Kraft Dinner (what us Canadians call Kraft Macaroni and Cheese): strain, put the butter in first. After it's melted, put the milk in and stir, and THEN put in the cheese. For some reason it tastes better this way. And yeah, don't rinse the pasta. Also, you need to eat it ASAP because it loses all its flavor as it cools...don't know why.
Same here this thread may finally give me the push I needed to learn how to cook.
I've been cooking for a long time and this is something I've never knew I always wanted. I'll put that on my to-buy list for sure!
ElectricThunder
Member
Looking forward to how this topic goes same as I have IronGAF---lots of good ongoing discussions and things I've learned about in there.
Question: How do people tell what heat they're currently on? I have a gas stove that has Low, Hi, Lite. Normally if something says Medium heat, I'll turn it down to where "Medium" should be on the dial, but the flame looks the same as High, if I turn it down more, the meat cooks like it's on Low (even though the flame doesn't look the same as Low). I feel like I'm constantly playing with the heat because I can't find the proper Medium for cooking and my food ends up burnt/undercooked. There are NO videos or pictures to describe this that I've found found and I don't want to replace my stove to save $10/week.
I previously had an electric stove that would never get hot enough and the oven temps constantly fluctuated. This is the biggest reason I HATE cooking. It always seems like you just have to guess and hope for the best even if you have written instructions (because they never actually tell you HOW to do something, just WHAT to do).
I previously had an electric stove that would never get hot enough and the oven temps constantly fluctuated. This is the biggest reason I HATE cooking. It always seems like you just have to guess and hope for the best even if you have written instructions (because they never actually tell you HOW to do something, just WHAT to do).
Beans are one of the pillars of Mexican food. I ate them almost every day as a kid. I could live the rest of my life off of beans and rice as my main proteins. Here is my method for making the perfect soupy beans and refried beans.
Soupy Beans:
Take one or two jalapenos and put them in a dry skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. As you are doing the next part turn the jalapenos so they cook evenly on all sides. You want to get them almost black.
To make beans, pour some dried beans in the pot that you are going to cook them in (remember they will triple in size or more, so dont use too many). Bring to pot to the sink and cover them with water. Pick out any beans that float(they are bad) and swirl them around with your hands. Sometimes these beans have rocks in them(actually I havent seen that lately, maybe my parents just bought ultra cheap beans), pick out any that you see. The water is probably visibly dirtier. Pour out the dirty water, then cover them with water again and repeat. Do this until the water looks completely clean, and even then I usually do it a few more times just to be sure.
After they are cleaned, put water in the pot, and put it on the stove on medium heat. Take the jalapenos and cut off the stems. Then cut them in half vertically and remove the seeds. Then just put the halves in the pot with the beans. Add some chopped onions, garlic, and chile powder. Add a some salt.
Cover with a lid and let it cook for a while. The lower heat you cook them the more they will hold their shape, but it will take longer. If you turn the heat up they will cook faster, but they might burst, which if you are planning on mashing them, shouldnt matter. You can walk away from it now, but be sure to keep checking them to make sure they are always covered with water. If they expand to much or the water evaporates, the top of the beans will be exposed and wont cook properly.
Cook until they are the proper texture when you try some. At this point you can add some more salt if you need to. Beans with not enough salt taste weird. Dont pour out the broth. It is delicious too.
This work really well in a crock pot.
Refried Beans:
Chop some onions and some peppers(Anaheims work well)
Pour a little bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions and peppers until they are a little cooked.
Pour in your cooked beans without the water(but dont throw it away!) and cook it for a little bit, stir constantly. Add the water and start mashing. I use a potato masher, but before I had one, I used a metal spatula. Keep stirring at the same time so it doesnt stick to the bottom. Mash until it is the consistency you like, add water if it seems to dry. Season with salt to your liking, and cook until hot! The beans are already cooked so it doesnt take too long.
Soupy Beans:
Take one or two jalapenos and put them in a dry skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. As you are doing the next part turn the jalapenos so they cook evenly on all sides. You want to get them almost black.
To make beans, pour some dried beans in the pot that you are going to cook them in (remember they will triple in size or more, so dont use too many). Bring to pot to the sink and cover them with water. Pick out any beans that float(they are bad) and swirl them around with your hands. Sometimes these beans have rocks in them(actually I havent seen that lately, maybe my parents just bought ultra cheap beans), pick out any that you see. The water is probably visibly dirtier. Pour out the dirty water, then cover them with water again and repeat. Do this until the water looks completely clean, and even then I usually do it a few more times just to be sure.
After they are cleaned, put water in the pot, and put it on the stove on medium heat. Take the jalapenos and cut off the stems. Then cut them in half vertically and remove the seeds. Then just put the halves in the pot with the beans. Add some chopped onions, garlic, and chile powder. Add a some salt.
Cover with a lid and let it cook for a while. The lower heat you cook them the more they will hold their shape, but it will take longer. If you turn the heat up they will cook faster, but they might burst, which if you are planning on mashing them, shouldnt matter. You can walk away from it now, but be sure to keep checking them to make sure they are always covered with water. If they expand to much or the water evaporates, the top of the beans will be exposed and wont cook properly.
Cook until they are the proper texture when you try some. At this point you can add some more salt if you need to. Beans with not enough salt taste weird. Dont pour out the broth. It is delicious too.
This work really well in a crock pot.
Refried Beans:
Chop some onions and some peppers(Anaheims work well)
Pour a little bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions and peppers until they are a little cooked.
Pour in your cooked beans without the water(but dont throw it away!) and cook it for a little bit, stir constantly. Add the water and start mashing. I use a potato masher, but before I had one, I used a metal spatula. Keep stirring at the same time so it doesnt stick to the bottom. Mash until it is the consistency you like, add water if it seems to dry. Season with salt to your liking, and cook until hot! The beans are already cooked so it doesnt take too long.
My stovetop is awful and I can never get the heat right. It has a dial that goes from 1-9. At 9, it's really hot. At 7-8, it's just hot enough to fry an egg. At 6-7, it's just enough to keep a light simmer. Anything below that is nearly useless, other than for sauces. The most frustrating part is that there's nothing in between the 8 and the 9...it's either steak searing temp, or egg frying temp. I need something in between for meats.
I assume you mean carbs? At least, concerning rice.
I was going off of this line of thinking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_and_beans#Significance said:
I have always heard beans and rice together create a complete protein. But I am certainly not a nutritionist. The combination is certainly relied on by many many people throughout latin america.
What makes this significantly worse than one that's 135?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NBWRU2/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NBWRU2/?tag=neogaf0e-20
GoldenEye 007
Member
YES. SO versatile. Can easily be a main everyday pan for most cooking applications in my opinion.
Just cooked tonight, though. Had a salmon filet marinated for a little bit with sriracha, honey, low sodium soy, lemon juice and dill with brown rice and low sodium black beans and some steamed veggies.
I actually just heated some oil threw in a shallot and sauteed then added the fish. The veggies were microwaved in a steam bag that I got from Target. Black beans were canned and heated with some sauteed shallots and cajun seasonings then the brown rice was boiled for about 10min as I used those boil in bag things. Took all of 15 min to actually think of what I wanted and cook.
Sodium isn't really a problem for me, I just don't see the point in having so much added to certain foods and ingredients. So when I can, I get lower sodium stuff.
As far as cost, the entire dish, which was a full dinner maybe on a per serving basis set me back ~$3-$4. Similar thing at a restaurant would be at least around $15 and that's if you go to an Applebees/Fridays-type place. Now all I have to do is make another meat (chicken breast) and I have another meal because of the leftover beans, rice and veggies.
way more
Member
Not really. I suppose it's a good workhorse but once you have a more appropriate vessel for whatever you are cooking you stop using it. They just too unwieldy and cumbersome. The only thing I use one for is thick cuts of meat.
I recently rescued my grandma's set and have been loving them.
Question about seasoning--you have any tips on how to do it without smoking up your house?
I've just tried tonight with canola oil, in the oven at 350 and only got 2 hours in before the smoke was getting to be too much...Looking at them now and they barely absorbed any of the oil.
secretanchitman
Member
thanks for this thread OP! looking forward on how to cook - i literally dont know anything. i cooked some chicken (literally didnt know what to do) in a pot with some off the shelf powder and sauce and that was pretty much it.
Aw, I loved IronGAF.
I hope OnkelC will support this thread as he did with the other one.
I have a question: I'm gonna cook up a Valentine's Day meal for my gf. We're poor students, so it won't be super exotic. I was thinking of cooking two of her favorite meals, parma rosa pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and chicken breast marinated with lemon. I'm gonna make some garlic bread to go with that, but it's lacking some veggies I think. Anybody have recommendations as for those?
I hope OnkelC will support this thread as he did with the other one.
I have a question: I'm gonna cook up a Valentine's Day meal for my gf. We're poor students, so it won't be super exotic. I was thinking of cooking two of her favorite meals, parma rosa pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and chicken breast marinated with lemon. I'm gonna make some garlic bread to go with that, but it's lacking some veggies I think. Anybody have recommendations as for those?
I'd think something isn't right if it's smoking at 350...the smoking point of canola should be higher than that, no?
Leona Lewis
Banned
I'm in the same position
I hope this thread has a bright and prosperous future!
If you're cooking at such a high temperature that olive oil or butter begins to burn, 90% of the time you could be cooking at a lower temperature. Perhaps have a small amount of canola oil for that rare occasion that it's needed because of a high cooking temperature, but I would say keep veggie oil use to an absolute minimum. Shit ain't very good for you. Extra virgin also adds that little fruity flavor that's pretty much welcome in any dish pan fried with oil.
Nice... the secrets of bacon are already being revealed!! Which, apparently, I know nothing about... my version of "crispy" bacon is that it would shatter if you dropped it. :\
What's this cook bacon in the oven witchcraft that I doubt I ever would have considered?!?
Please answer me these questions three... At what temperature? For how long? And can I cover so I don't mess up the inside of the oven the way the top always splatters everywhere with each attempt at frying?
What's this cook bacon in the oven witchcraft that I doubt I ever would have considered?!?
Please answer me these questions three... At what temperature? For how long? And can I cover so I don't mess up the inside of the oven the way the top always splatters everywhere with each attempt at frying?
beat
Member
According to Sheryl Canter, you actually want to season with an oil with a low smoke point. http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
I haven't tried it myself, but the commenters say that her method uses a very very thin film of oil each time, so it doesn't necessarily produce a lot of smoke. Supposedly smells bad, though. A friend tried it, it took an incredibly long time (a bunch of applications with at least two hours each, I think) and she said she rushed it and had to start over. On the other hand, Cook's Illustrated gave Canter's method a recommendation.
oktarb
Member
I'm a traditionalist I guess. I still pan fry bacon. Here are my tips:
* Medium heat
* Flip at least four times. This breaks most meat rules but I've found it works very well with bacon. When the bacon just starts to sweat, flip it. Then flip twice more after that at about 3-5 minutes intervals.
* Take it out before you think its quite done. It will cook some more, retain tenderness, the fat will be crispy, the meat tender.
* Cut long strips in half. I like about 6" strips. Less curl.
* I avoid applewood smoked bacon. It seems to get a burned kind of taste to me. I like maple cured or not cured at all. This of course is just a personal taste thing.
* If you don't care about the health aspect look for fat heavy strips. Far = flavor.
Olive oil in large quantities isn't good for you either. Better off using coconut oil or something high in saturated fats if you're using a fair amount of oil.
Terrible site, but this is the gist of it: http://www.truthaboutabs.com/unhealthy-vs-healthy-cooking-oils.html
Satured - good
Monounsatured - good
Polyunsatured - good in very small quantities, but anything more than that is bad
The general idea, as I understand it, is that you want to keep omega 3 intake high and omega 6 intake low. You avoid polyunsaturates because they're high in omega 6, which increases inflammation and susceptibility to disease in general.
edit: here's a much nicer source
http://theconsciouslife.com/omega-3-6-9-ratio-cooking-oils.htm
Asparagus. You could also do Broccoli Rabbe.
I'm making dinner for my fiance as well. It will probably be bacon wrapped beef fillet with asparagus and...... haven't decided on the carb. We are pairing it with an Oakville cabernet.
way more
Member
You are either spending way too much money on olive oil to accomplish this or you are using such refined and filtered olive oil that vegetable oil isn't that different.
Also, when you fry the purpose is to Edit: Not to end up ingesting the oil. If you fry properly you can reduce the amount of oil. Using olive oil at lower temps would be doing it wrong.
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