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[Mario]

I completely failed at making a chocolate banana bread last night which both came out undercooked (despite a seemingly successful toothpick test) and couldn't be rescued after collapsing.

Not entirely sure what went wrong, I KNOW I put in all ingredients, and I've successfully made it before to the exact same recipe.

My plan of eating chocolate banana bread all weekend is ruined :/

Spoiler

Maybe I'll just go buy some

 

[peteykirch]

Had an amazing Valentine's Day dinner at this history Inn and Tavern near us.

We shared fried pickle spears, she had 4 cheese mac & cheese as her main which had Cheddar, Fontina, Gruyere, and Monterrey Jack. I had the Buffalo burger that had cheddar, wild boar bacon, melted cheddar, and gastropub sauce. The show stopper was the dessert, Peanut Butter cheesecake, pretzel crust, chocolate ganache served on top of caramel, white and dark chocolate sauce.

So damn good, GF and I are in a complete food coma state right now.

 

[zbarron]

Just wanted to post a deal on the bluetooth version of he Anova sous vide precision cooker for $95.
https://slickdeals.net/f/9678456-anova-sous-vide-bluetooth-precision-cooker-95-w-visa-checkout-free-s-h

I think there are a few here who wanted one and still haven't got one and this is the best deal I've seen on it.

 

[Mario]

We've had a terrible summer here in NZ, and especially here in Wellington where there has been a lot of wind and rain. Finally got the chance to get out on the grill last night though.

Did a couple of ribeyes on the bone, about 600grams apiece, plus some potatoes on the grill also (wrapped in foil with butter and sea salt). Plus bonus pic of the view as I was grilling.

 

[OnkelC]

Update on the herbs:


That didn't turn out as hoped. The two days of darkness over the weekends are no good for the plants, and it's still too cold to put them outside.
@peteykirch, how are your herbs coming along?

 

[peteykirch]

Update on the herbs:


That didn't turn out as hoped. The two days of darkness over the weekends are no good for the plants, and it's still too cold to put them outside.
@peteykirch, how are your herbs coming along?

Full of huge growth here

 

[Sesuadra]

It's so easy to make. As long as you have fresh and ripe avocados, it's perfection.

But I have to admit, perfecting a good quesadilla takes talent.

I made some chilli and some guacamole..it was great

 

[BobTheFork]

I'm told there is a way to harvest from chives and have them keep growing back better and I need to figure that out. Used the last of them today.

 

[InfiniteBento]

Been working overtime a lot lately.

I've been pushing to become sous of our restaurant. Its taking pretty much everything I have since I am now responsible for new recipes + training the new intern. My brain is overflowing with pastry knowledge lately @___@

Here are some recent shots of some stuff I've made

Honey comb I made for our new Baked Alaska dessert

Huge vat of our specialty buttercream I made (and got right on my first try ! )

an army of thumbprints covered in smoked sugar ~

 

[thespot84]

I'm told there is a way to harvest from chives and have them keep growing back better and I need to figure that out. Used the last of them today.

We do it with green onions/scallions, you cut the down to about an inch from the root and just put them in a pot with dirt, they just go nuts with a little sun.

 

[Ryuuga]

My first attempt at cooking. Just tried any old recipe I came across.


1. Added salt, pepper and oregano to flour
2. Coated chicken in flour mix
3. Added chicken to oil on medium-high heat
4. Browned both sides and took off pan
5. Added garlic, white wine vinegar (I think this is where I screwed up), butter, lemon juice and chicken broth
6. Let concoction simmer and added chicken
7. Added lemon slices to the nebulous miasma, put on low and left to cook



Long story short I ended up with some bland AF chicken with a slightly sour aftertaste. Help me IronGAF. Also if you have any other skillet/pan-fried chicken recipes I could attempt next week that'd be great.

 

[zbarron]

Very good for your first attempt. I am having a hard time believing this is your first time cooking. It sure beats what I made when I started out. A few tips that might give you more success in the future.

Butterfly your chicken breast and give it a light pounding until it's an even thickness. By making it thin and even it'll cook faster when you fry it.

Did you put the chicken directly in the flour or did you coat it in a liquid first? A traditional choice is to whisk an egg and some water and dip the chicken in that. Alternatively I love to marinate my chicken in buttermilk. If you do this you can skip the egg and put the wet chicken right into the flour. This all helps the coating form and stick.

Also how much oil did you use and are you sure it was hot enough?

White wine vinegar seems interesting to me seeing as you already have lemon juice as an acid. I'd swap it for white wine or even omit it.

Did you let the pan sauce thicken enough?

Most importantly, did you use a thermometer?

 

[peteykirch]

Attempted a quick no knead bread.

Didn't really rise much, but it was very very tasty. Had the most sublime crispy, crunchy crust.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

So I made another meatloaf last night. My first attempt a week ago resulted in a mushy meatloaf. I didn't use enough bread crumbs to hold it together. Last night I tried using a lipton onion soup pack with it. Apparently the oniony goodness wasn't well worth it.

I used part of the ground beef for making hamburger the day before, which turned out well with the soup packet. I need to get better at it than just tossing stuff in by eyeing it. I don't think I've ever made the same recipe twice, even when I make a good one.

 

[InfiniteBento]

So I made another meatloaf last night. My first attempt a week ago resulted in a mushy meatloaf. I didn't use enough bread crumbs to hold it together. Last night I tried using a lipton onion soup pack with it. Apparently the oniony goodness wasn't well worth it.

I used part of the ground beef for making hamburger the day before, which turned out well with the soup packet. I need to get better at it than just tossing stuff in by eyeing it. I don't think I've ever made the same recipe twice, even when I make a good one.

If you want your meatloaf to hold up, breadcrumb works but you can also add small cubes pieces of brioche or any other buttery bread to the mix. Plus using different kinds of proteins in your meatloaf mix helps a lot considering different proteins have different fat ratios so you'll get a richer end result. Beef and pork work great together from my experience Don't be afraid to also fold in minced vegetables (like carrot, celery, onion) !

If you struggle with the meat itself holding together, start by adding 1 egg yolk (pure fat works best vs whole egg with protein) at a time to the mixture. Whole eggs tend to make meatloaf mixes collapse or turn to mush so just the yolk works best imo!

Hopefully these pointers help for future meatloaf adventures ~

 

[Eye for an Eye]

If you want your meatloaf to hold up, breadcrumb works but you can also add small cubes pieces of brioche or any other buttery bread to the mix. Plus using different kinds of proteins in your meatloaf mix helps a lot considering different proteins have different fat ratios so you'll get a richer end result. Beef and pork work great together from my experience Don't be afraid to also fold in minced vegetables (like carrot, celery, onion) !

If you struggle with the meat itself holding together, start by adding 1 egg yolk (pure fat works best vs whole egg with protein) at a time to the mixture. Whole eggs tend to make meatloaf mixes collapse or turn to mush so just the yolk works best imo!

Hopefully these pointers help for future meatloaf adventures ~

I've always used whole eggs. I'll have to try just the yolk. I have done mixed protiens, but I don't often buy ground meats besides beef. I have made a chorizo mix meatloaf. That was good in its own way. I don't keep a lot of carbs/breads around. My bf isn't supposed to have more than 10g of carbs/sugar in a meal.

I like chopping in fresh veggies, but sometimes I get too lazy for it. I need a lazy and non lazy recipe.

 

[zbarron]

Attempted a quick no knead bread.

Didn't really rise much, but it was very very tasty. Had the most sublime crispy, crunchy crust.

You got some great color on it. Did you use a Dutch oven with a lid?

 

[peteykirch]

You got some great color on it. Did you use a Dutch oven with a lid?

Yup

Even though my oven struggled to get to 450. Had to set to it to 500 just to get near 425 so I cooked it a bit longer than what the recipe called for.

 

[Funky Papa]

I think I'm doing with trying to make no knead bread. The lower crust always comes out incredibly hard and I never get the roll to become airy enough. Not to mention that I make a comparable mess to the one left by the traditional method.

On the subject of oven stuff, I'd also like to mention that I've been making some tests and I've decided that from now on I'll only braise using my induction stovetop. Electricy is crazy expensive over here and after a number of recipes using my enameled Dutch oven I've determined that there's no significant difference in using indirect heat in the oven or heating the vessel through indution. This may not be the case if you use gas since getting a tiny, constant and even flame from a commercial range is difficult, but indution gets the job done just nicely. If I need some extra browning I'll just fire up the grill/broiler for that finishing touch.

 

[thespot84]

Just to share a lesson learned, I've been working on a sourdough starter for a while and finally made bread with it. I thought i'd go for tasty/healthy and use whole wheat flour.

Whole wheat flour requires a TON more water in your recipe than bread or all purpose flour. I ended up with very taste lead weights.

 

[Ryuuga]

Very good for your first attempt. I am having a hard time believing this is your first time cooking. It sure beats what I made when I started out. A few tips that might give you more success in the future.

Butterfly your chicken breast and give it a light pounding until it's an even thickness. By making it thin and even it'll cook faster when you fry it.

No, I used them straight out of the package. I'm going to attempt this, but I feel I need a sharper knife than what I'm current working with. I have a paring knife and rather dull cook knife.

Did you put the chicken directly in the flour or did you coat it in a liquid first? A traditional choice is to whisk an egg and some water and dip the chicken in that. Alternatively I love to marinate my chicken in buttermilk. If you do this you can skip the egg and put the wet chicken right into the flour. This all helps the coating form and stick.

Sound advice. I'm going to attempt it with buttermilk next time around.

Also how much oil did you use and are you sure it was hot enough?

Truthfully, I didn't measure anything and I only added my chicken to the oil once steam started to rise off of it.

White wine vinegar seems interesting to me seeing as you already have lemon juice as an acid. I'd swap it for white wine or even omit it.

Yeah, I was a dummy here. I knew I needed white wine, but got white wine vinegar thinking it'd work just as well.

Did you let the pan sauce thicken enough?

I threw everything in and let it simmer before adding the chicken. Should I have let it cool down and mix it together before throwing the chicken back in?

Most importantly, did you use a thermometer?

No but another thing I'll pick up. How and when am I using the thermometer?


Wow thanks for all the advice, I'm going to give it another shot next weekend.


EDIT (regarding the sauce): Maybe I should have mixed it together in a seperate bowl before applying it to the pan. Would that have made any significant difference? The pan was pre-heated as I added things in.

 

[InfiniteBento]

I think I'm doing with trying to make no knead bread. The lower crust always comes out incredibly hard and I never get the roll to become airy enough. Not to mention that I make a comparable mess to the one left by the traditional method.

Are you proofing your bread? If so, how long? If your breads coming out too dense, it's either overworked and the glutens overly active or it needs more proofing.

 

[Funky Papa]

Are you proofing your bread? If so, how long? If your breads coming out too dense, it's either overworked and the glutens overly active or it needs more proofing.

Yeah, I've tried from 9 to 13 hours.

 

[InfiniteBento]

Yeah, I've tried from 9 to 13 hours.

Do you happen to know your percentage of hydration to flour ratio? Also are you mixing your bread by hand or via a mixer with a dough hook?

 

[Funky Papa]

Do you happen to know your percentage of hydration to flour ratio? Also are you mixing your bread by hand or via a mixer with a dough hook?

I use a silicone spatula. My last mix consisted on 200 grams of flour and 125 ml of water. I've tried several recipes and most of them turn out pretty much the same

 

[zbarron]

No, I used them straight out of the package. I'm going to attempt this, but I feel I need a sharper knife than what I'm current working with. I have a paring knife and rather dull cook knife.



Sound advice. I'm going to attempt it with buttermilk next time around.



Truthfully, I didn't measure anything and I only added my chicken to the oil once steam started to rise off of it.



Yeah, I was a dummy here. I knew I needed white wine, but got white wine vinegar thinking it'd work just as well.



I threw everything in and let it simmer before adding the chicken. Should I have let it cool down and mix it together before throwing the chicken back in?



No but another thing I'll pick up. How and when am I using the thermometer?


Wow thanks for all the advice, I'm going to give it another shot next weekend.


EDIT (regarding the sauce): Maybe I should have mixed it together in a seperate bowl before applying it to the pan. Would that have made any significant difference? The pan was pre-heated as I added things in.

It's understandable to not want to butterfly with a dull knife. I personally wouldn't recommend it. Pounding it will make it more even and a little thinner and you can do that with your fist if you really want.

Steam rising from the oil? Oil has no water so there should be no steam. It's possible you reached the oils smoke point, which varies depending on what oil you used.

You were kind of doing between two techniques with the sauce. You were part way between braising and making a pan sauce. With those ingredients you basically have a pan sauce. Here's a video showing a pan sauce being made. This is a more advanced technique than what a first time cook normally does, but it gives you some great flavor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJuUNlgPXbM
Note that while the technique is accurate what she says about the butter at 4:06 is a load of malarkey. The butter isn't in a "state between liquid and solid" it thickens the sauce by making an emulsion. Because of this you need your liquid to be very reduced before you add your butter, and stir/whisk vigorously after you add the butter. If there is too much liquid the emulsion won't form but keeping it over the heat will continue to reduce the liquid until it's balanced. If however it stays on too long the liquid will reduce too much and the emulsion will break. It's no big deal if this happens. Just add a little warm water and continue whisking and it should come back together. Another trick is to toss your cubed butter in a little corn starch. That'll help thicken the sauce.

I use this thermometer which is cheap, gives fast readings and has a wide range of temperatures. I'd first use it to make sure the oil is between 350-375 when frying the chicken. Later in the recipe I'd use it to make sure the chicken reaches 165*F (160*F before resting) so it's cooked through. When you cut the chicken thinly it's less of a concern because it's much easier to cook through.

Premixing the sauce would have made no difference. The emulsion happens in the pan as you add the cold butter and whisk it together. By reducing the liquid you'll make the flavor of the sauce stronger, and the emulsion will make it thicker and have it stick to the chicken and your tongue better.

 

[InfiniteBento]

I use a silicone spatula. My last mix consisted on 200 grams of flour and 125 ml of water. I've tried several recipes and most of them turn out pretty much the same

Here are a few pointers I learned when it comes to breads, maybe they can help. There are a lot more elaborate processes but lets just start with basics.

Using a spatula may be too aggressive for the doughs so its very possible you are forming gluten which is leading to dense gummy breads. It's best to form doughs in a mixer (recommended**) or by hand on a heavily floured surface so you maintain control over the dough and dont cause too much friction/heat which will lead to the gluten forming.

Also using a starter is best when making breads. It helps obtain a more natural fermentation with breads which then also leads to a more developed yeast taste. Prefermented doughs are your friend with breads.

If you want to have an aged starter (one which you tend to every day to render more flavor in future breads) you need a cambro (or a big plastic container at least 8qts in size) and you can start your starter by combining 500g whole wheat flour, 500g bread flour, and 1000g water. Feed it 500g bread flour and 500g water every 24 hours, being sure to dispose of half of the starter before hand so you can "refresh" it with the new additions of flour and water. You can keep this starter for years as long as you feed it and keep it in a mildly warm room (no sunlight or too hot conditions !) There are also countless recipes online for starters so feel free to find one that works best to your tastes

Try out this recipe for country bread (half or quarter the recipe if its too large) :

Prefermented Dough:

• Bread Flour - 5072.5g
• Water - 3295g
• Dry Instant Yeast - 30g
• Salt - 102.5g

Incorporate all ingredients and mix well.
Allow to ferment for 4 hours at room temp.

Final Dough:

• Bread Flour - 4500g
• Medium ground Rye Flour - 500g
• Water - 3450g
• Dry Instant Yeast - 30g
• Salt - 100g
• Diastatic Malt Powder (used to create a stronger rise + hearty crust, buy on amazon) - 30g
• Prefermented Dough - 8500g

Combine all and mix for 6 minutes, work the dough a little faster for 2 minutes to make sure all is well incorporated.
Let ferment for 1 hour at room temp in a bowl (cover with a cloth)
Portion the bread to your desired size and shape the dough (again cover with a cloth while it rests)
Let it rest for 30 minutes
Proof one more time for 1 hour and 15 minutes
Bake 35 minutes at 250C, open the oven door the last 10 minutes (pry it open with a spoon or something) and let bread dry
Allow to cool for a few moments before enjoying


There is a lot more to this recipe like taking temperatures and etc but we can dabble into that once you feel a little more comfortable with prefermenting first.

Keep in mind, Im not a specialized bread baker. I just do overall pastry but I took courses in school and have learned to make breads in restaurants so I know an okay amount. I also have multiple types of bread recipes you can have if you want them :3

 

[Ryuuga]

[reply]

I really appreciate all the advice. Looking forward to seeing what I come up with next weekend.

 

[thespot84]

I really appreciate all the advice. Looking forward to seeing what I come up with next weekend.

I'll second zbarron's point that what you did was pretty ambitious for a first meal and what you ended up with was impressive. Stick with it!

 

[Machine]

Bread making advice

As useful as that advice is, I don't think a lot of it applies to no-knead bread. This process involves mixing the dough, letting it rise for 12-18 hours, minimal folding and shaping, another 1 hour of rising, and then baking off. There's not really any proofing or dough hooks or any of the other hassle that comes with traditional bread making which is part of the appeal.

 

[Ryuuga]

I'll second zbarron's point that what you did was pretty ambitious for a first meal and what you ended up with was impressive. Stick with it!

Thank you. Looking forward to pick up ideas and advice from you all.

 

[InfiniteBento]

As useful as that advice is, I don't think a lot of it applies to no-knead bread. This process involves mixing the dough, letting it rise for 12-18 hours, minimal folding and shaping, another 1 hour of rising, and then baking off. There's not really any proofing or dough hooks or any of the other hassle that comes with traditional bread making which is part of the appeal.

You realize letting the dough rise is the process of proofing, right? Which is obviously necessary.

Not to mention my recommendation for using a mixer and dough hook is valid considering the poster admitted to using a spatula to mix his doughs. Mixing by hand works but the heat, moisture, and friction of your hands with the initial mixing of doughs absolutely alters the product hence me stating a mixer works best to start then you can finish the final roll by hand.

And the information I posted still applies to no knead bread because of the information involving a starter. Some recipes don't even include using a starter in the recipe so that information is vital especially in regards to his problem of his loaves not being as airy as he wants them. Understanding the process of fermentation isn't a hassle. It's basic and essential.

 

[peteykirch]

There is nothing more delicious than the simple turkey club sammich.

 

[maxcriden]

Hi all, I bought some organic Gala apples that have this seriously off taste to them and a kind of unpleasantly mushy texture. I want to do something to them to make them more palatable. My limited baking experience with apples only involves using the green kind, though. Is that something I can make with galas? Would they work in a pie? Thanks in advance for any help!

Attempted a quick no knead bread.

Didn't really rise much, but it was very very tasty. Had the most sublime crispy, crunchy crust.

Do you have the recipe still perchance?

P.S. the club looks awesome but where is the avo?

 

[InfiniteBento]

Hi all, I bought some organic Gala apples that have this seriously off taste to them and a kind of unpleasantly mushy texture. I want to do something to them to make them more palatable. My limited baking experience with apples only involves using the green kind, though. Is that something I can make with galas? Would they work in a pie? Thanks in advance for any help!

Don't go the pie route. Gala apples tend to be a bit more on the grainy side so putting them in pies will only emphasize that texture plus they aren't as tart as granny's so the pie won't be as vibrant.

Best bet is to soak them in cider (booze or not booze) or plain apple juice, drain them, and layer them into bread pudding ! You can add brown sugar, spices, and caramel to the mix also to give the apples more fragrant flavor pairings

 

[peteykirch]

Hi all, I bought some organic Gala apples that have this seriously off taste to them and a kind of unpleasantly mushy texture. I want to do something to them to make them more palatable. My limited baking experience with apples only involves using the green kind, though. Is that something I can make with galas? Would they work in a pie? Thanks in advance for any help!



Do you have the recipe still perchance?

P.S. the club looks awesome but where is the avo?

3c AP or Bread Flour
1 1/2c Hot Water (No more than 130F)
1/4tsp Dry Active Yeast
1tsp Kosher Salt

Mix everything together until it forms a shaggy ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap for at least 3 hours, more is better. Take dough out from bowl covered with plastic wrap, on a floured surface fold the dough into itself a few times until you get a ball. Place a piece of parchment paper into the same bowl you used before, drop dough ball in, cover with towel. Preheat oven to 450F, during this insert your dutch oven into the oven to preheat. After 35 minutes or whenever the oven reaches temperature take the parchment paper with the dough ball drop it into the dutch oven, cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover cook for another 10-15 until the bread gets a rich golden brown color.

I used all my avocado to make guacamole over the weekend. I did make my own mayo though which was delicious.

 

[Machine]

You realize letting the dough rise is the process of proofing, right? Which is obviously necessary.

My understanding is that the term proofing only applies to the final rise, not the entire fermentation period.

Not to mention my recommendation for using a mixer and dough hook is valid considering the poster admitted to using a spatula to mix his doughs. Mixing by hand works but the heat, moisture, and friction of your hands with the initial mixing of doughs absolutely alters the product hence me stating a mixer works best to start then you can finish the final roll by hand.

And the information I posted still applies to no knead bread because of the information involving a starter. Some recipes don't even include using a starter in the recipe so that information is vital especially in regards to his problem of his loaves not being as airy as he wants them. Understanding the process of fermentation isn't a hassle. It's basic and essential.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. I understand both the process of baking traditional bread and no-knead bread. In one gluten is created through the kneading/rising cycle while in the other the gluten is created through the long fermentation time. The amount of yeast used and the consistency of the dough is also different because the chemistry, while similar, is not exactly the same.

 

[maxcriden]

Don't go the pie route. Gala apples tend to be a bit more on the grainy side so putting them in pies will only emphasize that texture plus they aren't as tart as granny's so the pie won't be as vibrant.

Best bet is to soak them in cider (booze or not booze) or plain apple juice, drain them, and layer them into bread pudding ! You can add brown sugar, spices, and caramel to the mix also to give the apples more fragrant flavor pairings

Awesome, thank you. But, dilemma. I'm usually not keen on bread puddings. *Anything* else we could possibly make with them? Of course I will try the bread pudding though if nothing else will be as good of a fix! ^^

3c AP or Bread Flour
1 1/2c Hot Water (No more than 130F)
1/4tsp Dry Active Yeast
1tsp Kosher Salt

Mix everything together until it forms a shaggy ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap for at least 3 hours, more is better. Take dough out from bowl covered with plastic wrap, on a floured surface fold the dough into itself a few times until you get a ball. Place a piece of parchment paper into the same bowl you used before, drop dough ball in, cover with towel. Preheat oven to 450F, during this insert your dutch oven into the oven to preheat. After 35 minutes or whenever the oven reaches temperature take the parchment paper with the dough ball drop it into the dutch oven, cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover cook for another 10-15 until the bread gets a rich golden brown color.

I used all my avocado to make guacamole over the weekend. I did make my own mayo though which was delicious.

Grazie, thanks Petey! Forgive my avo proselytizing. I just get carried away any time I see avo and bacon can be together on one plate.

And kudos to making your own mayo! So much better than the store-bought...

 

[Aikidoka]

I've been wanting to start cooking to get some variety, especially after seeing Gordon Ramsay's series of meals you can make in only 10-15 minutes. I'm just wondering what pan or skillet to get. I currently have a rather large and unwieldy teflon pan, but from cooking burgers, I don't think it heats very uniformly. I was thinking about getting a cast-iron skillet since I'll probably mostly cook chicken and maybe bacon and, and it can go in the oven for a pie maybe or something else. But, now I'm leaning more towards just a stainless steel pan that's oven safe (like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D0MDZRO/?tag=neogaf0e-20) since they - I've read - a bit more versatile. I'm not really sure what size to get though.

 

[BriareosGAF]

I don't cook meat, but if I were buying just two pans to cook the most things, it would be a 9-in stainless steel skillet (All-Clad, Cuisinart), and a 12" cast iron skillet (Lodge).

That said, I have a 6", two 9", and a 12" stainless skillet, and a 9" and 12" cast iron. But we cook a lot--I need two 9" for making brunch, the 12" is usually for making sauces that will have pasta tossed in the pan. Small cast-iron I will fry various things, the larger one is for fritattas in the oven, kimchi fried rice on the range, etc.

 

[HiResDes]

Bread pudding is so incredible, especially with a little Brandy.

 

[peteykirch]

I've been wanting to start cooking to get some variety, especially after seeing Gordon Ramsay's series of meals you can make in only 10-15 minutes. I'm just wondering what pan or skillet to get. I currently have a rather large and unwieldy teflon pan, but from cooking burgers, I don't think it heats very uniformly. I was thinking about getting a cast-iron skillet since I'll probably mostly cook chicken and maybe bacon and, and it can go in the oven for a pie maybe or something else. But, now I'm leaning more towards just a stainless steel pan that's oven safe (like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D0MDZRO/?tag=neogaf0e-20) since they - I've read - a bit more versatile. I'm not really sure what size to get though.

I pretty much can do all my cooking in about 4 pans.

3 3/4qt Braiser
5 1/2qt Dutch Oven
12" Skillet

Only thing not pictured is my 8qt Stockpot

 

[thespot84]

Here's a primer on stainless skillets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1atGnmJKmTc

Also, get a t-fal nonstick pan. Great performance and it's not as expensive as something like an all-clad.

I've also found the people sell stuff used, especially at good will and consignment stores, for way less than they should. I picked up an 8" all clad skillet for $10. Cleaned it with barkeepers friend and it was as good as new.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

I've also found the people sell stuff used, especially at good will and consignment stores, for way less than they should. I picked up an 8" all clad skillet for $10. Cleaned it with barkeepers friend and it was as good as new.

Goodwill and Salvation Army stores are picking up on name brand stuff and sell on ebay. You have to find one man shop thrift stores and flea markets for all clad. I have a few different generations of all clads, but they're all great to have. It took a few years to get to the set I have today. All my cast irons were purchased new. Mostly they all came from my aunt as christmas gifts when she got her bonus discount at work. My only one new expensive pot, is a 10qt epicurious stock pot. I got it for free from JCPenney with reward points after purchasing a couch from them.

I routinely use my cast irons on the stove, oven, and for grilling during the summer. Used and abused and come back new every time.



I get into habits of using the same pan over and over again because one or two pieces sit on my stove all the time because I don't have enough room to store them. So sometimes it's always in my cast iron or sometimes it's always a couple of the skillets. You can make do with just a few pots, but sometimes it's nice to have the right one for the job.

 

[BriareosGAF]

Bachelor cooking... wife was away with the kids on winter break week so I was futzing about. Vegetarian "tonkatsu" with some sauteed creminis.

Was pretty tasty with a homemade sauce, although I just used straight mayo rather than a kewpie style. The best part was the new santoku I used to cut everything up.

Yes that is a bowl of cat food on the table next to it. The cat was really, really insistent that it spend as much time as possible in my personal space while the rest of the family was away.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Can you make dumplings using rice paper instead of regular dough? Is that a thing?

 

[Haly]

It stops being a dumpling and becomes some variety of spring roll.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

It stops being a dumpling and becomes some variety of spring roll.

Can you cook smaller versions of those in oil/a steamer? I guess the rice paper would dissolve in a soup?

 

[Haly]

Those are steamed. These are fried ones they're pretty commonplace.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Those are steamed.

Are spring rolls traditionally steamed?

These are fried ones they're pretty commonplace.

But are those made with rice paper?