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I've been trying to up my cooking game slowly but surely, and managed to pull off a pretty tasty (to me anyway!) ragù alla bolognese last night. Part of the process was preparing the soffrito/mirepoix, which my recipe noted was the basis for tons of other dishes (without listing any of them). That brings me to my questions: 1) Can I prep the soffrito a couple of days in advance and stick it in the fridge? Maybe even freeze it? Having some ready to go when I feel like cooking something would be fantastic, but not if the fridge or freezer sap away the flavor too much. 2) What are some good not-super-advanced recipes I should try to increase my confidence? It doesn't have to be pasta-related at all (or even Italian).
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Jun 13, 2014 06:14
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Bob Morales posted:Goya sells jars of it, which I've bought one of, but have yet to use. I've used Goya and other premade pastes/sauces/bases before (though not that one), but my goal is to make more from scratch. (Though not mole poblano because gently caress that's a lot of work for something that can be screwed up so readily by a novice like me.) While soffritto and sofrito are both bases, they're not the same: soffritto is essentially just carrots, onions, and celery, maybe garlic, and sofrito tends to have tomatoes and herbs. I want to make sofritos as well as soffritos, though! I'm hoping I can volunteer to help in the kitchen when I stay with family this Thanksgiving and learn a few things (maybe even mole poblano, which one of my aunts will sometimes make since it is glorious with turkey). Bob Morales posted:What do you do with the food you've cooked? I usually put some of the leftovers in the fridge and the rest in freezer bags. Between my wife and I, not too much goes to waste. But that said, I am a bit more adventurous than my wife, so sometimes there's a lot more left over than I'd like. For chicken and turkey, sometimes I'll shred them and mix in a bit of cheese and seasoning in case my wife or I want to make fried tacos or enchiladas later in the week, again putting in the freezer whatever isn't likely to be used that week. (Frozen shredded chicken/turkey is also great to drop into ramyun or other hot noodles, don't need to defrost it at all.) ibntumart fucked around with this message at 15:00 on Jun 13, 2014 |
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Jun 13, 2014 14:52
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dino. posted:If you want to freeze veg, cook then first. Make your large quantity of mirepoix, cook it, and freeze it. It never occurred to me I could make it and then freeze it. Thanks! Also for the salad dressing and roasted veggies advice... I focus a lot on learning main dishes and really do need to learn more sides and salads ideas.
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Jun 13, 2014 18:49
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Hey Girl posted:From a while back but there's a running joke in hispanic households that you never know which of the butter containers actually has the butter in it because they're usually full of sofrito, beans or left over rice. Weird, that's never been a problem in either my family or my wife's. Though we all tend to favor Ziploc or clear plastic containers for leftover beans, rice, salsa, etc. dino. posted:I gave you a couple of starter ideas for your sides, because you only begin by knowing the theory of how the thing works. If you start with the basics, you can start getting very advanced very quickly, once you've mastered it. That's exactly what I'm hoping to do, so again, many thanks for your advice so far!
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Jun 14, 2014 10:09
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I have two sockeye salmon fillets thawing for dinner later this week. Any ideas for a simple glaze or sauce to prepare it with?
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Jun 17, 2014 00:12
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I'm Muslim, so the recipes with sake aren't doable however delicious they are, but I might try the fresh herbs route. Also, seconded on the crockpot advice going in the OP. I've done whole Cornish game hens and might do a whole chicken, but breasts would be bad.
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Jun 17, 2014 15:59
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Grand Fromage posted:
Wine doesn't fully evaporate, though, so that's a no go. But I know how to substitute for white and red wine. The bolognese I made with grape juice and vinegar recently was delicious (probably would have been better with wine, but still tasty). Sake or mirin, though, I have no idea.
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Jun 18, 2014 02:42
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SubG posted:For mirin you might try sweetened rice vinegar, assuming rice vinegar is halal. As I understand it deliberately producing vinegar from wine is haram, but vinegar in general is okay. So an upscale rice vinegar, which is almost certainly going to be produced by a saké brewer, is probably suspect. But a grocery story brand, which is going to be vat fermented directly (and will go through the same processes but will never be an intoxicant) is presumably okay. But I'm no...whatever the halal equivalent of a mashgiach is. Vinegar is halal. What cannot intoxicate in a great amount cannot intoxicate in a small amount, thus is not considered khamr (an intoxicant). I should add I do have rice vinegar in my cupboard. Helith posted:I think there are non alcoholic brands of mirin available. You might be able to track one down. Though just buying nonalcoholic mirin might work, too.
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Jun 18, 2014 15:10
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Now that Ramadan has started up, I want to make the most out of my slow cooker. What are some good recipes to try? I already plan on doing Cornish game hens (have tried an Italian rub and an adobo rub in my slow cooker and loved it both times). My wife is more into beef/roasts and we both like lamb.
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Jul 4, 2014 23:36
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I prefer roasting in an oven (though definitely not just 25 minutes: even on a grill, I'd think at least a good half hour minimum, no?), but they come out fine in a slow cooker. But anyway, I'm really just asking about good slow cooker recipes, not specifically about Cornish game hen preparation.
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Jul 5, 2014 00:48
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EAT THE EGGS RICOLA posted:A spatchcocked cornish hen, grilled on relatively high heat, would take 25 minutes at the absolute maximum. Good to know. My wife and I were thinking about a grill and it would be nice to do more than burgers or sausages on it if we buy one. Also, I know now the word spatchcocked. EAT THE EGGS RICOLA posted:They're a super bad bird to slow-cook because they have relatively low intramuscular fat, give beef short ribs or duck legs a try and you'll notice a huge difference. I do love beef ribs, though I'm not sure what to do with them other than cover them with barbecue sauce. Duck I love, but no idea what to do with duck legs in a slow cooker. hogmartin posted:If Halal doesn't have the kind of dairy/meat restrictions that Kashrut does, slow-cooker Stroganoff is really easy to pull off well. I can have as much dairy as I want with my meat, so Stroganoff sounds great. Though I'd have to substitute for the wine.
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Jul 5, 2014 04:05
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I'm willing to give it a shot. White grape juice and white wine vinegar worked fine when I substituted them for white wine.
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Jul 5, 2014 07:31
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I'm going to be brave and try making my first risotto sometime in the next few days. But I've noticed most, but not all, risotto recipes seem to call for white wine. How much difference will it make if I don't bother with the wine and does that alter how much stock I'll be ladling in? I do know how to substitute for wine, but if it's not going to make a big difference to begin with, I'd rather not bother.
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Jul 24, 2014 18:15
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Bob Morales posted:What recipe are you going to use? Start simple. Dice some bacon, garlic, mushroom, and maybe a little tomato and saute it,, throw in a big splash of wine and let it cook, then add rice, and then add in boiling broth a few ladles at a time until it's been fully cooked. Take it off the heat and toss in a big chunk of butter and a bunch of cheese and stir. Simple is my intention: I'm just doing a risotto bianco my first time out. My plan doesn't sound too far off from what you suggested. My thoughts are: soften some diced onion, garlic, and celery in olive oil and butter; turn up the heat and add the arborio; throw in the wine substitute if I'm using any and let the arborio absorb it; add some salt and then ladle in my hot stock in stages; remove from heat when the arborio is the right consistency; stir in several pats of butter and a bunch of grated parmesan; cover for several minutes; stir and serve with some more cheese on top. Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:The small amount of acid will help balance the flavor a bit. I would still try sub in some kind of acid if it were me. Hawkgirl posted:Dude's Muslim, give him a break. I've got to be honest, I've forgone wine in risotto lots of times and it still tastes delicious, it is just really thick and heavy-tasting due to the lack of acid. But I usually pair it with a veggie that has a little lemon juice or whatever, and that helps. I usually make risotto when I want something that's gonna stick to my ribs anyhow. Good to know I *can* skip the wine/wine substitute if need be---thanks! Rib-sticking and a bit heavy is fine anyway. My hope is to substitute risottos (especially veggie risottos like mushroom or pumpkin/squash) for meat dishes at least once or twice a week. Or to maybe mix in leftover shredded chicken or what have you. Either way, the plan is for risotto to be a main rather than a side. Hauki posted:Most risotto recipes will have you cook off the wine anyway before you start adding broth, so it's more for flavor. I wouldn't alter the volume of liquid really, but you should be adding incrementally and tasting it anyways near the end. As others mentioned, I would probably add a bit of lemon juice or similar for acidity (I don't really know what vinegars are halal or haram, and lemon juice is an easy out). Thankfully, vinegar is automatically halal. In fact, I use a mix of vinegar and grape juice in place of wine when it's called for. Though now you have me wondering if in this case, I can get away with just a bit of lemon juice.
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Jul 25, 2014 12:57
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McSpankWich posted:Well my goal was to make shredded type chicken, along with beans and rice, to use as burrito or taco filling. I found this recipe and figured I would copy the method, but swap out basically all of the ingredients for fresh vegetables, dry rice, dry beans, and actual spices. I came here to see if it was possible to toss the beans/rice in and just let it go, or if I had to cook them separately first. Here's a simple way to prepare shredded chicken for tacos or enchiladas:
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Jul 28, 2014 02:11
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If you like Monte Cristo sandwiches to begin with, replacing the deep-fried bread with powdered or glazed doughnuts doesn't seem that crazy. Not something I'd want, but then, I was never a big fan of the Monte Cristo. Cranberry sauce on a turkey sandwich is as far as my taste buds will go.
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Jul 29, 2014 22:13
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SubG posted:Sure, but battering and frying (or grilling) isn't the same as deep frying. I could easily be misremembering. v  v I only ever had a couple of Monte Cristos in my life and it's been well over a decade since the last one.Jan posted:...water. Dunno why water would be out, unless you mean coconut water. I would like to learn more of this butter chicken batch cooking and freezing. What recipe are you using?
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Jul 30, 2014 02:40
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Thanks! That looks like it'd be fun to try. I'll make sure to report back if I make any changes. Speaking of changes... does the pepper have to specifically be green for any reason? My wife and I are partial to habaneros, plus there's a Hmong market where we can buy cheap baggies full of bird's eye chilis.
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Jul 30, 2014 04:53
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Mr. Wiggles posted:Well duh you were supposed to use glazed donuts. Those burgers look like failures on every level from design to execution. Did the person who made that get confused halfway through and think they were making meatballs for a giant or something?
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Jul 31, 2014 20:10
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for sale posted:Does anybody have a good recipe for fesenjan, that persian walnut and pomegranate stew? I was going to mash a few recipes of it together but it might be good to hear from somebody with actual experience cooking Persian food. One of my friends has a recipe on her cooking blog: http://shivasrecipes.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/fesenjan-with-chicken/ I haven't tried making it yet, but she does have extremely good taste (not surpisingly!) when it comes to Persian food. She gave me advice on getting nice tadig when making zereshk polo, which I am going to try this week after I can swing by a market that sells barberries. Drifter posted:You're just a buzzkill. If I mention to someone I love a food and they go out of their way to make some for me I'd think it was nice - nevermind that I've eaten different versions around the world made by master chefs or old people. My thoughts exactly. I grew up with homemade Mexican food my whole life, as well as eating actual Mexican food at actual Mexican stands and restaurants. Still, back when I was single, I'd have been flattered if someone tried to make me, say, enchiladas with mole poblano or tamales de rajas from scratch.
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Sep 2, 2014 07:38
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for sale posted:This is a cool website, thank you. You're welcome, I'll let her know she has new followers! paraquat posted:Fesenjan...I had never heard of it, and even though it isn't the most vibrant looking dish, the ingredients sound wonderful! Fesenjan is amazing! That is my default dish to order at Persian restaurants when I'm not in a kebab mood. Bob Morales posted:A white girl I was kind of seeing invited me over for 'enchiladas', I said I've got to see this and watched her pull out flour tortillas, a can of 'enchilada sauce', a bag of kraft shredded cheddar cheese, a taco seasoning packet... Canned enchilada sauce I've always been scared of, but I'll cop to having used taco seasoning back in my student days on several occasions. The first time I met my then girlfriend's/now-wife's family, I was offered enchiladas. My wife is second generation Mexican-American like me, so these are probably going to be awesome enchiladas that her dad grew up on in Tijuana and learned to make. My future sister-in-law asked me to chat outside with her and then she warned me that these are probably a bit... different... than what I'm used to. It's not her dad making these at all, rather her (very lovely and nice, but 100% Anglo) grandmother. I go back inside and see a can of tomato sauce and some cream (might have been milk) mixed in a pot. (That was it, by the way: no seasoning.) The resulting pink sauce was allowed to get hot before a couple of my wife's relatives start dipping tortillas in the sauce. Then they put in some shredded cabbage, a slice or two of onion, and cottage cheese, wrapped them, and drizzled more of the pale pink sauce on. I ate two and pretended to like them. Bland is the best I can say about them. What is weird to me is that my wife swears this is an authentic Mexican recipe. Maybe it's a Tijuana or Baja California thing... I've only ever flown over or driven through. ibntumart fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Sep 3, 2014 |
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Sep 3, 2014 08:21
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e: doublepost, sorry
ibntumart fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Sep 3, 2014 |
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Sep 3, 2014 08:25
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Drifter posted:If you're cooking it it should be more than fine. Sell by dates tend to be...pretty forgiving. Or make a basic stroganoff. Browning the beef in some sauteed garlic, mixing in fresh sliced mushrooms, adding broth and noodles, and then coating it all in sour cream or creme fraiche will add flavor that the beef by itself might have lost. Bob Morales posted:Are there good ways to cook or use canned salmon? Seems pretty cheap at a local store. Salmon croquettes! Or you could try a bit more involved recipe and go for a fishcake Gordon Ramsay style (except he uses canned tuna). ibntumart fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Sep 4, 2014 |
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Sep 4, 2014 15:31
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Lucy Heartfilia posted:They make a good pasta sauce. Both tomato and creamy ones are very nice. Salmon on pizza with capers is delicious, plus dill and sour cream to garnish.
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Sep 4, 2014 15:43
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Globofglob posted:Ok, college student trying to cook for first time here, it didn't turn out so good. You should get a lid. They're not that expensive and you will want one for cooking rice (and lots of other stuff). As for making rice, this recipe is very easy, ridiculously good, and for some reason impresses my wife whenever I make it (warning: rice may not impress all potential girlfriends/boyfriends). Her recipe for coconut rice is pretty decent and even easier to make.
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Sep 6, 2014 22:24
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Nicol Bolas posted:Also, if you haven't heard it everywhere in GWS already, get a cast iron pan. I honestly think you'd be really happy with a well-seasoned cast iron. You can crank the heat however you want, it's heavy and thick enough to even out any unevenness in your burners, and, if your seasoning is good, it wipes clean. It takes a little elbow grease to get a it really well seasoned, but once it is, it's truly incredible. This is a perfect set-up for the question I popped in here to ask: do I need to do anything more than wipe cast iron after use? I made home fries in a cast iron skillet this evening and it only took a quick wipe to get everything off of the pan. Absolutely nothing stuck. Is it okay for me to leave it at that and use it tomorrow for breakfast? Or should I scrub it with a sponge or brush, maybe boil some water, and lightly recoat with oil? I will say I loved cooking with it more than the stainless or ceramic cookware I normally use.
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Oct 21, 2014 05:25
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Bum the Sad posted:Any body else in here have a decent Chicken curry recipe? (preferably one that just doesn't say "curry powder" I have all the spices.) Along those lines, does anyone have good recipes for curry paste? Not just Indian---I'm thinking about trying this one for Thai green curry---but really any good curry paste that I can put in the freezer and jumpstart dinner would be fantastic. Currently I just cheat and use Kitchen of India pastes, which are fine, but I want to up my game in the curry arena.
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Oct 28, 2014 22:43
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totalnewbie posted:I've made this Thai curry with good results. http://imgur.com/a/cWbBb sharkattack posted:I made some pretty authentic Thai red curry a while ago, from scratch. Feel free to ignore the rest of the curry recipe and just make the curry paste: http://www.spachethespatula.com/thai-red-curry-with-salmon-and-bamboo-shoots/ Thanks! These both look great. Now I just need to stock up on shrimp paste, coconut cream, and palm sugar. Not sure where to find the last two, but I'll poke my head in the local Hmong market this weekend and hope for the best.
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Oct 29, 2014 07:30
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The advice I received was to clean ASAP with hot water and soap, then immediately and thoroughly dry with a microfiber cloth. Perfectly clear so far, even after cream of asparagus or cheesecake batter.
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Dec 7, 2015 02:49
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It's not ghee at all. It's hydrogenated vegetable oil, I believe usually palm oil.
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Dec 7, 2015 04:51
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Say I have a pound of oxtails and a pressure cooker. If I wanted to make a simple stew, would I be far off if I did the following?
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Jul 11, 2017 22:03
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QuarkMartial posted:Sounds like a good start to pho. Haven't had pho for too long. I think I'd need star anise and cilantro for that, but now I'm thinking maybe I'm due a quick groceries run anyway....
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Jul 12, 2017 01:45
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So I bought some satsuma age (basically little fried cakes of fish paste) to put in my ramen and udon. I absolutely love them when I go out to eat noodles, but haven't ever used them when making noodle dishes at home. I know I can just put them in when the noodles are about done and let them boil for a minute or so. But would they be better pan-fried (I prefer doing that with gyoza) or maybe steamed and added afterward?
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Jul 13, 2018 03:41
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Jeb! Repetition posted:Is there a tool I can use to slice carrots, beets, potatoes etc. to a uniform thinness? Get yourself a Benriner mandoline and rejoice in the thinnest and most uniform of slicing. And don't worry, the sliced finger the first time you use it is just the mandoline exacting its blood tribute.
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Jul 14, 2018 06:32
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Captainsalami posted:Also would accept a good Chinese cookbook. For your wok cookery, I've been pleased with everything I've tried from Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge thus far.
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Jul 16, 2018 12:01
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SubG posted:Chef John's mac & cheese recipe (like most of them) involves making a roux. Making a roux, just that step, is more complicated , easier to gently caress up, and harder to recover from, than making a cheese sauce with sodium citrate. I mean, it's a roux. It's not that complicated. Heat some fat + add the flour + whisk until it's the color you want = successful roux. Screw it up? Then toss it and start over. Honestly, if someone is enthusiastic enough about cooking to be in this thread in the first place, nailing the basics of the roux is well within his or her grasp. SubG posted:Not that I'm suggesting anyone shouldn't do it the traditional way, or that sodium citrate is the one true way or anything like that. I'm just trying to dispel the impression that sodium citrate is some mysterious and difficult science thing or whatever. It's literally one of the simplest and most forgiving things you can do in the kitchen. It's almost like cheating. That said, if sodium citrate really is that cheap and easy to use, I'm a bit tempted to use it at least once and see if I like the results. Maybe in a broccoli cheddar soup or mac and cheese.
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Jul 20, 2018 05:25
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SubG posted:Yeah, I agree on all of this. I wasn't trying to say a roux is complicated, easy to gently caress up, or anything like that. Making a roux is a basic skill and it's pretty loving simple. My point is that even given that, making a cheese sauce with sodium citrate is even easier. Water, sodium citrate, cheese, and a little heat. Too runny? Add more cheese. Too thick? Add more water. Don't like water? Use milk instead. Or beer. It's incredibly simple and incredibly forgiving. You magnificent bastard, you convinced me to order some from Amazon. I have some broccoli and rotini I want to use, and my wife bought some cheese, so I'll be giving the sodium citrate route to mac and cheese goodness a spin in the near future.
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Jul 20, 2018 20:34
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Okay, sodium citrate is some beautiful dark alchemy. It didn't taste quite as good as the old-fashioned way, but it was still pretty drat delicious and ridiculously easy. I hardly had to use any of the sodium citrate either. That bag is probably going to be a lifetime supply. No flour means my wife can slot this cheese wizardry into her keto diet, so now I'm trying to figure out some other good recipes. I already have plans to make queso fundido, fondue (no more Laughing Cow wedges to emulsify now!), and cauliflower cheese soup. What else would people recommend?
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Jul 25, 2018 09:54
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SubG posted:If you think the flavour is off (versus a traditional Mornay-style sauce) you can try using milk (or cream or whatever you usually use) instead of water. Or just use a cheese you prefer the flavour of. Because unless you went way overboard on the citrate the only thing you're tasting in the sauce is the cheese. The flavor wasn't off. It just wasn't quite as... I don't know, subtle, I guess? It seemed more cheesy if that makes any sense. That's not bad (it was actually really good), just kind of different from the last time I made it using a roux. I did use milk. I couldn't bring myself to use water, it just didn't seem right for mac and cheese.
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Jul 25, 2018 21:17
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