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After making pho from scratch, I have a ridiculously huge amount of the spices left over. Korean grocery stores never seem to sell herbs and spices in small quantities. I was thinking of using some of the cinnamon, cloves, and star anise to make mulled cider, and fennel seed is part of my Italian sausage recipe, but what do I do with the black cardamom pods and the whole coriander seed? Besides make more pho, which I fully plan to do, but the recipe doesn't call for very much and I have LOTS. The coriander seed completely fills a standard-size sandwich bag, to the point of being difficult to close.
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Oct 6, 2011 01:49
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Mr. Wiggles posted:Coriander should be going in a lot of your Mexican cooking. Whole? Because I have a fair amount of ground stuff already, and I was hoping to make use of the whole seeds. I don't do any authentic Mexican cooking, really. Taco night probably doesn't count. But I suppose I could learn  quote:Bake with the cardamom and use it in chai. My husband will like that, he's a big chai fan. Thanks!
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Oct 6, 2011 02:31
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You can also steam pumpkins, that's how I've done it (and how I'll be doing it later today  ). I have a big 12-quart stock pot that I put an inch or two of water in and drop a steamer insert down at the bottom, then pile in chunks of pumpkin and put the lid on. It cooks pretty fast that way.Plus the water at the bottom after they're done is delicious and makes a really good base for soups.
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Oct 16, 2011 19:00
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Vigilante Banana posted:I'll have to do this next time. Trip report: roasted pumpkin just plain and by itself is delicious, and my food processor sucks. I did two pies "rustic" - pumpkin mashed and just loosely mixed with the custard mixture - and then ran the remainder through the blender for two ultra-smooth pies. Definitely recommend the blender. My small pumpkin made almost exactly six cups of mush, just right for two batches of the filling recipe I use. I think I may go look for another small pumpkin or other squash and try making pumpkin bread, I've never made it myself before and I love the stuff passionately.
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Oct 17, 2011 18:37
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In my experience it's best to get the pork to 190 and then let it rest a bit before trying to pull it. I'm sure there's other advice out the - I do my pork shoulder in a wet smoker, so it's slightly different than in an oven.
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Oct 18, 2011 00:59
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When I cook my homemade corned beef, I do it in the slow cooker with a generous amount of beer. I've never tried it with an uncured brisket, but I imagine it would work similarly. By the way, corned beef braised in Guinness is amazing. Always a big hit at my St. Pat's parties. Edit: I slice rather than shred, though.
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Oct 18, 2011 18:08
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ItalicSquirrels posted:Prepackaged questions Can't help you in that, I've never used the prepackaged stuff. quote:Also, I freely admit that "prepackaged corned beef brisket with spice packet" is nowhere near the standards that some folks around here hold to, and I accept that I would probably do a lot better with other options. However, I'm trying to both save up a bit of cash and have tasty beef products Don't feel bad! If you're interested in making corned beef from scratch, though, it's very easy and not more expensive than buying premade. The only limitation I've found is that it takes up a lot of space in the fridge while it's curing. I wrote up a blog entry on my corned beef, but I never got around to posting it and now I can't find it. 
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Oct 18, 2011 23:04
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ItalicSquirrels posted:Well, maybe a theory question, then. From what I understand of the packaging, it's already salt cured. There's no mention of needing to add salt and the package lists a single unaltered serving as almost 50% of my sodium. Would marinating in beer for 24 hours or even just cooking it in beer worsen the flavor ? I like to take my brisket out of the brine 24 hours before cooking and let it soak in clean water to pull some of the salt back out. Soaking in beer would do the same, I imagine, though beer has a higher salt content than water and would remove less salt (blah blah blah osmosis). I love the taste of meat braised in beer, I highly recommend it. If you're going to marinate it, though, I would dump off the salty beer and then braise in a fresh batch. I would add potatoes near the beginning, and carrots if you like them soft. The onions can go in at the beginning if you don't mind them basically dissolving. Cabbage definitely should go in at the end or it turns to mush. Caramelizing your onions beforehand in a separate pan is a really nice touch - I do this for my beef stew recipe, and it really changes the flavor for the better.
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Oct 19, 2011 02:02
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Hawkgirl posted:So, I think I've now eaten all remaining chicken breast in my house with this meal. But just in case I'm hungry one day and all there is is chicken breast, is there anything on earth I can do to make it not suck? You've already gotten some good answers, but I thought I'd mention frying. Last night I cut some chicken breasts into finger-width strips. Dredged in seasoned flour, dipped in egg wash, then rolled in fresh coarse bread crumbs and pan fried in canola with a little sesame oil. They were awesome. The breading came out super nice and crunchy, the chicken was moist and perfect, and they weren't greasy at all. Sooooo good. I think chicken strips like that are one of the few preparations where breast meat is actually better than thighs.
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Oct 20, 2011 14:36
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Mr. Wiggles posted:It's still not a problem. Otherwise everyone in south India would be dying of heart attacks every day but last I checked they have a growing population. Which brings us back to the Doritos. Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in India. India also has a much lower average life expectancy than we do here. And population growth has very little to do with the overall health of a population - access to birth control is the primary factor. Now, most evidence points to trans fats as the main bad guy in diet-influenced high cholesterol, so you're right, coconut milk is not going to raise your "bad" cholesterol. In fact, there's some evidence that lauric acid, which is prevalent in coconut milk, can increase your HDL without increasing your LDL. So I agree with you, coconut milk probably isn't one of the foods someone with high cholesterol should worry about. But pointing to the health of people in countries that traditionally consume a lot of it isn't going to support your premise.
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Oct 20, 2011 17:18
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You can get both kinds in the States, legitimately imported. They're a little pricey, but then, I don't know how much they cost in Spain, so I can't guess at the markup.
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Oct 20, 2011 18:36
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The Macaroni posted:Split peas, eh? Yellow or green? I'll have to try this. My half-Sudanese wife insists there should be fava beans in felafels, but I'm having the damndest time finding any out in my area. Ask/look for broad beans, I've seen favas described that way in local groceries. Depending on where you are, you might also look for ethnic grocery stores, they're more likely to have a wide produce variety.
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Oct 20, 2011 21:35
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Solkanar512 posted:I would kill for a proper way to do restaurant style teriyaki chicken. I love that stuff on a bad day but trolling though the net has gotten me a variety of crazy recipes. This includes using orange marmalade or cooking by boiling the chicken in the sauce to cook. I use store bought teriyaki sauce (Kikkoman) and add a bunch of sugar, marinate it for a couple of hours, then strain off the excess and fry it in an insanely hot wok with a little sesame oil. It's definitely guilty pleasure food, not exactly a culinary masterpiece.
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Oct 23, 2011 20:41
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Salted butter will last much longer at room temperature than unsalted. Just something to be aware of when leaving butter on counters.
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Oct 25, 2011 02:28
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Azuth0667 posted:The nonstick pan isn't bubbled up at all its just got a dark splatter in it, for some reason to my roommate that means its broken and I have to buy him a new one. Is there a way to get that stuff off of it? I want to avoid paying the expert cookware inspector for something that isn't broken at all. If it's greasy burned on stuff, I really like Krud Kutter spray. They carry it at Lowes. I used it to clean out my smoker once - just sprayed the whole surface and all the oily, caked-on crap just ran down the sides and out the bottom. It was amazing. Might want to pick up a plastic bristle brush to scrub it as well.
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Oct 25, 2011 03:18
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Would it be totally self-serving to post my blog entry on crab cake sliders, or is that something that would interest people?
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Oct 28, 2011 21:49
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Jyrraeth posted:Post it! I like Crab. I aim to please Crab Cake Sliders My in-laws called my husband today to tell him they were going to make these 
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Oct 29, 2011 01:09
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I haven't made stock in a while, I forgot how amazing it makes the house smell
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Oct 29, 2011 19:11
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Does anyone know a good source for alcohol-free liquid flavorings? I bought my last batch online, but the manufacturer seems to have gone under (Spicery Shoppe was the brand). I've found a few places where I can get a small variety of flavors, but the Spicery Shoppe flavors came in a much wider selection. I'm thinking about making candy glass again this year for Christmas, and the alcohol-free flavorings work better at the high temperatures it requires. I would especially be interested in a really good butterscotch flavoring. I used it in both the candy and a batch of sugar cookies, and they were a huge hit. Edit: also, in regards to pumpkin seeds, I really love to toss them in a little bit of sesame oil before putting them in the oven.
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Oct 31, 2011 18:34
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The Macaroni posted:Do folks have a favorite brand of Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce? Last brand I tried was "Squid" and I wasn't a huge fan. I like Phu Quoc, personally. If you have an Asian market near you, it might be possible to buy several smallish bottles of different brands so you can sample and decide what you like. My local Korean grocery has an entire aisle of the stuff. I didn't see any answers to my question before, and I don't want to pester the thread too much, but I still haven't had any luck finding a source of alcohol-free flavoring with any variety. The few places I was able to find online were all wholesale vendors and the containers were huge. Does anyone know of a good replacement for the Spicery Shoppe brand that appears to have gone out of business?
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Nov 1, 2011 17:24
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I didn't realize Phu Quoc wasn't a brand name! The Korean grocery near me has fish sauce labeled Phu Quoc with a big orange fish logo, is that not authentic Phu Quoc?
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Nov 1, 2011 20:48
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mich posted:Yeah, most bottles labeled as Phu Quoc fish sauce are not 100% Phu Quoc fish sauce but a blend. Look at the bottle and see if it is produced or processed in Thailand or Hong Kong and chances are it is a blend, like the Three Crabs and Flying Lion brands. Whenever I go to the store I check to see if there are any new fish sauce brands available and there's never any 100% Phu Quoc fish sauce, but I live in Nashville. I'll have to check the bottle I have now. I'd be willing to bet that if there's any place in the US where you can buy the good stuff, it's in the DC area. We have a huge immigrant population from all parts of Asia, and our ethnic grocery stores are amazing. We have friends who live pretty close to you (Franklin) and they're really into authentic Japanese food. When they came to visit we took them to Lotte and they wound up cramming their car trunk full of stuff they couldn't get at home. Lotte is awesome.
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Nov 1, 2011 21:29
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Chard posted:On a related note, I bet it sucks to live in snow when your power goes out. At least you can keep your food fresh! I made a big pot of stock during the East Coast Snowpocalypse two years ago and was able to cool it down enough to go straight in the fridge by burying the stock pot in a giant snow drift. Took less than five minutes. The best part was the ultra smooth pot-shaped dent that stayed in the snow for weeks after.
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Nov 1, 2011 23:52
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GrAviTy84 posted:any reason why you want a teflon one? just get an aluminum one from a resto supply store for supercheap and use parchment paper or a silpat. Way better for you, the environment, and will last approximately a bazillion longer than a teflon sheet will. It says "non Teflon", I'm guessing razz wants a nonstick sheet pan. I don't know what the brand is, but I got a very good nonstick aluminum sheet pan set at Costco with a cooling rack and a plastic lid. I also have a Wilton Tri-tanium jelly roll pan that is awesome. Neither was terribly expensive, maybe $25 for the set and $19.99 for the Wilton pan, which I think I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond. Edit: thanks for the link! I had seen Bickford recommended but hadn't seen any place that solds the four ounce size. Still not as many flavors as the old brand, but I'm sure I can find the fruit flavors and such piecemeal.
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Nov 2, 2011 02:17
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I botched the gently caress out of my lasagna tonight. Insufficient quantities of ingredients, mostly. But it came out very tasty anyway, so I guess that's okay.
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Nov 5, 2011 01:55
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I don't like the texture of brined poultry, personally. I prefer a firmer meat, so when I have time to cure a chicken or turkey I dry-rub it instead. Coarse salt by itself is good, but I usually add a little granulated garlic as well. Usually when I cook a chicken whole, though, it's more of a "I bought this and I'm cooking it in ten minutes," in which case I rub with either oil and herbs or oil blended with citrus juice and stuff the cavity with herbs or halved/quartered lemons.
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Nov 6, 2011 21:46
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sporkupine posted:I have five chicken breasts in the refrigerator that have been in there for three days (I was gonna eat them asap, but then got food poisoning and didn't eat anything for a while, now I'm better and starving). 1. Are they safe to eat? 2. I have so much chicken and so little stomach space, what do you all suggest I do with these? Three days might be pushing it. Still Tasty gives raw chicken 1-2 days in the refrigerator, and as far as I've seen, their listings are pretty accurate. Speaking of which, Still Tasty is a really good resource, everyone who cooks should bookmark it. It gives fridge and freezer longevity for a TON of foods.
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Nov 9, 2011 17:29
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The restaurant in the Stratosphere observation level (Top of the World I think) was very good, although I felt like it didn't quite earn the price tag. Beautiful view, though. Les Artistes at the Paris was quite nice. Trying to think which other fancy-type places I've been in Vegas...808 in Caesars was very good, but it's been ten years since I ate there. And the best value for the dollar, in my opinion, is the restaurant at Ellis Island (off the Strip, kind of a locals' casino), where you can get a decent steak, two sides, and a microbrew (or really excellent root beer that they brew there if you're not a drinker) for $5. You could always go to the Burger Brasserie at Paris and order the 777 Burger. My husband ordered it last time he was in Vegas (sans the bottle of Dom, which saves you about $755 off the price tag) and raved about it. I hear really good things about all the high-end restaurants in Bellagio, but I haven't tried them myself.
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Nov 9, 2011 22:58
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I'm thawing out a package of gravad lax. Probably just going to eat it on crackers, maybe with a little goat cheese, but I was wondering if anyone had a brilliant and/or awesome idea for what to do with it. The only thing that came right to mind was lox and eggs, but I'm not really in the mood for eggs. Any thoughts?
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Nov 11, 2011 01:10
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Chard posted:Cram it into your face with both hands as fast as possible? Seriously one of my favorite foods, but I just eat it straight like a fool. It's a small package, I could probably get all of it in my mouth at once. There's a dirty joke in there somewhere.
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Nov 11, 2011 01:42
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Casu Marzu posted:Surprisingly, the one on the back of the tollhouse pack of chocolate chips is pretty good. I always use that one, but substitute Crisco for butter. It makes the cookies soft and wonderful Never found one I liked better, to be honest.
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Nov 12, 2011 00:11
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Turkeybone posted:Hmm -- yeah honestly Ive had a friend who can make the quintessential Toll House Cookie that are pretty good. Maybe Ill do that and try substituting in Extra Virgin Coconut oil. Let me know how the batter turns out using oil instead of a solid fat source, I'd be interested to know if it makes it more difficult to do drop cookies due to the batter being more loose.
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Nov 12, 2011 00:45
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Turkeybone posted:Its solid at room-ish temp, but yeah if I do it ill let you know. Oh, really? I've only seen liquid coconut oil.
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Nov 12, 2011 01:07
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I finally got my new wall ovens installed (that's a whole E/N thread in itself), and I cooked in one of them last night for the first time. The ovens that were in place before were original to the house, which was built in 1971. GE built good stuff back in the day, but the heating time was taking longer and longer. It took an hour to get to 500 a couple of weeks ago - I would often call my husband before I even got to the grocery store and have him turn it on, so that by the time my shopping was done and I got home, it would be hot. 0 to 350 in four and a half minutes. It was amazing. I roasted a whole chicken, with a bulb of garlic in the cavity and a light brushing of sesame oil on the skin. 15 minutes before the chicken was done I split and cleaned some delicata squashes and put butter, salt, and brown sugar in them. Barely lost any temperature when I opened the door to add them in. It was beautiful. I don't normally eat the skin on chicken, but I couldn't resist this stuff. No dry spots in the bird. I was really worried about getting these in before Thanksgiving, as I have 15 people to feed and I didn't want to spend hours waiting for my oven to heat up. I didn't think it was possible to be in love with an appliance, but it may well be...
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Nov 18, 2011 16:14
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SubG posted:drat, you keep it cold in your place. I see what you did there  It was probably about 50 inside the oven when it started, as it had been sitting outside in a truck all day and was installed and turned on in a matter of minutes.
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Nov 19, 2011 05:08
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SubG posted:Yeah, The Flavor Bible is probably the book I turn to the most frequently, but you really need to have the basics down before you use something like it. I put this in my wish list for our group's Secret Santa, I really hope I get it 
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Nov 23, 2011 18:46
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Twerp posted:As somebody who gets unreasonably proud when I manage to not burn my drat omelettes, I got a couple basic baking questions. Wanted to try making biscuits for the holidays despite never having baked before, and I noticed some recipes alternated between using milk and buttermilk. What difference does it make for the end product? Are there nutritional differences I should be aware of? How about imitation buttermilk? In some recipes the buttermilk is providing acidity that's necessary for the dough to rise. Usually those recipes will have baking soda as the leavening agent. You can use milk in these recipes but you'll need to add in something acidic or end up with flat biscuits.
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Nov 29, 2011 19:07
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Wow, I need to start hauling myself out of bed and starting stuff in the crock pot more often! I put a 2" top round roast with lots of marbling in this morning with some aromatics and Guinness and let it go all day on the Low setting, and it is absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever had pot roast like this.
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Nov 30, 2011 01:38
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Mine was two carrots and half a large onion, cut up and scattered on the bottom of the crock pot. A tall can of Guinness and four cups worth of beef bouillon powder, plus enough water to bring the liquid up to cover the beef. Cooked for about 10.5 hours on low. I braise in beer only when I'm doing corned beef, but I think it's a little heavy for just a regular pot roast. (Sorry I didn't give more detail in the first post - I didn't even see your post before, just came in to yammer excitedly about my pot roast!)
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Nov 30, 2011 03:23
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Twerp posted:Good to know, thanks for that; culinary science is lost on me. Guess I should get a trial run together before the holidays. I only know that kind of thing through rote memorization, I'm really bad at baking and the finer chemistry of it. Baking and sauces, those are my downfall. Baking just isn't intuitive to me the way other forms of cooking are I am getting better at sauces, though.I once tried to make a sweet Guinness reduction sauce to put on some beef, and let it over-reduce. Guinness caramel resulted. It was delicious (if break-your-jaw sticky), but it wasn't what I was trying to make by a long stretch.
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Nov 30, 2011 23:00
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