General Questions Thread

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That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Manuel Calavera posted:

"This is the Problem" sticks in my mind perennially.
And Space Gourd was perma'd? Shame. Would explain why I don't see them anymore.

Yep. But stiffing people on SA Mart is bad.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 11:55

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 03:30

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

teardrop posted:

Hello thread, I am a busy lazy man with a busy wife. What is the easiest way to get tasty, healthy food? Restaurants aren�t healthy, meal kits aren�t great, searching for recipes often gives us ingredients not available in the Midwest in winter. I spent this week eating sandwiches and cup noodles, please save us.

Can anyone recommend a site or app that focuses on really quick recipes, ideally that helps put together a grocery list? Suitable for batch cooking and freezing would be great. We have an instant pot if that is relevant. Thank you!

It's not gonna satisfy your answer 100% but I mealprep 10 lunches per week for my wife and I to split and also make at least 2 dinner dishes that can be used for leftovers and also keep enough salad fixings on hand to make salad 1-2x per week.

For lunches I usually sousvide either a pork tenderloin, chicken breasts or cheap top round steak, enough to have 30oz of meat at the end (3oz per lunchbox). Then I roast 2 veggies in the oven on sheets and parcel those out into the lunchboxes. For the veggies I just go with whatever is on sale or cheapest. When I'm not roasting veggies I will sometimes make a wilted red cabbage with onions, garlic, vinegar and mustard etc. For the roast veggies its some combinations of: Cauliflower, green beans, broccolli, carrots, asparagus, brussels sprouts, red cabbage (roasted slices), mix of roast zucchini, yellowsquash, red peppers and garlic (super cheap in late summer), eggplant slices, parsnips etc.

Theres a couple of different ways to season all of these but generally some combination of salt, paprika, black pepper etc are going to work and you can use turmeric, curry powder, cumin etc as well with most and it'll be great.

For the sousvide I just go with seriouseats recipes usually, the chicken breast (bone in) ones are especially good imo and buy whatever is on sale or looks best that week. Ground turkey meatballs also work and there's a million recipes for those.

For Midwest winter you can usually find carrots, cabbage and parsnips for cheap enough and can work in some pureed squashes etc too but I don't like to do too much starches for my lunches personally or I get sleepy.

For big onepot dinners I like to make a pot of jambalaya, or Redbeans and rice (cajun/creole style), coconut curry lentils and rice, thai coconut vegetable curry (can use meat as well). Chicken Tiki Masala is also something you should be able to make out of a winter midwest grocery store though you might want to buy nicer quality spices online (Penzeys or Amazon will have everything). There's a few instant pot recipes for this out there or making it in a dutch oven isn't much slower or harder tbh.

A super fast and cheap meal I like is to buy a head of napa cabbage and a rotisserie chicken. Debone the chicken entirely, reserve the bones and skin for stock later one. Fork up the meat into pieces and add in about 1/4 of a finely chopped red onion, 1/4 of a bunch of cilantro chopped, 1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts, peanuts etc), 1 tbls honey, 1.5 tbls rice vinegar (or other) 1.5 tbls sesame oil and 1 tbls soy sauce (or less). Mix all that together and adjust spices / salt / oil to taste and spoon just a little of that onto a big leaf of napa cabbage and eat a couple. You can use Bok Choy also or another type of lettuce but I like Napa because the texture works right, it's generally cheap and it keeps well in the fridge and if it sits there for too long it gives me an excuse to make kimchi.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 20:09

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

My FIL makes homemade pasta with the Kitchen Aid roller for holiday stuff 2-3x per year and every time wishes he had his old hand crank roller instead. We're getting him one for his birthday.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2020 03:16

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

BraveUlysses posted:

definitely toss it

# ¿ Jan 20, 2020 19:41

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Casu Marzu posted:

Got capers and lemon? Piccata is tasty and simple. So is something like a chicken marsala (or any other fortified or non fortified wine)

This

or puttanesca work pretty easily and without much forethought or work.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2020 19:00

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

BrianBoitano posted:

What is a great pepper mill? Ours worked fine but the laminate is coming off and it's such a mixed bag of quality out there. I've heard of using hand coffee mills, anybody done that?

I have an old antique brass tube one. It was my father in laws and he gave it to us a couple years back after using it for years himself. I'd say maybe check out an antique store or something if you've got one nearby.

It's highly similar to this one, at least 20-30 yrs old though far as we know, likely a good bit older since I think the FIL got it used as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Pepper-Mill-Imports-Atlas-Brass/dp/B00015USPQ

# ¿ Jan 26, 2020 18:13

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Crotch Fruit posted:

I have a jar of yeast in my fridge that is about a year old, can I still use it if proofs?

If it proofs sure.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2020 01:32

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Squashy Nipples posted:

I... have never needed to scrunch a chili.

What am I missing?

Not $17

# ¿ Feb 4, 2020 14:59

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

I got a big bag of individually frozen, vacuum packed cod fillets at Costco and then forgot about them when I got home for a few hours. 2 were frozen enough that I tossed them in the freezer, 2 completely thawed (cooking them tonight with this lovely recipe from Doom Rooster) and then I have 2 semi-frozen ones left. Will they keep okay in the fridge overnight and does anyone have any favorite easy cod recipes?

Should be fine overnight. And for recipe, fish and chips?

# ¿ Feb 5, 2020 01:29

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

# ¿ Feb 7, 2020 02:29

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Mr. Wiggles posted:

Nice golden person.

Whites are not very good. Pinot grigio is probably the least worst. The Chardonnay tastes like 5 dollar Chardonnay. If you can't get the Pinot grigio then do the Sauvignon Blanc.

I always got their Pinot grigio, and the Cabernet or Merlot. Between those 3 one was always good enough to drink and the others are great for cooking.

Pro tip buy a bottle of creme de casis and use it to make Cardinals or Kir with them.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2020 17:02

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Scientastic posted:

Honestly officer, I was just tasting this cheap wine in the front seat of my car so that I could test if the batch was suitable for my sophisticated palate

Hahah

# ¿ Feb 8, 2020 15:42

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

I buy red boat by the gallon.

If you're sweating down onions and used to throw a little salt on them to get them to drop out more water then splash in a glug of fish sauce instead and then carmelize. Everything is better after this.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2020 15:52

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

veni veni veni posted:

I came across an extremely cheap Kitchen aid mixer today which was rad, but holy poo poo the attachments are expensive now that I'm looking at them. Is there like, decent off brand options? I'm not seeing much on Amazon under $70-100. I'd at least like to make pasta and grind meat/make sausage with this thing.

There are off brand ones yes but quality is uncertain.

I have the meat grinder one but got it on sale for like 60 percent off just waiting around.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2020 12:49

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

BraveUlysses posted:

^those are a great idea, i also like using small glass ramekins for prep (and serving)

https://www.amazon.com/Lawei-Set-Glass-Bowls-Transparent/dp/B07PP2PVDH/

Seconding this.

I have a thing of nesting plastic bowls from like 4 qts down to 1qt or so and I use those for my bigger veggies etc and then I have tons of the little glass ramekins for like chopped garlic, chopped parsley / green onions, spices that need to get bloomed midway through cooking etc.

When I hit the gas I have each of them already lined up in order of use on the side by my stovetop. Since the bowls and containers more or less nest together I just pop some soap into one and let water flow over it into the next containers and they all kinda just soak while I go. Once the dish is in some long cook or rest step I wash those out and put them in the drying rack (or dump all into the dishwasher) and take a minute to wash my knife and cutting board and put away.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2020 18:42

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

flesh dance posted:

I've always used stuff out of the cupboard like coffee cups and shot glasses. I should probably pick up something proper, but hey it works

"Should I eat this" question: does unwrapping a package of meat impact the use by date? I bought chicken legs on the 13th, cooked half that night and intended to use the rest over the next day or two but didn't. Today is the 17th, which feels like a long time for raw meat to be hanging out in the fridge, but the sell by date on the package is the 20th. They've been tightly wrapped and look and smell fine, but a cursory search says to use raw poultry within 1-2 days

Sniff test territory there imo

# ¿ Feb 18, 2020 00:11

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

effika posted:

Barkeeper's Friend and steel wool scrubby. Just take that first micro layer off completely to be safe.

Second this.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2020 15:14

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Bagheera posted:

Could I just add a ton of sugar and boil it until it reduces?

Yes

# ¿ Feb 29, 2020 02:54

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

nwin posted:

Wegmans sells these huge family packs of fresh potato gnocchi. Think these would freeze well and I could just cook a bit longer from frozen?

Yeah probably. I use the frozen gnocchi from stop and shop all the time abd it's really good actually

# ¿ Mar 1, 2020 02:27

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Babaganoush

# ¿ Mar 3, 2020 12:15

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

DildenAnders posted:

I just made a small amount (like 6 or so) deviled eggs, and after sloppily putting the deviled yolk mixture back into the eggs, I have a poo poo load of it left. Any ideas on what to do with it, besides cracker dip?

Homemade fried potato or sweet potato chip or fried plantain topping imo

# ¿ Mar 3, 2020 23:39

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

I strain nothing. My dumps are better for it.

# ¿ Mar 17, 2020 21:54

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

I've had red beans and rice on my mind for a while but dried red kidney beans are suddenly non-existent. It's just a pot of beans so it probably doesn't really matter, but of my three options- fairly old dried cranberry beans, dry (red) small field peas, or canned Goya red kidney beans-which is my best bet? I've always used dried beans before for red beans and rice-for the canned beans would I just reduce the cooking time?

Brown up your onions spices garlic and other veggies in the fond from some sauteed sausage or other meat. Then add the can mix and let come up to Temp slowly and simmer for about 30 minutes.

That should be pretty good.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2020 20:12

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Scientastic posted:

I don�t like sourdough

THERE, I SAID IT

# ¿ Mar 22, 2020 11:43

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Helith posted:

I would say you need some umami in there. Maybe something like chopped and fried mushrooms and a dollop of Vegemite/Marmite/ Nutritional Yeast. Also miso could work.

Seconding this.

# ¿ Mar 23, 2020 11:28

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Yeah for that many substitutions I'd just go with a dish that works better with the ingredients you have and call it.

I like doing a fluffy 2 egg omlette with a light tomato sauce and some parmesan and basil on it, maybe with a few chopped castlevetranos if I have them.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2020 12:41

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

I got a big cryopack pork tenderloin in the freezer.

I could sous-vide it, but I've done that a bunch. I have a smoker, maybe could do that.

Looking for other ideas for recipes / methods to cook this thing up somehow.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2020 15:42

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Helith posted:

Or you could make chocolate lava cakes. They are pretty simple ingredient wise.
We find that it's best to make testers of them so that you can get exact timings for your oven and mixture to get the perfect ooze.

https://youtu.be/KsYbWus0Vbg

# ¿ Apr 15, 2020 23:35

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Just a bunch but I feel like zesting the peel into it might make for better results. Probably around 2-3 tsp at least.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2020 01:52

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

PRADA SLUT posted:

I have a cheap, manual Crock Pot. I'm moving and thinking of replacing it with something like an Instant Pot, just for the flexibility/automation of cooking a few different things (not rice) .

I'm looking for something in the 6qt range. Any ideas? Or is it a waste of money to 'upgrade'?

I really like my instant pot.

I do not like it as a slow cooker.

I have a Crock-Pot, I find having both to be useful.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2020 20:17

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Anyone have a basic ratio style kinda kimchi recipe?

I have some random napa, bok choy, carrots, green onions, other random veg etc along with gochugaru, fish sauce ginger, garlic, all that. Most of the recipes I have are pretty specific and am kinda wondering if someone has something along the lines of

X weight greens to Y weight salt, let sit then add Z amount of sugar and starch + pepper etc.

Any thoughts? Generally most ferments break down this way just unsure if anyone has such a thing spelled out, would be a nice reference.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2020 20:18

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Casu Marzu posted:

You'll prob want to add a cornstarch slurry to thicken after the liquid is heating.

This imo.

Gluten free flour from red Mill makes good gravy. I don't like using coconut or almond flour for that when I've tried for my celiac MIL.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2020 23:52

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Casu Marzu posted:

Bourbon

# ¿ May 4, 2020 01:57

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

I do ribs 3-4h tight wrapped in foil at 225F then unwrap, crisp in broiler just a few minutes and then salt and slice.

Paint them in cheap BBQ sauce before wrapping and again just before crisping and it's solid super easy prep.

# ¿ May 4, 2020 23:49

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Pantsmaster Bill posted:

How freezable is gnocchi dough? Butternut squash, potato, egg, parm, flour.

I’d rather freeze half of the batch I’m making if possible to be able to reheat later, my gut feel is that it’ll freeze better as dough (ie pre-boil) than after I’ve boiled but before butter sauté.

Only a guess but probably fine as I buy frozen gnocchi from the store often that's about as good as my fresh/scratch stuff.

E: it's pre-boil raw dough.

# ¿ May 5, 2020 13:10

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

PHIZ KALIFA posted:

i understand that's probably the answer, and that the quality of food is almost directly proportional to the effort in preparation, but that sounds Challenging and the only spice grinders i have are for, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, not spices.

like ideally i will get to the level of a harried career mom from Goa, who cares about feeding her family healthful traditional meals but just Doesn't Have The Time.

i wash and wash the rice but it usually congeals more than the stuff in the restaurant. that's very fryable and the grains are individuated whereas my stuff gets clumpy like sushi rice. i think i'm just either washing not enough, or soaking too long, or overcooking, crowding the pot maybe. I usually only make one and a half cups of rice at a time.

oooooo that's a great call. the place i love manages to blacken their onions without burning them and, good lord fellas. teach me these ways.

I'm not well versed in the ways of Biryani but I make a shitload of jambalaya and here's what I've found for good individual non-mushy grains. 1. Don't wash the rice. 2. Let most of your cooking veggies release their water and reduce it away or remove the veggies briefly and reduce the remaining water to minimal. 3. If there is not suitable oil in the pan add it and let it get hot, then toss your rice in and stir to evenly coat the dry grains with some oil and let a fair amount toast on the bottom of the pan. 4. Add just under a 1:1 ratio of rice to water (1.5 cups rice + 1 1/4 cup water plus your veggies, meat etc).

For jambalaya at least that will end up with decently separate non-mushy grains with like jasmine or other long grain rice. May not work here but I found putting dry rice and letting it get oiled and toasted was like 90% of the problem.

# ¿ May 11, 2020 21:12

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

lemon cucumber

# ¿ May 15, 2020 15:17

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Thursday is my wife's bday and I have a decent dinner planned out on her request (SV beef short ribs, pan sauce, twice baked potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts with some sourdough rolls as a starter).

For a cake she asked for "some combination of angel food cake, berries and cream"

I don't have a trifle dish or else I would make that.

So, I'm definitely gonna make an angel food cake and could just top slices of that with berries in whipped cream... or, I could do something more interesting. Any ideas on that? I can also whip up some dulce de leche, lemon curd, etc. I have a fair amount of options. Berries include strawberry, raspberry, blackberry. I don't need to use all of them in the preparation. Just looking for some options to consider.

# ¿ May 18, 2020 14:59

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Creme anglaise is so damned good and goes great with berries (and also presumably old boots because I would eat anything coated in creme anglaise)

I'll probably end up rolling with this, thanks! Creme anglaise good to go if I make a day or two ahead of time?

Also recipes called for straining it but didn't say with what. Any thoughts?

# ¿ May 19, 2020 10:45

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 03:30

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Lester Shy posted:

I don't know poo poo about cooking, but I made this cornbread recipe today:

1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal

It was way too sweet for me, but the color, texture and crust were perfect. Am I gonna gently caress it up if I omit or greatly reduce the amount of sugar next time? Do I need to replace it with something else?

Serious answer, if you can get it buy the Jiffy Corn Muffin box mix. It's usually about as cheap as the cost of the individual ingredients and it comes out great every time. I made cornbread from scratch a few times that was good, but now I just keep a couple boxes of Jiffy around. It's basically just premixed dry ingredients and you and milk and eggs to it.

# ¿ May 19, 2020 22:07

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