OT - Anyone here enjoy cooking?

[Bezzz]

I
I would recommend getting a kitchen thermometer as you get further into it - you will need it. Trust me on this. The reason my turkey is perfectly cooked every year is not because I am awesome... it's because of a thermometer.

My cousin tried to kill us all one Christmas Eve with a rare pork roast. It didn't work.

 

[sledog]

Burp. Olive oil, ground pepper, sea slat, herbs, hi heast, low heat = !!!

 

[Citrusdog]

My cousin tried to kill us all one Christmas Eve with a rare pork roast. It didn't work.

I've heard that cousins taste pretty good after brining and smoking for 10-12 hours. No seriously, trichinosis (sp?) is a thing of the past and kitchen thermometers are very effective. Get a good one - if purchasing - not some cheap POS. Sounds as though they were unsure how to prepare it - sorry.

 

[aceboon]

You might want to try Blue Apron. $60 a week and a box of food and recipes are delivered to your door. I liked them when I was in NYC, saved me having to shop. I'll get them again when I settle down here in Ess . Only complaint is they tend to push the fish on you, and I don't want to eat tilapia every week.

I was a fan of their recipes but I had to cancel after about a month, way too much prep involved.

 

[Mano]

I actually went to school for it over 30 years ago. Do you know how to make the 5 mother sauces? That is an excellent start and so many things come out of that. Also... proteins... what needs to be understood about these is TEMPERATURE. The average joe will cook the living out of beef, pork or fowl. My son now knows how to cook a decent steak (sirloin or rib eye for example) or even a chicken breast or pork loin without destroying it... successfully... is... he now understands that he needs to season it (after rubbing w/ olive oil) and sear it quickly (both sides) with high heat in pan that can be placed in the oven... then 'finish it' in the oven for a short time with a pat of butter on top in the vicinity of 300 degrees. This is how restaurants do it.. it ain't magic.

I would recommend getting a kitchen thermometer as you get further into it - you will need it. Trust me on this. The reason my turkey is perfectly cooked every year is not because I am awesome... it's because of a thermometer.

Ya, got me a good thermometer. Never messed with a hollandaise, just seems like more trouble then its worth, but the others I've all used and do use. I've got a decent cast iron, but I'm in the market this holiday season for a new cookware set. Would love to get me some tri-ply All-Clad, but man are they expensive. Apparently the Tramontina brand that they sell at (bear with me) Walmart is of comparable build, use and quality. And its an 1/8th of the price.

 

[Citrusdog]

I think we need a recipe to become the mojo recipe of UCONN boys/girls basketball. I know Rolling Rock and wings are pretty dang good... I bet the entire yard I've a recipe that could replace the wings.... I know... that's a bold statement... No, it is not a Chic-o-stix casserole... I take on all challengers... who has a great game dish/snack/etc.. ?? I believe I've got one that will replace most peoples. Simple to make - even by a non cook.

 

[Hoophound]

I was a fan of their recipes but I had to cancel after about a month, way too much prep involved.

Agreed. All the chopping of 3-5 vegetables, herbs and mashing garlic etc. is a drag. Realistically, each meal takes about 40 minutes start to finish. Not really something I want to deal with when I get home.

My wife likes it and continues to order but I really don't want anything to do with it in terms of cooking. Nonetheless, my youngest daughter and I end up doing it once a week to be nice and to do an activity together. Honestly, the food turns out great and the quality of ingredients is very good.

 

[Husky25]

I try and expand my culinary skills as often and as much as possible. I'm no chef but I very much enjoy making tasty things and I'm always looking for new dishes and dinner ideas. Anybody else out there try and be a kitchen wiz?

Tomorrow's menu will be chicken saltimbocca with a quick roasted veggie risotto.

Come to Rentschler Field at 11:30 on Saturday and you'll find about 25,000+ who like to expand their culinary skills. It's not just burgers, dogs and PBRs.

 

[CTMike]

Ya, got me a good thermometer. Never messed with a hollandaise, just seems like more trouble then its worth, but the others I've all used and do use. I've got a decent cast iron, but I'm in the market this holiday season for a new cookware set. Would love to get me some tri-ply All-Clad, but man are they expensive. Apparently the Tramontina brand that they sell at (bear with me) Walmart is of comparable build, use and quality. And its an 1/8th of the price.

My wife and I have had the Tramontina stuff for 3 years now and I think it's great.

 

[Citrusdog]

Ya, got me a good thermometer. Never messed with a hollandaise, just seems like more trouble then its worth, but the others I've all used and do use. I've got a decent cast iron, but I'm in the market this holiday season for a new cookware set. Would love to get me some tri-ply All-Clad, but man are they expensive. Apparently the Tramontina brand that they sell at (bear with me) Walmart is of comparable build, use and quality. And its an 1/8th of the price.

I made hollandaise the other day with my immersion blender (small boat motor). It was really fluffy and it was dolloppd over baked flounder with a crabmeat stuffing and baby asparagus. I will use an immersion blender again - it was killer.

 

[alexd]

Come to Rentschler Field at 11:30 on Saturday and you'll find about 25,000+ who like to expand their culinary skills. It's not just burgers, dogs and PBRs.

Exactly.....during the course of every season, our friends do up deep fried turkey, pulled pork, a seafood boil....

 

[superjohn]

Good thread. I love cooking and make a homemade meal most nights, then something big on weekends.

Last weekend, I decided I wasn't waiting for Thanksgiving and made an entire Thanksgiving dinner for me, my daughter and my girlfriend. The next day, I made pasta dough and made "Thanksgiving ravioli". They were stuffed with 50% mashed potato, 25% turkey and 20% stuffing with a 5% dollop of cranberry sauce inside. Then I boiled them and drizzled them with gravy. It was the best things of your Thanksgiving dinner all in one bite. Amazing.

You made Thanksgiving dinner a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, AugustWest would give you a good throat punch for that.

 

[Walker11]

I made hollandaise the other day with my immersion blender (small boat motor). It was really fluffy and it was dolloppd over baked flounder with a crabmeat stuffing and baby asparagus. I will use an immersion blender again - it was killer.

This is an amazing hack. I've made the hollandaise several times following a recipe from the author @CTMike referenced.

The thing I like most about The Food Lab is that he has facsimile versions of my favorite fast food sandwiches (but with good ingredients). This chik-fil-a sandwich is absolutely killer. And after that drunk kid embarrassed himself in the UCONN cafeteria, I had a hankering for bacon-jalepeno-mac. Kenji's recipe did not dissapoint.

Recently, I have been loving Jim Lahey's no knead bread recipe. Incredibly easy to make, and fresh bread sh!ts on anything you would buy at the grocery.

 

[CTMike]

That no knead bread is fantastic.

 

[fatlucy]

Love to cook. Learned as a sauté chef at Mansfield Depot as a student at UCONN. I ate and drank like a king....for a student. Waitresses were a disapointment.

 

[storrsroars]

I enjoy cooking and happen to be decent at it. Can make competent recipes in most ethnicities except Japanese and Chinese (not Chinese-American). When I owned a coffeehouse I used to do a Sunday brunch where the menu rotated around dishes from countries that grew coffee.

I also still have most of a box of chemicals from my molecular gastronomy phase.

 

[Drumguy]

I'm a baker, like the need to measure and follow the directions. Cooking just help my wife as a line chef.

 

[Deepster]

You made Thanksgiving dinner a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, AugustWest would give you a good throat punch for that.

I'm sitting here nibbling on the last few slabs of turkey from last week. August West molests collies.

 

[August_West]

I'm sitting here nibbling on the last few slabs of turkey from last week. August West molests collies.

I have a pool and a pond , Deep. The pond might be better for you.

 

[Northbound]

Cooks Illustrated is a fantastic magazine to learn about food. They have great recipes, though some of them take some skill. This is no Rachel Ray stuff. Highly recommend it.

I haven't cooked in almost three years though. It is a great way to allow you to eat well without paying for it elsewhere. Now I just pay for it.

Chris Kimball who started America's Test Kitchen and is the EIC (I think) at Cook's Illustrated is leaving. It's going to be interesting to see how it has an impact on the show and the magazine.

CI is great.

My cooking ranges from 16 hours smokes to wild game done in traditional French preparation. Depends on how much time I have.

Did knock out a nice pan braised grouse breast with juniper berries and rosemary over wild mushrooms last weekend. Hard to beat grouse - tasty.

 

[8893]

I have a pool and a pond , Deep. The pond might be better for you.

 

[80shusky]

I try and expand my culinary skills as often and as much as possible. I'm no chef but I very much enjoy making tasty things and I'm always looking for new dishes and dinner ideas. Anybody else out there try and be a kitchen wiz?

Tomorrow's menu will be chicken saltimbocca with a quick roasted veggie risotto.

I do actually. I make a "real" dinner almost every night of the week. I do almost all the cooking. My wife is good at baking and makes a mean lasagna but I do most of the day to day. We have a three year old and don't get home until between 5:30 and 6 pm weeknights so I'm usually trying to whip up something fast, relatively healthy and that isn't the same every night. Kind of a challenge. On Sundays sometimes I'll make a big batch of marinara or meat sauce to use during the week for fast meals. Or a big batch of chili or soup. Soup in the winter is especially awesome. I have come to love a version of an escarole soup with sausage and white beans I stole from somewhere and adapted to my tastes.
Usually during the week I'll try something I can do on the stovetop fast like pan seared pork chops marsala with baby bella mushrooms or quick sauteed chicken breasts (pounded thin) with a white wine and caper sauce or pan seared salmon really simple with salt and pepper. Match these with fresh steamed broccoli or asparagus or wilted spinach and you are getting it done. If I actually have a little time or can prep the night before I'll try to add potatoes or rice or something but that is kind of a luxury on weeknights given time constraints. A fast stir fry over minute rice is always a winner too. You won't win any culinary competitions but it gets you fed with tasty, healthy ingredients if you do it right.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I actually went to school for it over 30 years ago. Do you know how to make the 5 mother sauces? That is an excellent start and so many things come out of that. Also... proteins... what needs to be understood about these is TEMPERATURE. The average joe will cook the living out of beef, pork or fowl. My son now knows how to cook a decent steak (sirloin or rib eye for example) or even a chicken breast or pork loin without destroying it... successfully... is... he now understands that he needs to season it (after rubbing w/ olive oil) and sear it quickly (both sides) with high heat in pan that can be placed in the oven... then 'finish it' in the oven for a short time with a pat of butter on top in the vicinity of 300 degrees. This is how restaurants do it.. it ain't magic.

I would recommend getting a kitchen thermometer as you get further into it - you will need it. Trust me on this. The reason my turkey is perfectly cooked every year is not because I am awesome... it's because of a thermometer.

I have all sorts of meat thermomters, mainly for smoking though since you dont want to be opening the door all the time checking the meat. With Steaks I tend to be able to tell from the look and feel how done it is. I like a meduim rare steak, and i'll cook it to medium to medium done for my Wife. If you cant see a little pink in there, you waaay overcooked it! Even pork should be slightly pink. When I cook my pork tenderlions its got a slight pink hue in the middle when it reaches temp.

The other thing alot of people forget to do is to let their meat rest so that the juices redistribute. Makes a huge difference to me. Still working on Cooking steaks in the pan (i usually cook them on the grill). Last night I did just as we said though. I'm thinking a gas stove instead of my electric one, and a cast iron skillet would make a big difference though.

 

[WillB4]

Ya, got me a good thermometer. Never messed with a hollandaise, just seems like more trouble then its worth, but the others I've all used and do use. I've got a decent cast iron, but I'm in the market this holiday season for a new cookware set. Would love to get me some tri-ply All-Clad, but man are they expensive. Apparently the Tramontina brand that they sell at (bear with me) Walmart is of comparable build, use and quality. And its an 1/8th of the price.

Are you in CT? Get down to Chef's Emporium in Wallingford on Rt5 near Vinny's. Got a set of Emeril pots not pricey. Lot of good stuff.

 

[intlzncster]

Those movies never age. Chevy and Randy at their peak.

 

[intlzncster]

.The other thing alot of people forget to do is to let their meat rest so that the juices redistribute. Makes a huge difference to me. Still working on Cooking steaks in the pan (i usually cook them on the grill). Last night I did just as we said though. I'm thinking a gas stove instead of my electric one, and a cast iron skillet would make a big difference though.

Especially pork. That stuff continues to cook after you take it off like no other meat. I leave it more pink than most people would like for that reason. Also, pork these days is so lean, it dries out like crazy, another reason to under cook. Always get chops (imo) because they tend to have more fat.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Especially pork. That stuff continues to cook after you take it off like no other meat. I leave it more pink than most people would like for that reason. Also, pork these days is so lean, it dries out like crazy, another reason to under cook. Always get chops (imo) because they tend to have more fat.

Yup it dries out SUPER quick! I let me Tenderlion get up to 145 and then i pull it from the oven, put it on a cutting board and tent some foil over it and let it sit for a good 10 - 20 minutes before cutting into it. Comes out nice and juicy every time.

Now if you are smoking a pork butt, those things are super forgiving, almost impossible to dry one of them out with all the fat in it!

 

[Citrusdog]

I see all of the home chefs are starting to chime in.... nice

 

[intlzncster]

Yup it dries out SUPER quick! I let me Tenderlion get up to 145 and then i pull it from the oven, put it on a cutting board and tent some foil over it and let it sit for a good 10 - 20 minutes before cutting into it. Comes out nice and juicy every time.

Now if you are smoking a pork butt, those things are super forgiving, almost impossible to dry one of them out with all the fat in it!

Had me at smoking pork butt. I cut my teeth on old school Texas BBQ; my college roommate's father grew up on a ranch and had been doing it for 40 years. His grill consisted of a homemade oil drum cut in half (hinged), with a hacked off piece of industrial metal grating as the grill plate. His smoker was an old 1960s refrigerator he converted into a multi stage monstrosity. All that looked funny sitting in the back yard.

The downside is that it has ruined nearly all barbecue for me. I haven't been able to smoke since because it just doesn't measure up.

 

[methodology]

I have all sorts of meat thermomters, mainly for smoking though since you dont want to be opening the door all the time checking the meat. With Steaks I tend to be able to tell from the look and feel how done it is. I like a meduim rare steak, and i'll cook it to medium to medium done for my Wife. If you cant see a little pink in there, you waaay overcooked it! Even pork should be slightly pink. When I cook my pork tenderlions its got a slight pink hue in the middle when it reaches temp.

The other thing alot of people forget to do is to let their meat rest so that the juices redistribute. Makes a huge difference to me. Still working on Cooking steaks in the pan (i usually cook them on the grill). Last night I did just as we said though. I'm thinking a gas stove instead of my electric one, and a cast iron skillet would make a big difference though.

If you are doing a steak in a pan you want the pan very hot to get a good sear. Preheat your oven to 500 and put your cast iron pan in the oven until it gets up to temp. While ou are preheating the ovenwith the pan start preparing your steak by drizzling and rubbing olive oil on the steaks followed by salt and pepper or however you season your steaks. Let the steaks sit to get to room temp.

When the oven reaches temp take the pan out and put on the range on high and let it sit on the range for about 5 minutes or so (the pan should start to smoke a little from the heat). Take the steak and put in in the center of the pan for 30 seconds then flip it and another 30 seconds.

Take the pan with the steak in it and throw it in the oven for about 3 minutes then flip and another 3 minutes (medium rare add minute each side for medium). Take the steak out of the pan and let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy