[QUOTE= pulykamell]
I’ve never had problems with finding bugs in my spices, but I have noticed that paprika (especially) will attract bugs like nobody’s business, so keep it well sealed!
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Sorry to have freaked anyone out about the insect comment. A local insect infestation is actually fairly likely. I do notice that storing my spices in the freezer eliminates the problem. Hopefully I have not created an internet urban legend leading to the ruin of the Mexican spice industry.
[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Also, sometimes you simply screw up and add too much liquid to your roux. One quick fix is to make a slurry (as the water-starch/flour concoction is known) and whisk that into the sauce.
I use slurries often enough in my cooking (especially in stews, as Missy2U indicates), and it is a tip well worth repeating.
Also, riffing on the “cook vegetables in broth” suggestion, cooking rice in broth works awesomely well, too.
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Stews, sauces and the like are a different story. I was responding to the notion of adding flour to gravy. I prefer to reduce it if too much liquid, and will only add slurry if desperate.
Upon rereading, it seems there may be some regional differences as to what is called ‘gravy’ and what is called ‘sauce’.
[QUOTE=Chefguy]
Upon rereading, it seems there may be some regional differences as to what is called ‘gravy’ and what is called ‘sauce’.
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Could be. I know a few people who make gravy with a slurry, and searching on “slurry gravy recipe” on Google shows this practice isn’t that unusual. My father made gravy using an arrowroot slurry, for example.
I would agree with you, though, that a true pan gravy (and the best gravy, IMHO), is made with a roux using the method you described.
Add a teaspoon of turmeric per cup of rice when cooking it (in stock of course. It hurts now when I have to use water.) Adds a beautiful yellow color without adding a lot of flavor (or stealing it from the stock.) I love rice, but the color white = bland in my head for whatever reasons (unless cheese is involved, then white = yummy). Turmeric helps bring out the flavor of the rice itself.
Add a couple tablespoons of chopped parsley to mashed potatoes just before serving to give it a dash of color also.
When making enchiladas, calzones, pastries, pot pies, etc., remember to ‘mark’ them with a sample of the filling on the outside as well. It can be hard to remember which were chicken or beef or sausage or whatnot when they finish cooking.
The best enchilada sauce starts with a roux of equal parts flour and chili powder.
And I find that half the fun of cooking is in the presentation also. Making it look good as well as tasting good somehow makes it taste even better.
[QUOTE=b3tour]
Always salt beans prior to applying heat. Not only does failing to correctly season the beans from the outset have nothing to do with how long they must cook, but I find that the flavor of the finished dish is significantly poorer than the flavor of properly seasoned beans.
With apologies to the cook above who recommends holding off until the beans are soft. This is an easy truth to verify, however.
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I must agree with the other poster. I know of no one here who salts before cooking here where we cook and consume many kilos of beans each month. Salt after they are tender and then simmer a while to absorb the salt.
Clean Up Hint…
Baked on “crust” ina lasagna or other type of pan can be removed easily…
Sprinkle in some Dishwasher Powder (about 2-3 tablesppons for a large pan), fill with HOt water and let it soak while you do the rest of the clean up (20 minutes or so).
Dump out the water, and the “gunk” should wipe out easily in a rinse.
(Do NOt use this method with seasoned cast iron/metal pans, unless you like reseasoning them)
regards
FML
[QUOTE=Ghanima]
Always keep lemons around. They keep a very long time in an loosely closed plastic bag in the refrigerator. They are good for all kinds of drinks, veggies, meat, sauces, desserts, cleaning, deodorizing, and probably more stuff I can’t think of. They can make your food taste ten times fresher.
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A squeeze of fresh lemon juice can also go far to making cream of something soups and casseroles actually palatable, whether they come from a can, homemade or the diner at 3:00 AM.
My two tips are generally: know what a simmer is, and use a thermometer, not a clock.
A “simmer” - and this is most important when making a stock or broth, but also when simmering any meat containing dish - is only a few tiny bubbles a *minute * breaking the surface of your liquid. It is *not *dozens of tiny bubbles breaking every second. That’s a low boil. That much turbulence breaks up your meat, causing icky meat shrapnel and cloudy stock.
Secondly, use a thermometer on your roasts, chickens, fish, yes, even your meatloaf. A probe thermometer connected to an external readout and alarm like this, but not overpriced. Cook to 5-10 degrees (even more on big roasts and birds!) below the minimum safe temperature and then get that thing out of the oven! The heat in the meat will help it carry over to completely done, and it won’t get overcooked and dry out.
Okay, one more: much like the meat, take your brownies or bar cookies out a few minutes *before *they’re totally done. If they’ve started to pull away from the wall of the baking pan even a little bit - get 'em out of the oven! Let them sit and finish themselves off for about 10-15 minutes and they’ll be perfect. Leave 'em in until the knife comes clean out of the center, and they’ll be overcooked.
Another “get the crust-out-gunk” method is use a dryer sheet in the water soaked in the pan over night, the gunk comes right out.
[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Generally agreed, but lard has many important uses that butter just won’t do for (fluffy biscuits for one, and as a flavor base for many ethnic dishes).
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And makes food inedible for some of us! (Vegetarians like me, or Jewish/Muslim folk, etc).
Here are mine:
Use silken tofu in anything that needs to be creamy (cream soups, sauces, dips, etc). Use a blender or mixer to get it smooth, but it is a great thickener, makes things really richly creamy, and adds protein!
The secret ingredient to really great chocolate chip cookies is DOUBLE THE SALT. Trust me. Sounds weird, but try it and you will agree.
When making cheese sauce, stir the flour into the shredded cheese. You won’t have to worry about lumps as it spreads out very nicely in the cold shredded cheese before melting.
Thyme is the secret ingredient that takes omelets to the next level.
Both nutmeg and cinnamon make all sorts of foods better, both sweet and savory.
I may have more later.
Ooh remembered another. A pizza cutter (the rolling kind) is your friend for chopping up fresh herbs. Zip zip zip back and forth and POOF it’s done.
[QUOTE=OpalCat]
Ooh remembered another. A pizza cutter (the rolling kind) is your friend for chopping up fresh herbs. Zip zip zip back and forth and POOF it’s done.
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Also for cutting almost anything into toddler-food sized pieces quickly. Anything that can’t easily work with the pizza cutter is undoubtedly perfect for clean kitchen shears. I never cut my kids’ food with a knife, it takes too long!
[QUOTE=bouv]
And I learned yet a third way.
Lay your palm out flat, and press on that little fleshy pad at the base of your thumb. As **bump[b/] said, this is rare. Now, touch that thumb to the forefinger and touch that pad again, that is medium rare. The thumb and middle finger is medium, ring finger is med-well, and pinky in well done.
If you cook enough steak, you’ll eventually know what a rare, med-rare, etc.. steak feels like without having to compare it to something.
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That is the coolest thing ever! I already know how to tell if my steak is rare, but I’ve never realized that the pad part of your hand changes as you move your thumb around. I’ve been doing it for about 10 minutes now.
My tip: to freshen up fruit salad, “dress” it with orange juice and toss before serving. The orange doesn’t overwhelm the other fruit flavors, but gives everything a little perk. This is especially helpful if you’re entertaining for brunch, and made your fruit salad first and popped it in the fridge while you’re cooking the things that need to be served right away. If you’re bringing a fruit salad to a potluck, bring some OJ to pour on right before serving. It’s also a good idea to bring the sliced bananas separately in a baggie to add at the last possible moment.
[QUOTE=OpalCat]
Both nutmeg and cinnamon make all sorts of foods better, both sweet and savory.
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Oh yes, this is a good one! A little vanilla extract and a bit of nutmeg makes French toast sublime. Also, add a little vanilla extract to ANY boxed cake/brownie/quick bread mix batter. Takes it up several levels.
Mmm, cous cous. Don’t disregard this very fast and easy pasta/potato replacement. Cover with water and zap in the microwave, mix in some olive oil and whatever herbs you’ve got lying around. I make a serve in under 3 min. And cold leftover cous cous turns into an amazing salad with some more herbs, rocket (arugula), cherry tomatoes, red or spring or crispy fried onion, smoked chicken, capsicum: anything in the fridge. Then a bit of vinaigrette using whatever fancyish vinegar you like. I love fancy vinegar.
Fun thread!
[QUOTE=LifeOnWry]
Oh yes, this is a good one! A little vanilla extract and a bit of nutmeg makes French toast sublime.
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Oh absolutely! In fact, anyone who doesn’t add both of these (I also add cinnamon and sometimes a tsp of sugar) to French toast batter needs to have their head examined.
Another French toast tip:
If you find that your first two slices are great, and thereafter all of the cinnamon/nutmeg/other yummies you’ve added to the batter have been used up (they tend to float) try just sprinkling them on the bread after it’s been dipped in the batter.
[QUOTE=delphica]
My tip: to freshen up fruit salad, “dress” it with orange juice and toss before serving. The orange doesn’t overwhelm the other fruit flavors, but gives everything a little perk. This is especially helpful if you’re entertaining for brunch, and made your fruit salad first and popped it in the fridge while you’re cooking the things that need to be served right away. If you’re bringing a fruit salad to a potluck, bring some OJ to pour on right before serving. It’s also a good idea to bring the sliced bananas separately in a baggie to add at the last possible moment.
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Plus, the ascorbic acid in the OJ will keep all the fruit from turning brown. Double-bonus!
Use your freezer!
I’m pathologically unable to keep fresh veggie basics around (green peppers, onions, lemons, etc) So I’ve started freezing them.
There’s no such thing as too many whole chickens.
Get your basics in order, you will be amazed at how much easier it is to cook if you have a decently stocked pantry.
[QUOTE=Queen Bruin]
I respectfully disagree. Salt is the single most important factor in cooking aside from the application of heat. It assists in the Maillard reaction, which causes gentle browning down to deep caramelization. Salt also works in concordance with other flavorings and brings out the flavor of other ingredients.
It is also utilized in brining, which tenderizes meat by osmosis.
Don’t knock the salt.
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Yes, but don’t overdo it, people usually use way too much salt when cooking. Instead serve the meal with a small bowl of flake salt so people can add salt to taste themselves.
And here’s more; fill a jar with olive oil, and add fresh garlic and chili. Makes a nice spicy oil you can use for everything.
[QUOTE=Kotick]
And here’s more; fill a jar with olive oil, and add fresh garlic and chili. Makes a nice spicy oil you can use for everything.
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Except garlic in oil can get nasty on you fast.
