Candy's Profile
Brass Trays For Serving??
Things could end up with an off flavor. I would put the food in clear glass shallow dishes on the trays. I'd do that with any metal tray.
Copper wok, anyone?
I chalk it up to a poor idea at the time, but sure is pretty. If it is indeed copper you really should not cook in it. The only thing I will expose to plain untinned copper is egg whites. If you are hand beating them you do get superior loft. Other foodstuffs should not come in direct contact with copper.
Cherry season again and thinking of getting a pitter...
I have an OXO I really like, the hopper is funnel shaped so it can accommodate cherries of varying sizes, does a good job on olives too.
Nonreactive cookware
I agree with you about the PTFE hysteria, it should have been put to rest a long time ago. Le Creuset makes stock pots in several sizes that are enamel on steel. You won't get any leeching from it.
I use my 10 qt stainless steel pressure cooker to make stock. Saves on energy and time and in this unusual 90+ F weather we are having, it does not heat up my kitchen.
Pointless or Silly Kitchen Gadgets - and the Ones That Worked for You. [Moved from General Topics]
I like the OXO pitter for cherries, olives etc. It is a bit funnel shaped and accommodates different sizes.
I have an herb chopper from Microplane. It works very well.
Another gadget I bought last year after finding some really good strawberries (not those nasty Driscoll red things). I was planning to make preserves. It is a strawberry huller and corer. I had a quart hulled and cored in about 15 mins. It is made by Chef'n. If you see obe and do much with strawberries, buy it.
Pointless or Silly Kitchen Gadgets - and the Ones That Worked for You. [Moved from General Topics]
The egg slicers are intended to cut eggs, not mushrooms or strawberries. Both are denser than eggs. I had someone from a restaurant want to return one, "honest it just broke". It was stained with strawberry juice. Chef Henry brand gadgets sells a multi-bladed knife, labeled a pickle slicer, but it is intended for doing strawberry fans too. It works very well.
I have a giant over sized egg type slicer. It is intended for soft cheeses. I bought it and used it a few times. Then, one day I was making some rather elegant sandwich cookies, vanilla spice, filled with Frank Coopers rough cut marmalade, sandwiched and dipped on one side in dark chocolate. I was being quite anal about this and I wanted them to be exactly the same. Light went on! That over sized slicer. It worked beautifully. All the cookies were the same thickness and size. It also cut the work load down.
I have an insomniacs unite board on FB. Someone reported that when she quit taking anti-depressants the insomnia went away. I tried it, I sleep well about 90% of the time. Just saying. i guess since you swallow them it is not totally OT.
STL right this minute
We are at the Hilton on Olive right now. Wondering about dinner options. Any thig good and casual and walkable around here? We've been in the car all day and don't like the idea of having to get back in when we are tired and am suffering from severe butt fatigue.Even a two or three block walk would not be unwelcome and if I had to I could put on the 1 skirt I brought with me. TIA
BTW, we'll be back Sunday evening too and might be amenable to driving a bit.
Seared scallops with minimal fat
A Swiss Diamond skillet and a tsp. of clarified butter works for me. I am fortunate to be able to get Day Boat or Diver Scallops that have not been treated with that nasty stuff that oozes out when you try to sear them. I just dust with Wondra and sear at med-high in the Swiss Diamond pan. Perfect every time. A couple of weeks ago i made Scallop Rolls a'la Lobster Rolls. The week before I had lucked into Stone Crab claws and made the traditional Mustard sauce from Joe's Stone Crab in Miami (the recipe is on Epi).
I had leftover sauce and seared the scallops cut them into chunks, put some shredded ice berg lettuce in the bottom of a split top roll, added the scallop chunks and topped with the mustard sauce. Divine! It will go in my permanent repertoire. The only change I made to the sauce recipe was that I omitted A-1 sauce, I don't use it, and added some freshly squeezed lemon juice it its place.
Can I throw my old ice cream maker in the trash?
Before you trash it, check out culinarypartsunlimited.com. They have thousands of parts. You may be able to get the piece you need. If not I recommend the Cuisinart IC cream freezer that has its own compressor. No Freezing canisters or bothering with ice and salt. Just make your base, chill it and then freeze in the IC machine. In about 20-25 mins you have ice cream. Yeah the price is abo0ut $299, but to me, it has been worth every penny. Hmmmm, if I have time tomorrow I may make some salted caramel IC. Wow that us great stuff!
Baking stone, why do you like yours?
Mine has lived in my oven for over 20 years. I never take it out even when i run the self-cleaning cycle. The reason I do this is that the stone helps to keep the temperature in my oven even. Electric oven's heating elements cycle on and off while baking. They reach the set temp and then stop and then when the temp lowers they turn back on again. Of course we do use it for bread baking and pizzas too.
You knew you mastered the fine art of cooking or baking when you ______________.
Make your own puff pastry from scratch and are too naive to realize it is supposed to be difficult. Honestly, It happened to me 37 years ago. I just did it. Now I buy DuFour. I've long since proved I can do it well, and Du Four is a quality all butter product.
The Perfect Biscuit - what are your secrets to make it happen?
when you twist, it tends to seal the sides of the biscuit so your rise is not as high. Just a straight down cut is what is needed
The Perfect Biscuit - what are your secrets to make it happen?
I like sausage gravy as well.
The Perfect Biscuit - what are your secrets to make it happen?
Sorry it did not work for you. I've never had it fail. You might look into Nathalie Dupree's new book on biscuits. You may have needed to add a bit more flour. The book came out recently titled Southern Biscuits. In the processor it just takes a few pulses, maybe 5. Her recipe calls for making them in a bowl with a pastry blender. It was my own idea to use the processor, I e-mailed her on that and she liked the results.
I did have an oven disaster a little over a week ago, the heating element in my oven exploded. I hadn't gotten it fixed, and forgot. I had mixed up a batch of biscuits and went to turn on the oven. Damn! I forgot it was unusable. I greased an 8" cast iron skillet, heated it moderately and put in my biscuits, covered the pan and "baked them stove top." They did not rise quite as high but were tasty nonetheless.
I need Level 2 Recipes...
I agree 100% about the pressure cooker. A 6 qt. would be a good size for 1-2 people. You never fill them more than 2/3's full. Get a copy of Lorna Sass' Pressure Perfect. You will be putting risottos on your table in no time. It takes 7.5 mins (not counting a little prep), soups even things like split pea take about 15 mins. You will be amazed at the variety of good foods you can turn out in no time at all. Last night I made a lamb tagine from Paula Wolfort's new book, The Foods of Morocco. The recipe called for cooking the lamb for 3 hours. Out came the pressure cooker and a half hour that dish was ready.
Once you get some experience under your belt with a PC you will be able to convert many regular recipes to pressure cooker cooking. Beef Burgundy is another that is almost mindless to do. And BTW, they are safe. They cannot blow up as earlier versions did. If you opt for an electric, Fagor makes one that is a PC, Slow Cooker, and Rice cooker. It costs around $100. The only drawback on it is that the PC only gets up to 8PSI where a cooktop model will get up to 15 PSI. And yes, you can cook rice in a PC and lots of other good for you grains.
Sharpen daily use knives.
I really wish we could get rid of the term cutting board when referring to glass counter protectors!
For a quick sharpen almost daily if not weekly with the knives I use most often I do have Wusthof pull through sharpeners. To do a very thorough job, something I rarely have to do, I have electric Chef's Choice and Shun sharpeners. I also have a diamond hone.
How many different knives do you use daily ?
I drive an Odyssey (3 St. Poodles make it a necessity) under the front passenger's seat is a drawer. In the drawer I have two of the KR knives. One small one and slightly larger that has two sides to cut with, serrated and a slicer. Also in the drawer is a small Epicurean cutting board and a collapsible Screwpull wine opener. The knives are good and i am ready for anything. You never know when you are going to encounter a good farmer's mkt, road side stand or a shop with some things you want to try right now!
How many different knives do you use daily ?
About 2-3. The one i reach for most is my Shun Ken Onion 7.5" Santoku. next is the Ken Onion 6" chef's knife. After that is a toss up, it just depends on what I am doing. having been a retailer in a cooking equipment store I probably have far too many knives but they all have a purpose. I really like my Kyocera micro-serrated knive for soft fruits and vegetables, I have an excellent Wusthof bread knife, assorted paring knives and bird's beak, slicers and other chef's knives. My cleaver is a good old Dexter I picked up in an Asian food and equipment store.
Is All-Clad nonstick a waste of money?
All-Clad is no better or worse than any other pan. I have had A-C pans returned with the non-stick lining peeling off. A much better investment is in a Swiss Diamond pan. They do have a lifetime guarantee and they stand behind it. They only time they have refused to replace a pan was due to user error. He put the empty pan on the cooktop on high and wandered off and forgot about it. It destroyed his pan. They are also oven safe and dishwasher safe. The pan is heavy cast aluminum coated with industrial diamonds. You can use metal tools in them, but I don't.
My next (actually true) preference is Chantal's pan's with a copper and carbon steel core. The pans are not non-stick resistant. They are enameled inside and out and are highly energy efficient, they heat and cook more quickly than any other pan I have owned. They also are dishwasher and oven safe. Bar keepers friend cleans up scum like from starches, beautifully. Oh and BTW they are 100% efficient on induction cooking surfaces if you ever go in that direction in cooking.
What Kitchen Scale Do Chefs Use At Home?
Escali and Soehnli are 2 I like. I do use a number of European recipes and have found both scales by these companies to be reliable.
ktichen torch
me too. The kitchen toys don't do an adequate job. You can also nestle the brulee dishes in ice on a sheet pan and run them under the broiler.
The Perfect Biscuit - what are your secrets to make it happen?
I use Nathatlie Dupree's recipe for beginner's biscuits. White Lily Self Rising Flour and heavy cream. I use my food processor, use equal amts of flour to cream. Dump in processor. Pulse several times. Take a look, if the dough can be gathered into a ball, turn it out onto floured board, dust with more flour. Using your hands pat it out to about 3/4" thick. Cut pressing straight down without twisting. Place in biscuit pan, sides should touch slightly. Bake at 450 10-12 minutes.
It took me longer to type that than to do.
homemade ricotta cheese
I use full fat milk, cream line if i can get it and buttermilk. Heat a gallon of milk in a heavy pan to 155F. Add 2 C. buttermilk and remove from the heat. The curds will form. Drain the whey from the cheese and save it to make bread with. It adds extra protein and is not wasted.
Need stir fry pan recommendation
If you want a pan that is more versatile and can afford it, I'd recommend a Chantal Copper Fusion Chef's Pan. It is enameled inside and out, oven and dishwasher safe and is shaped like a flat bottomed wok. I have 3 woks that I've had for many years. I still use them but my Chantal is one I reach for more often. It is so efficient with heat it is amazing. If you ever go for induction cooking you will be wowed with how fast the pan is.
I have a couple more pieces to acquire and will. Induction is definitely in my future
What are you baking these days? March, 2012 [old]
Since today is National Pi(e) Day, my pi r rhubarb.
April 2012 Cookbook of the Month Nominations Are Now Open!
I got it when it first came out. Homesick Texan is terrific.
Must have!
I was going to say the same thing. Don't waste money on cheap stuff you are going to have to replace. Buy the est you can afford even it means stretching a bit. Good knives definitely a must. You don't have to break the bank. Forschners and Macs are found in professional kitchens and take an edge well. Check out thrift shops, garage, moving sales etc. I picked up one of my favorite cast iron skillets at a trhift shop. It was gunked up with old burnt on grease. I ran it through the self cleaning cycle and then reseasoned it. It would now be pricy in an antiques shop. It is a very old Wagner skillet.
