LolaP's Profile
Tricks you figured out in the kitchen and thought 'good one'!!!
Use a potato masher to break up chunks of ground meat or sausage when browning in a pan. Works in a snap! (I have the wire kind, like this: http://www.oodora.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/potato-masher.jpg YMMV with the kind that have holes in a metal plate.)
What would be a good, smoky tasting vegetarian substitute for ham hocks in split pea soup?
Good quality smoked paprika is simply incredible for things like this. I get it from these people: http://www.sawmillcreekfarms.com/Spices.html
It is so fantastic.
Feta Herb Scones
Ellie, did you ever have luck figuring out such a recipe? We had to move away from NYC and my husband just loves these. I want to recreate them for him! Thank you.
Sodastream seltzer not holding its fizz?
How frustrating! I have the kind with plastic bottles and I haven't had that problem. I am thinking there must be a problem with the gaskets in your lids, since you are able to carbonate it just fine with the machine, you must be getting a tight seal there. You might have defective bottles. I'd call customer service.
Anyone Have Ideas or Favourite Recipes that have Dried Figs in the Ingredients?
Cuccidati! Yummy.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Italian-Fig-Cookies-107444
Uses for Old Frozen Rabbit Scraps
Good news! On closer inspection, I did leave the carcass unwrapped and it is freezer burnt, but I wrapped up the scraps and legs and they look just fine! Woo! Rabbit ragu, here I come!
can fresh herbs be frozen?
Hi Rheta! I don't know everything on this topic, but I will tell you what I have done that works. I am always particularly annoyed to throw away basil, so when i have a bunch left over, I chop it finely, toss it with a glug of olive oil, and wrap ice-cube sized amounts tightly in saran wrap and freeze. These are just great for dropping into soups and pasta sauces and frittatas and the like. I imagine you could do the same for parsley, but I haven't. When my parsley starts to get old, I just freeze it in a bag with similarly elderly carrots and celery for use in making stock. If you just pop in into the freezer like that, though, it goes slimy like lettuce. I have heard (but not tried myself) that you can freeze "drier" herbs like rosemary and they keep just fine, but I think for the leafier herbs, you need to coat them in oil to protect the flavor. Just my 2 cents! Oh, and I hear you about too much information out there on the web! I have found the instructions on this site to be reliable:
http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-freeze-fresh-herbs-rosemary-and.html
Cookbooks you shouldn't have purchased...which books just didn't work for you?
I really enjoyed reading your comment and thoughts on learning to cook on a certain cookbook. Really well put!
Your mom's weird cooking ... and other stories? (recipes encouraged)
holy moley. Why did she rinse the sauce off the canned spaghetti and then add the ragu back in?
Uses for Old Frozen Rabbit Scraps
Hi everyone! Last Christmas I received the Zuni Cafe Cookbook and in January I made some rabbit sausage. It was out of this world delicious! But I bought a whole rabbit to make it. I intended to use the rabbit frame and rest of the meat scraps to make some rabbit rillettes (from the same cookbook) but life got in the way (in the form of finishing my dissertation, yay!) and I never got around to it. Now I just unearthed the perhaps slightly freezer-burnt rabbit carcass and I am wondering what to do with it. It was been stored in the freezer for about nine months now and I am ashamed to say I didn't wrap it up too well--there are ice crystals all over it. But I still want to use it! So...what should I make? I have a very meaty carcass and plenty of meat scraps. I think I will need something fairly well seasoned to hide any freezer taste. Any suggestions? Perhaps a stew of some sort? Does anyone have favorite recipes for this sort of thing. Thanks so much!
Need help with Peanut Butter
If you get one, please do report back on how well they work! As for storing upside down: when the oil is below the blob of PB it makes it less likely to spill when you start stirring. It doesn't make the stirring itself any easier though--just less messy.
Need help with Peanut Butter
Hello! I don't have trouble stirring my PB, but I do think it is a pain. I have considered buying one of these:
http://witmerproducts.com/pbutter.html
They fit on standard glass jars and have a crank handle with a mixing stick that descends into the jar and does the stirring for you with the lid on. I haven't tried it myself but it looks like a good idea. I also store my unopened jars of PB upside-down for a few days. Then, when I turn it over, the oil is at the bottom of the jar. I don't see why a few seconds of microwaving would hurt either. Just (as you say) leave the metal lid off.
Where can I buy large reusable grocery bags?
Envirosax! Okay, these aren't the cheapest, but they are the best! First of all they are cute. Second, since they roll up, rather than stuff (like the chico bag) they are never wrinkly. Third, they roll up so tiny you never don't want to take them. Fourth, they are STRONG AS IRON. Finally, they hold AT LEAST as much as two plastic grocery bags. Love 'em!
http://www.envirosax.com/
Get the big ones.
Edit: ha ha this thread is three years old! Well, just in case anyone needs this info!
Need New Cheese!
These are all really good ideas! I love havarti so much, but like the other posters, have gone over to the funky side and forgot to come back now and then!
Need New Cheese!
I would recommend beemster vlaskaas. It is technically a kind of gouda, I think, but it has a sweetness and the texture is more like a sharp cheddar. The flavor is not at all funky, kind of sweet , almost caramel-y, and mild, and has been loved by all I have served it to, from cheese snobs to people with more basic cheese tastes.
Edited to add: if you can't find that, just try a smoked gouda. Yum!
ISO Chewy Granola Bar Recipe
Here is one my mom invented to mimic her favorite soft and chewy granola bars. They are good and they are nice and chewy--they follow the rice crispy treat format. You can mix up the nut and fruit as you see fit:
Chewy fruit nut bars
10oz marshmallows
3 T butter
-melt is large pot, stir till smooth, add:
1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cups raisins
3/4 cups dried cranberries
3/4 cup toasted chopped almonds
3/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
-stir well, press into shallow greased pan, press very hard with greased hands till very compacted, cool & cut into bars.
-makes approx. 32 1 oz bars
mayo variations - ideas please!
Oh man, everyone, you are getting me so excited! Why was my concept of mayonnaise so constrained?! You are totally breaking me out of my inside-the-box mayo thinking. Love it!
mayo variations - ideas please!
Hi all! I got a nifty immersion blender for my birthday and the first thing I made was mayonnaise. I love homemade mayo, but it was a pain to make. This thing makes it a breeze. So.....I got a little carried away and have, er, rather a lot of mayo in my fridge! It is plain, made with olive oil. I made some of it into tartar sauce and we have had fish two nights in a row.
Any other ideas for tartar sauce and/or doctoring up and using homemade mayonnaise? Also, I plan to be making more in the future and I was curious to hear what people think about using different oils to make it and adding things in right as you mix it up. Basically, I am on a mayonnaise kick and I want all your great ideas, serving suggestions, and recipes! Thanks.
Which foods give you bad breath?
Ditto on coffee. I love Bahn-mis but Bahn-mi breath can be pretty pungent. I also personally dislike peanuts on the breath, although it isn't bad breath per se. Too bad the bf looooves him some peanuts. He has to brush his teeth before we get smoochy.
Foods that you are embarrassed to tell people you actually eat (a.k.a. foods you only eat when alone).
It can be so delicious. Do you like dried fruit? My friend makes a kind of fruit cake using only high quality dried fruit and nuts: figs, cherries, dates, you get the idea. None of the bright red candied stuff. OMG it is heaven. So good.
Foods that you are embarrassed to tell people you actually eat (a.k.a. foods you only eat when alone).
Fake-o American cheese slices and saltine crackers. Yuuuuuumy! Only do it when the bf is away.
What do you keep in your car?
Just a jug of water and a corkscrew/bottle opener. I am always thinking I should put some food in there in case of emergencies, but then I think of mice moving in and change my mind. My friend did get stranded by a blizzard in Indiana for something like 30 hours with nothing but a cupcake to split three ways. She says some friendly farmers brought people food. How's that for the heartland?
Don't rip romaine? [moved from General Topics]
Hi there! Just curious: is appearence the only reasoning behind tearing rather than cutting? Is it for visual/presentation/style reasons or is there a taste factor? I ask because my mom always tears her leaves and for some reason I like mine better chopped with a knife. I do this for all kinds of lettuce and I have never noticed any real taste difference. I just like the appearance better chopped and it is faster to stack up the leaves and use a knife. Just wondering if this was a matter of style or if I am missing something. Thanks!
Single cup coffee maker recommendations?
I agree. If you only want one mug at a time, go for a simple #2 Melitta cone filter:
https://shop.melitta.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=64+007&Cat=
You really can't argue with the price, it won't take up any space on your counter, and if you have a tea kettle or electric kettle, you have everything you need to make tasty coffee. Always fresh, always just to your liking, and ready in a snap! I have been making my coffee this way for years, as I am the only one in the house who drinks it. If you try it and don't like it, you'll only be out three bucks!
Mexican Chocolate Caramels?
What salted caramel recipe do you use? I love the chocolate salted caramels from epicurious. My friend made some AMAZNG mexican caramels using that recipe. She just added cinnamon and a tiny bit of cayenne I think. I'll have to ask her how much she used.
How to cure a Diet Coke addict?
I flirted with a diet coke addiction a few years ago and knew I had to draw the line! My method was to go cold turkey and keep plenty of seltzer water around the house--if you buy it in cans, you can really replicate that delightful feel of cracking open a cold soda. I have had a diet coke every now and then since (maybe something like 4 times) and it really doesn't taste good to me any more. Odd, but I am glad. Also, when I went out, I started ordering iced tea if I wanted more than water with my meal.
What are your 12 most essential bottled goodies that you keep in your fridge for cooking?
In fridge:
anchovies
fish sauce
black bean sauce
capers
Gulden's mustard
papaya-curry sauce (tropical pepper co.)
white wine
yogurt
ketchup
peanut butter
oil-cured black olives
Those seem like the essentials! Guess I only have eleven.
under-used treasure or garbage? what ingredient do you think people are wasting?
Thighs are my favorite too. When something calls for a whole chicken I usually get just legs, cause my honey likes drumsticks. We're dark meat people around here!
What do you make that is SOOO easy yet you impress yourself every time you make it?
I second frittatas. I use the Bittman recipie, which is basically cook the veggies and meat (sausage is best) in a tbs. oil, turn heat down to low, add another tbs. oil, and then mix in fresh herbs and pour over that six or so beaten eggs. Cook at low for about ten minutes until mostly set and then finish (carefully!) under a low broiler. It takes about two cups filling for six or so eggs. Very forgiving and if you keep the heat low, it comes out of the pan in a snap and sets up beautifully. Serve with a salad. I get more raves for that than things that take me four times as long to make!
Why is deli meat unhealthy?
I agree. And also, there is such a huge difference between say, Oscar Meyer bologna or that "chopped pressed formed" stuff and nice slices of whole chicken or turkey breast from the deli counter. The latter are not high in fat, and if you get the low sodium kind, while still salty, won't hurt you if they aren't the only thing you eat!
