jerry i h's Profile
Can a Teflon-lined cast iron pot be salvaged?
Never heard of this brand, but this my advice to all 'non-stick' cookware:
you can either chuck it into the trash, or remove the plastic coating.
You wish to do the latter, so here is how:
take 'Chore Boy', which is a very coarse copper scrubber, use lots of elbow grease (set aside an entire afternoon; if you have teenagers you can bribe or a husband with a brass attachment to his drill), do not stop until all plastic bits are totally gone.
Season the pot as a regular cast iron pan, and make sure you put the fate of this pan in your will.
Note: once properly seasoned, it will be just as non-stick as the plastic junk.
brining dried beans?
You are correct. If you use salt in the soaking liquid or even too early in the cooking process, the beans will get tough and never soften. I first heard this from something Julia Childs said, but I do not have a reference.
ISO Dobos Torte recipe
Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslen.
I have done the included recipe for Dobos Torte, but I need to warn you that it requires more than a wee bit of baking & pastry talent and skill. The first time was in cooking school, and my results were mediocre at best.
Standing Rib Roast- revisted
I would ignore the 'sear' step altogether. The wonderful-ness of your roast has to do with a perfect internal temp, not the exterior 'sear'. Use an accurate digital thermometer, when 125, take out of the oven, tent with a huge piece of aluminum foil, and do not touch for 1 hour. If you press some seasoned salt on the exterior before roasting, the crust will be heavenly; no sear needed.
Whole grain wheat and cracked wheat question
cracked wheat is simply whole wheat berries that have been crushed or pounded a couple of times. It is used mainly for texture. The first time thru, I would just leave them out and see if the base recipe works. If OK, then take some wheat berries, put 'em into a ziploc baggie, and pound them a few times with a skillet and repeat the recipe with the berries.
cooking beans, what am I doing wrong
Try the UC Davis method, as described by Harvey Steiman:
1) put beans into pot, cover with water
2) bring to a boil
3) turn off heat, place lid, sit for 1 hour
4) drain and continue with recipe
I have used this with success on any variety of dried beans
Duncan Hines Microwave Cake recipe
thanks. I will try your recipe: it becomes much more valuable commercially if it comes up as molten cake: I got famous, not to mention a job, because I figured out how to make molten cake from the dessert station in a restaurant.
when the cooking time is done how long do let it sit, or do you serve immediately?
help with vegan chocolate frosting
Sadly, your problem has nothing to do with the recipe. Butter fat has unique properties that cannot be duplicated from vegetable oils that are hydrogenated. If you use vegan butter substitutes, the problems you mention are par for the course.
The only solution I can think of is to avoid frosting completely. Using nouvelle-cuisine techniques, figure out how to serve wonderful cake desserts w/o frosting.
Are you a recipe hoarder?
humbly suggest you test them, fix 'em up, and publish them here so we can all benefit. Eh?
Duncan Hines Microwave Cake recipe
This recipe has been disseminated far wide on the internet. I tried it, and wish to state, for the record, that it works. The recipe is here:
http://duncanhines.com/recipes/cakes/patti40/3-2-1-microwave-cake/
Basically, you take one box of Duncan Hines ANGEL FOOD CAKE MIX WHITE and another boxed cake mix of any variety. Mix the 2 thoroughly, then store in an airtight baggie or container. It MUST be that particular boxed cake mix.
You mix 3 tablespoons of the mix and 2 tablespoons of water, zap for 1 1/2 minutes in a 700 watt microwave oven (the instructions say 1 minute for a 1100 watt oven, but mine is 700 watts, so not sure if this is correct for 1100).
I used an 8 oz coffee mug, zap 90 seconds, allow to sit for 15 minutes (very important). At the end, I was able to carefully tip out the cake from the mug onto a plate. I got something about the size of a cupcake. The texture was on the spongy side, kinda like those hot-milk-sponge-yellow-cake things you get at chinese dim sum shops.
Yes, recommend you try it: it will not fail; best of all, it will still be warm when you eat it.
Sichuan peppercorns- duds?
Sadly, the only way to get the same 'Sichuan Peppercorns' that you had in China is to get someone in China to ship them to you directly. I have run across the same problem as you (albeit for different ingredients), and have learned the hard way that what we can get here in the US is not the same as the authentic ingredients from other cuisines.
Squash puree, seared fish...and? Pairing please
Sorry to rain on your parade, but it is hard for me to imagine that root vegetables and fish go together under any circumstances. To me, roasted and pureed root vegetable says roasted meat, not seafood.
NEED HELP FOR SEASONING WOK
Strongly suggest you get one of 'Martin Yan' cookbooks. They have reliable instructions on how to care for a wok.
What type of store-bought buns do you use for homemade sliders?
I use 'bolillos' from the mexican bakery, but I have to cut them in half to get the right size. These are the only ones that are soft enough.
Dry-aging meat that has been frozen
Yes, you can dry age frozen steaks, but it will not be quite as good as non-frozen:
1) defrost in frig overnight, not at room temp.
2) dry age as usual
My rib-eyes are 5 days past sell date - still safe?
Sorry, you are out of luck. When dealing with meat, beef or otherwise, let your nose be your guide. Toss it: better safe than sorry.
Can I tenderize beef by letting it sit at room temperature
What you and other suggest is dangerous, as I have one of those 'Safety Sanity' certificates somewhere. At most, you can leave meat at room temp at most 1 hour before you run the risk of sending your customers to the hospital.
Actually, aging meat is simple: take them out of the cellophane/styrafoam/bloodabsorbingpacket, put them on a ceramic or glass plate for a few days in the frig uncovered, flip everyday, best is 3 or 4 days, but even 1 or 2 days will help.
leaf lard..it's been frozen for a couple of years/toss or use and I do have to render, right?
It will be perfectly OK, as long as your freezer is of the proper temp. Cut out a hunk, zap it in the microwave until melted, and take a whiff. If is smells OK, go ahead.
How you use it will depend on the specific classic French recipe you are using.
Kitchen Essentials on a $500 Macy's Budget - Input is GREATLY Needed!
This is a rather crucial item. Your knife is as important as all your other kitchen stuff combined. This is how I sold kitchen knives during a past life:
1) if you are 5 foot tall or less and have small hands, use a 8 inch knife
2) if you are 5 foot up to 6 foot tall with normal sized hands, use a 10 inch knife
3) if you are anywhere near 6 foot or more, or have unusually long fingers ( calling the 'Frugal Gourmet' , with whom I worked with on a TV cooking show, and yes, I know about the aftermath of said chef's career, but he had long, creepy. spider-like fingers that truly creeped my out) like a recent college basketball player to my kitchen, use a 12 knife or even a 14 inch knife; yes, I know for a fact that 14 inch knives exist, because I have one for which I paid about $30.
tempura batter?
'I know sometimes the batter gets all mushy on the inside, so a tried and true recipe that doesn't o that would be appreciated.'
trick I learned from a Korean cook when I worked in an Asian restaurant: put the just-fried bits onto a metal grill to breathe, and not a piece of paper towel, because it will get soggy.
'Also, how does one get shrimp tempura to be so long like the restaurants? I think they use just one shrimp usually, right? Is it just a really large sized-shrimp?'
They carefully prep the shrimp before cooking: shell, take off all legs, then use a bamboo skewer down the back and keep it spread out. Difficult to describe w/o graphics, but the split meat gets butterflied.
Lamb Ribs
Ah, man, you have already goofed it up: 'It's not a full intact rack - they have already been portioned into individual ribs'.
All really wonderful rib recipes I have happily enjoyed starts with a full, uncut rack of ribs of whatever mammal. You cook it, and you are in heaven. I am trying really hard to think of any recipe that uses ribs that are already cut into individual ribs BEFORE you cook. Cannot think of a single one, regardless of animal.
1) ribs are 100% different from leg-o-lamb, and cooking is totally different
2) suspect that a recipe for pork back-ribs will work similarly, but have never tried it so you are on your own on this one.
Help!!! Brownie Cheesecake
What you explain, I find to be very wonderful as a professional pastry chef. The components are stupidly simple and easy, just use store-bought stuff and make them.
The big challenge will be to physically assemble said stuff into a visually appealing centerpiece.
Personal recommendation from someone who has failed famously more than once: do not fear; go for it.,
Shishito pepper recipes needed
Being Japanese, and since shishito are of similar origin, and more since I have never heard of these, I looked it up on the web out of curiosity. As far as I can tell, never having ever had these by this name, and it appears to be Anaheim or New Mexico.
Not sure, but just a guess. I beg you to take this info and present to a well equipped hispanic grocery; there you find what you seek.
Ham in Slow Cooker
well, yes and no. Don't you hate it when you get an answer like that?
If you are referring to a legal, sanitary viewpoint, then yes, OK.
Problem: you state 'hickory ham', what the heck is that?
Is it fully cooked, like a supermarket ham?
Is it a, gourmet, dry-cured ham ?
Well, yes and no; what do you wish to do with the finished product???
Hmm??
Jonathan Waxman on tin-lined copper pans
Adding my voice: your cookbook author is full of sh*t.
The modern lining of copper pans are 100% tin. Period. Trust me: I have a BS degree in chemistry from UC Berkeley.
Even more, tin-lined copper pans cook better than copper pans that are lined with SS, because tin conducts heat much better. Course, tin requires re-lining once in a while, whereas SS lining will last for a lifetime. I have both in my collection and use both happily, but I fear the day when I will have to have my tin-pans re-coated.
I suggest you take that book and use if for kindling at your next BBQ this summer. Just my $0.02
Really cleaning stainless baking sheets
This is actually a rather important question. We all have stainless steel stuff: bakeware, pots and pans, and so forth. Contrary to popular belief, stainless steel can become stained. The question is: what happens when ordinary cleaning does not get you back to that pristine, shiny, finish?
My suggestion: fuggedaboutit. It is a chemical reaction that will not affect the cooking or sanitary qualities of your food.
You can try something called 'barkeepers friend', but the effort is hardly worth it. Get used to using SS cook/bake-ware that is not totally pristine.
Hawaiian Themed Birthday Party..
Ahem. I have relatives that live in Hawaii. FYI:
Pork sliders, spam sushi, and poke are howlie (i.e.white people stuff, not original Hawaiian; no offense intended, since I am oriental).
Haupia is sweet cornstarch pudding flavored with coconut.
some authentic hawaiian stuff by my perspective:
**lomi-lomi salmon: kinda like sushi, but using salmon and an acid dressing
**poi: yuck, I hate poi because it is thick-gluey-sticky-with-no-flavor, but it is traditional peasant food.
**pork lau-lau: braised pork shoulder, but with added smoke flavor
**saimin: thick, hand-rolled noodles in a salty, flavorable broth.
**tuna anything: hawaiians have always survived with bounty harvested from the sea, and tuna was one of the mainstays, and they have enjoying tuna of all varieties for a very long time.
