TimCarroll's Profile
???--first year baking Christmas cookies in a convection oven--confused
I have a Kitchen Aide convection for about 12 years and I find it sometimes wiser not to use the convection in some instances. For soft chewy cookies I might not use convevtion. For pies with a thin flute, learned my lessons, protecting the crust edges is a must but I just use conventional bake. Some breads love convection for crispy crust but spraying with water is a key in a great crust. Pizza on the other hand is to me really dependent on the toppings and what order they are applied. Little items sticking out on top may not far well with convection. Just my 2 cents
Calling All Caterers
I need to come up with 4 to 5 “finger foods” for a party my friend is putting on which will be served on platters by roving waiters (collage kids). She is asking me to prepare 100 of each type. I have use of her kitchen, oven, stove and fridge but I will only want to use them to heat or keep things warm or cool as the case may be during the party. I also have 2 chaffing dishes at my disposal. I can use picks and skewers I’m told but the point is no knifes, forks or spoons. The party is in the middle of this month, can anyone out there give me some suggestions, and they will be greatly appreciated - Thanks
Great food in Clearwater?
Just visitng, Thought I could get some opinions on places to check out. Medium price ranges please.
Thanks
Brine vs. Marinade for grilled chicken
Sorry, I do use the same salt ratios. I normally brine over night in the refrigerator due to the best temperature for the osmotic action is 34 degrees. I never have a salt taste problem. Alton Brown has some good reading on ratios and soak times in one of his books. He explains quit well what goes on during the soak, I've been using it for years.
Brine vs. Marinade for grilled chicken
I, myself really like the brining method for chicken. Your salt concentration is a bit high in my opinion. For 1 quart water, I would use only ½ cup KOSHER salt and ¼ cup brown sugar and whatever water soluble flavorings you like infused. Kosher salt is the only salt I use in this process and if you’re using regular table salt, that’s another reason for salty tasting meat. The 3 hours, to me, is a little short but will help the meat. I prefer more like at least 6 hours and not more than 20 hours to ensure all of the meat cells are at equilibrium with the surrounding solution. I never rinse off the brine, just pat dry. I never let the meat sit any longer than it takes to apply a dry rub. The sooner you start cooking the meat from pulling it out of the brine the better off you will be. After the brine has done its job of engorging all the meat cells with the liquid, they start to deflate within minutes under their own weight just sitting there.
As for marinating, I only do it when I don’t have time to brine. I do like it for red meats however. I always use a two part system. First I use half of the marinade to soak the meat before cooking. I reserve the second half of marinade for after grilling. I heat the up the second half of the marinade to about 165 degrees so I don’t “cool off” the meat and also don’t further cook it when I take it off the grill. The meat seems a lot more accepting to the marinade after cooking when the cells are expanded.
Good Luck - Tim
Favorite flavor combos making chips from store bought flour/corn tortillas
Here’s one that’s close to what you already do, but different. Olive oil with an olive ratio of 2:1 black olive (2); green olives (1) with garlic powder and a little parmesan cheese. The green olives give a nice saltiness. Goes well with a tomato-basil type dip.We like it.
What do you eat your chili?
I make a Texas style no bean chili. The chili is very thick, more like a dip to begin with due to the late addition of shredded cheddar in my recipe. When I serve it, I line the bottom and sides of the serving bowls with first a layer of refried beans topped with a layer of cream cheese. Then fill the bowl with chili and then I top it with a little more cheese, a dollop of sour cream and some fresh cilantro. Frito scoops, I think go best with it but they have serious salt content so my wife prefers Tostitos scoops.
Your input needed
First one that comes to mind is the tuna sandwich baked in a brown paper bag. It’s just drained tuna, chopped onion and celery, cubed American cheese with salt & pepper and just enough mayonnaise to hold it together. Spread on white bread, place sandwich in brown paper bag then into a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes. I remember them being something special when I was just starting to experiment in the kitchen as a child. Now I would change the type of cheese and the type of bread and maybe add some water chestnuts, parsley, cilantro… the list goes on. It’s a start I think.
Lunch Lady for the day
I need a recipe for sloppy Joe’s to feed about 40- 50 kids at lunch. I've been recruited to cook lunch due to the cook left unexpectedly. I have ground beef, tomato sauce, pizza sauce and some spices. Each serving will be about 6 ounces. That’s what I saw in their pantry, I can bring my own spices if necessary. Just looking for measurements, amounts to feed the kids please. Any recipe out there, sure would appreciate it. Thanks - Tim
Leave the oven door ajar when broiling?
I must have a strange oven, mine has a door switch that doesn't allow the oven to be on if the door is ajar. I have to use a wine cork and line it up with the switch to fool the oven into thinking the door is closed for it to operate. I know this is true in convection mode but maybe it works in regular mode on broil without the switch being depressed; I'll have to go check that. I grill in any weather so I haven't needed to test the steak broiling theory. I use my oven to dehydrate food, so the door must be open to let the moisture out. Didn’t even know my oven was a dehydrator until 3 years after I bought it. I knew the book that came with it would come in handy one day.
Enchiladas
Thanks all - They came out great! I dipped after frying becauce I didn't thing I had enough time before my wife got home from work to clean up that is.
Enchiladas
Thanks for the advice. My wife has a house cleaning disorder so the dip then fry is out of the question. I would have to do that outside or when she’s not home. I’ll probably get busted anyway, she’ll find the smallest minuscule trace and bring it to my attention.
Enchiladas
Sounds great, I'll add a little to the meat mixture and maybe sprinkle a few in the cheese that will be melted on top of everything as kind of a garnish.
Enchiladas
The chili powder in question is ancho only, (I love making chili) but I must admit I do have a chili powder blend in my pantry. It’s for my daughter to play with, when she starts “experimenting” from here cookbooks. I’ve seen to much stuff go down the drain. When she gets better I’ll let her use my stuff.
Do You "De-Fat" Your Meat Sauce?
I'm always with you on this one, I keep it all. It just wouldn't be homemade to me without the pool on top. I will come clean and confess that when we have guest over, I’ll leave the sauce covered. I also will make sure the coast is clear to remove it and then I stir like hell so they don't accidentally see it.
Enchiladas
I'm slow cooking a well spiced pork but which will be later shredded for enchiladas. My question is, after reading enchilada recipes off of the chow site, what do people put in the corn tortillas? My plan is to quick fry the tortillas in a little oil first. Next I was going to mix the shredded pork with some cilantro, corn cornels, salt, diced onion and shredded cheddar cheese. I might add some chili powder, cumin, onion powder and granulated garlic (These are some of the ingredients in the dry rub on the pork butt) depending on how the pork tastes after cooking. I have the enchilada sauce to top everything off before cooking in the oven. I’m I going in a wrong direction here?
Brining with a Slow Cooker
Thanks Val, but the funny thing is that I started a post and then decided not to. For some reason it wouldn’t let me delete it. So the heading stayed. Actually I’m going to make some enchiladas with some pork butt. I didn’t know if I should brine first or not but then thought about it and decided to. Well, as I said, I couldn’t delete it. Now I thinking what might be good to rub on the meat or what to put in the slow cooker now for this.
ISO: Gluten free Peanut Butter Cookie recipe
Do you ever sprinkle salt instead of sugar on top?
Fish market etiquette
I do it something like this. I'll take that one and that one. How do they smell? My husband / wife hates strong smelling fish. Great, thanks. - Done.
Leftover mussels
I would just warm them up the way I made them with a little steam. You made a great dish, just re-heat it, I do it all the time with left over mussels.
what cabbage is best to use for this?
Just for the heck of it, I searched many Indian cabbage (Patta Gobi) recipes and was amazed. All listed (20 plus) just the word “cabbage” as the ingredient. I finally did find one that called out for “Green Cabbage” but oddly enough, at the bottom of the recipe there was note “*Red cabbage is less expensive at work right now than green, so I used red instead.
It looked *gorgeous*.
Go figure
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/indian-veg/gujarat.html
Spanakopeta help
Thanks Ziggylu, when you say score, do you mean in the finished size pieces or just for ventilation?
Spanakopeta help
Thank you, this is the first recipe that uses very and I mean very little egg. Two boxes of spinach usually requires around 4 - 8 eggs. I've seen some that call for half of the eggs to be whole and the other half use only the yolks if folding into triangles.
Spanakopeta help
Bear, thanks for taking the time for such a lengthily reply, I won't worry about the purists so much. I've been to Greece for a couple weeks and loved everything I ate with very few exceptions. The cottage cheese won't bother me in the least. I go to the annual Hellenic festival in Buffalo NY most every year, really just for the food. I’ve had lasagna with some cottage cheese snuck into it and it was very good. My wife on the other hand, thinks it will kill you. Just trying to save a little cash.
Spanakopeta help
Sorry, I just skipped / substituted the farmers cheese or fresh cheese part. As maybe you figured out, I’m doing a poor mans version.
Spanakopeta help
I’m looking for a recipe that originally uses frozen spinach, not a substitute for fresh, and has about the same proportions of feta to cottage cheese. I’m also asking if cutting it into pieces before baking is better. Was planning on using a not stick pan which doesn’t lend itself well to a sharp knife. Thanks
Grilling spare ribs
I have to agree with Kchurchill, oven for 3 hour or so depending rack size and then sauce, caramelize on the grill. I use one of those big foil roasting pans for this. Some rub some sort of liquid and cook at 300 – 325. The time will vary depending on the meat. I look at the bones, when the meat starts pulling back about ¼ inch from the bone, I’d say they were done. Easy test, just taste a piece, you may be tempted eat them all at this point. Be careful you don’t want them falling apart before grilling. They get very messy on the grill if over cooked, lesson learned here. Good Luck
