egbluesuede's Profile
The Leftovers That Didn't Make It
I know this wasn't your intention with this post, but I'm a fried rice fan as well. I do a pretty good dish with chicken, soy and mushrooms.....but please illunimate me. I know you can riff all day with fried rice, but could you share your basic with me as well? You mentioned fish sauce, which made me say....hold on, what am I missing? You've share so much with me on other posts.....so what am I missing with my fried rice? Basics only please! Thanks so much!
"Expired" V-8 juice?
I think you're safe with 2 cans.....don't make a habit out of drinking from expired juices though. 24 ozs and you should still live to be 100.
Cheddar please??? Who makes the best cheddars???
My fave every day cheddar, meaning sliced by the pound at the deli, is Hoffman's super sharp. I eat it plain in slices, or on top of anything where cheddar is called for. I don't put it out for company with a cheese platter, but at $8/lb.....I use it for everything else.
For cheese platters. Black diamond aged cheddar. White and crumbly....and very sharp.
Tips on making rice milk?
Chowhound has a video on this.
http://www.chow.com/food-news/103826/how-to-make-rice-milk-and-horchata/
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
I think it was a spicy bean paste to begin with, and I probably dumped it on top ot the protein and stirred in the wok. I got it from the asian market, and the english writing on it was pretty limited. I'm not afriad to try......but that occasion was a little further out on the limb than I should have been.
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
Thanks Mama. I'll have to add this one to next week's menu. It's a take out fave of mine that I sometimees order from a special restaurant that is way out of the way for me. They don't even have it on the menu but will make it for me. I tried to make at home once and it was so bad, I'll have to twist some arms around here to let me try it again. I think I'll do much better this time.
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
I can't see me fermenting beans myself. I'm thinking quick take out, black bean chicken I can make at home. I'd love to hear your "mean sauce"!
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
BTW - Another one I have tried to make and failed was a good black bean sauce. Any tips there?
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
Thanks for the advice. I'll tweak and make again soon.
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
I cut the amount of chiles in half because my wife won't eat things too spicy. I think it made the sauce too sweet, so I'd add more chiles next time. I also didn't really get a crispy coating with the batter, but I'm sure there's some sort of technique I'm not getting right with that. I took the chicken straight out of the mixing bowl with the egg/corn starch batter, and dropped it right into the wok in three batches. Was that wrong? Also, I think I should cut the chicken into smaller pieces so they cook faster before the coating browns too much. Any advice on how to improve my "crispy coating"?
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
ok then. It's my wifes favorite Chinese take-out.....so that is on the menu for tonight. Sounds awesome! Thanks mamachef.
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
eatmyfood.....quick question about the General Tso recipe. Do you really mean to combine the eggs and cornstarch together, and then toss the chicken in it? Or do you mean to coat the chicken with eggs first and then coat with cornstarch?
Jeni's Vanilla Cedar Wood Ice Cream
Jeni's is a local ice cream maker here in Columbus, and I've tried several flavors. They use really good ingredients and make good ice cream, but I don't like all of their flavors. Most are so unique, you only want to eat a scoop and not pig out on it like other good ice creams. When you go into their store, you can try a spoonful of anything before you buy, and I've tried many and decided, eh, not for me. Having said that, I don't think I would have even asked to try something called vanilla cedar wood, but then again, my tastes are more chocolate oriented. I love the cayenne chcolate. They do have other flavors that are amazing, but you have to try.
Astounding method for shucking corn
so the microwave really doen't have anything to do with the easy shucking? Could you cut raw corn in this manner, and then grill it?
Cooking for 2, and plating
Same here. Dinner for two adults every night, and plating is important. colors and presentation, make the dish seem more appealing. I don't get too carried away with garnishes, but I always think presentation. I have two toddlers who LOVE my plating. Interesting sandwich shapes are easy, fun things with fruit. i have fun with it too.
Old wooden utensils...still use them from relatives no longer here?
Tons of stuff. Over the past 5 years, my wife and I have lost almost all of our grandparents, and I've had the opportunity to select whatever I wanted from the kitchens. Grandpa's spaetzle maker, grandma's pastry cutter, wooden spoons, mixing bowls, juice glasses, etc. All are special to me and reminds me of them whenever I use them. Some are high quality that you just can't find anymore either.
Lucky Peach magazine
yeah, you poach them in the shell, which allows you to be able to store them in the fridge for a day or two before you use them. You can quickly warm them back up in warm water if you do that. Just quickly crack the egg like you would otherwise, and the poached egg just slides right out without breaking.
Weekly menu planning, how do you go about it?
I do all of the mean planning for my family of 4. We do the shopping only once a week, so I try to be very organized to plan ahead, and make sure we have everything we need. My planning document is a #11 envelope. I buy a box of 50, and then run them through my printer. On the front, I've created lines organized into areas of my favorite grocery store. I use this side for my grocery list, and I write down the things I need by department so I do need to do a lot of backtracking and don't forget anything while I shop. On the back of the envelope, I have the days of the week, and an area for breakfast items, and lunch items. (you can also use the envelope to hold coupons if you shop that way) Using my calendar as a guide, I plan the meals around our schedule for the week, and somtimes even check the weather forecast if I think there is a chance to cook outdoors. Some tips I've learned... plan your means with the fresh ingredients earlier in the week. Plan subsequent meals to use up leftovers or ingredients from previous meals, plan lunches around left overs, and plan for flexibility. I know things tend to change, so I usually leave one day unplanned. Invariable, our schedule changes, and I don't cook everything in the order it was planned. If for some reason, the week goes entirely as planned, I'll grab carryout or go out to dinner at the end of the week.
To decide what meals I want to prepare, I have a list of many of our favorites. These are the ones that we go back to over and over again. For the rest of the week, I usually have ideas in my head from watching TV, reading a mag or chowhound, or seeing some seasonal item that I just want to use. By planning out the whole week, I can also try to incorporate variety. Mix up the proteins, mix up the ethnicity, etc so that dinner time doesn't become boring. It's very systematic, but I don't have a lot of free time, and enjoy cooking, so I try to make sure I have a plan for the week so I don't spend a lot of time at the store, and know what needs to happen as soon as I get home from work.
Some Thanksgiving Turkey Suggestions Needed..........
oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I do remove the port and brown the skin at the end. Otherwise the skink would stay white and gummy looking. Essentially, the pork is just basting the bird in fat to keep it moist while cooking. I use aromatics inside the bird for variable flavors.
Some Thanksgiving Turkey Suggestions Needed..........
I've brined in years past, and I've also gone the fresh local turkey route. The fresh turkey was good, but expensive, and tasted no better to me than inexpensive frozen birds prepared in a way to preserve moisture. Lately, I use a technique called barding. I believe the origin was from the era of wood burning stoves, or some other heating method that was less easy to control than today's modern oven. If you take 1/4" slices of salt pork and cover the turkey with it, and wrap it with cheese cloth to hold everything in place, it would protect the bird from uneven heating and drying it out. You also prick the skin under the salt prok so the fat works it's way into the bird to keep it moist and juicy. You could even do this with bacon if you wanted to infuse some of the smoky bacon flavor. I don't, because that's not the flavor I'm going with my more traditional menu. Anyway, my turkey always comes out great, and I don't bother with fresh turkeys or brining anymore.
How do you store/archive your recipes?
I couldn't keep up with all of the paper copies of recipes I collected over the years, so after a while I scanned everything to PDF. Now if I see something I like anywhere on the internet, I print to PDF and file it. I also have word docs, xcel files, e-mails etc. The format doesn't matter to me as much as my naming system. I developed this to help me find stuff easily. It's something like this:
(Protein) - (Ethnicity) - (cooking duration) - (resource) - (name of dish)
An example might be: VEGG - Italian - 0015 - CHOW - Macaroni and cheese
This tells me it's a vegatian dish, italian, takes 0 - 15 minutes to cook, I found it on Chowhound, and it's mac and cheese.
Over the years, I've added some other search functions to it, such as FAM for family recipes, DIET to categories recipes when I'm trying to lose weight, or seasons such as summer so I can find recipes that are more seasonal. My wife rolled her eyes for years until she understoon my methodolgy. I can always find the recipe I'm looking for in about 5 seconds.
I also use a free software called Find and Run Robot which you can download. With a few key strokes, it finds my recipes based on my naming convention.
In the mood for Chinese tonight with not a lot of time? VEGG - Chinese - 1530 will pull up every recipe I have for vegetarian chinese dishes that take less than 30 minutes.
If you file electronic, make up your own system and you'll be glad you have a fast way to search for recipes.
Dashi storage question
+1 on freezing homemade dashi. I do this just like any other stock and keep in 2 and 4 cup plastic containers.
making rice krispie treats with other cereal?
How about Golden Grahams cereal and chocolate chips so they come out like Smores?
Absolute Best Risotto You Will EVER Eat: Toasted Pistachio Gorgonzola Dolce
No need for an apology. I tease my friends and family who thank me for a recipe and tell me they loved it.....but subtituted nearly every ingredient and came up with a totally different dish. I'm going to the store today and will look for exactly these ingredients to try it myself. I appeciate you sharing this, as well as the attention to detail. Risotto requires a lot of technique, so you need to be detailed if you want your friends to make this dish and have it come out the way it is intended. If you substitute ingredients and just wing it.....you'd probably end up wondering what was so special about this award winning recipe.
Munich Oktoberfest suggestions please
Had a blast and have to say that my fave was Paulaner. in fact, I found it here in Columbus and am having a few tonight. It was 9 Euros per liter in the tent, or about $13 USD but I only paid $8 for a 6 pack, which holds about 2 liters. Amazing that it can be imported so cheaply compared to what I paid in the same city they brew it. I'm pretty darn sure it's the exact same beer minus the awesome atmosphere of Oktoberfest. I do miss the music and hearty toasts! PROST!!!
Munich Oktoberfest suggestions please
I'm traveling for business next week to Munich, and they are officially tapping the keg on Oktoberfest the saturday I arrive. I have a few days to acclimate myself before I need to get serious with my business, so I'm going to hit a few beer tents. Does anyone have recommendations on how to approach this event, or could recommend some great beer to try? I've never been, but I'm really looking forward to it. Any tips would be appreciated.
Household food battles: Foods you love but your loved ones hate (and what to do about it!)
you need lots of patience and a little stealth. Start small like you would for getting a toddler to eat more veggies. Also, try to determine if they don't like these things for "real" reasons, such as they honestly don't like the taste or texture. Find ways to introduce them that changes those qualities. Or is the reason they won't try somethng "mental"....meaning they've never tried it but are convinced they won't like it. In those cases, find ways to make it more appealing, and ease your way into it. My wife would never eat seafood, and would complain about the smell even if I was only making it for myself. First I got her to try a bite of mine in restaurants. Lobster, shrimp, mild white fishes, etc. Then I started at home using sauces to cover the fish. Creamy, cheesey sauces made it less "fish-like".....now I've got her eating more oily fishes like salmon, and even rare Ahi tuna. Aversion to heat? This is where stealth comes in.....I've been slowly and carefully sneaking more "heat" into our favorite dishes for years. Sometimes I'll go too far and get caught or make it too hot, but over the years, I've gotten her from "no spice" to at least medium, so it's a little easier to create meals we both enjoy. Also, you may need to think about ways you can finish your meal at the table to avoid problems. Like, I can always add hot sauce to my dish at the table, or keep some olives off to the side to add after I've plated. Overall, come up with a plan for what you want your loved one to adapt to, and have some fun spending the next few years working your way into it. Now that my wife has come around on some many things, we like to laugh about it. I tried to serve her a mushroom and blue cheese sauce on our first dinner date, which she told me she didn't eat.....no we make it only for special occasions, and it's one of her all time favorites.
Unusual..but delicious...ice cream flavors
Jeni's in Columbus Ohio makes something similar to this. chocolate cayene. All of their flavors are a little unique like this. They are pretty famous in this area.
Best Ice Cream Brand
yes it does.....+1 on Graeters. When I moved back to the Midwest, one of the first things I thought about was acess to Graeters ice cream.
