mutterer's Profile
pressure cooker beans vs. stovetop cooked beans
Thanks for all the responses. Pressure cooker arrives in the mail tomorrow. I cannot wait!
pressure cooker beans vs. stovetop cooked beans
Hi: I am on the verge of buying my first pressure cooker. One thing I love to cook is black beans and I thought the pressure cooker would be a great tool for that. I noticed that in my favorite black bean recipe (Rick Bayless's recipe for classic Mexican pot beans from "Rick Bayless's Mexican Ktichen") he says that beans cooked in the pressure cooker won't develop as much flavor and will have a less desirable texture. Does anyone find that to be true? I usually cook the beans on a stovetop in a Le Creuset dutch oven. I love they way they come out but they take almost 2 hours sometimes, and the pot needs babysitting to keep the water level right and the simmer steady, so it is not a recipe I can make as often as I wish. Thanks!
Kuhn-Rikon pressure cooker: two different tops -- trying to decide
I am looking to buy a 5 quart Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker. There are two models available with two slightly different mechanisms on the lid. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either or both of these or have any other input they could share about this. Just for background:
1) Here in the hip pressure cooker blog she is reviewing the "regular" duromatic:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/2012/02/pressure-cooker-review-kuhn-rikon.html
and
2) here on this retail site is a fairly extensive explanation of the "turn top" model [the two different models seem to be called different things on different sites]:
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/kuhn_rikon_turn_top_model_cooker.aspx
Thanks for any info you can provide.
Major bacon fail
so when i'm "watching" in the last minute, what specifically am i watching for? that is what i don't get: what to look for to see whether it is done. thanks.
Major bacon fail
thank you. that's exactly the kind of information i was looking for. so i look at the color? the thing that eludes me is that the texture is one way when it's in the pan and another after it leaves, but i guess that's not what i'm supposed to be focused on.
Major bacon fail
okay, but i am still trying to answer a SPECIFIC question, which is: when it is in the oven, do I look for it to be crispy before i take it out? alternatively, in the fry pan, how is it supposed to look BEFORE i take it out so that it will be crispy after i take it out. sorry, but i just can't seem to get this and i need very specific advice. thanks.
Major bacon fail
But even if I follow those directions, does it crisp up WHILE it's in the pan? If not, how do I tell when it's time to take it out? This is what I'm trying to zero in on.
Major bacon fail
Will it crisp while it's in the over or after you take it out? That's the problem I always have -- how to discern whether it will be crispy in the future. I just don't get how you do that.
Major bacon fail
I have stuck with the thick cuts. That's what the nicer bacon in the store seems to be these days. Maybe I should try thinner?
Major bacon fail
I posted this query a couple of years ago:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/437152
And I appreciate all the answers people gave me, but I am STILL FAILING to cook crispy bacon. So here's the mystery boiled down to its essence for me: most people say to take it out the pan and then it will it crisp up. But what qualities am I looking for *while the bacon is still in the pan* that will indicate to me that the bacon will crisp up after I take it out?
I do things that most people posted about, cooking the bacon on low, turning it often. I swear I wind up with the bacon in the pan for 20 or 30 minutes and it is STILL rubber after it comes out and then cools. What the hell am I doing wrong? Tonight my husband said the bacon literally tasted "uncooked" although it was in the pan for 20 or more minutes.
HELP!
Are these grits NON-instant?
Oh, thanks. I didn't know about the 3 categories (thought there were just 2). So these are quick but not instant, I would guess?
Are these grits NON-instant?
I've been on the hunt for grits that are not instant. It's really hard to find them in stores, even here in foodie Oakland/Berkeley.
So here's the question-- is this product non-instant?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ELL6KM/ref=cm_rdp_product
It doesn't say one way or the other on the packaging as far as I can see.
Thanks for your help.
-Naive about grits
cookbooks: hidden gems?
I remembered this mention of White Dog Cafe cookbook from this threat long ago. Today I found the book in the Friends of the Library store. What recipes do you recommend?
overly wet rice in rice cooker -- should i run through whole cook cycle again?
thanks, everyone. it turns out that just letting it stay in the rice cooker for another hour was enough (on the keep warm setting). the moisture absorbed itself enough and it was fine.
I think i was a bit panicked when i originally posted! (you know, guests coming over, things going awry.) i appreciate all the suggestions!
overly wet rice in rice cooker -- should i run through whole cook cycle again?
I made a rice pilaf style recipe. Sauteed the rice and onion and garlic. then put that into a rice cooker and added chicken broth. I used short grain rice (1 1/2 cup) and 1 1/2 cup broth. It ran through the entire cook/steam cycle and it's still really wet. I'm afraid that on the keep warm setting it won't steam enough. Should i run it through the cook cycle again? Or put it in a pot on the stovetop and steam it some more that way? Help! I'm serving a Mexican dinner to 12 guests in an hour or so!
Five - Scott Howard, Berkeley
Has anyone tried this place yet?? I'd love to hear a review.
February 2009 Cookbook of the Month: Your Suggestions Needed [Ends 1/13]
A NEW WAY TO COOK.
I'm so excited that people here are interested in this book. It's been a favorite of mine for many years, but I need to be motivated to try some other recipes, so COTM process would be a good way for me to do that.
Bittman's Revised How to Cook Everything?
Has anyone had a chance to look over the newly released revised version of How to Cook Everything? Or bought it? I'm curious what people think.
Fifty Cookbooks [Mark Bittman Would] Rather Not Live Without
I totally agree! I so wanted to like the Bittman in Spain show, but I have found it unwatchable.
Sally Schneider's "A New Way to Cook"--Flavor Catalysts?
This is one of my favorite books! Her leek and potato soup is in regular rotation in our house. I sometimes whir in watercress at the end and that adds a nice bite. I've also thrown carrots in with the potatoes and that was yummy too. Another favorite recipe from this book is the coconut milk soup with shrimp. Very easy and fairly authentic tasting (Thai-ish). Another recipe I've made many times is a quick bread that I think she calls Irish Brown Bread.
COOKBOOK OF MONTH OF MAY VOTING
Just remembered my other: MADHUR JAFFREY WORLD VEGETARIAN
"Silver Palate" and "New Basics": Dated? or Worth Keeping?
Thanks, yes I suppose it is a happy problem. I guess I am just one of those opposite-of-packrat people (is there a word for that?) where I don't tend to keep things in the house if I won't use them. Or maybe it's that if I already own X amount of cookbooks, and these count towards the total, does that mean I have to stop buying them? ;-]
"Silver Palate" and "New Basics": Dated? or Worth Keeping?
A friend who is moving abroad gave me a pile of cookbooks (lucky me!) and among them were The New Basics and The Silver Palate cookbooks. I know these books were very popular some time ago (10 years? 15 years?) but to me, upon flipping through them, they seem dated. Am I just being thrown off by the cheesy graphics? Are these books worth keeping? If so, any particular recipes you'd recommend?
Thanks!
Crock pots for something other than stew?
Here is my cheap, fast, and EASY lentils and sausage crockpot recipe::
1 bag of brown lentils (16 oz)
1 small (14 oz? or so?) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 regular sized cans chicken broth
1.5 cups water
1 bay leaf
put all of the above in slowcooker and cook on high one hour
THEN take one kielbasa (1 lb or so) and cut into coins
or, if you want it SPICY, take andouille sausage and do same -- just make sure you're using PRE-COOKED sausage
add sausage coins and cook on high 2 more hours or so
you may need to add salt at the end.
that's it!i serve it on rice or whole wheat couscous with dabs of plain yogurt. YUM!
New Belgian Beer Bar in Old Oakland
I like Restaurant B in Old Oakland. I had a delicious meal there last Saturday night.
http://www.boakland.com/
I can't cook crispy bacon
That's really helpful -- exactly what I was looking for -- thanks!
I can't cook crispy bacon
Yes, I am using an oven thermometer. And as for the next comment: "take it out when it looks done" -- therein is the essence of my problem. How do I know it's done? What do I look for if not for crispiness? Thanks.
I can't cook crispy bacon
Thanks to everyone for their replies. I have tried the oven method repeatedly. I have left the bacon in the oven for the suggested time, and then way, way, WAY longer (like 3 times longer than the Cooks Illustrated method suggests, can't remember offhand what that time is) and it NEVER gets crispy. So, more specific question: when you cook bacon in the oven, does it get visibly crispy *while* it is still in the oven? If not, how do you know when to take it out?
