On Topic Discussion Cooking questions

[smokeshadow]

Swiss Steak

one 1 1/2 to 2 pound arm, shoulder or pot roast
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped bell peppers (red, green or yellow or any combo)
1 bottle of Chili Sauce

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Layer the bottom of roasting pan with 1/2 of the celery, onions & peppers. Add 1/3 of the bottle of Chili sauce.
Lay roast over layer of celery, onions & peppers and coat top of roast with remaining celery, onions & peppers and the remaining Chili Sauce. Fill Chili Sauce bottle 1/4 full with water, shake and add mixture to roasting pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until meat peals apart easily.

Retain sauce and celery, onions & peppers for ladling on top of roast when serving.

 

[pornoboy]

I don't usually use butter at all when I'm cooking mashed potatoes; I just use milk and then add butter at the table, which I'd do anyway. And yeah, I'd probably add too much.

The secret ingredient for mashed potatoes is just a bit of nutmeg stirred in while mashing.

​

Nutmeg yes..! Not really a secret - love the smell and taste. I use nutmed-butter on broccoli and cauliflower too. ​

 

[Vannie]

Let's go now. It's Easter. I want everyone's best tips for perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs.

 

[rareboy]

At least 1 week old eggs out of the fridge for at least 12 hours. Add vinegar and salt to the boiling water. Give them lots of room in the pan and just cover. As soon as they start a rolling boil. turn them off. 12 minutes covered.

The real secret is ice ice cold water in a new large pot. Ladle them out into the icy cold water and do not let the temp drop.

Peel them by cracking and peeling the fat end first after they are cold. If you want them warm, under water peeling works a charm.

 

[Alistair]

The steaming method for hard cooking eggs has worked best for me. I’ve tried everything and it’s the one that’s made the easiest peeling egg. Putting them in a sealable container with ice water and shaking it vigorously cracks and peels the egg so easy.

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

Yeah, I'd been going to say, isn't the secret to peeling hard-boiled eggs basically plunging them into ice-cold water, the same way it is for tomatoes and peaches?

 

[Vannie]

At least 1 week old eggs out of the fridge for at least 12 hours. Add vinegar and salt to the boiling water. Give them lots of room in the pan and just cover. As soon as they start a rolling boil. turn them off. 12 minutes covered.

The real secret is ice ice cold water in a new large pot. Ladle them out into the icy cold water and do not let the temp drop.

Peel them by cracking and peeling the fat end first after they are cold. If you want them warm, under water peeling works a charm.

All good tips RB. I'm not sure if I ever tried the vinegar. I can't peel an egg for shit lately at home. In Assisted living kitchen we had a huge steamer. I would pile 3 or 4 hundred eggs onto perforated trays and put them in the steamer for 10 minutes.

Plunge them into ice water and they would fall out of the shells. So nice and easy.

A lot of very busy breakfast places don't even bother refrigerating their eggs. You put a room temperature egg on a flat top griddle and it will dance across the top.

 

[me203]

I get around the peeling egg problem simply by not ever making them! Problem totally solved!

But I remember the battle with peeling them. I don't remember that issue when I was young. I think the method of cooking changed, and that was probably the problem. I was reminded of this when I read someting on egg cooking a few months ago that suggested method makes a huge difference. I was tempted to get eggs for the first time in years just to try, but never got around to it...

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

So @Vannie ...

Key Food only has Better Than Bouillon in beef and vegetable flavors. (I'll keep the beef in mind for the next time I want to try stroganoff -- which, now that I think of it, is what I should have been doing all along with leftover roast beef.)

In the absence of Better Than Bouillon, would it work to just take basic chicken stock for cooking and reduce it by half or two-thirds?

 

[cityboy-stl]

I learned something new today. Hard Baked Eggs. Yep! Hard Baked Eggs.

Who would have thought?

Put the raw eggs in a muffin pan, so they don't roll around.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

They come out just like hard boiled eggs, except they are not. They are Hard Baked.

Great when you need a whole bunch of hard baked eggs.

Happy Easter.

 

[Vannie]

So @Vannie ...

Key Food only has Better Than Bouillon in beef and vegetable flavors. (I'll keep the beef in mind for the next time I want to try stroganoff -- which, now that I think of it, is what I should have been doing all along with leftover roast beef.)

In the absence of Better Than Bouillon, would it work to just take basic chicken stock for cooking and reduce it by half or two-thirds?

Oh yeah. You can still make a delicious dish without it. It just gives it that extra "Je ne sais quoi" if you will. Another great flavoring agent is the leftover chicken juices and gelatin you get after roasting a chicken.

Most people throw it out but that is delicious intense flavor for sauces and soups.

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

Recipe Lies:

1. "Cook chopped onion over medium heat until browned (3-4 minutes)." More like 10-12 minutes.

Anyone have others?

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

Well, guys, here's the result of the advice Vannie gave me:





The chicken paprikash came out so well that I think it's not even ersatz anymore. The only surprise was that that marinade is so strong (and salty) that I ended up stirring in an entire quart of Greek yogurt to make the sauce really tasty. But that just means I have a bunch more sauce to put over noodles later.

Thanks so much to @Vannie for his help!

 

[Vannie]

Well, guys, here's the result of the advice Vannie gave me:


View attachment 2021331


The chicken paprikash came out so well that I think it's not even ersatz anymore. The only surprise was that that marinade is so strong (and salty) that I ended up stirring in an entire quart of Greek yogurt to make the sauce really tasty. But that just means I have a bunch more sauce to put over noodles later.

Thanks so much to @Vannie for his help!

Nice. Looks delicious.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Oh yeah. You can still make a delicious dish without it. It just gives it that extra "Je ne sais quoi" if you will. Another great flavoring agent is the leftover chicken juices and gelatin you get after roasting a chicken.

Most people throw it out but that is delicious intense flavor for sauces and soups.

Y'know, that highlights trendiness. In decades past, we would have used the French to describe the finer points of cooking. Now, the cooking shows fall over themselves to describe je ne sais quoi as umami. And yes, umami is a specific flavor profile of taste and je ne se quoi can refer to non savory touches, but here, the same?

On another note, I'm thinking on the recipe lies that Peppermill raised. Will need the day to stew on it.

I'd like to make my own pitch for recipes. I think I need more mushroom recipes other than soup, omelettes, kabobs, stuffing, or Italianate fare (pizzas, calzones, stromboli, lasagna, marinara. What are some little-seen or novel ways to use mushrooms in dishes?

 

[rareboy]

Oh yeah. You can still make a delicious dish without it. It just gives it that extra "Je ne sais quoi" if you will. Another great flavoring agent is the leftover chicken juices and gelatin you get after roasting a chicken.

Most people throw it out but that is delicious intense flavor for sauces and soups.

omg, we always save the juice and gelatins from Poultry and Ham to add to soups, gravies etc. And of course all the bones are cooked for bases as well...so good.

 

[Vannie]

omg, we always save the juice and gelatins from Poultry and Ham to add to soups, gravies etc. And of course all the bones are cooked for bases as well...so good.

I defat it if there is too much and then scrape it right into a zipper bag and throw in the freezer.

Makes awesome rice as well. Liquid gold from the chicken.

 

[Alistair]

Well, guys, here's the result of the advice Vannie gave me:


View attachment 2021331


The chicken paprikash came out so well that I think it's not even ersatz anymore. The only surprise was that that marinade is so strong (and salty) that I ended up stirring in an entire quart of Greek yogurt to make the sauce really tasty. But that just means I have a bunch more sauce to put over noodles later.

Thanks so much to @Vannie for his help!

I’m going to be a chicken paprikash snob and say it needs to be over the little handmade dumplings and made with thighs instead of breasts.

But I was spoiled on the best little Hungarian mom and pop restaurant. I could always tell when mom made it, her’s was the best, or when one of the other workers made it. The son ran the place and I’d tell him who made it. He told me I was always right but I shouldn’t be able to tell because they used the same recipe.

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

I’m going to be a chicken paprikash snob and say it needs to be over the little handmade dumplings and made with thighs instead of breasts.

But I was spoiled on the best little Hungarian mom and pop restaurant. I could always tell when mom made it, her’s was the best, or when one of the other workers made it. The son ran the place and I’d tell him who made it. He told me I was always right but I shouldn’t be able to tell because they used the same recipe.

You pay attention!


I have to disagree with you about the dumplings; egg noodles just work better.

Yes, thighs, bone-in or boneless, would be better. But it was the boneless breast slabs that were on sale at the time -- $1.99 a pound, cheaper than thighs were.

 

[smokeshadow]

Did someone mention chicken?

Onion Baked Chicken

1 - 2 to 3 pound fryer, disjointed
1 - packet of Lipton onion soup mix
1 cup near boiling water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine onion soup mix and water in the bottom of a roasting pan. Arrange chicken pieces in pan, skin side down. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until done, turning pieces over after 30 minutes and removing lid of roasting pan for the last 15 minutes of baking.