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I've been in a restaurant kitchen for a few weeks now, and they started putting me on the line. For some reason now, when I try cooking at home...It's so slow! It took me 30 minutes from start to finish for a meal for my family, they were impressed, but I still think I could have shaved off...

I was making a Russian dessert today called Kisel. It's a fruit puree thickened with some kind of starch. The recipe called for potato starch to be used. I know that potatoes are a common ingredient in Russian/Ukrainian cuisine, but I'm not sure if a peasant would have had access to refined...

I've just recently realized how versatile risotto can be. I know there are traditional ways of preparing it and, coming from an Italian background, I've tried them all:chef:. But I've been experimenting with some interesting combinations, and wonder what everyone else has done. Here's my...

I understand flavour, but I can't garnish food so it looks nice. Does anyone know of any websites, books, or advice I can use to make my food look pretty? :chef:

A few summers ago, I lived in Ghana, West Africa. I was in the North, and I'm looking for a few how-to's on the food there. Specifically, it involved a lot of fermentation of grains and the like, and while I saw them do it (basically just stick the milled grain into a bucket with some water...

So I just started my first job doing a lot of prep in a kitchen. I've been there the past three nights, and have come home usually too late and not very hungry enough to make myself something to eat. Last night, the family had a BBQ and left me some. I couldn't pass that up...but when I sat...

I was trying to go to sleep yesterday when a thought struck me: Lemon goes well with seafood, but does seafood go well with lemon? That is, what happens if you try to make lemon, instead of seafood, the focus of the dish? This is more of an appetizer, and I'm wondering what people think: I'll...

I'm starting to realize that good cooking tends to go along with good wine, and I'd be interested to start out learning about wines. I've put a few of the dishes I make most often below, and was wondering if someone can give me a recommendation of what goes well with them, what doesn't go well...

I made this yesterday and it was fantastic. I used Penne, but I believe any pasta should work well. In one pan, saute some finely chopped garlic and basil in some EVOO, for a very short time (taking care not to burn the garlic). Add some beef or veal stock (I used about 1/2 cup for a family...

I cracked open a few eggs the other day, and the whites were the saddest things I'd ever seen. They were almost like water. There was a little of the jelly I was expecting, but for the most part the white was just a runny, sad mess. The eggs didn't smell rotten and I'm generally someone who...

I roasted it in an oven at 325, it took about 2 hours, and it was around 160F in the inside right near the bone. I put a bit of stock into the pan as it was cooking (like, about a ladle-full every 20 minutes), and i had marinated it in the fridge for about 3 hours before, rubbed with olive oil...

I have to cook for a vegan in a few days, and I'm looking for a good risotto recipe. I don't want to use anything like imitation cheese, and I make a really good vegetable stock. But a standard risotto is so...plain to me. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could spice it up a bit? I'm...

I went to a Vietnamese restaurant the other day and had a "satay beef soup". When the soup arrived at the table, the beef was raw, but the soup was hot. Being naturally adventurous, I ate it and felt fine. But I wonder, could that have been unsafe? Has anyone had experience with that kind of...

I go to North-American Chinese restaurants and they more or less all offer "chicken fried rice". It usually has egg, chicken, carrots, celery, and rice. The rice is usually brown-ish, so I imagine they use soy sauce. BUT, every time I try to make it at home, these things happen: 1) My rice...

I've been playing around with plums and amaretto, and I think I've hit on something I really enjoy. Hopefully someone else will find it useful:chef: This is the vague measurements I used to do it for 1 plum: 1/2c of water 1/2c of brown sugar 1 plum, halved and sliced (as though you're making...

So I'm going to be the cook for a school trip (4th year University, so we're pretty on top of things :-P). I was thinking of a dessert to try out. I have the time to make it, and I can make Pavlovas easily. Here's the idea: Individual Pavlova Turn the egg yolks from the Pav into (thin)...

I'm going to be cooking for a large number of people in a little while. I have an idea to make a vichyssoise, but I won't have enough time to make a good stock. I was thinking of making a Glace (a very concentrated stock, if it has another name) and using it to start the stock on the day I'll...

I'm going to try my very first flambay tonight, using cognac. I've read a recipe or two, but is there anything I need to know? :tongue:I'd prefer not setting my house on fire. also, I'm curious as to the exact purpose of flambaying. I've heard things like "it caramelizes the meat" (I'm doing...

I've heard things like "there's no point in using sea salt to cook with, since it loses any effect" and other things about which salt to use. So I'm wondering when to use: Table salt Kosher salt (assuming it's different?) Rock Salt Coarse Salt sea salt Fleur de Sel Any ideas? :chef:

I don't have any, and the only place I know to get them is about 45 minutes away by car. Any ideas on what I can use? The recipe also calls for lime juice... Also: I don't really know what a kaffir lime leaf is...I've just seen it at this one place :-P Mike

I've been reading a few of the past threads, and I came across a few times when someone asked: "The original recipe doesn't use garlic. can I add some?" In one of those threads (specifically an old one about chicken marsala), everyone said to add the garlic at the very end (with the...

Well, it's probably no secret, but here's what I did tonight for dinner. It's a chicken breast (boneless) dish with a few sides: preheat oven to 380F (or wherever you normally cook chicken. 380F is it for me) Stuff the chicken breast with goat cheese and roasted red peppers. Place it into a...

So I've recently learned that we have a cheese monger not 5 minutes from my house. He sells the most wonderful raw milk cheeses, and I've fallen in love with Piave cheese in particular. I decided to try out what I've been told is a "real" brie, the "Brie de Meaux"...except that when I brought...

This might be off-topic, so I apologize in advance for that, but: I'm thinking of going into professional cooking. I realize that my first job in a kitchen is most likely going to be "do whatever the chef tells you", and will probably not involve anything close to a stove. But...I love...

my general recipe is: 2 egg yolks thicken 3/4 cup of liquid, and I usually put 2Tbsp of sugar per 3/4 cup milk. But I just can't get my technique right. I cook them in ramekins in a double boiler in the oven set to 325F. The ramekins are small (about 1/4 cup each). My timing is always off...