Cooking Skills I Used Today

[Just Cooking]

Not certain if a cooking skill but, I carefully sharpened all my knives Sunday..



Now I have to hope that Jeannie is careful with her one knife when she preps a salad for us..


Ross

 

[taxlady]

I use a 'trick' I learned from a TV show a while back. You keep two spoons, a tablespoon and a teaspoon. The tablespoon never touches your mouth. It's used to spoon a taste into the teaspoon, which goes to your mouth. That way you can taste repeatedly with just two spoons.

I've been doing that for a long time, but I never thought of using two different sizes of spoons. That will save me washing a few spoons - which one goes in the pot? Phooey, grab a clean one for the pot.

 

[cjmmytunes]

I quartered potatoes, put them in a pan with water, and set them to a medium heat on the stove. Then got my Ninja Kitchen cooker out, opened up some chicken broth and put that in the cooker and set it to high. When it started to boil, I cut open some frozen green beans and put them in the cooker and set it to medium. I then got a ham steak out of the fridge, unwrapped it, and cut it in quarters. Finally, I put it in the cooker when the green beans were done. Oh, mustn't forget that I diced some onion so Mom could "feed the baby".


And all this for a "simple lunch".

 

[Stock Pot]

I tried shirred eggs (baked). A little runny but still delicious. Next batch will stay in the oven longer.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Grilling



I use a LPG (Liquid Propane Gas) Grill as apposed to a Charcoal or Wood fired baby, it's just my own personal preference.



We do have Natural Gas available to us on our property, but I thought it too much of an expense for set up, as apposed to using LPG tanks. Cheap and friendly
AND I can be mobile with my grill in the back yard as compared to a fixed unit with the Natural Gas hook up.

Now, I've been told that Grilling is not the same
as Barbecuing nor Smoking.
I surely am not an expert on this topic,
but that's how I heard it.

 

[dragnlaw]

Kgirl - I used to call anything done on the outside coal or gas grill as BBQ.
As in "Let's BBQ those hamburgers, hot dogs tonight!" "Don't forget to toast the hot dog buns on the BBQ!"

Then I came to the conclusion anything with a BBQ label meant the red-sweet-spicy sauce people drowned the food with (yech). BBQ'd spareribs + gaggy sauced to the eyebrows. eg Baton Rouge restaurant, I had to literally scrape the sauce off with my knife to find the meat. Even then I couldn't 'taste' the meat for the sauce.

Then out came "grill" pans for the stove, or switch plates for the griddle, which imitated the 'grill' marks one would get on the "BBQ".

and then there is smoking....

 

[GotGarlic]

Kgirl - I used to call anything done on the outside coal or gas grill as BBQ.
As in "Let's BBQ those hamburgers, hot dogs tonight!" "Don't forget to toast the hot dog buns on the BBQ!"

Then I came to the conclusion anything with a BBQ label meant the red-sweet-spicy sauce people drowned the food with (yech). BBQ'd spareribs + gaggy sauced to the eyebrows. eg Baton Rouge restaurant, I had to literally scrape the sauce off with my knife to find the meat. Even then I couldn't 'taste' the meat for the sauce.

Then out came "grill" pans for the stove, or switch plates for the griddle, which imitated the 'grill' marks one would get on the "BBQ".

and then there is smoking....

I grew up in Michigan and also thought barbecuing and grilling were the same. Then I moved to Virginia. In the American South, barbecue is a noun - smoked meat (beef or pork, depending on what was most common in the area), cooked low and slow.

Sauces vary widely, too. North Carolina BBQ sauce is basically cider vinegar, red pepper flakes and a bit of brown sugar. Memphis sauce is more like what you're describing, although you didn't have a very good experience. I eat different sauces with different types of barbecue.

Here, check this out. https://www.seriouseats.com/2012/07...nal-styles-kansas-city-memphis-carolinas.html

 

[dragnlaw]

You know... that cake over there!

Today I used my highly tuned cooking judgement to go ahead and ice the lopsided 4 layer cake.
You know, the one that has the lemon curd between layers, making the layers slide all over the place even though pinned with skewers.

You know, the one that uses 9 eggs between the lemon curd and the cake.
You know, the one that has left me an awful lot of egg whites which cannot be made into meringue right away because it's too damp.

You know, the one that called for 4 pans to bake the cake mixed from scratch with the inevitable separately beaten egg whites folded in to give a beautiful lift...
you know, the ones that came out only slightly thicker than a pancake.
you know, the ones that came out slightly different sizes as those were the only pans I had.
you know, the one that looks like the Leaning Tower of Pi.

I will also apply my amazing skills at finding excuses when I go to cut the cake and discover the density of the cake requires a hacksaw or a jack-hammer to cut it.

(at least I know the icing is delicious - I licked the beaters and bowl)

 

[Kayelle]

Today I used my highly tuned cooking judgement to go ahead and ice the lopsided 4 layer cake.
You know, the one that has the lemon curd between layers, making the layers slide all over the place even though pinned with skewers.

You know, the one that uses 9 eggs between the lemon curd and the cake.
You know, the one that has left me an awful lot of egg whites which cannot be made into meringue right away because it's too damp.

You know, the one that called for 4 pans to bake the cake mixed from scratch with the inevitable separately beaten egg whites folded in to give a beautiful lift...
you know, the ones that came out only slightly thicker than a pancake.
you know, the ones that came out slightly different sizes as those were the only pans I had.
you know, the one that looks like the Leaning Tower of Pi.

I will also apply my amazing skills at finding excuses when I go to cut the cake and discover the density of the cake requires a hacksaw or a jack-hammer to cut it.

(at least I know the icing is delicious - I licked the beaters and bowl)

Thanks so much for the great laugh with this.

I really did laugh out loud!
For a non baker like me, it confirms why I don't bake.

Don't be like me and give up though!!

 

[dragnlaw]

I gave up cakes from scratch a long time ago, just thought I would give it another try. Like you Kayelle- I'd best go back to mixes. LOL

 

[Just Cooking]

I gave up cakes from scratch a long time ago, just thought I would give it another try. Like you Kayelle- I'd best go back to mixes. LOL

Great telling of your cake experience..


My cake baking has been disappointing..



I've gone back to mixes and have learned to weigh out a box mix to get 2 6" cakes... That allows me to have a fluffy textured cake and still have small portions..


Ross

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Ooh, I really shouldn't laugh Dragn, but that
really was a good one!
But ya know, I'd be willing to wager any
amount of money that that cake tasted
DELICIOUS!!

 

[Rocklobster]

I attempted to cure a slab of wild boar pork belly to make pancetta..it's my first time, so it may not be a skill yet..if I survive my first feed of it in a month from now, I'll let you know.

 

[dragnlaw]

curiosity killed the cat

but here's the "satisfaction brought it back"

More skills: Chose the tiniest slice possible as being best for a serving.

It was good, but heavy - like a pound cake but very, very sweet.

 

[dragnlaw]

Using my powerful deduction skills of kitchen/baking talent.

I have come to the conclusion of only ever using cake mixes for layer cakes in future.

Will use investigative skills to figure out why Curd did not "set" after even 2+ days in the fridge. Was certainly cooked long enough, double what was recommended.

am sure there are more skills involved but at the moment using physical skills..

such as in being on my knees and trying to wipe up the wet coffee grounds that evaded being trapped by digits that were being used to transfer said grounds to the compost container.

 

[Addie]

One of my biggest lacking skill is remembering all these hints/tricks/etc that people have so kindly shared -

Quite a while back, I bought the ATK "Kitchen Hacks. They have a lot of those little hacks that help save a dish.

 

[dragnlaw]

Thanks Addie, I remember ATK promoting that book at one time.
Only reason I didn't get it was I was seeing a lot of the hacks that they had already printed in their magazines.

I have quite a few of their books which I quite like. Trouble is now they are putting out new books with an awful lot of the same recipes - obviously some new recipes but don't find the "doubling up" of recipes worth it.

 

[Addie]

Thanks Addie, I remember ATK promoting that book at one time.
Only reason I didn't get it was I was seeing a lot of the hacks that they had already printed in their magazines.

I have quite a few of their books which I quite like. Trouble is now they are putting out new books with an awful lot of the same recipes - obviously some new recipes but don't find the "doubling up" of recipes worth it.

I like the new show minus Christopher. He became so set in his ways and couldn't be budge. The format never changed. The new shows are now taking old recipes and revisiting them looking for an easier and tastier way to make the dish. They are also introducing new members of their recipe developing staff to show their stuff.