Burnt-toast
Assistant Cook
Hello. I'm afraid I've only taken up cooking [fortunately it's mainly for myself !!] fairly recently. So I am always going to have more questions than answers !
And I have already had several wonderful tips from people on here, which have kept me going to bed happy, rather than having to phone the doctor. Although I do always keep his number handy !
So my major concerns are less about producing great dishes, and more about keeping alive.
I have found that most dishes I cook, and most recipes I find, are for 4 or 6 or eight, or even 10. So because I live alone now, [ which is partly why I've started to cook for myself] I invariably have huge quantities of uneaten food left over.
And I have to say that I am quite surprised that there isn't a section on here devoted to Storage and Freezing, and Re-heating etc, as the modern kitchen appliances, including fridges and freezers and Food Processors and Microwave Ovens all lent themselves to this type of bulk cooking for later dates.
Be that as it may, it is a more general point.
My current question concerns a pack of prepared but uncooked sausage rolls that I bought a few days ago. They were frozen and in four long strips, to be cut to size and baked when needed. However, the instructions said they should be removed from the freezer and put in the fridge until soft enough to cut to the desired sizes.
[It also said that once defrosted they should not be re-frozen until after cooking. I might not have bought them had I noticed that, but never mind!]
I had no idea how long this defrosting in the fridge would take, so after a few looks at two or three hourly intervals, I decided to leave them overnight, and cook them the next day.
Fine. The next day they were perfect to be cut up, placed on the lightly greased tray, and 'brushed' with some milk. I didn't have a cooking brush, so used an old varnish paint brush, making sure the Doctor's number was still handy.
Finally, the instructions said to make several slits in the them to let out the steam, and then bake in the oven at around 200 degrees for 20-25 mins.
All this was fine, after which I was left with about 30 smallish sausage rolls and 2 burned fingers.
The instructions on the packet also said that once cooled they could be deep frozen, and re-heated at a later date. But nothing further.
Which has thrown me into a quandary. As they are Part meat, and part pastry, how do I do this ? Can I microwave them, or must a conventional oven be used ? Do they need to be de-frosted first, or re-heated from frozen ? And for how long should they be re-heated ? Unfortunately there were no phone numbers or 'Help-Line' details on the packaging, and the Internet, for once, failed to come to the rescue !
So here I am again, asking all you good people what to do ? But for the moment the sausage rolls are safe in the freezer, and I'm still eating last week's curry, so there's no panic. I think !
I'm sure loads of you would like to tell me what to do with my Sausage Rolls, so no anatomical answers please !!
Many Thanks.
And I have already had several wonderful tips from people on here, which have kept me going to bed happy, rather than having to phone the doctor. Although I do always keep his number handy !
So my major concerns are less about producing great dishes, and more about keeping alive.
I have found that most dishes I cook, and most recipes I find, are for 4 or 6 or eight, or even 10. So because I live alone now, [ which is partly why I've started to cook for myself] I invariably have huge quantities of uneaten food left over.
And I have to say that I am quite surprised that there isn't a section on here devoted to Storage and Freezing, and Re-heating etc, as the modern kitchen appliances, including fridges and freezers and Food Processors and Microwave Ovens all lent themselves to this type of bulk cooking for later dates.
Be that as it may, it is a more general point.
My current question concerns a pack of prepared but uncooked sausage rolls that I bought a few days ago. They were frozen and in four long strips, to be cut to size and baked when needed. However, the instructions said they should be removed from the freezer and put in the fridge until soft enough to cut to the desired sizes.
[It also said that once defrosted they should not be re-frozen until after cooking. I might not have bought them had I noticed that, but never mind!]
I had no idea how long this defrosting in the fridge would take, so after a few looks at two or three hourly intervals, I decided to leave them overnight, and cook them the next day.
Fine. The next day they were perfect to be cut up, placed on the lightly greased tray, and 'brushed' with some milk. I didn't have a cooking brush, so used an old varnish paint brush, making sure the Doctor's number was still handy.
Finally, the instructions said to make several slits in the them to let out the steam, and then bake in the oven at around 200 degrees for 20-25 mins.
All this was fine, after which I was left with about 30 smallish sausage rolls and 2 burned fingers.
The instructions on the packet also said that once cooled they could be deep frozen, and re-heated at a later date. But nothing further.
Which has thrown me into a quandary. As they are Part meat, and part pastry, how do I do this ? Can I microwave them, or must a conventional oven be used ? Do they need to be de-frosted first, or re-heated from frozen ? And for how long should they be re-heated ? Unfortunately there were no phone numbers or 'Help-Line' details on the packaging, and the Internet, for once, failed to come to the rescue !
So here I am again, asking all you good people what to do ? But for the moment the sausage rolls are safe in the freezer, and I'm still eating last week's curry, so there's no panic. I think !
I'm sure loads of you would like to tell me what to do with my Sausage Rolls, so no anatomical answers please !!
Many Thanks.