Cooking Skills I Used Today

[caseydog]

Mise en place

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place

View attachment 31186

... a fancy-pants French term for prepping

I use mise en place on every cook. If nothing else, it is a HUGE stress reliever -- no, "oh $-it moments.

CD

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I use mise en place on every cook. If nothing else, it is a HUGE stress reliever -- no, "oh $-it moments.

CD

Agreed Casey!

I had no idea that all these years I'd been doing things
"correctly" in the kitchen, as a chef might do...
meh! I cook from experience,
right?!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I do mise en place when I need to put makeup on. That way I don't walk out without blusher and have people think I'm dead.


Chopped and tore and tossed for salad.

Stirred and stirred and stirred to make creamy grits, aka polenta. I use a bamboo turner with a curved edge. One side of the edge tucks perfectly into the curve of the bottom of my Staub Cocotte.

Sauteed veggies.

Put what I think was a perfect sear on the scallops. Thanks to hints from Cheryl and my Lodge 12" rimmed skillet.

Himself even used a skill. He popped the cork on the bubbly without losing nary a drop of Prosecco.

 

[dragnlaw]

AHH HAAA...so the first skill begins with following directions?

Believe it or not, that is one of the HARDEST skills to master. I didn't do it just the other day and was a bit flummoxed when I realized I'd combined two steps which did sort of change everything. Not necessarily for the worse but wasn't "quite" the same.

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.

Nice trick! Especially if cooking in front of people.

I use mise en place on every cook. If nothing else, it is a HUGE stress reliever -- no, "oh $-it moments.

CD

+2 on this one - also one skill I have a tendency to overlook - especially when in a hurry which is silly as it actually helps speed things up!

 

[GotGarlic]

Several years ago, I made a big pot of chili at a party, and accidentally used too much cumin. A friend of mine was there, and told me to add nutmeg to the chili.

I thought she was nuts, but it worked!

Anyone else had experience with using one spice to counteract another? That's a cooking skill.

CD

Sure, and not just spices. A pinch of cinnamon counters too much acidity in tomato sauce. A too sweet sauce can be adjusted with vinegar or citrus juice or hot sauce, depending on what you're going for. Often a "flat" flavor can be fixed with an acid.

It's fun figuring out how to improve a dish that's a little off [emoji2]

Sent from my VS986 using Discuss Cooking mobile app

 

[dragnlaw]

Several years ago, I made a big pot of chili at a party, and accidentally used too much cumin. A friend of mine was there, and told me to add nutmeg to the chili.

I thought she was nuts, but it worked!
CD

Adjusting seasonings to taste is a skill for sure. The problems happen when you say "whoops, that was a mistake" and you can't take it back.

Sure, and not just spices. A pinch of cinnamon counters too much acidity in tomato sauce. A too sweet sauce can be adjusted with vinegar or citrus juice or hot sauce, depending on what you're going for. Often a "flat" flavor can be fixed with an acid.

It's fun figuring out how to improve a dish that's a little off [emoji2]
[/URL]

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

 

[caseydog]

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

I know what you mean. I sometimes remember that somebody told me how to do something, but don't remember what they told me to do.

I made a béchamel today, and added grated cheddar for a basic mac and cheese.

CD

 

[buckytom]

Last night, I minced garlic, diced onions, sweated them in grapeseed oil, browned a little crumbled Italian sausage -then set aside, thinly sliced and sauteed b/s chicken breast, topped chicken with sausage, added pickled jalapenos, shredded some mozz, topped everything with the mozz, covered the saute until the mozz melted, plated the chicken, deglazed the pan with some of the jalapeno brine, finished the pan sauce with a little butter and drizzled the sauce over the chicken. Served it with reheated (nuked) leftover mashed potatoes.

Voila'! I made Chicken O'Bucky for dinner.

 

[Rocklobster]

I made a bottle of white wine disapear last night.

 

[Just Cooking]

I made a bottle of white wine disapear last night.

Interesting... I did the same with a bottle of Corona..
Ross

 

[dragnlaw]

I made a bottle of white wine disapear last night.

Interesting... I did the same with a bottle of Corona..
Ross

Very interesting - so the skills applied here are bottle opening. Using a cork remover or tightening fingers around a screw cap, twisting off or using a device such as a bottle opener to flip up and off a lid of a bottle.

Then using ones hands to decant the liquids into a vessel such as a wine glass or a beer tank. There is also a rather expedient way once the lid has been flipped off. This is by raising bottle by hand (using full arm and hand skills) and using perception and focus tilting the bottle against the mouth and emptying the contents there in.

Wow! that is some set of skills you guys have!

 

[Just Cooking]

Very interesting - so the skills applied here are bottle opening. Using a cork remover or tightening fingers around a screw cap, twisting off or using a device such as a bottle opener to flip up and off a lid of a bottle.

Then using ones hands to decant the liquids into a vessel such as a wine glass or a beer tank. There is also a rather expedient way once the lid has been flipped off. This is by raising bottle by hand (using full arm and hand skills) and using perception and focus tilting the bottle against the mouth and emptying the contents there in.

Wow! that is some set of skills you guys have!

Pulling myself into full Barney Fife height...



Yup missy, its all in the wrist...

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

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 do the same Andy.
This way I'm not using my entire draw full of spoons, right GG?

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I broke out my Mortar & Pestle yesterday:

... and made this.

My ring finger is still numb from grinding up 8 of the
10 ingredients in my Greek Seasoning Mix.
I must have tweaked the nerve.

 

[Rocklobster]

A couple of drinks were in the form of a spritzer. So, there’s getting ice cubes out of the tray, slicing limes. A mulit faceted endeavour from start to finish.

 

[Kayelle]

Aren't we all glad we have thumbs??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug_iluxQ1IQ

 

[Andy M.]

Aren't we all glad we have thumbs??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug_iluxQ1IQ

Love these beggin strips ads

 

[GotGarlic]

Today I cut roasted chicken into strips and toasted leftover homemade burger buns to make sandwiches. Later, I mashed blackberries from the farmers market and added a few other carefully measured ingredients to make spiced blackberry jam. Meanwhile, I heated jars in a large pot of water. Once the jam was ready, I removed the jars from the water (only splashed myself once ), funneled it into the jars and boiled them for 10 minutes. This is my third batch of jam this week.

 

[Cheryl J]

Mmmm, GG....loving those blackberry jam pics!
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I've been craving beef stew. So, this morning I cut up a chuck roast with my fave serrated knife, put the beef chunks into a ziplock of flour, s and p, onion and garlic powder, shook the heck out of it , let it set for a while, then browned them in a little oil in a Dutch oven, stirring with a slotted spoon. Peeled a few carrots and red potatoes, chopped them about the same size as the beef cubes, peeled and diced an onion into smaller pieces, and set the veggies aside.

Opened a couple of little tubs of Knorr's Beef Stock concentrate (love that stuff), mixed it with water and a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, tossed in a bay leaf, and poured it over the beef to simmer for an hour or so.

Added the veggies to simmer. Texture of the stewing juices was good and thickening from the flour, but not dark enough. Added a little Kitchen Bouquet to darken it up a little. Tasted and adjusted seasonings, put it in the fridge to get happier until tomorrow.

 

[caseydog]

The only skill of note for today was cutting a chiffonade of basil. If anyone doesn't know what that is, you roll several basil leaves up tightly, and slice it to make narrow strips of basil leaves.

CD