Tips! The thread.

[socket]

Chinet bowls FTW.

[renfield]

looks delicious

yall will say it's corny but i like the whole cut the head of romaine in half and even char it a little approach on occasion

[Pissy]

You won't lettuce call that corny?

[Pissy]

Eggs.  The pack date is printed on the carton in terms of day of the year.  So today (11/17/2021) is 321.  Currently my eggs in the fridge have a date of 304 (Oct 31) printed on the carton.  The use by date is Dec 14 (348) so 44 days past the pack date.  If the pack date is in fact what they use as the baseline.  No idea how long after they're laid, they get packed.

[RAGER]

We go through a pit of eggs so I never pay attention to the dates. I always keep hard steamed eggs on hand. 12 min steam. 3-5 min ice bath. Ez peel.

[RAGER]

Hot tip!!

Always keep extra chicharrones in your freezer for beans.

[RAGER]

Use your leftover ferment brine for brining chicken



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[RAGER]

Late response but that is the coppa. Yes it's great. So very tender.

So after probably 20 years I'm considering a non stick pan. Fry pan. Like a 10". Looking at Made-In. Any others I should look at. 

[James1214]

I love my Tramontina 10" nonstick. It's a killer price, performs well. It's my go to for the crispiest skin on fish filets, pan frying cheese burgers with cheese skirts and fried eggs. I normally use cabon steel pans for 90% of my cooking, but when nonstick is called for It is an awesome pan. I can't speak to it's longevity, but I've put it thru it's paces for the last 2.5 years and it is as good as the day I bought it.

https://a.co/d/8h0BveM

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[RAGER]

Rad. I'll look into those.

Cast iron and De Buyer carbon steel for the last 20 years.

[James1214]

I like how thick the aluminum is, in my experience it does a fantastic job of evenly distributing the heat. And at half-ish the price (when I bought it, at least) of my similar Al-Clad, I like it much more, I think it cooks better. Also, the silicone sleeve on the handle is aces.

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[RAGER]

Ok. I just bought the 10". It's actually more for Kellie. I'll still use the other. She's too impatient to use the right amount of fat (omg calories!!!?) and regulation of heat/attention that's required to use cast iron. So yeah.....TMI.

[RAGER]

Don't forget to pull up your cilantro roots and freeze for later use.

[RAGER]

I cook beans every single week. Be it pintos, black, garbanzo, kidney whichever. Every week. Rarely open a can. If I do a big batch I use my Cuisinart small enamel Dutch oven like this one today.


If I do a small batch I just use a small stainless sauce pan but I get this chalky residue afterwards.

Ok here's the tip. After I pack the beans up I rinse the pan, add 1:1 ratio water to vinegar, bring to boil for a few minutes, let cool and rinse. Most will be gone. If not make a baking soda paste to quickly scrub and remove the rest of residue.


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[Pissy]

That stuff not come off with barkeepers friend or Bon Ami?

[RAGER]

Don't have any bon but probably have barkeepers around someplace but this is easy too.

[RAGER]

Those tiny little cans of tomato paste. How many have you left in the fridge to mold over after you've used a tablespoon of it? 

No longer!!  I do like I do with chipotle in adobo. I spoon out a dollop, freeze on sheet pan with parchment then into a small freezer bag. Single use portions.

[Pissy]

Tomato paste buttons.  Good idea. 

[RAGER]

Here's one I learned yesterday. Even if I think I know exactly what I'm doing or have made the dish often, I will watch a video or read a few recipes just to glean a different perspective or some other take.

I did this yesterday with macaroni salad. Not something I really make or enjoy all that much but it was requested. Sure I've had it and know the basics but I did what I always do. So I watched a few vids. And I noticed a recurring thing with most but not all recipes.

Overcook the macaroni and do not rinse. Pkg says 7 min cook time. I did 12.  Then just let it cool in the colander tossing once in a while until it's room temp and you can mix in your dressing without it breaking or curdling. You guys might already know this. I did not. The result is big fat elbows laden with starch that grabs the dressing and has a nice velvety texture. Can't believe I'm talking about Mac salad. Anyways, toss refrigerate overnight is best. Toss with a bit more mayo and vinegar right before serving.

I also think maybe overcooking the pasta might bring it to saturation so it might not dry out so much like these tend to.

[RAGER]

Cool conversion chart I came across.




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[mortlock]

that is mind blowing to some degree.

[RAGER]

It'd be much easier if we went metric though. When it's really important I go by grams. Kosher salt is far less dense than fine sea salt.

[Pissy]

I'm all aboot going metric, until i get to things like KW vs horsepower. 

[RAGER]

Here's a method for getting that perfect Mexican red rice. That perfect exploded texture.

Ive been watching this nice ladies videos for a while and the last several times I've made this I used her method.

Additionally after it's cooled I toss with a little salt and lime juice. This mixes all the tomato pulp throughout.

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[renfield]

Yep, that's the way. In a pinch I'll just use whatever jar of salsa I have on hand instead of making the puree.

Sometimes we do something like this if we're feeling particularly celebratory
https://www.cookwithus.com/blog/festive-mexican-rice/