Culinary Discussion, We could call it our House of Earthly Delights... Options

[Thomas Kaira]

I recently had considerable success with an oven-roasted chicken recipe of my own design:

Young Chicken, whole - 5lbs
Carrots, Med. Dice - 1/2lb
Celery, Med. Dice - 1/2lb
Onion, Med. Dice - 1lb
Elephant Garlic, Sm. Dice - 1 Clove
Rosemary - TT (one sprig should be enough)
Caraway Seed - 1Tbsp

- Preheat oven to 350*F

1. Bed vegetables on bottom of basting pan, add half of your garlic, rosemary, and caraway

2. Place chicken breast side up on vegetables, drizzle remaining flavorings on top, and stuff some inside the cavity.

3. Place in oven for approx. 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temp reaches roughly 170*F at the inner thigh (I actually went all the way to 180* without ruining the meat, so you have some legroom).

4. Let chicken rest for approx. 15 minutes before carving.

Prepare a nice gravy from pan drippings (add a little acid to enrich the flavor, lemon juice works great), add a starch and a veg (mashed taters and sauteed green beans w/ red bell worked wonders for me) and you're set.

The idea is that the steam from the vegetables cooking with the chicken keeps the meat from drying out, while at the same time allowing for that skin to really crisp up and get nicely caramelized. It actually turned out good enough that I'd consider putting it on a menu at a restaurant, with a little tableside service where the waiter brings the bird out whole and carves it up for you.



This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Apr 20 2011, 11:33 PM

[Lady Syl]

TK: That sounds delicious! I will definitely have to try it!
And you say it was your own design? You sound like something of a culinary master! (I'd probably be considered an apprentice. Journeyman, if you wanna be generous. )

This post has been edited by Lady Syl: Apr 21 2011, 12:49 AM

[mALX]

The late Mrs Acadian always cooked her turkeys upside down so all the dark greasy moist parts basted down into the dry white bits. It doesn't make for a pretty table presentation, but my goodness, it certainly is moist and tender!

(The current Mrs Acadian won't touch a turkey because it looks too much like a bird. Lol)

lol. I'll admit, I'm not fond of cooking a whole bird, and my husband will do that one for me!

I like the tip about cooking the bird upside down for moisture--that sounds excellent. I will try to remember that the next time we cook a full bird in our house. Sounds tasty! (And who cares about presentation, right? As long as the food's good! )

Better way to keep moisture in your bird:

** Pats of real butter slid under the skin, then stuff under the skin and in the body cavity. If you aren't stuffing the bird at all and want it moist:

Slide bits of real butter under the skin. Sprinkle the body cavity with Parsley and place one whole peeled onion in the body cavity. (you can use one whole grapefruit or lemon cut up as well for a more tart meat) Season the skin of the breast as usual.

Bake on a rack over a pan that has 3/4" to 1" of liquid in it. That liquid can be water, but any flavoring you add to it will smoke the meat: Beer, seasoned broth, etc.

I use 3/4 part beer and 1/4 part seasoned broth.

Make a seperate baste for the bird to baste it the last hour of cooking. (parsley butter, etc.)


** Another thing I like to do - if you have a syringe for cooking only: Buy a flavorful wine, fill the syringe with it. Inject the chicken meat before cooking, and in the last hour inject it periodically with the wine. You can also use it to baste if you heat the wine with butter and seasonings.




** Another chicken tip to keep a parted chicken moist:

The night before cooking the chicken, soak the pieces overnight (IN THE REFRIDGERATOR!) in a large ziplock bag, flipping it periodically (If you have a marinating pan from tupperware or something it works just as good) and using the below marinade:

1. French salad dressing OR
2. Italian Salad dressing OR
3. Terriyaki seasoning in beer OR
4. Worstershire sauce in beer OR
5. Beer seasoned with your fave seasonings

The next day cook as you want: grill; or dredge in egg/milk/flour and deep fry, etc.


This post has been edited by mALX: Apr 22 2011, 09:24 PM

[Lady Syl]

Better way to keep moisture in your bird:

1. Pats of real butter slid under the skin, then stuff under the skin and in the body cavity. If you aren't stuffing the bird at all and want it moist:

Slide bits of real butter under the skin. Sprinkle the body cavity with Parsley and place one whole peeled onion in the body cavity. (you can use one whole grapefruit or lemon cut up as well for a more tart meat) Season the skin of the breast as usual.

Bake on a rack over a pan that has 3/4" to 1" of liquid in it. That liquid can be water, but any flavoring you add to it will smoke the meat: Beer, seasoned broth, etc.

I use 3/4 part beer and 1/4 part seasoned broth.

Make a seperate baste for the bird to baste it the last hour of cooking. (parsley butter, etc.)


** Another thing I like to do - if you have a syringe for cooking only: Buy a flavorful wine, fill the syringe with it. Inject the chicken meat before cooking, and in the last hour inject it periodically with the wine. You can also use it to baste if you heat the wine with butter and seasonings.

** Another chicken tip to keep a parted chicken moist:

The night before cooking the chicken, soak the pieces overnight (IN THE REFRIDGERATOR!) in a large ziplock bag, flipping it periodically (If you have a marinating pan from tupperware or something it works just as good) and using the below marinade:

1. French salad dressing OR
2. Italian Salad dressing OR
3. Terriyaki seasoning in beer OR
4. Worstershire sauce in beer OR
5. Beer seasoned with your fave seasonings

Mmm, this sounds very tasty, too! Omg, now I want a roasted chicken!!! *mouth watering*

[Acadian]

The reason she liked to cook the turkey upside down was not only to add moisture to the white meat, but to render the dark meat less greasy. Super efficient, but a matter of taste, I'm sure.

[Lady Syl]

The reason she liked to cook the turkey upside down was not only to add moisture to the white meat, but to render the dark meat less greasy. Super efficient, but a matter of taste, I'm sure.

Ah, that is also appealing. I'm not fond of the dark meat because of the greasiness. I am really hungry for roasted poultry now...lol

[mALX]

Pork roast tip:

Always add whole carrots and celery, halved potatoes, and quartered onions to the bottom of the pan - each rubbed liberally with real butter first. The vegetables will need turning occasionally, (I use canning tongs) but they will absorb the flavor of the roast and brown beautifully. It is a one-pan AWESOME meal.

[Lady Syl]

Pork roast tip:

Always add whole carrots and celery, halved potatoes, and quartered onions to the bottom of the pan - each rubbed liberally with real butter first. The vegetables will need turning occasionally, (I use canning tongs) but they will absorb the flavor of the roast and brown beautifully. It is a one-pan AWESOME meal.

I always use real butter in my cooking. I grew up eating margarine, but I won't even touch the stuff now! Butter and olive oil. Yum!

Your tip sounds tasty and simple--which is what I need most with a three year old and a baby!

[mALX]

Pork roast tip:

Always add whole carrots and celery, halved potatoes, and quartered onions to the bottom of the pan - each rubbed liberally with real butter first. The vegetables will need turning occasionally, (I use canning tongs) but they will absorb the flavor of the roast and brown beautifully. It is a one-pan AWESOME meal.

I always use real butter in my cooking. I grew up eating margarine, but I won't even touch the stuff now! Butter and olive oil. Yum!

Your tip sounds tasty and simple--which is what I need most with a three year old and a baby!

This is very simple, EXTREMEly delicious. One pan to wash, and other than peeling the potatoes and scraping the top layer off the carrots (add in one hand washing after you have buttered them all) - it is an awesome meal for a working mom/wife to be able to slap into the oven when she gets home, go take a shower and relax.

Hint for anyone with children - Put the onions, carrots, and celery in one serving bowl, the meat and potatoes in seperate bowls from those veggies. The children are not going to eat the onions and celery. A lot won't eat the cooked carrot either, but if they do, seperate bowl for it too.

None of my children would eat a potato if it had a single orange spot on it from the cooked carrots, lol.



** I had the same thing, growing up I didn't know real butter existed. The first really nice restaurant I had Real Butter and an actual Homemade Bread changed my life about eating and cooking. It was an ambrosia in my mouth.

*** Oh, and for all mothers of young babies - whatever you are having for dinner, put it (seperately, of course) into the blender and run through a strainer - make your own baby food and serve your baby what you are having for dinner. It is much healthier for the baby than the store-bought jars. Just go light on the spices before pulling off the part you are going to turn to mush for the baby.

Any extra that never made it to their plate can get put in a labeled tupperware and refrigerated for other meals or sending with them to the day care facility or carrying in the diaper bag for short day trips. (and yes, it can be frozen - a few days to a week at most.

This post has been edited by mALX: Apr 24 2011, 02:26 PM

[Thomas Kaira]

Today is Mothers Day, and I (well, she actually asked me to) decided to celebrate by cooking dinner for her. This was the meal plan:

Protein: Chicken Breast

Sauce: Orange, Fennel, and Rosemary pan sauce.

Starch: Rice Pilaf (made with stock)

Veg: Pan-fried Eggplant w/ Bleu Cheese and Red Bell Pepper stuffing.

I just love that I am able to do such things for my mother. We're certainly breaking tradition with a stay-at-home dinner (Mothers Day is the absolute busiest day on the restaurant calender, I kid you not), but you know what? This was one of the greatest dishes I've ever put together. It has all of her favorite ingredients, and I turned them into something I can be truly proud of.

Happy Mothers Day, all!

[haute ecole rider]

When I asked my mom what she wanted for Mother's Day, she asked me to cook her dinner. I cook dinner every day, so I asked her if she had anything other than the usual Sunday pasta and tomato sauce (my own made-from-scratch recipe).

Nope. She wanted shrimp on the barbie. Sooooo.

I marinated them in some olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, salt and black pepper for about 20 minutes then skewered them on bamboo skewers and grilled them, three minutes to a side. I also grilled a vine-ripened tomato (cut into fat wedges, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano) and steamed some fresh whole green beans and dressed them with the same lemon vinaigrette (made separately) as the marinade. Yum! Mom loved it!

This was done on the wing, not from a recipe. I seldom cook from recipes anymore. Sometimes it doesn't work, but more often than not it turns out well.

[Ahrenil]

Both of those recipes sound delicious! And they've got me to thinking about changing up my usual weekly meals. Especially next year when I have my own place where people won't steal my things. Firstly though i'd like to ask those more experienced cooks among us, now that i'll have a proper kitchen to work in is there any "Must Have" cooking equipment I should look to getting?

What I have at the moment:
3 Saucepans of increasing size
1 Frying Pan+Wooden Stirrer
Knives: 1 Large, 1 Small, 1 Serated/All Rounder
Roasting Tray
Cheese Grater
Spatula
Chopping Board

I think thats it, or atleast that's what I use often enough to remember.

Also...Does anyone have a good ommelette recipe? I only recently discovered I can actually eat eggs and no one in family does, so I have no oppurtunites to learn.

[mALX]

Both of those recipes sound delicious! And they've got me to thinking about changing up my usual weekly meals. Especially next year when I have my own place where people won't steal my things. Firstly though i'd like to ask those more experienced cooks among us, now that i'll have a proper kitchen to work in is there any "Must Have" cooking equipment I should look to getting?

What I have at the moment:
3 Saucepans of increasing size
1 Frying Pan+Wooden Stirrer
Knives: 1 Large, 1 Small, 1 Serated/All Rounder
Roasting Tray
Cheese Grater
Spatula
Chopping Board

I think thats it, or atleast that's what I use often enough to remember.

Also...Does anyone have a good ommelette recipe? I only recently discovered I can actually eat eggs and no one in family does, so I have no oppurtunites to learn.

Needed:

Colandar/strainer - absolutely needed at all times

1 set of metal tongs for turning ( - I am still using a pair that came in a baby bottle sterilizer kit someone gave me at a baby shower for my first child - they never wear out!) (turning potatoes/carrots/etc. in a roast; turning meatballs or sausages in a frying pan; turning stuff in a toaster oven etc)

A baster is a good idea, but you can use a ladle if you don't have a baster.



Optional:

Extra spatulas, both metal and the hard plastic alloys - and extra spoons (wooden or hard plastic alloy).

1 good hand mixer for mashing potatoes/squash/yams/pumpkin/etc.

1 blender for sauces.

Whisks. You can use a good long fork, but it doesn't do as good a job.

A wok - even if you don't make chinese food with it, they are really a good thing to use for a quick meal.

It is always good to have two paring knives for cutting fruits and vegetables - one will work, but on some meals you will have to wash it in the middle of prepping a meal to keep from cross-contamination, which may set off your timing slightly.

Another frying pan of less than 10" is always needed for something.

I keep a breadmaker for special occasion dinners, but if you live in the south a good biscuit recipe is just as good.

A Dutch Oven is a godsend if you are making dumplings on your stews or soups. If it is cast iron you can even make them over an open campfire.

I like to keep one syringe just for cooking (to inject flavorful broth, seasoned butter, wine, etc. directly into the meat)

I like to keep two cooking thermometers (one for meat - make sure the center of roasts/turkey/etc. has reached the proper temp before removing from oven) and one for liquids - this one may be called a candy thermometer).

You can make-shift your own double-boiler or steamer if you really get into cooking.


*

An omelet is kind of a free-for-all of your favorite tastes. My favorite omelet has minced onion & green peppers, sliced mushrooms, and grated chedder over the top after it is folded.

My husband likes the same thing, but wants diced ham added to his.

You can give it a Mexican flavor by using just onions and cheese and spooning Salsa over the top after it is folded.

You can make it Italian by dicing (pre-cooked) meatballs or Italian sausage with a touch of marinara and lightly grating fresh Italian cheeses inside, then a sprinkling more of the fresh grated cheeses on top.

My children's favorite omelet: Hashed browned potatoes, whip up the omelet and pour over the top after they are fully cooked. Sprinkle hot sauce (Texas Pete or Louisiana). After folded grate fresh cheddar cheese over the top.

Omelets are wonderful places to experiment with flavors.



*

This post has been edited by mALX: May 9 2011, 05:23 PM

[Lady Syl]

An omelet is kind of a free-for-all of your favorite tastes. My favorite omelet has minced onion & green peppers, sliced mushrooms, and grated chedder over the top after it is folded.

My husband likes the same thing, but wants diced ham added to his.

You can give it a Mexican flavor by using just onions and cheese and spooning Salsa over the top after it is folded.

You can make it Italian by dicing (pre-cooked) meatballs or Italian sausage with a touch of marinara and lightly grating fresh Italian cheeses inside, then a sprinkling more of the fresh grated cheeses on top.

My children's favorite omelet: Hashed browned potatoes, whip up the omelet and pour over the top after they are fully cooked. Sprinkle hot sauce (Texas Pete or Louisiana). After folded grate fresh cheddar cheese over the top.

Omelets are wonderful places to experiment with flavors.

I loooove omelets! (My husband cooks them better than I do most of the time, though...) All of those sound excellent. My favorite is much like your husbands, with the Mexican flavor addition. I love Mexican style food, especially if it's spicy!

And speaking of Louisiana hot sauce (I used to take small swigs of it straight from the bottle. I know, weird...), I have a specific favorite way of using it that I'd like to share, and which I strongly recommend to anyone who likes spicy food even a little bit. I like to put hot sauce and sour cream in my mashed potatoes. It makes them a weird pinkish/orange color, but it tastes incredible! I almost won't eat my mashed potatoes any other way. Seriously, unless you don't like hot food, you must try it at least once! and tell me what you thought of it!

[mALX]

For anyone who doesn't know, the Louisiana Hot Sauce is like 10 times hotter than the Texas Pete. You must have cast iron innerds, Syl !!

Your potato recipe sounds great, I will try it out on my son who loves spicy foods, lol.

[Ahrenil]

Well my shopping list just grew a good bit, thanks for the advice mAlx, i'll see what money I have left over and get those essentials, I also seem to need to get some of this hot sauce as well by the sounds of it, seems like it'll be my new Lee and Perrins.

[Thomas Kaira]

Advice on knives:

Never buy those cheapo knives you get at the grocery store. They will never maintain their edge and are often of the "never needs sharpening" serrated variety. Those knives are simply terrible, absolute rubbish. There is no such thing as a knife that never needs sharpening, in fact, those knives are lying to you. In fact, because they are all serrated, you never CAN sharpen them. Once the teeth begin to get dented (and they will, fast, if the knife is cheap) that knife is done for.

What I do when knife shopping is go to a nice specialty cooking store or restaurant supply outlet and look at the knives they have there. These are the kind of knives you want to own: simple, honest, and easy to maintain. Go for forged knives whenever you can over stamped knives (you can tell them apart by the forged knives having an actual pommel), because forged knives tend to be crafted from a harder steel. There are four basic knives you will want if you wish to cover all your bases:

- Chef Knife: The signature kitchen knife, with a very large blade. The choice is yours whether you prefer an 8-inch or 10-inch.

- Paring Knife: Essentially looks like a shrunken chef's knife. This is used when you need precision, and come with 3+1/2 inch and 4 inch blades.

- Boning knife: An elongated, slender knife that is usually flexible (though not as flexible as a filet knife). They come in 6 and 8 inch varieties.

- Serrated knife: Not the "never needs sharpening" dreck, though, you want a serrated knife that was designed to be thay way in the first place. Try and buy an offset knife if you can, as can make things a bit more comfortable when cutting bread.

My knives are Dexter-Russel Connoisseur brand, and are made from a wickedly hard steel. This makes it rather hard to sharpen them, but they will hold their edge for a very long time because of that. Excellent knives for the professional kitchen, if I may say so.

The most popular store brands that are reputable are Wusthof and J.A. Henckel's.

[Lady Syl]

For anyone who doesn't know, the Louisiana Hot Sauce is like 10 times hotter than the Texas Pete. You must have cast iron innerds, Syl !!

Your potato recipe sounds great, I will try it out on my son who loves spicy foods, lol.

I have been eating spicy foods for as long as I can remember, bc my dad was always eating it, since he used to live in New Mexico for a time, before he met my mom...and then I came to be, and...so yeah. I love hot food! However, I cannot handle haberneros. I had a slice of one once--ooh, tasted good, but never again will I eat one like that! It really burns and for a long time!! You just have to let it wear off on its own, too...

My husband knows that if something is too spicy for me, then it's too spicy for him!

[Thomas Kaira]

However, I cannot handle haberneros.

Nyah, nyah nyah nyah nyah!

I am a resident New Mexican, and I love habaneros! They make for especially good guacamole.

[Lady Syl]

However, I cannot handle haberneros.

Nyah, nyah nyah nyah nyah!

I am a resident New Mexican, and I love habaneros! They make for especially good guacamole.

Well, I can take them in things, as long as they are not overpowering. But alone? Not gonna happen. I like snacking on jalapenos, though.

And for the record, guacamole is awesome!

This post has been edited by Lady Syl: May 9 2011, 11:35 PM