How Many Have Learned a New Cooking Skill?

[Bruce Wrenn]

During this "stay at home time," I've learned a couple: how to make Greek Yogurt, and how to make pizza crust using self rising flour and Greek Yogurt. Greek Yogurt, or any yogurt is so easy to make using crock pot. Hardest part is keeping up with the time. I've LOST a couple pounds during this stay at home time. Tomorrow morning will be making home made waffles for breakfast, and Red Beans and Rice for dinner. Knock out some Sweet Potato pies also tomorrow, which will be distributed to the widows, along with sausage biscuits on Sunday morning.

[Mike Henderson]

I cook but I haven't learned any new recipes. I've been so busy with other things that I really haven't had time to do much cooking.

Where do your live, Bruce? Red beans and rice - that's a Monday staple in New Orleans. I couldn't even guess how many times I've made that. I also like to make white beans and rice.

In New Orleans we use "pickled pork" but once I left I started using a ham hock. Slice most of the meat off and store it (freezer). Take remaining bone and meat and cook it - I like to pre cook it in a pressure cooker because it's faster. Strip remaining meat off bone and save the liquid for the beans. Use the meat, plus beans, onions, celery and bell pepper and cook over low heat for a relatively long time. Beans are cooked when you scoop some up in a spoon and blow on them and the shell splits.

I also make a good Jambalaya - which I make for guest. They prefer that to red beans and rice. If you weren't raised on beans and rice they often aren't your favorite meal.

Mike

[Bill Dufour]

I knew it before but adding some seasoned pepper(no salt) adds flavor either before or after cooking. Also a little cooking wine helps many meats.
Bill D

[Mike Henderson]

I knew it before but adding some seasoned pepper(no salt) adds flavor either before or after cooking. Also a little cooking wine helps many meats.
Bill D

Yes, some famous chef said that you should always cook with wine. And even put some in the pot now and then.

Mike

[Scott Winners]

New to me recipe, grilled romaine lettuce. It was in the cambro 90 minutes after a short cook, about two minutes on high heat and ten on the low side. I expected a disaster, but it was awesome.

Just slice them in half length wise, trim the roots, a bit of olive oil and black pepper, salt as they move from plate to grate. I'll try 30 minutes in the cambro next time.

[roger wiegand]

OK I'll bite, what is a cambro?

I've always done most of the cooking, and we only got restaurant or prepared food occasionally anyway, so not much change here. Been eating a lot more fish and veggies in an effort not to come out looking like blimps. Trying some new things in the wood fired pizza oven for the day or two after pizza while it's still hot. Roasted chicken seems to come out particularly well, did carnitas earlier this week. Have discovered that mashed rutabaga actually makes a decent substitute for mashed potatoes for a fraction of the carbs (unfortunately, like mashed potatoes the more butter you add the better they get).

[Ole Anderson]

Can't tell you how many times I have stirred up a batch of tuna salad for sandwiches or tuna melts...

[Jim Becker]

I've been the primary cook here at home for quite a few years now and am always learning new things, from media, books and just plain experience. My "Covid-19" challenge is that our younger daughter is home for evening meals more often now since her classes are all remote and she also has no "front of house" hours at the restaurant who employs her...only her "hack of house" accounting hours. So I have to balance "what" I serve because some things she doesn't eat (many meats, etc) as well as insure that it's something that will hold over for a couple of hours because her classes Tues/Wed/Thurs are during the normal dinner hour. I also need to stock extra fruits and other things to insure there are things she can eat during the day. Fortunately, she's gotten a little more flexible with the positive influence of her (excellent) boyfriend. I know that many folks would say "what's served is what you'll eat", but I'm not one to do that. Rather, it's made me think more about how I can be creative for meals that all four of us will enjoy and it's working out really well. I take my cooking seriously and want my "customers" to be happy.

For any of you that want to enjoyably learn some universal concepts around cooking, I'll recommend a book called Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat. It's an easy read, understandable by normal humans and gets to the heart of how to make food taste and look good. ISBN 978-1-4767-5383-6. I'll also suggest that when you're binging out in front of the television, check out shows like Food Network's "Chopped" and Fox's MasterChef...where "here's what you have to work with now make something tasty" is the norm. It will stimulate your mind around things like what can I use/substitute, etc. to make a meal with what I have.

[bill godber]

I've been baking bread. I have a goto buttermilk/oat white, that I make weekly but this week I tried a "rustic sour dough rye" The loaf has a wonderfully chewy crust but the caraway,fennel and anise seeds are overpowering, next time I'll leave them out.

[Mike Henderson]

A book I'd recommend to cooks is "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen-ebook/dp/B000PAAH1W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1DOYSZ2O9IS4C&dchild=1&keywords=on+food+and+cooking+harold+mcgee&qid=1587834154&sprefix=On+food+a%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-1)" by Harold Mcgee, ISBN-10=0-684-80001-2. It's been a staple for cooks for quite a while and it's been updated to include some of the new techniques of cooking.

Mike

[Bill Dufour]

Carnitas cooked in the slow cooker overnight with onions, and maybe celery. Some red wine and seasoned pepper to taste. In the morning I dump it all into a sheetpan with one end up on a 2x4 to drain the juices to one end. I do not want to have to clean a greasy colander. While it is draining I cut it up with scissors and pull it apart with forks etc. I put the solids into a frying pan and brown them for flavor. The liquid I pour into a tall cup(fast food) and cool in the fridge until the fat rises to the top and congeals(one hour or more) Skim the fat with a big spoon and add the juice back to the meat.
Bill D.
PS: Lawry's is the only seasoned pepper I know, by name, that is not salt with some pepper added. There should be a law that food should have the number one ingredient in the name. Lemmon pepper, cajun pepper, seasoned pepper, Italian seasoning, are all mostly salt with some small amount of other stuff. They look white or gray not black or yellow.

https://www.mccormick.com/lawrys/flavors/spice-blends/seasoned-pepper

[Jim Becker]

I've been baking bread. I have a goto buttermilk/oat white, that I make weekly but this week I tried a "rustic sour dough rye" The loaf has a wonderfully chewy crust but the caraway,fennel and anise seeds are overpowering, next time I'll leave them out.

If you don't have it, a friend of mine who is an amazing baker recommended this book as a great tome on bread making:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SGLZH6/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51gg46QoJXL.jpg

[Peter Kelly]

I've become an expert at poaching eggs. Probably not helping with my cholesterol though.

[Edwin Santos]

For any of you that want to enjoyably learn some universal concepts around cooking, I'll recommend a book called Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat.

Have you seen her Netflix show by the same name and hosted by the same author? I thought it was very good.
There are a lot of good food oriented shows on Netflix, many following in Anthony Bourdain's footsteps, combining travel with food.

[Gary Ragatz]

PS: Lawry's is the only seasoned pepper I know, by name, that is not salt with some pepper added. There should be a law that food should have the number one ingredient in the name. Lemmon pepper, cajun pepper, seasoned pepper, Italian seasoning, are all mostly salt with some small amount of other stuff. They look white or gray not black or yellow.

Bill,

I've had good luck with Mrs. Dash seasonings. Have used the Original Blend, Garlic & Herb, Lemon Pepper, and Extra Spicy - like them all. All salt-free. Around here, Kroger carries them, but I suspect you could find them on-line, too.

https://www.mrsdash.com/products?search=page:1

[Jim Becker]

We buy all of our spices, mixes and dried herbs from Penzey's (https://www.penzeys.com/). Super high quality.

[Bill Dufour]

My wife taught me to use pepper or powdered chili on popcorn, no salt or butter.

[Jim Becker]

My wife taught me to use pepper or powdered chili on popcorn, no salt or butter.

Although I use Kosher salt while cooking to properly season food...it's also important for controlling water retention or not in certain foods...I never put salt on something after the fact at the table and have not done so for decades. I order fries without salt/seasoning when eating out and put black pepper on them as an alternative, for example. So yes, using alternatives to salt sprinkling to make something sparkle is a very good thing in many cases!

[Peter Kelly]

After over-salting a soup I'd made recently, I'm beginning to think finer granules are probably better for seasoning certain things. If the salt I'm adding dissolves quicker, I have better gauge of where I'm at. Also, kosher salts all seem to weigh out a bit differently e.g.: Diamond Crystal is more flakey, Morton's is much more granular.

[Devon Prescott]

Samin is a delight to watch - I like her positive attitude. Attitude is not everything but an "I will get this done" mindset goes a long way with me in any sphere of endeavor.

I have been cooking a lot of old family recipes and adapting them for new technology where possible. I can feed 12 with a smoked ham hock and a pound of dry navy beans (no beating a slow cooker for this IMO). I updated a Prescott family staple "Beef and Noodles" for use in an Instant Pot (don't get confused by the title - there are only a few scraps of beef in this dish).
Next I will tackle "Hamburger Carrot Goulash" that was adapted in the 1970's from an earlier recipe involving sausage. Once I (if I) master the 1970's version I plan to take it backwards to recreate a more original dish (if possible).

I tried a pork shoulder roast last week (a disaster) and I'm going to try and healthy-up one of my comfort foot staples "Green Chili Enchilada Casserole" this Spring and get rid of the extra salt and chemicals that come from using canned soup.

I aspire to try sous vide but I don't have the gadgets for it and it seems irresponsible to be ordering stuff that some poor kid will have to deliver to me in this lock-down. Maybe when things get more normal again I will go to town and shop for such.

[Erik Loza]

My wife is a chef extraordinaire. Not so much learning a new skill but really into baking now. Recent sourdough and chocolate-chip pumpkin bread. Of course, I demand to be "Quality Control".

Erik431564

[Jim Becker]

After over-salting a soup I'd made recently, I'm beginning to think finer granules are probably better for seasoning certain things. If the salt I'm adding dissolves quicker, I have better gauge of where I'm at. Also, kosher salts all seem to weigh out a bit differently e.g.: Diamond Crystal is more flakey, Morton's is much more granular.
Samin, whom I referenced previously, would disagree. But it's also important to understand that different brands of kosher salt are "saltier" than other brands...you note it relative to the flakes, but it's also evident in how it affects how much you use. I couldn't get Morton for awhile for some reason and was using David which I could get. I had to adjust for sure. Now Costco has had the Morton and I'm back to that so I had to adjust back. LOL. The book I referenced covers this pretty good.

[Jim Becker]

Samin is a delight to watch - I like her positive attitude. Attitude is not everything but an "I will get this done" mindset goes a long way with me in any sphere of endeavor.

I agree with her attitude. She tells the story of how she got to where she is in the early part of the book I linked to and refers back to many lessons learned. Oh to be in her kitchen once in awhile!



I aspire to try sous vide but I don't have the gadgets for it and it seems irresponsible to be ordering stuff that some poor kid will have to deliver to me in this lock-down. Maybe when things get more normal again I will go to town and shop for such.

TOTALLY worth the small investment, Devon, even if it's just for meats. I've never been so able to consistently nail mid-rare after searing steaks and pork at medium after searing prior to getting setup for Sous Vide. I didn't even bother to use my grill in 2019 for whatever reason. Out of the bath and into a searing hot cast iron pan (edges first and then the faces) and then onto the plate. Unbelievably good. I pre-season before putting the meat in the vacuum bags, too, which lets that permeate the meat while it's in the bath.