To fuck or to cook?

[SlaveNoMore]

Originally Posted by taxwonk

My mom can't cook to save her life, but here's my recipe:


5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatos, peeled and cut into roughly 1-inch cubes.

1/4 lb. butter

1/2 cup milk

kosher salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe is simplicity itself. Boil potatos until fork tender, drain. Add butter in one tbsp. peices and add milk. Mash with your preferred implement until the consistency is semi-smooth. Good mashed potatos need lumps. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste.

eta: RT, couldn't you have started with something a bit more complicated? I bet even Hank can make decent mashed potatos

As good as this is, scale back the butter a tad, avoid the milk entirely, and substitute 2/3-3/4 of a carton of sour cream instead.

Best mashed you'll ever have. I was a disbeliever until I tried it.

[SlaveNoMore]

Ok, I tried for the first time to make Aioli by hand - spare the jokes - and I couldn't get the friggin' yolk/oil to emulsify no matter what I tried.

Hand whisk and electric hand mixer. Both EPIC FAIL.

I'm clearly missing something, as this is remedial French 101 and embarrassing. Any tips?

- SlaveNo(Hellman's is "Best Foods" West of the Rockies)More

[J. Fred Muggs]

Originally Posted by SlaveNoMore

As good as this is, scale back the butter a tad, avoid the milk entirely, and substitute 2/3-3/4 of a carton of sour cream instead.

Best mashed you'll ever have. I was a disbeliever until I tried it.

Agreed, except I wasn't a disbeliever because I thought that I thought of it. I also add 2-3 cloves of roasted garlic.

[J. Fred Muggs]

Originally Posted by SlaveNoMore

Ok, I tried for the first time to make Aioli by hand - spare the jokes - and I couldn't get the friggin' yolk/oil to emulsify no matter what I tried.

Hand whisk and electric hand mixer. Both EPIC FAIL.

I'm clearly missing something, as this is remedial French 101 and embarrassing. Any tips?

- SlaveNo(Hellman's is "Best Foods" West of the Rockies)More

90% sure you added your oil too fast. start with yolk and salt, add acid, start adding oil by the drop until it starts to emulsify and then add a small stream

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally Posted by SlaveNoMore

Ok, I tried for the first time to make Aioli by hand - spare the jokes - and I couldn't get the friggin' yolk/oil to emulsify no matter what I tried.

Hand whisk and electric hand mixer. Both EPIC FAIL.

I'm clearly missing something, as this is remedial French 101 and embarrassing. Any tips?

- SlaveNo(Hellman's is "Best Foods" West of the Rockies)More

Never done it, but The CI/ATK folks make the mayonnaise in a food processor -- thin stream of oil down the feeder chute. Looks easy peasy sorta greasy, but what they end up with is emulsified boy howdy.

[Fugee]

Originally Posted by J. Fred Muggs

90% sure you added your oil too fast. start with yolk and salt, add acid, start adding oil by the drop until it starts to emulsify and then add a small stream

This is probably the right answer. My answer is to make it in a food processor. You get those eggs zipping around and with your hands free it is easy to add the oil slowly.

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally Posted by Fugee

This is probably the right answer. My answer is to make it in a food processor. You get those eggs zipping around and with your hands free it is easy to add the oil slowly.

What they all said, but I do mine in the blender.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by J. Fred Muggs

90% sure you added your oil too fast. start with yolk and salt, add acid, start adding oil by the drop until it starts to emulsify and then add a small stream

I usually do it in a food processor or blender, so I can concentrate on adding the oil independently of any stirring. Also, a lot of recipes ask for more oil than you'll probably need. Keep an eye on the texture, and stop pouring when it looks like what you want.

ETA: My favorite mayonnaise. I usually make it in the spring and summer when the artichokes are in season, but I'm making some in the next few weeks before my basil dies back.

2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons grainy dijon style mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Process egg yolks, Parmesan, basil, mustard and lemon juice in a food processor or blender for thirty seconds.

With the machine still running, slowly pour olive oil, then vegetable oil in a thin steady stream through the feed tube to make a thick mayonnaise.

Season to taste.

[robustpuppy]

For some reason, I save and freeze the giblets whenever I roast a chicken. Does anybody ever use them to make stock? I haven't ever done so before - I usually just start with the carcass and whatever not so fresh veggies I have about. Any reason not to do so? Do they add anything of value to the stock? I know people make gravy out of giblets but I never make gravy (I know my strengths).

Also, I have about a 1 1/2 lbs of pork butt that I had in the freezer for a couple of months and there were a lot of ice crystals in the bag (it wasn't double-wrapped). Most of the ice wasn't stuck to the meat and the surface of it doesn't look burned. I'm debating whether to make slow-cooker pulled pork with it. Usually I toss questionable meat because I don't want to bother cooking something that won't be good and because I am very easily turned off. But I am trying to avoid waste, this recipe involves no work, and I have the ingredients on hand. Obviously I can experiment to see whether it works, but I wanted to know whether anybody had any general rules for deciding when frozen meat isn't worth cooking - assuming that it is not older than dirt.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by robustpuppy

For some reason, I save and freeze the giblets whenever I roast a chicken. Does anybody ever use them to make stock? I haven't ever done so before - I usually just start with the carcass and whatever not so fresh veggies I have about. Any reason not to do so? Do they add anything of value to the stock?

I have, yes. I don't really know how much they have, but I have them and won't otherwise use them, and I figure the carcass is a little spare on its own. They seem to make the stock a bit richer.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by robustpuppy

For some reason, I save and freeze the giblets whenever I roast a chicken. Does anybody ever use them to make stock? I haven't ever done so before - I usually just start with the carcass and whatever not so fresh veggies I have about. Any reason not to do so? Do they add anything of value to the stock? I know people make gravy out of giblets but I never make gravy (I know my strengths).

I don't see any reason that they can't be used in stock.

I saw an episode of Good Eats last night where Alton Brown said he saves and freezes the chicken livers whenever he gets whole duck or chicken. He made a chicken liver mousse that looked really good. I don't know if you can pull the livers out from the rest of the giblets.

This is the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

[notcasesensitive]

We are in the market for a slow cooker. Does anyone care to put in two cents on this subject? Brands/shapes/sizes/important features etc.? We'll probably err on the side of smaller, since there's only two of us and we don't have people over for dinner often (ever?). TIA.

[Fugee]

Originally Posted by robustpuppy

For some reason, I save and freeze the giblets whenever I roast a chicken. Does anybody ever use them to make stock? I haven't ever done so before - I usually just start with the carcass and whatever not so fresh veggies I have about. Any reason not to do so? Do they add anything of value to the stock? I know people make gravy out of giblets but I never make gravy (I know my strengths).

Also, I have about a 1 1/2 lbs of pork butt that I had in the freezer for a couple of months and there were a lot of ice crystals in the bag (it wasn't double-wrapped). Most of the ice wasn't stuck to the meat and the surface of it doesn't look burned. I'm debating whether to make slow-cooker pulled pork with it. Usually I toss questionable meat because I don't want to bother cooking something that won't be good and because I am very easily turned off. But I am trying to avoid waste, this recipe involves no work, and I have the ingredients on hand. Obviously I can experiment to see whether it works, but I wanted to know whether anybody had any general rules for deciding when frozen meat isn't worth cooking - assuming that it is not older than dirt.

I usually buy an extra back and/or necks when I make turkey stock and toss the giblets in the bottom of the roaster nearer the end of the cooking time for some good browned bits on the bottom to add flavor to the gravy.

But there is no reason not to add them to your stock.

I'd go ahead and use the pork butt.

[Fugee]

Originally Posted by notcasesensitive

We are in the market for a slow cooker. Does anyone care to put in two cents on this subject? Brands/shapes/sizes/important features etc.? We'll probably err on the side of smaller, since there's only two of us and we don't have people over for dinner often (ever?). TIA.

I was looking for a smaller crock pot but the smaller ones I saw at Tarzhay weren't programmable and that's a feature I want in a new one.

I doubt they make any these days that don't have removable crocks but that is a pretty important feature just in case.

[robustpuppy]

Originally Posted by notcasesensitive

We are in the market for a slow cooker. Does anyone care to put in two cents on this subject? Brands/shapes/sizes/important features etc.? We'll probably err on the side of smaller, since there's only two of us and we don't have people over for dinner often (ever?). TIA.

America's Test Kitchen just rated them - they liked the All Clad Stainless Steel Slow Cooker with ceramic insert the best. $179. Second was the Kitchen Aid Stainless Steel. $129. Third was the Cuisinart, which I have. $99. I'm not in love with my Cuisinart because it is huge on the outside and boxy, which makes it a bit harder to store. But it works very well. They also liked the Hamilton Beach Programmable with Probe, which was $59, but noted that it didn't have handles on the insert, which made it difficult to remove, especially when hot. This alone would put it out of consideration for me. They did not recommend the Rival, the Hamilton Beach that costs $39, or the West End.

Think carefully before choosing a one with a very small capacity - you will want it to be big enough for a 4-5 lb. roast or chicken or pork butt. You can't fill it a slow cooker to the brim because it won't reach the right temperature quickly enough, which raises food safety concerns, especially if you are cooking meats or poultry in it. You can always freeze your leftovers - many of the foods you'll cook in it will probably freeze well and reheat easily in the microwave or on the stove.

ATC tests products from a cooking perspective as well as from a technical one - e.g., for ease of use, usefulness of features, safety, etc. I have found most of their ratings very useful. I think they are better than Consumer Reports for kitchen items.

As for features, you want programmable. You want handles on the crock. You want low, high, and keep warm settings. You want an on light. A probe is unnecessary - one of those features you think will be useful but that you'll probably never use.