What are the best ways to deal with fat when doing a braise or stew?
I know the trick about refrigerating and it separates, but is there anything before that? I'm having trouble getting good mouth feels on my stews and soups that i use fatty meats in.
Hello Everyone -
I am just wondering if anyone can recommend a food vacuum sealer that performs well and specifically can handle liquids (i.e., seals bags of chili, stews, stocks, as well as marinades). By the way, I will NOT be needing it for sous vide cooking.
P.S. - I can't afford a big bucks commercial one that restaurants use.
I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.
Hello everyone
This looks like a great site and everyone is very friendly, I'm not much of a cook but it's a nice skill to develop so I will probably do more reading than posting.
So thanks Jabob, looks like I'm the first in a while to post, David
Hi all.
I've been looking forward to picking up carbon and stainless pans to augment my ceramic coated frypans.
I was hoping for a general guide to help me with choices. For instance, what type of cooking methods or foods for which pan, might help me determine the best sizes. In past I have picked up 6, 10, and 12" on the heavy bottom Aluminum nonstick. But as I realize I'm not happy with these due to the methods I employ, I plan to pick up a carbon steel sauté pan for eggs, searing and roasting fish, and not sure what else.
Pasta foam... the foam that you get when you put pasta (any dried pasta) into hot water.
I’ve noticed that if the pot is uncovered (at least for the few minutes before boiling), I get no foam. But when I put the pasta in a tad early (or if I cover the water during the heating), I get lots of foam.
I’ve learned to put the pasta in to boiling water, but what about the science behind it? What is causing the water to foam?
So the other night, I concocted something that I'd been thinking about for a few days. When I set out to do it, I started losing focus of my execution. I wanted to see if there's anything anyone would have done differently. The end result was quite good, I just wasn't happy with my workflow more than anything.
The idea I had was a portobello mush, topped with sauteed spinach and crab, essentially a crab cake style mixture.
There are some dishes that I make fresh pasta noodles for yet I don't really know about the correct thicknesses. By thickness I mean the depth of the noodle. Are Fettuccine noodles thicker than Papparadelle? I read years ago that a filled pasta, like ravioli should be rolled out as thin as possible. I use an Atlas pasta maker and last night I noticed that I have never used the highest (thinnest) setting.
Since it's the time of the year for stocks, here's a simple option for assembling a bouquet garni, as shown in the pic below. Just slice a leek, add the aromatics and then just tie it up. In this garni I have thyme, carrot greens, bay leaves, parsley stems, a little tarragon and some peppercorns.
I'm exploring alternative methods for making stocks and sauces via Michel Roux's Sauces book. His latest version of this book provides more contemporary, delicate versions of the classic stocks and sauces. It is in his book that I discovered this garni method.
I see in the curriculum notes that you can sous vide egg yolk for 1 hour at 66c to make it malleable.
Has anyone got a quick recipe using it or any ideas as it sounds as if it could be used to great effect.
Hello Stella Culinary members! Just wanted to thank everyone for their patience and give you an update about what's going on.