What's cooking? part 4

deep-frying is hard to master

I don't think I've done it at home more than once or twice. thermometer is key.

I think:
1) shrimp weren't all the way thawed
2) I got the fear when the oil was at 350 - got dark and scary looking
3) so I turned it down some
4) breading didn't stick to the shrimp
5) neglected to think about putting the fried shrimp on paper towels to drain

I will figure out some way to bake them or - something.

aw hot oil is key! what's the smoke point of coconut oil anyway?

I made tempura shrimp
once and I think I double coated it

i think it's p. low--would prob not be my first choice for deep frying

It's 350 F

I should have used the ghee I made yesterday instead - smoke point 485 F

hm I've only ever deep fried w high
smoke point oils like peanut - never really got too close to the smoke point either

Oh well, live and learn - kitchen's finally cleaned up except for the (completely dark brown and full of crispy bits) oil.

yeah high smoke point is better - i dunno what the technique would be for deep frying low-smoke-point oils.

re batter not sticking: meat should be dry, ie with paper towel or something. if it's moist the batter doesn't stick

also if it cooks too slowly the batter doesn't adhere nice & fast & create that shell, so the low temp might be the culprit

I used to deep fry occasionally, but cleanup (esp oil straining) is such a hassle. Never again until I get a Fry Daddy. But the best shrimp I ever made were fried -- I think fried shrimp are why panko was invented.

just decided I'm going to make a raspberry cream icebox pie for christmas. with an oreo crust.

because it's fking Christmas, that's why :D

so i've been puttering around for pureed soups and found a good tonight. roast about 4 sweet potatoes for an hour at 400 until they're soft. meanwhile, cook down an onion in some oil, add some chopped garlic, a thin-sliced red pepper, and sliced jalapenos to taste. scoop out the sweet potato flesh and throw in the pot with a quart of veg stock, and let it all cook together for 20 mins or so before pureeing. top with curried apple pieces and a spoonful of plain yogurt.

pls to share other rad pureed soups?

that sounds yum!

seconding yr request for recommendations - all my soups lately have been made from beans (totally not my plan)...which only sustains a couple of days of eating before they get relegated to the freezer

i am generally not a pureed soup fan (something about overly smooth textures makes me go yuck) BUT thai curried pumpkin soup is good imo. could be done with butternut squash or sweet potato & is easy with curry paste, coconut milk, and added other stuff like ginger, shallot, garlic, lemongrass. also peanut chili soup with any of those orange ingredients is good.

I made shakshuka again this morning as per the aforeposted Bon Apetit recipe and jeez louise this stuff gets better every time. I am trying to think of ways to perfect it; maybe using smoked paprika instead of Hungarian and/or adding a little cayenne? But really, everything else is in perfect proportions (except garlic which you always add more of no matter what, and sliced instead of chopped). The 1tsp of cumin really is the perfect amount and y'all know it is so easy to overdo that shit.

dude I made it for was pretty o.O abt it as well and ate a shit ton of it

Really though why the fuck would you preheat the oven and transfer the pan to the oven and bake the eggs that way instead of just putting the lid on the pan? Like what diff would an oven make?

browing on top?

browning

in 5-7 minutes though?

oh. weird!

more dry? lid on pan means steam and mushiness

hm maybe, I will try it next time and see if I notice a diff. But also it seems you might also be able to just cook it on the stove w/o a lid too maybe?

perhaps it's so that the eggs can cook kinda, idk, undisturbed?-- like radiant heat around the pan is more gentle, rather than from one direct source, so the eggs don't break their yolks or w/e

idk

That peanut soup came out great! I didn't have actual peanuts (just peanut butter) so I added chopped cashews instead.

recs for a good meat thermometer i can get from amazon?

i believe thermapen is the gold standard--angling to get one as a self-xmas gift soon

daaaaang 90$ is a little more than i want to spend - i really only want it to cook roast lamb for xmas! it might get used twice a year afterwards, since this is a vegan household for the most part.

hahaha ok yeah that might be overkill then.

I have one similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Component-Design-1751000-ProAccurate-Thermometer/dp/B00064BCPM/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1355273803&sr=8-28&keywords=cooking+thermometer

You don't need a specific one for meat, just one with a nice broad range. I use mine for everything - candy, cheese making, meat, hapless attempts at deep frying, and to check the temp in the fridge and freezers.

hm maybe, I will try it next time and see if I notice a diff. But also it seems you might also be able to just cook it on the stove w/o a lid too maybe?

fwiw this is how I made my improvised, glanced at a recipe & then ran with it shakshuka. Turned out delicious. Spooned a bit of sauce occasionally on top of the eggs to aid in cooking thoroughly.

recs for a good meat thermometer i can get from amazon?

Heh, don't know if I can convince him to give it up but my vegetarian friend has got one for Christmas two years in a row now from his *parents,* so weird.

Oh I could buy one, but it's more fun to ask for really boring presents that even the poorest member of my family could afford if they needed an idea. I also routinely ask for warm socks.

Pro-tip from someone who has been through MANY: go for the Taylor 1470N with a couple of replacement probes, because they do go bad. But these things do it all, esp. grill/roast/smoke

Clarification: the probes go bad after heavy use, but they don't cost much and the basic unit just needs new batteries every 5 years or whatevs.

Chickpea and shrimp curry with orange pepper and spinach wilted under it. Ohhh yes.

I will rep for thermapen - we've had ours for years, it's great

but Mr Veg does a lot bbqing so it kinda pays for itself now

http://www.amazon.com/CDN-DTQ450X-ProAccurate-Quick-Read-Thermometer/dp/B0021AEAG2/

^^I just did mad research on large-range instant thermometers the other day and this seems to be the unanimous "best thermomemter"

ha that's the one i already decided to buy! i checked out the one quincie recommended, but almost half of the 300 or so reviews were 1-star.

Yellow curry with chicken and leeks. Smells really good!

got this recipe for cauliflower poppers (likely copied it from vegan with a vengeance) - cauli, dijon, garlic, nutritional yeast, tarragon, splash lemon juice, tossed w/ oil and roasted - i am down!

Ha! I think I posted that recipe ages ago

They are really good btw

i only know a couple dishes that call for nutritional yeast but i really like all that it brings - flavorwise and nutritionally speaking. haven't seen it for 20 years but i remember using smoked nutritional yeast to replace bacon in a spinach salad dressing at one of my (too many to remember) past cooking jobs

made curry soup by sauteeing ginger, garlic, and red onion in coconut oil then pouring in chicken broth, coconut milk, water, and a few tablespoons of red curry paste and cooking some chicken in it, then adding chopped cabbage when the chicken was cooked. and cut up the chicken and put it back in. plus lime juice and cilantro at the end.

So curries...they're all just onions, garlic, ginger, curry, coconut milk, protein...right? I mean it seems like I make basically the same curry every time with minor adjustments.

I know you can get into the roasting and grinding of individual spices, I'm almost definitely never going to reach that level of seriousness but I'm aware it exists. But other than that?