What's cooking? part 4

Even with russets, just scrub them well and slice off the discolored/rough spots.

main reason for heating up the milk/cream is because yr potatoes are hot, and adding something cold to them would = lukewarm mash. hot liquid + hot potatoes = hot mash.

for posterity, here's the julia child recipe. DEFINITELY if you own a ricer, you gots to try it. SO. GOOD.
http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/specials/2012/11/Mashedpotatoesrecipe.pdf

can i add my protip here:

after you've cooked the potatoes, drain them then put them back in the pot and BACK ON THE HEAT on really low and stir for a few mins - you want to dry them out, bc the less water in there, the more cream/butter they'll absorb.

do you have a whisk? or an electric egg beater? whisking/whipping the potatoes after they're all mashed is the way to go.

oh god now I have to google SEV and possibly make it; oh wait I do not currently have a ricer in the house HELP DAD HELP

I need to interrupt the potato talk momentarily to say that I am having to cook a bit differently now bcz acid reflux blah blah and I made this really delicious pasta thing tonight that ok I *know* greek yogurt alfredo it sounds disgusting but NO LIE this was really goddamn good. Even Mr Veg was like 'wow what did you do this is awesome'

http://backtoherroots.com/2013/01/03/creamy-chicken-and-kale-alfredo/

I usually get very rmde at recipes that try to be a full fat dish and substitute a bunch of bullshit in its place, but this is one of very few that actually kinda succeeds somehow

xpost oh so THAT'S what you call that stuff! Sev!

VG I am interested in that there recipe! I am having a problemo, however, with greek yogurt in Mexico. Problemo uno is I can't find it. Problemo dos is I can't make it because the plain yogurt sin azugar (not to be confused with "natural" yogurt, which turns out to have sugar, don't ask me how I know this) that I can find (it is not very common) has xanthan gum and other stabilizers that make it impossible to strain (don't ask me how I know this). But, back in States soon, will try!

I wonder if you could take out the parmesan and just use queso or something in place of the yogurt. I mean it's kind of a cross between the two when you think about it, at least consistency/purpose

Getting the tangy thing seems U&K. Sour cream/crema, maybe.

yeah true, the tang is the big finish

I'm always using low-fat yoghurt or creme fraiche in pasta dishes (at least those that aren't primarily about the cream). I prefer it, and make up the fat content with a mountain of parmesan

well i am believer

made these barbecued seitan burgers yesterday:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/barbecued-seitan-burgers/

and they were quite awesome. subbed oyser for shiitake 'cuz that's what was on hand. never made a seitan dish from scratch before and it was simple but i learned a couple things to try and make it better next time (want the seitan to be more tender so am gonna simmer instead of steam next time, to name one). texture was still nice enough and every meateater i gave some to seemed to like it. and dammit, chipotles rule.
anyhow, it's a fine recipe if anybody's interested

Chipotles do, in fact, rule.

Today I am going to make my First Ever Lasagne. How did I make it 40 years without having made a lasagne? I do not know. But yesterday I made the bolognese; today I will make a bechamel, and then I shall have a go at assembly + baking. The instructions on the (dried) pasta sheets are in French and Spanish, but I think I have figured out that these things do not have to be pre-cooked? Does that sound right? That I would just jam them in there dry?

Not usually? There is such a thing as "no-boil noodles", maybe this is what you have? But I think the normal kind has to be boiled slightly first? I've only made 1 or 2 lasagnas in my life so someone else might know more.

i think in orbit is otm

I think I'm going to need La Lechera to help me with the directions en espanol :(

that julia childs mash recipe...

Place the hot purée in the saucepan and beat with the spatula and beat with the spatula

AND BEAT WITH THE SPATULA

...beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Beat in salt and pepper to taste.(*) If not used immediately, set aside uncovered. To reheat, cover and set over boiling water, beating frequently [...]

beat the hot garlic sauce vigorously into the hot potatoes. Beat in the cream by spoonfuls but do not thin out the purée too much. Beat in the parsley

BEAT THAT FUCKER OK

no boil noodles should be avoided if possible. texturally they suck. regular dried sheets really don't need boiling as long as they are submerged with "stuff" (the two sauces you mentioned) they will rehydrate perfectly in the time that it takes to bake and they ought to be perfect and al dente when the lasagne is done

xpost

I disagree

grew up on instant lasagne noodles and they're the only kind I use now! I find the ones you have to boil a giant pain in the butt imo.

i still stand by my statement that if there is plenty of liquid surrounding the noodles, trad sheets will cook perfectly in the time that it takes the dish to bake

Alas, I did not have any lasagne sheet choices, so I've got these Barilla (I know, I know, but this was before the scandal and again, no choice!) things that say "Sans Precuisson" and "Ohne Vorkochen" and then this sticker slapped on with instructions en espanol. I have instructions in every language except the one in which I am actually fluent.

How many layers do ya'll typically do?

sauce bottom of pan is important esp if not parboiling, btw. so after sauce i usu go - sheet - cheese mixture- sheet with sauce - veg. or whatever other ings you are using besides cheese (if any) - sheet with sauce - cheese - sheet with sauce - another layer of veg or whatever other ingredients - sheet topped with plenty of sauce. then carefully lay down your bechamel.

If anyone calls a sheet of lasagne a 'noodle' one more time I am going to blow ILX to hell

I've made a zillion lasagnes and never pre-cooked any pasta of any kind. Just whack em in dry, it's what you're meant to do.
I normally only do two layers, three or more must be gigantic. I do kind of dream of doing that one day.

OK, I'm feeling a bit more confident about this--thank you for the tips and tricks!

quincie, barilla is the brand I use at home for lasagna, so I'm p sure it's the non-boiling kind that you have there.

I just picked 5 pounds of apples and want to bake something that incorporates cheddar. Any tried-and-true recipes over here?

today work at home/cook at home day -- making granola and cochinita pibil

need to start making my own granola again. it's easy and SO MUCH BETTER/less sugary than any store bought for the most part.
just made scallop tacos - corn tortilla, seared scallop, mashed avocado with cilantro and habanero tabasco, and mirco cilantro....nice little work snack

that sounds delicious. i love scallops so much. i never put them in anything because i like to eat them alone so much and do it so infrequently. did you use sea scallops? they're like $10.99/lb here at the cheapest and have clearly just been defrosted from who knows where. i'd love to cook in a place with better seafood access so i could go totally bananas.

work had a anniversary dinner the other night. the scallops just got seared on one side that night. i baked them for a few minutes mostly just to take the chill off today. lots were leftover since they were just one of two entree options that night. these were literally flown in fresh for us from east coast, i'm not exaggerating(just took a look at the invoice - we had over 60# and paid ~$9.15/lb, btw). i saw these when i walked in today and hooked coworkers up with some of what i wanted to have (win/win)
can't figure out how to show you the pic of the dish.....

usu if i buy scallops for myself it's just a few to make scallop sushi rolls with....

Today I'm making caponata and am gearing up for two weeks of cook-everything-on-the-shelves-and-in-the-fridge frenzy before we hit the road and do not have much access to cooking for ourselves until, like, mid-January. This is both a great thing (travel! restaurants!) and a bad thing (restaurants! no way to make own food!).

I love scallops, only cook them as a special treat. I usually make them with spaghetti with lemon, cream, chilli flakes, cherry toms, some rocket and chives and that's basically it. Oh and some big prawns to bulk it out some more.

that pasta sounds yummo, and it's nice to see the scallop love - if i had to pick one seafood item to be available for me to eat..... (and yeah, it's always some kind of special treat)

Hey my lasagne turned out pretty well, and wasn't much of a PIA to assemble at all! Gonna make another one soon why because I have half a box of pasta sheets left.

fresh scallops, cheap-ish in season, are one reason i love new england.

tonight i made the chicken stew from the newest cook's illustrated. this stew is hilarious, it's just a bunch of umami hacks to prove that a chicken stew can stand up to a beef stew.

tell me more

cook bacon, remove
brown chicken wings, remove
cook onion, celery, garlic, anchovy paste, thyme in resulting fat
completely simmer off wine, stock, soy sauce
add butter, flour, more stock, potatoes, carrots, bacon, wings
cook in oven
add chicken thighs and cook more in oven
take out, discard wings, s & p, a little more wine, fresh parsley

i guess the interesting parts are the anchovy paste, soy sauce, and wings (which they say are full of collagen that cooks out into the stew). also during cooking they have you pull it out a few times to stir frond back in. i was surprised, it is very rich and meaty.

sounds yum!

that is SUCH an ATK recipe!

lol i know right?

I mean that show/mag/cookbooks are getting ripe for an onion piece at this point

basically they were doing One Weird Trick before it was even a thing

Yeah but guys, SCIENCE!!

If you have to add pork to chicken to make it taste as good as beef, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD just cook beef. Unless all you HAVE is bacon and some chicken thighs, which tbh is exactly what's in my freezer right now. But jeez.

i think i'd prefer chicken made with bacon used along the way.

Ya but chicken is like $3 and beef is like $9

I prefer not-beef bc beef upsets my stomach and I don't like it much. Beef beef beef. I love the word beef, though, as food, grudge, or verb.

ll in "beefing with beef" beef

'umami hacks' yay

today, this:
http://circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com/food-and-recipes/2010/7/1/avocado-fries.html