What's cooking? part 4

I made all this shrimp stock a few months ago, just from shrimp shells + onions, carrots, lemons, herbs, etc. It has a slightly bitter taste. I think I cooked it down way too long & now I have no idea how much to use, or what to use it for. What I am saying is I am afraid of this stock.

would it be a complete disaster/waste of my time to sub marg and egg replacer into this brownie recipe??

* Nonstick vegetable oil spray
* 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs, chilled
* 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
* 1 cup walnut pieces

Preparation

*
Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

You won't get the browning/foaming going on with margarine, or the browned butter flavor, but as long as you use stick margarine (not soft spread, which is full of water) you'll get acceptable fudgie brownie goodness.

oooh good to know!

on a related note: i was making old-fashioned chocolate afghans the other day, and thought i'd veganize them with marg... but i ran out so i though 'oh hey i'm sure shortening will work just fine'.

it really didn't.

does anyone except nzers know what an afghan is??

surely americans have experienced the wonders of a good afghan?!

i can't remember if i got this link from ilx and it's already posted here but this is interesting:

the importance of butter in cookies

haha i dont know - none of my australian or uk friends know what they are! i was surprised as well i thought it was just a standard thing

one of my favourite nz junkfoods used to be the cookie-time brand of afghan: super huge, filled with actual chunks of chocolate as well as cornflakes and dipped in milk chocolate.

cookie-time! amazing i was just thinking abt their choc chip ones just the other day for some reason

i think we visited their factory at some point

I have just now looked up the afghan, and can say nope I have never heard of this breed of cookie before. Chocolate and cornflakes? Hmmmm.

ummm so i made those brownies w/the subs, and for some reason the mixture won't ~bake~... it's past the recommended cooking time and it's still completely liquid!

The very British Mary Berry has been putting afghan recipes in her books for years... now I'm hungry!

hey ilc-ers i need some advice on buying a new frying pan:

i have this great non-stick pan that i love - it's big and really deep and has a glass lid - but the teflon is flaking off, and i've only had it a year or so. my MIL asked us what we would like as an anniversary present, and i'm thinking a really high-quality pan is the way to go. but i don't really know what i want. or how to season one.

advice?

i like my stainless steel a lot, it's kitchen aid and i got it at target for like $30 though. not fancy. it doesn't need seasoning or anything. i am thinking about getting a good nonstick though, for omelettes and stuff because my nonsticks are old and probably not good anymore and i want to replace 3 different sized crappy ones with one nice one.

I don't have any non-stick myself, b/c mine are all cast iron (Lodge) or stainless steel. But I got my daughter some Calphalon commercial hard anodized and she loves them. They don't need seasoning. Hand wash any non-stick pan for the longest life of the coating and don't use metal utensils in them for the same reason.

Here's an historic pan thread, covering all sorts: Sticky pans

I've got 2 calphalon non-stick pans from bed bath and beyond (where the set seems to be perpetually on some sort of sale, plus you can give them a dummy email for a 10% coupon) and they're pretty nice.

Everything else I have is stainless/aluminum or cast iron, and I went without non-stick for a long time but there certain things I absolutely love them for.

I just realize that at some point the coating will wear off no matter what so I never pay a lot for them.

I have a Calphalon commercial hard anodized dutch oven and just last night a friend was cooking me dinner and commented on how great it is.

I just realize that at some point the coating will wear off no matter what so I never pay a lot for them.

i got an ikea nonstick pan about a year ago with this in mind (not the super cheap-o set of 2, i sprang for one, slightly heavier pan) and it's held up surprisingly well. like $15?

i think it's this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00129456

I get at least five years out of a nonstick skillet before it starts looking anything less than brand new. /braggin'

i admit that i haven't been so good about not using metal utensils on my nonstick - i think it's the whisk i've been using in it a lot lately.

Yeah, whisks can be brutal. I got a silicone coated one finally.

i hate my silicone-coated whisk!

why??

I will admit to still using the standard wire one, b/c the silicone one is too sproingy and doesn't seem to the do the job as well. Silicone one gets used in the le creuset though, so I don't destroy it.

btw i want to toot my own horn for a second - i made cake batter yesterday by hand with a whisk because i do not own a stand mixer. that's a workout for your arm! anyway, i really like whisking things. i think it helps get out pent up aggression or something. too bad my cake turned out a little bit dry! (but it's ok bc the toffee sauce on top made up for it!)

yeah what jaq says - it seems like, weak/limp?

if i ever own any le creuset, i will use a silicone whisk, i promise.

i was at a fancy kitchen store yesterday and i was looking at pans - i thought about getting one of the heavy cast iron lodge pans but they don't have lids and they're really fucking heavy. i looked at the stainless steel ones, which i like a lot bc they're light, come with lids and look professional (lol @ me). but i'm wondering if i shouldn't just get another good non stick like i already have. i don't cook meat so that whole crust-forming thing that seasoned stainless steel is supposed to be good for doesn't apply to me. but then again deglazing is better in a non-nonstick pan... i just can't decide!

there are some things that just come out better in stainless than nonstick, though. like onions always caramelize a little better for me in stainless.

otm about onions/leeks
i have had the same stainless pan (my first!) since 1997 and i still use it almost every day. meanwhile, i've gone through at least 4 nonstick during that time. still, i like nonstick for eggs/french toast and cast iron/stainless for everything else.

this winter i cannot stop making this thing that is caramelized onions/leeks, fennel, and those flat green beans. it just tastes so flavorful and warm.

I've had non-stick last a three or four years with proper treatment but they all eventually die at some point.

My non-non-stick pans are all Lodge cast iron or All-Clad, some of which are pushing 15 years old now and are going to outlast me. Some things do work much nicer in them, like caramelizing onions and roasting potatoes and stuff. Cast iron is pretty cheap and so worth it to have one even if they are pain to move around.

so what is the difference btw cast iron and stainless steel? i.e. if i was buying one, which should i buy?

Cast iron is relatively cheap, very heavy, dark in color. Lodge is the major company that makes these. You have to season them by coating them with oil and heating them, and you have to clean them carefully to keep the seasoning intact (which makes them somewhat non-stick). They hold heat really well and are great for all kinds of things - fried eggs, searing steaks, roasting potatoes, cornbread, things like that. They are reactive though, meaning you have to be careful with acidic foods in them. Cooking tomatoes, for example, can kind of make the dish taste metallic. They also rust if you don't dry them immediately.

Stainless steel is non-reactive so you can cook anything in them, is bright shiny silver, super durable, and not as non-stick as cast iron. These are the kind that get browned bits of food in them when you cook that you need to deglaze. Stainless isn't a good conductor of heat though so all these pans have either a disc of aluminum or copper (good conductors) at the base, or are made by sandwiching a layer of aluminum between two layers of stainless - this is what All-Clad makes. They're expensive but are super durable and don't need the special treatment that cast iron requires.

I have both kinds and use them for different things. If you have one stainless pan and one non-stick pan you could get by without a cast iron one, but since cast iron pans are like $20 and last forever it's totally worth it to pick one up in my opinion.

If you have one stainless pan and one non-stick pan you could get by without a cast iron one

i got by without a cast iron for years but since i bought the cast iron, it's changed my life. highly recommended. however, if you're not cooking meats, it's probably less important.

agreed

i had a non-stick and a stainless, and only recently got a cast-iron and it was like whoah

I don't know what I'd do if I had to pick just one kind of cookware. I have nonstick, cast iron, enameled cast iron, and stainless -- they all get their at-bats, depending on the food.

do i need to season a stainless steel one? i think i'm just going to replace my non-stick and invest in a silicone whisk and maybe a few other non-metal utensils - i really do like my non-stick and i think the only reason it's fucked out the last couple of weeks is bc i've using my metal whisk in it so much. but i think i'll get a stainless steel as well.

No need to season stainless steel. The only precautions they need are things to keep the steel from pitting, which means 1) hand wash, don't put them in the dishwasher, and 2) in a stainless steel cookpot, if you're bringing water to a boil to cook pasta, don't add the salt until after the water starts to boil.

If you don't have a high-heat silicone spatula, that's a really U&K piece of gear that I usually use instead of a whisk. Safe on all surfaces.

I don't know what I'd do if I had to pick just one kind of cookware. I have nonstick, cast iron, enameled cast iron, and stainless -- they all get their at-bats, depending on the food.
super otm!!
in fact, this was one of my cooking goals of the last year -- to use cookware to maximize the deliciousness of things i was making, to perfect them. has been working out tbh.

Enameled cast iron is the only one of those four that I've never owned - what do you all like them for?

All of the heat-conducting awesomeness of cast iron plus easier care. You can run some water in it and let it soak overnight if you don't feel like washing it until tomorrow.

But as just1n3 mentioned, it is ridiculously heavy. My dutch oven + lid weighs 25 lbs. empty.

i have a little pot with a mini-skillet lid that's enameled cast iron but i really do not like it all that much :( it's not big enough to make anything awesome in and i generally have better luck w/ stainless small pots for sauces. have a matching baking dish, too. they are dansk, and were a gift.

i love enameled cast iron dutch oven and use it all the time but it has 0 nonstick properties

i would love a dutch oven. i think my problem is size.

yeah i never use the matching saucepan, it's too tiny to be useful for me