Cooking

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Re: Cooking

Postby LaoWai » Fri Sep 06, 2013 2:11 am

In American English "jam" and "jelly" are both kinds of preserved fruit spread, made using about the same process. Our jam has juice and bits of the actual fruit in question, while our jelly is strained and then made just from the fruit's juice.

As for the sandwich debate, I'd say turkey breast or pork loin might go well with said bread if the roasted pepppers don't.
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Re: Cooking

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Fri Sep 06, 2013 2:21 am

So jelly is jam without pips, basically?

And you're right. Pork would work really nicely, and I could work the apple thing in there if feeling adventurous.
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Re: Cooking

Postby LaoWai » Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:25 am

OrangeEyebrows wrote:So jelly is jam without pips, basically?

Basically, yes, or without undissolved solids, as in the case of cherry or apricot jams. Jellies are most often made with grape or apple juice. I don't think I've ever seen apple jam, now that I think of it, though we do have a thing called apple butter, which is really tasty.

In fancy science terms, jelly acts most like a solution (doesn't separate and can be seen through), whereas jam's more of a suspension (does eventually separate and can't be seen through). Hey, Mr. Oswald, if you're reading, check that out: I do remember some chemistry after all these years!
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Re: Cooking

Postby CarrieVS » Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:20 am

Seedless jam is the best. thing. ever. Although it's not so much the pips (which are just not very nice) as the chunks of pulped strawberry that you find in ordinary jam that I can't eat. They look like something scraped off the road beside a flattened squirrel.
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Re: Cooking

Postby LaChaise » Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:54 pm

You could also try Parma ham (is this how you call it in english?), that italian dried ham. It's quite salty, but not in the same way than regular ham. It goes pretty well with cheese. And if it overpowers the bread too much, maybe add a few shavings of parmiggiano. Just a few, you wouldn't want the bread to be overpowered yet again.
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Re: Cooking

Postby Sheepman » Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:55 pm

I'm gonna post just to say that pesto on rice sounds amazing. Especially a basil pesto. Mmm.

There's a place near us that does a "chicken scampi" that has a tomato-y sauce over rice, and it's amazing.

On the sandwich debate, to combine some options there, the coffeeshop I used to work at sold an odd sandwich that was cheddar cheese, turkey, thinly sliced green apples, and apple butter, on sour dough. I figure if you left the cheese out, that might make a good sandwich.

Alternatively, I'd go with a veggie sandwich, to include some combination of tomatoes, avocados, onions, and/or sprouts. And maybe some sort of herb and cream cheese spread?

On the topic of cooking, I feel like I can cook pretty much anything with a recipe. I don't often choose to cook, because I am SUPER lazy (Or efficient) and so I prefer to spend my time doing other things, but I fairly frequently cook Kraft dinners and ramen (mostly for Kate), and I've been known to cook egg scrambles, quesadillas, grilled cheeses... The really easy simple stuff. And I've got a great chicken salad recipe, and an even better one for potato soup that I can't easily make because I learned it while making 2 gallons at a time at a coffeeshop I worked at, and I don't have a dedicated double boiler.
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Re: Cooking

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Sun Sep 29, 2013 8:50 pm

Okay, gang (probably La Chaise), I'm making a beef stew / casserole later in the week - just your run of the mill job with shallots and baby carrots and Brussels sprouts and stock, thickened with cornflour. The problem is that I usually make casserole in the slow cooker and my slow cooker has shuffled off this mortal coil. I have a really nice Le Creuset casserole dish, but I have no idea what temperature I should cook stew at or for how long if I'm doing it in the oven. I'm just confusing myself by Googling, so some advice, please?

Also, have any Brits tried thickening stew with Bisto gravy granules? It seems like cheating, but thickening with cornflour can make it look pallid and unappetising, and it's really hard to get gravy browning these days.
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Re: Cooking

Postby LaChaise » Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:52 am

It depends on what you want to use: if you have an electric hot plate, use that at 3-4 (on a scale of 9), and check on it every twenty minutes to make sure it's not sticking to the dish. If it's a gas cooker, then use the lowest flame and check once every 15 minutes. If you use an oven, then I'd say 140-160°C, maybe even 180°C if the oven is old and not exactly efficient but no more.

Here are some recipes, you should also check the bourguignon recipe I posted ages ago, it's pretty much the same technique, only cooked longer.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1940689/beef-and-vegetable-casserole-
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3923/beef-and-vegetable-casserole
http://www.cookuk.co.uk/meat/beef/beef-casserole.htm

Hope that helped!
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Re: Cooking

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Tue Oct 01, 2013 11:35 am

You're a complete star. Thank you!
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Re: Cooking

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Thu Oct 03, 2013 7:41 pm

2 and a half hours at 150 turned out to be perfect. Oh my god, my house smells awesome. And if anyone wanted to know how thickening a casserole with Bisto gravy granules turns out, the answer is "om nom nom nom DO IT". We were going to have leftovers tomorrow but we can't because my husband is in the kitchen spooning it straight out of the casserole dish and into his face as we speak.
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Re: Cooking

Postby LaChaise » Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:39 am

I made these last night (btw, I strongly advise you this site, the recipes are amazing). I just replaced the cheddar with emmental, because why would I use cheddar when I'm in awesome cheese country?

It turned out pretty good.

IMG_20131005_232810.jpg
IMG_20131005_232810.jpg (376.71 KiB) Viewed 17906 times


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This looks so wrong, why does it feel so good?
IMG_20131005_232843.jpg (372.13 KiB) Viewed 17906 times


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Some like it hot... And burn their mouth.
IMG_20131005_232902.jpg (446.88 KiB) Viewed 17906 times
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Re: Cooking

Postby CarrieVS » Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:48 am

LaChaise wrote:why would I use cheddar when I'm in awesome cheese country?


Because using anything other than awesome cheese, especially when you're in awesome cheese country, would be ridiculous. I didn't know you were in England.

Wait...


DIE
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Re: Cooking

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Tue Oct 22, 2013 4:50 am

So these were pretty delicious. Coddled eggs made in bell peppers instead of a ramekin. I know coddled eggs are ridiculously old-fashioned, but I don't know why they fell out of favour, because NOM.

Cut your bell peppers in half and scoop out the seeds and that pith stuff. Put the halves on a baking tray or in a casserole dish. Sautee some spinach, diced white onion, mushrooms and, as always, a shitload of garlic. Mix in crumbled bacon (or cooking lardons in with the veg would work, as would diced ham). Spoon the mixture into the pepper halves, making a little indentation in the middle. Crack an egg into each pepper half, being careful not to break the yolk. You could add some cheese on top, although I didn't this time. Cook in a hot, preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the white is set and the yolk is gooey (test with a fork or skewer).

Really delicious. I used red bell peppers. I could see yellow ones working very well with a variation done with smoked fish. Maybe even a kedgeree sort of thing, frying onions in curry powder and using rice in the stuffing. It also seems like it would be a good way to use up leftovers.

These were so nice I'm making them for supper again tomorrow, and I'll try to take photos before the locust swarm that is my husband descends and devours them.

Oh, and for anyone with fussy spouses or kids, using vegetables as receptacles is definitely a fun way to sneak them into their diet.
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Re: Cooking

Postby Sheepman » Tue Oct 22, 2013 10:55 am

That sounds pretty good... But I don't like peppers. I may have to try that in the original ramekins.

I've wanted to try coddled eggs before, but that sounds like a really lengthy and messy process just to get some eggs. It's so much easier to just toss the eggs into a frying pan, or soft boil them real quick.
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Re: Cooking

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Tue Nov 05, 2013 12:56 am

I did this again tonight for my parents with smoked fish (yellow peppers, spinach, mushrooms and garlic, no bacon). Lovely. You could perhaps do them in portobello mushrooms? Top tip: Separate the yolks and whites. Pop the yolk into the cavity, then top up with as much white as there's space for. We had an unfortunate overflow incident this evening.
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