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Friday Five: Cooking
Jan. 26th, 2024 10:00 amQuestions from ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thefridayfive
1. Do you cook regularly or does someone else cook for you?
We eat out or order delivery or get carryout A Lot. But when cooking at home does happen, it's usually me.
My family have minimally-intersecting food requirements. It's easier to get several different meals from a restaurant than to make multiple at home. So when anyone cooks at home, it's either one of the few things we can all eat and enjoy, or someone still has to fend for themselves with delivery or quick food like a sandwich.
But I made jambalaya yesterday for three of the four of us (Christopher doesn't eat that but he was out for the evening anyway) and it was delicious. There's a lot of leftovers so we'll be eating it for a while. I'll freeze some of it for a quick meal in a few weeks.
Why is the cook usually me? Well, my family also have various disabilities and chronic pain issues that make standing at a stove difficult.
Tammie did make us a lovely batch of French toast on Sunday.
2. Which are you better at making: sweet or savory foods?
Either. Both. I am more likely to be making savory things unless it's a special occasion though.
3. If you had to work as a chef in a restaurant of your choice, which restaurant would best complement your current culinary skills?
Somewhere I didn't have to make the same thing every day, so a changing menu. I get bored of cooking the same things all the time.
My biggest struggle when cooking is getting all the food hot and ready at the same time, partly because of my kitchen constraints (eg, I can't run the airfryer and the microwave at the same time or I'll blow a fuse) and partly because I mis-estimate how long something will take. Not a good quality for a restaurant chef.
4. What is a cooking tip that you know, but other people generally aren’t aware of?
- Something I used last night: to cook rice on the stovetop, start it before everything else in the meal. Add 2 parts liquid to 1 part rice by volume, adding flavorings (if any) to a large saucepan (ie, bigger than you think you need for the total volume). Cook at medium heat with a lid on until it boils hard, then take it off the heat and ignore it until everything else is done. Rice will continue cooking and absorb all the liquid.
- Use more seasonings. Published recipes almost never call for enough spices/herbs. Taste what you're cooking and adjust accordingly. But specifically, add more garlic if garlic is in there at all. No, more than that. For sweet dishes, add (more) cinnamon.
5. Do you have a recipe you would like to share?
Other than the rice recipe above? Hmm. Most things I make I do from 'what feels right' rather than a recipe.
What I tend to default to for recipe sharing is a strawberry ice cream recipe from a book called "Frozen Desserts": https://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Desserts-Definitive-Sorbets-Delights/dp/0312143435/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RF27SQ2O5OXA . My copy has a hand-written note reading "This is the best strawberry ice cream EVER!. (Amazon is helpfully telling me I bought this book 22 years ago.) If you have an icecream maker I highly recommend this cookbook, btw. All kinds of interesting ice creams, sorbets, gelatos, etc. I also highly recommend the ice cream makers that have a tub you pre-freeze rather than needing lots of rock salt and ice. We have an earlier model of this one: https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-21-Quart-Frozen-Yogurt-Ice/dp/B003KYSLMW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1KF8E21SKE77Q
The main trick is that you puree your strawberries with balsamic vinegar and leave them to macerate in it for a few hours before making the ice cream.
Puree the strawberries, sugar and vinegar together. Pour mixture into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Combine the strawberry mixture with the cream and freeze in an icecream maker.
thefridayfive1. Do you cook regularly or does someone else cook for you?
We eat out or order delivery or get carryout A Lot. But when cooking at home does happen, it's usually me.
My family have minimally-intersecting food requirements. It's easier to get several different meals from a restaurant than to make multiple at home. So when anyone cooks at home, it's either one of the few things we can all eat and enjoy, or someone still has to fend for themselves with delivery or quick food like a sandwich.
But I made jambalaya yesterday for three of the four of us (Christopher doesn't eat that but he was out for the evening anyway) and it was delicious. There's a lot of leftovers so we'll be eating it for a while. I'll freeze some of it for a quick meal in a few weeks.
Why is the cook usually me? Well, my family also have various disabilities and chronic pain issues that make standing at a stove difficult.
Tammie did make us a lovely batch of French toast on Sunday.
2. Which are you better at making: sweet or savory foods?
Either. Both. I am more likely to be making savory things unless it's a special occasion though.
3. If you had to work as a chef in a restaurant of your choice, which restaurant would best complement your current culinary skills?
Somewhere I didn't have to make the same thing every day, so a changing menu. I get bored of cooking the same things all the time.
My biggest struggle when cooking is getting all the food hot and ready at the same time, partly because of my kitchen constraints (eg, I can't run the airfryer and the microwave at the same time or I'll blow a fuse) and partly because I mis-estimate how long something will take. Not a good quality for a restaurant chef.
4. What is a cooking tip that you know, but other people generally aren’t aware of?
- Something I used last night: to cook rice on the stovetop, start it before everything else in the meal. Add 2 parts liquid to 1 part rice by volume, adding flavorings (if any) to a large saucepan (ie, bigger than you think you need for the total volume). Cook at medium heat with a lid on until it boils hard, then take it off the heat and ignore it until everything else is done. Rice will continue cooking and absorb all the liquid.
- Use more seasonings. Published recipes almost never call for enough spices/herbs. Taste what you're cooking and adjust accordingly. But specifically, add more garlic if garlic is in there at all. No, more than that. For sweet dishes, add (more) cinnamon.
5. Do you have a recipe you would like to share?
Other than the rice recipe above? Hmm. Most things I make I do from 'what feels right' rather than a recipe.
What I tend to default to for recipe sharing is a strawberry ice cream recipe from a book called "Frozen Desserts": https://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Desserts-Definitive-Sorbets-Delights/dp/0312143435/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RF27SQ2O5OXA . My copy has a hand-written note reading "This is the best strawberry ice cream EVER!. (Amazon is helpfully telling me I bought this book 22 years ago.) If you have an icecream maker I highly recommend this cookbook, btw. All kinds of interesting ice creams, sorbets, gelatos, etc. I also highly recommend the ice cream makers that have a tub you pre-freeze rather than needing lots of rock salt and ice. We have an earlier model of this one: https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-21-Quart-Frozen-Yogurt-Ice/dp/B003KYSLMW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1KF8E21SKE77Q
The main trick is that you puree your strawberries with balsamic vinegar and leave them to macerate in it for a few hours before making the ice cream.
| Metric | US | |
| Strawberries | 450 g | 1 lb |
| Sugar | 150 g | 3/4 cup |
| Balsamic vinegar | 15 ml | 1 Tbsp |
| Heavy cream | 150 ml | 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp |
Puree the strawberries, sugar and vinegar together. Pour mixture into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Combine the strawberry mixture with the cream and freeze in an icecream maker.
