pufin3

I think I have a brainwave. I make dinners for my daughter an RN for when she's at work. She can 'nuke' individual frozen portions. She likes lasagna and she likes my tuna casserole. I'm going make Tuna casserole lasagna! I won't go into the recipe for the lasagna. I put it on a thread on this forum somewhere. My question is what do you think is the best cheese to go with tuna? Lots of tuna casserole recipes call for a topping of cheese. What cheese would you suggest please? I

Used to be a favorite at my little resturant. We used Yukon Gold or Kennebec potatoes. We washed them and put them through the grater attachment. You can do the same with your food processor. Into a cold lightly salted water bath for half an hour or so. Lots of water! We put what we were going to use right away into a large clean cloth and we squeezed out as much liquid as we could. Leaving the rest in the cold water. As the servings were ordered we fried portions enough for each fratita in bacon fat in a large cast iron fry pan. The key is to soak the potatoes in cold water to help remove some of the starch and then to REALLY squeeze out any water.

I'm cooking the exact same ribs today! I'm using the beef ribs in place of traditional pork ribs. I've had very good results at the past. Leave the bone in though.

Thankyou both for your help. I will make sure the CC milk I buy has a stabilizer in it.

I make a year' supply of mushroom powder each fall. We collect chanterelle by the 5 gallon bucket fulls. Into a quick cold water bath. Pat as dry as possible. Slice them into quarters then into the food dehydrator (We used to use a the oven set at very low temp) in batches. The trick is to make sure the mushroom pieces aren't touching each other too much. After a day or so depending on the outdoor heat where we use the dehydrator we remove the mushrooms and using a food processor roughly chop them into small pea sized pieces. Then in batches into the coffee bean grinder. Just a quick whizz and they are the size of black pepper corns. Into small Ziploc bags then into the freezer. They last for months and don't need reconstituting. Just a sprinkle on scrambled eggs in soups, you name it.

I want to start making more S.E. asian dishes. Lots of them call for coconut milk. The last couple of dishes I made with coconut milk separated leaving a terrible looking dish. Now I'm leary about using coconut milk again. I have googled coconut milk but there is conflicting advice on how to prevent separating. Does using lime or lemon juice (acid) cause separating? It seems logical that it would but then why do so many recipes call from lots of lime juice? Any help is appreciated.

Oh the sweet memories about Swanson. As a teenager I worked for a company as a laborer. Lot's of overtime. Anyone who worked more than 1 1/2 hours OT was allowed to go into the chest kreezer and heat up as many Swanson dinners as they wanted to. Full range of Swanson dinners. One of us would put two or three dinners for each of us into a hot oven about half an hour before we broke for dinner. Sometime we had thirty dinners piled into the oven! Sometimes I ate semi frozen dinners. Who cared? They were always delicious. I'm going to buy a Swanson's dinner today for the first time in fifty years.

I make about 3 dozen 'Forfar Bridies' at a time. Bake them then freeze them. You can use ground meat of anything type or rough chopped meat, seafood of any type. I just make a roux-based thick white sauce and add whatever I want to it. The sky's the limit. So easy to 'nuke them'. They make an easy 'finger-food' as long as the filling isn't too liquid. I use regular pastry dough. Check them out on Google.

I like a pinch of nutmeg too. I like a pinch of mace too. Mace is especially good with sauteed mushrooms.

Yes I'd blind bake the shells first for sure. Otherwise the bottom of the shell isn't going to bake through before the top is golden brown. To bake I put the frozen pie into a 275 F preheated oven. I do this to gently heat the pie through without turning the top too dark. It takes more time but you'll get a more evenly heated pie. For the first few pies baked like this use a oven thermometer to check the internal temp and record how long at 275 F it takes to get the pie nice and hot. When you reach the temp you want if the top isn't as crispy as you want just crank up the broiler setting and watch the top like a hawk. In a couple of minutes the top will be golden and the rest will be bubbling hot ready to serve.

Here's my interpretation of mashed potatoes. No added herbs/garlic. Just the flavor of potatoes. Serves four-six Wash and pat dry 6 large Russet potatoes. Poke the skins in a few places. Into a 375 F oven. Bake them until soft. Turn off the oven. Remove from the oven and using a oven mit to hold them slice them down the middle. Using spoon scrap out all the flesh into a large bowl. I use a heavy glass bowl. Cover the bowl and put the cooked potatoes back in the turned off oven to keep warm. Thin slice or chop two potato skins. Put them in a heavy pot and add 3 C of whole milk and 2 T of butter. Bring the milk/skins/butter just to a boil. Take the HOT! bowl from the oven and using a sieve to catch the potato skins pour 2 C of the hot milk onto the potatoes. Keep 1 C to adjust for a creamy texture. If you find you have some milk left over it makes a delicious sauce base for 'creamed' vegetables. Use a masher to quickly mash the potatoes into a creamy texture. Season with S&P. That's it. The potatoes skins are where a lot of the potato flavor is stored, just like with any root vegetable. By simmering them in the milk the potato flavor is released.

The beef bones in 'Pho' are roasted then simmered for up to twelve hours along with ox tail/shank, whatever pieces of bone and meat cuts are the cheapest.

Not to put too much of a 'damper' on today's Super Bowl but there is a bit of sad news: "SETTLING UNHAPPILY into his Super Bowl seat, Himalayan high behind the end zone, Joe spots an empty seat low and on the 50-yard line. He descends to it and asks the man seated next to him why the wonderful seat is unoccupied. The man says, “It's mine. I was supposed to come with my wife, but she died. This is the first Super Bowl since 1967 we have not attended together.” Joe says: “But couldn't you find a friend or relative to come with you today?” The man replies: “No, they're all at the funeral.”

If you make your own or buy clarified butter you can use a hotter pan which means the scallops will cook through faster. I add a t of OO oil to the clarified butter. This again increases the allowable heat in the pan. This may sound like heresy but sometimes I very very slow poach fresh, or thawed scallops in salted water. No nothing added. I add enough Kosher salt to the water so as to duplicate the saltiness of the seawater the scallops came from. I do this with all types of seafood. I'm looking for the actual flavor of the seafood. When the seafood is barely cooked I serve it with a sauce of some sort added to the plate but not on the seafood itself. One of my favorite non poaching recipes for scallops is from Escoffier. 'Coquilles Saint-Jacques au Gratin'. I always add 1/2 t of Pernod to any sauce used with any seafood. It gives the slightest S. France back-note flavor.

You might try using a couple of Ts of 'high gluten' flour. It will help the dough stretch.

Is the sea bass fresh? Or 'fresh frozen'? In japan all fish intended for sashimi is first frozen then thawed. The freezing kills any parasites. Not only that the fish has a better flavor and texture after being frozen then thawed. As an ex commercial fisherman of twenty five years my advice if the sea bass is fresh or has been fresh frozen then thawed is to VERY gently poach it in plain lightly salted water. Just enough water to cover the fish. No added herbs/lemon juice. No nothing. When the flesh is cooked enough so it slides off in smooth flakes remove and serve with a hot (temp.) sauce of your choice. It's not so much about the temperature rather the texture. If the sea bass was purchased from a commercial source someone would have 'candled' the fillets and removed any large parasites/egg sacks in the fillets. When you see those tiny little white balls the size of a sugar granule on a fish fillet they are parasite egg sacks. They are too small to hurt you.

Here's a Vietnamese crepe recipe: BANH XEO Serves 6 This is delicious lettuce wrapped crepe. I suggest you serve them as main course because there are a number of components. Ingredients for making the crepes: 12 oz bag of rice flour 1 t turmeric 14 oz coconut cream 3 C room temperature water Ingredients/method for the dipping sauce: 1/2 cup of Red Boat fish sauce 2 T white table vinegar 1 1/2 C water 1/2 C white sugar 1/3 C shredded carrot 1 t crushed garlic Combine and whisk to dissolve the sugar Set aside as a condiment Vegetable/meat Ingredients: Large whole lettuce leaves washed and patted dry. Any type of lettuce will do. Mint leaves washed and patted dry. Cucumber strips the same length as the lettuce leaves. Remove the seeds using a spoon. 3 T chopped garlics. 2 fine chopped spring onions Some fresh washed patted dry cilantro leaves. 1/2 lb. approx. of pork tenderloin. To prepare the pork put it in the freezer until it’s close to being frozen. Using a razor sharp knife (I use a box cutter) slice medallions as thin as you can. 15-20 large raw shrimp deveined and shelled and sliced lengthways in half. 1 C thin sliced sweet onion 1 C of washed and patted dry bean sprouts. Make the crepe batter: Combine the rice flour, turmeric, water, coconut cream and chopped spring onions. Whisk to remove any lumps. Set aside. To cook the crepes: Add a T of vegetable oil to a medium hot flat bottomed non-stick 12” fry pan. Add enough sweet onions to sparsely cover the bottom of the pan. When they have cooked for a couple of minutes add a sprinkle of the chopped garlic. Add about five pork medallions and about five large shrimp. You want to have the ingredients nicely distributed over the pan. Don’t overcook the shrimp and pork. Sprinkle on a pinch of S&P. Now ladle enough batter to just cover the shrimps. Keep the heat at medium-low. Cover with a lid for a couple of minutes to cook the crepe. Sprinkle some fresh bean sprouts on half the crepe. Now carefully turn the half of the crepe without the bean sprouts over onto the other half. You have a half moon shaped crepe. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. To eat: Take a large lettuce leaf. Lay on it a slice of the crepe, half the width of the lettuce leaf and about the same length as the lettuce leaf. On top of the crepe lay on a couple of thin strips of the cucumber. Then a few cilantro and mint leaves. Fold the lettuce leaf up to hold the ingredients within and dip it into the dipping sauce. This is messy eating at it’s best. Provide your guests with warm damp hand towels. I always make a separate dipping sauce per couple/person so ‘double-dipping’ isn’t a bother.

I make a tasty vegetarian lasagna. I'm by no means a vegetarian though. You can make it the day before the game, as you know. Prep the following ingredients not in any specific order: 1 large sweet onion* The onion should be the ‘sweet variety. It’s got less ‘heat’ than a regular table onion. In the food processor fine chop the onion. Put the chopped onion into a cold water bath for a few minutes. This helps remove the bitter heat and leaves just a nice onion flavour. I do this whenever I’m making any recipe calling for onion. Rinse and drain and pat dry on some PTs. Then gently sauté the onion in a T of olive oil to just soften the onion. Remove from the pan and set aside. 20 medium size mushrooms. Use the ‘slicer’ blade on the food processor to thin slice the mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms in 2T olive oil until just soft. You don’t have to fry them until ‘golden brown’. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle on a heaping T of dried oregano. This is the only herb you’ll be using. Set aside . 2 375 ml tins of sliced black olives drained. I use ‘Unico’. Drain the tins but don’t put them together and don’t rinse them. You’ll be using a tin each in different layers. 1 500 gram wedge of Asiago cheese. It really needs to be Asiago cheese to give it that ‘special something’. Mozza cheese doesn’t have the same flavour as Asiago. Into the freezer for 30 minutes then grate it using to grater on the food processor. Set aside in the fridge. You can buy pre-grated packages of three types of cheese but they are more expensive. Spinach: 2 bunches of fresh spinach. Cut off an inch or so of the stems. Carefully wash each leaf to make positive it doesn’t have any dirt on it. Rinse well and pat dry. Set aside. Lasagna noodles: I use Cattelli noodles but rice noodles and other types of noodles are available. In a large pot of salted boiling water put each noodle in separately and at different angles so they don’t stick together. Boil them until just cooked through. Drain and cool in cold water to stop them from cooking. Set aside. Build: Use olive oil to coat the inside of the glass lasagna pan. Put a layer down of three lasagna noodles. Then a light sprinkle of grated cheese. Then a layer of sweet onion. This is the only sweet onion used. Then a light sprinkle of Asiago cheese. Then a layer of noddles. Then a sprinkle of cheese. Then a layer of the mushroom/oregano* There will be some liquid with the mushrooms. Use it. The noodles will absorb the tasty flavours. Then a tin of sliced black olives. Then a sprinkle of cheese. Then a layer of three noodles. Then a sprinkle of cheese. Then a layer of spinach. Then a tin of black olives. And finally sprinkle on whatever Asiago cheese is left. There should be enough to cover the black olives. You’ll need to press down on the layers to fit them all into the glass dish. But everything fits. Pro Tip: At this point use a very sharp knife to cut through the lasagna to make what later will be individual portions. The portions are a lot easier to remove from the pan this way before serving. I use a steel egg turner to remove the portions. You can make the lasagna the day before serving and keep it covered in the fridge. When you want to serve put the lasagna into a 275-300 F oven for an hour or so. When you see the sides bubbling remove and serve. If you use too high a heat the cheese and top layer of noodles will turn hard. Better to heat the lasagna for a longer time using low heat.

It also depends which part of the shank is being cooked. The top of the shank where the 'osso bucco' sized cuts are found, ( not from a veal calf just size-wise) are going to be more tender than the slices closer to the foot. For those, as already mentioned, a pressure cooker is helpful.

IMO there are some 'stand-alone' foods that are best enjoyed pretty much by themselves. For me that would be most seafood. Especially very fresh straight from the ocean steamed Dungeness crab/mussels/rock cod/small lingcod/small halibut. Scrambled eggs. Steamed rice. Ribeye/strip loin steaks. Over time I've put different Escoffier inspired sauces on the above and every time I'm thinking "Why didn't I just serve the steamed Dungeness crabs with fresh baguettes and a little fresh lemon juice and clarified butter?". On a big plastic tablecloth and hot hand towels.

Ya you can forget digging for anything on the Lower Mainland. Drop into a DOF office and get an idea of where you can dig N. of Nanaimo.

With some practise most anyone can learn how to cook meats and vegetables, starches. IMO the real challenge is to make excellent stocks and sauces. This is where the rubber meets the road culinary-wise. For this I always turn to Escoffier.

Floyd Julia Jacque Anthony Any of the original Iron Chefs Dislike: GF (intensely) "BAM!" Flay...he lost me forever when he jumped on the cutting board on ICs. Todd English....would YOU ask him to babysit?

Steak houses' and other places that serve a lot of steak by them from commercial butcher shops. The average grocery store shopper will never get their hands on the same quality. The meat is likely air dried longer meaning it contains less water. But the steak house factors this into their price to their customer. That's the most important element. Steak houses etc often use a drop of liquid smoke rubbed on the steak.'Try this: From a busy local butcher spend the money to buy say a couple of bones thick rib eye. Room temperature of course. Medium hot grill. Not screaming hot. Black pepper gives off a bitter flavor when the oils in it get scorched. Rub the steak on both sides with a good quality balsamic vinegar. This will caramelize and help with that nice dark surface you want. Grill to 5 degrees F less than you want the steak to 'finish' at. Let the steak rest longer than you might think you should. Steak could be eaten at just above room temperature. Check this outhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk96BgsXMFg