Absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions (Part 2)

[nliedel]

[Yes, that's right: a cooked ham is, by definition, fully cooked, so just heat and serve. You can get them bone-in or bone-out. I prefer to buy them bone in, spiral sliced. The bone can be used to flavor soups, etc. and is really tasty. The flavor profile of this type of ham varies significantly from producer to producer, but in general the main flavor is of the curing salts (nitrate/nitrite) and smoke (depends on the wood type used). Depending on the pig and curing procedure, you may also get a nice pork flavor, brown sugar or maple syrup flavor, etc. Then, there are country hams... takes ham to a whole 'nother level.

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I agree with Chris. A bone in, spiral sliced ham is really good, pre-cooked and easy to work with. I usually do my own glaze with brown sugar, mustard, a little clove and garlic. I used powdered clove because there's no where to stick whole ones and no one should ever bite into a whole clove. It's just nasty.

I use a little water too, but very little. Heat the brown sugar and a little water in a pan till it's dissolved, add mustard (Dijon for me, but you can be flexible), clove and well minced garlic. I get my hands in there and smear it all over the ham. Bake till it's warmed through. Sometimes the garlic can have too much bite for some people, so you can pop it in a pan with a little, and I mean just enough, butter until it's translucent. That will mellow it.

Or...

I wonder how this concoction would taste with roasted garlic? Would the ham overpower it? Hmmmm.

[Jujubee]

I've got a pot of split pea soup simmering away right now (see thread for Purging the Larder) and it reminded me of a problem I've been wondering about for some time now. When skimming the scum off a pot of simmering soup, how do you keep from scooping stuff up with it? Obviously, bigger chunks of vegetables stay submerged, but I can't help but sweep up some sauteed onion and herbs. Since that stuff has flavor, I'd like to keep it in my soup.

[K8memphis]

Anytime I make something with rice, like soup, the rice sucks up all the liquid. If I use barley I'm fine. But no matter what kind of rice I use and no matter how I add it to my broth it still sucks up all the liquid. How do people make brothy chicken rice soup without just keeping all the components separate? Like if I added everything to the pot of soup and refrigerated the leftovers -- the broth disappears. If I cook the rice separate, if I cook it in the soup, if I fry the rice, if I add it cold, if I add it hot, after a while the broth is not. Rather Seusical.

[DCP]

I've got a pot of split pea soup simmering away right now (see thread for Purging the Larder) and it reminded me of a problem I've been wondering about for some time now.  When skimming the scum off a pot of simmering soup, how do you keep from scooping stuff up with it?  Obviously, bigger chunks of vegetables stay submerged, but I can't help but sweep up some sauteed onion and herbs.  Since that stuff has flavor, I'd like to keep it in my soup.

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If I may be so bold as to suggest a specialized tool, try a skimmer like this fine mesh model. Does double-duty as a strainer if you pour slowly enough.

Edited March 21, 2008 by DCP (log)

[hathor]

I've got a pot of split pea soup simmering away right now (see thread for Purging the Larder) and it reminded me of a problem I've been wondering about for some time now.  When skimming the scum off a pot of simmering soup, how do you keep from scooping stuff up with it?  Obviously, bigger chunks of vegetables stay submerged, but I can't help but sweep up some sauteed onion and herbs.  Since that stuff has flavor, I'd like to keep it in my soup.

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As suggested, a skimmer works great but you will scoop up some of the tasty bits, that just the way it is. Really, you don't lose all that much.

[Domestic Goddess]

Anytime I make something with rice, like soup, the rice sucks up all the liquid. If I use barley I'm fine. But no matter what kind of rice I use and no matter how I add it to my broth it still sucks up all the liquid. How do people make brothy chicken rice soup without just keeping all the components separate? Like if I added everything to the pot of soup and refrigerated the leftovers -- the broth disappears. If I cook the rice separate, if I cook it in the soup, if I fry the rice, if I add it cold, if I add it hot, after a while the broth is not. Rather Seusical. 

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K8Memphis, you need to cook your rice with a LOT of broth. At first when you simmer it, you will see the broth disappearing, add a bowlful of broth and stir thoroughly. Then simmer some more, when you see the rice becoming dry add another bowlful and stir. Keep doing so until all your rice is fully cooked and all the ingredients are done.

How do I do it? When I cook rice soup (congee, porridge, lugaw, jook, etc.) I start cooking with water and salt. I let the rice absorb this first and then I start adding my bowlful of broth midway through cooking. The key is to keep adding broth/water when the water has evaporated. And when you put your soup in the fridge and see that the broth has disappeared (again) just add another bowlful of broth/water and stir thoroughly before heating or microwaving. It is that simple.

[Chris Amirault]

I've got a pot of split pea soup simmering away right now (see thread for Purging the Larder) and it reminded me of a problem I've been wondering about for some time now.  When skimming the scum off a pot of simmering soup, how do you keep from scooping stuff up with it?  Obviously, bigger chunks of vegetables stay submerged, but I can't help but sweep up some sauteed onion and herbs.  Since that stuff has flavor, I'd like to keep it in my soup.

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As suggested, a skimmer works great but you will scoop up some of the tasty bits, that just the way it is. Really, you don't lose all that much.

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You can always just rinse the skimmer under warm water, which will make the muck rinse off but leave the mirepoix atop the screen, at which point you can dump it back in.

[K8memphis]

Anytime I make something with rice, like soup, the rice sucks up all the liquid. If I use barley I'm fine. But no matter what kind of rice I use and no matter how I add it to my broth it still sucks up all the liquid. How do people make brothy chicken rice soup without just keeping all the components separate? Like if I added everything to the pot of soup and refrigerated the leftovers -- the broth disappears. If I cook the rice separate, if I cook it in the soup, if I fry the rice, if I add it cold, if I add it hot, after a while the broth is not. Rather Seusical. 

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K8Memphis, you need to cook your rice with a LOT of broth. At first when you simmer it, you will see the broth disappearing, add a bowlful of broth and stir thoroughly. Then simmer some more, when you see the rice becoming dry add another bowlful and stir. Keep doing so until all your rice is fully cooked and all the ingredients are done.

How do I do it? When I cook rice soup (congee, porridge, lugaw, jook, etc.) I start cooking with water and salt. I let the rice absorb this first and then I start adding my bowlful of broth midway through cooking. The key is to keep adding broth/water when the water has evaporated. And when you put your soup in the fridge and see that the broth has disappeared (again) just add another bowlful of broth/water and stir thoroughly before heating or microwaving. It is that simple.

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Other rice soups do not suck up all the broth. Clearly, adding more liquid as you serve is a work around. How do you get the rice to stop sucking? No but seriously. Open a can of chicken rice soup--the rice has not become the incredible hulk and there's broth. I don't want to can my soup I just would like my great broth to last through a day or two of eating. So the only answer is to make extra broth? There's got to be another way.

It seems like you have to cook two chickens etc. to get enough nice flavorful stock to last through one chicken rice soup endeavor. Course I buy some broth or stock to make up the difference but...there's gotta be a way.

Maybe the question should be how do you store your leftover chicken rice soup? Drain it & store separate? Takes all the fun out of soup being so easy.

Edited March 21, 2008 by K8memphis (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

K8mephis, first of all the rice must be thoroughly plump with water/broth for it to stop sucking. That's why my method of cooking is to cook the rice (and chicken parts) with water that has been salted a little bit. When I see that the rice grains have cooked and have burst slightly open a little - I add my chicken broth and continue cooking until the rice grains have opened up and has been fluffed up.

I store it normally, in a Lokc& Lock container - no need to drain and seperate. I find that if I have added sufficient broth during the last cooking stages, my stored rice soup will be watery/soupy enough. If it wasn't I just add more water to the cold soup and reheat. Then I fix the taste with fish sauce (my preference) or iodized salt (hubby's preference).

[snowangel]

In an overly ambitious moment, I decided at 10:00 pm to make a sort of complicated dessert from one of my grandmother's recipes for tomorrow (which does prompt the question of why we do these things).

But, the big question that Peter asked, to which I had no answer was "what does it mean to cook over a double boiler 'til thickened? Mom, what should it look like (an egg yolk/sugar/lemon juice mixture)?" I responded that I thought it should be sort of snot-like (remember the audience). The next question from The Boy -- "It'll get thicker when it gets cold, right?"

So, just what should it be like when we take it off the heat, and what should it look like when it's cooled?

What just is "until thickened?"

[Qwerty]

If I remember, when making a sabayon or custard type sauce, heating to about 160-165 should do the trick. Acid and sugar will raise the coagulation point of the egg proteins a little bit, so you might be able to get away with 170-ish.

You will notice as you stir or whisk the yolks that the mixture first become lighter in color (this is all the air you are whipping into it) then it begins to thicken. Look at the coating on your spoon (or notice how the mixture leaves a trail on the bottom of the bowl) and you will see it get thicker.

I assume you were making a curd or something similar. Did you add butter? Butter will help the curd set, but generally yes the mixture should thicken as it cools. It should look like a spoonable custard, or similar maybe to a pudding.

[Qwerty]

I can't fry a sunny side up egg to save my life.

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Are you having trouble with the yolk leaking, or with getting the white to set? Or something else?

I can never get the last stranghold of white around the yolk to set without cooking the whole thing to death or going over easy. I've tried water instead of oil, spooning hot oil onto the egg (this kinda worked but the egg was soooo greasy and nasty), tight lid, no lids. I just can't get the hang of it.

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You can also try using the spatula to "cut" through the area where the white isn't setting around the yolk and pushing away the cooked part on the bottom to expose the white to the heat. Ever make an omelet? You know how you kind of cut the eggs and force the uncooked egg on top into the holes? It's the same principle...it works for me.

I've seen a lot of cooks also let the egg spend a few seconds under the salamander. You might try pre-heating your broiler and holding it directly under the heat source. The whites set at a lower temp than the whites, so you should be OK just be careful.

[miladyinsanity]

K8mephis, first of all the rice must be thoroughly plump with water/broth for it to stop sucking. That's why my method of cooking is to cook the rice (and chicken parts) with water that has been salted a little bit. When I see that the rice grains have cooked and have burst slightly open a little - I add my chicken broth and continue cooking until the rice grains have opened up and has been fluffed up.

I store it normally, in a Lokc& Lock container - no need to drain and seperate. I find that if I have added sufficient broth during the last cooking stages, my stored rice soup will be watery/soupy enough. If it wasn't I just add more water to the cold soup and reheat. Then I fix the taste with fish sauce (my preference) or iodized salt (hubby's preference).

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Another option, though perhaps less tasty, is to cook the rice first.

That's what I use leftover rice for.

[andiesenji]

K8mephis, first of all the rice must be thoroughly plump with water/broth for it to stop sucking. That's why my method of cooking is to cook the rice (and chicken parts) with water that has been salted a little bit. When I see that the rice grains have cooked and have burst slightly open a little - I add my chicken broth and continue cooking until the rice grains have opened up and has been fluffed up.

I store it normally, in a Lokc& Lock container - no need to drain and seperate. I find that if I have added sufficient broth during the last cooking stages, my stored rice soup will be watery/soupy enough. If it wasn't I just add more water to the cold soup and reheat. Then I fix the taste with fish sauce (my preference) or iodized salt (hubby's preference).

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Another option, though perhaps less tasty, is to cook the rice first.

That's what I use leftover rice for.

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Me too!

I have been using automatic rice cookers since they first appeared in the US and always cook the full capacity simply because I always have use for leftover cooked rice.

I simply cool it and vacuum seal it in 1-cup portions which go into a larger container or Zip-loc freezer bag and into the freezer.

I do stick the vac container (hole punched in it) into the microwave for a minute prior to adding to the soup, or whatever.

[K8memphis]

In an overly ambitious moment, I decided at 10:00 pm to make a sort of complicated dessert from one of my grandmother's recipes for tomorrow (which does prompt the question of why we do these things).

But, the big question that Peter asked, to which I had no answer was "what does it mean to cook over a double boiler 'til thickened?  Mom, what should it look like (an egg yolk/sugar/lemon juice mixture)?"  I responded that I thought it should be sort of snot-like (remember the audience).  The next question from The Boy -- "It'll get thicker when it gets cold, right?"

So, just what should it be like when we take it off the heat, and what should it look like when it's cooled?

What just is "until thickened?"

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You get it to coat the back of a spoon then make a narrow swipe through the middle of the coated spoon with your finger. If the mixture on the spoon does not creep back together and bridge the swiped area then it's ready. Or you could do like I do and stick a little bit on a plate in the freezer. I'm into immediate sure fire results.

I mean if you make stuff all the time then yeah you get it down to a science in a few takes. But if you just randomly make something once every other Easter or something you gotta know when/if it's gonna be ok. You sure don't wanna go through all that again if it isn't gonna set up for yah.

[snowangel]

In an overly ambitious moment, I decided at 10:00 pm to make a sort of complicated dessert from one of my grandmother's recipes for tomorrow (which does prompt the question of why we do these things).

But, the big question that Peter asked, to which I had no answer was "what does it mean to cook over a double boiler 'til thickened?  Mom, what should it look like (an egg yolk/sugar/lemon juice mixture)?"  I responded that I thought it should be sort of snot-like (remember the audience).  The next question from The Boy -- "It'll get thicker when it gets cold, right?"

So, just what should it be like when we take it off the heat, and what should it look like when it's cooled?

What just is "until thickened?"

←

You get it to coat the back of a spoon then make a narrow swipe through the middle of the coated spoon with your finger. If the mixture on the spoon does not creep back together and bridge the swiped area then it's ready. Or you could do like I do and stick a little bit on a plate in the freezer. I'm into immediate sure fire results.

I mean if you make stuff all the time then yeah you get it down to a science in a few takes. But if you just randomly make something once every other Easter or something you gotta know when/if it's gonna be ok. You sure don't wanna go through all that again if it isn't gonna set up for yah.

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Well, it didn't set up quite right, and I don't think The Boy beat the whipped cream long enough. But what should have been cut into neat squares sure looked prettier as a "pudding" in some footed cranberry class "glasses" (parfait thingies?) that I inherited from my great grandmother, and the flavour was absolutely wonderful!

[snowangel]

How much raw spinach does it take to make a 10 oz. package of frozen spinach?

[miladyinsanity]

How much raw spinach does it take to make a 10 oz. package of frozen spinach?

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According to Cook's Thesaurus, one pound fresh is equals to one cup cooked and 5 ounces frozen, so 2 pounds fresh, I think.

[crinoidgirl]

Related to the ham questions up-thread:

I served a ham on Easter. A big honkin' ham. Semi-boneless.

Can I freeze the leftovers? How long would it survive in the refrigerator? Until it starts growing mold?

[Toliver]

Related to the ham questions up-thread:

I served a ham on Easter.  A big honkin' ham.  Semi-boneless.

Can I freeze the leftovers?  How long would it survive in the refrigerator?  Until it starts growing mold? 

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Funny you should ask: Easter Ham, What do you do with all of the leftovers

Yes, you can freeze the leftovers. I portion it into smaller packages for freezing.

[crinoidgirl]

Funny you should ask: Easter Ham, What do you do with all of the leftovers

Yes, you can freeze the leftovers. I portion it into smaller packages for freezing.

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Thank you, kind sir.

[LizD518]

Okay, I have one that has been bugging me for a while now.

Sous Vide - I hear it talked about all the time as being a very precise method of cooking (okay, mostly by Alton in Iron Chef commentary). But...how is it so precise? I assume that you set the water at the same temperature that you want the final product to be cooked to - but how is the internal temperature of the item measured so you know it is cooked through to that temp? If I drop a chicken breast in, the outside is going to start cooking first, albeit slower and gentler than other cooking methods, so how do I know when the inside is done?

I think I am missing something here...

[hathor]

Okay, I have one that has been bugging me for a while now.

Sous Vide - I hear it talked about all the time as being a very precise method of cooking (okay, mostly by Alton in Iron Chef commentary).  But...how is it so precise?  I assume that you set the water at the same temperature that you want the final product to be cooked to - but how is the internal temperature of the item measured so you know it is cooked through to that temp?  If I drop a chicken breast in, the outside is going to start cooking first, albeit slower and gentler than other cooking methods, so how do I know when the inside is done?

I think I am missing something here...

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The big thing that you are missing is time and the other is the very low cooking temp. It's a much gentler cooking method, and one that is somewhat controversial because of the low cooking temp. You can take a sous vide piece of meat and then give it a sear prior to serving to caramelize the exterior.

[dividend]

Inspired by the "recipes that rock" thread, yesterday I made this braised pot roast recipe. Problem was, the recipe is written for two 3-pound beef roasts, and I had only one kicking around in my freezer. So I halved the quantities in the recipe. I did not, however, adjust the time. Flavors were delicious, I see why people love it. It was pretty overcooked though. Do I need to adjust the time? It makes sense to me why you'd do it in a baking recipe, or even if the original recipe was for a six pound roast, but the recipe was for two 3-pound roasts.

Was the timing the problem, or should I look for other factors? Because I really want to make this again soon.

[tino27]

Inspired by the "recipes that rock" thread, yesterday I made this braised pot roast recipe.  Problem was, the recipe is written for two 3-pound beef roasts, and I had only one kicking around in my freezer.  So I halved the quantities in the recipe.  I did not, however, adjust the time.  Flavors were delicious, I see why people love it.  It was pretty overcooked though.  Do I need to adjust the time?  It makes sense to me why you'd do it in a baking recipe, or even if the original recipe was for a six pound roast, but the recipe was for two 3-pound roasts. 

Was the timing the problem, or should I look for other factors?  Because I really want to make this again soon.

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I would think that using half as much meat would decrease the time (but not necessarily by half).

This link talks about how to tell when Pot Roast is done ...