Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 3)

[Shelby]

Oh yeah, just roasting a chicken will sway you to keep it.

[ElsieD]

I, who normally does not eat sandwiches, had a hankering for brie on a baguette today for lunch.  I cut a piece off a

baguette that was in the freezer, let it defrost, put it on bake/steam for 8 minutes @300F and had a piece of bread that tasted as though it were freshly baked. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

And custards - try steaming flan or creme brûlée 40 min 190º.

Any experience with savory Chinese steamed custard   ?   I assume it was be same technique. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

er., re above questions, can one roast a chicken or bake bread in a CCSO...and then send the machine back?   😟

[Kerry Beal]

 

 

41 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Any experience with savory Chinese steamed custard   ?   I assume it was be same technique. 

 

Here

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Even after all this time I'm not sure I understand exactly how the bread function works.  Clearly a big blast of steam at the beginning, but at what temperature?

 

Tonight I was reheating my five day bread (forgive me) to gelatinize the starch.  Waste not, want not.  As an experiment I used the bread function set at 225F, rather than warm or convection bake.  With the bread setting after 40 minutes the bread was 80C.  This seems far too fast based on previous experience with reheating bread on convection bake, where it might take a couple hours to reach the magic number of 77C.

 

Does anyone have technology to measure exactly what the bread function is doing?  Regrettably I do not and I am paying off a root canal. 

 

[kayb]

Don't send it back. If you decide you don't want it, I'll buy it from you for that spare everyone but me seems to have.

 

[dtremit]

On 7/27/2019 at 3:21 PM, Anna N said:

No. No. No.. Don’t send it back. It is the best thing ever made for reheating almost all leftovers. 

 

Our leftover BBQ lunch this weekend can attest to that. Reheated ribs with bark were neither dry nor soggy.

[dtremit]

On 7/26/2019 at 8:33 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Having thought about it a bit, I don't see the advantage of leaving the lid off.  Unless for clearance.

 

 

Typically when I cook beans in the (regular) oven, I take off the lid towards the end to reduce the liquid. Was hoping the humid environment of steam bake would mean I didn't have to remove it in the middle.

 

(The All-Clad lids seal pretty well when turned upside down, with the handle facing down; that helps a lot with clearance.)

[MelissaH]

On 7/25/2019 at 6:00 PM, dtremit said:

 

Honestly, it's the one thing I don't like cooking in the IP -- I've never gotten them to come out as well. I think it's the lack of reduction in the broth.

 

If they're going into a chili or something I don't care, but for bean salads and the like I've gone back to the oven.

@rancho_gordo suggests that if you cook your beans in a pressure cooker, after you release the pressure, let the beans continue to cook with the pot open for 20 minutes. We do this with great success.

[dtremit]

2 hours ago, MelissaH said:

@rancho_gordo suggests that if you cook your beans in a pressure cooker, after you release the pressure, let the beans continue to cook with the pot open for 20 minutes. We do this with great success.

 

I've tried that, and it works decently well -- but honestly, at that point it's more work than just popping them in the oven and letting them cook. The oven beans never seem to end up overcooked, and never scorch on the bottom of the pot.

 

(Plus I probably need the Instant Pot for something else I'm serving with them 😀I think my SO would kill me if I bought a second IP but there are times I wish I had one.)

[Shelby]

10 minutes ago, dtremit said:

 

I've tried that, and it works decently well -- but honestly, at that point it's more work than just popping them in the oven and letting them cook. The oven beans never seem to end up overcooked, and never scorch on the bottom of the pot.

 

(Plus I probably need the Instant Pot for something else I'm serving with them 😀I think my SO would kill me if I bought a second IP but there are times I wish I had one.)

I think you need two IP's.  I do and sometimes I wish I had 3.

[dtremit]

The CSO did a good job pinch hitting on dinner tonight in between a work trip and a weekend away.

 

Cooked a mixture of purple top turnips, Yukon Gold potatoes, fennel, and onion -- all sliced thinly -- on Steam Bake @ 375F for 30min. Atop that went the thighs and wings of what was supposed to be last night's rotisserie chicken, a dinner I missed thanks to a three hour flight delay. 15 more minutes, and dinner was served.

Deeply impressed by how the chicken came out -- I also put the skins from the breasts on top of the veg while they were cooking and those ended up as nice little croutons. The turnips were particularly nice.

 

Whole thing could have used a bit more creative seasoning, but I can't blame the oven for that.

Edited August 2, 2019 by dtremit (log)

[Smithy]

I used mine yesterday to reheat some French fries from the previous night's dinner out. 425F, convection bake for 10 minutes wasn't enough to take the sog out. 400F for another 10 minutes got them crisp, but was overkill on the time; some of them went right through the "golden and crispy" stage to "brown and hard". But they weren't soggy!

 

What do y'all do to reheat leftover French fries, if you do? 

 

[dtremit]

21 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

What do y'all do to reheat leftover French fries, if you do? 

 

 

There's no great option to restore them to their original glory, I don't think -- but they are an awfully good shortcut to a sorta tortilla española. Chopped up in a breakfast hash is good, too.

[blue_dolphin]

Chicken leg quarters, ~ 9 oz each.  

Placed in a cast iron skillet that had been pre-heated on the stove top then directly into the CSO on steam bake, 425°F, 30 min.

Perfect!

[Anna N]

6 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Perfect!

 Absolutely! 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Chicken leg quarters, ~ 9 oz each.  

Placed in a cast iron skillet that had been pre-heated on the stove top then directly into the CSO on steam bake, 425°F, 30 min.

Perfect!

Did you add any oil or anything to the cast iron pan before adding the chicken?

[blue_dolphin]

3 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Did you add any oil or anything to the cast iron pan before adding the chicken?

 

Yes, I put just a thin film of avocado oil into the pan when it was heating.  I do that when I'm roasting a whole bird for less sticking when I turn it.  Probably not necessary here.

[scubadoo97]

I always put a little oil in a cast iron pan no matter what else is going in even if it’s just a thin film

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

nice chicken !

 

which skillet is that ?

 

thanks

[blue_dolphin]

16 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@blue_dolphin

 

nice chicken !

 

which skillet is that ?

 

thanks

Thanks!

It's a 9-inch cast iron Wagner Ware chef's skillet.  It has sloped sides and that nice smooth finish of old cast iron. 

Edited August 2, 2019 by blue_dolphin
to correct size (log)

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

thanks

 

I might not have that

 

or , as the trends  are here 

 

it might be in a box Im letting mature for a while

 

until i open it.

 

 

[Smithy]

My first attempt at baking bread in the CSO is encouraging.

 

 

I tried a recipe for ciabatta from Nick Malgieri's cookbook, A Baker's Tour. This book jumped into my bag at some library book sale or other, but I've never gotten beyond admiring and aspiring until now. It's a bit jarring to see baking recipes that use volume measurements instead of weight, but I didn't feel like digging out my notes from the Peter Reinhart online class I took. Besides, it's time to try this book or give it away.

 

Oven spring and browning were wonderful. I used the Bread cycle in the CSO, and had to adjust the temperature: first, because the CSO on that cycle doesn't go as high as the recommended 500F and the second, because it was clear that the larger loaf was cooking too quickly. These loaves took 3 separate baking sessions; I began with half the batch as the first loaf, then broke the second half into 2 separate, smaller loaves that I tried to flatten slightly for purposes of making sandwich buns. The big loaf began at 450F and I ended up lowering the temperature to something like 275F for the last 10 minutes to reach the proper internal temperature. The buns cooked at 400F for 20 - 25 minutes on bread cycle, and they look right.

 

 

The large loaf's crust was crackly at first, but already isn't. It's humid today. The crumb wasn't as open as I'd have liked. That might have been my technique or the recipe, but I surely can't fault the oven!

 

 

I'm having buttered toast right now. Couldn't wait for dinner.

 

 

It's rather a bland recipe, compared with others I've tried. Next time I'll try a different bread recipe. Still, this was a nice way to try out the oven's bread cycle. I'm pleased.

[cdh]

Unboxed my recent CSO purchase and put it to the test tonight.  I figured steam bake would be the best way to finish bacon wrapped scallops...  and it worked great.  I'd probably give it another minute or two next time, but steam bake for 12 minutes at 450 got lots of the fat rendered out of the bacon and started crisping it up.  Glad I took the plunge.