Absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions (Part 1)

[BettyK]

Ok, this ranks right there with stupidity so here's mine...How do you depressurize a pan? NOT a pressure cooker - a saute pan. I was going to use my pan as base for my new bamboo steamer. Boiled water with the lid on then switched it off as I was not quite ready and left the pan on the stove. Forgot to lift the lid a little and after a few minutes when I tried to open it it was good and sealed. Tried putting the pan under cold running water but no go. It's been more than 6 hours now and it's still sealed. What to do? Will it ever open?

[chefdg]

Here's a question: We've had a wooden cutting board for several years now (more than 5). Over the years, the cutting surface has gotten fairly beat up, but I've been pretty good about washing it and keeping it clean. I'm thinking about taking a Hi pressure washer to it to try to get into the wood and clean it. I'm wondering, is there a rule of thumb for how long you should keep a wooden cutting board?

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Is it end or edge grain? Do not pressure wash it or it will be ruined. Sanding or scraping are all I ever do.

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Ditto, use a plainer and make it real nice, nice.

[chefdg]

It will never reopen, unless you boil the water in the pan again.

[Shalmanese]

You want to repressurise the pan, not depressurize it. Insert something small and sharp into a crevasse of the lid and pry it a bit to get an airhole. It's sort of the same principle as getting a plug out of a full bath.

[dahlsk]

OK, here's my question I'm embarrassed to ask. It's regarding the dutch oven section of this thread earlier. I have a set of All Clad stainless steel cookware (not the anodized or nonstick, just shiny metal inside and out). I don't have a Le Creuset (or similar) dutch oven. If I want to braise or slow cook something in the oven, can I use my All Clad soup pot? I've just been nervous to use it on the stove top and then put it in the oven for an extended amount of time... Thanks!

[BettyK]

It will never reopen, unless you boil the water in the pan again.

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Thank you chefdg. It worked.

[Smithy]

OK, here's my question I'm embarrassed to ask.  It's regarding the dutch oven section of this thread earlier.  I have a set of All Clad stainless steel cookware (not the anodized or nonstick, just shiny metal inside and out).  I don't have a Le Creuset (or similar) dutch oven.  If I want to braise or slow cook something in the oven, can I use my All Clad soup pot?  I've just been nervous to use it on the stove top and then put it in the oven for an extended amount of time...  Thanks!

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I assume your All-Clad SS soup pot has metal handles? If so, your soup pot will do just fine in the oven, as well as on the stove top, and you don't need to worry about going from one to the other. I used to do that all the time with my Revere stainless steel stock pot (aluminum disk bottom) with no ill effect.

[BettyK]

You want to repressurise the pan, not depressurize it. Insert something small and sharp into a crevasse of the lid and pry it a bit to get an airhole. It's sort of the same principle as getting a plug out of a full bath.

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You're right...repressurise it is.

[dahlsk]

OK, here's my question I'm embarrassed to ask.  It's regarding the dutch oven section of this thread earlier.  I have a set of All Clad stainless steel cookware (not the anodized or nonstick, just shiny metal inside and out).  I don't have a Le Creuset (or similar) dutch oven.  If I want to braise or slow cook something in the oven, can I use my All Clad soup pot?  I've just been nervous to use it on the stove top and then put it in the oven for an extended amount of time...  Thanks!

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I assume your All-Clad SS soup pot has metal handles? If so, your soup pot will do just fine in the oven, as well as on the stove top, and you don't need to worry about going from one to the other. I used to do that all the time with my Revere stainless steel stock pot (aluminum disk bottom) with no ill effect.

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My pots and pans do have metal handles. Thanks for settling my nerves on this!

[jerkhouse]

OK, here's my question I'm embarrassed to ask.  It's regarding the dutch oven section of this thread earlier.  I have a set of All Clad stainless steel cookware (not the anodized or nonstick, just shiny metal inside and out).  I don't have a Le Creuset (or similar) dutch oven.  If I want to braise or slow cook something in the oven, can I use my All Clad soup pot?  I've just been nervous to use it on the stove top and then put it in the oven for an extended amount of time...  Thanks!

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I assume your All-Clad SS soup pot has metal handles? If so, your soup pot will do just fine in the oven, as well as on the stove top, and you don't need to worry about going from one to the other. I used to do that all the time with my Revere stainless steel stock pot (aluminum disk bottom) with no ill effect.

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My pots and pans do have metal handles. Thanks for settling my nerves on this!

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You'll be fine. I put my all clad SS in the oven all the time. I think a few people even used them as test vessles in the recent EGCI thread on braising. Haha, for all that money they better go in the oven.

[Ducky]

Here's my stupid question: Friends of ours just brought us a whole damn wheel of Parmesan Cheese from Italy. It is roughly the same size as the wheels on our SUV and will take us forever to eat. What is the best way to keep it in the interim? It would take up too much room in the refrigerator. Can it be frozen? How about the wine cellar - which we keep at 55 degrees F?

Any thoughts?

[rosebud]

Ducky:

Your question reminded me of the time when my family lived in Germany in the 1960s. We went on a trip to Denmark and my mother wanted a wheel of cheese at some famous market.

She got the smelliest, worst-tasting cheese in the world--but we didn't know that at the time. We stored it in the little supply room in the basement where we kept our chest freezer.

I don't know what this cheese was, but it was so awful-tasting that it ruined everything we put it in.

We couldn't get rid of it before it "spoiled," which it never actually did.

55 degrees for that lovely parmagiano sounds just about right, but, then, I've never been given such a lovely thing. I would keep it well wrapped, to keep from drying out.

Edited March 13, 2005 by rosebud (log)

[zilla369]

Ducky: Please don't freeze that beautiful wheel of cheese!

Cut the wheel into manageable wedges and wrap them seperately, first in parchment, then in foil or plastic wrap. Don't put the plastic wrap directly next to the cheese. Put as much of it as you can into the fridge, and the rest in your cool room. Peel off the wrapping from time to time to check the quality; if it starts to get too sweaty, start thinking about giving some of it away (or trading it for something else!)

Grated parm can be frozen; it won't be as good as not frozen, but still okay for sauces. And you may certainly freeze the rinds, and save for soup.

[NimaCooks]

Here's a question: We've had a wooden cutting board for several years now (more than 5). Over the years, the cutting surface has gotten fairly beat up, but I've been pretty good about washing it and keeping it clean. I'm thinking about taking a Hi pressure washer to it to try to get into the wood and clean it. I'm wondering, is there a rule of thumb for how long you should keep a wooden cutting board?

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Is it end or edge grain? Do not pressure wash it or it will be ruined. Sanding or scraping are all I ever do.

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Ditto, use a plainer and make it real nice, nice.

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Thanks for your help. I'll be sure not to pressure wash it. Sanding is a great idea to smooth over the cuts and scrapes. I'll definitely try that.

WineSonoma, what you mean by "end or edge grain"?

ChefDG, I'm not sure what a plainer is. Can I assume it's a type of sander?

[winesonoma]

Pick up a piece of wood, If you look at the surface it's edge grain, if you look at the end it's end grain. End grain hard rock maple is preferred for cutting boards. Like this http://www.shopdirect.com/Catskill%20Craft...d71b1ecb4285673

A planer is a power plane, dosen't work on end grain well. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...518240?v=glance

[Kevin72]

Here's my stupid question: Friends of ours just brought us a whole damn wheel of Parmesan Cheese from Italy. It is roughly the same size as the wheels on our SUV and will take us forever to eat. What is the best way to keep it in the interim? It would take up too much room in the refrigerator. Can it be frozen? How about the wine cellar - which we keep at 55 degrees F?

Any thoughts?

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I agree that it shouldn't be frozen. Should keep fine in the wine cellar. Geeze that's a lot o' cheese!

[shoutsandmurmurs]

anyone know off hand what the ratio is for using fresh herbs instead of dried herbs? is there any difference?

i am making salmon croquettes tonight and the recipe i'm using calls for dried tarragon. i have leftover fresh tarragon which i'm using but i don't know how much more to use.

[andiesenji]

For most herbs, I use fresh 2 or 3 to one, depending on how much punch the fresh herb has.

They vary a great deal so I crush some, smell and taste.

[shoutsandmurmurs]

thanks!

[Behemoth]

I have a few pints of homemade chicken stock that I defrosted a couple of days ago. Now it looks like I have to leave town for 5 days, and I would like to refreeze it so it doesn't go bad. (I was planning to boil it first.) Can I do that? Or do I need to figure out how to use it all up tonight?

[Shalmanese]

The reason you shouldn't refreeze meats is because the cells get damaged every time you freeze. Since stock has no structure to damage, you can freeze it as many times as you like.

[Lindsay F]

The problem with stock is that it's an ideal medium for encouraging pathogenic bacteria to multiply. Boil the remaining stock for 5 mins before refreezing it. that should take care of any pathogens.

[Behemoth]

Thanks guys. I ended up using all the stock in a chickpea soup (note to self: stay away from the chickpea thread) but it is definitely information I can use in the future.

[Mallet]

I had a question about poultry. Why can you eat rare duck breast, but have to obsessively clean anything which has touched raw chicken? What other poultry should or shouldn't you eat rare? This was bothering me as I was making seared duck breasts for the first time yesterday.

[Patrick S]

I had a question about poultry. Why can you eat rare duck breast, but have to obsessively clean anything which has touched raw chicken? What other poultry should or shouldn't you eat rare? This was bothering me as I was making seared duck breasts for the first time yesterday.

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I think the answer to that is that any pathogens on the poultry will most likely be present on the outer surface of the poultry rather than inside it. So all the surfaces in your kitchen that contact the outside of the poultry are potentially contaminated. When you cook the poultry, however, you sterilize its outer surfaces by bringing its temperature above 140F, and thus most likely kill any pathogens. But I think that is just a rule of thumb, and it is possible for pathogens to be present internally, in the meat, which will not be killed by a brief searing.

Edited March 30, 2005 by Patrick S (log)