Breakin' the Law

[Aileen]

I also don't soak beans before I cook them. I add salt to the water, I think they have more flavor that way.

Edited August 3, 2005 by Aileen (log)

[Katie Nell]

If something falls on the floor, it goes in the pan anyway.

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Wow... I thought I was the only one! Look, pick up, and blow off!

Edited August 3, 2005 by Katie Nell (log)

[munchymom]

I scoop flour out of the canister with a measuring cup instead of spooning it into the cup and leveling off.

[lesfen]

Man... I feel like a rebel after reading all of these! Breakin' the law... breakin' the law!! Duh duh!

I suppose that the one that I feel the most guilty about is my wooden cutting board. I put everything on it... raw chicken included. I do give it a good lemon-salt rubdown every week (or so), but I usually just rinse it off and keep choppin'.

I never cook my pork to any degree of doneness above medium.

[schneich]

when i get hold of these marvelous bresse corn fed chicken breasts

i only cook them medium

and iam still alive ;-)

[fiftydollars]

I never wash my hands.

[Dana]

I wash mushrooms under running water. I put three or four in my hands and roll them together under the faucet. They're never waterlooged or rubbery. Who has time to brush individual mushrooms with a damp towel? No me.

[Really Nice!]

Well, this isn't really a "law", but I never wait until my eggs are at room temp. before beating.

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We don't need no stinkin' rules!

A while ago I read a recipe that said bring a steak out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature. I can't tell you how many times I've read that 30 minutes is the time for bringing an item from refrigerator temperature to room temperature. I don't know why, but this particular reading got me to thinking, which usually involves making a messy kitchen, but that's another post.

I bought a 1-inch thick steak and put it in the fridge for roughly 24 hours to get it to 'refrigerator' temperature. Then I took it out and placed it on the counter with a "needle probe" thermometer inserted into the middle of it. After five minutes it steadied at 39°F. After 30 minutes it read 38°F It didn't get to 65°F until 5.5 hours later. This is well past the four-hour rule of never letting food sit out in the TDZ for four hours or more. (TDZ = temperature danger zone, which is between 40 and 140°F.)

So what do they really mean when they want you to take something out of the refrigerator for 30 minutes before cooking it?

Edited August 4, 2005 by Really Nice! (log)

[EdS]

Man... I feel like a rebel after reading all of these!  Breakin' the law... breakin' the law!!  Duh duh! 

I suppose that the one that I feel the most guilty about is my wooden cutting board.  I put everything on it... raw chicken included.  I do give it a good lemon-salt rubdown every week (or so), but I usually just rinse it off and keep choppin'. 

I never cook my pork to any degree of doneness above medium.

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Raw chicken is served as sashimi in Japan. It's also sometimes just seared on the outside. I'm sure great care is taken to minimize the possibility of contamination. Poultry is about the only thing that turns me into Felix Unger in the kitchen. I clean everything thoroughly. It'd be a huge rush for me to eat some raw chicken.

[Rehovot]

I never bother to weight pie crusts when blind-baking; just dock 'em all over, and get on with life.

I refrigerate chocolate...and tomatoes. Otherwise, I suspect they'd both go to mush in my 85-degree kitchen.

[Susan in FL]

Just discovered this thread... Y'all have just about covered everything I do, but I'll be paying attention in case I can come up with something original to add later!

I seed tomatoes but practically never peel them.

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Same here... when tomatoes are to be "seeded, peeled, and diced-[or-whatever]" for a recipe or specific use or for effect is what I'm referring to... I often seed but don't peel.

I don't seed or peel tomatoes!

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Routinely, neither do I.

I refrigerate my tomatoes.

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Wow, all this about tomato treatment. I refrigerate them when like someone else mentioned, they are about to turn to mush sitting out on my counter.

If something falls on the floor, it goes in the pan anyway.

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But of course!

please don't put 'maters in the fridge.  It sucks the flavor right out of them.

But at least it also ruins their texture.

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I just recently read in a magazine or someplace that it's a kitchen myth about a refridge sucking the flavor out of them, but that it does change their texture. I've never taste-tested refrigerated tomatoes versus non-refrigerated tomatoes, but maybe they are like wine -- served too cold you don't get all the flavor.

I wash mushrooms under running water. I put three or four in my hands and roll them together under the faucet. They're never waterlooged or rubbery. Who has time to brush individual mushrooms with a damp towel? No me.

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Dana, funny this is mentioned. Last night prepping for dinner I washed them like that and commented that "they" say you're not supposed to. My husband said he thought that rule came about because once upon a time, the sink was full on both sides, one for washing dishes, and the other for the washed dishes that were drip-drying. That was the case last night.

[Arianna]

I never get the water out of tofu the right way. I just towell it off, unless I am deep-frying it.

[snowangel]

Last time I made stock, I fell asleep and forgot to skim. That gunk I would normally skim all drifted into big wads which were easy to strain out. I'm going to try this again!

[Moopheus]

I wash mushrooms under running water. I put three or four in my hands and roll them together under the faucet. They're never waterlooged or rubbery. Who has time to brush individual mushrooms with a damp towel? No me.

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A mushroom already has such a high water content it can't really absorb much more.

I don't sift either. I always use a scale, so I know how much I'm getting, and that's usually sufficient.

[Betts]

All knives go in the dishwasher

I refrigerate bananas - skins go dark but I don't eat the skin anyway

Chicken soup - boiled intensely in pressure cooker comes out clear ( whoda thunk!)

I never truss a turkey - stuffing and a little buttered foil to keep it in and loosely tie the legs together for modesty

I never try out a recipe before serving it to guests.

None of my cookware matches

Mushrooms always get a shower but not a tub bath

I love to taste raw beef - hamburger to tenderloin but raw chicken doesn't taste of anything health risks aside and sashimi is pointless IMHO