Cooking Help, Questions, and Recipes

[Omega]

In IRC a few of us often discuss cooking stuff and several people are very good cooks so I figured a thread for RPG's recipes, advice, and if people have questions would be good.

I think I will open up with how to pick out a proper steak and how to prepare it.

How to Steak
First off steak is awesome so you should learn how to pick out good beef and make it since it is awesome.

Steak has many different cuts from chuck shoulder to sirloin, when you go to the meat aisle at your grocery store it can be difficult to pick out what you want so I will try to help you there first. In the US meat is graded in 1 of 3 ways, Select, Choice, or Prime. Prime is the best cut and most expensive, Choice is next, and Select is the cheapest but worst grade. You can do a taste test for yourself but understand there is a huge difference in quality of the meat based on grade. It is based mostly on marbling deciding the grade. If you are new to making steak I would say pick choice cuts for now, when looking at meat there is still a huge difference when it comes to quality within each grade. What you want is generally thing white lines running throughout the meat. If you have very thick lines those thick lines are basically inedible though can be cut off and used for other cooking uses. If you have very red throughout meat that has almost no white lines then your meat will have very less flavor to it.

So when you go to the market look through the different meats and look for nice thin lines through most of the steak, some steaks will have thick lines through them on every single one and that is due to the cut, for example the rib eye is a preferred cut and you will always see a decent chunk of fat on it. That is just the cut it is and is a very good cut. Now speaking of cuts there many, many cuts out there. To simplify things for now you want either a loin or rib cut generally. Some of the best cuts you will see regularly will be the Rib Eye and Sirloin. When you look at steaks get a nice rib eye or sirloin with thin white lines throughout that will be a good tender juice steak with a lot of flavor and easily cooked.

Now there are various other things people look for as well such as size. Personally I like my steak 1.5-2 inches thick, steaks generally do not gain or lose much in size from before to after cooking as long as you do not overcook which I will address later. For now though just think of what size you want, I like mine on the thicker size so you might like yours closer to 1 inch(2.5cm) thick. Most other things in regards to picking out a steak are personal preference and you can learn later on.

Do not buy frozen steaks, just don't.

Once you have your steak picked out time to prepare it for cooking, steaks are general sealed and cooled. Let your steak sit out on the counter and slowly rise to room temperature, depending on the size of the steak this should take from 30 minutes to half an hour the steak will likely increase in size slightly during this time as it breathes and warms up. Once you put it on the counter lightly use kosher or sea salt on one side, about halfway flip it over and salt the other side you will notice it will get redder as well as this happens and the salt should no longer be apparent before flipping and later cooking. Once you are ready to cook rub pepper onto both sides and then oil to both sides as well.

How done your steak is, is entirely a matter of preference. This is a good image to what each level looks like.

Doneness

Now you may be thinking about how you can tell how done it is from the outside, no worries there is a handy trick for that.

Steak Doneness Finger Trick

You do not have to use your finger on the steak if you do not want to, a utensil is fine.

Do not cook it to blue rare or well done. Blue rare is too underdone and you can potentially get sick from it and well done is a waste of good meat.

After the cooking you may think it is time to dig in, not yet. If you cut into it right away the inside will be juicy but the outside drier, let it sit for 5-10 minutes for the juices to seep into the outer layers of the steak. Once that is done you can dig into your perfectly prepared steak and I promise you will taste the difference.

Oh, I almost forgot, if you use steak sauce on good steak, I hate you.

[sobamushi]

This is neat, and Omega has asked me to talk about eggs, so.....eggs it is!! I personally love eggs, they're versatile, delicious, easy to cook and difficult to screw up too badly. Eggs are also nutritious and has a very high absorption rate. There are a few ways to eat eggs, but the most simple are boiled, scrambled, poached and fried. With some oil and a non-stick skillet, you can have a delicious meal any time of the day.

Boiled

There are three types of boiled eggs, soft, medium and hard. For the purpose of this thread I'm going going to talk about hard boiled, since it's I feel the easiest. You'll need a pot, some water, a burner or stove, and duh, eggs.

1. Put the number of eggs you want to boil in a pot, I'd say use a small pot for up to 4 eggs.


2. Cover the eggs with cold water until they're submerged. Cover the pot with a lid.


3. Put the pot over medium heat. Turn off the heat once the water is bubbling boiling.


4. Keep the lid on and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 7-10 minutes. The eggs will be perfectly boiled.

Scrambled

This is one of the simplest ways to eat eggs fast, and again, any time of the day! For one person, you'll need 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, personally I use coconut, but butter is also good, and a splash of milk or water. Salt and pepper would be good for seasoning.

1. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat, melt the butter and/or heat the oil up. Oil is hot enough when a drop of water sizzles.


2. Crack the eggs into a bowl, mix in salt and pepper and a splash of milk or water. The milk adds flavour but both liquids will add volume to the eggs, making them more fluffy.


3. Once the oil/butter is hot enough, pour in the eggs and let the bottom firm up. If you like fluffy soft eggs, start stirring the egg in the pan immediately until it's a fluffy lump. If you like your eggs more firm, then let the bottom firm up then slowly flip the eggs, breaking them into bite size pieces.


4. Serve with bacon, salsa, fruit, or just eat them plain!

Poached

Poached eggs are delicious, but they're somewhat difficult to make unless you're extremely patient. There is an easy way to do it though, they don't turn out as round as in restaurants, but they're just as good.

1. Fill a non-stick pan with about 2 inches of water. Heat the water over medium heat until you see bubbles on the bottom of the pan, but the water isn't boiling.


2. Crack open an egg and gently drop it into the water, try not to disturb the eggs as much as possible. Wait until all the whites have turned from clear to milky white, then scoop it out with a spoon. One that won't damage your non-stick pan.


3. Poach eggs one at a time if you're new at this, two max since any more will drop the water temperature.


4. Serve on toast, with fruit, or just eat them straight out of a spoon.

Fried

Fried eggs and bacon is one of my favourite breakfasts. Easy as hell to do and yet never fails to impress. To make the eggs extra good, cook bacon in the pan first, just heat the pan and lay down strips, then drain the bacon on a piece of paper towel and save the bacon grease.

1. Heat pan over medium heat, if you've just cooked bacon in the pan then scrape out the black bits from the bacon first.


2. Heat up two tablespoons of cooking oil or bacon fat or butter in the pan.


3. Crack open two eggs and drop them gently into the heated pan. The egg whites should start to cook up immediately. Turn the heat down to low to prevent burning. Cook untl all the white is solid. Cover with lid and cook the top of the yolk as well if you prefer over easy.


4. Serve with bacon, fruit, on toast, or whichever.

There are countless more ways to cook eggs, but those are the most basic ones, they also require the least amount of time and effort and you can do them with minimal pantry supplies. Hope this helps!

[Omega]

Two posts in and we have a good setup for one of my favorite breakfasts, steak and eggs.

A nice 1 inch thick T-bone steak cooked on low heat, 3-4 scrambled eggs with salsa over them, and some toast is a good way to start a day.

[Tyler Night]

Peaks in and smirks. Goes away to prepare a schooling on how to cook. "hehe."

[Zale]

Therefore, saith the philosopher, this water makes the body to be volatile; because after it has dissolved in it, and infrigidated, it ascends above and swims upon the surface of the water. Take, saith he, crude leaf gold, or calcined with mercury, and put it into our vinegre, made of saturnine antimony, mercurial, and sal ammoniac, in a broad glass vessel, and four inches high or more; put it into a gentle heat, and in a short time you will see elevated a liquor, as it were oil swimming atop, much like a scum. Gather this with a spoon or feather dipping it in; and in doing so often times a day until nothing more arises; evaporate the water with a gentle heat, i.e., the superfluous humidity of the vinegre, and there will remain the quintessence, potestates or powers of gold in the form of a white oil incombustible. In this oil the philosophers have placed their greatest secrets; it is exceeding sweet, and of great virtue for easing the pains of wounds.

Personal suggestion: Do not lick the spoon.

[sobamushi]

Super simple two ingredient pancakes

Well, it only requires 2 ingredients, so this works if it's all you have. But to make it better it takes 4 ingredients. This makes an amazing breakfast, or snack, or just...anytime really ;).

Ingredients

• 1 Banana


• 2 eggs


• 1/4 tsp baking powder(optional)


• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract(optional)

Directions

1. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with some butter(about 1 tablespoon).


2. While pan is heating, mash the banana into mush, then add the two eggs and mix well with a whisk or fork. If using optional ingredients, add those in as well.


3. Pour spoonfuls of batter into the hot pan, making about 2 1/2 inch big medallion pancakes. Wait until little bubbles form on the pancakes then flip with a flipper.


4. You should be able to get a whole plateful of little pancakes, drizzle in maple syrup, or top with fresh fruit, whipped cream. Whatever you want and consume!

[Tyler Night]

Today, I shall teach you the ways of the chili cook. I shall reveal to you all the chili recipe that I won a cookoff with and it is essential to make it with beans.

I will do a quick and easy recipe for the people to learn on and if you decide you would like to try the championship style later it will be there

1 jar(48oz) 7 bean mix
1 quart stewed tomatoes
1 pound of meat
chili powder

in 1 large pot brown your meat and drain the grease, put it in a container to be reused or thrown out. Remove the meat from the pot and dump the tomatoes and beans into the pot and bring to a boil adding as much or as little chili powder as you want, adding too much will make it bitter so be careful. Reduce the heat add the meat which just needs to be warmed up some and serve it however you want.

Now for the more adventurous this is what I won my chili cook off with.

1 jar(48oz) 7 bean mix
1 quart stewed tomatoes
.5 lbs goose breast
.5 lbs duck breast
.5 lbs new york strip
cinnamon to taste
cumin to taste
nutmeg to taste
1 clove of garlic chopped
1 medium onion chopped
habanero chili powder
regular chili powder
2oz rum(optional)
drizzling of molasses
1 tablespoon brown sugar
hot sauce(optional)

Drop everything into one pot apart from the meat and the garlic and onion and bring it to a boil, in a separate pan you will toss your meats in. Brown them as one, toss in the onion and garlic and cook it slowly. These meats work incredibly well together, you have the goose and duck, the goose is firm like a steak but is somewhat dry usually but the duck is very greasy usually so the greasiness of the duck goes well with the goose. Tossing the steak in there gives more flavor and it is very tender but stays firm enough to keep from falling apart in the chili. After browning them you will have very little grease in the pan so you should be able to dump it straight from the pan into the pot and continue cooking them. I actually cooked this chili 18 hours but that is quite long 6 hours is better but even this kind can still be cooked in under an hour. Slow cooking it will make it very thick and chunky, if you rather it be soupy cook it quick.

Honestly though, don't let the steps and the time intimidate you, on a scale of 1 to 10 on difficulty this chili will likely never be higher than a 3 or maybe 4. My nieces and nephew can make it with hardly any guidance from me.

[Omega]

Tyler Night that is certainly an interesting chili, I am more used to seeing chicken and pork chilis. That feels like something that would be good with a nice hearty bread given how thick that is. Maybe something like a good bread bowl.

[Tyler Night]

that chili is perfect for wet and chili burrito's.

when making either one you want a hearty sauce to pour over your burritos so when it is baked the tortilla doesn't get soggy.

[sobamushi]

Easy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffings :D These are gluten free and paleo, much healthier for you than regular muffins :D!


Recipe Here!

[xAsunaWolfx]

I always cook those two ingredient pancakes- heard about them a couple months ago :P they're pretty good and so quick to make on days you're running late-, i like to top them with pecans, fresh fruits and grade B maple syrup. I can actually make them into pumpkin spice pancakes- i believe it's adding 1/4 of pumpkin & pumpkin spice to it, it was good but you're better off googling and making sure.
. I actually do not consume meat, but that means i've tried my hand in alternatives. I know...UGH ERM MER GERD TOFU. I always hear people say:
(1) They hate it and are sure it is always bland (2) those who want to like it, but aren’t really sure how to work with it to make it delicious. (3) Those who hate the texture because they can't cook.

but Lesbihonest, it's only nasty if you can't cook it. or don't try it. I normally buy it already made from whole foods (awesome health food store) but i do cook it sometimes.

Therefore i present you the parody of "how to steak"

It's How to Tofu
Here :)


Fyi, if you want to use alternatives to white sugar, you can look into agave nectar/ grade B syrup/ even honey. It's healthier, lol. *Waits to get hate* xD PM it, if you'd like.

[mdk]

Some bonus steak tips. It's the only thing I can really cook (YES, grilling is cooking). These are tips from a guy who can only cook steaks and Kraft mac and cheese, so you know, don't go overboard, but be entertained.

1. Be picky about where you buy your steaks. 'Meat Glue' is gross, and places like Wal-Mart *will* use it. Drive the extra two miles, find a decent place and buy a real steak. It's hard enough to tell from outside the package, that you'd rather not leave it up to chance. I mean use your head. If it's cheaper per-pound than a hot pocket, you're probably eating an off-brand hot pocket. That's like the least sexy thing you could ever cook, other than I guess those frozen PB and J sanwiches with all the corners cut off. Seriously they're round. This is a real thing. Google it.

2. Marinating is gross,rubs are for bosses. Steak has enough natural flavor that you really don't need to add anything to it. But if you're going to add something to it, go for the rub -- it can forgive some of your grilling sins (like overcooking, or not searing hot enough), and if you're picky about what you're using, it can add some great notes (I'm really fond of 'Applewood' rubs -- they give a sweet and smoky flavor that you don't normally get with propane). If you have a stingy wife, this is a great excuse to spend more money on steak (hey, I'm just trying to get the flavor perfect, you want it to taste good right?) or better yet, to buy a better grill (think of all the money we'll save on steak rubs!).

3. Good presentation is disturbingly easy. For that classic diamond-shaped pattern, lay your steaks out diagonally on the grill. Cook for a while, flip them left-right (or right-left -- it's precisely the same thing). Cook for a bit, then flip them top-to-bottom. Cook for a bit, then flip left-to-right again (three flips total, horizontal-vertical-horizontal). BOOM, diamonds. Check my math. I may have counted wrong. POINT IS -- make diamonds and your friends will think it tastes better. It's science. People are idiots and don't know what they like. Manipulate their weak emotions with pretty shapes.

4. New York Strips are godlike. Just, you know, watch out for the glue. If you absolutely *must* impress somebody, spring for a t-bone -- there's some variety to the meat tenderness across the cut, so at some point literally everybody who eats one is having their favorite kind of steak. It probably won't be your favorite (because you can dial in exactly what level of tenderness you want, and just cook one of those) -- but it's one of those 'you can't miss' meals. Nobody will hate it. Except vegitarians, but who gives a shit.

5. You didn't pay attention to bonus-tip-two, did you. You still want to marinate your steaks. 'I wanna try it!' you say. 'I want my steak to be spicy!' you say. FINE. If you're gonna do this, first of all, you **have** to eat it. All of it. You put the poor steak through this torture and you're going to be there with it, or you're a terrible person. Next, the most efficient way to actually *do* it, is to put the steak into a ziplock bag. Pour in only as much sauce as you really need, and zip it up. Toss back in the fridge until you're ready to cook (not more than 24 hours, preferably, because your meat has stuff growing on it, but if you cook it sooner than like I dunno 2 or 3, you're probably wasting your efforts marinating in the first place). Be prepared for your grill to hiss and spit and get like ridiculously dirty. You deserve it. You marinating punk. Shame on you.

[mdk]

IDIOT FOOD: S^5

This is called 'idiot food' for a few reasons. One, because idiots (like yours truly) can usually cook it, because it requires no forethought and no preparation, and very little practice. Second, because idiots (like yours truly) will tend to like it, because it's bursting with idiot flavors, like 'sauce' and 'good.' Last, because even though it's called 'S^5,' there's really only three s-words involved (four, if you add 'shitty'), and anyone who understands pasta will think you're stupid for calling it this. I can't change that. S5 is catchy. S5 rules. Suck on that, mafia. Sort of like the steak post this is partly directions and partly entertainment, so you know, if you didn't like that other one, then eat me.

WHAT IS IT

S^5, or S5 for short, stands for 'Spicy Sausage Spinach Spaghetti Surprise.' There's no spaghetti in it -- that's one of the bullshit letters I was talking about. It's a pasta with meat sauce, essentially, but there's green shit in there for self-conscious people. Here's what you need:

1 lb pasta (I use Farfalle, aka Bowtie Pasta. You can make it with ravioli, too, but then you need to be more picky about what kind of sauce you're using, because it runs off easier)

1 roll of 'Spicy Sausage.' See what I mean by idiot food? Jimmy Dean practically boiled your water already. If you want to do it yourself, red peppers, jalepenos, whatever you can handle.

1 can of 'Spinach.' If you prefer fresh, alright, whatever, use about a can's worth of FRESH spinach. You're about to ingest so much pork that you can pretty much forget about the health benefits, so stop fooling yourself.

1 bottle of 'Diavolo' Sauce. It's spicy marinara, okay, Diavolo is like latin for 'pretty spicy' or something. I don't know. If you can't find it, 'Arrabiata' is basically the same thing but in german. This is the 'Surprise' ingredient. Shocker. Tomato sauce on a pasta. EVERYONE IS SURPRISED!!

1 bottle of beer. You should always drink while cooking. You'll think you're cooking better, and therefore, gain the confidence necessary to cook better. Or you'll just have a beer. Either way.

WAT DO

So basically what you're going to do is cook all of this shit and throw it together. I KNOW -- THAT SOUNDS LIKE WICKED COMPLICATED. It's easier than you probably think, and that's pretty easy. You need a pot of water and a saucepan (that's a pan for cooking bacon). When you put the water on the heat, that's also when you should start cooking the sausage. Cooking sausage is pretty idiot proof, but you can scorch it if you're lazy -- dump it in the saucepan, set phasers to 'stun,' chop at it with a spatula pretty regularly and flip your pile of ground-up mush whenever you see a red spot. Eventually it'll all be brown (if it smells burnt, congratulations, you ruined everything, go drink a bottle of acid). Probably about halfway through cooking the sausage is when your water should start boiling, ballpark. Throw in your fake spaghetti and keep playing with your sausage.

You'll have to stir the pasta some while the sausage is still going -- that's right, we're bringing your multitasking counter up to TWO, ladies and gents, try not to fall behind. After a few minutes of doing two things at once, your sausage will be done. Drain as much fat as you can and put it back on the heat (maybe turn it down just a tick). This is where you dump in your sauce and your spinach -- and also I forgot, you were supposed to drain as much gross-spinach-juice out of your can as possible, so go back in time, and do that, and then dump it in the saucepan. Good job. Maybe go kill hitler while you're at it. Awesome. Okay, so now your sauce ingredients are stewing together and forming one giant superflavor. You should try to have the sauce bubbling right about the same time as your pasta finishes, which for me means low-medium heat.

Strain your pasta, dump it back into the pot, and dump your sauce on top. Stir it up real good. You can dump in some cheese too, but try not to ruin it -- you probably don't want as much parmesan as you think, and you definitely don't want cheddar. Probably jack I guess, or colby-jack, or whatever they're selling, I don't care, you don't need cheese. All that's left is shoveling the whole mess into your face and dying a slow death from whatever diseases sodium causes. Yeah. You've got 'em. That's it, that's the whole recipe, go away now.

[Rica]

Don't have any recipes of my own (yet, gotta get together my apple pie recipe >w>) BUT

I am willing to share a really amazing fried chicken sandwich recipe I found

http://www.cookingcomically.com/?page_id=578

Proven to be delicious courtesy of me and my amazing taste in food.

[Alphakoka]

Omega said How done your steak is, is entirely a matter of preference. This is a good image to what each level looks like.Now you may be thinking about how you can tell how done it is from the outside, no worries there is a handy trick for that.

Do not cook it to well done. well done is a waste of good meat.

I always found this two parts interesting. Personally, I find well-done nice since I liked the generally crispy texture they got, which is not something you get from the seared cooking you do on the rest. If I want it to be a bit juicy, I'll go medium-well at most.

[Navy_Vet]

I do alot of gardening in my spare time, and also canning so here are a few of my favorite ways to preserve summer.

Peach Cobbler
¼ cup
2 Tbsp. butter
¾ cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
¾ cup Milk
2 Cups sliced Peaches

Melt butter in a 2 quart baking dish. Combine 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder. Add milk and stir until mixed. Pour batter over butter in baking dish. DO NOT STIR!
Combine Peaches and remaining 1 cup of sugar, spoon over the batter do not stir. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Easy Pickles
4 cups white vinegar
8 cups water
½ cup Kosher Salt
Boil the mixture for 15 minutes. Have cucumbers packed into hot sterile jars with dill, garlic or whatever seasoning you prefer. You can also substitute peppers for cucumbers etc.

Peach Peels & Pits Jelly
1 pack of pectin
3 cups of sugar

Directions:

1.Place a minimum of 4 qts peelings and seed in heavy pan.
2. Barely cover with water.
3. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Let stand overnight.
5. Strain juice through cheesecloth.
6. Measure 3 cups juice into pan.
7. Add 1 pkg powdered pectin.
8. Bring to a rigorous boil and add 3 cups sugar.
9. Boil juice rapidly until drops sheet off spoon as in jelly testing.
10. Skim off foam.
11. Pour into sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch from top.
12. Band and process in water bath for 5 minutes
This will work with any stone fruit, example plums or apricots etc.

Pear Butter
1. Peel and slice pears
2. Puree the pear slices
3. Pour the Pureed pears into a saucepan
4. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste
5. Bring pears to boil and simmer until the puree has thickened and is half of its original size
6. Pour into sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch from top.
7. Band and process in water bath for 5 minutes

This will also work to create applesauce or apple butter

[sobamushi]

Woot I just remembered that we have a thread for this, so I'm going to pimp a little okay? For those that require gluten free and lactose free cookings, check out my site http://paleomushi.com/ for some fun simple recipes.

Just to sort of start things off I present to you my No Churn No Machine Green Tea Ice Cream :D!