Jennie&Tim on 28/2/2008 at 21:26
I don't awaken until I've had my tea in the morning. This morning I decided to be very efficient and start my water for the tea before I go through my dressing and hygiene ritual (it has to be a ritual, because I'm not really awake--no tea yet). So, about halfway through things, just as I've put on my new gardenia perfume, the kettle whistles. Cheerfully, I go to the kitchen, plop the strainer into the mug and take a pinch of Golden Monkey tea and put it in the strainer to steep. Then I finish up dressing, remove the strainer, and wait about ten minutes for the tea to cool enough to drink. I get up before the kids, just so I can have this first cup in peace. And it tastes like gardenia perfume. On the plus side, I now have my own hypothesis as to the origin of jasmine tea (I see a lovely chinese lady making exactly the same mistake, but with better results). On the minus side, a waste of a cup of tea and having to drink the remade (rescrubbed strainer, mug and all) cup while getting the kids up and ready for school. I've learned that no matter how good an idea appears before I've had my tea, wait until afterwards to implement it.
On the positive side, given that we've recently discovered that my husband doesn't have hemachromatosis (he's a carrier, which the old gene test confused with having the disease) and that I have low iron levels (the blood bank sent me away with instructions to see my doctor; the doc however seems less concerned, merely advising me to eat more iron-rich foods and citrus), we've purchased a cast-iron griddle and frying pan from Lodge, via Amazon (where we got free shipping, a bit of a stunner for cast-iron). I'm using the griddle for a lot of things, pancakes, eggs, and fish most frequently; though my husband couldn't resist the reverse side's ridges for making some very tasty steaks. And I have to say that the cheap nonstick griddle we used to use is much inferior. I do have to start the heating about ten minutes before cooking for the new griddle, but I can cook at a lower heat and get a nice crust/edge/crispiness to the pancakes and fish; while the eggs still turn out nicely. I've had to learn about pushing the eggs around, as this is a two-burner griddle and when I cook the eggs I just use the front one, so I have to be diligent about damming with the flipper until the whites solidify, as my oven tips to the back a bit. Anyway, it's beautiful, sleek and black and solid as can be. The care is easy too, just rinse with water and a scrubby, then wipe a thin film of oil on it and heat on nearly low for about ten minutes.
I think I may have gone overboard with the frying pan though. I was tired of my dinky little nine inch frying pan, nice as it is with stainless interior and aluminum bottom for conduction; so I got the 15.25 inch cast iron one. It's nice for making enough bacon for everyone on weekends, and I made a lovely mess of leftover baked potato, italian sausage and onions for dinner one night. But it's too big really for a quick little breakfast for the kids or to make pineapple upside down cake in. I may have to buy another, smaller one. The sorrow overwhelms me.
So what have you done lately in your kitchen?
catbarf on 28/2/2008 at 23:20
Set it on fire a week ago.
Scots Taffer on 28/2/2008 at 23:48
Well J&T, nice to see you posting again, I've been tinkering ridiculously in the kitchen of late. Trying to perfect my cooking of steaks, believe it or not I've only made them maybe six or seven times in my life and I'm nearing what I consider to be high end restaurant quality. I got a cast iron skillet for precisely this purpose.
I also busted a couple of hundred dollars on a super sexy Wusthof knife that's made my time in the kitchen so much easier since I can just blaze through prepping for dinner now, whereas I used to saw and carve with the shitty utility blades I had before. Now I feel like a proper home chef, got my skillet and my chef's knife!
But yeah, generally I spend nearly every night in the kitchen for an hour or so preparing dinner - one of the highlights of my day, I fucking love food.
Jennie&Tim on 29/2/2008 at 00:48
On fire, huh? Well, that's better than the back room of the science lab. Back in high school I had advanced chem and I was melting something which caught fire, in the back room where all the chemicals were stored. It was a good thing overall though, because we did get it put out before too much damage was done; and we discovered that the two nearest fire extinguishers weren't charged, so all of the fire extinguishers in the school were promptly checked. We ended up using the lab aprons to smother my blaze.
Thanks for the welcome Scots, a good knife does make a lot of difference. One of the few wise things I did setting off to college all those eons ago, was to get myself a set of Chicago knives (they were a CR best buy then). They aren't top-of-the-line, but they are decent for not too much money, and I still like my Chicago chef knife more than my Henckles that I got for a wedding gift (also lo these many years ago). It has a sharp bottom corner that I use to get the eyes out of potatoes, and also to dig other bits out of things. The Henckles is all rounded so I can't hurt my little selfie, but less useful for that. I still have both sets, evil greedy me. But the chef's is definitely the most useful one, after that a paring knife for cutting itty-bitty things.
Another useful kitchen thing I found recently was a nice large silicone baking mat/pastry mat with rings for the different sizes of pies or dough rounds you might want to roll out. It frees me from having to oil and dust the baking sheets, which means I don't have to wash them after, I can just let them cool and put them back in the cupboards. It's not a cutting board, so once you get dough rolled out, you do have to flip it onto a flexiboard or into the pie pan to cut it; but still, I always like things that do twofers. (Or morefers!)
And no tossing parchment paper either.
Cooking is fun, I can do reasonable basic cooking; but I'm aiming to get better at it. I made chocolate pudding recently that turned out very well. And I'm doing hamburgers tonight, but I've baked the buns myself. They smell very tasty, and the kids and I are debating waiting until my husband gets home to eat them. We did taste test one.
I'm also exploring home-made pizza. The most important things are to use enough cornmeal so the dough slides off the thingy without tossing the toppings all over the inside of the oven, and using fresh mozz.
Scots Taffer on 29/2/2008 at 00:50
I thought about pizzas recently. I'm doing a French Bistro cooking class first off though, then I'll tackle homemade pizza dough and pastas... If I do start making pizza I want to get a proper stone slab for the oven baking but I've spent enough for now.
Ulukai on 29/2/2008 at 01:26
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
Trying to perfect my cooking of steaks, believe it or not I've only made them maybe six or seven times in my life and I'm nearing what I consider to be high end restaurant quality.
lollers, let us know when you get that Michelin star
Amen to the big sharp knives, though. I love my cleaver more than I possibly should. I was also given a cheap little Kuhn Rikon paring knife and £3.95 be damned it's one of the best little knives I've ever had.
I must admit, lately I'm partial to making steak sandwich whenever I cook steaks. Medium rare, panini, fried onions and plenty of dijon mayonnaise. Mmmm-mmm. This very evening though, not four short hours ago I made carrot, leek and chilli soup as there was an alarming lack of meat in the fridge. Looked like baby vomit, consistency of wallpaper paste, taste of The Win.
Quote Posted by Jennie&Tim
I'm also exploring home-made pizza.
I love fresh pizza; I keep meaning to make my own but I've never yet attempted the dough. From memory this involves throwing dough around and spinning it over one's head with the enthusiastic gusto of an Italian man thrashing a Ferrari over some of the more challenging roads in the Alps. As I'm trying to sell my flat, I'm not sure it's a good time to start hurling dough around in the kitchen in case it ends up leaving doughy marks on the ceiling. However, I've had the urge to attempt making a home-made pizza oven out of clay since seeing Hugh Fernley Whittingstall do it on TV. Kind of like (
http://williamrubel.com/Images/plimoth.oven.IMG_2619.jpg) this, in fact. How often it got used would be another matter!
Last week, we made homemade pasta. Not having used a pasta machine before, somehow the thickiness of the rollers was not reduced enough and we ended up with raviolli the size of mini Pork Pies. It was different. :cool:
BEAR on 29/2/2008 at 01:34
Not much to add since Im so lazy, but cast iron all the way. Thats all I've ever had at my parents house, and we've been greasing and seasoning them for years to the point where they are non-stick. There are some things I cant even cook in non-cast iron pans, it just never turns out right. On the other hand there is nothing worse than a un-used cast iron pan.
Scots Taffer on 29/2/2008 at 01:38
Quote Posted by Ulukai
lollers, let us know when you get that Michelin star
making a steak ain't nuthin' tuff
I got a sweet little Wusthof paring knife for free when I forked out $250 for the Wusthof chef knife.
jimjack on 29/2/2008 at 02:24
My progress on learning how to cook has been slow but I'm keen on it. I think I might take on culinary school if I don't fall into a trade after school is finished. I've managed to make things edible since I was like eleven years old, but I hate having a skill with little understanding or knowledge of the subject. Simply following the recipe is not enough. I must master the process. I made my first risotto, mushroom and pea, and it was the first time I felt like I was making something versus just putting ingredients together. This is what cooking should feel like. I think learning to cook is a skill that will only progress with lots of practice.
Speaking of pans, I heard that you shouldn't wash a single cast iron skillet or at least not use soap but to spray it with crisco or something and then wipe it...Is this true?
As far as misadventures in the kitchen, a couple of months ago I was getting myself ready for classes, when I remembered my aunt wanted me to put the dishwasher on for her before I left. Well I couldn't find the dishwashing soap, and so I reckon soap is soap and threw in a bit of regular dishwashing soap. Well shit, I come back and find 3/4 of the kitchen filled with bubbles. omg stupid jim. I used a hairdryer to get the bubbles out and the dog was going mental. I missed the bus, was forty minutes late for school, got thwarted by the v.p in the hall and had to stay forty-five minutes after school to complete what I missed that morning. You know men and housework just don't mix I say.
Worst of it was that the proper soap was in a plastic bag under the sink. The good news is that I am not expected to do the dishes any time soon.
Dia on 29/2/2008 at 02:33
What's a kitchen?
