Jennie&Tim on 29/2/2008 at 02:35
Yep, you don't use soap or detergent on cast-iron because you want to build up an oily layer called seasoning. Soap and detergent remove the seasoning. I scrub mine with water, then oil lightly, then heat to make sure the water is gone and the oil is set. I think the oil must create a polymer of some sort. If you've done much baking and oiled or buttered a pan without dusting it with flour, then you know how difficult it is to scrub off the layers of baked on grease, it's kind of a thin golden layer. Anyway, the point on cast-iron is to get and keep layer upon layer of the stuff to make it eventually nearly non-stick itself.
It's not particularly high-brow, but my brother-in-law introduced me to a cooking show by a gentleman called Alton Brown, he's very silly and entertaining; and also gives some simple basics on why which foods do what.
For Dia: a kitchen is where you store your 'fridge and microwave, sometimes a stove and some pans as well. Many people decorate them for dusting, but a few madmen use them for heating and mixing various substances they then pawn off as edibles.
Dia on 29/2/2008 at 03:02
Oh; that place!! :cheeky:
I've found that it's too time consuming to cook for one and the mess I make is just not worth the effort, but I have discovered the joys of nuking stuff. I've also discovered the stuff that shouldn't be nuked; you know, the kind of stuff that either explodes or turns rock hard.
Actually, I have quite a few new paperweights and doorstops now. And my son has discovered that my microwave failures also make great hockey pucks.
Fafhrd on 29/2/2008 at 03:36
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
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.
A pizza stone is absolutely essential for making pizza from fresh dough. I've found that heating the oven to 500 degrees with the stone in before even rolling the dough out, and then dropping the temperature to around 450 after the pizza is in results in the best crispness of crust without having burnt cheese.
Non-pizza related food stuff: I have found myself making strawberry jam on occasion. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with freshly made jam is incomparably great. Also chocolate waffles with clotted cream and fresh jam. And it makes the kitchen smell fucking awesome as well.
jtr7 on 29/2/2008 at 03:47
A friend of mine experimented with nuking Pillsbury biscuits, the kind in the paper canister, only this was back in the mid-eighties before there were a microwaveable variety. He nuked one until it no longer seemed to be cooking anymore. It was a hard white puck. He purposely dropped it on the floor. It clattered and left nary a crumb. Wow.
PigLick on 29/2/2008 at 06:03
A pizza stone is not really necessary, I do quite well with my normal fanforced oven. Making your own dough is good fun, but it takes a few tries before you get it down. Only now am I making pizza dough i would consider worthy of any high end pizzeria. And its not even an exact amounts kinda deal like a lot of pastry and dessert cooking, a lot of feel goes into it.
Also, with pizza sauces, a lot of people make the mistake of actually cooking the sauce as you would a pasta sauce, its actually better if its raw when it goes on the pizza. So just make a basic Napoli sauce, tomatoes onion garlic basil oregano salt pepper olive oil, mix it up in a blender and just wack it on, it will cook in the oven and be nice and fresh too. Of course if you want to be really fancy, a nice romesco sauce is even better.
haha scots yeh i got one of those little knives too, I use it mostly for boning.
Yes boning. Boning meat, that is.
Carini on 29/2/2008 at 14:46
We just moved into our new house in January and the kitchen in it is top notch compared to what our rental was like. We've now got a dispose-all, a dishwasher, brand new refridgerator and a big basin sink. I was just relaying to the pregnant lady the other day how "we seem to cook A LOT more in this house" I've also found that things last a lot longer in this kitchen as far as shelf life goes. Things last longer in this fridge and also things last longer on the countertop too (breads, fruits) which makes spending time in the kitchen way more enjoyable. Plus with the dishwasher I have no qualms about trashing the kitchen when making things because clean up is soooo easy.
We also got some new knives which help incredibly with prep. Although we went with the Henckels instead of the Wusthof. Big chef's knife, bread knife and a smaller sandwhich knife. These 3 plus all the new toys in the kitchen and it's probably the room I spend the most time in (although the room with the flat screen demands a lot of my time :cheeky: )
Some things we've cranked out recently include: crab bisque, banana bread, fettuccini alfredo, blackened chicken, meatloaf and we make big salads everynight because at this point in my life salads are awesome and with the new kitchen it's fun to make salads
As far as pizza goes this is something we've spent some time doing. I've probably been through 3 or 4 doughs before settling on (
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001199.html) my dough of choice. We use a pizza stone and thingy (pizza peel) 500 degrees like Fafhrd said. You can't pile too many toppings on or else it doesn't come out just right. Also throw some fontina on with the mozzerella. :D
paloalto90 on 29/2/2008 at 18:42
Forgot the yeast in making homemade rye bread.I think it will make a good door stopper.:erg:
heretic on 29/2/2008 at 19:53
One thing about cast-iron.
A good way to start them off from scratch when they are new or when the coat becomes chipped/uneven is to scrub them with steel wool using with a mild soap under hot water. After this, coat the pan by hand with olive oil or lard and bake it alone for a few hours at around 400 degrees. Your seasoning will then be smooth and even, and will last a lot longer than the uneven gradual layers that serve to chip off now and again.
piano-sam on 29/2/2008 at 22:27
I love cast iron skillets and griddles. Anything else is laughably inferior, not to mention what a lovely security system should a hooligan bumble into your home unexpected. A lot of heft there. Maybe could even kill someone if you ever find yourself in a zombie appocalypse or something.
catbarf on 1/3/2008 at 03:25
Quote Posted by paloalto90
Forgot the yeast in making homemade rye bread.I think it will make a good door stopper.:erg:
Even worse to forget any kind of preservative. Bread that turns rock-hard in two days or less... Ugh.
