Kitchen and Cooking Thread

[wittynickname]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

What is fake soy sauce?

The Japanese manufacturing process, used by companies such as Kikkoman Corp., dates to the 17th century. This so-called "natural brewing" process involves blending wheat, soybeans and a mold, and letting the culture ferment for several months before refining and bottling the sauce.


Food snobs and consumer groups here and in Japan consider non-brewed soy sauce an impostor since it contains caramel color, corn syrup, salt and what is called hydrolyzed soy (or some other protein), in which the protein is reduced to an amino acid to create what is essentially a flavor enhancer.

http://www.yumsugar.com/254664

Basically, real soy sauce is actually made from soybeans. Fake is made from hydrolyzed soy protein, caramel coloring, and other additives.

I thank Alton Brown and Good Eats for this knowledge.

[metallicat]

I am going to give that recipe a shot this week sometime witty, it sounds really good. I love any sort of chicken and rice dishes.

[wittynickname]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

I am going to give that recipe a shot this week sometime witty, it sounds really good. I love any sort of chicken and rice dishes.

Just do everything to taste, really--I measured nothing, so definitely don't take those measurements as gospel or anything. I basically just poured stuff in the pan until it looked about right.

I hope you like it!

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

Creme brulee just seems so easy to screw up. Makes me shy away from attempting a recipe.

Really, it is one of the easier desserts to make. And a dessert just as decadent and easy to make is pot de crème. Here is what I really like about desserts like these - they can be made the day before, freeing up time the day you are having company, they are delicious, and they look impressive. We eat with our eyes first and when something looks really good, it usually tastes better.

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite pot de crème and don't be afraid to try desserts like this. Go out on a limb, try something new and broaden your skills in the kitchen, nothing ventured, nothing gained. They are made the day before, so if for some reason you have a failure, you still have enough time to make something else. But I doubt you will fail.

And these are so creamy and smooth, they melt in your mouth. And while they are rich, the lemon and the cranberries seem to counter some of that richness. You can easily halve this recipe as well.

LEMON POT DE CRÈME WITH CRANBERRY PORT COMPOTE



Finely grated zest of 4 lemons plus 1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar (lemon crème) plus 3/4 cup sugar (cranberry port compote)
1 liter whipping cream plus 1 extra cup
1/2 vanilla bean, cut open lengthwise
12 large egg yolks
2 cups cranberries
1 1/2 cups ruby port
1 cinnamon stick
10 ramekins, 6 or 7 oz in size


Make the lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer until reduced to just a bit more than 1/2 cup. Stir regularily with a spatula.

Heat the whipping cream: Preheat oven to 325 F and bring a large kettle of water to a boil. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the 1 liter of whipping cream, 1/3 cup of sugar and the vanilla bean. Heat at a very low heat while the lemon syrup is being made. Whisk from time to time. Bring it to a heat that is just below boiling. Do not boil!!!

Make the lemon cream: In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the last 1/3 cup sugar. Gently whisk a large ladleful of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture. Now quickly whisk this mixture into the remaining cream in the saucepan. Turn heat to medium and whisk and cook 4 to 5 min or until mixture reaches 170F on an instant read thermometer. Do not cook like regular pudding and thicken, just heat to the desired temperature. Now add the lemon syrup and whisk together. Strain immediately through a cheesecloth or a very fine sieve. Squeeze out as much of the lemon cream as possible. You want to discard the lemon zest and the vanilla bean at this point. Once the lemon cream is strained, I pour it into a pitcher. I find this facilitates pouring it into the ramekins.

Bake the pot de crème: Put your ramekins into a large rectangular roasting pan or other rectangular baking dish, with sides at least as high as a cake pan and large enough to accommodate all the ramekins. Equally distribute your lemon cream into your ramekins. Pour the boiling water into the baking dish so that it reaches half way up the sides of the ramekins. Loosely cover with a sheet of foil. Do not tightly close the foil, simply lay it over the baking dish. Place in your preheated oven and bake anywhere from 25 min to 45 min. I find 25 to 30 min is just about right. I check at this point in time. The pot de crème should be set around 1/4 inch in from the sides of the ramekin dish and should have a firm jiggle. If they make a wave like motion, they are not quite done. If you are not sure, underbake a bit rather than overbake. They will completely firm up once removed from oven and cooled. Remove the pan from the oven. The custards should be kept in the hot water in the baking pan for a further half an hour. The sheet of foil should still be loosely on top as well. After half an hour, the custards should have finished baking and there will no longer be a jiggle area in the center. Remove the foil cover being careful not to drip water from the foil on the custards. Remove the ramekins from the hot water and cool at room temperature a further half an hour. Now cover each ramekin with saran and refrigerate over night or up to 2 days.

Cranberry port compote: In a medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups ruby port with the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium and reduce to about 1 cup. Stir regularily with a spatula. Add the 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries. Stir occasionally until the cranberries split and look wrinkled but are still whole. This should take around 6 minutes. Do not overcook or you will end up with cranberry sauce!!! Put in a bowl and cover and refrigerate around 2 hours. Remove the cinnamon stick and stir slightly. Cover and keep refrigerated. This can be made ahead, the same day as the pot de crème.

Serve: Whip the remaining whipping cream. Add a bit of vanilla and icing sugar to taste, it should not be too sweet. Remove the plastic wrap from the ramekins. Put a tablespoon or two of cranberry port compote in the middle of each pot de crème and then put a dollop of whipped cream on top.

[Machiavelli]

Thanks, but what about torching?

Edit: nm, this is different.

[redforever]

And if you want the taste of pumpkin pie, but not made in pie form, try a pumpkin pot de crème. I juggled around with ingredients and made up this recipe.

PUMPKIN POT DE CRÈME




500 ml (2 cups) whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar, divided
5 egg yolks
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each of ginger, nutmeg and cloves
1 tsp dark rum
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup maple syrup
chocolate coated coffee beans or chocolate truffles

6 ramekins, 6 ounce size

Put the whipping cream, two thirds of the sugar, the spices and the pumpkin puree in a medium sized saucepan. Slit the vanilla bean vertically and scrape out the seeds. Add both the seeds and the vanilla pod to the cream mixture. On medium low heat, slowly bring the custard mixture to a simmer. Add the rum. Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Beat the egg yolks with the remaining third of sugar. Add one or two ladles of the hot custard to the beaten yolks and mix well. Add the egg yolk mixture back to the remaining custard. Stir well. Turn on heat and cook custard a further 3 to 5 minutes, just to the simmer. Do not boil!!! Strain the custard mixture through cheesecloth or a fine sieve.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Put the ramekins in a shallow rectangular pan. Divide the pumpkin custard evenly among 6 ramekins. Pour boiling water half way up the sides of the ramekins, cover loosely with a sheet of foil and bake.

Start checking the custards after 30 minutes. They should take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to bake. They should still have a “jiggle” in the center about the size of a dime. Do not fully bake the custards.

Remove the pan from the oven. The custards should be kept in the hot water in the baking pan for a further half an hour. The sheet of foil should still be loosely on top as well. After half an hour, the custards should have finished baking and there will no longer be a jiggle area in the center. Remove the foil cover being careful not to drip water from the foil on the custards. Remove the ramekins from the hot water and cool at room temperature a further half an hour. Now cover each ramekin with saran and refrigerate over night or up to 2 days.

Toast the pecans in a 350F oven for 8 minutes. Remove pecans from the oven, cool and coarsely chop the pecans.

To serve, sprinkle each pot de crème with some chopped pecans, then put on a dollop of whipped cream, sift a bit of cocoa and cinnamon over the whipped cream, top with a small chocolate truffle or a chocolate coated coffee bean and if desired, drizzle with some maple syrup.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

Thanks, but what about torching?

Pot de creme are not torched like creme brulee.

I also make chocolate pot de creme and when I have more time, will try and post that.

[Kipper is King]

I woke up a bit early this morning in time to make a Dutch Baby! This is actually an American dish which was first made by Dutch immigrants to Pennsylvania. I got the idea from Alton Brown's "Good Eats".

For my version, I reduced the amount of butter somewhat. Also, I added a sliced, peeled apple which is a nice option. I allowed the apple slices to cook in the oven with a bit of the butter for five minutes before adding the batter. Lastly, as I did not have lemons, I sprinkled icing sugar and cinnamon lightly over top, instead of the lemon sugar in the recipe.

Here is the recipe I used. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...n-Sugar-352279

Give this a try- it's easy, tasty and it looks really impressive when it's all puffed up and golden! :-) It took me about 35 minutes from when I first turned on the oven to preheat.

Here are some photos of mine:

[Mccree]

So cooking experts I have a question.

When is the best time to add salt and pepper?

Is sea salt, kosher salt etc..really that different from Table (normal) salt.

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by Mccree

So cooking experts I have a question.

When is the best time to add salt and pepper?

Is sea salt, kosher salt etc..really that different from Table (normal) salt.

it really depends on what you're cooking, if you're frying up some vegtables i like to add salt earlier to help draw out the flavour, if it's meat i'll season it before I cook it. If it's fries I'll wait till after.

Personally it's personal preference too, what do you like to do, cook the same dish twice and try early and late, see what you like better.

personally, i enjoy the taste and flavour of sea salt to table salt, if you can't tell the difference, it probably doesn't matter.

[missdpuck]

Thanks for the Dutch Baby Kipper A local restaurant serves them without the apples, then with the apples they call it a German pancake. Both are sooooo good. Yours looks great.

[4X4]

I always thought a Dutch Baby was a blonde haired, blue eyed kid with 12 siblings.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Thanks for the Dutch Baby Kipper A local restaurant serves them without the apples, then with the apples they call it a German pancake. Both are sooooo good. Yours looks great.

They sell them at the Original Pancake House. Both are SOOOOOOO good.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by 4X4

I always thought a Dutch Baby was a blonde haired, blue eyed kid with 12 siblings.

Where did you come up with 12? We're not that prolific, like a bakers dozen

[4X4]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Where did you come up with 12? We're not that prolific, like a bakers dozen

Lol. You're dutch? How many siblings do you have?

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Lol. You're dutch? How many siblings do you have?

One.

But I will say I have lots of cousins Well not really. 3 sets of 5, 1 set of 3 , 2 sets of 4, 2 of 2. Mom had 3 bros 2 sisters, dad had 2 bros and one sister. Don't recall any ancestors with 12!

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by Mccree

So cooking experts I have a question.

When is the best time to add salt and pepper?

Is sea salt, kosher salt etc..really that different from Table (normal) salt.

Seasoning a little throughout the cooking process often is a good idea. Remember that lots of salt is not healthy, so don't overdo it.

Sea salt has more minerals in it I believe than regular table salt. It also has a fuller flavor. I totally prefer it over regular salt.

What makes kosher salt so cool is the shape of the granules. The elongated shape really helps draw out moisture for certain applications. That is my understanding anyways- I have never used it myself.

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Thanks for the Dutch Baby Kipper A local restaurant serves them without the apples, then with the apples they call it a German pancake. Both are sooooo good. Yours looks great.

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

They sell them at the Original Pancake House. Both are SOOOOOOO good.

Thanks you two! I can't wait to see how the pros do it!

Also, I tried on last week without the apples, and it rose majestically. It came out of the oven shaped almost like the Astrodome. Really quite cool, and quite yummy.

Overall, I like it best with apples IMO.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by Mccree

So cooking experts I have a question.

When is the best time to add salt and pepper?

Is sea salt, kosher salt etc..really that different from Table (normal) salt.

As a general rule, the better you season while you are cooking, the less you will have to do after. Consequently, most recipes will suggest adding your seasonings, including salt, relatively early in the cooking process. Later, as the dish approaches readiness, tasting for final balance of seasonings is usually done. Of course, certain foods make the tasting and adjusting part a bit tricky. Also, certain foods require a fair bit of salt (pasta water, for example, should be "ocean salty" in order to get the taste into the pasta as it cooks). Other foods, like mushrooms, can't be salted too early in the process as too much moisture leeches out of them and you end up boiling the food instead of frying / sauteeing it.

In terms of salt types, most larger "grain" salts (i.e. kosher, sea salt, etc...) actually pack less saltiness per amount than table salt but often have additional interesting flavour notes. So adjust accordingly. Also, the other consistancies of salt are sometimes useful as part of the texture and mouth appeal of a food just as much as for the salt taste.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Mccree

So cooking experts I have a question.

When is the best time to add salt and pepper?

Is sea salt, kosher salt etc..really that different from Table (normal) salt.

Chemically, there is almost no difference between the three salts you listed.

Table salt is preferred by bakers, because of its fine granular texture. It is easy to disperse evenly throughout the flour or batter of whatever you are baking and it dissolves quickly as well.

Because of the fine grain of table salt compared to the coarse grain of kosher or sea salt, you will get more of a salt taste with the fine table salt. In other words, if you added 1 tsp of table salt to a certain volume of one pot of soup, and added 1 tsp of sea or kosher salt to the same volume of another soup, the one with the table salt will taste considerably saltier, about twice as salty.

1 tsp of table salt will equate to about the same salty taste as 1 Tbsp of sea salt or kosher salt.

So then for other forms of cooking, in other words - not baking, cooks quite often prefer the coarser salts since it is easier to control and add to taste. Coarse salts (large grain) are also preferred for pickling since they do not produce a powdery looking brine.

The main thing to remember when you are using salt, or any other form of herb or flavoring is start with less and add to taste later on if necessary. That is particularily true for salt.

The three salts are also different in how they are processed. I believe one of the main criteria for kosher salt is it can not contain any preservatives.