Ask a Cook

[punkbass2000]

Sometimes I make some "roll-up pizza"-things. I just roll up some ham, cheese and fried mushrooms into small rolls of dough and place them in the oven for 15 minutes or so. Very good I think. I usually use oregano for spicing, but do you have another spice that would fit nicely in this setting? (With cheese, ham and mushroom) I'm no good with spices..

Well, it depends on what you want, really. Any Italian spice could work well, I'm sure. Basil and rosemary jump to mind. I would say coriander too, but, well, I love coriander.

 

[punkbass2000]

How good is your palette?

This doesn't strike me as a quantifiable quality. I'm sure there are many flavours and subtleties I could not detect, especially in finer things like wine, but I suspect it's better than an average person. I'm becoming quite familiar with cheeses in particular, as of late.

 

[punkbass2000]

Your favorite pizza?

I like a lot of different pizzas, I couldn't begin to narrow it down. I would love to try that $1000 one someone posted the other day, though.

EDIT: As an example, though, last time I ordered pizza one was steak, roast garlic and portabella mushroom and the other chicken, broccoli and roasted red pepper.

 

[CartesianFart]

What course of meals for an ideal dinner that makes the ladies throw their panties at you?

 

[punkbass2000]

As with anything, the key is really to know your audience. Pay attention to their likes and dislikes. Some of my favourite dishes would be flat-out refused by many women simply for being too "heavy" (read: fattening ).

Generally, a fresh soup is always a winner. They're not too difficult to make. Carrot soup is delicious and health-conscious. As an appetizer with a basic salad you can't miss too easily (a wide selection of dressings is a good idea, especially a fresh balsamic vinaigrette).

For the main course, assuming you don't know them well, a chicken dish is usually a good idea. It's a safe choice and can usually be made well regardless. Unless, of course, they (or you) are vegetarian, which is something they should let you know beforehand (or any other sort of allergy/aversion). In that case, my choice would actually be quiche, since I make a nice quiche.

I'm not much of a baker, so I can't say too much about dessert. Really, a simple fresh pastry of any sort is likely to be well-received, particularly if it has some chocolate and goes well with coffee.

 

[RedWolf]

What course of meals for an ideal dinner that makes the ladies throw their panties at you?

I'd go with a pork tenderloin.

 

[Whomp]

Shabu-shabu has always been a huge hit with the ladies.

 

[Urederra]

What sort of rice should I use for paella, and is risotto an adequate substitute?

I can answer the first one, For paella, Valencia rice.

short to medium-grain rice variety that is cultivated in many areas of Spain, but takes its name from the province and city of Valencia, which is the largest rice growing region of Spain. It is slightly sticky when cooked and yet the grains separate easily, which makes it perfect for the popular Spanish paella dishes that originated in Valencia. It is available in specialty shops and through mail order.

In the US, you can buy Valencia Rice at Wal-mart. In the UK, I guess Tesco might have it.

 

[RedWolf]

I would typically bake a salmon fillet wrapped in tinfoil for around 10 minutes at 350 or 400 or so. I would just check it, though; I don't have a very specific time/temperature. Keeping an eye on food is one of the most important things that people tend to not do at home, I think.

Is their any advantage to wrapping in foil? I tend to just put it on a baking sheet lined with foil.

 

[punkbass2000]

Is their any advantage to wrapping in foil? I tend to just put it on a baking sheet lined with foil.

It keeps the flavour in. I would usually put it with butter and a couple lemon slices and the foil helps keep it moist.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Okay, so I work as a human resources administrator for a staffing company that specializes in hospitality services. This means that we have, among other things, on call kitchen staff; primarily prep cooks, but some grill cooks and other chefs. Now, it is my job to interview them and try to get a grasp of their level of experience, which is difficult given my own unfamiliarity with the process, but I only need to tell prep cooks apart from the rest. We have a basic test we administer, one of whose questions is, "what is the three second rule?"

No one ever gets it rights, but a) do you know what it is? and b) I always get the same wrong answer, and it is a little scary . . .

 

[punkbass2000]

It's not something I know of (I doubt it's a real meme), but I'm guessing the wrong answer you get a lot is how long something is good on the floor.

 

[Ramius75]

Which is better ?? a wood pepper/salt mill or a plastic/glass 1 ? Will the wood 1 keep the pepper and salt drier ? especially in places like humid Singapore.

 

[punkbass2000]

I couldn't answer that definitively. My inclination would be towards wood and I would think glass is fine. I generally have doubts with regard to plastic, though those may well be unfounded.

 

[Ramius75]

I couldn't answer that definitively. My inclination would be towards wood and I would think glass is fine. I generally have doubts with regard to plastic, though those may well be unfounded.

i see, thanks. I have been thinkgin of getting a mill for a very long time. but still cant make up my mind, so far, im using a glass 1 from mcormick.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

It's not something I know of (I doubt it's a real meme), but I'm guessing the wrong answer you get a lot is how long something is good on the floor.

Yeah, that is the wrong answer, and it disturbs me to hear it from people who make food for others. I don't even car about the right answer (how long a thermometer needs to be inserted into meat to get an accurate reading) but now I am afraid to eat out . . .

 

[punkbass2000]

Ah. I've only used laser thermometers, so there's no insertion necessary.

 

[Ramius75]

I read about leaving a piece of meat to "mature" but wonder how is it done ??

is it left in the open ?

What happened if its a hot and humid place like Singapore ?

Whats the benefit of leaving a meat mature ?

How to prevent the meat from spoiling ?

will there be bacteria infestation ?

How safe is this process ? any food poisoning trend ?

 

[Drewcifer]

I read about leaving a piece of meat to "mature" but wonder how is it done ??

I've been at the bar all night long catching up with my old kitchen homies but as far as I can tell this is a conversation about red meat and dry aging.

Red meat is at it's best right before it starts to rot. The problem is that the blood starts to go bad long before the meat. That nasty old beef flavor comes from the blood it is sitting in, not the meat itself.

So this is the secret to great red meat - beef, bison, venison, even pork at times. You need to age it in a way that it does not come into contact with it's own liquid. If you are running a $5 million a year steak house you can hang it on a hook in a temperature controlled meat locker. For normal people or normal restaurants you put it in a perforated pan set in a deeper pan that will collect the liquid without the meat sitting in the liquid for a week or two. The liquid that drains off is blood, you don't want it to sit in it's own blood. The blood oxidizes and it is the oxidized blood that creates the "old meat" flavor; as I've said, if it sits in it's own blood it marinates in it and goes bad quickly, if the blood drains away you are dry aging - I try to age all of my red meat and pork for at least a week before I serve it. You don't want to eat red meat that is still red if you can help it, dry age it until it is brown and then eat it, you will notice the difference.

If it is in a vacuum packed container you can also age it that way for a week or so because the blood it is sitting in will not come into contact with oxygen. This is a cheap short cut, don't do it for more than a week.

 

[Ramius75]

I've been at the bar all night long catching up with my old kitchen homies but as far as I can tell this is a conversation about red meat and dry aging.

Red meat is at it's best right before it starts to rot. The problem is that the blood starts to go bad long before the meat. That nasty old beef flavor comes from the blood it is sitting in, not the meat itself.

So this is the secret to great red meat - beef, bison, venison, even pork at times. You need to age it in a way that it does not come into contact with it's own liquid. If you are running a $5 million a year steak house you can hang it on a hook in a temperature controlled meat locker. For normal people or normal restaurants you put it in a perforated pan set in a deeper pan that will collect the liquid without the meat sitting in the liquid for a week or two. The liquid that drains off is blood, you don't want it to sit in it's own blood. The blood oxidizes and it is the oxidized blood that creates the "old meat" flavor; as I've said, if it sits in it's own blood it marinates in it and goes bad quickly, if the blood drains away you are dry aging - I try to age all of my red meat and pork for at least a week before I serve it. You don't want to eat red meat that is still red if you can help it, dry age it until it is brown and then eat it, you will notice the difference.

If it is in a vacuum packed container you can also age it that way for a week or so because the blood it is sitting in will not come into contact with oxygen. This is a cheap short cut, don't do it for more than a week.

Thanks, thats quite informative. So it will be best to keep them inside the fridge under temp of about 4-5 degree Celsius ? Singapore is quite humid and hot so i think leaving them in the open might not be such a good idea also (with the cats around too) Last thing i want is my diner suffer from food poisoning hence im always very careful when coming to prepare food. Im such an OCB that i wash hand with anti bacterial soap every time i handle food.

I love a to cook and recently thinking of trying to do a good Steak (restuarant standard) or even a roast beef. Will try to leave it for 3 days for 1st try