MISC cooking/ food/ restaurant/ kitchen/ BBQ TIPS or GRIPES
Discussion
Chuck a hole into the middle of a food dish being microwaved, if poss. This heats it faster and more evenly. Saves stirring half way through.
Crack eggs into a cup, then dump into dish being prepared. I've not been caught out (don't use/eat eggs much) but my partner has many times - rotten eggs can't be removed from whatever dish you just lovingly prepared and cracked an egg into.
Keep your potatoes well away from onions. They tease each other psychologically, the potatos will always lose and will spoil faster if not separated.
Eliminate the terms rare, medium rare and medium from your vocabary when ordering steak in England. It's not that the waitress can't write;
- This does not apply to proper steak houses.
- This (in my experience) does not apply when eating outside England, regardless of quality of establishment.
If you are eating in a run of the mill chain pub, just explain graphically to the waiter/waitress how bloody you want your steak. I found its the only way to draw your precise needs to the underpaid chefs attention.
If making pasta based meals you want to freeze and microwave later, undercook the pasta, bung in colander and rinse in cold water immediately. Prevents pasta from over cooking when reheating.
Hobble on one leg whilst cooking. Friends will feel sorry for you and will top up your drink more often to help you out.
Microwave rolls for 10 seconds, even if only just one day old, to regain the soft pliable freshness of a freshly baked roll. I'm very fussy when it comes to bread freshness, this works a treat but you'll lose the crust on a crusty roll.
Add diagonally shredded spring onions to absolutely everything except tea, Ice cream and other people's rolling tobacco. You can never use too many. My cruel mother never bought or used them. Once I'd discovered them, I found they enhanced almost Any dish. They are my bestest friends now.
Defrost legs of lamb and whole frozen chickens (at your own peril) in a charcoal BBQ with lid closed, not directly above the heat, but just to one side, in a wet pan containing 'erbs, water and wine with a very lose foil lid. It remains moist and will contain twenty times more flavour once it's ready to be cooked. Doesn't take much more than an hour and a small handful of coal.
No BBQ? No time to defrost a chicken? Cook chickens from frozen, wrapped in bacon, herbs and foil. The heat will encourage the bacon juice (chicken in foil) to enter the chicken. First hour on a very low heat. Disregard the first hour, it's flavour enhancing time not cooking time. Then add necessary cooking time.
Always feed guests delicious fresh rustic bread slices with yummy salted farmhouse butter whilst meal is being prepared. If like me, they will gobble it all down, ask for more, then become full up... Which leaves more leftovers for you. (I don't really do this. To others. Just to myself
)
And for gods sake, if you are cooking pasta for others that don't eat at the speed of a starving bulldog, gently heat the plates. Pasta goes cold so very quickly. And give them the option of Parmesan or grated cheddar, to some of us, this is an absolute must.
I'll leave my list of quirks there for now as you'd fall asleep if I noted them all, and hand over to you lot, for good, bad and ugly tips on things you lot find works for you or habits you got into. Or things you just like doing.
You can also print off these tips to prove other people are wrong, because Pistonheads is always right.
Crack eggs into a cup, then dump into dish being prepared. I've not been caught out (don't use/eat eggs much) but my partner has many times - rotten eggs can't be removed from whatever dish you just lovingly prepared and cracked an egg into.
Keep your potatoes well away from onions. They tease each other psychologically, the potatos will always lose and will spoil faster if not separated.
Eliminate the terms rare, medium rare and medium from your vocabary when ordering steak in England. It's not that the waitress can't write;
- This does not apply to proper steak houses.
- This (in my experience) does not apply when eating outside England, regardless of quality of establishment.
If you are eating in a run of the mill chain pub, just explain graphically to the waiter/waitress how bloody you want your steak. I found its the only way to draw your precise needs to the underpaid chefs attention.
If making pasta based meals you want to freeze and microwave later, undercook the pasta, bung in colander and rinse in cold water immediately. Prevents pasta from over cooking when reheating.
Hobble on one leg whilst cooking. Friends will feel sorry for you and will top up your drink more often to help you out.
Microwave rolls for 10 seconds, even if only just one day old, to regain the soft pliable freshness of a freshly baked roll. I'm very fussy when it comes to bread freshness, this works a treat but you'll lose the crust on a crusty roll.
Add diagonally shredded spring onions to absolutely everything except tea, Ice cream and other people's rolling tobacco. You can never use too many. My cruel mother never bought or used them. Once I'd discovered them, I found they enhanced almost Any dish. They are my bestest friends now.
Defrost legs of lamb and whole frozen chickens (at your own peril) in a charcoal BBQ with lid closed, not directly above the heat, but just to one side, in a wet pan containing 'erbs, water and wine with a very lose foil lid. It remains moist and will contain twenty times more flavour once it's ready to be cooked. Doesn't take much more than an hour and a small handful of coal.
No BBQ? No time to defrost a chicken? Cook chickens from frozen, wrapped in bacon, herbs and foil. The heat will encourage the bacon juice (chicken in foil) to enter the chicken. First hour on a very low heat. Disregard the first hour, it's flavour enhancing time not cooking time. Then add necessary cooking time.
Always feed guests delicious fresh rustic bread slices with yummy salted farmhouse butter whilst meal is being prepared. If like me, they will gobble it all down, ask for more, then become full up... Which leaves more leftovers for you. (I don't really do this. To others. Just to myself
)And for gods sake, if you are cooking pasta for others that don't eat at the speed of a starving bulldog, gently heat the plates. Pasta goes cold so very quickly. And give them the option of Parmesan or grated cheddar, to some of us, this is an absolute must.
I'll leave my list of quirks there for now as you'd fall asleep if I noted them all, and hand over to you lot, for good, bad and ugly tips on things you lot find works for you or habits you got into. Or things you just like doing.
You can also print off these tips to prove other people are wrong, because Pistonheads is always right.
My chief gripe (it is invariably men who do this) are those who yell "Let's get it going!" and proceed to squirt lighter fuel over the BBQ, then carefully arrange sausages and chicken legs over the leaping flames.
Of course they won't be told that's the way to carbonise the outside, but leave the inside raw...
Of course they won't be told that's the way to carbonise the outside, but leave the inside raw...
Ha good thread.
My biggest gripe is cold plates. at a big sitting - say 12 or more - by the time the dishing up is done the food is already cold
If you are lazy (and are not using 'best') plates can be microwaved at circa 45 seconds per plate to at least make them warmish. Not all plates like this method though.....
Oh - if you are making poppadoms and buy the 'raw' ones as opposed to the blister packs that are supposed to be poppadoms but are invariably broken fragments and dust - these respond perfectly to microwaving too.
My biggest gripe is cold plates. at a big sitting - say 12 or more - by the time the dishing up is done the food is already cold
If you are lazy (and are not using 'best') plates can be microwaved at circa 45 seconds per plate to at least make them warmish. Not all plates like this method though.....
Oh - if you are making poppadoms and buy the 'raw' ones as opposed to the blister packs that are supposed to be poppadoms but are invariably broken fragments and dust - these respond perfectly to microwaving too.
Edited by paolow on Monday 3rd June 20:29
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