How do you cook it?

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Anyone in here tired Hello Fresh or any of the other meal services? I was against it, but the woman really wanted to give it a shot. We are both teachers and now have plenty of time on our hands to try some new recipes out. I think she ordered the 3 meals a week plan. It’s pretty damn good. I’m more of a grilling guy, but this has been a pleasant surprise.

Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, and one other one... Chefd maybe? I feel like it was four letters and had gluten free.

Blue Apron is the only one we've kept, and we consistently do 3 meals a week--probably 2ish times a month (only picking weeks that sound really good).

I feel Hello Fresh is too basic. Blue Apron has better stuff--but I know some people complain about the prep time for Blue Apron and prefer Hello Fresh because the meals are generally quicker to prepare.

I'm a pretty high-end home chef and I work from home with no kids, so a recipe that I can pull out of the fridge and finish in an hour isn't daunting at all, but for some people that's way too much time.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

Yeah, if you have the sauce on the wings the whole time, you are probably going to burn a sweeter sauce. I steam the wings for ten minutes when I buy them. Then when it's time to serve I crank the oven to 375 and sauce them. It usually takes about 10-20 minutes after saucing, depending upon how cool they were after the steam.

How do you steam wings? The same way you steam broccoli?

Anybody else like the green Tobasco? It's not hot, but I really love the flavor.

 

[Randolphkeys]

How do you steam wings? The same way you steam broccoli?

Anybody else like the green Tobasco? It's not hot, but I really love the flavor.

Yep. There are so many devices to steam food, but I can put about four to six pounds of wings into a large pot for steaming. I've done this process for drumsticks as well. You learn a lot about the quality of the chicken you buy from the steam-then-grill method. Good, quality organic chicken barely has any gross impurities leak out of the chicken in the steaming process. The chicken I used to buy from Chinatown leaked out tons of nasty black tar-like stuff. You will taste the difference, and the skin gets crispier if you steam first.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Not the most technically challenging food to make, but weather is warming up and I'm living off a chicken salad recipe. First night I roast the whole chicken and my family eats half of it. The next morning I do the chicken salad with the leftovers:

Ingredients:
2 celery ribs
1/2 cup of fresh parsley
1/2 a medium white onion
1/3 and English cucumber

About 1/2 a roasted chicken, pulled off the bone and chopped

1/2 a lemon juiced with zest
2/3 cup of mayo
Two healthy teaspoons of horseradish
Salt and pepper

Toasted nuts like walnuts, almonds or pecans (optional)

First put everything in the first group in a food processor after a quick rough chop. Put the finely chopped veggies in a large glass storage bowl. This brings freshness and moisture to the otherwise dry leftovers. Mix in the lemon juice, zest, horseradish, salt and pepper and then the mayo. Finally fold the chicken into the wet mix and let it sit for at least two hours in your fridge.

If you like a little crunch, after you put the chicken salad on toast or a salad, top it with toasted nuts for more crunch. The horseradish and lemon zest is what moves it from eating leftovers at your aunt's house to a flavor you crave.

 

[Sebastian]

Not the most technically challenging food to make, but weather is warming up and I'm living off a chicken salad recipe. First night I roast the whole chicken and my family eats half of it. The next morning I do the chicken salad with the leftovers:

Ingredients:
2 celery ribs
1/2 cup of fresh parsley
1/2 a medium white onion
1/3 and English cucumber

About 1/2 a roasted chicken, pulled off the bone and chopped

1/2 a lemon juiced with zest
2/3 cup of mayo
Two healthy teaspoons of horseradish
Salt and pepper

Toasted nuts like walnuts, almonds or pecans (optional)

First put everything in the first group in a food processor after a quick rough chop. Put the finely chopped veggies in a large glass storage bowl. This brings freshness and moisture to the otherwise dry leftovers. Mix in the lemon juice, zest, horseradish, salt and pepper and then the mayo. Finally fold the chicken into the wet mix and let it sit for at least two hours in your fridge.

If you like a little crunch, after you put the chicken salad on toast or a salad, top it with toasted nuts for more crunch. The horseradish and lemon zest is what moves it from eating leftovers at your aunt's house to a flavor you crave.

One can add a TSP of curry if one wants some heat.

 

[BMAN]

Made honey bourbon glazed pork chops last night using the Michael Symon recipe. I haven’t actually tasted them yet so we’ll see how I did.

 

[BMAN]

So to those who know what the hell they’re doing in the kitchen, how were you able to learn how to cook well? Like did you start looking up recipes and pick it from there? I’m wanting to become better at cooking where I don’t need a recipe. I’d like to become good at grilling as well and learn to smoke. Help.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

So to those who know what the hell they’re doing in the kitchen, how were you able to learn how to cook well? Like did you start looking up recipes and pick it from there? I’m wanting to become better at cooking where I don’t need a recipe. I’d like to become good at grilling as well and learn to smoke. Help.

Start with recipes. Learn the basics. Taste what you like or don't like and how things to together. After a while you'll be able to go on your own, and riff off recipes to make them better, or to use what you have in the kitchen.

For base recipes, as in "Here's a really good, easy, basic recipe for the thing I want to make" I always search for Alton Brown first. For example, his guac recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/guacamole-recipe-1940609

For high-end recipes, you'll find what works for you. But I typically look for The Food Lab (Kenji's amazing) and Heston Blumenthal.

 

[bigking777]

Here are a couple suggestions from me. We cook and host parties regularly, have a larger family and now kids starting to cook, so I can relate on a number of levels.
Everyone will have different opinions, so don't shoot me.

You'll need some essentials. Don't go buying expensive stuff. Fit these within your budget but read reviews.
12 or 14-inch skillet and a 4 quart saute pan, a larger stock pot and a 7 or 8-quart dutch oven.
Decent set of knives. 10-inch chef's knife, a paring knife, an 8-inch Santoku knife and something serrated.
Buy a good instant-read thermometer.

Learn to make a red sauce.
Learn to make a roux (pronounced rue). This is your thickening base for sauces and gravy.
Learn to make chicken stock.
Learn to cook rice.

Mess around with some fresh herbs and spices (Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Cumin, Paprika, Ginger, etc.)
Heat some Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in a saute pan and saute your spices/herbs one at a time to see what flavors they bring out. Then start incorporating them into recipes. That way you get a feel of what works well together and what you actually like.

Start cooking eggs. They are cheap and disposable but a good way to figure out how long to cook and how to turn or flip something.

 

[BMAN]

Here are a couple suggestions from me. We cook and host parties regularly, have a larger family and now kids starting to cook, so I can relate on a number of levels.
Everyone will have different opinions, so don't shoot me.

You'll need some essentials. Don't go buying expensive stuff. Fit these within your budget but read reviews.
12 or 14-inch skillet and a 4 quart saute pan, a larger stock pot and a 7 or 8-quart dutch oven.
Decent set of knives. 10-inch chef's knife, a paring knife, an 8-inch Santoku knife and something serrated.
Buy a good instant-read thermometer.

Learn to make a red sauce.
Learn to make a rue.
Learn to make chicken stock.
Learn to cook rice.

Mess around with some fresh herbs and spices (Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Cumin, Paprika, Ginger, etc.)
Heat some Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in a saute pan and saute your spices/herbs one at a time to see what flavors they bring out. Then start incorporating them into recipes. That way you get a feel of what works well together and what you actually like.

Start cooking eggs. They are cheap and disposable but a good way to figure out how long to cook and how to turn or flip something.

So when I went to look up rue, google took me to roux. Is that the same?

 

[NorthCoastBias]

So when I went to look up rue, google took me to roux. Is that the same?

Yes. Roux is the correct spelling.

 

[FiveThous]

So to those who know what the hell they’re doing in the kitchen, how were you able to learn how to cook well? Like did you start looking up recipes and pick it from there? I’m wanting to become better at cooking where I don’t need a recipe. I’d like to become good at grilling as well and learn to smoke. Help.

Meal kits like hello fresh, blue apron, or home chef are a good start.

Season (salt/pepper) every time you add an ingredient. This is the absolute easiest thing you can do to step up your cooking. Taste your food as you go, you'll be able to tell if you need to add more salt and pepper or spices.

 

[bigking777]

Meal kits like hello fresh, blue apron, or home chef are a good start.

Great idea.
The give you instructions and pictures along with all the ingredients. Get three meals per box and the cost is approximately $7 per plate.
Another meal kit company that has some simple recipes is Every Plate.

 

[BMAN]

Great idea.
The give you instructions and pictures along with all the ingredients. Get three meals per box and the cost is approximately $7 per plate.
Another meal kit company that has some simple recipes is Every Plate.

I’ve done hello fresh and blue apron, but it has been a while. Think I even saved those recipes somewhere.

 

[Nicky]

C

Finally getting into hot sauce.

Tapatio is too fucking hot but tastes great.

Frank's is a good heat level and tastes ok

Trying Tabasco next

Suggestions? I hear Valentino but I can't find it

calypso sauce - try the Matouks brand.