Cookin again

[Umbran]

Good Eats has an episode about this. Alton Brown's steps are the same, but he warms the pan in the oven until heated but not too hot to handle, then applies the oil. In theory that will actually open up the iron grain and allow you to get better adherence of the oil to metal.

Well, my usual "dry pan" during normal cleaning is "stick it over a burner until the water evaporates", so following my usual regimen, they'd be pretty much the same.

For cleaning, a pile of kosher salt and scrubbing until clean works wonders as well.

Haven't worked with BBQ plates. I used to use the salt method for my skillet, but I went through a friggin' tone of salt, and... if you have water in the pan first, lots of the salt dissolves and it is just inefficient.

I just get a scouring pad I don't use for anything else. If this doesn't take stuff off, I go to boiling, and then everything comes off lickety-split. Amazon.com: Scotch-Brite General Purpose Scouring Pad 96-20, 6 in x 9 in, 20/Case: Industrial & Scientific

 

[Sacrosanct]

Yep, at my partners house, she has natural gas. So my dry cast iron plan is just to heat it over the burner until water evaporates lol

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Went to Inlay Burmese for the third time. Among other things, today I tried the Oh Noh Kauswe soup. It’s made with chicken, linguine-like flat noodles, coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, yellow split pea, turmeric, and paprika, garnished with egg, coriander, red onion, chili and lime.

Mom loves soup, but usually doesn’t order it in restaurants where she has other favorite dishes- it fills her up, soooo...

But she took a little taste of mine, and the next thing I don’t know, the waiter (one of the owners) brought out a small bowl for her. She poached @1/3 of my soup!

The texture was almost creamy smooth. The flavors, all in balance. This may qualify as comfort food.

Here’s a picture of the soup from their Yelp page:

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Also Re: “simple”

YEARS ago, I had the privilege of lodging for a few days in a Cistercian monastery in Rome while traveling. After one of the prior Priors had had a health scare, they had revamped their diet and food supply chain so they dined on good, fresh, healthy but simple fare.

Breakfasts were- as you might expect- continental. But never before (or since) have I had continental breakfast that good. The butter was made by nuns in a convent just outside city limits, delivered every few days. The bread was fresh baked every morning. The fruits & preserves came from local farms.

I was that close to taking holy vows.

 

[Sacrosanct]

That’s one thing I miss about living in Europe, the excellent continental breakfasts.

 

[Umbran]

Breakfasts were- as you might expect- continental. But never before (or since) have I had continental breakfast that good. The butter was made by nuns in a convent just outside city limits, delivered every few days. The bread was fresh baked every morning. The fruits & preserves came from local farms.

Yeast breads can be a production. But making quick breads of various sorts is usually so easy, and the results so good, that it is a cryin' shame folks don't do them more often.

Fresh homemade scones or biscuits are the thing. Had a good success with a new kind of biscuit earlier this week - basically a buttermilk drop-biscuit dough, but pressed into an 8x8 pan instead of dropped in portions on a baking sheet.

 

[prabe]

Yeast breads can be a production. But making quick breads of various sorts is usually so easy, and the results so good, that it is a cryin' shame folks don't do them more often.

Fresh homemade scones or biscuits are the thing. Had a good success with a new kind of biscuit earlier this week - basically a buttermilk drop-biscuit dough, but pressed into an 8x8 pan instead of dropped in portions on a baking sheet.

I love good baked goods, and I wish I could do more baking, but I'm fighting Type 2, and it's just my wife and me in the house. Ah, well. I shall persist in living vicariously through those as can do it.

 

[Umbran]

I love good baked goods, and I wish I could do more baking, but I'm fighting Type 2, and it's just my wife and me in the house. Ah, well. I shall persist in living vicariously through those as can do it.

Starches not your friends? I'm sorry. That has to be hard.

 

[prabe]

Starches not your friends? I'm sorry. That has to be hard.

I just have to keep the portions really (really (really)) in check. It's harder to do that with just two of us.

 

[Umbran]

I just have to keep the portions really (really (really)) in check. It's harder to do that with just two of us.

I understand that point. It is just my wife and myself here. There's lots of stuff we don't cook, because we only eat so much, and the rest is wasted. We feed our gaming group largely so we can play with recipes we couldn't make for just the two of us.

Oh, but then we can also bring up America's Test Kitchen yet again. They do a lot of work downsizing recipes to serve two, which is great.