Cookin again
- Thread starter Dannyalcatraz
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Might give this a try.
I might also try their egg trick the next time I make avgolemono. I have usually made mine more traditionally, and like they say, adding the egg can be a time of uncertainty. Their trick looks more foolproof.
The upside to recipes from America's Test Kitchen (or the associated magazines) is that the recipes are very likely to work. They did go through a stretch a few years ago when it seemed there wasn't any recipe they couldn't make more complicated (either by adding steps or by adding very specific ingredients) but it looks as though they're mostly past that, and I'm glad I re-started the magazines. I also tend to treat their recipes as starting points and adjust, but that's in the nature of cooking and recipes.
Yeah, I‘m mainly looking for tricks and techniques from ATK, etc., more than actual recipes. I want to improve what I do, not necessarily change what I do. ATK vids can show me what steps are tripping me up.
Their duck-fat roasted potatoes is a killer. The main things I change are:
1) I use bacon or beef fat instead of duck fat (can’t find duck fat easily). I tried veggie oils, and for whatever reason, they don’t work nearly as well.
2) I use slightly different seasoning
3) I use mini Yukon golds and don’t peel them.
www.cooksillustrated.com
Their duck-fat roasted potatoes is a killer. The main things I change are:
1) I use bacon or beef fat instead of duck fat (can’t find duck fat easily). I tried veggie oils, and for whatever reason, they don’t work nearly as well.
2) I use slightly different seasoning
3) I use mini Yukon golds and don’t peel them.
Duck Fat-Roasted Potatoes | Cook's Illustrated
<p>For the crispest, most flavorful roasted potatoes, rethink the fat.</p>
www.cooksillustrated.com
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Yeah, I‘m mainly looking for tricks and techniques from ATK, etc., more than actual recipes. I want to improve what I do, not necessarily change what I do. ATK vids can show me what steps are tripping me up.
Their duck-fat roasted potatoes is a killer. The main things I change are:
1) I use bacon or beef fat instead of duck fat (can’t find duck fat easily). I tried veggie oils, and for whatever reason, they don’t work nearly as well.
2) I use slightly different seasoning
3) I use mini Yukon golds and don’t peel them.
Duck Fat-Roasted Potatoes | Cook's Illustrated
<p>For the crispest, most flavorful roasted potatoes, rethink the fat.</p>
I roast potatoes a little differently from that, but that's a pretty solid-looking recipe. We could find duck fat in stores around here, pre-pandemic, but we're in the megalopolis, right between DC and Baltimore, so things are easy for us to find, most of the time.
I’m in the D/FW Metroplex- not exactly small town America. It’s here...somewhere. Just never seen it.
FWIW, I, too, have other tater recipes. But that one has repeatedly proven itself.
I knew you were in Texas--or I thought I did--but Texas covers a lot of ground, and I didn't want to presume you were in urban Texas.
As the lockdown continues, I’ve been uncovering and using all kinds of treasures I’ve found in the pantry. Tonight, it was some kind of foo-foo BBQ sauces and a jar of bourbon peaches.
The BBQ sauces were very tasty, though a little thinner than I prefer. Overall, I’d consider getting them again...if I can find them. But they’re not so good they I’m going on an intense hunt.
The bourbon peaches, OTOH, were perfection. I’m not a fan of peaches- they’re OK, but nothing I seek out- and I tried them on som vanilla ice cream with pecan halves. The blend was spot on. You could taste the bourbon, but it didn’t dominate. The peaches remained the main flavor note. I would definitely buy them again for myself or as a good food gift.
Unfortunately...They’re labeled as being from a small town in TX that isn’t far from me, but I have no recollection of visiting. The “Farm Made Products” on the label doesn’t seem to actually be a brand name. IOW, I may not be able to find these things again without going on a road trip.
The BBQ sauces were very tasty, though a little thinner than I prefer. Overall, I’d consider getting them again...if I can find them. But they’re not so good they I’m going on an intense hunt.
The bourbon peaches, OTOH, were perfection. I’m not a fan of peaches- they’re OK, but nothing I seek out- and I tried them on som vanilla ice cream with pecan halves. The blend was spot on. You could taste the bourbon, but it didn’t dominate. The peaches remained the main flavor note. I would definitely buy them again for myself or as a good food gift.
Unfortunately...They’re labeled as being from a small town in TX that isn’t far from me, but I have no recollection of visiting. The “Farm Made Products” on the label doesn’t seem to actually be a brand name. IOW, I may not be able to find these things again without going on a road trip.
So I tried my freebie garlic scapes today.
I cut off the head and 1/4in of the base, discarding them. I then sliced it into little rounds, like I’d do with green onions.
I tasted one raw- it was mildly garlicky with a finishing flavor & spiciness that reminded me of green bell pepper.
I then incorporated some into an omelette. The flavor was not much altered by cooking, and worked well in the dish. That bell pepper flavor could come in handy if you‘re cooking for people who have issues with that veg, like my parents.*
I noticed one other thing: scapes have a texture more like asparagus than green onion, so they retained a certain firm crunchiness when cooked.
I don’t think I’ll be buying lots of them in the future, but I will be buying SOME. They’re a nice change of pace. I think you could use them in place of- or along with- green onions, asparagus, or possibly even green beans for many recipes.
* It’s not the heat they can’t take, it’s something about the pepper itself that upsets their stomachs. Whatever that is thankfully passed me by.
I cut off the head and 1/4in of the base, discarding them. I then sliced it into little rounds, like I’d do with green onions.
I tasted one raw- it was mildly garlicky with a finishing flavor & spiciness that reminded me of green bell pepper.
I then incorporated some into an omelette. The flavor was not much altered by cooking, and worked well in the dish. That bell pepper flavor could come in handy if you‘re cooking for people who have issues with that veg, like my parents.*
I noticed one other thing: scapes have a texture more like asparagus than green onion, so they retained a certain firm crunchiness when cooked.
I don’t think I’ll be buying lots of them in the future, but I will be buying SOME. They’re a nice change of pace. I think you could use them in place of- or along with- green onions, asparagus, or possibly even green beans for many recipes.
* It’s not the heat they can’t take, it’s something about the pepper itself that upsets their stomachs. Whatever that is thankfully passed me by.
