Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cooking and food

Roast Beast

Miko — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:33:49 -0800

I recently bought a share of a pig from a farmer, and it came wrapped in various cuts. One of the cuts is a large, meaty, bony one called "chine end roast." How should I cook this? My Googling seems to indicate it comes from the back of the pig and includes some of the bones of the spine, and that it's kind of next to the rib roast. Should I cook it like a rib roast? Or maybe a pot roast? Or braised? I'm just not sure what kind of treatment might do this big ol' meaty cut justice. Thanks for any ideas.

Anyone have some vegetarian Tagine recipes?

mizike — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:24:29 -0800

Hi all; so my parents bought be a nice le creuset tagine for xmas, but I'm not quite sure what to use it for as a vegetarian. I'm sure I could make something like ratatouille but I'd really like to try some recipes that are specifically meant for a tagine and am getting the impression that lamb and chicken are going to feature prominantly in most of the recipes I find online. To that end, can anyone recommend some vegetarian tagine cookbooks?

Recommend a cookbook that features recipes with many different grains and legumes.

gregb1007 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:04:07 -0800

Recommend a cookbook that features recipes with many different grains and legumes. I am looking for a cookbook whose recipes make use of many different grains beyond rice, legumes, and vegetables as well. (Reason: When I buy a grain, I want specific recipes for it instead of referring to rice recipes and using it as a substitute.)

However, to clarify, it doesn't have to be vegetarian since I am not looking to exclude meat from my recipes. But it would be great if the cookbook did have a vegetarian slant to it, focusing more on legumes than on meats. (Example: I'd prefer a recipe that calls for chickpeas rather than for chicken.)

All I want for Christmas is...two butt cheeks

bilabial — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:01:56 -0800

Ravenously hungry in the middle of the night, lazy, and bored with my known options. Also: eating plenty in the daylight. Bonus round: I'm poor. I've been adding some physical activity to my life. 10 - 20 minutes of bike riding, 2-4 days a week. I got the brilliant idea that building some upper body strength would improve my confidence, so I went to a rock climbing gym. Which I love. I'll be going back (the confidence? I brought some of it home from the gym! It doesn't even smell bad!).

But. I'm already to small for the regular adult harness. I eat nearly all day long - nuts, fruit, cheese ravioli, ice cream when it's BOGO at Publix. I try to drink juice instead of water (again, I stock up at sales) and I just started making alcoholic drinks with I syrup, limes, and seltzer.

Oatmeal with whole milk for breakfast. Eggs. Plenty of bacon (on sale a lot! I have 2 packs in the freezer!), fruit, and fresh veggies in my diet.

I carry candy bars everywhere when if remember to look for them cheap - bags of Baby Ruth bars were on sale last week.

I live alone, so buying bread is not cost effective, especially as even when toasted, previously frozen bread is...ick.
Protein shakes are expensive, the stuff made with powder requires lots of willpower (to be less polite, that shit is nasty) and I really think eating is fun. I don't want my unconceived children to ever see me choking down something I clearly don't enjoy.
Help me improve my lifestyle, not just find a quick fix. Exercise depletes my calories quickly. Before I added the climbing 2 days ago I was down 10 pounds below my comfort level. If I can't stem this tide, I'll have to quit climbing. (also, I got a package deal with a harness that's too big. If I keep going with this I need to sell it and buy one that fits, but I'm not investing until Im pretty sure I can sustain it.)

Metafilter, fatten me up. Delicious beans and rice recipes that feature
lard? Yes please. Websites for reaaly good grocery coupons on junk food I can eat at home? (I like doritoes, and ice cream, but sadly I often prefer more natural choices. Butter is natural though...) I'd like things I can prepare ahead, that might freeze well (or not), some things that require little prep - adding calories to a hot dog? I'm game.

My bloodwork is good, you are not my doctor, and I am not asking for medical advice.i

If I'm going to make mojitos, they better be good mojitos

Juliet Banana — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:58:17 -0800

I'm having a tacotastic dinner party for my boyfriend's birthday. What's a tasty cocktail/punch recipe that goes with the fresh, rich, spicy flavors of Mexican food? Simplicity is a plus; I don't mind making flavored simple syrup or finding juices or fresh ingredients but I'd like to avoid buying 6 bottles of liquor for one drink. At least one gluten-free guest is coming (though she always brings sorghum beer or wine), so the food is a buffet-style free-for-all with tortillas in every incarnation, roast veggies (cippolini onions, beet, potato), black beans & rice, chipotle sauce (chipotles in adobo pureed with pumpkin seeds and chocolate), cilantro crema (enough cilantro to terrify the haters pureed with queso fresco, lime juice, and crema). So, greasy & rich with bright & fresh flavors and a lot of heat.

We like gin, rum, and vodka, I LOVE champagne cocktails, and preferably the drink would either be a little on the girly side or easy to dilute with tonic/juice/mixer.

An unwanted gallon of 2% milk

k. — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:28:05 -0800

What can I do with an unwanted gallon of 2% milk? I meant to get skim milk, but I bought 2% by accident. I can't stand 2% milk; it tastes like cream to me. I couldn't find anyone else who likes 2% either, so I don't think I can give it away. I put a little bit in my coffee, which was OK, but I'm not going to use it up that way. Should I just throw it away, or is there something else I can do with it?

I could try cooking something (if it doesn't taste too much like 2% milk), but I'm even open to non-food uses, if any exist.

How long can I safely keep steamed chicken wings in the refrigerator before baking them?

0xFCAF — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:35:42 -0800

How long can I safely keep steamed chicken wings in the refrigerator before baking them? I'm following this amazing recipe which has you steam them for 10 minutes, dry in the refrigerator for an hour, then bake at 425° for 40 minutes.

Can I turn the hour in the refrigerator in to 4 hours? 12? 24? Can I put them in the freezer for an extended period of time (and if so, how would I properly thaw them) ?

Note that I'm asking about how the wings keep after being steamed, not before.

Help me perform an expatriat culinary miracle.

bookish — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:07:18 -0800

How can I best approximate a real Thanksgiving turkey— with chicken, a gas burner, and toaster oven? What other kinds of traditional fare can I make, given the limited ingredients available where I live? Help me have a real Thanksgiving far from home! I'm studying in India for the year, and my fellow American students and I want to put on a Thanksgiving dinner. One girl is making cornbread, using corn meal she brought with her from home. There will be mashed potatoes. There will be mulled wine. But what else, and how?

I really would like something turkey-like, but there is no way I can find turkey meat. Chicken is my best bet. This is a pretty vegetarian city, but there are some butchers, and I could probably find basically any part of the bird I need (or the whole bird, but I don't think that will fit in the toaster oven). I'm not really sure how to go about cooking it though— I've never cooked a turkey and, having been a vegetarian for much of my life, I don't really have experience cooking meat in general. I need major help.

I would also like to fill out the selection of side dishes. Again, there are ingredient constraints. I can get fresh carrots, peas, potatoes, beets, white radishes, cauliflower, okra, green beas, cabbage, tomatoes, onions and garlic. I can get green bell peppers, but not red or yellow. I can get a variety of squashes, but they're all a little different than the varieties I'm used to. There are also yam-like things, but they're not the sweet potatoes of home. I can get corn, but only frozen. No broccoli, mushrooms, cranberries, celery.

No prepared convenience ingredients like chicken broth, cream of mushroom soup, pie crust. Cheese is possible but difficult, expensive, and comes in a very limited range. Flour, butter, eggs are go. Cooking oil, but not olive oil or anything fancy like that. European spices are of very limited availability, with the exception of those used in Indian food (coriander, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon). I have some dried basil and oregano, and may be able to find rosemary and thyme if I'm lucky.

I don't have any fancy kitchen equipment either— a few assorted pots and pans, a few knives, spatulas, spoons. I have a countertop gas range with two burners and a toaster oven to bake (smallish) things in.

If you have any ideas for Thanksgiving food that I could pull off using what I've got, please tell me. We're all homesick and really looking forward to putting on a delicious, heartwarming feast.

Favorite recipes website?

Neekee — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:19:08 -0800

What is your favorite online source for recipes? I'm looking for reliable recipes. Bonus points for the ones with recipe ratings. I'm busy, broke, and love to cook. I'm looking for fun new online recipe sources. I've gone to the basic websites, like Food Network and Better Homes & Gardens, which are very reliable, but I want to try something different. Many websites feature user-submitted recipes and sometimes those are missing ingredients or necessary steps or just plain taste terrible - so ratings help me to sift through those recipes.
I've very busy and on a tight budget. If I'm going to spend my time and money cooking or baking, it's got to be on a good recipe.
Thanks!

Yet another "should I eat this?": black beans

k. — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:33:13 -0800

Should I Eat This? Filter: cooked black beans left in a pot overnight. Yesterday I was waiting for the pot to cool before putting it in the fridge, then forgot about it, leaving it there (with the cover on) until this morning when I put it in the fridge. There are no meat ingredients.

Catfish Tikka Death

sully75 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:02:00 -0800

I may be my own personal typhoid Mary. Food safety questions inside. 1) If I make a big pot of soup, lately this is Mark Bittman's African Chicken Peanut soup (which is friggin awesome), sometimes I make about 1.5 gallons of soup in a big pot. So, when it's done, it's usually hot (duh) and it's at night. So rather than decant it into tupperware things, I leave it in the pot on the stove to cool. In the morning I pour it into tupperware and put it into the fridge.

So question: is it ok that it's sitting out at night, probably after it's cooled down, for a couple of hours? If that's not ok, what should I do differently?

And how long can I eat this tasty soup for? Last time I froze half. After I unfreeze it, how long would it still be good for?

2) I'm going to try to do a chicken-tikka-masala recipe but using catfish instead of the chicken. Again, I will be making several portions, maybe 3-4 meals worth. Can I store this in the fridge or freezer? What's my best practice for not poisoning myself or my friends?

Momma always told me food tastes better when someone else makes it...

coppermoss — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:25:46 -0800

Help me get my head straight about cooking! It's not that I don't like it, per se... I'm not exactly wild about it, though. I have a very few recipes I'm comfortable making, because I know they're going to turn out well. These include spaghetti sauce (for real, not from a jar), macaroni and cheese (again, for real, not from a box), salade nicoise, roast chicken, bean burritos, pasta carbonara, and risotto. I don't like trying new recipes because I don't know if they're going to be good, and it seems like a waste to spend all that time cooking only to discover that your efforts have been in vain. I'm afraid to cook without a recipe, because I totally lack creativity when it comes to food. I don't know what tastes go well together, for example.

My roommate is a total foodie, and he does most to all of our cooking. On nights that I cook, he usually comes up with the meal plan. Most days, he'll ask me what I want for dinner, and I can't even begin to think of anything.

In the next couple of years, I'm planning on moving in with my boyfriend, who also likes to cook but isn't as fond of it as my current roommate is. I want to expand my repertoire and boost my cooking confidence by the time we move in together, so the labor is more equally divided. (Yes, I know I'm thinking about this waaaay far in advance, but it's also not the sort of thing that resolves itself overnight, is it?)

How do I become more creative in the kitchen? Since I think a large part of my mental block about cooking is a confidence issue ("But what if it's gross?"), how do I become more confident about cooking? For you people who know by 2 PM what you want to eat in 6 or 7 hours, how do you know? What's the thought process that accompanies that realization? Most of all, how do I get over this enormous reluctance to cook anything more complicated than a fried egg for dinner?

Thanks, guys.

Chinese food ingredients in DC?

inara — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:13:20 -0800

Does anyone know of anywhere in Bethesda or the DC Metro area in general where one could get Chinese food ingredients? I'm specifically looking for wonton wrappers. Also, preferably someplace Metro accessible. Thanks.

language/culturally-specific cribsheets explaining the basics of foreign foods.

jjjjjjjijjjjjjj — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:26:45 -0800

The folks over at Evil Mad Scientist Labs made a pretty comprehensive wallet-sized cheat sheet to help the uninitiated navigate Southern Indian menu items. I think it's well done, useful, and quite clever. I'd like to have something similar for all the world's cuisines. I got no idea where to start with this; I'm quite inept with names for foods--which is precisely why this concept appeals to me as much as it does. I have a forgiving palate, so it's not like I'm needing to avoid anything, but I'd like to be more savvy with what I pick.

I'm not joking about the remedial nature of where I'm starting from, here... f'real. If my momma didn't make it, I don't know the name of it. I almost always love the taste of it, though, so it's time I figured it out.

Can someone point me to other quick, index-card-able summaries that are designed to act as this one is--that is to say, streamlined but reasonably comprehensive, well-arranged, and specific? I feel like I should stress that this is what I feel would be the most useful. A bunch of people giving single factoids (eg. " 'boeuf' is a beef dish in a French restaurant") is probably not the best way to compile this sort of thing.

Western/Eastern Europe, Southern Asian, East Asian, African, North African, Middle Eastern, South American... I want a cheat sheet for every cuisine I might reasonably find in a restaurant in a large U.S. city. Please point me to where this information lives. Many thanks.

Pre-Red Pepper Asian Cuisine?

melissam — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:13:08 -0800

Help me find Asian food before the Columbian Exchange? This article mentions ancient Indian curries before the Portuguese brought red peppers to the subcontinent

Much of the food is worth the wait. Take the chicken pepper roast ($9.95), a splendid heap of irregular poultry tidbits thickly coated with black mustard seeds, coconut shreds, and crushed black peppercorns. Recipes such as this are ancient: They date from before the Portuguese introduced chilies to the subcontinent, sometime in the late 16th century. Indeed, the Sanskrit term for black pepper is "kari"—a word that evolved in succeeding centuries into the colonial catch-all expression for spice combinations: "curry."

Reminded me of this absolutely delicious black pepper tempeh I once had cooked for me by an Indonesian friend. Does anyone know of any good recipes for Korean/Indonesian/Indian food before the arrival of the red pepper? What would the major flavors have been besides black pepper, coconut, and mustard? Would kimchee have tasted like German sauerkraut?

Can I salvage these tomatoes?

Orinda — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:15:45 -0800

While trying to cook a large quantity of tomatoes for sauce, I accidentally burned a few on the bottom of the pan. Now the burnt aroma pervades the entire (did I mention large) batch of tomatoes. Is there any way to salvage this project? I'm trying to make tomato sauce.

I started by cutting up raw tomatoes and chucking them into my biggest, deepest pot. Once there was a few-inches-deep layer of tomato chunks in the bottom of the pan, I turned the heat on high underneath and continued cutting and chucking tomato chunks. After a while, the chunks became difficult to stir around because the pan was so deep. I stupidly left the pan unstirred on top of high heat. Not long after I finished cutting up the tomatoes and adding them to the pan, my nose notified me that the bottom layer of tomatoes had burned. Uh oh.

A mild but noticeable burned smell seems to pervade the entire potful of tomato chunks, which are in varying states of cookedness. I pulled the rawest layer of tomato chunks off the top of the pan, thinking I might be able to salvage them, but that still leaves at least 20 lbs of tomatoes sitting in what is now a burnt-tomato-scented broth.

Advice? Do I have to throw out the whole lot? If I dig out the un-burnt tomatoes can I continue cooking them in a clean pan, or will the resultant sauce have that unpleasant burned flavor to it? Would it make a difference if I strained off the liquid and just cooked what's left of the un-burnt tomato flesh? Is it true that a peeled potato can "absorb the burnt taste"?

Piece of Cake

misha — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:38:42 -0800

My lovely castle cake pan is sadly suffering from disuse. Help me out with your favorite bundt cake recipes and glazes. I'm especially looking for recipes that go well with seasons or themes (for example, for Fall/Halloween, maybe a pumpkin or haunted house chocolate bundt cake), but I'd enjoy anything from your favorite, easy-to-make staples to the most exotic variety. Again, don't forget to include special glazes (and yes, I have seen the top 20 on allrecipes.com).

breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Chile?

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:37:03 -0800

You are a resident of Chile. What do you eat? I want to spend a month eating like a Chilean. I ordered this book , but want to do some research before it arrives. Some specific questions are below, but any related info would be of interest!

1. What are the eating schedule and rituals (early dinner vs late dinner; small meals vs large meals; utensil use vs eating by hand)?
2. What would typical days of food (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) look like (including, for instance, when you don't necessarily want to cook, but just throw something together)?
3. Do you drink water, tea, wine, beer?
4. What's in your pantry?

Bali Ha'i

netbros — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:27:21 -0800

Every time I go to a Polynesian restaurant [all too rarely] I love the food. Please help me prepare some of these dishes at home. Unfortunately where I live now there aren't any Polynesian restaurants. So, if I want to enjoy these fabulous tastes and flavors I will have to do it myself. Please share your favorite Polynesian recipes with me, or recommend good Polynesian cookbooks. Thank you in advance. My palate will love you.

What to do with recaito (cilantro/culantro/recao paste)

k. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:03:02 -0800

What can I cook with this Puerto Rican (?) recaito, aka "cilantro cooking base"? It's a paste made of cilantro,* onion, garlic, green pepper, and salt. (unfortunately it's kind of salty, and may also have MSG). I have a whole jar of it.

*I can't tell if it's made from cilantro, or from something similar to cilantro called culantro, or both. One of these is also called "recao" and gives recaito its name, but I don't know which. I hope someone can enlighten me on this!

They explode in 50's sitcoms... what else do they do?

Methylviolet — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:59:28 -0800

Pressue Cooker 101: Which one do I want? And what do I do with it? What do *you* do with yours? I want to buy a pressure cooker primarily to make Indian food: dals, pulses, etc. But that's as far as I've got. I've never used one before, and the options are many. Stoptop or electric? What features are important? Do you use yours? A lot? What is great about it? What don't you like?

I'm looking for any schooling you can give me on the pressure cooker experience. Of course, if you have killer pressure cooker recipes, please share.

Old Father Hubbard.

The Whelk — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:49:40 -0800

Lazy Last Minute Dinner Help: So I forgot it was my turn to cook dinner and all I have in the house are some scraps of cooked meat (chicken, lamb) and a bottle of Loyd Grossman's pre-made Korma sauce. How can I jazz this up while using up the scraps in my cupboard? Preferably stuff I can add while it simmers? I was planning on making coconut rice to go with it, but I was wondering what else I could do to make it *pop* a little better than out-of-the bottle sauce? I've got scraps of onion, cucumber, some dried mushrooms, and random spices and sauces. I do have some slivered almonds, but no jalapeno.

September dinner party ideas

rossination — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:33:44 -0800

Late summer dinner party ideas? We are planning a dinner party for mid-late September and I'm trying to come up with some ideas for a menu. As much as I love to cook with fresh (local) fruits and vegetables, I don't usually give much thought to seasonal cooking, so I thought it would be fun to try to highlight foods that really capture the end-of-summer vibe (something like this squash and chickpea stew).

Some details:
-- Vegetarian meals preferred, although some meat/fish is definitely OK (we will have one non meat eater). Either way, we tend to prefer meat as an accent/seasoning, as opposed to the main course.
-- We don't have a grill, but we do have a broiler.
-- Other than the meat thing, we're a pretty adventurous bunch, and I'm willing to source weird ingredients if the recipe is worth it.
-- Dessert ideas are also welcome, as are wine/beer/spirits pairings.

I love you, fresh egg

chalbe — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:34:01 -0800

What cooking secrets take your food to the almost-pro level? I love food; making it, reading about it, eating it. I already do a few basics, like shopping the NYC Union Square farmers' market, using fresh leafy herbs and garlic, squeezing lemon juice, cooking meat the right temperature, adding enough salt + pepper, grating Parmigiano-Reggiano, etc. Even so, my cooking still tastes a little flat and two-dimensional.

What practices or ingredients do you use to elevate your cooking? Spice mixes? Marinades? I prefer answers that skew towards the complex-but-tasty and avoid processed goods. Bonus points if you are a professional cook or culinary school student.

To get us started, here are some ideas I've been wanting to try:
- Making brown veal stock and remoullage, for braising and sauces
- Making yogurt from scratch milk + starter
- Making herbed butter and herb-infused oils

Need snack help, and have a list of allergens which limits me...

JoannaC — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:47:04 -0800

Trying to lose those last few pounds, and snacks are my downfall. I am getting tired of Ye Olde Afternoon Trail Mix. I need some new ideas for carby/protein snacks (to accompany a piece of fruit) which are portable, will keep in my bag all day, and which are compatible with my daunting list of food allergies. I've lost almost 20 pounds in the last year, and kept it off, for the most part. But it's creeping on again because I am so sick of my snacks that I am tempted by treats when I'm out. I need something a little more substantial in the afternoon, so for as long as I have been tracking, I have been eating a satisfying, filling snack of a piece of fruit and a 1/2 cup of trail mix consisting of rice puffs, craisins or raisins, and soy nuts or sunflower seeds. I am sick of it! I want something else of a similar feel and of a similar satiety. BUT...I have some food allergies, and it's tricky to find things. My restrictions right now (all of these have been verified by medical testing...)

NO wheat products
NO corn products (incl. corn starch)
NO flax
NO tree nuts or peanuts (soy nuts are fine but I am sick of them)
Limited dairy (it's fine in small doses as an ingredient, but no milk or cheese)

Please do not suggest fruits; the snack I am trying to find substitutions for is IN ADDITION to a piece of fruit :)

So far, my list of ideas is pretty minimal. Hummus with carrot sticks or rice crackers with turkey pepperoni. I need stuff I can pack in a tupperware and take with me when out. Something carby/proteiny which can be enjoyed with a piece of fruit.