The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Sports & Leisure => Topic started by: side_show on October 22, 2011, 09:46:50 pm
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I tend to use recipes as a jumping off point, rather than following them down to the minute detail. So come on, tell me what are some of the successful, and possibly not so successful substitutions you've made when it comes to cookery?
I had a really successful situation related to this Pot Roast recipie (http://homecooking.about.com/od/beefrecipes/r/blbeef161.htm)this week. The three problems I had were that I didn't have the last three ingredients, the dry onion soup mix, the red wine or the beef broth. Gazing in my pantry, the only thing liquid that seemed remotely reasonable was an unopened, three year old 2 litre bottle of this Mulled Apple Sparkeling Soda. (http://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLOnline/products.jsp?catIds=cat40002&type=details&catIds=109&productId=prod20006) I gave the bottle a shake, and the drink had clearly gone flat, so I figured, why not? Why not replace red wine (sweet, with depth) and broth (depth again) with this cider? It's easy enough to augment cider with the addition of some salty and savory flavours, so I took the cider, added some salt, garlic and pepper and went for it. As for the missing dry onion soup I used dried onion flakes + salt + garlic powder + dash of sugar.
The result? The best pot roast I've ever tasted, with a pan gravy with an astonishing depth of flavour. The cider already had this spicy, musky flavour, so the gravy and the roast itself had this strong background flavour of savory spice that was so damn fine.
So what to do with the remaining cider in the now open bottle? I'm using about a cup of it, plus soy sauce, ginger, honey and fresh ground pepper to marinate some short ribs that will be bbq'd tomorrow.
I've certainly had some not-so-good situations with substitutions too, but I'll post on those ones later.
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This is not a substitution exactly but, when you are baking and a recipe calls for brown sugar, don't buy that stuff in the box. Mix white sugar with a little molasses till it is brown-sugar-colored. It is much more flavorful than the stuff you buy which is really kind of fake, it's just colored with a little carmelized sugar.
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My dad substitutes grape jelly for red wine in spaghetti sauces and he swears by it.
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The other day, I had a recipe that called for sauteeing some chicken, removing it from the pan and then making a sauce with the drippings and some mushrooms. Usually recipes like this want you to deglaze the pan with stock or wine, but this one didn't, and I thought it odd. The sauce was simply 1/2 cup sour cream and 2 tbsp of barbecue sauce, so I deglazed the pan with a quarter cup of the beer that Pedro hadn't finished earlier and was sitting in the fridge getting flat. It was delicious. Not complex, but very tasty.
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Yeah in general, I really like to use wine or beer in cooking, and I'm a big fan of otherwise swapping out water as an ingredient for anything that adds flavour.
Failed substitution this evening - made a "creamy" potato and ham casserole, which called for 1 cup of sour cream and one can of cream of mushroom soup, but I didn't have cream of mushroom soup, and also (wrongfully I understand now) assumed the recipe called for condensed cream of mushroom soup. I used two cups of sour cream instead and this weird thing happened where the creaminess of the sour cream seemed to evaporate leaving behind these random, cottage cheese like lumps. the casserole still tasted good, but it wasn't at all creamy like I'd hoped for.
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We have this thing we do when either of us cooks that we ask each other "but did you take the recipe and make it your own?" We basically never cook exactly from the recipe. I don't really know what started that - I'm sure it was her, though, because she has more or less taught me how to cook without slavishly following the recipe.
I make a mean spaghetti and I don't have a recipe at all - of course, it's never the same twice, but it's always pretty tasty.
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I consult recipes only if I need to ensure I'm using the right temperature, timing and quantities, but other than that almost everything I cook is made from scratch. For example, I'll be looking up flanken-style short ribs sometime today to find out the best method a timing for cooking them after their 24 hr marinade.
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I am a total recipe guy, to the point that I sometimes have to remind myself that I'm a good cook and I can just as easily make something up as I go along. I have a bunch of pork stock in the freezer, and I've been trying to find a good Asian pork and noodle soup to use it up, but I can't find a recipe that's just right. And the other day after looking through yet another cookbook I thought "How about you just put the stuff you THINK should go in there into the pot and cook it? C'mon, you can do this." I expect to take that on tonight or in a couple days.
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I never cook straight from the recipe. Ever. The first few times I make something, I try to follow it fairly closely, but partly because I'm picky and partly because I almost never have the exact ingredients on hand, I always change something. Even if it's as simple as cutting the chicken into strips before pan-frying it to make it cook faster, or adding red wine to the spaghetti sauce, I just can't follow a recipe (or a knitting pattern) as it's written.
Pedro, being a programmer and an inexperienced cook, needs written recipes, and he measures things precisely. I eyeball my measurements (though I'm pretty good at it after 10 years of cooking at least 5 nights a week) and throw in whatever I think would be good. If I'm in doubt about how the flavors are going to blend, I sniff. I can tell pretty easily how something's going to taste by the way it smells.
The barbecue-sauce-and-sour-cream sauce I made for the chicken the other night surprised me. It tasted less like a creamy barbecue and more...strogonofgiraffe? With a slight kick of vinegar. It ws good, but I was surprised at how different it was from what I was expecting.
I almost never use straight up water in cooking. I keep boullion paste in the fridge all the time and use chicken, beef, vegetable, or mushroom broth in its place, either full strength of diluted by half (if there are other strong flavors present). I frequently cook pasta in chicken broth; it gives it a wonderful, rich, buttery flavor without adding fat.
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hm.
I am really really bad at knowing how much to add of various spices. I always add wayyy too much salt, garlic, etc. I also always have this uncontrollable urge to dump in a little more after my brain/my cooking partner says "that's enough."
Do you know what Chicken Tikka Masala with way too much Cardamom tastes like? REALLY BAD.
This should have been an obvious substitution, but last time I made that recipe I used yogurt instead of cream, and it was amazing.
I think I have finally gotten my stir fry/fried rice recipe right. Finally figured out the right ratios of things.
But in general: my substitutions are always a bad choice.
I am a big fan of JL's trick of cutting your pasta meat with mushrooms. But that isn't really a substitution.
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strogonofgiraffe?
Just in case anyone missed this.
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Just in case anyone missed this.
Saw that and quite enjoyed it.
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It was jolly good.
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Russian-African fusion food is the next big thing. JL has her finger on the pulse of haute cuisine.
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Did I seriously just put mint-chocolate flavored marshmallows in my coffee? FUCK YES I DID, MOTHER BITCHES!
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It is anti-migraine coffee; normally I don't drink caffeine at all but I woke up with a killer migraine this morning and I've got shit to do, so I'm on my second cup of the day. I might never sleep again. So if I start posting crazy shit and you start to suspect I've developed a cocaine habit, don't worry -- it's just me being a coffee lightweight.
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Where exactly is the strogon on a giraffe? Do other animals/mammals/ruminants have one?
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Asherdan, what happens to animals' faces after we eat their meat parts?
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you were a rad, creepy kid.
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I have a problem. Whenever stroganoff is mentioned my mind immediately translates it to 'stroke it off.' That was probably funny as hell when I was 14. I at least have the good sense to keep this to myself most of the time, but I wish it would just go away. How can i erase this from my brain?
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When I have a terrible song stuck in my brain, I go and listen to a better song that is just as catchy and get that stuck in my brain instead. There must be some way we can adapt this approach to your problem.
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Repeatedly watch that scene from the animated Anastasia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhW2LM-vmzg) that came out in the late 90's. "Stroke it off" will be replaced with, "'And never slurp the stroganoff!' 'I never cared for stroganoff!' 'She said that like a Romanov!'"
I can't find a decent quality video of just this scene, but the link above has decent audio.
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There you go. See, Good-Ass Substitutions isn't just about food.
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I just have one question. Does Anastasia die at the end?
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Nope. It ends while she's still young.
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Asherdan, what happens to animals' faces after we eat their meat parts?
Head cheese. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_cheese)
Souse?
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My dad is such a fan of head cheese. He likes figs, though, so it doesn't surprise me.
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Really not seeing the connection between figs and head cheese, Nabu.
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In Nabu's brain I'm betting they both have to sit facing the Nasty Corner.
Bing.
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Asherdan, what happens to animals' faces after we eat their meat parts?
According to an article I read today, some of it becomes McRibs: http://www.crunktastical.net/2011/10/31/dreadful-mccrib-chemicals-gym-mats/#more-50056
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So what your saying is that food-like substances can be used to substitute for food? I don't know if I've ever tasted a McRib sandwich. I don't think I have, though the opportunity is pretty much open. It's quite low on the list of things I'd ever choose to eat. In fact, given the choice to eat a McRib or not eat at all, even if quite hungry, I'd still likely choose not to eat a McRib. The faux bones really creep me out for some reason.
Today I substituted what were labelled as "colossal prawns" for shrimp in a red curry stew. Prawns larger than the size of a human thumb are truly a thing of beauty. Needless to say, it was successful. I sort of think that's an upgrade rather than a substitution though.
Sad news: due to being sort of overwhelmed with things, I forgot about the once beautiful package steak on the bottom shelf of the fridge. $15 worth of steak turned greenish grey and slimy and tossed in the garbage is pretty tragic.
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Sad news: due to being sort of overwhelmed with things, I forgot about the once beautiful package steak on the bottom shelf of the fridge. $15 worth of steak turned greenish grey and slimy and tossed in the garbage is pretty tragic.
I had a turkey go bad in the refrigerator. I had to throw 15 pounds of meat in the bin. I hated to do that.
As for the McRib, I had one back when they were a new thing, back in the 70s. I didn't think it was terrible, but it wasn't something I ever wanted again. But I really hate the bullshit fake limited time only thing that McDonalds does. What I hate even more is that I've known people too fuck*ng stupid to realize that it's a fake thing. That McDonalds is not going to take the McRib away forever, that it's always going to come back.
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What I've heard is that the McRib uses enough pork trimmings that the price of pork trimmings goes up really rapidly once they reintroduce it (since Americans eat a lot more chicken than pork). This conveniently fits into their marketing scheme.
I am starting to worry that the many lbs of (real) ribs in my freezer have somehow become freezer burnt. It shouldn't matter, right? Since you cook ribs for so long at such high temperatures? I'd like to think that that means any freezer effect on their texture will not be too noticeable.
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Re:sideshow
I'm not harshing the Mcrib, but no one can deny it is one blatantly weird thing.
Re:Inev
I've encountered freezer burn and (probably like you) know people in the food service industry, it is okay for food things.
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I think my pork chops are freezer burnt, I'm going to trim off the burnt bits and serve them in a stir-fry.
On Sunday I was all prepared to make a ragout recipe that is usually simmered on the stovetop for 2 hours, but since I had to take my kids to hockey practice, I did it in the crock pot for 4 hours instead. It was fabulous, and when we came back in all chilly from the ice rink, the scent of beef and wine pervaded the whole house. Does changing a recipe's cooking method count as a good-ass substitution?
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Freezer burned meat won't hurt you, but it doesn't taste good.
I like McRibs. It's one of the two McDonald's foods that I can actually stand (Egg McMuffin's the other). Although lately I"ve been eating these:
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2478/3552973176_7290c29f45.jpg)
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Yeah, if I have freezer burned meat I will cook it in something heavily sauced, or in a braise or other preparation where you cook the hell out of it.
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yeah, that is what I was thinking. Cooking ribs is basically cooking them so long that the meat is breaking down anyway, right?
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Mine are just barely freezer burnt, just on one edge, but I decided to throw them all in the crock pot with some prepared spaghetti sauce and call it "pork cacciatore."
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You don't even need a straw, just suck the air out of the last bit of the opening before you close it all the way.
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I've never had a McRib. But I have had my school cafeteria's version. A knock-off McRib. Terrifying.
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I have one of those fancy ziplock hand-vacuum pump things, and the ever-so-slightly freezer burnt chops were in one of those special bags with all the air sucked out. Either they'd been in the freezer a little longer than usual, or the bag had some kind of microscopic tear.
Either way, they did just fine in the slow cooker slathered in tomato sauce. Not one of my best recipes, but not bad for a salvage job.
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yeah, I would LOVE a slow-cooker. I think some people (Ebert (http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/11/the_pot_and_how_to_use_it.html)) basically use a rice cooker as one, but I haven't tried that yet.
These ribs are still in the packaging they were in at the store. Rookie mistake, I guess.
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My rice cooker has a "slow cooker" setting but I think ti's way too hot. My mom used to cook italian sausage in tomato sauce all day. I tried that in my rice cooker. After like an hour I used a probe thermometer in the sausage to see how it was doing and it was 212 in the center. I'm no slow cooker expert but that seems too hot to me.
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Dudes, go to Target and get yourself one of these (http://www.target.com/p/Crock-Pot-Oval-4-Qt-Red/-/A-10025827#?lnk=sc_qi_detailbutton). It is under $20, there is really no excuse not to have one. If $20 is too much of a stretch, put it on your Christmas list; moms and girlfriends love to buy kitchen appliances for the men in their lives.
I have three slow cookers, one of them is this same model and it is the one I use absolutely the most. It's just right for 2 - 4 people, or for cooking up a big batch of something and then freezing the leftovers for quick dinners later. There are cheaper ones, but they sometimes don't have all 3 settings you need (high, low, and warm). When you've got your cooker, come back here and we will start a thread with slow cooker recipes for you.
Do you know what is wonderful? Prepping food before you go to work in the morning and arriving home to the wonderful aroma of a slow-cooked meal just waiting for you to grab a plate and dive in. Truly, truly, this is a thing you can live without, but why would you want to?
(Edit: I just fixed your link.)
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I want one very badly, but frankly I have too many kitchen appliances in a small kitchen. There are no more cabinets with space for appliances.
...I'll probably buy one once it gets cold, to start cooking soup. I think the weird cabinet next to the sink has some space near the back...
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The nice thing is, you can store other things inside a crock pot. I used to keep cookie cutters in mine. They were in a plastic grocery bag, and when I wanted to use the slow cooker I would just take out the whole bag.
Just sayin'.
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Do you know what is wonderful? Prepping food before you go to work in the morning and arriving home to the wonderful aroma of a slow-cooked meal just waiting for you to grab a plate and dive in. Truly, truly, this is a thing you can live without, but why would you want to?
I can't do this because I am afraid to leave the house with hot things plugged in. Of course, right now I also can't do this because I don't go to work in the morning.
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I can't do this because I am afraid to leave the house with hot things plugged in. Of course, right now I also can't do this because I don't go to work in the morning.
On the first point, I generally am, too, but I feel like a crock pot is safe because it was designed to be left unattended for extended periods of time.
On the second point, I can't help you, except to say that it works equally well after a long day of running errands. But I'm not sure you have those.
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I tell you, that slow pot is my second favourite cooking device. They totally don't get enough credit.
Next time quarter some yellow taters, chunk up an onion, add some celery, carrots, black pepper and garlic acros the top of the chops and then fill that sucker to the brim with saurkraut. If you want to substitute for the 'kraut, use you some beet pickled cabbage instead of the standard 'kraut.
You may have to leave the house windows open for a day or three but it's so worth it.
PROTIP: AFTERWARDS, ONLY POOP AT WORK.
[[high5]] that, or roasting all that stuff is a PA dutch thing for new years day din-din. good luck, supposedly.
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On the second point, I can't help you, except to say that it works equally well after a long day of running errands. But I'm not sure you have those.
Lately I mostly have long days of constantly rechecking my email until I get messages like "Sorry, I gave that piece you sent a month ago to an editor who quit after a week and it fell through the cracks." And yet, somehow I find excuses to get takeout for dinner instead of cooking at all.