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USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

True Blue Fan said:
I found it best to buy a silicone brush for use in cooking. Soak in soapy water for a short time and then wash the heck out of it with a soapy dishrag, sponge etc.
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Yeah, I kinda meant other than going back to the store and buying a silicone brush to replace the oily brush I currently have. :p
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

jmh said:
Anyone know how to clean a brush used for brushing food with olive oil?
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I put some liquid dish soap directly on the brush and work it in before rinsing it. Soapy water won't do it, the liquid soap right on it breaks up the oil and gets most of it out.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

goldy_331 said:
I put some liquid dish soap directly on the brush and work it in before rinsing it. Soapy water won't do it, the liquid soap right on it breaks up the oil and gets most of it out.
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This. Also if you can soak it right after use for a bit things work a bit better. I rinse, slap against the side of the sink and then soap.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I made some crazy dal recipe (found it online) involving kale and it was a miserable failure. Not at all what I was expecting (it didn't help that I didn't read the recipe closely enough, plus I used too much kale). So I checked a few Indian cookbooks out from the library, and will be making Murgh Vindaloo and Chana Masala. I made a trip to an Indian grocery store and got a few spice mixes and some frozen dinners.

Also made a chocolate caramel sponge cake (my nephew's choice) and <a href="http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/mini-strawberry-pies/">mini strawberrry pies</a> over the weekend. Sponge cake wasn't very spongy (maybe because we made it chocolate instead of yellow), but it tasted delicious (whipped cream, dulce de leche and ganache filling, with ganache poured over the top).

The mini-pies were labor-intensive (which is what I expected). The crust for the pies stayed remarkably flaky and didn't get soggy at all, but I'll probably never make them again. They all had lattice tops. After the first 12 (made a triple recipe - so I had 39 pies), I half-assed it and my lattice wasn't very pretty - but the people at work don't really care. :)
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

jen said:
but the people at work don't really care. :)
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This is key. Nearly any failed recipe can be brought in to the office and disposed of. One of my coworkers and his wife made some kind of bark or brittle before Christmas and didn't pay attention to the temperature so it turned out chewy instead of crunchy. The rest of us ate it when he brought it in. :)
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I found a great quick/easy meal in a casserole cookbook last night.

Make a box of Mac/cheese according to directions.
fold in 2 slightly beaten eggs.
put in a 2qt casserole and cover with pizza sauce - a small 14oz bottle or so.
cover with mini pepperoni - about 2.5 oz, according to the directions.
Then cover with about 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 30 min at 350 degrees.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

jen said:
The mini-pies were labor-intensive (which is what I expected). The crust for the pies stayed remarkably flaky and didn't get soggy at all, but I'll probably never make them again. They all had lattice tops.
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This kind of anal-retentive involvement is why my baking is limited to a few Christmas cookies and a couple dozen pasties each year. And why I never watch those silly cake and cupcake shows.

Give me cooking any day. You can make an average meal without the presentation nonsense, and it will still taste pretty good.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
This kind of anal-retentive involvement is why my baking is limited to a few Christmas cookies and a couple dozen pasties each year. And why I never watch those silly cake and cupcake shows.

Give me cooking any day. You can make an average meal without the presentation nonsense, and it will still taste pretty good.
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There is definitely more precision required in baking vs. cooking because of the chemistry involved, but you can bake average stuff without presentation nonsense, too. :) I never watch cake or cupcake shows either - my interest in decorating is very limited. My pet peeve with the cupcake craze - places with lots of pretty frosting, but cupcakes that may as well be Betty Crocker mix. It's pointless if the cupcake itself is nothing special. Above all, it should TASTE good. I like about a 60/40 mix of flavor from cupcake and flavor from frosting.

A co-worker challenged me with this: <a href="http://www.treats-sf.com/2013/11/chocolate-espresso-dacquoise-and-cooks.html">Chocolate Espresso Dacquoise</a>. Looks delicious.
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Just thought I'd update everyone:

I managed to fix my Kitchenaid mixer. Seems to be a fairly common failure (the part worked as designed to protect the motor). The plastic gear in the upper housing sheared off a good chunk of the teeth. You can find all of these parts on Amazon. It's kind of a pain in the *** to get the pin out of the lower rotary assembly but it's a piece of cake after that.

I have it up and running now and plan to put some spurs to it this weekend.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

If ya'll ever find good gluten free recipes, share them here please!
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I have a chicken "roasting" in the slow cooker using an adaptation of this recipe (substituted sage and rosemary for chili powder and garam masala) while I'm at work today. Hoping it turns out well!
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Been trying the freezer crockpot recipes. So far, so good. Freeze everything in a gallon bag. Put in fridge night before (or in my case forget to do that) put in pot for 6 h on high. Googled and found tons of them. WHy did I never see these before?
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Anyone have a good recipe for a cheesy dip (for a Super Bowl party) that uses actual cheese rather than processed crap like Velveeta or whatever?
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

jmh said:
Anyone have a good recipe for a cheesy dip (for a Super Bowl party) that uses actual cheese rather than processed crap like Velveeta or whatever?
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I've made this before and it was very good - <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/caramelized-onion-and-white-cheddar-dip-with-apples-and-dark-bread-recipe.html#">Caramelized Onion and White Cheddar Dip</a>. I don't think I used apples for dipping, though.
 
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