cooking tips for dummies!!!!

Amital

Mon, Jan 18 2010, 7:35 am

SavtaHelen wrote:

RICE used to be a big challange for me. White rice is easy. Put about a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of a saucepan, heat it and stir one cup of oil in it. Add two cups of boiling water, and spices (salt, parsley, chicken soup powder...)Bring to a boil, stir once, cover and simmer for 7 minutes exactly. Turn off the fire but DON"T OPEN the cover. Let is sit and steam itself for at least and hour.

One cup of rice, I think!

Chayalle

Mon, Jan 18 2010, 7:39 am

The best way to make rice is in the oven.

Rice on the stovetop boils over, makes a mess, and leaves you dishes and stoves to clean.

BAKE RICE IN OVEN!

Put desired amount of rice, water, salt, and any additional spices you are using into a foil pan (I like to use a bit of chicken gravy in my rice). Cover very well and tightly with silver foil. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

For white rice, I use 1 1/2 cups rice, about 4 cups water, and I sprinkle salt. After 1 1/2 hours in oven I have perfect rice and no mess.

ra_mom

Mon, Jan 18 2010, 8:24 am

amother wrote:

I'm the second amother. Thank you everyone for your replies, it's really appreciated. (and TY OP for starting this thread Very Happy

)

ra_mom what does the tilted lid do?

It allows some steam to escape, which is important. (For example, if you boil a loaf of gefilte fish in a totally covered pot, the loaf will explode, and the water will probably boil over and make a mess on your stove as well.)
Usually only rice is cooked totally covered. (And the recipe will specify this.)

Mommeeeeeeee!

Mon, Jan 18 2010, 10:01 am

The Beginner's Kosher Cookbook by Seymour Fiedler is good for, well, beginners. It doesn't have just recipes but tells you all about shopping for, preparing, and serving the food.

I have an easy and foolproof method for cooking rice that gives me perfect results every time and is the same for both white and brown rice:

You should know that 1 cup of uncooked rice will generally give you about 3 cups cooked, but that amount may be somewhat less if you use a different type of rice. Also, make sure you use a pot big enough so it's not going to be completely filled to the top, you don't want it to overflow and make a mess. And, most important of all, do NOT, under any circumstances, lift the lid before you are ready to serve it!

TO COOK RICE:
Use 1 1/2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice.
1) Put rice and water in pot that has a lid. Put UNcovered pot on highest flame and WATCH IT!
2) As soon as it is boiling (happens pretty fast), lower flame to slightly higher than the lowest, put lid on pot and set a timer for 20 minutes.
3) When it rings, turn off flame and leave pot on burner, without opening lid, for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on how firm or mushy you want it - longer = softer.

shanie5

Mon, Jan 18 2010, 8:00 pm

the more air in the pot or container, the quicker the food will go bad. so a full pot of soup with a well fitted lid, I would keep in the fridge. if its 1/2 empty, I would put it in a smaller container.

freidasima

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 12:11 am

Wait, back to the rice.
For the past while we only use whole (brown) persian or mixed whole wild rice.
That takes a lot more time.
Anyone ever make it here? I don't cover, I don't fry the rice first either as we don't use oil here. It comes out ok but only just...I tried covering it and it doesn't get fluffy but either watersogged or dry and burnt,

ray family

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 4:20 am

going bacj to rice there are other ways to make it.
I use Indian basmati rice.
for the easy version- soak the rice, drain, put rice in pot keep on mixing until dry. add boiling water- just to cover rice add a bit of salt & mix. cover pot w/ a towel or paper towels push lid down firmly. cook until 3/4 poke holes all over drizzle oil on top lower flame to the absolute lowest and steam until ready.

potatoes- roasted cubed, sliced wedges add oil and spices bake covered (they'll cook faster that way) then uncover at the end to crisp them (you can also turn them over midway)
spices: any combination of s&p, garlic powder or fresh garlic, paprika, rosemary, fresh herbs, msg free onion soup mix, tumeric, ed epper flakes

my friend par boils the potatoes before baking to cut back cooking time

s/t if I want french fries w/o deep frying I'll put a little bit of oil in a pan put in some potato wedges cover let cook until tender then turn over and let the other side get crispy

ra_mom

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 5:47 am

amother wrote:

now that were experts in rice any tips on potatoes besides mashed!!

Usually just cut up the potatoes to your liking (french fries, round coins, wedges, dice, cubes...) add oil and spices to taste. (Yes, take a taste. You don't actually have to bite into a raw potato to taste the spices Smile

)
Bake uncovered, at 400, for 40 minutes to 1 hour. (Check after 40 minutes to see if it needs more time.

Ariellush

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 9:24 am

You don't need any cooking skills in order to prepare the best chicken soup - just filll the pot with lot of vegetables. The measures are aproximate - lot of carrots, lot of potatoes, 1onion, 1 zucchini and lot of meat (3-4 skinned chicken legs and tights for a medium pot), 4 tbsp of fresh or 2 tbsp of dried parsley, 2 tsp salt (you will see if it is salty enough when you taste the cooked soup; if it is not salty add 1 or 2 tsp and remember for the next time how many spoons of salt you need), 1 tsp pepper, 1-2 spoon chicken or vegetable instant soup. Finally, add the boiling water, but do not overflow the pot. Cook 90 minutes or until the meat is fork-tender. You can put too much vegetables or meat, but be careful not to overflow the pot with water. Do not put too much salt- it is always better to add it after.

geemum

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 10:03 am

Basic tips to help:

1. After cooking pasta, drain in a collander or sieve and rinse under cold water. This removes the starchy residue and prevents the pasta sticking together into one big lump

2. I prefer to cook rice on the stove top. Lots of water with a bit of salt. add rice and simmer (low flame) covered for 15 minutes.

3. When you peel the onion, don't cut the bottom off completely (the side with the roots), leave a little of the hard bit. that way when you slice/dice/chop it it won't fall apart so easily.

4. Unless following a recipe, the usual rule (for me) with roast chicken (on the bone) is: if skinned, keep covered. if with skin cover for the first 45-60 mins then uncover the rest of the time (45-60mins).

5. "Baste" means to moisten meat or chicken with a liquid, usually a sauce, especially while cooking. So when roasting chicken or meat, every now and again, open the oven and scooop liquid with a spoon (or similar) and pour over the chicken/meat. This keeps it moist and well flavoured.

6. To warm up pasta or rice that is already cooked, put in strainer/sieve and pour boiling water over it. Very quick and very easy.

Will post more as I think of them. Good Luck. Any particular questions... please ask.

amother

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 10:11 am

Thanks ra_mom, now I understand why some pot covers have a little hole or why some pots have spouts on the sides. Ah! I think I'm starting to catch on here.

Now what about strainers, colanders etc. what are they for, how do you use them and most importantly how do you clean them (including sifters)?

louche

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 10:49 am

amother wrote:

Now what about strainers, colanders etc. what are they for, how do you use them and most importantly how do you clean them (including sifters)?

Flour sifters--don't bother, just store them in a ziplok bag or in the flour canister if there's room. If you must clean them b/c they got wet, or before Pesach, use a small brush like a nail brush or vegetable brush.

Colanders are for draining liquids from foods cooked in water, like pasta, or for rinsing produce, dried legumes and so on. You can use a large strainer for that, too. Small strainers can be used to strain unwanted solids from juice, gravies, and so on, or to puree small quantities of soft foods like cooked veggies or cottage cheese.

You can also use a colander or strainer as a veggie steamer provided it fits into the pot and will hold the veggies above the level of the water so they steam rather than boil.

amother

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 10:19 pm

Thank you all. you guys are awesome.

louche: love that last idea of using it as a steamer.
(But how DO you clean it?)

ra_mom thanks for the baked rice instructions. I found cooking rice in a pot pretty simple (albeit tasteless haha). I just put 3 cups of water with 1 cup of rice (always brown rice) and cook for 45 - 55 min.
I will definitely try the baked rice though, does it taste different?

sped

Wed, Jan 20 2010, 1:03 am

If you want to add flavor to that pot of brown rice, you can first sautee onions in the pot, and then add the rice, water and salt.
In general, sauteed onions is a great way toadd flavor to most soups and dishes.

ra_mom

Wed, Jan 20 2010, 5:56 am

Potatoes in the oven: bake at 400, uncovered, for 40 minutes to an hour. (Depending on how small/large the potatoes have been cut.)

Covered potatoes will be soft, kind of like cooked. Uncovered with be soft inside, a bit crispy on the outside.

Re your question about baked rice: it's just simpler and there are less pots to clean Smile

The stove top version comes out a bit more perfect.