Can someone start a "I am great in the kitchen ama"

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lk1234

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 9:39 pm

for those who don't understand what I mean..
take a look at this one from june 2009 from ra mom

Sunday: Kickin chicken - oven farfel - Caesar salad
Monday: Barbeque steak - crispy roasted red potatoes - balsamic vinaigrette salad
Tuesday: Sesame chicken - basmati rice - Italian tomato salad
Wednesday: Oven fried chicken thighs - curry french fries - corn salad
Thursday: Apricot barbeque chicken - safron rice - shredded carrot salad

wow- each night is a lot of preparation and time in the kitchen! These things would take me so long to prepare!

greenfire

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 9:43 pm

I think putting things like flour, rice, etc. either in the fridge or air-tight canisters really is dependent upon where you live & the heat & the local creatures that may come to join in your feast

anonymrs

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 9:45 pm

lk1234 wrote:

Actually, just a quick glance at this menu, I can tell you that they are not very complicated.

Kickin chicken has 2 ingredients. How hard could farfel in the oven be? And salad is salad....

Steak doesn't take long to prepare though you do have to be on top of it while it cooks, roasted red potatoes are just a few basic ingredients in the oven, and again a salad.

Ok, sesame chicken does take more time to prepare, but basmati rice cooks the same way as regular rice it just tastes better, and then again with a salad.

You get what I mean? If you menu plan and have the ingredients in the house, I think you can do it!

Dolly Welsh

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 9:47 pm

OP if circumstances permit, it might be an idea to get a new oven? Or is this a good oven?

A crockpot overnight will yield many useful stews and soups with little effort. Recipes come with these machines; I preserve the booklets in a plastic file and read and use them. The manufacturer wants you to be happy and they are good.

A bread machine can be of use; if you weigh the flour it is even easier. The warm water is microwaved for say 46 seconds in a pyrex glass measuring cup. The yeast comes from King Alfred website, as does the airtight jar for it; very good, and much cheaper than the packages. Lasts a year or more. I don't freeze it, as some do.

I like a lot of snapware around to keep flour, sugar, and all that stuff in; it cuts down on uninvited visitors. I don't sift; some do.

http://www.shopworldkitchen.co.....98423

A scale:

http://www.oldwillknottscales.......html

A rice cooker is convenient and you don't have to think, and it steams vegetables in its top.

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 10:00 pm

lk1234 wrote:

ra_mom- thanks for that!

So now I can ask you bechvodo uveatzmo-- HOW do you make these amazing suppers every night. I am jealous of you!!! I make a nice supper 2 or 3 times a week and the rest of the week I just wing it.

How do you make a soup, a chicken a this and a that- it takes a really long time!- no?

I have a schedule that works for me and prep ahead of time. It's all about preparing in advance.
Supper has to be seasoned and ready to bake the night before. And I try to do baked dinners or crockpot dinners so I can just set them up, set the timer, and forget about them as they bake/cook.
I don't do soups bec dh doesn't like them too much (except shabbos chicken soup which he could eat all day.)
The schedule that works for me is usually: sun can make something on the stove and messy up the kitchen, mon crockpot, tues dairy in the toaster oven, wed something that takes 30 min to bake, thurs no cook protein salad with w baguette warmed and crusted in the oven.

In 2009 I had more time to leave the food to bake (like chicken bottoms in the oven for 1.5 hours) but the idea was the same. Prep ahead of time, bake in oven. The above menu you posted is simple. Even the sesame chicken was oven baked.

lk1234

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 10:05 pm

thanks. I really want to try this prep the night before idea. I never ever do that. I usually get panicky at around 1 o clock about what's for supper. If I knew what I was making the night before my suppers would be really improved,

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 10:06 pm

lk1234 wrote:

I do a large shopping once a week, so I need to have my menu planned for the next week in order to make sure I have everything I need in the house.

cookielady

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 10:10 pm

Ra_mom is my hero in the kitchen!

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 10:14 pm

Oh my, thank you cookie Hug

But I can't beat you in the baking department!

lk1234

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 10:17 pm

two more quick questions:

when a recipe says course ground pepper- do you use a pepper grinder to make it course? Do they sell this or something?

Also- which salt do you use ? table , sea, kosher? if the recipe doesn't specify, say like in a kugel or chicken?

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 10:23 pm

lk1234 wrote:

Course black pepper - I don't bother grinding it fresh on a regular supper night. I just buy good quality ground pepper from Prima that is not finely ground.

I use kosher salt. Love the taste. If a recipe doesn't specify, use regular table salt. Or else use kosher salt and increase the amount my 1/3.

MaBelleVie

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 11:46 pm

cookielady wrote:

Ra_mom is my hero in the kitchen!

Me too

I would love to be a fly in her kitchen.

anonymrs

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 10:40 am

MaBelleVie wrote:

cookielady wrote:

Ra_mom is my hero in the kitchen!

Me too

I would love to be a fly in her kitchen.

And me!

lkwdlady

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 10:54 am

about the kugel ... I guess you'll decide which piece of advice to try - but here's mine -

Pre-heat the oven so it is already hot before you put the kugel in.

I bake a 9x13 for 2 hours and an 8x8 for 1 hr and 40 min - on 350.

It always comes out perfect .... if the top is brown it's usually fine - DON'T put your oven on 500 - the outside will burn!

Culturedpearls

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 10:56 am

lk1234 wrote:

also- am I the only one who gets totally freaked out by the what's your dinner menu thread?
I wish I could make such amazing suppers every single night. 'It just wow's me that the suppers include a new soup and a salad and a protein and a carb- so much to make each night. I have balanced meals but not new ones each night. We'll have rice for like 3 nights with various chickens or eggs or something.

basically my question is:
Do most people make fresh full suppers every night for their family as it is described in the dinner menu thread?

I do. However , I do use my freezer a lot. Soups freeze well. Sesame chicken freezes well raw, marinated chickens, racks of lamb, chicken Kiev .
I do all the prep & freeze raw.
Side dishes are always fresh.
I'm always a step ahead but I still spend lots of time in the kitchen. I love it though.

Tamiri

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 11:12 am

OP, try ONCE making your regular kugel recipe in a regular pan. Pyrex or metal. Heat some oil in the pan @425 for a minute or two, pour your kugel in. Bake it at 425 till it's brown around the edges and then lower to 375 to finish the baking.

Tamiri

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 11:14 am

And BTW, there are some AMAZING cooks on Imamother. Not that I've tasted their food, besides Seraph (beyond amazing, given what she works with) but the ideas, creativity and recipes are inspiring and make me glad that there are still some people who actually cook in these modern times!

IMHopinion

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 1:43 pm

Op, 5 eggs to 9 potatoes is little. It possibly makes your kugel this interesting texture. For 9 potatoes I'd do 7 or 8 eggs.

sunny90

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 1:52 pm

ra_mom can I also say that I am a huge fan!

Maybe you should start an AMA thread of your own Smile

I make a delicious sandwich bread--it's honey whole wheat and I make it with mostly apple juice so it's mezonos. Its so good that although it makes two loaves I end up with one almost finished at the end of the day I've baked them as my kids beg for it, and my siblings drop by and take a slice or two.

Honey- Whole Wheat Bread

Yield: 2 loaves
Prep Time: 30 min + rising time
Cook Time: 25 min

Ingredients:
2 cups Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
4 to 5 cups Gold Medal® bread flour (I don't buy bread flour here in Israel so I buy dough improver and add a packet to the all purpose flour)
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 packets active dry yeast (.25-ounce envelopes) (5 tsp)
1/4 cup honey
1 2/3 cups water (I use a bit over half diet apple juice)
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick/56 g) unsalted butter (I use margarine)
additional flour, as needed

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, 4 cups bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
2. In a medium bowl, combine honey, milk, water and butter, and heat to between 105 and 110 degrees in the microwave.
3. Stir the liquids to melt the butter and add, all at once, to the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl.
4. With the dough hook installed on your stand mixer, mix the dough. Add more bread flour by the Tablespoon, as needed, until the dough comes together and clears the bowl. Mix for 5 minutes with the dough hook and remove to a lightly floured counter surface.
5. Knead by hand until no longer sticky, adding flour as necessary. Form the dough into a large round and place in a large, greased bowl.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes (or until about doubled in size). Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Roll each half into a 10 x 12 rectangle and roll each up like a cigar. Pinch the seams. Roll on the counter-top to make a uniform log and place each roll in an oiled 9x5-inch bread pan seam-side up. Shake the roll to oil the bottom, turn the pan over, catch the dough and reinsert it into the pan, seam-side-down.
7. Return the pan to a warm place, cover lightly with a clean dishtowel and let rise an additional 30 minutes or until at least 1 inch above the pan top. Bake in a preheated 400°F. oven for 25 minutes, or until the center of the bread tests 190 to 200 degrees. Remove the bread from the pans and let them cool on a rack.

sarahd

Mon, Apr 22 2013, 1:56 pm

Tamiri wrote:

You're not half bad yourself. My husband blesses you every time he eats my yerushalmi kugel, which I make according to your fantastic recipe. And the roasted pepper antipasti recipe I got from you is also great.

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