experiments in the kitchen

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Forum -> Household Management -> Kosher Kitchen

Experiments in the kitchen

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gryp

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 1:51 pm

does anyone experiment in the kitchen? have they turned out good or bad? if we could share our experiments, we might stop others from making mistakes, or we could give each other great ideas! then we won't think we have "reinvented the wheel" when we experiment and think weve come up with a great new idea, while others have known about it all along.....

my latest experiments:
1)chocolate milk in pancakes- I thought it might taste better... it ruined the pancakes and made them burn, please please dont try it.

2) crushing an entire box of matzah for matzah meal- it came out ok for kneidlach and baked-fried chicken, but it wasnt as fine as store-bought matzah meal. I dont recommend it, unless you want matzah meal with big pieces

3)kishke balls in the cholent- I thought it would work, but they all fell apart, and burned the bottom of the pot. the cholent did taste good though.... bad idea...

4) rice krispie balls- same as rice krispie treats but I added creamy peanut butter and shaped them into balls instead of patting it down in the pan. then I froze them... delicious.

5)curly coleslaw- somehow my cabbage leaves rolled up while they were sitting in a bowl of water waiting for me... when I processed it each piece was curly. it was a really beautiful salad. if anyone knows how to make them curl, please tell me....

zuncompany

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 1:58 pm

RG... for the matza... use a food processor. It works much better!! Makes it fine enough that the kneidel is yum.

hot cocoa... take vanilla rice milk (measure using your mug), 1 oz baking chocolate per mug full, and splenda/ sugar to taste. So yummy! And if you whip up a container of rich whip... even better!

big blunder... instead of pots. in the cholent cause there is no time to deal with them, a box of frozen latkes does not work! LOL

Sara

Motek

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 1:58 pm

this isn't exactly what you're talking about, but I have some kitchen tips

for those who don't use them yet - get a box of disposable gloves! They come in different sizes and with and without starch.

I use them for so many things, making cookies, making challa dough, meatballs, handling fish.

They're thin, so you can feel what you're doing, and it protects your hands (mine get dry and need protection). And if the phone rings (bec. you didn't take it off the hook before you got into the goo), you can peel the gloves right off and answer the phone, and not get guck on the phone

zuncompany

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:01 pm

Motek... also great to use when its your mikvah day and you have to get the challah up and forgot to do it before, or something else that could get all gooky in your hands and should be avoided that day!

sarahd

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:03 pm

My major kitchen mistake was putting cinnamon in a huge pot of delicious vegetable soup. I had read somewhere about using cinnamon in unusual ways, and I thought the article had mentioned soup. Anyhow, what the cinnamon did was cancel out the whole taste of the soup. No matter what I added afterward, the soup was totally tasteless.

So, don't add cinnamon to vegetable soup!!

Motek

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:06 pm

right zun!

also for peeling zucchini and avoiding the green slime, and dipping chicken in mayo and crumbs, peeling boiled potatoes

another tip:

using the junky bags you get from the store instead of newspaper

newspaper gets black ink on your hands (unless you're wearing gloves!)

I use store bags to peel on,

for laying out filleted fish and chicken and breading them (I used to use a bowl for the matzo meal, now I use pour matzo meal on the bag and dip, and when I'm done, just fold it up and throw it out)

for putting under the pot that I knead dough in so the pot doesn't leave black marks on the table

for disposing of smelly garbage that I don't want to put into my regular garbage

for covering a pan or bowl of something to put away in the fridge

gryp

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:07 pm

zun- I did use a food processor. maybe if I would have done it a little longer, it would have come out ok, but I thought I crushed it for long enough

disposable gloves- good idea, Motek, my hands also need protection from water, especially warm/hot water

cinnamon in vegetable soup? that is very funny!

sarahd

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:09 pm

RG wrote:

cinnamon in vegetable soup? that is very funny!

Believe me. My sister refuses to let me live that one down. Very Happy

Motek

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:10 pm

a newlywed tried cinnamon in her chicken soup, ugh

Didi - your chicken soup is infinitely better than hers was!

Yael

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:11 pm

I like this thread, Very Happy

lets see if I can think of anything to add.....
I like the idea of gloves, and I do use store bags for peeling on, etc.

gryp

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:21 pm

Motek- green slime? from what?

I peel on the clear plastic bags you buy your fruits and vegetables in

another flop of mine- I was making zucchini stuffed chicken for shabbos, and we were having a special friday night- my inlaws, sisterinlaw the same age as me, my brotherinlaw who was newly engaged and his kallah. basically a lot of special people were eating over.... I forgot to peel the zucchini before I made stuffing from it, and when I took the delicious smelling chicken out of the oven... it was bright GREEN!
I served it anyway, and everyone was very nice about it, but I was so embarrassed!
so please, remember to peel your zucchinis if your using them for stuffing.

Motek

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:24 pm

haven't you noticed, when you peel zucchini that under the peel it's slimy, and it gets into your fingers unless you wash it off?

I like the bags you carry the groceries home in over the fruit/veg. bags because the fruit/veg. bags are long and narrow and the grocery bags are a more convenient, wider shape

Yael

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:25 pm

thats not a flop. Confused

I've made zucc chicken and did not peel it and it turned out great. not bright green b/c when you shred it you get mostly the white inside.

sarahd

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:26 pm

Handy-dandy kitchen tip: If you're altering the quantities in a recipe, eg. making half a recipe or doubling it, etc., rewrite the recipe on a separate paper and use that paper. Otherwise, you run the risk of mixing up the two sets of quantities. I invariably do that!

gryp

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:27 pm

I never noticed any green slime....how strange.

I guess it depends on how many youre cooking for, if you need a small bag or large bag.

Yael

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:27 pm

peeling butternut squash also gets your hands slimy and doesnt come off even after washing. it gets hard when dry and just sticks to your fingers. ugh!!!

gryp

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:30 pm

I hate peeling butternut squash. I always cut myself.

Yael, I cant believe you got normal chicken and you didnt peel the zucchini! (you can ask the eye-witnesses at my table if they remember the green chicken...)

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 2:50 pm

[/quote] like the bags you carry the groceries home in over the fruit/veg. bags because the fruit/veg. bags are long and narrow and the grocery bags are a more convenient, wider shape

Even better is to use a big mixing bowl and line it with the grocery bag - this way nothing falls out and it makes cleanup so much easier - I use it to put everything while I cook (veg. peels, egg shells etc) and at the end, it doesnt all fall off the bag, because it is in the bowl - just lift out and throw away.[/quote]

613

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 3:50 pm

wow! you gals have some impressive ideas! thanks.
this is more of a lazy thing I do (avoid needing to wash another bowl or two):
let's say I'm making a salad dressing that needs 1/4 c. oil, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. vinegar.... I do it all in one measuring cup. pour the oil to the 1/4 c. line, add sugar till it's up to 3/4 c. line, add vinegar till it's up to the 1 1/4 c. line, then mix in the cup and pour onto salad. BY THE WAY I made up those numbers and ingredients so DON'T TRY THAT AT HOME!

zuncompany

Mon, Jan 03 2005, 3:56 pm

haha... I just dump it right into the bag the salad came in, close the top, shake, and pour on.

sara

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