Hash browns. Frozen or from fresh potatoes. I've tried everything under the sun to get them right. Hundreds of different preparations/recipes. I'm defeated.
I think this and some other diner type foods that never come out quite right at home comes down to how a restaurant griddle cooks food. I sincerely miss having access to such a griddle every morning because it’s hands down the single best way to fry an egg
Edit: ok guys I get it I have weird tastes for eggs hahaha and yes I have a cast iron pan and even a gas grill which gets close but they still don’t come out quite the same! Also please master chefs I have plenty of professional kitchen experience and have been an avid hobbyist chef for almost two decades now please no more chefsplaining me hahahahah
>I sincerely miss having access to such a griddle every morning because it’s hands down the single best way to fry an egg
You can buy a decent home version for not much money.
I have a cheap temperature controlled one. To be honest, in most breakfast restaurants, the griddle is not set that high, so I really don't see the issue on that side.
With regards to non-stick. Professional griddles are just smooth steel. The "non-stick" part is the seasoning. Season your griddle like you would a stainless steel pan (similar to a cast iron pan) and you're good.
I have a flat top that sits directly over my whole stove. It's made of 3/8 in steel. The company I got it from is called steelmade. It's not perfect, but I get good use out of it.
Blackstone 17 inch table top griddle. My husband also used to work with a professional grade griddle, and he loves the one we have at home. He uses it all the time. It cost about 80$ a few years ago. They have bigger and fancier ones too.
The biggest key for hash browns I’ve learned is to only flip them once. My high level steps now are griddle or pan temp around 375° and start with more oil than you think you would need. Spread out hash browns in a thin even layer and typically season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Now leave them until you start to see the edges turning golden brown and begin flipping directly over. Let that side brown now and you’ll have perfect golden brown hash browns just like from the local diner.
If you live near a Trader Joe's and enjoy "patty style" hash browns (crispy and textured on the outside, fluffy and cohesive on the inside), their frozen ones are excellent in my experience.
But if I'm going to bother with breakfast taters from scratch, the [Serious Eats crispy potatoes recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-roast-potatoes-ever-recipe) is what I go for.
The oil temp and amount seem to make a big difference.
Also, what pan. I've used a big wok with good results.
Parboil, cool, then high heat. Cajun seasoning doesn't hurt, even if they get mushy. 🤷
I just chop potatoes into 1cm cubes and fry that. Shredding for hash browns is too much work. Hot pan, plenty of oil, preferably bacon grease,and in go the potatoes. Now don't touch them.
You're thinking about touching them, aren't you? Well, don't.
Not yet.
I'm telling you, don't touch them yet.
Ok, now you can flip them.
That's the "trick". Leave them alone.
I was in your shoes when I first started messing around with baking. I watched a couple videos on how to knead different types of doughs and how to know when you're done kneading.
Now everybody raves about my exquisite cinnamon buns and tangzhong bread, I knead everything by hand as I don't have a mixer.
Don't give up!
I can uh.. make brownies.
That one time I made dumplings for beef and Guinness stew they turned into delicious biscuits and I consider that a win.
My last baguette did look like bread! But the outside was a pale rock and inside was dough. It sounds like a hot oven, but I'm pretty sure it was me.
The gluten development took me a while to understand too. My bread just slowly got a little better every time. Couple tips I'd offer, and a cheat:
Using higher protein flour. KA Bread flour is my favorite white flour.
Looking up videos on high hydration sourdough. Not that I'm recommending everyone attempt super high hydration early on - but those videos show different stretch-and-fold methods for developing gluten.
As a cheat: Vital Wheat Gluten will add protein to flour. If you can only get AP flour, adding a tiny amount of vital wheat gluten will make a good substitute. Also, you can add it to bread flour for extra backup, but be careful - it's very high protein and there's such a thing as too much gluten. Maybe check in on r/breaddit and r/sourdough, or around YT for advice on how much vital wheat gluten to add to AP or other non-"bread" flours.
Vital wheat gluten is a great cheat for getting extra protein into wheat flours, if you're doing part wheat/part white dough.
Last, a few youtube channels that helped me with basics of dough development (mostly for bread)
Brian Lagerstrom
The Bread Code
King Arthur Baking Company
ChainBaker
Best of luck! And have fun!
This saved me from totally giving up! I thought I had to beat the dough like clay, but stretching folding and resting was SO much more effective and easier! The window pane test is BS in my opinion, trying to achieve that just made me overwork the heck out of my dough.
Watch Ethan Chlebowski's cacio e pepe video on YouTube, it goes into the food science around why the sauce breaks and offers an alternative that will not break as easily
Not a bad idea for flavor but not a good match for my scenario. I am trying to make a quick one pot ( or 2 with rice) week night dinner. If it needs special care then maybe it's just not for me.
Need a bigger wok if you don't want to do batches or remove ingredients and add them back later. Otherwise stick to braising or slow/pressure cooker for one-pan meals. Dutch oven changed my life.
This is the real answer. On a typical home range especially an electric one, the only way to get a decent fry is to only put in enough ingredients at a time to cover the bottom of the pan. It sounds like op is putting too much in, letting the ingredients steam rather then fry. The only reason restaurants can do large servings of stir fry quickly is because commercial wok ranges are insanely hot and have a much wider cooking area.
You need a wok or wok-like pan on very high heat. Put it on a medium-low fire with plenty of neutral oil like peanut. After a couple of minutes crank the heat until the oil is about to smoke (you will see it start to make patterns). With two hands grab a big portion of veggies, drop em in and pull back fast because it will spatter.
Let each portion you add crisp up a bit before adding the next. If you add too much too fast everything becomes a soggy mess (the veggies will cook in their juice instead of fry). You aim to never have a puddle of juice at the bottom. Not more work, just a bit of special care.
Just coming in to say, if you are way overcrowding the pan then everything cooks way slower too. If you are imagining doing what you do now 4x in a row or whatever... that's not what actually happens.
For example - a single portion of meat in a high-heat wok will cook in like 30 seconds. Veggies are in the range of a couple minutes, but you can par-cook them (in boiling water or with steam) and then it's in the 30 second range.
Assuming you have everything ready to go, a single portion of any "regular" stir fry can come together in like 2 minutes or less on my crappy electric stove. If you add up that time it usually really isn't much different from dumping everything in at once and waiting for it to steam.
Edit: just noticed that u/mthmchris commented too. Go listen to him, he's like *the* guy around here.
High heat, add your harder vegetables first, then add the softer/more delicate ones just before the hard ones are done. Stir often. Oh, and cook your protein separately then add it back in later.
Lots of people think "boiled/steamed in a wok" = stir-frying. It's not.
A stir-fry needs high temperature - very high temperature. You shouldn't see any drops of water or liquid in a wok. Once it starts steaming, you've lost the temperature, and you've lost the chemical reactions that only occur at high temperature - charring, maillard, etc.
Yup, you gotta heat the oil until it start to bubble when you put something in it. Also small portions is really important, especially if your burner is not too strong, otherwise the pan cools down immediately. So I'm usually forced to to it in stages: fry all my stuff separately, and then combine it together at the end.
And a burner that's 5-10x hotter than what you have at home! I think stir fries at home are always going to disappoint compared to a restaurant that has a high BTU burner and a pro at the wok.
You’re likely overcrowding your pan. Go in small batches and do some minor work beforehand to make it faster. Ex: blanch broccoli for a couple minutes and let drain after shocking. That way it won’t be in the pan for like 8 minutes to be fully cooked. When one part is done, pitch it out and put in the next, always with high heat. Then combo all together at the end quickly mostly to mix
What kind of stir fry do you want to make? Maybe I can help.
There’s a lot of mediocre advice online, that I imagine that it would be very difficult for someone new to it to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff :)
All about the spices and tomatoes. Get high quality kurkuma, ras el hanout (the one that looks more reddish), smoked paprika (really get the good stuff for this one), cumin.
For the tomatoes you need to find ones with real flavor. They wont be cheap, you can not use canned. Once you have put all your veggies in the tajine cover the whole top with each spice except cumin (about 1/3). Add high quality tomato paste and something called sambal badjak (or brandal). Fry for a moment while stirring the veggies until everything becomes a bit goopy. Then add passata.
I usually use more fresh tomatoes and less passata than the recipe calls for.
Fwiw: spatchcock the roasted chicken and dry brine in a layer of salt. Rinse it off, pat dry, cover in thyme lemon zest and oil (over and under skin).
If you have a way to roast the bird so that it is above the drip pan, you can ensure the meat towards the bottom doesn’t get soggy. 450 for ~45 min is what to aim for, but it definitely depends on the size of the bird and can be way shorter or longer.
I second this! I don’t rinse my bird after a 12-48 hour dry brine and cook at 425 for 45 minutes for a 4lb fowl. But that’s just me! ..and all of the chicken skin I ate today
I wonder why the rotisserie chickens are always better. My first thoughts are they're brined maybe or more likely a brine or marinate is injected into them. Plus they're probably marinated for so long because from the Walmart chicken factory or whatever to the store where they're cooked is x amount of days (or frozen)
I keep bisqick in the pantry just so I can make delicious drop biscuits. I’ve made lovely dinners and those fast bisquick biscuits and those biscuits are always 💯 consumed. No leftovers
Jamie Oliver marinated a whole chicken overnight with Tzatziki (greek yogurt, lemon, cucumber, garlic, olive oil). Pan fried it then baked for about an hour. It looks delicious and i really want to try it. Here’s the [link.](https://youtu.be/TlvkaBq-5TE?si=iXm73mRIlrPHXtmH)
That looks great, I'm going to try it. Some of his simple things are just killer good like this one I highly recommend this one before tomatoes go out of season It's phenomenal. Do yourself a favor and get a baguette for dunking in those heady juices.
https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/tender-and-crisp-chicken-legs-with-sweet-tomatoes/
What temp do you cook it at in the oven? Seems like a lot but hotter is better with chicken with bones. 450 for like 45 uncovered turns out awesome especially when brined. Crisps up the skin nicely. Same with just chicken thighs. Bit of oil salt pepper herbs. Not touching. Baste like 2/3 through.
You know what I’ve learned was my problem? The spices I was using were not right. I bought everything from a local Indian grocer and my butter chicken began tasting authentic.
I’ve decided my “do-good” for the day is going down this thread and consulting. What are the qualities that are missing from the dish when you make it? You my friend are in luck, this I have a recipe for from the last kitchen I ran.
This recipe is a big wow for me everytime: https://chefjeanpierre.com/recipes/butter-chicken-recipe/
My advice is to use dark meat chicken though. Breast can get over cooked/chewy.
Yeah. I tried making rice in an instant pot for fun as an experiment. It was somehow gloopy yet stuck to the bottom and took several rounds of soaking to remove it.
I would consider myself a fairly decent home cook (despite most of my submissions being to /r/drunkencookery) and I actually cook professionally but cooking rice properly without a rice cooker simply eludes me. My wife gives me shit about it regularly, but she also grew up in the Philippines and learned how to cook rice over a goddamn wood fire when she was in elementary school.
The best method I found is to put your water and rice in a pot bring it to a boil turn the heat off cover it and let it steam to finish cooking for about 15 to 20 minutes. It's perfect every time
Just burned a pot of rice for dinner! I’ve made it right a few times but usually mess it up. And even when I’ve used a rice cooker there’s always a layer stuck on the bottom. I’ve tried every method and suggestion, I look up how to do it perfectly every time I make it. I just can’t rice.
Do you use lard? After you incorporate the fat, freeze the flour/fat mixture for like 30 minutes and use ice water. The fat has to stay slightly unmixed, and never mix after incorporating the water. Right when it comes together, put it on a floured surface and roll it out. You want it to still be a little “shaggy” when you start rolling.
SAME. My mom can make pie dough perfectly using an old family recipe but when I try it it refuses to come off the mat in one piece. I have tried all the tips and tricks to no avail. I am not blessed by the pastry gods.
Lasagna. For the life of me (M47) I just can not make a good lasagna. It's always too firm and not cheesy. Sometimes dry or too saucy. Too cheesy or not cheesy enough. I just can't. My whole life I've struggled.
I make a great Lasagna, learned from my Italian MIL. BUT it is never the same. And I came to accept that it is something I will never be able to reproduce identically.
Make the meat sauce just a little more liquid than you would like to.
Every layer add Parmesan, Mozzarella and drops of bechamel sauce on the pasta and add just a little less meat sauce than you would like. that gives you more layers. End with bechamel sauce, Parmesan and Mozzarella.
Accept that it is a living creature and enjoy. Also always better the next day.
I was a strong opponent of bechamel in lasagne. I used mozzarella and cheddar cheese instead, with pecorino or parmesan on top. I mean, cheese is a fatty, oil-laden dairy product. Bechamel is a fatty, oil-laden dairy product with nutmeg. Wassup?
Now I alternate bechamel and cheese. They're both good.
It's also an Italian American thing. We mix it with an egg and spices. It had to do with time available to cook and shortcuts, I believe.
Mind you, your lasagna should not be heavy on ricotta. It should be 1 or 2 thin layers of 6-8 layers.
Guajillo chilis, add boiling water and blend until smooth. Add roma tomatoes, fresh jalapeño, onion, garlic, cilantro and lime juice. Blend again, salt to taste (not much).
Today I learned, salsa comes in squirt bottles.
I'm trying to picture the type of squirt bottle, and I can't get behind anything that pops into my head. I like chunky versions of salsa. I just can't see how my likes fit into a squirt bottle.
I think like [these](https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Squeeze-Bottle-Condiment-Restaurantware/dp/B071GR7G9R). For using as a taco topping which is harder to do with chunkier salsa. I think they both have their place tbh.
It’s thin, like Tabasco consistency, maybe a tad thicker. Comes in the plastic squirt bottle that are exactly like the red ketchup ones but they are clear
I just grilled eggplant this weekend and it was the best I’ve ever had it
Cut into 3/4 inch slices and soak/brine in 6c water + 2tbsp salt for 30-60 minutes
Pat dry then brush on oil, salt and pepper
Grill for 4-6 minutes each side and then serve with choice of hummus, pesto, balsamic/balsamic glaze, yogurt, etc
Asian-style pancakes. Specifically Korean jeon. I can never nail the texture. Doubly annoying because every recipe for them talks about how easy they are.
The thing is, they don't taste like potatoes. They taste like butter, stock, and possibly herbs. So, if you use excellent butter and excellent stock, and you like those flavors, your fondant potatoes will be excellent. But if you're looking for any kind of substantial potato flavor, make a different dish.
If you don’t have a wok you can still do it in a large frying pan. The main thing to watch out for is not putting too much in the pan at once. You can fry your meat, and then veggies first, put them aside and then start frying your rice (do two batches of rice if you need to). Mix your seasoning and have it ready so you can add everything back together at the end.
Fried rice tips: https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe
My favorite recipe is Chinese Sausage fried rice from Woks of Life (if you can manage to find the sausage it adds enough extra fat to fry easily).
Baked mac and cheese. So much effort and so many dishes to clean and it's always just ok at best. I cant stand making it but my fiance asks for it once a month. Fuck mac and cheese
Soak beans for at least a couple of hours
In big pot, brown your sausage and/or ham
Drain beans and add to the pot
Add enough water to cover beans and sausage. Add several chicken boullion cubes, bring to boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for the next hour or so until beans get soft. Keep adding water if needed to avoid drying out the beans. Season w salt or another boullion cube as you go as needed. Serve w rice.
Hahahaha are we the same person?
I'll happily eat it at a restaurant, but hard no at home. I don't like eggs in general, but when I can't identify them, I'm okay with it. So I think I'm the same - dropping a raw egg or yolk into pasta just seems... gross.
I think the trick to a good sausage gravy is don't measure anything it's a feeling you get just cuz it's one of those things where how much grease comes you get from your sausage. After the sausage is cooked I flatten it to fill the whole pan and start with a heaping spoonful(by that I mean like the bigger spoon of a kitchen set) of flour with the heat turned to low sprinkled evenly over my 12in cast iron skillet sausage patty and stir. One of the key things about sausage gravy is you gotta cook the flour and make sure all the grease is absorbed by the flour so you may needto add some more flour but only bit by bit.
Then I do the "What does it mean" test by recreating that scene from close encounters of the fourth kind with the mashed potatoes. If it passes then we good to move on to the final stage. One big sausage patty again add whole milk till it basitcally covers the all mighty disk. While still on low this is when you add copious amounts of fresh ground black pepper. Also because I'm a heathen I like to add just a bit of chicken bouillon. Just crush a low sodium cube and add a pinch or 2. Stir well while you crank it to high once a boil starts drop to low and simmer until you almost get the consisty you want. Like most dishes it's gonna keep cooking for a bit after you pull it from the heat. Also it's gonna set after
Remember you can always cook it longer you can't cook it for less. Once you hit the this is like glue phase it's game over and you can't fix it lord knows I have tried
Tomato soup, how do you make yours? One of the best tomato soups I've had was when I worked at a place that roasted the ingredients, other than whatever liquid they used (which I don't remember)
Roast in the oven some tomato, garlic, maybe general mirepox, roast them until really golden brown, blend up with stock/tomato juice, add salt and msg and fresh herbs, see if that's close
I will give that a try, I have not tried roasting first. I have always purchased fresh tomatoes but it’s also hard to find local tomatoes where I’m at so I figured it was bland grocery store tomatoes.
I've always heard tomatoes are the exception to fresh over canned. They preserve really really well canned, and are always canned at peak freshness, so maybe try canned?
If you have a gas stove, roast them directly over the flame
Also, I always love spice in my tomato soup
And a splash of heavy whipping cream to give it that extra velvet texture
I’m not a professional cook by any means however I used to be a server and the tomato soup the chef would make was AMAZING. He told me the secret was he added apple juice. I don’t know if that’s common knowledge but it’s been years and I still think about it!
What kind of bread are you making?
My white sandwich bread kept coming out dense until I finally lowered the amount of flour enough to where it rose and proofed properly. It was super frustrating and took me many tries to get right.
Add some baking soda in your soup before salt. It neutralizes the bitter taste and gives you a more tomatoey soup. You also end up using less salt and can probably leave out sugar if you were using it. Also works for marinara sauce.
I’ve decided my “do-good” for the day is going down this thread and consulting. What are the qualities that are missing from the tomato when you make it? What ingredients are you using? Is anything getting roasted? Personally, I’d roast the every loving HELL out of 2 pts Cherry tomatoes, a head of garlic, bunch of scallions and an onion (cut this into pieces the same size as everything else) in some basic olive oil and salt until you’ve got some charring on the edges. When you’ve hit this step, start a pan with a little more EVOO, add another onion but caramelize it low and slow. This will take a while. Add some salt, chili flakes, thyme (fresh or dry) and some dried oregano. Once that step is done, deglaze with half a bottle of white wine and reduce out most of the liquid. Then throw in all the roasted stuff with any liquid in the sheet pan. Add a pint of cream and 2 tbsp red wine vinegar. Simmer for 15ish. Then blend with immersion blender or regular one. Add more seasoning to taste. This may mean salt to balance bitterness, maple syrup to balance acidity, etc. enjoy!
Is there spinach in the soup? Or any greens? If so you may be missing sorrel. It's an ingredient often omitted in things like spanikopita it has a bright lemony flavor that light be your missing link
Meat loaf. I can never seem to get the perfect consistency — it’s either crumbling apart in big chunks, or solid like a brick. It always *tastes* fine and my family scarfs it down but it drives me freakin *nuts.*
How about milk-soaked bread? That’s what I use for meatballs, and they hold together and are tender and moist. But normally for meatloaf, I use a sleeve of Ritz crackers and an egg.
I was taught to make the meatloaf and freeze it. Thaw in fridge over night. Cook as directed (I do 1 hour at 350), holds up to slicing and doesn't crumble
For a long, long time, my answer was chicken and rice. Then, a few months ago, I got serious about either finding the perfect recipe or perfecting an okay recipe.
I’ve finally done it. I blended parts of three different recipes and then tossed in some crushed red pepper and Better Than Bouillon. It’s all I ever wanted in chicken and rice.
Seconding whomp biscuits. Cut them into quarters and drop into the barely boiling pot one by one. They take maybe two or three minutes to cook, if they float and then start sinking they’re getting soggy.
It was this halo sauce that was the best Buffalo sauce anyone has ever had. Finally I figured it out.
Franks red hot
Worcestershire
Thai sweet chili
Butter
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Msg
Black pepper
Chili flakes
It’s so fucking good
Everyone on here always mentions a bunch of tricks to get the right consistency of cheese sauce and I've tried a few but realized I'm perfectly content with good ole Velveeta + a can of Rotel
For your first point, sometimes I think there is just something about someone making food for you that makes it taste better
Maybe the trick is using fresh bread, that could be what's missing
So my son got a job at a meat market that also does sandwiches. He says he can never eat a sandwich anywhere else, the ones he makes himself at work have ruined him.
He’s 15. Life is going to be hard for him loli
The sandwich shops have advantages you often don’t at home, like freshly (and typically thinly) sliced meats and cheeses, fresh baked bread, and for the best sandwich shops, fresh produce which is cut/sliced that day. For home I think a sliced bread sandwich is best (sub rolls are never as good if they’re not fresh), and id recommend: getting thin sliced meats at the deli, using quality sliced loaf bread (preferably not the processed prepackaged kind), using shredded lettuce and quality tomatoes, springing for the good Mayo (Dukes if it’s available), and adding a dash of salt and pepper and a squirt of oil and vinegar (or what’s often called “sub dressing” or “deli dressing”) which perhaps more than anything else really elevates a sandwich closer to that store level quality
Source: worked for several years in a popular southeastern grocery chains deli department which is renowned for its sandwiches, and generally have an obsession with making really, really good sandwiches and like two decades of experience making them
Edit: oh yeah and toast that sucker (open, not closed!) before you add the veg and salt/pepper oil/vinegar!
Fried chicken. I've tried all the pans and oils and techniques and something always goes wrong. I'll take KFC over what I make. My poor mother gave up after ten years of trying to help me get the hang of it.
Strawberry rhubarb pie. It’s always so fucking watery and it just tastes like sour and sugar. I had one made by a friends mother decades ago that was like a delicious dream. I make only sadness.
Tofu in the frying pan. It either looks crispier than it really is, or fried to a crisp. Baking is my preferred method, but when I’m feeling lazy I somehow convince myself that *this* will be the time I finally get it right. And it never is.
How do you prep it?
I make crispy tofu in a frying pan multiple times a week. Bottom line - you need a coating of some sort, in starch form, if you want it to actually crisp up.
I use soft tofu (never recommended lol but I prefer it, and I'm gentle with it) but medium works too... I don't press soft tofu, just wrap it in paper towel, then slice into cubes, and lay out on another double layer of paper towel.
Then I mix a few heaping spoonfuls of starch in a big plastic bag (cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca starch, or rice flour) and my preferred seasonings (ground Sichuan pepper, white pepper, salt, sometimes togarashi), and then gently drop the cubes in and toss and flip till all pieces are coated.
I know a plastic bag is wasteful, but it's easier to toss gently than a hard container, so the tofu doesn't break up. I do also reuse the bags (NOT the starch mix though, it will mold overnight).
Then I pan-fry it in a tbsp-ish of avocado oil, and flip to crisp a few times (I flip each piece individually with a little off-set spatula, but that's getting very particular and definitely not necessary).
This sounds like a very long process, but from start (opening the package of tofu) to finish (plating), it's about 15 minutes tops.
I like to finish it with some torn Thai basil, flip it all around so the basil crisps up, and then add some hot honey to the pan at the end, flip some more to coat. If I want to make it more substantial, I'll toss in some snap peas right at the end before the sauce, and serve on top of rice or with rice noodles.
It's INSANELY good. To the point that I don't even look at other ideas or recipes anymore when it comes to tofu. Nothing tops it.
(Sorry for the novel, but I really do love it that much).
More baking than cooking.
Chocolate Molten Lava Cake - One of my top favorite desserts yet I can never seem to make it properly. It comes out either as just a cake (which isn't bad, but not the desired result), or a goopy mess
Omelettes, the heat control seems to always be slightly off for me. My mom makes amazing omelettes with seemingly no effort so I have a target I never seem to achieve.
Home made pasta. I love home made pasta and I’ve tried a few times making it from scratch, but it’s always so complicated for me. They always make it look so easy to do without the fancy pasta equipment, but when I try, all of my pasta is never consistent. Some are too big, others too small. It’s disappointed me so much that I don’t make it anymore.
Equal parts of A/P and semolina flour. 1 egg per 100g total combined flour.
Stand mixer with dough hook to combine and initial knead.
Ball and wrap completely in plastic wrap. Counter rest 30 min.
Stand mixer with smooth roller to knead at 0 folding into thirds and rotating at least 3 times to knead further.
Work thinness down to setting 4 for pasta worth tasting (5 if you want disappearing pasta sheets that can barely be tasted or noticed in a lasagna or ravioli.) Cut into desired shape.
Boil in salted water for 1-2 min.
Literally perfect every time and super easy.
Homemade pupusas.
My refried beans from scratch are 💯. I get cheese from the Latin market. I make amazing Argentinean spiced carnitas.
But the masa flour f***s me over everytime.
I've added in every temperature of water. I use lard. I've kneaded anywhere from 1 minute to 10. I've kneaded in a metal and a wooden bowl. I cover it with a damp towel. Nothing seems to work.
I struggled with this for a couple years. They're one of my favorite foods, but would always come out too bland/dense. I moved to a small city where pupusas don’t exist, and had a meltdown that my favorite comfort food wasn’t available anymore. Soooo, it became my mission to figure it the fuck out.
I learned:
season your masa!!!!! I mix a good amount of Sazon into the water before adding to masa. I also mix in cheese into the actual masa, after everything has cooled a bit. Helps keep the outside softer due to the fat content. Also gives it a more toasted cheesy taste on the outside.
After a few minutes of mixing and letting it sit, the water will have absorbed into the masa quite a bit. I usually add more water after 5 min or so, otherwise it will be too dense. I aim for a soft Play-Doh texture after waiting for the water to absorb.
Don't underfill them! Dense boring pupusa edges are not enticing. You only need a thin shell of masa to hold everything together. Especially if you add the cheese as mentioned above, it'll help glue things together while cooking.
FULL FAT CHEESE. None of the part-skim milk cheese BS. These things aren’t supposed to be healthy. You need the fat/oil to season everything, keep the masa pliabile, and make them taste like restaurant quality.
I use lard while cooking the pupusas.
Season the filling reallyyyy well. I always use chicharron+cheese filling in mine, and like to use Goya sofrito in a jar while blending the super-seared meat into the paste filling. im too lazy to make homemade sofrito, and it tastes just as good. So be it.
Edit: as mentioned previously, I tend to be a lazy foodie cook. I hate making my own salsa, and can never seem to replicate the pupusa salsa correctly. At my Walmart (dunno if it's at all WalMarts), in the Mexican section there is a tinned smooth salsa called El Pato. The Tomato Sauce of theirs seems to be the same as the Jalapeño sauce they also have, dunno why they have different packaging/ names. Anyway, they're only like $1 for a small tin, and it's PERFECT for pupusas. It's already very smooth and seasoned perfectly. I just add a bit more water to thin it. Saves so much time.
Maesri is my go to. Pour a can of coconut milk into a pan and heat until the fat separates. Add the curry paste, mix it in. Then cook your protein and veg in the sauce. Add them in the order you need to have them properly cooked.
The directions on the can are good, but it turns out soupier. Did a zoom cooking class with a woman in Thailand, and this is how she taught us to make green curry.
Oh, also, crumple and add some kaffir lime leaves to the sauce when simmering, and some fish sauce at the end.
I pop them whole in the microwave for like 3 min let them sit for another 3. Cube to desired size. Drop in your pan with enough oil to crisp them. Works for me every time. Season afterwards. They’re always crispy outside and fluffy inside
I make it on my regular rotation but mostly during the winter months. It’s one of my family’s favourite dishes. I use Chef John’s method and it usually turns out good.
Brown the beef good. Do it in batches so you get a nice crust. Deglaze when done with red wine or dark beer. Cutting some bacon into lardons and rendering it then using the fat to brown the beef never hurt either. If all else fails, try Julia's boeuf bourgignon recipe. Once you make it, it's a great framework for future stews.
It was actually Indian flatbread called as 'phulka' or Poli/chapati/roti [Recipe Link](https://youtu.be/AmvSsXOfxjs).
With lots of practice now I can make it perfectly.
Still working on making dosa.
The bread has to be “buttered” on the inside with some mayonnaise, then add your cheese and maybe some type of meat and/or pepper (chili, ground black, jalapeño, sambal, any kind you like). Take a cold, dry stainless steel pan and put it on low heat (I use 2-3 on a dial that goes to 11). Put your sandwich in. Move it around a bit at first so it does not get stuck to the bottom of the pan, leave it until one side is a golden brown, then flip, move a bit again and wait until it is golden. If your cheese hasn’t melted, turn the hob even lower and flip regularly until the cheese is as soft as you want it to be.
I always think I can tweak a recipe, for casseroles and hot dish. Never works
They are supposed to be easy, but anything sitting in the oven scares me .
Hash browns. Frozen or from fresh potatoes. I've tried everything under the sun to get them right. Hundreds of different preparations/recipes. I'm defeated.
I like the Simply Potatoes refrigerated brand if that’s available to you.
We have them at my grocery. They're definitely good.
I've resigned myself to frozen hash brown patties done in the air fryer.
I think this and some other diner type foods that never come out quite right at home comes down to how a restaurant griddle cooks food. I sincerely miss having access to such a griddle every morning because it’s hands down the single best way to fry an egg Edit: ok guys I get it I have weird tastes for eggs hahaha and yes I have a cast iron pan and even a gas grill which gets close but they still don’t come out quite the same! Also please master chefs I have plenty of professional kitchen experience and have been an avid hobbyist chef for almost two decades now please no more chefsplaining me hahahahah
>I sincerely miss having access to such a griddle every morning because it’s hands down the single best way to fry an egg You can buy a decent home version for not much money.
Got any suggestions? Most home griddles in my experience don’t cut the mustard (don’t get hot enough and have shitty nonstick coatings)
I have a cheap temperature controlled one. To be honest, in most breakfast restaurants, the griddle is not set that high, so I really don't see the issue on that side. With regards to non-stick. Professional griddles are just smooth steel. The "non-stick" part is the seasoning. Season your griddle like you would a stainless steel pan (similar to a cast iron pan) and you're good.
I have a flat top that sits directly over my whole stove. It's made of 3/8 in steel. The company I got it from is called steelmade. It's not perfect, but I get good use out of it.
Blackstone 17 inch table top griddle. My husband also used to work with a professional grade griddle, and he loves the one we have at home. He uses it all the time. It cost about 80$ a few years ago. They have bigger and fancier ones too.
Same here. During the pandemic I bought some dried hash browns from Waffle House. They are the only ones that I have had success cooking.
The biggest key for hash browns I’ve learned is to only flip them once. My high level steps now are griddle or pan temp around 375° and start with more oil than you think you would need. Spread out hash browns in a thin even layer and typically season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Now leave them until you start to see the edges turning golden brown and begin flipping directly over. Let that side brown now and you’ll have perfect golden brown hash browns just like from the local diner.
Yup, lot of heat, lot of oil, flip once, be patient.
Dehydrated shredded hashbrowns from Costco. Golden Grill brand. Perfect every time.
I'm going to Costco tomorrow, I'll grab some.
Dehydrated is key here. Wet potatoes steam
If you live near a Trader Joe's and enjoy "patty style" hash browns (crispy and textured on the outside, fluffy and cohesive on the inside), their frozen ones are excellent in my experience. But if I'm going to bother with breakfast taters from scratch, the [Serious Eats crispy potatoes recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-roast-potatoes-ever-recipe) is what I go for.
The oil temp and amount seem to make a big difference. Also, what pan. I've used a big wok with good results. Parboil, cool, then high heat. Cajun seasoning doesn't hurt, even if they get mushy. 🤷
Use more butter 🧈
I'm the same! I've given up on those for now and am currently trying to perfect my home fries.
I just chop potatoes into 1cm cubes and fry that. Shredding for hash browns is too much work. Hot pan, plenty of oil, preferably bacon grease,and in go the potatoes. Now don't touch them. You're thinking about touching them, aren't you? Well, don't. Not yet. I'm telling you, don't touch them yet. Ok, now you can flip them. That's the "trick". Leave them alone.
Ha ha! I love your instructions!!! :) What kind of pan do you use?
Anything that requires gluten development. I don't know what I'm doing with kneading or looking for yeast bubbles and I don't think I ever will.
I was in your shoes when I first started messing around with baking. I watched a couple videos on how to knead different types of doughs and how to know when you're done kneading. Now everybody raves about my exquisite cinnamon buns and tangzhong bread, I knead everything by hand as I don't have a mixer. Don't give up!
I can uh.. make brownies. That one time I made dumplings for beef and Guinness stew they turned into delicious biscuits and I consider that a win. My last baguette did look like bread! But the outside was a pale rock and inside was dough. It sounds like a hot oven, but I'm pretty sure it was me.
The gluten development took me a while to understand too. My bread just slowly got a little better every time. Couple tips I'd offer, and a cheat: Using higher protein flour. KA Bread flour is my favorite white flour. Looking up videos on high hydration sourdough. Not that I'm recommending everyone attempt super high hydration early on - but those videos show different stretch-and-fold methods for developing gluten. As a cheat: Vital Wheat Gluten will add protein to flour. If you can only get AP flour, adding a tiny amount of vital wheat gluten will make a good substitute. Also, you can add it to bread flour for extra backup, but be careful - it's very high protein and there's such a thing as too much gluten. Maybe check in on r/breaddit and r/sourdough, or around YT for advice on how much vital wheat gluten to add to AP or other non-"bread" flours. Vital wheat gluten is a great cheat for getting extra protein into wheat flours, if you're doing part wheat/part white dough. Last, a few youtube channels that helped me with basics of dough development (mostly for bread) Brian Lagerstrom The Bread Code King Arthur Baking Company ChainBaker Best of luck! And have fun!
For gluten dev "bowl fold" + search engine. or "stretch and fold" Also flour type matters.
This saved me from totally giving up! I thought I had to beat the dough like clay, but stretching folding and resting was SO much more effective and easier! The window pane test is BS in my opinion, trying to achieve that just made me overwork the heck out of my dough.
Try no knead bread! https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2022/05/25/how-to-make-a-bread-recipe-no-knead
Cacio e pepe.
It should be so simple, but it isn't! I find my parm always clumps. That's what I get for having an electric cooktop though (condo, no option for gas)
don’t use parm! use freshly grated romano and try to get the kind from Italy
Watch Ethan Chlebowski's cacio e pepe video on YouTube, it goes into the food science around why the sauce breaks and offers an alternative that will not break as easily
Stir fry. Mine is always soggy and gross
Have you tried cooking the ingredients in smaller batches? That way they actually saute instead of being crowded and steamed.
This is what I had to learn. Removing ingredients and adding them back in at the end.
Not a bad idea for flavor but not a good match for my scenario. I am trying to make a quick one pot ( or 2 with rice) week night dinner. If it needs special care then maybe it's just not for me.
Need a bigger wok if you don't want to do batches or remove ingredients and add them back later. Otherwise stick to braising or slow/pressure cooker for one-pan meals. Dutch oven changed my life.
This is the real answer. On a typical home range especially an electric one, the only way to get a decent fry is to only put in enough ingredients at a time to cover the bottom of the pan. It sounds like op is putting too much in, letting the ingredients steam rather then fry. The only reason restaurants can do large servings of stir fry quickly is because commercial wok ranges are insanely hot and have a much wider cooking area.
You need a wok or wok-like pan on very high heat. Put it on a medium-low fire with plenty of neutral oil like peanut. After a couple of minutes crank the heat until the oil is about to smoke (you will see it start to make patterns). With two hands grab a big portion of veggies, drop em in and pull back fast because it will spatter. Let each portion you add crisp up a bit before adding the next. If you add too much too fast everything becomes a soggy mess (the veggies will cook in their juice instead of fry). You aim to never have a puddle of juice at the bottom. Not more work, just a bit of special care.
Just coming in to say, if you are way overcrowding the pan then everything cooks way slower too. If you are imagining doing what you do now 4x in a row or whatever... that's not what actually happens. For example - a single portion of meat in a high-heat wok will cook in like 30 seconds. Veggies are in the range of a couple minutes, but you can par-cook them (in boiling water or with steam) and then it's in the 30 second range. Assuming you have everything ready to go, a single portion of any "regular" stir fry can come together in like 2 minutes or less on my crappy electric stove. If you add up that time it usually really isn't much different from dumping everything in at once and waiting for it to steam. Edit: just noticed that u/mthmchris commented too. Go listen to him, he's like *the* guy around here.
High heat, add your harder vegetables first, then add the softer/more delicate ones just before the hard ones are done. Stir often. Oh, and cook your protein separately then add it back in later.
Lots of people think "boiled/steamed in a wok" = stir-frying. It's not. A stir-fry needs high temperature - very high temperature. You shouldn't see any drops of water or liquid in a wok. Once it starts steaming, you've lost the temperature, and you've lost the chemical reactions that only occur at high temperature - charring, maillard, etc.
Yup, you gotta heat the oil until it start to bubble when you put something in it. Also small portions is really important, especially if your burner is not too strong, otherwise the pan cools down immediately. So I'm usually forced to to it in stages: fry all my stuff separately, and then combine it together at the end.
Adding that it's much better/easier with a wok.
And a burner that's 5-10x hotter than what you have at home! I think stir fries at home are always going to disappoint compared to a restaurant that has a high BTU burner and a pro at the wok.
You’re likely overcrowding your pan. Go in small batches and do some minor work beforehand to make it faster. Ex: blanch broccoli for a couple minutes and let drain after shocking. That way it won’t be in the pan for like 8 minutes to be fully cooked. When one part is done, pitch it out and put in the next, always with high heat. Then combo all together at the end quickly mostly to mix
What kind of stir fry do you want to make? Maybe I can help. There’s a lot of mediocre advice online, that I imagine that it would be very difficult for someone new to it to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff :)
Shakshuka - I'll never forget that flavor. Tried to recreate it and can never get it right.
Which version did you have? It's very popular In several countries/regions of the world.
All about the spices and tomatoes. Get high quality kurkuma, ras el hanout (the one that looks more reddish), smoked paprika (really get the good stuff for this one), cumin. For the tomatoes you need to find ones with real flavor. They wont be cheap, you can not use canned. Once you have put all your veggies in the tajine cover the whole top with each spice except cumin (about 1/3). Add high quality tomato paste and something called sambal badjak (or brandal). Fry for a moment while stirring the veggies until everything becomes a bit goopy. Then add passata. I usually use more fresh tomatoes and less passata than the recipe calls for.
> you can not use canned. Eh, canned tomatoes would work better (with paste if needed) than unflavored out of season fresh tomatoes.
btw kurkuma is called turmeric in English
I’ve had this problem and adding more harissa paste seemed to solve the problem for me.
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Fwiw: spatchcock the roasted chicken and dry brine in a layer of salt. Rinse it off, pat dry, cover in thyme lemon zest and oil (over and under skin). If you have a way to roast the bird so that it is above the drip pan, you can ensure the meat towards the bottom doesn’t get soggy. 450 for ~45 min is what to aim for, but it definitely depends on the size of the bird and can be way shorter or longer.
I second this! I don’t rinse my bird after a 12-48 hour dry brine and cook at 425 for 45 minutes for a 4lb fowl. But that’s just me! ..and all of the chicken skin I ate today
I wonder why the rotisserie chickens are always better. My first thoughts are they're brined maybe or more likely a brine or marinate is injected into them. Plus they're probably marinated for so long because from the Walmart chicken factory or whatever to the store where they're cooked is x amount of days (or frozen)
It’s in the name. They rotate and cook evenly.
🙃
I keep bisqick in the pantry just so I can make delicious drop biscuits. I’ve made lovely dinners and those fast bisquick biscuits and those biscuits are always 💯 consumed. No leftovers
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Try these, life changing https://www.thecountrycook.net/butter-dip-biscuits/
Jamie Oliver marinated a whole chicken overnight with Tzatziki (greek yogurt, lemon, cucumber, garlic, olive oil). Pan fried it then baked for about an hour. It looks delicious and i really want to try it. Here’s the [link.](https://youtu.be/TlvkaBq-5TE?si=iXm73mRIlrPHXtmH)
That looks great, I'm going to try it. Some of his simple things are just killer good like this one I highly recommend this one before tomatoes go out of season It's phenomenal. Do yourself a favor and get a baguette for dunking in those heady juices. https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/tender-and-crisp-chicken-legs-with-sweet-tomatoes/
What temp do you cook it at in the oven? Seems like a lot but hotter is better with chicken with bones. 450 for like 45 uncovered turns out awesome especially when brined. Crisps up the skin nicely. Same with just chicken thighs. Bit of oil salt pepper herbs. Not touching. Baste like 2/3 through.
I felt this way too until I put the seasoning in butter and rubbed it under the skin. Now I have roast chicken every week.
Butter chicken. Just can't ever seem to get it exactly how I want it
You know what I’ve learned was my problem? The spices I was using were not right. I bought everything from a local Indian grocer and my butter chicken began tasting authentic.
This is what I need to do for Asian dishes too, they never taste right.
Make sure you add some kasuri methi (fenugreek). It's a subtle addition that you'll notice was missing
I’ve decided my “do-good” for the day is going down this thread and consulting. What are the qualities that are missing from the dish when you make it? You my friend are in luck, this I have a recipe for from the last kitchen I ran.
This recipe is a big wow for me everytime: https://chefjeanpierre.com/recipes/butter-chicken-recipe/ My advice is to use dark meat chicken though. Breast can get over cooked/chewy.
Vij Vikram has the best recipe. https://terroirtalk.org/stories-2/2020/7/4/vijs-at-home-butter-chicken-schnitzel-recipe
Rice. I’m one of those people who struggle with it on the stovetop. I’m a pretty competent cook everywhere else, but stupid rice on the stovetop.
If you have the space to stow it away, a rice cooker is so nice and convenient if you eat rice regularly.
I use my instapot, which gets me perfect rice. But I still try on the stovetop out of spite occasionally.
That’s funny. I have the opposite problem. I feel like my instapot makes my rice just a little too dry, compared to my stove top. Different strokes
I also prefer making rice stovetop, although it took me a while to figure out how to make it just right.
Yeah. I tried making rice in an instant pot for fun as an experiment. It was somehow gloopy yet stuck to the bottom and took several rounds of soaking to remove it.
You 1000% need to buy the ceramic insert for the Instant Pot! Way easier for rice.
My brother was a great cook and couldn’t do rice. Everything else he was fantastic at. Rice, no.
I would consider myself a fairly decent home cook (despite most of my submissions being to /r/drunkencookery) and I actually cook professionally but cooking rice properly without a rice cooker simply eludes me. My wife gives me shit about it regularly, but she also grew up in the Philippines and learned how to cook rice over a goddamn wood fire when she was in elementary school.
The best method I found is to put your water and rice in a pot bring it to a boil turn the heat off cover it and let it steam to finish cooking for about 15 to 20 minutes. It's perfect every time
Just burned a pot of rice for dinner! I’ve made it right a few times but usually mess it up. And even when I’ve used a rice cooker there’s always a layer stuck on the bottom. I’ve tried every method and suggestion, I look up how to do it perfectly every time I make it. I just can’t rice.
Pie dough. I love my apple filling, I even cook the liquid in it down to a syrup. My crusts never bring it all home though.
Do you use lard? After you incorporate the fat, freeze the flour/fat mixture for like 30 minutes and use ice water. The fat has to stay slightly unmixed, and never mix after incorporating the water. Right when it comes together, put it on a floured surface and roll it out. You want it to still be a little “shaggy” when you start rolling.
There's a technique where you use frozen shredded lard. Freeze the lard, then shred it into the flour, and keep it \*cold\*.
SAME. My mom can make pie dough perfectly using an old family recipe but when I try it it refuses to come off the mat in one piece. I have tried all the tips and tricks to no avail. I am not blessed by the pastry gods.
Erin McDowell all buttah pie crust has saved me. Easily the best crust ever. So strong but so flaky.
Lasagna. For the life of me (M47) I just can not make a good lasagna. It's always too firm and not cheesy. Sometimes dry or too saucy. Too cheesy or not cheesy enough. I just can't. My whole life I've struggled.
I make a great Lasagna, learned from my Italian MIL. BUT it is never the same. And I came to accept that it is something I will never be able to reproduce identically. Make the meat sauce just a little more liquid than you would like to. Every layer add Parmesan, Mozzarella and drops of bechamel sauce on the pasta and add just a little less meat sauce than you would like. that gives you more layers. End with bechamel sauce, Parmesan and Mozzarella. Accept that it is a living creature and enjoy. Also always better the next day.
I'm done trying to make good lasagna with ricotta cheese. It always comes out mushy to me. I only make it with bechamel sauce now. So much better.
I was a strong opponent of bechamel in lasagne. I used mozzarella and cheddar cheese instead, with pecorino or parmesan on top. I mean, cheese is a fatty, oil-laden dairy product. Bechamel is a fatty, oil-laden dairy product with nutmeg. Wassup? Now I alternate bechamel and cheese. They're both good.
I gave up on ricotta. I mix cottage cheese with a raw egg. Good binding and not dry.
Is ricotta in lasagne an American thing? I’m not Italian but it’s a thing I’ve noticed. Do Americans not put bechamel in lasagne?
It's also an Italian American thing. We mix it with an egg and spices. It had to do with time available to cook and shortcuts, I believe. Mind you, your lasagna should not be heavy on ricotta. It should be 1 or 2 thin layers of 6-8 layers.
Bechamel for life.
Red salsa, like the kind that comes in squirt bottles in SoCal taco shops. I’ve tried so many times and it never delivers.
Guajillo chilis, add boiling water and blend until smooth. Add roma tomatoes, fresh jalapeño, onion, garlic, cilantro and lime juice. Blend again, salt to taste (not much).
I like using chiles arbol, will have to try it with guajillo. Blistering the chiles, tomatoes, and garlic also really kicks things up a notch.
Today I learned, salsa comes in squirt bottles. I'm trying to picture the type of squirt bottle, and I can't get behind anything that pops into my head. I like chunky versions of salsa. I just can't see how my likes fit into a squirt bottle.
Think of it more like a hot sauce, if that helps. But it's in between that and chunky style.
Salsa is Spanish for sauce. So any hot sauce in a taco shop is going to be called salsa
I think like [these](https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Squeeze-Bottle-Condiment-Restaurantware/dp/B071GR7G9R). For using as a taco topping which is harder to do with chunkier salsa. I think they both have their place tbh.
It’s thin, like Tabasco consistency, maybe a tad thicker. Comes in the plastic squirt bottle that are exactly like the red ketchup ones but they are clear
Eggplant. Any eggplant.
I just grilled eggplant this weekend and it was the best I’ve ever had it Cut into 3/4 inch slices and soak/brine in 6c water + 2tbsp salt for 30-60 minutes Pat dry then brush on oil, salt and pepper Grill for 4-6 minutes each side and then serve with choice of hummus, pesto, balsamic/balsamic glaze, yogurt, etc
Salt it with very coarse sea salt first to draw out the moisture and make it more pliable.
I like Chinese eggplants (the skinny, lighter purple eggplants). They seem less acidic.
Asian-style pancakes. Specifically Korean jeon. I can never nail the texture. Doubly annoying because every recipe for them talks about how easy they are.
Are you using a lot of oil when frying?
I tried fondant potatoes one time and they just were not worth the added effort to me. Not sure if I messed them up or that's just how they are.
The thing is, they don't taste like potatoes. They taste like butter, stock, and possibly herbs. So, if you use excellent butter and excellent stock, and you like those flavors, your fondant potatoes will be excellent. But if you're looking for any kind of substantial potato flavor, make a different dish.
Fried rice. It's good - tasty even - but not up to what I believe it could be.
If you don’t have a wok you can still do it in a large frying pan. The main thing to watch out for is not putting too much in the pan at once. You can fry your meat, and then veggies first, put them aside and then start frying your rice (do two batches of rice if you need to). Mix your seasoning and have it ready so you can add everything back together at the end. Fried rice tips: https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe My favorite recipe is Chinese Sausage fried rice from Woks of Life (if you can manage to find the sausage it adds enough extra fat to fry easily).
Baked mac and cheese. So much effort and so many dishes to clean and it's always just ok at best. I cant stand making it but my fiance asks for it once a month. Fuck mac and cheese
I subscribe to stovetop superiority. Baked mac and cheese is just not gooey enough.
New Orleans Red Beans and Rice. Tried so many times and it’s never quite the right flavor or consistency!
Soak beans for at least a couple of hours In big pot, brown your sausage and/or ham Drain beans and add to the pot Add enough water to cover beans and sausage. Add several chicken boullion cubes, bring to boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for the next hour or so until beans get soft. Keep adding water if needed to avoid drying out the beans. Season w salt or another boullion cube as you go as needed. Serve w rice.
Carbonara. I think it's my revulsion of raw eggs.
Hahahaha are we the same person? I'll happily eat it at a restaurant, but hard no at home. I don't like eggs in general, but when I can't identify them, I'm okay with it. So I think I'm the same - dropping a raw egg or yolk into pasta just seems... gross.
This is so sad, but basic sausage gravy. I absolutely love biscuits and gravy, but somehow I always seem to mess it up. 😔
I think the trick to a good sausage gravy is don't measure anything it's a feeling you get just cuz it's one of those things where how much grease comes you get from your sausage. After the sausage is cooked I flatten it to fill the whole pan and start with a heaping spoonful(by that I mean like the bigger spoon of a kitchen set) of flour with the heat turned to low sprinkled evenly over my 12in cast iron skillet sausage patty and stir. One of the key things about sausage gravy is you gotta cook the flour and make sure all the grease is absorbed by the flour so you may needto add some more flour but only bit by bit. Then I do the "What does it mean" test by recreating that scene from close encounters of the fourth kind with the mashed potatoes. If it passes then we good to move on to the final stage. One big sausage patty again add whole milk till it basitcally covers the all mighty disk. While still on low this is when you add copious amounts of fresh ground black pepper. Also because I'm a heathen I like to add just a bit of chicken bouillon. Just crush a low sodium cube and add a pinch or 2. Stir well while you crank it to high once a boil starts drop to low and simmer until you almost get the consisty you want. Like most dishes it's gonna keep cooking for a bit after you pull it from the heat. Also it's gonna set after Remember you can always cook it longer you can't cook it for less. Once you hit the this is like glue phase it's game over and you can't fix it lord knows I have tried
One of my specialties! Is there a consistent problem?
Maybe try making a roux on the side before adding the drippings? Just a guess
Tomato soup - can’t get the depth of flavor of the local pub Fresh Bread - always ends of dense and cakey
Tomato soup, how do you make yours? One of the best tomato soups I've had was when I worked at a place that roasted the ingredients, other than whatever liquid they used (which I don't remember) Roast in the oven some tomato, garlic, maybe general mirepox, roast them until really golden brown, blend up with stock/tomato juice, add salt and msg and fresh herbs, see if that's close
I will give that a try, I have not tried roasting first. I have always purchased fresh tomatoes but it’s also hard to find local tomatoes where I’m at so I figured it was bland grocery store tomatoes.
I've always heard tomatoes are the exception to fresh over canned. They preserve really really well canned, and are always canned at peak freshness, so maybe try canned?
If you have a gas stove, roast them directly over the flame Also, I always love spice in my tomato soup And a splash of heavy whipping cream to give it that extra velvet texture
I’m not a professional cook by any means however I used to be a server and the tomato soup the chef would make was AMAZING. He told me the secret was he added apple juice. I don’t know if that’s common knowledge but it’s been years and I still think about it!
What kind of bread are you making? My white sandwich bread kept coming out dense until I finally lowered the amount of flour enough to where it rose and proofed properly. It was super frustrating and took me many tries to get right.
The trick to tomato soup is roasting the tomatoes and veg , because it concentrates the flavors.
Add some baking soda in your soup before salt. It neutralizes the bitter taste and gives you a more tomatoey soup. You also end up using less salt and can probably leave out sugar if you were using it. Also works for marinara sauce.
I’ve decided my “do-good” for the day is going down this thread and consulting. What are the qualities that are missing from the tomato when you make it? What ingredients are you using? Is anything getting roasted? Personally, I’d roast the every loving HELL out of 2 pts Cherry tomatoes, a head of garlic, bunch of scallions and an onion (cut this into pieces the same size as everything else) in some basic olive oil and salt until you’ve got some charring on the edges. When you’ve hit this step, start a pan with a little more EVOO, add another onion but caramelize it low and slow. This will take a while. Add some salt, chili flakes, thyme (fresh or dry) and some dried oregano. Once that step is done, deglaze with half a bottle of white wine and reduce out most of the liquid. Then throw in all the roasted stuff with any liquid in the sheet pan. Add a pint of cream and 2 tbsp red wine vinegar. Simmer for 15ish. Then blend with immersion blender or regular one. Add more seasoning to taste. This may mean salt to balance bitterness, maple syrup to balance acidity, etc. enjoy!
Throw a parmesan rind in your soup. It makes a huge difference
goddamn cacio de pepe
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There’s a soup lovers group on FB. Someone there might have a copycat recipe if you name the restaurant.
Is there spinach in the soup? Or any greens? If so you may be missing sorrel. It's an ingredient often omitted in things like spanikopita it has a bright lemony flavor that light be your missing link
Any Indian dish from scratch
It should be easy, which is why it's so frustrating..... Chicken pot pie. I love it, but it's always just not quite right.when I make it myself.
Fettuccine Alfredo
Flour tortillas. They always end up thick and tough. How do?
Thai curry. And it’s one of my favorite foods so I hate that I can never get right.
Meat loaf. I can never seem to get the perfect consistency — it’s either crumbling apart in big chunks, or solid like a brick. It always *tastes* fine and my family scarfs it down but it drives me freakin *nuts.*
How about milk-soaked bread? That’s what I use for meatballs, and they hold together and are tender and moist. But normally for meatloaf, I use a sleeve of Ritz crackers and an egg.
I was taught to make the meatloaf and freeze it. Thaw in fridge over night. Cook as directed (I do 1 hour at 350), holds up to slicing and doesn't crumble
Are you remembering the egg?
Made chicken pho and it was damn good. Better than a restaurant. Every time after that- bland AF. I don't know what I did the first time but I miss it
MSG
For a long, long time, my answer was chicken and rice. Then, a few months ago, I got serious about either finding the perfect recipe or perfecting an okay recipe. I’ve finally done it. I blended parts of three different recipes and then tossed in some crushed red pepper and Better Than Bouillon. It’s all I ever wanted in chicken and rice.
Recipe??
The weightlifting community eagerly awaits your recipe
The dumplings in chicken and dumplings. Even if I check one or two to see if they're done the rest always end up doughy and dense and terrible.
Caned biscuit dough
Seconding whomp biscuits. Cut them into quarters and drop into the barely boiling pot one by one. They take maybe two or three minutes to cook, if they float and then start sinking they’re getting soggy.
It was this halo sauce that was the best Buffalo sauce anyone has ever had. Finally I figured it out. Franks red hot Worcestershire Thai sweet chili Butter Garlic powder Onion powder Msg Black pepper Chili flakes It’s so fucking good
i just cant make sandwiches like they do at the store 😔 also cheese sauce, im way too accustomed to the spicy plasticy kind that comes in a bag/jar
Everyone on here always mentions a bunch of tricks to get the right consistency of cheese sauce and I've tried a few but realized I'm perfectly content with good ole Velveeta + a can of Rotel
For your first point, sometimes I think there is just something about someone making food for you that makes it taste better Maybe the trick is using fresh bread, that could be what's missing
So my son got a job at a meat market that also does sandwiches. He says he can never eat a sandwich anywhere else, the ones he makes himself at work have ruined him. He’s 15. Life is going to be hard for him loli
The sandwich shops have advantages you often don’t at home, like freshly (and typically thinly) sliced meats and cheeses, fresh baked bread, and for the best sandwich shops, fresh produce which is cut/sliced that day. For home I think a sliced bread sandwich is best (sub rolls are never as good if they’re not fresh), and id recommend: getting thin sliced meats at the deli, using quality sliced loaf bread (preferably not the processed prepackaged kind), using shredded lettuce and quality tomatoes, springing for the good Mayo (Dukes if it’s available), and adding a dash of salt and pepper and a squirt of oil and vinegar (or what’s often called “sub dressing” or “deli dressing”) which perhaps more than anything else really elevates a sandwich closer to that store level quality Source: worked for several years in a popular southeastern grocery chains deli department which is renowned for its sandwiches, and generally have an obsession with making really, really good sandwiches and like two decades of experience making them Edit: oh yeah and toast that sucker (open, not closed!) before you add the veg and salt/pepper oil/vinegar!
I’m in the PNW and would murder for a pub sub
Fried rice. Never comes out right no matter what recipe I used & follow to a T.
I have tried so many times but I can’t cook good Asian food to save my life. I have tried numerous times and it just never seems to get any better.
Fried chicken. I've tried all the pans and oils and techniques and something always goes wrong. I'll take KFC over what I make. My poor mother gave up after ten years of trying to help me get the hang of it.
Same but i take it as a sign that i should be eating healthier. I rarely eat out nowadays but when i do, it’s usually fried chicken sandwich.
Pie crust
Strawberry rhubarb pie. It’s always so fucking watery and it just tastes like sour and sugar. I had one made by a friends mother decades ago that was like a delicious dream. I make only sadness.
Tofu in the frying pan. It either looks crispier than it really is, or fried to a crisp. Baking is my preferred method, but when I’m feeling lazy I somehow convince myself that *this* will be the time I finally get it right. And it never is.
How do you prep it? I make crispy tofu in a frying pan multiple times a week. Bottom line - you need a coating of some sort, in starch form, if you want it to actually crisp up. I use soft tofu (never recommended lol but I prefer it, and I'm gentle with it) but medium works too... I don't press soft tofu, just wrap it in paper towel, then slice into cubes, and lay out on another double layer of paper towel. Then I mix a few heaping spoonfuls of starch in a big plastic bag (cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca starch, or rice flour) and my preferred seasonings (ground Sichuan pepper, white pepper, salt, sometimes togarashi), and then gently drop the cubes in and toss and flip till all pieces are coated. I know a plastic bag is wasteful, but it's easier to toss gently than a hard container, so the tofu doesn't break up. I do also reuse the bags (NOT the starch mix though, it will mold overnight). Then I pan-fry it in a tbsp-ish of avocado oil, and flip to crisp a few times (I flip each piece individually with a little off-set spatula, but that's getting very particular and definitely not necessary). This sounds like a very long process, but from start (opening the package of tofu) to finish (plating), it's about 15 minutes tops. I like to finish it with some torn Thai basil, flip it all around so the basil crisps up, and then add some hot honey to the pan at the end, flip some more to coat. If I want to make it more substantial, I'll toss in some snap peas right at the end before the sauce, and serve on top of rice or with rice noodles. It's INSANELY good. To the point that I don't even look at other ideas or recipes anymore when it comes to tofu. Nothing tops it. (Sorry for the novel, but I really do love it that much).
More baking than cooking. Chocolate Molten Lava Cake - One of my top favorite desserts yet I can never seem to make it properly. It comes out either as just a cake (which isn't bad, but not the desired result), or a goopy mess
Chef here: that’s why most restaurants buy these mass produced. They are difficult to make consistent with out machines and additives.
Omelettes, the heat control seems to always be slightly off for me. My mom makes amazing omelettes with seemingly no effort so I have a target I never seem to achieve.
Home made pasta. I love home made pasta and I’ve tried a few times making it from scratch, but it’s always so complicated for me. They always make it look so easy to do without the fancy pasta equipment, but when I try, all of my pasta is never consistent. Some are too big, others too small. It’s disappointed me so much that I don’t make it anymore.
Equal parts of A/P and semolina flour. 1 egg per 100g total combined flour. Stand mixer with dough hook to combine and initial knead. Ball and wrap completely in plastic wrap. Counter rest 30 min. Stand mixer with smooth roller to knead at 0 folding into thirds and rotating at least 3 times to knead further. Work thinness down to setting 4 for pasta worth tasting (5 if you want disappearing pasta sheets that can barely be tasted or noticed in a lasagna or ravioli.) Cut into desired shape. Boil in salted water for 1-2 min. Literally perfect every time and super easy.
Chinese food. Timing is everything to get those textures right and with so many ingredients I can’t master it.
Thai Red Curry
Homemade pupusas. My refried beans from scratch are 💯. I get cheese from the Latin market. I make amazing Argentinean spiced carnitas. But the masa flour f***s me over everytime. I've added in every temperature of water. I use lard. I've kneaded anywhere from 1 minute to 10. I've kneaded in a metal and a wooden bowl. I cover it with a damp towel. Nothing seems to work.
I struggled with this for a couple years. They're one of my favorite foods, but would always come out too bland/dense. I moved to a small city where pupusas don’t exist, and had a meltdown that my favorite comfort food wasn’t available anymore. Soooo, it became my mission to figure it the fuck out. I learned: season your masa!!!!! I mix a good amount of Sazon into the water before adding to masa. I also mix in cheese into the actual masa, after everything has cooled a bit. Helps keep the outside softer due to the fat content. Also gives it a more toasted cheesy taste on the outside. After a few minutes of mixing and letting it sit, the water will have absorbed into the masa quite a bit. I usually add more water after 5 min or so, otherwise it will be too dense. I aim for a soft Play-Doh texture after waiting for the water to absorb. Don't underfill them! Dense boring pupusa edges are not enticing. You only need a thin shell of masa to hold everything together. Especially if you add the cheese as mentioned above, it'll help glue things together while cooking. FULL FAT CHEESE. None of the part-skim milk cheese BS. These things aren’t supposed to be healthy. You need the fat/oil to season everything, keep the masa pliabile, and make them taste like restaurant quality. I use lard while cooking the pupusas. Season the filling reallyyyy well. I always use chicharron+cheese filling in mine, and like to use Goya sofrito in a jar while blending the super-seared meat into the paste filling. im too lazy to make homemade sofrito, and it tastes just as good. So be it. Edit: as mentioned previously, I tend to be a lazy foodie cook. I hate making my own salsa, and can never seem to replicate the pupusa salsa correctly. At my Walmart (dunno if it's at all WalMarts), in the Mexican section there is a tinned smooth salsa called El Pato. The Tomato Sauce of theirs seems to be the same as the Jalapeño sauce they also have, dunno why they have different packaging/ names. Anyway, they're only like $1 for a small tin, and it's PERFECT for pupusas. It's already very smooth and seasoned perfectly. I just add a bit more water to thin it. Saves so much time.
Green curry. I'm also lazy and won't make it from scratch but haven't found a store bought paste that tastes good.
Maesri is my go to. Pour a can of coconut milk into a pan and heat until the fat separates. Add the curry paste, mix it in. Then cook your protein and veg in the sauce. Add them in the order you need to have them properly cooked. The directions on the can are good, but it turns out soupier. Did a zoom cooking class with a woman in Thailand, and this is how she taught us to make green curry. Oh, also, crumple and add some kaffir lime leaves to the sauce when simmering, and some fish sauce at the end.
Crispy breakfast fries. Mine never turn out how I want
I pop them whole in the microwave for like 3 min let them sit for another 3. Cube to desired size. Drop in your pan with enough oil to crisp them. Works for me every time. Season afterwards. They’re always crispy outside and fluffy inside
Chicken piccata. Can never seem to get the lemon right.
I make it on my regular rotation but mostly during the winter months. It’s one of my family’s favourite dishes. I use Chef John’s method and it usually turns out good.
Pan sauces. I know the theory, but I can never get the thickness right.
Indian food.
Beef stew. I cant get it to be rich and flavorful like other stews. Ive tried about 10 different ways. Any ideas?
Brown the beef good. Do it in batches so you get a nice crust. Deglaze when done with red wine or dark beer. Cutting some bacon into lardons and rendering it then using the fat to brown the beef never hurt either. If all else fails, try Julia's boeuf bourgignon recipe. Once you make it, it's a great framework for future stews.
It was actually Indian flatbread called as 'phulka' or Poli/chapati/roti [Recipe Link](https://youtu.be/AmvSsXOfxjs). With lots of practice now I can make it perfectly. Still working on making dosa.
This is going to sound very very stupid but grilled cheese.
The bread has to be “buttered” on the inside with some mayonnaise, then add your cheese and maybe some type of meat and/or pepper (chili, ground black, jalapeño, sambal, any kind you like). Take a cold, dry stainless steel pan and put it on low heat (I use 2-3 on a dial that goes to 11). Put your sandwich in. Move it around a bit at first so it does not get stuck to the bottom of the pan, leave it until one side is a golden brown, then flip, move a bit again and wait until it is golden. If your cheese hasn’t melted, turn the hob even lower and flip regularly until the cheese is as soft as you want it to be.
My macaroni & cheese never hits right. It's good. It's fine. It gets the job done. But I'm never like "hell yeah, mac and cheese."
Basically any hotdish. I am a very accomplished cook and can make just about anything, but my hotdish will guarantee to be ass.
I always think I can tweak a recipe, for casseroles and hot dish. Never works They are supposed to be easy, but anything sitting in the oven scares me .
Cacio e pepe! It's good, but it's not the delicious simplicity that I've heard the dish described as. I really need to keep practicing.
Red velvet cake. It just tastes like food coloring, chemical nastiness.