Re: The food and drink thread
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 1:02 am
Not just about cooking but I can't get enough of Honeyjubu.
I bet yo nose is all kinds a aquiline always tryna sniff a taste. I can only imagine it.Ferrus wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:54 amToday I'm making spaghetti alla vongole. With clams and mussels, Italian wine and spaghetti al nero di sepia.
Goal: https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.giall ... ngole/amp/
I have a bottle of Greco di Tufo to go with it.
I use one for pinto beans and stews/chili/gumbo, as well as cooking bread loaf's by preheating the oven to about 450, tossing in some corn meal at the bottom, and baking at 350-375 for 45min-1hr after cutting the top of the dough into a cross pattern after sprinkling it with corn meal. You could probably do something similar with any fat trimmings and bread baking session, though a roast will probably be sufficient, and for something like that just heating it to a high temperature and then slow cooking it like a crock pot is usually the best thing, as the lid will keep a lot of heat in, and cooking it at higher temps is when it can tend to not be good for the pot.
Thanks for this! I have a cast iron skillet that I love but don't use that often, mainly due to cleaning and care. Half the times, actually, the vast majority of the times I cook, I can't be bothered to wash the dishes in my sink until the next day. Stick the pot or pan in the sink, run some water in it to keep things from sticking or drying and then when I get the energy, I'll clean it up. Can't really do that with cast iron. I got it preseasoned but that didn't stop me from seasoning it before the first use and ever since. Fewer things stick than when I first got it and it's easier to clean but still, I can't be bothered right after eating. I know things taste better cooked on it. I'll sometimes ask myself, is this worth the extra hassle. I hate to use the word hassle but it is more work. It's so surprising how much better a burger can taste on it than any other fry pan.Catoptric wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:19 amI would be suspect of any pots being vintage as it was around the 1970s when many enamels were leadbased, and that's one reason I still use a modern dutch oven over buying a vintage bean pot. You generally want to season any cast iron as much as possible with whatever oily stuff is on hand (Crisco is a favorite for some, though cooking bacon with it can also be good, and just experiment with it, as anything you cook will tend to impart the character from the oils/fats.) If you have a cast iron set you ideally will want to start from one pan and move onto the rest of them all at once, and try to coat the layers around it. Allowing grease to remain is common practice, and it's the one reason most people who start using cast iron seem to not "get it" when it comes to cooking with it, and it can be far supeiror to any other cooking equipment (just get some really good hot pads that don't melt or burn easily. . . This crap can burn you if you aren't careful and it's a bit like people that buy knives will cut themselves eventually.)
Also, if you cook a bunch of bacon keep the grease for things like gumbo to make roux out of it. . . Cast iron is the perfect stuff to make gumbo with.
Spartan26 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 7:07 pmThanks for this! I have a cast iron skillet that I love but don't use that often, mainly due to cleaning and care. Half the times, actually, the vast majority of the times I cook, I can't be bothered to wash the dishes in my sink until the next day. Stick the pot or pan in the sink, run some water in it to keep things from sticking or drying and then when I get the energy, I'll clean it up. Can't really do that with cast iron. I got it preseasoned but that didn't stop me from seasoning it before the first use and ever since. Fewer things stick than when I first got it and it's easier to clean but still, I can't be bothered right after eating. I know things taste better cooked on it. I'll sometimes ask myself, is this worth the extra hassle. I hate to use the word hassle but it is more work. It's so surprising how much better a burger can taste on it than any other fry pan.
The cast iron Dutch oven I have is from France. Not the infamous and more pricy, Le Creuset, but it's quality and I enjoy the meals I'm able to make with it. I've never made gumbo but keep saying I will. I can't remember when I got it, prolly and good 8-10 years ago, although it wouldn't surprise me if it were more like 12-14. I hadn't been seasoning it and really not using it that much but I noticed that it's been harder to clean and wondered if maybe I should be seasoning it.
I hadn't thought about the leadbased construction aspect. I know people buy them at garage sales cuz they're indestructible and some people feel that food tastes better in them over time. I just wouldn't want something like that from someone I didn't know. I've been making simpler meals and really haven't had cause to use it. Not even opting for a different pot cause it's easier. I use a different one for pasta but that one I'm just boiling water and putting the pasta in and then a skillet to fry up sausage and mushrooms and then store bought sauce, so it's not like I'm making my own that would require a lengthy build. If so, yeah, I'd use by French Dutch but most of the time it's boil, drain, stir in a few spoonfuls of pesto and eat.
I do save my bacon grease and other greases and oils. They're ideal to use for gravy and quick flavorful frying. I notice sometimes some mold may form in the jars I store them in. I use like a big peanut butter jar when empty or mayo container. Anything big with a wide mouth and tight fitting lid. I'll use both plastic or glass. Any suggestions on how to keep mold from forming? I store it in a cabinet, not fridge to keep it from forming a solid chunk. It can be easy enough to spoon out the bit of mold, it's not like items of leftovers that go forgotten in containers in the back of my fridge but it's annoying and prolly not the most healthy thing to have contaminating the rest of my grease.