cook's illustrated is a nice magazine, but they reuse recipes or only make slight tweaks on them a lot. The technique articles are good though. they take a scientific approach and document the results of all their trials pretty thoroughly, so you can get a lot of confidence that following their instructions will indeed lead to the best result. it's all in the "How To Cook" section. you get a 14 day free trial of their web service, which is like 3 or 4 dollars a month. i think you have to put in your credit card and then call to get unsubscribed, but I'm planning on trying to copy off all the articles or something soon.

Here's one i found for free you can check out, "How To Roast a Cheap Cut of Beef"

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/SO96_HTbeef.pdf


their method is the best

11/16/2010 3:26:57 PM

Quote :

"Regarding vegetables, use fresh ones over frozen/canned, and don't overcook them. Most people who say vegetables taste like ass just haven't had much experience with them cooked well. Even as many restaurants, veggies are boring as hell because they're an afterthought. There's a huge difference in fresh green beans and canned ones, for example. Fresh ones are amazing if you blanch (boil) them for a few minutes then finish them in a pan with some garlic and olive oil or touch or soy sauce and sesame seeds. Canned ones are just mushy and kind of flavorless. I am pretty used to making vegetables that people who thought they hated vegetables end up liking because I was a vegetarian for over a decade and enjoy cooking for people."

YES!! agree 100%. This reminds me of my short time roommate, John.

He came from Mississippi and 60% of his diet was made up of baloney sandwiches on white bread with mayonnaise. One day he revealed to me that he had decided to give up his scurvy-inducing ways and change his diet. He comes back from the grocery store with Special K breakfast bars, a can of Healthy Choice soup, and a few packs of Lean Pockets. Not surprisingly, after sampling his haul he gave up in disgust. "Eating healthy sucks!" he cried.

The mistake he made is the same one made by millions of fatasses around America. Eating healthy doesn't mean eating a fucking Lean Pocket, for God's sake. Eating healthy means eating an apple.

GrumpyGOP, from your posts it seems you are doing the same thing, although not as bad as John. Your example dinner of Ramen with a bag of frozen broccoli is a highly processed, pre-packaged meal. Like GREEN JAY said, no wonder you don't like vegetables if that's your standard. The delicious and healthy way to cook is to use as many fresh ingredients as possible. Fresh vegetables have a fantastic crunch! they have life and pizzaz, not like the sad little piles of mush you get out of a can.

11/16/2010 3:31:24 PM

I think a lot of people in this situation (with not much cooking experience and an aversion to veggies) are sort of afraid to buy fresh ones because they don't know how to prep them and see the packaged ones as an easier alternative, and/or they are afraid to shell out a little more for something they "don't like" that they fear they'll end up throwing away or that will just go bad in the crisper drawer. And if they do buy the fresh ones they may just boil them to mush anyway or try them raw and say they suck fresh too.

My experience has been a lot of people think they hate a particular veggie, then try something that's actually cooked well, and go, "How did you make cabbage(or whatever) taste good?"

Plus there's no reason to think only of veggies as a side. I thing someone mentioned this already, but try something like paella, vegetable gumbo, veggie-spiked chili or the like that is actually healthy but doesn't feel quite so much like just choking down your 5-a-day.

11/16/2010 3:42:20 PM

Frozen vegetables are at least marginally better than canned. Canned vegetables frequently have tons of sodium. you should drain the can and then wash the vegetables for 30 seconds if you use them. Corn and Peas are decent frozen and more convenient than dried. I'd skip most other things in the freezer section except frozen berries. these are good in smoothies and cooked recipes.

If you're really a vegetable hater, try fresh broccoli sauteed with fresh garlic, or steamed fresh sugar snap peas with slivered baby carrots, or baby green beans stirfried with sweet red peppers, ginger and sliced almonds. you can toast the almonds in a dry pan until they are light brown to give some extra savory flavor. the trick to all of those is to not cook them too long- they are best "tendercrisp"- basically when the skin starts to expand a bit and they are shiny and darker green then they were before. don't wait for them to wilt as they will continue to cook for a minute or two after you remove them from heat.

11/16/2010 3:52:56 PM

Whole meal in a pot dishes like a jambalaya are good because to me one of the hardest things is managing multiple dishes, keeping up with them, and having them ready at the same time. I love my variation of this recipe, as it is seasoned with tons of fresh vegetables.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Brown-Rice-Jambalaya-88387

11/16/2010 4:24:12 PM

Quote :

"Anyway, point is: if some d-bag criticizes my choice of fontina or questions the authenticity of my swiss, I'm taking his plate."

I do need to say that there is a HUGE difference between American swiss used on sandwiches and a cave-aged emmentaler "swiss". If you are making fondue or something else where the characteristics of the cheese are the highlight then you truly are missing out by using a cheap domestic. The honestly don't resemble each other in taste or texture at all. Think about the difference between Kraft Parmesan cheese and a freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. Kraft on a pizza? Yes. Kraft in a pesto? Hell, no.

Cook's Illustrated does a great job with veggie recipes. One of my favorites is their sauteed green beans recipe. The main recipe is a basic garlic and thyme flavor and then they give you 3 or 4 alternative flavors (asian, latin, etc.) that are easy adjustments. So once you get the cooking technique down you can easily come up with a side to compliment any main dish ethnicity/flavor.

11/16/2010 4:40:04 PM

Quote :

"Go to the Middle Eastern deli and grocery to buy your (omg dried) spices. Nur or Neo Monde if you're still in Raleigh. Cheap as hell."

This. Ethnic markets in general are where to find dried spices cheep and in bulk. If you already have some of the little plastic spice bottles from the grocery store, keep the bottle once you're done with it and then you can refill from the bulk stuff (usually in bags) for easier handling.

As far as vegetables go, I'd say give winter squash (acorn, butternut, delicata, hubbard, spaghetti, sweet dumpling) a try. It's nothing like summer squash in flavor or texture--firm but tender (once cooked), with a slight sweet, nutty flavor. Similar to pumpkin, to which it's closely related, but not as sweet. It can be used in a lot of places where you might otherwise put a potato or sweet potato--cut in half, remove seeds, drizzle with olive oil and spices or with maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and roast--done when it's fork tender. You can eat it just like that, or puree it up with some butter or cream into something like mashed potatoes. Or peel it, cube it, and roast it with other veggies, with a chicken, or in a stew or soup. My absolute favorite soup is a butternut squash soup with italian sausage and arugula--just outstanding (PM me if you want the recipe). Items like these are where your heavy sharp chef's knife come in handy--winter squash have a very hard, tough rind and cutting through it or peeling it will be a chore, and a dangerous one at that, if your knife is wimpy or dull. Smaller ones can be peeled with a potato peeler if you have a sharp one, but don't even dream about it if your peeler is dull.

Also, a word on soups/stews/braises--stock is important. Boxed stock from the store will do, but homemade stock is the best if you're going for something classy or trying to impress company. Bouillon cubes or unseasoned broth are fairly useless, but if you have no stock, we keep on hand a paste called "Better than Bouillon" that can sub for stock if all you have is water. Useful stuff.

11/17/2010 10:49:05 AM

Quote :

"most home cooks are afraid to use salt. season well."

that shit is wrong. try leaving the salt out of your food and taste its actual flavor instead. the only thing i put salt on is potatoes.

11/17/2010 11:04:45 AM

^Salt helps bring many of the foods flavor to the forefront. Sure, you can argue that that's not "actually" what the food tastes like, but it's a great accent to most flavors.

11/17/2010 12:00:03 PM

I am averse to using salt because I do enough bad shit with my body without needing to pile on extra sodium (just about the only thing I try to watch on nutrition labels), and because anything I eat at a restaurant/fast food place is going to be loaded with it.

Some (Nerdchick) can't seem to accept my subtle rebuke on this point, so let me say it flat out: I'm not going to learn how to cook shit and grow shit at the same time. If I'm a mediocre cook then I am the Angel of Death for plants.

Quote :

"having spent a magical evening in the countryside with grumpygop i know my previous youtube user link is the most useful."

Hahaha, that was entertaining, especially what I yelled to my roommates on my way out, "Alright guys, I'm going to an abandoned field in the middle of nowhere with a stranger I met on the internet."

---

Let me clarify on the vegetables thing. I was probably a little harsh. I thoroughly enjoy properly-cooked broccoli, green beans, and a variety of others. But I don't know how to cook them properly and I live in mortal fear of buying fresh and then not being able to eat them in time, throwing money down the drain. (I will confess that I've yet to encounter the carrot that I don't have to choke down, and if peas had the ability to make me live forever I still wouldn't eat them.)

As a matter of fact I'm quite a fan of bell peppers and make liberal use of them where possible. Made an addictively good batch of fajitas involving a couple of them, a tomato, and some steak that was on extreme, this-shit-is-going-bad sale at Food lion.

Quote :

"Also, a word on soups/stews/braises--stock is important."

See, I'm not much of a soup guy. I don't think I ever even had soup other than shitty Chinese egg drop up until last year. Is stock important for other things? (I'm not averse to getting into soups, just asking)

11/17/2010 8:14:41 PM

stock is important for things other than soups

plenty of things

i've started making a variety of stocks, actually got a crustacean stock in the make right now, for a lobster risotto im doing as a part of a dish for a dinner party

i've started making a demi glace every few weeks and freezing in ice cube trays and it has changed my life

11/17/2010 9:03:35 PM

Best thing that ever helped me was dating someone who knew what they were doing.

I dated a graduate of a fairly prominent culinary school who cooked in a few restaurants before retiring in that profession. It was eye-opening to say the least. My mom and grandma made delicious food growing up, but they followed recipes (or recipes in their heads). My ex-gf would walk into the grocery store or fresh market and have no idea what we were going to eat that night. We'd walk to the meat section (what do you want tonight? salmon? pork tenderloin? hangar steak?), pick what kind of meat we wanted, sometimes flip a coin when we couldn't decide, then she'd go from there in picking out starches and/or vegetables to finish out the meal, and any extra spices or stuff that she wanted for seasoning.

Every meal was high-restaurant quality and she made it look so easy. I only wish I had paid more attention while we were dating, but I got enough knowledge to where I can perfectly season and cook most meats, whether I'm grilling, cooking in a pan, or putting it in the oven. The sides are a different matter, but vegetables are pretty easy to cook and seasoning with salt and pepper makes most of them taste pretty good. I learned how to use all the "stocks" from her (I had used them when recipes called for them, but never free-hand). Frequent user of garlic and ginger now (goes well with most meats/vegetables). Finally have a spice rack that I finally use.

I guess my bottom line is that it helps to learn from someone "in-person." See if you have a friend that is a pretty good cook and go over to their house and cook with them or trade them beer for a meal and watch them work in the kitchen. It's a great learning experience.

As far as tools...get good pots/pans and a few good knives. I honestly don't think you need much other than that. Have a good mixing bowl, baking pan, and cutting board. That should about do it.

11/18/2010 8:49:25 AM

I got my 5qt Lodge Cast Iron dutch oven yesterday, and am going to destroy a 3 pound chuck roast with some garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots, beef broth, and red wine tomorrow.

I own the following Cast Iron:


8"
Two 10"









All are Lodge, save the last one (I got it for Christmas about 10 years ago).

The 5 quart is on sale everyone right now for about $30.

1/11/2011 9:28:24 PM