Any serious cooks here ???

Gary O' said:
How 'bout your recipe for Scotch Broth?

Had some in a quaint little place in Victoria, in the early 70s
That soup made me wanna fall down and scream

Haven't found that taste since
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I must admit, I don't recall ever making Scotch Broth. Perhaps that's because mutton is not widely available in the U.S. I'm sure there are many "foreign" recipes I've never made.
 
Ruthanne said:
How about a recipe to make Alfredo Sauce? I buy it in jars but it doesn't taste that great and I bet home made would be really good.
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There must be literally hundreds of Alfredo Sauce recipes. It is all a matter of personal taste.
This is mine.

1/4 cup butter.
1 cup heavy cream.
2 LARGE crushed and chopped garlic cloves.
1+ 1/2 cup gruyere cheese.
2 TBLSP grated Romano cheese.
3 TBLSP FRESH parsley, chopped semi-finely.

Over LOW heat, melt butter.
Add heavy cream and at a LOW simmer, heat for 4-5 min.
Add crushed and chopped garlic.
Add gruyere cheese and stir until melted completely.
Add Romano cheese. Stir well.
Add chopped fresh parsley. Stir well.

Increase or decrease amounts depending upon the number of guests.

Boil the amount of Fettuccine you will need for your guests.
Pour sauce over the boiled fettuccine and toss well. Some people like it cooked ala dente.
Serve immediately, preferably on warmed plates.
 
senior chef said:
There must be literally hundreds of Alfredo Sauce recipes. It is all a matter of personal taste.
This is mine.

1/4 cup butter.
1 cup heavy cream.
2 LARGE crushed and chopped garlic cloves.
1+ 1/2 cup gruyere cheese.
2 TBLSP grated Romano cheese.
3 TBLSP FRESH parsley, chopped semi-finely.

Over LOW heat, melt butter.
Add heavy cream and at a LOW simmer, heat for 4-5 min.
Add crushed and chopped garlic.
Add gruyere cheese and stir until melted completely.
Add Romano cheese. Stir well.
Add chopped fresh parsley. Stir well.

Increase or decrease amounts depending upon the number of guests.

Boil the amount of Fettuccine you will need for your guests.
Pour sauce over the boiled fettuccine and toss well. Some people like it cooked ala dente.
Serve immediately, preferably on warmed plates.
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Thanks so much. I'm going to try it. Sounds really good.
 
You might want to check out the Cooking forum on GW. A couple of folks there - not all of them, but about half - are serious foodies.

Check out the long thread on "DD in Marseille" - John Liu's daughter (they are both extremely good cooks) is currently on a college exchange program in France and enjoying herself very much: Living and cooking in France. John started in the Kitchen forum, remodeling his home to fit a 60" Blue Star range which I envy him for!

Hope this is allowed - here's the link to it: GardenWeb Cooking Forum. (note - I linked John's thread separately as it's been a while since he posted last. He has a busy life and tends to post in "bunches" when he has free time.
 
Would it be okay just to ask you for advise on certain things? Like, why can't I keep the breading on anything? It either falls off in the pan or when I cut into it, it's just all falling off on the plate.

I'm sure this isn't what you were intending when you posted this, but it would be a great service to us "not so good" cooks!
 
caroln said:
Would it be okay just to ask you for advise on certain things? Like, why can't I keep the breading on anything? It either falls off in the pan or when I cut into it, it's just all falling off on the plate.

I'm sure this isn't what you were intending when you posted this, but it would be a great service to us "not so good" cooks!
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Certainly, I would be ok with people asking advise.

RE: breading that STICKS.
1st, use paper towels to dry the meat.
If you are breading, say, a culet, dip it in an EGG WHITE wash. NO YOLKS. Rub it in a tad.
THEN, press in the bread crumbs. Let the cutlet rest for10 min or so, before frying.

If deep frying chicken, I always follow a strict set procedure..
1st, dry the meat with paper towels.
2nd dip it in your favorite FLAVORED flour. AND press in well. Let rest a few minutes.
3rd, dip in egg wash.
4th, dip it in flour again and press it in well. Let rest for 10 minutes or so.
5th, Heat oil to 350 F. The deeper the better. Fry chicken in a HEAVY cast iron pot. The cast iron will retain heat much better than a light-weight pot. DO NOT OVER CROWD THE POT.

Cooking deep fried foods at home requires a completely different method than that used in restaurants. Restaurants, obviously, use high powered deep fryers. And those fryers can deal with much more food than you can do at home. So, when cooking at home, I never cook more than 3 pieces of chicken at a time.
I keep the oven on low temp and I place a small sheet pan WITH A WIRE RACK in the oven. As the chicken pieces are done, I transfer them to the oven.

Tips to keep the oil HOT while cooking. (350 F is best)
Pull the chicken out of the frig at least 30 minutes before frying. Super cold chicken will cause the oil temp to drop dramatically.

Strictly following these steps will result in a breading/coating that sticks every time. NEVER , EVER DRAIN ON PAPER TOWELS. THAT CAUSE THE MEAT TO STEAM AND IT WILL PUSH THE BREADING OFF.

Happy frying. :)
 
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Liberty said:
I'm French trained and our business was a food formulating company.
Be glad to help if I can. What kind of recipes are you interested in?
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I am interested mostly in: Chinese, Italian, some French, Mexican and, of course down home American. But, as something in particular grabs my interest, I'll do other cuisines.

I used to do a lot of baking, especially breads, but now that I have no one to cook for, I've cut waaay back.
These days , I still do a nice crusty Italian bread. Occasionally, a few baguettes. But , as you know, making baguettes at home is a tad tricky because a good baguette requires a steam injected oven.
 
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senior chef said:
Certainly, I would be ok with people asking advise.

RE: breading that STICKS.
1st, use paper towels to dry the meat.
If you are breading, say, a culet, dip it in an EGG WHITE wash. NO YOLKS. Rub it in a tad.
THEN, press in the bread crumbs. Let the cutlet rest for10 min or so, before frying.

If deep frying chicken, I always follow a strict set procedure..
1st, dry the meat with paper towels.
2nd dip it in your favorite FLAVORED flour. AND press in well. Let rest a few minutes.
3rd, dip in egg wash.
4th, dip it in flour again and press it in well. Let rest for 10 minutes or so.
5th, Heat oil to 350 F. The deeper the better. Fry chicken in a HEAVY cast iron pot. The cast iron will retain heat much better than a light-weight pot. DO NOT OVER CROWD THE POT.

Cooking deep fried foods at home requires a completely different method than that used in restaurants. Restaurants, obviously, use high powered deep fryers. And those fryers can deal with much more food than you can do at home. So, when cooking at home, I never cook more than 3 pieces of chicken at a time.
I keep the oven on low temp and I place a small sheet pan WITH A WIRE RACK in the oven. As the chicken pieces are done, I transfer them to the oven.

Tips to keep the oil HOT while cooking. (350 F is best)
Pull the chicken out of the frig at least 30 minutes before frying. Super cold chicken will cause the oil temp to drop dramatically.

Strictly following these steps will result in a breading/coating that sticks every time. NEVER , EVER DRAIN ON PAPER TOWELS. THAT CAUSE THE MEAT TO STEAM AND IT WILL PUSH THE BREADING OFF.

Happy frying. :)
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Thank you! I'll follow your advise the next time I fry and let you know how it turned out!
 
senior chef said:
I am interested mostly in: Chinese, Italian, some French, Mexican and, of course down home American. But, as something in particular grabs my interest, I'll do other cuisines.

I used to do a lot of baking, especially breads, but now that I have no one to cook for, I've cut waaay back.
These days , I still do a nice crusty Italian bread. Occasionally, a few baguettes. But , as you know, making baguettes at home is a tad tricky because a good baguette requires a steam injected oven.
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Yes, the breads love steam. Next time you make a bread thing, try throwing 1/4 cup of water into the oven right before you put the bread in.

Let me know any special kind of recipes you'd like to have and I'll forward you some.
My "signature" dishes are all French, though...lol. Love other cuisines though, too.
 
Learned to cook from my mother but some how I missed learning how to cook meat.
We no longer have home grown beef,, seem to eat lot of chicken.

That said,, what do you two professional cooks think of air fryers, instant pots,, the new? smart oven?
Son got himself a pellet grill ,,liked the idea of pre programming it to cook that he bought a 'smart oven'.

He is an adventuress cook/baker, tries seasonings that I never tried.
 
Sliverfox said:
Learned to cook from my mother but some how I missed learning how to cook meat.
We no longer have home grown beef,, seem to eat lot of chicken.

That said,, what do you two professional cooks think of air fryers, instant pots,, the new? smart oven?
Son got himself a pellet grill ,,liked the idea of pre programming it to cook that he bought a 'smart oven'.

He is an adventuress cook/baker, tries seasonings that I never tried.
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I have never used any of the above. So, I have no opinion.
PS: I just bought a new rotisserie. Now I have to alter my charcoal grill. As soon as the weather gets a tad warmer, I'll be doing BBQ whole chickens.
 
Sliverfox said:
Learned to cook from my mother but some how I missed learning how to cook meat.
We no longer have home grown beef,, seem to eat lot of chicken.
Click to expand...

Sliverfox said:
That said,, what do you two professional cooks think of air fryers, instant pots,, the new? smart oven?
Son got himself a pellet grill ,,liked the idea of pre programming it to cook that he bought a 'smart oven'.

He is an adventuress cook/baker, tries seasonings that I never tried.
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Sous Vide is a good way to cook your meat.
https://www.bonappetit.com/collection/sous-vide

As far as the new type appliances - air fryers are basically smaller, more portable convection ovens, instant pots are just slightly lower PSI pressure cookers. The smart ovens are made to connect to other devices, if desired, and to take the guesswork out of cooking different foods.

Most of us that were pro "trained" just use the basics...lol.
 
I am definitely an old fashioned type guy. When I 1st started my training, 1963, everything was done the old fashioned way. Steaks were done on a long gas broiler and Prime Rib was roasted in the oven.
If a customer(s) ordered their steak rare to medium, they could get their meal within 10 -15 minutes from the time the waiter dropped off the order. Normally, the waiter would wait until the customer was nearly finished eating their salad before he gave the order to the broiler chef. If the customer ordered their steak well done ( GRRR ! ) he would drop of the order sooner.
Some customers like to linger over drinks and the waiter would hold off bringing the salad or appetizer. Thus, it might be an hour or so before the customer got the entree.
So, that said, I love real fire, smoke and the aroma of charred meat. A well trained broiler chef could tell the doneness of the steak, simply by poking it with his finger.
 
I think part of my problem with cooking was my husband was never on time coming from work.
He worked in the timber business, cutting / skidding timber .
Even after going to work in the steel mills, he worked another job.

So meat was over cooked .
Or if he was early,,any food that was fast ,, got made.

As he used to say steak became pot pie , stew topped with biscuits.

We ate a lot of venison as he was a hunter.
Made stuffed heart,, made venison jerky.
 
senior chef said:
Are there any serious cooks on Senior Forums ? I'd like very much to regular chats with you. Perhaps an exchange of ideas and recipes ???
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YES.... I can make something out of a few things I have in the freezer and pantry. One example: Organic Cream of chicken, Frozen peas and carrots, Shrimp, organic chicken broth - season to taste with black pepper.
 
senior chef said:
Liberty,
I rather curious about Sous Vide. How does that work in a restaurant ?
As you know, a restaurant can not always predict how many customers are going to show up on any given night.
So, how does Sous Vide work if the cooking process takes hours ? I can't see customers waiting that long.
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There are various ways to take the food out of the bag when needed. Many restaurants from casual to upscale - like the French Laundry - do use it although they usually don't "broadcast it"...lol. This article might help. Think its one of those "try it and you will know how to incorporate it into your menu and meal time traffic volumes" - know it saves prep time and really helps with cleaning issues:

https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/restaurant-sous-vide-cooking
 
Liberty said:
There are various ways to take the food out of the bag when needed. Many restaurants from casual to upscale - like the French Laundry - do use it although they usually don't "broadcast it"...lol. This article might help. Think its one of those "try it and you will know how to incorporate it into your menu and meal time traffic volumes" - know it saves prep time and really helps with cleaning issues:

https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/restaurant-sous-vide-cooking
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Liberty,
I read through the entire article , but it does not say how Sous Vide works in a restaurant.
If, for example, you have just started up a steak house. Your 1st Saturday night is coming tomorrow. You don't know how many customers you might have. Nor do you know what they will order.
So, if your menu has, say, a 1" thick Filet Mignon how do you proceed to get ready ? What time do you plunge the filets in the water bath ? How many do you prep ?
You see the problem ? I'd have absolutely no idea of how to proceed.
I don't mean to be dense, but it seems like it would take many hours in that water bath to make a thick filet mignon cooked medium .
 
I wouldn't call myself a 'serious' cook, but I like to think that I'm reasonably competent. I make a point of, whenever possible, to always cook from scratch with fresh ingredients. I despair sometimes when I see supermarket shelves stacked with jars of sauces, but I can't find fresh herbs and spices.

Tonight I'm cooking "Stamppot" , a Dutch dish made with potatoes mashed with a vegetable such as kale, and usually served with smoked pork sausage or ham. I do buy the sausage, but grow our own potatoes and kale (and several other vegetables).
 


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