This holiday season make sure your kitchen thermometers are accurate. It is easy to do and only takes a few minutes. Though the thermometers may, and I emphasize may, have been accurate at the time of purchase, exposure to high temperatures and other conditions may have compromised their accuracy. Don’t get caught with your mercury down…check out your thermometer today.
dtc
I’ve started to collect baking tips at dougthecook. There is also a link to submit your own (you’ll be duly credited!).
dtc
A tomato sauce without tomatoes? Read on.
Dinner was salmon with tomato-caper sauce after an all-day house paintfest.
The tomatoes were Romas from our garden. I decided to remove the skins by cutting a small slit in them, boiling them for 30 seconds, plunging them in cold water, then peeling off the skins. Worked great. They were chopped up and put in the sauce per the recipe. After most of the liquid dissipated the tomatoes were barely discernable. The sauce tasted especially excellent, though.
Moral? Leave the skins on for show or take them off for the dough.
Doug
dougthecook has added a new section called Herbs and Spices. The first order of business is defining the major herbs and spices. Later additions will be how and when to use them. Also there will be a section on growing and preserving your own herbs which we have done very successfully. Fresh herbs are far more tasty than dried ones.
Doug
Many people have asked me what is the best rice to use for fried rice.
A long grain rice is the best. The idea is to create rice that is not sticky. I rinse the starches off the rice before I cook it which reduces stickiness.
Let the cooked rice sit overnight in the refrigerator. This step makes a big difference in reducing stickiness and makes stir-fry of the rice easier. Another tip: let the rice come to room temperature and separate it with your hands.
I have used generic white long-grain rice with success. Basmati and Jasmine rice work well but are stickier than regular long-grain.
Doug
When making a recipe that calls for uncooked beans the directions generally advise to remove any beans that float. After ignoring this for several years I decided to look into why should floaters be purged. Is is an old wives tale or a good idea?
Beans are generally a sealed legume. In order for them to float they would have to be unsealed which would let air inside thus causing them to float. These holes are cause by tiny bugs chewing their way into the bean. Though I do not think this hurts anything, just the thought of it will make me think twice about leaving floating beans behind.
DtC
