elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
elainegrey ([personal profile] elainegrey) wrote2022-11-24 08:40 am
Entry tags:

Five question meme, Q 1 (meme, cooking)

Questions from Oursin

1. Do you have a go-to, never-fail thing to cook?

For potlucks and similar, deviled eggs.

Otherwise, i fail lots. I am getting better at various sheet pan roasts of tofu and veggies. I don't mind cutting up all the veg, and enjoy seasoning them. I've been learning various ways of crisping up the tofu: dredging in corn starch as a minor crust, corn starch, egg, and oil moistened bread crumbs for more crust. Sometimes it's roasted "naked" after marinade. Sometimes i over-crisp everything. AKA burned.

I guess i am getting proficient at quiche. We had some churn as i tried to figure out what was going wrong that Christine did not find them delicious. It turns out she doesn't really like swiss cheese in custardy things; sharp cheddar makes the dish sing for her. However, i can't see sharp cheddar and some of the "mix ins" i had used. Scallops and cheddar seems wrong. I thought mushrooms and swiss was a natural, but not for Christine. I suppose these didn't fail for *me*. I have also upped my crust game. I am now doing a very good job prebaking the crusts which mean i had to quit using the cheapest (store brand) premade pie pastry. The national brand (Pillsbury) is turning out lovely now.

My win at prebaking crusts comes from sandwiching the pastry between two heavyweight aluminum pie pans. I also splurged on precut and preshaped parchment paper. It's GREAT. So pan, parchment round, pastry, parchment, pan. Freeze for at least 30 min if i have time. Bake inverted in the oven for 20 min and work with gravity instead of against. Then take it out, remove the inner pan and parchment (which gets reused, because pennies saved), prick the base a little with a fork, and toast up, about ten minutes. I'm using the plain bake function at 350°F  (176°C) instead of the convection bake because i think it makes a difference. Now, assuming the crust is half decent, you have a lovely flaky crust.

I wish i could go back in time and tell my younger self that prebaking the crust REALLY makes a difference, and it is worth bothering. I am especially thinking of the times i tried making crust from scratch but skipped the prebaking. So many butter rich but bleh soggy crusts.

(Sources, including links to tools via Amazon, here)

More to come, and i am willing to give five questions to the first three who ask for questions.
sonia: Quilted wall-hanging (Default)

[personal profile] sonia 2022-11-24 02:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Would love some questions when you get a chance!

Congrats on the quiche technique and results! I think a lot of being older and wiser is knowing from experience what’s worth the bother and what isn’t.
sonia: Quilted wall-hanging (Default)

[personal profile] sonia 2022-11-27 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
threeringedmoon: (Default)

[personal profile] threeringedmoon 2022-11-24 02:47 pm (UTC)(link)
For years scratch mac and cheese has been my go to potluck dish, but I am trying to find some alternatives that are not as rich. I do enjoy the results of oven roasting most vegetables, but they don't seem to be quite as much of a party dish.

ETA: I push off the baking on my partner: he is pretty good at it and makes a killer focaccia.
Edited 2022-11-24 14:48 (UTC)
tamena: (Default)

[personal profile] tamena 2022-11-24 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
QUICHE!!!! I have one for you!
use diced ham, muenster cheese and asparagus for your savory ingredients!! It Is A YUM!!!
tamena: (Default)

[personal profile] tamena 2022-11-27 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
we LOVE muenster in this house - specially in a grilled cheese =)
amaebi: black fox (Default)

[personal profile] amaebi 2022-11-24 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, deviled eggs. I prefer to call them Protestant Crack, because it amuses me. :D

Chun Woo has become a sound and delicious creator with tofu. It is a lovely thing to see and taste.
zippybeta: (Default)

[personal profile] zippybeta 2022-11-24 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for the pie crust tip, I will have to try that next time.
yourlibrarian: Dean Food Love (SPN-DeanFoodLove-fueschgast)

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2022-11-24 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
With quiche and deviled eggs on offer I'll bet people would like you at their potlucks!
threemeninaboat: (Default)

[personal profile] threemeninaboat 2022-11-25 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Oh man I LOVE deviled eggs and I never make them, so happy that someone else does.