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From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

a little acid or spice at the end should brighten up the sauce. it could be lemon juice, franks hot sauce, etc. always a few shavings of nutmeg, s & p, 1/8 teaspoon of cayanne, or even a few drops of sherry (depending on what the sauce is being used for). I personally don't like water...I use low fat milk or broth.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

I know folks say never to use soap, but there are times that i do use soap and water (especially after cooking fish or something that leaves a smell that I want to get rid of) and have never had a problem, . I always dry my pan on the stove top and sometimes wipe it with a little vegetable oil. i have never had a problem with rust or corrosion.

From Recipes

Baking With Dorie: Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie

No...not a hotter oven, her recipe is wrong. I baked it in an 11-inch tart pan and it too took over an hour. The amount of filling was way too much for an 11-inch tart. Amazing that recipes can be published with so many errors. It was a delicious tart though.

From Serious Eats

Turkey Talk: Cook's Illustrated's Chris Kimball

believe it or not, I think CK was a personal chef to the Grateful Dead in the early stages of his career...at the very least he was a serious dead head. Now i personally think he's a fun sucker but i guess he can't be all that bad if he was feeding jerry and the boys!

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Recent Comments | Response to Comments

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

a little acid or spice at the end should brighten up the sauce. it could be lemon juice, franks hot sauce, etc. always a few shavings of nutmeg, s & p, 1/8 teaspoon of cayanne, or even a few drops of sherry (depending on what the sauce is being used for). I personally don't like water...I use low fat milk or broth.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

I know folks say never to use soap, but there are times that i do use soap and water (especially after cooking fish or something that leaves a smell that I want to get rid of) and have never had a problem, . I always dry my pan on the stove top and sometimes wipe it with a little vegetable oil. i have never had a problem with rust or corrosion.

From Recipes

Baking With Dorie: Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie

No...not a hotter oven, her recipe is wrong. I baked it in an 11-inch tart pan and it too took over an hour. The amount of filling was way too much for an 11-inch tart. Amazing that recipes can be published with so many errors. It was a delicious tart though.

From Serious Eats

Turkey Talk: Cook's Illustrated's Chris Kimball

believe it or not, I think CK was a personal chef to the Grateful Dead in the early stages of his career...at the very least he was a serious dead head. Now i personally think he's a fun sucker but i guess he can't be all that bad if he was feeding jerry and the boys!

From Talk

Pie crisis: Why hasn't it set up yet?

If you didn't heat the mixture until it bubbled then it wasn't hot enough for the cornstarch to be activated. it has to be somewhat thick (yes pudding-like) when you place it in the pie shell.

From Talk

WTF is on my swiss chard?

i once found a live frog in my lettuce. it was so cute!

From Serious Eats

Droste Effect Makes Me Like Butter More

So there is some trick way that you can make the Native american woman look like she is exposing herself. A friend showed it to me years ago and it involves cutting out the entire side of the box, cutting 3 sides of the butter box she is holding ( so the top flap remains as a window). then you fold her knees up so they are under the flap. When you open the flap it looks like she is naked. I know it's totally juvenile, but it seemed funny at the time.

From Talk

Enough with the FN bashing, what about PBS?

CK is what I would call a "fun-sucker". It's amazing to think that as a youngin he was a deadhead, actually I think he was a personal chef to the band or mone of its members. While i appreciate the thorough research that goes into their recipes...it sees silly that it takes them 50 tries to get a pound cake right. they intentionally add the wrong amount of something, or employ the wrong technique to say oops that didn't work lets try it again.

From Talk

Cooking Classes

i think you need to do a lot more info gathering...who is going to do your preprep? who is going to purchase all your ingredients? is there enough equipment for the students? such as bowl, cutting boards? who is doing the clean up? If you have to do all of this yourself then I have a feeling by the time you factor in all of your costs, shopping, preprep, clean up you might be working for very little money.

From Talk

Do You Ever Make A New Dish, Only to Throw it Out?

right around thanksgiving the NYtimes published some vegetarian side dishes. there was a cornbread/ broccoli rabe/ cheese casserole. i didn't feel like making my own cornbread, so i purchased some at a local grocery store. i should have tasted it first and read the recipe that stated it had to sit for 4-6 hours before baking (it was some sort of strata thing)...anywho, i put it together and soaked it for about an hour...served it to the family and realized that the cornbread was very sweet and mushy, so it was like eating broccoli rabe cake...it was truly nasty...

From Talk

Cooking Classes

I work in a cooking school and I think most students who take classes (especially deom classes ) come because they want to be "entertained". They look at it like the Food network Live. Before you start teaching, you should take a few classes and see what they are like.

From Talk

What is the Baking and Pastry Bible?

Any book by Carole Walter, especially her latest Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More... absolutly fabulous. her directions are clear and concise like she's standing right next to you and her headnotes are a joy. after her, anything by maida Heater. Love them both.

From Talk

Chicken Noodle Soup Fails! Advice?

also...don't forget to salt the broth when you are done cooking it. chicken soup needs salt

From Serious Eats: New York

New York's Best Hot Dog?

sorry all...the best all beef hot dog is produced by Best Provisions in Newark, NJ. They are featured at Jimmy Buffs, and were the house brand for Syd's and Don's. They are available in most grocery stores as well as the factory in Newark. They have a natural casing, a great "snap" when you bite into them. They are a "kosher-style" dog.

From Talk

Cinnamon roll experts?

jess, Carole Walter has a new book out called Great Coffee cakes, sticky buns, muffins and more. i just checked and there is a recipe for cinnamon buns. I got the book this weekend and i have already baked a few things from it. i'll bet anything that those cinnamon buns are just what you are looking for. the sticky buns look to die for too!

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

minstrel:

Salt is your friend!
I know! But my doctor is trying to break us up!

Anyhow, I solved the problem. Velouté every time from now on!

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

The way I learned was to pin a bay leaf to the flat face of a half onion with two cloves, then float that in the milk as it simmers before adding it to the roux. It tastes good! Also, I second the comment about making sure it's seasoned properly. Salt is your friend!

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

Michele Humes:

4 tbs of flour seems like a lot for 1 cup of milk.

There was also 1 cup of water, to which I meant (and forgot) to add Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base. So it worked out to 2 T flour per cup of liquid.

I supposed the BTB might have solved my problem. <facepalm> Next time I'll toast or fry the spices, too, as almost every actual Indian recipe calls for.

PumpkinBear:

Then I add cold milk, which I've made myself believe gives the flour more time to cook out- though really I'm just too lazy to heat up milk in yet another pan.

Ha! I actually bestirred myself to heat the milk, to prevent lumps. I never do that, and my bechamel generally tastes better than this batch.

NotAmerican:

I skip the flour and use double cream, butter and lots of parmesan for cream sauce.

I like your style :)

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

I skip the flour and use double cream, butter and lots of parmesan for cream sauce. I generally add slowly sauteed mushrooms as well (you want to keep the liquid, not cook it off).

For a curry, I'd recommend slowly cooked butter (unless you can get ghee) with coconut milk. Add most of the spices early, add the salt at the end.

As a cheat, I'll throw a stock cube into the simmering cream.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

the roux should be pretty dark. even if you're doing a blonde roux, you want to cook the flour well. & the first french chef i apprenticed under would throw an onion studded with cloves in with the milk (never water). and i always add dijon and cayenne or nutmeg.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

I do the dash of mutmeg thingy, also some tabasco sauce, maybe some cheese, and of course sherry.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

I don't really measure things as I cook, but I make a really good bechamel. For the most part I'd say I use equal amounts of flour and butter and I let those cook for about a minute so it doesn't have that raw flour taste. Then I add cold milk, which I've made myself believe gives the flour more time to cook out- though really I'm just too lazy to heat up milk in yet another pan. I add about a cup of milk for every tablespoon of flour/butter. This is also where I add the smallest bit of Dijon mustard.

I whisk the mixture constantly and when it's close to the thickness I want, I turn the heat down and add freshly grated nutmeg, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and just a bit of freshly grated Parm. It's pretty tasty and I use it in EVERYTHING.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

Here's how I make mine.

I use 2Tbsp. each flour and butter for each cup of liquid, and I let the flour and butter bubble (hehe, butter bubble) until it's golden brown, so the flour doesn't taste like paste. That ratio of flour & fat to liquid yields a perfect consistency every time--not too thick, not too thin.

I also use half chicken stock and half milk, season with salt, pepper, and sometimes a little chicken boullion, and a little nutmeg. A little spicy brown mustard will liven things up a bit, too, if you like.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

Michele, I was going to post the same thing. In my experience, bechamel positively swallows salt, so it always takes more than I think it will.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

This is not a sarcastic answer: Truly, when things taste bland, salt will help. In my experience, many complaints of poor, "bland" recipes turn out to be rooted in underseasoning. There's not much flavor in milk or unsalted butter, so bechamel takes a lot of seasoning.

Otherwise, 4 tbs of flour seems like a lot for 1 cup of milk. I completely agree with your formula of 1 tbs flour for 1 cup of milk for a thin sauce, but I don't think you really need more than 2 tbs for a thickish sauce.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

I know it's cheating, but to make my bechamel flavorful I add Campbell's concentrated chicken stock :-P

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

I sweat mirepoix (seasoned with salt and pepper) in butter over low - medium low heat, add flour and make a blond roux (cook for 3-5 minutes to get the raw taste out of the flour). I add milk (always whole, have tried skim and it never comes out quite right), a pinch of nutmeg, and a couple of bay leaves and simmer for 10-15 minutes (never boil). Then I strain the sauce twice, once to get rid of the mirepoix and big lumps (press on the solids to get out as much of the sauce as possible) and the second just to make sure it's smooth. I adjust seasoning at this point.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

I use a blonde roux and milk, sometimes adding garlic or some shallot. I liven that up with cayenne, sherry vin, a little nutmeg and s+p, of course. Then strain thru a fine mesh to smooth.

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

when i make bechamel, i usually simmer the milk with either an onion or a few garlic cloves..... or a shortcut is to saute some finely chopped onion with the butter before you add the flour. if i don't do this the sauce just tastes flat to me. i do like a mixture of milk and chicken stock, though.... like a pot pie base (veloute)....

you have to cook that flour-ry taste out.... however long it takes. just keep stirring or put a heat diffuser under the pot so it doesn't scorch. also, another method is to put it in a heavy, shallow pan and put it in the oven....i've never done this but i'm sure it's a great method.

bechamel is one of those sauces that can be a pain in the butt ... it's like it knows it's not my favorite -- so it plays little tricks on me!

From Talk

Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel

The recipe my husband goes by when he makes bechamel sauce is:
4 cups milk
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp allspice berries
8 Tsp butter
1 cup flour
3 Tsp parmesan
1/2 tsp nutmeg

It isn't bursting with flavor, but isn't bland by any means, and the texture is, as you mention, of medium viscosity.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

southeasterneater, the salt scouring idea goes back to the days before nylon and stainless steel scrubbers were invented. salt was a gritty substance that helped clean the pot and was readily available in the kitchen. i still use salt and a stainless steel scrubber even though i don't need the salt, mom and grandmom used salt and that's all i need to know.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

@olddad, I dropped it! I cried. But I was really glad it was me and not one of my kids - I am fearful of just how angry I would have been.

And as to it being "incorrect" - the kitchen police aren't allowed in my house. I shoot them on sight.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

@southeasterneater: I start by rinsing out whatever i can with hot water. Then sprinkle coarse kosher salt over the entire inside; this probably requires about 3-4 tablespoons. Then I attack with a plastic scouring pad, and rinse with very hot water at the end. Very rarely, I have to repeat the process to get really burnt on foods off. Nearly always works the first go-around.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

can someone explain the salt scouring exactly? Sounds like a good method, I want to make sure I understand it.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

Hot water and a dish brush, then I wipe it dry and put it on low heat for 5 minutes max, occasionally wiping with a smear of oil and a paper towel before I put it away.

But I store it in the oven. So if I'm preheating the oven for something, I leave the pan in there. Don't have any problems with it so far, and I am not about to run the oven for several hours just for an empty pan.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

I used to use the salt trick, but the seasoning on my pans was too new to be able to handle the abrasion, so keep that in mind if you have a fairly new pan. Now I use hot water, and a little dish soap if it needs it, and it's holding up much better. I do love the trick of making bacon in the pan periodically - it does seem to keep it in season better than anything else.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

lemons, how in the hell did you break a cast iron pan? mine are more than 70 years old and have survived camp fires, fire places and katrina.

i never use soap, just hot water, table salt and a stainless steel scrubber, when they need to be seasoned i rub lard all over the entire pan including the exterior and place them in a 200 degree oven for two hours. i only do this twice a year, july 4 and christmas.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

You can do it incorrectly if you wish, but every authority on cast iron cookware warns against the use of soap on a seasoned pan.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

Not True! I wash mine in soap all the time, so did my Mum and Grandmother (the original owner). Maybe because it has been in use for over 40 years? Wash in the usual stuff (but no soaking). Plastic scrubby if needed. Rince in very hot water, dry with paper towel or non-precious tea towel. Retained heat in pan will dry it further. Twice a year I season in the over with vegetable shortning although it really doesn't need it.

From Talk

Truth Be Told...Cleaning cast iron cookware

My understanding was that once a cast iron pan was been seasoned, you should never use soap on it. If you do, you need to re-season all over again.

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