bircham’s Profile
Recent Comments
Table Manners III: Do you eat European or American-style...
I'm British and I eat appropriately (also having strict parents who were insistent on this). I hold my folk in my left and hand and knife with the right hand, I do not 'shovel' food. Sometimes I go for dinner at friends houses and have to ask for a knife so I can eat my food. I often receive complements on how well I eat.
College eating on the cheap
I was a full time student for awhile, after doing both a Bachelors and Masters degree in one long stretch. It is during these years that I developed a passion for cooking and baking; I learnt how to cook for myself and how to budget for my grocery's. I dont think one needs to resort to eating frozen food and cheap meat. In this case if there are only 2 adults then a budget of $60 will be enough. They will need to stop eating so much red meat - too much is bad for you anyway. Use turkey mince instead of ground beef. Any leftovers can be frozen.
Sunday Eating
As a native of England (now living in Canada) I sometimes miss the traditional Sunday Lunch that my mother would serve up relentlessly every week. If my friend are lucky I will treat them to this traditional affair: roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, carrots, peas, broccoli all smothered in delicious homemade gravy. mmm....
See more comments by bircham »
Recent Posts
See more posts by bircham »
Recent Favorites
bircham hasn't favorited a post yet.
Recent Polls
bircham hasn't answered any polls yet.
Recent Quizzes
bircham hasn't taken any quizzes yet.
Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
Because they are awful; it's much better to chop it yourself with a good knife.
Table Manners III: Do you eat European or American-style...
I'm British and I eat appropriately (also having strict parents who were insistent on this). I hold my folk in my left and hand and knife with the right hand, I do not 'shovel' food. Sometimes I go for dinner at friends houses and have to ask for a knife so I can eat my food. I often receive complements on how well I eat.
College eating on the cheap
I was a full time student for awhile, after doing both a Bachelors and Masters degree in one long stretch. It is during these years that I developed a passion for cooking and baking; I learnt how to cook for myself and how to budget for my grocery's. I dont think one needs to resort to eating frozen food and cheap meat. In this case if there are only 2 adults then a budget of $60 will be enough. They will need to stop eating so much red meat - too much is bad for you anyway. Use turkey mince instead of ground beef. Any leftovers can be frozen.
Sunday Eating
As a native of England (now living in Canada) I sometimes miss the traditional Sunday Lunch that my mother would serve up relentlessly every week. If my friend are lucky I will treat them to this traditional affair: roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, carrots, peas, broccoli all smothered in delicious homemade gravy. mmm....
Dinner Tonight: Pesto Fusilli with Corn, Zucchini, and Bacon
This sounds delicious, I would use Pancetta instead of regular bacon to add extra flavour.
The Best Roast Chicken Recipe? Who Wants to Try It With Me?
This is not the best roast chicken recipe. For years now I have made Nigella Lawson's Roast Chicken; over time I have added my own variations to it (herbs, etc.) but the basic principles remain - lemon, butter, olive oil and salt & pepper; the lemon tenderizes and keeps the chicken moist during cooking without overpowering the chicken. The recipe can be found in "How to Eat: Pleasures and Principles of Good Food" (1999)
Got roasted peppers. Need inspiration.
You should make mexican food; fajitas filled with the peppers, veg and rice. Serve with Salsa, keep it simple you want to use the natural flavours of the peppers.
What's your go-to dinner for one?
I don't usually cook anything unique even if it's just for me. Last night I had roasted chicken with yellow peppers served with a fresh Green herb Salad. Perfect summer meal!
Are you a measurer or a thrower?
I am a total 'thrower' - except when it comes to baking which must be precise.
Zucchini, I want to like you!
Slow-cooked courgettes on toast
I often cook courgettes like this - they lose most of their moisture and become a thick, fragrant, chunky mass. They can be used as a pasta sauce (just add a little cream) or the base for a lovely soup (just whizz up with a little stock and/or milk). But they also make a great toast topping - which of course the Italians would call bruschetta. Serves six as a light lunch.
3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1kg courgettes, finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the toast/bruschetta
6 slices of coarse country bread
1 garlic clove, cut in half
Extra-virgin olive oil, or butter
Parmesan, or other grateable cheese (optional)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the garlic, courgettes and a little salt. Cook gently, so the courgettes soften without browning. As they release their water, turn up the heat to bubble it off. When they become more concentrated and pulpy, turn it down again. Stir whenever they begin to catch on the pan, and do not allow them to brown more than a shade. Keep cooking until they are rich and oily, but not watery. Check seasoning.
Grill the bread, rub each side with garlic, and trickle with olive oil or melted butter. Pile a mound of the hot courgette mixture on top, grate over a little cheese, if you like, and serve.
Vancouver, BC Bakery that Delivers?
There aren't any that I can think of, but I can reccomend
Solly's Bagels, Bakery, & Deli - locations around Vancouver; excellent bakery!
Do you eat because of hunger or the clock? Or both?
I eat usually becasue I am hungry and as I have a pretty regular body clock I tend to get hungry at those times too. However, in the summer when it is hot I don't eat as much and graze on snacks throughout the day.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
To me, it's a much larger issue than cleaning, number of uses, etc. but it definitely affects the final taste result, which is very important to me, personally. (I'm bummed I missed this until now, because I've had this discussion many times with good cooks, who are every bit as good a cook as a professional chef--and like to use garlic presses--as opposed to trained chefs (like myself) who have explored many different ways to prepare garlic and find we don't prefer the result.) Using a garlic press does not give you chopped, minced, mashed garlic or garlic paste (which are generally what are used in gourmet cooking), but gives you some of the clove with a lot of the garlic oil which tastes more pungent than if one had the whole clove together. I think this dramatically affects a dish, and is only good for certain purposes, like certain garlicky pasta sauces or mild red salsas (when that type of garlic aftertaste combined with tomatoes and some sugar is very pleasing). To me, each way to prepare garlic, whether slicing, chopping garlic into brunoise or mince or making it into a paste (mince the garlic and then sprinkle some kosher salt onto it, then rub it back and forth with the back of a knife until it's a pulpy mass) all give a different taste to a dish.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
Garlic presses are good for one thing. For running playdoh through. It looks really cool and you can use the resulting squirmy looking mass for Barbie hair. She needs it since your brother gave her the butch haircut right?
Thanks for the childhood memory.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
wait...what's wrong with the "stink" of garlic on your hands? and AB is the man. Strive to understand the physics of the kitchen, and it will set you free.
Love & Light,
~cj
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
Ok, I admit it! I do own a garlic press which I use when my husband the sous chef isn't available at home. I am not the most graceful user of knives so I try to leave the chopping and mincing to him, but sometimes that is not an option. Yes, knives are better but safety is also a factor when I cook. :-)
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I am FAR from a professional chef and even I don't like to use a garlic press. I don't feel like the little machine gets truly clean (which grosses me out!) and it feel awkward in my hands. Would rather just use a good knife and chop away.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
A knife, a knife!! but only for a few garlic cloves. a mini food chopper is great if there is a need for more than a few, but, for really ground and spicier garlic, use a mortar and pestle. I used to be a medication nurse and used this tool often to grind up pills to put into applesauce for my elderly patients. Nothing, in my experience, can beat this tool for making something finely ground. I use mine exclusively for garlic, but if you wish to use if for something else, just wipe it out with some lemon juice or soapy hot water. I always have a problem smashing garlic with my knife to make it spreadable on garlic bread. So, if I have a unitasker, it won't be a garlic press, it must be my morter and pestle.
susi
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I was also told once (by a pro) that slices & medium diced garlic are easier to see & pick out for those who are skittish! For myself, I can't get enough! Depending on the dish, I occasionally use a garlic press, but mostly a knife.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I once received as a gift a garlic press so perverse as to have included as an accessory, a small hard plastic plaque (it looked like a miniature doggie comb/brush) used for "cleaning." you placed the plaque in the garlic hopper, with the tiny spines toward the press's holes and squashed...to push the garlic residue through the holes. It didn't truly clean the press, it just got itself dirty, so then you had TWO pieces of equipment to wash. Give me a good sharp heavy-ish knife every time.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
Kenjialtci put it well. Basically, the finer you chop or the more you smash the garlic or as jfljoe says, you “don't care about the structural integrity of the garlic,” the more garlicky juice you release. The result is that your garlic will be a lot more pungent if you use a garlic press, smoosh your garlic with a pan, or finely mince it.
@ feriorrenna – I definitely used to put play-doh through my parents’ garlic press. I thus grew up without one.
@mh330, dmarina – I kind of love smelling my garlicky hands after a chopping sesh. It prolongs my food experience. And that's always a good thing in my book.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
No uni-taskers. If it just presses garlic then it is a waste of drawer space. I am curious as to how you learned to clean yours easily because that has always been a personal problem I've had with them, they are a pain to clean.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
Smashing the Garlic clove(s) first with the flat side of large chef's knife, and then sprinkling half a teaspoon salt over it, prevents the ensueing catapulting of garlic pieces all over the counter and kitchen floor.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I use a knife. For a few cloves, it doesn’t take that long. I also enjoy holding a knife ^_^
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
the easiest is with a cleaver SMASH! and then sprinkle some sea salt, smash again and let the crystals help break down the garlic as you CHOPCHOPCHOP. way fast, way easy to clean up. and regarding smells lingering on the hand: if you're cooking/prepping/chopping, you'll inevitably get food funk on your hands. so what??!?!
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
Why didn't anyone mention the ultimate 'multitasker', a mortar and pestle? I use mine...I have 2, one large and one small, for so many different things. I love them. One...the small one, is marble, the large one is Mexican stone. I also have an extra wooden pestle. To store, the smaller one nestles inside the larger one, and the pestles go in a divided box in one of my drawers. What I got rid of was my 'mini' food processor. It is always faster with a mortar and pestle and they are easier to clean. I do everything with them, from smushing garlic to pounding spices. I always make my pesto in them, and mayo as well. I use a knife for garlic for certain recipes of course, but I'm a HUGE fan of the mortars and pestles.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I am a bad, bad person. I use my garlic press all the time, and at one point, I had two of them. Oh the SHAME OF IT.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I personally like AB's smash-it-with-a-hunk-of-granite technique.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
@mh330, maybe you should ask someone what "unitasker" means because a microplane, kitchenAid and blender all have multiple uses, and i would take any of them over a garlic press.
& using less overprocessed garlic? just don't overprocess it. i'd rather use a knife and mince a clove, than cut a quarter of a clove and put it through a press?
and i guess i'm the only one that likes my hands to smell like garlic and onions? it reminds me of home, my mom & family dinners.
if you really don't like the smell, just rub your hands on stainless steel, gone in seconds.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
Because garlic presses produce some of the truly most vile, useless crud I've ever seen.
If there's something a chef values in a process, it's reliability. I know I can't mess up thinly sliced garlic anymore, and can reduce several cloves to a mince, coarse chop, etc. in seconds. If I want my garlic really fine, I'll use a plane, thanks. I don't want the ugly, pressed-out strands and gummy membranes the garlic press so dutifully delivers.
I side with Bourdain on this one: if you can't take the time (and it only takes seconds) to do garlic right, you don't deserve garlic.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
My stepmom bought me one of those silicon tubes that looks like a canneloni, for peeling garlic. I gave it back to her. Give me a heavy knife to smash, peel, then chop cloves of garlic anyday - much quicker. I'm interested to try the microplane method, though.
Off topic, I bought an egg slicer, but I use it for slicing mushrooms, fast!
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
They way I've always understood it is that it captures all the essential oils of the cloves instead of releasing them into the food.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
@Perky - I've seen an Oxo one that's similar to the Pampered Chef one at Williams-Sonoma (and more recently, at my local chain grocery store). I don't chop onions or nuts by hand anymore, and my MIL uses hers to make coleslaw from scratch (crazy woman).
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
for one or two cloves of garlic, i can break that down pretty quickly with a chef's knife. but it's true that chopping garlic is stinky and tedious, and i'm unconvinced of the efficacy of rubbing hands on stainless steel.
i have a Kitchen Aid stick blender that came with a small food processor attachment. for three or more cloves, i just toss them in there and let it do the work for me. chances are if i'm using garlic, i'm using onion too, and can cut those up in there as well. that stick blender is small, fast, convenient, versatile, and easy to clean, which makes it a welcome resident of my kitchen.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
@ izatryt and msmeghan: I too was using a microplane WAY before RR! I still say the uniformity of the the garlic taste, while strong, is preferable for me. As an above poster said, if it's too strong, I use less!
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I'm with the knife group. As an urbanite, space in my tiny gallery kitchen is at a premium and I can't have something that only does one thing, plus, it's just one more thing to wash up afterwards.
Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?
I was using a microplane long before Rachel Ray. It's fast, it's handy and it keeps me from worrying if my wooden cutting board has absorbed all that garlic flavor. I pretty much always like a strong garlic flavor, so it's not a big deal. I have bad hand-eye coordination and small hands, so I never quite got the hang of fine motor skills, and that includes chopping garlic.
Recent Posts
Recent Favorites
bircham hasn't favorited a post yet.
Polls
bircham hasn't answered any polls yet.
Quizzes
bircham hasn't taken any quizzes yet.
Because they are awful; it's much better to chop it yourself with a good knife.