Serious Eats: chilimama's Profile

Thank you for all the advice! Keep it coming, she's attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, 120 Madison Ave (I don't know if that's uptown or downtown)

chilimama at 5:26PM on 01/12/09

From Talk

What's your favorite candy-box chocolate?

What is See's? I live in Philadelphia and used to buy the Big Red Box of chocolate candy at Strawbridges every Christmas, but they have closed, sadly. Wish I could find that again!

chilimama at 1:29PM on 12/16/08

From Talk

I always make____for the holidays, because my Grandma did

@lakeloverhh, I'm dying to make sticky buns and coffee cakes, but have never made them before, can you share the recipe? Thanks

chilimama at 8:43AM on 12/12/08

From Talk

Kitchen Duty: My most dreaded and detested task is _____.

Cutting the fat off chicken grosses me out.

chilimama at 1:47PM on 11/19/08

From Talk

Dawn works (not any other brand). It cuts the capsicum oil from the pepper. Rub the dawn on your hands and let it set for a couple minutes, then rinse with cold water. We used it when I worked in law enforcement to decontaminate inmates sprayed with pepper spray.

beth1 at 9:02PM on 11/23/09

From Talk

Jalapeno burn

Those must have been some hot jalapenos. I've often had minor difficulties after cutting up jalapenos and serranos but never to the point of actually damaging my skin or causing hours of pain. Basically, it was nothing a rinse in half & half didn't fix. Habeneros, on the other hand, freak me out. Once I was sure I was going to wind up blind.

Anyway chilimama, the point I'm trying to make is that the peppers you had there sound like freaks of nature.

RegrettableFoodie at 8:59PM on 11/23/09

From Talk

SOUP!

Rapunzel is a brand of boullion that has no added salt. You can buy it at Whole Foods.

fatitalianbroad at 7:01AM on 11/03/09

From Talk

SOUP!

If you want a quick veggie stock try adding vegetable boullion cubes to water or add to stock for additional flavor. They are super economical, you can buy a large container and have stock for years. Only downside is that I would guess they are pretty high in sodium.

KtMc24 at 12:12PM on 11/02/09

From Talk

SOUP!

Ooooh, we just worked on this in culinary school - it was one of my favorite days.

Ditto most everything above. It's difficult to get a good vegetable stock by just boiling vegetables without a strong foundation. And, you need a LOT of vegetables, which really only should be simmered for 45 minutes to an hour.

Roast or pan fry the vegetables you'd like to use in the stock, with olive, corn or vegetable oil. This will caramelize the vegetables and give them depth of flavor. Roast on high heat (435 F) in the oven for about 45 min. or on the stove in the stock pot for about 20 min. on med./high.

Then deglaze the pan with water or white wine -- even sparkling apple cider might be a nice way to deglaze, depending on what you'll be using the stock for later on.

Scrape up the dark bits on the bottom of the pan, called "fond," which means "foundation" or "base." The fond contains all of the concentrated flavor that will make your stock taste better than any store bought vegetable stock.

There is also a technique called "au sec," where you deglaze the pan, and allow the liquid to evaporate almost completely, forming more fond in the bottom of the pan. Then you deglaze again, repeat and deglaze one more time for maximum flavor.

Then add the water to the pot with a sache of herbs (herbs tied up in cheese cloth), bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes.

Depending on the use, you may or may not want to season with salt.

WickedGoodDinner at 7:39AM on 11/01/09

From Talk

SOUP!

I save all of my vegetable trimmings - potato and carrot peels (scrub first), onion skins, garlic skins, fresh herb stems, any veggies that have gone past peak in the fridge or on the counter, etc. - and keep them as they accumulate in zip-top bags which are kept in the freezer. Once I have a couple of one quart zip-top bags, I simmer the contents in a big stockpot of water and a tablespoon of salt.

Makes the most flavorful stock and it costs nothing - no buying stock or perfectly edible veggies to boil.

yayfood at 11:15PM on 10/31/09

From Talk

CHILI!!!

Just had some amazing chili last night! Try the Best Chili Ever! :)

Chew on That at 11:39PM on 10/11/09

From Talk

CHILI!!!

sadiepix:

I don't know who started me on it, but I started adding chopped and sauteed celery to chili, and to pasta sauces, a few years back. I was really amazed at the texture it adds, and the flavour - a slightly nutty taste that doesn't overwhelm anything but just lurks underneath.

I'm a lazy chili maker - I used canned beans and canned tomatoes. If I can find smoked pork belly at the grocery, it goes in, along with a cheaper cut of beef that benefits from long simmering. I use blade most often, but if short ribs are cheap and look good, they go in too. Vegetables: onions are a must, plus the aforementioned celery. If the bell peppers aren't too dear, I like adding them as well. Spices: Again, I'm lazy - I use chili powder, but I add lots of fresh chopped garlic, and a good whack of powdered cumin.

I'm not big on standard proportions - two 19 oz. cans of beans and 1 28 oz tin of tomatoes are my starting points, but I'll throw in a ton of meat and other vegetables, and if it looks too dry, I add some beef stock. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer, and leave it for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. Check the seasoning (I never add salt, BTW), and serve. Yum!

KevinB at 2:06PM on 10/11/09

From Talk

CHILI!!!

One of my daughters-in-law is a chili adventuress. She found a magazine recipe for white chili sometime in the 90s and turned us on to it--we make it probably once a month now. Our red and white chilis are like all of yours--always good but never the same. Her red chili has two constants, which she started adding after reading one of my Frugal Gourmet cookbooks: like @salpico's recipe above, she always adds a pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of cocoa to the pot. It doesn't taste odd, exotic or anything like that, it's just enough to add depth and make you wonder what the magic spice is. People always ask for her recipe.

I like beef to be very coarsely ground, but if I'm substituting pork, I cut in into 1/2" cubes. We're bean people: eating meat in red sauce without beans doesn't do anything for us.

We divide the recipe into two pots, a medium-spicy one for the adults and a tamer version for the little kids.

betteirene at 12:48AM on 10/11/09

From Serious Eats: New York