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Self-rising flour + baking powder: steamed puddings

Forum topic

I've always been enchanted by British steamed puddings.  What comfort food they are!  Unfortunately my experience with them is quite limited and they take so long to make that experimentation opportunities are limited.

Lately I've noticed some recipes specify both self-rising flour and a healthy dose of baking powder... in the same recipe.  Why do you suppose that is, insurance?

"Off": Roast off, fry off, etc

Forum topic

I hope this isn't too pedantic but I've been noticing for a while that adding "off" to a cooking verb has become quite common by TV cooking show hosts.  Since I have not been in a professional kitchen for more years than some of these kids have been alive, I might not be recalling the lingo correctly.  But I recall being taught to roast the meat, fry the potatos,and sautee the onions, not roast off the meat, fry off the potatos,and sautee off the onions.

Did I miss something or has this term "off" added to verbs always been a part of cooking vocabulary and sentence construction?

Oil or spices/herbs first

Forum topic

Hi Guy and girls,  Just watched a cooking show in Aus, yes we do have them lol.

My question is chef put a nice amount of salt and pepper all over  a roast then, poured oil all over it washing most of the salt/pepper off.  Am I missing something or is this counter productive?

Maybe I am doing it wrong but I put oil on first then salt/ pepper.  If I use herbs I mix those in the oil beforehand.

Cheers Pete

baby bok choy

Forum topic

Hi Jacob (and others),
What's the tastiest method for cooking & serving baby bok choy (and regular bok choy for that matter)?  Do you blanch or steam before service, then grill/saute/roast etc before plating?

(The dish I'm wanting to make is a seared salmon filet with a sweet, Thai chili sauce, rice, & baby bok choy.)

Thanks!
Noel

"Fruit-slice" candy or gumdrops?

Forum topic

For a friend, I am trying to come as close to the typical, commercial "fruit-slice" candy (really just oversized gumdrops) as possible. The ones he had been getting, which he hasn't been able to find recently, are the "Farley" brand, the ingredients of which are "Sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, artificial colors including blue 1, red 3, red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6."

Duck Stock

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I got my hands on some duck stock.  As of right now I am thinking of a risotto.  Anyone have any other knockout ideas?

Tattoos on chefs & cooks

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Last week my family was in Las Vegas and did a tour of several celebrity chef restaurants.  At one point my young son pointed to a line cook in an exhibition kitchen and proclaimed him "the best chef" in the place.  When asked to explain, the child said, "Well, he has lot of tattoos... so he must be the best cook."

Questions:

1.  Is it true that cooks and chefs tend to have more tattoos than the general population?

2.  If I got a tattoo, would I become a better cook?

What's for dinner?

Forum topic

    What are you eating for dinner tonight. This is just for fun, and you can answer many times.  So, here we go:  Tonight I'm planning pan fried flounder fillets with a beurre blanc, not sure on the vege, basmati rice, with a pinot. 

Secret Weapons in the Kitchen

Forum topic

Hello all, I hate to reference Kitchen Confidential because it seems almost cliche to do so, but I thought this might make for interesting conversation. In one portion of the book Bourdain discusses some of his "secret weapons" in the kitchen, or rather, ingredients that can really take a dish to another level and make it something special. In his list he mentions butter, stock, roasted garlic, parsley chaffonade and shallots.

Favorite kitchen toy

Forum topic

Mandoline?
Microplane?
Food Processor?
I just can't decide which is my favorite, what is yours?

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