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A Cooking Thread?

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The Seldom Killer:

--- Quote from: Lupercal on 16 Aug 2012, 03:02 ---Seldom Killer - interesting that you'd suggest frying off the meat before cooking it. I guess it makes a difference whether you're doing a stockpot/crockpot or have an electric slow-cooker (or are you just being safe?).

--- End quote ---

Absolutely nothing to do with safety at all. It's to do with flavour and texture.
As with any meat, seasoning is important. Frying the meat with the seasoning keeps it bound into the meat and means you don't have to season the whole stew to the same level. The flour is in effect the construction of the roux to help thicken and texture the gravy. Frying also helps seal in some of the fat so you're getting that braising effect rather than just boiled meat. You also get a coalescense of the natural sugars and fats from the meat, hence the subsequent deglaze.
Even when using an electric slow-cooker I'll fry the meat ahead of time.

Lupercal:
Neat. Well, I'll definitely try that next time I do something in the slow cooker. I realised what a huge difference seasoning the meat, rather than the sauce, makes in dishes like chilli and lasagne, so I guess the same applies here. Thanks!

spoon_of_grimbo:
yeah, i thought stir-fry at first, but i've always associated that with noodles and beansprouts.  i guess you're right though, thanks!  unfortunately, my username has nothing to do with food haha!

LTK:
I made an oven dish with potato, witloof, leaf celery, ham and cheese. The potatoes were undercooked, so I'm gonna leave those out next time, the dish is plenty filling without them.

Many vegetables that I felt 'meh' about when I was still living with my parents I suddenly find really tasty when I get around to preparing them myself. In this case it's the witloof. I really ought to make more dishes with vegetables as a main ingredient (instead of onion, bell pepper etc.), but there aren't a lot of convenient recipes for small servings. I haven't been able to find a recipe for two using one eggplant, for example.

Lines:
Searing meat always helps. I always make roast beef and beef stews and whatnot and always sear it before I chuck it in the pot. It really does make a difference in flavor. Same with grilling - sear the outsides on a high flame area to get the awesome grill flavor on the outside and then move the meat to a lower flame area to slowly cook the interior. It gets all the flavor, but still remains juicy and tender. I also always sear chicken before I bake it, especially if it has some kind of coating or breading that I don't want to get mushy while it's sitting in the pan.

But speaking of grilling, I found an excellent way to grill potatoes and still have them be tender! I think I took about 6 smallish yukon gold potatoes, chopped them into 1/2"-1" cubes, mixed them with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and fresh rosemary (I love my rosemary plant), put them in tin foil, spotted them with some butter (I used Smart Balance, not actual butter), and sealed them up really tight in the foil. About 15 min on the grill, flipping only once, and they were delicious. The left overs I fried up in a skillet the next morning and they made pretty decent home fries as well. You could use pretty much whatever seasoning, but I definitely recommend using a little onion - I made potatoes similar to this without onions once and they were a little bland, even though I used several other seasonings.

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