Yesterday I baked a special loaf of bread with an egg yolk glaze. After it was mostly cooled I covered it with plastic wrap and set it on the counter to be ser
Straying from the printed recipe still makes me a little twitchy, so I ask you, gentle cooks (chefs?): Can I safely double the cooking time? (In this case, it'
If you take a package of deli meat and remove the slab, place it on bread and add your condiments in never tastes as good as when you take the slab and "fluff"
In another question I suggested that milk might be used as a tenderizer. That generated an amount of scepticism, so I think it is worth breaking the question ou
When replacing a fresh or leaf herb in a recipe with the dried or powdered kind, what is the ratio I should normally use for the substitution? E.g. if the reci
I want to cook a beef brisket, following a recipe that suggests baking it on a bed of onions and red wine, or red wine vinegar. I'd like to use a cast iron dut
A chocolate cookie recipe I'm looking at calls for melting down a cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. However, I happen to have a brick of completely unsweetene
I am looking to make my own instant ramen soup - nothing complicated, but there must be a way to duplicate the instant variety without all the salt. I've played
I've been trying to perfect my technique for cooking a steak indoors. It was recommended to salt the steak about 30 minutes before cooking. I used kosher salt,
I really enjoy the texture of the tofu in the pad thai with tofu dish at Noodles and Company. In particular, it comes out much firmer than it does when I make t
A few days ago I made a batch of profiteroles and éclairs, with a minor twist: For half the profiteroles, instead of chantilly cream I used a whipped ga
I've seen lots of recipes that call for a pinch of nutmeg in mashed potatoes and in white sauce. It's not very much and just provides a slight elusive flavour.
I've followed a couple of recipes for clotted cream without success and it seems that pasteurization is the issue. I'm told that I need to use either unpasteuri
I'm hoping this will solve a biiig long-running debate I have with my friends. Heinz Tomato Ketchup (The UK version contains sugar from beets, rather than HFCS
I have some raw beetroot I bought about a week ago, having stored them at room temperature since. It's the first time I bought it raw, and I'm unsure whether it
I just got back from Argentina with three mate gourds and started to prepare them for first use (put the yerba, add cold water and leave for ~1 day, I was told,
To follow up on the storage of ketchup in particular, many items in cupboards and refrigerators have vinegar listed as a key ingredient. The first things that c
My wife bought some toasted Israeli couscous at a specialty store recently, and we decided to cook it last night. Unfortunately, it did not seem to cook like we
How would I make sure that my hamburgers (or any food unsuitable raw) tastes good? With other foods, it is possible to adjust the spice proportions according to
I've read numerous times that when sauteing, the pan used usually has curved sides to allow one to toss the food. However, whenever I look at pans on shopping w
I just bought a lovely bag of Garam Masala, and was all ready to grind some when I got home! But when I opened it, I found something I didn’t recognise &
I recently bought a big outside round oven roast that was on sale for cheap. I've made plenty of roasts before, but I don't remember having used this particula
I just tried to answer a question about pot roast and looking at recipes I discover one that cooks the meat at 200 degrees in a sealed pouch for 3 to 3 1/2 hour
Tonight, the main course is: Red Baron's Chicken Alfredo. The problem is that it's a little bland so I'm trying to figure out what the best s
When baking something which needs to bind - like a (British) flapjack / cereal bar - I have mixed results when it comes to cutting it, even if I repeat the same
I find the meaning of the word 'seasoning' slightly elusive. Before I started to take cooking seriously, I'd have said that any herb or spice used in cooking co
I'm going to be grilling some asparagus which I have never done before. How long should I be having them on the grill so that they're not all mushy and soft?
I am making a dip that requires 'pizza sauce'. The store doesn't sell anything called 'pizza sauce' that I could find. Instead, I got plain tomato sauce. What d
When cooking spaghetti carbonara, I mix the pasta, bacon, cheese and egg yolks together with a scoop. This technique frequently results in mashed spaghetti as w
I left an unopened package of shredded mozarella cheese out unrefrigerated last night after going grocery shopping, and found it today, 16 hours later. Should I