Recent content by ErikC

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  1. ErikC

    Questions from a Culinary Student

    1st memory of cooking would probably be heating up a can of soup, or making toast as a young kid. As for real cooking, my first "from scratch" dish was a pork roast when I was about 35 or so. I was a late starter. My favorite thing about cooking is the creativity -- starting out with raw...
  2. ErikC

    Pureed/Soft food for Grownups? (wisdom teeth)

    Not much protein in it, but I always find Potato Leek soup very comforting when I have mouth pains.
  3. ErikC

    Star Anise Question

    As I understand it, she was quite the muse to him. They must have been fascinating conversations!
  4. ErikC

    Star Anise Question

    I think Heinlein himself was a foodie; I remember several passages devoted to amazing descriptions of food laid out in a communal setting. Farmer in the Sky comes to mind immediately.
  5. ErikC

    Star Anise Question

    Thanks for your input; I was grinding mine up, but I found the result a little overpowering. I am going to try what you suggested. Also, I am a Heinlein fan too :)
  6. ErikC

    Star Anise Question

    I have seen recipes that call for star anise to be used with carmelized onions in order to boost the flavor of meat, especially when braising. Has anyone tried this, and if so, did you like the results. And most importantly, did you leave the anise whole, or did you break it into pieces, or...
  7. ErikC

    Star Fruit and fish?

    I love roasting pineapple chunks...does star fruit react as well in a roasting environment? It seems so delicate to me...
  8. ErikC

    New to Forum AND to Cooking

    Welcome! I am sure you will get lots of ideas here...I am constantly amazed at the variety of dishes our members share, and any time I feel as though I am in a rut I am guaranteed to find something new here. I am sure you will too! Plus everyone is real friendly :)
  9. ErikC

    Custom Kitchen Knife

    That's absolutely gorgeous! Having said that, though, I would have to feel the knife in my hands before I decided whether I liked it -- especially for $2k. I wonder if maybe you can use it more for advertising made-to-order custom work. I could see something being made exactly the way I like it...
  10. ErikC

    Chicken stock

    One thing that I like to do is reduce the stock after all the solids have been reduced. That way you get a more concentrated flavor. Also, it takes less room to store in the freezer if you make more than enough for your current needs.
  11. ErikC

    Metric or Standard?

    I was in grade 7 when Canada was switching to Metric, so I learned both during my formative years. I am comfortable with either as far as dry and wet measure is concerned, but oven temperatures were not a common theme in grade 7, so I stick with Fahrenheit for temps. But if hours and minutes...
  12. ErikC

    Cook by book or seat of pants?

    With cooking I am definitely a pant-seater (not pants-eater). However, when it comes to baking I always follow the recipe exactly unless I am deliberately experimenting.
  13. ErikC

    Blue-gray pinto beans

    I had that happen to me once, but I was too scared to eat them. How were they?
  14. ErikC

    Is it bad to leave alcohol in a warm/hot car?

    The real problem with leaving booze in the car, is that if your car is stolen you're out all the booze :sad:
  15. ErikC

    Juicing Apples

    Arsenic?? Wow! I never knew that. Is that true of all varieties of apples?
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