Did You Cook Anything Interesting the Week of October 16, 2016?

[BakerAunt]

My husband roasted a chicken for Sunday dinner, so we were eating that and leftovers into the week. On Wednesday, I cut up the rest of the pot roast. I sautéed mushrooms in a pan, then added some broccoli florets. I added the rest of the broth from the roast and the cut up meat. I mixed it with a wild rice blend I made in the rice cooker, and dinner was served!

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[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, does the rice cooker eliminate sticky rice? I'm the worst rice maker. I love jasmine & basmati & brown rice but seldom make them. I haven't looked into rice cookers, though. I think they're large, for families with children. I only make 2 or 3 cups of rice at a time, and rarely, because the rice usually is sticky.

This week, I made crock pot Florentine Potato Soup and enjoyed that for a few meals.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook: The rice maker does result in less sticky rice. I have two very simple Black and Decker ones that I bought at Ross. I bought the 4 cup one first, and I found myself carting it back and forth to our place in Indiana, so I left it there and bought a somewhat larger one for here, since at the time two of my stepchildren still lived with us. I continue to use the large for just the two of us, and it will cook just two cups. However, cooked rice can be frozen quite nicely. Rice reheated in the microwave is not sticky at all.

While many rice cookers have complicated bells and whistles, this one is simple: Push the button down and when it pops up, the rice is done. There are even different water fill lines for regular rice and brown rice. I have found that it is not a good idea to let cooked rice sit on the "warming" setting (what the rice cooker switches to when done). I pull the insert out and put it on a hot plate. My rice cooker also has a steamer insert, and I've occasionally steamed vegetables in the insert (although never while the rice was cooking). The nonstick pan is an improvement over the old ones that did not have nonstick.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by BakerAunt.

[Italiancook]

Thanks for the info on rice cookers, BakerAunt. I guess I'll check online and buy the smaller one. My problem is that I'm running out of storage space, so I want the smallest available.

[Mike Nolan]

I've got a Zojirushi rice maker, I've used it to steam vegetables and cook custards, but mostly I use it for rice. I've wondered about using it to make a Boston Brown Bread, which is basically a steamed pudding.

It is a simple cooker, No settings dial, just push the lever down. For some types of rice adjusting the amount of water up or down is advised.

This past week I made a couple of test batches of almond rocher haystacks, and one small batch (20 haystacks) using a dark milk chocolate, mostly to test my chocolate tempering pot. The next batch will be made using Ghiradelli milk chocolate coating, I like the dark chocolate ones but my wife thinks they're a bit overpowering.

[Italiancook]

The look absolutely scrumptious, Mike!

[Mike Nolan]

I thought they ones we made in class looked better, but I don't have the 'log' mold we used for that. I made these in a mini-muffin pan, I think they'd be better if they were a little smaller, more bite-sized. I may use gloves to shape them more consistently next time.

[luvpyrpom]

Mike, those chocolate candies look yummy!

Italiancook, I use a rice cooker, it's a small one I got from Target. I do cook my brown rice on the stovetop. One tip if you do get a rice cooker, do not wash your rice in the cooker. With the swirling and water when you wash the rice, it can scratch the nonstick surface. I've learned (the hard way) of washing the rice in separate bowl and then putting it into the cooker. And as it's just my mother and I eating the rice, I just make a pot, keep extras in the frig and microwave the leftovers. You can also freeze rice, too.

What I made this past week was beef burritos without cilantro for my work lunches. I wrap each one in saran wrap, place in ziploc bags, and freeze. I just take what I need for lunch that day. Otherwise, not much else other than the basic beef pot roast and/or take out for the week.

[Mike Nolan]

I think they look OK for home-made candies, I suspect Chef Russ would say they might not look so good in a display case. If I want to take Chocolate 2.0 some time next year (Chocolate 3.0 is the course I really want to take, that's where you redesign ganache recipes), I need to hone my skills, those courses are geared for working professionals.

I'm not looking to make show pieces or fancy plated desserts, though the chefs at the Chocolate Academy presented several examples of their wares at lunch, and they were all restaurant-worthy.

[cwcdesign]

I did find a recipe for sheet pan fajitas which was very quick and very successful. My only problem was that the recipe saris it was for a crowd - I halved it usingn1 pound of chicken and Will and I polished it off. I don't know any crowd that would be fed with 2 pounds of chicken ?

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