Cooking Points
Since the school year started, I’ve been cooking more than I ever have before. I do all right, and sure as shit love to chop anything. I had a few discussion points on my mind recently:
- I know what shortening is, but how can I use it? There is some extra shortening around the kitchen, and I’m looking to put it to use, possibly in bulk. Baking?
- I have about a cup of hyper-flavored oil. It housed roasted red peppers I made 2 months ago. It still has the garlic cloves floating around too. What would be a great thing to do with this oil?
- How exactly do you, personally, caramelize onions. Mainly, do you add a little sugar? Or just let the natural onion sugar do its thing?
- What are some of your favorite winter dishes to cook?
Comments
1. As far as I know, shortening is mostly used in baking and deep frying. Never deep fried in shortening, though.
2. Fry an egg in it. Pan-fry just about anything in it. Cover a chicken in it and roast it. Dip good bread in it.
3. Sugar seems like a shortcut to me. If I don’t have time to really let the onions carmelize naturally, I’ll add sugar. If I do, I’ll just put the pan on low and leave it there for an hour or more.
4. Chili. Coq au vin. Cassoulet. Meatballs and braccioli. Soups.
1. I made catfish one time, and it might have involved shortening. Or not. You should make catfish.
2. Bong water. For salvia if you want to keep it legal, or Miley Cyrus, as it were.
3. Try brown sugar. What’s the worst that could happen? That kinda summarizes my cooking style.
4. I agree with chili. And pot roast.
1. Shortening is in a lot of baking. You can use it in a number of pastries and it works in some fillings. I bake a lot but don’t really use the stuff.
2. Dip crusty bread in it.
3.I caramelize onions at least once a week because love them. I usually use a giant Mayan sweet onion cut in half and sliced. I do about half and half unsalted butter and olive oil in the pan, throw in the onion, and sprinkle in some salt. You may get by without the salt sprinkle if you use salted butter. I only ever put sugar in them once, when I was making onion soup. It was OK.
4. We’ve been making root vegetable shepherd’s pie with sweet potato and turnip mash on top. Soups and stews. Anything with squashes. Biscuits.
I’d always thought that salt was a detriment to the caramelization process as it makes the onion release too much of its liquid too quickly, but I can’t seem to find any evidence to back this idea up. I’m not sure where I got it, but now I’m wondering if I just made it up…
It’s never given me any problems.