What ingredients do you not know what to do with?

[rickbern]

I can't be the only one who has observed people getting excited about special versions of ingredients for dishes, but without a clue how to properly use them to make it all worth it. What are yours? Mine are:

Sun-dried tomato
Moroccan preserved lemons
Chinese preserved olive

Here’s a timely article for you

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/apr/11/what-else-are-preserved-lemons-good-for-kitchen-aide

 

[DitmasPork]

Never used it. Maybe give some yummy funkiness to Caesar salad? Although, tossing into stir fries prob a safer bet.

 

[Rangen]

You should water the kidneys in the fridge overnight. Some people use milk instead of water. Pork, lamb, and veal kidneys are milder than beef kidneys, which are a bit too strong for many people. At any rate, soaking them removes the off odours. Trim out the white centre part, and get rid of any blood vessels that might still be attached.

There are plenty of ways to prepare them. For example, breaded and fried, or make heart and kidney stew, or a lamb’s fry, or a beef and kidney pie.

Yup. Although I use at least three changes of water. And what I make with them is a Sichuan stir fry (pork) kidney dish that is so good that I am blown away every time. It's in Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan cookbook. It's also a great dish for justifying your hoard of super-sharp knifes, first with the challenge of removing the cores, and then needing a sharp and thin at the point knife to score a clean diamond pattern on the skin side.

 

[Michi]

And what I make with them is a Sichuan stir fry (pork) kidney dish that is so good that I am blown away every time. It's in Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan cookbook.

I have that book. Will give this a shot. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Michi]

And what I make with them is a Sichuan stir fry (pork) kidney dish that is so good that I am blown away every time. It's in Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan cookbook.

I just made this. Turned out to be really tasty. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[mengwong]

Cheesecloth.

Like old friends after kids, cheesecloth and I never quite manage to sync up.

I see it in the supermarket a-dangling in the aisle, and I think, “yeah, there was that recipe last year that called for straining; I should get this.”

When I get home I never know where to stow it. With the Ziploc bags and the aluminium foil? With the coffee filters? With the kitchen towels? And there it sits for a year or more. Where? There! Where? There! Where? I don’t know.

So the next time I encounter a cheesecloth recipe, I angrily use a coffee filter instead.

And the cycle repeats.

 

[Rangen]

When I get home I never know where to stow it. With the Ziploc bags and the aluminium foil? With the coffee filters? With the kitchen towels? And there it sits for a year or more. Where? There! Where? There! Where? I don’t know.

So the next time I encounter a cheesecloth recipe, I angrily use a coffee filter instead.

And the cycle repeats.

Get three packages and put them in the first three places you think it might belong.

I'm trying to imagine straining 2 gallons of stock through a coffee filter.

 

[MarcelNL]

filtering coffee, really ......

 

[Michi]

Matfer Exoglass bouillon strainer is where it’s at. They are expensive, but you won’t look back.

 

[Rangen]

Matfer Exoglass bouillon strainer is where it’s at. They are expensive, but you won’t look back.

Ooh. Where has that been all my life? Ordered.

 

[Michi]

Ooh. Where has that been all my life? Ordered.

Seems like my enabler mojo is working today