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Let's say I told my coworkers that I was making braised beef short ribs for our office holiday potluck.

Then let's pretend that I went to the grocery store and bought everything: wine, aromats, herbs... everything but the beef.

Then, for the sake of argument, imagine that the store was out of short ribs.

Assume that I am lazy and don't much feel like shopping around.

What are my alternatives?

I really want a braised beef dish.

Could I get like a chuck roast or similar cut, cut it up into short rib-sized pieces, and cook them like I would the ribs?

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Let's say I told my coworkers that I was making braised beef short ribs for our office holiday potluck.

Then let's pretend that I went to the grocery store and bought everything: wine, aromats, herbs... everything but the beef.

Then, for the sake of argument, imagine that the store was out of short ribs.

Assume that I am lazy and don't much feel like shopping around.

What are my alternatives?

I really want a braised beef dish.

Could it get like a chuck roast, cut it up into short rib-sized pieces, and cook them like I would the ribs?

Did you look for flanken cut? I did that for my friends up in Boston and it worked great.

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Let's say I told my coworkers that I was making braised beef short ribs for our office holiday potluck.

Then let's pretend that I went to the grocery store and bought everything: wine, aromats, herbs... everything but the beef.

Then, for the sake of argument, imagine that the store was out of short ribs.

Assume that I am lazy and don't much feel like shopping around.

What are my alternatives?

I really want a braised beef dish.

Could I get like a chuck roast or similar cut, cut it up into short rib-sized pieces, and cook them like I would the ribs?

Call in a favor with a friend who lives near a Korean grocer. :angry:

'tis the season, man. Ask and ye shall receive!

(and if you don't receive)

(well...)

(santa can't visit everybody)

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Bad coconut? Just cracked one open - the water tastes bizarrely salty, and the flesh is not sweet. It doesn't taste like it's gone bad, but it doesn't taste good, either. I've never gotten a bad coconut. Is there anything I can do to save it? I'm afraid I know the answer to this.

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This may be a silly question, but does butternut squash and sweet potato flavors go together? I am thinking of making a sweet potato congee, but am thinking about adding some squash to it too.

When cooked, they are similar enough that it sort of seems redundant to put them together.
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This may be a silly question, but does butternut squash and sweet potato flavors go together?

I say yes. I have made basically the same soups substituting one for the other. I see no reason both could not swim together harmoniously.

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This may be a silly question, but does butternut squash and sweet potato flavors go together? I am thinking of making a sweet potato congee, but am thinking about adding some squash to it too.

Yes. :angry:

(Aside from that, their flavor profiles are pretty similar; think of all the recipes that say you can sub the one for the other. I think it'll just make the congee more complexly and interestingly flavored.)

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This may be a silly question, but does butternut squash and sweet potato flavors go together? I am thinking of making a sweet potato congee, but am thinking about adding some squash to it too.

In the "Cappellacci with Sweet Squash" recipe from The Splendid Table, Lynne Rossetto Kasper calls for combining butternut squash with sweet potato in a 2:1 ratio to approximate the taste and consistency of the local squash from Ferrara and Parma. I have made this recipe numerous times and it is excellent.

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Thank you all! I think I inversed mktye's recommendation (but this was made before her post) and used japanese yams to butternut squash (a very, very small one), thus ending in a 1:2 ratio. But it turned out well and was happy because it was made in the slow cooker. Now I have warm congee for lunch. :angry:

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Could anyone help me on the following:

I believe I've seen a recipe similar to La Brea Tar Pit wings in Asian cookbooks, but with something other than red wine. My imagination, or?

What non-alcoholic liquid might replace the wine? Rice vinegar okay for someone Muslim?

What a weird, unappetizing name for a recipe--I grew up near the La Brea Tar Pits, and they smell strongly of --wait for it---tar. Think about the smell that comes through your window when the hot-tar roofers are working on the house next door in the middle of the summer. It's like that. Pyew.

I wouldn't do a straight substitution of vinegar for wine--the end product would be too acidic, since the sauce is a reduction. Maybe stock with a couple of T's of vinegar. Or pomegranate juice.

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Could anyone help me on the following:

I believe I've seen a recipe similar to La Brea Tar Pit wings in Asian cookbooks, but with something other than red wine. My imagination, or?

What non-alcoholic liquid might replace the wine? Rice vinegar okay for someone Muslim?

I've been planning to make these slow cooker wings. They're quite similar to those but use only the soy sauce and no other liquid. That may be because of the slow cooker element. The recipe it is adapted from is oven-baked and includes 1/4 cup of oil in addition to the other ingredients.
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Could anyone help me on the following:

I believe I've seen a recipe similar to La Brea Tar Pit wings in Asian cookbooks, but with something other than red wine. My imagination, or?

What non-alcoholic liquid might replace the wine? Rice vinegar okay for someone Muslim?

I've made this recipe (and variations thereoff) countless times, so I wonder if, similar to Zora's response, any vinegar+sweetener combo would work to replace the wine (here, balsamic vinegar and honey and brown sugar; I've used maple syrup with success before, too).

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Sigh. Due to very poor planning, I was unable to find the specific type of dried chile... New Mexican or Anaheim... for a broth for a rice recipe. I do, however, have powdered Ancho pepper. I'll probably substitute, but at what ratio? Any suggestions?

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Sigh. Due to very poor planning, I was unable to find the specific type of dried chile... New Mexican or Anaheim... for a broth for a rice recipe. I do, however, have powdered Ancho pepper. I'll probably substitute, but at what ratio? Any suggestions?

I'd go one for one. According to one Chili Heat Scale the Ancho is a bit hotter, but not by much. Then again, to me, hotter is always better. The Scoville Scale shows the Ancho in between the New Mexico and the Anaheim. Good luck.

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Whole dried pepper vs. dried powdered pepper. Would 1 TB = the kick of one dried whole pepper?

Probably, although it might be too much. If you have the constitution, you can taste it to see how hot it is, then add accordingly. It's easier to add heat than get it out of a dish. (Voice of searing experience.) :angry:

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Whole dried pepper vs. dried powdered pepper. Would 1 TB = the kick of one dried whole pepper?

Hmm. I really don't know, but that seems like a lot. Then again, I have no idea what you are cookng. Can you add half and then step it up after tasting as necessary?

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Whole dried pepper vs. dried powdered pepper. Would 1 TB = the kick of one dried whole pepper?

If the recipe calls for you to simmer a whole pepper in the broth for flavoring, 1 TBSP of dried powder could be too much. Whole peppers also vary in size. I'd do what others have suggested and start low, test, and adjust.
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So last night I left Ray's the Steaks with a big ol' marrow bone. One of my dining partners told me that I could make a nice demi glace out of it. Anyone know how to do that, or have any alternate suggestions?

It'll take a lot more than one empty marrow bone to make demi-glace, which is reduced/gelatinized beef stock. If you want to make beef stock, you might stick it in the freezer while you look up recipes and gather the rest of the ingredients. Or the next time you make homemade soup, just throw it into the pot for extra flavor.
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Ok, so I am a little baffled: I am not a baker, I am a cook. That is my flaw. When I run into a problem I substitute- a cookers habit that doesn't bode well for baking. This summer I made a lavender pond cake and added a bit of lemon juice because it needed some tang. I also have rather new baking pans from my wedding. It could have been a first use. When I baked the cake it rose up, exploded out of the pan and all over the bottom of the oven. I blamed the lemon. Clearly shouldn't have added acid.

But this past week I was making banana bread and I only had two bananas and the recipe called for three. I did have peach freezer jam or apple, I chose the freezer jam. Put it in what again was new mini loaf pans that I rinsed with water. And it did the same rise up and explode thing. But this time I put it back in the oven after cleaning the oven on a baking sheet, and the resulting bread, tasted very good, like banana bread should. I didn't fill the pans very high, they probably had a couple inches above.

Do you think it was the choice of additions? Or perhaps the new pans needing washed a few times, instead of just once?

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It does sound like rising air. Would you mind sharing your recipe? I noted that each time you added something acidic.

That could definitely do it. Too much acid + acid activated leavenings (baking soda and/or double acting baking powder) = too much CO2. Kaboom. Kind of like an elementary school volcano project. I used to have problems with over beating eggs in baked goods. I figured it couldn't hurt anything, but it adds too much air and things will often rise too quickly then collapse. I never had an explosion, though.

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I didn't fill the pans very high, they probably had a couple inches above.

What size of pan does the recipe call for? My bet is on a too-full pan. Adding peach jam to banana bread won't cause it to rise explosively.

FWIW, you can substitute and mess with recipes in baking; it just takes experience.

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Hi crew... question for you all. I made chocolate chip cookie dough today. The recipe yielded so much dough that I would like to freeze it. How do you recommend doing so? Should I freeze it in individual portions or just big chunks? How long can I leave the dough in the refrigerator before freezing? Thanks in advance!

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Hi crew... question for you all. I made chocolate chip cookie dough today. The recipe yielded so much dough that I would like to freeze it. How do you recommend doing so? Should I freeze it in individual portions or just big chunks? How long can I leave the dough in the refrigerator before freezing? Thanks in advance!

I'd say 2 days in the fridge. I think I agree with Dean about making it into rolls. I find that works better when freezing cookie dough than just wrapping it up in a lump.

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Cheese soufflé.

Recipe uses a six-cup soufflé dish.

I have an eight-cup.

Use it and have a flatter soufflé? Or make six one-cup soufflés? And if the latter, how much do I adjust the cooking time downward, if at all?

Meep.

I'd use the larger dish and make sure it is greased all the way to the top. I'm not a souffle expert, but I believe that it will climb on a greased pan. I could be wrong, and I'm sorry if I am ph34r.gif.
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I'd use the larger dish and make sure it is greased all the way to the top. I'm not a souffle expert, but I believe that it will climb on a greased pan. I could be wrong, and I'm sorry if I am ;).

I'm inclined to agree ... a lot of recipes say "1-1/2 to 2 quart dish" or "2 to 2-1/2 quart" so it can't be impossible to fudge the size a little. It may not rise as high (because it'll start out less deep) but I don't think it will totally fail. I'll post pictures either way!

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I'd use the larger dish and make sure it is greased all the way to the top. I'm not a souffle expert, but I believe that it will climb on a greased pan. I could be wrong, and I'm sorry if I am ;).

I agree...I grab the Pillivuyt that looks about the right size and bake.

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I want to cook beef back ribs in a crock pot. If I use a traditional marinade will that be strong enough to flavor the ribs. Should I reduce the marinade or liquid to impart more flavor?

Another recipe dredges the ribs in a spice mixture, sears, and then places in crock pot with some liquid. Won't the dredged ribs lose their flavor while in the pot?

Finally, is there anything I should take into consideration when cooking beef back ribs vs. beef short ribs. When I braise the back ribs it seems that they are fattier (than short ribs). Or is that my imagination?

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I want to cook beef back ribs in a crock pot. If I use a traditional marinade will that be strong enough to flavor the ribs. Should I reduce the marinade or liquid to impart more flavor?

Another recipe dredges the ribs in a spice mixture, sears, and then places in crock pot with some liquid. Won't the dredged ribs lose their flavor while in the pot?

Finally, is there anything I should take into consideration when cooking beef back ribs vs. beef short ribs. When I braise the back ribs it seems that they are fattier (than short ribs). Or is that my imagination?

Basically the same, just not cut into smaller pieces. Brown them before they go into the crockpot, add aromatic veg and herbs. Skim fat then reduce the liquid before you serve them.

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So...on Saturday I baked some cupcakes (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting). The amount of ingredients called for seemed a bit high for 12 cupcakes, and, after I'd filled my sole 12-cup muffin tin, I realized that the recipe actually makes 22 cupcakes, not 12 ;). I was racing to get things done so made the rest of the batter in paper muffin cups in a pan. Some got a little squished with that arrangement, but everything came out edible (24 cupcakes :P). Had I been thinking a little more clearly, I would have only frosted some of these and frozen most of the cakes, but I didn't. I frosted all of them. Had I been a little sharper, I would have thought to send some of the extras home with our friends for their kids. Didn't do that either.

The upshot is, we still have probably 18 frosted cupcakes left. I've got them in two plastic containers and one metal pan covered with foil, at room temperature. Time is running out. What will happen if I freeze frosted cupcakes? Do I have any other options besides handing them out on the street? :)

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What will happen? Why, you'll have frozen cupcakes. Seriously, though, they'll freeze and thaw just fine, and [snark] probably still be better than Cakelove's [/snark].

So, I didn't need to be so worried about freezing frosting after all? That's a relief. Thanks [and ;).]

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If I brine something (pork or chicken) can I freeze it w/o any adverse effects ? Can I brine both (pork and chicken) together in the same bowl, again, without any harmful side effects?

I've brined dual meats together in the same bath, no problem at all. High five to you for using this technique, such an elevator for moisture and flavor.

However, freezing brined-but-not-cooked meat is probably a recipe for textural disaster.

(then again)

(wwed?)

(what would eskimos do?)

Did a bit more interwebz browsin', and found that Cook's Illustrated has tested the brine-n-freeze technique:

http://www.americastestkitchentv.com/ibb/posts.aspx?postID=274507&postRepeater1-p=1

Edited by KMango
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