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Hello and happy new year, Monavano. Yes, I will be browning it first. Your suggestion of starting in a hot oven then lowering the temperature is called for in may recipes I've read. Is that a substitue for the browning step?

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^

I have used the high to low method to get a crust first. To throw more confusion into the mix, I seen recipes that call for low and slow with a hot blast at the end (mostly prime rib).

But, whether you do high to low, or brown and low, I'd recommend a 325 degree max and just let it mellow and get tender on its own good time.

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^minutes per pound/oven temp are always very approximate and imprecise ways of roasting any kind of meat--since how accurate is your oven's temperature gauge, was the meat cold when you put it in the oven, bone-in or boneless, etc. will all be confounding variables. The best way is to go by desired internal temperature, determined by an accurate meat thermometer. There are a variety of good ones available, including the kind that stays in the meat and has an outside-of-the-oven read-out and will signal you when the desired, pre-programmed internal temp is reached. Old recipes for roasted pork tend to deliver over-cooked meat, as the recommended internal temp. for cooking pork has recently been lowered by the powers that be. Slightly pink pork is now considered safe. For medium rare beef, cook to 120-125f. and rest for 10-30 minutes, depending on the size of the piece of meat.

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Thanks for the good advice my friends. @Monavano, I took your suggestion and started the oven high then cranked it back. The meat turned out well, with a mahogany-colored crust on the outside and nice flavors from all garlic, capers, lemon zest, black pepper, sage and rosemary crammed into all the crevasses. @zoramagolis, yes, there is no better way than a thermometer. Unfortunately, I had destroyed about 3 of them (please don't ask how) over the past year or two and didn't have one on hand (well, I do have one of those crude digital ones that look like a big fork and puts two big holes in the meat), so I was looking for an estimate when to start the roast in order to have it done by a particular time. About an hour into the roasting, it dawned on me that Whole Foods was open so I made a quick run over and they had one Good Grips meat thermometer left -- problem solved!

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I've got half a pound of ravioli from Eastern Market that needs to be cooked. My stove decided to give itself a vacation and it will be a few days before it can be fixed. Dinner was supposed to be ravioli with wilted spinach, a shit load of garlic, and a fried egg.

Is my dinner a lost cause or is there someway to cook the ravioli without a stove?

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^Camping stove?

Wasn't sure where to put this. I made myself a delightful little cocktail not long ago, which included a couple of pickled sour cherries, but I am now getting increasingly paranoid that the cherries are too old. They were pickled whenever the sour cherries were in season (basically a long time ago) and have been in my fridge ever since. I didn't can them or anything like that. Am I going to poison myself?

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Just a microwave. Freezing is a possibility I guess.

I don't see why you couldn't put a big bowl of salted water in the microwave, nuke it till it boils, add the ravioli and nuke till it's done.

I actually ALWAYS cook spinach in the microwave. Put a good three or four glugs of olive oil in a (nother) big bowl, add chopped garlic, nuke for 30 or 40 seconds, then add spinach (nowadays, I always buy the bagged, prewashed baby stuff, the greatest development in spinach technology of my lifetime), toss about with tongs, nuke some more, toss about some more, nuke some more etc. until the spinach is how you want it.

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I made myself a delightful little cocktail not long ago, which included a couple of pickled sour cherries, but I am now getting increasingly paranoid that the cherries are too old. They were pickled whenever the sour cherries were in season (basically a long time ago) and have been in my fridge ever since. I didn't can them or anything like that. Am I going to poison myself?

No, you are not. If the cherries don't look or smell bad, they aren't bad. Were they pickled in vinegar? If so, they're probably good for years, although they might become less appetizing as time goes by.

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No, you are not. If the cherries don't look or smell bad, they aren't bad. Were they pickled in vinegar? If so, they're probably good for years, although they might become less appetizing as time goes by.

Yes, vinegar was a part of the pickling liquid along with sugar and some spices. I tasted one before I put them in my drink (didn't want to ruin all of that bourbony goodness) and it tasted fine. The lid does have some black stuff that appears to be mold growing on it, but the lid isn't touching the liquid and all of the cherries are/were submerged.
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I have an unusual problem: a boatload of leftover wine. I had a large party this weekend and, trying to keep it flowing, I ended the night with two full, open bottles of white and and almost full, open bottle of red. Even if I weren't still hung over, I couldn't get through all of that before it turned, so I'm wondering what to do with it. I don't have a mother, so vinegar is out. Would I get something good that I could freeze and use for sauces if I reduced it down to a syrup? I honestly have no idea what my options are because this if a completely foreign situation for me.

(I'm kicking myself that I boiled pasta yesterday in water after reading all the great things from you folks about boiling it in wine... [Coulda woulda shoulda.] Has anyone yet experimented with doing that using not so fresh wine? Like if I did it this weekend?)

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I have an unusual problem: a boatload of leftover wine. I had a large party this weekend and, trying to keep it flowing, I ended the night with two full, open bottles of white and and almost full, open bottle of red. Even if I weren't still hung over, I couldn't get through all of that before it turned, so I'm wondering what to do with it. I don't have a mother, so vinegar is out. Would I get something good that I could freeze and use for sauces if I reduced it down to a syrup? I honestly have no idea what my options are because this if a completely foreign situation for me.

(I'm kicking myself that I boiled pasta yesterday in water after reading all the great things from you folks about boiling it in wine... [Coulda woulda shoulda.] Has anyone yet experimented with doing that using not so fresh wine? Like if I did it this weekend?)

You can save in ziploc baggies and it's fine for sauces.

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You can save in ziploc baggies and it's fine for sauces.

No kidding? I can just freeze it? I freeze almost every other liquid I have leftover in ice cube trays; why did that not even occur to me? I overthink things so, so much. Thank you MV. :)

But hey, now I'm curious about other options, so if anyone has other ideas, shout em out.

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No kidding? I can just freeze it? I freeze almost every other liquid I have leftover in ice cube trays; why did that not even occur to me? I overthink things so, so much. Thank you MV. :)

But hey, now I'm curious about other options, so if anyone has other ideas, shout em out.

Freezing is a great call.

So would be a day-long jam session (OK, technically jelly), and testing the limits of your VacuVin to tide you over until the weekend. And, yes, I've boiled pasta, including stuffed varieties like ravioli, in week-old wine with positive results. If the wine has become a tannin bomb (ha! a 2013 Christmas carol is born), a pinch of sugar helps cancel the bitter, which evolves greatly via tomato sauce and rich olive oil.

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I made Ghee with salted butter once. IIRC most of the salt collected with the browned milk solids which were strained out. There was no noticeable saltiness in the resulting Ghee. Normally though I always use unsalted butter. Keep in mind, this was clarified butter made the Indian way, not the French way, which is a different method.

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I have an unusual problem: a boatload of leftover wine. I had a large party this weekend and, trying to keep it flowing, I ended the night with two full, open bottles of white and and almost full, open bottle of red. Even if I weren't still hung over, I couldn't get through all of that before it turned, so I'm wondering what to do with it. I don't have a mother, so vinegar is out. Would I get something good that I could freeze and use for sauces if I reduced it down to a syrup? I honestly have no idea what my options are because this if a completely foreign situation for me.

(I'm kicking myself that I boiled pasta yesterday in water after reading all the great things from you folks about boiling it in wine... [Coulda woulda shoulda.] Has anyone yet experimented with doing that using not so fresh wine? Like if I did it this weekend?)

I actually have a juice jar that I cleaned out and pour all my leftover red wine in there. I keep it on the counter near the stove and use it when needed.

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Put both bottles together with some sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise, slices of fresh ginger, cardamom pods, vanilla bean, orange peel and lemon peel and simmer until the wine has reduced by at least 1/3. Turn off the heat and let it steep for a while, then strain out the spices. Use the spiced wine syrup to poach peeled pears: bosc, forelle or seckel work best. Serve chilled with some of the syrup and creme fraiche or whipped cream. I use a small spoon to core out the pears from below before I cook them, which allows the syrup to get up inside the pear.

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What to do with most of a bottle of côtes du rhône? Beef bourguignon came to mind, but since I can't eat onions anymore, I'd rather find something else to make with it. No, I can't drink it. Oh, and I tried boiling pasta in red wine a while back and didn't like the result. Any ideas, anyone?

Porcupine asked this on page 9 of this very thread, Christmastime. There were a series of answers, Q, that you might find useful.

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I feel like an idiot even asking this, but here goes... I was working way too fast and not paying attention, and rather than chilling the Key lime pie for an hour before topping it with meringue* and then baking it, I baked it without the meringue. gah! If I chill it, top it with meringue, then bake it again to set the meringue will I ruin the filling? Maybe I'll just serve it with whipped cream if I can stabliize it enough to transport it in the car for an hour. No time for a do-over.

*I don't f***ing care if meringue is authentic, it's what I like, so please don't bother posting snarky comments about how this couldn't possibly be a real Key lime pie. thx

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I feel like an idiot even asking this, but here goes... I was working way too fast and not paying attention, and rather than chilling the Key lime pie for an hour before topping it with meringue* and then baking it, I baked it without the meringue. gah! If I chill it, top it with meringue, then bake it again to set the meringue will I ruin the filling? Maybe I'll just serve it with whipped cream if I can stabliize it enough to transport it in the car for an hour. No time for a do-over.

*I don't f***ing care if meringue is authentic, it's what I like, so please don't bother posting snarky comments about how this couldn't possibly be a real Key lime pie. thx

Too late for feedback? Bake the meringue on silpat or parchment and top the chilled pie.

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Where to buy really fresh whole fish in NoVa or DC?

I want to start cooking whole fish at home-- saw "Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef" today and Burrell made salt-crusted branzino, which looked great and easy. I'd like to get recs for where to buy branzino or perhaps snapper or any other suggestions for a good fish to cook this way.

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Where to buy really fresh whole fish in NoVa or DC?

I want to start cooking whole fish at home-- saw "Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef" today and Burrell made salt-crusted branzino, which looked great and easy. I'd like to get recs for where to buy branzino or perhaps snapper or any other suggestions for a good fish to cook this way.

I've only seen bronzino at the P St. WF and the AdMo HT--both places only have them sporadically. However, the ones I've bought have been just lovely. (I don't have access to the 'burbs for grocery shopping, so Wegman's is out.)

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Where to buy really fresh whole fish in NoVa or DC?

I want to start cooking whole fish at home-- saw "Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef" today and Burrell made salt-crusted branzino, which looked great and easy. I'd like to get recs for where to buy branzino or perhaps snapper or any other suggestions for a good fish to cook this way.

MediterraFish in the Mosaic District has them.

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Wegman's in Fairfax and Whole Foods in Fair Lakes always have whole fish of some sort including Bronzino. Red snapper also works well with this prep and switching gears, so does chicken parts and small potatoes.

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This Saturday we will be having a bunch of people hanging out for dinner after my daughter's birthday party. Given time constraints this week, part of my plan is to:

-Wash and blanch green beans tonight (Tuesday)

-Cook the pulled pork on the smoker tomorrow (Wednesday)

Given that the party is on Saturday, are both the green beans and the pulled pork fine to keep in the fridge or should I put them in the freezer and take them out Saturday morning?

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Help - been asked to bring an appetizer. No problem, right?  Then I get the 'one guest doesn't eat red meat or dairy'; the host eats gluten-free.  There goes the cheese/charcuterie standby!

Any creative ideas from the experts here? My back-up plan is olives, pickled/marinated veggies, maybe some sort of stuffed mushroom. Anyone have a non-dairy alternatives to the cheese part of cheese-stuffed dates?

Thank you!

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Toasted walnuts or pecans in dates are nice, as is almond paste for a sweet alternative.  It may be worth checking to see if goat or sheep cheese is OK, sometimes it's cow's milk that is the issue.  No red meat, no dairy, no gluten.  That's pretty much what I cook every day. :) 

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Well, of *course* my refrigerator would fail the ONE day of the year I choose to cook. I mean, why would it not?

Not only did it stop cooling; it actually heated up on the inside.

"Dad, when did you buy this?"

Matt was holding a package of smoked salmon to put on his bagel.

"Yesterday, why?"

"It's warm. And so's the cream cheese."

I opened the refrigerator, and steam flew out my ears, accompanied by the sound of an air-horn, like Fred Flintstone when he gets angry (at the exact same moment, my dishwasher spewed out soapy water all over the floor, and it was coming at me like The Blob. I put towels down, then I started hearing what sounded like a shower downstairs in the basement. I ran down, and water was pouring onto the top of my dryer - where I had stored several leather-bound books.)

Chicken, beef, lamb, and pork, all brought up to 80 degrees or higher, sometime during the night. But they were all shrink-wrapped, and none had any odor when I opened them (a picture is here).

So, the big question: given that they were tightly shrink-wrapped, there was no off-odor at all, and they're going to be long-cooked for several hours, am I okay or is there salmonella in my future?

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It's going to cook at 300 for several hours, so I think it's going to be fine. My Half and Half is okay, too - somehow, I pushed a couple of buttons, and the refrigerator is now cooling again (the freezer never failed, incidentally). I guess a switch must have gotten tripped - the refrigerator being so shocked that there was actually food inside that wasn't leftovers in a styrofoam container ... it did the electrical version of peeing its pants.

Thanks, all. Now, if I only had a larger Dutch Oven - at the time, it was the largest Le Creuset available, but it's still not large enough. This is a *lot* of food, and is a $100 stew - I would hate for it to have gone bad (famous last words).

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Don, do you have a link to the recipe you're using?  Is it going on the stovetop at all, because I'd be inclined to boil it (or sear the meat and boil it, even though it isn't supposed to go above a simmer usually).  And if you don't think there's enough room in the Dutch oven, can you split it between two pans to make sure it really cooks through properly?  Getting the outside of the meat and poultry cleaned well before starting out is a good idea too.  (Current advice is not to wash poultry before cooking, but I would in this case, and then sanitize your sink.  I agree with Ilaine about poultry being the most worrisome component.)

It's amazing your refrigerator could get to 80.  That's 15 degrees hotter than it is in our kitchen.

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Don, do you have a link to the recipe you're using?  Is it going on the stovetop at all, because I'd be inclined to boil it (or sear the meat and boil it, even though it isn't supposed to go above a simmer usually).  And if you don't think there's enough room in the Dutch oven, can you split it between two pans to make sure it really cooks through properly?  Getting the outside of the meat and poultry cleaned well before starting out is a good idea too.  (Current advice is not to wash poultry before cooking, but I would in this case, and then sanitize your sink.  I agree with Ilaine about poultry being the most worrisome component.)

It's amazing your refrigerator could get to 80.  That's 15 degrees hotter than it is in our kitchen.

I'm guessing about the temperature, but it was certainly warmer than room temperature - I think the motor caused heat while the compressor wasn't kicked in.

I'm already two hours in, and I'm going to let it cook for probably 2-3 hours more - this Creuset gets really hot, and the ingredients essentially get roasted and boiled at the same time. It would take a water bear to survive this, I think. We'll see. :)

Now everybody can go Google water bear. 

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Help! I bought "hard red winter wheat" from the bulk section of my grocery after having some in a salad in a restaurant. I liked the nutty chewiness. So, I cooked what I thought was a reasonable amount, and now I have SO MUCH. I ate a small serving right after it cooked to confirm that I did like it (yes!) but a little goes a long way. 1. How long will it keep, covered, in the refrigerator? 2. I need some clever ideas on how to use it up. 3. Can the cooked stuff be frozen, and if so, how? Plastic bags? Thanks!!!!

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Help! I bought "hard red winter wheat" from the bulk section of my grocery after having some in a salad in a restaurant. I liked the nutty chewiness. So, I cooked what I thought was a reasonable amount, and now I have SO MUCH. I ate a small serving right after it cooked to confirm that I did like it (yes!) but a little goes a long way. 1. How long will it keep, covered, in the refrigerator? 2. I need some clever ideas on how to use it up. 3. Can the cooked stuff be frozen, and if so, how? Plastic bags? Thanks!!!!

I've kept it at least a week and it does freeze okay too.  Wheatberries are good in salads (eta:  as you note, d'oh!).  They're also good just as a grain substitute as part of a dinner plate.  (I got hooked on the stuff a decade or so ago when they had salmon with sauteed leeks and wheatberries on the menu at Montmarte.)  This recipe for greens and grains mixed in with scrambled eggs is an excellent use for some of it.

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