Issues with cooking equipment
Aug. 7th, 2005 11:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
omorkaI used to have an extremely cheap pot, a Dutch-oven-ish thing, that I could cook practically anything in. However, being extremely cheap, it went the way of all metal when it was sat upon after a potluck earlier this year. I replaced it with something that's halfway between a Dutch oven and a huge skillet - deeper than a fried chicken pan, with rounder sides. However, I just tried one of my standard skillet suppers in it, to find that the rice was still far more al dente than I like on the side closest to the handle, even after stirring and cooking for an extra fifteen minutes. Either this (far more expensive) pan is heating less evenly on the bottom than the cheap old thing, or the difference in the lids means that it's not steaming the rice correctly. Highly irksome. :-( I will have to do this in my 14" skillet from now on; it has an extremely tight-fitting lid.
Oh, if anyone was interested, here's the recipe, but it's far from haute cuisine here.
pork chops (any number between 3 and 6; works well with boneless, but the thin bone-in types work fine too)
3-5 ribs of celery, washed, trimmed, and chopped
2 green onions, washed, trimmed, and sliced thin
1 cup long-grain white rice
worcestershire sauce
2 large pinches dried thyme
1 packet onion soup mix (whatever your usual type for making onion dip is)
water to cover
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the skillet (if it's not a nonstick one, add a couple of teaspoons of canola oil; if it's nonstick, the residual fat on the pork chops will be sufficient oil to fry everything in) and brown the chops on both sides over med-high heat. Remove to another plate. Add the celery and onion to the pan, and saute until the celery is heated through. Stir in the rice, and add a couple of dashes of worcestershire sauce and two healthy pinches of thyme; stir to combine, then lay the pork chops back on the mix. Salt and pepper the pork chops (I like lots of pepper in this, but it's totally up to you), and then sprinkle the onion soup mix over the whole thing. Add enough water to cover the whole mess - everything needs to be submerged, but not by a whole lot. (If you really need a measurement, it's usually about three cups, but it depends on the size of the pot you're using.) Cover with a TIGHT-FITTING lid, set the timer for 30 minutes, let the water come to boil, drop the heat to low, start the timer, and go do something else for half an hour. When the timer goes off, stir it, set the timer for 5 more minutes, add a little more water if it needs it (it shouldn't), cover it, and wait until the timer goes off again. Serves about four, depending on how hungry they are and how big the pork chops are.
Oh, if anyone was interested, here's the recipe, but it's far from haute cuisine here.
pork chops (any number between 3 and 6; works well with boneless, but the thin bone-in types work fine too)
3-5 ribs of celery, washed, trimmed, and chopped
2 green onions, washed, trimmed, and sliced thin
1 cup long-grain white rice
worcestershire sauce
2 large pinches dried thyme
1 packet onion soup mix (whatever your usual type for making onion dip is)
water to cover
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the skillet (if it's not a nonstick one, add a couple of teaspoons of canola oil; if it's nonstick, the residual fat on the pork chops will be sufficient oil to fry everything in) and brown the chops on both sides over med-high heat. Remove to another plate. Add the celery and onion to the pan, and saute until the celery is heated through. Stir in the rice, and add a couple of dashes of worcestershire sauce and two healthy pinches of thyme; stir to combine, then lay the pork chops back on the mix. Salt and pepper the pork chops (I like lots of pepper in this, but it's totally up to you), and then sprinkle the onion soup mix over the whole thing. Add enough water to cover the whole mess - everything needs to be submerged, but not by a whole lot. (If you really need a measurement, it's usually about three cups, but it depends on the size of the pot you're using.) Cover with a TIGHT-FITTING lid, set the timer for 30 minutes, let the water come to boil, drop the heat to low, start the timer, and go do something else for half an hour. When the timer goes off, stir it, set the timer for 5 more minutes, add a little more water if it needs it (it shouldn't), cover it, and wait until the timer goes off again. Serves about four, depending on how hungry they are and how big the pork chops are.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-09 04:40 pm (UTC)One question: if I use olive oil instead of canola oil, that won't ruin things, will it?
no subject
Date: 2005-08-09 05:29 pm (UTC)