Can anybody tell me the best way to clean my cookware/dishware? I've tried using a dishwasher and I've tried hand-washing/drying but the glass lids on my pans, my plates and bowls ( which are also glass/clear ) always remain spotty with what I believe to be soap residue.
Acid cleans everything in my experience. So I just wipe everything with vinegar before/after cleaning. Oh and they have special products for water stains in dishwasher, rinse aid
>>7621267
Thanks mate. Cheers.
How should I cook the cow heart I just bought on an impulse?
>>7621257
Clean it then dry with paper towel. That's how I do my glassware. Otherwise you get spots.
So, I have some cookbooks here(from my mother) and I'd like to learn how to cook. But my question is if I follow such books will I learn how to cook or just how to follow those recipes? I want to be good at cooking, anything I want without following a recipe, know exactly why doing this to ingredient x makes it be y, knife skills, basic cooking skills and what more, not just how to open a cookbook and follow its recipe,. So, will these books help me at this or at least getting the basics down?
>>7623252
You and I seem to be starting from the same place. I've been living on my own for years but am finally tired of pre-packaged foods. In addition to this prices of ingredients to cook for myself have become low enough to where cooking a single portion ( or a few extra portions to eat later in the week ) is less expensive than the pre-packaged foods such as Stoufers.
My first attempt at cooking will be a chicken cacciatore from the booklet that came with my Crock-Pot. It had a lot of unspecific things ( didn't specify the type of pasta(s) to use, etc. ( a lot of the recipes in that book are like that ) but as I go through and make mistakes I know I'll learn.
Cooking is a process of trail and error. I learned from a few previous attempts, the most humerous being my grilling steaks for my but forgetting to plan sides, salads, etc. leaving a those I was cooking for in a bit of a panic. They made the sides as I almost destroyed the steaks trying to check if they were done and we wound up having a great meal with only the smallest of the steaks being over-cooked ( but not burnt). Take comfort in the fact our screw-ups will make us better cooks if we learn. What we don't know we can come and ask 4chan, something I had to do a few months ago durring my first time cooking chicken only to realize I had no clue to telling when it was cooked.
>>7621960
I've never cooked cow heart but I cook chicken hearts constantly, had cow heart at a restaurant awhile back and they taste pretty similar. Trim off the excess fat, soak it in water for a little bit as you would any other organ, and stir fry it with a nearly American amount of garlic butter. Then just add some rice to that shit and fry it up all together. Of course this is assuming you're cutting it up small, since chicken hearts are bite size.
I doubt I helped but hey fuck, I tried.
>>7623252
Just jump right in, it really doesn't matter where. It's a practical skill so the more you do it, the better you'll get. There are some aspects that are more information than practice, like various techniques and terms but that will come later, much later.
Start with chicken fried rice. Just make some nice chicken fried rice and figure it out from there.
>>7623252
You want to learn more techniques than recipes, once you know technique then you'll be able to make anything easily. Jamie Oliver's youtube has a lot of technique videos, like how to cut shit and make a roux and that kind of basic stuff. Goodluck to you.
So I'm making butternut squash soup, is it worth roasting it separately first or should I just chuck it all in a pan?
>>7623252
just jump in and start cooking recipes
the more you cook (and the more different things you cook) the more you will learn about ingredient combinations, cooking times, techniques etc
i generally dislike cooking recipes more than a couple of times before moving on to something new, just because i get bored, which has served me well since i end up cooking a lot of things and learning a lot
but even if you fuck up sometimes you learn from it and it improves your cooking overall. i started out cooking Old El Paso fajitas with a premade spice mix; tonight i am cooking a three course meal from scratch for my relatives
>>7623819
i've did both and i'm not sure if the outcome justifies the effort. what you can do is peel it and cut it into small cubes and roast it that way. it'll be faster and you get more "roasted surface". it dries the squash out too, so it will intensify the flavor a bit. but nothing that cooking the soup for a little longer won't be able to do too.
what are good homecooked meals to feed a hungry man? i'm moving in with the bf soon and since i've mostly cooked for myself so far, my repertoire is mostly chicken, salads, and other girly shit. i need to amp up my man-food-game. i CAN cook all those things, but i need ideas besides steaks and country potatoes...
>questions that don't deserve their own thread
>makes a thread asking said question
>>7623845
google "hit and run traybaked chicken"
>>7623861
>hit and run traybaked chicken
looks yummy. i'll try it. i usually make a whole chicken in the oven tho.
anything else?
i don't like alcohol in any form. am i even missing out on something?
>>7623845
Just ask him what he likes, it's not fucking rocket science.
>>7623871
yeah sure. i did that. he's mostly for steaks. but i don't want to make the same dish over and over again. so i need some fresh ideas.
>>7623874
If the only dish he can name that he likes is steak, your boyfriend is an idiot.
>>7623879
ofc not. but i need something less boring than pizza, lasagna, pasta and the like.
>>7623866
ill get back to you
>>7623870
it is a sedative hypnotic drug that comes in a variety of flavours and strengths
i guess you will never know if you enjoy it until you try it
>>7623882
alright
>>7623885
oh, i've tried alsmot everything i can think off. only things i like are martini and wine for cooking. but then i need to boild the shit out of the dish to get rid of the alcoholic stenche.
>>7623324
Hey, can't go wrong with "stir fry it in garlic butter".
>>7621257
Best thing I've found for that sort of white residue on glassware is to make a thick paste with bicarbonate of soda and little water, then scrub it into the glass with a cloth. It's just abrasive enough to clear the layer off but it doesn't damage the glass at all.
What are some spices I can add to my stir fry to make it taste less bland?
I always use ginger, shallots, and garlic but i feel it's missing something
>>7623252
So I ( >>7623315 ) took the advice of >>7623835 and >>7623332 which seems to be working well. Take a look at >>7624872 then try it yourself. I'd love to see you use one of your mom's recipes.
>>7623332
>>7623835
Thanks for the advice; I've had a lot of fun with this ( although cutting the onion made my eyes sting ) and am looking forward to doing it again. I saw a seafood recipe in my crockpot book that looked interesting enough to rouse my interests.
