Cooking 101--how do you make.....?

[whatevergirl]

ac claire I double dog dare you to try the rubbing with olive oil then salt and see how you like the skin. It can be like food network challenge!!! LOL. Seriously I’ve had outbacks and they ARE good, but mine are crispier. To each his own though, everyone’s tastes are different.

Has anyone ever had the mushrooms at Texas Roadhouse? I’d love to know what they do to those…they are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yummy. Little button mushrooms, kinda garlicky and salty, not soggy perfect texture, and really nice and dark brown and yummz…They use them on top of their steaks but I could order them alone as a meal, they are that good!! I wonder if they sautee them or roast them? I can’t quite guess…

Hi shanny…I have a feeling they roast them. I have had them…and they are uniquely flavored with a unique texture…

 

[ac_claire]

ac claire I double dog dare you to try the rubbing with olive oil then salt and see how you like the skin. It can be like food network challenge!!! LOL. Seriously I’ve had outbacks and they ARE good, but mine are crispier. To each his own though, everyone’s tastes are different.

Really, you use olive oil on the skins and they STILL come out crispy?
I think I’m gonna have to accept your challenge next time I make baked potatoes. I’ll cut one in half, do one with the tiny bit of butter/salt and the other with olive oil/salt. I’ll report back here with the results!

 

[gam3rchic]

Really, you use olive oil on the skins and they STILL come out crispy?
I think I’m gonna have to accept your challenge next time I make baked potatoes. I’ll cut one in half, do one with the tiny bit of butter/salt and the other with olive oil/salt. I’ll report back here with the results!

I love scientific experiments, especially when you can eat the results LOL.

 

[shannyk]

Really, you use olive oil on the skins and they STILL come out crispy?
I think I’m gonna have to accept your challenge next time I make baked potatoes. I’ll cut one in half, do one with the tiny bit of butter/salt and the other with olive oil/salt. I’ll report back here with the results!

They do indeed, I promise, I wouldn’t tell a lie! However, I think really butter or oil will work, I mean butter is almost all fat and oil is all fat, and since both will make things crispy, I think they’ll both work comparably. Actually in theory (not in practice) you’d wonder if the butter would make them not as crispy because it has some water in it. I’m sure thought that the water evaporates out quickly and you’re left with fat to make it crispy. I’ll have to try too,next time I do baked pots, and that’s not often, too many carbs for little old moi.

Could this be the very first CAF Throwdown??? Where is Bobby Flay when you need him

 

[Jennifer_J]

Father Leo and Bobby Flay Throwdown!
gracebeforemeals.com/

I haven’t seen it because we don’t have cable, but how cool is that?!

 

[shannyk]

I saw that one, it was great. Fr was so cute, and he WON. You knew he was going to win when he busted out the Rosary LOL. Love that show when I can catch it.

 

[ac_claire]

They do indeed, I promise, I wouldn’t tell a lie! However, I think really butter or oil will work, I mean butter is almost all fat and oil is all fat, and since both will make things crispy, I think they’ll both work comparably. Actually in theory (not in practice) you’d wonder if the butter would make them not as crispy because it has some water in it. I’m sure thought that the water evaporates out quickly and you’re left with fat to make it crispy.

Well in theory the oil should not make the skin crispy. In my experience with roasted vegetables butter sometimes makes things not as crispy as they’d be without the butter (if you use a lot of butter anyway), but the flavor exchange is worth it. But because it can scortch, it will make a crispy skin if the food is under some intense pro-longed heat. 400 degrees for 45 minutes should do it lol. Maybe the secret is using such a tiny amount? And then the salt of course draws moisture out of the skins which helps up the crunch-factor.

Could this be the very first CAF Throwdown??? Where is Bobby Flay when you need him

LOL Bobby Flay would involve a grill and homemade salsa somehow. We don’t need all that! I’m gonna try the two methods tonight as a side with grilled meatloaf. We’ll see what happens!

 

[ac_claire]

They do indeed, I promise, I wouldn’t tell a lie! However, I think really butter or oil will work, I mean butter is almost all fat and oil is all fat, and since both will make things crispy, I think they’ll both work comparably. Actually in theory (not in practice) you’d wonder if the butter would make them not as crispy because it has some water in it. I’m sure thought that the water evaporates out quickly and you’re left with fat to make it crispy.

Well in theory the oil should not make the skin crispy. In my experience with roasted vegetables butter sometimes makes things not as crispy as they’d be without the butter (if you use a lot of butter anyway), but the flavor exchange is worth it. But because it can scortch, it will make a crispy skin if the food is under some intense pro-longed heat. 400 degrees for 45 minutes should do it lol. Maybe the secret is using such a tiny amount? And then the salt of course draws moisture out of the skins which helps up the crunch-factor.

Could this be the very first CAF Throwdown??? Where is Bobby Flay when you need him

LOL Bobby Flay would involve a grill and homemade salsa somehow. We don’t need all that! I’m gonna try the two methods tonight as a side with grilled meatloaf. We’ll see what happens!

 

[shannyk]

ac I’m curious what you’re doing with oil to not make things crispy? Maybe we’re two different kinds of cooks I did a short stint in culinary school and from what I learned and what I do here at home oil+roasting=crispy, caramelized. Maybe you’re right, the small amount of oil is the key. If you drown things in oil they’ll just kinda sautee/stew.

I tried baking potatoes on the grill a few times but it takes.so. looooong. But I like to put precooked reds cut in rounds on the grill on skewers, brushed with olive oil, S and P. The char on them is nice.

Let me know how the Throwdown goes! I do my own tonight but I’m making butternut squash, sun dried tomato and beef stew.

 

[whatevergirl]

ac I’m curious what you’re doing with oil to not make things crispy? Maybe we’re two different kinds of cooks I did a short stint in culinary school and from what I learned and what I do here at home oil+roasting=crispy, caramelized. Maybe you’re right, the small amount of oil is the key. If you drown things in oil they’ll just kinda sautee/stew.

I tried baking potatoes on the grill a few times but it takes.so. looooong. But I like to put precooked reds cut in rounds on the grill on skewers, brushed with olive oil, S and P. The char on them is nice.

Let me know how the Throwdown goes! I do my own tonight but I’m making butternut squash, sun dried tomato and beef stew.

mmmm that sounds heavenly, shanny.
I record Giada’s shows weekly, and she made something similiar last week.

 

[ac_claire]

ac I’m curious what you’re doing with oil to not make things crispy? Maybe we’re two different kinds of cooks I did a short stint in culinary school and from what I learned and what I do here at home oil+roasting=crispy, caramelized. Maybe you’re right, the small amount of oil is the key. If you drown things in oil they’ll just kinda sautee/stew.

I tried baking potatoes on the grill a few times but it takes.so. looooong. But I like to put precooked reds cut in rounds on the grill on skewers, brushed with olive oil, S and P. The char on them is nice.

Let me know how the Throwdown goes! I do my own tonight but I’m making butternut squash, sun dried tomato and beef stew.

Yumm that sounds so good! As for the oil, I don’t know!! But you mentioning carmelized makes me think the high heat might be the difference. Maybe the times I’ve done it I have’t used a high or strong enough (or long enough?) blast of heat/fire. And maybe too much oil…?? I’ll tell you what I’ve done before…Mostly I’ve shaken up some cut broccoli and other times sliced potatoes in a plastic bag with a little bit of oil and spices, then roasted. Probably I did it at around 350-375 degrees, 15-30 minutes depending on the vegetables.

I should know for sure very soon. The potatoes are cooking as we speak, (425 degrees.)

 

[ac_claire]

Ok the Throwdown results are in!!

The two potatoes came out…with just about exactly the same level of crispiness!

So I stand corrected re: my oil = soggy comment. I guess it must have been I was using too much oil and/or at too low of a heat in previous attempts. I have to say I still prefer the butter, on general principle. I think the butter skins tasted slightly better, but if so it was really so slight I might have been imagining it.

 

[shannyk]

mmmm that sounds heavenly, shanny.
I record Giada’s shows weekly, and she made something similiar last week.

haha that is funny WG. I had to go look this up at foodtv.com just to see and her recipe and mine are very similar, actually almost identical! And here I thought I was being little miss original with my squash in there…guess not! It was delish BTW.

Yumm that sounds so good! As for the oil, I don’t know!! But you mentioning carmelized makes me think the high heat might be the difference. Maybe the times I’ve done it I have’t used a high or strong enough (or long enough?) blast of heat/fire. And maybe too much oil…?? I’ll tell you what I’ve done before…Mostly I’ve shaken up some cut broccoli and other times sliced potatoes in a plastic bag with a little bit of oil and spices, then roasted. Probably I did it at around 350-375 degrees, 15-30 minutes depending on the vegetables.

AH HA! I think it was your low temp here that was the culprit. In my mind that is more of a baking temp not roasting temp, by roasting I mean high heat, for carmelization. So it wasn’t your oil it was your temp!

Ok the Throwdown results are in!!

The two potatoes came out…with just about exactly the same level of crispiness!

So I stand corrected re: my oil = soggy comment. I guess it must have been I was using too much oil and/or at too low of a heat in previous attempts. I have to say I still prefer the butter, on general principle. I think the butter skins tasted slightly better, but if so it was really so slight I might have been imagining it.

YAY! So this is a win win situation, we were both right AND you had too yummy crispy potatoes! The first ever Throwdown tie

I don’t doubt for a second the butter tastes better, how can it not? it’s butter!

 

[ac_claire]

YAY! So this is a win win situation, we were both right AND you had too yummy crispy potatoes! The first ever Throwdown tie

I don’t doubt for a second the butter tastes better, **how can it not? it’s butter!:**p

Indeed it is, my friend. Butter just makes everything good!

 

[ac_claire]

YAY! So this is a win win situation, we were both right AND you had too yummy crispy potatoes! The first ever Throwdown tie

I don’t doubt for a second the butter tastes better, **how can it not? it’s butter!:**p

Indeed it is, my friend. Butter just makes everything good!

This is probably not a new trick, but when I’m sauteeing vegetables or onions or making grilled chicken, etc. I like to use a mixture of olive oil and butter. You get the best of both worlds that way…the health benefits and durability (no scorching!) of oil and the buttery good taste of butter.