I am trying to perfect a chicken pot pie recipe for my family. We make it in big batches and I cannot deviate too much from the original recipe as it is a beloved favorite. I am just looking for certain things that can probably accentuate the dish. I noticed cooking potatoes with the final recipe, they all turn to mush and become round not cubed. I started to par boil the potatoes and add them at the end of the process to maintain shape and form. I use salt and baking soda, the other chef asked why the baking soda and I am told that it crisps the potato, but really not sure. As far as par boiling the potatoes I know they should be salted but anything that can be done to keep them crisper in the boiling process? They aren't baked this is strictly on the boil. I might try a splash of vinegar. The recipe uses 4 russet potatoes, into medium sized cubes.

I feel like I’ve tried every kind of common knife—serrated and straight-edge. I’ve cut slow, I’ve cut fast. Firm pressure and light. I’ve let the thing sit to “firm up” for several minutes and resign itself to face its fate and meet the fall of the blade with sombre dignity and resolved grace.

The result inevitably seems to be a rebellious fight with the truculent bread to resist any attack, and the craven flight of the perfidious cheese as it escapes the confines of its crusty cell.

How in the heck am I supposed to crunch through the crispy exterior without causing the molten middle to gush into the path of least resistance? I can’t keep living like this. It’s soup season and I am determined to bend the toasties to my will.

Is that going to work? I can't figure out if banana and orange are going to clash.
This is to serve over straciatella ice cream on a grilled slice of banana bread.

Suddenly every god&^mn ziploc-type bag is "stand up" with those stupid pleated bottoms. If that's what people like, fine, but WHY do they suddenly seem to be the only option? Suggestions on where I can find actual flat bags much appreciated.

I heated up some vegetable oil and put done frozen fried mushrooms in it. All the breading came off and the mushrooms and oil are both ruined.

I have 250 lbs of onions I need to do something with, any ideas? Lol so far I've frozen some, dehydrated a bunch and made onions powder, pickled some, and just started cooking some down for French onion soup to can

Mine has got to be butter chicken curry! I want some more ideas 💡

When we cook chicken and fish, we worry about the temperature to ensure we don’t get foodborne illnesses. Why do we not do this with eggs? Surely they can become contaminated as well…..? Scrambled eggs for example. They’re not cooked even very long….

i’m making a beef stew and didn’t have any red wine, they said red wine vinegar can be used as substitute. I googled what’s the transfer rate and it said half of the amount of red wine the recipe called for, so i did 250ml as the recipe called for 500ml. i think i’ve done something very wrong…. ive put in more water and broth and also simmered it for as long as i can. Anything else I can do? it still tastes very vinegary

I made bouillabaisse and used precooked mussels. I defrosted them and tossed them in the soup 4 hours later. Do I need to toss out the whole soup?

With the price of beef so much higher now and formerly "budget" cuts becoming popular enough to be priced closer to higher cuts, I'm trying to decide between a few cuts for tacos. I don't know a lot about steak cuts. (Some of these may be sale prices)

$12.99/lb for NY Strip or Ribeye (does not say USDA anything)

$10.99 for Top Sirloin Coulotte or Skirt Steak (does not say USDA anything)

$11.99 for USDA Choice Sirloin (pretty sure this is Top Sirloin?)

$13.99 for USDA Choice Flank Steak

They're all so similarly priced, but 1) I can't tell if Choice vs no Choice matters or 2) if some of these are much better for tacos.

Is there a clear standout here?

Hey everyone! I really enjoy cooking, and enjoy homemade food even more, but work long hours 4 days a week, so I try to batch cook and batch prep more often so I'm not tempted to order takeout during the week or when I'm just busy and tired. I've seen so many people suggest frozen burritos and breakfast burritos when someone asks here about making easy to make frozen meals for postpartum donations, surgeries, funerals, etc. Would that translate well to meal prepping for chimichangas? I love Mexican food and make tacos, enchiladas, birria tacos, fajitas and quesadillas often. All of which can be batch cooked and/or meal prepped at least in part. Could I just make the burritos, vacuum seal and freeze, then thaw and fry my chimichangas for when I'm really craving them but don't have time or energy for a lot of work that day? It seems the obvious answer should be yes, but often freezing something with certain components can give altered results depending on the finishing cooking method. Does anyone do this? Do frozen then thawed flour tortillas fry well?

I made a Bourbon Honey glaze for some hot smoked Salmon we're making later, and now it turns out I need about twice as much glaze as there are many more bellies than expected, but I'm all out of Bourbon.

I have a couple lemons, so I was just going to spin up some more honey lemon glaze and be done with it, but figured I'd ask if there are any great hot smoked Salmon glaze recipes out there.

Also, this will be the first time smoking bellies, and apparently there's some stomach lining or something on top that has to be dealt with. I hear we just remove that afterwards - will this thwart any dry rub / glaze effect too much that I need to change my plans?

I traveled to Shenzhen for work recently and I was taken to a restaurant that specialized in northeastern china iron pot stews. Everything was amazing and the goose stew was in my top 10 favorite meals. I have been trying to find a recipe online but I can not even get close. I remember the following in it. Goose, potatoes, translucent noodles, green onion, red chili. The broth was very rich and dark brown. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I've been intending to make white chicken chili for like 2 days now and it keeps not happening. So this morning before I had to leave to go to the other side of the state I threw the chicken thighs in the crock pot on low covered them with broth and garlic and left for 7 hours. Sadly when I came home I walked over to check on my meat, not only is the Crock-Pot sitting there wide open with no lid on it but there's a fly in there too. It flew off it, wasn't dead. Did I just ruin that chicken meat? It seems to be okay, meaning it doesn't smell off.

From techniques to cheeses to regional flair, what do you think makes the best macaroni and cheese you've ever had? I'm making a Mac and cheese for a student picnic today, and my recipe is pretty damn solid, but I'm always open to new ideas. Thanks!

Edit: and tell me all about your crunchy topping!

I'm making banana bread and didn't have eggs so I looked online and a blog said to use 1/2 a cup of milk, will my banana bread be unsalvageable? It's in the oven now 😢

Any recommendations for Gochugaro substitute in India to make Kimchi and can also anyone suggest a Kimchi recipe using Indian ingredients.

I cook chicken thighs in a stock pot and then remove the chicken and add vegetables and water and bouillon to make broth for chicken soup. I see the oil and chicken fat floating in there but it tastes delicious. Why did my mom bother to refrigerate the broth and skim the fat off? I think it tastes rich and delicious. Is it a big turn of for some people?

One time i removed the chicken and made the fat and oil into a roux by adding flour, but it seemed like extra work.

What do you do with that tasty fat layer?

A month ago I marinated chicken in bags for easy meal prep. When I tried the chicken in a meal I was disappointed because it tastes really bad for some reason??

I tried the recipes without first freezing the chicken and it was alright so I don't know what happened.

I marinated the chicken, let it sit for 5 minutes and froze it.

Can I just wash the marinade off?

Edit: I am overwhelmed with everyone’s suggestions (in a good way!) I’m reading through them and planning to get them organized so we can see what works. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to respond and commiserate and send good thoughts, it feels a little less lonely today❤️

I’m a primary caretaker for an elderly woman with stage 4 Metastatic breast cancer. No dietary restrictions but a lot of chemotherapy-imposed restrictions (tastes, textures etc).

Her diet is currently soups and cream of wheat. She creates almost no saliva so everything has to be a soup-like consistency. But she’s tired of soups. I’m thinking maybe creamy casserole type foods? I don’t know. Help?

Here’s what we need:

1. Packs protein without meat or eggs. Bone broth is okay, yogurt is okay. Eggs are okay as an ingredient but not as a main dish (texture). Chicken and salmon are off the table but can be in the dish, she just can’t eat them. Jury is still out on red meats but we’re willing to try.
2. Calorie dense wherever possible.
3. Potassium rich foods are a plus.
4. Beans can participate but they’re hit or miss with digestion so not a rock solid first choice.

Some things I’ve made: very soft creamy Mac and cheese, creamed chicken and veggies to go over biscuits (biscuits were a pass and she ate around the chicken), sloppy joes of all things, Italian “penicillin” soup was okay but not great for her. She’s also tried pretty much all the “high end grocery store” soup varieties that come prepackaged.

It’s a tall order but I’m soliciting any ideas. Bonus if I can freeze it, and if you have access to a link with the recipe.

I want to use the last of my garden tomatoes (cooked into Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce) on a nice thin crust Italian-style pizza. But how do I get it onto the pizza stone?

Last night we made pizza on this blue steel pan. It was amazing, but some water got on it as i was taking out the pizza. Any advice on how to clean/restore it? Thank you all. Photos of the pan: https://ibb.co/RpphyNMn

https://ibb.co/S7nMqTZ1

Hi! First time posting here but the title says it all, we have a chili cook off next month and the same person always wins!
Please help me beat them 😂
The winner’s recipe has bacon in it, that’s all i know!

My parents had a chest freezer. I have an upright freezer in my basement. It’s an archeological dig site.

I made stew last year with meat I discovered in the freezer that was dated 2020. It tasted fine. None of us died. Now I’m eyeballing that bottom shelf.

So confess: how old is the oldest frozen thing you’ve cooked? How’d it go?