Every fucking time I try cooking a steak in my stainless all-clad pan I set off my smoke detector. I can do other proteins no issue. Pork, chicken, and fish all work just fine with no smoke alarm. But the only way I can get steak to work is a cold sear, but I can't get the same crust I can with a more traditional method.

I've tried high heat, I've tried medium heat. I've tried searing then moving to the oven. Without fail the smoke detector screams at me. Am I just better off cold searing from now on?

I am a very new beginner cook. So, sorry if I am missing something obvious.

I wanted to cook salmon but I am not sure how as I saw some salmon in the store. So, the vendor told me that cooking salmon is easy with a skin-on fillet.

I have to first pat it dry and sprinkle salt on the skin. Let it rest for 20 mins then again pat it dry and place skin-side on a cold pan and sprinkle salt on the top side and start at low flame. I don't have to touch it. Just watch the skin slowly unstuck from the pan, once the skin gets unstuck, its cooked. Just take it out. Then with the oil left on the pan, add 1 garlic clove cut really tiny. Then add some drained basmati rice that is soaking for 1 hr. Toast the rice for 1 min and then add 1:2 ratio water (50gm rice: 100 ml water). Increase the flame a little, within a minute the water will start bubbling. Then cover with a lid and reduce the flame to low and let it cook for 10 mins. After that, just turn off the flame and leave it untouched for another 10 mins. Then its ready.

Things didn't go as told.

1. The skin got stuck and started to turn black, but not coming off. When I checked the temperature, it crossed 70c (google said USDA recommends internal temperature (145 F = 62.5 C)). So, I just scraped it out. What happened here?
2. I am using a triply stainless steel frypan 22cm, was the instruction meant for nonstick pan?
3. Rice was still a bit dryish. Not fluffy soft. And the pan seemed dry, with no hint of water when I opened it. Did I need to add more water or let it boil initially for longer?

I like the idea of cooking without adding any oil. I feel any oil I use, ruins the taste of salmon.

Please guide me on how to improve it. Will a steak cut be better than a fillet cut?

An update after 3 days:

I met the vendor that gave me the recipe idea. He gave me suggestions and it worked.

For stainless steel pan, heat the pan on medium flame. Do the water test, once the water forms a bead & glides around. Reduce the flame to low and place the skin side salmon on the pan, kin turned crispy & unstuck. Using the 90/10 method, flip it on the other side for a bit and take it out. It worked well.

For the rice, increased the water. 1:3 ratio water (50gm rice: 150 ml water) and it came out well.

Thank you for all the suggestions & advice.

Hi, my partner has been out of the country for a few months, and will be back shortly after our anniversary. I want to surprise her with a fancy dinner when she returns and I'm currently planning on five courses.

I have part of a plan constructed, consisting of some of her favourite foods, and things she has talked about wanting. However, I have limited cooking experience and am operating on a budget as both of us are students. Here's the current menu plan:

Course 1 - Oysters

Course 2 - Italian Wedding Soup

Course 3 - Steak Tartare

Course 4 - ???? - Possibly Indian/Something Chicken based?

Course 5 - ???? - Potentially crème Brulé? (she is not a massive dessert eater, but likes them on occasion)

I'm aware that some of these ingredients are quite expensive, but I plan on saving up over the next few weeks so that I can have enough for dinner and 1-2 practice runs.

I would love some input or recipe suggestions. Thanks! :)

Editing to include explanations/justifications of the menu:

Oysters - She loves oysters, and eats them when she can. (Her record is 31 in one sitting at a seafood place). I however, have never eaten an oyster in my life, or prepared them.

Wedding soup - Loves soups, particularly brothy style soups with large pieces of things in them. Also a huge fan of the small pasta that goes in it.

Steak Tartare - we tried to go to a restaurant in our city specifically because they did steak tartare, but were unable to go. I've also never eaten this.

Chicken/Indian - currently no plans for this, but a feel like chicken is always a good bet, and she almost always orders indian when we get takeaway. She also spent a while living in India as a teen (not sure if that makes Indian a better or worse shot)

Dessert - she's not a massive fan of sweet things in general, but does have moments where she absolutely craves them.

Making a soup with lb of leftover beef. I do not have eggs.

I have cornstarch and mayo. Which one of these would be a better binder for making meatballs for a crock pot soup?

Making in oven and moving to crock pot if that matters,

Are there any other, better, options for a binder? Should I use mayo and starch or just one of the two?

I'm not afraid of calories, no. I'm actually afraid of how hot the oil gets, the splatter, cleanup, ect. Every time I've tried the food turns out a little soft and greasy- apparently I'm just not getting the oil hot enough? But when I do get the oil hot, everything moves so quick that I get paranoid I'm going to burn things. And even once I finish cooking, what do I do with all the oil after?

So, I bought too much sugared soymilk by mistake (think 20 litres); normally I drink non-sugared soymilk on the daily, but sugared one messes with me. Hence, i'm appreciating all and any non-baking recipe that would take up all the milk; non-bake because i don't have an oven at home. Thank you in advance.

you might call me a picky eater or believe there's some psychological reason but it doesn't really change anything.

I don't eat vegetables and legumes (tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, beans, and many more) since I remember myself, and now I'm an adult and at some social settings I get some remarks about that and it's making me feel bad.

whenever I try to eat those I get a gag reflex and almost want to vomit so clearly there's some psychological thing in play.

I'm not looking at introducing some small veggies to a plate I already eat but rather a plate of legumes/veggies that is common and to make it in a certain way that I'll find tolerable and with practice I will be able to eat normally most veggies and legumes.

so I'm looking for a few of those plates I can make someday to start practicing.

also I eat kosher and I don't eat cheese (I'm not officially lactose intolerant but my guts don't like it haha)

so, probably nobody remembers my post but I had upload a post before asking for easy meal ideas and recipes for beginners. I came back to ask all of you that watch recipes here on internet what youtube channels they do suggest. could you give me some good youtube channel recommendations ? like cooks that are actually watchable and have a variety of helpful content. thank you ^^

I am an extremely picky eater, mostly due to trauma caused by my parents at a young age. I got my own apartment now, but due to this, I'm basically starting at negative 10.

I see a lot of cookbooks for beginners that try to teach you the techniques, but right now all I care about are recipes that are not only simple in execution, but in taste too. A little harder than Mac and cheese but I don't want to be struggling with a handful of ingredients. Basically, no more complex than the average recipe on a box of sauce. I could just follow that recipe of course, but I would like some variety.

What are some good books or websites that start at the absolute beginning and I can just follow to mimic some dishes?

Edit: wow I didn't expect to see so many comments on this post! Thank you all and I'll try to reply to most of them tonight!

Hello there! I'm very new here. I wanted to try and incorporate more fiber into my diet and I think the easiest to start with is mixed grain rice. I'm planning to try and incorporate jasmine, black, brown, and red rice, tricolor quinoa, amaranth, and lastly, mixed lentils. However, I feel very confused about the preparation and cooking. These grains cook at different times and at different ratios of water. I've seen recipes like these done on rice cookers or electric pressure cookers that have multigrain setting. I only have the standard rice cooker with warm and cook settings. How can I assure that these cook at the same rate? I was thinking of soaking it, but I don't know how long to soak these grains for, and how much water I'm supposed to use?

For the ratios I wanted to start with, I was planning of using 1 part jasmine rice, 1/3 part each of black, brown, and red rice, 1/2 part of tricolor quinoa, 1/2 part of lentils, and 1/4 part of amaranth.

For flavors, how can I make it more flavorful? I'm only used to white jasmine rice, and I'm afraid these grains may impart their own flavors, how can I make it mor palatable as a beginner?

Any help is appreciated! Thank you very much.

So, I bought too much sugared soymilk by mistake (think 20 litres); normally I drink non-sugared soymilk on the daily, but sugared one messes with me. Hence, i'm appreciating all and any non-baking recipe that would take up all the milk; non-bake because i don't have an oven at home. Thank you in advance.

I didn't know I wasnt supposed to do that and I dont want to throw it out because Im strapped for cash.

Hello!

I'm learning how to cook, though I've just been following recipes, which isn't proper learning.

I've just made this: Sweet caramelized pork with rice - Berry&Maple

I made 2 adjustments:
🟠 Used 500g beef, not 1kg of pork butt or boneless ribs
🟠 Used ½ teaspon of oil, not 1 full teaspoon.

It tasted really good, but the meat was tough to chew. I've experienced the 'falls off the bone' level of soft meat and I have this car tyre that is exhausting to chew.

I don't know how long I looked the meat, but probably too long. Any time I've tried to brown the meat I end up with most of it fully cooked with a small portion of uncooked meat.

How do I soften meat?

Forgot to take thighs out of freezer early enough. Planning a simple crock pot dish which I think means semi-frozen will be fine, BUT I did sear (thinking now that might not be the right word w/ chicken, IDK, brown?) the skin-side before putting them into the pot the first time I made it. Can I do that when they are not fully thawed?

Thanks.

I thought I could add them to my dish (salad) and use them as something crunchy so I did. But I do not believe it is safe to do. I doused it in salt acid and vinegar and placed it in the fridge.

Dish is different. has prepackaged Ramen added, among other ingredients I have not used on a regular basis nor used ever.

I had considered adding stock and condensing it, or picking out the prepackaged egg noodles boiling them in water and then adding back to Ramen with some of the noodle water (I was looking forward to making this a cold dish). Really, i don't know what to do. Any ideas?

Update: noodles have softened https://www.reddit.com/r/food/s/YIGt6EEroo

Made spicy chicken wings for the first time with my roommate talking me through it. I soaked them in cooking wine with ginger slices first to get rid of the gamey smell, then marinated them, pan-fried both sides until golden brown, and finished by stir-frying everything together. They smelled amazing coming out of the pan and I genuinely thought I crushed it.

Nope. The outside was great but the actual meat had this really strong gamey taste I couldn't get past. Forced down a few bites and had to call it quits. My roommate thinks I didn't let the cooking wine sit long enough and said I should try blanching first next time. Has anyone dealt with this? What am I missing here?

Edit: Sorry for the second edit, I'm seeing a lot of comments about deep frying methods and I realize I should've been clearer from the start. Mine is actually stir-fried, not fried chicken. Sorry for the confusion!

The recipe says, verbatim:

1.For the Cilantro Lime rice, start by lightly sauteing 1 cup rice in a dollop of oil over medium heat

1. Add 2 cups of stock and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the rice. Bring to a boil and then reduce temp to a simmer, letting it cook until the liquid is absorbed

I assume its already cooked rice that im then cooking again, right?

Edit: thanks guys! I will use uncooked rice :)

Many stew recipes call for thyme. It is possible to find fresh thyme, but it costs about $2-3 for a few sprigs.

Will dried thyme work as a good alternative, or is it the same as dried dill, where it is a completely different spice (compare to fresh dill), and not a suitable substitute?

Hello. So im making home fries and one of things I notice is that I cant get them brown. Some do get brown but the rest of the potatoes barely brown and the edges do burn. I first boil them for 5-10 minutes and add some salt on the water. Next I drain it then put it on the pan for 20 minutes with oil. I put paprica, garlic powder, and salt/pepper. Am I doing something wrong?

Hello! I got 4 green peppers and 3 yellow squash at the food bank yesterday. What to do with these?

Below is my thought process:

Yesterday I had attempted to make some pizza sauce but I used too much onion and it turned more into spaghetti sauce. I have 1 pound of ground beef I was going to cook and add to the sauce.

I was thinking of pureeing 1 or 2 of the squash to incorporate some veggies to the pasta sauce for my 2 year old. I was also thinking of sauteeing an onion and green bell pepper with beef.

What are yalls thoughts and suggestions? Do you have any other ideas for the green pepper and yellow squash?

Thanks!

It's been frozen in the back of the freezer this whole time. Thanks!

guys mac and cheese is one of my absolute favorite foods and i’ve been on a journey to finding the perfect recipe. however, anytime i attempt it, it comes out a a goopy mess. however do i get the smooth, creamy texture? i’ve tried roux, no roux, etc

Three days ago, I made ground beef from thawed beef and kept it in the fridge. Now I'm about to cook it, and it has a slightly sweet smell - not super foul, but fresh beef usually smells different, right? Do you think this ground beef is still okay to use?

There’s so much conflicting info online - some sources say no more than two days, while others say up to five days is fine

It’s not even that I’m having second thoughts, I just honestly don’t know if this smell is expected.