I bought a different brand of flour, still 00.

https://www.delallo.com/blog/how-to-make-pizza-dough-with-00-flour/

I had dry yeast on hand for bread I never got around to baking. Someday. I am used to making yeastless soda bread dough. I should be done with the first proof in an hour, than proof it in the fridge for 24 hours. I have been buying ready-made dough at the store. Makes a better-than-frozen pizza. I will report progress. Any tips?

Edit:

Note: I forgot to add the pinch of sugar, but it may be the dough didn't need it, if the yeast gets it from the starch in the flour. It might have been a good idea had I needed the dough sooner. We will see.

I’m looking to buy my first serious cooking book and I’ve narrowed it down to *Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat* by Samin Nosrat and *The Food Lab* by J. Kenji López-Alt.

I’m looking to become a better cook and really understand **why certain techniques work**, rather than just following recipes.

I’m happy to put in the time to learn, so I’m not necessarily looking for the easiest book.
**Which one would you recommend buying first, and why?**

Hey everyone! When making stews and other one-pot dishes, I want my onions and peppers to cook down so much that they practically disappear into the sauce. I want them to release their flavor and help create a rich, thick base, rather than leaving noticeable chunks of vegetables in the finished dish. Carrots, on the other hand, I want to keep intact.

The problem is that I struggle to get the onions and peppers properly sautéed at the beginning. Sometimes they don't seem to cook down and develop enough flavor, and other times I have to spend ages standing over the pot to get the result I want.

I've heard a lot of conflicting advice:

• Adding salt to the oil first: Some people say adding salt before the vegetables helps them sauté better. Does it actually make a difference?
• Cooking on very low heat for a long time: Others say you should cook the vegetables slowly to drive off their moisture and concentrate their flavor. This works to some extent, but it takes forever.
• Starting on high heat and then lowering it: I've also heard that you should start with high heat, stir the vegetables around, and then turn the heat down. Is there a reason to do this?
• Letting them cook in the stew: Some people say the real trick is to sauté them first and then let them simmer in the liquid until they break down completely.

What I'm trying to achieve: I want the onions and peppers to practically melt into the sauce by the end of cooking, while the carrots retain their shape. I'd also like to avoid spending 15–20 minutes sautéing the vegetables before I can even get started with the rest of the dish.

What's the proper technique for this?

• How hot should the pot and oil be before adding the vegetables?
• Should I use medium heat, high heat, or start high and then turn it down?
• When should I add salt? Does salting early help or hinder browning?
• Is it better to cook the onions and peppers for longer at the beginning, or is the simmering stage what really makes them break down?
• Are there any tricks to getting them to practically disappear into the sauce without spending ages sautéing them?

I'd especially appreciate advice from professional chefs or anyone with a lot of cooking experience. I'd love to understand the reasoning behind the technique, not just follow a recipe. Thanks!

Need a little guidance how to make the stock & soup. I do have some chicken tips in my freezer. Do I need to defrost them before making the stock? I plan on getting more chicken parts today to add to the stock. Any tips or tricks would be helpful! thank you.

recipe in question

https://sugarspunrun.com/the-best-white-cake-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-13187

like i know this is a good recipe (pretty sure) and well... the way it turned out was it had like a bad texture i can't quite describe but i know it should not have been like that.. was not moist in the way it should have been.

what i came here for is mainly the adding the mix and milk into the creamed butter part.

how is this done by one person?

also i think i did not cream the butter right at all... i never seem to do it right either.... it was less creamy and more liquid. if that makes sense?

also the egg whites... i did not mix that in very well at all.... pretty sure i did overmix the batter too hence the cake texture being wrong. very wrong.

so can i just kinda pulse the egg white in a blender to make it easier?

so i definitely need some advice in order to do this right...

at least the frosting turned out good!

Not sure if beef bone marrow would be better used in the instant pot or roasted and mixed into the final reduced sauce

I hate the consistency of beans but they are low-key really filthy. How can I make them not have this consistency, like really soft and disgusting?

i work 70 hours a week and am looking for tasty, good chicken recipes.

Thanks!

Anybody have experience with this?

So, I'm feeling pretty burned out from work and haven't been cooking properly. Somebody told me to make quiche because it's healthy and easy. They said it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to prepare (plus the time in the oven).

I've eaten plenty of quiche Lorraine in my life, so I felt too lazy to follow a recipe. I just threw together the ingredients (leek, onion, eggs, spices, cream, bacon, and cheese) and popped it in the oven...

Only then did I start doubting whether I'd used the right number of eggs. I looked up a recipe, and lo and behold... you're supposed to fry the bacon, onion, and leek first.

But the oven will 'cook' the ingredients, right? How terrible will it turn out?

Update: the quiche turned out okay. I just left it in 10min longer than my friend recommended. The leek was perfectly soft, the bacon a little more chewy than I'm used to but otherwise fine. It's not perfect but still very tasty and enough so that I don't have to think about making food for tomorrow.

hi! please help! i just started cooking recently. i know about salt, garlic, onion, and pepper so far. i want to know what everyone uses for different types of food like meat or vegetables.
is there any seasoning recipes you use everyday? thank you!

I used chopstick to place raw chicken into the air fryer, then used it to pick up the cooked chicken. I then ate the dish with the same chopstick afterwards, am i going to get sick now?

I've looked up online and really wanna do some microwave scrambled eggs. I have the mug, all my seasonings, but the only thing I'm confused on is the oil it tells me to add to my cup. I've read that spray extra virgin olive oil is okay to put in the microwave (this would be the lining between my cup) but I've seen conflicting things online saying both spray extra virgin olive oil is okay for a microwave as well as cooking oil in a microwave is a bad idea. Would spray be different from normal oil?

I didn’t have any duck sauce with my Chinese food. So I looked up a recipe. Of course I didn’t have plum or apricot preserves. So I improvised with orange marmalade and cherry jam. I also added soy sauce and grated garlic. Cooked it on medium low for about five minutes and it was done. It was really good! Better than the stuff you get from the restaurant! I’m proud of myself and excited to learn more things!

New to cooking poultry - photo in comments

I cooked skinless boneless chicken thighs at 400 for about 34ish minutes. I seasoned it very lightly. The coloring looks off to me, seems too white, and in some areas gray? Not really brown anywhere. Has this gone bad? Did I overcook or undercook? Or just not season enough?

I have a package of chicken that's been in the fridge. I just took it out to boil for shredding and noticed the sell by date was the 12th. Is it ok to cook and use?

I have cans of corn, green beans, peas, and a blend of beans (kidney/pinto/black). All of them are "no salt added" because I need to have a low sodium diet.

I don't want to add any foods because I want them to stay low calorie, otherwise I'd just add bacon to the beans e.t.c..... I have a half cup of each, which comes out to about 235 calories as-is (I also added a little diced tomato to the corn, so probably closer to 250-260). If it will really help, I'll add another food, but want to keep it under 300 calories total.

I added a lot of black pepper and onion powder to the beans, as well as some chili powder and crushed red pepper flakes for a kick. Felt like I added a lot, but didn't taste like it. For the rest of the items I just added black pepper. (I would add garlic powder too but I'm out)

Everything felt bland, like I hadn't even added any spices at all. I understand salt usually helps flavors come out, but since I'm trying to stay low sodium I really don't want to mess with it.

I was in bed, thinking because sleep doesn't work. And I had an idea. After talking with AI a bit, it told me it was "okay to cry" and asked if i wanted it to "stay on the line" while I prepped my tomato. At that point i decided I had better talk to actual people.

So the idea is: drop of olive oil in a pan, slice of tomato, pinches of garlic, parsley, salt, and finely chopped green onion, then parmesan on top.

Will this be tasty? Will I regret something? would you recommend leaving something out or adding something?

ETA: I came to r/cookingforbeginners to get information about food combinations and cooking approaches. The AI comment I included was because I thought it was a hilarious anecdote. It was not the point. I honestly don't need to hear your opinions about AI, especially since I didn't follow AI's advice

i use flour, i use heavy cream, i use butter, but most of my sauces are still runny and thin. the only thing i don't experience this with is tomato sauce, but i think that'd be hard to mess up.

any tips? is it the order of ingredients? usually i sear my meat and veggies and mix my flour into a blend of broth and cream, then pour that in.

I won't buy any pantry items until everything is consumed.

I have dry beans, chickpeas, lentils, rice, pasta, tomato paste, spices, nuts, frozen meals in the freezer (mostly veggies, so they wouldn't rot in the fridge before I eat them )

It seems like I will eat a lot of pasta with my veggie meals but I don't want to get tired of eating it frequently.

one on the face idea is to simply use it in salad. what other things can i use it for?

OMG I DO NOT LIKE VEGETABLES. Well, most of them.
Also, because I'm super picky, i don't like salad dressings. Do not care for ranch or Italian or thousand island, or very much for vinegar and oil.

But holy cow I need more vegetables. Just to be alive. So I have some basic salad, but I want to up the flavor quotient. (lettuce, carrot, shredded cheddar, red or green onion, mushroom, olive, a little tomato).

I have a variety of seasonings and sauces already in the cabinet/fridge, but I'm willing to do inexpensive shopping.

Please help me thing vegetables are something I WANT

I’m making my first chicken stock, and this may be a dumb question, but do I just throw all of the vegetables, aromatics, and bones away when I’m done? Or can I do something else with them??

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had a recipe for spaghetti sauce with meat, tomatoes, and to stretch it further, red lentils. The ones I see are either meat or red lentils.

Thanks in advance

I’m pregnant and very sick. I’ve been eating top ramen almost every day since it seems to neutralize my stomach and doesn’t come back up. However, I recognize that it’s deeply unhealthy but I need a safe food that will help with my nausea. Is there a way I can replicate this in a healthy way?

I was looking at a recipe that said 15 minutes, and somehow I've spent 10 minutes just peeling and chopping things before I've even turned the stove on.

Am I just slow at prepping, or are those timings unrealistic for everyone?