Friday, February 29, 2008
another question
I know this blog is supposed to be about recipes but I have a another question. First of all, let me say that I have discovered why I like casseroles and one pot dishes so much - because it is so hard to get everything on the table and for it all to be hot. How did my mom do it? I guess I should ask her - but I thought I would ask all of you as well. Any ideas? Usually the mashed potatoes or the vegetable end up being cold while the meat finishes cooking. Is this a problem for anyone else and does anyone have any helpful hints?
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5 comments:
I used to really have trouble with this, and it took a lot of joy out of cooking. I mean to watch the veggies getting cold, knowing that popping it in the microwave would take something away from the fresh-out-of-the-oven taste was frustrating. But what I began doing was as I started planning the meal, I would think about how long each thing should take to cook and then I would set a timer or timers to tell me when to start the next part.
For example the other night I made pork tenderloin (35 min to cook) and broiled garlic asparagus (20 min to cook) and Pasta-Roni (about 8 min to cook). So I set the timer on the pork for 35 min, and then I set a timer on the microwave to go off after 15 min--leaving me 20 min of cook time for the asparagus. And then I set the microwave timer for 12 min, which signaled me to put in the pasta since it was 8 min before the pork and asparagus would be done. Kind of takes some thinking, but that's what has helped me. I hope this makes sense--it did in my head.
Yep, Ryan, your reasoning makes sense! You're quite good at timing things to come out at once. I've always been impressed. :)
I do it a little differently- probably the lazy way. I try to only have one item in each meal that needs to be served immediately. Like if I do mashed potatoes, I make sure my meat can sit for a little while in a warm oven, and serve a salad or veggie casserole with it, both of which can sit for a little while without being bad. I love my rice cooker for this main reason- it can sit and sit and sit until everything else for the meal is done.
Oh yeah, and I updated my meal list!
I should have said that after a while I've gotten to the point where I don't have to set timers for every meal--I kind of just keep a mental tab. But then the other night when I was making this dinner, I wanted to catch up w/ Ken, so I sat down and talked w/ him b/t timers. I knew I wouldn't be paying attention to the timing which is why I made sure to set them.
But then I've had the occasion where I didn't set the timer and I got to the point where everything was ready and I realized that, dang it, I forgot to boil the noodles! Or something like that. All that to say, you probably won't be locked in to timer setting for the rest of your cooking career--it starts to become second nature.
Oh, and thanks Joc.
Thanks for the advice! The other night I made company chicken, rice, biscuits, and lima beans. I looked at all the times and tried to work it just right. It worked great! Everything was hot and on the table and Jonas started screaming that it was time for him to eat. I guess I can only orchestrate so much...so my meal was cold but the point was that it got on the table hot! Thanks again!
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