Seattle_Chef
New member
- Dec 3, 2011
- 36
- 0
- Thread starter
- #21
An electric kettle is an electric tea pot basically... it just heats the water to a boil really fast... like 64oz can be heated in about 2.5 minutes or so. Clearer X = Cleaner X, meaning whatever brand you use.
So basically, these fancy tools just make the job easier and are a great investment when you are "flush with cash" and want a toy to make the job a bit easier?
Let me test my understanding a bit...
Here seems to be the basics needed to get started:
* 2 large buckets with grit guards... and maybe the cool caster things so they roll around, but these are not needed
* DA tool with assorted plates and pads
* 5hp shop vac with assorted attachments and maybe 10-20' of hose
* Exterior soft brush(es), wash mit, and a heavy duty non-scratch sponge, and an extension pole.
* Nice tire and wheel brush
* A good hose nozzle
* An extension cord with maybe female receptacles
* Assorted auto washes, clay bar w/ spray lube, cleaners, polishes, AIO, waxes, glass cleaners, interior cleaners, carpet/ upholstery cleaners, vinyl cleaners, leather cleaners, and conditioners for interior as well?
* a large supply of good quality microfiber clothes ion varying thicknesses?
* initiative
* sticktoitiveness
* and please don't take offense to this... but a strong back and a weak mind... meaning, willingness to get in there and work hard and not over think it.
* oh, and a willingness to sell your services
Does this about cover it?
As far as your soup goes... It doesn't matter how you make it, as long as the desired result is what you're looking for in your soup.
Here is what I would start with if I were in your shoes and wanting to learn to cook... First, decide what style of cooking you like. Some folks like meat and potatoes, some like soups and stews, some like nuts and twigs and chit like that. Once you know the style of food you would like to start learning I can give you some basic guidelines...
However, IMHO you need to start with learning to make stock. It doesn't matter what style of food you like, all can benefit from stock. I'm not talking about bouillon cube, those are trash and have no business being a part of your kitchen unless your stocking up for doomsday... and in that case put them next to the Twinkies.
Do yourself a favor this weekend. Friday after work stop off at Costco. Pick up a roasted chicken($4.99), they are whole chickens that are already cooked and ready to eat. When you get home pull all the meat off the bones. You can hack the hell out of it, doesn't really matter. The goal is not the meat, it's the bones and the bits on the ends that you normally spit out, or pick off. Anything on that bird that is not meat, skin, fat(though a little will not hurt) and the string thing they use to hold the bird in the position it's in during cooking, Even the juice at the bottom of the pan.
This will seem like a lot, but it boils down to cooking the veg in the biggest pot you have, adding the bones and bits, water and cooking for a few hours. Straining it, cooling it and cleaning the fat off. This is what stock making is all about. Do NOT add salt.... You do that at the end of your dish to heighten the flavors.
Dice up 1 large or 2 med onions, 1-2 carrots, and 2-3 ribs of celery. These don't have to be perfect unless you would like to practice your knife skills. These you will sweat in a large pot(biggest you have probably) starting with the onions. Do this over a medium-med high heat with about 2Tbsp(enough to almost cover the bottom of the pan). The onions will turn clear-ish, meaning not really white, then add the carrots and celery (and a bit of garlic if you like, I don't but a lot of people do). You are looking to bring out the flavors of the aromatics here.
Once they are cooked a bit you will add the bones(w/all those end cartilage bits too) and cover with water, say 4-8 cups depending on the pot, bigger the better.
Now, this is the hard part. Bring it up to a simmer, meaning that it's just starting to bubble a bit. You will now need to adjust the heat down a bit. The goal is to keep it at that simmer point. Let it do it's thing here for a few hours, the longer the better really. It will cook down, you are pulling all the flavor out of the bones and bits. This is the stock. You might have to add water over the course of the cooking time. The longer you can cook it like this the better, I've been known to put my stocks in a 200 degree over over night with the lid on.
Once you are satisfied with the depth of flavor you have created it's time to strain and cool it off. You want to be very careful not to burn yourself or spill it. This stuff is like gold here, so be careful. The goal here is to create surface area exposed to the air. I use 2" pans like your wives 9x13 pans. You need to get it into the cooling pans, without the bones, bits or veg. I will leave that up to you to figure out your process. Once it's in the pans it will cool fastest if you stir it around once in a while, like you would do to cool your soup a bit before eating it.
Once it's cooled to around room temp you can put it in the frig to finish the process and get it below 40 degrees. Now, you will have a layer of fat on top and a jelly type stuff on the bottom. Skim off the fat without taking the jelly stuff with it. You don't have to get it all, just most. If you're going to use it in the next couple days leave it, if you're not, then you need to store it. Personally, I pour it in ice cube trays, freeze it, pop them out and put the frozen cubes in a gallon ziplock bag. Then when you need stock for sauces or whatever, put a few out and pop them in the pan to thaw. Easy as that.
This is what you will use for soup, rice, sauces for any chicken dish. This is what will bring soooo much flavor to everything you cook. You can do this with beef bones, turkey bones, pork, even fish bits. If your a vegetarian, you can make straight veg or mushroom stock.
