One of my guests for Christmas dinner is in recovery and while I know the alcohol will mostly cook away or I can get nonalcoholic red wine, I think I’d like to avoid it altogether. If anyone in recovery thinks I’m being overly sensitive, say the word, but otherwise I’d love some suggestions for substitutes.

I have some beef stock I just made. That and a bit of red wine vinegar? Caramelize a little tomato paste in the pot first?

I have tried making mulled wine multiple times. It tends to taste pretty good, but you can’t smell it. I really want my kitchen to smell nice. I put merlot and brandy in my crockpot with sliced oranges, cinnamon sticks, star anise, honey, and cardamom pods. I put the lid on, set it on low heat, and let it sit for 2 hours. It’s hot and tastes good, but I thought my kitchen would smell nice. Why doesn’t it?

My parents came back from French Polynesian and gifted me with fresh vanilla beans.

What ideas do you have for dishes where fresh vanilla truly makes a difference. Would love some creative ideas and links.

Bonus points if it's from Adam Ragusea or Sorted Foods!

I'm doing stuffed cabbage for Christmas this year. Typically, I would make ahead and freeze. Then just unthaw and reheat day of. I don't have the freezer space this year. My question is how far in advance do you think I can make the rolls and leave in refrigerator before cooking on Christmas day? Make ahead means it would be the raw ground beef rolled up into the cabbage leaves.

My workplace is having a potluck on Christmas Eve and I'd like to take wings. I'll shop today and am limited to big-box retailers due to rural location. Today and tomorrow I can prep and experiment.

I plan to take along some Marie's Chunky Blue Cheese, Hidden Valley Ranch, and my hot sauce collection, which ranges from everyday to quality to volcanic.

Would pre-cooked frozen wings be serviceable? Oven, stove, microwave, air fryer, and crock pots are available. I need to be able to set-it-and-forget-it for five hours, so I can go to work at 7am and have the wings ready at noon.

How would you do it within these limitations?

Asian-style meaning tons of oil, high heat, crispy edge. I'm thinking 5-6 inches so I can be more efficient with oil amount. Not sure on the material. The challenge primarily seems to be selection at this size.

Hi! Just picked up my weekly CSA box and there is an insane amount of radicchio. I’m hosting Christmas Eve dinner and would love to find a way to use it but I can’t find any recipes aside from the usual sautéed radicchio or salad. So far my menu consists of pork roast, sweet potatoes and cornbread. I don’t care if the radicchio doesn’t go perfectly with the other items as long as it’s tasty.
I appreciate any suggestions!

I bought more brown sugar of what i needed and ik you can do cookies with them and probably some cake n stuff but is there any food that uses brown sugar? The only thing that comes to my mind is orange chiken or asian sauces that require the soy sauce to thicken

Hi everyone,

I’m cooking both roast lamb and roast chicken for Christmas this year and want to make a delicious gravy. I’m considering mixing the juices from both meats, but I’m worried the flavor might end up too strong or unbalanced (especially because lamb has a stronger taste).

Would mixing the juices work well, or should I stick to separate gravies for each meat? If you’ve done this before, I’d love to hear your tips on balancing the flavors. Should I dilute with stock or add something else to mellow it out?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I have some chuck steak that I’m planning on slicing thin to make some sort of braised beef bowl. I don’t however have any of the listed ingredients so I’m wondering if there’s anything else I could make that would be similar.

I've noticed a curious phenomenon surrounding paella/paella-like rices, wherein there's an international concept of paella that bears little resemblance to the real thing; what's more, people will denigrate the real thing and heap praise on bizarrely overloaded dishes that authentic paella lovers would consider to have nothing to do with an actual paella. Those slagging off the real thing even boast technical expertise that would have them laughed out of any rice restaurant in Spain.

So I'm curious to know, are there any other similar situations with other dishes? I mean, not just where people make a non-authentic version from a foreign cuisine, but where they actually go so far as to disparage the authentic original in favour of a strange imitation?

I have a really nice blue crab claw from the market which I want to preserve because it’s really pretty. I was wondering what the best way of cleaning out the arm without having to break it open would be.

Thanks

I had a 12” misen that got a chip after kids used metal and excess heat.

Bought a highly rated Tramontina nonstick. The cooking area is much smaller -8.5 instead of 9.5”.

Any suggestions for a 12” that actually is a larger cooking area, for induction specifically? Not breaking the bank would be nice.

Hello, I tried szechuan pepper multiple times (mappo tofu, multiple stir fries, chilli oil, etc).

Two weeks ago, I visited a chinese place in my town. Reviews raved how authentic it is and they have the best mappo tofu (I am from Europe, we don't really have a lot of authentic chinese cuisine where I am from). I wanted to give mappo tofu another try and was really disapointed: it was overwhelmingly floral and soapy for me. Other people tried it. They said it was a bit floral but not as intense as I seem to taste it.

I seem to have this problem every time I taste something with szechuan pepper. I tried again and again but it destroys every dish for me.

I wondered if this is something genetic like soapy tasting cilantro or what is going on. When I eat with other people we try each others food and they don't seem to have the same problem.

I hoped I would get used to the taste but it hasn't happended yet. I even purchased a jar of chilli oil with szechuan pepper and added it to almost everything but it didn't help at all. It simply taste like adding detergent to my food.

Hello everyone! I’m curious as to how ideas on how I should prepare and cook a 15+lbs wagyu MS5+ ribeye loin. It’s been wet aged for ~14days, but is currently frozen. It will be going through the thawing process tomorrow in the fridge, to be served on Christmas Day.

I am avid steak enthusiast that has cooked plenty of ribeyes using different techniques from sous vide to reverse sear for the last 5 years. On Christmas day I hope to serve something wonderful that will leave my family in awe, but I am not sure how. I have never dealt with such a large cut before. The plan is to serve about 8-10 people for late-lunch, and I think only half is necessary to prepare since there will be other dishes. I am aiming to serve half the slab, do you guys have any recommendations?

TLDR: tastiest recommendations on how to prepare a wagyu ms5+ ribeye loin for 8-10 people.

Happy Holidays!! 🥂

Hey ya’ll as the title says I need ideas for meals I can prep for my father in law. He’s a bigger guy and we want to make sure he’s eating healthy and have some cheat meals here and there. I have some ideas of things I can make for him but I would appreciate any suggestions on food I could make for him that I can just put in the fridge and freezer so he can just put it in the microwave or air fryer.

I’m making a three course meal:

• carpaccio for starters
• a grilled ham with a cream sauce with green beens wrapped in bacon and potato puffs for main
• a orange biscuit trifle as dessert

Let me know what you are making!

Mine are stuffed celery and deviled eggs. What are yours?

I can’t figure out what to use these for. If it helps I’m allergic to all nuts. Recipes are appreciated!

Hi all,

We are having a turkey fried for us for a family Xmas today. The issue is we will be eating it about an hour after it’s done cooking. Is there a way to keep it warm and keep the bacteria at bay until it’s time to eat? Is a low temp in the oven the best way to do this? I don’t want to dry it out but I also don’t want it to be swarming with bacteria by the time I put the leftovers away. TIA!

Update: I finished cooking and had a bowl with a corn bread muffin. It tasted fine. It was actually delicious! I’ll do another update if I get food poisoning.

I am getting over bronchitis. I desperately wanted some beef vegetable soup so I went to the store and bought what I needed. The stew beef was packaged today and smelled fine when I took it out.

I seared the meat and threw onions in. Currently, it’s simmering in stock, diced tomatoes, bay leaves etc for about an hour before I add the other stuff. My husband came home and said, “Oh my god, what is that smell? It’s nauseating.” I was taken aback and told him I was making soup. He told me the beef must be bad and urged me not to eat it. I’m not smelling what he’s smelling but I’m a little stuffy. Does searing cause gross smells sometimes? I’m going to eat it. I’ll take my chances.

i am making Kartoffelklobe for the first time and serving later tonight. My question is, can i make them early and fridge them until i’m ready to boil several hours later tonight? thank you!

Making a standing rib roast (aka prime rib when the cut is prime) and all the instructions I see online call for salt and pepper. Have you used msg in place of some of the salt? How did it go?

Feel free to share any other tips you have! (My plan is to cook it as 200 f until the center hits 115, then finish in 550 f oven)

Hey everyone,

I tried making my own dulce de leche today but it did not turn out the way I wanted.

It looks like it's seperating...It's not smooth.

I boiled whole milk with sugar and vanilla until it started to look right. I'm wondering if maybe I cooked it too long? I wanted it to have the consistency of a paste (to use for filling linzer cookies and/or spreading on toast...).

The recipe I used: 1 liter of whole milk + 300g of sugar

Any tips are welcome.

(Sorry for any mistake, English isn't my first language).

Edit: added recipe.

I just happened to mention that I’m a Tzatziki fan and not a ranch fan. Dude chimes in saying there the same thing, I try to tell him the difference between the two and he cuts me off with “I’m a cook I know what I’m talking about”( he only ever shows me fried food he makes) so I just agreed with him and was like ok dude you win it’s the same….. how do y’all think it’ll go trying to make taziki out of buttermilk ?

For Christmas I'm planning to make Delia Smith's Squidgy Chocolate Log - I've made it the past 2 years and really like it as a Christmas Dessert. I've noticed that in in every single person's iteration of the recipe, there's a cautionary note in the instructions for the no-flour cake part.

You start the batter by whisking egg yolks until they start to thicken, and add castor sugar and whisk until it's incorporated. All recipes seem to warn not to let the mixture get too thick, but I can't seem to find a single one that explains why not. I don't want to make it too thick of course, I just want to understand what happens to the recipe if I did. Can any of you wise kitchen wizards ELI5?

Example recipe: Food.com Squidgy Chocolate Log

I got a 400W ricecooker a while ago and this is my first time encountering such a gadget. Where I live they usually only use them in restaurants.

I am planning on putting some rice, frozen prepacked vegetables and some thinly cubed chicken or ground beef. It only has a cook option that automatically switches to warm when the rice is cooked (no water), and no other options.

How much vegetables and meat (and whether raw or previously cooked) can I put inside without them being undercooked?

Will the water to rice ratio still be 1:1?

Will the ratio of rice to other ingredients matter in this case?

I use to hate cooking but now since I'm older I think I enjoy it a littleeee more. Cooking tests your patience because when recipes did not work out I would get frustrated and throw it away instead of finding another solution to salvage the dish. Now, I just so oh well and try to fix the recipe or eat it as is.