I want to use a bag of microwave rice for 2 days. I want to split it in half and put into 2 Tupperware for my lunches.

So Should I microwave the rice first and then separate in 2 and reheat when needed, or should I separate the bag first and then just microwave the halved rice in the tupperware each day ?

Is there a difference?

My family have a dish that we got out of a Horrible Histories Rotten Romans book when I was younger, called Numidian Chicken. It's a thick sauce made from dates, honey, cumin, coriander, mixed nuts, white wine vinegar and veg stock, thickened with breadcrumbs. It was nice with a roast yesterday but I've got a jar leftover, and am wondering what I could use it for as usually its just poured on top of Roast Meat & Veggies. I've got rice, pasta, couscous and some potatoes, along with basics like canned tomatoes and passata. Open to any ideas, need variety in my meals or I'll be too bored to eat them 😅

Just curious on how other folks are managing?

Today, I cooked and consumed steak for the first time in my life. Not a good experience.
I got some buff ribeye steak and cooked it in an airfryer but it turned out too chewy. After having 2-3 bites, I eventually had to throw the steak in the bin because it was too chewy (almost like bubble gum) to be eaten.
How I cooked the steak?

1. Applied some ghee on both sides of the frozen steak.
2. Sprinkled some Himalayan Pink Salt to both the sides.
3. Cooked both sides for 10mins each at 200°C and then eventually let the steak rest in the residual heat of the airfryer for 3-4 mins.

Please let me know where I went wrong. I am adding the link to the images below.

https://imgur.com/a/GRLMjUn

I’m searching for any and all recipes, tips and tricks this year to make the JUICIEST bird ever. I plan on cooking in the oven. Last year I used a recipe involving a cheesecloth and injecting it with herb butter and it came out great but I can’t seem to find the recipe.

I have never cooked a thing in my life, i have no idea how an oven works at all, how do i start?

Hi! I'm a bit of a spice noob and unfortunately I do not have a very refined palate. I suck at differentiating between different spices and their flavor profiles.

My usual apple cider recipe for a 2.5qt crockpot (on low for 2h or high for 1h if we're in a hurry) is 2qt of plain apple juice, 1 sliced up orange, 2 heaping tbps of brown sugar, 4 cinnamon sticks, and an unmeasured amount of whole cloves (I use a metal tea strainer and just kinda measure with my heart, but <1tbsp).

In a few weeks though, I'll be making a batch for a much larger group (20-25 people, just ordered a 10qt crockpot) and want to improve on my usual, however, every single recipe online calls for different whole spices, and I'm not sure which to add. I'm sure adding too many will overpower the cider and make it too spice-y.

Here are the options I've seen, please help me decide! Cardamom pods, whole nutmeg (or fresh ground), whole star anise, whole allspice, and fresh cut up ginger. These would be on top of the probably 7-10 sticks of cinnamon and 1-2tbps of cloves, unless I'm advised against these.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Oh yeah! And would it make much difference whether I find somewhere local to buy these whole spices, or would something like "The Spice Way Store" on Amazon suffice?

I want to make korma for my kids, but when we’ve tried the jars, it’s still too spicy for them. When I’ve looked at recipes, I can’t see what would be adding the heat. Can anyone help?

Sorry if the title is confusing, I'm a bit confused myself haha. My partner and I picked up a turkey for thanksgiving, but if I'm understanding the packaging it isn't a full bird. It says specifically: "FROZEN YOUNG TURKEY BREAST TURKEY BREAST WITH RIBS, PORTION OF BACK & WING MEAT, & NECK SKIN." All of the stuff about seasoning turkeys and stuff seems to be for full birds with instructions for putting butter/seasonings inside & under the skin. Has anyone prepared something like this? I don't know if it has a cavity, or whether there will still be skin to go under it, and Im having a hard time finding what I'm looking for online. It has instructions for the actual roasting part, just stuck on this.

Thanks!

I’m cooking homemade lentil soup. I’ve never had lentils before. Recipe said to bring soup to a boil then reduce heat to let simmer for at least an hour. My stove knobs are numbered 1 (low) to 10 (high). Do I place it on 1? Or something higher? Lentils are cooking in a Lodge Dutch oven pot in case that’s relevant to know. Thank you.

Hi everyone, looking for a little bit of help with the cook time on a 20 pound spatchcocked turkey. I’ll be taking over the cooking for Thanksgiving this year I need a little bit of help.

Planning on 350 degrees about how long? Or should I try a different temp?

Are there any good fully cooked frozen chicken breast brands to throw in a salad, for instance? Or are they all going to be dry, flavorless or stringy?

Sorry to the mods, I know this is not technically a recipe but it was the closest thing I had to what I'm going to post. I live in a studio apartment and my fire alarm is literally 10 ft away from the stove.

Any amount of smoke, no matter how miniscule it may be, sets It off. Then I have to open my window and my door and fan the fire alarm with a pillow for 5 to 10 minutes before it will stop beeping. Because of this, I unfortunately cannot do much cooking, especially late at night.

One night I had a craving for pasta but I didn't want to risk waking all of my neighbors up. I did some research, tested a few suggestions, and finally landed on the perfect way to do it.

Here are the steps:

1. Grab a microwaveable bowl or container.
2. Put the desired amount of pasta in.
3. Fill with cold water until it is about an inch above the pasta.
4. Add 3 minutes to whatever the stove top instructions say. So if you normally would cook it for 10 minutes, you would microwave it for 13 minutes.
5. Drain the pasta, with happy neighbors to boot!

Hello! I bought a pack of frozen potato knishes to bake, but I dont bake often and I'm having trouble getting it right. I leave it to defrost for an hour, heat the oven to 425 degrees and cook for 15-20 minutes as it says on the package, but while the outside gets brown the inside near the center stays raw and doughy. What am I doing wrong?

Hi all,

As someone with quite extreme emetophobia, I have always had an aversion to raw meat, ergo I feel very strongly about not cooking any meat products by myself in fear of contaminating anything else (or just generally mishandling it) and also under cooking it - both of which could get me ill somehow. However, as someone with an already very poor diet as a result of this phobia and generally being a picky eater, I have decided to overcome my fears and cook a dish containing meat in a few days. After months of watching videos of people cooking meat and endless mental preparation, I feel like I may be ready (fingers crossed 🤞) but I do also have some questions.

(I have read in various places that minced red meat would be ideal because it's "cookedness" is more visible than that of other meats like chicken so I have opted for minced beef. Not sure if this will help to answer some of my questions.)

• After putting the meat in the pan, do I wash the packaging before putting it in the bin?I'm certain the answer is yes but I'm worried about the raw meat juices/bacteria remaining on the sponge after washing - how do I resolve this? Do i just get a cheap sponge and dispose of it straight after?

• What sort of spatula do I use? I feel like the most common one people use is wooden but I fear that the bacteria/juices will absorb into the wood and merely washing it won't be enough. Would plastic be better?

• Then once I put the meat in and break it up, the spatula will now have raw meat essence on it. I'm supposed to stir the meat again after four minutes once it's cooked a bit so do I wash the spatula in between uses/stirs? (I know a lot of people say it's fine because when you put the spatula back in, the heat from the pan/meat will kill the bacteria on it but that doesn't seem entirely convincing to me). Same question then applies about the sponge used to wash the spatula.

• How many times do I wash my hands throughout the cooking process?

• Some recipes say brown the meat in a pan first and then transfer to a bowl once browned and then add onions/seasoning/tomatoes etc into the original pan. That scares me. It has raw meat juices in it, no? How is that safe?

• Do I thoroughly clean the sink once done because of the juices that flow into it when washing all the stuff?

• Is it possible to overcook minced beef? (Either way, I'd still rather have it over cooked than undercooked)

I understand that it is a lot of questions but I am severely over thinking this and it would be GREATLY appreciated if I could get an answer to all of them (the more detailed the answers the better). Before anyone asks, yes I am prepared to do this but I just need some peace of mind about it, especially since I am going to be making this entirely alone.

Thank you!!

It looks weird, first of all, and I used cheap vanilla and it's gross. Is there any way to cover up the flavor? Can I add chocolate? Why does it look creamy?😭🤣

I don't know the name for it, I'm trying to amazon I'm, but I wanna make chicken zinger burger and/or fries

Hello everyone. I tried my hand tonight at broccoli and cheddar soup and while it came out decent, I did notice that some of the cheese didn't end up melting even though it was in the hot soup for a pretty long time. Like, as I was having the soup I would come across some stray shreds and even small chunks of unmelted cheese. Is that just how cheese in soups are or am I missing something? I basically followed a from Sip and Feast (no wine and didn't roast the broccoli florets) but here's a quick rundown of the steps I did:

1. Soften onions and carrots
2. Add garlic
3. Add flour and cook off raw taste
4. Add chicken broth
5. Add broccoli and simmer until tender
6. Blend
7. Add milk and cheese. Stir while heating up again

The cheese was not pre-shredded; it was from a block of marble cheddar (Armstrong brand). I've never really cooked with cheese before, just used it as a topping or ate it straight, so I'm wondering if I missed something

Edit: thanks everyone! I think I've located some problem areas to address in my next attempt

I have made this variation before. Cabbage and sausage etc.. and I have done it it my cast iron as well. but this time it really came out bitter.

Trying to figure out why? Was it the cast iron? Did I overcook the sausage or was it the Spagettii Sauce.

and how can I fix this?

Again, cooked this many times before and never had it had it come out so bitter.

Any easy way to fix it? Other than dumping sugar in it?

Hello, everyone I’m not super new to cooking but I only cook very basic things or the same things over and over. I got a raw rotisserie chicken that has the giblets inside so I had to stick my hands inside the chicken bottom. I’ve only ever cooked chicken breast. It was pretty weird and I can’t get over how awkward it felt. It had a chicken heart lungs, and liver maybe. really is a whole chicken just without the head. I’ve never cooked a turkey either and kinda nervous to cook one this thanksgiving. Is this just something you become desensitized to? For a few seconds I really considered becoming vegan forever lol

Is there an ideal or best way to cook frozen burgers at home? Ignore the buns, bread, condiments, etc... just the meat.

I've been cooking burgers within an air fryer for a while now and they aren't the best. It varies a little bit depending upon the type of burger, but I figure perhaps there is a better way?

I want something fairly simple, not something that requires me standing over it every second. Is using a pan on the stove better? A particular type of pan? A grill pan?

I have a bunch of ingredients in my fridge that I bought just for making specific meals and have just been sitting in there since. Are there any apps or websites where I can punch in a bunch of ingredients and it’ll tell me different recipes and meals I can make from them?

Im wondering so i can look up recipes and separate out the regular leafy green salads. Like Pasta Salads have pasta, is there like a “naked” salad category or something for when they have no leafy lettuce in it? Where its just maybe veggies and herbs and dressing? Thank you.

Hi everyone,

so, I really like cooking and I have been cooking for myself for the last 10 years, so I wouldn't really call myself a beginner. But I have never cooked for others. And that's the reason I'm posting here.

I usually cook simple meals (lots of stews and casseroles but also some different and more sophisticated meals). I also cook different foods from all over the world and I would say that I have a wide palate. And while I use recipes the first time I cook something I improvise most of the time. I use the spices I have on my shelf and that I think fit the meal, but I was never someone who noticed when a meal missed a certain spice. Back when my mom cooked and she had me taste something I was always like "you know I won't taste if something is missing and I will like the food anyway..." I am really easy to please when it comes to food and there's almost nothing I don't like or won't eat.

Everytime I discuss food with colleagues or friends I'm irritated when they say they don't like certain textures or flavours. Like saying when eggplants have a certain texture they won't eat them. Or that they like raw tomatoes but not cooked ones.

The thing is, my birthday is coming up and I really want to cook something for my friends. But I'm really scared that they won't like it. Just because I cook a lot doen't mean I'm a good cook. And just because I like what I cook doesn't mean that others will like it.

How do you get over something like that? The answer is probably to just do it, but I don't want my friends to go hungry if they don't like what I cook. Any advice?

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to cooking and have been trying to upgrade from the mismatched pans I inherited from my mom. I’ve heard a lot about Caraway’s cookware sets, especially their ceramic options, and they seem like they’d be great for someone like me who's just starting out.

With Black Friday & Cyber Monday coming up, does anyone know if Caraway typically offers good deals during this time? Are there certain pieces, like the fry pan, that are better to start with instead of going for the full set? I’d also love to hear if you think these are worth the investment for a beginner. Thanks in advance.

I’ve tried looking through google at what the real difference is between beef and chicken broth, but most post just say to just use chicken broth and not why. I am currently attempting to make a loaded potato soup but it calls for 4cups of chicken broth and I only have beef broth (trying to use ingredients I already have at home). I tried googling if it would hurt the recipe to use beef broth but no definitive answers. Anyone have some advice? And/or an explanation of what the real difference is between the two? TIA !

I feel like I am getting some inconsistant answers from friends who are trying to teach me how to cook. I was wondering, lets say you cut onions. Once you're done, do you wipe down your cutting board to then chop, lets say, garlic?

Additionally do you have multiple kitchen towels to wipe down your cleaning surface since you're trying to keep your cooking space clean?

Finally, how often do you apply a vinegar mixture to your cutting board? A friend told me he rarely does a full cleaning of his cutting board, he only wipes it down with vinegar/water mixture throughout the week until he does his kitchen upkeep about twice a month.

I just made salsa chicken (chicken breast with salsa in the crockpot) and it’s one of the yummiest, simplest things ever!! I love how I could eat it with tortillas, rice, chips on its own, etc. Does anyone have any super simple recipes that can compare to how yummy and easy this is??

Last year, my Wife and I made a turducken using Kenji's recipe on Serious Eats (below). It came out great, but it was a lot of work, as I did the deboning myself and was just cautious/slow about putting it all together.

We want to make another one this Saturday for Friendsgiving and during our hunt for birds, we were struggling to find whole ducks, multiple butchers recommended just using duck breasts instead of a whole duck as you’re mostly paying for bones and fat in duck. I assume this would require swapping the order to put the duck inside the chicken. Other than that, do you see any issues with going this way? Or would you stay away? I have found whole ducks since, I just figured I would investigate this method as it would probably save us some time and money. Thanks for any suggestions.

Already bought a 17lb turkey (feeding about 18 or so people). The whole ducks I've found are 6lbs and it seems most chickens are about 4 lbs.

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-ultimate-turducken-recipe

This year our family of (3) want to have our own thanksgiving. I don’t know where to start, since this is the first time I’ve done anything like this.

I know I’m gonna have the basics; Turkey, Mac&Cheese, and Mashed potato’s. And I’ve looked up several recipes. My issue is the prepping, and when everything needs to be done so on the day of everything can be eaten at once, Might have a guest or two.

We live in a small apartment with a small kitchen and not a lot of counter space and I kinda know how to cook.