Recent cooking trials and errors

[serenissima]

Last night I made a barley-based soup again. This time it featured mushrooms, turnips, and a leek. I'd never cooked turnips before, and I find I like them. The leek contributed lovely yellow-green color to the soup but not much flavor; maybe I overcooked it. I sauteed it with the mushrooms before adding them. I put in a palmful of black pepper — perhaps a teaspoon — which turned out to be too much. On the other hand, it could have used more salt.

The previous dish was a stir-fry of beef, broccoli, and peppers, with black bean sauce. For future reference, broccoli and black bean sauce don't go so well together. Not that it was bad, but I'd choose a different mix of flavors next time. Also, marinating the flank steak would have helped.

Last week (I think?) I had another go at pot roast. This time I used a beef bullion cube and Worcestershire sauce. The intensity of flavor was about right, but I've decided I don't like Worcestershire sauce: it's too sweet. The chuck roast was difficult to trim, too; I might try a different cut of meat next time. I used a two pound roast and discarded probably half a pound of fat, connective tissue, and nearby meat.

The chicken and mushrooms that I cooked for company two weekends ago didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. I omitted salt from the coating on the chicken, and I probably should keep it in. Should also use a full pound of mushrooms, not just half a pound, to go with two pounds of chicken breast.

Tonight we'll have a salmon fillet. I think I'll bake it. Sauteed asparagus for the vegetable, and rice or maybe baked potatoes for the starch.

Comments

[stryck.livejournal.com]

Why would you cut off so much fat from a pot roast? A lot of it will cook away or break down during the long cooking time, and having it there will help keep the meat moist. That's why pot roasts are so fatty, as opposed to dry roasts. It's also why they're cheap.

Beef and black bean sauce sounds interesting.

[copperwolf.livejournal.com]

I dunno, that's what I'm used to doing with meat, especially once I was advised by my dear housemate not to be so conservative with the knife that it takes an hour to trim the meat.