Demystifying 'Hard' Things To Cook (PHOTOS)

As part of The Week of Eating In, we're challenging the conventional wisdom that deems certain foods too hard to cook for the inexperienced. We understand that cooking may seem like a daunting task at times, but if you bear with us, we can show you that some things aren't as scary to cook as they look. Don't quit before you've even gotten started-- you can whisk polenta into submission, just like the pros.

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Polenta

It's less familiar to many of us than grits, or corn mush, but that's essentially what it is, too. Get a pot of salted water going at a roiling boil, and pour in a slow, steady stream of ground corn while whisking. Keep whisking, with the whole concoction bubbling a little-- another minute or two, and you're done.

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Comments

[lowfiron]

07:51 PM on 02/23/2010

I like to cook. I don't like it when it gets confusing. I try something, if I don't get the hang of it I do my own version or forget it.
I used to like a lot of utensils, now I keep what I use and give the rest away. Like I've got two food processors, the 'French' expensive kind and I hardly use them. I'd rather use my knife. Knives I love, I had the whole set of Chicago's with the wooden handles and I still have most of them. My Chef's knife is a 'Cuisinart' and it's not bad and then I have a bread knife my Mom gave me which is a good knife. The stuff posted here is easy except for bread. I used to make bread and I haven't for more than twenty years, since the Tassajara Bread Book (?spelling?). Keep it simple stupid, you know the saying, kiss.

[janet74]

06:46 PM on 02/23/2010

I find poached eggs also work best when the eggs are very fresh - something not mentioned here. And risotto does turn out better if you stir it constantly, but if you have a glass of wine in hand it's actually rather a pleasant, meditative experience!

[MJinCanada]

03:10 PM on 02/23/2010

The trickiest thing I've ever made is a tarta de Santiago, a Spanish cake made with ground almonds, icing sugar, eggs and a little butter. My first attempts stuck to the pan and turned into pudding (tasty with ice cream, though). Eventually I got the batter consistency, baking time and the buttering and flouring of the pan right so I could turn the cake out and decorate it properly.

The most time-consuming recipes I've done are gumbo (with roux paste) and my mom-in-law's family Christmas pudding recipe. It's so old it includes the direction to "grate two nutmegs."

[candyc]

06:50 AM on 02/23/2010

When I got remarried, I was lucky to marry a man who had never had anyone cook for him. I was a fair cook, but uninspired. Then, I discovered cookbooks and cooking magazines. I have collected a whole library of cookbooks. I buy them in thrift shops as well as from Amazon.
My best thrift store buy was an ancient copy of The Joy of Cooking from WWII with dozens of yellowed clipped newspaper recipes tucked between the pages.
BUT, the very best cookbook I have, believe it or not, is The Betty Crocker Cookbook. You can buy a paperback version for about $15. This is the source of the easiest, tastiest sauces and most consistent recipes. Anyone who believes they can't cook should buy this one.

[jacqueeven]

04:41 AM on 02/23/2010

This post is good to pick knowledge. My mouth is watering after reading these recipes.
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/advanced-cleanse-review-does-it-work-1699553.html

[quickquick]

04:07 AM on 02/23/2010

Why is that I can make a meringue and lots of things but I can't make bread. Every time I make it it comes out with a disgustingly heavy taste of yeast and its as heavy as a brick. Is it my hands? Do I have weird hands?

[MJinCanada]

02:59 PM on 02/23/2010

That's a good question. It may be that you aren't kneading it long enough -- it has to be silky smooth and not sticky any more -- or maybe you aren't letting it rise long enough in a warm place. I know my first attempts weren't great because I was impatient.

Or maybe even just try a different recipe. I went through 4 sugar cookies before I found one that wasn't too crumbly to let me decorate the cookies.

[quickquick]

03:42 PM on 02/23/2010

Yes I am generally impatient when it comes to baking because I get overexcited about the potential results. I found using Cooks Illustrated, (the obsessive-compulsive's guide to cooking), recipes are foolproof for everything else, but still I can't shake this bread-making curse.
I'll try kneading it more.

[tarowig]

12:44 AM on 02/23/2010

Mmmm fresh baked bread. I like mine with homemade pesto - herbs, oil, parmesan & garlic whacked into the food processor. So easy and delish. Love the article.

[quickquick]

04:08 AM on 02/23/2010

no-one likes a show-off

[tarowig]

06:48 PM on 02/23/2010

I cheat and use a breadmaker :)

[Turtleposer]

10:16 PM on 02/22/2010

Polenta is brainlessly easy. I just boil water, pour in some polenta until the water's cloudy (there should be about a 1/2 to an inch of water above the polenta (for those like me who don't bother measuring !) add some salt & olive oil and stir until the bubbles sting my chin. Throw it in a covered dish & let harden a bit.

Bread? Well, it depends on the bread & there are many kinds of bread. I've made several kinds with varying degrees of success. Focaccia is extremely easy for a yeast bread. There's some good recipes on allrecipe.com & recipezaar.com. The recipes w/the highest & most ratings are normally the best.

[Shan Wells]

09:14 PM on 02/22/2010

Sorry- poaching eggs is tough. It takes a few tries to figure out the right boil, pan, and vinegar combo to get them not to stick to the bottom, and to not string out.

The best rick I've found is to pre boil the eggs for about 30 sec while rolling them around in the water. This presets some of the white and you don't get stringers. Also, teflon pans don't work. Use stainless steel.

[ecotopian]

09:23 PM on 02/22/2010

It takes a few tries to perfect anything. I've been cooking since I was 15. I'm in my mid-40's now. I have messed up more than a few recipes the first time I tried them. I still mess up when I cook. I'm just glad that the Eggs Benedict lover in my house prefers the eggs to be scrambled so I don't have to worry about this. : )

[Shan Wells]

09:25 PM on 02/22/2010

Poaching is about the only way I can get my kids to eat eggs. Amazingly, they don't like scrambled. I'm pretty sure they're mine....

[MJinCanada]

03:01 PM on 02/23/2010

I cheat with a tiny non-stick pan and a couple of tablespoons of water.

[brahdog]

08:49 PM on 02/22/2010

with polenta, i was taught to whisk the cornmeal with 2 cups tepid water before even adding it to the boiling water

[Pyfagorus]

09:04 PM on 02/22/2010

Is that starting with 2 cups of dry polenta? And how much boiling water do you add it to?

[brahdog]

11:12 PM on 02/22/2010

yeah. then i added that mixture to about 2 1/2 cups boiling water. so 2 cups cornmeal to total of 4 1/2 cups water, which is probably why i cook it less than half an hour

[hayness]

08:24 PM on 02/22/2010

Everyone should know how to make bechamel sauce. It takes minutes and it is the basis for many other dishes.

Everyone should make their own bread also. You can make extra loaves on the weekend and freeze them for use later when you don't have time to bake. Take out and let thaw overnight or for a few hours.

My current loaf is oatmeal and (mostly) whole wheat wheat. So much better than anything you can buy in a grocery store.

[quillsinister]

08:22 PM on 02/22/2010

Would anyone in here happen to know if polenta is anything like pinole?

[JohnDewey]

09:19 PM on 02/22/2010

Corn for pinole is toasted & ground into a flour. Corn for polenta is, usually, a coarser grind than flour. Also, I think pinole is usually ground with spices.

[Graywolf48]

08:02 PM on 02/22/2010

I bought a bread making machine for $5 at the Goodwill. The recipes are simple and the machine makes it too easy, as Ron Popiel says, enter the ingredients, set it and forget it. Sometimes I let the machine do everything from kneading to baking the complete loaf. Other times I'll remove the dough and bake the loaf in the regular oven. Fresh baked bread smells great and tastes great and you control exactly what's in it. For those who would rather not use a bread machine, purchase or borrow a copy of "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, it's worth every penny.

As for the Bechamel sauce, it's easy and forms the basis for so many sauces from creams to cheese for chicken, rice, pork, beef, you name it. A little imagination and experimentation goes a long way. As for me, I'm going to try the Polenta, I don't think I've ever had it.

[Pyfagorus]

07:55 PM on 02/22/2010

Is this talking about instant polenta? I've cooked polenta, but you have to stir it constantly over a medium-low heat for at least half an hour.

[brahdog]

08:46 PM on 02/22/2010

i was wondering too. i cook it somewhat under a half hour tho.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

12:36 AM on 02/25/2010

I throw the polenta, water and salt into a microwave safe bowl and nuke it. This makes clean up a snap. Fried cornmeal (polenta) mush with real maple syrup is one of my favorite meals.

[Karen Gordon]

07:02 PM on 02/22/2010

It’s great to see recognition that good, real food isn’t all that difficult. I have been following Joanna at foodiekitchen.com for years, and that has always been her approach. In fact, she provided better information for the bread recipe that is featured here. When I followed the nyt recipe, I got a flat loaf (a 6-8 qt pan can be wide and flat or tall and thin, and the nyt recipe didn’t say anything about diameter). Joanna describes the pan size that gives best results. She also explains how to make a poached egg, and her method really works.