Can I eat a marble cake that has been in my fridge for a week. (very cold fridge)

I would say yes, but maybe you shouldn’t listen to me. I eat week old stuff all the time if it smells ok.

a week's fine

although i'm bad as well
i have fruit in the bottom of the fridge thats been there for a month or more

i have nearly finished it.
tastes good, but i think i am going to chunder anyway.

^

hungover?

I'd eat it too - but then, I'll eat yoghurt that I've put in my handbag to take to work and forgotten about for 1 - 2 days.

What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger!

Don't be a pussy, eat the cake.

Another question about food.

I marinated beef strips yesterday in soy sauce, oyster sauce & garlic.
I put it in the fridge covered but then went out so didnt cook it last night.
Will it be ok to cook today?

^ yep that should be ok.

yeah, hat'll be fine. I've pulled meat out of the freezer and not cooked it for 3-4 days.

But marinating it breaks down the enzymes or something, but marinating overnight I think should be cool.

Depending how long it has been left for, the soy and oyster sauce will as oblivia said break down the enzymes (which is the point of marinating). Anything up to about 24 hour will tenderize the meat and add flavour - after that the quality will start to decrease.

OK. So I'm thinking about making a picnic loaf for the weekend.

I've not made one myself before but I'm thinking layered roast capsicum in 3 colours (green, red and yellow), bacon and mozzarella.

Does that sound like it will work?

Any other suggestions? I want to keep it fairly simple. Some recipes have a million ingredients.

k_x oxo

i'd leave the bacon out, myself. if you're going to let it cool the bacon could become unpleasantly greasy. could go for roasted egglant instead?

Quote:

Originally Posted by feeble

i'd leave the bacon out, myself. if you're going to let it cool the bacon could become unpleasantly greasy. could go for roasted egglant instead?

Pruscuitto?

k_x oxo

bacon works really well for it.

best one I ever did was with a super crusty sourdough loaf hollowed out lined with bacon, then rump steak, then mushrooms on top. (and you wrapped it up and sat a board on it overnight)

Epic

(I think I saw it on an episode of two fat ladies)

Yeah I think if I cook the bacon first under the grill and let the fat drain out it will work. I have had picnic loaf with it in before.

k_x oxo

Quote:

Originally Posted by krafty_x

Pruscuitto?

k_x oxo

yeah prosciutto would work well! or leg ham.

how long does meat last in the freezer?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dbauch

how long does meat last in the freezer?

I think the usual advisory is about 3 months

and from the web
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...=1006011203559

would seem to be about a year

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dbauch

how long does meat last in the freezer?

Depends on the meat love.

Most modern Fridge/freezers have a table on the inside of the front door.

I think this is about right though

Beef and lamb — 12 months
Chicken and pork — six months
Vegetables — six months
Seafood — three months

Writing with perma marker on your freezer bags will help too.

k_x oxo

I'm pretty sure the main issue with meat being in the fridge longer than that is more related to taste and appearance than health though, mainly diue to the succeptibility of different products to freezer burn/dessication.

I think I might have to throw everything out though... someone didn't close my freezer door properly and the next morning when i realised, everything was partially defrosted... everything is frozen again but I think stuff might not be good anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dbauch

I think I might have to throw everything out though... someone didn't close my freezer door properly and the next morning when i realised, everything was partially defrosted... everything is frozen again but I think stuff might not be good anymore.

i would say you will have to hun

as far as i know and for as long as i can remember my mum telling me... once something has been frozen and defrosted or even partially defrosted it has to be cooked or thrown out... it cant be re frozen

how do you make a frittata light & fluffy?

I've only recently learnt that the reason my only attempt at cupcakes turned out hard is because I mixed them too much. if you mix the batter too much the gluten molecules are broken in some way that stops them being light & fluffy.

but what about eggs with no flour like in a frittata? if the frittata is a little too dense and not creamy/fluffy enough have I just not beaten the eggs enough?

seperate eggs and beat. then combine, fold and cook.

it works well for omlates, never tried frittatas as mum found a great place to buy them in mosman i think, i stock up when she's there

I still remember when I made a black forrest cake at school, for the sponge part I accidentally forgot the baking soda til the end bit and tipped it in after whisking all the flour and most of it didn't get into the mix and ended up at the bottom and my cake was hard as a rock. Moral of the story - baking soda is your friend? (I think)

i HATE baking soda in toothpaste.

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss apple

how do you make a frittata light & fluffy?

I've only recently learnt that the reason my only attempt at cupcakes turned out hard is because I mixed them too much. if you mix the batter too much the gluten molecules are broken in some way that stops them being light & fluffy.

but what about eggs with no flour like in a frittata? if the frittata is a little too dense and not creamy/fluffy enough have I just not beaten the eggs enough?

I put a tablespoon of soda water in my scrambled eggs for super fluff. Maybe that would work. It can even be flat and it still works and you can't taste it at all.

k_x oxo

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss apple

how do you make a frittata light & fluffy?

I've only recently learnt that the reason my only attempt at cupcakes turned out hard is because I mixed them too much. if you mix the batter too much the gluten molecules are broken in some way that stops them being light & fluffy.

but what about eggs with no flour like in a frittata? if the frittata is a little too dense and not creamy/fluffy enough have I just not beaten the eggs enough?

add a little cream and don't over cook (like I did last time )

Quote:

Originally Posted by feeble

i'd leave the bacon out, myself.

Heauxmeaux.

My question; what is the difference between paella and risotto? Is it just the addition of cheese at the end of a risotto?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oblivia

Heauxmeaux.

My question; what is the difference between paella and risotto? Is it just the addition of cheese at the end of a risotto?

differences in rice from what I can see
and I think paella is also less tempermental - ie doesn't require constant stirring - pretty much cooks unstirred

excuse my ignorance, but what is the difference between meatballs & rissoles?

to me, meatballs are smaller and used in bolognese type dishes and rissoles are bigger and more like meat patties that you eaten on their own or in a burger or something.
and I would put more vegies in rissoles.

or is it just that rissoles is the aussie word for meatballs?

I dunno

This is timely as an English friend tried to tell me recently the only difference was Onion (No wonder I didn't enjoy my dining experiences in UK).

Meatballs are round, much smaller & cooked in sauces (generally), often served with spaghetti (Italian). They can even be used in soups (Sweden, China, Indonesia...)

Rissoles are almost "patty-shaped" and generally larger. Originally, rissoles were rolled in breadcrumbs or pastry and deep fried.

Now you can sleep well.

so i made a massive batch of rice salad last night & added mayonnaise.
it is currently in the fridge but now i sort of wanto do like a stir fry thingy.
can i heat the rice if there is mayo in it, or will it taste a bit off?

i look forward to your replies.

sounds a bit gross teens - but i think you should try it anyway, put heaps of other sauces in there to drown the mayo taste, maybe some soy and satay sauce should cover it?

nah i waited for a reply & got hungry.
just had the cold rice salad & added some cherry tomatoes & ham.
was great.

Is food dangerous to eat if it still smells ok? (excluding chicken and fish)

Sometimes I leave a container with casserole or some such thing in the fridge and it still smells ok up to a month later? I would never eat it but someone wonder it it would be ok to eat.

Sure beats eating a dead rat.

Picnic loaf turned out great. Wish I'd taken a pic but I was too busy sunning and swilling and swimming and scoffing.

Bacon worked a treat. No oiliness at all. I just grilled it then chucked in absorbent towels for a while before popping it in between two of the capsicum layers.



k_x oxo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oblivia

Heauxmeaux.

My question; what is the difference between paella and risotto? Is it just the addition of cheese at the end of a risotto?

paella isn't stirred as and has a crispy bottom when done correctly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smilla

Is food dangerous to eat if it still smells ok? (excluding chicken and fish)

Sometimes I leave a container with casserole or some such thing in the fridge and it still smells ok up to a month later? I would never eat it but someone wonder it it would be ok to eat.

Something like a casserole that doesn't smell after a month would still be fermented. You tell by listening to it and see if it's fizzing / bubbling. In fact you can do this for almost any sauce based dish that you're unsure about - even if it's only been a week or so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nettsu

differences in rice from what I can see
and I think paella is also less tempermental - ie doesn't require constant stirring - pretty much cooks unstirred

Paella cooks completely unstirred, except for just after the raw rice goes into the stock. If you stir it, you ruin it. Also, while the rices are techincially different (caliscparra v aborio) they're almost the same thing. I make my paella with aborrio cause calisparra(sp?) is FUCKING expensive (although you do notice a difference with it).

Paella also uses a soffrito as a base, but Risotto's generally don't.

And they use different spices - Paella have paprika for instance.

Can you tell I make a lot of Paella's? I have an excellent recipe if anyone wants it.

Yes I do want it, mostly though this was to settle an argument, my dad made dinner and I described it as risotto but he said it was paella.

What is soffrito?

so where do pilafs fit into the equation?

I get the impression that a paella is a pilaf with more specifics. Its the same non stiring method. The difference is that with a paella you add water then the rice, but with a pilaf you coat the rice in oil then add water.

@ the serious food geekery.

k_x oxo

Pilaf you stir and fluff up at the end but paella you don't?