Posts for category ‘Ask Casey’

I was planning on making one of the Barefoot Contessa’s recipes the other night when I noticed she called for 3 extra large eggs instead of 3 large eggs. I didn’t have any extra large on hand—what is the difference and should I be buying two sizes of eggs for my recipes?

The short version is no, you shouldn’t be bothered with keeping two different sizes of eggs in your fridge unless you’re a baking maniac or a rabid Ina Garten fan. Large eggs are the baking standard, measuring about 2 oz. by weight. Extra large eggs weigh in at 2.25 oz. by comparison.

Barely anyone but the Barefoot Contessa (who apparently has a major jones for the XL size; I have cooked probably one of her recipes in my lifetime, so I trust you readers to back me up on this) specifically calls for extra large eggs in their recipes.

Pastry geniuses Dorie Greenspan, Gale Gand, Johnny Iuzzini, and the incomparable David Lebovitz all specify the large size in their recipes, as David explained to me, “In restaurants, large eggs are the norm (at least where I’ve worked), so many recipes tend toward large eggs.”
>> Read on to find out the one instance where it makes a difference to use the egg size called for in the recipe. >>

I’m hosting a cocktail party and although it’s a potluck, I need to have a few things ready to go when I run in the door before my guests arrive. Do you have any suggestions for snacks I can make in advance—even a few nights before?

We all know I love to go retro around these parts, so may I recommend a nice bowl of nuts?

I don’t mean ripping open one of those vacuum-sealed Planters cans with the unwieldy Brazil nuts hanging out in them (wasn’t I just having a conversation about how much I hate the Brazil nut in the mix? It’s so large and galumphy, taking up all that space and being oily). I mean a custom mix, with bright flavors and unexpected spices that pair up beautifully with aperitifs.

Below are two of my party favorites for spicy Thai cashews and smoky-sweet almonds, both of which can be made in 15 minutes and saved in a Tupperware for at least a week (if you can hold off on eating them that long). I love the contrast of the cashew’s creamy texture with the tangy Thai seasonings, and the deeper crispiness of the almond with its smoky, warm salt and pepper components. These would just hit it out of the park with a sparkling white wine; try something unexpected and refreshing like a Vinho Verde or Txakoli for your pre-dinner cocktails.

>> Read on for the quick, salty-sweet Thai cashew and smoky almond recipes. >>

Do you have any tips on effective straining? I’m trying to make my own baby food, which requires straining pureed peas to get out the skins. The recipe calls for cheesecloth, but I’ve been rubbing the peas into a fine-mesh strainer with a spatula, and it gets the job done. However, I’d love to hear any tips on straining food better, faster, and with less mess and drama (if that’s even possible), advice on using cheesecloth without going insane, and when you’d pick cheesecloth over a fine-mesh strainer.

Oh god, straining. It is awful, and also a good question to answer. (Tip: never read the Thomas Keller cookbooks if you have a fear of this kitchen technique.) There are a number of tools that you can use with varying degrees of splatter potential, but let’s tackle your cheesecloth query first.

Which is to say, don’t bother with it for your baby food recipes! Cheesecloth is a big pain for anything except making cheese or other related endeavors where you’re separating something extremely liquidy from something extremely solid. For thicker, more homogenous purees like the vegetable mixture you’re working with, the fine-mesh strainer method you’ve been using is a far better option. Through a lot of squeezing and squishing, you’ll eventually push the strained food sans skins through the cheesecloth, but with a lot of unnecessary effort.

The first alternative option to the strainer, which can potentially get just as messy but allows you to do more in quantity, is a food mill. With three discs for fine, medium, and coarse puree, the mill fits over a large bowl and uses a hand crank instead of a spatula to push the puree through while keeping seeds, skins, and other unsavory bits out. Though I curse the food mill every time I bring it down from its not-very-convenient corner cupboard location, I do appreciate the way I can tear through eight cups of tomato sauce or a huge pot of applesauce in no time flat.
>> If you want to strain like the pros, a few more options after the jump. >>

I think it’s time to splurge and get some good stainless steel cookware. My husband and I cook so much, and the set that we got as a wedding gift three years ago is Teflon (and kind of a pain in the ass). Can you recommend a decent brand and/or place to get some quality pots and pans?

I’m going to sound like a snot, but my honest answer is that I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with All-Clad, and when you buy these (admittedly expensive) pieces, you’re making an investment that will last you a lifetime.

Stainless steel is so wonderfully low-maintenance once you start cooking with it. These days, the only things I use my nonstick pan for are eggs and delicate seafood like scallops. You can sear your meat on the stovetop and put the pan right in the oven, which you can’t do with nonstick, and any stubborn bits can be scrubbed right off with Bar Keepers Friend.

And for the price-conscious, you don’t need to worry about the copper core, Master Chef, LTD, or any of the “special” versions. The plain old All-Clad stainless, which sandwiches a layer of aluminum between two layers of stainless steel, does an unparalleled job of heating evenly and works on those newfangled induction cooktops too. Oh, and they’re 100 percent dishwasher safe.

Don’t run out and buy the 10-piece sets—because you are making such a big outlay of cash, it’s better to buy a la carte with the pieces you’ll use most often rather than ending up with Russian nesting dolls of seldom-used pieces gathering dust in your cupboard. Time and again, I turn to the following:
>> Aren’t you dying to know what All-Clad pans Casey cooks with? Read on. >>

I’m getting more into cooking, thanks to your site, and I’m noticing a lot of recipes that call for unsalted butter. Why should I be using this instead of salted, which I usually buy?

I’m glad you’re inspired to take on new challenges, and that you’re paying attention to recipes. Salted butter exists for the same reason that other mouthwatering ingredients like ham, beef jerky, gravlax, and cheese do—salting is a time-tested method of culinary preservation.

These days, with omnipresent refrigeration, there’s less of a need to worry about whether you, Ma, and Pa will have enough dairy products to make it through the winter on the prairie. However, because modern salted butter will still keep longer than its unsalted counterpart, even the generic unsalted butter at the grocery store will be fresher than the salted version.
>> But there’s another important reason to choose unsalted butter when cooking. Read on. >>