What simple cooking item evades you?

floss2

Pastry, despite having cold hands! Whenever I attempt any sort of pastry (apart from choux - probably because I don't actually touch it!) it looks horrid and is inedible.

angeltreats

floss2 wrote: »

Pastry, despite having cold hands! Whenever I attempt any sort of pastry (apart from choux - probably because I don't actually touch it!) it looks horrid and is inedible.

Have you tried making it in a food processor? It couldn't be easier, the dough just appears as if by magic.

Butterfly_Brain

I am a good cook now but when I first got married I had loads of disasters - luckily DH is a big softie and laughed off all of the weird and wonderful things he ended up with.
But after 24 years I still can't make a decent battered fish or chicken and I have tried every recipe there is. So I have given up on that and now bread the fish or chicken instead.
Luckily we don't eat a lot of battered stuff apart from pancakes and yorkies and occassionaly fritters - all of which I can do with my eyes closed.

sandy71

angeltreats wrote: »

Have you tried making it in a food processor? It couldn't be easier, the dough just appears as if by magic.

How do you do it in the food processor? I'm ashamed to say I don't even know how to make pastry:o
My mum would disown me if she knew:rotfl:

angeltreats

sandy71 wrote: »

How do you do it in the food processor? I'm ashamed to say I don't even know how to make pastry:o
My mum would disown me if she knew:rotfl:

Stick the flour and fat in the food processor with the chopping blade. Use half fat to flour, so say 8 oz flour and 4 oz butter/lard/margarine. Turn the food processor on till the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Then with it still turned on pour in a little bit of cold water, about 2 tbsp, and it'll work itself into a dough. You might need a bit more or less water (or if it gets too gooey you can add a bit more flour to dry it up slightly). And that's pretty much it.

There are variations, like adding sugar for sweet pastry or adding an egg etc, but it's all the same technique.

sandy71

angeltreats wrote: »

Stick the flour and fat in the food processor with the chopping blade. Use half fat to flour, so say 8 oz flour and 4 oz butter/lard/margarine. Turn the food processor on till the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Then with it still turned on pour in a little bit of cold water, about 2 tbsp, and it'll work itself into a dough. You might need a bit more or less water (or if it gets too gooey you can add a bit more flour to dry it up slightly). And that's pretty much it.

There are variations, like adding sugar for sweet pastry or adding an egg etc, but it's all the same technique.

Thanks, might give it a go at the weekend. (Just don't tell my mum;))

pinksleepybear

I'm a pretty good cook except for fruit cake...I just can't do it. Fruit sinks, hole appears in the middle or underdone in the middle and overdone on top.

I just buy them from M&S now.

zippychick

angeltreats wrote: »

Stick the flour and fat in the food processor with the chopping blade. Use half fat to flour, so say 8 oz flour and 4 oz butter/lard/margarine. Turn the food processor on till the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Then with it still turned on pour in a little bit of cold water, about 2 tbsp, and it'll work itself into a dough. You might need a bit more or less water (or if it gets too gooey you can add a bit more flour to dry it up slightly). And that's pretty much it.

There are variations, like adding sugar for sweet pastry or adding an egg etc, but it's all the same technique.

I made apple pie pastry last week for the first time ever . Iused the FP as doing it manually was really hurting my hands to be honest. FP is great - it does magically appear!:rotfl::A:T It was yummy pastry too

heavenleigh

Just remembered i started this thread and thinking 2 years down the line there must be many more 'perfect houswives' disasters to add to it.
My latest is brownies and on my 3 tries so far the price of the ingredients have far outweighed the finished taste of the product!!!!!!!!!!

Any

I (and my OH) proud myself on being good cook. Though I think there are meals I probably would suck at, but as they don't interest me I won't try to make them...

But one thing we do eat and I cannot make to save my life - lasagne!!! My pasta never cooks, moist content of the meat mix is never right.. But as they make fantastic one at M&S for a fiver for 2-3 people, that is my "emergency" ready meal or take away night always in the freezer....