Let me ask a basic question.

You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated in
some recipes. Then garlic.

What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic has
a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking the
onion and celery?

Do you ever sometimes entirely remove these ingredients completely, then
brown meat, or whatever, and return the ingredients so that they don't get
fried to a crisp?

Steve

http://cabgbypasssurgery.com watch for the book

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:27:55 -0700, "Steve B"
> wrote:

>Let me ask a basic question.
>
>You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
>possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated in
>some recipes. Then garlic.
>
>What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic has
>a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking the
>onion and celery?
>
>Do you ever sometimes entirely remove these ingredients completely, then
>brown meat, or whatever, and return the ingredients so that they don't get
>fried to a crisp?
>
>Steve
..
When they have instructions like that, I don't cook them over high
heat. I do more of a medium low to medium heat... And I put
everything in together.

If you are cooking at a lower heat, nothing will burn...

Christine

On 2010-04-26, Steve B > wrote:
> Let me ask a basic question.
>
> You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
> possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated in
> some recipes. Then garlic.
>
> What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic has
> a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking the
> onion and celery?

The "etc" makes a difference. In a classic French mirepoix, carrots
are the "etc" and I always start them out first. My preference is to
follow up with celery, then onions, garlic last. In Cajun/Creole, the
"etc" is typically bell pepper (no celery) and is known as the Holy
Trinity. It's not so important which goes first as celery and bell
pepper are pretty close in cooking time. You can add all these at the
same time. I always add garlic last cuz it can burn and become
bitter. Basically, it's put the item that takes the longest to cook
in first. Not exactly rocket science.

nb

Steve B wrote:
> Let me ask a basic question.
>
> You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
> possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated in
> some recipes. Then garlic.

I will only cook onions "clear' if i am using a very small dice that i
intend to be part of a pan sauce. I also enjoy simmering a dice of
onion in milk to then be used in a sauce.

It is my experience that this must be done in a slow, low, gentle way,
especially if one wants to puree the diced onions, if they are cooked
too hot for too long it seems to me they lose their flavor.

I used to caramelize onions and carrots to add to home made soup, but
once i started making vegetarian soups (meat added after cooking) i
stopped doing so, not only do i find it an unnecessarily tedious step,
but i think the vegetables cut in large chunks (paysan) and simmered
from raw in stock or water produce a better flavor than those precooked
to what ever stage of doneness.

I sometimes think the way some recipes are written that have the veggies
for soup first browned in butter or oil being little more than a butter
or oil delivery system for the soup.

When i use carrots, celery and onions in a roast i throw those away when
clarifying the pan drippings.

>
> What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic has
> a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking the
> onion and celery?

Many people, myself included, will soften, cook al dente or otherwise
saute a dice of veggies, onions, carrots, celery for a traditional
American turkey or chicken stuffing, in which case i start with the
carrots, let them cook till they begin to slightly brown, , then add
onions, and then celery, but keep them firm so they finish cooking in
the stuffing. If one ants to make a stuffing without a bird then its
just a matter of cooking the veggies till they are the degree of
doneness desired, al dente or soft. Generally speaking, imo, when a
carrot begins to brown it is over done.

Some people take a veggie peeler to the celery ribs and carve off the
fibrous parts and then saute briefly in butter, garlic and deglaze with
white wine

Add a bit of cream, or rice flour and more wine or stock and call it
sauce au celeri.

>
> Do you ever sometimes entirely remove these ingredients completely, then
> brown meat, or whatever, and return the ingredients so that they don't get
> fried to a crisp?

I would cook the meat first, set it aside and then cook the veggies in a
bit of the oil left from cooking the meat, but i prefer to put the
veggies in soup raw and let them simmer to done there, i think it gives
a more primary, veggie flavor than using pre cooked or browned veggies
in a soup.

The only 2 exceptions i can think of right off the top of my head is the
French onion soup, caramelized onions in beef broth, and the Belgium
'carbonad flammanade de boeuf" (sp?) where the onions are sometimes
cooked to the "Mahogany" stage.

I enjoy 'dored" veggies but there it is the coating and not the veggie
that is 'dored' (gilded) to a golden color.

As i understand it the water content of most vegetables make them hard
to brown, those with a high sugar content 'brown' easier, and some cooks
are not above a pinch of sugar in the veggies to hasten the caramelizing
process, or at least appear to, but i don't care for adding sugar to my
food.

I used to throughly enjoy a particular restaurants deep fried onion
rings till one day i saw the cook pouring a bag of sugar in the batter,
delicious they were but.....
--
JL
--
JL

"Steve B" > wrote in message
...
> Let me ask a basic question.
>
> You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
> possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated in
> some recipes. Then garlic.
>
> What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic
> has a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking
> the onion and celery?
>
> Do you ever sometimes entirely remove these ingredients completely, then
> brown meat, or whatever, and return the ingredients so that they don't get
> fried to a crisp?
>

I do this all the time. I especially like to saute onions until perfect, in
chunks, and add to soups and stews at the end.

On 2010-04-26 14:11:39 -0700, notbob > said:

> In Cajun/Creole, the "etc" is typically bell pepper (no celery) and is
> known as the Holy
> Trinity.

The Holy trinity is Celery, Onion and Bell Pepper. No Carrot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_trinity_(cuisine)
--

wintermute

"Christine Dabney" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:27:55 -0700, "Steve B"
> > wrote:
>
>>Let me ask a basic question.
>>
>>You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
>>possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated in
>>some recipes. Then garlic.
>>
>>What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic
>>has
>>a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking the
>>onion and celery?
>>
>>Do you ever sometimes entirely remove these ingredients completely, then
>>brown meat, or whatever, and return the ingredients so that they don't get
>>fried to a crisp?
>>
>>Steve
> .
> When they have instructions like that, I don't cook them over high
> heat. I do more of a medium low to medium heat... And I put
> everything in together.
>
> If you are cooking at a lower heat, nothing will burn...
>
> Christine


Exactly, Chris. The OP should lower the heat and cook all the vegetables at
the same time, over low to medium heat. Stirring constantly is important,
too, especially if the burner runs hot.

Jill

"wintermute" > wrote in message
news:2010042615521116807-nospam@nocom...
> On 2010-04-26 14:11:39 -0700, notbob > said:
>
>> In Cajun/Creole, the "etc" is typically bell pepper (no celery) and is
>> known as the Holy
>> Trinity.
>
> The Holy trinity is Celery, Onion and Bell Pepper. No Carrot.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_trinity_(cuisine)
> --
>
> wintermute

What's a "carrot"?

Steve ;-)

I do like them, sometimes, and always prepared with some sweetener.

Steve

On 2010-04-26, wintermute > wrote:
> On 2010-04-26 14:11:39 -0700, notbob > said:
>
>> In Cajun/Creole, the "etc" is typically bell pepper (no celery) and is
>> known as the Holy
>> Trinity.
>
> The Holy trinity is Celery, Onion and Bell Pepper. No Carrot.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_trinity_(cuisine)

Doh!! I know this. How did that damn carrot get in there!?

nb

"Steve B" > wrote in message
...
> Let me ask a basic question.
>
> You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
> possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated in
> some recipes. Then garlic.
>
> What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic
> has a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking
> the onion and celery?
>
> Do you ever sometimes entirely remove these ingredients completely, then
> brown meat, or whatever, and return the ingredients so that they don't get
> fried to a crisp?

I would cook all of them over a low to medium heat. Possibly add the garlic
last after the onions and celery start to get soft. Dried herbs are added
last. Fresh herbs are added when the garlic is added.

"wintermute" > wrote in message
news:2010042615521116807-nospam@nocom...
> On 2010-04-26 14:11:39 -0700, notbob > said:
>
>> In Cajun/Creole, the "etc" is typically bell pepper (no celery) and is
>> known as the Holy
>> Trinity.
>
> The Holy trinity is Celery, Onion and Bell Pepper. No Carrot.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_trinity_(cuisine)

He actually said that.

On 2010-04-27, Cheryl > wrote:

> He actually said that.

I contradicted myself in the same paragraph. Paragraph gaff!


nb

On Apr 26, 4:27*pm, "Steve B" > wrote:
> Let me ask a basic question.
>
> You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
> possibly other ingredients right at the start. *Until "clear" is stated in
> some recipes. *Then garlic.
>
> What is a proper sequence so that one does not get too cooked, as garlic has
> a tendency to do if fried in too hot oil at first when you are cooking the
> onion and celery?

I usually start with celery, then add the carrots, then onion, then
garlic.
Because I don't like celery very much, and want it to be as broken
down
as possible.

> Do you ever sometimes entirely remove these ingredients completely, then
> brown meat, or whatever, and return the ingredients so that they don't get
> fried to a crisp?

I'd do the meat first, remove it and then do the veggies, scraping up
the "fond".
(Yes, I know we just had a discussion on that. Either I put it in
quotes because
we decided that's not the right word to use, or I put it in quotes
because it's
a foreign word. Your personal religious beliefs on the word "fond"
will guide
you to choose which reason applies.)

Cindy Hamilton

On Apr 27, 8:32*am, Cindy Hamilton >
wrote:
>.
> Because I don't like celery very much, and want it to be as broken
> down as possible.
>
I like it broken down too, and dislike it crunchy. In fact, I like it
a lot when cooked for a long time. Same with carrots.

> Cindy Hamilton

--Bryan

"Joseph Littleshoes" > wrote in message
...
> Steve B wrote:
>> Let me ask a basic question.
>>
>> You have a recipe that calls for you to cook some onion, celery, and
>> possibly other ingredients right at the start. Until "clear" is stated
>> in some recipes. Then garlic.
>
> I will only cook onions "clear' if i am using a very small dice that i
> intend to be part of a pan sauce. I also enjoy simmering a dice of onion
> in milk to then be used in a sauce.
>

That sounds nice.