Digital News Report – On today’s ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ Rachel Ray was a guest and shared how to solve many common holiday cooking disasters. Rachel Ray is known for her easy cooking preparation. Holiday cooking can be stressful if they try too hard. Rachel Ray recommends that you should only make recipes that you know you make well. Also, make recipes that make your family happy. Preferably, make the food ahead of time so that you are not as stressed cooking food while the company is visiting.
Worst Holiday Cooking Disasters and Simple Fixes
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A common complaint is that their vegetables as mushy and soggy. Rachel said that generally roasting vegetables are the easiest way to keep them from getting soggy and flavorful.
However, if you have overcooked your vegetables, here is one way to fix them into a cream soup. Rachel said to take the overcooked asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots and put them in a food processor. You can put one vegetable by itself for the soup. Next, season with sea salt and pepper. Add just enough stock to warm the vegetables and then puree it. Make a cheesy white sauce like the one you would if you were making macaroni and cheese. Add thickened milky cheese sauce mixture to the vegetable mixture and mix together to have cream of vegetable soup.
Potato Latke flops because they are mushy and not crisp. Rachel said to get a crispy latke pancake you need get all the liquid out of the shredded potato by straining it out first. After the shredded potatoes are drained, mix up the ingredients together. Next, drop them into an frying pan that is has oil in the bottom to fry them on both sides.
The last cooking disaster that happens is that a roast is overcooked and dried out. Rachel Ray suggested slow cooking over a long period. If you are making a roast, add some moisture to the bottom of the pan explained Rachel. Never Heat ham above 325 degrees Fahrenheit and always add moisture. For a beef roast, make sure to seer the outside on the stove top in a frying pan before putting it into the oven. Rachel’s quick fix for over cooked meat is to slice the beef (or other dried meat) and let it sit in the broth of the meat flavor. After the meat has soaked in a bath of broth it will be moist again and not so dried out.
Rachel Rays No Fail Holiday Beef Stew Recipe
Rachel shared her mom’s cider beef stew recipe. She said that this is a fail-proof meal that would work well for the holidays. This recipe is available at Doctor Oz’s website. Rachel said to first start out by browning a little bit of bacon and olive oil in a dutch oven pan on the stove top. She said you can substitute with canola oil and omit the bacon. Next, cube up beef chuck into big bite size chunks. Over medium heat, fry the meat chunks in the bottom of the dutch oven but don’t overcrowd. Chop carrots, apple, celery, onion. She showed that the carrots should be big chunks cut on an angle. Take Sage thyme parsley and a bay leaf and tie it into a bundle so you can take out later. Rachel also said that you can add roasted garlic into the recipe. Next add cider and beef consume (beef broth with gelatin). Let cook covered in the over for around 2 ½ – 3 hours at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
To finish the meal, you can serve fancy mashed potatoes that has parsnips, butter, sharp white cheddar cheese, and milk that is seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in chopped chives. Serve the beef stew alongside a serving of mashed potatoes in a bowl.
By: Robert Williams
Entertainment Reporter