Deanimal's advice column | Deanimal's Advice About Cooking

askDeanimal

advice column ask question view feedback favorite columnist advicenators

Q: I was in the kitchen making cookies when I discovered that I had no vanilla extract. The cookie recipie that I'm using calls for only 1/2 teaspoon of the extract, but I'm worried about how they would turn out.

Is it ok to leave out the vanilla extract, or are there any substitutes for vanilla extract?

Thank you very much for your advice!

The cookies won't taste quite as good, but they will turn out fine as far as consistency and shape go. No worries there.

Q: Well, this is probably one of the most random questions I personally have ever asked. I love Panera's French Baguette (sp?) it's basically a long loaf of french bread. It is by far the best bread ever. But, getting to my question, I buy the bread when it is nice and fresh so it's warm and soft. After about 2-3 days, the bread gets hard. Is there any way to prevent the bread from getting hard? I had to put it in the microwave just to make it soft enough to bite into! I can't bite into hard things because I have braces and they might break off. But can anyone tell me as to how I can keep the bread from getting hard and virtually unedible? Thanks!

Eat all the bread up before it gets hard!

Jk... you'll just have to keep it airtightly wrapped. This may or may not work. Of not, keep heating it up. That seems to work, right? Then it's all warm too! :D

Q: Perhaps I'm just the stupidest person in the world, but I have this difficulty in making cookies.Normally it's that I add too much of one ingridient, or too little of another, or that I set the oven to the wrong time. My whole family is mad, because we were having a party, and Mom told me to make cookies, except they were quite horrible, and one guest threw-up. Is there anything I can do to fix this problematic situation!

Get a good recipie. Follow it EXACTLY. Pay close attention to what it says and do everything it says to do, exactly as it says to do it. For Recipies, try www.allrecipies.com

Q: ok how can i cook a small meal for my mom? i dont have much of a varity of food can you people please give me some ideas! i want to make a fancy and nice meal for my mother! i need some good cooking ideas now!!

What kind of food does she like? Try cooking some pasta and mixing it with a good store-bought sauce. Then slice a loaf of french bread, and butter one side. Sprinkle with garlic salt and bake for 10 minutes at 350 F. Get a salad-in-a-bag and toss with tomatoes and cucumbers and ceasar dressing. Buy or make a cheesecake (look up the recipie on the internet). Serve with wine (how old are you?) or a nice drink.

Even sandwhiches can be facy if you serve them right. (Think toasted bread, nice cold cuts, and fresh veggies. Serve with pickles, potato salad and iced tea).

Grilling meat is always nice with a baked potato or a salad.

Hope this helps.

Q: I'm making "Day of the Dead Bread" for Spanish class, and it's due tomorrow. I was just wondering, is it ok to let the bread rise for more than the allotted time (it says about 1 -1/2 hours)? My mom and my aunt think it's ok if you go a little over, as long as you don't go under the rising time. Just wanting to know, as it's handy information.

Yep. Not too long, but 15 minutes to half an hour should be alright.

Q: I want to have a party and I want to serve cheese, but I don't think plain old cheddar is very classy or interesting. What are some other good cheeses I can serve just cut up as cubes, that people might not have tried before but will still like?

Brie is excellent for just this sort of thing. Plus, it's very tasty. I also reccomend asking your local delicatessan worker at the grocery store. They should be able to help you find some good cheeses.

Q: What's the best thing to mix with vodka?

Lemonade. It rocks.

Q: I'm not a full-on vegetarian, but I try not to eat a whole lot of meat. Frankly I just don't think it's healthy, and I don't like depending on it. The problem is that everyone around me... my family, my boyfriend, etc. is of the opinion that unless you're poor or sick, you must consume meat at every meal or it's just not a meal. When I offer to cook black bean casserole or vegi pizzas, they're just like, "that's great... and what else?"

How do I get them out of this mindset that vegetables aren't "real food"?

Although I am not vegetarian, I know where you are coming from. Meat isn't that healthy. I try to avoid too much red meat, as it is the worst. I musy say, however, that cooking meat is fun. Black bean casserole rocks! *cough* Anyway, Talk to them. Tell them that you are serious about being vegetarian. If nothing else, let them eat meat. At least you aren't forcing your beliefs on them. Good for you. If they don't think a meal without meat is complete, let them think that. You can still be a vegetarian. If, however, they are ruse about what you've prepared when you serve them food, you deserve an apology. I reccomend you demand it.

Q: do pop tarts qualify more as a "breakfast" or "junk food"? i'm aiming for breakfast here, don't let me down.

I think it depends on the flavor. While the choclate ones are my favorite, they are not a good brekfast. However, eating ANYTHING is better then nothing. So if they are all you've got, pop away. If you added some fruit or a glass of milk, that would make them fit more into the brekfast category.

Q: Is it safe to use any old salmon steak from a reputable market in my sushi, or should I stick to the stuff from the Japanese market?

As long as it all appears freash, I see no problem. I use fish from Central Market (think super-HEB) in my sushi, and it's just wonderful. It's both inexpensive and easy to find. However, for specialty or hard-to-find fish, I suggest the Japanese market.

Q: Hello guys,
I'm in the habit of baking sugar cookies for most major holidays, and this Yuletide, I was given the suggestion that, for the benefit of all my geeky gamer friends, I make D&D shaped cookies. This instantly sparked my interest. I'm already thinking about elfcookies with sparkly tunics, unicorn cookies with white frosting, pretzel sticks with a doubleheaded axe... but my friend wants Orc cookies. Typical. How am i supposed to make an Orc with a gingerbread man shaped cutter? I can figure out how to make an orc shape and trace around each one, but here are my problems:

1.How can I make brown or dark frosting that isn't molasses (too sticky) and will stay put, or dry hard so I can stack the cookies without mooshing them? I usually use a milk and powdered sugar mix that dries hard, but how to dye it brown or black?
2. What sort of edible decorations can I use for armor? Chex? m&m's? I can't think of anything good!

Anyone have any good ideas?

Choclate frosting! Dark choclate. You can use different kinds of choc, for different shades. On gingerbread, I have always been a fan of just using colored icing to decorate and skipping candy and stuff, but that's just me.

bio

My name is Deanna: aka manrashi, banana, deanimal

I'm 15 and I like answering questions. I try to be as competent, coherant, and helpful as possible. Everyone is welcome to ask me questions personally, as it it makes me feel special.

I LOOOVE cooking and drawing and other artistic type things. I also like altering photos and making avvies/icons in photoshop, so I will take any requests for those as well. (email or IM me).

Please rate my advice, and rate it fairly. If I deserve a 2, go ahead and give me one, you won't hurt my feelings.

Pet peeve: people who answer questions just to say "That sucks, I don't know. Sux 2 B u."(If you don't know, why are you answering?) and people who say "Hope I helped!" (Obviously, or you wouldn't have an advice column)

Haha, sorry.

I'm out.
>>-Deanna->