Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
thought I throw some specific questions I have.

1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
see in the fridge.


2. Herbs: Can fresh herbs be frozen to use in receipes later?

3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?

4. How do I warm up bread to serve?

Thanks in advance!

2BaCook wrote:
> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>
> 1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
> refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
> sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
> couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
> plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
> see in the fridge.
>
Yeast roll/bread dough will continue to rise until it is cooked (unless it
is frozen). Not sure what recipe/advice you got about putting it in the
fridge, but punching it down should do the trick I get a weird sort of
satisfaction punching down bread dough.

> 2. Herbs: Can fresh herbs be frozen to use in receipes later?
>
Yes.

> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
> How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
> or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>
Refrigerate un-sauced cooked pasta tightly covered. Warm it up either on a
low microwave setting or place it over simmering water in a steamer basket
until warmed.

> 4. How do I warm up bread to serve?
>
Unless you are talking about toasted bread (aka garlic bread) use the
steamer basket method mentioned above. Microwaving will toughen the
bread/rolls and make them unpalatable.

Jill

In article >,
(2BaCook) wrote:

> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>
> 1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
> refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
> sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
> couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
> plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
> see in the fridge.

What's the question? You might want to punch the dough down every day.
Yeast will still be active in a fridge, although not as fast as at room
temp.

>
> 2. Herbs: Can fresh herbs be frozen to use in receipes later?

Sure. One way is to blend them with water in a blender and freeze in
ice cube trays. Remove when frozen and bag for longer term freezer
storage. Dill weed (probably other leafy herbs, too) can be laid on
freezer paper and rolled up, then put in a freezer bag for storage --
open and start unrolling the package and take what you need when you
need it.

> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
> How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
> or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?

When I have extra spaghetti noodles I refrigerate them (no sauce,
usually). When it's time for use, I put them on a plate, add the sauce
and nuke for a couple minutes until hot. If I have but one serving of
noodles and sauce, I'll put the noodles in a Tupperware container, pour
the one serving of sauce on top of it, cover and refrigerate. Nuke at
serving time.

For what I think you may be asking about, cook the noodles until almost
to the point of tenderness desired, drain, rinse, and chill in cold
water; drain and refrigerate. At serving time, bring to boil a rather
large quantity of water, dump in the noodles for maybe a minute, drain
and use.
HTH.
>
> 4. How do I warm up bread to serve?
>
> Thanks in advance!
--
-Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats tab, too.)

"2BaCook" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>
> 1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
> refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
> sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
> couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
> plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
> see in the fridge.
>

Always store dough in a bowl twice as big as as the wad
and cover tightly. Punch it down and allow to rise
again when preparing to bake it.



>
> 2. Herbs: Can fresh herbs be frozen to use in receipes later?
>

Yes. It's best to put them in a glass jar with a sealing lid
like a mason jar or an old spice bottle that you have
put through the dishwasher.


> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
> How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
> or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>

Without sauce:
Put it in a collander and slowly pour boiling water over it.
Then transfer it to a large slillet with some olive oil to finish.

With sauce: A covered skillet on the stovetop
or covered glass casserole dish in the microwave.

> 4. How do I warm up bread to serve?
>

Depends on the bread, but with the pasta questions...
Brush it with olive oil and herbs, wrap it in foil
and bake in the oven at a minimum 375 for 15-20 min.

> Thanks in advance!

2BaCook wrote:
> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve
> later? How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it
> (with or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?

The microwave is the obvious first choice. You can also heat up sauce on
the stove and dump the pasta in boiling water for about 30 seconds to
warm up, then drain.

What I usually do is put a serving of pasta and sauce in a saute pan and
heat up over medium heat. I find this heats it more evenly than the
microwave does, and is less fuss than boiling another pot of water. It
takes five minutes from refrigerator to plate.

> 4. How do I warm up bread to serve?

The few times I eat bread it is toasted garlic bread. Put it in a warm
oven for a few minutes. That, or time it so the bread is done baking
right about serving time.

--
John Gaughan
http://www.johngaughan.net/

a friend of mine grows lots of herbs in the garden...She makes them into
different kinds of pesto .. that's a good way to store them as well. I think
she has frozen pesto too but i can't remember.

john


>> 2. Herbs: Can fresh herbs be frozen to use in receipes later?
>
>Sure. One way is to blend them with water in a blender and freeze in
>ice cube trays. Remove when frozen and bag for longer term freezer
>storage. Dill weed (probably other leafy herbs, too) can be laid on
>freezer paper and rolled up, then put in a freezer bag for storage --
>open and start unrolling the package and take what you need when you
>need it.
>.)

2BaCook wrote:

> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
> How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
> or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?

Do what restaurants do. Cook the pasta, drain it (DON'T RINSE) and
immediately toss it with oil or butter. Figure 3 or 4 tablespoons per
pound. This will keep the pasta from sticking together and accentuate
the flavor of the pasta. Serve it with whatever sauces you normally
would. Refrigerate any leftovers in covered containers to prevent
dehydration.

Restaurants don't mix sauces with pasta until time of service for
several reasons. It stains the pasta and doesn't present as well. It
typically glues it together after a little while. The pasta absorbs a
good bit of the moisture in the sauce and makes it seem drier and
makes the pasta mushier. Better to sauce hot pasta with hot sauce at
service.

To reheat one portion, put into a mike-safe dish or bowl, top with as
much sauce as you would normally use and nuke it. Typically, the best
way to do that is on reduced power. Otherwise, you get hot spots and
some areas won't be as well-warmed. So rather than a minute and a half
at full power, maybe try 3 minutes at 40% power and check it about
halfway through. It sometimes helps to stir it part way through.
You'll have to see how your mike handles it.

> 4. How do I warm up bread to serve?

Depends on what kind of bread and what effect you want. For crusty
bread, wrap in foil and give it a few minutes, like 6 or 8, in a 350F
oven. Uncover for another two or three to crisp up the crust. For soft
dinner rolls, a few seconds in a mike will do it. Seconds. A few. Too
much time will toughen the bread. Better to underdo it than overdo it.

Happy dinner...

Pastorio

2BaCook wrote:

> 1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
> refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
> sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
> couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
> plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
> see in the fridge.

The cooler temp of a refridgerator will slow, but not stop, fermentation.
The speed of fermentation is proportional to the temperature, so it might
be that your fridge is running on the warm side. Check it with a good
thermometer.

I regularly retard bread dough for 4 or 5 days in the fridge with
minimal fermentation because I keep the temp very low. As long
as the dough doesn't overproof during refridgeration (including
warmup period after removing it) you'll get a good result.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Here's MY question. How long is it safe to keep cooked pasta in the
refrigerator?
Amy
>
>2BaCook wrote:
>
>> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
>> How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
>> or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
nd.

2BaCook wrote:
> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>n fresh herbs be frozen to use in receipes later?
>

[snip]

> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
> How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
> or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>

pasta should be dressed and served immediately after drained, warm and
"al dente" for the best result.

there are very few pasta dishes in italy that we prepare ahead. one for
example the sicilian pasta with cawliflowers that is very good served
lookwarm. pasta dishes that you can prepare ahead are those that you
cook in the oven, like timbale or lasagna. they can even be frozen and
placed in the oven 30-45 minutes before serving time. leftover lasagna
can be warmed up in the oven easily. i don't own a microwave. i don't
need it because i rarely use frozen stuff and in my opinion makes most
of the food worse.

leaving the boiled pasta undressed (for the guests to add sauce on top)
it is not practiced by italians (in italy). if you have leftovers of
just-boiled pasta you can try to revive them, but leftover pasta becomes
generally soggy, and it wouldn't be very good.

generally we try to cook just the quantity we need, but leftovers happen
all the time to us too. if you have leftovers of pasta already dressed
with sauce you can wanrm them up in a skillet with a little bit of
extra-virgin olive oil or butter. many italian (including my husband)
like to "burn" the pasta in the skillet until forms a little crust. you
can even add 1 or 2 beaten eggs and make them into a sort of frittata.

ciao,
anna maria



www.annamariavolpi.com

Melba's Jammin' > wrote >
> For what I think you may be asking about, cook the noodles until almost
> to the point of tenderness desired, drain, rinse, and chill in cold
> water; drain and refrigerate. At serving time, bring to boil a rather
> large quantity of water, dump in the noodles for maybe a minute, drain
> and use.

That's how I do it if I am having a dinner party involving pasta. I
just keep the pot of water simmering, and then can just dump the pasta
in to basically warm it through. I don't know how one could STEAM
pasta to reheat it without getting a lump of concrete??

Carmen Dioxide wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' > wrote >
>> For what I think you may be asking about, cook the noodles until
>> almost to the point of tenderness desired, drain, rinse, and chill
>> in cold water; drain and refrigerate. At serving time, bring to
>> boil a rather large quantity of water, dump in the noodles for maybe
>> a minute, drain and use.
>
> That's how I do it if I am having a dinner party involving pasta. I
> just keep the pot of water simmering, and then can just dump the pasta
> in to basically warm it through. I don't know how one could STEAM
> pasta to reheat it without getting a lump of concrete??

"Warm it up either on a low microwave setting or place it over simmering
water in a steamer basket
until warmed." Trust me, it works. I take pasta to work all the time as
leftovers without sauce...

In article >,
(2BaCook) wrote:

> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>
> 1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
> refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
> sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
> couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
> plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
> see in the fridge.

Keep it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Punch it down every night
just before you go to bed. It'll be good for four days, yeah.

Miche

--
If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
-- Arlo Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant"

In article >,
Bob Pastorio > wrote:

> 2BaCook wrote:
>
> > 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
> > How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
> > or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>
> Do what restaurants do. Cook the pasta, drain it (DON'T RINSE) and
> immediately toss it with oil or butter. Figure 3 or 4 tablespoons per
> pound. This will keep the pasta from sticking together and accentuate
> the flavor of the pasta. Serve it with whatever sauces you normally
> would. Refrigerate any leftovers in covered containers to prevent
> dehydration.

Doesn't the oil make the sauce slide right off?

Miche

--
If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
-- Arlo Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant"

Amela59 wrote:

> Here's MY question. How long is it safe to keep cooked pasta in the
> refrigerator?

Safety isn't a big issue with pasta. Not much there for pathogenic
bacteria. Spoilage is a different issue. But even so, you should be
able to keep it for a week before it molds. Not the best quality, but
certainly safe enough.

Pastorio



> Amy
>
>>2BaCook wrote:
>>
>>
>>>3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
>>>How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
>>>or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>
> nd.

Miche wrote:

> In article >,
> Bob Pastorio > wrote:
>
>>2BaCook wrote:
>>
>>>3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
>>>How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
>>>or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>>
>>Do what restaurants do. Cook the pasta, drain it (DON'T RINSE) and
>>immediately toss it with oil or butter. Figure 3 or 4 tablespoons per
>>pound. This will keep the pasta from sticking together and accentuate
>>the flavor of the pasta. Serve it with whatever sauces you normally
>>would. Refrigerate any leftovers in covered containers to prevent
>>dehydration.
>
> Doesn't the oil make the sauce slide right off?

No. You aren't making the pasta oily, you're just putting a very light
glaze on the surface. It shouldn't feel oily in your mouth. If it
does, you've used too much oil.

I usually use butter.

Pastorio

Carmen Dioxide wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' > wrote >
>
>>For what I think you may be asking about, cook the noodles until almost
>>to the point of tenderness desired, drain, rinse, and chill in cold
>>water; drain and refrigerate. At serving time, bring to boil a rather
>>large quantity of water, dump in the noodles for maybe a minute, drain
>>and use.

> That's how I do it if I am having a dinner party involving pasta. I
> just keep the pot of water simmering, and then can just dump the pasta
> in to basically warm it through. I don't know how one could STEAM
> pasta to reheat it without getting a lump of concrete??

It's a bad idea to steam it. And it's a needless exercise. Dropping it
into hot water or nuking it is faster and much less likely to sog it
up. We tried steaming in my restaurants. Reject. Quality died.

Cook, drain (don't rinse) and butter the pasta. Then you can store it
cooled or at room temp without sticking it all together.

Pastorio

Miche wrote:
> Doesn't the oil make the sauce slide right off?

No. You are not drenching it in oil, just a light coating.

--
John Gaughan
http://www.johngaughan.net/

Thanks for the reply. Somewhere I had thought I had read that spoilage was an
issue with pasta, particularly since it wasn't readily apparent. Thanks for
setting me straight.
Amy
>
>Safety isn't a big issue with pasta. Not much there for pathogenic
>bacteria. Spoilage is a different issue. But even so, you should be
>able to keep it for a week before it molds. Not the best quality, but
>certainly safe enough.
>
>Pastorio
>
>
>
>> Amy
>>
>>>2BaCook wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
>>>>How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
>>>>or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>>
>> nd.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

2BaCook wrote:

> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>
> 1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
> refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
> sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
> couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
> plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
> see in the fridge.
>
You should be able to hold dough in fridge for up to 24 hours (assuming
your fridge is as cold as it should be). If it is going to be longer, it
should be frozen, giving it one to two hours to get ready for baking.

--
Alan

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and
avoid the people, you might better stay home."
--James Michener

In article >,
(Amela59) wrote:

> Here's MY question. How long is it safe to keep cooked pasta in the
> refrigerator?
> Amy

Until it starts to smell bad? I've kept it for the better part of a
week.
--
-Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats tab, too.)

"2BaCook" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>
> 1. Homemade dinner Rolls: I made some and the receipe said I could
> refrigerate a portion of the dough for up to 4 days. So I wrapped
> sections of the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge; a
> couple days later I saw it swelled through the double layers of
> plastic wrap (like some sort of growth!) It was edible but weird to
> see in the fridge.

It would be a good idea to check the actual temperature of your refrigerator
(and freezer while you are at it) with a good thermometer. It may be too
warm for optimal food storage.

Charlie

Amela59 saw Sally selling seashells by the seashore and told us all
about it on 02 Nov 2003 18:15:15 GMT:

>Here's MY question. How long is it safe to keep cooked pasta in the
>refrigerator?
>Amy

When it goes off you'll know - believe me! It should be safe for up to
5 days easily... if it's in the fridge too long it may start to grow
mould, and it will definitely start to smell bad. It may accumulate
extra liquid in the container, or alternatively dry out if it's not in
a sealed container... either way, it won't be hard to tell that it's
not edible anymore!
(huggles)

~Karen AKA Kajikit

Nobody outstubborns a cat...

Visit my webpage: http://www.kajikitscorner.com
Allergyfree Eating Recipe Swap: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Allergyfree_Eating
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