Conference turris::cooks

    Have you tried reheating pastry based dishes in the oven, instead
    of in the microwave?  Microwaves tend to make breads softer, and
    then make them tough (try heating a bagel to steaming hot and
    letting it cool, if you want an example).  Since you're going to
    have to heat the pastry a while to get the center hot, a microwave
    is probably not your best choice.
    
    --Louise

    
    
    My wife and I have never frozen pre-cooked pasta. We have frozen
    home-made (uncooked) pasta and it come out just fine.
    Cheezes freeze quite well. I'm not sure exactlty what type of problems
    you've had with them though. The only difference between previously
    frozen cheese and just bought is the "dust" on the exterior. This
    is a normal by-product of the continueing efforts of the
    micro-organisms that originally converted the milk curds  into cheeze.
    That happens even when you don't freeze cheeze. (providing it doesn't
    dry out first) We've only frozen american, swiss (jarlsberg and
    the like) and cheddars. All with no problems. Don't know about the
    softer cheezes as they don't last long enough in my house to be
    frozen.
    
    As for potatos in soups and chowders. 
    There's not much you can do except partially cook them before freezing.
    That probably doesn't help if these are leftovers though. 
    
    Some things you can freeze with good results are.
    
    Eggs- seperate the whites from the yokes before freezing.
          use them is cooking later. (not much good for fried after
          freezing)
          
    Herbs- just rinse fresh out of the garden and crumble directly into
           whatever your cooking. You can't thaw first though.
                                                               
    Summer squashes- zuchini and yellow are great! Just cut in half,
                     scoop out the seeds and wrap in saran wrap or foil.
                     Use in soups or fill with meat or rice stuffing
                     and bake. This is a great idea come middle of
                     january when the gardens frozen.
    
    As for re_heating.
    
    I've not had much luck with quiche's in the micro either. What I
    usually do is heat up in the micro then quickly (5 minutes or so
    per slice) put it in the oven on preheat. That way both the upper
    coil and lower coil help dry it a little. It's still not as good
    as just made though.
     
    So far we haven't been able to get pastries to come out nearly as
    good once frozen.
    
    Breads freeze quite well though. Just don't wrap them in plastic
    wrap. Use something like wax paper or the perforated plastic (celophane
    I think) If it's a little dry, steam for about 45 minutes (whole
    loaf) We use whole grain, sour dough breads from the Baldwinhill bakery in
    Phillipston Mass and that's what they told us to do. In fact, they
    said we could do this 4-5 times per loaf.
    
    If you'd like, I'll post some more freezer wisdom tomorrow.
    With three (constantly hungry) kids, we try and keep a fully stocked
    freezer.
    
    
    Rob
     

    I freeze pre-cooked pasta all the time!  Ihave found that the best
    way to reheat with the microwave is toturn it down to a lower temp
    setting and let heat up slower.  Bread never works in the micro,
    I use a convection oven alot, and use to use a toaster oven before
    that to do a lot of reheating
    

    Re: .1
    
    I've found that I can "resurrect" a bagel that has acquired a
    stone-like texture by microwaving it for about 15 seconds.
                        

    
    
    Keep the suggestions coming!
    
    I guess I'll have to try the "old-fashioned" way for reheating
    quiche.  But alot of times I bring a slice of quiche to work,
    already thawed and "mike" it for lunch so I'll just have to
    have soggy quiche those days (or bring something else).
    
    As far as the cheese goes, I froze half a block of swiss since
    I didn't expect to use it for a while.  Then I thawed it and
    tried to grate it and it fell apart!!  Maybe it just had freezer
    burn??
    
    And the potatoes that I froze were in corn chowder and turkey
    soup.  They were leftovers and when I reheated, they turned
    to mashed potato!!  Yuk!!  corn chowder with mashed potato!
    
    Re: .4  Bagels!!  Yes, I freeze mine, nuke it just enough so
    that I can slice it (if I was too lazy to slice before freezing).
    Then pop it in the toaster!
    
    Has anybody tried those frozen sliced mushrooms??  (found in
    the freezer section).  They cost $1.99 and contain about 3C
    of frozen sliced mushrooms.  Great for cooking, especially
    when you only cook for one.  And it is definately time saving.
    I find it worth the few extra pennies because I don't have to
    spend all that time washing and slicing.  And I don't end up
    throwing out a half a container of mushrooms just cause they
    went bad.  Maybe I should freeze mushrooms myself.....
    
    Karen

    Karen, like you I'm now single and live alone and cook up a storm
    every so often (when I *feel* like it -- great feeling, after so
    many years of *having* to cook for a family).
    
    I've collected a number of the containers frozen dinners came in,
    once I decided I could fix something as good or better than the
    people who made/sold them.
    
    I'll cook up a "batch" of dinners/lunches that I store in the freezer.
    Each time I fix, say, four or five same-kind meals, I "file" them
    in with what's already in the freezer, in a way that mixes them
    in with other "batches".  That way, I never have the same kind of
    meal twice in a row, and each time I heat/open one, it's always
    a surprise as to what I'll find.  Almost like I've had a cook fix
    them for me to enjoy.
    
    Back to your question, about the only thing I've found less than
    satisfactory when reheated in the microwave (the ONLY way I heat
    mine) is MASHED potatoes.  Tho' everything else is done perfectly,
    frequently, the mashed potatoes aren't heated all the way through
    or heated evenly.
    
    Thanks VERY much for starting this list.

    Forgot to say, Karen, I bring my home cooked lunches to work FROZEN.
    By lunchtime they've thawed, and heat up extremely well in the
    microwave in the office.  I've never had problems reheating quiche
    or pizzas this way.

    I've found bread works just fine in the microwave . . . the trick
    is to do it either on low for short zaps, or on high for even shorter
    zaps . . . even when frozen to start.  SHORT zaps are the secret,
    I've found.

    I'll second .8's method for defrosting bread.  I often pull out two
    slices of frozen bread, place them on paper towel in the microwave, and
    nuke them twice for 10-12 seconds, flipping the slices inbetween shots
    (note that the time for your microwave may be different). Best for
    toast (since that tends to take out some excess moisture); ok, but not
    great, for sandwiches. 
    
    About cheese ... yes it usually seems to loose ?something? after being
    frozen.  I don't freeze cheese I want to serve (for example) with
    crackers, only cheese I know I'll be using for cooking - then I don't
    really care if it crumbles or not. So as not to grate my knuckles
    with the cheese, a roto-type grater works best. 

    \sk/

    
    	Re Frozen Cheese.
    
    	If you want to use frozen cheese for grating, grate it when
	it's still frozen.
    
	Or even better, grate it before freezing.
    
        Peter

    
    
    I've never experianced the crumbling problem with prteviously frozen
    cheese. I even brought some out from the freezer last night to have
    with crackers after the kids went to bed. Seemed ok to me. Maybe
    it's the temp I freeze at. Don't remember exactly what the freezer
    is set at but it's colder than most. 
    
    Reply 9 or 10 suggested grating BEFORE freezing. We do that a lot
    and it works fine for us.
    
    RE:5 Those frozen mushrooms are great! We buy freezer orders from
    Agway and the mushrooms are on the top of our list every month.
    You can't really freeze you own though. The ones you buy are
    passed through a nitrogen bath and thus are frozen instanly.
    I think the process is called flash freezing. It's used on all kinds
    of things.
    
    To get high quality frozen foods, check out the fliers at your local
    Agway. The stuff is of the highest quality (for frozen) and you
    can't beat the prices. Of course you really need a freezer.
    For you single people with little freezer space, get a couple of
    people together and split orders. 
    The frozen juices are cheaper and better than what's offered in
    most supermarkets. If I remember correctly frozen orange juice
    came out to .79 cents per 8 ounce can. Plus there's no added sugar
    or other junk. My kids go through a case of this every two months.
    They'd consume more but my wife and I ration it.
    
    I'll see if I can remember to bring in the latest pamphlet and
    I'll post some of the items and prices. 
    
    You order at the end of one month and pick up about a month later.
    Only hassle is you have to get there that day. They keep a refrigerated
    truck in their parking lot for only one day.
    
    Rob
    

    Re: 1060.9
    
    I agree with you on the BREAD in the microwave.  Sometimes if I
    have rolls left over from a dinner the night before...I wrap them
    in a paper towel and micro them for about 1-1 1/2 minutes with a
    little butter in them.  It seems to not make them DRY out and harden
    after they come out of the microwave as what happens when you DON'T
    use the paper towel.   ANd they are nice and hot and buttered. Just
    like you just like you just cooked them.
    I use the same method when the hamburg/hotdag rolls get a little
    hard before I get to use them.  Just ZAP em.
    
                        

    If I'm planning to make enough chowder to freeze some, I usually
    puree some potatoes so that the broth gets good and thick and still
    has that "potato" flavor.  Then I cook cubed potatoes separately
    for each time I want a serving.  That way you get chunks of potatoes
    in your bowl.  If I'm planning to have potatoes sometime during
    the week, I will cut them up when I have time and leave them in
    the refrigerator in water.  They keep very well, and do not turn
    brown. So, you race in the door, throw a handful of potatoes into
    water to boil while you change into comfortable clothes.  Then nuke
    the frozen chowder, throw in your potatoes, and enjoy!  You can
    leave out the pureed potatoes, but they give it a nice flavor and
    it's a good thickener (instead of using flour or corn starch, YECH!)
    
    Sarah
    

When you nuke a piece of bread, try spraying a paper towel with water, or 
dipping the towel and wringing it out.  Then wrap the bread and zap it.  The 
bread does not dry out, and doesn't get soggy either.

						     
							- JP

    I've never had a problem freezing mushrooms.  I usually buy a 10
    pound box of fresh mushrooms when I'm home visiting my folks (they
    live in RI and the mushrooms are a lot cheaper there than in MA).
     Then I just slice them up and blanch them in boiling water (add
    some lemon juice to keep them white), drain them with lots of cold
    water and ice cubes to stop the cooking process, and put them into
    zip lock bags in individual servings.  Then I just nuke them to
    thaw them out just before I cook with them.  I use frozen mushrooms
    in omelets and sautee them to go with steak and all sorts of things.
     I've never had a problem.
    
    Cathy

    I ordered this book through a bookclub and it's well worth pursuing:
    
    Keeping Food Fresh by Janet Bailey, The Dial Press, Doubleday &
    Co., Garden City, NY.  ISBN 0-385-27675-3.
    
    Close to 400 pages, and runs the gamut from shopping for and choosing
    food, storing to freezing.  Everything.  Even has a section about
    recovering from disasters, e.g. power outages with a full freezer.
    Includes charts showing how long foods last in the refrigerator
    and the freezer.
    
    Let me know if you want me to check for anything specific!
    
    TW

    Well, it's time to try to revive this topic...
    
    Specifically speaking, I'm having the same problems freezing cheese as
    the base noter was.  I'm trying to freeze "Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp
    Chedder" in the original package.  When it thaws it seems to have lost all 
    the moisture.  It crumbles and really doesn't taste as good as it
    should.  Should I try a different method, or should I just not try to
    freeze it anymore?
    
    Christine

    What's a "good" temperature for a freezer?  I'm thinking of:
    
    	- A frost-free freezer that's part of a refrigerator/freezer
    	  combo that's used more for the short-term.
    
    	- An upright freezer intended for storing for the long-term.
    
    
    Thanks!
    
    	--Sharon
    

    I've been so damn busy lately that it's been ages since I had a proper
    home cooked meal.  I'm going to have some time to do some cooking this
    weekend so I'd like tips on things to cook in larges batches that are
    then easy to heat up in a microwave, or even better can be eaten cold
    (ie: thawed by not heated.)
    
    The ideas I have had so far are lasagna (I want to make eggplant
    lasagna - think that would freeze well) and shephard's pie.  What else
    is there?  (I like things that make a full meal rather than a part of a
    meal - like frozen cooked chicken - so that *all* I have to do is
    nuke.)
    
    D!

    I seem to remember another note here somewhere where we all
    discussed our tricks for working households; am I mistaken? Can
    anyone remember this? I saw a lot of good ideas there (and tried to
    add my own as well!)
    
    Monica

    Can anyone tell me if they have had good or bad luck
    freezing cream cheese?
    
    I bought a big bag of individually wrapped philly cream
    cheeses....perfect size for a bagel (well for someone who
    lacks the willpower from putting the entire container
    of cream cheese on somehting)? 
    
    I suppose I coule use them for cooking later on....
    
    Thanks-
    
    	Michele
    
    
    p.s.
    
    In the grocery store I saw a roast called a spoon roast, and it had
    a plastic spoon pressed on the top of the roast.  What type of roast
    is this, and is it any good, and why the spoon?

    I have successfully frozen blocks of Philly Light for use in
    cheesecakes.  I wouldn't keep it more than a few months, though (maybe
    six).  I'm not sure how it is for spreading on a bagel, but the
    cheesecake came out just fine.
    
    
    Susan 

My experience with freezing cream cheese is that the texture changes.
It becomes sort of crumbly.  This goes away if you warm it a little - so
if you spread it on a nice HOT bagel, it shouldn't make a difference.

D!

    What would be the time and temp for reheating a large (probably two
    quart) casserole?  Also, I baked and stored it in a glass baking dish. 
    I threw away the package the dish came in so I don't know for sure if
    it was labeled refrigerater-to-oven, so would you guess I should
    tranfer it to another dish?

    
    Always put a cold casserole into a cold oven, then turn it on.
    
    I'd say 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, depending on the depth of the
    casserole.  If its flat, like lasagna, 1/2 hour.  If its deep,
    45 minutes.  350-375 degrees. 
    
    Karen

Thanks

    >> How about freezing hummus?  
    
    This works fine.  In January I froze part of a large batch, and just
    got around to thawing some this weekend.  It didn't seem as garlicky as
    it was when fresh, but was otherwise fine.
    
    Dale