By Craig Cola / wp.com What's Cooking Hosted by Kim O'Donnel Washingtonpost.com Staff Monday, April 12, 1999 There was talk of deer meat, cake mix and freezing leftovers in today's online culinary hour. Stay tuned for more live food and wine discussions: Wednesday, April 14, The Grapevine, noon EDT; Wednesday, April 21, What's Cooking, with Jessica Harris, author of "The Africa Cookbook," noon EDT. Plus: Now every Monday at noon EST, What's Cooking host Kim O'Donnel will personally answer your kitchen questions. Following is the transcript from this week's discussion.

Kim O'Donnel: Hi everyone. Welcome to an hour of nothing but food. I promised some answers on a few matters that have been hanging over the last weeks.

First, to those of you who have been hankering for brownies, here's the recipe I promised. It's adapted from "Brother Juniper's Bread Book." Brother Juniper is this groovy guy out in the Bay Area and tucked within his recipes for bread, there's this lovely treatment of brownies.
Okay, here goes:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup AP flour

2 C sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup and 2 tbsp butter

4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup nuts, optional

Preheat your oven to 350. Dry ingredients go into a bowl. Add eggs. Stir slightly. Melt butter. Turn off heat. Add chocolate. Stir (with rubber spatula) until liquid. Add vanilla and then add all of this dry ingredients. Grease a 6x9 or 8x8 pan. Bake for about 22 minutes. Center should jiggle a little.

Last week, someone sent in a question about how to handle a conversation about slaughtering animals for food. I realized after the discussion was over I probably wasn't very sensitive. Later in the week, I got another question from Helen in Reston about veal, how it's raised, etc, and it got me thinking. Indeed, the mass production of meat of any kind is abhorrent and if we all got a tour of a slaughter house, all of us probably would never eat animal flesh ever again. Fact is, I love meat. But I wish that I could get it right off the farm rather than relying on a manufacturer to slaughter, process and package it. I don't know what you tell your kids about eating meat -- because it is loaded with nutrients, but the way animals are treated is inexcusable. Veal often are kept confined in small pens so that their meat stays tender and creamy. Milk-fed veal often have whiter meat. What you want to look for (the lesser of evils) is veal that's not been injected with hormones or antibiotics. Same with beef. It IS a difficult subject and I know everyone's got an opinion on this one. While I welcome your comments, I don't want this to turn into a war of veggies versus fleshies, ok? And of course, you can always send me an email message and let me know what's on your mind. So now I'm off the soapbox. On to your questions.

camden,SC.: how much fresh yeast is equal to one packet of dry yeast.

Kim O'Donnel: I never can remember the numbers on this one, so I'm referring to "The Bread Bible" by Beth Hensperger: Dry yeast is about twice as potent as fresh, so one .25 ounce package of dry yeast that you buy in the refrigerated section of the supermarket equals about .06 ounce piece of fresh yeast.

Reston, VA: I like white-based pasta sauces the way they are usually served at restaurants. What is a good basic white sauce that I can add seafood, chicken and veggies too?

Kim O'Donnel: You're referrring to either a bechamel or a veloute sauce (part of the Mother sauces family that you learn in cooking school) Bechamel is milk based; veloute usually stock-based. Joy of Cooking is a good resource for these classics.

Wash. DC: Looking for a good beaver recipe. Thanks.

Kim O'Donnel: Always a wise guy in the crowd, huh? But I suppose that since you're Washington DC-based, the first order of business is actually getting your hands on one. I understand the Tidal Basin is a good place for trapping. Beaver stew might be the way to go, but I think one of the more intriguing questions would be: what kind of wine goes with Cherry tree bark? I should get wine columnist Michael Franz on the horn.

Washington, DC: Hi Kim -
Recently I went on vacation to Costa Rica, and while there was introduced to the delicious chayote squash. They prepared it sliced, as a side veggie. I would love to prepare it here, and have seen them in the store, but I have no clue on how to prepare it - i.e. peel it or not, how to cook it properly, etc. Any ideas?

Kim O'Donnel: I have never prepared chayote myself but like you have always been intrigued. Elizabeth Schneider's "Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables" deals with chayote and a few recipes.
Yes, you need to peel. Can be used in same way as summer squash, sauteed, stuffed, baked. Check out her book for more ideas. I might try a few this week myself.

Germantown, MD: Hi Kim,
Help, I am having a luncheon for 12 women friends next Saturday, and I do not want to have to much food, but my biggest fear is not having enough food. I was planning on serving 2 meats, 4 side dishes-maybe 5-, 1 bread item, 2 desserts, and one appetizer. Is this too much? The servings should be normal serving sizes. I was not planning on doubling anything.
Thanks.

Kim O'Donnel: Unless your girlfriends are all sized like Mack trucks, you've got way too much food in mind. Plus, it's lunch, not dinner, my dear. Reduce the number of side dishes to 3; go easy on the bread, maybe allow for fruit as one of the desserts, and don't worry about an appetizer. How about a salad of greens instead? Remember, you all need to be able to stand up and drive home afterwards. Have fun.

Washington DC: How long does it take to boil an egg?

Kim O'Donnel: Hard-boiled eggs I guess about 12 minutes, soft-boiled more like 5 to 8. I just checked Joy of Cooking because up there with mayo, I can't stand hard boiled eggs, so I never make'em.

Alex VA: So I bought Ground turkey because I thought Turkey burgers would be good, but they turned out bland...any receipe suggestions or other ground turkey ideas?

Kim O'Donnel: I've got a great story for you. The summer after I graduated from college, I lived near campus trying to figure out what I was going to do with an English degree. So I drank a lot of tequila... and discovered turkey burgers! My pal El and I used to light a hibachi in the alleyway in West Philadelphia and cook up turkey burgers and I experimented that whole summer perfecting them. So, here's a few suggestions to make them flavorful: dijon mustard, some ketchup, a touch of soy sauce, chopped red onion, chopped fresh parsley, an egg white, a touch of bread crumbs, some hot sauce, ground black pepper. Mix it all up and then go crazy. Let us know how they turn out. And have one for me and El.

20850: Do you think it's "ok" to freeze ham -- leftover?

Kim O'Donnel: I have this thing about freezing meat after it's been cooked. I don't do it. Come up with a few ways to use it up and don't risk for the sake of more room in your fridge.

Dallastown, PA: Dear Kim,

Is it possible to make a chicken Kiev without deep frying that it does not taste like roasted chicken?

Kim O'Donnel: I'm not sure I'm following Dallastown. With chicken Kiev, you fry then you put in oven. Which part do you not want to go through?

Washington, DC: Kim,

I have some left-over bacon and peas and really want to make pasta carbonara, but all recipies I seem to find has a different mixture of cheese-eggs-milk-or cream-. What do you prefer-recommend, or do you know a good recipe off the top of your head?

Kim O'Donnel: Carbonara can be a wonderful thing on the fly. But in order to prevent scrambled egg pasta, get yourself organized before mixing everything together. For a pound of linguine, I would use about 3 eggs and lightly beat them with some milk or cream -- whichever you prefer. I would add gradually to the hot pasta and stir like mad to prevent that scrambled egg thing. Then add your cooked bacon and all the other good stuff, such as parmeggiano, cracked pepper, fresh parsley, peas. The trick is to make sure the egg mixture has been incorporated before adding the extras. Then you can flavor accordingly.

Rosslyn, VA: I can't believe, being a card-carrying vegetarian, that I'm sending you this: In answer to the wise guy's query about a recipe for beaver, check out this Web site--

http:--www.joplinglobe.com-features-roadkl.html

Kim O'Donnel: I love it when everyone gets along.

chevy chase, md: Here's a fool-proof way to hard boil eggs: Place eggs in pan of cold water, bring to boil. Then, turn off heat and immediately cover pan. Let sit until cool -or at least a half hour-

I read this method somewhere as a way to reduce discoloration around the yolk.

Kim O'Donnel: Thank you Chevy Chase. I knew someone out there who likes hard boiled eggs would know better than me.

Washington, DC: I am pretty much the goddess of leaving food to rot, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when I opened my refridgerator this morning and found a sad looking, slightly soft yellow squash. How far can you push vegetables past their point of perfection? Obviously some taste will be lost, but are veggies past their peak still usable?

Kim O'Donnel: So why are you the goddess of rotting? There's no time like the present, especially when it comes to fresh produce!! I think we're all guilty of this misdemeanor, but my only advice is this: think about your week before buying that squash. If you're going to be out most nights, don't bother. Buy produce when you know you're going to be able to cook -- but in worst case scenarios, imperfect veggies are good for soups where appearance is not first and foremost. But try a different approach to buying and you might have less goo in your fridge.

Gaithersburg,Maryland: How to prepare chocolate chip cookies?

Kim O'Donnel: Gaithersburg, do you mean you want technique and tips for making or do you need a recipe? And folks, anyone with suggestions for a good chocolate chip recipe?

Fairfax, VA: For the person trying to make better turkey burgers, I've found that combining the meat with a good, fresh salsa before cooking makes them very juicy. They're also great with black bean dip. The trick is to use something that moistens them up and and binds them together.

Kim O'Donnel: Thanks Fairfax. You're right, the binding is definitely part of the trick.

Arlington, VA: Hi Kim!! I have a question regarding grilling. I'm a big fan of a charcoal grill over gas, but I'm wondering about health issues. My brand-new Better Homes & Gardens cookbook mentions that there are some health concerns regarding direct charcoal grilling, and so each grilling recipe it contains also includes instructions for "indirect grilling." Are health concerns about direct charcoal grilling overstated, or should I switch to the indirect grilling method to be safe? Thanks!

Kim O'Donnel: I guess we're all getting our grills geared up again for the season, no? I love grilling but I also think it's a big pain. I also worry about the potential health risk. I don't have any references nearby, but I have read about the carcinogenic effects of charcoal grilling. If it's grilled hatch marks and a touch of smokiness you're after, I'd recommend putting your stuff on a hot grill to get the marks and the flavor, just for a few minutes, then throwing into your oven to finish off.

Reston, VA: Kim - HELP! There was an article in the March 17th Food Section re: shad and shad roe. As it is more than two weeks old, it is no longer available through the search engine. I bought a beautiful, fresh shad this weekend and now can't find a recipe for cooking it. Also, my Mom says they are terribly bony fish and very difficult to eat. Any insight on preparation and presentation would be a big help. Many thanks!

Kim O'Donnel: Email me and I'll send you the recipes today. Deal?

germantown, maryland: When you cook a box cake and you do not have a mixer, so you decide to stir and the directions say stir for three minutes, should you stir all the lumps out? I stirred for three minutes and there were still lumps and the cake did not rise much. It also did not taste that good because of the lumps. So basically should I stir all the lumps out?

-Can't make a box cake

Kim O'Donnel: Let's try and move away from mixes. You'd be surprised at how much more wonderful homemade cakes are and not that much more work, especially if you're slaving over lumps without a mixer. Email me if you want suggestions for recipes.

upper marlboro, maryland: looking for a really good cake donut recipe. and do you recommend deep frying or pan frying?

Kim O'Donnel: I'll have to do some research on this one this week. At first look, I'd say they're going to taste better deep fried. Email me this week and I'll see what I can find.

Germantown, MD: My husband and I tried out our brand-new grill last week. Unfortunatly, the burgers refused to stay in their patty shape. They crumbled into little pieces and fell through the grill. We ended up with 2-3 the burger we started with and a mess to clean up. My husband thinks the cause is frozen ground beef; I usually buy ground beef in bulk and then freeze it in 1lb portions to be used later. I think the beef may have been too lean. Or maybe the cause was with the temperature of the grill? How can I stop this disintegration in the future?

Kim O'Donnel: Another grilling conundrum. Could be many things. Yes, maybe your grill wasn't hot enough. It doesn't matter that you freeze the beef, but was the meat defrosted when you put it on the grill? That could be the culprit. As for binding the thawed meat, add breadcrumbs or an egg white for starters.

Washington, DC: As far as the carbonara from earlier goes, when you were referring to the three eggs beaten in with the milk-cream, how much milk or cream, and which do you prefer? Also, do you add parmesan to the mix, or just afterwards?

Kim O'Donnel: I would add just a few pours of dairy, enough to change the color of the eggs. I prefer cream or half and half. Add parmeggiano after the egg mixture is incorporated.

Bethesda: What is your e-mail address?

Kim O'Donnel: odonnelk@washingtonpost.com

Dupont circle: I cook my turkey burgers in worchestire -sp?- sauce and that helps give them a meatier flavor. Also, I just got chinese food delivered yesterday and couldn't finish it so put it in the freezer - after your answer about the ham, i'm a little worried. I'm going out of town and won't be able to eat it before then...

Kim O'Donnel: Thanks for your turkey burger tip. And yes, do yourself a favor and toss that chinese before heading out of dodge.

Germantown, MD: For Gaithersburg: When you buy the package of Chocolate Chips look on the back - usually there is a chocolate chip cookie recipe there. The one on the Hershey's bag is a good, basic, no-suprises cookie recipe.

Kim O'Donnel: Thanks Germantown.

Germantown, MD: Hi Kim! I have some frozen Deer meat and plan on grilling it. I've never eaten it before, so maybe you can help me out. I've been told Deer has a "wild" taste, depending on how it is prepared. I'm not sure I even know what "wild" tastes like. Anyhow, do you have any suggestions on how to prepare it prior to grilling? I'd like my first experience to be a good and tasty one. Thanks!

Kim O'Donnel: I do not prepare a lot of game meat, but there is a new book out called "Wild about Game." If you've never tasted deer, be prepared for a stronger, intense flavor that resonates. Won't be like chicken. I would marinate it, using some red wine, shallots, sprigs of fresh thyme, maybe some juniper berries, a touch of molasses or honey, some chopped garlic, some olive oil. But I'd look at the above mentioned book as well.

Alexandria, VA: I would like to make sole parmesan with a crust that is more cheese than bread. How do I do it?

Kim O'Donnel: I would add more cheese than bread crumbs in your dredging bowl. Have an additional bowl for seasoned (salt and pepper) flour dredging as well, will probably allow cheese to adhere better.

Alexandria, VA: What's the trick to peeling fresh Yuca? I've found that the skin is very tough and some stores cover them with wax to boot...making peeling even MORE difficult! Help!

Kim O'Donnel: You might want to try this tip from Elizabeth Schneider's "Uncommon Fruit and Vegetables." After washing, cut into 2 3-inch sections. Make a lengthwise slit. Beneath the bark, there's an underskin; put paring knife inside slit and pull off both bark and underskin, as if it's unwrapping. Try that.

Washington, DC: Kim -- why are you so paranoid about freezing cooked meat? All my life my family has frozen red sauce with meat with no problems. What is the potential problem?
I'd also like to second the choc chip bag recipe -- Nestle's -I think- has the "Original Toll House Cookie" recipe -- great, especially if you reduce the amount of sugar a little.
Thanks!!

Kim O'Donnel: Making a meat sauce that you cool down to a safe temp and then put in freezer-- fine. But a ham that you've prepared, sliced and had hanging out on the kitchen counter after dinner, then to go to freezer -- too much opportunity for bacteria. It's all about the amount of time that meat hangs out in the danger zone, 40 to 140 degrees.

Vienna, again: Venison is great marinated in Teriyaki then grilled. Just do not, repeat DO NOT over-cook it. Medium to med-rare at most.

Kim O'Donnel: Thank you Vienna. Right about overcooking -- deer meat is very lean and will toughen if overcooked.

Bethesda, MD: OHHHH!!! I miss West Philly, probably the only person here who does. Your description of perfecting your turkey burger brought many fond memories of undergrad and our hand-me-down habachi.

My question: how do I clean the beautiful, cast-iron, La Creusette grill pan that I got for Christmas?

Kim O'Donnel: Glad to hear someone else out there appreciates the fine art of West Philly undergrad chow. Re: cleaning cast-iron pans: some cooks say never wash, just wipe out, but that's not always realistic. After washing gently, put on stove, turn on heat to dry. For the first time or two, after drying, you could add a little oil to pan and swab along insides, to help with seasoning and preservation.

Columbia, MD: On the subject of ground turkey...it makes an excellent subsitute for ground beef in spaghetti sauce.

Kim O'Donnel: More from the ground turkey front.

Vienna, VA: Re: the turkey burger issue: try teriyaki sauce, a little ginger and minced chives. And of course the egg or binder. Also,I like turkey burger best in flavorful recipes like chili & tomato-y pasta sauces.

Kim O'Donnel: And more from the peanut gallery....

Vienna, VA: I have been trying to find a decent, basic, chocolate cake recipe, and have not been happy with any! I most recently tried a recipe from "The Cake Bible" and was quite disappointed. I ended up running to the store for a mix and got -tons- of compliments on it.

So don't tell us not to use mixes! Either that or cough up a good, BASIC, simple, plain-old-yummy chocolate cake recipe.

Thanks

Kim O'Donnel: Okay, okay. Settle down. As wonderfully talented as Rose Levy Beranbaum is (author of Cake Bible and countless other titles), her books can be rather complicated and overwhelming. So, our collective assignment this week is to cough up a chocolate cake recipe. I'll do my homework if everyone else does and we'll get Vienna swearing off cake mixes in no time.

Washington, DC: As far as pasta goes, I know that after you cook it, you're supposed to run cold water over it -which I usually don't do-. Does it matter that much, and if so, how do you keep all your pasta from getting cold then?

Kim O'Donnel: Just keep what you're doing and don't rinse your pasta with cold water.

Washington, DC: Is there anything I can substitute for a double boiler? I don't have any more room in my kitchen for more pots and pans!

Kim O'Donnel: If you have a large aluminum bowl that fits over a pot, you've got a makeshift double bowler. Actually, that's how I melt my butter and chocolate in the brownie mix I shared at beginning of hour.

Washington, DC: Rumor has it that Purdue is genetically engineering albino chickens so that they will not contain dark meat. I have also heard that they are considering crossbreeding ducks with chickens to get more of a waterproof, all-weather bird that can better withstand the harsh eastern-shore winters. Can you lend any truth to these rumors?

Kim O'Donnel: I have heard nothing on this. Anyone else out there who knows of these bizarre engineering activities?

College Park, MD: To the person with deer meat. My mom slices it thin, marinates with some lemongrass, soy sauce, garlic, curry powder and onion, and stir fries it. She serves it over a bed of sauteed chinese broccoli. -we're asian, can you tell?-

Kim O'Donnel: Fabulous. Thanks College Park!

Washington, DC: I miss West Philly food, too -- but not the crap I made for myself!! I've got a big ol hankering for Abner's cheese fries.... Oh well....

Kim O'Donnel: Ah, cheese fries. And Pat's cheesesteaks, eaten in the car so that the steam fogs the windows...

Arlington, VA: When a recipe calls for dry-active yeast, how much instant yeast can you use instead?

Kim O'Donnel: Again I'm referring to Bread Bible goddess Beth Hensperger, who says that you can use up to 1/4 less instant yeast in a recipe than active dry yeast.

New York, NY: There's a great Devil's Food recipe in the New Basics cookbook -- I've never made the frosting recipe that goes with it because it looks like way too much work and instead substitute a plain Choc buttercream recipe from Joy of Cooking or Betty Crocker circa 1960 -great, easy cakes in there, too, btw...- -- add some espresso or orange liquor to the frosting instead of milk or cream -- yum, yum. Also, we lived in Italy for 5 years and people there NEVER rinse off their pasta in cold water. Just pull it off the heat 15 seconds before it's done and drain, then get the sauce on quickly and toss so it doesn't stick together.

Kim O'Donnel: Excellent. You're a very diligent student. More on cakes, freezing leftovers and whatever else is on your burner next week. Gotta go. Come back next Monday at noon EDT, and if you like sipping wine, Post wine columnist will be online this Wednesday at noon. Have a tasty week...