Timing
 

Well tonight I cooked my dinner and it was damn good. I made some Pierogies first and skillet'd them, then I decided to sautee some potatoes, peppers, onions, and carrots in vermouth. It was excellent, unfortunately I put the pierogies on first so by the time I finished with the veggies the rogies were a little crispy. I put them over the veggies and finished off with some parsley flakes.

I guess it's hard to tell what order to cook things in, how do you guys organize your timing when you cook?

when cooking veggies, I cut them all the same size, if I am so they tend to all cook at the same time. If I am pressed for time, I will cut them smaller, so they will cook faster.

If I am cooking meats or something else with the veggies... I have to estimate how long the meat will take - and estimate acccordingly. If something is cooking too fast, I'll either turn off the heat, or put it in a really low oven to keep it warm.

Next time, you could have taken your 'rogies out of the skillet if you saw them getting too cooked (though I like them crispy) and stuck them in the oven to keep them warm, long as you don't cover them, they wouldn't get soggy. Sounds like you did a great job experimenting in the kitchen... I live the flavor of vermouth in cooking.

it depends on the veggies youre using too, things like potatoes and carrots take longer to cook than broccoli and peas or green beans...

important thing is about the same size on the veggies, otherwise if you have huge potatoes and small carrots, you will have carrot baby food before your potatoes are done.

Practice makes perfect!

http://img60.exs.cx/img60/1878/picture3206rc.jpg
The end result! Points for presentation. This time I sauteed the veggies in the vermouth and some orange juice, and put it over some rice.
http://img136.exs.cx/img136/7599/picture3229gj.jpg
http://img51.exs.cx/img51/7/picture3244cb.jpg
Going in for the kill.
http://img51.exs.cx/img51/2824/picture3254ws.jpg
The verdict.

That is a huge thumb.... Interesting... ;)

Anyway, this is always my problem too. I can never ever ever time things properly. Mostly I underestimate meat cooking times. So all the sides sit around getting cold while this meat finishes cooking... not good.

mmmmmmmmmmm looks good..

as with my job I tend to sautee everything individually. It definantly takes a bit longer but you get a way more consistent product. especially with dishes that are more ragoule based. secondly I find that different ingrediants are necessary such as a little moisture with beans or greens help cook it even and a bit more salt a pepper is necessary with squash.

Why do so many people overcook vegies? (I'm not referring to MacGuver's post - just asking the question in general). IMO there's nothing worse than sloppy vegetables, especially carrots, zucchini and broccoli - kills the taste and the texture's just mushy. Yuk! Next time cooking these types of vegies, try giving them just 2 to 5 minutes (depending what you're cooking) so that they're hot but still a bit crunchy. The great thing about doing this is that it makes the meal timing a little easier. You can wait until just a few minutes before you know the meat's ready before putting the vegies on, so everything's hot and ready together. Takes a bit of experimenting, but worth the effort.

I notice that veggies are often overcooked. Not only does it ruin the texture and flavor for me but it also destroys the nutritional value of the dish. Usually my wife and I just get them hot and soft enough to put a fork in.