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Its cobnut season and Waitrose had a big basket of them. Looking forward to snacking on these. :)

 

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Popped out to the boozer last night and had my first Oktoberfest beers of the season, courtesy of Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu and Hofbräu.

"I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont.

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Okay, I've decided to do something similar. No Baharat mix in the shop, but I can assemble that from ingredients I have at home (quantities below are a bit big, but can be divided down):

4 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground cloves
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons paprika
 
And instead of tahini, I'll try smoked hummus instead and see how it goes.

 

Okay, the lamb was really nice, but unfortunately the flatbreads I bought were a bit fragile and fell to pieces around the meat. Messy, but still tasty.

 

BTW, I got the smoked hummus from Waitrose - and it is great!

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Popped out to the boozer last night and had my first Oktoberfest beers of the season, courtesy of Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu and Hofbräu.

Any proper beer? Or all just something flavourless and cold.

Ron Banks

Midlands Hurricanes and Barrow

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Yeah, what do the Germans know about beer?

:biggrin:

 

They wouldn't clean their windows with the ###### most breweries produce in this country.

"I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just made Bhel Puri, but the green chilli I put in the coriander sauce was, er, just a tad hotter than I expected. Whooh!  :O

 

Still delicious.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 2 weeks later...

From the food market at St Pancras station, a wedge of Irish Gubbeen cheese and some Cornish cider & seaweed salami. Very nice!

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I made this simple recipe today, and it was damn tasty!

 

The only modification was that I bought a pot of pre-made egg fried rice from the supermarket and added almonds to that. And I didn't use watercress.

 

Oh, and when it talks about sitting a single prawn on top, that is definitely a misprint. Loads of prawns per serving, mixed with the rice, then one to garnish.

 

And a little chopped parsley to sprinkle, maybe.

Edited by Futtocks

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 1 month later...

Pigeon, mushroom and chestnut pie tonight. Proper Winter eating! B) 

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 4 weeks later...

Slow Cooker Korean Beef: http://damndelicious.net/2015/02/21/slow-cooker-korean-beef/although I reduced the quantities by about a quarter from that.

 

For afters, a big slab of Parkin.

 

Happy days.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 2 weeks later...

I cooked a couple of beef back ribs in the slow cooker, with shallots, tomato, garlic, some generic bouquet garni, a splash of red wine and about a tablespoon of Cumberland sauce (the latter because the jar was there, rather than being part of any particular recipe). The smells were good, the taste even better!

 

Served with sweet potato chips and marrowfat peas.

 

£2.66 for two ribs is not to be sniffed at either.

Edited by Futtocks

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 2 weeks later...
Slow roast silverside of beef tonight. Cheapest beef joint in the supermarket.

 

I seasoned it with salt & pepper, then slowly brought the internal temperature up to about 50-55 degrees centigrade (oven set to about 90-100 degrees) and held it there for an hour or two. The cooking time was about 4 hours in total. This was all a bit seat-of-the-pants, as I don't have specialist equipment and my electric oven cycles off and on, but close is pretty much good enough, as long as you have a thermometer that keeps you aware of what's going on in there (most ovens' dials are a bit inaccurate).

 

A joint of meat cooked this way releases virtually no juices, so if you want gravy, you'll have to make it from other sources/sauces (see what I did there?). A fair amount of juice comes out when you carve it, though. Deep red inside, but tender.

 

I also took a couple of peeled whole shallots, oiled them and put them in the roasting pan underneath the joint (which was on a rack), to catch what little juice was released. After the full cooking time, they kept their structure but were very tasty. Next time, I think I'll cut them in half and see how they come out.

 

Then, I seared the meat in a hot pan with salted butter and a couple of thyme sprigs. It was served up with the shallots, mashed potatoes and peas.

 

On the side, horseradish. In the mouth, delish!

 

And, of course, I bought enough meat for coldcuts in sandwiches tomorrow! 

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Roasted cod with salami. Would never have put the two together, but it was lovely.

A sort of Spanish surf'n'turf, eh?

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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  • 2 weeks later...

Inspired by Rick Stein's most recent BBC2 episode, I made Shanghai-style red braised pork belly. A lot easier than I expected - really easy, in fact - and it tasted fantastic!

 

I served it with cauliflower rice instead of real rice, which turned out to be pretty bland (won't be buying that again), but the rich and sticky pork didn't need much accompaniment, to be honest.

 

p_red-braised-pork_1641433c.jpg

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Inspired by Rick Stein's most recent BBC2 episode, I made Shanghai-style red braised pork belly. A lot easier than I expected - really easy, in fact - and it tasted fantastic!

 

I served it with cauliflower rice instead of real rice, which turned out to be pretty bland (won't be buying that again), but the rich and sticky pork didn't need much accompaniment, to be honest.

 

p_red-braised-pork_1641433c.jpg

 

I do something similar with a slow cooked chicken in red sauce. I freeze and re-use the sauce and it is considered mature after several uses.

 

The sauce is originally made with light/dark soy, rice wine, sugar, ginger root, star anise, cinnamon sticks. 

 

Very easy to cook and the kids love it.

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I do something similar with a slow cooked chicken in red sauce. I freeze and re-use the sauce and it is considered mature after several uses.

 

The sauce is originally made with light/dark soy, rice wine, sugar, ginger root, star anise, cinnamon sticks. 

 

Very easy to cook and the kids love it.

That sounds pretty much the same sauce. Great stuff!

 

But when I cook it with the pork, the sauce is all used up in the cooking process, as reduction makes it into a sticky-sweet glaze, so there's none left unless I've done it wrong. I think it's the addition of sugar, which makes the caramelised coating.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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That sounds pretty much the same sauce. Great stuff!

 

But when I cook it with the pork, the sauce is all used up in the cooking process, as reduction makes it into a sticky-sweet glaze, so there's none left unless I've done it wrong. I think it's the addition of sugar, which makes the caramelised coating.

 

Looking online there is more sugar in the version where you reduce the sauce down to make a glaze. The poached chicken I do doesn't have a glaze as such but more of a subtle flavour.

 

I might give the sticky pork a go as that sounds really good.

 

I also do a slightly different dish which is beef in a sticky soy glaze with sesame seeds. That is delicious and really easy to do. Sliced beef stir fried very briefly, add dark soy, small amount of beef stock, brown sugar, corn flour and finally some sesame seeds. Very quick and easy to do. 

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I have a e-voucher for Marks & Spencer, but I'm also tight, what do M&S do well on the food front that will either i) freeze ii) be long lasting iii) is booze?

Depends on the size of the shop. The larger ones have a very good and varied wine section. Not sure about the beer, and the spirits are a mixture of own-brand and major brands. 

 

The food (both fresh produce and ready-meals) tends to be of good quality and the packaging will say if its freezable or not. 

Edited by Futtocks

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I've just roasted (well, dry-fried) coffee beans for the first time. The beans are currently cooling, but I think I had the hob heat too high, as the results are visually a little uneven.

 

The tasting's the thing, though. 

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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