Food and drink thread

[JohnM]

"Bill Kenyon of Ultimate Purveyors from St Helens, who were commissioned to make the pie, said: "This is the first step to enable mankind to consume pies with more elegance and comfort"

 

 A pie from Snellins?  That is SO WRONG!!!. and ELEGANCE from Snellins? That really is tripe!

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38334437

Edited December 17, 2016 by JohnM

[JohnM]

I've been given some pigs trotters, how's the best way to cook 'em?

 

Simmer them in seasoned water for 24 hours, drain them, dry them in kitchen towels then throw them straight down the toilet to cut out the middleman.

[Robin Evans]

A warm (thats waaaarm to our southern friends) pie, with jelly dribbling down my chin and congealing in the ginger mass of my beard is not a thing of beauty or elegance.... but oh my word its a thing of taste

[C H Calthrop]

"Bill Kenyon of Ultimate Purveyors from St Helens, who were commissioned to make the pie, said: "This is the first step to enable mankind to consume pies with more elegance and comfort"

 

 A pie from Snellins?  That is SO WRONG!!!. and ELEGANCE from Snellins? That really is tripe!

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38334437

It is the only place for well engineered pies and indeed the first pie in space is bound to end up on a sign post at the entrances to the town..... just like they did for the SPOTYA team awards.

[C H Calthrop]

I've been given some pigs trotters, how's the best way to cook 'em?

Open the bin put them in for no more than 2 weeks then enjoy. 

[westlondonfan]

The thing I find most difficult at this time of you buying wine. I don't know enough about it to know what is a good one and the bad one. So it can be a bit of a lottery.

[JohnM]

Buy the cheapest, run it through the liquidiser on full for 60 secs, decant into a ...decanter.  Trust me, it works.

 

 

See here http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-aerate-y-163691

[TheSnowmonkey]

I did and gave up after reading the 50th different way of ensuring you get "perfect crackling"

 

From trial and error I think the key things that seem to improve your chances of success are to make sure the skin is really dry, unwrap and leave out overnight if possible, make sure you score the skin but not right through to the fat. Rub with a bit of oil and lots of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Heat the oven to maximum temp and then cook for 20-30 mins on full, then turn right down and cook slowly for a good few hours

 

Some say to pour over boiling water before drying, others say no oil on the skin, some do low temp first then blast it at the end....some cheat and take the skin off and cook it under the grill.

 

Most of the time I get decent cracking but on the odd occasion for no obvious reason the skin remain un-crispy which is very disappointing.

 

 

 

I have tried every method for making the best crackling...my favourite and simplest...never fails provided the oven is at correct temperature...is 1) make sure skin has been scored.. 2) rub half a fresh lemon over the skin..get in all the cracks..3)  sprinkle a good sea salt over skin ..rub in...That it...The lemon aids the crackling ..producing bubbles ..a very delicious crackling no citrus taste. 

 

 

If I wanted a Chinese style belly pork but the crackling as well...before cooking separate  the skin from belly...lay skin on flat tray..then do method above.   

 

Then in a large dish or  container...throw in brown sugar, paprika, any herbs you like chilli powder...take the belly ..rub mix into every nook n cranny....slice some lemons...take some vodka..poor over ..rest in fridge for few hrs...cook belly in one oven dish..crackling on another...n voila best of both worlds. ..You could slow bbq the meat..do the crackling in oven... 

[westlondonfan]

Buy the cheapest, run it through the liquidiser on full for 60 secs, decant into a ...decanter.  Trust me, it works.

 

 

See here http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-aerate-y-163691

Thanks John I am going to try that.

[Futtocks]

MacSweens venison haggis, served with potato & broccoli gratins - yep, I went to Lidl yesterday.

[Futtocks]

2 hours ago, Futtocks said:

MacSweens venison haggis, served with potato & broccoli gratins - yep, I went to Lidl yesterday.

Pros: pretty damn tasty, as you'd expect from MacSweens.

Cons: not overtly gamey or venison-flavoured. 

[Futtocks]

On 17/12/2016 at 10:11 AM, JohnM said:

Buy the cheapest, run it through the liquidiser on full for 60 secs, decant into a ...decanter.  Trust me, it works.

 

 

See here http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-aerate-y-163691

This is for red wine. This works better with some wines than others, but it is definitely worth trying. I use a hand blender, but the idea of aerating the liquid and shortening the breathing period is the same. For decanting, a large clean glass/ceramic jug will do, and they are much easier to clean than most wine decanters.

 

With white wine, I find that having it straight from the fridge is often worse than letting it lose a little of the chill. By that, I don't mean drinking it at room temperature; just not freezing cold. Of course, different fridges and different rooms have varying temperatures, so there's no hard and fast rule. In general, I prefer the more acidic wines (Sauvignon blanc and German/Austrian varieties) to be served colder than, say Chardonnay or Chenin blanc.

[Futtocks]

Jay Rayner on Seven things to stay livid about in 2017 

[hindle xiii]

Asda were selling off their fancy Christmas brie for 75p.

So I've just eaten it all in under an hour.

500g, serves 20.

*sigh*

[Futtocks]

7 minutes ago, hindle xiii said:

Asda were selling off their fancy Christmas brie for 75p.

So I've just eaten it all in under an hour.

500g, serves 20.

*sigh*

Sweet dreams...

[hindle xiii]

9 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Sweet dreams...

Said the TRL grim reaper.

Gee, thanks.

[C H Calthrop]

I just love a Twiglet, bought 16 Christmas branded tubes going cheap. Result for all Marmite enthusiasts

[Futtocks]

[longboard]

1 hour ago, Futtocks said:

The legendary Wigan butty. 

[C H Calthrop]

9 hours ago, Futtocks said:

Half measures. The St Helens pie butty is a steak pie sandwiched between two meat and potato pies. 

[hindle xiii]

Does anyone know what variety the supermarket 'baking potato' is?

Ta.

[Futtocks]

59 minutes ago, hindle xiii said:

Does anyone know what variety the supermarket 'baking potato' is?

Ta.

Could be anything. Probably varies from supermarket to supermarket and from season to season. Most common UK varieties would be King Edward, White or Russet, I reckon. I assume they just sort out the largest spuds before packing and label them according to ideal use.

You tend to get more specific breeds at the smaller end of the market, like Vivaldi, Pink Fir Apples, Jersey Royals etc.

[Bearman]

1 hour ago, hindle xiii said:

Does anyone know what variety the supermarket 'baking potato' is?

Ta.

I think they grade baking potatoes by size. Very often Cara and in my opinion they aren't very good. 

 Maris  Piper, King Edward or Desire make the best jacket potatoes but Roosters are ok too.

Tesco only sell Maris  Piper prebagged in mixed size bags.  My local greengrocer sells them loose. 

As a matter of interest I was going into Lidl last week for some items.  I needed some fruit and veg and so I noted the prices in the greengrocers as I passed by. 

The prices of the same items in Lidl were far higher than the greengrocer and the quality was no were nearly as good. 

 

Any recommendations for alternative bakers as good as MP or KE's would be gratefully received

Edited February 3, 2017 by Bearman

[Moose]

Stockdale's of Yorkshire, a newish Leeds restaurant whose speciality is Wagu beef have an 8oz fillet on the menu priced at £42, sauce is an extra £3. I didn't order one.

[Futtocks]

17 minutes ago, Moose said:

Stockdale's of Yorkshire, a newish Leeds restaurant whose speciality is Wagu beef have an 8oz fillet on the menu priced at £42, sauce is an extra £3. I didn't order one.

Could be worse...