Food and drink thread

[Bleep1673]

Did Chinese Pork Balls last night, it was awful, I binned them and went for a burger instead.

[Futtocks]

Whitebait, lemon wedges and aioli for this evening's meal. It's been far too long since the last time I did this.

[hindle xiii]

Happy Yorkshire pudding day.

[Futtocks]

The ox heart and root vegetable casserole has been in the slow cooker for an hour. The first taste is good, but a little extra seasoning is required.

[Robin Evans]

Nowt flash.... roast lamb.... fresh mint... roasters n usual Sunday jolly up.

I'm stuffed and pondering work tomorrow.... and I really don't want to go.

[Futtocks]

2 hours ago, Futtocks said:

The ox heart and root vegetable casserole has been in the slow cooker for an hour. The first taste is good, but a little extra seasoning is required.

Well, that went well, and there's enough for tomorrow. Tuesday too, if I pad it out with some beans. After first tasting at the 1-hour mark, I added a little balsamic vinegar and some ketchup, then a few tablespoons of sour cream at the end of the cooking process.

Served with mashed potatoes, with some English mustard stirred in.

[Bleep1673]

Interesting piece on how to make your Pizza better...

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/feb/08/how-to-make-much-better-home-pizzas-from-flavour-filled-bases-to-next-level-toppings

[Bleep1673]

Great Sarnies, Beats Boiled Ham & Cheddar...

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/feb/08/how-to-jazz-up-roast-chicken-and-fish-finger-sandwiches-recipes

[Bleep1673]

21 hours ago, Futtocks said:

Well, that went well, and there's enough for tomorrow. Tuesday too, if I pad it out with some beans. After first tasting at the 1-hour mark, I added a little balsamic vinegar and some ketchup, then a few tablespoons of sour cream at the end of the cooking process.

Served with mashed potatoes, with some English mustard stirred in.

One of the things I miss about working, is cooking for three, and having half for tea, and taking the left-overs in to work, for lunch, and showing off.

Especially if I had done something Asian (Viet/Korean/Chinese) and the Nurses could smell what I had done, and more than once accused me of reheating a take away

[Futtocks]

1 minute ago, Bleep1673 said:

One of the things I miss about working, is cooking for three, and having half for tea, and taking the left-overs in to work, for lunch, and showing off.

Especially if I had done something Asian (Viet/Korean/Chinese) and the Nurses could smell what I had done, and more than once accused me of reheating a take away

And a lot of stews, chillis, curries etc. are better when reheated the next day.

[Bleep1673]

29 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

And a lot of stews, chillis, curries etc. are better when reheated the next day.

Certainly my Chilli con Carne, and don't use reduced fat minced beef, 20%+

Edited February 8, 2021 by Bleep1673

[Gerrumonside ref]

Spider crabs and a type of sole are being rebranded as ‘Cornish crabs and Cornish sole’ in a bid to boost their popularity in the U.K. for shoppers?

Both of these are usually exported in large quantities to mainland Europe which is currently proving tricky to do in a profitable fashion.

I DON’T want to get into that wider debate on exports but I actually think rebranding to make fish products more popular is pretty creative.

Will it work from your perspective?

[Futtocks]

36 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Spider crabs and a type of sole are being rebranded as ‘Cornish crabs and Cornish sole’ in a bid to boost their popularity in the U.K. for shoppers?

Both of these are usually exported in large quantities to mainland Europe which is currently proving tricky to do in a profitable fashion.

I DON’T want to get into that wider debate on exports but I actually think rebranding to make fish products more popular is pretty creative.

Will it work from your perspective?

They've tried renaming unpopular fish before: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12768880.a-fish-called-colin-is-it-codswallop-or-a-load-of-pollocks/ And there are other instances, like Rockfish/Red Snapper, or Toothfish/Chilean Sea Bass. 

If my local supermarkets started stocking things like spider crab, I would buy some, whatever the name. As long as the price is reasonable, of course.

[Gerrumonside ref]

5 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

They've tried renaming unpopular fish before: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12768880.a-fish-called-colin-is-it-codswallop-or-a-load-of-pollocks/ And there are other instances, like Rockfish/Red Snapper, or Toothfish/Chilean Sea Bass. 

If my local supermarkets started stocking things like spider crab, I would buy some, whatever the name. As long as the price is reasonable, of course.

Me too, it wouldn’t bother me what it was called providing the experience of eating it was positive.

[Futtocks]

I, like a lot of my fellow Brits, don't buy and cook as much fish as they do on the continent. 

Part of this is the uninspiring selection you see in most supermarkets. But supermarkets would be taking a risk if they stocked a wider variety and then had to bin more unsold fish when the "best before" expired.

[hindle xiii]

Pilchards have been Cornish sardines for about a decade. (I haven't read the article)

We are ship at fish in the homes. But we are ship at plenty of other things like offal and even vegetables FFS.

There will be a dozen or more excuses why we are so rubbish.

[Mumby Magic]

Never eat steak tbh but looking forward to a steak and chips nosh for my first valentine's with my girlfriend. Never did valentine's b4. She's cooking but any decent sauces apart from peppercorn anyone recommend.

[Futtocks]

15 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

Never eat steak tbh but looking forward to a steak and chips nosh for my first valentine's with my girlfriend. Never did valentine's b4. She's cooking but any decent sauces apart from peppercorn anyone recommend.

I wouldn't have any sauce with steak apart from the cooking juices. Get the pan hot, rub a little high smoke-point oil (rapeseed or peanut) on the meat and season with salt and pepper, then sear hard and hot. Chuck in some butter and a sprig of thyme, and baste the steak plenty of times with a spoon. You need a dark, caramelised crust (the Maillard Reaction) on the surface, without the inside going grey and overdone.

Rest on a warmed plate, pouring the cooking juices on top, under foil for a few minutes before serving.

And don't buy fillet steak. Fillet's only plus point is tenderness, for a Beef Wellington or something similar. It lacks the flavour of rump, ribeye or sirloin. Find a steak that is cut with an even thickness, so it all cooks at the same speed.

Heston Blumenthal recommends turning the steak while it cooks every 18 seconds. This method works, but it is a little anal-retentive. But turn it every now and then to check up on the colour.

[Leeds Wire]

Just made mackerel pate and coleslaw on toast and I think it might just be my new favourite combination. Utterly delicious.

 

[hindle xiii]

I have decided to be less experimental while cooking and go back to recipes for the time being.

[Futtocks]

McShepherd's Pie (Crofter's Pie?). A bottom layer of MacSween's haggis, chopped roughly to make a fairly even layer. Then a layer of marrowfat peas, then a topping of potato (baked, then chopped with skin on). Add a few dots of butter on top, and a sprinkling of chives.

In the oven for about 25 minutes, to heat everything through and get a little crisping on the spuds. A very satisfying and filling one-pot meal.

[unapologetic pedant]

On 24/01/2021 at 17:36, Futtocks said:

Just taken delivery of a portable induction hob, which will mostly sit on top of and replace my electric hobs, but can also complement them.

First test, a pint of cold water in a saucepan. Comes to the boil startlingly quickly and when the temperature is dropped or the machine is switched off, the change is almost instant.

This test run brings to mind those Quooker taps I keep seeing adverts for.

Time was, when all these domestic innovations were pitched as making life easier for the British housewife. When some persons could sit back and let gentler persons get on with it.

[unapologetic pedant]

On 11/02/2021 at 21:03, Futtocks said:

Heston Blumenthal recommends turning the steak while it cooks every 18 seconds. This method works, but it is a little anal-retentive. But turn it every now and then to check up on the colour.

Perhaps I`m fastidious, but I`d recommend not mentioning "anal" in any culinary context.

[Bleep1673]

Non excuse for garbage Valentine's Day sloppy ship, but I do have my daughter for a visit.

So, Chicken Soup, followed by Tandoori Lamb Wraps, with warmed pears with custard.

[Moose]

3 hours ago, Bleep1673 said:

Non excuse for garbage Valentine's Day sloppy ship, but I do have my daughter for a visit.

So, Chicken Soup, followed by Tandoori Lamb Wraps, with warmed pears with custard.

Talking of Valentine’s Day, if the queues outside M&S are anything to go by a lot of people are tucking into their £20 meal deal.

Myself and Mrs Moose certainly have, we settled for the Prawn cocktail, pork  and beef meatballs with linguine in a tomato sauce, tarte au citron slice, chocolates and all washed down with a decent bottle of Rose. Delicious and a steal for £20.