Food and drink thread

[Futtocks]

BEPs (big effin' prawns), briefly fried, then baked for 10 minutes in cultured butter, smoked garlic and flat-leaf parsley.

An interlude of very messy eating with hands. Some of the best shellfish I've ever eaten.

The remains, below, after being baked as the start of a seafood stock or soup. Forks shown for scale.

 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I finally got round to getting myself a fresh, dressed crab off the market and it was gorgeous, so so tasty. Tasted just like the smell of the seaside which is one of my favourite smells in the world! 

[Futtocks]

7 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I finally got round to getting myself a fresh, dressed crab off the market and it was gorgeous, so so tasty. Tasted just like the smell of the seaside which is one of my favourite smells in the world! 

Dressed crab is one of my very favourite things to eat.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

2 hours ago, Futtocks said:

Dressed crab is one of my very favourite things to eat.

It was bloody lovely. I think one big factor is the power of nostalgia that is making me love seafood so much because of how much I love the seaside and the sights and smells of the seaside, and memories from my childhood of going to Bridlington and smelling all the crabs being brought into the harbour. Scallops are still my favourite seafood but crab is close behind.

[Futtocks]

Discarded Banana Peel Rum. Very nice indeed.

Discarded make spirits using by-products from other food processes. So they also made Chardonnay grape skin vodka and a vermouth made with cascara (skin and pulp of the coffee bush).

[Futtocks]

This evening, I cooked a venison shank in the slow cooker. About six quid, since you ask, with enough meat for two if you're serving generous sides.
After seasoning it and searing it in the frying pan, I fried some shallots before deglazing the pan with mirepoix glace and red wine.
All went into the slow cooker with two bay leaves, some crushed juniper berries, dried thyme, smoked garlic granules and an ageing tomato that I needed to use or lose.
After the meat was tender, I reduced the juices and thickened it with cornflour, before adding a teaspoonful of bramble and liquorice jelly to make a rich gravy.
Served with mashed potato and fresh peas.

Bloody marvellous! Although more autumnal than summery.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Has anyone tried Norweigan Brunost cheese? I bought some on the market on Saturday having never heard of it and have had it for lunch today. I am officially in love with it. It is absolutely gorgeous! The texture is so smooth and so creamy and the sweet taste from the caramelised milk sugars is quite frankly better than bedroom activities! I can't recommend it enough.

[Futtocks]

10 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Has anyone tried Norweigan Brunost cheese? I bought some on the market on Saturday having never heard of it and have had it for lunch today. I am officially in love with it. It is absolutely gorgeous! The texture is so smooth and so creamy and the sweet taste from the caramelised milk sugars is quite frankly better than bedroom activities! I can't recommend it enough.

Is that like Gjetost? I do like it, but only in small quantities or it gets a bit cloying.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

2 hours ago, Futtocks said:

Is that like Gjetost? I do like it, but only in small quantities or it gets a bit cloying.

Yeah, it is the same thing. Brunost is a general term for two varieties of this cheese, one that contains a small amount of cow's milk with the goats milk and one that is purely goat. I think Gjetost is the one with cow's and goats milk.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I've just tried another cheese I got off the market, a spicy cheddar. 

After eating one slice of it I thought I was dying and described it to Mrs. Goose as, "scarily spicy, the spiciest thing I've ever eaten and evil". I couldn't face anymore than that one slice and have thrown the rest in the bin. My eyes were melting, my tongue was burning and I was coughing my guts up. It has just taken about half an hour to even just numb the spice a little bit by eating some ice cream and drinking a big glass of milk but even after that there is still a tingle on my tongue.

That was a truly horrendous experience...

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I've just tried another cheese I got off the market, a spicy cheddar. 

After eating one slice of it I thought I was dying and described it to Mrs. Goose as, "scarily spicy, the spiciest thing I've ever eaten and evil". I couldn't face anymore than that one slice and have thrown the rest in the bin. My eyes were melting, my tongue was burning and I was coughing my guts up. It has just taken about half an hour to even just numb the spice a little bit by eating some ice cream and drinking a big glass of milk but even after that there is still a tingle on my tongue.

That was a truly horrendous experience...

There's some stupid stuff going around whose USP is just that it's really hot. 

[Futtocks]

Just had a delivery from the Wild Meat Co.

• Partridge, which I’m marinating for a spicy dish this evening.
• Squirrel - to be casseroled tomorrow with figs and fennel pancetta.
• Venison - Sunday roast.
• Pork cheeks - to be casseroled later.

[Futtocks]

A few hours ago, I made a pig of myself, scoffing a whole Terry's Chocolate Mint.

Just been to the loo and I can confirm that they use real mint!

Edited September 9 by Futtocks

[Futtocks]

Just put a pork shoulder joint in the oven. It might take a while...

 

Edited September 14 by Futtocks

[Futtocks]

Peanut Butter Whisky Liqueur. Blimey, this is a bit addictive.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Well, my latest trip into the world of seafood has been to try sushi for the first time in my life. I loved it, I'll definitely be having sushi again. Don't ask me exactly which kinds I tried cos I aren't familiar with the terminology, I just bought a tray of it from the sandwich fridge in tesco. Like I say, loved it and will be exploring sushi further!

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Well, my latest trip into the world of seafood has been to try sushi for the first time in my life. I loved it, I'll definitely be having sushi again. Don't ask me exactly which kinds I tried cos I aren't familiar with the terminology, I just bought a tray of it from the sandwich fridge in tesco. Like I say, loved it and will be exploring sushi further!

The supermarket stuff doesn't include raw fish, which is a popular part of many forms of sushi. That's because the fish needs to be as fresh as possible and ideally cut to order. So you mostly get smoked salmon and boiled prawn and tuna. Nothing wrong with those ingredients in their own right, of course.

So if you liked it, the good news is that there's much better available, even at moderate prices.

[Futtocks]

1 x echalion shallot, thinly sliced and caramelised

2 x Lamb neck fillet, cut into chunks and seared

1 x Spice Tailor laksa kit (all recommended timings slowed down to account for making it in the slow cooker).

saffron and cardamom rice

...and that added up to 1 x very good meal!

[The Hallucinating Goose]

The latest food stuff I've tried is Brussels Pate for the first time and I really enjoyed it. It tasted absolutely identical to a cheap sausage roll. I had it on toast and rolled one of the slices up and if you didn't know and couldn't see it, you would have sworn you were eating a mass produced sausage roll. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing, I love sausage rolls!

[Futtocks]

Over the last couple of months, I have been acting on a suspicion and almost totally avoiding gluten. As a result, I have been sleeping much better without a vague background* grumbling in the guts, so I guess this is the way it is going to be from now on.

*it turned out to be a lot less background, as soon as I experienced a couple of nights without it.

Lessons learned:

1. Gluten-free pizza base is horribly depressing at best. Thankfully, there are pills which aid digestion of gluten for occasional use.

2. GF bread loaves tend to be dry and fragile to spread anything on, as well as tasteless. Rolls are a better option, maybe because you only cut into them when you need to eat them, so the crust keeps them a bit fresher.

3. Pastry:  I haven't tried cooking GF pastry yet, but I have plans for a pie soon. It depends what they have at the market tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed.

4. Biscuits: early days, but I just bought some crostini to go with cheese, and they are fine. Nairns make several types of GF crackers and oatcakes, which I have yet to try.

5. Availability: a lot of GF product is either made by "wellness" neurotics who think food should be a penance, or by Gammony Jim Warburton, who I'd rather not enrich. Supermarket own brand alternatives seem to be becoming more commonplace, though.

Overall, I have a slight feeling of almost embarrassment as I've always been able to eat everything without problems. I feel like my body's let me down every time I browse the "free from" shelves.

[JohnM]

https://www.google.com/search?q=the+difference+between+s+sauce+snd+a+dressing&oq=the+difference+between+s+sauce+snd+a+dressing&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKAB0gEJNDUwNDJqMGo5qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

[Futtocks]

Just tried "Cola Bottle" flavour Jaffa Cakes for the first time. I kinda like them.

Well, I finished the packet pretty quickly.