The Foodies thread

[MadchesterCity]

Can you taste the spuds?

Yes they are amazing, the skins are full of flavour and potatoes fluffy and earthy in the middle. Proof of the pudding of deliciousness was how many my daughter wolfed down. They were some pretty special tatties and my first attempt at that recipe, I think maybe could swap out the fresh coriander for a different fresh herb but it was all we had available

 

[KS55]

Yes they are amazing, the skins are full of flavour and potatoes fluffy and earthy in the middle. Proof of the pudding of deliciousness was how many my daughter wolfed down. They were some pretty special tatties and my first attempt at that recipe, I think maybe could swap out the fresh coriander for a different fresh herb but it was all we had available

Thanks. I’ll try it. I never gauged the quality by my kids reaction; they would wolf down wallpaper paste.

 

[MadchesterCity]

Thanks. I’ll try it. I never gauged the quality by my kids reaction; they would wolf down wallpaper paste.

You must be doing something right then. Could substitute bacon lardons with Polish kabano sausage, also it was a teaspoon each of yellow and black mustard seeds

 

[bluebc]

Went to https://www.acaiandthetribe.com/ in town on Sunday , thought we’d try something a bit different and healthy so for just shy of £30 we got : pretty tasteless all round but filled a hole , place was occupied by pretentious arseholes and lazy bastards shouted my name out instead of bring it to the table

 

[Saddleworth2]

Yep, Italian food culture my favourite. Learn to do a few base sauces well and a world of great food is within your reach without having to get overly fancy about it.

I'm doing caramelised shallots with spaghetti and tomato sauce tonight. Simple but delicious served with torn basil leaves and parmesan cheese. The tomato sauce is my own made from Italian san Marzano tomatoes, oregano, diced onions and garlic. Left to simmer for a couple of hours. I commit sacrilege by adding just a little soy sauce towards the end of cooking. A bit controversial but I find it deepens the flavour.

Tomorrow a veggie salad with roast cauliflower and butternut squash, Thursday a chicken stir fry with fried rice and Friday will see if I can pick up a nice bit of Halibut or failing that Cod loin. Weekend will be Bbq'd pork loin on the bone with something (not decided yet) but probably feature a cider and sage sauce.

Each to their own on food and what works for one may not work for another. I'm lucky that I have the time to research recipes and cook them as the price of eating out these days borders on the ridiculous. Just back from Pembrokeshire and I treated the family of 6 to what was a fairly bog standard pub meal - burgers, bit of sea food, a couple of drinks each, £280 for a bill. I really don't understand how folk can afford to eat out regularly so I do my best to serve restaurant standard food at home.

 

[Thaksins Love Child]

I'm doing caramelised shallots with spaghetti and tomato sauce tonight. Simple but delicious served with torn basil leaves and parmesan cheese. The tomato sauce is my own made from Italian san Marzano tomatoes, oregano, diced onions and garlic. Left to simmer for a couple of hours. I commit sacrilege by adding just a little soy sauce towards the end of cooking. A bit controversial but I find it deepens the flavour.

Tomorrow a veggie salad with roast cauliflower and butternut squash, Thursday a chicken stir fry with fried rice and Friday will see if I can pick up a nice bit of Halibut or failing that Cod loin. Weekend will be Bbq'd pork loin on the bone with something (not decided yet) but probably feature a cider and sage sauce.

Each to their own on food and what works for one may not work for another. I'm lucky that I have the time to research recipes and cook them as the price of eating out these days borders on the ridiculous. Just back from Pembrokeshire and I treated the family of 6 to what was a fairly bog standard pub meal - burgers, bit of sea food, a couple of drinks each, £280 for a bill. I really don't understand how folk can afford to eat out regularly so I do my best to serve restaurant standard food at home.

Where are the tomatoes from? Interested in trying this.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Where are the tomatoes from? Interested in trying this.

They are tinned but don't let that put you off as they are better cooked out than fresh. I use the best quality I can get - always Italian. The most common decent brand is Mutti which I get from Morrisons. It is more expensive per tin that bog standard but well worth it. All of their products are very good (puree, pasta etc). The san Marzano tins are best but to be honest the bog standard polpa is almost as good and slightly cheaper. The caramelised shallots or onions I make in a pan on a medium high heat stirring continuously and splashing in a little water when the onions/shallots start to catch on the bottom of the pan. Keep doing that for around 40 minutes until you have an onion jam. I sometimes put some in my tomato sauce and then blend it to smooth it out - I find it gives the sauce even richer taste. Good luck mate.

 

[KS55]

I'm doing caramelised shallots with spaghetti and tomato sauce tonight. Simple but delicious served with torn basil leaves and parmesan cheese. The tomato sauce is my own made from Italian san Marzano tomatoes, oregano, diced onions and garlic. Left to simmer for a couple of hours. I commit sacrilege by adding just a little soy sauce towards the end of cooking. A bit controversial but I find it deepens the flavour.

Tomorrow a veggie salad with roast cauliflower and butternut squash, Thursday a chicken stir fry with fried rice and Friday will see if I can pick up a nice bit of Halibut or failing that Cod loin. Weekend will be Bbq'd pork loin on the bone with something (not decided yet) but probably feature a cider and sage sauce.

Each to their own on food and what works for one may not work for another. I'm lucky that I have the time to research recipes and cook them as the price of eating out these days borders on the ridiculous. Just back from Pembrokeshire and I treated the family of 6 to what was a fairly bog standard pub meal - burgers, bit of sea food, a couple of drinks each, £280 for a bill. I really don't understand how folk can afford to eat out regularly so I do my best to serve restaurant standard food at home.

This post contains an interesting phrase concerning the history of cooking, namely “torn basil leaves”.
There are many ‘rules’ in cooking which have no scientific basis but are just the reflection of past practice. Some of those cooks to the aristocracy who produced books in the Victorian era or earlier merely wrote down what they did and somehow their statements became rules. I’m thinking of Eliza Acton, Mrs Beaton etc.
Here are some of the rules that are not science based:
1. When making mayonnaise, drip the oil in slowly. Mayonnaise and the like separate due to temperature differences between the egg and the oil. So all you have to do is take them out 30 mins before you make the sauce. Wallop it in, no dripping. You can actually use the whole egg if you want, no need to use yolk only.
2. Tear basil leaves, don’t cut them. This arose because some noble told his cook he preferred torn leaves. No culinary purpose to it.
3. Seal your meat by applying high heat for a while. No sealing actually takes place. Browning improves the taste but not the juiciness.
4. For White sauce add the milk to the roux slowly to avoid lumps. No it doesn’t. Lumps are caused by not cooking out the roux sufficiently to burst the flour grains. Cook out the roux and dump all your cold milk in at once. Stir, No lumps, magic.
There are others but I can’t remember them now.

 

[Saddleworth2]

This post contains an interesting phrase concerning the history of cooking, namely “torn basil leaves”.
There are many ‘rules’ in cooking which have no scientific basis but are just the reflection of past practice. Some of those cooks to the aristocracy who produced books in the Victorian era or earlier merely wrote down what they did and somehow their statements became rules. I’m thinking of Eliza Acton, Mrs Beaton etc.
Here are some of the rules that are not science based:
1. When making mayonnaise, drip the oil in slowly. Mayonnaise and the like separate due to temperature differences between the egg and the oil. So all you have to do is take them out 30 mins before you make the sauce. Wallop it in, no dripping. You can actually use the whole egg if you want, no need to use yolk only.
2. Tear basil leaves, don’t cut them. This arose because some noble told his cook he preferred torn leaves. No culinary purpose to it.
3. Seal your meat by applying high heat for a while. No sealing actually takes place. Browning improves the taste but not the juiciness.
4. For White sauce add the milk to the roux slowly to avoid lumps. No it doesn’t. Lumps are caused by not cooking out the roux sufficiently to burst the flour grains. Cook out the roux and dump all your cold milk in at once. Stir, No lumps, magic.
There are others but I can’t remember them now.

I always thought that tearing rather than cutting reduced bruising of the leaves and better released the aroma of the basil. Probably not scientifically proven either. Searing a steak creates the Maillard reaction which changes the surface molecules of the stake enhancing flavour.

 

[KS55]

I always thought that tearing rather than cutting reduced bruising of the leaves and better released the aroma of the basil. Probably not scientifically proven either. Searing a steak creates the Maillard reaction which changes the surface molecules of the stake enhancing flavour.

Yeah, the bruising of basil theory would work if you could tear the leaf super accurately avoiding relevant cells! Just cut rather than chop finely, exactly the same as tearing.
Searing meat certainly enhances flavour, but not juiciness, there is no sealing. I already said this!