The cooking thread and what are you having for dinner tonight beansnikpoh?

Stevo_666

I outsource it to the local take away, easier to blame someone else if it doesn't get approval.

tlw1

Stevo_666 said:

I outsource it to the local take away, easier to blame someone else if it doesn't get approval.

The current wife is the main catering division and thankfully appreciated enough that it continues

Stevo_666

tlw1 said:

Stevo_666 said:

I outsource it to the local take away, easier to blame someone else if it doesn't get approval.

The current wife is the main catering division and thankfully appreciated enough that it continues

Why have a dog and bark yourself?

seanoconn

Chinese pork belly. Melt in the mouth, very impressed with myself.

pinno

Good one Seano. I had a stir fry last night. It's been a while.
Chicken Korma tonight. Made my own Korma paste and Naan bread.

pinno

Salmon, red cabbage, green beans baby pots.
Super, smashin' luvly.

seanoconn

Need to work on my plating up/presentation. Swordfish, smoked haddock with purple sprouting broccoli.

tlw1

seanoconn

Run for you lives!!

orraloon

^ That's going to crawl off the plate and attack you. 😳 Ever seen that Alien documentary presented by Sigourney Weaver?

Stevo_666

tlw1 said:

I love the stuff but the only two times I've had serious gut rot is from French shellfish.

pinno

Vindaloo, Jeera rice and Naan bread.
All home made. Slightly tweaked so as no to be too hot for the toots by adding natural yoghurt.

seanoconn

Espresso martinis, need to get the missus in the mood to burn the calories missed by opting to drive this morning.

orraloon

First time evah using turkey mince (too good a bargain reduced to clear price to not take on today's supermarket sweep). Went the one pot route, used up the last of my passata from back when it were summer, added some of the vicious Kashmir massala powder like wot I brought back from an SA spice shop n years ago, the sweet peppers, et al. Worked well. Happy with that.

seanoconn

orraloon said:

First time evah using turkey mince (too good a bargain reduced to clear price to not take on today's supermarket sweep). Went the one pot route, used up the last of my passata from back when it were summer, added some of the vicious Kashmir massala powder like wot I brought back from an SA spice shop n years ago, the sweet peppers, et al. Worked well. Happy with that.

Use turkey mince regularly. Cooks quicker than beef. Makes nice burgers too with mushrooms, onions and breadcrumbs in the mix.

pinno

The round of curry's is this:

Rogan Josh
Chicken Korma
Paneer Korma
Lamb Biryani
Vindaloo
Buttered Chicken
Chicken curry
Slow cook beef Curry.

Tonight is Lamb Biryani.

Last week I cooked Jeera rice to go with the curry. Well worth it and not complicated. If you know how to cook rice by the absorption method, it's easy.

There are a few recipe's for Jeera rice but my preferred one is this:

Clarified butter
Cardamom pods - seeds only, crushed
Green chilly to taste or medium chilly powder
Cumin seeds - roasted and crushed (2 mins at high heat moving continuously in a pan)
Bay leaf
Finely chopped red onion
Coriander (optional)
Salt

Soak your rinsed rice for 20 mins. Drain well. Heat up the Ghee in a small pan, add the onion and fry quickly, add the spices fry for a couple of mins to release the flavours. Add the rice and fry for 2 mins, stirring lots but gently.

Add the Bay, salt and optional Coriander, cook by absorption. Go easy on the volume of spices/herbs. It should have a distinct flavour but subtle. Do not: over heat the Ghee, overcook the onions or burn the spices in the pan.

seanoconn

Spent hours preparing and cooking beef stew yesterday. Time to make the herby dumplings but there’s no self-raising flour. “I’ll pop to the shops.” says I. “Plain flour and baking soda is the same, use that.” Says the missus. It was not! Dumplings ruined!

2mins prep and cooking tonight, hot dogs 😕

pinno

Plain flour and baking powder.
Baking powder is 2 parts cream of tartar, 1 part bicarbonate of soda. That's the ratio I use and it does work.
Baking soda has only one ingredient: sodium bicarbonate.

seanoconn

pinno said:

Plain flour and baking powder.
Baking powder is 2 parts cream of tartar, 1 part bicarbonate of soda. That's the ratio I use and it does work.
Baking soda has only one ingredient: sodium bicarbonate.

Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is what I used on her advice.

I should have used baking power?

pinno

seanoconn said:

pinno said:

Plain flour and baking powder.
Baking powder is 2 parts cream of tartar, 1 part bicarbonate of soda. That's the ratio I use and it does work.
Baking soda has only one ingredient: sodium bicarbonate.

Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is what I used on her advice.

I should have used baking power?

There is a difference, so yes.

pinno

Home made Chicken, smoked ham and mushrooms (in a Mascarpone sauce) pie with new pots, green beans and cabbage.

hopkinb

Similarish pie filling from the other day. Chicken thigh, ham hock, leeks, mushroom, asparagus, tarragon, parsley. Good stock and a little cream to finish.

https://youtube.com/shorts/zM9zD7e0rio?feature=share

No idea if the link works, let's see.

hopkinb

hopkinb said:

No idea if the link works, let's see.

Seems to. Filled a fully encased pie dish rather than just a puff pastry lid

Served with carrots.

It was very good. But you can buy very good pies with much less hassle and mess.

itboffin

I’ve been cooking loads these last few months and without planning it almost all vegi or vegan, mind you my love of beer has ensured my weight is pretty static.

I’m finding complex meals that require a lot of prep really help calm and relax me from the day to day troubles of life.

Mind you I can’t really tell if the meals taste as nice as they look, thanks to yet another gift from COVID back in November

pinno

hopkinb said:

hopkinb said:

No idea if the link works, let's see.

Seems to. Filled a fully encased pie dish rather than just a puff pastry lid

Served with carrots.

It was very good. But you can buy very good pies with much less hassle and mess.

Yes. Left over roast Duck or Chicken is great fried and mixed with leaks and then put in a puff pastry 'pillow' on a baking tray.
I simmer all the left over spuds, veg etc mashed up to make a stock for the gravy.
We can't buy good pies here. I am glad too. It obligates me to put some effort in.

pinno

itboffin said:

I’m finding complex meals that require a lot of prep really help calm and relax me from the day to day troubles of life.

Meditate? I do.

PM me and i'll send you a link to kick it off.

Ben6899

itboffin said:

I’ve been cooking loads these last few months and without planning it almost all vegi or vegan, mind you my love of beer has ensured my weight is pretty static.

I’m finding complex meals that require a lot of prep really help calm and relax me from the day to day troubles of life.

Mind you I can’t really tell if the meals taste as nice as they look, thanks to yet another gift from COVID back in November

I hope everything is okay, ITB.

pinno

Here!

itboffin

Ditto and now recovering from appendicitis these last few years just keep on giving

pinno

Can't they remove the damn thang?