long time passing

sungod

meh

i'm bored

mrs s is proposing we swig bubbly

it's a plan

hopkinb

You ok hun?

sungod

fine

though i'd thought i couldn't be any further disappointed in humanity, but they keep proving me wrong

hopkinb

I know. Investing hope in any innate decency in people is a never ending disappointment by and large. The exceptions to the rule make life worth living, though they are becoming fewer in this age of wilful ignorance and mindless tribalism.

hopkinb

Just noticed the edit. Good plan from Mrs S. Anything good? I can only imagine you swigging the better grand marque NV's on a weeknight, so Sunday must be a MV like grand siécle or Krug. Maybe a top end cuvee, a Dom P, a Winston C or a Cristal.

Me? Some cheapish portuginese red that went with the lamb earlier.

orraloon

Is a strange time but also one in which one can learn new things. E.g. I went into a station-adjacent Sainsburys Local on Friday to get a late lunch sandwich, checked out the meats section as my freezer out of chicken breasts, want to do a chicken chorizo dish but none there though they did have packs of chicken legs at £1.85 per kilo... okaaay, not been here before but let me try...

Actually turned out as v indeed tasty one pot stylee casserole. Which I will do again, is that good. What I have learned this weekend...

Currently savouring the last of the local shop for local people's rather nice Malbec, empty space on the rack today. 'Kin locusts.

sungod

nothing exotic, the normal lp is a bit bland but i quite enjoy the lpgs on ba though that's off for a while, not keen on cristal any the other lr for that matter, nor pol roger, once had a bad bottle of dom in bahrain, a one off but it haunts me still, of course krug is lovely

for random quaffing there's bredon which is a bargain, vc/moet are always a safe bet, but preferred are probably billecart salmon especially the exta brut and of course bolly,
the standard one, the vintage bollys i've found a bit disappointing

hopkinb

'Loon, don't tell everyone how good chicken legs are, everyone will want them.

Roast them whole with white wine, lemon and garlic. At least an hour at 180 until the meat is properly soft and the skin crisp, or like you say, casserole until similarly good.

Thigh meat for curries or fricassees.

Wings are best of all, though more effort to eat as you have to use fingers really. Marinade in turmeric, oil and salt and roast until fragrant and crisp.

orraloon

😊 Recipe exchange time! Did a mirepoix type thing with onion, leek, celery, carrot, garlic, ginger, mushroom, tomato puree, dijon mustard, fresh herbs, red wine. Then a 170 fan oven for 1.5h. Turned out really tasty, quite a lot of clear fatty juices released on the initial browning, a good sign. Some creamy mash alongside, all good.

hopkinb

sungod said:

nothing exotic, the normal lp is a bit bland but i quite enjoy the lpgs on ba though that's off for a while, not keen on cristal any the other lr for that matter, nor pol roger, once had a bad bottle of dom in bahrain, a one off but it haunts me still, of course krug is lovely

for random quaffing there's bredon which is a bargain, vc/moet are always a safe bet, but preferred are probably billecart salmon especially the exta brut and of course bolly,
the standard one, the vintage bollys i've found a bit disappointing

I do like LR's most basic cuvee (brut premier?), and taitty NV if it's been stashed for 18 months, and Lanson with 2 years is great, especially if you can buy as low as 15 per bottle. Taitty CdC is utterly superb, I had the good fortune to buy a dozen of the 2006 at 50% off when M&S delisted it.

Mrs H³ is all about perrier jouet, especially belle epoque if she can make me spring for it (seeing as she actually earns a bigger salary than me, I'm not sure why I have to pay).

Anyway, I could blither on all day about wine and food.

I see Richmond Park has been closed to cars, I shall be a dutiful hamster drone tomorrow and do a couple of turns while keeping my distance.

Stevo_666

I'm about to crack open a bottle of Westons vintage cider and I'm feeling a bit excluded from this thread

hopkinb

Nowt wrong with Westons. Strong, aged in oak, made from apples, drink enough and you'll commune with air demons? That's good enough for me.

Wheelspinner

Most of the booziques here push Moet, VC, Piper Hiedsieck and Mumm’s as the main ones. Taittinger usually my pref but hard to get. Billecart et Salmon also scarce. Only ever had Dom once, and never tried Krug yet. 😞 sometimes see Lanson but I never liked it much.

Am getting increasingly lazy these days though and just sticking to red.

hopkinb

Basic Lanson NV just needs at least a couple of years to soften all the acid, turns into a very nice drink. Easy enough in the UK when there is deep deep discounting around Christmas and Easter to buy a 6 pack and hide it.

I don't drink much champagne. I'm a bit monocultural with wine. Whites from Germany and the Loire, reds from the Languedoc or, if flush, from Northern Italy or Burgundy.

Wheelspinner

I’m a bit Philistine when it comes to wine... see a bottle, drink it. Patience not a virtue... 🙂

tlw1

We bought decent wines for Mother’s Day but the day descended into outdoor social distance drinking with pals, so we ended up clearing table wines (Ned is on offer at the moment)

pinno

+ 1 for thighs in Curries. They stay together for longer. I cooked a hooge chicken curry last week, mostly destined for the freezer.
3 hours plus cooking, 1 hour prep - loads of onions, cooked to a pulp.

Didn't I do a thread for you H³?

On a non culinary note, written on the side of a trailer in the highlands: 'Go home idiots'.
Was staggered by the numbers walking up Snowdon.

Sturgeon should shut the border to non essential travelers.
Took Toots for a walk in Galloway forest park. Didn't bump into a soul. I know many 'off grid' trails up there.

pinno

On SG's subject of vids: I have been mowstly watching 'This old Tony'. I dare say, not up the street of many on here but you learn a lot.
Must get back to my Electronics book.

Dagenham girls are on - Rosamund Pike, sigh.

Type Dagneham and left click to see what the spell checker suggests. Has SG been up to some tricks?

thistle_

pinno said:

On a non culinary note, written on the side of a trailer in the highlands: 'Go home idiots'.

They've done a similar thing in Bala.
I think they do it there quite often anyway but this time nobody's taking the signs down.

Stevo_666

hopkinb said:

Nowt wrong with Westons. Strong, aged in oak, made from apples, drink enough and you'll commune with air demons? That's good enough for me.

It's 8.2% so you don't have to drink that much

Latest bright idea doing the rounds is 'virtual drinking' where basically you get p1$$ed on a Skype call with your mates....

raymondo60

You lot are potty. Love it. Wish you all well x

Stevo_666

raymondo60 said:

You lot are potty. Love it. Wish you all well x

Not potty, but I have been on the Weston's Vintage this evening

Cheers and best of luck Raymondo. and stick around, this place can be a good distraction from all the crap out there.

sungod

thinking it may be time to make vlaamse stoverij, accompanied by ça plane pour moi, loud

hopkinb

orraloon said:

😊 Recipe exchange time! Did a mirepoix type thing with onion, leek, celery, carrot, garlic, ginger, mushroom, tomato puree, dijon mustard, fresh herbs, red wine. Then a 170 fan oven for 1.5h. Turned out really tasty, quite a lot of clear fatty juices released on the initial browning, a good sign. Some creamy mash alongside, all good.

I missed this yesterday 'loon, what with being three sheets. Sounds delicious.

hopkinb

sungod said:

thinking it may be time to make vlaamse stoverij, accompanied by ça plane pour moi, loud

Is that that Belgian beef stew? Googles. Ah yes.

I'm ordering a load of beef shin and other unloved bits n pieces from an online butcher I've recommended here before. A bit of time on my hands to cook is precious. The gnarly bits are the best, with time and love anyway. I managed to score a few onions today, and we have garlic, thyme and rosemary, and a bag of carrots. Oh yes.

pinno

hopkinb said:

sungod said:

thinking it may be time to make vlaamse stoverij, accompanied by ça plane pour moi, loud

Is that that Belgian beef stew? Googles. Ah yes.
.

It could be the Scottish (calvinistic/presbyterian) version; Stovies.
I wonder if there is any connection?

pinno

raymondo60 said:

You lot are potty. Love it. Wish you all well x

You've only just noticed?
Some of us have actually been certified 'potty'.

orraloon

pinno said:

hopkinb said:

sungod said:

thinking it may be time to make vlaamse stoverij, accompanied by ça plane pour moi, loud

Is that that Belgian beef stew? Googles. Ah yes.
.

It could be the Scottish (calvinistic/presbyterian) version; Stovies.
I wonder if there is any connection?

Nah. Stovies is majority potato with a hint of (usually leftover) meat. Stoofvlees aka carbonade flamande is slow cooked beef in beer with onions, bay leaves, thyme, mustard and optional diced carrots. Delicious thick onion gravy with the essence of a dark Belgian dubbel beer. Mmmm. One of my favourites ever.

pinno

orraloon said:

pinno said:

hopkinb said:

sungod said:

thinking it may be time to make vlaamse stoverij, accompanied by ça plane pour moi, loud

Is that that Belgian beef stew? Googles. Ah yes.
.

It could be the Scottish (calvinistic/presbyterian) version; Stovies.
I wonder if there is any connection?

Nah. Stovies is majority potato with a hint of (usually leftover) meat. Stoofvlees aka carbonade flamande is slow cooked beef in beer with onions, bay leaves, thyme, mustard and optional diced carrots. Delicious thick onion gravy with the essence of a dark Belgian dubbel beer. Mmmm. One of my favourites ever.

So I was right: Stovies; the calvinistic form of Stoofvlees.

sungod

my recipe...

• 800g stewing steak, big chunks, trim all fat
• bit of salt
• bit of fresh ground black pepper
• some plain flour
• 75g unsalted butter
• 2 onions
• belgian beer, either a 750cc bottle of leffe brune, or two 330cc bottles of chimay blue, both work well in the recipe, don't use the wrong beer!
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1½ tablespoons redcurrant jelly
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1. season the beef cubes with salt and pepper and coat with flour, shake off any excess

2. melt 50g of the butter in a large heavy pan over high heat until hot but not smoking. add the beef cubes and sauté until nicely browned on all sides, do the beef in batches so it browns fast not steams/boils, move the beef cubes to a large saucepan as browned

3. once all the beef is done and moved to the saucepan, add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, if needed add a bit more butter to the pan and melt over medium heat, but avoid too much or it'll be too buttery, takes about 15 minutes

- make sure both beef and onions are well browned or flavour will be wrong

4. pour the beer into the pan, slowly or it may bubble over, scrape with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits, bring to boil, then pour the beer over the meat, scrape in any bits from the pan, leave nothing behind, add the thyme and bay leaves

5. simmer, covered, over low heat until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours, before serving, stir in the red currant jelly and vinegar, simmer for 5 minutes, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves

the flemish serve it with frites

i serve it with rice, crusty bread and plain watercress, yum

hopkinb

^^^


Ta