peterms

Poached?

Oh dear. I was all the way down this track about, he means gently simmered in its own juices with root vegetables and herbs, like the French Poule-au-Pot, and then I thought, hang on, you're talking about the provenance of the birds.

Well I don't know, they just arrived and were left with me. I didn't ask for them, nor did money change hands. It was just a gesture of friendship from someone who thought I would appreciate it, which I do.

If they were poached, and I hope they were, then I hope it's from rich **** who employ gamekeepers.

In fact, I think I'll poach a couple in stock just on principle.

So, someone donated me four pheasants this weekend. Or two brace, as I gather the huntin' folk call it.

I have them hanging in a north-facing window in a cool draught at the moment. Plan to pluck them and gut them maybe Thursday/Friday. And yes, I have used the opportunity to teach my son the pheasant plucker rhyme. Little git caught on to it immediately. Youth of today! Little ****.

I was thinking of doing one pair as a Caribbean/Mexican spicy casserole with some ripe plantains I picked up, and the other pair maybe as a French/Italian garlicky slow cooked dish of some kind. Roasting them just accentuates the dryness.

Any better suggestions, before I get to it?

Geez, its getting so a guy cant even put his thoughts across in this place without being abused.

Don't really follow what you're getting at.

Someone's started a thread on a premise which has been pretty comprehensively rebuffed by real life, some people have pointed that out, poster continues to try to make the same point in a less direct way, some people continue to explain, gently rib, or start to express exasperation. I don't see abuse here.

Or was it ironical? Websites are getting the point where I'm starting to expect smileys to explain things, instead of words.

Any suggestions on what to do with a buttnut squash? Preferably something low fat?

As a veg accompaniment for something (eg the duck recipe above), try:

Peel, deseed, cut into rough cubes maybe about 1-2 cm, place in ovenproof pan big enough to take them in a single layer, place in preheated oven at about 170c. You'll need some oil with this, but you could keep it to a minimum if you turn and coat the cubes more often, to counteract having not much oil on them.

After maybe 20 mins, add cougettes, quartered lengthways and then sliced so the pieces are roughly cubes as well (probably smaller than the squash) Stir and turn so everything has a bit of oil and doesn't stick.

After maybe 15 mins, add some deseeded and finely chopped fresh red chilli, eg birdseye. Add salt and pepper. Stir to mix it all up. Continue to roast for another 5 or 10 mins, until the veg feels soft enough when stuck with the point of a knife. Simple, tasty, and the colours work well together.

Sounds good that Peter. I wonder how many VTers have pomegranate molasses in their cupboards?

I'll be investigating that one. Is it similar to tamarind syrup?

Looks similar, dark and thick and sticky, but sweet/sour rather than sour.

Used a bit in the Moro cookbooks, where that recipe comes from, and in Middle Eastern food more widely. About £2.50 a bottle, lasts ages.

Any ideas for duck breast? I fancied a change from steak and when I got home I realsied I haven't got a clue what to do with them. I've looked online and alot fo places are saying it goes best with sweet things like oranges and plums but it just doesn't seem right..

Duck breast is best served rare, but if you just cook it for a short time, the large amount of fat under the skin will still be there, thick and rubbery. Not really what you want. So...

Set the oven to high, say 220c. Score the skin, criss-cross, cutting through the skin but not into the meat. Sharp knife needed for that. Season.

Gently fry the breast, skin side down. The aim is to make it release as much fat as possible. When it has released most of the fat, check to see if the skin is browning. If not, turn up to medium heat and brown the skin, then turn and brown the other side. You're trying to release the fat and brown the outside, not cook the meat through.

Put the breast in an oven-proof dish and whack in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove and leave to rest while you make this simple sauce:

Pour the fat out of the frying pan you used (save the duck fat for roast potatoes), add to the pan a tablespoon or so of pomegranate molasses (Sainsbury's and others sell it), a little ground cinammon, a bit of water. Deglaze the pan over a gentle heat.

Slice the breast on a chopping board - diagonal cuts like restaurants do - place on warm plates, and fan out the slices. Pour the sauce over. Done.

You can do the pre-frying of the breast as a separate stage ahead of time - I did this as christmas dinner for 12 in someone else's house, where I brought it along prepared to that stage and just had to finish in the oven.

Any suggestions on what to do with a buttnut squash? Preferably something low fat?

I'm an expert when it comes to soups so hopefully you'll enjoy this recipe.

Finely chop one onion and do the same with 1 clove of garlic, fry off the garlic and onion in a large cooking pot for 4-5 minutes, then chop the squash into small chunks, add the chunks to the garlic and onion and fry off for another 5 minutes. Boil some water, put a vegetable or chicken stock (chicken stock works better and will give more flavour) in a measuring jug, once the water has boiled fill the measuring jug up to 250ml, stir until stock has disolved. Once stock has disolved, add that to the squash, onion and garlic, pour a cup of water in too and 40ml of cream. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper, very finely chop up (just less than a handfull) of corriander add that to the soup and stir then let the soup to cool for 5-10 minutes. Last step, blend the soup with a handheld blender (push the blender into the pot all the way down so it doesn't splash everywhere!) or alternitively, transfer the soup into a electric blender and blend it for around 20 seconds. Re-heat and then serve.

Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately I don't have a blender

This is only £4.18. Can't be the greatest quality at that price, but it would do a job.

Any suggestions on what to do with a buttnut squash? Preferably something low fat?

I'm an expert when it comes to soups so hopefully you'll enjoy this recipe.

Finely chop one onion and do the same with 1 clove of garlic, fry off the garlic and onion in a large cooking pot for 4-5 minutes, then chop the squash into small chunks, add the chunks to the garlic and onion and fry off for another 5 minutes. Boil some water, put a vegetable or chicken stock (chicken stock works better and will give more flavour) in a measuring jug, once the water has boiled fill the measuring jug up to 250ml, stir until stock has disolved. Once stock has disolved, add that to the squash, onion and garlic, pour a cup of water in too and 40ml of cream. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper, very finely chop up (just less than a handfull) of corriander add that to the soup and stir then let the soup to cool for 5-10 minutes. Last step, blend the soup with a handheld blender (push the blender into the pot all the way down so it doesn't splash everywhere!) or alternitively, transfer the soup into a electric blender and blend it for around 20 seconds. Re-heat and then serve.

A variation on this is to roast the squash with a little olive oil in a medium oven for 30 mins or so first (cut into cubes), and add sweet potato and coconut and some chilli to the soup.

Any suggestions on what to do with a buttnut squash? Preferably something low fat?

Rob?

Sounds easy, except I have none of those ingredients

Yes, it would be tough to do without any of them.

The spices don't go off quickly if you store them in an airtight container. Onion and garlic is pretty everyday. Some sort of meat is only needed if you want a meat tagine - potatoes, carrots and other veg would make a fine substitute. And the other bits are just added extras - loads of Moroccan families will dine this evening on tagines which cost them about threepence to make.

Good thing is that we can do it here with fresh and locally sourced food for the same price as a greasy takeaway injected with water and ground pork remains, if we want to.

Just mayo? Thats pretty fattening? Try half mayo and half creme fraiche, or low fat yoghort, and a big spoon of mint sauce? (preferably concentrated?)

And as for left over cous cous? Easiest thing ever - add a little veg ie a fried onion, some peas, sweetcorn, or even pulses like some cooked chickpeas, and pershaps a lillte chopped cooked chilli, and stuff a pepper with it. Perhaps add some cheese and breadcrumbs to the top to make a crust?

Yes, agree with the fattening mayo comment. Creme fraiche/yogurt is a healthier combination. But fresh mint would be much nicer than sauce.

Like the stuffed pepper thingy, maybe some herbs and spices in there as well?

Or for leftover couscous, there's always tabbouleh. Not authentic, because the real thing uses bulghur wheat, but close enough.

Into the couscous, stir large quantities of flat leaf parsley and mint, maybe some finely chopped spring onion, peppers, capers, chilli, salt and pepper, with lots of olive oil and lemon juice. We tend to underdo the parsley and mint, but the Middle Eastern version is often pretty green, with the grain just there to bulk it out. Fresh, sharp, tasty.

Anyone have a recipe for a good potato salad? Warm or cold is fine.

Preferably one that doesn't call for any meat. I know some call for bacon.

Saw one from the States which looked appalling - cream, butter, god knows what quantity of saturated fats. Think there was a bit of potato in there as well. But moving swiftly on...

Waxy potatoes are best - Charlotte, Anya, Fir Apple, for example. In fact, if you only have floury potatoes, do something else.

Boil for 20 mins in salted water, with skins on. Cut into whatever size you want. Don't peel them unless you really hate peel - lots of taste and nutrients in the peel. Drain and leave to cool.

And then, whatever dressing you want. I prefer simple mayonnaise (out of a jar is fine), with salt and pepper, chopped gherkins and capers. Better to let the potatoes cool for this one.

Variations would be using french dressing instead of mayonnaise (esp if you want the salad warm), or yogurt. Try chopped anchovies instead of gherkins. Maybe hot paprika for something a bit different.

Finish with chopped parsley, or chives.

I generally find that if you think you've made enough for 6 or 8 people, you probably haven't.

I need to cook something good tonight. I've got some leftover couscous....

A tagine? Millions of recipes available, but something along these lines:

(if you don't have a tagine dish, use any pan which can be placed on direct heat, which has a lid and is big enough to allow steam to circulate inside).

- Soften chopped onion, garlic, chilli in olive oil.

- Grind spices to taste - maybe cumin, coriander, black pepper, connamon, cloves, cardamom, whatever you like. Add to onion mix.

- Add cubed lamb. Shoulder works well if you want something cheap which benefits from long cooking, but it's a bit fiddly to bone and trim. If you bone the shoulder first before any of the other work, you can have a stock preparing while the rest is being done.

- Turn to make sure the meat, spices etc are all mixed well.

- Add a chopped tomato or two, peeled and sliced fresh ginger (or dried and powdered).

- Add lamb stock, or water, and salt. Bring to boil and let it simmer for a couple of hours on gentle heat. Shouldn't need any attention if the heat is just a very gentle simmer, but if it's a thin pan and you don't use a heat diffuser pad, check and stir it regularly.

- 20-30 mins before serving, add a sliced red pepper, some sliced dried apricots, black olives, maybe a few cherry tomatoes (whole) if you have them, maybe some lemon juice or thinly sliced preserved lemon peel.

Calling the experts. Give me the tastiest and/or easiest way to use an aubergine. Danke.

Up the wrong 'un

Remove the green sepal first, they are sometimes a bit spiky.

Babaganoush sounds like a winner. As for the patlican tava. Half a pint of oil ?

Thanks for the suggestions though

Or an Italian dish (quantities for 2 people):

- slice an aubergine thinly, sprinkle with salt, leave in colander to drain for 30 mins, wash and dry

- gently fry 1-2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1-2 crumbled dried red chilis in olive oil for 5 mins (deep-sided frying/saute pan is best)

- add 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, cook for 20 mins more

- heat more olive oil in another frying pan, fry aubergine slices both sides

- cook penne or other pasta in salted water

- grate 50g good mozzarella and 50g Parmesan

- drain pasta, return to pan, add aubergine, sauce, cheeses, mix well, serve.

Always a winner.

Calling the experts. Give me the tastiest and/or easiest way to use an aubergine. Danke.

Patlican tava, from here.

Also a different dish without all the tomato, etc: fry aubergine as in that recipe, spread the rounds out on a flat plate, and coat with yogurt mixed with lots of garlic crushed to a paste with the flat of a big knife, using salt to help it liquefy. Maybe add some ground cumin, sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Baba ganoush: here.

You'd have definitely caught it Petr? Like you caught that cross at Stoke which you completely **** up? I actually hope Carew did foul him. Would make the goal even sweeter.

Carew was holding Terry down for the first goal - a hand on the shoulder, to impede any jump. Or maybe it was just a gesture of friendship. I suppose the lack of an appeal meant Terry didn't try to jump.

Anyway had a read of a few match reports, the one I liked the most was from a Chelsea blog and included the line "Even as a recently spoilt Chelsea fan you have to wonder why none of Agbonlahor, Young or the brilliant Milner are pulling on our shirt this season. I’d swap any of them for Kalou."

Chelsea Blog's Villa v Chelsea match report

I see a couple of them are talking about getting rid of Ancelotti. Mad.

And a couple more talking about buying Milner - on your bike.

Did you see Terry hopping up and down after our second goal, crying like a schoolgirl?

Hahaha classic

That was so funny. I didn't see it the first time or the first couple of replays, until they changed the angle for some later replays.

It's not fair! It's not fair! Waaaahhhh!

I'm off out on the piss now with some work muckers, two of which are Chelsea fans, one of them was at the game.

Neither of them have responded to my texts today, can't wait to rip into them!

You may find they have fallen victim to "flu", and are regrettably unable to join you.

Ultimately our effort was 100% throughout. Chelsea were i'd say, working at about 50% and upped it to about 75% after our second. It shows that if you do have 11 men working for each other anything can happen in football, regardless of MON's lack of tactics. I think the failings if the 442 with petrov may again come back to haunt us if he sticks with it, but at the moment those two at the back have given us some leadership that perhaps we haven't had when this system has invariably failed over the last 6 months.

Admittedly, Chelsea did play some nice stuff in the second half, they will do, they have some of the best players in the world. But we caught them off guard today, much like we did to city in the last game. That's a useful trait to have- to start games better than the opponent and do them for effort. But chelsea were off colour, no doubt about it. If they weren't then we will comfortably win the league this year!

The two cbs have been inspiring and the spiritual captains for the last few games, and when the opportunity arises one of them should be given the captaincy if NRC is out the door. Petrov quite simply does not inspire those around him and maybe this is what we've been lacking, much like barry.

What a strange set of musings.

Chelsea were good today. We were better. That was down to effort, skill, team selection, and tactics.

Petrov was inspirational. And he was the captain, and gave a captain's performance. Your reference to the CBs being the "spiritual captains" is a quite insulting attempt to deny him the credit for his exemplary play.

Why? Does it fit some preconception? Do you have some idea that you want to try to construct "evidence" to support? For ****'s sake, just recognise that the team and the manager achieved a great result over a very good team who played very well, while using players and tactics which you think are crap.

Anyone know who the MOTM was?

Collins. Think I'd have chosen Petrov, but no quibbles about Collins.

A great win, but as always some of you MUST concentrate on the negative.

Don't worry about it. Some people are wary of getting too excited by things, because then any disappointment seems worse. Some are a bit superstitious, and think that you invite bad luck by celebrating success too much. And some are just pessimistic - look at the first few pages of the match thread. But I'm sure everyone welcomes wins like this one.

But to finish on one negative point - William Hill is marginally worse off today after my bet on today's result. Sorry about that, Mr Hill. But I expect you'll cope.

He was superb. Can he play in a 4-4-2? Not much to discuss, really.

All of them superb - even MON

Agreed, though I thought he went down a little easily in that touchline incident.