What's cooking / VT cookbook merge

[Meath_Villan]

You did see I fixed that word ...right ?

[leemond2008]

Lol CI did you miss meaths cheeky little edit

Beat me to it

[villaajax]

 

Every time I deal with Swedish women at work I feel hungry for Swedish Meatballs. Been waiting a week for these.

 

Yes... I did make the flag myself

[PompeyVillan]

Give me Albondigas any day.

[CI]

You did see I fixed that word ...right ?

Ha yeah. Brum not the same since Cuddles got turned over

[BOF]

First attempt at a Mediterranean quinoa salad with chopped black and green olives, balsamic, dijonnaise, capers, poppy & coriander chicken and some steamed broccoli. Chilling in the fridge now but smells delicious.

An attempt at a 'super food' salad.

[BOF]

^ It's delicious

[leemond2008]

I cant decide wether to make a mahoosive curry tonight and leave a fuckload for Friday or wether I should go for an frozen iceland pizza

 

I'm feeling lazy so unfortunately the pizza looks like its winning at the moment :-(

[GarethRDR]

Seeing as I cannot think of anything less appealing than one of those cheap, nasty Iceland pizzas I implore you to get motivated and make that curry.

[Meath_Villan]

Make your own pizza .....tis simple to be sure to be sure 

[BOF]

Couldn't be arsed making the base. I find it sufficient to put my own toppings on a tesco ham & mushroom. Usually more mushroom, a finely chopped onion and some birds eye* chilli flakes.

* not the brand.

[GarethRDR]

Or combine the two; buy the cheap 'n' nasty Iceland pizza and improve it tenfold by pouring curry sauce all over it.

[leemond2008]

I actually dont mind the meat feast pizza's from iceland, pretty much the only thing I buy from there these day's

I think I am going for the curry any ways

[islingtonclaret]

I actually dont mind the meat feast pizza's from iceland, pretty much the only thing I buy from there these day's

I think I am going for the curry any ways

 

The "pizza" and the "day" are not possessive (i.e. if you say "pizza's", it implies you're going to follow it with something, like "pizza's big box of eggs"). Therefore, your post should read like this:

 

I actually don't mind the meat feast pizzas from iceland, pretty much the only thing I buy from there these days

I think I am going for the curry any ways

Sorry leemond, I really try to stop myself doing this grammar Nazi stuff, but when I see totally, totally incorrect English it annoys me.

[leemond2008]

to be honest I'm not normally that bad but I am at work typing in between phonecalls trying to do it without getting spotted so grammar has to slide everynow and again

[islingtonclaret]

Fair dos!

[StefanAVFC]

Currently cooking chicken and chorizo casserole with pots, sweet pots, carrots and onions, with rice.

[blunther]

Or combine the two; buy the cheap 'n' nasty Iceland pizza and improve it tenfold by pouring curry sauce all over it.

 

Pizza with curry on it is the breakfast of champions.

[CI]

Or combine the two; buy the cheap 'n' nasty Iceland pizza and improve it tenfold by pouring curry sauce all over it.

Or, divide the Iceland pizza into slices, batter, and launch into the chip pan at 190c for a firm Scottish delicacy washed down with full fat Irn Bru

Mmmmmmmm

Edited April 11, 2013 by CI

[peterms]

Two things from last night and tonight.  One old classic, one new to me, but quite probably an old classic for people in the Jewish/Arabic tradition.

 

Raie au Beurre Noire (Skate in black butter)

 

This is a well known dish.  My version comes via George Lassalle, author of "The Adventurous Fish Cook".

 

(I like simple boiled potatoes with this, though you could have sauteed I suppose.  The richness of the sauce suggests plain accompaniments, to me.)

 

Prepare potatoes (I just cut them into roughly equal size pieces, don't peel), place in saucepan, cover in cold water, set on heat.

 

Rinse skate wings under running cold water.  Slice an onion into rings, place in saute pan and lay skate wings on top (they can overlap).

 

Prepare veg.  I had courgettes quartered lengthways and then cut into rough cubes, but broccoli, beans or similar would work well.  Something green and with a hint of a bite.

 

Cut stems off several bits of parsley.  Add the stems to the skate pan, with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of wine vinegar.  Set the skate on heat.

 

Potatoes should be coming to the boil by now, so set timer for 20 mins boiling.

 

Chop parsley leaves and 1-2 tablespoons of capers and set aside for later.  Melt about 50gm butter in a small saucepan, set aside.

 

Start warming the plates in a cool oven.

 

Skate pan will be boiling now.  Set on gentle simmer.  Potatoes probably have 8-12 mins to go.  Start cooking veg - I sauteed courgettes in a wok with olive oil, salt and pepper, chilli flakes, lime juice, but simple plain steamed broccoli is just as good, and needs less watching.  You can slow down or speed up the veg as required to fit the timing of the other things.  Keep stirring/turning veg if needed.

 

When the potatoes are done, it all comes together quickly.  Drain the potatoes.  Take the fish and veg off the heat.  Put the melted butter on a ring.  Dish up the fish and veg.  Turn the heat up to max under the butter.  You need to do this only when you can watch it constantly and not be doing anything else at all.  You want it nut brown, not black (which would be burnt, and bitter).  Tilt the pan, swish it from side to side, watch it change colour every second.  When the butter has foamed, subsided, taken on colour, the turned first pale brown then nut brown, it's ready.  Pour it straight from the pan onto the skate on each plate; it should hiss.

 

Immediately return the pan to the heat and add a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar.  Swish it round, make sure it all gets hot.  No time to reduce it properly, but you're looking to heat it fiercely for 20 or 30 seconds.  Pour it over the butter on the skate.  Scatter first the chopped capers, then the parsley, over the skate.  And that's it.  It's all in the finish.

 

Chicken Soffrito

 

You need a wide saute pan with a lid for this.  You also need to choose between high and low fat.  High fat means cooking the recipe as given.  Low fat involves looking over the chicken as you cut it up, and removing all those bits of fat that you can find on raw chickens.  As it's still winter really, I went for the full fat version.  Mea Culpa.

 

Soffrito is the term for the Italian/Spanish base for risotto and many other dishes involving gentle frying in oil as a base for a dish cooked in a wide pan.  I thought it was just softening onions, carrots, celery and garlic (or green peppers for Creole food), but the term is used more widely.  This is from Yotem Ottolenghi, "Jerusalem".  I reproduce it without looking at the book, and having made it once only.  I was loose in my interpretation of the recipe.  May the Lord have mercy on my soul.

 

Butterfly a chicken.  In fact I had two chickens and wanted stock for something else, so I cut both into half and removed the larger part of the carcass while leaving leg and breast attached.  You could equally cut it into quarters, remove the wings and cook them alongside or use them for something else, in my view.  Or just use pre-portioned chicken, if you want to pay someone else two quid to cut it up for you and keep the bones for themselves.

 

Choose a saute pan with a well-fitting lid.  Warm the pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  When the oil is hot, place the portioned/butterflied chicken skin side down in the pan.  Sprinkle on the chicken the turmeric, smoked paprika (sweet and hot), salt and pepper, lemon/lime juice.

 

While that is browning, choose enough potatoes for all of you, cube them into 2cm cubes, and put them to soak in cold water.

 

Once the chicken is brown, turn over.  Turn the heat down low, you want it to steam gently in the oil, its own juices, and the spices.

 

Either warm up a deep fryer, or heat 3 cm of olive oil in a pan.

 

Take 2-3 heads of garlic, divide into cloves, remove the loose papery skin but don't peel the cloves.

 

Drain the potato cubes, and dry them as best you can in a tea towel or whatever's available.   Fry them and the garlic cloves together.  Lift up the meat,place the potatoes and garlic underneath, and carry on from there.  Simmer gently for an hour or so.