The 'Here's what I had for dinner last night' thread - Part I

The Lovely Muffin

Hale Fillets in a Tomato and Basil coating with Carrots, Broccoli, Potatoes and White Sauce.

Edgedinblue

taco mince and cheese pizza

The Lovely Muffin

Lasagne and Chips for me tonight.

vicecreamsundae

battered cod, sweet potato fries w/rosemary served with mayo/lemon juice/garlic for dipping.

The Sweeper

Have a masterstock on the boil at the moment (chicken stock flavoured with shaoxing, soy, cinnamon, star anise, garlic, ginger and dried mandarin peel), ready to poach a whole chicken, that'll then be cut into pieces and served with some dipping sauce and some boiled rice, with some flash fried greens on the side

neuro-praxis

Chicken and wholewheat pasta, tossed in a cream and pancetta sauce, with green beans and peas in lemon and mint butter.

Minder

Tonight we had a chicken platter. I boned out a whole chicken and marinated in olive oil with garlic from the garden - then added herbs - lemon verbena, rosemary, sage and thyme. After thirty minutes, I pan fried the chook skin side down. I oiled the base of a smaller pan and placed that on top with a heavy weight inside. After 15 minutes on a medium heat, I flipped the bird - the skin is now golden and crisp. About ten minutes on side two and the bird was cooked.

I boiled some new potatoes, arranged on a platter in halves, scatter cooked green beans, rocket and sundried tomatoes around and cut the chicken into pieces. Also made a dressing from some lemon juice and the cooking juices from the pan.

Vodkat

Minder wrote: »

Tonight we had a chicken platter. I boned out a whole chicken and marinated in olive oil with garlic from the garden - then added herbs - lemon verbena, rosemary, sage and thyme. After thirty minutes, I pan fried the chook skin side down. I oiled the base of a smaller pan and placed that on top with a heavy weight inside. After 15 minutes on a medium heat, I flipped the bird - the skin is now golden and crisp. About ten minutes on side two and the bird was cooked.

I boiled some new potatoes, arranged on a platter in halves, scatter cooked green beans, rocket and sundried tomatoes around and cut the chicken into pieces. Also made a dressing from some lemon juice and the cooking juices from the pan.

My kind of food!

The Sweeper

Chicken in masterstock was excellent. The flavour is really amazing - the stock's been strained and put into the freezer, to be produced next time out for another chicken.

Revisited a childhood Sharwoods cookbook today (from 1983) to make a Raspberry Russe. Flavour excellent - as good as I remember from childhood. Integrity not so. The dessert is very simple - you make up two raspberry jellies with a half a pint of boiling water. You pour half the hot jelly mix into the bottom of a souffle dish and put it in the fridge to set. In a mixer, blend cottage cheese, with an egg yolk and double cream. Add 1.5 tsps ground ginger, and the cool jelly, and blend. Then stir through about 230g of muddled fresh raspberries. Whisk the egg white into peaks and fold through the mixture.

In the souffle dish, line the edges with sponge finger biscuits, and spoon the raspberry mixture into the centre. Leave in the fridge overnight to set. Then trim any biscuits that stick above the dish, and tip out onto a plate, and pipe with whipped cream.

It's actually really gorgeous - sweet, but fresh with the raspberries. If you're a fan of really good trifle, you'll probably love it.

The difference now, nearly 30 years later (FFS!?? - will panic about that later) is I can't buy jelly the way you used to get it - in a big rubbery block. These days I can only buy sachets of jelly crystals, and I'm not sure they have the setting power.

Dessert result: flavour, excellent. Integrity: oh dear...

Minder

Last night we had Malabar kingfish curry, recipe from here.

The Lovely Muffin

Lasagne and Chips for me last night.

The Lovely Muffin

Chinese take-away tonight, I stupidly forgot to take something out of the freezer.

Chicken Chow Mein
Egg Fried Rice
Spring Rolls.

Seaneh

Lastnight I had a tortilla des patatas with a small tomato salad on the side, was yummy.

Just now I had a blackened pork chop with sugarsnap peas, carrots and mash. fierce simple stuff.

The Sweeper

Lasagne last night, based around Delia's al forno recipe. A ragu with beef mince, veal mince and pork mince, with finely chopped chicken livers, cooked with tomato and beef stock, lots of garlic, dried herbs. Slow cooked in the oven until very dry, and then layered with a cream sauce (make a white sauce first - 1.5 litres of milk, 175g butter, 110g flour, in a pot, whisk slowly as it all melts together and thickens, then strain through a sieve to ensure smoothness, and stir in about 175ml double cream and season with salt, white pepper and about a half a grated nutmeg) and grated parmesan.

Always make this with hard lasagne sheets, and it goes in the oven for about 45 mins at 180 degrees, never any problem with the lasagne cooking. It's quite rich and freezes well.

foodaholic

The Sweeper where did you get the veal mince, sounds delish btw

kylith

I made Shepherd's Pie last night.

I browned the mince with finely grated garlic, an Oxo cube and a good slug of Worchestershire sauce, then I realised I'd virtually nothing in the house and made some instant gravy, which I added to the mince. I mixed more garlic with the spuds, and also some yoghurt cheese that OH had picked up in Lidl and some chives and mashed like my life depended on it. I topped the whole thing with grated cheddar.

It was so good that the portion I'd put aside to bring for lunch today mysteriously vanished overnight.

bills

Chicken marinated in tomato, basil & cheese with rice

psycho-hope

roasted veg and lamb chops

nosietoes

I had roast rack of lamb, salsa verde, crushed baby new potatoes and braised baby gem lettuce

mmmm

Minder

Fired up the BBQ Smoker last night. I marinated a spatchcocked chicken in tandoori paste with yoghurt, lemon and salt. Then cooked it in the smoker. Bottom bowl for the coals, then above that there is a second bowl - used for wet wood to add smoke, but I just added water. Then top grill for the bird. The result was deliciously smokey - very moist chicken. I chucked it on next to the coals right at the end to scorch it a little. Rice with lentils and a salad with tomato and red onion.

Seaneh

Made some sort of bastardized tomato curry thingy tonight.

minced 4 birdseye chillis, 3 cloves garlic and a piece of ginger anout the size of the top knuckle up on my middle finger.

sliced an onion, a carrot, a red pepper and some baby corn.

heated some oil in a pan, threw in the garlic, ginger and chillis, cooked for about 3 seconds, then threw in my veg and cooked untill they had a little colour and softened a little (not too much, wanted a bit of crunch). moved them aside, chopped a chicken breast into bit sized pieces, into the wok, browned a bit, put the veg back in, added half teaspoon of tumeric, half teaspoon of cumin, pinch of green cardamon powder, pinch of kashori methi, half a teaspoon of curry powder, half a teaspoon of chilli powder, tossed about a bit, pinch of salt and then threw a can of chopped tomatos on top and cooked untill the chicken was done (5/7 mins maybe?).

Had it with brown rice, still have a very, very generous portion for tomorrows lunchies.

neuro-praxis

We had fake paella tonight.

Boiled some brown rice in stock. Meanwhile, fried some chorizo, chicken, fresh prawns, and some finely chopped onions, garlic and red and green peppers.

Tossed with the cooked brown rice and seasoned with paprika, smoked paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, chilli flakes and the juice of a couple of limes. Garnished with a bit of fresh coriander.

Quick, tasty, healthy and fantastic.

boodlesdoodles

Flatbread pizzas tonight. One with smoked ham and shredded mozzarella and the other with finely sliced chorizo, sweetcorn and chilli flakes oh and of course mozzarella! Lashed on a load of black pepper on each of them, very nice indeed!

Minder

Sticky wings, chipotle ribs, caesar salad.

tomaschonnie

falafel pizza!

jos28

Huge homemade burgers done on the bbq and served with homemade chips. Not very healthy but delicious

foodaholic

Indian style shepherds pie with swiss chard

neuro-praxis

Salmon with a pesto crust, with broccoli, asparagus and roast potatoes, with a white wine cheese sauce for the veg. Followed by some of kerash's Baileys and Malteaser cheesecake.

The Lovely Muffin

Sunday: Hake, white sauce, carrots, broccoli and potatoes.

Monday: Sausages, potatoes, carrots, broccoli and gravy.

Tuesday: Lamb Chops, potatoes, carrots, broccoli and gravy.

Wednesday: Mushroom Soup.

The Sweeper

Wings with Franks sauce, ribs in char siu, celery with blue cheese dressing (dean & deluca recipe), beers.

Bizarrely, am not a fan of Franks sauce. Had heard so much about it, so bought it to try, and I'm not a fan. Far prefer a bottle of Nandos Peri Peri mixed with butter as a wing sauce.