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

Minder

Seaneh wrote: »

link to recipe, PLEASE!

The Sweeper wrote: »

sugar-cured beef fillet on slices of ciabatta, rubbed with garlic, and dressed with olive oil and rocket.

I took a 1lb piece of beef fillet about 10 days ago and cured it in rocksalt, sugar and malt vinegar. Mix the cure ingredients, and cover the beef in them. Then, equally coating all sides of the beef, wrap it (yes, raw) in many pieces of cling film. Sit it in a container and put it in the fridge - I did six days, turning every 12 hours.

Remove from fridge, unwrap and rinse all the salt and sugar mix off under the cold tap. Dry the now hardened and shrunken piece of beef with some kitchen towel. Return to a clean tupperware container and refrigerate for another 24 hours.

Slice paperthin, and serve on slices of bread. It's melt in your mouth and the cure flavour is good; don't eat within 24 hours of washing the cure off the meat, because it's too salty, but that mellows with further time in the fridge!

This is the recipe Sweeper sent me...

Home-Cured Beef Fillet with Cucumber and Ginger Pickle

Cure the beef for this entree in advance as it will keep for up to two weeks. And don’t be put off by this recipe’s long method – the effort is well worth it.
Serves 6
2 ¼ cups brown sugar
About 1lb coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons malt vinegar
14 oz centre-cut beef fillet
1 small thumb fresh finger, peeled
½ cucumber
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
6 ½ inch thick slices sourdough bread
1 clove garlic, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Begin curing the beef at least four days before you want to serve it. Put two layers of 18x12 inch plastic wrap on a work surface . Mix sugar, salt and vinegar together in a bowl and add the beef. Rub salt mixture into the beef, then lay lengthwise on the plastic wrap.

Spread all of the salt mixture over the beef and roll it up tightly, expelling any air. Ideally, the beef should be evenly covered with salt mixture.

Wrap some more plastic wrap around it, place it in a container and refrigerate.

For the next three days, turn the beef over 180 degrees every 12 hours. Once cured, remove the beef from the plastic wrap and gently rinse under cold water to remove any excess salt mixture. Pat dry with a towel and refrigerate, covered , for up to two weeks.

The day before you want to serve, finely grate ginger and coarsely grate cucumber, skin and all. Place ginger and cucumber in a bowl with the sugar. Mix well, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, squeeze liquid from cucumber. Toast bread and rub one side of each slice with raw garlic, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Finely slice beef and lay it on the bread, then dollop some cucumber mixture on top.

bonkey

Tonight, we made pizza.

Well pleased with the results...getting the hang of my pizza stone.

the beer revolu

bonkey wrote: »

Tonight, we made pizza.

Well pleased with the results...getting the hang of my pizza stone.

How are you faring getting the pizza onto the stone!! ??

bonkey

the beer revolu wrote: »

How are you faring getting the pizza onto the stone!! ??

First time round, mrs. bonkey bought ready-rolled pizza-dough. That didn't work out so well, to be honest....it had a tendancy to get really sticky as it warmed (i.e. as you filled it) and stuck to everything.

This time round, I made my own dough, and that worked a lot better.

I used the same flour that I use to make pasta - its a mix of white flour and semolina flour. My worktop is polished granite, which is cool and really easy to work on....dough tends not to stick to it at all once there's a bit of flour underneath.

Once I have the base formed, I put it on the "shovel" (which is already coated in flour), make sure its not sticking, and then start adding the topping(s). After every ingredient is added, I give a little shake, to ensure its *still* not sticking.

Then once I get to the oven, it slides off nicely, onto the stone.

Sounds like a lot of work written like that, but its really not...its about as much extra effort as shaking a pan on the hob when fying something.

UrbanSea

Was out for dinner Friday night.
Had a king prawn riggatoni with leeks and a saffron cream for starter.
Then had a chicken basque style. Chicken breast on the bone in a red pepper sauce with chorizo and small fried crispy potatoes in garlic butter with pints of Heineken,was delish.
Last night had T-Bone steak with garlic and cheese potatoes,carrots,spinach and a home made brandy sauce. Best weekend's food ever.

Pigwidgeon

Making lamb chops, mashed potatoes and peas tonight.

The Sweeper

Herb roast chicken with bread for mopping and steamed green beans as a nod to health... in the cooking club this week.

Minder

Pan fried fillet of seabass on buttery mash potato with braised leeks and wilted spinach, prawns and a cumin veloute.

I also had 6 egg whites left over from making an icecream. So we had a raspberry pavlova with fresh cream, raspberries and a raspberry coulis.

UrbanSea

Minder wrote: »

Pan fried fillet of seabass on buttery mash potato with braised leeks and wilted spinach, prawns and a cumin veloute.

I also had 6 egg whites left over from making an icecream. So we had a raspberry pavlova with fresh cream, raspberries and a raspberry coulis.

Nyom nyom.

trackguy

Grilled chicken marinated in garlic, rosemary and lemon. Carrot and parsnip mash with a cumin-coriander infused butter and courgettes in a spiced tomato sauce

Edgedinblue

Had chicken curry and rice last night.

Tonight i'm making my own taco pizza! cant wait, nom nom!

the beer revolu

Tonight was homemade pizza.
I used 4:1 strong white flour:buckwheat .
1st on was just cheese (Pecorino and Mozzerella), tomato and chilies.
2nd one was cheese and tomato with olives, chorizo and capers.
Thin and crispy and light on the toppings;).

Finally got myself some semolina and used it to 'lubricate' the process of getting the pizza off my baking sheet and onto my stone in the oven (much less cursing and disasters than last pizza effort):D.

Wally Runs

For pizza, try use a polenta flour mix when rolling it out on the table. Gives a nice crunch when cooked. If you like your pizza that way!

The Hill Billy

Last night I went to a "Butcher's Buffet" in a great traditional Swiss restaurant here in Bern - Della Casa. We all went for the 'Schlachtplatte' (my translation for this is 'slaughter plate' but I'm open to correction).

It was a real meat feast consisting of liver & blood sausage, bratwurst, bacon, ribs, pig's ear & snout. All served with green beans with garlic, sauerkraut & rösti. Wine was a Valais Cornalin 2006 (Swiss wines are the mutt's nuts folks!). Finished with a couple of espressos & grappas.

I waddled home.

psycho-hope

shop bought pizza, that i added some cooked chicken and ham too

Asphyxia

psycho-hope wrote: »

shop bought pizza, that i added some cooked chicken and ham too

That's exactly what I did Tonight I am have poached eggs on toast as there is no food in the house but tomorrow will be something big and nice :P

Melissa89

Beef Kung Po from scratch.

the beer revolu

Pan/oven fried chump lamb chops with rosemary and red wine reduction, slow roasted tomatoes (last few from the garden), runner beans and fried polenta. Bottle of Rioja crianza
Simple
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psycho-hope

stir fry with the leftovers of last nights roast chicken.

have a veg soup in the slow cooker now for tomorrow

5unflower

Stuffed fillet of pork with a creamy red wine sauce with prunes, potatoes and veg

neuro-praxis

Spicy sausage in a tomato and basil sauce with tagliatelle.

Getting there

Yesterday day we had a roast chicken, with roast veg but for something different baked sweet potatoes and topped with buttery leeks and blue cheese. Will be doing that again!

Today had chicken and chorizo rice bake a la the Cooking Club but used the leftovers from yesterday instead. I have a full tummy now

Seaneh

slivers of sirloin with jalapeños, olives, red onion, green peppers, pickles, tomato and cucumber on a soft brown roll with cheese and south west sauce....


ok, feck it.. steak and cheese from subway.

bonkey

Viennese-style gulasch, accompanied by Austrian-style schupfnudeln (potato noodles).

Yum.

kenco

Sat night was pan fried scallops served with rocket, fried apple slices and black pudding. Drizzled with good oil and a nice crisp white wine which I cant for the life of me remember...

Mains on Sat was baby spuds boiled and then tossed in oil and fresh rosemary served with baby carrots and a Tesco Rotisserie Style roast Chicken which exceeded expectations wildly!

Sunday was roast fillet of lamb seasoned with fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, doused in lemon juice and served with roast spuds and cauliflower/heads with parmesan. A tasty Aussie Shiraz worked its magic

All in all very good dining if I say so myself

UrbanSea

Bacon and cabbage with buttery mash today,was gooood.

neuro-praxis

Fajitas. I made my own seasoning and lashed it on a bit of rare griddled steak, with some peppers and onions. Breads, salsa, guac, sour cream, cheese and all the usuals with it.

hsanz114clayton

3 glasses of champagne,2 lines of cocaine, 2 double vodka redbull,more cocaine, 2 shots whiskey, more champagne.weed, then breakfast.

:eek: Had you going for a second didnt I.

I was kidding...on:

Friday, medallions of fillet beef stroganoff with boiled rice.

Saturday, penne chicken with red peppers, red onion and cherry tomatoes in a
tomato and chilli sauce.

Sunday, Roast beef, roast potatoes, leeks, carrots and parsnips and gravy(naturally).

Yesterday, Thai yellow chicken curry boiled rice

Today, a wrap :P im not hungry.

I must be seriously bored to write this.

the beer revolu

Roast butternut squash and rosemary risotto with lamb cutlets.
Twas really delicious - don't know why I don't make risotto more often?

Minder

All the winter warmers are starting to appear :rolleyes:

Weekend meals and Monday were all scuppered by a bug the kids picked up in school. Surprisingly they were hardly affected but Mrs Minder was laid low for two days - and just when I was bragging about my cast iron constitution, I got it. Hey ho.

So tonight I craved some Cauli-Mac & cheese. Should be simple but the first cheese sauce split. The second looked like it might go the way of the first so I bunged it in the oven and fingers crossed it will hold together.