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

the beer revolu

Ophiopogon wrote: »

Can I ask what part you use for the pork stock...the only pork bone I ever have is hock the odd time but not sure how many I would need. Read somewhere about using the feet?

Yup, it was a few pork hock bones that I had in the freezer mixed with various chicken bones. Feet would make for a very gelatinous stock and probably very tasty too!

alandublin33

I love carbonara with smokey bacon , but the problem is I find the jars of carbonara and ive tried a lot to be very tasteless/bland , does anyone have any suggestions on a brand of carbonara or a substitute , I sometimes add pinot grigio to give it more flavour , but just cant get that delicious cheese taste .

the beer revolu

alandublin33 wrote: »

I love carbonara with smokey bacon , but the problem is I find the jars of carbonara and ive tried a lot to be very tasteless/bland , does anyone have any suggestions on a brand of carbonara or a substitute , I sometimes add pinot grigio to give it more flavour , but just cant get that delicious cheese taste .

Make your own! Very easy.
There's been at least one thread on carbonara on here - use the search function.

Seomra Mushie

the beer revolu wrote: »

Chicken and vegetable soup:

Looks AMAZING! I chicken and veg soup. Pearl barley is great in soup too!

Tom Dunne

alandublin33 wrote: »

I love carbonara with smokey bacon , but the problem is I find the jars of carbonara and ive tried a lot to be very tasteless/bland , does anyone have any suggestions on a brand of carbonara or a substitute , I sometimes add pinot grigio to give it more flavour , but just cant get that delicious cheese taste .

Yeah, I love Carbonara, but I just can't seem to get a decent one in the shops. So I used the recipe from this very forum an it was utterly delicious. Very easy to make and very highly recommended.

Loire

the beer revolu wrote: »

Chicken and vegetable soup:
Homemade chicken and pork stock, chicken, onion, celery, carrot, leek, potato, pearl barley. flat leaf parsley. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm!

I must say, this looks fab! Any chance you could post the recipe? If I could turn out one like this I'd be a hero!.

Thanks,
Loire.

xxxkarenxxx

I had a lovely meal made for me last night by trackguy For starter he made tomato basil and mozzarella crostini


For main it was back pudding with scallops, caramelised apple and celeriac puree all cooked to perfection!


Then to finish he made creme brulee (my favourite) for dessert!

the beer revolu

Loire wrote: »

I must say, this looks fab! Any chance you could post the recipe? If I could turn out one like this I'd be a hero!.

Thanks,
Loire.

Not really a recipe but:

Simmer a cupfull of pearl barley in some water until tender. (don't use too much water and soaking the barley first will reduce cooking time)

Poach a chicken leg in my pot of stock (maybe 1.5 litres) when this is cooked (around 30 mins) take the meat off the bones and chop it up.

Into a pot with a knob of butter goes a chopped onion, a couple of carrots,a stick of celery (all chopped to dice). Cook for a few minutes on a medium heat. Throw in a small leek, a clove of garlic (optional) and a small potato (again all diced) cover the pan and cook on a gentle heat for a few minutes more.

Add your stock (hot from cooking the chicken), the barley (with the any water it was cooked in), the chopped chicken, a little fresh thyme (I'd leave it out if I didn't have fresh), fresh ground black pepper and salt (leave out salt if using stock cubes). Bring to the boil and simmer until the veg is all tender - shouldn't take very long. Add some chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (curly parsley is fine too - dried is not!). Taste the soup for seasoning and serve with some good bread - do not desecrate this soup with sliced pan or cuisine de crap bread!:p

the beer revolu

Stir fried pork hock with spring onion, ginger, garlic, chilli, red pepper, Chinese leaves, preserved black beans, soy sauce, reduced chicken stock, sesame oil. Served with flat egg noodles.

neuro-praxis

We don't do V-Day at our gaff, but as I was sick the husand unit made Italian style cod with a mushroom and tomato sauce, with roast potatoes and buttered asparagus. Yum.

hardCopy

5 Week aged angus fillets with spuds, carrots and green beans for Valentine's dinner.

trackguy

hardCopy wrote: »

5 Week aged angus fillets with spuds, carrots and green beans for Valentine's dinner.

Where did you get the beef hardCopy?

Pigwidgeon

Made my boyfriend his favourite foods for dinner today seeing as we couldn't see each other yesterday.

As a result we had piri piri chicken wings (I was lazy after making everything else from scratch and bought a nando's marinade which was actually surprisingly nice), mac and cheese with bacon and a banana cheesecake to finish it off. Comfort and simple food at it's best.

the beer revolu

Rump steak burgers from my new favourite butchers cooked medium rare :eek: in ciabatta with lettuce, tomato, jalapeno and pickled cucumber; oven roast wedges; Jerusalem artichoke, carrot and beetroot slaw; lettuce.

Loire

the beer revolu wrote: »

Not really a recipe but:

That's prefect, thanks!

Loire.

trackguy

Bengalese Prawn Curry, recipe courtesy of Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape cookbook

trackguy

Is no one cooking this week?

Hot & Sour Ramen last night with sweet chilli-glazed grilled chicken

the beer revolu

Dahl with spiced baby aubergines and aged basmati rice, fresh coriander.

Minder

Dahl, rack of lamb with mint and onion sauce, lemon rice.

What's aged basmati rice?

the beer revolu

Minder wrote: »

Dahl, rack of lamb with mint and onion sauce, lemon rice.

What's aged basmati rice?

Snap!!:D

Got a present of it.
Twas from Green Saffron.
Think it's just what it sounds like - rice that has been aged for some time.
It was very nice but probably expensive too.

neuro-praxis

Tonight some dear friends were travelling from the north to see us so my husband and I spent all afternoon preparing some delicious treats. Our tapas feast included:

• Aspargaus wrapped in serano ham, drizzled in black pepper and olive oil and roasted,then tossed in lemon juice
• Garlicky beef meatballs in a rich tomato sauce
• Nachos - tortilla chips piled high with melted cheese, salsa, jalapenos, sour cream, chopped scallions and sweetcorn
• Patatas bravas - fried potato cubes with a spicy tomato sauce and home-made roasted garlic mayo
• Goat's cheese salad with bacon and raspberry balsamic dressing
• Marinated chicken and chorizo skewers
• Garlic and chilli prawns
• Lots of crusty bread

Scrumptious! We had sticky toffee pudding and vanilla ice cream for dessert. All washed down with lots of Erdinger, wine and coffee. Quality evening.

Tar.Aldarion

Here is valentines dinner made by moi over the course of many hours.

Starter of carrot, tahini and manuka honey soup with Pita Crisps and white wine.

Ingredients:
leek, onion, garlic salt, pepper, coriander, mint, parsley, thyme, cayenne, chili, manuka honey, carrots, cheddar cheese, vegetable stock, tahini.
2 pita breads, each cut into 16 wedges, oiled, salted and roasted into crisps(YUM).








Roasted stuffed aubergines (cooked in red wine) with butternut squash and cranberry salad

Ingredients: aubergine, couscous, feta cheese, pepper, cherry tomatoes, cinnamon stick, chilli, onion, curry, garlic, mint, parsley, mixed unsalted nuts, cayenne.

Salad: Mixed leaves, butternut squash, ginger, cranberries, mixed unsalted nuts, feta cheese, balsamic vinegar & olive oil dressing.













Toblerone & coffee mousse (MMM)

Ingredients: Toblerone, espresso coffee, butter, cream, eggs, sugar, strawberries, icing sugar.

mike65

After all that fancy stuff, back to basics at Chez Mike65

4 baby potatoes
half Spanish onion
3 large celery sticks
2 large carrots
Half tin tomatoes
tin baked beans
2 stock cubes
6 small suet dumplings
1 large chicken breast.

Should fill 3 hungry souls.

vicecreamsundae

in keeping with the back to basics!
hadn't really anything in the house, so took some Koka instant noodles (chicken flavour). Cooked them in a saucepan, added the sachet and lots of fresh broccoli, a good dash of chilli powder and black pepper. then, when they were done but still on the hob, I beat one egg and poured it in, let it cook for about 15 seconds and then stirred it around.

I was surprised how good it was, and it was pretty filling too. Tasted a million miles from just making them the regular way, it actually felt like a proper wholesome meal and it still only took five minutes!

Minder

Mish mash of things last night. Made a crab bisque from a box of blue swimmer crabs I found in the freezer - ate that with some cheese on toast. Also made a salad of spicy prawns, grilled halloumi and leaves; and for some reason I wanted samosas, so filled some filo pastry sheets with spicy potato, carrot, mushroom and dahl left over from Friday night.

the beer revolu

Wanted to recreate a meal we had in Lisbon last year:
Quick fried picanha with black beans; rice (it's there really - just lost in the background against a white plate); fried potato and lettuce, rocket and watercress salad (not pictured). Washed down with a Tesco Alentejano Touriga Nacional (surprisingly good).



This is a great cut of meat if you can get it - super tender, full of flavour and considerably cheaper than striploin or ribeye.

the beer revolu

mike65 wrote: »

After all that fancy stuff, back to basics at Chez Mike65

4 baby potatoes
half Spanish onion
3 large celery sticks
2 large carrots
Half tin tomatoes
tin baked beans
2 stock cubes
6 small suet dumplings
1 large chicken breast.

Should fill 3 hungry souls.

Try that recipe with a tin of pinto/flageolet/haricot/butter/mixed beans or chick peas (drained and rinsed) and notice the lack of processed flavour. No more difficult but much nicer IMO.
Seems a shame to go to the trouble of making home made food that tastes of baked beans!

xxxkarenxxx

Meat and cheese for starter



Pan fried salmon with spinach and a balsamic vinaigrette

mike65

the beer revolu wrote: »

Try that recipe with a tin of pinto/flageolet/haricot/butter/mixed beans or chick peas (drained and rinsed) and notice the lack of processed flavour. No more difficult but much nicer IMO.
Seems a shame to go to the trouble of making home made food that tastes of baked beans!

But I love baked beans! (okay I will try other beans next time)

trackguy

Slow-roasted lamb shoulder, minted pea pureé, roasties with rosemary and garlic and redcurrant gravy