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

The Sweeper

watna wrote: »

Can I ask you what spices/flavouring you put on your oven wedges? I have been using a wedge mix put actually looking at the ingredients the other day has put me off! I think it'd be better to use my own. Any suggestions?

If I'm going to have wedges with fish, they work really well if you use lemon and rosemary. Wash and cut the potatoes, put them in a roasting dish with a little oil, and then grate the zest of a lemon over them, and put two large, bruised sprigs of rosemary in the roasting dish and season with salt and pepper. Add enough boiling water to the roasting dish to ensure it comes about a centimetre up the wedges (assuming you've cut them nice and chunky). Bung in a hot oven until cooked (30-45 mins depending on temp and nature of oven).


As an aside, I get extremely irritated when people respond to me on this forum with a query on the nutritional - and specifically the calorie content - of the food I'm describing. If you're worried about calories, go to the fitness and nutrition forums. And as someone mentioned on the coconut-milk-substitute thread, if you're worried about calories, don't eat so much goddamned food.

Minder

Last night we had a spatchcocked chicken with whole spices - cumin, fennel, nigella and coriander - dry roasted and roughly ground in the pestle and mortar. Also a salad of roast spiced aubergine with feta cheese, fresh mint and coriander and dried cranberries, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice - and a pilau rice with carmelised onions, dried apricots and cashews. After cooking the onions in a pan for forty minutes, I heaped the onions, apricots and cashews on the rice and put the dish in the oven for 10 minutes to give a little colour to the nuts.

The Hill Billy

watna wrote: »

Can I ask you what spices/flavouring you put on your oven wedges? I have been using a wedge mix put actually looking at the ingredients the other day has put me off! I think it'd be better to use my own. Any suggestions?

I make my own spice mix with ground cumin & coriander, pinch of cayenne or chilli & a bit of salt.

Occasionally I'd vary the mix to include dried herbs or finely chopped rosemary or thyme depending on what I'm having the wedges with.

dlambirl

Steak stir fry with noodles

MJOR

home made burger with salad and wedges.

watna

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

If I'm going to have wedges with fish, they work really well if you use lemon and rosemary. Wash and cut the potatoes, put them in a roasting dish with a little oil, and then grate the zest of a lemon over them, and put two large, bruised sprigs of rosemary in the roasting dish and season with salt and pepper. Add enough boiling water to the roasting dish to ensure it comes about a centimetre up the wedges (assuming you've cut them nice and chunky). Bung in a hot oven until cooked (30-45 mins depending on temp and nature of oven).


As an aside, I get extremely irritated when people respond to me on this forum with a query on the nutritional - and specifically the calorie content - of the food I'm describing. If you're worried about calories, go to the fitness and nutrition forums. And as someone mentioned on the coconut-milk-substitute thread, if you're worried about calories, don't eat so much goddamned food.

Tanks MAJD, I'm thinking of having fish tonight so might give that a go

.... and I agree, the food and drink forum shouldn't be a place where your food choices are criticised. As you said we have a nutritional and diet forum too. That post irritated me no end too. What irritated me too is that it's not the first time Cozmik has done that in this forum.

neuro-praxis

If a post bothers you, report it. That way people don't get a bollocking in a (really nice) thread and a mod can just have a quiet word if appropriate instead.

Last night for dinner I ended up in Eddie Rockets, where I had a classic and a half and half.

dlambirl

I was made dinner last night.....

Meat balls, potatoes, mangetout, carrots and pepper sause.

The meat balls were delicious. - anyone have a nice recipe for a pasta dish or pasta bake with meat balls??

The Sweeper

Went out for a work birthday dinner last night. Ordered a chicken and pasta dish. It was utterly crap and I could do better myself at home by a country mile. When I saw "pasta tossed with chicken, spinach and semi dried tomatoes, with shavings of parmesan" I thought 'looks good'.

Got a bowl of overdone spaghetti, with strips of cooked chicken pulled off the breast of either a roast or boiled chicken, some wilted spinach leaves, and their 'semi dried tomatoes' were actually fresh tomatoes that had been left in the oven and had the consistency of the half tomato you'd get with a fried breakfast. The parmesan was the pre-grated stuff like you buy in bags at the supermarket for cooking.

I also ended up reaching for the table salt - and if I'm doing that, it's got to be a seriously bland meal.

watna

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Went out for a work birthday dinner last night. Ordered a chicken and pasta dish. It was utterly crap and I could do better myself at home by a country mile. When I saw "pasta tossed with chicken, spinach and semi dried tomatoes, with shavings of parmesan" I thought 'looks good'.

Got a bowl of overdone spaghetti, with strips of cooked chicken pulled off the breast of either a roast or boiled chicken, some wilted spinach leaves, and their 'semi dried tomatoes' were actually fresh tomatoes that had been left in the oven and had the consistency of the half tomato you'd get with a fried breakfast. The parmesan was the pre-grated stuff like you buy in bags at the supermarket for cooking.

I also ended up reaching for the table salt - and if I'm doing that, it's got to be a seriously bland meal.

I find that, unless you're in a really good Italian restaurant pasta dishes when eating out are really bland too. I always have to add a good bit of salt.

Last night we had a random assortment of things from the freezer because we're trying to empty it. We had onion rings, a handful of oven chips we found in a bag at the back, frozen corn on the cob and green peas and I marinated some chicken in lemon olive oil and portugeues spices. It was actually quite nice, like a picnic!

Dizzyblonde

Last night we had a meatball casserole that was simmering in the slow cooker all afternoon.

The Hill Billy

Chicken with assorted veg ithat had been languishing in the veg rack, stir-fried with some chinese 5 spice, soy sauce, ginger & garlic. Served with noodles.

neuro-praxis

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Last night we had a meatball casserole that was simmering in the slow cooker all afternoon.

Can I have this recipe please?

dlambirl

neuro-praxis wrote: »

Can I have this recipe please?

+1

Dizzyblonde

neuro-praxis wrote: »

Can I have this recipe please?

Sure, but I made it up as I went along. It was really nice though.

I lb of lean steak mince
2 sliced carrots
2 sliced onions
Half a tin of tomatoes
Sliced potatoes
A dessertspoon of flour
Pinch of mixed herbs
Salt and black pepper
A beef Oxo cube mixed with a pint of hot water
Olive oil

Season the meat with salt and pepper and shape into meatballs. Roll them in flour, then brown them in the oil.
Remove them from the pan and add the carrots and onions. Fry gently until they start to soften. Stir in the flour, then add 3/4 of the stock and the tomatoes. If it's a bit thick, add the rest of the stock. Add some more salt and pepper and the herbs. Put it all in the slow cooker with the potatoes on the bottom. The meatballs will be on top but that's ok, I stirred them gently a couple of times while it was cooking.
I cooked it in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, then turned it down to low for the last 2 hours because it was ready early, but 4 1/2 or 5 hours on high would do it. Or you could cook it in the oven for an hour and a half.

dlambirl

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Sure, but I made it up as I went along. It was really nice though.

I lb of lean steak mince
2 sliced carrots
2 sliced onions
Half a tin of tomatoes
Sliced potatoes
A dessertspoon of flour
Pinch of mixed herbs
Salt and black pepper
A beef Oxo cube mixed with a pint of hot water
Olive oil

Season the meat with salt and pepper and shape into meatballs. Roll them in flour, then brown them in the oil.
Remove them from the pan and add the carrots and onions. Fry gently until they start to soften. Stir in the flour, then add 3/4 of the stock and the tomatoes. If it's a bit thick, add the rest of the stock. Add some more salt and pepper and the herbs. Put it all in the slow cooker with the potatoes on the bottom. The meatballs will be on top but that's ok, I stirred them gently a couple of times while it was cooking.
I cooked it in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, then turned it down to low for the last 2 hours because it was ready early, but 4 1/2 or 5 hours on high would do it. Or you could cook it in the oven for an hour and a half.

Sounds lovely Dizzyblonde!! Thanks

_blank_

Can I make a suggestion to make that dish a little bit tastier?

Substitute about half the minced beef for sausage meat.

Pork&Beef meatballs are so much nicer.

Dizzyblonde

Excellent idea Des

Loopy

We had gammon, with roasted carrots, parsnips and baby potatoes & cauliflower cheese..

xzanti

I made us Spag Bol with garlic bread and side salad.. followed by a bag of Haribo Jellies

The Hill Billy

Tunisian-style chicken with root veg & cous cous.

giftgrub

I picked up a whole Arctic Char in the fishmongers for about 8 quid

made a butter mix of anchovies and parsley, put that in the fishn cavity, baked it in tinfoil

served with roasted veg, with the remaining butter drizzled over it

plenty in the one fish for me and the missus, never had char before, it was really tasty

dlambirl

Last night made a 3 in 1

Fried rice, homemade chips and curry sause

Loopy

last nite we had beef and guinnes casserole with champ mash

RentDayBlues

Home made Lamb Rogan Josh!

Minder

dlambirl wrote: »

Last night made a 3 in 1

Fried rice, homemade chips and curry sause

What did you use for the curry sauce? I remember chips and curry sauce from the Chinese on the corner of Vevay Rd and O'Byrne Rd in Bray - the sauce was a green chinese curry sauce - the chinese is long gone, but I eventually found a chinese curry concentrate from Wingyip - it makes exactly the same curry sauce. Which was also a staple of my dining experiences in the Jasmine House. Chinese beef curry - chunky onions, thinly sliced beef and peas in a green sauce.

Right - thats tomorrow nights dinner sorted.

Edgedinblue

had yummy chicken satay with fried rice, chips and spring rolls! all from the loverly chinese down the road

tonight carbonara followed by tea, a dairy milk and some pringles! :P

The Sweeper

Made roast lamb for himself's birthday. First time using new range cooker electric fan oven. Reckon I have the measure of it (which is useful). It's too big to use the fan assist guidelines, but too efficient for the non-fan guidelines, so somewhere between the two will have to do.

Loopy

we had takeaway - chicken biryani and garlic naan bread

NewFrockTuesday

Today is roast chicken, roast potatoes, spuds in their jackets and carrots and gravy.

Might make a pear flan later. A bit bored.