The General Chat Thread

BaZmO*

the beer revolu wrote: »

People will tell you otherwise but I mostly buy the cheapest wine I can find for cooking.

These days cheap wine is drinkable unlike the cheap gutrot of yore.

I’m pretty much the same. I don’t got super cheap but I certainly don’t take the advice of a lot of chefs that say get the most expensive wine you can afford for cooking. The only
Thing to watch out for is to try and not get an overly sweet wine which can sometimes be the case with cheap plonk.

Dial Hard

LirW wrote: »

Me as a non-drinker and having equal knowledge about alcohol wants to get wine for cooking.
Cheap enough, what would be the best dry to go for in Lidl/Aldi?

Conde Noble. Dry Spanish white, €3.99 a pop in Lidl. They do a red too.

vicwatson

rubadub wrote: »

Do any shops do "potato" burger buns? in particular anything like these "martins" brand ones.

On lots of US sites about burgers these keep being mentioned.



How Martin’s Potato Rolls Became the ‘It’ Burger Bun

Would love to know too, they look great.

beertons

Bbq on the cards today, that's a given anyway.

I must have been dreaming about a slow cooker Mexican chicken dish last night, because it was the first thing I thought of this morning. And judging by the Pinterest things, it shall be amazing.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

beertons wrote: »

Bbq on the cards today, that's a given anyway.

I'm moving house in a few months and my BBQ has already gone into storage

beertons

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'm moving house in a few months and my BBQ has already gone into storage

Pm me your number, and you'll get an invite. I'd never have a guy off Sesame Street go hungry during this warm weather.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

beertons wrote: »

Pm me your number, and you'll get an invite. I'd never have a guy off Sesame Street go hungry during this warm weather.

I'll bring Big Bird if you can provide the marinade.

Dizzyblonde

I'm just home after two days of being fed by Richard Corrigan - I'd be levitating only for the fact that I ate so much. There wasn't a morsel that wasn't delicious, and yesterday there was a barbecue on the lawn in glorious sunshine. It was heaven

LirW

I need your help: Coming Saturday I volunteered to prepare a breakfast for a wedding party when they get ready in the morning because the bride is too stingy to get anything for them and thinks it's grand to give them cereals. Stupid as I am I said I'll whip them something up so they have a good solid base for the day.
It's 9 adults and 2 children, the taste is very simple, the like of Fry-ups are always welcome.

I need a bit of inspiration what to do for them. I have something savory planned already, would look for some ideas for something sweet/fruity/starchy like a fruity pancake bake or so. I was thinking granola with yogurt and fruit but don't have any glasses to put them in that I wanna give away.

dee_mc

Big plate of nicely sliced mixed fruit, bowl of berries, big bowl of natural yogurt, bowl of homemade granola. Let them build their own granola bowls (using the bride's own crockery). Dealz do nice looking light plastic platters and serving bowls that would be ideal for this kind of gathering - quick rinse and recycle job.
Maybe a few pastries would be nice, something simple like pain au chocolat (ready-rolled puff pastry with a blob of nutella or a square of chocolate inside) - quick, easy energy is what's needed the morning of a wedding!

Dizzyblonde

As dee_mc said, fruit and pastries. They'll all be up very early and taking turns getting their hair and make up done and will be eating as they go. Will you have the savoury food already cooked? It's mayhem in the bride's house on the morning - we had it here last week for my daughter and it's the quickest, busiest morning ever - yet you need lots of food because you won't be eating for hours afterwards.

LirW

I will cook it all up in my house and deliver it over, I'm not involved into the wedding in any way. I just felt really sorry when my friend told me they won't have anything to eat from 6am to 6pm because there's nothing sorted out for them (the whole affair is a trainwreck deluxe but that's another story). So I drop it all prepared over to the house.
As savoury option I'll do breakfast sambos with scramble, sausage and rasher. The whole party is not very adventurous with food so safe options it is.

beertons

I wouldn't do a fry. Too salty, they're be craving water all day.

I'd do scrambled eggs, salmon, pastries. And maybe selection of fruits.

Dizzyblonde

That's very nice of you, they really will appreciate it! You can't beat rashers and sausages

Gloomtastic!

How about breakfast pizza?

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/breakfast-pizza-recipe-1941802.amp

BaZmO*

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

How about breakfast pizza?

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/breakfast-pizza-recipe-1941802.amp

Or alternative to that, Breakfast Quiche? It’s a favourite in our house. It can be prepared pretty much in advance too. Cook a load of sausages and rashers then let them cool. Chop into bite size pieces and put them in a dish lined with shortcrust pastry. Pour over some mixed eggs and bake. Absolutely delicious.

vicwatson

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

How about breakfast pizza?

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/breakfast-pizza-recipe-1941802.amp

Made similar with the pizza dough and the puff pastry from aldi, both worked good, in the oven, job done

LirW

beertons wrote: »

I wouldn't do a fry. Too salty, they're be craving water all day.

I'd do scrambled eggs, salmon, pastries. And maybe selection of fruits.

There's basically no way around the fry really, that's what they really would like and I can't blame them, they have a long day ahead of them.

kylith

Accidentally would up with 2 dozen eggs. Any ideas?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

kylith wrote: »

Accidentally would up with 2 dozen eggs. Any ideas?

Lamingtons.

Bill Granger's recipe uses loads of eggs to make the sponge.

LirW

Bake it away, do quiche, do anything that requires a lot of them and is good for freezing. I'd see that as a batch prep opportunity.

Dizzyblonde

You can freeze the whites and yolks separately, for things like pavlovas and brownies, home made custard. You could make lemon curd - that takes 3-4 eggs depending on your recipe. Or Mary Berry's lemon drizzle cake with lemon curd, which uses 6 eggs http://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/great-british-bake-off-recipes/lemon-drizzle-cake-with-lemon-curd-and-double-cream

kylith

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

You can freeze the whites and yolks separately, for things like pavlovas and brownies, home made custard. You could make lemon curd - that takes 3-4 eggs depending on your recipe. Or Mary Berry's lemon drizzle cake with lemon curd, which uses 6 eggs http://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/great-british-bake-off-recipes/lemon-drizzle-cake-with-lemon-curd-and-double-cream

I think we have a winner!

the beer revolu

Spanish tortilla will use up 6 or 8

B0jangles

I was at a loose end yesterday so I decided to try making my own candied orange peel, largely because I hate throwing stuff out and we're eating a lot of oranges at the moment

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/candied-citrus-peel

I will most definitely be making this again when I run out - it tastes so amazingly delicious, especially if you dip the finished peel in a little melted dark chocolate and leave it to set. It's like a bonbon from a super fancy sweet-shop.

This is what mine looking like (not my picture, just to give an idea of the finished article):


It's so cheap to make, the only thing you're paying for is sugar and some dark chocolate if you want to make coated ones. It it time-consuming though and you'll hate sugar by the time you're finished. I waited until I had about 10 oranges worth of peel since it hardly seemed worth the effort to do it otherwise.

silverharp

can you buy egg whites in Dublin? Ive not seen them in Tesco

rubadub

silverharp wrote: »

can you buy egg whites in Dublin? Ive not seen them in Tesco

I have seen them in dunnes cornelscourt before, not sure if smaller ones would have it. You could ask on the "health & fitness" forum as people lifting weights might use them.

I know they are usually more expensive than just buying eggs.

tesco do show them online, and I think I have seen them in mine.
https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=280966799

kylith

silverharp wrote: »

can you buy egg whites in Dublin? Ive not seen them in Tesco

They definitely have them in SuperValu Palmerstown.

Dial Hard

My awesome egg man just delivered me a leg of kid goat (which he rears as well as chickens). Going to do the exact same thing as last time - smear in cumin & lemon butter, leave to sit overnight and then roast low and slow for hours and serve with flatbreads and salads. Cannae wait.

the beer revolu

Dial Hard wrote: »

My awesome egg man just delivered me a leg of kid goat (which he rears as well as chickens). Going to do the exact same thing as last time - smear in cumin & lemon butter, leave to sit overnight and then roast low and slow for hours and serve with flatbreads and salads. Cannae wait.

While that sounds lovely, kid should be tender enough to fast roast medium rare, if you fancy a change.

tickingclock

I'm making dinner for six people tomorrow night. I can't decide on dessert so I was thinking of two types of small portions to put in serving glasses. In the past I've always done Eton Mess and a lemon and passion fruit recipie from the cooking club. I can use shot glasses and sherry glasses! So the portions will be small in case anyone fancies two of them. Would anyone have any suggestions please?

LirW

Chocolate mousse!

silverharp

kylith wrote: »

They definitely have them in SuperValu Palmerstown.

I'll check out the one in Blackrock thanks

Dizzyblonde

tickingclock wrote: »

Would anyone have any suggestions please?

I've used this Jamie Oliver recipe for lemon sherbet quite a few times and it's really good.

1 Cup sugar
1 Cup water
1 Cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 heaping tablespoon of mascarpone

- Pre-freeze a shallow dish, a sauce pan, or a pyrex baking dish.

- Put the sugar and water into a pan and bring to a boil, then let simmer for 5 minutes. The liquid will be clear and slightly syrupy.
- Take it off the heat and let it cool for 15 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and zest.
- Add the mascarpone and whisk until it's all incorporated. The mixture will be milky.
- Taste your syrup to see whether you need to adjust the lemon or sweetness. How much lemon juice and sugar you use will depend on your lemons.

- Pour the syrup into your pre-frozen dish and put it in the freezer. Let it sit for an hour.
- After an hour, stir the sherbet, forking up any frozen bits. The outside will freeze first so make sure you run your fork or spoon around the outside.
- Wait another hour and stir again.
- Wait another hour and stir again.
- Then let it be for another hour and it's ready to serve!

- The sherbet will keep in the freezer covered in plastic wrap or with a lid for 3 days before it starts to crystallize.

- Stirring is very important as that is what gives the sherbet a smooth texture.

RacoonQueen

I love reading reviews of recipes, seeing people mention how many ways they didn't follow the recipe and then complain that the recipe doesn't work or tastes terrible etc. :pac:

One example I've just read.

1. 30 December 2017
   1 star rating
   I usually make a sweet yeast bun dough but thought this would make a quick alternative. I cooked it for 20 mins more than the stated 35 mins, the outside was crispy, the inside stodgy. Will go back to the bun dough. This was a waste of time and ingredients.

Dial Hard

the beer revolu wrote: »

While that sounds lovely, kid should be tender enough to fast roast medium rare, if you fancy a change.

One of my guests for that dinner is pregnant, so can't cook it rare.

He also mentioned that these goats were about 5 months older than the last batch.

the beer revolu

Is this recent advice on expectant mothers not eating rare meat?
I've been aware of warnings about raw cheese, paté, shellfish and the like for years but this warning against rare meat is a relatively new one on me.

Tis a wonder that any French child has ever been born in one piece!

BaZmO*

the beer revolu wrote: »

Is this recent advice on expectant mothers not eating rare meat?
I've been aware of warnings about raw cheese, paté, shellfish and the like for years but this warning against rare meat is a relatively new one on me.

Tis a wonder that any French child has ever been born in one piece!

I would imagine it's always been the case to err on the side of caution when it comes to stuff like that. Plus, you do not want to be the person that made a pregnant woman sick!

rubadub

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I love reading reviews of recipes...

then there are the bizarre amazon reviews for foods too. I was looking at bags of rice on amazon. Guy gave the rice 3 stars, 78% gave 5 stars so I wondered what was wrong with it, or if he suggested better brands. Turns out the rice did not fix his ipad so he knocks it down a few stars!

Customer Review

Basmati rice 10kg bag
BySpideron 18 November 2017
Verified Purchase

Basmati rice,was only bought to try and dry out an iPad that got wet,that tablet bit the dust,had to buy a new 1,I’m not a big rice eater,& there’s so much here,iPad only had water on it,so I’m sure this rice is ok to eat,sister in law helps run a hostel so I’m thinking of giving this bag to her.

the beer revolu

BaZmO* wrote: »

I would imagine it's always been the case to err on the side of caution when it comes to stuff like that. Plus, you do not want to be the person that made a pregnant woman sick!

Oh, I wasn't for a moment suggesting that Dial Hard go against the wishes of their guest.
I was just wondering if this is a newish thing and if the same recommendations are found elsewhere.

angeldelight

the beer revolu wrote: »

Oh, I wasn't for a moment suggesting that Dial Hard go against the wishes of their guest.
I was just wondering if this is a newish thing and if the same recommendations are found elsewhere.

It’s around as long as I remember anyway - due to the potential for toxoplasmosis

kylith

the beer revolu wrote: »

Is this recent advice on expectant mothers not eating rare meat?
I've been aware of warnings about raw cheese, paté, shellfish and the like for years but this warning against rare meat is a relatively new one on me.

Tis a wonder that any French child has ever been born in one piece!

Luckily they haven’t warned me off shellfish

They have told me not to eat: sushi, soft cheese, cured meats, pâté, and rare steak. So, all my favourite foods.

As you say; how France, Italy, and Japan manage to have any children at all is anyone’s guess.

Oh, and ‘anything from a deli with mayonaisse in it’.

the beer revolu

Remember those Mediterranean wraps that Aldi used to sell?
They were unavailable for a while but then they turned up in Dunnes only to be dropped after a few months.
Well, they're back in Dunnes. Wholemeal and white. I must, much prefer them to either tortilla wraps or pittas.

rubadub

the beer revolu wrote: »

Well, they're back in Dunnes. Wholemeal and white. I must, much prefer them to either tortilla wraps or pittas.

I heard these are good for kebabs and more like what you get in decent kebab shops.

Sunday world has a dunnes voucher this weekend 10 off a 50 spend. Can be used in tesco too.

Both tesco & dunnes have decent alcohol deals at the moment too. I find it difficult to spend 50 on just food. My plan is to spend it in dunnes, they should give me another voucher which I can use in tesco.

kylith

The more I watch Bake Off the more I want to see Mary and Paul make the technical challenge in the time allotted. Let’s see if their cake is cool enough to ice.

Gloomtastic!

Read about this in this morning’s Indo. It’s an Irish-developed cooking app that interacts with your kitchen appliances. There’s also recipes on there that you can adjust the ingredients according to how many your serving.

https://www.getdrop.com/recipes

BaZmO*

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Read about this in this morning’s Indo. It’s an Irish-developed cooking app that interacts with your kitchen appliances. There’s also recipes on there that you can adjust the ingredients according to how many your serving.

https://www.getdrop.com/recipes

I use a recipe app called Recipe Keeper that adjusts quantities based on serving size. It always makes a shopping list. Great for saving recipes and keeping notes. Free too.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Anybody ever make tartar sauce using Greek yoghurt instead of mayonnaise?

I bought a big tub of Greek yoghurt to make tzatziki and have half of it left. Fish cakes for dinner tonight and was planning on doing some tartar style sauce and I'm wondering if the yoghurt would work?

Mystery Egg

I haven't made it but I've seen it on a blog. I've used Greek yogurt to make garlic sauce and blue cheese sauce in the past and it worked well though.

Greek Yogurt Tartar Sauce:
3 dill pickles, finely diced
3 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ Tbsp Sriracha (optional)
1 cup Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper, to taste

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Mystery Egg wrote: »

I haven't made it but I've seen it on a blog. I've used Greek yogurt to make garlic sauce and blue cheese sauce in the past and it worked well though.

Greek Yogurt Tartar Sauce:
3 dill pickles, finely diced
3 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ Tbsp Sriracha (optional)
1 cup Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper, to taste

I tried it. It's alright actually. Used zest instead of juice from the lemon as it was already quite a runny mixture.