The General Chat Thread

igCorcaigh

New Home wrote: »

Roasted sweet chestnuts (on a naked flame, ideally on a wood fire) are to die for - yes, cutting them before roasting can be a pain, but the trick is to peel them while they're still piping hot - let them go cold, and it's a nightmare. Also, cold roasted chestnuts turn rock hard, and can be turned into a flour (with the suitable equipment), then the flour can be used to bake, or to make a porridge-like pudding. Canned/boiled chestnuts can be used in soups, stuffings, and to make Mont Blanc. Sweet chestnuts can also be made into a very creamy jam (with a texture similar to that of a chocolate spread), and they're absolutely delicious! If you're into tricky, lengthy, time-consuming recipes that take days, then you can make marrons glacés. I'll stop now, I'm drooling.

Soup it is then TY

caviardreams

Muahahaha wrote: »

Where do you get an extinguisher & fire blanket? Also what type should the extinguisher be, for electrical fires Im guessing?

Amazon do fire blankets too - handy to throw in to get over the £25 free shipping or whatever.

Graces7

shortcircuitie wrote: »

It's pure hardship. And the vacuum sealed ones taste absolutely fine, so there is no justification for the torture of roasting your own

but there is nothing like the taste and texture of a freshly roasted chestnut.... mmmmmmmmmmmm

Shenshen

I'll be traveling to India for work in December - I had been once before, but that had been on very short notice, so I never got to see anything much outside of our company's offices.
This time I've had a bit more time to prepare, and decided to add two days' holidays to my trip. And for one of those days, I've just booked a cooking class for Dhaba style cooking.

Is it a bit sad that I'm actually more excited about that than I am about christmas at the moment? Last time I was over, one of the managers and his wife invited me to their home to teach me how to make chapattis. I'm still lost for words to describe how delighted I was at that, how kind it was of them to teach me and how great it was to learn how to do them, and I've been perfecting them since (curry night is at least once a week in our house). This time, I want to take some full recipes home with me, along with a lot of spices. And masala tea!

Dizzyblonde

Not sad at all Shenshen. You get to have Christmas every year, but this sort of opportunity doesn't come along often! Enjoy

Shenshen

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Not sad at all Shenshen. You get to have Christmas every year, but this sort of opportunity doesn't come along often! Enjoy

I promise I'll share what I will learn

sammyjo90

Shenshen wrote: »

I promise I'll share what I will learn

Please do! Proper curry indian is a must!!

beertons

Hey. Am I the only one who hasn't tried fresh pasta till now? It's only amazingly fabulous.

New Home

Wait until you make it yourself.

igCorcaigh

Funnily enough, I prefer dried and wholemeal.
I find fresh pasta too sloppy

New Home

:eek: You do know that you only have to cook it for 2-3 mins, max?

igCorcaigh

New Home wrote: »

:eek: You do know that you only have to cook it for 2-3 mins, max?

Oh yes, I learned that!
Still prefer the al dente bite of dried.

beertons

New Home wrote: »

:eek: You do know that you only have to cook it for 2-3 mins, max?

Yes. Thought the packs were small, had my parents in for dinner. Stuck 3 packs in the bowl. There's leftovers till Sunday.

Home made, I ain't got the time. Too busy chopping, sipping and something else!

New Home

NOOOO!!!! :eek: You can't have fresh pasta leftovers, of course it'd be gross!!! You can't keep it for salads or anything like that!!
IIRC, dry pasta is made with durum wheat, while "fresh" egg based pasta is made with a different variety of wheat, and wouldn't keep its texture when cooked as well as its relative. For future reference, a portion of dry pasta is 80 grams per person (before cooking), whereas for the fresh pasta you can go as high as 100 grams. Also, for the love of all that is holy, add salt to the water you're using to cook it, as much as you would in a soup. It makes a huge, huge difference.

beertons

Ooopsie

New Home

Now, the exception to that would be if you use it to make lasagna, but it's so time consuming and labour intensive that unless you're very motivated and you're making enouogh of it for 12 people in a large roasting tin, it'd put you off lasagna for life. However, if you do have leftovers, those would be gorgeous.

Dial Hard

It's not just a blanket case of fresh = better. Some sauces are better suited to fresh, some to dried. Generally, creamy/cheesy/buttery sauces should be served with fresh pasta whereas tomato-ey/meaty/spicey/oily ones are better with dried.

RacoonQueen

I've been super busy (and lazy) and haven't done my cake or puddings yet (give them to mam as gifts). I kinda feel like its a bit late to make cake...but I'm pretty sure I've made it later around end of November before.
Last year I was on the ball with all of this, always start thinking of it in August but keep putting it off.

Faith

We’ve lived very happily without a microwave for the past 5 years or so. Have barely ever missed it and can’t even remember what we used it for. Mr Faith woke up this morning and decided that he wants to start eating porridge in the morning and he thinks we should get a microwave so he can make it quickly and easily. Looking at prices, they’re expensive enough and I can’t shake the idea that another appliance would be more useful and cheaper (eg a slow cooker perhaps).

Do you use your microwave a lot? How do you make porridge? I’d just make it on the stove but he seems to think that’s too time consuming and messy :rolleyes:

Gloomtastic!

Faith wrote: »

We’ve lived very happily without a microwave for the past 5 years or so. Have barely ever missed it and can’t even remember what we used it for. Mr Faith woke up this morning and decided that he wants to start eating porridge in the morning and he thinks we should get a microwave so he can make it quickly and easily. Looking at prices, they’re expensive enough and I can’t shake the idea that another appliance would be more useful and cheaper (eg a slow cooker perhaps).

Do you use your microwave a lot? How do you make porridge? I’d just make it on the stove but he seems to think that’s too time consuming and messy :rolleyes:

Thought our microwave died the other day and panicked about how I’d do porridge and scrambled eggs without having to watch over them constantly. We cook most of our veg in there too. Baked beans, soup, spaghetti hoops or reheating leftovers for the kids’ lunch. Reheating that cup of tea you left on the table.

Luckily it’s back working again but I would have replaced it immediately.

juke

Faith wrote: »

Do you use your microwave a lot? How do you make porridge? I’d just make it on the stove but he seems to think that’s too time consuming and messy :rolleyes:

We use ours mainly to steam veg, heat beans.

Porridge: stove, non-stick saucepan, takes about 4-4.5 minutes, less if you steep the oats overnight. No mess with the non-stick. The idea of doing it in the microwave is yuk

New Home

I use mine more than I use my kettle. I use it for reheating mostly or to boil my cup of water for tea/coffee, but also to cook potatoes to make salads (pierced, then wrapped neatly in parchment paper, and cooked for 7-8 mins depending on their size), or to steam veggies. If you were to invest in a good one, I'd recommend going for a combi one (not just with the added grill, but one that is also an electric oven), I use it a lot that way, too, as it saves me from having to heat the big oven to bake only small things, and it works great when I have to bake/roast two different things that don't take the same length of time or temperature to cook, or if I've loads to bake and if it won't all fit in the big oven - as a sort of "spill-over car park" for baking, if you will.

RacoonQueen

Faith wrote: »

Do you use your microwave a lot? How do you make porridge? I’d just make it on the stove but he seems to think that’s too time consuming and messy :rolleyes:

I batch cook, so would use it to reheat (some) of that. But most stuff I'd reheat on the hob. Barely use mine myself but it's great when I get a hankering for microwave popcorn.
I'd use it more for baking for melting butter and chocolate quickly and easily.
Would usually make porridge on the hob myself, nothing worse than forgetting your porridge in the microwave and it exploding and having to clean it off

rubadub

Faith wrote: »

(eg a slow cooker perhaps).

I would get an instant pot (or similar) before a slow cooker, instant pot is a slow cooker too.

It has a timer on it so it could be ready first thing in the morning.

I bought one on black friday, have heard lots of good things about them.

rubadub

tesco have frozen diced chorizo now.

https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=299486600

250g for 2.50.

Have not tried it but would be handy.

igCorcaigh

^^^

And chopped peppers too, which are good value compared to fresh.

Pity they don't do frozen chickpeas anymore, you almost have a nice dinner with that trio.

Gloomtastic!

And not forgetting how useful the microwave is for heating up lemons and limes for 15 seconds to get more juice out of them. Priceless!

caviardreams

igCorcaigh wrote: »

^^^

And chopped peppers too, which are good value compared to fresh.

Pity they don't do frozen chickpeas anymore, you almost have a nice dinner with that trio.

In fairness their canned chickpeas at 39 cent a can which is good value!

igCorcaigh

caviardreams wrote: »

In fairness their canned chickpeas at 39 cent a can which is good value!

True! I'm just a bit fussy about my chickpeas, have to be cooked from fresh!

Dizzyblonde

Faith wrote: »

We’ve lived very happily without a microwave for the past 5 years or so. Have barely ever missed it and can’t even remember what we used it for. Mr Faith woke up this morning and decided that he wants to start eating porridge in the morning and he thinks we should get a microwave so he can make it quickly and easily. Looking at prices, they’re expensive enough and I can’t shake the idea that another appliance would be more useful and cheaper (eg a slow cooker perhaps).

Do you use your microwave a lot? How do you make porridge? I’d just make it on the stove but he seems to think that’s too time consuming and messy :rolleyes:

I use my microwave for baking potatoes before finishing them off in the oven for 20 minutes - it saves a lot of electricity. I also use it to cook frozen corn on the cob because it only takes three minutes. Scrambled egg, porridge, steaming carrots before roasting them (because I hate hard carrots). I use it most days to reheat home made soup. The little vented packets of baby potatoes... I don't think I could live without my microwave. If you buy a microwave bowl or pot with a lid it's much handier, I couldn't cope with having to put clingfilm over everything.

I have a really cheap microwave, but it has a popcorn setting which is great.

L1011

I have a Bosch microwave with a grill function that I bought with a work gift card to match the rest of the kitchen appliances (mostly stainless on the food side, mostly Bosch for the lot).

I have personally used it about three times, for emergency defrost work. My partner uses it twice a day minimum. Suspect I'd be murdered if I got rid of it and can see why some people would use them all the time.

I have NEVER used the grill function!

BaZmO*

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I use my microwave for baking potatoes before finishing them off in the oven for 20 minutes - it saves a lot of electricity. I also use it to cook frozen corn on the cob because it only takes three minutes. Scrambled egg, porridge, steaming carrots before roasting them (because I hate hard carrots). I use it most days to reheat home made soup. The little vented packets of baby potatoes... I don't think I could live without my microwave. If you buy a microwave bowl or pot with a lid it's much handier, I couldn't cope with having to put clingfilm over everything.

I have a really cheap microwave, but it has a popcorn setting which is great.

Never thought about steaming carrots before roasting them. Great idea. How do you steam them?

Dizzyblonde

BaZmO* wrote: »

Never thought about steaming carrots before roasting them. Great idea. How do you steam them?

I just put them in my little microwave pot with a tablespoon of water and do them on full power for a few minutes depending on how many I'm cooking. You could use a bowl and clingfilm too.

Shenshen

Faith wrote: »

We’ve lived very happily without a microwave for the past 5 years or so. Have barely ever missed it and can’t even remember what we used it for. Mr Faith woke up this morning and decided that he wants to start eating porridge in the morning and he thinks we should get a microwave so he can make it quickly and easily. Looking at prices, they’re expensive enough and I can’t shake the idea that another appliance would be more useful and cheaper (eg a slow cooker perhaps).

Do you use your microwave a lot? How do you make porridge? I’d just make it on the stove but he seems to think that’s too time consuming and messy :rolleyes:

I don't have breakfast usually, but I do use the microwave for steaming potatoes for quick and easy mash. I wouldn't want to miss it for that.

We have a combined microwave and convection oven, so it's also good as a backup for when the regular oven is already in use.

BaZmO*

In all the years I've had a microwave I've never thought of using it to cook anything from raw. I've only ever used it to heat up things, which in fairness I do a lot.

Steaming potatoes to make mash seems like a great idea. I assume you don't lose out on texture?

New Home

I find they don't get as crumbly/floury, but they keep their shape, which is great for salads. In fairness, though, I've never tried to mash them afterwards.

Faith

Thanks all! Lots of steaming uses, but I have a steamer pot already that I steam things in so that hasn't sold me on a microwave . I'm also used to reheating in the oven or on the stove, depending on the dish.

I think you've just all convinced me that I don't need or want a microwave :pac:. I've told Mr Faith that we'll look into getting one in January and to try making porridge on the stove for now. We'll see if he even remembers that he wanted one in a few weeks...!

Dial Hard

Our microwave went on the fritz years ago and I never bothered replacing it, didn't miss it once in about three years. I have one now cause it came with the house I rent but I rarely use it. Could easily and happily survive without it.

BaZmO*

Unrelated to cooking but we've also used ours a lot for sterilising baby bottles for the bambinos, which is really handy.

The Hill Billy

As Dizzyblonde mentioned popcorn...

Mrs B was tidying the kitchen presses today & found 8 partly-used boxes of microwaveable popcorn. Seems like someone (I have no idea who that might be) zaps a bag, flings the box in the back of the press & buys more every time they go shopping.

igCorcaigh

Microwave ovens are WAY cheaper to operate rather than conventional oven or stove.

Mine has been broken for a while now, must purchase a new one as I do a lot of batch cooking and reheating.

Michellenman

Ordered a kitchen aid stand mixer today and IM SO EXCITED FOR ALL THE CHRISTMAS BAKING!!

Also, going to a cooking demo with Rory o Connell on Saturday, it’s all Christmas foods. Hoping to pick up some tips! I was at a demo last week in the same place and all 5 dishes were super simple but very tasty. Came away with a recipe for Parmesan short bread and a root vegetable gratin that I will be pulling out over the festive period.

tickingclock

Michellenman wrote: »

Ordered a kitchen aid stand mixer today and IM SO EXCITED FOR ALL THE CHRISTMAS BAKING!!

Also, going to a cooking demo with Rory o Connell on Saturday, it’s all Christmas foods. Hoping to pick up some tips! I was at a demo last week in the same place and all 5 dishes were super simple but very tasty. Came away with a recipe for Parmesan short bread and a root vegetable gratin that I will be pulling out over the festive period.

Root vegetable gratin is a regular in this house. I've varied greatly from the recipe I first got and now use whatever root veg I have. Celeriac is a great addition to it. Also vary the cheese on top.

kylith

Just re: porridge. I just steep a scoop of oats and some raisins in two scoops of boiling water. I started doing it after trying one of those porridge pots. Now I can’t stand cooked porridge.

Dizzyblonde

The Hill Billy wrote: »

As Dizzyblonde mentioned popcorn...

Mrs B was tidying the kitchen presses today & found 8 partly-used boxes of microwaveable popcorn. Seems like someone (I have no idea who that might be) zaps a bag, flings the box in the back of the press & buys more every time they go shopping.

That'll be the two mysterious people who live in everyone's house.

Somebody, who did it and Nobody, who knows who it was

Graces7

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

That'll be the two mysterious people who live in everyone's house.

Somebody, who did it and Nobody, who knows who it was

believe me, it still happens when you live alone and no one has been in! not popcorn but other things...

Graces7

kylith wrote: »

Just re: porridge. I just steep a scoop of oats and some raisins in two scoops of boiling water. I started doing it after trying one of those porridge pots. Now I can’t stand cooked porridge.

chopped dried apricots are lovely added to this as well as the raisins. oh and dates...

beertons

Think I'm going to do a batch of stuffing balls for Friday. Between the toy show, putting up the tree, and drinks, we'll have a fair hunger.

Alun

Dial Hard wrote: »

Our microwave went on the fritz years ago and I never bothered replacing it, didn't miss it once in about three years. I have one now cause it came with the house I rent but I rarely use it. Could easily and happily survive without it.

As someone who batch cooks a lot of stuff like chilli, spag bol, curries, soups etc, I couldn't live without one. I suppose if I was organized enough to take whatever I wanted to eat out of the freezer the night before and let it defrost in the fridge I wouldn't need one but I'm not

Alun

Faith wrote: »

Looking at prices, they’re expensive enough ...

Not really. A no-frills one can be had for €60-70, which isn't expensive in my book anyway.