Here's What I Had For Dinner - Part III - Don't quote pics!

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120015527#Comment_120015527

Oh! This might be good for homemade burgers! Care to offer the recipe?

Recliner

@igCorcaigh not really a recipe to follow. If you look up American cheese sauce, there's a plethora of recipes involving flour and all sorts. But for me, when you're trying to replicate something so kitsch, then just go basic.

So I break up 3 slices of the cheapest plastic cheese I can find into a microwaveable container, add about 100ml of milk and microwave for about a minute. Stir and see if the cheese has melted. After that it's personal taste as to consistency. Add more milk to thin, more cheese to thicken. I do add black pepper.

And I imagine you could make in saucepan on a hob, but to me the microwave adds to the experience.

I would say, keep it a little bit runny. It will tend to harden up as it cools.

Enjoy!!!

the beer revolu

Riceberry is a new one on me! Must try.

I really like all sorts of wholemeal rice (as well as white)? Red cargo rice is lovely as is brown Thai fragrant.

igCorcaigh

Sausage and butterbean stew.

No recipe. Medi veggies and white wine stock gel pot, pork lardons, tomato puree, packet chicken gravy etc.

The couscous was only the instant kind, and I overcooked it.

Nothing about this was authentic, but still one of the tastiest random dinners that I had in a long time :)

awec

Practice run for Christmas starter, scallops and black pudding with apple .

Made a curried cauliflower purée and a celeriac purée, preferred the celeriac so that’s the choice for the day. My kids loved the stuff they were eating the extra with a spoon.

Also going to crumble the pudding over rather than serve discs, and tiny cube the apple. Purée needs to be smoother too.

Wasn’t happy with the overall look of the plate, need to find something green to put on top cause it looked seriously beige tonight!

Recliner

No pic, but a delicious dinner that was purely a fridge clearing exercise.

Chopped up some chicken thighs, fried with onion, garlic, smoked bacon cut up, some almost dodgy mushrooms, frozen peas and the last of my dried mushrooms. Sauce was homemade chicken stock and cream.

Realised last minute that I had no potatoes. Then remembered that I had bought a bag of frozen double butter mash potatoes in Iceland a few weeks ago. Bunged in mee-cro-wavey and hey presto, mash for a pie topping. I'll definitely be buying again case of emergency.

It did need a little more stock in the sauce but seriously tasty.

igCorcaigh

That looks lovely @awec, and your suggested modifications sound good to me!

I had something similar in Jacob's restaurant recently; McCarthy's black pudding with a garlic potato puree and port jus. I think it's watercress that was the garnish, which might suit your starter?

Dave_The_Sheep

Pea shoots, no?

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120024158#Comment_120024158

Perhaps! It wasn't listed on the menu.

(actually, yes, that looks exactly like pea shoots. Good ID technique)

awec

I’m actually going to do a dill oil.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120026936#Comment_120026936

I'll be over right after my hot port.

anewme

Recipe fir the veggie lasagne please! Want to make that over Christmas!

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120024728#Comment_120024728

And there was me thinking, "I much prefer pea shoots to watercress", and not noticing that it was actually pea shoots.

I love them and they are cheap and readily available in England but hard to find in Ireland.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120027579#Comment_120027579

Do M&S no longer sell pea shoots? They used to.

Reminds me... I'm planning to make a yellow pea soup, might get one of those ham hocks from the Chicken Inn stall. Pea shoots would be the perfect garnish.

Shenshen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120026953#Comment_120026953

I recently made a rather awesome one using roasted veggies, using :

3 cloves of garlic

2 sprigs of rosemary

3tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 butternut squash, diced

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped

1 red and 1 green pepper, diced

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp of oil or butter

2 tbsp flour

1/2 l milk

2 stock cubes

60g grated cheese

6 fresh lasagne sheets

First thing I did was finely chopping the garlic and rosemary and fry it in the oil until brown. Strain the oil and keep the fried garlic and rosemary to the side.

Mice the chopped vegetables with the oil, then spread them on a lined baking tray and bake at 200 for 30 minutes. Mix them up occasionally to make sure they brown evenly.

Make a bechamel with the butter, flour and milk, stir through the fried garlic and rosemary.

Once the veggies are baked and cooled a bit, assemble your lasagne, starting with a layer of veg, some bechamel, then sheets. Repeat until you have the dish filled, and make sure the last layer is bechamel.

Sprinkle over the cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

You can throw in whatever other veggies you have. Parsnips could work really well in this, as could chickpeas.

igCorcaigh

I remember making a nice vegetarian lasagna built on courgette and ricotta.

I've lost the recipe now, but it involved grating a LOT of courgette, and sweating down to a pulp. Rosemary would be good. Used green lasagna sheets. I think there was tomato sauce involved. And bechamel.

I remember it being delicious!

anewme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120027876#Comment_120027876

Thanks a lot!

So no tomato sauce in it? Don’t like butternut squash or chickpeas so will either use sweet potatoes or parsnip!

Shenshen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120027903#Comment_120027903

No, it's more of a white sauce lasagne.

Sweet potatoes will work great. You can use just about any vegetable you could oven-roast, really. Aubergine, courgettes, I could even see this working with turnips or beetroot.

anewme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120027876#Comment_120027876

Just wondering where do the stock cubes come in?

anewme

6B2C41AD-A345-4220-B03E-6B4AC6DB8342.jpeg

Made it. Left out the stock as was sure where was to go!

used sweet potato, aubergine, courgette, carrot, onion, leek, celery (will not use celery the next time)

Also roasted a couple of cloves of garlic and squeezed them into the sauce(yum)

added a ball of fresh mozzarella to the top!

did not have enough sauce, had to make double and could have done with more.

Could not find fresh lasagne sheets anywhere, so had to use dried. Was a bit hard even though cooked fir longer.

overall, a lovely recipe and will use again, thanks!

jack747

Decided to make duck spring rolls for starters for xmas dinner tomorrow.

Did a tester there and they turned out lovely ! First time doing it and was very easy to do.

PARlance

Ham done earlier.

All the prep done for tomorrow, 10 for dinner. Our first time hosting, better get some sleep.

Recliner

The starter.

Going retro with prawn cocktail.

Black Sheep

Beef Wellington as always.

The beef is about 50 day aged.

Recliner

Side of salmon, cooked en papillotte with fennel, lemon, dill and a splash of white wine. Lemon and dill sauce. Roasties and mash, stuffing and sprouts.

And finishing with the retro theme, black forest gateau.

Satisfyingly stuffed now.

cnocbui

Roast duck breast, saute'd potato, asparagus, roast: Shallot, garlic and sweet potato. Twas yum.

PARlance

No pictures, herself was struck down with a vomiting bug in the middle of the night. Despite that, it was almost relaxing up until 1 hour before plating up, even got the kids to my annual trip to Mass in between.

Very traditional menu.

Starters: Salmon terrine, with pickled cucumbers and side salad.

Mains was the usual, Turkey and Ham. Did Heston's roast potatoes in duck fat (very good), creamy mash with chives, honey and mustard roasted carrots and parsnips, fried brussel sprouts in chirozo and bacon (from turkey). Letting the turkey rest for 3 hours was probably key to a fairly stress-free day. Gravy was probably the biggest success, dry cider, turkey juices/off cuts, the lemons, onions, herbs and garlic (that stuffed the turkey) along with some dry cider and ham stock reduced down. I had to stop drinking it at one stage.

Desserts: Not my forthe, neither cook or eat them in general. Thankfully herself had a trifle and a crumble prepared in advance. And more importantly, she made it downstairs and held down a mini serving.

the beer revolu

In the UK this year. Alas it was turkey provided. Was hoping for something different as I wasn't cooking for my own family. A delicious turkey, nonetheless. Only got a pic of the ham.

My usual poached turkey crown and boned, stuffed, rolled and roast legs.

Spiced red cabbage.

Butter fried sprouts.

Green beans.

Roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, shallots and garlic.

Turkey gravy.

Glazed ham.

Simple starter of smoked salmon and brown bread.

Twas very good, to be fair😁

PARlance

Leftovers

Mystery Egg

Yesterday we had the usual. Tonight we had the better version - the leftovers sandwich! Absolutely delicious.