General Chat Thread II

Recliner · 07-06-2021 2:33am

the beer revolu wrote: »

That is exactly what I think of when I think of Irish potato salad.
Where did the mashed potato salad come from?
Is it regional? Or was it invented for sandwiches in the 90s?

Looks lovely.

I'm literally allergic to the idea of mashed potato salad. I think it looks disgusting. I've no clue where or when it was invented. The thought of eating cold mashed potato turns my stomach.
But without sounding big headed, my potato salad as shown is absolutely delicious. And I don't drown it in mayonnaise either. You should be able to taste every element, not just have a bowl of mayonnaise covered potatoes.

tscul32 · 07-06-2021 8:01am

Recliner wrote: »

The thought of eating cold mashed potato turns my stomach.

If we've had a roast dinner then my lads want mashed potato in their sandwiches in school the next day, even happier if we've gravy to spread on too. All cold. I don't know how they like it, didn't get it from me

Faith · 08-06-2021 1:51pm

New potatoes.

It's my first summer back in Ireland in a long time and I've been dreaming about steaming some gorgeous floury new potatoes - you know, the kind you buy from a mystery van at the side of the road. But I haven't seen them anywhere, and shops don't seem to be stocking them. Am I too early in the year?

sammyjo90 · 08-06-2021 2:59pm

for the whole journey from Clare back to cork a week ago I only saw one and that was right by my home house just outside ennis.
Might be a tad early

Mystery Egg · 08-06-2021 3:13pm

Faith wrote: »

New potatoes.

It's my first summer back in Ireland in a long time and I've been dreaming about steaming some gorgeous floury new potatoes - you know, the kind you buy from a mystery van at the side of the road. But I haven't seen them anywhere, and shops don't seem to be stocking them. Am I too early in the year?

They should be coming soon. 12 weeks after Paddy's day, give or take. Give it a week or two. :pac:

The Black Oil · 08-06-2021 7:43pm

Faith wrote: »

New potatoes.

It's my first summer back in Ireland in a long time and I've been dreaming about steaming some gorgeous floury new potatoes - you know, the kind you buy from a mystery van at the side of the road. But I haven't seen them anywhere, and shops don't seem to be stocking them. Am I too early in the year?

Must be those meddling kids thieving all the spuds.

e66b035d-ff43-4c3a-b385-c267cf8fea2c-MYSTERY_VAN.jpg?crop=889,666,x0,y0

Faith · 09-06-2021 8:47am

Mystery Egg wrote: »

They should be coming soon. 12 weeks after Paddy's day, give or take. Give it a week or two. :pac:

I shall try and be patient then!

But on the topic of spuds, has anyone else found they're shīte quality at the moment? I sent Mr Faith out to buy a bag on Monday and he didn't look too closely at them. Came home and I looked and half of them very visibly mouldy/blighty. We had to throw them all out, there were inedible. I bought a new bag yesterday - totally different variety and scrutinised the exteriors carefully - and they were all manky inside when I started to cut them up. Ended up throwing them all out too! Is this because we've had such a wet May or am I just unlucky?!

the beer revolu · 09-06-2021 10:16am

Faith wrote: »

I shall try and be patient then!

But on the topic of spuds, has anyone else found they're shīte quality at the moment? I sent Mr Faith out to buy a bag on Monday and he didn't look too closely at them. Came home and I looked and half of them very visibly mouldy/blighty. We had to throw them all out, there were inedible. I bought a new bag yesterday - totally different variety and scrutinised the exteriors carefully - and they were all manky inside when I started to cut them up. Ended up throwing them all out too! Is this because we've had such a wet May or am I just unlucky?!

I haven't noticed really.
But it is the end of the season for "old" potatoes. They are as old as they can be as we wait for the new season potatoes.
Same way, from mid summer to autumn, apples tend to be really crappy - just hanging around too long.

Dizzyblonde · 09-06-2021 1:18pm

I love the new Italian and Cyprus potatoes, they used to be available in supermarkets from about May but it's become harder to find them in recent years. Here in Nth County Dublin the strawberry sellers by the side of the roads usually have new Irish potatoes before the strawberries are gone, so they should be out there soon.

Mollyb60 · 09-06-2021 1:45pm

My sister has been raving about Hello Fresh for weeks now and sent me a voucher to get a box so I ordered 3 meals off them. They were delivered today and the company are not filling me with confidence. They sent an email to say that they had to change the meals I ordered due to 'delivery issues' but I wasn't ordering caviar, it was beef burgers and pork pasta. To make things worse they didn't give me any recipe cards so I don't actually know what I'm supposed to be making with the new ingredients.

Gloomtastic! · 09-06-2021 1:55pm

^ Maybe they have the recipes on their website?

Mystery Egg · 09-06-2021 3:23pm

Faith wrote: »

I shall try and be patient then!

But on the topic of spuds, has anyone else found they're shīte quality at the moment? I sent Mr Faith out to buy a bag on Monday and he didn't look too closely at them. Came home and I looked and half of them very visibly mouldy/blighty. We had to throw them all out, there were inedible. I bought a new bag yesterday - totally different variety and scrutinised the exteriors carefully - and they were all manky inside when I started to cut them up. Ended up throwing them all out too! Is this because we've had such a wet May or am I just unlucky?!

It's not just you, we've had a lot of bad potatoes recently and have had to compost much more than normal.

Mollyb60 · 09-06-2021 4:16pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

^ Maybe they have the recipes on their website?

They do but I'd be just guessing at what the recipe was going by what ingredients we'd been given and it would've taken all day. I contacted them about it and they worked out that they'd sent me a veggie pasta bake and some other sort of breaded chicken thing. Not really ideal as my husband isn't a big fan of veggies (don't get me started) and I really wanted to try out their different types of meat. Ah well, they gave us a discount for next week's box but I think I'll just cancel it after that.

Gloomtastic! · 09-06-2021 9:53pm

Mollyb60 wrote: »

They do but I'd be just guessing at what the recipe was going by what ingredients we'd been given and it would've taken all day. I contacted them about it and they worked out that they'd sent me a veggie pasta bake and some other sort of breaded chicken thing. Not really ideal as my husband isn't a big fan of veggies (don't get me started) and I really wanted to try out their different types of meat. Ah well, they gave us a discount for next week's box but I think I'll just cancel it after that.

Pretty shoddy alright. I am fit to murder someone if they get my take away delivery wrong. Make sure you let them know. No excuse for it but bad management.

Dizzyblonde · 10-06-2021 9:16am

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Pretty shoddy alright. I am fit to murder someone if they get my take away delivery wrong. Make sure you let them know. No excuse for it but bad management.

Me too! I agree with Gloom, Molly. I'd let them know you're not happy.

Mollyb60 · 10-06-2021 10:15am

Yeah the customer rep I was speaking to is raising a complaint with them about it but to be honest I'm just gonna complain with my feet (so to speak) and just not order from them again. They gave us a credit for the 2 meals they messed up but if they can't get their first impression right then I won't ever have confidence in them again.
Especially now that we made the first meal last night and it wasn't anything special. Might be useful for people who aren't used to cooking maybe but there was a ton of plastic waste as everything was packaged individually and it wasn't any easier for me than just getting the ingredients in my weekly shop. So there's not really any benefit to me other than trying a different recipe.

igCorcaigh · 13-06-2021 7:04am

BBQ is a thing these days, so I'm wondering.

I don't have a garden. My oven is banjaxed. My kitchen is tiny.

But, if I could get a small George Foreman type thing... Would it be good for making fast roast/grilled veggies like aubergine or courgette? Would it work for that?

I love roast Mediterranean vegetables, but avoid using the oven. And trying to fry them doesn't work so well. They just stew in the water that comes out and the texture is a bit limp. I'd like chargrilled.

Cooking for one person.

Something like this? Or is it too small for making vegetables?

https://www.harveynorman.ie/small-appliances/small-cooking-appliances/health-grills-en/george-foreman-grills/george-foreman-small-fit-grill--25800--black.html

zerosugarbuzz · 13-06-2021 7:30am

Faith wrote: »

New potatoes.

It's my first summer back in Ireland in a long time and I've been dreaming about steaming some gorgeous floury new potatoes - you know, the kind you buy from a mystery van at the side of the road. But I haven't seen them anywhere, and shops don't seem to be stocking them. Am I too early in the year?

I got some leaving Waterford las Sunday around lunchtime, along with some strawberries. Potatoes were nice but waxy rather than flowery. Would prefer flowery too.

zerosugarbuzz · 13-06-2021 7:34am

igCorcaigh wrote: »

BBQ is a thing these days, so I'm wondering.

I don't have a garden. My oven is banjaxed. My kitchen is tiny.

But, if I could get a small George Foreman type thing... Would it be good for making fast roast/grilled veggies like aubergine or courgette? Would it work for that?

I love roast Mediterranean vegetables, but avoid using the oven. And trying to fry them doesn't work so well. They just stew in the water that comes out and the texture is a bit limp. I'd like chargrilled.

Cooking for one person.

Something like this? Or is it too small for making vegetables?

https://www.harveynorman.ie/small-appliances/small-cooking-appliances/health-grills-en/george-foreman-grills/george-foreman-small-fit-grill--25800--black.html

Try this, I do my veg in minutes in one most days. https://www.did.ie/tower-1-5l-compact-air-fryer-black-t17025-t17025-prd

Black Sheep · 13-06-2021 12:26pm

igCorcaigh wrote: »

BBQ is a thing these days, so I'm wondering.

I don't have a garden. My oven is banjaxed. My kitchen is tiny.

But, if I could get a small George Foreman type thing... Would it be good for making fast roast/grilled veggies like aubergine or courgette? Would it work for that?

I love roast Mediterranean vegetables, but avoid using the oven. And trying to fry them doesn't work so well. They just stew in the water that comes out and the texture is a bit limp. I'd like chargrilled.

Cooking for one person.

Something like this? Or is it too small for making vegetables?

https://www.harveynorman.ie/small-appliances/small-cooking-appliances/health-grills-en/george-foreman-grills/george-foreman-small-fit-grill--25800--black.html

Do you have any outdoor space at all? If you have a square meter or less you could get a mini kamado, you'd probably get a fair bit of use of it. You could use it to direct grill and also set it up for indirect heat for roasting.

https://higginsbutchers.ie/shop/manado-bono-charcoal-grill/kamado-bono-picnic/

Personally, having had a George Foreman, I wouldn't recommend them. They're great as sandwich / panini makers, but for cooking much else... Not so much. The clean-up with meat is a pain in particular. If you can find the dough I would repair or replace your oven and get a few roasting tins and that would be more useful in vegetable prep.

the beer revolu · 13-06-2021 1:11pm

In my limited experience of GF grills, they just don't get hot enough to char or sear anything.

con747 · 13-06-2021 2:03pm

igCorcaigh wrote: »

BBQ is a thing these days, so I'm wondering.

I don't have a garden. My oven is banjaxed. My kitchen is tiny.

But, if I could get a small George Foreman type thing... Would it be good for making fast roast/grilled veggies like aubergine or courgette? Would it work for that?

I love roast Mediterranean vegetables, but avoid using the oven. And trying to fry them doesn't work so well. They just stew in the water that comes out and the texture is a bit limp. I'd like chargrilled.

Cooking for one person.

Something like this? Or is it too small for making vegetables?

https://www.harveynorman.ie/small-appliances/small-cooking-appliances/health-grills-en/george-foreman-grills/george-foreman-small-fit-grill--25800--black.html

If money isn't an issue something like this could be got cheaper i'm sure. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Countertop-Stainless-Nonstick-Commercial/dp/B087X328XR
Also Aldi were supposed to sell a Pizza maker which folds out into a griddle pan and hot plate the other day but it was not in stock so it should go on sale in the next few weeks with a bit of luck. https://www.aldi.co.uk/ambiano-pizza-maker/p/703729393101801

Dizzyblonde · 13-06-2021 2:05pm

I agree, it's hard to get a decent chargrilled flavour with GF grills. A cast iron griddle pan for your hob would be 100 times better.

Dizzyblonde · 13-06-2021 2:06pm

Faith wrote: »

New potatoes.

It's my first summer back in Ireland in a long time and I've been dreaming about steaming some gorgeous floury new potatoes - you know, the kind you buy from a mystery van at the side of the road. But I haven't seen them anywhere, and shops don't seem to be stocking them. Am I too early in the year?

The strawberry sellers of nth county Dublin have new season potatoes for sale now

igCorcaigh · 13-06-2021 5:56pm

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I agree, it's hard to get a decent chargrilled flavour with GF grills. A cast iron griddle pan for your hob would be 100 times better.

I didn't think of that. Brilliant.
Would that be suitable for cooking vegetables like aubergine and courgette without getting soggy?

New Home · 13-06-2021 6:11pm

Yes, but be prepared for A LOT of smoke.

awec · 13-06-2021 6:14pm

igCorcaigh wrote: »

I didn't think of that. Brilliant.
Would that be suitable for cooking vegetables like aubergine and courgette without getting soggy?

IMO a key thing to using a griddle is to very lightly oil whatever your cooking, don’t put oil in the pan.

Dizzyblonde · 13-06-2021 7:29pm

igCorcaigh wrote: »

I didn't think of that. Brilliant.
Would that be suitable for cooking vegetables like aubergine and courgette without getting soggy?

Yes, absolutely. As Awec said - oil the food not the pan.

eeepaulo · 02-07-2021 4:38pm

Anyone made / had deep fried Brussels sprouts? (I've always called then brussel sprouts, apparently that's wrong)

Just been looking at recipes, maybe involving quartered sprouts, smoked lardons, either almonds or walnuts, maybe a little golden syrup and balsamic, and salt and white pepper.

I've been informed by my grocer they are in season September to March.

Craving

Gloomtastic! · 02-07-2021 5:41pm

eeepaulo wrote: »

Anyone made / had deep fried Brussels sprouts? (I've always called then brussel sprouts, apparently that's wrong)

Just been looking at recipes, maybe involving quartered sprouts, smoked lardons, either almonds or walnuts, maybe a little golden syrup and balsamic, and salt and white pepper.

I've been informed by my grocer they are in season September to March.

Craving

Roasted in a hot oven with some lardons and plenty of salt for 20 minutes.

I haven’t tried them but you can get frozen sprouts all year round.

General Chat Thread II

Comments