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

bmc58 · 26-11-2022 6:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119925061#Comment_119925061

Thanks,didn't mean to cause offence,just gave an honest opinion on the meal I saw.

bmc58 · 26-11-2022 6:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119918248#Comment_119918248

As a new poster on this forum,I'm just wondering what was the difference between my post and yours?

woodchuck · 26-11-2022 8:05pm

Homemade chicken satay

Mystery Egg · 26-11-2022 9:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119925368#Comment_119925368

igCorcaigh had said they wanted to make their own burgers recently, and mentioned that they love chopped onion in a home made burger, and we all had a chat about how to make the perfect home made burger.

Context is everything!

Mystery Egg · 26-11-2022 9:04pm

I made a fakeaway spice bag tonight in the air fryer with ChanChan seasoning and Mayflower curry sauce. Absolutely delish.

con747 · 26-11-2022 9:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119925804#Comment_119925804

Chips look great, Mayflower curry is one of my favourites.

igCorcaigh · 26-11-2022 9:27pm

Oh that looks great @Mystery Egg, I had to Google the ChanChan spice mix, but it seems like it could be very good, with the fragrant spices that I love: Star Anise · Fennel · Cardamom · Chinese Cassia · Szechuan Peppercorn (zing!) · Ginger.

I do recognise the branding though, maybe I saw it in Aldi? Not sure...

The Mayflower curry is one of my favourites too!

Mystery Egg · 26-11-2022 9:52pm

The ChanChan is good - I added a sprinkle of sugar too, which my local Chinese definitely does. It was quite possibly Aldi, I bought it a couple of months back!

Only just discovered Mayflower curry sauce a few weeks back when my friend gave me a box of it. It's the closest I've come to making Chinese style curry sauce at home and as a small surprising bonus, it's somehow extremely low in calories.

igCorcaigh · 26-11-2022 9:53pm

Oh, I'll be sprinkling a bit of sugar (and MSG!) with it too, good tip @Mystery Egg!

Mystery Egg · 27-11-2022 10:12pm

We had a stuffed turkey joint from Lidl tonight, with baked potatoes, mixed veg and gravy. Desert was apple crumble and custard.

igCorcaigh · 27-11-2022 11:50pm

I'm pimping those potato/bacon/cream packets from Lidl with extra bacon, garlic, onion, grainy mustard and creme fraiche. To go with salmon and green beans.

igCorcaigh · 28-11-2022 1:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119929416#Comment_119929416

...

Shenshen · 28-11-2022 8:34am

We had mushroom and pea risotto on Saturday :

I deliberately made enough to have leftovers, so yesterday, we had arancini made from the leftover risotto, with a romesco-style sauce :

Absolutely NO leftovers from this one. I've come to the point where I'm making risotto just so I can then make arancini....

Mystery Egg · 28-11-2022 11:44am

I have no interest in risotto but I loooooove arancini.

Mystery Egg · 28-11-2022 10:36pm

We had chicken and broccoli bake tonight, made from leftover roast chicken, topped with sliced potatoes brushed with garlic oil.

igCorcaigh · 29-11-2022 12:35am

Looks amazing @Mystery Egg! Do you have to parboil the potatoes first? I haven't had an oven until recently, so would love to try to make some root veg or potato type gratin dish in the oven.

Mystery Egg · 29-11-2022 10:44am

Nope, just thinly sliced a few Maris pipers and brushed them with garlic oil and a sprinkle of salt.

I used to top this bake with breadcrumbs and cheese but I'm watching my saturated fat intake so cheese is mostly out the window.

Black Sheep · 29-11-2022 10:21pm

Pork belly tacos with Fennel, cumin and paprika. Usual extras including black beans with onion and garlic. Slow cooked the pork in the oven then blasted on grill. We always eat these with cheap taco shells, family tradition.

igCorcaigh · 29-11-2022 10:26pm

Oh nice @Black Sheep!

Is it as simple as marinating the pork belly, then roast, grill, and slice?

Black Sheep · 29-11-2022 11:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119937305#Comment_119937305

There's a Jamie Oliver pork belly taco recipe I use for the beans and the spice mix I rub on the pork belly strips, although I tweak it as I will explain.

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/ultimate-pork-tacos-with-spicy-black-beans-avocado-green-salad/

He just pan fries the pork belly, which I think isn't great... The fat doesn't render down, it ends up very chewy.

What I do is apply the fennel, smoked paprika and cumin rub, and roast the pork belly in a tray covered in foil in the oven. 2 hours at 160 degrees or until tender. Then take it out, uncover, pour off the fat and water that has discharged, get the grill mega hot and give it the final blast to crisp up the pork belly. A bit like carnitas.

Very handy recipe.

Dave_The_Sheep · 29-11-2022 11:32pm

Decided to go fully vegetarian for this week (as in all meals for the week), with one exception - cheese, can't be arsed checking if the cheese is vegetarian or not. Not any reason for it, just to see how I get on. We normally only eat meat twice or three times a week anyway so it shouldn't be too bad. Anyway.

Salad of chickpea, cucumber, feta, pepper, avocado, radish, onion. We do a version of this semi regularly anyway, it's always filling and tasty.

Fennel risotto. Thought the fennel would be far too strong, but it wasn't at all. Really nice, this one is going on the list.

Black Sheep · 30-11-2022 4:48pm

Fennell, cumin, paprika, chilli, brown sugar, salt, pepper and olive oil rub.

Uncooked obviously!

igCorcaigh · 30-11-2022 7:29pm

Looks like an installation piece @Black Sheep 🙂 Nice spicing!

This may look like too much onion gravy with the nut roast, but there's no such thing as too much gravy!

Black Sheep · 30-11-2022 9:44pm

Kind of disturbing looking tbh

My 6 year old told me it was a bit dry (He was right).

igCorcaigh · 30-11-2022 10:17pm

Oh LOL! She look's like she's posing. Was always curious about that beer can technique... That chicken skin looks top notch!

sporina · 01-12-2022 1:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119941741#Comment_119941741

hmm looks like a version of an xmas dinner - roast parsnips? yum

awec · 01-12-2022 1:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119917121#Comment_119917121

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119921132#Comment_119921132

Your housemates should pay your rent tbh.

igCorcaigh · 01-12-2022 11:41pm

A quick weeknight dinner, just some frozen cod fish from Lidl (yay to having an oven again!), with potatoes (microwaved a bit first), tomatoes and other bits. Grand.

the beer revolu · 02-12-2022 11:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119941938#Comment_119941938

If you research it, there's no advantage to doing beer can chicken (I've done it).

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/beer-can-chicken_b_1634001

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/beer-can-chicken-is-a-hoax-article

I use a roaster like above which gives the all round crispy skin but let's heat inside the chicken allowing quick cooking and juicy meat. I can do an average chicken in about 40 minutes in a hot oven!

The Nal · 02-12-2022 11:41am

Aldi ribeye, salsa verde, spuds with rosemary, urfa chili and nigella seeds and a twice baked spud with gruyere and guanciale.

And some mushrooms and tomatoes and asparagus which Id already eaten.

Sephiroth_dude · 02-12-2022 6:15pm

Chilli beef with red peppers and sweet corn,green beans,spinach and rice.

Dave_The_Sheep · 02-12-2022 8:33pm

Cabbage linguine with mushrooms and crispy garlicky breadcrumps and chilli/anchovy oil. What, anchovies are totally vegetarian.

Mystery Egg · 02-12-2022 10:01pm

Home made burgers and chips tonight. Nice thin patty, burger sauce (light mayo, yellow mustard and ketchup), easi single, raw onions and home made pickles, on a toasted brioche bun. Not to everyone's taste but we really enjoyed them.

woodchuck · 04-12-2022 11:48am

I was flying solo last night, so used a single portion of frozen homemade bolanese from the freezer. Jazzed it up with some fresh parsley and grated parmesan!

Oh and I had an orange chocolate brownie for dessert, that I bought at a local Christmas market 🤤 It was super fudgy!

the beer revolu · 04-12-2022 1:37pm

Had some scraps from a roast chicken so I did a stir fry.

Chicken, onion, garlic, chillies, green beans, stock, rice wine, soy sauce.

The chilli lottery got me. Put one green and one red chilli in, removing the bulk of the seeds. Too hot to finish comfortably!

igCorcaigh · 05-12-2022 2:56am

Just a smoked mackerel with butter beans in a tapenade and semi dried tomato mix. Easy but tasty fare for a Sunday.

Black Sheep · 05-12-2022 10:06pm

Peking duck.

Gloomtastic! · 06-12-2022 12:41am

^ On a Monday night? What a treat! 😋

Black Sheep · 06-12-2022 9:04am

7.99 in Aldi! Can't beat that.

igCorcaigh · 06-12-2022 10:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119962354#Comment_119962354

What? A whole duck?

con747 · 06-12-2022 10:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119965376#Comment_119965376

It used to be €6.99 up to recently. https://groceries.aldi.ie/en-GB/p-irish-whole-duck-with-giblets-22kg-specially-selected/5099459100121

Black Sheep · 06-12-2022 10:23pm

That's the one. My wife didn't believe me either.

igCorcaigh · 06-12-2022 10:46pm

That's great @Black Sheep! Did you marinade the bird, or any ideas on how to Pekingise it?

EDIT: This recipe calls for the duck to be dehydrated overnight in the fridge, uncovered... Oh I knew this wouldn't be easy!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/peking-duck

Black Sheep · 06-12-2022 11:07pm

Very straightforward ...

Google Ken Hom peking duck recipe.

You pat the bird dry with kitchen roll and put it on a rack sitting over a roasting tin.

There's no marinade as such, just a soy, honey, water and rice wine syrup to coat the duck. You pour it all over the duck and then then duck goes in the fridge uncovered overnight. The skin kind of dries out.

The key is that when you pour the syrup all over the duck it MUST be boiling hot... It needs to actually scald the duck's skin, you should see the skin contracting. The recipe as written could be clearer on that point.

Other than that it's plain sailing... It's very satisfying when it turns the right colour.

igCorcaigh · 06-12-2022 11:10pm

Ah I see! So it's important to shock the skin with the hot syrup, and then leave it dry... Interesting.

Here's my first attempt at porchetta (already prepped from O'Mahony's butchers)... Hope it's not overcooked. It's resting now.

sporina · 06-12-2022 11:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119965636#Comment_119965636

Happy oven-ing

igCorcaigh · 06-12-2022 11:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119965670#Comment_119965670

Oh thank you @sporina! After a couple of years without a proper oven, it's great to experiment!

the beer revolu · 07-12-2022 12:39pm

I do a very different version of crispy aromatic duck that when shredded for pancakes, turns out really well.

I half the duck and dry marinate it for a day in the fridge with sliced ginger and garlic and a spice mix made of szechuan pepper, star anaise, cinnamon, clove, black pepper and fennel seed.

Then I slow roast it, covered for around 3 hours. You will get quite a bit of "juice". Separate off the fat and keep this for another Chinese dish. When coolish, its easy enough to remove the bones. At this point, I'll often bag and freeze each half for later use.

To serve, simply crisp up the duck well in a hot wok shredding it as you go. The usual pancakes, spring onion and cucumber.

I make a spicy and sour plum sauce from a jar of salted plums but you could use the more familiar sweet plum sauce or hoisin sauce if you prefer sweet.

It won't give you the beautiful lacquered bird of the other method described here but I find it very handy to prepare in advance.

I've also just added my spice mix to Lidl confit duck legs and crisped them up in the same way. That's really quick and easy.