The General Chat Thread

Avada

Richard tea wrote: »

Thanks all. Dont think I would like them cold so its the oven for me.:pac:

Pork pies cold are one of the greatest things on this earth

the beer revolu

Richard tea wrote: »

Thanks all. Dont think I would like them cold so its the oven for me.:pac:

Pork pies are really greasy and nasty if heated.
Let them come to room temp and eat them.

They really are not designed to be heated.

Alun

the beer revolu wrote: »

Pork pies are really greasy and nasty if heated.
Let them come to room temp and eat them.

They really are not designed to be heated.

Well ...... yes, ...... and no Being a Brit I was brought up on these, well actually much nicer versions of the same thing, but anway.

While nice at room temperature, rather than ice cold from the fridge, a 'delicacy' from the north of England is pie and peas, i.e. a warm pork pie served with mushy peas, sometimes also with mint sauce.

emaleth

Random_Name wrote: »

Pork pies cold are one of the greatest things on this earth

I'm with you there. My breakfast of choice on morning flights

heldel00

Loire wrote: »

Hiya,

Sorry the recipe didn't work out. I'm wondering did you add too much liquid....the slow cooker won't reduce this like cooking it on a hob would?

Loire.

Hi Loire,
I pretty much followed the recipe with the only exception being a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Cooked on low for 7 hours. Maybe ii should use less chopped tomatoes next time?

Loire

heldel00 wrote: »

Hi Loire,
I pretty much followed the recipe with the only exception being a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Cooked on low for 7 hours. Maybe ii should use less chopped tomatoes next time?

Yeah, I was thinking about this last night. I use a slotted spoon when serving so maybe perhaps you use a ladle and in doing so, bring too much liquid?

Also, maybe strain the chopped tomatoes next time before adding to the slow cooker?

Loire.

rubadub

Complicated recipe ahead! I found if you put cheese on a cream cracker and microwave it the cheese melts well and the cracker barely gets warm.

Bread can come out horrible if mircrowaved but the crackers must be so dry that they do not absorb much of the microwaves, and the cheese laps it up. Only takes 30seconds or so.

Another trick with microwaves when doing small amounts of food is to put a glass or water in the microwave, or have a bowl of water with a plate on top and your food on the plate. This means all the microwave energy is not going into just that tiny bit of food which can lead to "hot spots" e.g. cheese melting and bubbling like mad in one spot while the rest is solid. Instead a lot of energy will go into the water too.

Most microwaves do not lower their power on defrost, they simply turn on and off in cycles, so even on defrost you can get these hot spots.

iwantmydinner

We were nuking cheese on crackers in the heady mid-90s. Waaaay ahead of our time, we were.

beertons

Would anyone have a slow cooked chilli chicken recipe? Free gaff for the weekend, I want something easy.

beertons

beertons wrote: »

Would anyone have a slow cooked chilli chicken recipe? Free gaff for the weekend, I want something easy.

Chicken and Bean Chilli

Ingredients:

4 whole chicken breasts
1 chicken stock jelly, dissolved in a tablespoon of boiling water
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, diced
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 cans 3 bean salad, drained and rinsed
1 can sweetcorn, drained (or equivalent frozen corn)

To season:

Cumin
Paprika
Salt and pepper
Sugar
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco or other hot sauce

To serve: Jalapenos, rice, sour cream, grated cheddar, corn chips

Directions:

Dump everything in the slow cooker and cook for as long as you like. When ready to eat, remove the chicken breasts, shred with two forks, return to the pot and stir.

StripedBoxers

Hi all

I got some bacon ribs today for dinner tomorrow and currently I have the in a pot of cold water in the fridge, just wondering how often should the change the water? And how long should I cook them for?

I normally just do joints/pieces of bacon, this is my first time doing ribs so a bit unsure on cooking times.

Thanks.

Gloomtastic!

StripedBoxers wrote: »

Hi all

I got some bacon ribs today for dinner tomorrow and currently I have the in a pot of cold water in the fridge, just wondering how often should the change the water? And how long should I cook them for?

I normally just do joints/pieces of bacon, this is my first time doing ribs so a bit unsure on cooking times.

Thanks.

Overnight should be fine, then bring them to the boil. When it hits boiling point, throw out the water and replace it with Coca Cola. Bring it back to the boil and let it simmer for an hour.
Enjoy!

StripedBoxers

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Overnight should be fine, then bring them to the boil. When it hits boiling point, throw out the water and replace it with Coca Cola. Bring it back to the boil and let it simmer for an hour.
Enjoy!

I am cooking for four, two of those four won't touch the ribs if they are cooked in anything other that water unfortunately, so no experimentation tomorrow

The Black Oil

Brown bread tip. Once the mixture is in the tin, take a butter knife, dip in water, then flour. Cut down through the middle of the bread - right to the base of the tin. This'll ensure it bakes all the way through.

Dizzyblonde

Himself picked up 2 packs of Superquinn sausage meat last night so I made shortcrust pastry this morning, and we now have 4 dozen sausage rolls cooling. They're supposed to be for Christmas night nibbles but I can't see many of them lasting that long :rolleyes:

Stheno

Anyone ever made French onion soup with red onions? Have four kg of them!

And is 30 Euro for a potato ricer a bit ott?

dee_mc

Stheno wrote: »

Anyone ever made French onion soup with red onions? Have four kg of them!

And is 30 Euro for a potato ricer a bit ott?

Yes to using red onions for French onion soup, I used the epicurious recipe a few years ago and it was lovely.
€30 for a ricer sounds like alot, is it a particularly special one?

Stheno

dee_mc wrote: »

Yes to using red onions for French onion soup, I used the epicurious recipe a few years ago and it was lovely.
€30 for a ricer sounds like alot, is it a particularly special one?

No I was out shopping today in homestore and more and that was the only one they had I was a bit shocked
Can you give me a link to that recipe?

dee_mc

Stheno wrote: »

No I was out shopping today in homestore and more and that was the only one they had I was a bit shocked
Can you give me a link to that recipe?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/French-Red-Onion-Soup-243524
Better priced ricers in Debenhams and probably TK Maxx.

The Black Oil

Cooking inspired lyrics.

Don't make cake in anger, I heard ya say. No? OK. :pac:

dee_mc

The Black Oil wrote: »

Cooking inspired lyrics.

Don't make cake in anger, I heard ya say. No? OK. :pac:

Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the bakers gonna bake, bake, bake, bake, bake.....

The Hill Billy

I really like Megan Traynor's turkey song - 'It's all about the Baste'

eisenberg1

The Hill Billy wrote: »

I really like Megan Traynor's turkey song - 'It's all about the Baste'

And "No Truffle":D

Dizzyblonde

I love the theme song from Titanic #I believe that the hot dogs go on......

and who doesn't love the Eurythmics' old hit

"Sweet dreams are made of cheese,
Who am I to diss a Brie..
I cheddar the world and the feta cheese
Everybody's looking for Stilton......"

Baggy Trousers

Stheno wrote: »

Anyone ever made French onion soup with red onions? Have four kg of them!

Yes on the red onions and it worked out very well. Make sure you cook them slowly for a long time.

I just stuck this in the 'mice pies' thread also but I'm just so chuffed with them.

Mystery Egg

Mystery Egg wrote: »

I just stuck this in the 'mice pies' thread also but I'm just so chuffed with them.

Um...mince pies. *squeak* :pac:

The Black Oil

Defrosting the freezer. Not paying proper attention. A certain four legged creature had a nibble at some burgers. Into the bin they went.

rubadub

Speaking of burgers, I found a tip to doing the rolls.

If you put burger buns in a toaster both sides get toasted which I do not like, unless you have some fancy one which can turn off 1 side. 1 trick is to put the bun on top of the toaster, some have special holders for this, but you usually have to turn it around midway, and do the second half of the bun separately.

You can grill on one side of course but you may not want to use the grill. Also I find the roll can end up dry, and too bready when eating the burger. I wanted it like a takeaway burger roll.

So I sprinkled vinegar on my rolls, on the outsides only, and wiped it around a bit. I did this a few mins before popping them in the toaster so they had absorbed it well and evenly. So the moist side does not toast while the inner bit gets nicely brown, some of the vinegar evaporates off and seems to make the other bit of the roll more moist.

Of course if you overdo it they will be a sodden mess, I had to be careful lifting it out of the toaster as it was about to beak. But it was lovely on the burger. The roll was more squishy and could be pressed down to hold in the burger and fillings a bit better. Takeaway ones will be in those boxes or wrappers and so tend to "sweat" a bit and get like this, I actually like this. I have sometimes wrapped chips or covered them with a plate so they "sweat" like chipper ones would.

This bun wetting would work with water too, the vinegar was not overpowering and gave a nice zing to it, like pickled onion or gherkin would, and the sprinkler made it easy to add a small amount. Those par-baked baguettes are usually supposed to have water added to them.

StripedBoxers

I made bolognese today and put in five fresh chilies, I de-seeded and chopped them without using gloves and now my fingers are burning. I've a cold cloth wrapped around them. Any ideas how I can stop the burning? Fingers are bright red too.