General Chat Thread II

Dizzyblonde · 30-01-2021 9:02pm

I bought the same model just before Christmas and it's been fine so I didn't have to adjust anything. I've rooted out the manual to have a look, and it says that the attachments aren't supposed to touch the bottom on the bowl, if that's what you're asking? Mine sit just above the bottom and they mix perfectly.

Dizzyblonde · 30-01-2021 9:08pm

I just realised you're asking about the position of the nut. Sorry, I have no experience of that but I'm sure someone else here or in the Baked Anything Tasty Lately thread has.

cefh17 · 30-01-2021 9:09pm

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I bought the same model just before Christmas and it's been fine so I didn't have to adjust anything. I've rooted out the manual to have a look, and it says that the attachments aren't supposed to touch the bottom on the bowl, if that's what you're asking? Mine sit just above the bottom and they mix perfectly.

Thanks for the reply, I found a manual online that said exactly what had said

. Just curious, following on from a post I saw, do you add wet to dry ingredients or vice versa?

Basically when I was making pizza dough yesterday and added dry to wet it all clumped around the dough hook and seemed to be mixing just fine then a minute or two later kind of went into a big blob at the bottom of the bowl and it seemed this wasn't getting mixed like the bits touching the hook

Dizzyblonde · 30-01-2021 9:18pm

I always add dry ingredients first - I tend to go with the order they're in in the recipe. I can imagine the mess you had doing it the way you did!

woodchuck · 01-02-2021 11:09am

Does anyone have any recipes that involve using lemon and lime? Preferably savory as I'm trying to cut back on the sweet treats. Or possibly a non-alcoholic beverage. Or even any completely alternative uses such as homemade cleaning hacks :P

Is it possible to freeze the juice?

I've 3 lemons and 3 limes in my fridge that are going to go to waste otherwise

(I just needed one of each for a recipe last week, but could only get them in packs of 4!) I've a lemon chicken recipe I can do, but that will only use one lemon...

RuckingSwimmer · 01-02-2021 11:14am

woodchuck wrote: »

Does anyone have any recipes that involve using lemon and lime? Preferably savory as I'm trying to cut back on the sweet treats. Or possibly a non-alcoholic beverage. Or even any completely alternative uses such as homemade cleaning hacks :P

Is it possible to freeze the juice?

I've 3 lemons and 3 limes in my fridge that are going to go to waste otherwise (I just needed one of each for a recipe last week, but could only get them in packs of 4!) I've a lemon chicken recipe I can do, but that will only use one lemon...

I slice them and freeze the slices, then you have ice and lemon/lime in one for a drink. I would say the juice freezes fine though

woodchuck · 01-02-2021 11:44am

Thanks a mill! Tbh I've never really liked lemon/lime slices in drinks though.

The more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense just to try and freeze the juice in ice-cube trays. I do use the juice of one lemon and/or lime occasionally in recipes, so at least they'll get used (if I don't forget about them :P).

I was toying with the idea of trying to make a marmalade, but effort of that.

Pancake Tuesday is a couple of weeks away, but I reckon himself will want fresh lemons for that... so I'll probably have even more freezing to do then :rolleyes:

Dial Hard · 01-02-2021 11:47am

Nigella Lawson's chicken in a pot with lemon and orzo will use up two of the lemons for you.

I fly through limes as I squeeze them onto salads as a dressing.

The Nal · 01-02-2021 11:57am

woodchuck wrote: »

Does anyone have any recipes that involve using lemon and lime? Preferably savory as I'm trying to cut back on the sweet treats. Or possibly a non-alcoholic beverage. Or even any completely alternative uses such as homemade cleaning hacks :P

Is it possible to freeze the juice?

I've 3 lemons and 3 limes in my fridge that are going to go to waste otherwise (I just needed one of each for a recipe last week, but could only get them in packs of 4!) I've a lemon chicken recipe I can do, but that will only use one lemon...

You can freeze them whole. The juice will be fine but the flesh won't be.

Or, you could dry them out in the oven and keep them in a jar for drinks. They last for years. Just slice them thin, put them in the oven at 90c on a rack for a couple of hours.

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New Home · 01-02-2021 1:37pm

I freeze them all the time. The organic, unwaxed ones I use for the zest, too, which is way easier to grate when they're frozen and they've only just started to thaw. You can then wait until they're completely thawed before you squeeze them.

the beer revolu · 01-02-2021 2:04pm

I use a veg peeler to take off the zest, then I juice.
Freeze both separately .

woodchuck · 01-02-2021 2:08pm

Great, thanks all! I think the freezer is the way to go

tangy · 01-02-2021 2:17pm

Preserved lemons.
I don't think you've got enough, because you need lemon juice as well as the lemons you're preserving. Recipes all over the web, but basically quarter the lemons from pole to pole, but don't quite go all the way through, then pack them in salt and top up with juice.

First hit:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/preserved-lemons

igCorcaigh · 01-02-2021 11:15pm

If I were to make a beef and broccoli stir fry, what cut of beef / steak should I use?

The precut beef strips from the supermarket don't seem to be very good.

(TIA)

tickingclock · 02-02-2021 5:24am

igCorcaigh wrote: »

If I were to make a beef and broccoli stir fry, what cut of beef / steak should I use?

The precut beef strips from the supermarket don't seem to be very good.

(TIA)

I always just use a chopped up steak that I cut myself at home. I've never found the pre cut supermarket packs are tender enough

Dizzyblonde · 02-02-2021 8:43am

igCorcaigh wrote: »

If I were to make a beef and broccoli stir fry, what cut of beef / steak should I use?

The precut beef strips from the supermarket don't seem to be very good.

(TIA)

I use sirloin from Aldi, it's lovely in a stir fry.

sammyjo90 · 02-02-2021 8:49am

ReahKelly wrote: »

Hi,

I am new to this forum. Please suggest to me what things should I care about while posting to the threads?

Thanks

Welcome!
Main one is no food safety questions or advice. Noone wants to be made ill or make someone ill by spreading misinformation.
And be nice

Gloomtastic! · 02-02-2021 8:51am

ReahKelly wrote: »

Hi,

I am new to this forum. Please suggest to me what things should I care about while posting to the threads?

Thanks

Anything food related is welcome here. Something you’ve eaten/cooked/bought. Just treat other posters how you would like to be treated and you’ll be grand.

BaZmO* · 02-02-2021 12:11pm

igCorcaigh wrote: »

If I were to make a beef and broccoli stir fry, what cut of beef / steak should I use?

The precut beef strips from the supermarket don't seem to be very good.

(TIA)

I use Sirloin or Fillet. The best tip I got for doing a stir fry is to flash fry* the meat first and then put it aside. Do all your veg, noodles, sauce, etc. and then add the meat and juices back into the pan. Super tender and delicious meat every time.

For extra flavour, marinate the strips of beef in a mixture of soy sauce, sliced garlic, and a little oil. Doesn't need to be for long. The time it takes to prep the veg is enough.

*Doesn't need to be cooked right through, just coloured on the outside. The resting and putting it back in the pan will cook it fully.

Lady Haywire · 02-02-2021 12:14pm

I use ribeye, same as above. Hot pan, cook rare, set aside to rest, while it's doing that cook veggies etc, then slice steak & toss through enough to get it hot again.

the beer revolu · 02-02-2021 12:16pm

BaZmO* wrote: »

I use Sirloin or Fillet. The best tip I got for doing a stir fry is to flash fry the meat first and then put it aside. Do all your veg, noodles, sauce, etc. and then add the meat and juices back into the pan. Super tender and delicious meat every time.

For extra flavour, marinate the strips of beef in a mixture of soy sauce, sliced garlic, and a little oil. Doesn't need to be for long. The time it takes to prep the veg is enough.

Another trick is to sear the steak on a very hot pan and then slice it. You get a better char than you can when it's sliced.
Add the seared, sliced meat at the end.

Edit : just as lady haywire said.

BaZmO* · 02-02-2021 12:17pm

Lady Haywire wrote: »

I use ribeye, same as above. Hot pan, cook rare, set aside to rest, while it's doing that cook veggies etc, then slice steak & toss through enough to get it hot again.

Yeah ribeye is good too. But it's my favourite cut so I prefer just having it as a steak.

Lady Haywire · 02-02-2021 12:30pm

BaZmO* wrote: »

Yeah ribeye is good too. But it's my favourite cut so I prefer just having it as a steak.

My favourite too! Just find that it is usually that bit more marbled so I have a more tender bit of meat in a stir fry:D

L1011 · 02-02-2021 6:13pm

Partner has ordered >100 quid of random meat from Whelans for me as a birthday present / challenge delivery almost. Pork shoulder, various steak cuts, beef shin, all the stuff a local butchers stopped doing when they went to selling stuff in pre-made trays basically

Muahahaha · 02-02-2021 7:57pm

tickingclock wrote: »

I always just use a chopped up steak that I cut myself at home. I've never found the pre cut supermarket packs are tender enough

Rather than going to the expense of using rib eye in a stir fry try this the next time with a supermarket beef stir fry pack. Put one tablespoon of cornflour in a cup and mix it with the same amount of water to form a slurry. Then pour the slurry over the the beef strips in a bowl and leave in the fridge for at least an hour, the longer the better. You can also add soy sauce to the mixture if you want to marinate in that too. With time the cornflour slurry will tenderise the beef to the point you'll think it is a more expensive cut.

The technique is called velveting and it is used commonly in Chinese cooking to make tougher cuts of meat more tender before cooking. It works a treat, anytime I do it with chicken thighs you would honestly think it is chicken breast you're eating such is the tenderness. Its a great way of getting the flavour of chicken thighs but also the tenderness of the breast.

Alun · 03-02-2021 8:31am

Velveting works by forming a protective layer on the meat that prevents moisture escaping when frying it. It doesn't tenderise the meat in and of itself like some plant enzymes such as papaya. It's more that it prevents the meat from becoming tough than actually tenderising it.

igCorcaigh · 03-02-2021 8:38am

Very interesting. Do you wash off the cornflour mix prior to cooking, or does that get cooked too?

Mystery Egg · 03-02-2021 9:21am

I'd like to learn how to velvet too. Anyone who does it frequently I'd love to hear your methods.

Lady Haywire · 03-02-2021 11:07am

I've done it before in the past but used pineapple juice instead of water, to actually tenderise the meat.
Left it in the slurry mix for a couple of hours, then poached in small batches in simmering water, added afterwards to whatever I was cooking at the time. It obviously didn't make much of an impression on me if I can't recall what I used it in! :pac:
It definitely did make the beef (I never did chicken) more tender, just a lot of faffing.

rubadub · 03-02-2021 12:49pm

igCorcaigh wrote: »

If I were to make a beef and broccoli stir fry, what cut of beef / steak should I use?

I am going to be trying out a method Chinese takeaways are meant to use on cheap cuts.

I think they get a cut like topside. If you half freeze it then it enables you to slice it really thinly, which is what I usually get in takeaways, rather than "batons".

Then they put it in a baking soda solution for 15mins-3 hours or so. This is meant to react with proteins and tenderise them. Then you rinse it off.

I did this once and there was a baking soda taste left. I thought you could neutralise this and saw on other sites they do just that, using vinegar. This time I have done that but I used citric acid. Even though I had rinsed the baking soda off really well I could see bubbles forming as the citric acid neutralised the remaining baking soda. This was left for 30mins and then rinsed off again. I then put soy sauce, MSG, sesame oil and potato starch on it and have frozen it. The freezing is said to further tenderise it as the cells expand, like why they recommend not freezing mushrooms as the cells rupture.

The baking soda only penetrates close to the very surface, and that is why you want wafer thin slices. Mine were not as thin as I would like as I did not bother semi freezing it first.

I have no idea what cut it was, it was some thin "sandwich" steaks in tesco being sold off near their use by!
https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=303804945

odyssey06 · 04-02-2021 2:06pm

Now I've seen it all... Afternoon Tea from the Merrion, available for collection or Dublin delivery!

https://www.thetaste.ie/product/merrion-love-tea-2021/?goal=0_4ef45a18c7-9a1199e5c7-188822433&mc_cid=9a1199e5c7&mc_eid=cb39237d91

miamee · 04-02-2021 2:52pm

It might well be delicious but I don't think I'd pay €70 to eat cakes on my couch!

Muahahaha · 04-02-2021 4:32pm

miamee wrote: »

It might well be delicious but I don't think I'd pay €70 to eat cakes on my couch!

Yeah big time, unless of course your house has the opulence of a 5 star hotel!

Its great that hotels and restaurants are adapting to doing deliveries but not so great that the prices seem to be more or less the same as eating in. Theres a fair difference between paying 25 euro for a main in a restaurant where you are being waited upon over paying the same for it to arrive in a foil takeaway tray.

BaZmO* · 04-02-2021 5:16pm

Nice idea but the price is a bit steep. But it's like the old saying goes, if you're asking about the price, the product probably isn't for you!

Dizzyblonde · 04-02-2021 7:22pm

I love afternoon tea, but it's about the whole experience. There's no way I'd pay full price for a takeaway.

Gloomtastic! · 04-02-2021 7:30pm

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I love afternoon tea, but it's about the whole experience. There's no way I'd pay full price for a takeaway.

But we do all the time. I hate the internet service charge you get with some online takeaways! :mad:

Dizzyblonde · 04-02-2021 7:55pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

But we do all the time. I hate the internet service charge you get with some online takeaways! :mad:

I know, but afternoon tea is so special. It's all about the ambience and the luxury.
My daughters, sister in law, niece and myself have a pre Christmas afternoon tea tradition rather than going for dinner.

Afternoon tea is not suited to a takeaway.

rubadub · 05-02-2021 10:25am

odyssey06 wrote: »

Now I've seen it all... Afternoon Tea from the Merrion,

They are one of the places that do a "gentlemen's afternoon tea" which sounds way better to me.

(edit: sorry, got morrison/merrion mixed up as pointed out in the post below,)

https://www.morrisonhotel.ie/afternoon-tea/gentlemens-tea

miamee · 05-02-2021 1:02pm

That's the Morrison not the Merrion but it sounds delish

L1011 · 05-02-2021 2:41pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

But we do all the time. I hate the internet service charge you get with some online takeaways! :mad:

Usually there to try offset the massive commission platforms like justeat charge.

beertons · 09-02-2021 5:43pm

Found wonton pastry early, when in the local Asian shop. Looking forward to researching filling for it. And the eating.

the beer revolu · 10-02-2021 12:19pm

beertons wrote: »

Found wonton pastry early, when in the local Asian shop. Looking forward to researching filling for it. And the eating.

Pork mince, prawns, ginger is a good starting point!!

beertons · 10-02-2021 3:32pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

Pork mince, prawns, ginger is a good starting point!!

Will save that for the second go. Might do a culinary class for homeschooling, chicken, onions, soy, peanut butter. Garlic and ginger, maybe. I can go a bit funkier with sauces for dipping.

the beer revolu · 10-02-2021 3:57pm

beertons wrote: »

Will save that for the second go. Might do a culinary class for homeschooling, chicken, onions, soy, peanut butter. Garlic and ginger, maybe. I can go a bit funkier with sauces for dipping.

I'm not really that gone on prawns but I really like the minced prawn and pork in dumplings. A lot of Chinese dumplings use this combo.

Your chicken and peanut sounds lovely, too.
I loves me dumplings!

Mystery Egg · 10-02-2021 8:16pm

I'm dying to make dumplings but can't get skins anywhere within my 5k.

It's enough work making them when you have the skins. I don't want the added labour of making the skins too.

Faith · 10-02-2021 8:21pm

I've made dumplings, both from scratch scratch and with shop-bought wrappers. Either way, it is frankly not worth the effort*, IMO, when you can buy bags of excellent frozen ones. I'd only make them again if I couldn't get frozen ones.

*I'm speaking as someone who f*cking LOVES dumplings and would happily eat my own weight in them day in, day out.

conor_ie · 11-02-2021 1:17pm

Faith wrote: »

I've made dumplings, both from scratch scratch and with shop-bought wrappers. Either way, it is frankly not worth the effort*, IMO, when you can buy bags of excellent frozen ones. I'd only make them again if I couldn't get frozen ones.

*I'm speaking as someone who f*cking LOVES dumplings and would happily eat my own weight in them day in, day out.

Where do you get your dumplings.. as there doesn't seem to be any in north county dublin!

Gloomtastic! · 11-02-2021 3:29pm

conor_ie wrote: »

Where do you get your dumplings.. as there doesn't seem to be any in north county dublin!

You could try looking for Gyoza. They’re the same thing.

Mystery Egg · 11-02-2021 3:33pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

You could try looking for Gyoza. They’re the same thing.

The only dumplings I'm able to find at the moment are pierogi which are not quite the same. No Asian supermarket for many miles. Asian supermarkets online also are not delivering either skins or prepared dumplings/gyoza. They are so costly from the takeaway. Woe is me etc

brick tamland · 11-02-2021 3:37pm

Faith wrote: »

I've made dumplings, both from scratch scratch and with shop-bought wrappers. Either way, it is frankly not worth the effort*, IMO, when you can buy bags of excellent frozen ones. I'd only make them again if I couldn't get frozen ones.

*I'm speaking as someone who f*cking LOVES dumplings and would happily eat my own weight in them day in, day out.

My Chinese neighbours are adamant the 99% of dumplings you get in take-aways and restaurants (even the fancier Chinese places) are frozen ones that are just steamed/fried to order. Can be gotten in any Chinese supermarket and are very cheap for big bags of them. I do them in the air-fryer.

General Chat Thread II

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