General Chat Thread II

tangy · 19-07-2020 5:27pm

Any opinions on this fire pit? €39.99
A bit expensive?
https://www.aldi.ie/60cm-steel-fire-pit/p/703824358581300

I was amused by this description of rusting:
● Designed to develp rustic oxidised surface over time :rolleyes:

Can you cook anything more than baked potatoes with it?

Dizzyblonde · 19-07-2020 8:00pm

I love the look of that, it looks really solid. Our chiminea is similar, we have it years and when it started to look too oxidised I gave it a brush down and a coat of Owatrol oil, it gives a lovely finish. We sometimes put barbecue coals in and cook sausages in a cheap frying pan we bought for it, really nice if you're sitting outside of an evening

tangy · 20-07-2020 9:01am

Thanks.

I like the cheap frying pan idea.

New Home · 20-07-2020 9:17am

Just don't use a non-stick one, the coating, when overheated/burning gives off toxic fumes.

tangy · 20-07-2020 9:48am

Yes indeed.

L1011 · 22-07-2020 8:33pm

Just spent 130 quid on Nisbets on mostly BBQ (specifically burger-cooking) tools, but also some a very industrial looking not-non-stick frying pan for doing omelettes in. There goes my nearly entirely Brabantia kitchen :pac:

As far as I can tell, Brabantia never made "their" cookware and now nobody does - seems to have been a Belgian firm called Allinox with the licence but its out of stock everywhere.

New Home · 22-07-2020 8:55pm

If you temper it properly it should become non-stick (ish).

The Black Oil · 23-07-2020 9:45am

Made this a few times lately, it's good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMasl8ceaYQ

The Black Oil · 23-07-2020 2:01pm

It's in the oven again now. Forgot to include the cheese I bought for it.

BaZmO* · 23-07-2020 3:49pm

That looks lovely. I'm off to the shops later so I might pick up the ingredients.

L1011 · 26-07-2020 3:02pm

Is it just me, or is the range of meat in supermarkets getting worse and worse?

Quality is still good; but there's too much space given over to pre-marinated or pre-diced versions of standard things (chicken fillets, frying steak) as well as ridiculously lean versions of things (2% fat diced steak, 5% fat beef mince).

You can't get any interesting, slow cook suitable cuts of beef, pork or lamb. You can't always even get ground pork anymore. In the past I could get pork shoulder, oxtail, beef shins etc as well as fattier diced beef. Even fattier beef mince isn't always as available but Tesco and Lidl still do it.

There are two 'proper' butchers in my area, but one doesn't open Sundays and the other has started to really push their pre-pack even though they do actually butcher and pack on-site.

odyssey06 · 26-07-2020 3:52pm

L1011 wrote: »

Is it just me, or is the range of meat in supermarkets getting worse and worse?
Quality is still good; but there's too much space given over to pre-marinated or pre-diced versions of standard things (chicken fillets, frying steak) as well as ridiculously lean versions of things (2% fat diced steak, 5% fat beef mince).

Did I read something about Tesco closing their in store butchers at the height of the lockdown?
That could be part of the reason in Tesco.

My info may be out of date - I haven't been into a physical Tesco supermarket since February, been on click and collect. I think the most exotic cut I got was lamb shoulder via their online orders.

Not sure if the clusters in meat processing plants could have affected what was output in terms of range?
I remember that a few weeks back couldn't get pork mince in Tesco or Supervalu.

L1011 · 26-07-2020 5:24pm

I'm not sure if its got worse since March, but because March was eight years ago (it was, wasn't it? :pac:) I can't remember!

odyssey06 · 26-07-2020 5:33pm

L1011 wrote: »

I'm not sure if its got worse since March, but because March was eight years ago (it was, wasn't it? :pac:) I can't remember!

I remember the date the lockdown was announced, March 12th,
I was signed up for a wine tasting in Wines Direct Arnotts that evening

L1011 · 26-07-2020 5:58pm

I've been trying to re-organise the store cupboards a bit today. Needed to dig out some lesser used spices like star anise so it was as good a time as any.

I have found TWELVE types of pasta so far. All in date, indeed we've used most of them recently:

Lasagna sheets
Penne
Fusili
Spaghetti
Linguine
Bucatini
Papardelle
Tagliatelle
Rigatoni
Short rigatoni
Macaroni elbows
Fusili con buco

edit: 13, tortiglioni.

odyssey06 · 26-07-2020 6:36pm

No cannelloni?
Pfft.

L1011 · 26-07-2020 6:45pm

odyssey06 wrote: »

No cannelloni?
Pfft.

I have lasagna sheets, ergo I have cannelloni. Just with an awful amount of extra effort.

New Home · 01-08-2020 9:00pm

Has anyone ever made bread with water roux? I'm tempted to add it to the bread machine when I'm making bread with the sourdough starter. That is probably a bad idea in itself, anyway, but I'm trying to get bread that looks a bit like that in the video, soft with a fine crumb but not a crumbly texture, and not as chewy and with big air holes as a normal sourdough. Any advice, please?

Gloomtastic! · 01-08-2020 11:08pm

^ Not looking for much then!

Don’t know enough about the science of bread making but it could be something to do with the milk and butter. Brioche is made with milk, I think, and that has the consistency you’re looking for. (Though not the aeration).

New Home · 02-08-2020 12:33am

Thanks Gloomtastic - I tried adding both the last time (but with yeast instead of starter and no water roux) and I got a solid block of crumbly bread with fine aeration, not soft at all. The taste was only meh.

Gloomtastic! · 02-08-2020 5:19am

Can you make sourdough in a bread maker? Can you slow the process down enough for the starter to work?

Here’s a brioche recipe for the breadmaker. It’s got eggs in it.
https://www.food.com/recipe/bread-machine-brioche-130770

BelovedAunt · 02-08-2020 1:23pm

Lads are there any good youtube channels that cover the basics of cooking as opposed to just recipes? Like the fundamentals behind it, what goes with what, etc?

rubadub · 04-08-2020 10:55am

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Brioche is made with milk, I think,

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Can you make sourdough in a bread maker? Can you slow the process down enough for the starter to work?

Here’s a brioche recipe for the breadmaker. It’s got eggs in it.
https://www.food.com/recipe/bread-machine-brioche-130770

it doesn't have to have milk in it, some recipes will, but most would say it should have butter & eggs.

The phrase "Let them eat cake" is really have meant to have been ""Let them eat brioche"

New Home · 04-08-2020 11:06am

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Can you make sourdough in a bread maker? Can you slow the process down enough for the starter to work?

I'll let you know how the sourdough pans (:pac:) out, I've used the bread machine for kneading and I'll be using it for bakng it when sll the proving is done, rather than follow a programme. Fingers crossed!!

Gloomtastic! · 04-08-2020 12:41pm

New Home wrote: »

I'll let you know how the sourdough pans (:pac:) out, I've used the bread machine for kneading and I'll be using it for bakng it when sll the proving is done, rather than follow a programme. Fingers crossed!!

Just remembered your oven is broken, which is why you're using your breadmaker.

Shouldn't be a problem with the breadmaker really but you'll need to have room in your fridge for the overnight rise. Good luck!

If it doesn't work.....

Here's a sourdough recipe for the slow cooker. If you can do it in the slow cooker, then your oven should be able to handle the 90c temperature.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-bread-in-the-slow-cooker-192421

BaZmO* · 05-08-2020 1:32pm

Any tips on pickling. I have a bunch of cucumbers that I want to pickle later and I’m not 100% sure about what to do with them.

Was going to use white wine vinegar, sugar, salt, dill, mustard seeds, pepper corns.

Do I need to add water? And do I boil everything up first? How long do they last in the fridge?

the beer revolu · 05-08-2020 1:38pm

BaZmO* wrote: »

Any tips on pickling. I have a bunch of cucumbers that I want to pickle later and I’m not 100% sure about what to do with them.

Was going to use white wine vinegar, sugar, salt, dill, mustard seeds, pepper corns.

Do I need to add water? And do I boil everything up first? How long do they last in the fridge?

I'm no expert but this is what I do.

I just boil up the pickling liquid (yours sounds fine) and pour over the veg in a jar ans seal the jar. Add a little water if you find the solution to vinegary.

BaZmO* · 05-08-2020 1:58pm

Perfect. Thanks

New Home · 05-08-2020 4:15pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Just remembered your oven is broken, which is why you're using your breadmaker.

Shouldn't be a problem with the breadmaker really but you'll need to have room in your fridge for the overnight rise. Good luck!

If it doesn't work.....

Here's a sourdough recipe for the slow cooker. If you can do it in the slow cooker, then your oven should be able to handle the 90c temperature.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-bread-in-the-slow-cooker-192421

Ok, two batches made. The first one was ok but the crust was very "dense", the crumb not as crumbly as the very first attempt (with a different recipe - which had the consistency of a brown soda bread but tougher), but very, very, very chewy. Both are good to eat with soup. The second one, with less water, was a lot better, the crust was thinner, it rose more, too, the flavour is quite palatable but the crumb is still pretty chewy. Good for sandwiches, but it'll give your gums a workout. Still, a vast improvement on the door stoppers I had created in the past, which could easily pass for building material...

I'll try and post pics when the site works properly again.

Muahahaha · 07-08-2020 1:07pm

Just wondering about peoples thoughts on re-heating something like a roast beef or a lamb dinner. Its just never the same on a Monday as it is on a Sunday, at least not when re-heated in a microwave. The meat feels less tender and the roast potatoes lose their crisp. Maybe its the blast of the microwaves that makes the meat fibres get tighter or something? With lamb microwaving under cling flim often leaks out the moisture in the meat where it pools on the plate.

Does anyone here forgo the mircowave and reheat using the oven instead? Is there any discernable difference between the two methods in terms of taste and texture?

General Chat Thread II

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