What's for tea tonight? (#8)

[hegley]

I actually ended up eating 3 experimental gingerbread doughnuts - had 1, decided it really would have benefitted from a big mug of coffee to go with it so instead of stopping at that point like I should have done, I made a pint of milky coffee and ate another 2 They are a bit moreish.

The salad still needs to be eaten though, so I will have that later. Pretence at healthy eating haha

I am going to pay for this later, might have to dig out the nexium for afters.

Tbf gingerbread doughnuts do sound awesome.

 

[UrbaneFox]

Moderate triumph with some aubergines, chillies, garlic and sweet basil.

I've been having it from Rosa's Thai Cafe and decided to have a stab at making it.

 

[sojourner]

Penne in a spinach/mascarpone/parmesan/lemon sauce, slathered in more parmesan and toasted pine nuts.

Decaff tea and all the dark choc digestives.

 

[MrCurry]

Chicken chasseur* and root veg (potato / carrot / Swede / celeriac) gratin.

*inspired by Epona

 

[sojourner]

Not penne, fusilli.

 

[BoatieBird]

Another Simply Cook recipe: Bokkeumbap (Korean stir fried rice with cabbage, fried egg on top).

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Tomato & basil soup with rice cakes.

 

[platinumsage]

Leftover salmon, chicken and tofu soba noodle soup, with pasta and vegetarian sausages, mushrooms, cabbage and peas.

 

[fishfinger]

Frozen lasagne.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Turkey mince spiced with szechean pepper, garlic, ginger and soy.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Frozen lasagne.

Bet that'll take you a while to eat.

 

[danny la rouge]

Bet that'll take you a while to eat.

You lick it.

 

[Epona]

Not penne, fusilli.

Oh god yes, fusilli comes into its own with creamy spinach sauces, the spinach kind of wraps around the thing.

I want a pasta fiorentina now. With fusilli.

Spirali also works well with that.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

You lick it.

No, I'd rather not as I don't like lasagne. Fishy is welcome to his lasagne lollipop.

 

[danny la rouge]

I don't like lasagne.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I'm not a dog, so your smilie won't work on me.

 

[sojourner]

Oh god yes, fusilli comes into its own with creamy spinach sauces, the spinach kind of wraps around the thing.

I want a pasta fiorentina now. With fusilli.

Spirali also works well with that.

Aye. I'll save the penne for arrabiatta, cos I like its thick body in that, and I have some spirali for macaroni cheese, cos I don't like macaroni

 

[nottsgirl]

Seitan kebabs.

 

[MrCurry]

Chicken (quarters or thighs or portions on the bone work best but I used breast fillets today as that is what I had), streaky bacon, shallots/onions, garlic, mushrooms, dash of brandy, a bit of white wine, stock, tomatoes (tinned or paste/puree) and herbs - fry up the bacon and brown the chicken, fry the veggies in the fat from that (with a bit of butter if more fat is needed), add the brandy and white wine and let it cook off a bit, add the tomatoes/tomato puree and stock and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. You can do it on the hob from start to finish or brown the chicken/bacon and veg on the hob then finish in the oven.

Tarragon and/or parsley are traditional herbs for the French dish.

It is closely related to the Italian version, Chicken Cacciatore - add peppers and olives, use pancetta instead of streaky bacon, and oregano/basil as the herbs.

Both are delicious variations on the same theme and like a lot of traditional peasant dishes you can vary the ingredients a bit depending upon what is available - so you could make with game instead of chicken or add sausage.

Thank you! I have some frozen chicken drumsticks and the end of a white wine box in the fridge from Christmas, so I should really give this a go. If I do it, there will be pics

I made it. I liked it, but it wasn’t spot on, but then I’m sure I got a few things wrong, like any recipe made for the first time. I’ll note them down and adjust next time, as is standard when cooking.

I’d added too much water, thinking it would reduce down when cooking, so it ended up too saucy. I did reduce it uncovered on high heat at the end, just not enough. The other thing I should change is I’d used two chicken stock cubes and the chickeny flavour dominated. A few youtube vids I checked showed proper French chefs using veal stock, so maybe a chicken stock cube was a bad choice. I dithered over adding tinned chopped tomatoes or tomato purée and went with the second. Maybe the real tomatoes would have added something though.

pic as promised (spoilered out of consideration to veggies / vegans):

Spoiler

 

[Epona]

I made it. I liked it, but it wasn’t spot on, but then I’m sure I got a few things wrong, like any recipe made for the first time. I’ll note them down and adjust next time, as is standard when cooking.

I’d added too much water, thinking it would reduce down when cooking, so it ended up too saucy. I did reduce it uncovered on high heat at the end, just not enough. The other thing I should change is I’d used two chicken stock cubes and the chickeny flavour dominated. A few youtube vids I checked showed proper French chefs using veal stock, so maybe a chicken stock cube was a bad choice. I dithered over adding tinned chopped tomatoes or tomato purée and went with the second. Maybe the real tomatoes would have added something though.

pic as promised (spoilered out of consideration to veggies / vegans):

Spoiler

View attachment 307273
View attachment 307274

Oh aye, I bet it tasted lush but yes the French recipe would use veal stock, you can use chicken or beef or a mix of the two - it should be predominantly tomatoey though, and less liquid IMO - think more like baked chicken (skin side up so the skin can crisp a bit if you are doing in the oven) with a bit of sauce rather than a saucy stew with some chicken in it.

 

[Looby]

Bolognese or chilli. Whether we have pasta or rice will depend on what it turns out to be when we cook it. I think I’d prefer bolognese.

 

[mrsfran]

Absolutely could not get my head in gear about dinner tonight. Have finally decided on chicken pilaf as it's straightforward.

However, I picked up a second-hand air fryer yesterday so am currently doing my first experiment - chicken wings.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

A veggie stew with brown ale and pearl barley. Recipe looks good. Will report back.

 

[moonsi til]

A Monday roast because we loved last Sunday’s & couldn’t get our act together yesterday. Quorn roast, roast potatoes, roast beetroot, green beans, carrots & gravity.

 

[Saffy]

Veggie cottage pie, savoy cabbage, sprouts and carrots.
Baked apple with yoghurt for pudding.

 

[RubyToogood]

Mushroom and philadelphia pasta again, with a drizzle of truffle oil and fractal cauliflower.

I've got addicted to the mushroom truffle pasta which is unfortunate because it's hardly low calorie.

 

[fishfinger]

Bet that'll take you a while to eat.

We're dead sophisticated here. We've got an oven, that can magically soften and heat frozen food.

 

[mrsfran]

Mushroom and philadelphia pasta again, with a drizzle of truffle oil and fractal cauliflower.

I've got addicted to the mushroom truffle pasta which is unfortunate because it's hardly low calorie.

You could replace the truffle oil with truffle salt - you get the flavour without the fat?

 

[Mrs Miggins]

A veggie stew with brown ale and pearl barley. Recipe looks good. Will report back.

You know when you start cooking and you properly read a recipe and you think "no - that's not right at all"?

If you've got a veggie stew and it says to put the mushrooms in before the carrots and potatoes?

No.

I'm doing it my way.

 

[RubyToogood]

You could replace the truffle oil with truffle salt - you get the flavour without the fat?

It's more the philadelphia. The truffle oil is just a few drops.