The Cookery Thread

Discussion in 'Taylor's Tittle-Tattle - General Banter' started by Filbert, Oct 7, 2021.

  1. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    I love cooking and baking. Perhaps we could share ideas and ask any questions here…

    My best and most vital tip is that however much you think is enough, always double the amount of butter, salt, garlic and olive oil.

    I’ve got a major flaw in my cookery game. Eggs. I can fry an egg but I always **** up poachies. I swirl, I put vinegar in the water but they never come out well.

    Won’t somebody please help me?
     
  2. Robert Peel

    Robert Peel Squad Player

    Put some cling film in a cup, crack the egg into it, twist up the cling film, drop into boiling water.

    Note: remove cling film before eating.
     
  3. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Thank you I will try that. I was resisting buying one of those silicon gadgets because I don’t like having loads of really specific bits of equipment.

    Are we looking at about two or three minutes of simmering?
     
  4. Diamond

    Diamond First Team

    Sticky rice is my speciality which goes nicely with my Katsu Curry. I'm a big fan of Japanese food but have never got around to learning how to cook fish properly much to my shame. I hope to remedy that soon.
     
  5. Diamond

    Diamond First Team

    Asked Mrs D, she said bring the water to the boil then add vinegar and swirl the water, (which it sounds like you've got going on), then place the egg into a small container and add it to the water as slowly as possible. Remove any floating bits whilst the egg poaches.
     
    Filbert likes this.
  6. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Slowly, slowly eggy poachy. I’ve been cracking straight into the water all this time and getting loads of that stringy floaty ****.
     
  7. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Always store and consume tomatoes at room temperature.
     
    WillisWasTheWorst likes this.
  8. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I recently got an air fryer, it’s great.
     
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  9. WillisWasTheWorst

    WillisWasTheWorst Its making less grammar mistake's thats important

    I once stayed in a dodgy small hotel in Northumberland that was stuck in the 1970s and ordered poached eggs for breakfast. The 'chef' had clearly done the vinegar trick but put way too much in because the eggs tasted of vinegar rather than egg. :mad:
     
  10. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    Leiths School of Cookery I can recommend highly for learning about cooking fish including prep work. Did it a few years ago and it was a very well run course
     
  11. Wexford-yellow

    Wexford-yellow Academy Graduate

    Bought a soup maker
    So easy to use
    Almost easier than packet soup and so much nicer
     
  12. HappyHornet24

    HappyHornet24 Crapster Staff Member

    I’ve taken my first, tentative steps towards being a veggie so looking for some great vegetarian recipes please.
     
  13. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    Birdseye frozen peas. Into boiling water. Boil for 5 mins. Sieve. Enjoy.
    Also works with frozen sweetcorn.
    That's all I have.
    You're welcome.
     
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  14. Moose

    Moose First Team Captain

    Start you off with the easiest possible, cheesy baked potatoes. Bake potatoes. Scoop out. Mash. Add small amount of butter (v small or it all gets oily), large amount of nice strong cheese, black pepper or paprika, some garlic powder if you have it, little bit of chilli powder, chives etc. Cheese on top. Bake again til brown on top and serve with crispy salad, tomatoes and sweet corn. Voila.
     
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  15. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Good for you. I sadly fell off the wagon during lockdown! Fell off the wagon with several things actually seeing as I’m now a smoking, meat eating borderline alcoholic….

    Jamie Oliver’s ‘Veg’ book is a great way into it. It’s not just about saying ‘here’s how to make a classic dish with a meat alternative’ it’s about making veg tasty!

    A good piece of advice is to marinade stuff. I you’re having a meat alternative like a cauliflower steak, tofu, mushrooms, halloumi or veg protein pieces (yum) then get them marinading as they generally act like sponges.

    Keep a herb garden/a well stocked spice cupboard. Learn what flavours work together. Some is obvious like tomato and basil or lemon and thyme…. Then there’s carrot and caraway, mushroom and rosemary, orange and mustard, mint to liven up a salad. It’s about beefing (not literally) up the flavour of vegetables to bring out their sweet and savoury notes.

    Filbert’s Famous Bean Burgers (they’ve literally never been called this)

    400g can of red kidney beans
    Big bunch of coriander
    Green chilli (seeded if you don’t want too much heat)
    Lime
    1 egg
    Breadcrumbs
    1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    1/4 teaspoon ground garlic

    Should make two decent sized burgers.

    Drain and rinse the beans. Roughly smash them up in a bowl with a masher or give them a quick blitz in a food processor.

    Add the herbs, spices lime juice and zest. Mix in the egg. Add breadcrumbs a small handfull at a time while you mix. You want it to look and feel like stuffing mix.

    Roll into two equal sized balls and flatten into burgers. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes before cooking.

    Fry in a medium/hot frying pan or skillet for about 5/6 minutes on each side.

    Great with a feta salad or in a burger bun!

    Tomato Salad

    This is my favourite thing to make if I’m doing tapas or a bbq for a few people.

    - Lots of different size, shape and colour tomatoes
    - Flaked almonds
    - Fresh parsley
    - Olive oil
    - Capers (optional)
    - Red onion
    - Balsamic vinegar
    - Sugar

    Use a mandolin or very thinly slice the onion. Mix a good few glugs of balsamic with a teaspoon of sugar. Coat the onion in the vinegar and leave to sit. Test after 10/15 minutes to check the onion has lost its harshness and if it has tip away the vinegar.

    Toast the almonds until slightly coloured.

    Slice the tomatoes randomly, and any smaller ones just in half. Arrange them on a big plate either neatly or just toss them on, your choice!

    Scatter over the onion, chopped parsley, capers, almonds and good pinch of sea salt. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

    Lemon Dressing

    This is great on a salad or over a side of stir fried broccoli.

    Lemon
    Honey
    Fresh oregano
    Olive oil

    Pr*ck a lemon with a knife once and boil the whole thing in a pan of water for an hour.

    Let it cool down (duh) and cut it open to find the most wonderfully jammy and sweet innards. Scoop this into a bowl (through a sieve if it’s pithy or full of seeds) and mix with olive oil, honey fresh oregano and salt and pepper. You can add a dash of white wine vinegar if it’s too sweet.

    Literally the best dressing ever. Livens up any salad, greens, great with halloumi or feta and is good for basting on a bbq too.
     
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  16. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Oh and @HappyHornet24 No matter what you do, whether there is a global pandemic, food crisis or Hertfordshire gets hit by a nuclear missile… always, ALWAYS keep a bag of Quorn Nuggets handy in the freezer.
     
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  17. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Indistinguishable from normal nuggets, had some for lunch in a wrap with some peppers and a bit of vegan Mayo.

    The Hellman’s vegan mayos are exceptional by the way, I can eat the baconnaise one with a spoon.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2021
  18. Relegation Certs

    Relegation Certs Squad Player

    This is lovely I swear. And I can confirm that served with rice this gives enough protein to maintain a muscular stud physique.

    https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/persian-aubergine-lentil-stew
     
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  19. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    Just made a spag bol with ‘meatless farm’ mince, waaaay better than the quorn mince, very convincing.
     
  20. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Different ballpark.

    I can’t remember what Sainsbury’s own vegetarian alternative range is called but it’s also decent.

    The only thing that Quorn chicken fillets are good for is hurling at cat if you catch it shitting in your garden.
     
    a19tgg likes this.
  21. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    And if you're making this, extra air fresheners in the room you are sitting in afterwards
     
  22. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    It did cross my mind to point out that the loo roll stock should be closely monitored when following a veggie diet.
     
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  23. Relegation Certs

    Relegation Certs Squad Player

    Filbert likes this.
  24. HappyHornet24

    HappyHornet24 Crapster Staff Member

    That does look delicious. I was thinking I would miss meaty casseroles in the winter but this looks like a good alternative. Will definitely give it a go. There’s also a recipe for a burnt aubergine chilli on the BBC Good Food website that looks good.

    If I end up with a muscular stud physique, though, I might have to rethink this veggie malarkey.
     
  25. HappyHornet24

    HappyHornet24 Crapster Staff Member

  26. AndrewH63

    AndrewH63 Reservist

    This tip ruined my ice cream recipe.
    So I am going back to my one tin of condensed milk, 350 ml double cream, pinch of salt (not two!). I prefer vanilla, fruit, Nutella flavourings etc to garlic. Just whisk in a bowl, when the mixture has enough volume to hold, pour into a tub and freeze for 12 hours.
     
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  27. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    If you need any advice on cooking eggs in any style then Peter Beardsley is your man to do to…
     
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  28. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    You little midnight creeper
     
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  29. Cthulhu

    Cthulhu Keyboard Warrior Staff Member

    really really fresh eggs. forget all the faff with swirl and vinegar. Just pop it in close to the water and stop worrying
     
  30. Relegation Certs

    Relegation Certs Squad Player

    Search Gordon Ramsey poached eggs on YouTube. There's a 1 minute video. I've been making them perfectly every since I viewed it. Just vigorously stir with a whisk first.

     
  31. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    Tried the tomato thing last night, but I had real issues getting the almonds out of the toaster.

    Any tips?
     
  32. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Yeah use tiny almond flake sized toaster you utter moron.
     
  33. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    You’re nutty.
     
  34. Filbert

    Filbert Leicester supporting bloke

    Don’t, I nearly got drawn into a nut pun then but I don’t want to derail the thread!
     
  35. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    Cracking decision.
     

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