*** The La Cuisine 'General Discussion' Thread ***

[Spuj]

So I guess this thread could be likened to the 'This Instant and Moment' thread in GD, idea behind it is this can be used to discuss anything Cuisine related that you may feel doesn't warrant it's own thread. This could be anything from a thought you've had about a recipe, a quick question about cooking pasta or a new gadget you've bought, in short anything you want.

I'm guessing this has probably done in here before so if it has my apologies, I just thought it could be a good idea to have a place to generally 'chat' about all things Cuisine that aren't covered in some of the other threads in here. I know in the past I've had a thought about something but didn't feel there was a need to create a new thread but didn't really have anywhere else to put it so in the end I didn't post.

What do you guys think?

 

[FrenchTart]

Worth a try

What's cooking tonight then?

 

[Spuj]

Worth a try

What's cooking tonight then?

I suppose if it doesn't work it will just fade into obscurity

Not sure actually, my OH is due in 5 weeks and hasn't been enjoying a lot of food plus has been having trouble keeping stuff down at times recently so probably something quite simple. Maybe a pasta dish or something involving rice, will see how she feels.

How about you?

 

[robfosters]

Worth a try

What's cooking tonight then?

Nice and simple for me. Conchiglie with pesto, pancetta, onion and garlic, served with garlic bread.

 

[randomshenans]

I'm trying to not be such a fat ****, so laying off the booze for a bit, trying to up my cycling, and cutting my cals and portion sizes a chunk.
I've had "salads" all week so far. I call them salads but monday was steak salad, then duck salad, then chicken and chorizo, but it's cutting the meal as a whole down and my macros too. I like a lot of cake though.

 

[HazardO]

Saw the title and expected:

So how will [brexit,terrorism,photoshop,queen wasps] affect your weekly menu?

 

[Kris_90]

Can anyone advise how to make gravy? My only new year's resolution was to make a good gravy but it's September and I haven't achieved it yet. Has anyone got any tips?

Cheers

 

[randomshenans]

You want decent stock / meat juice. I like the Jamie chicken wing gravy, as what's better than chicken wing stock? You oven roast some wings with drizzle of oil, seasoning, chuck in some rosemary, some cloves of garlic, onion quarters, celery and carrot (like you would a stock) and put it in the oven for... 30 mins? Until golden brown. Then transfer the pan to a hob, turn it on medium and deglaze with something like red wine, white wine, port etc. and then start mashing up the lot. Adding water to the mix as you do it. if you keep mashing, adding, mashing, you'll eventually be able to seive (or chinois ideally) it through it and continue to reduce, add flour and bosh.

For a normal gravy though with whichever meat i'm doing, I'll take the pan juices and anything I've cooked it with, normally add some stock or alcohol of my choosing, water it down and the reduce and then thicken.

 

[FrenchTart]

You also want a medium-dark roux to thicken your gravy rather than adding cornflour at the end.

RandomShenans method is pro but if you want something really simple that'll also be good:

* 1 pint of chicken stock (get the best you can find, which is essentially the one with the highest chicken percentage, ideally fresh rather than stock cubes)
* 1 tablespoon of flour
* 1 tablespoon of butter
* umami bombs - wine, fish sauce, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, etc, small amounts of each (optional but recommended)

Heat the stock to a gentle simmer.
Make roux - in a separate pan heat the flour and butter on high, constantly stirring, until it is a nice nutty brown colour. Prob 5 minutes.
Take the roux off the heat and allow to cool for a bit.
Mix the umami bombs into the stock.
Mix the roux into the stock.
Leave on a low heat for at least 5-10 mins.

It'll be infinitely better than bisto or whatever. You can make it even better by combining that with RS's methods above. I also like to gentle caramelise onions and mushrooms then chop them finely and add to the stock towards the end.

 

[HazardO]

I use the Rick Stein method which is really simple and gives good results (assuming you're having roast potatoes your meat).

Save the salted starchy water you blanched your potatoes in prior to roasting them.
Make sure the meat is well seasoned and you have some root veg and onion in the bottom of the meat roasting dish when you roast it.

When the meat is done, remove the meat and veg, pour off excess oil from the roasting dish, heat up the roasting dish and pour in the starchy potato water, stir and simmer to reduce.

This doesn't give a really thick gravy, but it's a tasty one which should compliment whichever meat you cooked.

The potato water is simply a seasoned replacement for flour as the water already contains enough starch to make the gravy. No lumps, no need to worry about whether you cooked the flour enough.

 

[randomshenans]

Nice tip on the potato water, had heard it many moons ago, forgotten it and never tried it personally! I'll have to give it a go

 

[FrenchTart]

My potato water is too filled with vinegar for that trick unfortunately. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/11/ultra-crispy-roast-potatoes-recipe.html

Though I don't use that recipe as-is. The vinegar to reduce pectin breakdown is very good though, especially as I often lose track of my potatoes.

I'm aware of the CookingIssues alternative view and I think they have a great point for fries. Just not for roast potatoes

edit: On that note..best fat for roast potatoes is butter by far. Ideally with some garlic gently heated in it for a bit beforehand. I love dripping/etc in loads of stuff but the texture of butter-roasted potatoes is the best..and flavour isn't substantially worse.

 

[Spuj]

Nice and simple for me. Conchiglie with pesto, pancetta, onion and garlic, served with garlic bread.

That sounds delicious and quite simple to, nice!

I'm trying to not be such a fat ****, so laying off the booze for a bit, trying to up my cycling, and cutting my cals and portion sizes a chunk.
I've had "salads" all week so far. I call them salads but monday was steak salad, then duck salad, then chicken and chorizo, but it's cutting the meal as a whole down and my macros too. I like a lot of cake though.

Seen some of the pictures of the salads on your Instagram, they're looking pretty good! The duck was my favourite, however I'm a massive fan of anything duck so there is that.

Saw the title and expected:

So how will [brexit,terrorism,photoshop,queen wasps] affect your weekly menu?

Thanks, I've got a new thread idea for GD

 

[PlacidCasual]

On the gravy front, I always use slices of onion as a trivet in my roasting tin for the meat. They absorb the juices and help ensure they don't burn between pour offs. In addition they caramelise adding a little sweetness a little bitterness and ensuring a nice brown colour to your gravy. I generally use the potato water, meat juices, red wine, herbs and knorr stock pots. Sometimes if I get a chicken with giblets, hard these days, I'll make my own stock. I have made chicken stock from carcasses but that tends to be used for soups.

 

[randomshenans]

^^ This is good too. I like to cut them a bit thicker as well, as I've done them too thin before and ended up with burnt bits and bitter gravy

Thanks Spuj! my fav was the sirloin. That was probably the best thing I've made in ages, it tasted amazing. Duck dressing was off balance. Needed lime juice, bit more coconut sugar and coriander to balance it I'd say! Next time.

Tonight is tiger prawn salad!

 

[Pigeon_Killer]

Wouldn't mind a bit of the cake baking goddess Candice Brown.

 

[Kris_90]

Thanks for the gravy tips - I'll try again on Sunday/next Sunday.

 

[Maccapacca]

Lovely piece of thick end of belly for Sunday

 

[the-evaluator]

One of my favourite things for dinner tonight - risotto.

I made a stock yesterday from chicken carcass, veg and so on. I need to skim the fat off it and then it'll be the base of dinner.

 

[FrenchTart]

Have you seen the Serious Eats risotto article? Some interesting ideas:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/10/the-food-lab-the-science-of-risotto.html