He is saying that he would have bought a bottle of Grouse if he'd realised I was about to cook with whisky. Which would have made it a very expensive dinner.
I am going to wait until he's working away from home, then make it again as a treat to myself.
He is saying that he would have bought a bottle of Grouse if he'd realised I was about to cook with whisky. Which would have made it a very expensive dinner.
I am going to wait until he's working away from home, then make it again as a treat to myself.
It's probably worth buying a half-bottle of the sort of whisky that any self-respecting Scot would use to clean his headlights with - Bell's, Johnny Walker or whatever* - for such culinary emergencies.
I gave MrD a treat last night by making Nigella's emergency brownies. They were very nice, but I think I left them in the oven for just a few too many minutes, so they weren't very squidgey. I am failing miserably to insert a link, so just search "Nigella's emergency brownies". You should find them easily enough!!
Made them shared with neighbors, now they are going around the neighborhood, new block favorite. So easy, fast, and good. Everyone needs this recipe because you never know when a brownie emergency might hit.
In an attempt to clear the fridge and larder before packing up the house tomorrow, I made a variant on a Jamie Oliver recipe for sausage and red wine risotto this evening, and it worked quite well.
Set a casserole on a medium heat and add a few nibbed almonds to toast while it heats up. Tip them into a bowl when they start to colour and put to one side.
Add a little oil and butter to the pan, along with a chopped red pepper and clove of garlic. Cook these for a minute or two, and then add three chopped Italian-style sausages. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, adding seasoning and a pinch of thyme.
Add half a cup of Arborio rice, stir for a couple of minutes to toast it and then add a third of a cup of red wine. Cook, stirring, until the wine's been absorbed, and then add about 2 cups of hot chicken stock, a ladleful at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. The process should take about 20 minutes, by which time it'll be thick and soupy, but the rice should still have a little "bite".
Stir in a small knob of butter and sprinkle with the toasted almonds and serve straight away.
Yesterday I was given a large basket of just-harvested Crimson Seedless grapes by a local farmer and had hoped to do a dish of sautéed sausages and grapes, a success last year.
But December and early January were so hot that fruit was harvested early, so the grapes are small, tough-skinned and not very sweet. I've put a couple of kilos of unpeeled grapes into a pan with sugar and some lemon juice, will make blended grape jam and hope for the best.
I was wondering what to do with half a lime that was gazing at me from the counter while I was making carrot and coriander soup today. I did the obvious thing and squeezed it into the soup. Delectable!
A pleasure, Piglet -- I use pork sausages in a heavy frying pan with a little olive oil, put in some sliced shallots or onions and a handful of seedless grapes, let them cook down together on a steady medium heat. Towards the end, when the sausages are brown and the grapes collapsing, I add a splash of balsamic vinegar and serve it up all sticky and caramelised (sometimes on mashed potato).
It is an Italian recipe that uses sweet Italian sausages in the original, and I got my initial inspiration from Lidia Bastianich. I've seen recipes that also use sliced fennel or a handful of fresh origanum.
Tonight I made haggis, neeps and tatties soup. It was lovely. However, the recipe involved reserving some haggis to garnish, and the photo showed a bowl of soup artistically garnished. When I sprinkled on the haggis, it sank like a stone to the bottom of the bowl. Where, I wonder, had the recipe writer acquired their floating haggis?
Tonight's menu:
Haggis, neeps and tattie soup
Gammon boiled in Irn Bru , then glazed and roasted, with Irn Bru sauce, oatcakes, parsnips and broccoli.
Cranachan.
I don't drink Irn Bru myself, it's far too sweet, but this worked well. I didn't tell the North East Man what it was, and his first guess was apricots. I think he would have been dubious if I'd told him I intended to cook the gammon in Irn Bru.
Our butcher's shop was going like a fair yesterday, selling haggis.
Above whisky was discussed. I know it is heresy, but I frequent the airport liquor store while waiting to board in Calgary, prices are good. Alberta Premium is an outstanding whisky, and 1/3 the price of those from Islay. The Scots abroad do some lovely things.
Moose roast tonight! Quite excited. A Métis client brought me a 4 lb roast. Slow cooking it. We've not had that for years, I think the last was when visiting Newfoundland.
Slow-cooked moose sounds lovely. We had a few friends who hunted when we were in Newfoundland, and occasionally got meat from them. D's mooseherd's pie was Something Else.
Above whisky was discussed. I know it is heresy, but I frequent the airport liquor store while waiting to board in Calgary, prices are good. Alberta Premium is an outstanding whisky, and 1/3 the price of those from Islay. The Scots abroad do some lovely things.
Moose roast tonight! Quite excited. A Métis client brought me a 4 lb roast. Slow cooking it. We've not had that for years, I think the last was when visiting Newfoundland.
Ooooh.. Which cut? Which cut? Beyond slow roasting, what are you doing to it? What are you serving it with? I grew up in moose territory, and was often a recipient of moose. Urggh, how I miss it.
Take however many sole fillets you need, season, place in lightly buttered ovenproof dish with chopped dill, zest and juice of a lime and a small wineglass of vermouth - I use Noilly Prat. Cover with foil and place in oven preheated to 200 for 10 minutes.
Serve with new potatoes and wilted spinach, spooning liquor from cooking dish onto fish.
Put cut up chicken in the slow cooker, added onion, garlic, a sliced whole lemon, fresh cilantro, salt and pepper. When it was done I thickened the juices with corn starch and served with rice. It had a delightful lemon flavor. Mr Image does not like spicy so for my serving I topped with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Such an easy meal and nice fresh taste.
That does sound nice, GI. I'm one of those rare people who can either take or leave fresh coriander (most people seem to either love it or loathe it), but I think that would be rather good.
The lady I'm staying with between selling my house and moving to Edinburgh makes excellent soup, and is very inventive with leftovers. She made squash soup yesterday, and on discovering she had some spinach that was no longer quite up to being a salad, added it to what was left along with some parsley and a little veggie cooking water and blitzed it in a liquidiser. It was a beautiful, vibrant green and absolutely delicious.
On a spinach related theme, I made an experimental pie for dinner this evening. It was experimental because the recipe called for filo pastry to make parcels and I could only get puff.
Put 250g spinach in a bowl, add some dill, chives, parsley and nutmeg, and 2 beaten eggs, then 500g feta cheese, crumbled (I think this was too much cheese for me). Then, if you have filo, you take a sheet or 3, brush it with melted butter, fill it with the cheese and spinach mixture, roll it up / fold into triangles, and bake it. I halved the pastry sheet, and made one big pie instead. It was not half bad, as an experiment. We’re planning to go sort of vegetarian for lent, so trying out a few different veggie recipes.
Possibly an extra zero aded to the weight of feta?
Recipes I've seen have between 1/4 and 1/2 feta to spinach, by weight. Presumably a matter of taste, but twice as much feta as spinach does seem a bit excessive.
It was definitely rather excessive to my taste! I think half feta to spinach sounds about right, I shall tweak accordingly next time. It was pronounced good by MrJt9 (who remarked approvingly on how salty it was - unsurprising given the amount of cheese!) and Child B, so on the list it goes!
I went into Lakeland yesterday to buy a cake tin shaped like a 4. They sold me a kit called "Silicon Shape-a-Cake" which is 2 long and 4 short silicon strips which can be bent into shape and joined together.
Has anyone got this kit? I cannot fathom how to bend it into a four. I got to the point where I actually couldn't remember what a four was supposed to look like and had to draw one to remind myself. There is an illustration of it bent into a 2, but no illustration of a 4.
(Edited to add - I'm fairly sure I'll be returning this for a refund, but I won't be in Aberdeen for a while, and so will give it a fair go in the meantime.)
The current plan is for two cakes - a 2 and a 4. I'd need to bake four cakes to make a XXIV. And although the silicon strips bend into a X, it's a lopsided X.
I can imagine this but it’s harder to describe it without drawing a picture… I would make a sort of L shape, plus an extra straight strip. For the L-shaped bit, use the two long pieces of the mould around the outside edge, and two shorter pieces on the inside edge.
Cut the extra strip in half, and arrange vertically on either side of the bottom / horizontal bit of the L. Does that make sense?
Monkfish. Sprinkle fillet with lemon zest. Wrap in prosciutto, bake for 20\25 min. Meanwhile, sauté mushroom and scallions in butter. Chuck on c 200ml of white wine (or dry vermouth) and reduce. Stir in 3 tbsp creme fraiche.
Slice the monkfish (tip any juices into the mushroom sauce). Pour over sauce and serve.
. I decided to try Mr Ottilenghi's recipes for Cafe de Paris sauce to go over steak . This involved a lot of fresh herbs - tarragon, parsley, thyme, chives.
It was piquant but not a Must Do Again tbh.
So tonight was salmon in a wine sauce with chives. I baked the fish with butter and tarragon and tipped the juices in, plus a bit of vegetable stock. More successful I think.
So that leaves me with a pot of parsley and one of thyme - suggestions welcome.
The current plan is for two cakes - a 2 and a 4. I'd need to bake four cakes to make a XXIV. And although the silicon strips bend into a X, it's a lopsided X.
There are instructions floating around on the web on how to cut up sponges (mostly bar shapes) to make the number. I suspect at least some of them owe their genesis to this book, of which I am lucky enough to have been given Mum's copy to use for the Dragonlets.
Mr Image claims he does not like sweet potatoes. While I agree with him about the Thanksgiving sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, he refuses to try them any way I fix them. I had a number of them from my weekly organic food deliver box and I was looking on what I might do other then pass them along to the neighbors. I made a sweet potato pie today and told him it was pumpkin pie. He loved it. Next time we get sweet potatoes I will confess, and see if I can get him to try some other dish.
@Firenze, when I have extra or leftover parsley, a sizeable quantity, I make a summer tabbouleh with ripe tomatoes.
In colder weather, I like to make Simon Hopkinson's recipes for parsley sauce and this buttered parsley pilaf to serve with fish or chicken. He whizzes the parsley, garlic and butter together for a bright green sauce which is then stirred into the pilaf -- it looks and tastes very good. The link will open onto a number of parsley recipes from the Guardian.
Mr Image claims he does not like sweet potatoes. While I agree with him about the Thanksgiving sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, he refuses to try them any way I fix them. I had a number of them from my weekly organic food deliver box and I was looking on what I might do other then pass them along to the neighbors. I made a sweet potato pie today and told him it was pumpkin pie. He loved it. Next time we get sweet potatoes I will confess, and see if I can get him to try some other dish.
Sweet potato with marshmallows!? Where is that vomit emoji?
When I was a teenager my family knew two families of post-grad American students in the town. One of the men said he could tell if pumpkin pie was made with anything other than pumpkin (at that time not readily available in Scotland). The wife of the other couple made a pie with turnip and said opinionated young man lapped it up, saying "You can always tell the genuine article!"
So that leaves me with a pot of parsley and one of thyme - suggestions welcome.
Plant out in the garden. Our large clump of,parsley is from a 10p growing pot reduced for quick sale in a supermarket more than 10 years ago, ditto one of the thymes.
Alternatively harvest the lot, chop up and keep in the freezer.
Mr Image claims he does not like sweet potatoes. While I agree with him about the Thanksgiving sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, he refuses to try them any way I fix them. I had a number of them from my weekly organic food deliver box and I was looking on what I might do other then pass them along to the neighbors. I made a sweet potato pie today and told him it was pumpkin pie. He loved it. Next time we get sweet potatoes I will confess, and see if I can get him to try some other dish.
Sweet potato with marshmallows!? Where is that vomit emoji?
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m not proud. It’s one of the few ways I like sweet potatoes—mashed and baked with toasted marshmallows on top, or mashed and baked with lots of brown sugar and nuts on top. Otherwise, not so much. As for pumpkin—no way, no how, no matter how prepared. Just no.
Mr Image claims he does not like sweet potatoes. While I agree with him about the Thanksgiving sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, he refuses to try them any way I fix them. I had a number of them from my weekly organic food deliver box and I was looking on what I might do other then pass them along to the neighbors. I made a sweet potato pie today and told him it was pumpkin pie. He loved it. Next time we get sweet potatoes I will confess, and see if I can get him to try some other dish.
Sweet potato with marshmallows!? Where is that vomit emoji?
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m not proud. It’s one of the few ways I like sweet potatoes—mashed and baked with toasted marshmallows on top, or mashed and baked with lots of brown sugar and nuts on top. Otherwise, not so much. As for pumpkin—no way, no how, no matter how prepared. Just no.
There, I said it.
The marshmallows sound revolting... The American half of my family has tried to get me to like pumpkin for many decades, but the only way I'll eat it is in pumpkin muffins, spiced sufficiently to alter the taste, which I like.
Comments
I am going to wait until he's working away from home, then make it again as a treat to myself.
I like your style, @North East Quine 🤣!
* Grouse is too good - it's mostly Highland Park.
Made them shared with neighbors, now they are going around the neighborhood, new block favorite. So easy, fast, and good. Everyone needs this recipe because you never know when a brownie emergency might hit.
In an attempt to clear the fridge and larder before packing up the house tomorrow, I made a variant on a Jamie Oliver recipe for sausage and red wine risotto this evening, and it worked quite well.
Set a casserole on a medium heat and add a few nibbed almonds to toast while it heats up. Tip them into a bowl when they start to colour and put to one side.
Add a little oil and butter to the pan, along with a chopped red pepper and clove of garlic. Cook these for a minute or two, and then add three chopped Italian-style sausages. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, adding seasoning and a pinch of thyme.
Add half a cup of Arborio rice, stir for a couple of minutes to toast it and then add a third of a cup of red wine. Cook, stirring, until the wine's been absorbed, and then add about 2 cups of hot chicken stock, a ladleful at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. The process should take about 20 minutes, by which time it'll be thick and soupy, but the rice should still have a little "bite".
Stir in a small knob of butter and sprinkle with the toasted almonds and serve straight away.
Serves one, very generously
But December and early January were so hot that fruit was harvested early, so the grapes are small, tough-skinned and not very sweet. I've put a couple of kilos of unpeeled grapes into a pan with sugar and some lemon juice, will make blended grape jam and hope for the best.
It is an Italian recipe that uses sweet Italian sausages in the original, and I got my initial inspiration from Lidia Bastianich. I've seen recipes that also use sliced fennel or a handful of fresh origanum.
Tonight's menu:
Haggis, neeps and tattie soup
Gammon boiled in Irn Bru , then glazed and roasted, with Irn Bru sauce, oatcakes, parsnips and broccoli.
Cranachan.
I'm curious about the Irn Bru sauce - would you pass on the recipe?
I realise I wouldn't be able to make it until I get back home - I'm fairly sure IB isn't available over here!
Our butcher's shop was going like a fair yesterday, selling haggis.
https://www.foodiequine.co.uk/2015/01/burns-night-recipe-roundup-haggis-neeps.html
Moose roast tonight! Quite excited. A Métis client brought me a 4 lb roast. Slow cooking it. We've not had that for years, I think the last was when visiting Newfoundland.
I had it in Finland. Our host was part of a hunting party and they divided the moose that they got hunting the previous winter.
He slow roasted it for 16 hours in a brick oven. I hardly eat any form of meat, but I would certainly relish slow roasted moose at any time!
Ooooh.. Which cut? Which cut? Beyond slow roasting, what are you doing to it? What are you serving it with? I grew up in moose territory, and was often a recipient of moose. Urggh, how I miss it.
Take however many sole fillets you need, season, place in lightly buttered ovenproof dish with chopped dill, zest and juice of a lime and a small wineglass of vermouth - I use Noilly Prat. Cover with foil and place in oven preheated to 200 for 10 minutes.
Serve with new potatoes and wilted spinach, spooning liquor from cooking dish onto fish.
On a spinach related theme, I made an experimental pie for dinner this evening. It was experimental because the recipe called for filo pastry to make parcels and I could only get puff.
Put 250g spinach in a bowl, add some dill, chives, parsley and nutmeg, and 2 beaten eggs, then 500g feta cheese, crumbled (I think this was too much cheese for me). Then, if you have filo, you take a sheet or 3, brush it with melted butter, fill it with the cheese and spinach mixture, roll it up / fold into triangles, and bake it. I halved the pastry sheet, and made one big pie instead. It was not half bad, as an experiment. We’re planning to go sort of vegetarian for lent, so trying out a few different veggie recipes.
Recipes I've seen have between 1/4 and 1/2 feta to spinach, by weight. Presumably a matter of taste, but twice as much feta as spinach does seem a bit excessive.
Aldi value range Greek style salad cheese to the rescue!
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/73283/Lakeland-6-Piece-Shape-a-Cake-Flexible-Silicone-Cake-Mould-Set
Has anyone got this kit? I cannot fathom how to bend it into a four. I got to the point where I actually couldn't remember what a four was supposed to look like and had to draw one to remind myself. There is an illustration of it bent into a 2, but no illustration of a 4.
(Edited to add - I'm fairly sure I'll be returning this for a refund, but I won't be in Aberdeen for a while, and so will give it a fair go in the meantime.)
Cut the extra strip in half, and arrange vertically on either side of the bottom / horizontal bit of the L. Does that make sense?
Slice the monkfish (tip any juices into the mushroom sauce). Pour over sauce and serve.
. I decided to try Mr Ottilenghi's recipes for Cafe de Paris sauce to go over steak . This involved a lot of fresh herbs - tarragon, parsley, thyme, chives.
It was piquant but not a Must Do Again tbh.
So tonight was salmon in a wine sauce with chives. I baked the fish with butter and tarragon and tipped the juices in, plus a bit of vegetable stock. More successful I think.
So that leaves me with a pot of parsley and one of thyme - suggestions welcome.
There are instructions floating around on the web on how to cut up sponges (mostly bar shapes) to make the number. I suspect at least some of them owe their genesis to this book, of which I am lucky enough to have been given Mum's copy to use for the Dragonlets.
In colder weather, I like to make Simon Hopkinson's recipes for parsley sauce and this buttered parsley pilaf to serve with fish or chicken. He whizzes the parsley, garlic and butter together for a bright green sauce which is then stirred into the pilaf -- it looks and tastes very good. The link will open onto a number of parsley recipes from the Guardian.
Sweet potato with marshmallows!? Where is that vomit emoji?
When I was a teenager my family knew two families of post-grad American students in the town. One of the men said he could tell if pumpkin pie was made with anything other than pumpkin (at that time not readily available in Scotland). The wife of the other couple made a pie with turnip and said opinionated young man lapped it up, saying "You can always tell the genuine article!"
Alternatively harvest the lot, chop up and keep in the freezer.
There, I said it.
The marshmallows sound revolting... The American half of my family has tried to get me to like pumpkin for many decades, but the only way I'll eat it is in pumpkin muffins, spiced sufficiently to alter the taste, which I like.
Sweet potatoes = cattle feed.