Food

^this. I got a bottle of pussers for christmas. Love it. Best rum I've tried yet

Professor Henry Brubaker of the Institute for Studies said: “We took a group of men, fed them nothing but pulled pork and 28-day-hung rib-eye steaks for a month, then dropped them on the Orkneys with just pocket knives to see if they would survive.
“Their meat diets extended their lifespans slightly by giving them an extra layer of subcutaneous body fat. But the main problem was having to get their own food rather than simply ordering it from an oversized laminated menu with pictures of cows on it.”
“They all died.”

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/pulled-pork-does-not-make-you-more-manly-2013112781483

I've not used it before but Sainos have some good looking pots and pans at half price.

I've bought 3 or 4 of them will report back.

Last meal of 2013... Spaghetti puttannesca. A filthy meal to see off a filthy year.

Any suggestions for decent, low-fat soup recipes? Googling always seems to bring up annoying American recipes with random brand-name ingredients.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tD_CaCsHgU

I've not used it before but Sainos have some good looking pots and pans at half price.

I've bought 3 or 4 of them will report back.
These are good value. I've got a couple (they're always on offer) and cant really see any difference between the Le Creuset casserole dish and the Sainsburys one. Worth looking at a couple in the shop though as sometimes the enamel has gaps in.

Any suggestions for decent, low-fat soup recipes? Googling always seems to bring up annoying American recipes with random brand-name ingredients.
Fry onions (and garlic if you like), add spices/herbs, add vegetables you like and cover in stock (or water an add a stock cube) and cook until veg are nice and soft. Blend.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread75474-8.html#post2521259

And I have a nice one which is basically 3-4 leeks, a couple of medium potatoes and a tin of chickpeas which is lovely

Guize, need help.

I came away from the family xmas bash with an unsolicited yet not entirely unwelcome whole cooked pressed Foie Gras which my father in law had won at the golf club or somesuchlike. It looks kinds like this:
/attachments/78311

It slices beautifully and I made some fab little crostini on NYE with topped with some home made crab apple jelly.

But everyone's gone home now, and what to do with the remaining half? Very posh and slightly nauseating office packed lunches or any more interesting ideas?
Cheers

#dietstartstomorrow

1 Attachment

Toasted brioche and pate.

Good shout, was just kinda hoping I might not do the whole lot like that. Definitely a first world problem.

There are some proper 1970's steak sauces that incorporate pate too.

use it to stick mushrooms onto fillet steak, wrap in puff pastry, hey presto beef wellington.

eat it by the fistful out of the packet, naked in your bed that's covered in $100 notes, top grade charlie and child brides.

pics plz.

Might be good as a replacement pate in Banh Mi?

Now that ^ is an epic suggestion. Thanks.

Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WpErsFURCI

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UZFQ_jftM_w

So, instead of spending money on over priced booze in a bar this NYE, my girlfriend and I decided to spend it on Steak and Red Wine instead...

Hilariously, my girlfriend, who is about 5ft 3, bought us nearly 1.5kg of rib-eye from the local butchers, which ended up looking more like a rib roast than steaks, so I portioned it out, which still resulted in absurdley large hunks of meat on our plate... As they were so big, decided to try and cook 'em sous-vide using a stock pot as the water bath, a digital thermometer, some cling film and zip lock bags. It worked incredibly well!

For a timeline of sorts I've put some photos up here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/60527711@N03/

Finished result is below, served with some crushed new potatoes with garlic and parsley, roast shallots and a red wine reduction (which, if i say so my self, was bloody delicious). I was very impressed how such a simple set up could deliver such great results - the steak was perfectly medium rare all the way to the edges (as you can see) and didnt require much resting time at all.

There are a few photos in the above link which show what the meat looked like pre sear (kinda gross), but you can see the fat has really started to render... Can't wait to get my proper circulator (when ever it arrives) and start tinkering more!

my mum got me a 'cast iron sizzling dish' for christmas like you get some thing on like fajitas, or certain chinese/indian dishes
are they any use for cooking on or just for serving?

my mum got me a 'cast iron sizzling dish' for christmas like you get some thing on like fajitas, or certain chinese/indian dishes
are they any use for cooking on or just for serving?

Definitely super useful. Use them for anything you want to get a serious Sear on - steaks, finishing chicken breasts, even stuff like asparagus etc. Just make sure you treat em right and ensure you're not using anything that will pull the seasoning off the pan when washing them (that is to say, the natural layers of fat which build up on the surface, meaning they remain non stick) and in the same breath, avoid cooking overly acidic things on it, like tomatoes / citrusy sauces.

Enjoy...

Yes, I know where foie gras comes from, but thanks for your smug post anyway. Will I happily eat it, knowing this? Yes. Would I buy it out of choice? Not necessarily. I have - and there's no way of saying this without sounding a bit twatty - killed and prepared meat, poultry and fish for the table myself and would gladly do this for every piece of meat I eat. That is my informed choice.

So whatever you presume to know about me, you can shove it pal.

Yes, I know where foie gras comes from, but thanks for your smug post anyway. Will I happily eat it, knowing this? Yes. Would I buy it out of choice? Not necessarily. I have - and there's no way of saying this without sounding a bit twatty - killed and prepared meat, poultry and fish for the table myself and would gladly do this for every piece of meat I eat. That is my informed choice.

So whatever you presume to know about me, you can shove it pal.

+1

Wow, Olly, don't be so defensive. I didn't mean to come across as smug. I was just pushed for time and posted the links. It wasn't even specifically aimed at you. From what I know about you, and that's just from the odd beer at souths, what you say doesn't surprise me, and I don't disagree with you. But foie gras crosses a line for me, I presumed I had the right to post that on a thread about food without you getting personal...

Definitely super useful. Use them for anything you want to get a serious Sear on - steaks, finishing chicken breasts, even stuff like asparagus etc. Just make sure you treat em right and ensure you're not using anything that will pull the seasoning off the pan when washing them (that is to say, the natural layers of fat which build up on the surface, meaning they remain non stick) and in the same breath, avoid cooking overly acidic things on it, like tomatoes / citrusy sauces.

so just stick over hob, leave to heat for a while, then whack something on it?

sweet, might try some butterfly'd chicken breasts tonight