Food

I am terribly excited about the chili I have had on slow cook for about 14 hours now. I am also terribly afraid I didn't top it up with enough water and it will be dry as a bone when I get home... :/ Should be fucking good though! Started using my slow cooker more again recently. Fucking EPIC for long cook tomato sauces you can't be bothered watching and stirring for hours. I don't do enough stuff in it.

Anyone else got a slow cooker, and what do you do in it aside from the usual stews type stuff?

My butcher has got chuck steak at £4.99/kg at the moment so I've done a few beef curries. I tend to use a past but then add my own stuff as I can't get enough fennel seed and cardamom.

I did a chilli last week. Got the sauce going and then put a piece of brisket in and basically pot-roasted it overnight. Took the beef out and shredded it into decent sized chunks before putting them back in. Jesus is was good. Got some smoked chipotles to go in it (is all chipotle smoked?) which gave it a great flavour.

I'm making a vegetarian curry tonight and was wondering, having run out of garam masala, can I just use tandori masala instead?

Also, how spicy is tandoori masala?
I'm a massive curry greenhorn if you couldn't tell.

Tandoori masala should include garam masala. Check what's in your particular mixture (it varies) and estimate how much of any additional spices you're adding through the tandoori masala, and whether those are already in your recipe.

As for hotness, you can make it as hot as you want. A tandoori masala mixture in itself shouldn't be too hot; try licking a few grains off your finger. If in doubt and/or sensitive to chilli hotness, use less. Much depends on your individual recipe. Rules of thumb: Chilli powder gives a more even hotness than chopped chillies; a good way of moderating heat is to just slice a fresh chilli lengthwise without chopping it, and taking it out at the end of cooking.

Fantastic, very helpful, thanks Oliver.

Massaman beef curry is probably the tastiest thing I've ever put in my face. And that just using a Sainsburys spice paste.

Right, I've been off for two weeks after getting hit by a tescos lorry while riding, and now can just about hobble around my kitchen. Want some good full day projects I can do whilst working from home temporarily. Any suggestions welcome - today im doing a super slow roasted pork shoulder with butter beans and kale. Tomorrow who knows - maybe potato bread? Inspire me wtih big sunday projects!

Had thick peanut butter pancakes with bananas and maple syrup for breakfast yesterday. Deeelicious.

Right, I've been off for two weeks after getting hit by a tescos lorry while riding, and now can just about hobble around my kitchen. Want some good full day projects I can do whilst working from home temporarily. Any suggestions welcome - today im doing a super slow roasted pork shoulder with butter beans and kale. Tomorrow who knows - maybe potato bread? Inspire me wtih big sunday projects!

Potato stuffed duck?

Chick pea stuffed chicken

Surely pickles, pates and sauces should be perfect for being at home and stocking up your cupboards?

Right, I've been off for two weeks after getting hit by a tescos lorry while riding, and now can just about hobble around my kitchen. Want some good full day projects I can do whilst working from home temporarily. Any suggestions welcome - today im doing a super slow roasted pork shoulder with butter beans and kale. Tomorrow who knows - maybe potato bread? Inspire me wtih big sunday projects!

Sorry to hear that.

Make chutney
Make demi-glace

Both lovely long projects - the demi glace taking 2 days really and you can learn a lot if you butcher will get you veal bones. Chutney is about half a day.

Jam making is another long project, but needs continuous attention, not sure if you can stand for extended periods.

Slow braises, curry goat, veal shin, brisket, pork shoulder

Make pates and terrines, they can freeze well.

Stock the deep freeze with bolognese, cottage pies etc

Buy tomatoes going cheap at a market and make jars of tomatoe sauce.

All of this, and pie. Don't forget the pie. Heal up soon.

watch porn and order take aways. you've earned it.

Hit by a tesco truck? Shouldn't you get a year's worth of free delivered groceries as compo?

I went to Hawksmoor yesterday for the roast and was honestly a little disappointed.

We both sent our first plate back as the green weren't cooked, they sent us out some new plates and again the stalk of both greens was utterly in-edible. I asked the waitress if she felt it was possible that the leafs would cook in the same time as the stalk. She said no but that was how they liked to present them as it plated nicer. Fuck off. If I cant eat it, dont put it on my plate.

Yorkshires were too big (in order to house the roasties) and had gone dry/too crispy.

2 slices of exceptionally good longhorn, 4 very nice roasties, half a shallot (superfluous) roast head of garlic and some carrot. Oh and and excellent gravy.

£20 - apparently the best roast London offers but really its just ok and kind of expensive.

tl;dr go to Hawksmoor for steaks not roasts.

Going to Sushi Tetsu next week, mega-mondo-excited-hai.

Right, I've been off for two weeks after getting hit by a tescos lorry while riding, and now can just about hobble around my kitchen. Want some good full day projects I can do whilst working from home temporarily. Any suggestions welcome - today im doing a super slow roasted pork shoulder with butter beans and kale. Tomorrow who knows - maybe potato bread? Inspire me wtih big sunday projects!

get well soon.
You could do hestons 10 hr (or whatever it is) bolognese

Going to Sushi Tetsu next week, mega-mondo-excited-hai.

Looks good, but £45 per person? Mental.

I normally spend £35 for two at Atari-Ya and eat to the point of exploding.

Get better soon! Basically anything that takes long, from stews to genuin pies, from jams to chutneys etc. That 10hr bolognese looks good as well but it looks like a rather expensive dish with all those ingredients... Smallfurry has a recipe somewhere for some delicious looking lamb, which I have yet to try. Gotta look it up tho..

A good roast suckling pig also takes time. Here's the best suckling pig recipe I have ever found so far. It's in Catalan, but Google Translate should cover that. If not just holla!

oh there's always gyoza/dumplings and wontons which can take all day to make batches, and then you can freeze... I'll pre-order 4 dozen of both thanks.

i heart suckling pig.

Went to The Priory over the weekend as I was given a voucher for dinner for my birthday. As you'd expect from a Michelin starred restaurant, service, food and drink were all excellent and we even got some free treats as it was for my birthday.

I had all the P's:
Partridge w/ winter veg
Pork in a caper and anchovy crust
Pear with butterscotch and banana fritter

She had:
Croque madame w/ Gloucestershire truffles
Mushroom tagliatelle
Pistachio souffle

All were delicious.

^make some chocolate eclairs. Surprisngly easy to make, look and taste great and will impress any significant other/housemates/medical professionals tending to your wounds. (Heal up soon)

^^Sounds like a treat! And good for inspiration :)

I would hazard a guess that the apparent reduction may have been absorption rather than water loss, pulses tend to swell and take up fluid.

See this is exactly what I thought, which is why I added more water, but I was only adding the pulses in the morning before work, there were none in it at all when it dried out overnight!

http://www.hot-dinners.com/Gastroblog/Latest-news/second-annual-sausage-roll-off-at-the-red-lion-in-barnes

Sausage roll off at the Red Lion in Barnes...