Paid Members Gus Mears Posted December 31, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted December 31, 2018 (edited) Horribly lit photo, but similarly, I used up the last of the beef silverside by making a pretty simple French red wine stew/sauce with onions, garlic, lentils and parsley. Culturally appropriated a bit of garlic bread as a side because I couldn't be bothered to do mash! Edited December 31, 2018 by Gus Mears Awful spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted December 31, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted December 31, 2018 I did Chocolate shortbread yesterday. I wanted to try out my new biscuit piper thing but shortbread is too thick so ended up rolling and cutting it normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted January 3, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 3, 2019 Was gonna do a Pizza-fest for new Year but everyone was ill so did them last night. Had a bit of an experiment and did Hot dog stuffed crust. Worked pretty well. Dough stretched a little thin in some places but otherwise, very good. Also did Cheese garlic bread and then a normal stuffed crust on a four cheese pizza (cheddar, mozzarella, feta and parmesan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of Hamptons Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 What flour did you use? I always used to use strong bread flour to make mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted January 3, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 3, 2019 Just now, King of Hamptons said: What flour did you use? I always used to use strong bread flour to make mine. That's what I use. Although I did it with plain flour once and it wasn't massively different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted January 3, 2019 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 3, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, tiger_rick said: That's what I use. Although I did it with plain flour once and it wasn't massively different. Rolling it as thin as you do, you won't taste the difference. I like a slightly thicker crust and you get a 'breadier' flavour with strong flour, more yeasty. Plain flour creates a less puffy crust more likely to crack and snap. I'm in the middle of writing a blog about plain flour v strong flour at the moment. I get all the girls, me. Edited January 3, 2019 by Onyx2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted January 4, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 4, 2019 Going to do a vegetarian Indian banquet from scratch tomorrow. I'm jonesing for spice after Christmas, plus it's a cold winter day at the start of January, so inundating the house with smells of ginger and cumin sounds like the best possible way to spend an afternoon. Will post pictures tomorrow, but at the moment it's looking like I'll do a lentil Dahl, chickpea curry, vegetable curry of some kind (either Vindaloo or a tamarind based one), turmeric rice and (if I can be arsed), some pakora done in the deep fryer I recently got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Lads, I got a slow cooker for Christmas and was wondering if you had any decent recipes/tips/links? I made a beef stew the other day but it was a bit....smingy (yep) if I’m being honest. Think I left it in too long , but I am really paranoid of cooking meat. I really want to make a chicken curry but honestly the thought of cooking chicken scares me so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted January 4, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 4, 2019 41 minutes ago, Gus Mears said: I'm jonesing for spice after Christmas We're like that. I picked up some Kipling's "Winter Whirls" for 25p a box from the co-op yesterday (and gorgeous little snowy tiffin bites from 25p too) and I just smelled mine for 5 minutes during the football. No idea what was in it but it just smelled of Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted January 4, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) 37 minutes ago, SuperBacon said: Lads, I got a slow cooker for Christmas and was wondering if you had any decent recipes/tips/links? I made a beef stew the other day but it was a bit....smingy (yep) if I’m being honest. Think I left it in too long , but I am really paranoid of cooking meat. I really want to make a chicken curry but honestly the thought of cooking chicken scares me so much How long did you have it on for, Bacon? Did you try browning the beef off first? If you're using a slow cooker, I wouldn't worry much about under cooking meat The opposite is always more likely to happen from my experience. Edited January 4, 2019 by Gus Mears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted January 4, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 4, 2019 @SuperBacon I love my slow cooker, use it all the time. Great for soups, and I've done Gammon in it before, lasagna, curries, all sorts. We made ramen in it from scratch last year too. It's really versatile. I made this at the weekend in mine (pictures to follow) http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/38826/perfect-slow-cooker-pulled-pork.aspx Dead easy and it came out really nice! Also, the BBC Good Food website (which is often my go-to for recipes in general) has a whole load of slow cooker recipes here https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/slow-cooker You'll love it mate, slow cookers are ace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Thanks guys, @Gus MearsI had it on for about 8/9 hours and no I didn’t brown the meat off first as the recipe didn’t specify that. Would this make a difference? I used stewing steak for the first one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted January 4, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, SuperBacon said: Thanks guys, @Gus MearsI had it on for about 8/9 hours and no I didn’t brown the meat off first as the recipe didn’t specify that. Would this make a difference? I used stewing steak for the first one. I always do and it does make a difference in my opinion, both in terms of flavour and texture. Don't know if the following would be of use, some good slow-cooking tips. Quote 1. Browning is better. You don't need to brown meat before cooking it in a slow cooker, but there are some advantages. If you sear it with a little oil in a hot skillet, the meat develops more complex flavors. If you dredge the meat in flour before you brown it, your sauce will thicken up. Always brown ground beef or any ground meat before adding it to your slow cooker: otherwise, the meat will clump together and add lots of grease to the finished product. 2. Cut with care. Chopping and slicing ingredients into like-size pieces helps them cook evenly. For example, cut dense root vegetables like carrots and potatoes into pieces of the same size. If you're cutting up meats, follow the same guideline. 3. Layers, layers, layers. Put sturdy vegetables like onions, carrots, and potatoes on the bottom. Place the meat on top. More fragile vegetables like peas, mushrooms, zucchini, or spinach can go in towards the end of the cooking time. 4. Go light on liquids. Because slow cookers work at low temperatures with lids on, liquids don't evaporate—they just collect inside the lid and baste the food. If you're adapting your favorite recipes from the stovetop or oven to the slow cooker, decrease the amount of liquid you use. 5. Leave room. The rule of thumb is to fill your slow cooker between half to two-thirds full, but do check your owner's manual. Filling your slow cooker to the very top can affect how the heat penetrates the food. 6. Heat and time. The slow cooker is one of the few cooking methods where you can cut the cooking time by turning up the temperature and still get great results. If something takes 10 hours on the "low" setting, you can safely cook it for 5 hours on the "high" setting with very similar results. 7. No peeking. Don't lift the lid unless the recipe tells you to (e.g., to cook off excess moisture). Lifting the lid releases moisture and heat, and slows down cooking. Every time you lift that lid, add another 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking time. Get a model with a glass top if you absolutely must see what's going on. No lifting the lid to stir while the food's cooking, either. It's really not necessary unless the recipe says otherwise. Having said that, you can partially or fully uncover the food if you need to cook off extra moisture during the last half hour of the cooking cycle. 8. Smart spice. Whole spices such as bay leaves, peppercorns, or cinnamon sticks will give slow cooker items a very intense flavor if left in the pot for the entire cooking time, so use them sparingly. Ground spices as well as fresh and dried herbs, on the other hand, can lose much of their flavor if allowed to simmer for several hours in the slow cooker. It's better to add these items during the last two hours of cooking if you can manage it. 9. Dairy dos and don'ts. Stir in yogurt, sour cream, and milk during the last few minutes to keep their smooth texture from breaking and separating. 10. Freshen up. Brighten flavors at the end with salt and pepper, lemon juice, or vinegar. A handful of fresh chopped parsley, basil, or other leafy herbs are good, too. Edited January 4, 2019 by Gus Mears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gmoney Posted January 4, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 4, 2019 It's worth browning red meat, or sealing chicken before you put it in the slow cooker, gives it a bit of extra flavour. You can soften the veg first as well, but it's not strictly necessary. I got a slow cooker about a month ago and I'm thinking of asking it to marry me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey_Piste Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) The big thing using a slow cooker is browning the meat before hand, otherwise it ends up a bit grey and unpalatable looking. Once the meat is browned cover it with a light dusting of flour and and out a little stock in with it. This gets the fond, which is the juice that come out of the meat whilst browning back into the stew.and will help with thickening it. Edited January 4, 2019 by Rey_Piste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.