*** 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?

 

[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?

 

[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

 

[Spuj]

The char siu pork belly I had tonight was pretty pro. Salted some pork belly (removed the skin), smoked it for a couple of hours. Added char siu and vacuum-packed it. Sous-vided for about 12 hours and stored for a week or so.

Today I removed from the bag (reserving the juice). Sliced, fried along with some red and green peppers and onions. Served on some steamed rice and sauce made from more char siu sauced mixed with the reserved bag juices. I added a tiny bit of hot sauce to give it a little kick and tang and garnished with spring onions. Pretty damn delicious if I'm honest - far better than I was expecting.

This sounds absolutely amazing, I've been thinking about doing my own char sui pork for a while now and this is convincing me to give it a go. I don't have a sous vide setup, should be able to do something in the slow cooker though right?

In other news, have a huge craving for some smash burgers, might have to do some this weekend if I can convince the OH.

 

[Spuj]

Absolutely. It'd work fine in a slow cooker (or even just the oven).

I haven't made smash burgers in forever. I need to get on it.

Excellent, if you have any recipe recommendations for the Char Sui flavour side of things that would be fantastic. There are a few online but I your recommendations are always spot on

Definitely get on the smash burgers, what's your preference for toppings? I'm trying to convince the OH to let me cook them Friday, fingers crossed for success lol.

 

[Spuj]

I'd normally make something from scratch as per this: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/06/smoked-char-siu-pork-shoulder-steaks.html

However, I was feeling very lazy and cheated so I used Lee Kum Kee brand char siu sauce

That's perfect, thank you! Hadn't thought of Serious Eats for some reason (slaps self).

 

[Spuj]

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a stand mixer? Having used my mums Kitchen Aid a few times now I really like it but it is way out of my price range and I'm sure there is a decent machine out there for less money. Any ideas would be most welcome . Thanks.

 

[Spuj]

Our basic Kenwood Chef has been brilliant. We have a few attachments now so will probably upgrade to a nicer model if/when it breaks.

Kenwood Chef if you don't care about aesthetics and just want a machine that'll do the job and last a long time.

Kenwood Kmix if you value aesthetics over longevity - although that being said, mine's going on for three years old now and has never missed a beat. Dough hook is a bit of a PITA for some mixes but other than that it's been brilliant.

I recently bought a Kmix and it's great, unfortunately no use to you, but you just missed out on one for £120, even at regular price it's still 100% worth it.

Currently 180 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-KM...n&ie=UTF8&qid=1483470000&sr=1-1&keywords=kmix

or 190 with a blender too: http://ao.com/product/kmix-kenwood-food-mixer-black-44637-69.aspx

Thanks for the suggestions guys, tough call between the two so will take both suggestions to the Boss for a final decision. Other problem is trying to find some space on the kitchen worktop for it

 

[Spuj]

wonder if la cuisine would like a youtube cooking video thread?
so much better that GD`s thread hehe

I think this is a great idea personally. There is absolutely loads of good videos out there and I bet quite a few users here have some good recommendations for stuff they have seen. Another way to share between us all is always a good thing

 

[Spuj]

I don't dispute the pleasure and merit of having egg for breakfast, but indeed how about the time element ?, scrambled eggs are more than a minute (the first bbc 'recipe' came up with 10-15 ) and microwave=massacre ? plus scrambled egg cooking needs attention.
Poached or boiled have a bit more leeway on cooking time and ease of preparation, so can multi-task with other pre-work processes.
so what is the real world preparation time ?

you can offset the egg prep time with time savings later in the day due to reduced snacking I suppose.

Personally am able to prepare porridge in microwave at work, with pre-soak from previous day, and many colleagues have cereal+milk, but eggs would be difficult -- a bunch of engineers, but no one has been that adventurous.

For scrambled eggs I would say roughly 5-10 minutes at the most.

Stick a small pan in with a knob of butter in it on a low heat. While that is melting crack two eggs into a bowl and beat them, add a small bit of milk and salt and pepper into the bowl. By the time you have done this the butter should be melted and 'bubbling' ever so slightly. At this point put the eggs into the pan and drop some bread into the toaster. Keep moving the eggs in the pan until they are cooked to how you like them.

Only thing you have to do is keep an eye on them as they can go from perfectly done to overdone very quickly but it's easiest enough to spot. Slap them on your pieces of toast, bit of salt on pepper on top and the job is done. I haven't timed it but I reckon its no more than 5 minutes once you've done it a couple of times.

 

[Spuj]

New things are happening in my kitchen this morning:

 

[Spuj]

Yeh that will be fine to eat

 

[Spuj]

Salt and pepper chicken bits - onion, pepper, garlic, fresh chilli, dash of soy and balsamic, salt n pepper
Beef keema - beef mince, garlic, onion, garam masala, curry powder, cumin, peas, diced carrot, chopped toms, couple fresh chilli.

These two sound really good, will have to give them a bash. Is the chicken battered or coated in anyway?

 

[Spuj]

Currently marinating some chicken breast in 50/50 Pattaks Madras curry paste and plain greek yogurt to make some wraps later with salad and mayonnaise. Also nice in Pitta/naan bread.

It's simple ideas like this that I need to make note of for lunches that I can take to work. I get stuck in doing the same thing week in week out that I get really bored and start spending money in the canteen which is overpriced. Really want to start broadening what I bring in each day.

 

[Spuj]

Peri Peri Super noodles + baked beans = game changer! I had half a tin of branstons baked beans in the fridge and decided to dump them in my super noodles so they didn't go to waste and expected it to be bad, but it was amazing. It actually felt like i'd eaten something as well, rather than just carbs and msg.

Anyone got any similar mish mash snacks that they have discovered by mixing things together that turned out to work well?

I don't know why but I love it when people do stuff like this lol. It never crosses my mind to mix foods and see what happens. My friend is the same, he will go in his fridge and just chuck random stuff together and see what happens.

There was a post on here that I've been meaning to give a go which was bread layered with cheese, sliced hotdogs, baked beans and then baked in the oven.

 

[Spuj]

Picked up some Short Ribs from Waitrose as they were on offer again today. Unsure what to do with them though as of yet... Always open to ideas

I bought some a little while ago with the intention of smoking them low and slow however I feel like I missed that window.

The above sounds like a great idea. Maybe throw a bit of bacon, onion and garlic in when frying them off then low and slow in the oven for a couple of hours, make a nice gravy out of the juices.

 

[Spuj]

Have a look on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/mealprep/ if for nothing more than inspiration.

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I have a question; anyone bought Silpat Baking sheets in UK and where from? They seem to be synonymous with silicone cooking sheets in the US but not so common here. They seem to have made in France printed but only available in US?

I've been looking for a while. Been to a few local cookware shops and none have had any, only place I've seen them is on Amazon.

I also looked when I was in France last year but had no luck, although only managed to find 2 shops that sold cookware in the area we were staying.

Think the Silpat branded one on Amazon is around £25 ish?