The **Now Eating** Thread

Soldato
Joined
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Currently eating some freshly made Butter nut Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
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Man of Honour
Man of Honour
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In bed with your sister
For me, Saturday is steak night. Most weeks this means a steak with the usual trimmings and a bottle of plonk. Every now and then, I like to make a night of it - like tonight.

To start off with, I had a bowl of Beetroot soup made to a Valentine Warner recipe (probably my favourite TV chef). This was served with some of my very own homemade crusty wholemeal bread [/smug].

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Next was the steak. A fairly ordinary Morrison's ribeye steak cooked medium-rare as ribeye should be cooked along with baked tatties, mushrooms and asparagus.

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I'm usually very fussy about food miles so all of the ingredients for the soup were from a local farm shop (except the cloves). The steak was from the UK, the tatties were from Yorkshire and the mushrooms from Lancashire. My only cheat is the asparagus. I love asparagus and can't imagine having a steak without it. Obviously, the asparagus season is long past for the UK - mine came from Peru. I feel guilt - but not enough to stop me buying it :p

Next up, the cheese board:

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From left to right; Gorgonzola Piccante, Cashel Blue and Roquefort. Yumyumyum.

Finally, hot chocolate that I spent many hours and a fair amount of cash perfecting. This is entirely my own recipe - not adapted from anywhere else.

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The recipe:

3/4 pint/400ml full fat milk (preferably Jersey full cream stuff).
50g 72% cocoa solids chocolate (or 40g 85%).
1 teaspoon demerara sugar.
Flavouring of your choice.
50ml Whisky (or brandy or rum or vodka - whatever spirit you want really).

You can use whatever flavouring you like - it's amazing how many things work well in hot chocolate. So far, I've tried chilli, cardamom (my favourite so far), cinnamon, ginger, orange (don't use juice, use the peel), cloves and star anise. Tonight I used star anise.

First, put milk in a pan with the star anise (or other flavouring), chocolate and sugar and put on a low heat (to allow the spice to infuse). Bring up to almost boiling and remove from heat. Add spirit and froth mixture with whatever means you have to hand. I used a stick blender but you can use a milk frother or a balloon whisk or whatever you have to hand - blow into it with a straw if you want :p

There you have it, Stan's personal hot chocolate recipe.
 
Associate
Joined
1 May 2010
Posts
650
Just eating some grilled salmon fillet. Was too hungry to take pictures. Little bit of salt and pepper under the grill omnomnom. If i wasnt snacking however... Boiled potatoes and peas with the salmon done in the oven!
 
Soldato
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Edge of Sanity
Looking good there Stan!

Right now its my breakfast, Lurpak on seeded brown bread, a banana followed by a posh carte noire! hehe

I can't wait for out kitchen to be finished this Wednesday, back to proper coffee!
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2009
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19,815
Location
Glasgow
Very nice Stan. I too love asparagus but can't afford it that often. I think I'll do some soft boiled eggs with asparagus batons for supper tonight though.

I'm just munching on a peshwari nan pizza. Coated a nan in tomato purée, threw some ham down and then grated cheese on top. Bit of mixed 'erbs and pepper and then under the grill. Quick, and tasty. Makes a nice change from cheese on toast.
 
Man of Honour
Man of Honour
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27 Apr 2004
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107,330
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In bed with your sister
Thanks all.

Just finished scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on wholemeal toast (same homemade bread I had with the soup last night). Very nice.

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I suppose you'd call it a late lunch. I had a late breakfast at 10 and then went back to bed at the back of 12 as I was feeling crap after drinking considerably more than a week's recommended alcohol allowance in one day yesterday. Only woke up again at 15:15 so, technically that was my lunch :o

Was going to have slow cooked lamb shanks with carrots, leeks and barley tonight but I don't think that's going to happen now, will have to wait until tomorrow night.
 
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