Cooking Tonight #5

[greenishfing]

I'm going to roast a chicken this afternoon. I think we'll have it with roast parsnips, mashed potatoes, carrots, french beans and gravy.

A little blueberry crumble.

[Nicos]

Thanks gf- will look into it x

Absolutely no idea…at this rate it’ll be scrambled eggs on toast.
If I manage to get to the shops this afternoon, then I hope something will grab my attention.

[Nicos]

Decision made…without even leaving the house!…fish rissotto

[Snoop Puss]

Fish here, but trout fried in butter, bacon and almonds, broccoli, green beans and spuds. Not sure how to do the spuds, maybe julienne potato cake.

No pud after that lot!

[Bren In Pots]

Our usual Saturday evening tagliatelle and Bol.
MrPots will be heading into the kitchen later to make the tagliatelle.

[Bren In Pots]

This evening Cod, butterbean and tomato stew.

[Nicos]

I’m really fancying jacket potatoes. Not sure about fillings yet.

Bren- does MrPots make the tagliatelle from scratch?…you’ve got me thinking that it’d be nice to get our pasta machine out soon. Not used it for ages!

[Bren In Pots]

Bren- does MrPots make the tagliatelle from scratch?…you’ve got me thinking that it’d be nice to get our pasta machine out soon. Not used it for ages!

He makes it using semolina, flour and eggs mixing it in the Kenwood Chef then extrudes it with the pasta attachment. It doesn't take long at all.

[greenishfing]

Some of yesterday's leftover roast chicken today. I've just checked and I've got a ripe avocado, so we'll have it with salad, and garlic bread or jacket sweet potato.

I'm another person with a pasta machine, bought by Mr GF, sitting neglected in the cupboard (along with an ice cream maker, pie maker, mincer, juicer, etc). To be honest I'd spend ages making the pasta, but couldn't really taste the difference when it was drowned in sauce.

[Snoop Puss]

I saw a neat trick for those hand-cranked pasta machines: once you've done your folds on settings 1 and 2 (assuming you do those), stick the two ends of your length of pasta together so you've got a loop. So much easier to handle because you just go round in circles rather than trying to turn the crank and feed and catch the pasta.

For us tonight, sea bass fillets with courgettes and tomato en papillote. Lemon rice.

Got a big loaf on the go. Thinking about making some cherry and walnut cookies too. Bought some dried cherries the other day and they are so moreish I'm looking for excuses to use them. Don't think I'll ever buy glacé cherries again.

[greenishfing]

Snoop, what a brilliant idea with the pasta. I always end up in the same type of mess as I do when I use a pasting table for wallpaper! I might see if one of my nieces wants mine though. She's just bought her first house.

I might have to investigate dried cherries. I just read this:

There is a possibility that the dried cherries will dry out during the baking process so depending upon how moist, plump and chewy they are, I'd recommend soaking the cherries in either hot water or better yet, booze for an hour or so.😃

[Snoop Puss]

There is a possibility that the dried cherries will dry out during the baking process so depending upon how moist, plump and chewy they are, I'd recommend soaking the cherries in either hot water or better yet, booze for an hour or so.😃

I've got a jam jar full of them and amaretto for stollen and panettone... Mr Snoop and I are quite looking forward to drinking the amaretto afterwards.

These particular one are no drier than raisins, so I'm hoping they'll be OK in cookies. Don't want to wasted the flavour in water, that's for sure.

[greenishfing]

I can't wait to give the dried cherries a try. I'll use up my stash of glacé cherries as quickly as I can. I love any kind of cherry. I love the idea, (that I read somewhere), that we ended up with cherry trees in England because Roman soldiers were marching up their new roads, eating them and spat the pips out at the side!? No idea if this is remotely accurate or where I read it.

[Snoop Puss]

Well, the flavour of the cherries in the cookies is great, but they do come out quite chewy. Alright when you're eating a whole cherry, but a distinct contrast with the crunchiness of the cookies. They're no chewier than a currant in a Garibaldi biscuit, mind, but just a contrast. I'll try soaking them next time.

[Bren In Pots]

Minestrone tortellini soup this evening.