Spag
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Looks good Roy. :)
Now the weather has become more manageable, we have moved from salads to something a bit more substantial:
Spaghetti with chicken in a tomato sauce with vegetables
Beef, red kidney beans with onion, red cabbage, braised celery with spinach.
Gammon, egg, chips, green beans and peas. (Managed not to break the yolk this time. :) )
Nothing more than fried aubergine coated in flour with 2/3 honey 1/3 dark soy sauce fried in a shallow pan with an inch of veg oil.
Coat the strips in salt for half an hour and wash and dry before frying.
Surprisingly good. Derived from the local tapas restaurant that uses a sauce you can't DIY and costs loads on Amazon.
IMHO I prefer the sauce I made but I am biased.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...9be68d81c7.jpg
Looks interesting Justin.
The only time I use aubergine is to make ratatouille; on it's own it is largely tasteless. Your sauce recipe will provide a much needed flavour - we'll give it a try sometime soon. :)
Aim for a strike temp of 180 degC or higher and try and get it back up there which even with my big gas burner takes a while. Cook til as brown as you see mine to get the crunch. An aubergine per person is good, but it's not a meal in itself if you are hungry.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Good luck!
Oil temp is not super critical though. Basically just get 'em brown.
On a bed of brown rice, fried capitaine fish (also known as Nile Perch), with steamed vegetables.
Pomegranate seeds with yogurt for dessert, and the whole washed down with a glass or three of a 2012 Château Mauvesin Barton, Moulis en Médoc, Bordeaux. (What! - red wine with fish? Fortunately we're not dining with James Bond. ;) )
Some good wholesome food being posted here, chaps, although Steve needs to get his camera out!;)
Barry, glad you're being more active here and taking some good pics:)
Last night's dinner... Pan-fried chicken breast in a lemon and white wine sauce with Jersey Royals, spinach and other greens:
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Marco.
...washed down with this rather drinkable red:
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Marco.
The Marco-boy breakfast:
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Pain au chocolat and croissant from Lidl's fresh bakery section!:)
[Don't normally have two pastries, but thought I'd spoil myself today].
Marco.
For me it's either pain au chocolat, or an almond croissant. But hey, why not treat yourself Marco!
Is that mango juice you're drinking there? I prefer orange (with the 'bits' in it), or grapefruit juice for breakfast.
Looks lovely Marco. :)
Ours was a little more prosaic:
Grilled gammon steak, with potatoes, carrots, red cabbage and green beans.
A large orange for desert, and all washed down with a 2022 Le Vieux Château Guibeau, Puisseguin Saint-Émilion.
Yup! I also drink orange and grapefruit juice for brekky, but the Compal stuff, from the local Portuguese deli, is pretty special:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Marco.
Nice one, Barry. What I like about your meals is there's always a healthy selection of fresh veg, which is good for you. Del makes sure I get plenty of it:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
BTW, take a picture of your vino, too. I like seeing the labels!:D
Marco.
Le Vieux Château Guibeau, Puisseguin Saint-ÉmilionQuote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Vieux Château Guibeau is a medium-bodied red wine with vibrant plum, red berry and earthy tobacco aromas. The palate offers a velvety mouthfeel, with nutmeg and toasty spice notes to round out the silky, lingering finish.
80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
14% ABV, Drink by 10 October 2027. About £26 a bottle.
Excellent. Is it a Laithwates jobbie?
One of these days I'm going to wean you off Claret;)
Marco.
P.S In future, I mean take the pic of the wine you're drinking and post it along with your food.
Tonight's repast... Chargrilled 28-day aged ribeye with café de Paris butter and side salad:
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And for pudding... Vanilla pannacotta with a fresh strawberry compote:
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Washed down with this:
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Marco.
Tonight:
Couscous, with some more fried Nile perch in a tomato and lemongrass sauce. Red cabbage, red pepper, braised celery, green beans, carrot and broccoli. (That's my "five a day" taken care of!)
Again a large naval orange for dessert, and the rest of the red (!) wine to drink.
Nice, Barry. Didi you like my steak?:)
Marco.
Sorry Marco, I didn't taste it. :lol: But it looked great!
The 2016 Château Macquin looks interesting, where did you buy it?
Lol... I think it was Tanners in Chester: https://www.tanners-wines.co.uk/page...ebOTo8RXFWi1jE
Do you like panacotta?
Marco.
Why did you cut your sausages in half, Roy?:)
Marco.
Wanted something a bit lighter tonight, so... Poached salmon in tinfoil with various seasonal veg:
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Marco.
Easily done - just send me a couple of decent bottles of Barolo! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Now that is something we often eat. Happy is a passionate icthiophage!Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Who's Clare?Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
It's an old trick I learnt in my French Foreign Legion days :scratch: it's to cook 'em quicker from frozen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Seems like you get twice the amount of sausage (matron)
Lol... Got a few stashed away! Have you tried Brunello di Montalcino? That's even better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Marco.
Yes I know she likes her fish. The tinfoil thing works really well - keeps the fish nice and moist. Works well with spaghetti, too!Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Marco.
She's Tabatha's dungeon girlfriend;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy S
Yesh, dahling, I know how you love to chomp on a big sausage:bum:Quote:
It's an old trick I learnt in my French Foreign Legion days :scratch: it's to cook 'em quicker from frozen.
Seems like you get twice the amount of sausage (matron)
Marco.
Yes, we poach salmon in tin foil.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Not sure if I have tried Brunello di Montalcino, but if I have I don't remember. I'm in London at the moment, so I'll pop into an off-licence and see if I can find a bottle. I think M&S might sell it.
How is Tabatha? Trust she has been looking after your audio gear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Cool... Like I said, it also works well with pasta. A classic Italian dish is spaghetti alle vongole al cartoccio https://www.vincenzosplate.com/pasta-vongole/ With tinfoil, the pasta, clams, white wine, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil infuse nicely together to give maximum flavour.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
You'll be lucky, Barry. It's normally only found in specialist wine shops. Honestly, it's a corker - think Barolo with even 'bigger balls'!Quote:
Not sure if I have tried Brunello di Montalcino, but if I have I don't remember. I'm in London at the moment, so I'll pop into an off-licence and see if I can find a bottle. I think M&S might sell it.
Marco.
She's good. She's happy being given a regular supply of diehard objectivists to 'play' with...:eyebrows:Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Marco.
Lunch today was had in a pizzeria: Franco Manca, a chain of pizza restaurants that Happy and I like to use from time to time. Sadly the chain is going through difficult times, and their pizzeria nearest us has had to close.
So for me it was their spicy salami, Italian tomato, mozzarella, caramelised red onion and basil sourdough pizza, and for Madam it was aubergine parmigiana, Italian tomato, buffalo mozzarella, ricotta salata and basil sourdough pizza.
No wine as the only Italian red that interested me was the Montepulciano Abruzzo, but wine in restaurants is always overpriced; so a pale ale for me and a homemade apple juice for elle.
No photographs as I feel that is cheating: photos should be only for meals made yourself.
However we were surprised when halfway through our lunch, a wedding party of about 20 arrived for their wedding reception! Not something you see every day. :)
Nice one, Barry. Do they have a wood oven? For me, it's not a proper pizza otherwise... You can't get the base right with an electric oven.
Oh, and did you find some Brunello?:)
Marco.
Yes, they use traditional dome-shaped wood fired ovens.
Regarding the Brunello, you can pay anywhere between £40 to over £1,000 for a bottle. I'll wait until we get home to pursue matters further. Amazon sell a well-regarded version for £40, but I avoid buying anything from Amazon as much as possible.
It's a top-notch wine, Barry, but don't spend any more than £40 a bottle. Oh, and it'll benefit from decanting and enjoyed with a nice steak!:)
Marco.
Lunch today, chez-moi... Piri-Piri chicken (poussin) with accompanying bits:
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No need for any further food today:)
Marco.
Interesting that you have chosen to have a hot lunch. I was reading that all of the major supermarkets have reported that despite the continued hot weather, their customers have abandoned salads and the like, and are buying ingredients to cook hot meals.
Now Happy and I love salads and could eat them until the cows come home, but even we are moving towards hot cooked meals. As I write Happy is making a vegetable soup, to consume later with baguettes.
It's not been that hot here today, Barry, especially at lunchtime, so the chicken was fine:)
I love salads too, my favourite being a salad Niçoise or a Caesar salad. Enjoy your soup!
Marco.
Pork ribs - done in the slow cooker all day in Reggae Reggae sauce then finished off on the BBQ with new potato and Greek(ish) salads.
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They look good, Alex - yum!:)
Marco.
Something equally as 'caveman' for dinner ce soir... Grilled double lamb cutlets, with dauphinoise potatoes, seasonal veg, and homemade mint sauce:
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Washed down with a rather nice Rioja!
Marco.
Nowt wrong with a nice 'earthy' Rioja.
It's been cooler today, so back to salads.
Looks great! If I remember correctly, Del is vegetarian? What does she have when you go all in carnivore? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
I’m off the booze currently, but as you may remember, Rioja is my tipple when it comes to red wine so good choice!
Marques de Riscal, Alex. You've probably had it - it's a real corker: https://www.majestic.co.uk/wines/rioja-reserva-14210Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex_UK
Barry, I think you'd also love this!
Del eats the veggies and potatoes, which there's always loads of. What's really cool is that she manages to get meat dishes perfectly seasoned without tasting anything.
Marco.