Recipes for scrumptious and reasonably healthy food

[Marco]

Marco, that soup Del made, it was delicious! as was everything else! but that soup.... mana from heaven (no, not that kind of mana, don't get excitied)

LOL. Well, now the two Dave's have been 'subjected' to it, too - weeth extra cheeli

I gather they liked it

If you want the recipe, just ask

Marco.

[aquapiranha]

Great thanks Marco ( or should I say thanks Del !lol)

[Mike]

Spicy soup?

mmMMmm.... get the recipe on here pronto please!

[The Grand Wazoo]

When I was a kid & we lived in places abroad where you could only buy the most basic of ingredients, my Mother used to keep a copy of 'The Pauper's Cookbook' close at hand.

My favourite meal of all time is from this book & I still make it for myself when I'm in my weekday pad. It's great, cheap & only one pot to wash!!

I love the way some of the most simple & basic food can be the most fulfilling.

Onion, Bacon and Potato Hotpot

4 onions
4 large potatoes
1/2 lb bacon rashers or bacon offcuts (often need a good soak to remove the saltiness)
1 pint milk
2 oz flour
2 oz butter


Peel and slice onions and potatoes, slicing the onions extra thin. Cut the bacon into small strips & fry it off.
Use the liquid from the bacon to help make the sauce with the flour, milk and butter. Add cheese if you like.

Grease a casserole with a lid. Fill the casserole with alternating layers of potato, onion and bacon, ending with a layer of potato. Loads of fresh ground black pepper on top of every layer.

Pour the white sauce over it and give it a shake to distribute the sauce.

Cook on Gas Mark 6 or 200 degrees for an hour. Take the lid off, turn oven down to Gas Mark 4 or 180 degrees & leave it till it goes brown on top. You can sprinkle some cheese over it at this point.

Serve it with peas & loads more of that pepper!!

[Themis]

Ok, guys, I have a little secret to confess : I'm the cook at home (not my lady), so cooking is more than a hobby for me...

So, a starter: Hazelnut soup

1 small-med lettyce
1 onion
125g of hazelnuts
1 egg
50g of double cream
butter

Clean then chop the lettyce. Cook it a few minutes with 30g of butter and the chopped onion.
Add the hazelnuts and 1lt of warm water. Boil gently for 30 minutes.
Mix well the egg yolk with the cream.
Put the soup and the cream into a blender, salt, pepper, (whatever secret aroma you like: nutmeg for instance) blend as needed.

Serve immediately.

[Marco]

Sounds interesting, Dimitri - might give that a go.

Here's what my good lady is cooking for dinner this evening:

http://www.foodiesite.com/recipes/2004-05:duckolives

Looking forward to it - yum yum!

I've selected a rather nice 1995 Médoc to wash it down with. Salut!

Marco.

[Themis]

Sounds interesting, Dimitri - might give that a go.

Here's what my good lady is cooking for dinner this evening:

http://www.foodiesite.com/recipes/2004-05:duckolives

Looking forward to it - yum yum!

I've selected a rather nice 1995 Médoc to wash it down with. Salut!

Marco.

A Medoc is a very good choice with duck ! Monsieur est un connaisseur !

Me, I prepare some Lasagne (with my secret ingredients: 2 cloves and a little bit of cinnamon for the tomato sauce)

[Marco]

Merci, Dimitri. Ton compliment me touche beaucoup! J'aime bien les bordeaux mais je préfère tout de même les vins français

Anyway, back to English now, as it's not fair on our non multi-lingual members...

We're also having Crème de Mûre with some Pouilly Fumé, beforehand, as an aperitif. Yes we spoil ourselves on a Sunday!

Incidentally, the correct term is 'lasagne', not 'lasagna'. It's always in the plural form ('lasagne'), unless you're eating just one single sheet of pasta!

Sorry to be pedantic, but these things bother me... I'll let you know how the Médoc goes with the duck. I hope you enjoy your lasagne.

À bientôt!

Marco.

[Themis]

Incidentally, the correct term is 'lasagne', not 'lasagna'.

Don't worry, if I want my English to get better, I need to be told when it's not ok. Thank you, corrected.

Just be sure the temperature is no less than 15-16°C and no more than 18°C, let it "breathe" for half an hour, and the Medoc will be (more than) fine !

[Marco]

Hi Dimitri,

Your English is very good indeed. I wasn't correcting that though; I was correcting your Italian!

Thank you for your advice regarding the Médoc. However, I usually decant wine in advance of a meal, instead of simply pulling the cork to let it 'breathe'. This usually does a better job of aerating the wine, in my experience - even when there is little or no sediment to remove

Marco.