Foodies.

[David Morton]

Yes - I know some caste scorne on foodies and the daytime television is inundated with cheffy shows with loads of out of work 'luvvies' (actors)heaping praise on the latest 'rocket and balsamic and raw duck followed by reindeers milk ice cream ' offering, but I profess to liking 'real' food. By real food I guess I am drawing a North/South divide here in the UK, because I actually come from up north and it's only there (and indeed Scotland as well) where there is an incredible variety of really good and simple food.

We have a variety of people from all over the world on this site so there has to be a massive variety of regional foods that many of us have not discovered and, in fact, may never try. If you enjoy good food or in fact, do a little bit of cooking at home, speak up. Tell me your techniques (there must be a thousand ways of barbecuing a steak and thats not a womans job?) and if you have any really great recipes , how about imparting your knowledge?

[David Morton]

Just to start it off, this one is very simple.

Start off with good quality diced beef, usual chuck and blade, a bit more fat but bags of flavour, cut large lumps off but leave the marbling and allow 3 to 4 oz or more per person. Place beef in a plastic freezer bag with a couple of table spoons of flour, some dried herbs usual things like thyme, basil, oregano, etc, and salt and pepper.

Toss well inside bag to coat with the flour/ herb mix.

In a really hot pan seal the meat, the best results are gained if you leave it alone and do not move it around in the pan too much, what you need is a good caramelisation on the meat with out it burning and with out losing the juices.

Put the browned meat on to a plate to rest.

In the same pan first put chopped onion as much as you like but at least 2 or three onions and about 4 cloves of Garlic chopped for a family of 4, and brown in the pan.

Then add diced parsnip, swede, carrots, and brown again.

Return meat to the pan and add 1/2 a bottle of wine, a beef oxo cube and a veg oxo cube. allow the wine to thicken the sauce and reduce slightly then replace with water until you get a fairly light thin consistency.

At this point add the other seasoning - salt, pepper, a couple of table spoons of Mushroom Ketchup, Worcester sauce to taste, and a couple of table spoons of reasonably good but not the very expensive balsamic vinegar - all these add depth to the flavour. Sometimes, at this point I will add some chopped potato and that way the only thing you need to serve with this is some good crusty bread and butter, but thats up to you.
Now comes the techno bit:
Transfer the contents of the pan to a large casserole dish (and this will work although you would think it might not) - Cover the casserole firstly with cling wrap and then cover again with tin (Alcan?) foil making sure it is as well sealed as you can make it. Then put it in an oven at 150c for a 30 mins then drop to 125c for a couple of hours - do not be tempted to check inside unless you are prepared to reseal completely again.

When it comes out of the oven check for consistency, and add more stock only if required - then serve.

Outrageously good. Food to die for.

[Peter D]

Mon Dieu M. Morton !!! You 'ave taken zee winds from my sails - c'est un tour de force !!

My cullinary skills run to simply avoiding significant amounts of charcoal on the steaks !!

I will pass on your recipe to the head chef, but there is no way that I will tell her it came from a GT40 guy - the bar has already been set high enough !!!

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

[Pat Buckley]

Thanks David - that sounds like it wold be pretty damned tasty.

Here is my offering for some really good baby back pork ribs. I like this because it is simple enough that even I can do it. The ribs come out so tender that you can hardly cut them apart even with a sharp knife as they just fall apart.

Preheat oven to 335F

Place ribs on a coated rack - put in oven.

Bake for 1 hour

Turn ribs over and set oven temp to 290F

Bake for 1 more hour

Turn ribs over and bake for another 75 minutes

Coat with BBQ sauce (optional) and enjoy.

[Chris P.]

What a great idea David!

Here's a chili I just came up with not long ago:

What you'll need:

meat - the cheap cuts are the best, and they MUST HAVE BONES! <-(very important) Pork shoulder and neck is good, smoked shank, beef ribs, etc... mix them up. Don't bother cutting anything up, it's gonna cook a looooong time.
Onion - don't go light on the onion and don't dice it up into tiny little bits either, but probably no bigger than 1/2" dice, or you can slice it.....
Garlic - again, don't go light and a rough chop is all you need.
Dried hot pepper of your choice
a good quality chili powder
cinnamon (ground)
cocoa (ground)
cumin (whole)
dried beans - pinto, kidney, whatever you want - if dried, soak them overnight first and rinse well.
Fresh pepper of your choice (aneheim, pasilla, etc...)
tomato - whole canned plum tomato works fine if you don't have fresh

Cook the onion in hot olive oil, add garlic and all the spices - you don't need to go heavy on the cinnamon or cocoa, and you can adjust later anyway. Remember, you want just enough of each to provide a hint that they are there. The spices should be in for about 2 minutes (don't BURN them obviously but the heat helps release flavors) Add meat, tomatoes, and enough water to cover everything. Let slow simmer (covered)for 3 hours. Add beans and cook another 1/2 hour. Add the fresh peppers and cook until they are done. Adjust seasonings (add some fresh ground black pepper and some salt too). You can remove the cover later in the process if you want it to reduce a little to your preferred consistency - don't thicken it with "thickeners".

Watch the bones and enjoy with some fresh chopped onion and cilantro and some fresh baked corn bread! (hint on the corn bread: cook it in a cast iron skillet and put the skillet in the oven while the oven is preheating. Then lightly oil it before putting the batter in. It will be that perfect brown and crispy this way.)

[John Lowe]

This is one of the few dishes I like enough to get me in the kitchen. It's off Auntie Delias web site (deliaonline.com)

The night before, you need to place the meat in a large bowl along with the bay leaf and thyme, then pour the porter and port all over it. Put a plate on top to keep the meat pushed down and leave in a cool place overnight.
Next day, when you are ready to cook the meat, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C). (For important information about cooking at gas mark 1, click here.) Then melt half the butter and oil in the casserole and heat gently. Drain the meat (reserving the liquid and herbs) and pat the steaks dry with kitchen paper. Now turn the heat to high and brown the steaks (in two batches) to a rich brown on both sides. Now add the rest of the butter and oil to the casserole. As soon as it begins to foam, add the onion and brown this for about 8 minutes before adding the garlic and frying for another 2 minutes.
Now return all the meat into the casserole to join the onions. Stir in the flour to soak up the juices, then pour in the marinade (including the bay leaf and thyme), add the walnuts and season well. As soon as it reaches a gentle simmer, put a lid on, then transfer the casserole to the middle shelf of the oven and forget all about it for 3 hours, by which time the meat will be tender and the sauce marvellously dark and rich.
This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Christmas.

Super rich and super tasty, an absolute cracker when served with a good dose of dry and fruity red (Gevrey Chambertin or better still Charmes Chambertin........not that my wallet runs to that these days)

Best

John

[Pete.]

Well I'm not much of a Chef but I will dig out some of my favourite recipes for you. In the meantime I think it important that the etiquette of BBQ cooking is known. Below is how it works in OZ.



BBQ RULES

We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity.

When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...

(1) The woman buys the food.

(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert .

(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.

(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone around the BBQ where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:

(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL. AND OPENS ANOTHER BEER.

More routine...

(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.

(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat .

Important again:

(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN. AND HAS A BEER WITH HIS MATES.

More routine...

(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.

(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:

(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN gives him another beer and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off.' And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women...

[Freewheel]

The only exception to Pete's list I have ever used is;

1. Woman buys salad and garnish, man spends every weekend for months in the bush until he shoots a deer.

[Pete.]

One of my favourites is chilli mud crab. I don't know whether you can get them over there but lobster or any crab could be used as a substitute for mud crab.


Serving size: Serves 2
Cooking time: Less than 30 minutes


INGREDIENTS


1 mud crab, cut into sections
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, julienned
2 red chillies, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons chilli sauce
¾ cup water or chicken stock
shallots, for garnish
coriander sprigs, for garnish.





METHOD


Cut crab and crack shell.

Heat wok and add oil.

Add garlic, ginger and chilli. Be careful not to burn ingredients.

Add crab, one section at a time.

Add fish sauce and let steam. Add lime juice.

Add a splash of sweet chilli sauce and some water/chicken stock.

Cover with lid and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Add shallots and coriander.

Enjoy with a crisp Chardonnay or an icy cold beer.