Cooking and food thread

[Janny]

EDIT: Oops. This is not the Christmas Blobbit, this is sun-star - unable to log out of Janny's account. Also much less keen on French cheese than the fat one, as should be self-evident from his photo

[sun-star]

(I finally got it right)

Let them eat cheddar

Ha! What a slogan

I don't really know why British food has a bad reputation. It's just food like any other food...

[Insidious Rex]

Anyone know how to make proper calamari without making it taste like rubber?

[jerseydevil]

Originally Posted by Insidious Rex

Anyone know how to make proper calamari without making it taste like rubber?

The basic secret is NOT to overcook them.

[Insidious Rex]

well... theres a fine line between tire tread and fish bait I have found... and you cross the line rather quickly. It seems to be an art...

[BeardofPants]

Sun-star, it might have to do with how everything's mushy.

Originally Posted by Insidious Rex

Anyone know how to make proper calamari without making it taste like rubber?

If you find out, let me know...

[Lizra]

Probably has to be "tentacly" fresh! I sort of like some chewiness...the same with clams. My fave is steamed (with a little wine+herbs) mussels. Hard to get good seafood in Indiana though....

[jerseydevil]

Originally Posted by Lizra

. Hard to get good seafood in Indiana though....

You don't need to tell me that. Here, when I was little, we lived on the shore - so we went right to the docks and got our fish as it was coming off the boats in Pt Pleasant (I went to school 3 blocks from the ocean). Can't get much fresher than that.

Calamari is difficult to make - but it's similar to most seafood I think. You just want to cook it for a very short time. Calamari should melt in your mouth and that's how I usually judge a good seafood restaurant. If they can make calamari - then they know how to cook seafood. In Indiana - we never had lobster or any kind of seafood out because they didn't know how to cook it and it would always be tough - especially lobster.

[Lizra]

Melt in your mouth calamari!? THAT I would like to try...asap! ....Wonder what kind wine will be best with that....

[Nurvingiel]

I've heard white wines go best with seafood. But I'm not a wine expert. Mmmm Calamari... so, when's dinner?


My cookbook has been a source of endless hilarity. Allow me to present the best quote of the Five Roses Cookbook - A Guide to Good Cooking, reprint of 1967 edition.

From the heading of the "Pastries and Pies" section... (p.74)

Every woman wants to make that perfect "melt-in-your-mouth" pastry that the family will brag about. Follow these simple but important rules, and a light, tender pastry will result.



That happens to be one of my goals in life, but it's not exactly the be-all-end-all of my existence...

[jerseydevil]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

I've heard white wines go best with seafood. But I'm not a wine expert. Mmmm Calamari... so, when's dinner?

Well that isn't always true actually. If it's a maranara sauce or a red sauce (such as with fried calamari or linguiini and red clam sauce) then red wine should be served. It has more to do with how the fish is prepared that determines the type of wine and not the fact that it's fish. Broiled flounder or scallopini is defintely a white wine dish.

[Nurvingiel]

Interesting... any connection between red sauce = red wine and white fish = white wine? What would you have with bar-be-queued salmon?

Here's another question for everyone. I'm very confused. Is one cup 225 mL or 250mL?

[jerseydevil]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

Interesting... any connection between red sauce = red wine and white fish = white wine? What would you have with bar-be-queued salmon?

Wel if it's a red spicy barbeque sauce - then you can have red. If it's basted with seasoned olive oil - then white.

It depends on the flavor of the food that you will be eating as to what kind of wine you serve.

[Nurvingiel]

I think I'll have a freshly caught BC salmon in olive oil, pepper and garlic, wrapped in tinfoil and cooked over a camp fire. But with campfires, food must be served with beer!

My dad answered the cup thing - it's 250 mL.

[Baby-K]

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

I had these huge, rubbery lumps of indigestible kak lolling about in my gob.

Know any South Africans?

Nurv, the hard & fast rules of the past when it comes to matching wines with food (red meats = red wines / white meats = white wines) are a thing of the past, nowadays it's pretty much a question of what you like and how it compliments the food (you don't want the taste of the wine to overpower the dish you are serving).

For instance I love red wines, especially Shiraz and on the odd occasion a merlot or pinot noir, but these are all rather robust wines so it wouldn't do to have them with a delicately flavoured dish such as saffron-yoghurt chicken (saffron is a very delicate flavour and you wouldn't taste a thing if you had a heavy red with it) - in that case I'd rather go for a light dry white or if you prefer a semi-sweet (ugh) maybe a fruitier off-dry. Not to say that I don't drink red wine with fish dishes though.

To me the weather also plays a big role - if I am entertaining outside in summer I'd rather serve white wine than red, it just 'feels' lighter, in winter I'd rather serve red or gluwhein (spiced wine).

Whatever you do though, make sure you know the wine you are serving (test a few different types and decide on your favourite before serving them to anyone else), the worst thing is to open a bottle of wine and no-one can drink the stuff. Oh and have more than one bottle of wine on hand when entertaining, make them of different types too as everyone doesn't drink the same thing.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

i drinks whatever i got in the kitchen *hic* *hic,hic*, lol

[BeardofPants]

Baby-K... You have exquisite taste in wine. Anyone who likes shiraz roxxors the oneoneone in my book.

[Baby-K]

I'll have to invite you to share a glass of Fleur du Cap.....still my favourite Shiraz ever.

(Maybe you & Natalie should venture to this side of the world & we'll go do the wine route )

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Baby-K

Nurv, the hard & fast rules of the past when it comes to matching wines with food (red meats = red wines / white meats = white wines) are a thing of the past, nowadays it's pretty much a question of what you like and how it compliments the food (you don't want the taste of the wine to overpower the dish you are serving).

For instance I love red wines, especially Shiraz and on the odd occasion a merlot or pinot noir, but these are all rather robust wines so it wouldn't do to have them with a delicately flavoured dish such as saffron-yoghurt chicken (saffron is a very delicate flavour and you wouldn't taste a thing if you had a heavy red with it) - in that case I'd rather go for a light dry white or if you prefer a semi-sweet (ugh) maybe a fruitier off-dry. Not to say that I don't drink red wine with fish dishes though.

To me the weather also plays a big role - if I am entertaining outside in summer I'd rather serve white wine than red, it just 'feels' lighter, in winter I'd rather serve red or gluwhein (spiced wine).

Whatever you do though, make sure you know the wine you are serving (test a few different types and decide on your favourite before serving them to anyone else), the worst thing is to open a bottle of wine and no-one can drink the stuff. Oh and have more than one bottle of wine on hand when entertaining, make them of different types too as everyone doesn't drink the same thing.

Good post!

Originally Posted by Nurv

But with campfires, food must be served with beer!

I've tried, but I still don't like beer
I like to cook sausages in beer, tho!

[Nurvingiel]

That was a great post Baby-K. I like Shiraz too, I've had some nice Australian ones.

I'm going to go see what my trainwreck of an attempt at baking bread turns out.

Just so you know, if you use older flour, use much less than what the recepie calls for because it soaks up the moisture much more. Let the dough speak to you. Only enough flour to make the dough not sticky is needed. If it's not sticking to your hands, stop adding flour, even if you've added much less than what the recepie calls for. That's what I learned today.