I just finished eating this - salmon with warm salad.

I seasoned the salmon with salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil, then fried it.

I sliced some zucchini and fried it with some asparagus. Then I mixed it with some baby rocket and dressed it with the dressing I made, which consist of thyme, salt, olive oil and lemon juice.

It's my first time making it and it turned out pretty nice :)

Looks delicious! I make a similar dish with the asparagus and zucchini, but I flash fry it in olive oil, garlic, pepper, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. The balsamic adds a nice glaze once reduced for a few minutes. Pretty tasty.

I don't have photos of the food that don't include my family, but I just cooked a meal for my dad for his 50th birthday.

He wanted something with cheese, and both a soup and starter. He likes a bit of spice so here's what I made.

A Spicy beetroot and coconut soup with herby yoghurt. I made this by making a spicy paste with lemon-grass, ginger, chilli, lime juice and garlic. I then cooked some beetroot, shallots and cumin seeds, stock and added in the paste. Whizzed it all up, and added a can of coconut milk. Then added a bit of herby yoghurt (Natural yoghurt with cucumber and coriander. I was supposed to add mint, but, er, forgot). The herby yoghurt was supposed to float fashionable on the top, but sunk like a brick.

Then, to fulfil his cheesey wish I made flat mushrooms filled with Camembert, cranberries, and basil. I served with rocket salad and a rocket pesto.

Then we had a bit of a break before the main. I had wanted to make venison, but couldn't get any, so made fillet steaks instead. They were fried in butter, rare for me, dad and my bro, medium for my mum. Then, whilst they rested, in the pan I cooked them in I fried a red onion. I added in beef stock and red wine, a chilli and reduced. I strained the sauce, then threw in some dark chocolate, to make a chilli chocolate sauce. I served this with chive and parsley potato rosti, and garlicky Parmasan green beans.

I'm really proud, and my dad loved it. He's gone to bed happy.

But I'm never making rosti again.

And you're a chef at what restaurant? I want to eat there.

Flattery will get you everywhere

It's only the last six months I've started to cook. I hate cooking for myself, but I quite like making meals for other people.

Instant mashed potatoes SUCK!

edit: eh, I ate 'em anyway.

Believe it or not instant mashed potatoes are good for something besides making instant mashed.

•Soup thickener or gravy
•Gnocchi
•Meatloaves and meatballs
•Frying batter


"Don't take a butcher's advice on how to cook meat.
If he knew, he'd be a chef."
~Andy Rooney

"I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol."
~Steven Wright

"I like my coffee like I like my women.
In a plastic cup."
~Eddie Izzard

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four.Unless there are three other people."
~Orson Welles

Mmmmmm,

homemade crumpets...


nom nom nom nom :D

Pikelets!




With a smear of blueberry preserves.

You all are making me hongry.....

If you share recipes, I'd love to have the crumpet and pikelet? recipes.

Coming up after lunch: a photo of the Asian Pot Roast I made in the crockpot last night. :^) I did not make the recipe up but am not ashamed to say I used one. (That's what they're for!)

This was my first time making them...I used a recipe from Soreen. It's one and the same...crumpets use rings, pikelets don't. I'll let him share.

:D

Credit where credit's due...


here's the source of the recipe I used :-

At the foppish Baker


another recipe, I've not tried it, but I'm posting it because I actually look at the pics on this blog with some frequency.

At Not Quite Nigella


The difference, at least from my perspective, is that crumpets are made within a ring, and can therefore be thicker, pikelets are made without a ring, and therefore aren't quite so fluffy in the middle but are much easier to make.





(off for a crumpet now..)

DEP brought the family over last night and we had a pizza and wii night.

The girls wanted Spinach and Tomato pizza with artichoke red sauce, it turned out pretty good.



We made a BBQ Buffalo Chicken Calzone that was fricken ridiculously delicious.



Here’s a shot of the inside.



I sauteed the chicken with some hot and BBQ sauce before I added it to the calzone. We also added a hot pepper garden mix along with some tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and sauce inside.

at what point do you use a ring in the recipe? i don't get it.

The rings go down on the griddle and the batter goes inside. They cook in the rings.

Naked


Freshly dressed with butter


After several moments have elapsed


More crumpet, this time wearing laughing cow...

oh! i've seen those before; i heard them called frying molds. they were marketed for making egg patties for sandwiches, though. i completely forgot about them before now.

Egg rings work as well, though there may be a difference in size.

My brother loves crumpets, and ye have all persuaded me (With your drool worthy pics) to try and make some. I need to get some rings first.

I told my brother, thinking he'd be happy. Instead I got
"Oh... But they won't be as nice as the store bought, will they."

Fecker.

It's been well over a decade since I had store bought ones from the UK, but the homemade ones are definitely better than the store bought ones I can get in small town PA.

All I can say in the way of advice is to make the first ones on their own in case they start to come out blind (I frequently need to add warm water to my batter)

and, much more importantly, don't make them while hungry; they are so very, very easy to eat just as quickly as you make them, and with 15-20 in a batch. it's very easy to wonder where they all went also.