The " Honey I'm home and I'm bloody starving , what's for dinner " Thread.
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sycophantia
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Id give that a go.
Cooked my first ever Sunday dinner today. Was probably as easy as it gets by accomplished standards but pretty chuffed all the same.
Yes, it was chicken and yes, it was a cook in the bag job too, and yes it was only for two people, and yes, cheated a bit with with frozen Yorkshire’s, but still, had roast potatoes, roast parsnips, stuffing. Cooked carrots, peas and broccoli in the steamer, and fried leeks in a pan with a bit of butter, and of course the chicken, Yorkshire’s and gravy (and a cheeky glass of wine too).
The last 5 minutes were a bit frantic but managed to serve it pipping hot. Only real casualty was the leeks which I overdid and burned while distracted by serving up, and there’s room for refinement with the roasts, but really pleased to finally have taken the bull by the horns and given it a go and somewhat embarrassed never having done so before, but as a first attempt have to be content with that.
Yes, it was chicken and yes, it was a cook in the bag job too, and yes it was only for two people, and yes, cheated a bit with with frozen Yorkshire’s, but still, had roast potatoes, roast parsnips, stuffing. Cooked carrots, peas and broccoli in the steamer, and fried leeks in a pan with a bit of butter, and of course the chicken, Yorkshire’s and gravy (and a cheeky glass of wine too).
The last 5 minutes were a bit frantic but managed to serve it pipping hot. Only real casualty was the leeks which I overdid and burned while distracted by serving up, and there’s room for refinement with the roasts, but really pleased to finally have taken the bull by the horns and given it a go and somewhat embarrassed never having done so before, but as a first attempt have to be content with that.
sycophantia
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You're obviously much younger than I thought, surely no-one gets past about 25 without having cooked a Sunday dinner.
Dunno if I framed a Sunday dinner in the wrong way but always found it strange that natural cooks always spoke about it as relatively easy yet to a non-cook it seemed akin to Everest. Good point about the age thing though, if you’ve not done one fairly young or don’t have a penchant for cooking going to be hard breaking that duck - that’s my excuse anyway!You're obviously much younger than I thought, surely no-one gets past about 25 without having cooked a Sunday dinner.
Will never be a natural but am putting the effort in and starting to see some results. Getting close to the goal of being the Dave Edwards of the kitchen - safe, reliable, gives everything. Never be a superstar but doesn’t let anyone down either and more than capable of the odd purple patch too
sycophantia
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Cooking is a piece of piss. Loads of recipe books and online help. Its the same as approach as to science and mechanics. Get the right tools, get the ingredients, follow the instructions. After a few goes you get to know the seasoning to your taste.Dunno if I framed a Sunday dinner in the wrong way but always found it strange that natural cooks always spoke about it as relatively easy yet to a non-cook it seemed akin to Everest. Good point about the age thing though, if you’ve not done one fairly young or don’t have a penchant for cooking going to be hard breaking that duck - that’s my excuse anyway!
Will never be a natural but am putting the effort in and starting to see some results. Getting close to the goal of being the Dave Edwards of the kitchen - safe, reliable, gives everything. Never be a superstar but doesn’t let anyone down either and more than capable of the odd purple patch too
When cooking a big Sunday dinner with quite a number of dishes, timing used to be a bit worrying for me. Trying to get everything served up together and whilst still piping hot. But do it enough times and it becomes a piece of piss 
Paddingtonwolf
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BAKING is scientific with strict following instructions and ingredient measurement that must be right or it fucks up.
Cooking is more artistic with room for improvisation and going off on tangents from recipes just to see what something comes out like.
Cooking is more artistic with room for improvisation and going off on tangents from recipes just to see what something comes out like.
leedswolf
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Watch this guy. He's brilliant...Dunno if I framed a Sunday dinner in the wrong way but always found it strange that natural cooks always spoke about it as relatively easy yet to a non-cook it seemed akin to Everest. Good point about the age thing though, if you’ve not done one fairly young or don’t have a penchant for cooking going to be hard breaking that duck - that’s my excuse anyway!
Will never be a natural but am putting the effort in and starting to see some results. Getting close to the goal of being the Dave Edwards of the kitchen - safe, reliable, gives everything. Never be a superstar but doesn’t let anyone down either and more than capable of the odd purple patch too
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Thanks for that. Technology definitely helps and have found YouTube videos really useful, so much easier to understand that cookery books which despite some attempts to use idiot-speak still seem like they’re written in a foreign language.
On the technology front though, I cooked dinner the other night using ChatGPT! One of my real weaknesses is lack of creativity and not being able to ‘see’ dishes from ingredients in the cupboard. It gets a bit tiresome having to be so prepared and strategic in advance. I can stick my head in and look for lunch say, only to decipher maybe cheese on toast, whereas from the same ingredients someone else would have you sat down to some culinary delight in about 10 minutes.
But bloody hell, just fire those ingredients into that into ChatGPT, ask for a suggestion and bingo! Really good for answering those annoying questions you’d otherwise be asking every 5 minutes too. Early days but I’m sold on that.
On the technology front though, I cooked dinner the other night using ChatGPT! One of my real weaknesses is lack of creativity and not being able to ‘see’ dishes from ingredients in the cupboard. It gets a bit tiresome having to be so prepared and strategic in advance. I can stick my head in and look for lunch say, only to decipher maybe cheese on toast, whereas from the same ingredients someone else would have you sat down to some culinary delight in about 10 minutes.
But bloody hell, just fire those ingredients into that into ChatGPT, ask for a suggestion and bingo! Really good for answering those annoying questions you’d otherwise be asking every 5 minutes too. Early days but I’m sold on that.
Paddingtonwolf
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Learn some of the classic "marriages" of foods and herbs
Mushrooms go brilliantly with thyme, basil, garlic
Lamb - mint and rosemary
pork - sage
chicken - tarragon
Mushrooms go brilliantly with thyme, basil, garlic
Lamb - mint and rosemary
pork - sage
chicken - tarragon
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Salad cream - anything
Hereford Wolf
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King Prawns - Vindaloo Sauce
leedswolf
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Had an excellent evening at The Bear (no, not that one...) in St Helier.
Sourdough with whipped olive oil butter
Beef wellington
Duck fat potatoes, brown butter hollandaise, crispy onions
Roasted parsnips, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, tarragon mustard
Creamed leeks, spinach, mustard.
The food was superb as was the venue. Sadly no salad cream or mint sauce available.
Sourdough with whipped olive oil butter
Beef wellington
Duck fat potatoes, brown butter hollandaise, crispy onions
Roasted parsnips, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, tarragon mustard
Creamed leeks, spinach, mustard.
The food was superb as was the venue. Sadly no salad cream or mint sauce available.
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