Jump to content

fatmat

participating member
  • Posts

    258
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by fatmat

  1. No shit!! But it's current rise is new, many new methods are being developed, in advance of legislation. I am not anti in any way, merely concerned Not mine. However, the past can't be changed, but the future should be planned for. Sadly we seem to be raping our own seas too - I don't condone this either. Not intended to be criticism, merely concered. Whilst I am sure that your methods are entirely wholesome, I understand that there are many are not - if this is not the case, please re-educate this poor ignorant fool. Also, I don't think that you finished reading my post before you threw your toys out - as I said, I think that it is a good thing, but I have concerns about current methods. In terms of what have I done lately, enough, but I don't feel that the world should owe me a favour for it. If you are going to give, give freely.
  2. just kidding... that's kissing isn't it?
  3. f-o-r-e-p-l-a-y????? don't understand lol
  4. At the risk of being contentious, seductive nibbles is what fellas need to do for chicks - that's the female idea of romance, so it's us that need to do it. Of course, I now leave myself open to accusations of sexism and being a neanderthal, but I'm thick skinned as well , so I can take it Give him some good lovin and a beer - that's romance to us simple folks
  5. You lucky bastard - where do I get one like that
  6. I feel that there is a tendency to ignore what happens under the sea - if we can't see it, we pretend like it's not there. Currently I believe the sea is being raped - if the kind of industrial abuse was taking place on land, there would be uproar - however, what we can't see does not bother is. As aquaculture develops, same as any 'new' thing, legislation will fall behind, leaving the the world's water open to wide scale abuse. I see the development of aquaculture as a good thing, but in the short term, I am concerned about the quality of the produce and the damage to oceans.
  7. He is man... man is simple... by pass food...tear his clothes off... pin him to bed... then *censored* *censored* *censored* *censored*... then give him pizza and beer in bed (or whatever his favourite trash food is)!!! he will love you more for it
  8. Hi Ling, Many thanks for your ideas. You've come up with some good stuff. I need to do some experiments. The hot water dough is traditional - I think that originally it was used as a means of keeping the meat tender and juicy, and would have been thrown away, but eventually people started eating the crust as well (a little like the batter for fish). The pastry is meant to be firm but crisp - almost like a biscuit...almost
  9. Have you tried drying them? It may be that they are still really pungent, and that the problem is the variety, not the freshness. I've started using fresh ones from our garden, and find the flavour to be richer, but not overpowering or unpleasant.
  10. Thanks Adam, you've given me some ideas. I loved the link - those pies are amazing - I've a long way to go yet mind... but it's good to have something to aim for
  11. 1:1, but I have no idea what happens if you alter the ratios. Does anyone have any ideas?
  12. - That's high praise, many thanks By 'really big', how big do you mean?What recipe do you use for your pastry? What are the factors that affect shortness in a hot water crust?
  13. Step away from the recipe book - do your own thing, experiment. It won't always be perfect. Somtimes it will be awful, but you will learn so much more. Anyone can follow a set of instructions, but doing it for yourself will teach you a feel for your food. With feeling comes passion
  14. Go to your local builder's or timber merchants and buy a length of dowel at your required diameter - it comes in lengths of 6' or so the length won't be a problem, and it's fairly cheap too - probably cheaper than buying a rolling pin
  15. Thanks Moby It had a good crunch, and for a first time was great...but it wasn't quite as short as I would have liked - it was a tiny bit hard instead. I'm not sure what to do here. I'm going to experiment with lard quantities, liquid/fat temperatures and cooking temperatures. Does anybody have and suggestions/recommendations for this one? I was really pleased with the spicing - I may add a little more mace/nutmeg/ginger, but it was nicely spiced as it was.
  16. It tasted great - as it should but better somehow It was a lot of effort the first time, but fun. Next time it will be a lot easier, I've got a few ideas for improvements and different fillings - would like to try home corned beef for a start. Yup!! - with beer
  17. Thank you Split it to let gelatine flood out Not entirely sure about 'should be grey'... the anchovy essence bit is an old ingredient as far as I can gather - I also think that pink is more appetising than grey. I'm a wimp... however, I liked the trim finish that the collar gave. I like your idea, I'll try it next time, although in general I like easy too - don't make it difficult when you don't have to
  18. Here goes... Introduction The pork pie comprises a savoury pork filling, surrounded by savoury jelly and finally a hot water crust. There are several stages to building one… 1) Jellied stock 2) Filling 3) Pastry 4) Assembly 5) Cooking 6) Addition of stock 7) Cooling 8) Eating The following instructions will give the what’s and where necessary the why’s for each of the stages – Enough for 2 pies 1) Jellied Stock 1 split pig’s trotter 2lb pork bones rind from 2lb belly pork 1 leek 1 onion 1 large carrot 5 crushed juniper berries 1 blade mace 12 peppercorns 2 fresh bay leaves Salt to taste Process Roughly chop the veggies. Add all the ingredients to a large stock pan – except the salt. Cover with water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 3 hours. After 3 hours, remove from the heat, strain through a fine sieve, return to the heat and reduce to one pint. When the stock has reduced to the final concentration, taste and add salt to taste. Set the stock aside to cool. (my screw up – I took a shower when the stock was reducing. When I looked again, the stock had reduced too much and had formed a brown bubbly syrup on the bottom of the pan. I thought I had ruined it, but I added a pint of water to revive it, and discovered that it tasted fantastic) 2) Filling 2 lb pork belly with rind (use rind and any bones for the stock) 6oz smoked bacon (you can use unsmoked, but I think that smoked gives a better flavour) 2 tsp anchovy essence 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground mace 1 tsp nutmeg ½ tsp ground white pepper 5 juniper berries – finely chopped 1tbs chopped fresh sage Salt to taste (don’t forget that the bacon already has salt, so you’ll need very little.) Aim The aim here is to create a filling comprised of meat chunks and meat paste – the paste helps to fill the gaps to ensure a solidly filled pie. Process Use a food processor to process half of the pork and half of the bacon until the mixture becomes a coarse paste. Chop the remaining meat into ½ “ cubes. Mix the chopped and processed meat with all of the remaining ingredients. – You’ll need to get your hands in here to give the mixture a good squidge. Fry up a small piece of the mixture to test for seasoning. Don’t forget that your spices may have a different pungency to mine, so don’t be afraid to adjust to your taste. However, the mixture should not taste specifically of any one spice – take special care not to use too much pepper. Too much pepper is a common pork pie mistake. Once the filling is ready, set aside in the fridge for later. Point of interest – As well as adding flavour, the anchovy essence helps to keep the pork a lovely pink colour – stopping it from turning grey when it cooks. 3) Pastry 2 lb Flour 2/3 pt milk and water 8 oz lard Notes Hot water pastry is easy to make, can be handled brutally and is very forgiving. It forms a soft pliable dough that feels very silky. It’s special property is that it is mouldable, and will form a case that will hold it’s shape before cooking, without a mould. Take care not to let the mixture get too cold, as it will crack when you shape it. This mixture gives you too much, but allows for screw ups, different shape moulds and varying filling volumes. Process Bring the lard and liquid to the boil, remove from the heat. Add the flour and stir. The mixture will be lumpy and floury. Get your hands in bring the dough together, kneading until smooth. 4) Assembly Meat mixture Paste Grease proof paper String Dredging flour Lard 4lb kilner jar or similar for shaping case – 4 ½” in diameter Notes The aim is to mould a lump of pastry around a jar to form a case, leave it cool a little so it hold’s it’s shape, stuff, top and bake. The reality was slightly different because the case took ages to cool enough to hold it’s shape. Also, I ended up rolling the pastry first before moulding to help ensure an even thickness, which is difficult if you mould the pastry blob by hand. Process You have enough mixture for two pies – For ease, assemble one at a time. Halve the mixture, and set half aside in a warm place for later. Cut ¼ off the remaining paste and keep warm. This will be used later to form the lid. Take the jar, grease with lard and cover in flour. Form the paste into a round ball, roll out into a circle, 3/8” thick. Dredge this circle very well – otherwise you will not get the paste off the mould later. Carefully lift the pastry and drape over the base of the jar. Use your hands to form the circle into a case around the jar – work quickly and firmly, but don’t be afraid – the paste is tolerant and will take remoulding if you screw up. You will end up with a smooth surface. Watch point – Take care when working on the corner between the base and the sides – there is a risk of making this area too thin. Now trim the edge, to leave a side of about 3 ½ - 4”. Use a pastry cutter, pizza cutter or knife to do this. In theory, the paste should be left to cool a little, to firm up – It should then hold it’s shape independently. I found that this seemed to take forever and I got bored waiting. Whenever I removed the case, it just collapsed and annoyed me Instead, I gently tied a double thickness of greaseproof paper around the case to help it hold it’s shape. It is important to be very gentle, otherwise the case won’t slide off the jar. This is also where you discover if you floured the paste well enough after rolling!! Now invert the jar, and hopefully the case will slide off – probably with a little encouragement. If you have excess baking parchment, trim it down to 1/2" below the top of the pie. Fill the case with the filling, to within ½“ of the top edge. The case is quite robust, so you can pack the filling in well, leaving no spaces. Roll out the remaining ¼ that you cut off earlier on, into a 3/8” thick round the same diameter as the pie. Cut out a hole in this using a small metal cutter. Lay the top onto the pie, and pinch the edges together firmly, into a pretty pattern!! Now return the cutter to the hole in the top – this will help keep the hole shape during cooking Stand back and admire your work. Difficult bit over, and not that difficult after all. 5) Cooking Preheat your oven to 200 C (180 in a fan oven). Place the pie on a baking tray and bake for ½ hour Reduce the heat to 180 C (160 in fan oven) and cook for a further 1 ½ hours. 6) Adding Jelly Using a funnel, pour the liquid jelly into the hole in the top, until the pie is full – the jelly will fill all the spaces left by the shrinking filling. You will probably need to make several additions of jelly, as the liquid settles. 7) Cooling Leave the pie in a cool place to cool overnight – the jelly will take ages to set, so don’t be tempted to open up early (like me), as you will end up with a flood over the kitchen counter. 8) Eating The next day, slice open, stand back, admire and feel proud. Then eat with mustard, pickles and beer!! Enjoy.
  19. I second the Silver Spoon The Leith's Cookery Bible - I use this as a general reference for everything Moro - 1 and 2 - Spanish/North African cuisine - great food, accessible to all Nigel Slater - Appetite - A complete revolution in cook books - unique and inspiring Nigel Slater - Real Food - Comfy, tasty homley food. Nigella Lawson - How to be a domestic goddess - camp, kitch and a great baking book Crazy Water and Pickled Lemons - Diana Henry - middle eastern/ mediterranean food with a twist - well written and makes you think of food in a different way The Bread Baker's Apprentice - shows you how to make proper bread well.
  20. fatmat

    Risotto

    Ah... I see the light... many thanks
  21. fatmat

    Risotto

    "Add the stock in small batches -- Rice loves to soak up liquid; it's the gradual addition of stock and slow cooking that gives you the creamy result unique to great risotto. Adding all the cooking liquid at once would be more like boiling or steaming the rice--which is okay, but it's not risotto." The above is a quote from the article put forward by GG, to explain the reason for progressive addition of stock. However, it still does not really give an explanation. Does anyone have any more ideas why??
×
×
  • Create New...