Henry dV

You may need to have the bones cut in two and if possible a lot of connective tissue to give that sticky gelatinous that we all crave

I would steam the fish and lay on a bed of fennel that has been finely sliced and wiped with a minimum amount of evoo then cooked hot and fast in a griddle pan. Delish IMHO.

I b@stardised a recipe I saw in Friday/Saturdays Times, Chicken with an orange sauce, which I converted to Griddled Pheasant breast with an Orange, Mint and cardamom sauce, served with roasted baby carrots and thyme and basmati rice. Mrs.Hdv gave it top marks so it`s one to try again

Prep the fillets with a 90/9/1 % salt/demarara/rum(single malt ) rub for 2-4 hrs then pat off excess and rinse, dry foe 2-4 hrs & cold smoke for 24 hrs until it has a golden hue. Then it`s simply lightly toasted wholemeal bread and cucumber with the slivers of salmon.........oh go on a dash of lemon and dill if you insist.

Anyone else smell a divorcey kinda smell ?? Best of luck BTW, look forward to the Contest.

No it`s made with yellow split peas and traditionally the water used to boil a Ham shank and I like to sweat an onion and celery in butter and process this into it to add a little sweetness to the salty pea mush

Whoooooa there.......how many generalisations do we need here? I`m a firefighter and work a shift pattern, 2 dayshifts then 2 nightshifts(48 hrs in total) then 4 days off and this gives me the pleasure to cook for my wife for 6 days out of 8 and 50% + of the days I can`t cook I will have made something that only needs heating. I don`t iron, except in an emergency and I provide 90% of the meat in this household and if/when I loose my wife I don`t know whether I will be able to continue breathing never mind cooking. 2 sides to a coin.

Well it`s supper time here now ..........but lunch today was butterflied pan fried pigeon breasts(marinated in evoo/garlic and rosemary) in pitta bread with salad and pease pudding. V. tasty if I don`t mind saying so myself

I`m in the Fair City, BTW - I noticed the name straight away, I wonder how many here know what it means

Something I don`t like the preparation of is Hare soup, but I do like the end product strangely. It involves the shot Hare being hung by the back legs in a cool airy place until the belly skin is dark green due to the decomposition of the digestive tract, then it is skinned and wiped clean before evisceration and the blood and liquids left in the body cavity are kept seperate for thickening the soup near the end of cooking. Breathing apparatus would be a good idea

Chocolate and beer........... Wrong didley wrong wrong

My fave is to soften a shallot in olive oil and then add my canned tomatoes a spoonful at a time as I don`t like to cool the pan by putting the whole can in at once. I , it appears, am a heretic as I like the thick "gravy" style as I usually leave it for 30 minutes to gently plop away on the stove, then taste and adjust as necessary. I think I will try the above with a slight twist that follows on from the tomato paste thread, and fry some paste when the shallots are softened and then as per the above. I will give Dario`s 2nd receipt a try too!

Nice one **Thumbs up smiley**

"1983 Warre Port" Nice one mate, of all the branded ports Warre is my favourite and once opened it would be impolite not to finish. Was it an LBV ?

Is that more like April, May, in Scotland? Also, are the typical offerings green, as opposed to white, asparagus? I guess that white asparagus are most popular in Germnay and Spain, perhaps? Mid March looks like a winner this year as it`s so mild and some producers are using poly-tunnels to extend the season. I have only seen green here but who knows? The best we have had were from a farmer who`s name escapes me at the moment, but is not far from Glamis castle. Yum, I can`t wait.

Hopefully this is it (first time pic poster)

We used to make a kind of Chicken finger for our daughter when she went through her "picky" stage but we used cooked chicken, very thrifty! Just sweat some onion and small dice vegetables in a little oil until just tender, then without removing the veg make a roux with plain flour then into a thick white sauce with milk until you get a failry thick consistency, leave to cool. When cold mix in the chopped chicken and form into small slightly flattened balls and roll into breadcrumbs/oatmeal..etc. If you have the consistency right there will be no need to egg the balls, unless you so wish! I have cooked them by deep frying, shallow frying and oven methods and apart from the odd leak they work well and importantly they get veg and goodness into picky eaters.

I`ll wait until the local producers supply starts as I prefer to source locally, however butter and lemon is always a winner.

My beer of choice is Pilsner Urquell, however a new beer, to the stores around here is "Old Bob" by Ridley`s in Suffolk. It`s another mild tasting bitter type but with citrus aroma with the hops even though they`re fuggles Still nice beverage.

Nice one.....thats a great idea, many thanks for sharing it !

So is it just colour or colour/texture/taste you are after ?

Hi everyone, first post here......How about trying dried ceps(porcini)soaked in tepid water and added half way through? Remember to add all but the last dregs of the soaking liquid( as they contain grit etc) Then when the rice is just cooked add a nob of butter, remove from the heat and cover for 2-3 minutes before a final stir and serve with crusty bread that is just body heat ??