Carlovski

I've seen this in the uk - usually when there are one or two 'fussy' eaters. I have probably inadvertantly caused it too - I order something unusual or spicy, no one else will eat it which means I end up with it to myself - then feel guilty digging into everything else. Or if everyone else orders things in gloopy 'sweet and sour' sauces - or does that make me the fussy eater

Just found out I am to be doing some training for 3 days in Beaconsfield, Bucks. Anything edible in the area? I get pitiful expenses so no grand country house hotels. Good pub recommendation would be ideal (Especially as it will be during the world cup!)

Penne has to be the most used for me - supremely versatile and takes both tomato and creamy sauces well. Orichiette (Probably spelt that wrong!) I love for it's dense texture and good 'bite'. Papardelle with braised meat sauces or also maldafine (Slightly narrower than pappardelle with crinkly edges) As for the long thin pastas I'm a linguine guy - hardly ever use spaghetti. I am a sucker for buying new and interesting shapes though. I bought some huge spiral things recently - no idea on the name. Wasn't to keen though - A slight wormy feeling on the tongue!

There have been a few a-z of ingredient cookbooks - Nigel Slater did one, even the dreaded Anthony Worral thompson as well I think. The Conran Cookbook has very good organisation - there are sections on ingredients and techniques as well as recipes with each section having cross referencing in the margin - techniques link to recipes that use them and vice versa. Ditto for the ingredients. Don't know about you but I miss cookbooks having separate egg course chapters....

Me and my Housemate picked up a deep fat fryer the other day - one of the professional looking stainless steel ones - think it was this one. Now I was hoping to use dripping for my chips, and for general frying purposes I was under the impression that the solid block stuff is best. However reading the instructions with the thing (Unusual I know!) it has a very convoluted set of instructions for using solid fats involving premelting them, and recommends you don't use them at all, and also says under NO circumstance to use lard or dripping. Also says best to use a blended vegetable oil and other oils (e.g groundnut which I normlly use for frying) can only be used a handful of times. Should I listen to this?

Slight cliche but spaghetti (Actually I usually use linguini) with olive oil, garlic and chilli can't cost more than 50p. i'm sure it's better with better oil (Although with the amount of chilli and garlic I use you probably couldn't tell) but still good hangover food with the cheap stuff. That and 9p instant noodles. Worst value for me is premium tinned/jarred tuna. Yes it's nicer, but for the premium on some of the spanish stuff it doesn't seem quite the difference you would expect.

how about caponata? Here Jamie Oliver's pretty good recipe- or use the italian cookbook of your choice!

I often make what is I guess a slightly Anglicised version with smoked haddock. I use the milk I poached the haddock in (strained of the onion and peppercorns I put in) made up with some stock and add the haddock right at the end. No cheese for this one please but I do sometimes add a touch of cream which I consider a definite no-no in standard risotto recipes. It's basically a more squidgy kedgeree - but nothing wrong with that! If I make this weekend I'll take some pictures.

This is one of my favourites. I often end up messing it up slightly by using too much pork - I buy too much and know I won't use it the next day so put it all in. Ends up being pork with beans rather than the other way round. I usually add a slosh of black vinegar at the end to mine too - not sure how authentic that is - oh and some sichuan pepper. i also tend to make it very spicy.

Heat death of the universe AND doughnuts in one thread? Thats why I love eGullet!

I'm normally good enough to remember to get a big pint glass full of water before I go to bed. Unfortunately I usually wake up with it still full by the side of my bed (Or worse, empty with a lot of soggy clothes). Things that help :- 1 - ribena and worcester sauce wheat crunchies (Bit of a UK one this) 2 - Anything spicy and very salty (Along with lots of liquid) I have found salt and pepper squid from a chinese place works well. Leftover curry obviously fits the bill too. 3 - My top secret (I'm sure this isn't actually good for you though...) Run a bath - slightly too hot to stand but get in it anyway. Have 3 or 4 pints of iced water with you too. Drink the water - occasionally pouring some over your head (this is important). You will feel a little dizzy when you get out but have a little lie down and then do number 1 or 2 above. Then go to the pub. 4 - Bacon.

Vacuum packed precooked rice and pasta. Quick cook pasta. Microwaveable burgers. Celery Cucumber.

No - most chefs are also shown how to prepare it as well...

Hi Carlovski,Another UK gulleteer here. Can you tell me which supermarkets you have been able to obtain sichuan peppercorns from? I think I have seen them once but can't remember where; I think it was also the Bart's Spices brand. I tried to make mapo tofu with a supermarket brand of sichuan sauce. It was OK, but not really good enough. Next time I will try from scratch. ← The larger Sainsburys definitely stock it. I think I have got them from other supermarkets too, but I can't remember which ones (Probably Waitrose). I'll have to look out for the ones in oil. The Chinese supermarket in Southampton is fairly good (Though I prefer the ones in Manchester).

Taste is one form of sensation. I wonder how they can achieve that numbing effect. At home I have chewed on Sichuan peppercorns before, but didn't experience that numbing effect. Perhaps the peppercorns need to be fresh? Perhaps they need to be ground first? Perhaps they need to be mixed with oil? Perhaps they must be used together with the dried hot chilies? I would love to learn how to switch on the magic of "ma" in "ma la" dishes. ← I've tried buying them from Chinese Supermarkets in the UK and they are inevitably very poor. Strangely the ones available in the supermarket (Bart's Spices brand) are pretty potent. Even then it seems to be variable, I got one jar once and managed to completely ruin a dish with far too much - it was a very strong batch and completely numbed my tongue and produce a rather unpleasent metallic taste.

oooh that sounds good. I fry up squid in the fat released from frying chorizo as a thrown together warm salad, actually some bread fried in the same fat would make it even better.

The old seafood meat combo goes well here. Black pudding is good as is braised oxtail. Short ribs would probably work well here too. I bet real barececue pulled pork would be a winner too.

They sell that stuff in waitrose in the uk - I was looking at a bag last week, didn't know what to do with it so just bought orrichiette! I'll get some next time I go and try out some of these suggestions.

At least there are options in London - try getting out in the sticks.

I'm not a big fan of anything aniseedy so Pernod and it's ilk gets the nod from me. Although I'm fine with star anise and fennel seed in small amounts (Bulb fennel I'm not to fond of, but have had it in small amounts and enjoyed). Big one for me is celery - can't stand the stuff (As I have mentioned MANY times) but some recipes just don't seem right without it. Starngely I don't like anything with too many juniper berries, although I love Gin - maybe I just don't like it in food, but drinks are fine. Same way I don't like vermouth, but love to cook with it.

I'll second the Jeremy Round recommendation. There are some good, and unusual recipes in their too. You'll struggle to get a copy, but one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's early books 'Cuisine Bon Marche' was pretty good too.

I'm back in Manchester at the start of Feb so I'll try and explore a bit more of the menu too.

Having a look at the menu it seems that there is a kung bo on the anglicised menu and a gong-bo on the 'spicy' menu. But looking at the chinese characters for the 'kung bo king prawn' and the 'gong bo prawn' they appear to be the same! A genuine gong bao/kung po etc etc is a perfectly fine and authentic dish and can be delicious (The recipe in Fuschia Dunlop's Sichuan Cookery is pretty good) Only problem is in most places it is just sweet and sour with an added spoonfull of chilli powder. Someone has got to try the 'Blessed the Whole Family' soon - just so we know what it is!

Waitrose is better than most, and it's my only choice - and i live in Southampton (o.k it's not really a fishing port, but it is a port!)

The good thing, from my point of view about Red Chilli isn't just the fact it does these things, which many other restaurants offer (Maybe not all of the spicier options, but hotpot dishes etc) but the fact that they print them on the English menu and encourage you to try them.