Help- overn broken and have frienjds and in-laws coming roun
Discussion
Went to set the timer on the oven this morning- turned it on, there was a click, followed by a fizz and then lots of noxious black smoke. Now, unsurprisingly, its buggered!
Problem is we have 2 important sets of people coming round- my wife's maid of honour/best friend and her husband (we only got married 2 months ago and we want to say thank you) on friday night, and then wifeys parents on sunday for lunch to thank them for wedding gifts (and for the small matter of paying for most of the wedding)- so really important to us, and we'd like to do somthing nice.
Sunday was going to be 3 foreribs of beef, and friday was going to be posh home made pizza with home made salads.
Without an oven neither of those things is going to happen- so other ideas that can be cooked on a 4-ring gas hob and which will produce seriously good results.
realise i could just do Steak and home made chips, but its not the most impressive of meals, and to buy the quality of steak i would feel necessary would cost us a lot of money which we don't really have.
Problem is we have 2 important sets of people coming round- my wife's maid of honour/best friend and her husband (we only got married 2 months ago and we want to say thank you) on friday night, and then wifeys parents on sunday for lunch to thank them for wedding gifts (and for the small matter of paying for most of the wedding)- so really important to us, and we'd like to do somthing nice.
Sunday was going to be 3 foreribs of beef, and friday was going to be posh home made pizza with home made salads.
Without an oven neither of those things is going to happen- so other ideas that can be cooked on a 4-ring gas hob and which will produce seriously good results.
realise i could just do Steak and home made chips, but its not the most impressive of meals, and to buy the quality of steak i would feel necessary would cost us a lot of money which we don't really have.
Edited by pugwash4x4 on Thursday 14th October 09:09
For the sunday meal you could pot-roast a nice joint of beef on the stovetop.
A lovely piece of slow-cooked brisket would be a real treat, VERY easy to make plus it's not an expensive cut. If you time it right you can pretty much cook everything in the same pot - meat, potatoes, veg and gravy.
Given the chilly weather I think you could do a lot worse.
For the other meal (to replace the pizza) you could do a big pan of mussels with french bread and salads(I'd do moules a la normande), or you could have some retro fun with fondues - I like a cheese fondue alongside a hot oil fondue (little pieces of fillet tail, pork tenderloin, raw prawns etc).
Edited to add some detail.
A lovely piece of slow-cooked brisket would be a real treat, VERY easy to make plus it's not an expensive cut. If you time it right you can pretty much cook everything in the same pot - meat, potatoes, veg and gravy.
Given the chilly weather I think you could do a lot worse.
For the other meal (to replace the pizza) you could do a big pan of mussels with french bread and salads(I'd do moules a la normande), or you could have some retro fun with fondues - I like a cheese fondue alongside a hot oil fondue (little pieces of fillet tail, pork tenderloin, raw prawns etc).
Edited to add some detail.
Edited by maturin23 on Thursday 14th October 09:22
pugwash4x4 said:
Went to set the timer on the oven this morning- turned it on, there was a click, followed by a fizz and then lots of noxious black smoke. Now, unsurprisingly, its buggered!
Problem is we have 2 important sets of people coming round- my wife's maid of honour/best friend and her husband (we only got married 2 months ago and we want to say thank you) on friday night, and then wifeys parents on sunday for lunch to thank them for wedding gifts (and for the small matter of paying for most of the wedding)- so really important to us, and we'd like to do somthing nice.
Sunday was going to be 3 foreribs of beef, and friday was going to be posh home made pizza with home made salads.
Without an oven neither of those things is going to happen- so other ideas that can be cooked on a 4-ring gas hob and which will produce seriously good results.
realise i could just do Steak and home made chips, but its not the most impressive of meals, and to buy the quality of steak i would feel necessary would cost us a lot of money which we don't really have.
Blimey mate, you can afford a 3 forerib of beef but not a decent steak? A 3 rib of beef is what, £45+?Problem is we have 2 important sets of people coming round- my wife's maid of honour/best friend and her husband (we only got married 2 months ago and we want to say thank you) on friday night, and then wifeys parents on sunday for lunch to thank them for wedding gifts (and for the small matter of paying for most of the wedding)- so really important to us, and we'd like to do somthing nice.
Sunday was going to be 3 foreribs of beef, and friday was going to be posh home made pizza with home made salads.
Without an oven neither of those things is going to happen- so other ideas that can be cooked on a 4-ring gas hob and which will produce seriously good results.
realise i could just do Steak and home made chips, but its not the most impressive of meals, and to buy the quality of steak i would feel necessary would cost us a lot of money which we don't really have.
Edited by pugwash4x4 on Thursday 14th October 09:09
What about doing something similar to the meal I made on Saturday? Basically pan roasted duck breast (you can skip the roasting part and just fry for longer), wilted spinach, potato fondant, plum & port reduction and a jus made by deglazing the frying pan and using the stock & butter left from the potato fondant:
The most expensive part of this is obviously the duck, it's actually cheaper if you buy a whole duck or a crown & take the breasts off yourself (this also means you can render the rest of the duck down to create rillettes and loads of lovely duck fat for roasties).
escargot said:
The most expensive part of this is obviously the duck, it's actually cheaper if you buy a whole duck or a crown & take the breasts off yourself (this also means you can render the rest of the duck down to create rillettes and loads of lovely duck fat for roasties).
I've found some of th emost fun I've had when entertaining is getting everyone involved.
Having everyone help make the pizzas is always fun. The same works for pasta as well...
You could make a bechamel and a bolognaise beforehand, then get everyone to help make the lasagne sheet from scratch, layer it all up and bung in the oven.
Fresh pasta cooks in no time at all.
Having everyone help make the pizzas is always fun. The same works for pasta as well...
You could make a bechamel and a bolognaise beforehand, then get everyone to help make the lasagne sheet from scratch, layer it all up and bung in the oven.
Fresh pasta cooks in no time at all.
Cactussed said:
I've found some of th emost fun I've had when entertaining is getting everyone involved.
Having everyone help make the pizzas is always fun. The same works for pasta as well...
You could make a bechamel and a bolognaise beforehand, then get everyone to help make the lasagne sheet from scratch, layer it all up and bung in the oven.
Fresh pasta cooks in no time at all.
Did you not bother reading the bit about his oven being fubar'ed then old chap? Having everyone help make the pizzas is always fun. The same works for pasta as well...
You could make a bechamel and a bolognaise beforehand, then get everyone to help make the lasagne sheet from scratch, layer it all up and bung in the oven.
Fresh pasta cooks in no time at all.
Edited by escargot on Thursday 14th October 11:12
Apologies for typos- sneekily typing at work at squillion miles an hour 
(he keeps them for enjoyment and can't bear to eat them). Could be an option for friday night though.
escargot said:
Blimey mate, you can afford a 3 forerib of beef but not a decent steak? A 3 rib of beef is what, £45+?
the forerib was in effect free (was payment in kind- but has now gone in freezer)escargot said:
What about doing something similar to the meal I made on Saturday? Basically pan roasted duck breast
sounds lovely but father in law won't eat duck (he keeps them for enjoyment and can't bear to eat them). Could be an option for friday night though.ChrisnChris said:
Any reason why you cant go out & buy a new oven? or is it a case of a new element, thermostat or perhaps thermistor?
Do you know what made the oven go "pop"
currently rented and agents get funny if we fix stuff ourselves, also the oven is built in, and unfortunately i'm not very good at fixing things unless it requires metallic shock adjustment.Do you know what made the oven go "pop"
pugwash4x4 said:
Apologies for typos- sneekily typing at work at squillion miles an hour
(he keeps them for enjoyment and can't bear to eat them). Could be an option for friday night though.
What about slicing one of the ribs off and frying this as a massive steak (the french call this a cote de boeuf). It's my favourite steak dish and is tremendous with frites or even sauteed potatoes & wild mushrooms etc.escargot said:
Blimey mate, you can afford a 3 forerib of beef but not a decent steak? A 3 rib of beef is what, £45+?
the forerib was in effect free (was payment in kind- but has now gone in freezer)escargot said:
What about doing something similar to the meal I made on Saturday? Basically pan roasted duck breast
sounds lovely but father in law won't eat duck (he keeps them for enjoyment and can't bear to eat them). Could be an option for friday night though.Or as another idea, you could slice it & place it on top of some mash, place some sauteed garlic mushrooms around the outside and deglaze the pan with red wine & reduce it down to make a nice sauce. This could look quite fancy.
Here's one I made earlier:
ETA: One rib will do 3 - 4 people as long as you've got enough veg to compliment it.
Edited by escargot on Thursday 14th October 11:55
How about poaching some nice fish fillets suck as lemon sole.
Pan 1 little bit of water+white wine peppercorns bring to boil then low heat & add fish until cooked. (water should not be boiling as it could break up the fish)
in another pan prepare a sauce to serve with fish & veg, possivly mild cheese sauce.
Pan 1 little bit of water+white wine peppercorns bring to boil then low heat & add fish until cooked. (water should not be boiling as it could break up the fish)
in another pan prepare a sauce to serve with fish & veg, possivly mild cheese sauce.
Soup to start. It's piss easy to make your own, and people appreciate the 'effort'.
Friday - don't underestimate the appeal of a good spag bog, or spaghetti vongole if you want something posher.
Sunday - trout pan-fried in butter with sliced almonds. Steamed new potatoes and green veg to accompany.
Pears poached in spiced red wine with home-made ice cream for dessert.
Friday - don't underestimate the appeal of a good spag bog, or spaghetti vongole if you want something posher.
Sunday - trout pan-fried in butter with sliced almonds. Steamed new potatoes and green veg to accompany.
Pears poached in spiced red wine with home-made ice cream for dessert.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Roll your sleeves up.
Find an outlet for the Manufacturer (Yellow Pages) and change the element.
Rental or not, in the bog picture of what the food and drink cost the repair is nothing and generally pretty easy to do.
Oven / Cooker model ?
- oh and bonus man skill points for doing this.
happy to roll sleeves up but i wouldn't honestly have a clue where to start- it may be quite easy, but knowing me i'll end up breaking a bit- i'm more of a agricutural engineering type- ie hit it with a big hammer then tie it up with bailer twine. Find an outlet for the Manufacturer (Yellow Pages) and change the element.
Rental or not, in the bog picture of what the food and drink cost the repair is nothing and generally pretty easy to do.
Oven / Cooker model ?
- oh and bonus man skill points for doing this.
what sort of shonky agency do you have that hasn't sorted this already?
in a standard managed tenancy agreement, the agency will authorise any bill of under £150. only if it goes above this do they have to get permission from the landlord.
leaving a broken oven for more than 24hrs is more than a little s
tty given the cost and ease at which it can be sorted.
this thread has had the combined effect of winding me up for no good reason, and sending me hom via waitrose for a cote de beouf.
in a standard managed tenancy agreement, the agency will authorise any bill of under £150. only if it goes above this do they have to get permission from the landlord.
leaving a broken oven for more than 24hrs is more than a little s
tty given the cost and ease at which it can be sorted.this thread has had the combined effect of winding me up for no good reason, and sending me hom via waitrose for a cote de beouf.
escargot said:
pugwash4x4 said:
Apologies for typos- sneekily typing at work at squillion miles an hour
(he keeps them for enjoyment and can't bear to eat them). Could be an option for friday night though.
What about slicing one of the ribs off and frying this as a massive steak (the french call this a cote de boeuf). It's my favourite steak dish and is tremendous with frites or even sauteed potatoes & wild mushrooms etc.escargot said:
Blimey mate, you can afford a 3 forerib of beef but not a decent steak? A 3 rib of beef is what, £45+?
the forerib was in effect free (was payment in kind- but has now gone in freezer)escargot said:
What about doing something similar to the meal I made on Saturday? Basically pan roasted duck breast
sounds lovely but father in law won't eat duck (he keeps them for enjoyment and can't bear to eat them). Could be an option for friday night though.Or as another idea, you could slice it & place it on top of some mash, place some sauteed garlic mushrooms around the outside and deglaze the pan with red wine & reduce it down to make a nice sauce. This could look quite fancy.
Here's one I made earlier:
ETA: One rib will do 3 - 4 people as long as you've got enough veg to compliment it.
Edited by escargot on Thursday 14th October 11:55
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff