Home made food or ingredients not worth the effort

[blueg33]

Homemade fish cakes every time. I use a Jamie Oliver tuna fish cake recipe, nothing from the supermarket or local deli gets close.

[Ascayman]

eltawater said:

Chicken breast kiev in breadcrumbs.

I really CBA with all the prep, pan frying and then shoving into the oven when I can just buy the chilled ones from Tesco and shove straight into the oven.

No way.

Try this https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/chicken_kievs_695...

Easy peasy to make and you'll never go back to shop bought.

[captain_cynic]

Greshamst said:

I swear by frozen chopped garlic in a sealable bag they sell at Waitrose.
Never any issues with freshness, don’t get all garlicky fingers for hours from chopping, and you can use as much or as little as you like. Absolute godsend!

Get one of these and job jobbed.

I only chop garlic when a recipe calls for very coarsely chopped garlic, otherwise in the garlic crusher it goes.

The easy way to peel garlic is to cut off the base and top, then lay the knife on its side on top of the garlic and hammer down on the blade (which is flat, so you wont cut yourself, for the pendants I know a lurking out there). The skin will come right off and you can just pop it in the crusher.

[thebraketester]

Or just put it in the crusher with the skin on. The skin stays in the crusher and you can pick it out with a knife.

[cbmotorsport]

captain_cynic said:

Greshamst said:

I swear by frozen chopped garlic in a sealable bag they sell at Waitrose.
Never any issues with freshness, don’t get all garlicky fingers for hours from chopping, and you can use as much or as little as you like. Absolute godsend!

Get one of these and job jobbed.

I only chop garlic when a recipe calls for very coarsely chopped garlic, otherwise in the garlic crusher it goes.

The easy way to peel garlic is to cut off the base and top, then lay the knife on its side on top of the garlic and hammer down on the blade (which is flat, so you wont cut yourself, for the pendants I know a lurking out there). The skin will come right off and you can just pop it in the crusher.

Or just pop it in the crusher with the skin on and squeeze. No need to peel. :-)

[eltawater]

Ascayman said:

eltawater said:

Chicken breast kiev in breadcrumbs.

I really CBA with all the prep, pan frying and then shoving into the oven when I can just buy the chilled ones from Tesco and shove straight into the oven.

No way.

Try this https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/chicken_kievs_695...

Easy peasy to make and you'll never go back to shop bought.

"One by one, dust the chicken breasts first in the flour, then dip them into the egg, then roll them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated. Place the coated chicken breasts onto a plate, cover, then chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, or until needed."

See, this is the problem. The shop bought ones cook in the oven between 20-25 minutes, during which time I'm also cooking the rice to go with it so it all chimes in quite nicely within half an hour to serve

[Ascayman]

eltawater said:

Ascayman said:

eltawater said:

Chicken breast kiev in breadcrumbs.

I really CBA with all the prep, pan frying and then shoving into the oven when I can just buy the chilled ones from Tesco and shove straight into the oven.

No way.

Try this https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/chicken_kievs_695...

Easy peasy to make and you'll never go back to shop bought.

"One by one, dust the chicken breasts first in the flour, then dip them into the egg, then roll them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated. Place the coated chicken breasts onto a plate, cover, then chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, or until needed."

See, this is the problem. The shop bought ones cook in the oven between 20-25 minutes, during which time I'm also cooking the rice to go with it so it all chimes in quite nicely within half an hour to serve

If you have rice with a chicken kiev then you have far bigger problems than chilling something for 20mins

[pteron]

geeks said:

Cauliflower Cheese if you get the right frozen one you'll wonder why you used to bother with boiling up some Cauliflower and making a cheese sauce.

Apart from the fact you can use a good organic cheese instead of the cheapest utter ste they will have used!

[Greshamst]

captain_cynic said:

Greshamst said:

I swear by frozen chopped garlic in a sealable bag they sell at Waitrose.
Never any issues with freshness, don’t get all garlicky fingers for hours from chopping, and you can use as much or as little as you like. Absolute godsend!

Get one of these and job jobbed.

But the frozen chopped means I don’t have to bother with one of those...

Don’t have to buy a crusher
Don’t have to wash a crusher
Don’t have to store a crusher in my overflowing gadget drawer
Don’t ever go to use some garlic and find a dried shrivelled clove with a bitter green sprout.
Just open the freezer, take a pinch, chuck it in the pan

Honestly guys, I’m living in 2090

[captain_cynic]

Greshamst said:

But the frozen chopped means I don’t have to bother with one of those...

Don’t have to buy a crusher
Don’t have to wash a crusher
Don’t have to store a crusher in my overflowing gadget drawer
Don’t ever go to use some garlic and find a dried shrivelled clove with a bitter green sprout.
Just open the freezer, take a pinch, chuck it in the pan

Lets ignore that you have an overflowing gadget drawer... Meaning you already own too many useless utensils. Chuck some of them out and you'll have plenty of room for it.

But it takes very little effort to use and wash a garlic crusher (if you're that lazy, you have a dishwasher, Swedish or otherwise) and the taste you get is like chalk and cheese compared to frozen.

Plus I don't have bags of garlic congesting my already limited freezer space.

[CB07]

An extension of the above but garlic and/or ginger paste in a jar for chinese/indian recipes is a godsend.

[Kermit power]

captain_cynic said:

Greshamst said:

I swear by frozen chopped garlic in a sealable bag they sell at Waitrose.
Never any issues with freshness, don’t get all garlicky fingers for hours from chopping, and you can use as much or as little as you like. Absolute godsend!

Get one of these and job jobbed.

I only chop garlic when a recipe calls for very coarsely chopped garlic, otherwise in the garlic crusher it goes.

The easy way to peel garlic is to cut off the base and top, then lay the knife on its side on top of the garlic and hammer down on the blade (which is flat, so you wont cut yourself, for the pendants I know a lurking out there). The skin will come right off and you can just pop it in the crusher.

Call me a weirdo if you will, but I actually really like the process of peeling and dicing garlic! If I was going to buy anything pre-chopped or diced, onions would be far further up the list.

There's just something really satisfying about getting a clove of garlic perfectly finely diced with all the shoot removed, and I even enjoy the garlicky fingers part! One of my favourite things is frying diced garlic, chilli and sea salt in copious quantities of butter to add to pasta, then scoffing the remnants from the pan once it has cooled off a little.

[Gaz413823]

Yorkshire puddings , people tell me they’re the best and easiest things I’ll ever make but I just can’t do them. Greasing the tray , getting the oil red hot , then all the washing up all to end up for a disappointing soggy blob or aunt Bessie 4 minutes in the oven whilst you plate the veg and meat up , it’s a no brainier for me.

[Bill]

Aunt Bessie's cardboard puddings?

[thebraketester]

Gaz413823 said:

Yorkshire puddings , people tell me they’re the best and easiest things I’ll ever make but I just can’t do them. Greasing the tray , getting the oil red hot , then all the washing up all to end up for a disappointing soggy blob or aunt Bessie 4 minutes in the oven whilst you plate the veg and meat up , it’s a no brainier for me.

Follow this recipe to the letter and you cannot fail..... its impossible.

[227bhp]

Tescos finest Yorkshires are ok, I too can't be bothered with making them from scratch.
I'll also be hunting down some frozen garlic, it sounds like just the thing. I use the granules at the moment which are great for sprinkling over meat before roasting or frying, this goes for dried herbs too, the flavour is much more intense.
The garlic in a jar is pickled so taints the dish with vinegar, the one in a squeezy tube has a limited life.

[RizzoTheRat]

I always use garlic granules for garlic bread, as raw garlic is a bit too sharp and I can't be bothered to roast it first. Fresh garlic for everything else though. If you wash your hands in cold water before (so your hands are cold when chopping it) and after chopping the garlic you get a lot less smell.

[cbmotorsport]

Gaz413823 said:

Yorkshire puddings , people tell me they’re the best and easiest things I’ll ever make but I just can’t do them. Greasing the tray , getting the oil red hot , then all the washing up all to end up for a disappointing soggy blob or aunt Bessie 4 minutes in the oven whilst you plate the veg and meat up , it’s a no brainier for me.

Oh goodness. You need to master them. Then you'll feel slightly ashamed that you ever wrote the above. Aunt Bessie's are shocking.

You need equal quantities of milk/egg/flour and a good pinch of salt. Use a cup or mug for the quantities.

Preheat the oven to around 200c (if it's a good one) and put about 1/2cm of sunflower/vegetable oil in the bottom of each hole of a deep muffin tin. Preheat the oil for 5 mins or so, and then quickly pour your batter into the tin. I usually put the tin on the hob to make sure the oil stays hot. You want it to bubble and spit when you put the batter in.

You can do them a bit in advance and give them a flash in the oven before serving to crisp them back up.

Put in the oven, and don't open it for 20 minutes, they'll probably take around 25 mins in total.

Edited by cbmotorsport on Friday 21st September 15:23

Edited by cbmotorsport on Friday 21st September 15:24

[Kermit power]

yeager2004 said:

Peanut butter

Why not, out of interest?

Not tried peanut butter, but my wife makes almond butter frequently, and has also done cashew butter in the past, with both being staggeringly simple.

1. Roast the nuts, taking care that they don't burn.

2. Allow to cool.

3. Bang in a food processor (with a bit of salt, desiccated coconut or anything else you fancy) and just leave to blitz for as long as it takes.

It's one of the easiest things to make that I've ever come across!

[FunkyGibbon]

Pooh said:

TartanPaint said:

FunkyGibbon said:

Rendang curry paste. Used Rick Stein recipe - took ages and ages. Whilst it was nice a £1.50 jar of shop bought blew its socks off.

Edited to add: not a criticism of Mr Stein's recipe, more a nod to my cooking skills or lack of....!

Agreed. Applies to any curry paste, really. There's no point making your own spice mixes, when the chances are the spices that went into a bought jar of paste were a lot fresher than the ones in your cupboard! Fresh spices are the key to a good curry.

I don't agree, I frequently make curries and very seldom use curry pastes, I grind the spices myself and use fresh ginger, garlic etc, if I properly follow a good recipe such as some of Rick Steins I end up with a much better curry than if I use a jar or have a take away.

I do make my own spices for Indian and Thai dishes - but the Rendang just took way too long and did not exceed the taste of shop bought IMHO. May be I need more patience and try again.