Whats on the menu for dinner these days??

[milanja]

I always add zucchini to my spag bol.

Think I will from now on too MR.

[horrie hastings]

Spag bol turned out one of the best i have ever done ( according to my better half ), got to admit i reckon they were right, i really enjoyed it to. What i like about it it always turns out different who ever makes it at home, some times i chuck marsala or port in it instead of red wine, some times i will put roasted red capsicum in with it, its never the same but always turns out decent, better half will add a tin of mushrooms in butter sauce into the sauce, can't say i would do it myself but it always turns out good also. Left overs will be frozen as enough again for two easily and also have a previous batch in the freezer.

[mightyrooster]

Chicken pesto pasta.

[Crab]

Chicken Tikka Masala amd jasmine rice tonight with added Thai chilli and naan bread on the side . Used the Spice Tailor kit and it warmed me up on a chilly night , after a cold, wet walk with my little dog !

[horrie hastings]

Baked chicken thighs with baked potato, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, garlic and peas and a nice lemony gravy.

[King Salvo]

Russian Tonight

• Solyanka - Russian soup - ham/beef/sausage/bacon/vegetables-carrots/onions/potato/cabbage and lemon to give the sour taste
• Pirozhki - Baked pastries - beef and pork/cabbage/corn/carrotspotato/cheese - similar to pasties
• Blini - Wheat Pancakes - Filled with jam, Sweet cheese and chocolate syrup.
• Raf Coffee - sweet milky coffee - expresso coffee /cream and vanilla sugar

[King Salvo]

My Wife cooks a lot of Russian dishes some of which I could never eat - Beef Tongues for instance - My Mother would have to cook both Steak and Kidney Pie and a Steak pie without Kidney - Haggis and Black Pudding I could never eat either - My Mother was Scottish

[ism22]

Lots of different things over the past week but mostly:

- Sushi / sashimi

- Sauce kataudon

- Cold soba sets with pickles...etc

- Korean platters (a friend does a style where she sits with you and cooks up various dishes + serves you a range of booze)

- Cocktails (can't refuse at $8 a pop... went to a damn good cocktail bar in my old town with a 2-storey drink cabinet & an internationally decorated cocktail dude. Kinda funny that I've been going to and from the town for ~20 years but never went to this bar as it was seen as 'betraying' a friend. However the said friend's now in his mid 70's and is winding down his operations so it was time to branch out).

[horrie hastings]

My Wife cooks a lot of Russian dishes some of which I could never eat - Beef Tongues for instance - My Mother would have to cook both Steak and Kidney Pie and a Steak pie without Kidney - Haggis and Black Pudding I could never eat either - My Mother was Scottish

I would probably try the tongue, a Kiwi mate of mine used to love lambs tongue and i tried it a couple of times, was neither here or there with it but didn't dislike it but wouldn't make a habit of eating it. The thought of haggis just puts me off altogether, steak and Kidney pie was gross when i was young and i would pick all the kidneys out but somehow the kidney flavour had imparted itself through the pie so it was unpleasant.
Black pudding i do love though, i was introduced to it at a young age, my father used to get a lot of free small goods from Anderson's at Paddington when he fixed their phones, my father used to fry it up for breakfast and i loved it, only knew it as black sausage then and didn't know what the main ingredient was, it was only in later in life i found out what it was made of but i already liked it so that wasn't going to put me off. I was really looking forward to having it for breakfast in the UK and Scotland when i was going next month but a few unfortunate events have lead to the holiday being cancelled for the mean time.

[milanja]

Spag bol turned out one of the best i have ever done ( according to my better half ), got to admit i reckon they were right, i really enjoyed it to. What i like about it it always turns out different who ever makes it at home, some times i chuck marsala or port in it instead of red wine, some times i will put roasted red capsicum in with it, its never the same but always turns out decent, better half will add a tin of mushrooms in butter sauce into the sauce, can't say i would do it myself but it always turns out good also. Left overs will be frozen as enough again for two easily and also have a previous batch in the freezer.

Just when I think I’ve nailed the sauce, the next time I do it, it just isn’t the same, I put it down to the meat being bought from different shops, or the amount of fat differing from batch to batch.

along with the pork/beef mince I started adding beef soup bones, which do make a difference, probably from the marrow possibly.

the wife always says it’s great, but I seem to notice a difference batch to batch, sometimes better, sometimes not to my expectations.

i do addthe mutti passata with Parmesan already in it, but not always in stock, so I’ll just add grated Parmesan/peccorino about 15min from the end to thicken it up a bit if needed.

[horrie hastings]

Just when I think I’ve nailed the sauce, the next time I do it, it just isn’t the same, I put it down to the meat being bought from different shops, or the amount of fat differing from batch to batch.

along with the pork/beef mince I started adding beef soup bones, which do make a difference, probably from the marrow possibly.

the wife always says it’s great, but I seem to notice a difference batch to batch, sometimes better, sometimes not to my expectations.

i do addthe mutti passata with Parmesan already in it, but not always in stock, so I’ll just add grated Parmesan/peccorino about 15min from the end to thicken it up a bit if needed.

You have hit the nail on the head about the meat being bought from different places, sometimes i will get a batch from the butchers up in Marrickville and other times i pick up mince when Coles has mark downs, the fat ratio in the mince makes a big difference. Seeing there is only two in the house i don't make big batches and only use 500gm of mince , usually there is enough left over again for another meal and i whack it in the freezer, even if there isn't quite enough for another serve for two i freeze it and just add a can of tomatoes to it to stretch it out once its defrosted again.
I like how it is different every time i make it, it quite often depends on what alcohol i put in it, sometimes if i want a slightly sweeter sauce i will add marsala, port makes it more melllow or red wine gives a bit more kick, i sometimes use white wine also but not that often, the only time i didn't like the sauce i made was when i used white wine and vegemite, it wasn't horrible but i wasn't keen on it, it did combine the left overs of that batch with the left overs of another batch and it was a lot better then.

[milanja]

You have hit the nail on the head about the meat being bought from different places, sometimes i will get a batch from the butchers up in Marrickville and other times i pick up mince when Coles has mark downs, the fat ratio in the mince makes a big difference. Seeing there is only two in the house i don't make big batches and only use 500gm of mince , usually there is enough left over again for another meal and i whack it in the freezer, even if there isn't quite enough for another serve for two i freeze it and just add a can of tomatoes to it to stretch it out once its defrosted again.
I like how it is different every time i make it, it quite often depends on what alcohol i put in it, sometimes if i want a slightly sweeter sauce i will add marsala, port makes it more melllow or red wine gives a bit more kick, i sometimes use white wine also but not that often, the only time i didn't like the sauce i made was when i used white wine and vegemite, it wasn't horrible but i wasn't keen on it, it did combine the left overs of that batch with the left overs of another batch and it was a lot better then.

LOL with the Vegemite!

I use white wine quite often as sometimes I find it too rich with tomato paste, passata and red wine.

i have tried Marion Grasby’s version with miso paste, but wasn’t really a fan.

[Crab]

Think I will from now on too MR.

Zucchini goes alright in spag bol and also onion, garlic, mushrooms , Cherry tomatoes and grated carrot . Add some Rosemary and I like the pork/veal mince. A dash of balsamic vinegar and as much chilli as you can handle, topped with grated Parmesan, served with home made garlic bread and you can't go wrong . Enjoy !

[mightyrooster]

I’m very predictable with my spag bol and use the same recipe every time!

[horrie hastings]

LOL with the Vegemite!

I use white wine quite often as sometimes I find it too rich with tomato paste, passata and red wine.

i have tried Marion Grasby’s version with miso paste, but wasn’t really a fan.

I use a tin of tomato puree and tinned tomatoes in my sauce, sometimes i add some tomato paste at the end , sometimes i don't, just depends on how long the sauce i had been cooking away and if it needs a lift.

I always liked watching Marion Grasby's cooking segments, did try one of her package curry kits one day and was really under whelmed though.