A random thread for food things that don't really warrant a thread of their own

[Pingu]

How old are you?

[Basil]

How old are you?

[Jurek]

Co-op's Christmas Market Sandwich is The Meh. 

[mrcharly-YHT]

When  working, I eat crisps with chopsticks.
Not only does this slow my consumption, it avoids greasy fingers.

Just hit a problem. A crisp too big to fit in my mouth. Had to stuff it in with chopsticks in stages, like a snake swallowing an egg.

So elegant, me.

[Kim]

When  working, I eat crisps with chopsticks.

This is genius.

[L CC]

When  working, I eat crisps with chopsticks.

This is genius.

Knitters choice

[citoyen]

Co-op's Christmas Market Sandwich is The Meh. 

It's a pre-packed sandwich. What did you expect?

[hellymedic]

I see Manishewitz (USAnian Jewish delicacies) have brought out Gefilte Fish and Matzo Ball Soup flavoured ice creams.

I might well give these a miss...

[Jurek]

Co-op's Christmas Market Sandwich is The Meh. 

It's a pre-packed sandwich. What did you expect?

It's one of their premium priced, hand assembled range.
I expected better.
Some of the other flavours are.

[Tim Hall]

Co-op's Christmas Market Sandwich is The Meh. 

It's a pre-packed sandwich. What did you expect?

It's one of their premium priced, hand assembled range.
I expected better.
Some of the other flavours are.

The Boy once had a slightly disappointing food stuff of some kind or another. He said he was "whelmed" by it. Neither over whelmed nor under whelmed. Just  whelmed.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think "hand assembled" is marketing guff. They're all hand assembled, mostly by Greencore. Bare hands, in fact.

[Wowbagger]

A small alert for those so inclined: Waitrose are currently selling a variety of Fuller's bottled ales at 3 bottles for £5. This includes the excellent bottle-conditioned 1845, and the ridiculous 8.5% "Golden Pride", which normally retails at £2.95 per bottle. I don't think Golden Pride is bottle conditioned but who cares when a single pint is pretty much your limit without risking a hangover.

They also had a bottle of The Singleton 12-yo whisky at £27, and one of my favourite Rhônes was also on special offer. Cheers!

[Wowbagger]

Arising from my previous post, I drank a pint of Golden Pride yesterday evening. It's rather bland. I used to be quite a fan of London Pride, but in recent years I've gone off it in favour of other beers. Goldn Pride sort of reminds me of London Pride but with double the alcohol. 1845 is a much better beer.

[spesh]

My nearest branch of Waitrose didn't have Golden Pride, so I picked the last bottle of 1845 on the shelf, and made do with an ESB and a London Porter. #FirstWorldProblems

[Wowbagger]

I'm drinking Golden Pride again this evening and enjoying it rather more than I did two nights ago. I wonder if it's anything to do with the fact that today is the first day for some time that I took a covid test and it was negative?

[Mrs Pingu]

I decided to consult La Cloake for the perfect Bolognese, just out of interest.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/nov/25/how-to-make-perfect-bolognese

Stupid question though, if you're just using mince and not some tough cut of meat, why does it actually need slow cooking for 3 hours?

[Basil]

I decided to consult La Cloake for the perfect Bolognese, just out of interest.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/nov/25/how-to-make-perfect-bolognese

Stupid question though, if you're just using mince and not some tough cut of meat, why does it actually need slow cooking for 3 hours?

Well, I use mince, but I do let it simmer on a very low heat for 2-3 hours in order to let the flavours mature.
Top tip.  I no longer use spaghetti. I prefer linguine.  The juices stick to it so much better. 

[Mrs Pingu]

Well I'm giving the pressure cooker a whirl anyway, though not using any liver.

[Mrs Pingu]

Pressure cooker question:
My venerable Prestige Hi-Dome, of unknown provenance (it was either my parents, or bought 2nd hand, I cannae remember, it was a long time ago) - it leaks water out of one particular section of the lid/base interface while it's coming to pressure. I thought it might need a new gasket, but it still does it with the new gasket.
Although it's not yet blown up in my face, is this normal, or should I be binning it and getting a new one?

[citoyen]

Stupid question though, if you're just using mince and not some tough cut of meat, why does it actually need slow cooking for 3 hours?

Depends what variety of mince you use, perhaps? I'd say those cheap, tough cuts - with lots of fat and sinew - are exactly what you need for something like spag bol/ragu, where long, slow cooking allows the sauce to reduce and the flavours to combine and develop. Save the premium lean steak mince for making burgers.

Felicity Cloake doesn't go into this in much detail but she does mention that Marcella Hazan recommends chuck, which sounds perfect to me.

I love the idea of adding chicken livers. I'll have to try that next time I make spag bol.

My wife did a Tom Kerridge recipe a while ago which involved roasting the mince. A lot of faff but I have to admit it was very good indeed.

[Mrs Pingu]

I think I prefer the way I normally make it, with peppers and mushrooms. Not true Bolognese but who cares.

[ian]

I decided to consult La Cloake for the perfect Bolognese, just out of interest.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/nov/25/how-to-make-perfect-bolognese

Stupid question though, if you're just using mince and not some tough cut of meat, why does it actually need slow cooking for 3 hours?

Yes, to bring the sauce together rather than cook the meat. You can do it in 40 minutes but it’s not nearly as tasty. Slow cooker works fine.

Chicken livers do make it richer and milk is essential. Pancetta is also good but I don’t eat pig so that’s a no no.

[rafletcher]

Pressure cooker question:
My venerable Prestige Hi-Dome, of unknown provenance (it was either my parents, or bought 2nd hand, I cannae remember, it was a long time ago) - it leaks water out of one particular section of the lid/base interface while it's coming to pressure. I thought it might need a new gasket, but it still does it with the new gasket.
Although it's not yet blown up in my face, is this normal, or should I be binning it and getting a new one?

To coin a phrase “they all do that guv”. If you bring the liquid to the boil then put the lid on it minimises the leakage I find.

[andrewc]

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/future-uncertain-historic-liverpool-cake-28195887


Shortage of marzipan & icing on the horizon.    That factory is just around the corner from my flat.  I can usually hear the place.   

[SteveC]

Marzipan is really easy to make (assuming we don't get a shortage of almonds next).