Food and Drink: Cooking tips & Recipes etc...

[Irene]

Welcome to the Food & Drink thread!

I recall that some time ago we used to post tips and recipes. It was good to try them. I picked up lots of useful info from our members.

With this in mind, I thought we might resurrect the idea – even quote some of them from that period

… if I can find them! :D

Courtesy of –pops-…

"If you dislike Brussels Sprouts, try this. I've converted a most ardent sprout hater into actually liking them - enough to eat them outside of Christmas dinner.

Trim sprouts and slice in half lengthwise (through the core). Boil for TWO MINUTES only.

Heat a small amount of oil in a wok or frying pan, add finely sliced red chilli (you know how much - it depends how you like them but don't omit them) and a tablespoonful of sesame seeds per 500g (1lb) of sprouts. Lightly fry to extract the flavour into the oil then add the drained sprouts and fry for 4 - 5 minutes until they just take a brown colour and are tender. Serve."

https://forums.windowsforum.org/index.php?showtopic=38711&p=280020

Courtesy of catgate…

“One of my favourite ways of doing good fish, of pretty nearly any kind (with the exception whole shark or giant squid) is to use the aluminium foil method.
Just put the fish, sprinkled with salt and possibly pepper, into an aluminium foil parcel, along with whatever flavouring you're favouring (we always have a Basil plant pot on the kitchen window sill and we often use the stalky bits of fennel bulbs) and shove it into a fairly hot pre heated oven for some minutes. Actual temp., and time obviously vary with size of fish.
Mackerel are absolutely wonderful done this way, as is every other fish we have tried. You get nothing but the fish and seasoning this way.

I did a paella last night using smoked haddock and jumbo prawns (ex-supermarket fish counter...always inferior to the real fish from the man who comes from Hull every fortnight).
A large chopped onion and the last of the home grown red peppers fried in olive oil, in a large frying pan, followed, after the onions had become really soft and brown, with the appropriate rice (half a teacupful for the two of us). This was followed by the first of the boiling water and allowed to boil, topping up with boiling water as and when needed. As the rice was coming up to the point where it was almost cooked in went the haddock (cut into pieces) and the prawns, along with two or three chopped sun dried tomatoes, a couple of teaspoons of chicken stock powder and just a splash of sherry.. The trick is to get the liquid volume to be at a minimum just as the whole lot is ready to serve, without scorching the lot to death. That's why I have the boiling kettle handy., all the time.”

Please share your favourite recipes and any tips you might have.