Stuff you've cooked/baked/made today

[Count Steer]

Tonight's dinner, saffron risotto with roasted tomato and some garlicky toasty bits made with the last of a sourdough loaf.

I don't mean to be picky but that's a pretty wet risotto!

[Noggin]

Empanadas tonight, doing them in the air-fryer, first couple out.

I've just made some pastry and had planned to make some goats cheese and fig tarts and maybe some goats cheese and pumpkin ones too. Then realised, only the mini air fyer

Still might. Cos everything is ready!! Got some packs of goats cheese (cheap because they are dated!) and the pumpkin is cooked and ready.

Best just MFTU and try it!! LOL

Our air fryer isn't huge so we just had a production line going and had the last couple for dinner while still fully hot.

We're putting feta, sweet potato, spinach & chilli jam in the dough that's left over.

What temperature did you do them at, and how long? I think it'll be tomorrow that I do it now, but could do with any info!! LOL

[ChrisW]

What temperature did you do them at, and how long? I think it'll be tomorrow that I do it now, but could do with any info!! LOL

180c for around ten minutes, perhaps a few minutes more - we were just checking them now & then whilst making up the next batch.

They did need re-brushing with egg a couple of times whilst cooking.

This is the recipe we followed - it does actually say 10-12 mins if using an oven, so I was about right.

https://www.lacocinadelila.com/empanadas-de-carne/

[Noggin]

What temperature did you do them at, and how long? I think it'll be tomorrow that I do it now, but could do with any info!! LOL

180c for around ten minutes, perhaps a few minutes more - we were just checking them now & then whilst making up the next batch.

They did need re-brushing with egg a couple of times whilst cooking.

This is the recipe we followed - it does actually say 10-12 mins if using an oven, so I was about right.

https://www.lacocinadelila.com/empanadas-de-carne/

Thank you. I'll try tomorrow

[Mr. Dazzle]

I don't mean to be picky but that's a pretty wet risotto!

Aye, hit the point of no return: "overcooked vs too wet".

Plus I failed to account for how much wetter the final addition of clotted cream would make it

[Noggin]

Yesterday I 'found' some filo pastry in the freezer. So made some pumpkin, goats cheese, shallots and fig parcels.

I'm not so keen on the mini air fryer for baking, one side is always undercooked even if I turned the parcels over, the pastry was a bit mooshed and the filling leaky afterwards

Tasted alright though! (Probably needed more seasoning, but the rest are in the freezer for another day!)




Today -

Banana fritters (cos, ripe bananas and no oven for baking!!)
Chicken Balls for tea and the freezer
Battered prawns for the freezer too

Just means that when I want chinese, I don't have to cook everything!!

banana fritters and half the chicken balls!!




battered prawns in the making




Banana Fritters with Maple flavoured syrup




Sweet and sour chicken balls with fried rice for tea




Freezer is pretty well stocked up

[Noggin]

Bacon sarnie!!




Ok, not really exciting (except to a handful of expats ), BUT, this is bacon that I cured myself

I followed the instructions on the pack of curing salts. End result ain't bad, but to me, not really salty enough compared to the bacon I can buy here. That might be because it is dry cured rather than pumped full of salty cure?


Anyway, the biggest challenge is going to be slicing the rest of it - I'll be fine until the joint gets a bit thin!

So, will share with a couple of mates up here to get their opinion as well, and then get another joint of pork from the butcher in a week or so's time and try again, with a bit more cure (I think!!)

[Silly Car]

I e done the curing bacon thing a couple of times, not only is it a fun thing to do, it also results in bacon, and that bacon will always be better than any mock ‘mercan will ever get

In terms of slicing, I’ve got a slicer but even then it gets a little fun once the joint starts getting small.

My tip would be to bung it in the freezer for an hour (more or less depending on the freezer) to firm up, then it is easier to slice. Failing that, dice it up to bung in as an ingredient in something. I’ve used this tip for slicing up carpaccio and it works a treat, just don’t forget about it

[Noggin]

I e done the curing bacon thing a couple of times, not only is it a fun thing to do, it also results in bacon, and that bacon will always be better than any mock ‘mercan will ever get

In terms of slicing, I’ve got a slicer but even then it gets a little fun once the joint starts getting small.

My tip would be to bung it in the freezer for an hour (more or less depending on the freezer) to firm up, then it is easier to slice. Failing that, dice it up to bung in as an ingredient in something. I’ve used this tip for slicing up carpaccio and it works a treat, just don’t forget about it

Cheers. A couple of folks I know that do bacon have suggested the same, so I'll give that a try - setting an alarm to get the stuff out the freezer!! LOL

[Mr. Dazzle]

I have a rule with "cup noodles". Only buy the ones where the English label is a sticker applied over the Chinese/Korean writing

[Noggin]

Yesterday I used up some very ripe bananas! Banana pancakes. They're alright but probably not something I'll do again

But I got to use the crumpet pan to cook the banana pancakes!



Finished pancakes!




And, cos the pan was out, I thought I'd best make some crumpets Now got to meet up with some friends to share them cos the freezer is full and I do NOT want to eat them all!!

With crumpets I always seem to struggle to get them holey on the top - I figure it's a trick of cooking them first until the tip is bubbly but almost cooked so that when they are flipped over, the batter isn't so runny that they merge and make a flat top.

Sadly (for my friends that will have to eat them!) I will just have to practice!!

[Noggin]

This is the first bread I've made that I'm really happy with!! And more simple than most!! I think I will now be using more of the wholemeal flour I was given - and given that slice bread in the Spar is over 2€ a loaf, this makes me extra happy!!

[Mr. Dazzle]

Apple Crumble and Blackberry Ice Cream.

Not all that remarkable in and of itself, but the fruit is all hand foraged (by me and my enslaved 5 year old / daughter) from the community orchards half a mile from my house.

Crumble topping is my usual 50/50 flour and oats, rather than straight flour. So kinda like Granola.

Granumble? Crumbola?

[Horse]

Never tried chocolate and courgette cake - if it's anything like as good as carrot cake then it will be ace...

I have just grated courgette for c & choc cake.

Now that the difficult and dangerous bit is done, Filly can finish it

Too late now I suspect, but I did squish it a lot in a muslin square (wrapped it up and twisted the muslin) to get rid of a fair bit of the liquid first

Cake was gorgeous as was

[Noggin]

Multigrain/granary type loaf -

[Mr. Dazzle]

I don't mean to be picky but that's a pretty wet risotto!

[Silly Car]

No photos but:

Lunch was pan fried gnocchi, chestnut mushrooms and garlic, liberally dosed with salt & pepper. A twist on garlic mushrooms on toast. A splash of double cream would have brought it together nicely but it was great without.

Dinner was a variation on this - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cru ... etable-pie - carrots, green beans and broccoli rather than suggested veg. The rest of the pack of chestnut shrooms ended up in it as well. Pastry was homemade and buttery goodness

[Noggin]

No photos but:

Lunch was pan fried gnocchi, chestnut mushrooms and garlic, liberally dosed with salt & pepper. A twist on garlic mushrooms on toast. A splash of double cream would have brought it together nicely but it was great without.

Dinner was a variation on this - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cru ... etable-pie - carrots, green beans and broccoli rather than suggested veg. The rest of the pack of chestnut shrooms ended up in it as well. Pastry was homemade and buttery goodness

Out of interest - do you make a pie base as well or just the top as the recipe (seems to) say? I always feel I should make the base too but whilst it's nice to eat, it's such a faff to cook well!!!

[Silly Car]

No photos but:

Lunch was pan fried gnocchi, chestnut mushrooms and garlic, liberally dosed with salt & pepper. A twist on garlic mushrooms on toast. A splash of double cream would have brought it together nicely but it was great without.

Dinner was a variation on this - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cru ... etable-pie - carrots, green beans and broccoli rather than suggested veg. The rest of the pack of chestnut shrooms ended up in it as well. Pastry was homemade and buttery goodness

Out of interest - do you make a pie base as well or just the top as the recipe (seems to) say? I always feel I should make the base too but whilst it's nice to eat, it's such a faff to cook well!!!

Just a top, for two reasons:

Too much filling for the pie plate I have
Didn’t make enough pastry to both top & bottom*


* yeah, I know I could have made more pastry

[Noggin]

I needed to bake some bread (hadn't bought any, none in the freezer!!) so, since the oven was on, I had a bit of a 'moment!! LOL


Made the 'simple' bread with a mix of multigrain flour and some whizzed up wholemeal (to make it a bit finer!!). Very different yeast reaction to last time - last time (just multigrain flour) it pretty much exploded, equally I suspect it was a bit warmer in the apartment last time!! LOL

Didn't look too bad and definitely tasted good





Whilst it was proving I thought I'd make a cake to share (there's a few people around and I think my favourite winter friend is back to sort out his new cafe!). But - didn't buy any eggs yesterday

Gingernut biscuits don't need any eggs Although I think I squished them a bit too much pre cook but they taste alright




Had a look for something else that doesn't need eggs (oven was on, so I just did more!!). Anyway. Been meaning to do Viennese Whirls for ages now so I've made the biscuits. They are too big, lesson learned for next time!! But I've just got to make the icing and sort the jam and I'll put them together tomorrow