General Chat

Sorry to hear your news....just be OK yourself

Sorry also to tempt you with a dessert recipe !!!!!!!! Will do better next time

A pity if this thread has died, I have had some lovely recipes from here

Greenfingers

Your comment has hit home and how I agree about the different recipies. There has been a lot on my mind recently about younger members of tne family, a death and and some sickness. However I have also had some good news,so have decided to try and keep this thread alive.
Please wil someone or other please start the ball rolling again.
Has anyone got any ideas as to themed food, or budget food, evening growing your on food and how to preserve it and how to cook or use it.

World War Two provided lots of recipes for healthy and cheap food, with so much unemployment across the world surely we are all having to budget our food costs?

So the challenge is, Two Meals, one for a week day and one for a celebration such as a birthday or wedding, both of which would be cheap but delicious.

I haven't got a clue yet what I will suggest so off now to have a good think and once more go to my old cook books.

Hope to see some replies very soon

Bridget :-D :-D <3 <3 ;-) ;-)

Sometimes it seems that some of us, have to bear more than others, broad shoulders Eh. Our own Bridget, who we call Bridge as an endearment is coming through her chemo, one more session to go, she is a shining example to us, dignified and hopeful. Things can only look up Bridget. Maybe I should have posted this on Diary !!!

More recipes to follow

Green Fingers

We with the name Bridget are really very strong people. I will see if there is a special food for "Bridget". Also I will add your Bridget to my prayers.

Bridget

Just a gentle nudge - well it is early yet

Julia in Derbyshire

I am back!! I hope that is good news.

OK here we go,
Please write and provide the recipies for a delicious Valentines dinner.
We could do
1. A money no object menu...
2. One we can in reality afford.

A must include the wine, champagne etc or if non drinkers what you will have instead.

It took me ages this morning to find this thread.....I was begging to think it had disappeared.


Bridget :-D

Bridget - if you click on "Watch This" at the top of the page, it will keep this thread on your "My Watched Threads" . Do this with your favourite threads and they will always be handy for you.

I have a few threads marked in this way and I rarely see the rest of the Chat threads. I started using it when I was seeing so many "spats" going on, and they didn't interest me.

Berona, thank you for the tip which has been acted upon!!

It is simple freezing here today. The sky is a heavy grey and I would not be surprised to see snow...all shutters down to help keep the place warm and Heating on.
We are having Gammon today with veg and pease pudding, and I have made an apple tart with our own fgrown fruit. Cheated though as I used some ready prepared pie as the base...it is very good and made locally.

I think we will have soup in mugs for supper with fresh baked bread. Had our fruit for breakfast.

Now I really must start thinking about the menus I suggested , I wonder who will post first?

Bridget in cold grey about to snow Spain :-S

No replies.......we must all be hibernating from the cold weather ?

I will add my Valentine Meal tomorrow so hope others will also be posted.
We are still eating real winter food as it is bitterly cold and windy here.
Bridget

I am glad you are still keeping this thread going as I renewed my sub. especially so I could read the recipes.
I find it very interesting to see how the other half live in the Northern Hemisphere in a foreign country..
I am in West Aust and it is so hot most of the time cooking is the last thing that you fancy doing.
Valentine's Day is something that I have never really bothered about. I can remember when it started getting popular. I think it is only another buying opportunity for the shops before they start advertising for Easter.
I suppose you could have a heart shaped pudding made with something red like raspberries or strawberries and that is all I can think of. Sorry inspiration has failed me for the other courses. This isn't a very helpful reply.
Margaret (used to be Fairways3)

My suggestion is to go retro !

Prawn Cocktail

Steak,with mushrooms and onions plus chips for those who can manage it.

and Pavlova.

We have found that getting a good steak from our local butcher , is far cheaper than a supermarket, less fat and easy to eat. I use frozen prawns, supermarkets own, and Marie Rose sauce, made from tomato ketchup and mayo to taste and sprinkled with cayenne.I sometimes add horseradish to the sauce. You could also make a special butter to go on steaks. Melt to room temp a small amount of butter, add herbs and garlic, or stilton cheese , put on cling film, tie up ends and roll to a saus shape, put back in fridge and then cut and put on top of steak....Yum............still altogether a lot cheaper than going out. One place near us will charge £45 per person for Valentines !

Jan X

Berona the only thing is, if you just look at the threads on your watched threads list you do sometimes miss interesting threads.

Hello Margaret, glad you still like to look into this thread. actually your sweet idea is not a bad one.

Valentine's day really passes us by here as it is too commercialised but a menu? Hmm!

I too like prawn cocktail but to be different to Jan.

Before the meal a glass of bubbly (If I were rich it would be champagne but actually it would be Cava,) dry or medium dry.

Either pate served with toast and onion marmalade or
Mixed fish with salad. I have done: Prawns, cold salmon, crab, tuna served with a mixed leaf salad and baby tomatoes. serve a container of Marie Rose sauce and/or mayonnaise separately with each plate and garnish with a slice of lemon. accompanied by brown bread and butter.

Main course: duck with orange or plum sauce, roast potatoes, carrots tossed in a little orange juice, butter and a sprinkle of italian herbs, and peas or green beans.

Sweet: Eton mess (strawberries or raspberries, broken meringue pieces and thick whipped cream. Or strawberry meringues.

I'm afraid we are not very good at matching wines with food as we know what we like. We would drink a good red Shiraz or Rioja with the meal.

And afterwards an Amaretto or a brandy.

I cheated yesterday and looked on the internet for Valentine's Day Menus from Aust and NZ.
Came up with Strawberries Romanov
Simple Waldorf Salad
Easy Portobello Mushrooms
Grilled Rock Lobster Tails
Washed down with Chardonnay or a White Burgandy and I would be wearing a red frock which I believe is traditiona and cruising on a nice luxurious liner in the tropics somewherel.

Mmm like the sound of the lobster tails.

Thanks for starting the menus for Valentines day and a big thank you to Margaret for coming back to our thread?

OK
Here is my menu for this year

Starter. Lobster tails with a hint of garlic
Main course Brie stuffed chicken breast
Mushrooms,
New potatoes

Carrots and Asparagus

White wine

Tiramisu (Home made as on page one)


If we were wealthy I rather fancy being on a wonderful ship with excellent food, Romantic Music and champagne flowing all night.


And Romantic music in the background, chosen by OH and I can guarantee that he will play Crazy by Rosemary Clooney, the first song that he bought for me after singing it to me.

Now if money didn't matter.......they were the days........then we would most likely ........do the same!

Bridget

<3 <3 <3

The menus sound great......all I would want then is someone else to do the cooking, preferably James martin

Suggestion for left over stew or mince from a meal, is to put in a foil dish and cover with a savoury crumble mix, i.e.with herbs and grated cheese. Then freeze, good for one of those days that you do not know what to cook

I would like to add something else to my menu.

Rose flavoured chocolates the recipe for which I found yesterday in one of those "Better Homes Than Yours" magazines
.
Incidentally the temperature here in Perth was 40.1C.

I do what Berona does and yes I do miss the odd thing like a warning that GReaders will be earlier than planned... about once every couple of months I do trawl the boards for a couple of hours and so sometimes I comment on an oldie.

Anyway food.. now this struck me as weird but is very nice.... when I saw the title I thought of LIz Smith where she plays Letitia Cropley in "The Vicar of Dibley"

Nectarine and Black Pepper Cheesecake

2tbs extra virgin olive oil............5 ripe nectarines, pitted, peeled and sliced
2 tbs freshly ground black pepper ...... 8 tbs unsalted butter melted, plus extra for
brushing the pan..........1 1/2 cups biscuit crumbs.......... 1 cup plus 1 tbs of sugar
1 3/4 cups of mascarpone at room temperature.... 300gms cream cheese at room
temperature.........300 gms ricotta drained at room temp.. 1 tbs of almond extract..... 4 large eggs (room temp).....1/2 cup heavy cream.. (think you might call it double cream)

In a saute pan (posh) heat oil over med heat until just smoking and add nectarine slices and saute for 2 mins or until just softened, add black pepper and toss to mix well... allow to cool.. eg put them in a
strainer on a plate to catch juice..
Preheat oven 160 deg C.. brush the extra melted butter over the bottom an sides of a 22cm springform baking tin.. place a round of parchment/greaseproof paper on bottom of pan.
In a small bowl combine crumbs and the melted butter and 1tbs sugar..stir and then press into bottom of pan.
In your mixer (paddle attachment good) beat mascarpone on med speed for 30secs. add cream cheese, ricotta and cup of sugar and mix low speed for 30 secs. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix on med speed for 2 mins.
In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, almond extract and heavy cream.
With mixer on low speed slowly pour in the liquid mixture... get it all in from the sides... then using spatula stir in nectarines until combined.. pour into pan.
Make a bain marie ...cover the bottom of the spring pan with foil and up the sides so the water does not get in.. bake for 1 1/4 hours to 1 1/2 hours until set but still as a little wobble in the centre (sounds like me) Turn oven off, open door and allow cheesecake to stand in the oven for 30minutes.. (be careful if oven door is behind you when you are at the sink and you don't back into it) .. remove from it's bath place in fridge and chill for 3 hours...
Shortly before serving put drained nectarine juice in small pan and reduce over low heat until syrupy.

Remove springform pan sides and put cheesecake to a platter. Slice with hot knife. and serve with a drizzle of syrup.

P xx

Celeriac Soup

I head of celeriac, chopped into even pieces
2 Potatoes peeled and chopped into same size pieces
1 medium onion chopped finely
1 tsp garlic
1/2 pint chicken stock,

put all this in a pan, with just enough water to cover, bring to boil, then simmer until veg soft. Then liquidise and season, add a little cream and mix ....absolutely delicious and quick