General Chat

Bob, thought I may have sounded like a know-all. This is a great thread for food-lovers. Wish I'd thought of it first!! These are some well-tried old-fashioned recipes: OLD-FASHIONED TREACLE TART: 4-oz Plain Flour, sifted; 2-oz Margarine 4 tablespoons Golden Syrup 1/2 teacup White Breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice Preheat oven to 180C degrees. 1. Rub fat into flour and mix to dough with a little cold water. 2. Measure syrup into saucepan, add breadcrumbs and lemon juice and warm gently on stove. Remove from heat. 3. Roll out pastry and line a greased pie plate. (You can use a casserole lid if you don't have a pie plate). Prick base and cut six long strips for lattice. You may need to reroll the trimmings for this. 4. Pour syrup mixture into pastry case and twist pastry strips for lattice - place three across and three down, wetting ends to stick to pastry case. Bake for half an hour. Leave to cool and serve with cream or custard.

Kathy. Why ever would I be offended your suggestion looks great.

Denis, If you follow Bob's recipe for BANOFFI PIE, but cover the base with the sliced bananas before spooning on the "cooked" condensed milk, it shouldn't stick too much. Alternatively you could use a ready bought sweet pastry case. I've boiled the can of condensed milk for 2 hours, with the same result. Also if you dip the banana slices in lemon juice they won't go brown. (Hope Bob isn't offended)!! Good luck, Kathy

Denis If you type "Banoffi Pie" into Google you get thousands of hits. This one looked as good as any... (Note it's condensed milk not evap) Banoffi Pie About 1/2 packet Digestive and/or Ginger biscuits. 2 oz butter 1 tablespoon sugar (optional) 1 tin condensed milk 3 bananas, sliced lengthwise 1 pint whipping cream, whipped The day before, place unopened can of condensed milk into a pan of water and boil for three hours - don't let it boil dry whatever you do or the tin could explode. Allow to cool. Make biscuit base by turning the biscuits into crumbs, melting the butter in the microwave (only about 30 seconds), mixing the two together with the sugar, if using, and pressing down into a flan dish. Leave in the fridge to harden. Next day, open the can of milk, which will have turned to toffee, and spread it over the biscuit base - which will try and stick to the toffee, so just swoosh it round as best you can. Top this with the sliced bananas, and instantly with the cream (if you hang about, the bananas will go brown and ucky). Refrigerate until wanted. You could make it with peaches for someone who is allergic to bananas; if you use fresh peaches, pour boiling water over them for a minute to enable them to be peeled easily. Drained tinned peaches are fine, too. I also saw a suggestion that you could prepare several tins of condensed milk and keep them unopened ready for future use. They would keep indefinately.l Bob

All you fantastic cooks out there have given me ideas to last a month. my missus is disabled, and so i do nearly all of the cooking [and enjoy it ladies].My grandad gave me a recipe many years ago for traditional bucks bread pudding which i make often,but i lost another ,which sounds very much like todays Banoffi pie, ,[banana, evap milk,]and other bits i can,t remember .Can anyone help? as i,m getting wrong because she loves it bless her, and she never asks for nowt, and i would love to make it for her.Denis tfn Newcastle.

Hi This recipe given to me by a friend who is a chef. Very tasty soup. Liz CARROT AND CORRIANDER SOUP 6 PEOPLE ¼ pint of cream 1 large onion 1 ½ pounds carrots 1 large potato 1 clove garlic (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Caraway seeds to finish (optional) 2 teaspoons Corriander - I use a level teaspoon, but can be adjusted according to taste. 1. Chop onion and peel carrot and potato. Place in saucepan add 2 pints of water boil until cooked. 2. Add cream, salt, pepper, and blend. 3. Add coriander and caraway just before serving.

Norah This isn't good enough.... I demand that you liberate your helmet from whatever use you are putting it to and test the recipe now. I will expect your report in the morning. Bob

EMERGENCY PUDDING Smash up some old (Army) biscuits with a bayonet, or suitable instrument. Place them in a canteen. Half-fill with water, and add some orange peel. Boil to a delicious orange-flavoured paste. Serve with condensed milk. (Adapted from lst World war recipe for soldiers in the trenches) 'How to cook in your Tin Helmet' Sorry Bob, but this isn't a recipe that I've tried and tested, my tin helmet is being used for something else!!! Norah

I got this recipe from Schwartz and its really good Tuscan Cheese & Basil pasta Sauce 25g butter 1 onion, Chopped 2 tbs flour 1/4tsp mustard powder 300 ml milk 150 ml vegetable stock 1/2 tsp onion pepper 1 tsp Basil or fresh if you prefere 1/4 tsp salt 152g chedder cheese grated 15g parmesan grated 25g cream cheese 175g ham sliced 225g pasta cooked melt butter in large saucepan add onion and fry 1-2 mins until softened Stir in flour and mustard powder and cook for 30 seconds blend in milk and stock, bring to boil stirring. Add onion pepper, Basil salt chedder cheese parmesan and cream cheese simmer for 1-2 minutes. stir in ham and pasta. transfer to flameproof serving dish sprinkle with a little more grated chedder and grill till golden. sue

TINGLY FRUIT SALAD Mixed with fresh mint leaves, this berry and melon combination is easy for kids to love. Prepare it a few hours ahead of time and it will develop a light, sweet syrup. for adults add a splash of your fav tipple : ) Ingredients: 1 pt. raspberries 1 pt. blueberries 1 small honeydew melon 1 small cantaloupe 2 tsp. sugar 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (optional) Rinse the raspberries and blueberries, and allow time for them to dry thoroughly. Seed and cube both melons. In a stainless steel or glass bowl, toss together the berries, melon and sugar. (Of course, you can add or substitute other fruits, but keep in mind that fruits like bananas, pears and apples oxidize quickly and will discolor.) Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours. Right before serving, wash the mint leaves and use scissors to snip them into small pieces. Toss in with the fruit.

CHILLI CON CARNE: 1-lb Steak Mince 1 Large Onion, finely chopped 1 Green Pepper, chopped 1 tin Chopped Tomatoes 1 tin Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed) 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce 1 teaspoon Hot Chilli Powder (use Mild is you don't like it too hot) Salt to taste Brown mince and onion in saucepan on highish heat for 5 minutes until brown - no oil, just dry fried. Add the chopped pepper for a further minute. Then add the chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire Sauce and Chilli Powder and about half teaspoon of Salt. Lastly add the kidney beans. Reduce heat, cover with lid and simmer for half hour or so. Serve with boiled Long Grain Rice. For Perfectly Separated Rice - add rice to boiling salted water. Continue to simmer covered for 13 minutes. Drain in sieve and rinse with hot water. Kathy

Cherry Tomato thing! It hasn't got a name maybe someone would like to name this recipe! I never used to eat tomatoes but this way they are so sweet, makes a lovely starter or accompaniment. Ingredients: loads of lovely small cherry tomatoes 1 half of puff pastry frozen packet 1 tube of tomato puree 1 small sachet of garlic butter (could make this yourself if you are that resourceful) 1. Defrost half a pack of frozen puff pastry 2. roll it out until have about 1cm thickness into rectangle 3. with sharp knife score a border round the pastry but do not cut the pastry about 1inch all the way round 4. slather on tomato puree as base within border 5. cut all the tomatoes in half and place onto of the tomato puree alternating the tomatoes one face down one face up all the way across covering the entire pastry. 6. put little dollops of garlic butter over top, not too much 7. cook on medium heat 175 until pastry rises and crispy and tomatoes mashed in texture. can eat this hot or cold but i love it hot. zoë x

Demelza Have you tried chopped meat not minced , fresh chillis , Tin tomatoes, tin kidney beans ,onions , mushrooms, and dark bitter chocolate ( about 3 squares of it).a slug of red wine or sherry or masala and of course season to taste. That is the basics of last one I made ( have put garlic in at times too ) Everyone here liked it Jan

Demelza Perhaps it needs a good slug of sherry like the spag bol does to bring out the flavour - and a dash of Worcester Sauce. SUe

Hello Daphne Glad you made and enjoyed the Malt Loaf. It's so easy to make (and to eat too) Bill in Oz Not sure about making it in your breadmaker - have you tried it yet? Norah in Hampshire

I make my chilli the same way as spag bog but with a teaspoon of chilli ( more if you like it HOT) and a tin of baked beans added at the end of cooking. Much happiness Debi

Has anyone got a really good recipe for Chilli? Tried it various ways and it always seems to just 'miss something'. Been trying to perfect it for years and never quite manage.

Linda C Glad you enjoyed the butterscotch tart! It is lovely isn't it? Sue

My wifes granfather was in the army in India,and one of the things they appeared to have plenty of was "bully beef", and the only way out there of making it appetizing was to make a curry.When he returned his wife who was the cook at UPPARK in Hampshire improved the recipe,which is as follows:- Ingredients. 1 large tin chopped toms 1 oxo cube 1 handful of raison 2 large teaspoons of curry paste(Sharwoods madras medium,Rogan Gosh) small tin corned beef 1 onion Chop onion small ,put in pan with toms, raisons,oxo, and curry paste and cook until onions tender. Chop corned beef into cubes and simmer gently, then its up to you how long you simmer,serve on a helping of brown rice. The recipe has changed slightly over the years but this is due to availability of ingredients, anyway enjoy!!!

Daphne... I had to put this one in, I hope you don't mind. WELSH RABBIT. Thinly slice or grate 4oz Dry well Matured Cheese and put into a shallow saucepan with 1oz of Butter, ½ gill Brown Ale, salt, pepper to taste. Set over a gentle heat and stir continuously until melted. Do not allow to get too hot. When smooth and creamy pour immediately over toast, dust with cayenne pepper and eat at once. PS ½ a gill is 2½ fl oz Golden Buck Make recipe as above but when mix is melted add 2 beaten eggs and if wanted 1 tbls cream and stir until eggs are cooked and mix is thick and creamy. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce before serving on toast. I stole Daphne's recipe from another thread about melted cheese from the Wirrall (Trust them to be a bit posh up there:-)) Bob