I've quite enjoyed the Mumtaz range Morrisons have been stocking at £2 a throw.

Nothing like the real McCoy like some would demand but half decent for a ping meal when you can't be @rsed.

Agreed, there are some times when one can't be @rsed.
In the world of cook-chill meals, I rate Mumtaz as a cut way above the bland lowest-common-denominator towards which the others tend.
Also, a funny thing, no two Mumtaz meals in succession are the same, have you noticed that?

Yep, I've fairly enjoyed them compared to the usual microwave ready meal fayre.

I may indulge in the [iTikka[/i one tonight.

anyone tried an air fryer, thinking of getting one for doing fish etc?

Not while I've got one of [url=http://www.mk-sales.co.uk/Catering-Equipment/Cooking-Equipment/Fryers/Lincat-Silverlink-600-DF33-Single-Tank-Single-Basket-Counter-Fryer-3kW/these bad boys[/url sat on the counter top.



Anything that claims to "fry" food in just a spoonful of oil I'd dismiss immediately, just try getting a 12" fillet in any air fryer

I've been reading up on the supposed "oil free" Philips one, and it (very briefly) suggests that it's great at cooking FROZEN CHIPS as they are already cooked in oil, so there's no way it's going to "fry" fish as you rightly say.

I'd love a proper fryer, but as the only person in the house who eats fried fish it's not going to happen.

Had a fish from the chippie at the top of Summergangs/James Reckitt Ave last night.



W@nk!

That's how they get the batter so light. Bit salty mind.

We've a consumer version of the one Coddy has, cost about £25, does a pretty good job.

the big issue in our house (ie:my other half has) is the smell of the oil

Open a window! Seriously, if you keep filtering the oil then there is little smell while cooking and after.

I'm like that with oil too. Makes me gip when Chris makes yorkies.

Just made us liver mash liver and onions.

Delicious.

Yorkies should be made with beef dripping, never oil



That's made me feel nauseous now

point one is so true
point two made me laugh

Damned right!

And having eventually tried cooking chips in lard, I am never again going to use oil.

I've known people partial to it in a sandwich.

Pork dripping but never beef, the bloody stuff's too hard to spread

The bottom of the beef dripping pot where there is a bit of jelly and bit of meet juices and some fat, bloody lovely on toast.

there is nothing at all wrong with lard, it's just an obsession for the last 15 years telling us it goes straight to your heart and stops it beating, like anything, it's fine in moderation.

ALSO.....

sharpening knives, how best to do it?

Buy your local butcher a couple of pints and get him to teach you.

For my Global knives I use a Mino Sharp Plus 3. The others I'll use an oilstone to get the edge and then a couple of strokes with a steel to keep it.

I think it's been longer, really: at least 30 years. The idea that fat per se was bad - and saturated fat would kill you in an instant - goes back to at least then and possibly a little earlier, as seen in the widespread diet advice that was certainly around then and seen as utterly normal and un-faddy, to cut all fat and fill up with complex carbs. Which of course turned out to be part of the problem.

There is also the point that the so-called healthy alternatives - man-made fats as opposed to natural ones - cost a lot more.


On knives, I've been using a steel for some time, but it took me a while to get it right and I might have helped wreck a knife in the process (although there may have also been a fault from the manufacturing process: I really don't know).

If it's a decent knife, it may not be a write-off.

Get in touch with [url=http://www.nellacut.com/Nella[/url. Contrary to popular belief, all thos expert & celebrity chefs do not sharpen their own knives, they use a sharpening service and Nella is far & away the best.

Meanwhile, [url=http://aolcookshop.co.uk/acatalog/TheSecretsofEasyKnifeSharpening_001.pdfthis pdf[/url makes interesting reading

Not heard that name for a while

You can see their vans dart between decent London eateries is you are around early enough. The old adage used to be "never trust your knives to someone without an Italian accent"

Got 2.8kg of pork shoulder in the slow cooker with some garlic, shallots, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, bit of chicken stock and chinese five spice. When its done about 6 hours will have it pulled with some homemade egg fried rice.

MMMMMMM