As this is the unofficial food thread I've just made a superb shepherds pie.



Ingredients -:
1, Asde bag of extra special baby sprouts, bacon and garlic butter tossed in the wok then lined the bottom of the oven baking dish.
2, Onion, chopped, softened in wok and a 1lb of butchers steak mince added and browned for 5 minutes.
3, Tin of toms added.
4, A teaspoon of red chillies in white wine vinegar added.
5, A jar of Homepride Shepherds Pie sauce added.
6, All contents mixed and spooned out over the top of sprouts and bacon.
7, 5lb of Albert Rooster spuds boiled and mashed with butter and milk then covered carefully over top of aforementioned mix.
8, Creative use of back of fork for ridged effect.
9, Red Leicester cheese grated over the top of spuds.
10, 170 degees in a pre-heated oven for 50 minutes.

It was a visible masterpiece and didn't arf taste good!

yep, I agree, my next attempt will not require belly pork at all and will concentrate more on getting the gelatine into the pie and perhaps not squashing the meat down so firmly, all in all they were good, perhaps too much Allspice and not enough pepper, problem with the gelatine and the meat was too dark when cooked (not pink like a pork pie) but the pastry was spot on - overall it did end up like a meat pie with the meat being coincidently pork, rather than a pork pie, if you know what I mean.

The glass jar method is mentioned in the Hairy Bikers recipe and it was only at the last minute that I realised that I didn't have any glass jars

Couple of points mate:

If it's beef, it's a cottage pie

WTF is Homepride Shepherds Pie sauce

1lb of meat to 5lb of spuds? How deep was the dish?

Red Leicester FFS?

Well it tasted good Dave.
Didn't use all the spud.
Red Leicester is quality on top. Was gonna go for mature cheddar but fancied experimentation.

Speaking of ready made sauces & powdered mixes etc, I was sent to Asda early this morining with a list of a few things, one of which was "Casserole Mix" - the wife was making some home made vegetable soup, whizz up a load of veggies in a food processor and boil, hey presto, soup.

I have to add here that after 32 years of listening to her voice and accent I have succesfully managed to tune out most of it and so when she was instructing me what to buy and pinning a ten pound note to my sleeve so I didn't lose it, I'm sure I heard her say something about it being a "mix" that was at the end of the vegetable aisle, I did, I definitely did, I think.

So I get to Asda and sure enough at the end of the vegetable aisle there is a stand with those packets of powdered mixes that you get for spag-bol and shepherds pie and stuff, but not one called "Casserole Mix"

I went to the sauce aisle and found the full stand of all of those jars of mix and packets of powdered mixes but nothing called "casserole mix", so I rang her up and told her.

"Its in the vegetable aisle" she insisted
"No its not" I replied
"It bloody is" she insisted, starting to sound like one of those bints from Geordie Shore (the accent comes out when the temper rises)
"No its not" I risked, "Ive looked"
"You haven't looked hard enough..." and then I phased her out.

I came home without the casserole mix, got a bollacking but didn't hear any of it.

Later on this afternoon we're sat round the table with her sister and the bro-in-lor and they're rabbiting away in their language about how they make this here vegetable soup that we're all eating, and then the penny dropped...

"You know that casserole mix ?" I said, "Its not a powder is it, its a packet of mixed vegetables chopped up ready for a casserol dish isn't it ?"

They gave me that look that Miss Trenholme used to give me at Brudenell Infants School when I couldn't get past page two of Janet and John.

I won't get sent out for shopping again for a while.

Plan worked.

I'll wager that she, as do all of 'em, regularly uses the phrase "it's on the side", when you enquire where anything may be, especially something in the kitchen. Have women not yet realised that most kitchens have at least four sides, each consisting of various horizontal surfaces standing off them?

Got some stewing steak from the butchers so think the slow cooker will be making an appearance this week.
Spuds, carrots, turnip, frozen petit pois, and then I'll be searching for one of JC's Mrs's casserole mixes.

Hopefully this will be the end result (I may also add a splash of red vino).

"Its in the cupboard"
"Its on the shelf"
"Its where its always been"
"You had it last"

How about, ''It's up your @rse because that's where it's going when I find it?''

cor...

any chance of an invite mate ?

I managed to decimate beans on toast last night !



can any one suggest a good book for beginners ? ie "How to Cook" or similar?

I know I'm a bit rubbish with shuffling the pots and pans but I've managed to muddle through and get by.
My staples, keeping it easy, that I do a half decent job at -:
Fry up.
Sunday dinner (just about got the hang of Yorkshire Puddings).
Slow cooker casserole.
Home made curry. (left over from Sun din, beef, pork, chicken etc).
Corn beef hash (with beans).
Omelette.
Shepherds Pie (or Cottage

).
Toad in the hole.
Salads.
Cereals.
Cheese on toast.

Throw in a weekly takeaway or two, the odd restaurant visit, and the jobs just about a good un.

blimey , i'm impressed !

salads are ok
cereals easy ...

but...

cheese on toast is real cordon bleu stuff to me !

problem is, never having had to do it before, cooking is like a foreign language to me...

Only the best for you SanJunien ....... micronde required........[urlhttp://www.picard.fr/[/url
Or [urlhttp://www.leaderprice.fr/leader-price-et-vous[/url

We might have to have a Wizeb, Sanjunien, Peggy rendezvous if I tramp over to Limoges this coming season.
We will doubtless despatch several bottles of claret.

at last....


a sensible idea on this forum !!!

This isn't necessarily the case. It is accepted that both terms have been used interchangeably over the years, whatever meat is used.

Not sure if Wizeb will last the course, it's mens beer over here not that weak 4.8/5% Stella stuff in the UK. My local bar does take outs in cans - 8.9%
When it comes to the wine I imagine Wizeb will want to wimp out after his fifth bottle.

As the boys call me [i'the human sump'[/i I don't think you'll have to worry too much mate.

Used interchangeably but incorrectly, yes?

Anyways fellow gastronomers, tonight I'm going in for a further slab of [icottage[/i pie. It will probably taste even superior this after 24 hours of maturity.
I'm accompanying it with half a cauliflower which is going to be married with a co-operative cheese sauce mix.



Slow cooker is on with beef and vegetables tenderising as I type.
I went for a Schwartz Slow Cookers Beef & Tomato Casserole Mix as liquidation.
I'll have it on high for an hour then down to slow overnight.
Should be in fine fettle come tea tomorrow.

don't know if Limoges is ready for WZ ?

just think of the culture shock, for Limoges !

I mean, I have my totally unblemished reputation to consider !

I'll be on my best behaviour.
[size=50Just make sure you take me where there's a bit of talent about.[/size

in that case, get yer tail down here pronto

We are used to taking over your capital city.

Aye and disappearing the next day with ya tail between your legs...