Lock down cooking tips (your own or ones you are using)

spanishman

spanishman

Well-known member
Here is one from me. The missus has added panacalty to the list of things on her cooking wish list. This tip is from the last time I cooked it for her.

My mum used to just slice the corned beef and add it in layers. From recent experience I have found that it is better to mould the corned beef into a solid layer or layers. It keeps it's form better.
 
I have just made Beer bread. 3 ingredients, 3 cups of Self Raising flour, Can of cheap shoite beer and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix the clart together and shot in a bread tin for 45 mins. Not a bad effort just a bit doughy. trial and error.
 
Wilf said:
Should you want to add Honey to a hot drink, place the honey spoon in the hot drink, before you put it in the honey pot - the warmth of the spoon makes it much easier to take the right amount of honey and also it comes off the spoon quicker and easier with less mess..
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You should have told me that earlier. I was baking some blueberry banana bread earlier today. I always struggle to get the amount of honey to put in it right. I will just warm the spoon in advance from now on.
 
Pitta breads 'buttered up' with a tomato puree make a fantastic base for an home made baked pizza - you can get each person wanting one involved (teenagers etc) - by letting them select their own ingredients to go on top and help in the chopping and cutting (peppers, mushrooms, cheese, pineapple :ROFLMAO: , pilchards, whatever) - better value as well
 
Wilf said:
Pitta breads 'buttered up' with a tomato puree make a fantastic base for an home made baked pizza - you can get each person wanting one involved (teenagers etc) - by letting them select their own ingredients to go on top and help in the chopping and cutting (peppers, mushrooms, cheese, pineapple :ROFLMAO: , pilchards, whatever) - better value as well
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That reminds me. Have people had dessert pizza? An Italian friend of mine who used to run an Italian restaurant in Manchester told me about it. After that I dug out this recipe off the internet...

MASCARPONE AND BERRY PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup mascarpone (115 g)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (65g)
3 tablespoons honey
1 pound pizza dough (45g)
10 ounces blackberries (285g)
4 ounces blueberries (115 g)
2 tablespoons brown sugar

TOOLS

Pizza stone
Pizza peel
Parchment paper

DIRECTIONS

Place the pizza stone in the oven, and preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. This heats up the stone so that the crust will begin to crisp as soon as the pizza touches it.

( I cheat - PRE PREPARED PIZZA BASE FROM LIDL COOKS AT 200C. SAYS COOK FOR 15-20 MINUTES)

In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, yogurt, and 1 tablespoon of the honey until combined. Set aside.

On a pizza peel lined with a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, gently pull the dough out into a rectangle roughly 9 inches x 13 inches, leaving the edges a bit thicker for the crust. Spread the mascarpone mix over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border for the crust. Evenly distribute the berries over the mascarpone. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the crust, and press down gently to secure.

Slide the parchment paper and pizza onto the pizza stone in the oven. Allow to bake for 10-18 minutes (cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your crust) or until the crust puffs up and turns golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey across the top. Slice and serve.
 
If you like chips/ roasties, but want a much less calorific alternative:

MacDonalds chips 330 cals per 100g, and are ok for fast food
McCain oven chips 130 cals per 100g, and taste like crap
Wev's roasties/ chips 70 cals per 100g, and taste awesome

Serves 2:
Get some small potatoes, the baby ones with the skin on, normally come in a 750 gram bag from Tesco or wherever
Boil a kettle, probably two cups worth of water. Put oven on to 200 degrees.
Chuck half of the bag on a chopping board, cut them all in half, and maybe the larger one's into thirds
Add chopped potatoes into a microwavable jug, or something with a bit of spare volume
Cover potatoes in boiled water
Microwave 6-8 minutes
Drain, and chuck on a baking tray, quite close together,
Spray 5-10 squirts of fry lite sunflower oil or similar
Add salt, pepper and whatever else you fancy (herbs, fajita spice, cajun spice, chilli flakes, garlic etc)
Chuck in the oven with whatever else you're cooking, 20-30 minutes until they're as brown/ crispy as you like

You will end up with a 190 gram serving, or so, and about 140 calories, which is really good for how nice they are.
I prefer them to chip shop chips or McDonalds which are 500 calories for a 150 gram serving!

Obviously if you're hungry you can have 300g or half a bag etc, half a bag is about 270 calories

Thank me later
 
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Wevs Roasties - sounds better than macdonald or McCain.

when you have already used energy to boil the water, why not just par-boil them and cut out the 6 mins in a jug of boiled water and sticking them in the microwave. (you already have something cooking in the oven - so its straight from the pan to the oven?)
 
I've done that as well Wilf, the kettle is just quicker, and the 10 minutes of kettle/ microwave and then going straight in the oven for 20 minutes after normally works well on timings, as it will marry up with 30 minutes for whatever else I'm cooking.

Microwaves are better at cooking from the inside out, for some things, rather than boiling just doing the outside in etc.

I get massively annoyed cooking something, if I'm stood there waiting, and this way seems to flow quite well. I eat them most days, got it down to a tee now :)
 
Wev1 said:
I've done that as well Wilf, the kettle is just quicker, and the 10 minutes of kettle/ microwave and then going straight in the oven for 20 minutes after normally works well on timings, as it will marry up with 30 minutes for whatever else I'm cooking.

Microwaves are better at cooking from the inside out, for some things, rather than boiling just doing the outside in etc.

I get massively annoyed cooking something, if I'm stood there waiting, and this way seems to flow quite well. I eat them most days, got it down to a tee now :)
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After you have parboiled the potatoes in microwave or in pan ,leave them for 5 minutes to release the steam as they will be a bit more crunchier on outside .
 
Not a tip. Just a potato related recipe. I am cooking this for the first time today. It sounds nice...

Tornado Potatoes

Ingredients
for 2 servings
• 2 medium Yukon potatoes
• ¼ cup butter (60 g), melted
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (100 g), plus more for serving
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Special Equipment
• 2 wooden skewers

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC).

2. Microwave the potatoes for 1-1 ½ minutes, then leave in the microwave for a few minutes to cool down and soften. Insert a wooden skewer into the bottom of each potato and gently push it all the way through the top. Working in a spiral motion from one side to the other, hold a sharp, thin knife at an angle and cut in the opposite direction you are turning the skewered potato, cutting all the way down to the skewer. Take your time and work to make thin, even spiral all the way down the potato.

3. Gently fan out each potato down the length of the skewer, until you have even gaps between the slices. Brush the melted butter all over the potatoes.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Place each skewered potato over the bowl and sprinkle half of the spice mixture over each potato until they are entirely coated. Carefully set the potatoes on a baking pan, letting the skewers rest on sides of the pan so that the potatoes are suspended.

Ready to cook now:

TornadoPotatoes.jpg

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until nicely browned. Garnish with additional Parmesan and parsley. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
 
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