Leo

Well-known member
went to a holiday pot luck dinner at a friend's house, had a combination of all dishes people brought: chicken soup, quiche, German Kartoffelgratin (creamy/cheesy gratin), stuffed acorn squash and trifle.
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Pasta bake with carrots, chickpeas and tahini, which is a bit of brown rice away from a 70s vegetarian full house. Not entirely sure how I ended up cooking this - I sort of got half an idea while shopping and couldn't shake it. The tahini sauce was bastardized from an already bastardized version of a lebanese thing. Nice solid hibernation food, although it might have been better with feta in and some sort dark green vegetable on the side.
 
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Leo

Well-known member
heading to the UK for Xmas tomorrow, so no new cooking posts for the next couple of weeks. imagine you'd get tired of my fish and chips posts, so will hold off unless we find something interesting. nine days with the wife's family in Towcester (about 10 miles southwest of Northamption), then three nights in London. if anyone has restaurant recommendations in either, drop a line.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
heading to the UK for Xmas tomorrow, so no new cooking posts for the next couple of weeks. imagine you'd get tired of my fish and chips posts, so will hold off unless we find something interesting. nine days with the wife's family in Towcester (about 10 miles southwest of Northamption), then three nights in London. if anyone has restaurant recommendations in either, drop a line.

The Bull is good, run by a South African guy (I think?) - nothing super fancy on the menu, just stuff like steaks done pretty well. I know you don't eat meat very often but hey, it's Christmas! It's a pub-restaurant so decent beer on hand pump plus good wine selection.

For 'modern European' stuff, try 185 Watling Street. Reasonably up-market, pleasant interior.

Half-decent 'Indian' (actually Bangladeshi) at Dilraj. They have good bottled ales from Towcester Mill brewery, which is right in the middle of town, and provides an alternative to the usual Kingfisher or Cobra lager.

However, the best food (good wine, too) I've had in the area by some margin was at the truly excellent Barley Mow in Paulerspury, a small village a couple of miles out from Towcester itself. Just head SE along the A5 and then take a small road off to the right.
 

Mellsman

Well-known member
A fridge-emptying sauce with leftover roast chicken, mushrooms, bacon, tarragon and creme fraiche with fresh tagliatelle and a glass or two of a Northern Italian Red:
Suagnà Langhe Rosso 2013
 

Leo

Well-known member
wow, thanks tea, much appreciated! can't believe you actually know Towcester!
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
Huge loin of pork roasted in adjika (a spicy Georgian sauce - a bit like harissa) along with taters, peppers, mushrooms, onion and garlic. Sliced and served with a celeriac and apple mash and a green salad.

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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Anyway, some badly-needed updates from me.

Wednesday I made a ton of veg soup (various winter veg plus some of that one enormous mushroom I picked back in October) with some stock I made from the lamb leg bone (see last Tuesday's "Moroccan" tagine) plus some more home-made stock I found in the freezer. It wasn't tasting of a great deal, so I added some minced garlic and a few lime leaves, which improved it considerably.

Thursday and Friday we just ate stuff we already had in the fridge, probably mainly the pasta bake. Saturday we ate out - I had a fairly basic but quite decent flatbread with beef brisket in it, plus red cabbage coleslaw and garlic mayo. Sunday we had some more of the lamb tagine. Last night M&D came to stay and brought food again - as chance would have it, they'd made a notionally Greek recipe involving lamb and apricots! Not exactly the same flavour palate as the tagine, but fairly similar (coriander seed etc.), although you won't find me turning down casseroled lamb, ever. In fact I've never been one of these people who find it really hard to eat the same food two days running. (Er, not literally the same food, but you know what I mean).

This evening I made a Thai green curry, vegetarian again - broccoli, sugarsnap peas, red pepper, spring onions and more of the near-ubiquitous giant mushroom.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
wow, thanks tea, much appreciated! can't believe you actually know Towcester!

Ha, yeah - the main UK base of the company I work for is a couple of miles out from the town. I love the fact that it's pronounced "Toaster", like it should have a board as you drive in saying it's twinned with Microwave, Haute-Lorraine and Fridge, Westphalia.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Pretty happy with what I made tonight 'cos I was just improvising with what was in fridge. I made a kinda tomato sauce, the base being onions, red peppers and garlic, an old half tin of toms and some cherry tomatos. Added harissa and miso Made some potato wedges thinking it'd be like patas bravas, but remember I had some merguez sausages in the freezer so defrosted in the oven with the spuds and chucked them in at the end. Was delish.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
East Side Radio dinner in the filthy weather. Traditional restaurant, most went for the chicken in blood but I had pork liver. Can't seem to upload picture but it was great.
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
Yesterday. Ravioli with salad and a side of bean and blue cheese bake with breadcrumbs and parmesan. We would be eating the latter again tomorrow but sadly we left it unattended on the side for four seconds and the cats threw it on the floor and smashed it all up.

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Mellsman

Well-known member
With Bill, primary school teacher pal who's pleased this winter term is finally over:

Smoked trout with cucumber, horseradish and tarragon sauce

then

Partridge braised in white with some roast potatoes
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Sounds spectacular!
Fried duck breast with provencal herbs, garlic potatoes fried in the duck fat and some green veg too. I honestly think this was one of the best meat dishes we've done.

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IdleRich

IdleRich
Not dinner as such but started over-indulging yesterday with some foie gras on toast and a tasty half-bottle of Quinta da Alorna which is kinda like Sauternes but from Portugal I guess.

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Leo

Well-known member
I’m starting to live vicariously through you two, rich, as I sip my mulled wine in the town hall after church choir Xmas carols. Enjoy!
 
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