Aus Social favourite recipe thread

[vurtomatic]

Someone tell me how to make the perfect poached egg.

 

[Urbie]

Someone tell me how to make the perfect poached egg.

meh! i often have to train apprentices this, I am Sous Chef by the way 8)

Grab a small saucepan fill with water, add about 4-6 tablespoons of white vinegar

Bring to boil.... nice soft simmering, not hard boiling when the bubbles are rapid, just gentle boil, see little bubbles

for the inexpereinced: crack a egg into a bowl just in case if you are the type who is always breaking the yoke.

gently dip the egg into simmering water.

White vinegar is the secret to keep the egg together not having the egg whites spreading all over the simmering water.

usually takes 3-5 minutes if you like your egg medium running depending on the gentleness of the simmering/boiling bubbles.

Hope helps mate.

Damon

 

[vurtomatic]

Ah nice. I've come across instructions similar to this in the past, but they usually involve stiring the water, is that really necessary? The whites kinda go all over the place after I stir the water.

 

[joannie_mhm]

I need a good recipe for eggplant.

All I have is an eggplant. And maybe some salt and also refried beans. Could this possibly be combined into a salad?

Instructions forthwith!

If you can get some tomatoes and some cheese (mozzarella or similar is best) cut the cheese, tomatoes and eggplant into slices, season (salt, pepper, mixed herbs if possible) and layer into stacks and roast in the oven until the cheese is all melty.

 

[Urbie]

Ah nice. I've come across instructions similar to this in the past, but they usually involve stiring the water, is that really necessary? The whites kinda go all over the place after I stir the water.

uh?

stiring the water? what for?

just leave it alone and let it be. just grab spoon and gently move it if it sticks on side of the saucepan.

I think that what it means to "stir" the water to prevent it gluing to the sides of saucepan.

I never "stir" the water. Only just "move" the egg if its glued to the side.

 

[vurtomatic]

It's called the Vortex

 

[Klue]

Yeap, I have seen people stir the water before you put the egg in so that it stays in the middle and doesnt spread everywhere... But the vinegar trick sounds good!

 

[Urbie]

ahhh..... sounds like a tricky issue for people who only cook poached eggs on sundays when they hungover or have the day off work.

Or once a blue moon when they finally pulled a chick picked up from the local nightclub or pub.

I have cooked over 50-80 poached eggs when I worked as breakfast cook on Great Keppel Island every morning for little while before they stepped me up to buffet cook.

I have noticed (while many hungovers or scattered mornings after a previous big night) you start develop a skill and observe the behaviour of egg white's moody "webs" that spread all over that place.

Your stove is like women, it takes time to tame and understand your woman's behaviour and their mood swings. You need to understand the stove's heat and timing before you make your target. Just like women.

During many of my hungover dazes I understand them, know how to "cheat" if they get "webby" and you under pressure, you grab two large spoons with many holes and you "slowly" roll the webs together with two spoons to produce a nice round poached egg and cover up the messy webs with hollandaise sauce on top of muffin with ham or bacon or smoked salmon or wilted spinach under.

 

[eggman]

Wow, I will never look at my stove the same way again

 

[vurtomatic]

ahhh..... sounds like a tricky issue for people who only cook poached eggs on sundays when they hungover or have the day off work.

Or once a blue moon when they finally pulled a chick picked up from the local nightclub or pub.

I have cooked over 50-80 poached eggs when I worked as breakfast cook on Great Keppel Island every morning for little while before they stepped me up to buffet cook.

I have noticed (while many hungovers or scattered mornings after a previous big night) you start develop a skill and observe the behaviour of egg white's moody "webs" that spread all over that place.

Your stove is like women, it takes time to tame and understand your woman's behaviour and their mood swings. You need to understand the stove's heat and timing before you make your target. Just like women.

During many of my hungover dazes I understand them, know how to "cheat" if they get "webby" and you under pressure, you grab two large spoons with many holes and you "slowly" roll the webs together with two spoons to produce a nice round poached egg and cover up the messy webs with hollandaise sauce on top of muffin with ham or bacon or smoked salmon or wilted spinach under.

Best post I've read in ages

 

[ayjay]

If you can get some tomatoes and some cheese (mozzarella or similar is best) cut the cheese, tomatoes and eggplant into slices, season (salt, pepper, mixed herbs if possible) and layer into stacks and roast in the oven until the cheese is all melty.

Number one most important advice for eggplant - cook that sucker well! Undercooked eggplant is perhaps the most disgusting, disappointing food stuff ever. I rarely order eggplant-containing dishes in cafes, as I can't deal with the undercooked yucky shit any more.

Favourite eggplant recipe - baba ganus (which I have been told means "spoilt daddy"). Bake whole eggplant in oven until well "pooped" (sags in on itself) - it's almost impossible to overdo this so leave it in if you're not sure (see my initial comment). Cool it for a bit so you don't burn your fingers for the next bit - cut open and scrape the gooey sloppy sexy goodness off the skin into a food processor. Pour in about an equal amount of tahini (go less than more if you're not sure - you can always add more tahini but you can't take it back out again), plus salt (although sometimes I use tamari instead) and pepper, a couple of raw garlic cloves, juice from a large lemon and a good fuckin dollop of olive oil. Now process that until you get a nice creamy finished product. Break out the bread of your choice and eat it!

 

[Benefit]

Well, it turns out that eggplant does not taste very good when prepared by an idiot.

That baba ganus sounds good, and easy. Unfortunately, I already threw out the remaining eggplant as I did not want it hanging around reminding me of my shame.

 

[eggman]

So what did you end up doing with the eggplant?

 

[vurtomatic]

I just wanna say olives, pickles, anchovies, and beetroot are the bane of my culinary existence.

 

[fengtau]

Sambal Belacan (Chili Paste with Shrimp)

You will need some shrimp paste as below.

Then you'll need heaps of chili.

First you pan fried the shrimp paste...dry. Just put it on the pan and fried it until you smell the shrimp stench.

Then you mix the shrimp paste with the chili and mix them up. See below.

You would eat it with fresh veggies.

 

[vurtomatic]

Yeah I can just imagine BLers digging into that!

 

[Mary Poppins]

I just wanna say olives, pickles, anchovies, and beetroot are the bane of my culinary existence.

Oh man, thank god you asked the poached egg question - that is my achilles heel in cooking!

Urbie thanks for the tip. I too had fallen into the vortex trap before

But Vurtomatic - what do you mean about this group of ingredients? As in you can't cook with them? What about beetroot on burgers or salad sandwich or in salads?

I have a great potato salad recipe that has pickles (well gherkins) in it...

1 kg Salad potatoes
1/2 cup Whole egg mayonnaisse
1/2 cup Sour cream
Spring onions
Flat leaf parsley
Gherkins (preferably israeli - they come in a tin)


Boil potatoes whole
Chop spring onions, drained gherkins finely
tear/cut up parsley
When potatoes are cooked/tender - take off and drain
Chill potatoes in fridge
When cool enough combine with mayo and sour cream and toss through onions, gherkins and parsley
Season with freshly ground salt and pepper

YUM!

And Benefit - I suck at cooking eggplant too I might make the bhajee though, that sounds yum

 

[joannie_mhm]

bump re spring cleaning

 

[Klue]

• 250g unsalted butter
• 200g dark Fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
• optional: 75g dried sour cherries
• optional: 50g chopped nuts
• 80g cocoa powder, sifted
• 65g plain flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 360g caster sugar
• 4 large free-range or organic eggs
• optional: zest of 1 orange
• optional: 250ml crème fraîche

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the cherries and nuts, if you’re using them, and stir together. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, cherry and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares. These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with some orange zest.

From; http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/bloomin-brilliant-brownies

I made these with chopped cashews and sultanas soaked in whiskey

 

[Klue]

bump re spring cleaning

And again...