Master Chef Aus Social Edition.

[poledriver]

^ Had a friend here the other day that said our local coles is doing roast beef, kind of like the roast chickens you can get (like cooked on their premises), and she tried them and made roast vegies and gravy and peas to have with it and said it was really good with lots of roast beef left over for sandwiches. I mostly shop at woolies but plan to go back to coles to try and get one of those to try out sometime for sure.

That pulled pork, where it says 6 hours, does that mean 6 hours in the oven? BBQ chilli glaze, mmm sounds good.

 

[kytnism]

i too shop at woolies, but i might have to switch it up as coles seems to be expanding quite a bit on their produce ranges and hard to find/exotic fruits and vegetables also. and last minute roast beef on a sunday without the effort sounds too good to pass up :D

as for the pork im yet to try it, but from what i can see on the packaging (and pardon me if im wrong, im not wearing my glasses) it appears to say slow cook or oven roast. my sister had told me that it was such a simple dish. her and her partner made pulled pork baguettes with homemade coleslaw and couldnt stop raving about them. it sounds like an easy go to summer meal when you dont want to spend alot of time in the kitchen (and im all about that in the summertime).

...kytnism...

 

[poledriver]

Yeah slow cooking sounds right. Oven sounds too long (I think). When I use my slow cooker (pot thing with a lid with settings on it) I sometimes do stews and stuff with different types of meat (like shanks or chop like things or sliced beef/steak) and loads of veggies and a slow cooker sauce and some gravy and water and I usually do it for about 5-6 hrs I think, start at midday and ready by 6ish. I usually do some mash potato to have on the bottom of it or rice and it makes a pretty nice meal, there's always so much though, I usually have it for lunch a few days afterwards as well. Or I could freeze some.

 

[Klue]

Made a big salad tonight. Oak leaf lettuce, cucumber, capsicum, kalamata olives and feta. Dressing was just olive oil, red wine vinegar, pepper and dijon mustard. It's my go to salad that I never get sick of.

 

[poledriver]

My oven died on the weekend (rip) well it didnt full die, but the door springs/hinges went, and it dropped down really fast and the handle broke and the glass became loose. It's probably as old as the house (20 odd yrs) so it's had a good run, the appliance dude came and quoted to fix it and it was going to be nearly a 1/4 of the price of a new oven (with separate grill). So I bought a new one yesterday and it will be delivered on Wed and installed Thurs morn. Didn't expect to be paying out 1200 buks this close to xmass, so damn. but oh well.

I'm looking forward to using it and seeing how well it cooks a roast and stuff. Going 5 or so days without an oven has been a bit of a stress, all cooking has been done on the hot plates instead.

 

[kytnism]

oh that sucks pole; but is a blessing in disguise. new ovens are fantastic and a renovation you didnt plan on, but accomplished none the less :D

let us know how your first roast goes

...kytnism...

 

[poledriver]

I shall. I also ordered a food dehydrator recently off ebay, it should arrive soon and I plan to make beef jerky with it, anyone got any experience making jerky? Any tips?

 

[poledriver]

Oven installed. Cooked a mini rack of lamb and roast veggies and gravy. Turned out great.

 

[Klue]

^Good stuff, bake up a storm

Cauli cheese tonight...

Got a cheap cauli and steamed the whole thing. White sauce with a big of fresh thyme fried off before adding the milk, salt, pepper and a mix of tasty and parmesan cheese. Finished off in the oven. I'm letting it cool right now because its burned the hell out of my mouth in the past. Those little florets of cauli get scorching hot!

 

[kytnism]

klue that looks SO fricking good. nice work

cauli and cheese is my jam, so much infact that i sourced a soup recipe that i make regularly to be able to enjoy the cauli-cheese experience and not bore the shit out of my family by sticking to tradition.

cauliflower and blue cheese soup :D

...kytnism...

ps. pole, pics or it didnt happen :D

 

[poledriver]

haha

Nice cauliflower cheese, looks yummy. I sometimes do a mix of broccoli and cauliflower.

 

[pisspotnrock]

just made a seafood fettuccine carbonara...

sauteed some onion n home-grown garlic with some mushrooms n sand whiting I caught Saturday (40 odd fillets worth).. throw a dozen sliced mushrooms in the mix then add the sauce, followed by some prawns (after simmering for 5 minutes or so) n some home-grown parsley and thwallah!

best shit you'll ever eat in ya life n itll cost ya next to nothing! (givin you know how to fish n grow your own produce)

 

[Klue]

^Got any pics to post in the fishing thread? Here is a link to it; I'll post about the turtle I saw this afternoon.

Thanks kyt and poledriver, it was delicious when it cooled down

 

[oldirtybizza]

oiled and roasted off seasoned and diced eggplant, cherry toms, chunks of spanish onion, crushed garlic and feta, fresh thyme and sage. 40 mins @ 180c
Incorporated this with fettuccine , drizzled with EVO and generous grate of good qual parmesan and fresh parsley.
Marinated a thick cut rump steak in horseradish and dijon and cooked to medium rare in butter and oil that had been used to fry sage leaves, rested for a few minutes and sliced this was served on top of the fettuccine and topped with the fried sage leaves.

Dessert ,classic apple pie with a thick organic vanilla yogurt and sweet sweet jumbo strawberries.

I've always been a bit hesitant with sage it's quite pungent, usually playing it safe and reserving it for pork , but I'm starting to incorporate it into more beef dishes.

 

[kytnism]

oldirtybizza, ive been curious about EVO for years as so many american bluelighters have referenced it; but am yet to find it in australia. where is it available? if anywhere?

...kytnism...

 

[oldirtybizza]

^ it just stands for extra virgin olive oil. Which you can pick up at any super , I splash out somewhere posh and buy a good variety for dressings and sauces and a cheaper big bottle of something like borges for more all purpose use.
Avoid gimmicky labels like light, extra light, pure and first press (Olive oil is only pressed once) check the date of your olive oil too before you purchase it and keep it in the cupboard not out in the light (those green bottles are to block light btw.)

I don't like to fry with Olive oils due to the lower smoke point and degradation on heating, it's alright in baked dishes though.
I find rice bran to be an excellent all round cooking oil with a good nutritional profile and good cooking characteristics. since most of the flavour of olive oil is lost during cooking you can simply add a drizzle on the final dish to brighten it up, it's more cost effective and healthier.

 

[Klue]

We are spoiled where I live to be able to buy cheap, local Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I use it for everything, and haven't touched any other type of oil for years. Might not be for too long though because we didn't have the frosts this year that are needed for good fruit set. It would be a shame if I had to buy imported stuff!

 

[oldirtybizza]

Potato and homegrown celeriac mash (cream,butter, roasted garlic), Pan fried whole button mushrooms, thyme and a couple whole garlic cloves ( cloves kept for mash), rare eye of rump, mushroom pan and beef pan both deglazed with vermouth strained and combined this was used to dress the plate.
salad of cherry toms and chunky tele cucumbers and roasted cashews with a light lemon and EVO dressing. Horseradish and parsley butter was made earlier and served on top of the steak.

Dessert left over apple pie with thickened cream, blueberries and strawberries with a coulis made from same.

 

[kytnism]

^ it just stands for extra virgin olive oil. Which you can pick up at any super , I splash out somewhere posh and buy a good variety for dressings and sauces and a cheaper big bottle of something like borges for more all purpose use.
Avoid gimmicky labels like light, extra light, pure and first press (Olive oil is only pressed once) check the date of your olive oil too before you purchase it and keep it in the cupboard not out in the light (those green bottles are to block light btw.)

I don't like to fry with Olive oils due to the lower smoke point and degradation on heating, it's alright in baked dishes though.
I find rice bran to be an excellent all round cooking oil with a good nutritional profile and good cooking characteristics. since most of the flavour of olive oil is lost during cooking you can simply add a drizzle on the final dish to brighten it up, it's more cost effective and healthier.

im so embarassed. for years ive thought it was this exclusive vegan oil alternative that australia was just simply not tuned into. thankyou SO much DOB, youve laid to rest the mystery (while so obvious) that ive been racking my brain over, forever. i never would have guessed it had an acronym.

...kytnism...

 

[pisspotnrock]

^Got any pics to post in the fishing thread? Here is a link to it; I'll post about the turtle I saw this afternoon.

I've actually got some flicks of some fine ass demersals (pink snapper, west oz dhu-fish and baldchin groper) but they are on my phone.. ill upload em to image shack when I get the chance

oh and west-oz crayfish, massive jumboes but I cant post it as it shows my face n the boat I'm on (ill just post the tub we had, got 39 in two pots! could only keep 24 for legal reasons.. the jumboes were easily over 3kg each)