What are you eating and drinking tonight?

[BWFC_Insane]

I'm making a curry, from the ground up as it were (as opposed to there's a can of curry sauce).

It'll be my first go. The family are preparing to be poisoned.

So there's a fair chance, I'll be having a take-away shortly after...

Even if you royally ruin it (not that I'm saying you will), it'll still be better than a Pataks jar

Don't think I'll royally ruin it, it just might not taste like I'm aiming for.

Mind you I've been known to feck-up toast.

Just added Salt and Pepper Pork-chop to the starter list...

Maybe I should just order in....

Currys are dead easy to make. You'll find it very hard to ruin it.

Just can be a bit time consuming. But its well worth it.

Half a cheat is to buy a good quality curry paste, that way you still make the sauce but don't have to grind/crush and toast spices before you do owt else!

I want to do the spices bit....otherwise I might as well just buy the sauce...

No I understand, wasn't meaning you shouldn't just that for a work evening its a quick alternative and far nicer than eating Pataks or whatever!

[William the White]

Tonight is sea bass. Asparagus. New potatoes.

Might make a spicy soup to start.

a little blue cheese to finish.

There's a Cava in the fridge (£5.99 on offer at sainsbury's).

My father in law, in hospital, sadly, instructed me to take home a dozen reds from his cellar, starting with the oldest. He thinks some are too tired to drink, but some should be ok still. They range in date from 1985 to 1998. mostly standard stuff, but some premier cru claret. I suspect I'll be pouring some down the sink after the first sip. But NOT ALL...

[Lord Kangana]

Depends what temperature his cellar maintains. Theres a castle in Scotland that manages a constant 4c. They have wines decades old, even from the 19thC, that are still drinking well, indeed are far more youthful than they should be. Its all about temperature. And vibration. And humidity. And movement.

Just drink em.

[Worthy4England]

Even if you royally ruin it (not that I'm saying you will), it'll still be better than a Pataks jar

Don't think I'll royally ruin it, it just might not taste like I'm aiming for.

Mind you I've been known to feck-up toast.

Just added Salt and Pepper Pork-chop to the starter list...

Maybe I should just order in....

Currys are dead easy to make. You'll find it very hard to ruin it.

Just can be a bit time consuming. But its well worth it.

Half a cheat is to buy a good quality curry paste, that way you still make the sauce but don't have to grind/crush and toast spices before you do owt else!

I want to do the spices bit....otherwise I might as well just buy the sauce...

No I understand, wasn't meaning you shouldn't just that for a work evening its a quick alternative and far nicer than eating Pataks or whatever!

Right, so stir-fry it is then.

S&P Pork was fine.

[Bruce Rioja]

Mind you I've been known to feck-up toast.

Here's crumbs in your eye, kid.

[William the White]

Depends what temperature his cellar maintains. Theres a castle in Scotland that manages a constant 4c. They have wines decades old, even from the 19thC, that are still drinking well, indeed are far more youthful than they should be. Its all about temperature. And vibration. And humidity. And movement.

Just drink em.

His cellar - in a cellar - too warm for preservation of this length. and it was a mixture of inaccessibility and carelessness that led to a few wines - all reds - going beyond the advisable. Way beyond. Tried the two 1985s tonight... One didn't make it to the mouth... the other - a good claret once upon the day - made it to a first sip and then the sink... Sad... The third - a 1990 Extremadura red basic and, like most spanish reds, medium bodied - was fine...

We drank it while watching TV...

[General Mannerheim]

was in bolton yesteray so obviously picked up a carrier bag full of Ye-olde treats! no need for another debate!

missus spent all afternoon preparing her first curry from scratch, blending spices, sauce, marinade, even home made raita sauce. bless her. it was fookin awful!

[clapton is god]

missus spent all afternoon preparing her first curry from scratch, blending spices, sauce, marinade, even home made raita sauce. bless her. it was fookin awful!

Hope you ate it and smiled sweetly

[General Mannerheim]

i tried my best, but tbf, i think she knew it was rank too! good job we had nan bread.

[clapton is god]

His cellar - in a cellar - too warm for preservation of this length. and it was a mixture of inaccessibility and carelessness that led to a few wines - all reds - going beyond the advisable. Way beyond. Tried the two 1985s tonight... One didn't make it to the mouth... the other - a good claret once upon the day - made it to a first sip and then the sink... Sad... The third - a 1990 Extremadura red basic and, like most spanish reds, medium bodied - was fine...

A couple of years ago I had some good fortune when a friends father died and left a house full of whisky. Every birthday and Christmas his friends and business contacts had given him a bottle and he's said 'thanks very much' and put it in a cupboard. My mate doesn't drink the stuff but knew I was partial and, as I counted his father amongst my friends too, most of it came my way. I ended up with about 20 bottles, and many miniatures and half bottles. In many of them the alcohol had boiled off over the years but about half of them were still very drinkable.

Some of the bottles went back to the 1950's and there was a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label from the 1980's.

This probably explains why I now have a 'slightly fatty liver'

[Worthy4England]

missus spent all afternoon preparing her first curry from scratch, blending spices, sauce, marinade, even home made raita sauce. bless her. it was fookin awful!

Hope you ate it and smiled sweetly

Yesterday was a bad day for curry makers...

[superjohnmcginlay]

I had a curry. But I was pissed. It could've tasted of owt.

I think I'm gonna go have a breakfast before commencing today's session.

[Lord Kangana]

Right, I can't very well stand aside and allow this to happen so start with the basics:

In which case plenty of the C's.... Cardamom, cumin, caraway, corriander, cinnamon, curry leaves, and er ginger and garlic.

Fry in oil, and some tomato paste. Add some clarified butter(Ghee) if you really want to go authentic. If you have a hand blender, chop plenty of onions then blitz them up with the blender. Chop a bunch of corriander, blitz that. Add. Add your meat (which should have been marinated in a mixture of the above spices over night). Simmer. Finish with cream or yoghurt if you want, or not.

Enjoy.

[Worthy4England]

Right, I can't very well stand aside and allow this to happen so start with the basics:

In which case plenty of the C's.... Cardamom, cumin, caraway, corriander, cinnamon, curry leaves, and er ginger and garlic.

Fry in oil, and some tomato paste. Add some clarified butter(Ghee) if you really want to go authentic. If you have a hand blender, chop plenty of onions then blitz them up with the blender. Chop a bunch of corriander, blitz that. Add. Add your meat (which should have been marinated in a mixture of the above spices over night). Simmer. Finish with cream or yoghurt if you want, or not.

Enjoy.

TY - but too bl**dy late!!!!

I think I had a basic problem with my stock - I had all the ingredients, but seemed to put them in something that just tasted of salt...

[The Masked Weasel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI8i9eTbFSE

This is Rick Stein's lamb and spinach curry. I have made it twice and both times the results have been amazing. Get it cooked and eaten chaps! [/url]

[Bruce Rioja]

Right, I can't very well stand aside and allow this to happen so start with the basics:

In which case plenty of the C's.... Cardamom, cumin, caraway, corriander, cinnamon, curry leaves, and er ginger and garlic.

Fry in oil, and some tomato paste. Add some clarified butter(Ghee) if you really want to go authentic. If you have a hand blender, chop plenty of onions then blitz them up with the blender. Chop a bunch of corriander, blitz that. Add. Add your meat (which should have been marinated in a mixture of the above spices over night). Simmer. Finish with cream or yoghurt if you want, or not.

Enjoy.

LK, can you advise me on making a fish curry? See - fish (most) are my favourite things to eat and I do like a curry full of flavour, though not heat. I'd imagine that this is possibly quite difficult due to fish being fairly delicate, and as such I'll probably require a more robust fish such as Hallibut, Monkfish or turbot.
I want to be able to taste the fish and the curry. Is this reasonable?

[TANGODANCER]

LK, can you advise me on making a fish curry? See - fish (most) are my favourite things to eat and I do like a curry full of flavour, though not heat. I'd imagine that this is possibly quite difficult due to fish being fairly delicate, and as such I'll probably require a more robust fish such as Hallibut, Monkfish or turbot.
I want to be able to taste the fish and the curry. Is this reasonable?

Mine too. The days when having steak was the be-all and end-all of eating out are long past. Mind you, I've had a few surprised looks when ordering Cod, Dover Sole, Lemon Sole or even Grilled Swordfish instead of meat. Had a plate of fried Rock Cod in California and it was one of the finest meals I've had. Now you've got me wanting a fried cod sandwich right now.

[Prufrock]

My din-dins today were smoked mackeral from Tesco finest jobby, chunky bread and butter, and some cheddar dipped in sweet chili sauce. It was an odd mix, but worked well!

[Lord Kangana]

We used to make a Vietnamese fish curry with Monkfish, which is really very simple. You'll need turmeric, galangal, ginger and yoghurt for the marinade (the more the merrier, its all about the flavour!).

Cut your Monkfish into bite size pieces, chop up your galangal and ginger, put all ingredients together in the fridge overnight.

Next day, slice up an onion (and other veg if you want) saute, then add monkfish pieces to brown, then rest of the marinade to finish (might need a bit of extra yoghurt or cream at the end).

Voila, fish curry.

Little warning though, galangal is a bit like olbas oil (to me) and therefore this dish was a real marmite job. Some people absolutely loved it, some hated it. Worth a try, though.

[Bruce Rioja]

We used to make a Vietnamese fish curry with Monkfish, which is really very simple. You'll need turmeric, galangal, ginger and yoghurt for the marinade (the more the merrier, its all about the flavour!).

Cut your Monkfish into bite size pieces, chop up your galangal and ginger, put all ingredients together in the fridge overnight.

Next day, slice up an onion (and other veg if you want) saute, then add monkfish pieces to brown, then rest of the marinade to finish (might need a bit of extra yoghurt or cream at the end).

Voila, fish curry.

Little warning though, galangal is a bit like olbas oil (to me) and therefore this dish was a real marmite job. Some people absolutely loved it, some hated it. Worth a try, though.

Cheers fella. I'll go easy on the galangal then (if I can find where to get it from. That shop on the corner at the tramways?)
Much appreciated.