anyone cooking something special tomorrow evening - looking for ideas..!

stevewestern

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I am not a big 'card, flowers and a box of chocs' person but do want to cook a nice meal for my wife tomorrow and am struggling to come up with any ideas that the kids will enjoy as much as we will - so far the one idea that grabs is Chicken with a head of garlic inside slowly roasted in long-life milk and without a lid on - I used to cook this when I lived in Spain and the long-life milk thickens to produce a wonderful sauce but the chicken has to be a good one, ideally corn fed. Jamie Oliver does something similar but with cinnamon and sage.

Anyone got any other ideas that will also appeal to younger tastes ?
 
Get yersen down to LIDL

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Well, as it will be fridat night, we will be cheating and getting a nice take away of some description, and ill pick up a bottle of plonk on the way home from work. I have got a nice big bunch of flowers being delivered to her tomorrow though ;)
 
A few things...

Jamie has a recipe in an 30 min meals i think, called Jools Pregnant pasta. Basically blitz up carrot, onion, pepper in a processor till fine, then blitz a pack of sausages, fry to cook it all then add tinned tomatoes, balsamic, herbs and you have a great pasta dish, with side salad, maybe garlic bread...
Jamie also has a quick chicken pie made with puff pastry which could be an option, in the same book.
Or you could do steak with chips etc...

Depends what you and your wife like - could get some ready made Beef Wellington for example from M&S/Waitrose?
 
Im only making tea like i normally do on a Friday, so doing Broccoli and Asparagus soup, citrus chicken with lentils and a spiced apple and red current crumble.
 
Scallops with chorizo (or black pudding)
Beef stroganoff (either with rice or stringfellow chips - very tasty, very easy and quick to make)
Mussels Normandie (that's with a cider based sauce) and crusty bread
Breaded scampi and.. (probably what I'll do tomorrow, but unsure on what it will be with and I'll be breading and frying the langoustine tails myself)
 
Wouldnt mind the recipe for the stroganoff. I tried a packet version and that was pretty good but...
 
Well, it seems she will be on call so the wine will be enjoyed all the more by me.

I did a chorizo and chicken paella the other night and we had some moule for my birthday lunch 2 days ago but like your ideas Alastair.
Likewise cambsno - thanks !
The girls are not so keen on lentils robj but your crumble sounds good !
 
Wouldnt mind the recipe for the stroganoff. I tried a packet version and that was pretty good but...

I generally make it up as I go along - and it's one of those family recipes that probably deviated from the "proper" recipe a long time ago. You'll notice that there are no quantities - bread and cakes need quantities, anything else needs common sense..

Fillet steak, sliced into strips - not too thin (or you risk it getting dry) but small enough to eat without cutting. You can use sirloin/rump but you'll need to judge the cooking/resting very well to avoid it being chewy.
Mushrooms (chestnut for preference), sliced
Onion, chopped reasonably finely (definitely not chunky)
Paprika powder, I prefer the smoked version
Creme fraiche (or you could use cream, I prefer the slight acidity that creme freche brings)

Lightly fry the steak in a little oil, but just brown it off don't cook it through. Remove the steak from the pan, cover and keep warm (I'll usually have a pre-warmed bowl to put it in to, cover with clingfilm and then wrap in an oven glove) - if you're worried about it not being cooked through, leaving it in its own residual heat and juices at this point is the trick to it being moist and not dry. It will be cooked by the time you get to the end.

Add the onions and gently cook until translucent, as the onions start to soften add the mushrooms. Cook gently until the mushrooms soften and releases their juices. At this point, season lightly with salt/pepper.

Add paprika to the onions/mushrooms and mix through. Add the creme freche and mix through, add the steak back to the pan and give it a stir.

Leave on the heat until the whole dish is heated through and just below the simmering point.

Edit: you can add a dash of wine or port to the pan before the creme freche goes in, but allow it to reduce down a bit before continuing or you'll have a rather thin sauce.


Serve with rice or thin-cut chips, or pasta if you want to.
 
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The heart shaped chicken nuggets Im telling ya. You'll be conkers deep by 8 o'clock a dead cert. :ROFLMAO:

I would literally be conkers deep....after being hit over the head with a shovel and buried beneath a horse chestnut tree :(
 
Nothing says LOVE like a nice pie:clap:

Meat and Potato or chicken or just meat:rolleyes:

:ty:


Have a :jaffa: on me.......off to buy me puff pastry....
 
I generally make it up as I go along - and it's one of those family recipes that probably deviated from the "proper" recipe a long time ago. You'll notice that there are no quantities - bread and cakes need quantities, anything else needs common sense..

Fillet steak, sliced into strips - not too thin (or you risk it getting dry) but small enough to eat without cutting. You can use sirloin/rump but you'll need to judge the cooking/resting very well to avoid it being chewy.
Mushrooms (chestnut for preference), sliced
Onion, chopped reasonably finely (definitely not chunky)
Paprika powder, I prefer the smoked version
Creme fraiche (or you could use cream, I prefer the slight acidity that creme freche brings)

Lightly fry the steak in a little oil, but just brown it off don't cook it through. Remove the steak from the pan, cover and keep warm (I'll usually have a pre-warmed bowl to put it in to, cover with clingfilm and then wrap in an oven glove) - if you're worried about it not being cooked through, leaving it in its own residual heat and juices at this point is the trick to it being moist and not dry. It will be cooked by the time you get to the end.

Add the onions and gently cook until translucent, as the onions start to soften add the mushrooms. Cook gently until the mushrooms soften and releases their juices. At this point, season lightly with salt/pepper.

Add paprika to the onions/mushrooms and mix through. Add the creme freche and mix through, add the steak back to the pan and give it a stir.

Leave on the heat until the whole dish is heated through and just below the simmering point.

Edit: you can add a dash of wine or port to the pan before the creme freche goes in, but allow it to reduce down a bit before continuing or you'll have a rather thin sauce.


Serve with rice or thin-cut chips, or pasta if you want to.

Very similar to the way I do it. I do add some butter to cook the onions in plus add a teaspoon of Worcester Sauce when it's all bubbling. But I use sour cream - I'll have to try Creme fraiche (which I think is lower fat too?)
 
Im surprised how few herbs/spices etc are in it. Have to give it a go though.
 
I think the original recipe called for sour cream, but you know how things go.. one day you haven't got something so you make a substitution, and that somehow works its way into the permanent recipe.. ;)
 
but you know how things go.. one day you haven't got something so you make a substitution, and that somehow works its way into the permanent.. ;)

Sometimes I wonder how things might have been had I done this on my wedding day..!
 
Well, I nipped into Carluccio's for a coffee yesterday and spotted some heart shaped pasta. Made a pot of my special tomato sauce to go with it for tonight. (Mrs Nod is vegetarian.)
 
Roast monkfish wrapped in parma ham tonight. Served with green beans and fondant potato.
 
I think the original recipe called for sour cream, but you know how things go.. one day you haven't got something so you make a substitution, and that somehow works its way into the permanent recipe.. ;)

.. and tonight's substitution means that it will be something pork stroganoff-ish tonight, using a nice piece of pork fillet. Although I may just colour-up the pork as whole fillet in the pan, finish it wrapped in foil in a hot oven and then use the juices in the pan as the basis of a mushroom and paprika sauce to be served over slices of the pork.
 
I am not a big 'card, flowers and a box of chocs' person but do want to cook a nice meal for my wife tomorrow and am struggling to come up with any ideas that the kids will enjoy as much as we will - so far the one idea that grabs is Chicken with a head of garlic inside slowly roasted in long-life milk and without a lid on - I used to cook this when I lived in Spain and the long-life milk thickens to produce a wonderful sauce but the chicken has to be a good one, ideally corn fed. Jamie Oliver does something similar but with cinnamon and sage.

Anyone got any other ideas that will also appeal to younger tastes ?
So what did you end up cooking in the end? Did it go well?
 
I cooked my first idea - chicken in milk with garlic.
I asked both the kids and they wanted it as they both like it, it is so easy and requires no last minute work so we could enjoy time together with a glass of fizz before dinner.
Did it go well..? Well, there was nothing left after so I guess so though having recently moved house I am not used to the oven and it could have done with longer cooking time to make it even more tender.
 
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