What's For Dinner Tonight?

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
Ok tip top, lets hear your gravy recipe.

Theres plenty of different ways we make gravy down here, and theres a brown and a white gravy, then theres au jus...

Anyway heres my recipe...

Roast a chicken with mirepoix on the bottom
Add fat if needed and make a roux, cook until it just starts to change color
Add chicken stock and fresh sage and thyme
Cook until herbs have infused and finnish with cream if you have any, if not, season with salt and pepper and pour over mashed potatos ;)

But some people use cornstarch to thicken instead of flour. It makes a more glossy "gravy". I prefer the thick flour based one that looks like brown paste with pepper flecks all over. Thats the way grams used to make it :)
It is more a cultural/upbringing thing than an actual critism of american gravy ;) Never had or made a gravy that required flour, thick or thin. For chicken it's jus (of sorts) or nothing, can't stand thick gravy. Just chuck the chicken in a roasting tray, nothing else (other than the seasoning), then skim off fat once done, add some marmite, and some potato water, whisk, job done. For thick gravy, never made it at home due to personal preference, just work, so cost wasn't an issue so just created a stock over 4 days in a 250L pot, absolutely everything went into it (other than lamb), if it could go in the bin and was foodstuffs, it would go in the stock, strain, then another 1-2 days turning it into gravy with red wine and chopped tomatoes, and then over those 2 days of reduction, also throwing anything at hand into it as well before straining. I've just never liked thick gravy though.
 

KLITE

Well-Known Member
@tip top toker If youre into iberian cured meat you should make the absolute best dish with it. Fry some chorizo and jamon lightly on a pan keep aside and use that fat to fry a few eggs which you then place with the either chorizo and ham on top of thinly cut fried chips (preferably in olvie oil) on a soup plate and then you kinda cut everything up and mix. Its one of my favourite all time dishes hands down!
 

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
@tip top toker If youre into iberian cured meat you should make the absolute best dish with it. Fry some chorizo and jamon lightly on a pan keep aside and use that fat to fry a few eggs which you then place with the either chorizo and ham on top of thinly cut fried chips (preferably in olvie oil) on a soup plate and then you kinda cut everything up and mix. Its one of my favourite all time dishes hands down!
Heathen! Ham belongs in my belly, not adulterated with other foods!

I know exactly where you are coming from though. I grew up having fried breakfast every other day, and it was an absolute rule that you never made scrambled eggs with anything other than the fat left over from cooking the bacon :)
 

KLITE

Well-Known Member
Heathen! Ham belongs in my belly, not adulterated with other foods!

I know exactly where you are coming from though. I grew up having fried breakfast every other day, and it was an absolute rule that you never made scrambled eggs with anything other than the fat left over from cooking the bacon :)
Yes do not follow an ibearian guys advice whos grandma was a cook in the old days. Itys litghly fried just warmed up if you actually fry it its not nice, dont know what youre missing. Im also curious about the regions the cured meats you get over there are from. My dads a huge connoisseur.
 

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
Yes do not follow an ibearian guys advice whos grandma was a cook in the old days. Itys litghly fried just warmed up if you actually fry it its not nice, dont know what youre missing. Im also curious about the regions the cured meats you get over there are from. My dads a huge connoisseur.
Just my preference. I cook with parma etc, and every time i feel it was just wasted. It's just too god damned good as it is! Like cooking fresh tuna, no matter how lightly, i question why cook it at all.

When i was in my butchers/fishmongers, it was sourced from wherever was the absolute best, no matter the country or region. I probably ate my body weight in the stuff. I simply can't buy it from supermarkets now, it's just offensive to ham! I've only found this one shop so far in London (thomas enrique, seems they have shops all over europe) and the stuff is amazing, upto £1000 a leg, but i've yet to find the time to actually have a good chat with them about their products. Still havn't coughed up and bought serano from them (looking at £120+ a kilo), but ive had various tasters, and good god, it is amazing. Although when you've a leg, with a mouldy slimy rancid hoof on the end, you know you're headed in the right direction :)
 

KLITE

Well-Known Member
Just my preference. I cook with parma etc, and every time i feel it was just wasted. It's just too god damned good as it is! Like cooking fresh tuna, no matter how lightly, i question why cook it at all.

When i was in my butchers/fishmongers, it was sourced from wherever was the absolute best, no matter the country or region. I probably ate my body weight in the stuff. I simply can't buy it from supermarkets now, it's just offensive to ham! I've only found this one shop so far in London (thomas enrique, seems they have shops all over europe) and the stuff is amazing, upto £1000 a leg, but i've yet to find the time to actually have a good chat with them about their products. Still havn't coughed up and bought serano from them (looking at £120+ a kilo), but ive had various tasters, and good god, it is amazing. Although when you've a leg, with a mouldy slimy rancid hoof on the end, you know you're headed in the right direction :)
The italians dont know jack shit about ham making and i do mean to disrespect btw, Youre great at lot but not ham and no im not afraid of you. Sodont talk to me about preference.
Imo i think youre getting ripped off. The way you know ham is good is the closer it is to butter and melting in your mouth the better without being salty obviously, Next time you go in ask the guy for anything from Extremaduyra Region of Spain if possiuble Pata negra but no batter what fed bellota. ask for bellota ham from extremadura. The extremadura ham is the best. IUn my opinion though if you want really well done cured sausage youve gotta go ith Portuguese preferably Alentejo regiom, those fuckers make the best sausages from black pig imo. Catalunya has nice fuet but thats more like very light salami really the rest is all pretty homogenous.
 

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
The italians dont know jack shit about ham making and i do mean to disrespect btw, Youre great at lot but not ham and no im not afraid of you. Sodont talk to me about preference.
Imo i think youre getting ripped off. The way you know ham is good is the closer it is to butter and melting in your mouth the better without being salty obviously, Next time you go in ask the guy for anything from Extremaduyra Region of Spain if possiuble Pata negra but no batter what fed bellota. ask for bellota ham from extremadura. The extremadura ham is the best. IUn my opinion though if you want really well done cured sausage youve gotta go ith Portuguese preferably Alentejo regiom, those fuckers make the best sausages from black pig imo. Catalunya has nice fuet but thats more like very light salami really the rest is all pretty homogenous.
Meh, that's like saying australians can't make good wine. Most parma ham is indeed generic, but i can tell you straight up that get the right supplier, and the spaniards and italians are on an even keel. The majority of this stuff is never known about outside of companies who have staff out there sourcing it specifically, the stuff that average joe could never actually find in a shop. "Italians" may not know shit about ham, but that's not to say that they can't make it, i have had italian parma that has utterly blown the spanish competition out of the water, however like with comte cheese, it came from an absurdly ritualistic small scale exclusive "producer" (they would buy a leg, (or cheese) and then take it away and do the entire curing process themself, no company name, just a guy with sime utterly absurd ham.

I can't disagree though, the stuff in this shop i found, it is most certainly overpriced, but that is london, i would never expect anything else. The majority of businesses with the real stuff at the propper prices, they are not retail outlets, they are specialist wholesalers.

I'll try and keep those names in mind though, bring them up next time i visit the shop and see just how much they know about their product. As i say, not had the time to actually chat with them, but typically, when i pay that much ofn a premium over a supermarket offering, i expect them to know exactly what the fuck is up :)
 

sunni

Administrator
Staff member
*ahem*.......italian over here. my nonno could do an amazing cure any do just about anything awesome with meat.

i attempted to dig up some recipes after he died but my stupid bitch of a zia, decided to take over his house and throw everything out

all i know is what was taught to me from when i was younger till the last few years..

i can make killer meats, and foods...except i dont eat them but i remember how to do it all.

wish i got my nonnas pizza recipe before she got alzhimers though
 

KLITE

Well-Known Member

What makes our ham the best in the world is what these specially crossed pigs eat and how they live. They pretty much domesticated wild boars eating 90% acorns from cork tree eat as they roam.


No one else out of europe has this breed nor does the tree grow in the same abundance that provides the acorn.
 

Ninjabowler

Well-Known Member
It is more a cultural/upbringing thing than an actual critism of american gravy ;) Never had or made a gravy that required flour, thick or thin. For chicken it's jus (of sorts) or nothing, can't stand thick gravy. Just chuck the chicken in a roasting tray, nothing else (other than the seasoning), then skim off fat once done, add some marmite, and some potato water, whisk, job done. For thick gravy, never made it at home due to personal preference, just work, so cost wasn't an issue so just created a stock over 4 days in a 250L pot, absolutely everything went into it (other than lamb), if it could go in the bin and was foodstuffs, it would go in the stock, strain, then another 1-2 days turning it into gravy with red wine and chopped tomatoes, and then over those 2 days of reduction, also throwing anything at hand into it as well before straining. I've just never liked thick gravy though.
Mmmmm....marmite. I go on week long marmite binges. And then dont touch it for months. Same with kimchi. I wonder whats for dinner tonight?
 

KLITE

Well-Known Member
*ahem*.......italian over here
I though you were a proud born and bread canadian?

Meh, that's like saying australians can't make good wine
I can tell you for a fact any retarded bogan can squeeze some grapes together and make something that will make them rape their children and beat their wives.
Now if you want something with original quality you need to get your ass down to the Alentejo region of Portugal or even the Rioja region of Spain. Especially in Alentejo youve got wines that are 2 or 3 years reserves with MORE body and a complexer flavour profile than those gran spanish gran reserevas that have been settiling for 10 and 12 years.
Ive spoken to international enologists before that claim no other region in the WORLD! has the same type of such rich clay soil nor such a dry and hot climate. In Portugal you can get bottles of fucking outrageous quality wine for less than 10 euros too.
 

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
I though you were a proud born and bread canadian?



I can tell you for a fact any retarded bogan can squeeze some grapes together and make something that will make them rape their children and beat their wives.
Now if you want something with original quality you need to get your ass down to the Alentejo region of Portugal or even the Rioja region of Spain. Especially in Alentejo youve got wines that are 2 or 3 years reserves with MORE body and a complexer flavour profile than those gran spanish gran reserevas that have been settiling for 10 and 12 years.
Ive spoken to international enologists before that claim no other region in the WORLD! has the same type of such rich clay soil nor such a dry and hot climate. In Portugal you can get bottles of fucking outrageous quality wine for less than 10 euros too.
ROFLMAO!! So your going for the cheap Portugese wine for dinner I see, good call. I just got back from Sonoma I really should finish that glass of the Gewurtz I left for the Bear, he'll never notice I drank it.
 

sunni

Administrator
Staff member
I though you were a proud born and bread canadian?


.
in canada when someone asks what you are you state your heritage culture than canadian after.
im first and foremost always italian. my parents are italian , i grew up in an italian heritage , i learned of my culture. I am canadian citizen because simply i was born here because my grandparents decided to come off the boat to build a better life.

Im not a true canadian , im just a citizen. Canadians are aboriginal Peoples and im not
 

KLITE

Well-Known Member
ROFLMAO!! So your going for the cheap Portugese wine for dinner I see, good call. I just got back from Sonoma I really should finish that glass of the Gewurtz I left for the Bear, he'll never notice I drank it.
A comment like that just shows how stupidly ignorant you are. Youre one of those pricks who doesnt know jack about it and just goes for the most expensive or something right? or lol the second cheapest?
There arent many extremely expensive wines from Portugal except perhaps porto wine because the biggest consumer of regular wine (the portugese people) are actually smarter and have more knowledge about wine than to spend 50 euro a bottle for something you can get JUST AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER QUALITY for less than 10. The best Portuguese wines are usually cooperative produced and the price does not reflect its qualit4y its well underpriced.
This is one of the best wines I have EVER drank and i think it goes for about 20 euro a bottle i think. Ive given it to try to people the likes of you who thought it cost a few hundred euros.

. Shit i know places you can go and get a 5 liter jug of wine for 5 euros better than most south african and australian wines ive tried.
The wine above in certain years of excpetional harvest, something that only happens maybe once or twice a decade. They make a special wine that has won the best prize in a competition with over 1100 wines entered from all over the world Its called Pera Manca and iu cant wait for the next batch.
 

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
Just comes off as know-it-all not willing to debate because he can't be wrong.

Sorry that you've never had good ham from Italy, doesn't mean it doesn't exist though, even without the magical wild piggies and their acorns.
 

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
A comment like that just shows how stupidly ignorant you are. Youre one of those pricks who doesnt know jack about it and just goes for the most expensive or something right? or lol the second cheapest?
........snip........
. Shit i know places you can go and get a 5 liter jug of wine for 5 euros better than most south african and australian wines ive tried.
The wine above in certain years of excpetional harvest, something that only happens maybe once or twice a decade. They make a special wine that has won the best prize in a competition with over 1100 wines entered from all over the world Its called Pera Manca and iu cant wait for the next batch.
Oh you tooo funny! No I'm one of those bitches that goes for the mid range bottle because I can't really taste or smell shite :) I am only in it for the EToH (alcohol to you unedumacated)!

Ok now go buy a bucket or two of that Portugese rot gut (get me a good port too), by the time 2016/2017 rolls around and I get to Rota it will be just about right for the awful annie to drink! Then we can have this fight in person!
 

sunni

Administrator
Staff member
Oh you tooo funny! No I'm one of those bitches that goes for the mid range bottle because I can't really taste or smell shite :) I am only in it for the EToH (alcohol to you unedumacated)!

Ok now go buy a bucket or two of that Portugese rot gut (get me a good port too), by the time 2016/2017 rolls around and I get to Rota it will be just about right for the awful annie to drink! Then we can have this fight in person!
lol i buy 1.5L of wine for 12$...i am no connoisseur but it is a good tasting cheap wine
 
Top