Prog Chefs Unite!!!

I'm rather fond of cooking, and baking. Just finished making a batch of apple-cinnamon muffins, in fact.

Zargasheth wrote: I'm rather fond of cooking, and baking. Just finished making a batch of apple-cinnamon muffins, in fact.

always wanted to become a better baker; especially for the bread

Today was alone at home watching Peruvian football (All my family was at my sister's home, but they don't watch football, so I stayed), so decided to eat something special.

Bacon wrapped filet Mignon, pan seared, with yellow squash tonight. 

(got a good deal on the meat too- we have a butcher up the road that, when I buy in bulk, essentially gives us quality meat for $4 (£2.55) per pound or less).

Dean wrote: Epignosis wrote: Bacon wrapped filet Mignon, pan seared, with yellow squash tonight.  (got a good deal on the meat too- we have a butcher up the road that, when I buy in bulk, essentially gives us quality meat for $4 (£2.55) per pound or less).  bulk-buy or not, that's at least five times cheaper than we pay for fillet steak in a supermarket - it's dearer still from a butcher.       I hope it chokes you

The meat isn't all steak I should say.  We buy a month's worth of meat from them (though not poultry or seafood, which I get for better prices elsewhere).  Hamburger, pork, brisket, whatever we want.  But in the end it averages to that amount of money ($4 or less for pound).

Today we got the 2 filets, 5 lbs. of hamburger, 4 (huge beautifully marbled) rib-eyes, a large beef brisket, a lovely pork roast, 5 lbs of pork chops, some beef strips for a stir fry, a rack of beef ribs and a rack of pork ribs for exactly $99.99 (£63.76).

when I'm broke and I want steak I get some round or London broil, which is about $4 per lb., pound the daylights out of it, slice against the grain and sometimes marinate it-- I've actually grown quite fond of the tougher cuts

Massive flavour in the tougher cuts. It's normally well worth the tenderizing effort no matter what method you use. Unless of course you are using vac packs, a barrel of water, and some TNT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMftsdnFRzE  

We picked up a sirloin of beef joint for half price this evening so had a Sunday Roast on a Monday, complete with roast new potatoes (unpeeled) oven cooked carrots in a bag (en papillote) and a superb Yorkshire pud ...all cooked by Debs I may add - I was being a lazy arse tonight and she makes the best Yorkshire puds in the whole world ever (I can use the exact same recipe and end up with flat rubbery pancakes) ... the beef was cooked to perfection (as soon as it stopped mooing it was taken out of the oven an left to rest for 15 minutes while the Yorkshires were cooking) - wonderfully rare and wonderfully melt in the mouth - I wish we afford this cut of meat more often, but then I also really like a super slow fore-rib (on the bone) roast so if I stopped and thought about it as I just have then I really don't mind that much which cut I have, both are excellent.

Simple breakfast idea that I made for myself this morning:

Line a small-ish dish with tomato sauce sprinkled with red pepper flakes. Put two raw eggs on top (yolk intact). Top with lots of Parmesan cheese. Then drizzle over some olive oil and cream. Season it and then bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes and serve with toast.

A bit unorthodox, but really delicious and easy.

Epignosis wrote: That all sounds amazing.  I want a traditional Yorkshire pudding. I really must get out of this country more often.

My paternal grandparents were Yorkshire. As a kid, when I used to stay with them over the summer holidays if ever I asked for Yorkshire puds to go with the Sunday roast my Nan would serve them before the meal in a bowl of gravy and never with the meat and veg, that being the traditional Yorkshire way.