Meal 98 - November 17th - Beef Stroganoff, Fluffy Rice, Red Onion and Parsley Pickle
After all my Saturday exertions, Sunday was a predictably quiet day. I was hoping (and felt that I fully deserved) to spend the entire day in my pyjamas, but sadly Lolz foiled this plan by insisting that I go out and do the shopping. On my list was a couple of lovely sirloin steaks - normally a surefire way to ensure a good mark from Lolz (the crazy Korean fried rice and steak meal was the first 15 minute meal with sirloin steak that scored less than a 9).
Showing posts with label pickles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pickles. Show all posts
17 Nov 2013
29 Oct 2013
Korean Fried Rice, Steak, Mushrooms and Pickles
Meal 91 - October 29th - Korean Fried Rice, Steak, Mushrooms and Pickles
Sirloin steak is one of those ingredients where you just don't want to faff about with it too much. There's a reason why most restaurants serve it - and most recipes tell you to cook it - as simply as possible: it is melt-in-the-mouth delicious. As long as you don't mess around too much, you can't really go too far wrong. Which boded (bade?) well because this dish looked mental.
Sirloin steak is one of those ingredients where you just don't want to faff about with it too much. There's a reason why most restaurants serve it - and most recipes tell you to cook it - as simply as possible: it is melt-in-the-mouth delicious. As long as you don't mess around too much, you can't really go too far wrong. Which boded (bade?) well because this dish looked mental.
31 Mar 2013
British Burgers, Shred Salad, Pickles and Things
Meal 30 - March 30th - British Burgers, Shred Salad, Pickles and Things
Forgive me for stating the obvious but a big part of the 15 minute meals book is that you are (supposedly) able to cook the meals in 15 minutes. And so it shouldn't really be a surprise therefore, that when I tell people about my challenge they ask me if I'm timing myself and how long they are taking me. It never really occurred to me to time myself - to be honest I'd rather take 20 minutes or 25 minutes if it meant the meal was nicer. This viewpoint was reenforced (subconsciously maybe) when, during one of the early meals, Lolz did, without my knowledge, time me and claimed I took 45 minutes. Now in my defence that did include the time it took to clear away all the washing up and get all of the ingredients out of the fridge, but I think it was pretty clear I wouldn't exactly be smashing the 15 minute barrier any time soon.
Forgive me for stating the obvious but a big part of the 15 minute meals book is that you are (supposedly) able to cook the meals in 15 minutes. And so it shouldn't really be a surprise therefore, that when I tell people about my challenge they ask me if I'm timing myself and how long they are taking me. It never really occurred to me to time myself - to be honest I'd rather take 20 minutes or 25 minutes if it meant the meal was nicer. This viewpoint was reenforced (subconsciously maybe) when, during one of the early meals, Lolz did, without my knowledge, time me and claimed I took 45 minutes. Now in my defence that did include the time it took to clear away all the washing up and get all of the ingredients out of the fridge, but I think it was pretty clear I wouldn't exactly be smashing the 15 minute barrier any time soon.
6 Feb 2013
Chicken Dim Sum, Coconut Buns, Cucumber Pickle and Hoi Sin Sauce
Meal 14 - Feb 6th - Chicken Dim Sum, Coconut Buns, Cucumber Pickle and Hoi Sin Sauce
If it wasn't for the fact that I have pledged to cook every single recipe in the 15 Minute Meals book, I would most likely have skipped over this one. Not just because I imagined making buns from scratch would be a bit of a faff, or because, surprise surprise, I don't have a bamboo steamer kicking around in my cupboard. But mainly because I detest mushrooms with a passion. With the exception of a few weeks in hospital when I was seven (the medication must have interfered with my taste buds) I have hated and done whatever I can to avoid them for my entire life. Even when my mother would craftily chop them up really small in a spaghetti bolognese, I would still sift through my plate and extract the offending vegetables. Unfortunately, since I will be sticking as closely as possible to the recipes (and yes, I'm aware there are many more mushroom dishes to go...) avoiding them was not an option, and upon getting home, Lolz happily informed me she had sourced not one, not two but THREE different varieties of mustrooms to terrify my tastebuds.
Anyway, I went for my now almost ritualistic pre-15 minute meal run and, having obtained a steamer, got to work. The dough was made and chicken prepared without too much drama and was all transferred to the steamer.
Once it was all cooked and garnished and plated up it was possibly the most fancy looking dish I have prepared so far. Unfortunately taste wise it was a bit hit and miss. The chicken, having marinated in hoi sin sauce was very nice. The mushrooms were, well, mushrooms, although I can report that shiitake and oyster were marginally more palatable than the horrific closed cup. The garnishes were all good. Unfortunately though, the buns were a bit of a disaster. This may admittedly be partly the chef's (i.e my) fault - I may have overworked the dough or over or undercooked it (although I did follow the rather vague instructions in the recipe to a tee). But most of all they were just a bit bland and tasted more of flour than anything else. I may experiment more in the future, but to be honest what wrong with some noodles on the side?!
Lolz gave the dish 7/10. Difficulty rating 6/10 - those buns may need a bit more practice.
If it wasn't for the fact that I have pledged to cook every single recipe in the 15 Minute Meals book, I would most likely have skipped over this one. Not just because I imagined making buns from scratch would be a bit of a faff, or because, surprise surprise, I don't have a bamboo steamer kicking around in my cupboard. But mainly because I detest mushrooms with a passion. With the exception of a few weeks in hospital when I was seven (the medication must have interfered with my taste buds) I have hated and done whatever I can to avoid them for my entire life. Even when my mother would craftily chop them up really small in a spaghetti bolognese, I would still sift through my plate and extract the offending vegetables. Unfortunately, since I will be sticking as closely as possible to the recipes (and yes, I'm aware there are many more mushroom dishes to go...) avoiding them was not an option, and upon getting home, Lolz happily informed me she had sourced not one, not two but THREE different varieties of mustrooms to terrify my tastebuds.
Anyway, I went for my now almost ritualistic pre-15 minute meal run and, having obtained a steamer, got to work. The dough was made and chicken prepared without too much drama and was all transferred to the steamer.
Once it was all cooked and garnished and plated up it was possibly the most fancy looking dish I have prepared so far. Unfortunately taste wise it was a bit hit and miss. The chicken, having marinated in hoi sin sauce was very nice. The mushrooms were, well, mushrooms, although I can report that shiitake and oyster were marginally more palatable than the horrific closed cup. The garnishes were all good. Unfortunately though, the buns were a bit of a disaster. This may admittedly be partly the chef's (i.e my) fault - I may have overworked the dough or over or undercooked it (although I did follow the rather vague instructions in the recipe to a tee). But most of all they were just a bit bland and tasted more of flour than anything else. I may experiment more in the future, but to be honest what wrong with some noodles on the side?!
Lolz gave the dish 7/10. Difficulty rating 6/10 - those buns may need a bit more practice.
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