Well, we had this thread in the old forum, so I thought I'd bring it back to life.. I absolutely LOVE cooking, and I know a few of you do too, so share what you will here, and discuss what you want here! :)

I'm actually very bad at giving recipes, because I learnt to experiment and used to watch over my mum's shoulder when she cooked. So I don't "measure" things out. I try it as I go along. And it makes me fussy when I'm trying to tell someone how to make something. I don't think I've ever stuck to a recipe that I read either. I always alter things! :S

Someone asked how I cook liver. And to be honest, when I cook it I just add butter, salt and pepper. Just fry it a little. Making an easy nibblesome snack (same with kidneys). Or I make a curry out of it (but very rarely). What do you do with your liver? (not literally your liver, lol).

For perfect poached eggs, place clingfilm in a mug, then break the egg into the clingfilm and seal it, then drop into boiling water for 4 minutes. The egg will come out perfectly round and cooked.

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Ooo Liver, one of my favourites! (you can stop *barfing* at me!)

Ok, first off get the best liver you can by going to the butchers. Supermarket liver is pants. End of. Second, I don't like Lambs liver and use pigs but it's totally down to taste. Thirdly, soak your liver in milk overnight.

This is how I do mine to get it 'just right' Overcooked dry liver is just, eurgh. Anyway, preheat the oven to 200C (put a baking tray in too) and heat a frying pan. In the meantime, drain the milk from the liver, pat dry with kitchen roll and season with salt and pepper. Whe the pan's hot, add the seasoned liver and sear either side. If the pan's not hot enough, it won't quickly brown the outside as you need it to, you don't want to cook them, just brown them. Put the liver in the oven for 6 minutes (for thickness of around 1-2"). Put the frying pan pack on the heat and soften some onion, fry some streaky bacon (cut up) and add some beef stock and Lea & Perins. You can also add wine at this point. Quickly boil it down so it reduces. When the 6 minutes are up, put the liver in the sauce and keep it simmering for about 2 minutes. Et voila!

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*barf* *barf* *barf*

Why on earth did Nerdy start a thread on cooking with a way of cooking liver? I can't bear the feeling of that stuff in my mouth.

*BARF!*

And don't start me on cucumber!

Or, seeing what ep wrote, the white of egg!

I'm so glad I didn't have any lunch.

Now, I know that there are alot of people who really do hate it. I know loads who can't even touch it, it makes them feel that ill but there are some people who would like it if it was cooked properlly. Liver should be buttery. I've had liver far too many times, like at the mother in laws or the grandparents. that's been cooked to death and is yuck! I reckon that's why so many people hate it. They've had really bad experiences with it.

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Cucumber is nice!
And the white of egg is nice too. I can only eat the yolk when it's boiled. Other than that, it makes me vomit :S Oh, and the smell when it's fried.. Eeek!


I have to say, pasta is my favourite thing to make, because you can do 5783 different things with it :)

Hmm liver - I just chop it roughly - put it in the dog's dish and she eats it like it is - she seems to like it

Here's my favourite:

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
some cheese
some sundried tomatoes chopped up
some fire roasted capsicum
some bread

METHOD:

Beat hell outta the eggs
Chuck em in the frypan stir them around a bit
Chuck the other stuff in (not the bread) and keep stirring a bit
Toast the bread - butter it if ya want
Bung it on a plate and empty the contents of the frypan onto it.

CHEF'S TIP:

Cook it like an omelette - Use camebert cheese with the rind cut off and call it:

Camembert and Sun Dried Tomato Omelette - sounds dead posh then.

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And I half expected a recipe for BBQ'ed Shrimp

That sounds excellent BM

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I cook like BM. I love making egg & whatever I can find lunch.

Scrambled egg with vanilla is also really nice.

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Tip:

Butter tastes better.

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I'm still waiting for a decent recipe for Spanish meatballs...... anyone!?

Especially for curries :) I've tried oil a few times, but it doesn't quite cut it. It needs to be butter.

I always thought I hated liver, it turns out that I just hated the liver that my mother cooked, she got the thick cut, and cooked it forever. I found out that you need buy only very very fresh liver, cut thin, and dust it lightly with flour. Fry a few slices of bacon, and using the bacon grease, and fry the liver at a very hot temperature for only a couple of minutes per side, and it tastes nothing like the liver I hated as a child. Also, smother the hell out of it with sweet onions that have been cooked in butter, with the bacon crumbled into it. Now the problem is, I can't find really fresh liver, since butcher shops have sort of disappeared, due to the fact that everyone buys their meat in grocery stores, because it's cheaper. So, I haven't had liver in years.

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Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, laugh uncontrollably.. and never regret anything that made you smile.

Anyone who enjoys a curry needs to try my Mum's raita:

Mix a tub of fresh natural yoghurt with diced cucumber and sliced spring onions and a small amount of garlic. Serve with your curry. Works brilliantly with a really firey one. (Disclaimer: Will not prevent "afterburn" effects...)

When cooking meat, NEVER add seasoning until you've sealed the meat, so that the juices stay inside and make it a lot more tender.

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lol!

'pologies, liver haters - twas I who was seeking advice!

By the time this thread appeared the dinner party was over and done with anyways :P

I soaked it in milk, rubbed a little flour in, cooked it along with the onions and mushrooms in a pan (using butter) and then made a sauce using the milk that it had been soaked in, plus a little cream, water, garlic, herbs, a little more flour and some salt. It melted in the mouth, and everyone loved it.

Wasn't a liver lover (lol) until recently, didn't do 'innards' but now I am converted. I might even try kidney's next!

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Yay, raita! :D That's the.. not-so-Asian way of making it :P
If you want to have an adventure with raita and make it the Asian way, a good recipe is this:
Pot of yoghurt,
diced cucumber, tomatoes, onions,
tad of salt, tad of pepper,
a pinch of cumin powder,
some garam masala
and a tad bit of mint sauce.

Grrreeeeat! If you like your curries on rice, the raita is a great thing to add on top of it :) (I always have it with rice.)

lol, I was thinking of naming and shaming you, but you know I'm far too nice for that.. We grabbed their attention with the liver though, heh.

I had coconut raita once. That was pretty poor really. Needs to have crunch in it.

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Grabbed them by the liver, ouchie.

Here, once again, is my salad dressing recipe. Not enough people (in England anyhow) use salad dressings! I don't know how people can eat a naked salad.

For 4 people:

1 clove of crushed garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
couple of pinches of oregano
3 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tsp white wine vinegar
12 tsp extra virgin olive oil.

ALWAYS add the oil last. I usually pour it into an empty mineral water bottle and give it a good shake around to mix it nicely. Yummy salad coming right up.

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Ok, so I've made too much cheesecake mixture of the unbaked variety and I've one complete in the fridge and I have foil cases. Could I make a few up and freeze them? I'm the master of freezing things in advance but I've not done cheesecake before. Do you think it'll be ok?

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Well, don't shoot me if it all goes horrible wrong, but I'd say you could freeze it. I wouldn't keep it for more than a month or two, but it should be alright :)

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Freezing is okay, but it depends on the actual ingredients too. If there's a lot of cream in it, you'll find it goes all funky when you defrost it... not that I've done that before or anything, heh. XD

I'd say you're okay with freezing it :) better than wasting it.

Like MsNerd says, unless there's a swag of cream in it, cheesecake generally freezes quite well - they sell them in the frozen food part of shops so why wouldn't they freeze?

I have made cheesecake in square or rectangle slice tins so I can cut it into bite size pieces and freeze it. Works just nicely for those times when you don't want to eat a whole cheesecake by yourself........

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nope, no cream! And there won't be any fruit topping on them either, I thought that might go a little funky too. I think the chunk idea's good BM but it'd make me eat alot when I shouldn't!!

I'm gonna go for it!

TY you three xx

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To get lump free lovely gravy simply,,,,,.
Take some gravy granules, put in a jug, add cold water and mix in to a paste.
Then add boiling water and stir briskly, no more lumps.