What are you preparing for dinner tonight?

@Haim, just a bit of interesting historical tidbit regarding the true origin of the ground meat part of the Hamburger -

Urban legend, perhaps spurred by the name, credits the Mongols with the creation of the raw beef delicacy called steak tartare. As the story goes, Tartar horsemen would wedge pieces of raw horsemeat underneath their saddles to dine on still raw but nicely tenderized at the end of a long day.

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….and cricket wicketkeepers sometime after, with a nice fillet in the palm of the glove :cricket_bat_and_ball: :gloves:

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Breakfast, looking for something relatively low carb this morning.

I don’t cook ‘omlettes’ often, but this was a lovely change using some leftovers/food just beyond or close to best before dates:

This was very succulent/fluffy in texture for a change - normally I burn them or they turn out like leather.

Someone will surely tell me the correct method/ingredients for an authentic omlette however, partly for my own records:

Fried quickly in olive oil/butter, then put in a separate bowl:

2" length diced courgette
1/2 small leek thinly sliced
1/4 red pepper sliced
A few chopped shitake mushrooms
Sprinkling of Italian/dried mixed herbs

Whisked together by hand:

3 organic eggs
Organic milk
Chopped fresh parsley
Salt
Finely ground white pepper

Heated 1 oz butter in same frying pan.

Added:
Small amount of previously sautéed veg.
Half of whisked mixture.
Some diced chicken breast from last night’s roast.
Small fresh sliced tomato
Diced leftover new potato from last night.

Cooked on low heat for several minutes.
Put lid on frying pan for several more.

Served with sprinkling of fresh parsely and coarse ground black pepper.

Ketchup was not needed!

Unfortunately my tea was lukewarm by the time I’d cooked the thing. Just having a fresh mug.

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Now that’s set me thinking: memorable steak tartares.

Two come to mind; the first was at a restaurant on the banks of the Neris near the film studios in Vilnius. As an aside Vilnius was a source of excellent fillet steak, but on this the meat arrived finely chopped, with small dishes of chopped onion, capers, paprika and gherkin. Another dish held an egg yolk. It was a do it yourself exercise, with copious quantities of salt and pepper required. It was washed down with several shots of ice cold degtine - vodka. I don’t think this establishment exists today.
The second, and frequently visited restaurant was cafe Kor in Budapest. This cafe Is a popular haunt in District V on the Pest side of the Danube; here, the ingredients were set out as above, but with two exceptions. First, the paprika was a local variety that was sweet, and the second was that instead of vodka, a glass or two of the dry, Sherry-like, Tokaji known as Szamorodni.
These were not small dishes, and could as served as a main course, but they memorable because of the quality of beef, and that you mixed them yourself - pure heaven.

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Sausage casserole for late lunch here. Some mushrooms that needed to be used, garlic, onion, potatoes, carrots, Cumberland sausages, tinned tomatoes, chicken stock, chili powder, bay leaves, slowly bubbling in the oven while some bread bakes in the bread maker to mop up the gravy.

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Roast pork chops.
Using my ingenious modified breakfast table toast rack to ensure an even crackling.

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Stealing that idea … brilliant! :+1:

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I would have sealed those good looking chops first. The rack is brilliant!

Atb
Kk

Macaroni and Cheese enhanced with nutmeg, mustard, mushrooms, basil leaves, oh, and boiled eggs.

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May we see an ‘after’ photo next time please?
Excellent idea.
Do you Salt the chops in advance, and have you tried them brined?

Toast rack arrived from The River a few minutes ago, will be trying it out this evening.

Once again, @TOBYJUG brilliant! :clap:

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I have another two chops to roast in a couple of days.
I just season the sides with fresh oregano, salt and pepper.
I don’t salt the rind as I much prefer to taste the sweetness of the crackling - although the chops need to come from a healthy happy fat sow.
I’ll post an after pic :yum:

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Hope you got one that can be bent wider easily.
I like my chops somewhat thicker than what you would see in a supermarket and pre cut from a butchers.

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No worries, if it seems a bit resistant to the required amount of bending … I’ll just fetch a bigger adjustable spanner!

Firm believer in the brute force and ignorance approach. :joy:

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I like them with the bone in … which is getting harder to find.

Even better if you can get one with a kidney attached!

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Mrs Pete’s Paella.

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@TOBYJUG, Used the rack last night … huge success … now considered to be an essential part of kitchen equipment. :+1: :+1:

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Seems to be the same for chicken breasts on the bone or even with skin on.

Waitrose used to do some nice chicken breasts on the bone, then got rid of them - I queried with their customer service and they said they would not be coming back. A few months later they did but twice as expensive under their ‘1’ brand.

Very few good local butchers in my area these days.

Guess I need to learn how to properly cut up a whole chicken.

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Think I’ve got a Weber rib rack somewhere that might work.

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