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 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
All about maintaining a calorie reduction. What you actually eat makes little to no difference

I have been tempted by those Japanese octopus pancake things. But you need specific equipment, and I’m really not sure I can be bothered!


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And if I’m buying new equipment, it’ll be a second shelf for the oven!

Well okonomiyaki is more calory heavy food than usual i'm eating

What's the octopus pancake? First thought was takoyaki but pancake doesn't make me think of balls. If takoyaki yes sooo good. My first japanese thing i ate on my first trip to japan funny enough. Made it with friends as their daughter loves it and hearing i loved it made it easy. But yeh hard to see how to do with standard kitchen equipment!

I doubt i could even buy one here...

Takoyaki is what I was thinking of. It looks intriguing, and I do like both my seafood and calamari, so the favour profile should suit me.

Are okonomiyaki the cabbage pancakes? I tried those in Hiroshima a few years back and absolutely loved them, would like to try making my own one day.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Ever since i started watching cooking youtuber channels i have started trying to make more food.
My favroite is Shepards pie with ground beef and like a gak done of beer in it.
Recently i made chicken Kiev, it was time consuming, i didnt dry it like most do, i was too afraid, so i just baked it and it still turned out great.

You had to mention Shepards pie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwksxDHNoAE&ab_channel=LinzeyRae

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

My favroite is Shepards pie with ground beef and like a gak done of beer in it.

I thought Shepherds Pie was the one with lamb in it. . . and beef was cottage pie?? Though, tbh, I don't really get why there needs to be a distinction, as they are largely the same exact dish, merely swapping a single ingredient (protein source) . . . but of course, the pedantic folks like James May cannot seem to live without those distinctions, so. .

 Valkyrie wrote:
Are okonomiyaki the cabbage pancakes? I tried those in Hiroshima a few years back and absolutely loved them, would like to try making my own one day.

These are great for using leftover veggies and bits of meat if you have it.

I actually like how varied and versatile a lot of Asian cooking can be, though once you're experienced enough it isn't hard to throw stuff together and call it food.

 Valkyrie wrote:
Are okonomiyaki the cabbage pancakes? I tried those in Hiroshima a few years back and absolutely loved them, would like to try making my own one day.

It can have all sort of toppiegs so guess gabbage could fit. Not my fav topping material though. But pancake is one description to it and it's particularly popular in hiroshima so could be

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

My favroite is Shepards pie with ground beef and like a gak done of beer in it.

I thought Shepherds Pie was the one with lamb in it. . . and beef was cottage pie?? Though, tbh, I don't really get why there needs to be a distinction, as they are largely the same exact dish, merely swapping a single ingredient (protein source) . . . but of course, the pedantic folks like James May cannot seem to live without those distinctions, so. .

In america i think(OR atleast around here) its used interchangably.

Are you a spy!?

No, I’m a Shepherd.

Aha! SHEPHERD SPY!

But yes. Shepherd’s Pie = Lamb. Cottage Pie = Beefs. Cottaging Pie = Let’s just not and say we did.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

My favroite is Shepards pie with ground beef and like a gak done of beer in it.

I thought Shepherds Pie was the one with lamb in it. . . and beef was cottage pie?? Though, tbh, I don't really get why there needs to be a distinction, as they are largely the same exact dish, merely swapping a single ingredient (protein source) . . . but of course, the pedantic folks like James May cannot seem to live without those distinctions, so. .

In america i think(OR atleast around here) its used interchangably.

Do shepherds look after cows round your way?

My Lass tried GF FakeFC last night.

She found it meh, but her oldest loved it, and she’s a KFC fiend.

Unfortunately she found the smell of the buttermilk off putting (describing it as baby sick).

Might give it a bash myself, if I can find a recipe suitable for air fryer (should be easy enough!)

Since we are on pies, does anyone have a recipe for good pie dough?

Depends what sort of pie?

Puff Pastry is best as a lid. Shortcrust better for a casing.

Me, I prefer Puff Pastry lids only (I think this is called pot pie in the US?)

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Depends what sort of pie?

Puff Pastry is best as a lid. Shortcrust better for a casing.

Me, I prefer Puff Pastry lids only (I think this is called pot pie in the US?)

Meatpie, mostly to satisfy my curiosity.

Ooh, I love me some cooking too! Tonight's curry night, got chicken thighs marinading in the fridge right now, ready to go in the oven for an hour and a half when I get home

If it’s red meat, definitely use a pie dish, and just top with puff pastry in my opinion.

No need to faff about making puff either, as store bought is plenty good for the job, especially the effort needed to get those flaky layers handmade

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
If it’s red meat, definitely use a pie dish, and just top with puff pastry in my opinion.

No need to faff about making puff either, as store bought is plenty good for the job, especially the effort needed to get those flaky layers handmade

You realise that not every store sells such things due to "influencesphere" of kitchen Also us nowadays starting an colonial empire to import the food is also off the table.

I genuinely cannot comprehend such a product not being available!

I mean, I don’t doubt you. Just Brain Says No!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Are you a spy!?

No, I’m a Shepherd.

Aha! SHEPHERD SPY!

But yes. Shepherd’s Pie = Lamb. Cottage Pie = Beefs. Cottaging Pie = Let’s just not and say we did.

What if you use ground turkey?

A mashed potato topped pie made with ground Turkey?

That’s called An Abomination

I think “shepherds pie” is used as a catch all for all ground/fine diced meat topped with mashed potatoes in America. I’ll admit to having made them with ground turkey. I knew it was fake and phoning it in, but had the parts on hand. Made a decent meal.

I’ve made my own full-puff puff pastry. It’s a bit of a PITA, and takes a long time. Mostly resting in the fridge/freezer, but also a lot of rolling. Would I do it again? Probably, but I like playing in the kitchen. Would it be easier to just grab it from the freezer section of the grocery store? Heck yah! How much better is the from-scratch than store-bought? How much less work is needed?

That last bit of kitchen calculus (taste vs. time) was something that was driven home to me in my teenaged years. At that point my mom went from being a print maker/artist who worked from home back to school to become a lawyer. So where everything used to be from scratch homemade, shortcuts needed to be discovered. What steps could be skipped? For example we all know that store bought pie crust is not as good as scratch. But it might be 90% as good, but take 10% of the work. And the focus is going to be on the filling, so put the effort into there where it will yield maximal results; canned fillings cannot hold a torch to fresh. For special occasions you can pull out all the stops and make it the best, but for most nights, a 90% as-good pie is better then no pie at all.

Gonna do more Wings either tonight or tomorrow, but this time with a different sauce.

Sauce is...

4tbsp Butter
3tbsp Siracha (should be Gochujang, but supermarket doesn’t stock it)
3tbsp Honey
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Mirin.

I suspect it won’t have much of a kick, as there’s not a whole lot of heat going in. If so, I do have Tabasco in the cupboard (everyone should!) so should be able to kick it up a few scovilles.

Or....I may hold off and just do traditional ‘Frank and Butter’ buffalo sauce until I can get hold of Gochujang. There’s a really excellent world foods shop up the town, so I imagine they’ll stock it.

And I might take a notepad with me, as every time I’m in there, I see these amazing ingredients and produce I’ve never cooked with. Reckon making a list will aid me in finding recipes!

Because an old fashioned pottering about in the kitchen with new and unusual ingredient is always an afternoon well spent

Well, I’ve tried the sauce, and put in a decent amount of Tabasco to get some heat.

It tastes really, really good. But it’s also quite thin when using Siracha - not sure if the proper stuff might thicken it any, or if I just need to cook it down more.

The flavour is a good balance between sweet, savoury and just a hint of vinegar. Reckon it will go extremely well with shrimp or other seafood, so gonna try that next.

I’m looking at running a Vampire RPG once lockdown is lifted (it’s a cheap night in!), so hoping I can nail such things as finger food for my players.

If so, I do have Tabasco in the cupboard (everyone should!)

Shouldn't. In terms of proper Mexican/Southwestern cooking, that's just overpriced flavored water, with a hint of something that vaguely resembled a red pepper in its previous life.

Well, I love the stuff, to nyer

If you cook with wine the alcohol will cook off and you will be left with all the remaining flavor.

On Friday I made some paprika chicken paninis for dinner with some potato wedges, salad and some garlic mayonnaise.

The chicken is flattened to make pan frying easier and if you have a griddle pan even better. After the chicken breast is flattened, you cover it with a dusting of smoked paprika, pepper and salt and let it rest for a while before putting it on the pan with some oil. Stick them on a toasted panini with some mayo and salad and that's a quick meal.

The potatoes are just chopped up maris pipers and seasoned with pepper, salt and chilli and rolled around in oil beforehand so they're crispy. Leave in the oven for 20-25 mins at 220 C and enjoy.

That sounds rather nice!

Having a go at breaded Prawns tonight I think. Ended up with pre-cooked tiger prawns, so will need to adapt the cooking time.

Other than that, standard dredge - lightly seasoned flour, egg then breadcrumbs.

Going to have them with the sauce I made for yesterday’s wings, as I reckon they’ll go really well together.

Bit more of a faff than I usually bother with, as the dredge creates an excess of washing up, but hopefully it’ll be worth it!


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Yep....that’s a winner.

Breadcrumbs should’ve been Panko for the recipe, but I got Lemon & Black Pepper, which saved needing to season the flower.

Lovely on their own as is, absolutely amazing in the sauce (the flavour of which has deepened since last night).

These will most definitely be appearing as a snack at my RPG sessions!

Those sound great! Do you deep fry/ air fry them or do you stick them in an oven?

Never a fan of washing up myself, if I can make everything go in one pot I'm happy

Went with the Air Fryer, as I only have a gas oven.

I daresay if you’ve got a fan assisted or convection oven, it should also work.

Probably gonna try again with slightly cheaper prawns, see if they make any tangible difference. I suspect they might if they’re particularly smaller, as the meat to breading ratio will be reduced, and last night’s one had the right mix of crunch and, well, squish.


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Straight forward fry up tonight. Nothing fancy, though premium Sossies and Bacons.

If you can comfortably afford dry cured bacon, it’s a helluva difference, and you don’t get that unappetising white scum in your pan.

It’s also a doddle to make your own bacon. Various websites sell pre-made cure mixes. From there, it’s just trimming your cut of pork and getting your weight ratio accurate. Coat the pork evenly, put it in a ziplock bag. Bung it in the fridge for a week, turning it once a day (ideally around the same time, but not compulsory).

Lovely lovely Bacon ensues.

And for those on a tighter budget, with multiple hungry mouths to feed (or a hungry Roleplay group you want to feed), I can recommend The Wolfe Pit on YouTube.

Though those vids did surprise me at how expensive fresh veg is in the US compared to the U.K.