Foodie thread

[cntrlwagdnr]

Lahbstah is the east coast pronunciation. And we get them live, remove the bands on the claws and watch out.

I'm not interested in sushi, never really cared for fish. Unless one needs a hammer to eat it!

I like how stuff is in quotes, someone a Carlin fan?

I'm thinking about building a trap for mud bugs but need to find some river access that isn’t public. I'm sure someone would nab my catch.

Oh Yes! Of course, we also have a permanent subset of our stuff in the motorhome... hmmm... does that actually qualify as a second set since it is separate stuff? Have definitely got down to a subset of a subset and even the absolute essentials. Come to think of it, we got down to a subset of the second set once!! George was brilliant. Like John Cleese, he could nail the absurdity of something and bring it out front and center for everyone to recognize - albeit in a different style. Got all George's shows on DVD and 4 of his books, including the posthumous Last Words and seen him perform live. BTW, thanks for reminding me I need to read them again. If he was still with us, maybe we wouldn't be suffering some of the crap that's going on now and people might see it for what it is. You have brightened my day already!

This one's for Esther. A new selection of stuff just came in - some new chinaware - but the old set is going out (to Goodwill). It even fit in the same size boxes...

So, you are not a Fish-n-Chip fan then, Ruderunner? Of course, you can't get genine "English style" Fish-n-Chips here anyway - or for that matter, not really in most regualr restaurants on the UK. You need the specialized Fish-n-Chip Shop equipment - big vats of hot fat. No cute little deep fryer baskets - dunk it in and scoop it out when it's done. You can do a good facsimile of the fish if you know what you are doing. It's the Chips that are so different - YUM! Can't beat takeout Fish-n-Chips from the local "Chippy", with salt and malt vinegar, especially takeout Fish-n-Chips walking down the street eating them - with salt and malt vinegar. Instantly (literally) converted my wife, walking down Edgeware Road in London on her first visit to the UK - including the malt vinegar. Of course, you don't get cute little individual pieces of fish - the single cripsy battered fillet (or occasionally small whole fish) will often hang over both sides of a plate! And BTW, they never served it in newspaper. They used parchment paper (they call it greaseproof paper over there) or bags and wrapped it in excess uncirculated newsprint from the printers to insulate it - 'cos it was cheap. They use plain butcher paper these days. If they are serving it in that fake newsprint crap, you know it's gonna be an over priced or mediochre Chippy. It's not all the traditional cod, either. They serve all kinds of fish - plaice, haddock, pollock, dogfish, hallibut, skate, and other bottom fish, even shark sometimes. One reason it is so popular is that it was the only food not rashioned during WWII.

Here's an interesting thing. There was a maggot factory at Oare in Kent that supplied maggots for bait. During WWII, most of the men were off fighting or too busy with the war effort, so angling took a huge nosedive. Maggots have a very high fat content. So to stay in business (actually they grew), they rendered down maggots into fat and sold it to the Chippies. The funny thing is, the big packaged blocks had a picture of a cow with some delightfully euphemisitc name on the front and they kept it pretty much a secret for obvious reasons. I lived in an apartment above a Fish-n-Chip shop once when I was a college student - actually with a Goan guy, so I guess that brings it back full circle to India, Esther!

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

@Ruderunner , hey if your near this location

3700 Oberlin Ave, Lorain, OH, United States, Ohio A restaurant called Mutt and Jeff's. my cousin Kiki manages the place. She can also be known for bellowing out a tune from the stage now and then. It is on my list to get to if I can arrange to get to Cleveland area long enough. The food she shows looks amazing. Tell her, her cousin sent you. She's easy to spot, probably the tallest women there, with long hair. Thanks.

Just looked up their website. Menu and food look amazing. Any good RV parks there? If you can't find somethng to like on that menu, you must be a vegan. Actually, there's even a couple of token offerings for the V people too.

OK, I can't resist........ I personally don't serve vegans - they make too much mess thrashing around in the hot bacon fat. However, I do serve vegetarians - as long as you tell me how you like them prepared.

It's just a joke, people, get over it. Some of our V people friends think its hillarious. I think George would have liked that one too, in fact come to think of it, maybe I read it in one of his books.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@cntrlwagdnr , have no idea about RV parks near that restaurant. If your just looking at passing through, staying one night and relying on being independant with your RV, lots of large shopping centers allow a one night stay. But as far as one with hook ups etc, no clue.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Thanks. Actually, we never stay in parking lots. First of all, I think it's rude. That's not what parking lots are for and it's (rightfully) illegal in some places. Our RV is basically like a bus. It's a 37ft diesel class A motor coach, 8ft 6in wide (not including mirrors, awnings, etc.) and over 13ft tall with a million mile commercial Cummins diesel engine in the back of a Freightliner Custom Coach chassis - air brakes air suspension, etc. Plus we tow a midsize SUV. Who wants to see that taking up a huge chunk of parking space - or listen to a 10kW diesel generator, even though it's pretty quiet. Actually we rarely dry camp. We prefer full hook ups (preferably with 50amp) or at least power and water, in properly designated RV parking. It's the right thing to do, so we don't boon-dock either. The closest we have come was overflow RV parking for 1 night at an Elks lodge and in some friends' driveway on Lake Poinsett, SD. You know, people ask how can you afford the fuel? Well, if the (increase in) the price of fuel is stopping you buying a motorhome, you shouldn't be owning one in the first place. It's a house rolling down the road with a whole lot more mechanical stuff than a car too. Maintenance, insurance and other things far outweigh the cost of fuel. Tires only last about 7 years before they time out due to UV exposure, not wear and they typically cost well over $1,000 each and we have 6 of them, so there's going on $900 year as well - some rigs have 8! Then there's the cost of purchasing it. New ones today are upwards of $400,000 at least. We couldn't afford it now, although ours is worth more than we paid for it today, so I guess the kids might get an inheritance after all! You can control fuel costs by choosing your route carefully, controlling you speed appropiately, staying longer at stops and eating out a few less times. Filling a 100gal tank with diesel is expensive, but how often can you get a decent meal for 2 these days for less than about $100? (And we have our own beverages at supermarket prices.) Also, it's cheaper than hotels and believe it or not, the carbon footprint is usually less too - because it's not just your room at a hotel, it includes a share of all the public areas, offices, etc. depending on how many rooms are actually occupied. Plus, you would be driving something anyway, so it only the difference in emissons you are looking at. (With DEF, the other emissions than CO2 are less the most gas powered cars. In fact, these rigs never have to go through annual emissions testing.) And forgete the EV crap - I'm an engineer. The power has to be generated somewhere and a lot of it is and still will, be from fossil fuels, not to mention the battery cost and lifespan and cost of even minor damage that often causes an EV to be writtten off, etc. Batteries are not the final solution, we are not there yet but rushing into it that too fast. Now, don't get me wrong, we are not against conservation and working toward realistic methods of climate control, etc. In fact, were the first in our area to install a solar panel system on our roof. Sorry, off my soapbox... Also, we have our own stuff, our own bed, washe and drier, a full size french door residential fridge/freezer etc. (virtually identical to the one in our kitchen at home) and the cats can come with us, so they don't have to get traumatized by boarding them or having someone house sit - neither of which are cheap either. It's quite an eyeopener to own one actally. Kind of like special cheese - it's a choice. But if you let it sit in the driveway - or worse, pay for storage - and only use it once or twice a year, then it's a total waste of money - like letting your cheese go moldy.

 

[Ruderunner]

And here we are, sitting in a campground 70 miles from home. Parked the camper and drove the old Cummins to shop and sightseeing.

The old truck doesn't do to bad on fuel, managed a little over 10mpg pulling a big white box.

To bring this back on topic...this is the small stack. E have 4 baskets and 2 boilers. But this is enough for the 2 of us.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@cntrlwagdnr , We own a huge RV Forester, sleeps 6. and has all the bells and whistles you mentioned, It roamed about down by Crystal River, Fl. for fishing trips. Be honest with you ---I hate it. never slepted it. Husband spent better than 4 months getting it fix right , and it was brand new, the frustration of getting parts was unreal, a major night mare. He stayed with it down near Crystal River, Fl. and fished most the days, during the "fixing" it process. I had a lovely single life. But had daily reports from him about the frustrations, I tried to help as I could . Now, its parked at a Nephew house, huge property, parked in the back, Nephew uses it for his crew when they have to work in other states. He offered to buy it from us,, me would love to unload it, but husband does not. So we continue paying on it.

We live about a mile from a Walmart, and many times I do see a huge RV parked on the edge of the huge parking lot. I do not think it rude at all. We we also, when we travel with our show car, in a 26 foot trailer plus tow car, may have to park in a parking lot to catch a lunch, and I do not think its rude.

 

[Ruderunner]

Walmart has a policy of letting RVers stay on the edge of the lot overnight.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Walmart has a policy of letting RVers stay on the edge of the lot overnight.

They must have, as from time to time when I shop there I see some parked on the edge of the lot. Its all good.
Recall in our recent trip with the trailer, we wanted to meet up with a friend just off of Route 90 as we were headed to Vermont, called the restaurant and they said that the Aldis store is right next door of which "is allowed" to park such things at the edge of the lot. And so we did without issues. I think for the most part, as people travel with RVs, stores with large lots would have no issues, as they figure folks need also to buy stuff from them to re-stock.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Oh, we have parked in parking lots during the day for various reasons, of course. especially as it has 4 slide-outs. Including a taking quick break or shopping. Even full timers including homeless people living in RV's have to buy their food and stuff. You can't take a quick break at an RV park! We just don't do it overnight. There are lots of places that do not allow any kind of overnight parking, let alone RV's. And some Walmarts do not allow it either, partly due to local laws and issues at specific stores or if they are in a popular vacation area. Sam himself was an RVer and wanted to let people be able park while on the road - plus buying stuff in his stores didn't hurt either.... However, that was then when people didn't take advantage of you like they do today. Apparently only about 50% allow it now and the number is steadily decreasing. Their official policy (when you can stay) is you must get permission from the store and it's 24 hours maximum. We have friends that do it on long trips and had some (extended) family members who used to vacation entirely that way - they have plenty of money but he's so tight he squeaks when he walks. I just feel that since we are fortunate that can afford to stay in designated RV parks, it's a bit rude for ME to do it. Besides, I don't really want to stay overnight in a parking lot. I would only do it if I absolutely had to.

BTW: Your quality problems are not at all uncommon in the industry. Ours is a Tiffin and they are re-known for quality and customer service, but even they have teething troubles sometimes.

Nice boiler for camping! Versatile things. We have never taken ours on the road, but it might be fun for one of our RV club camp-outs. A dump boil maybe or a deep fried Turkey. We haven't used it in a long time. Corinne keeps wanting to get rid of it every time we clean out the garage, but I'm not letting it go. Of course, she not so keen on deep fried turkey as me. One of the guys I used to work with did deep fried whole prime rib roasts and he said they were excellent.

OH! Wait a minute! I'm glad we have had this conversation!! I have a great idea for the next time we host a camp-out. Real English Fish-n-Chips!! Oh yeah, that'll be a change from my ever popular slow smoked Texas style brisket. It just needs to be one that's close to home. We are a a very wide spread group, from central WA to ID, the furthest flung Tiffin Allegro Club chapter, so many of the camp-outs are in someone or other's backyard (not literally, of course.) Camp-out food is fun with our group. Whoever hosts - i.e. just makes the arrangements basically - decides on dinner one night and provides the main course but the club reimburses them. We are always on the lookout for good recipes. Mind you, it's sometimes a bit more elaborate than typical camping grub. But we have been seen sitting by our row of big shiny Tiffins munching on takeout pizza too. Our last camp-out this year is next week as it happens - 20 miles from home. (We are not hosting.) There will be a lot of wine tasting, picnics, charcuterie boards, etc. It's not even worth hitching up the tow car for the 20 minute drive so we drive the truck instead of towing our SUV toad. So... with fish-n-chips in mind for next year, I could haul the cooker and stuff in the truck.

When I do brisket for camp-outs, I cook it the day before we leave. Then slice it and re-wrap it in the pink butcher paper and put it in one of those big tabletop roaster ovens to reheat it. It works really well for big gatherings too - though I usually don't curve until we are ready to eat then.

Hmmm... I'm thinking of introducing our club to chip butties too. That originated in Northern England around Liverpool. It was originally a hollowed out miniature loaf of bread filled with chip shop chips and sprinkled with malt vinegar, ketchup, steak sauce or similar condiments. These days, its usually just a sandwich filled with chips (fries). I hate to see the demise of great traditional foods into mediocre modernized convenience versions. Give me a good old fashioned Bedfordshire Clanger or Trowley Dumpling any day. Hovis is a very old proprietary brand of wholewheat flour in the UK (I believe it contains wheatgerm). And Hovis loaves were and probably still are popular. The company sold loaf pans from individual sized to regulars ones with "HOVIS" stamped in the sides, so the loaves had it on them too. That's the kind of miniature loaf - though not necessarily wholewheat - that chip butties were often made from and maybe still are. I haven't lived there since 1979, so I wouldn't know. Speaking of butties, I sometimes like to stick my chips (American chips - crisps to the Brits) inside my sandwiches instead of eating them separately. The crunch is great, but there's something special about the taste of chips with bread and butter. Kind of like fried egg with mashed potatoes - it's just deliciously different for some unfathomable reason. Well, I guess chip butties have that too, even the modern sandwich version.

I'm salivating for some English chip shop chips! They are so different from anything else and certainly not French Fries or even Steak Fries. I have perfected a method to make them pretty damn close. In the traditional "Chippies" they peel and cut them about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick, then soak them in water to remove some of the starch. Then they drain them and dump them into a big vat of hot fat. (Beef fat is best but these days it's usually "healthy" oils.) They cook them at a lower temperature until they are done in the middle, then scoop them out and dump them in hotter fat to finish them off. But they don't usually brown them much. Then the final step - they let them sit under a heat lamp to mature for a few minutes. They are not crispy like Fries, but they are so good! There's also a seasonal difference between "new" and "old" potatoes. New being more like a Yukon and old like Russets.

Hmmm... thinking of deep fryers, I think I'm going to make beignets for breakfast tomorrow. So easy to make. I make mine triangular, not the traditional Cafe du Monde squares. You can form the dough into balls and roll out circles, cut them in 6 wedges and have no waste to have to re-knead together and roll out - never as good as the virgin dough. I usually make extra extra dough and freeze the balls for later.

 

[Ruderunner]

Back to the top...

I'm going to make scratch made cream of mushroom with wild rice today. One of our local grocery stores had mushrooms on sale for 50 cents.

Also on the menu, chicken Tikka Masala but that's from a jar.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Sounds like you have some delicious meals coming up.

Got a good recipe for that wonderful British dish, Chicken Tikka Masala, if you want a copy. Lots of different versions out there! Pretty quick and easy (about 1 hour, or less with precooked chicken ), but it doesn't use condensed tomato soup as the original is reputed to have done. (I do wonder why any self respecting Indian restaurant would have had a large can of condensed tomato soup just hanging around in the kitchen!) So many competing stories on which chef in which Indian restaurant anywhere from Scotland to London invented it and none of them has any tangible evidence. All hearsay. They do all agree it was around 1960 though. But it's usually all good, including the the jar sauce. The fact there there about 50 different brands is proof of how Tikka Masala is right up there behind that other famous British dish, Fish and Chips, for popularity in the UK! You would certainly have trouble finding it in India though, if at all.

I also have Kundan Lan Gugral's original authentic 1948 Indian recipe for Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken), which probably inspired it. For that there is one single authentic original recipe. I also have his authentic original recipe for Tandoori Chicken, from which it is made. He invented both. That's not so quick and easy though. There is a food truck (technically a trailer) here in Tri-Cities called Fast and Curryous that serves both dishes.

The main visual difference between the two dishes is that Tikki Masala uses cubed (tikka) chicken and has a more liquid gravy, whereas Murgh Makhani uses pieces of Tandoori Chicken (often bone-in) and the sauce is thicker. They also (should) taste different. However, these days with so many plagiarized versions, it can be difficult to distinguish.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Back to the top...

I'm going to make scratch made cream of mushroom with wild rice today. One of our local grocery stores had mushrooms on sale for 50 cents.

Also on the menu, chicken Tikka Masala but that's from a jar.

Sounds lovely. Happen to live 20 mins from the Mushroom capital of the world, so getting huge baskets, cheap is not hard to get when I need. Few years back I was in the Mushroom cook off contest with my Quiche, there were 100 entries, I was one of the 20 selected, the experience was neat.
I have made Chicken Masala before, but with the actual Masala wine/sherry.
Later.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Chicken Marsala and Chicken Tikka Masala are very different dishes. Chicken Marsala is an Italian (inspired - i.e. Italian-American) dish containing mushrooms and Marsala wine. Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian (inspired - i.e. British Anglo-Indian) dish - a curry if you will. Never any wine in that. Marsala - the fortified wine, as opposed to Masala - a mixture of spices or sauce made thereof. Bet your Chicken Marsala was delicious though. Never made that, but it sounds good. May have to try it now.

 

[Ruderunner]

Yeah, spelling is important. I've had both dishes but prefer Tikka as we're not really fans of wine. I occasionally pick up the single serve containers of white wine when making French onion soup.

One reason for delving into Indian based foods is to get the family used to cooking with spices. They were brought up thinking spicy means hot. It doesn't have to.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Mushrooms and wine yesterday, mushroom timbal with the leftover red wine in the onion gravy, plus roast potatoes and parsnips, cauliflower, brussels and sweetcorn, proper Sunday dinner veggie style.