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Post by Dulciana on Nov 28, 2006 11:32:51 GMT
What to do with a goose? What stuffing works well and what for trimmings?
And what about chestnuts? How DO you actually go about roasting them on an open fire? Not forgetting the wally factor - I am someone who once put a Fray Bentos pie in the oven without taking the lid off...and ended up with a vocanic eruption that left the tin empty and the pie all over the ceiling.
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Post by petite joueuse on Nov 28, 2006 12:17:47 GMT
If your finances can stretch to it, most things can be successfully cheated by a trip to M&S. When I was 8 months pregnant, my in-laws descended on us for Christmas....but I bluffed my way through with help from M&S - even the roast potatoes were theirs, and mother-in-law marvelled at how crispy yet fluffy they were, and did I have a recipe, and could I show her how to make such perfect roasts?? (In-laws arrived Christmas Eve...by which time all the M&S food had been lovingly transferred into my oven-proof dishes, and all the wrappers had been hidden at the bottom of the bin, well-away from prying eyes!). They even do gravy!
However, it was all rather pricey....and I'd only do it again in total desperation!!
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Post by YetAnotherKlavierist on Nov 28, 2006 12:41:58 GMT
Ahh, chestnuts . We had an open fire one year (moved out whilst house was underpinned). Get a metal biscuit tin lid, place it upturned on the fire and put a few chestnuts on it. Eventually they'll crack open fairly subtantially, then they're cooked . If the fire is very hot they won't cook through, so let the fire get going for an hour or so first. Have a play, see what happens. Now, I usually do them in the oven, but I believe they can be done in the microwave too if a hole is cut into them with a knife first.
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Post by Dulciana on Nov 28, 2006 12:47:26 GMT
Do you leave the brown nionfeo on then - is that what cracks?
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Post by YetAnotherKlavierist on Nov 28, 2006 12:51:38 GMT
Yes, it cracks and the peels off after cooking - either cooking on a fire or in the oven. One day I'll get around to trying cooking chestnuts on a coal-effect gas fire .
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Post by anacrusis on Nov 28, 2006 17:55:26 GMT
Back in 1975 and 1976, we had some warm summers - I remember them.... One of the results was that the sweet chestnut trees in nearby Badby Woods actually set fruit, two years running. I remember trips out to the woods with about five carrier bags, which came back chock-full - we had to resort to pockets after that. We bought one of those chestnut pans with little square holes in and toasted them over the open fire - and in huge numbers, not those little bags you get from the supermarket, where about half are mouldy anyway. With goose? Has to be red cabbage - and this needs cooking to oblivion, for once. Sweat some onions and smoked bacon if not vegetarian, then add very finely shredded red cabbage and some apples, quartered, halved and chunked up. I take the cores out but leave the skin. Add water to about halfway up the pan, and a liberal shot of red wine vinegar. Oh, and about 8 to 10 juniper berries, though if you accidentally bite one of these when eating the cabbage it will make you want to spit. We warn everyone to look out for "bullets". Boil for at least half an hour and leave to cool. I make mine the day before or even a week before and freeze it - it's much better on reheating. I like mine reasonably acidic, and I'll happily drink the resulting purple water out of the empty pan when nobody's looking... ;D The sour tang cuts through the richness of the goose. An alternative is to cook the cabbage in orange juice with cinnamon and grated orange rind, and a few cloves. (More "bullet" warnings needed!) - again cooked to oblivion.
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Post by Dulciana on Nov 29, 2006 0:50:27 GMT
Going for that! I like acidity with goose-type things too. And I like the idea of doing it in advance and sticking it in the freezer. Ta!
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Post by anacrusis on Nov 29, 2006 14:05:42 GMT
You might want to do a small test amount first, to see if it works OK though. I know what I like, but have had a German upbringing as far as food goes, and my schoolfriends were always a bit dubious about the stuff I got in my lunches. Was choffing pickled gherkins like they were going out of fashion at about two! ;D
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Post by hoxie on Nov 30, 2006 16:56:35 GMT
I'm rubbish at anything to do with cooking! I say go for M&S Or if all else fails you could refer to a cookery website which will have loads of ideas full of ingredients that few mortals have ever heard of...
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Post by noodle on Dec 2, 2006 14:06:27 GMT
I'm not a great cook either, hoxie. Everything is either burnt or raw....
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Post by hoxie on Dec 2, 2006 15:52:39 GMT
Yay! A fellow bad cook! My cakes are the worst thing! The last time I tried to make a sponge cake I managed to burn the edges whilst soggifying the middle of it...that one won't be happening again any time soon! I enjoy cooking when I have the time, but I stick to the nice simple, fool-proof recipies
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