Tina's chestnut stuffing and other secret and not so secret recipes

@steppemum
You get kecap manis (with different spellings of the first word ketjap/kicap) in most supermarkets in the UK big enough to have a decent sized world food section. Definitely all the bigger Sainsburys/Tesco/Waitrose/Asda around here have it. Also you can get a load of different brands of it on Amazon.

Quick crispy smashed potatoes:

Pre-heat baking dish in oven to 190C with 1 scant tsp large grain salt and a big dollop of fat (duck fat makes them crispiest - I freeze it in muffin tins and use one "pellet" each time)
Microwave small / medium potatoes in their skins until squashable
Squash each one flat between 2 plates or small chopping boards
Use pastry brush to coat with the hot fat, turning to coat all sides
Crisp up in oven (about 20 mins) until browned. Turn once.

Make more than you think you will need - they disappear fast.

Or potato bake:

Add minced garlic, S&P to a 50/50 mix of melted butter / cream. Pour it over the microwaved potatoes. Stir it all around a bit for even-ish distribution. Bake at 190C for 20 mins. Put cheese on top towards the end.

I don't peel the potatoes for either of these.

@steppemum this is a great website for ingredients:

www.souschef.co.uk/products/kecap-manis?variant=16899807051834&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjwlbr8BRA0EiwAnt4MTiVtL9A3D0I0r1m_TTjIGO3_VHtxdmdg0H-Tgh_64GdabsYOWVcuKhoCAgIQAvD_BwE

Waitrose sells Kecap Manis too.

My one and only dinner party dish is always admired and is known as Chicken Divine.

Spread layer of cooked rice & broccoli florets in large oven dish.
Add layer of cooked, chopped chicken breasts.
Mix tin of Campbell's Condensed Mushroom soup with a tbp of curry powder and a hefty squeeze of lemon juice - then pour over chicken.
Add layer of tortilla chips over chicken
Finally, add thick layer of grated cheese on top.

Bake in oven until sauce is bubbling and cheese all gooey.

Food. Of. The. Gods.

Great thread! Mine's not really secret (I think it's Waitrose) but makes a great store cupboard pudding. Coffee pavlova. Make a normal pavlova and top it with whipped cream sweetened with a bit of icing sugar. Then make a coffee syrup - first make a syrup using 100g of sugar and 50ml of water, dissolve and cook until golden. Then add 50ml of strong coffee, mix and cool. Drizzle over the pavlova. It's gorgeous!

@steppemum I've found Ketchap Manis in Morrisons before if you have one close by

A sauce/dip, good in fajitas ect
Mayonnaise
Chopped chives or spring onions
Lemon juice
Pepper
Dill
If you want a bit of a kick add a sprinkle of chilli powder

Ok...

You have to promise not to tell everyone though.

Pigwheels...

Sheet of puff or flakey pastry (eithers fine just not shortcrust).
Good quality sausage meat, i like waitrose gourmet (nutmeg and black pepper or something like that)..
Onion jam or similar sticky substance
Strong cheddar grated fine.

Spread the sausagemeat out on the pastry.
Thin layer of the onion jam.
Thin layer of the grated cheese.
Roll up, chill, slice into pinwheels.

Thick sliced, cook for longer on a lower temp (no idea what temp whatever youd normally use for sausage rolls really), these make fairly rustic pigwheels.

Thin sliced, cook a little higher/less time, these make (depending on how tidy you are at slicing) a more fancy pigwheel for parties/buffets etc.

You can muck about with the fillings too, ive done shepherds pie ones with finely minced lamb meat sauce (ragu ish), onion jam and cheese, or cottage pie with finely minced beef meat sauce... Spicy chilli ones, whatever you like really.

I also grate in an apple or a pear.

I have to say though, I have 3 kids, so we never do just one mug's worth....

My American style buffalo chicken wings... not like the terrible attempts that the UK generally produce!

Big box of chicken wings - dip in flour, shake off the excess, put on baking tray, sprinkle with a lot of salt to crisp the skin up, cook for 45 mins at 190.

In a pan throw a jar of franks hot sauce in with a large knob of butter, melt but don’t overcook.

Take wings out, toss them in the sauce and throw the extra on top, and serve with celery, carrots and blue cheese or ranch.

A-mazing! Calories in them are horrific but they’re moist inside and crispy outside and worth being fat for!

Space OP I add toasted bread to something very like your tomato salad to make Panzanella. Absolutely addictive, I lived on it all summer.

Oh and actually Indonesians use both, so just being labelled as from Indonesia isn't enough (ordinary soy is ketchup asin)

OP, if you take your recipe, add crumbled Stilton, and mayonnaise, you’ll have yourself a nice American blue cheese dip. Lush.

(I used to livein Indonesia, so make a lot of Indo recipes, most things I can get here/make, but I can't get ketchup manis)

And cheese toasties in a frying pan:
Spread full-fat mayonnaise on the slice of bread that's going to be facing down in the (dry, quite hot) pan. Build toastie in pan with cheese, ham, spring onion and another slice of bread spread with mayo on the outside. When bottom slice of bread is browned, flip so that the top side becomes the bottom one. The egg in the mayo crisps and browns the outside while the cheese melts inside....

So many of these I am going to try!

Ooh I make something very similar to your ranch dressing all the time. Best recipe I've ever found online. 50/50 sour cream/mayo, all the herbs and stuff that you listed (except parmesan) plus chilli flakes, dried parsley and dried chives.

I sometimes do add parmesan and anchovy paste (instead of salt) to make caesar dressing.

Love this thread, thanks OP.

I made those peanut butter cookies with the children this morning @AnneLovesGilbert. They were amazing, thank you!!

My sausage rolls (well actually it's my DGM's recipe).
Half sausagemeat, half pork mince. Squish them together thoroughly. Messy but strangely satisfying, definitely remove any rings!
Shortcrust pastry - must be homemade. Use half as much fat as flour, by weight. Half the fat to be butter, half to be lard, or at least a decent hard block baking fat. Flour - half self raising, half plain. After rubbing it in, use just a splash of water to bind if necessary.
Use at least 2 layers of eggwash, allow to dry if possible between coats.

Placemarking.

Oh, and very quick apple tart

Roll out a packet of puff pastry, spread generously with Biscoff spread leaving a 2cm margin, then cover the Biscoff spread with thinly sliced apples. Roll up the pastry margin to make a juice barrier, dot some butter/sprinkle sugar over the apples, then bake for 20 mins at 200C.

Mmmm shamelessly placemarking.

I'm am now really hungry!

Mine is stuffed mushrooms.

• take stalks off and put the mushrooms in the oven for 20 mins (if large, less otherwise). 'Done' is when they still have shape but are soft ish. 180 degrees for oven
• dice and fry stalks with garlic until soft
• mix the stalks and garlic into chopped up Stilton
• fill mushrooms with the Stilton mix, sprinkle shop bought Freud's breadcrumbs on top and return to oven for ten minutes

I've had people who dislike mushrooms ask for seconds!