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

[Namechabged]

Mine is equal measures of buttermilk and mayo, and then double of Greek yogurt, half the juice of one lemon, two tbsp of dried Parmesan, a teaspoon of dill, garlic granules, Maldon seat salt, onion powder, and cracked black pepper.

Makes that amazing ranch dressing you get on the side of fried shit in America and is great for pizza crusts but you can also make kids eat ANYTHING dipped in it.

I’ve watched my kids enthusiastically eat celery, radishes and green peppers which aren’t normally things they will eat raw.

Ok this is a bit weird but I have this recipe that currently only I have. It was passed down from my uncle to my DM who died recently. We have barely any family left so I’ll only be able to pass it on to DD, but it’s so good that I think it needs to be out there in the world. I’ve only ever given it to people one to one before... but here goes.... in honour of my wonderful DM who’s no longer here to make it with me...

It has no exact measurements (the ‘packs’ are just as bought in Asda lol) and contains about every food group in it. It’s a meal in itself. But also amazing on a Christmas dinner:

TINA'S CHESTNUT STUFFING

Chestnuts x 2 pack roughly chopped

Chopped Bacon x 2 packs

Peppers x 3 chopped

Onions x 1 bag pre chopped

Egg x 1 or 2 (to bind)

Breadcrumbs x 2 tubs

Sausage meat x 2 packs

Chorizo x 1 sausage chopped

Garlic x 3 cloves chopped

1. Pan fry chopped bacon & chopped chorizo. Set aside to cool

1. Pan fry chopped onion & chopped peppers. Set aside to cool

1. In a bowl mix sausage meat, chopped garlic, breadcrumbs and egg.

1. Add sprinkle of salt and pepper

1. Add bacon, chorizo, onion, peppers and chestnuts to the bowl. Mix in with hands until all blended.

1. Put in oven tin. Greaseproof paper lining helps. Press with fork and score the top.

1. Bake at 180/200 until top is dark brown and crispy.

1. Allow to cool then slice. It cuts easier when cold but delicious hot or cold.

Merry Christmas DM

@GiraffeNecked

A spoon or two of mango chutney improves almost any curry.

Nigel slater tip....anything savoury (within reason) if it feels like it is lacking a bit in taste, add a bit of vinegar (not malt unless it’s fish and chips).

Also add a bit of sugar (or sweet - maple syrup etc) Especially if you don't want to use too much salt

@steppemum Have you got any Asian or World Food shops near you? My mum (who is Indonesian) gets kecap manis from a local Chinese mini mart type place.

Otherwise (online) try TokoIndo, TokoIndonesia, Tradewinds Oriental Shop or WingYip

I'm having to stop reading this thread now as I'm fasting today. What was I thinking opening it? I feel sick with hunger now!

Another slightly pathetic offering because I've only got to page three and I need to go and eat something...

grated orange rind in your pastry for many sweet things. My mum used to make her mince pies with orange pastry (made with all butter of course) and they were spoken of through the region.

Catalan chicken stew

Brown chicken thighs in an oil and butter mix

Remove and put in a casserole dish.

Fry a chopped onion and garlic in the same oil, then deglaze the pan with a good splash of Sherry. Add half a chorizo sausage and fry. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a drained tin of 5 bean salad, a heaped teaspoon of fajita seasoning, salt and pepper. Pour this over the thighs, with a splash of stock if needed. Cool at 180 for a good hour.

Bluefringe, Thank you for sharing.

Oh @bluefringe I make a special stuffing every Christmas, it is always a hit, last year was walnuts, cranberries, apricots etc. This year is your Mum's, thank you

My favourite recipe ever is a Nigel Slater brownie one, which I've adapted over the years. It's a bit of a mess to make (chocolate everywhere) unless that's just me, but every time I've made them, people go all funny and then nag me for months later to make them again. I added more chocolate to his original, and used an even number of eggs (he had extra egg yolks, which was a pain imo).

They're really simple - lots of chocolate, no faffing around with extra bits or nuts or syrup or caramel or anything fancy. Just ridiculously dense sticky gooey chocolate brownies.

I can tell what a good recipe is, the page in my notebook is covered in splodges of cocoa.

Oven to 180C
Cream 300g golden caster sugar with 250g butter
melt 250g dark chocolate in a bowl
add 3 eggs to the butter/sugar
add melted choc to the mix
add 60g plain flour and 60g dark cocoa
add 1 teaspoon baking powder
add 50g ish dark chocolate chunks (roughly chopped)
bake in a square tin for 30ish minutes
(if a skewer comes out wet - it's not ready, if it's clean then too late :( and if it's all sticky and gooey, then hurrah, it's perfect!)
leave to cool for a bit if you can - they're good, but they're 10 times better after an hour or two in the fridge.

Bluefringe that does look delicious - could almost have it as a meatloaf??

Someone mentioned in passing the Mary Berry express lasagna w/sausagemeat, which I will second. Its very low faff (for a lasagna) and tastes much nicer than the effort that goes into it. You can just google it. i would ideally make up a quick tomato sauce rather than just using plain passata.

@NUFC69 thank you

@Bufferingkisses that’s made my day to know that. Thank you so much.

@TawnyPippit yes it’s very meatloafy in texture.

Penne alla vodka. Gives a great kick - just don't drive afterwards!

I'm gonna try the chicken with jerk chicken and ketchup, have just got some chicken out the freezer, looking forward to it!

Any veg chilli is improved by stirring in a tablespoon of marmite. Then when it is pretty well cooked, take a third of the bean mixture and whizz it briefly in the food processor (or mash with a potato masher) to give a rough mince like texture.

Re Brownies- if you can't eat gluten, do Nigella's flourless brownies- basically melt plain chocolate and butter, add sugar, ends and ground almonds. Have been asked to make these for people who can eat gluten!

Eggs not ends!

Place marking

Not as exciting as the others but when I make eton mess it's cream, meringues, halved graes and as many smashed up Crunchies as possible

Crunchies and grapes in Eton Mess?!!

Utterly random but I'm gonna try it!

If you've got some left over chicken ( say, from a roast), this is an easy and delicious pie. Just add the chicken to some chopped mushrooms and a tin of Campbell's condensed mushroom soup. Heat through and then leave to cool. Put in pie dish and cover with puff pastry and cook in oven. Easy and delicious!

Cheat's chicken curry:
Brown chopped chicken breast add a tablespoon of curry paste.
Remove from pan add onion fry in veg oil add garlic paste and ginger paste. If I have any I tend to add some sliced peppers. Add some chopped fresh tomatoes. Return chicken to the pan.
Add some stock mixed in with creamed coconut. Reduce a bit until chicken is cooked through. Add a big tablespoon of mango chutney. Add finely chopped corriander. Add in some greek yogurt and serve.

Also can be made veggie by using chickpeas and courgettes instead of chicken.

Thai Fish Cakes: (Recipe stolen from somewhere god knows where).

One salmon steak per person skin removed.
Tablespoon of Thai curry paste per two salmon
Tablespoon of soy sauce per two salmon steaks
Chopped corriander.

Blitz in food processor. Shape into burger shapes (either big ones or smaller ones if you prefer). Dust outer surface with flour. Put in Fridge to cool if you have time. Fry in vegetable oil. Bloody yummy.

Not place marking till I have time to look properly. Not at all.

When making tuna or egg mayo use half mayonnaise half salad cream. It really makes a difference.

Is buttermilk sour cream?

@Ellapaella

Is buttermilk sour cream?

Nope, two different things.