Old school recipes

[Cookie]

great without the raisins........and more than a dash of cayenne

Clean your glasses!

I posted "Sultana's"

Said a dash because not everyone likes it too spicy & the horseradish does give it a kick.

[samurai69]

any sort of dried grape would be off for me....never liked a mix of sweet and savoury



separatae they are fine


.

[Cookie]

any sort of dried grape would be off for me....never liked a mix of sweet and savoury

separatae they are fine

I've added them because I do find it a nice blend of sweet & spice, rather than sweet & savoury. Not many are needed to just take the edge of the spice/hot side of the horse radish & cayenne pepper.

[Cookie]

Cooking this as I type

Perfect cauliflower cheese with bacon and mushrooms

Parmesan crumbs provide a fantastic crunchy topping in this recipe, which is hearty enough to work as a main course

Ingredients
For the cauliflower
1 head cauliflower, trimmed and broken into florets
For the béchamel sauce
250g/9oz smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm/½in strips
250g/9oz chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced
25g/1oz butter
50g/2oz plain flour
250ml/9fl oz full-fat milk
pinch English mustard powder
200g/7oz gruyère cheese, grated
55ml/2fl oz double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch ground nutmeg

For the topping
50g/2oz ciabatta breadcrumbs
50g/2oz parmesan cheese, finely grated

To serve
green salad
crusty bread

Preparation method
For the cauliflower, cook the florets in a large pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until just tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile for the béchamel sauce, fry the bacon strips in a dry frying pan until coloured but not crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, keeping the bacon fat in the pan.
Add the mushrooms to the pan of bacon fat and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Melt the butter in a clean saucepan and beat in the flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth, then stir in the mustard powder, grated cheese and double cream. Keep stirring until the cheese has melted and the mixture is thick and creamy. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then fold in the bacon and mushrooms.


Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the cauliflower florets into an ovenproof casserole dish and pour over the cheesy sauce. Sprinkle over a pinch of freshly grounded nutmeg.

For the topping, mix the ciabatta breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese, then sprinkle the mixture over the cauliflower. Place into the oven for 15 minutes, or until the topping is golden-brown and bubbling.

Spoon the cauliflower cheese onto plates and serve with a crisp green salad and crusty bread.

[Cookie]

Picked up some ox tail. Can't remember having any before so lets see how it cooks up & tastes.

[samurai69]

Mmmm

[Cookie]

Mmmm

If the stew works out I'll have some cooked up for when you get up here.

[samurai69]

Mmmm

If the stew works out I'll have some cooked up for when you get up here.

cool. i seem to remember the meat disolving more than beef

[Cookie]

Ox tail now been in the slow cooker for the last 8 hours & smelling a treat.

[samurai69]

8 hours in slow cooker should do it nicely

[Cookie]

8 hours in slow cooker should do it nicely

Turned out better than I expected. Quite a bit more meat there than you think & after cooking for so long you can really shred it up & get shut of the excess fats before eating.