Completely OT: Food

[Phil W]

Spice was used fairly commonly in England from the Roman times up till more recently. Herbs have continued to be used. English food became blander during the last few centuries. I'm not sure why, my garndparents overcooked their food and used no herbs or spices. The effects of rationing in the second world war also had a huge impact on the cuisine - almost as much as the convenience/fast food wave wave since the late 70s. Things did reach a fairly low point in terms of young people not learning to cook anymore or be bothered to have the time. Many adults in their 20s and 30s do not know how to cook. School dinners reached a nadir of dire cheap trashy food in the 90s.

More recently, things have been brighter. TV chefs became popular which raised the standards of cooking and the expectations of people. Foreign holidays meant that people tried knew things and discovered that they did like garlic! Restaurants (including some witha self-consciously English type cuisine) improved so that London, once the laughing stock of the restaurant world is now seen as one of the great food-cities. The organic/free range food revolution has taken hold and consumers are demanding a better quality.

There's a hilarious and very naughty spoof on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_cuisine which mixes straightforward information with some bizarre jokes such as 'roast squirrel'for Christmas and 'bread and blood pudding' for dessert.

It loks like a fairly well written article that has been hacked.

[Tom Capasso]

Last night I got to eat at my in-laws. That's a fairly common event, but they never make spinach and pasta often enough. It's not complex - there's a "sauce" that's oil, water, and slices of garlic (it turns brown). Mix that up with some large pasta and boiled spinach (er - that's my interpretation, not mother-in-law's actual recipe). I can't begin to express how outstanding it is - I have to force myself away from the table (after a few bowls-full).

 

Tom

[Basshappi]

Alton Brown is my patron saint!

[thabottomend]

I wanted to mention something that hasn't seen much conversation here........ venison.

 

I am a deer hunter, and I take at least five deer a year. The limit here in my area of Tennessee is very liberal. If you take your limit, you would have about 165 deer for the freezer (the limit for gun season is three a day). I have a old refrigerator in the garage dedicated to aging venison. I bone the deer out, age it about 10 days in the fridge (at around 40 - 45 degrees F), slice it into steaks, roasts, and jerky meat. We also grind the last two deer or so into burger, which is great in chili, soups, spaghetti sauce, and such. There is one exception to the rule. My favorite part of the deer.

 

Our unwritten but absolute law when I was growing up (and I keep it still today) was that as soon as the deer was skinned the backstrap was removed, taken to the kitchen, sliced into 3/4 inch thick medallions, and fried in butter in a cast-iron skillet. There is nothing better tasting on the face of this earth. My wife inherited my grandmother's cast iron skillets for this reason. She also learned to make those big ol' homemade biscuits (we call them cat-head biscuits) just for the meal after the hunt. Oh. My. GOD!!!!!!!!!!

 

I was fortunate to grow up in rural Tennessee where good hearty food was served at every meal. My wife (grew up in California and Michigan) had never seen pork chops for breakfast until we started dating. You guys should come eat with us sometime. That's a standing invitation.

[Bottomgottem]

Our unwritten but absolute law when I was growing up (and I keep it still today) was that as soon as the deer was skinned the backstrap was removed, taken to the kitchen, sliced into 3/4 inch thick medallions, and fried in butter in a cast-iron skillet. There is nothing better tasting on the face of this earth. My wife inherited my grandmother's cast iron skillets for this reason. She also learned to make those big ol' homemade biscuits (we call them cat-head biscuits) just for the meal after the hunt. Oh. My. GOD!!!!!!!!!!

 

There is absolutly no substitute for old, seasoned cast iron cookware. I have a 10" skillet and a 16 qt. dutch oven that were wedding gifts to my grandparents in 1935. They are perfect.

 

And I cannot agree more with you concerning backstrap and cat head biscuits. That is top notch eatin'. I never really caught the hunting bug myself, but I'm not opposed to it and will readily take whatever can't fit in the friends/relatives freezers. Deer sausage is the Nordstrand of processed meats!

[Paul K]

Is the backstrap the same as a tenderloin?

 

My wife and I do wish that upstate NY hunting laws were as liberal as TN. She has a you-cut flower farm that is full of deer candy. And each year we see two sets of twins growing up. Ahhh! They're everywhere!

 

Maybe I need to take up a new sport.

[Bottomgottem]

Is the backstrap the same as a tenderloin?

 

I have never been directly involved in the dressing of a pig, but yeah, I think that it is the same cut.

[Rocky McDougall]

The venison backstrap is the tenderloin of the deer. It is the best part. It has been our family's Christmas tradition for several generations to take the venison backstrap, cut into medallions and fry it with a little flour dusting in a cast iron skillet with a lot of pepper and garlic. After frying, deglaze the skillet and make spicy brown gravy in the same skillet. Add the venison to the gravey when finished and simmer in a pot for 1 hour and then serve on top of great biscuits. Overeating is guaranteed and you are pretty much "wasted" for the rest of the day.

Rocky

[_Sweet Willie_]

Have I mentioned that I like hot sauce? I don't need it to light me on fire and I don't claim to be some superhuman consumer of high heat hot sauce, but I do like some heat on some kinds of food (eggs and rice, for example, are lovely with hot sauce).

 

Anyone like to recommend their favorite brands of hot sauce, perhaps with linkage to the purveyors of the stuff?

 

I used to work with a woman who made a killer mango-pepper hot sauce -- soooooo good.

 

Peace.

--Dub $$

 

[Gruuve]

What a great thread! I do love some food. In fact, there isn't much that I can even think of that I don't like. I think you could cook most foods on a rock or something and I'd still like it. With allergy season hitting here in NC, I've been enjoying some spicy Asian soups....Vietnamese Pho Tai...steaming pork broth, noodles, thin lean beef dropped in raw and cooks on the way to the table, fresh herbs, some spicy Vietnamese chili sauce, add a little Hoisan sauce, squeeze a fresh lime into it...mmm, walk out sloshing from side to side! Nature's way of clearing the sinuses...

 

My 4 yr old daughter loves this nearby Chinese buffet...we go there at least once a week, she generally has sweet and sour chicken plus tries something new each time. Daddy has sushi usually...for a buffet restaurant, they have some really fresh and quite good sushi! Unagi (smoked eel) is probably my favorite, with sashimi grade tuna being a close second.

 

I'll eat just about anything Italian, just about any form of Asian (love some Thai food!), Mexican is a typical lunch...like I said, there ain't much I won't eat. Sometimes I'm surpised I don't weight 300 lbs. :grin:

 

Dave

 

[Rocky McDougall]

[quote=_Sweet Willie_

 

Anyone like to recommend their favorite brands of hot sauce, perhaps with linkage to the purveyors of the stuff?

 

 

 

I don't want to brag, but San Antonio is the "World Headquarters" for Mexican Picante sauce. The largest producer is "Pace" and they have several styles from mild to hot. I just discovered a new salza called "Hole Mole" very tasty but pretty hot. I doubt that you could get it in your city. If you can't get Pace, I would be happy to send you some. In our supermarkets here, in the Salsa section, there are probaly at leat 75 brands to choose from. I heard a few years ago that Salsa had surpassed Catsup (or Ketchup) as the #1 condiment in the world.

Rocky

[Basshappi]

I love all kinds of wild game,venison and elk especially. I also hunt dove (great in gravy) and quail. I fish for trout, bass and catfish.

 

Dr. Dub, Salsa is it's own food group in this part of the country! As for hot sauce,there is a vast variety of them.

 

Check out this place: Hot Sauce World

 

I've tried several that are found on this site,though I've never ordered from them (that may soon change!).

 

Some that I like:

 

Panola Vampfire

Panola Bat's Brew

Arizona Gunslinger(both hot and mild)

Cholula

Pickapeppa(the green sauce too)

Buffalo Jalapeno Mexican hot sauce (the chipotle sauce is good too)

Valentina Mexican hot sauce

Tapatio hot sauce

Huy Fong Fresh Chili Garlic Sauce

Huy Fong Sriracha Garlic Hot Sauce

Ass Kickin Horseradish Hot Sauce

Tiger sauce

Tabasco Habanero sauce

 

 

enjoy!

[Danzilla]

I've tried several of those, too, Basshappi. While I've found the Pickapeppa stuff too vinegary for my tastes, the Arizona Gunslinger line is great! If they still make thier line of microwave popcorn, that will give our movie-watching sessions a new dimension!

 

In November, my wife and I took an anniversary cruise to Bermuda. There I found my latest hot sauce infatuation: Outerbridges Rum-Sherry hotsauce. Man is that stuff good, and just totally different from other hot sauces. Not a total burn- your-face-off kind of sauce; but real flavorful (the rum/sherry mix comes through strong) with a smooth heat. I find myself popping a few drops in just about everything... ok, not in my breakfast cereal; but maybe I'll try it in oatmeal tomorrow. Oar not. Wish I had bought more than two bottles. It'll be a while before we can cruise back there.

[Phil W]

Yipee!

School's out! Yeah!

No more day job until September.

This weekend I'm off to Whistable (Kent) for the oyster festival.

http://www.whitstableoysterfestival.co.uk/

Looking forward to getting down to some serious seafood!

I've also been busy making a list of all the cafes and restaurants I want to visit in London this summer - all those lunchtime possibilities!

 

Oh yeah!

[Phil W]

I got some very nice hot sauce from a stall at Marylebone farmers market last weekend. It's made by these guys -

http://www.edibleornamentals.co.uk/

They know their chillies!

 

Here are their products:

http://www.edibleornamentals.co.uk/html/gourmet.html

 

I'm currently enjoying their 'Inferno' sauce but they have a bunch of other hot sauces that don't seem to be listed on the website.

 

Oh yeah, had some fine kimchi this lunch too with some Korean chilli sauce on by bibimbob.

 

TBH though, this time of year (when the rain stops) is ideal for Hiyashi Chuka - Japanese cold noodles. A local pan-Asian restaurant has just started selling them for the summer - even have some nice fresh crab and fatty roast pork in there too for a total of £5 - yes!

 

 

[Phil W]

Oh yeah, just found out that there is a timed Oyster eating competition in Whitstable - £3 entry charge - I'm there!

[Rocky McDougall]

I just discovered the world's best Mexican Restaurant and it is only a mile from my home.

Ain't that a stroke-a-luck !

 

Rocky

[Phil W]

You are lucky!

 

You can't get good Mexican food in London, well there's one Burrito satnd that's OK and I just heard of a new Taco place in West London.

[Rocky McDougall]

Don't feel bad Phil, we can't get good British food in Texas.

[Phil W]

How do you live?!

 

:grin: LOL!

[Phil W]

Lots of South Americans have been moving into the area near my work though and there's lots of choice at lunchtime with a cheap Bolivian and Colombian cafes.

[Brocko777]

Okay, bad move reading this thread.. now I am STARVING!!

 

mmmmmm, Hot sauce and mexican food!

 

I throw salsa no my eggs every morning.

[Nicklab]

You are lucky!

 

You can't get good Mexican food in London, well there's one Burrito satnd that's OK and I just heard of a new Taco place in West London.

 

Sounds like it's time to travel, Phil. The pound is pretty strong right now, and it should buy you PLENTY of Mexican food in either the US or Mexico. I know that I can get some really fine Mexican when I'm in California.

[Paul K]

 

I throw salsa no my eggs every morning.

 

Hot Tip!

Reverse the order. Put the salsa on your plate, nuke it for 20 seconds, then put your eggs on top of the salsa. No more cold eggs. And a little provolone or cheddar on top of the eggs would be nice.

 

I'm a regular Martha Stewart. Yes I am.

 

Peace

Paul K

[Phil W]

 

Sounds like it's time to travel, Phil. The pound is pretty strong right now, and it should buy you PLENTY of Mexican food in either the US or Mexico. I know that I can get some really fine Mexican when I'm in California.

 

Well I'm in the US most summers. This summer a combination of high airfares, airport security measures and my wife's thesis means we're staying in London.

 

 

[Trucks]

You'd think that being in Cambridge (as with you in London, Phil).. one of the UK's cultural hotspots (allegedly), that good exotic cuisine would be on every corner. But it isn't. Same old same old, Indian, Chinese, "Italian", Fish & Chips.

 

But me..

 

I am happy with the Crumpets doused in Bee Juice, with a cup of tea on the side. Wot Wot.

[Rocky McDougall]

Crumpets ? What are crumpets?

Rocky

[rizzo9247]

Crumpets ? What are crumpets?

 

I second that, I heard of them but not yet had the pleasure of eating.

 

From Wikipedia:

A buttered crumpet.A crumpet is a cake made from flour and yeast. It is eaten mainly in the United Kingdom, but also in the nations of the Commonwealth. In Scotland, the term is used for a large thin teacake, made from the same ingredients as a "Scotch pancake".

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Buttered_crumpet2.jpg/256px-Buttered_crumpet2.jpg

 

I believe we call them 'English Muffins'.

 

-Anthony

 

[Danzilla]

Next month, my family's taking a vacation in Walt Disney World. I'm already salivating at the thought of eating my way around the world, especially in EPCOT. The Norwegian smorgasbord and Moroccan restaurant are two of my favorites; and I always stop in England's Rose & Crown Pub for at least a pint. I have a special memory of a night that restaurant saved the day for us after some other dining reservations got screwed, and they gave us the best seats on the lake for the IllumiNations show, amazing service (found the very last blackberry crumble in the place for my dessert!), and even let us shut down the park with them! Sent us a private bus to take us back to the front gate. Ah, memories...

[slap-pop-karl]

Ahhh crumpets.... there like heaven in your mouth