3578 replies to this topic

[Melange]

The spaghetti is ready when it looks floppy but still has a little bite to it. If you over boil it even by a minute you will have a stodgy mess, and might as well open a tin of alphabetti spaghetti because that's what it'll taste like.

Indeed. Delicate stuff. It's like deactivating mines. One false move and its alphabetti spaghetti.

[gkgyver]

But It's 20:30 yet (and you ate at 19:45)!

You continental europeans eat too soon...

Technically, eating after 20:00 is unhealthy.

If you don't mind, let me give you a few pointers about those spaghetti bolognese. You know, cooking is my hobby, I do it every day, so I think I can give you some tips how it gets even tastier. Here's my recipe for Spaghetti Bolognese:

First of all, cook the spaghetti in lots of boiling water with plenty of salt (as a general rule, one tablespoon for one litre). Then, when the package says "9 minutes", you boil them 6 or 7 minutes because 1) you reheat them in the sauce and 2) once they're out of the water, their cooking process continues for a minute or so.
Then, you put them on a platter and add a bit of oil (whichever), so that they won't glue together. In this form, you can keep the spaghetti (or any pasta) for a few days without any loss of taste or consistence.

Then the sauce.

A general pointer: butter and oil in any form gets useless and indigestible when you heat it up too strongly or too long. Therefor, butter and oil are always added in the last minute, which adds more taste, and which preserves their healthy qualities.
Take a pot of appropriate size and use mild heat (approximately 70 %) to warm it up. Once it's warmed up, take approximately one tablespoon of crashed sugar (or normal sugar; doesn't matter, but would take a bit longer) and melt it until it has a golden colour. Add a tablespoon of tomato mark and continuously move it in the pot so that it doesn't burn, until the bottom of the pot is covered.
Then, pour a glass of red whine into the pot and reduce it.

- when the wine gets reduced (boiled down), the alcohol vaporises, the taste gets intensified, as does the sourness. But the sugar neutralises the sourness, and all that remains is the taste. -

In the mean time, fine-dice half a carrot, as much garlic as you want, roughly 150 g of celery and an onion (or shalots if you prefer).
Fry it for a minute in a separate pan, then add the meat. Fry it for another minute on all sides.
Once the wine is reduced down to a sirupy consistence, add the veggie/meat mixture, and add some broth, so that the meat is not entirely covered.
At this point, add one or two bay leaves and two slices of fresh ginger. Ginger gives food freshness without being particulary noticeable and dominant, and it neutralises the garlic, so that you won't smell the next day.
Let that simmer for 20 minutes.

Now, you can use all kinds of spices. Personally, I like pimento, fennel and cinnamon, which I fill into a grinder and add in the last minute, and herbes, like thyme or marjoram. You can also be a bit more exotic with cardamom, vanilla or anise.
If you don't have a grinder, you can also add the whole kernels. But then, add them at *the beginning* of the 20 minutes, so that they have the time to unfold. This way, you won't be able to remove them later, though.
Herbs, or any kind of leaf, you always add later in the cooking process, usually 5 minutes before the end, since herbs are very fragile, and become shallow and bitter if you boild them for too long.

After 15 minutes, add a couple of fresh, sliced tomatos, the herb of your choice, and a slice of lemon peel (without the white stuff, which is bitter). You can also add a slice of orange peel, which work great with marjoram, rosemary or thyme. 90 % of the taste is in the peel, not in the juice, by the way.

After 20 minutes, remove the peels, spice up the sauce with the spices in your grinder (if you have one), nutmeg, and add salt and pepper (or chili, or both).

Take your spaghetti and reheat them in the sauce for a minute. Because the spaghetti are slightly undercooked, they will now soak up the sauce. That's why it's the ultimate sin to wash them with cold water because it washes off the "glue" from any kind of pasta, and the sauce won't stick to it anymore.

NOW you can add a bit of olive oil and butter (if you want) because now it's truly healthy.

Done.

[Pasi Tiitinen]

Beer & Bratwurst

[Red Rabbit]

Pork chops.

[Hitch]

But It's 20:30 yet (and you ate at 19:45)!

You continental europeans eat too soon...

Technically, eating after 20:00 is unhealthy.

If you don't mind, let me give you a few pointers about those spaghetti bolognese. You know, cooking is my hobby, I do it every day, so I think I can give you some tips how it gets even tastier. Here's my recipe for Spaghetti Bolognese:

First of all, cook the spaghetti in lots of boiling water with plenty of salt (as a general rule, one tablespoon for one litre). Then, when the package says "9 minutes", you boil them 6 or 7 minutes because 1) you reheat them in the sauce and 2) once they're out of the water, their cooking process continues for a minute or so.
Then, you put them on a platter and add a bit of oil (whichever), so that they won't glue together. In this form, you can keep the spaghetti (or any pasta) for a few days without any loss of taste or consistence.

Then the sauce.

A general pointer: butter and oil in any form gets useless and indigestible when you heat it up too strongly or too long. Therefor, butter and oil are always added in the last minute, which adds more taste, and which preserves their healthy qualities.
Take a pot of appropriate size and use mild heat (approximately 70 %) to warm it up. Once it's warmed up, take approximately one tablespoon of crashed sugar (or normal sugar; doesn't matter, but would take a bit longer) and melt it until it has a golden colour. Add a tablespoon of tomato mark and continuously move it in the pot so that it doesn't burn, until the bottom of the pot is covered.
Then, pour a glass of red whine into the pot and reduce it.

- when the wine gets reduced (boiled down), the alcohol vaporises, the taste gets intensified, as does the sourness. But the sugar neutralises the sourness, and all that remains is the taste. -

In the mean time, fine-dice half a carrot, as much garlic as you want, roughly 150 g of celery and an onion (or shalots if you prefer).
Fry it for a minute in a separate pan, then add the meat. Fry it for another minute on all sides.
Once the wine is reduced down to a sirupy consistence, add the veggie/meat mixture, and add some broth, so that the meat is not entirely covered.
At this point, add one or two bay leaves and two slices of fresh ginger. Ginger gives food freshness without being particulary noticeable and dominant, and it neutralises the garlic, so that you won't smell the next day.
Let that simmer for 20 minutes.

Now, you can use all kinds of spices. Personally, I like pimento, fennel and cinnamon, which I fill into a grinder and add in the last minute, and herbes, like thyme or marjoram. You can also be a bit more exotic with cardamom, vanilla or anise.
If you don't have a grinder, you can also add the whole kernels. But then, add them at *the beginning* of the 20 minutes, so that they have the time to unfold. This way, you won't be able to remove them later, though.
Herbs, or any kind of leaf, you always add later in the cooking process, usually 5 minutes before the end, since herbs are very fragile, and become shallow and bitter if you boild them for too long.

After 15 minutes, add a couple of fresh, sliced tomatos, the herb of your choice, and a slice of lemon peel (without the white stuff, which is bitter). You can also add a slice of orange peel, which work great with marjoram, rosemary or thyme. 90 % of the taste is in the peel, not in the juice, by the way.

After 20 minutes, remove the peels, spice up the sauce with the spices in your grinder (if you have one), nutmeg, and add salt and pepper (or chili, or both).

Take your spaghetti and reheat them in the sauce for a minute. Because the spaghetti are slightly undercooked, they will now soak up the sauce. That's why it's the ultimate sin to wash them with cold water because it washes off the "glue" from any kind of pasta, and the sauce won't stick to it anymore.

NOW you can add a bit of olive oil and butter (if you want) because now it's truly healthy.

Done.

Mother's spaghetti will never taste the same again. Thanks for that amazing recipe.

[Joey]

No wonder you're so f...
wait, that wouldn't be a nice thing to say.

I wouldn't be fat eating what he suggested, nor eating tomato soup,

is this the lets gross out Joe by eating nasty foods thread

[Miguel Andrade]

This evening I went out with some friends and had a salad.

[Joey]

This evening I went out with some friends and had a salad.

how you get so big eating food of this kind, hmmmmm.

[Hitch]

He just sucks on the vinigrette for the duration of the meal.

[gkgyver]

This evening I went out with some friends and had a salad.

A BIG salad I hope?

[pixie_twinkle]

Add a tablespoon of tomato mark and continuously move it in the pot so that it doesn't burn, until the bottom of the pot is covered.

That sounds amazing (although I'm not sure what I think of carrots in a spaghetti bolognaise) but what do you mean by tomato mark? Is that thick tomato paste/puree?

[indy4]

Burritos!

[Koray Savas]

What kind of burritos? Chipotle burritos?!

[indy4]

Nope, but I love Chipolte!

Homemade, with beef, cheese (string ), refried beans, and some medium salsa.

[Koray Savas]

Mmmm...

[pixie_twinkle]

How MacDonalds in all it's nasty, barely-edible "glory" can also own and run Chipotle, one of the best cheap places to grab a filling meal, I'll never understand.

Steak fajita burrito with a dollop of each of the three salsas (including the hot one and the corn), and a heart-stopping dollop of sour cream. Mmmmmmm.

[indy4]

Sour cream?


Almost as gross as mayonaise!

[gkgyver]

That sounds amazing (although I'm not sure what I think of carrots in a spaghetti bolognaise) but what do you mean by tomato mark? Is that thick tomato paste/puree?

Yes, tomato paste, that's the word! I wasn't sure about the English term.
That you bring the tomato paste to the brink of burning has the effect that the colour of the sauce gets more intense. Plus, it gives the whole thing a "roastier" tone.

About the carrots ...
You see, vegetables in one form or another are the fundament (taste-wise) for almost any kind of sauce or soup. It's a similar thing with the fresh ginger; you can't really taste it when you eat the dish, but it gives the dish a tasty basis. It may be a funny comparison, but the vegetables are like a stage that actors perform upon.
Of course the ratio meat : veggies isn't 1 : 1, but more like 3 : 1.

Plus, we're not talking about big chunks, but fine dices. About a third the size of a fingernail. Of course they can be bigger, before you slice off your fingertips, but we only have 20 minutes here, and the veggie dices should be soft at the end, so the smaller the better.
The smaller the dices, the softer they become, the less you taste them.
And when really soft, when they almost fall apart, they make the sauce a little thicker, especially the onions.

It's also kind of important that you have the right amount of each vegetable. Too much carrot makes a sauce or soup sweet.
Roughly, you should have less celery that onions, and less carrot than celery, and celery and carrot together shouldn't be more than the onions. So, the ration would be like
Carrots : Celery : Onions = 1 : 2 : 3

Indeed. Delicate stuff. It's like deactivating mines. One false move and its alphabetti spaghetti.

If you subtract two minutes from the actual boiling time and reheat them in the sauce, they will never, ever be anything but al dente. Trust me
One of the easiest pasta recipes is:

Prepare the pasta like described above.
Take a pot or a pan, turn the stove up to middle heat and heat up around 200 ml of broth (this is for approximately two persons). If you want, you can add some cream (4 parts broth, 1 part cream).
Slice a few cloves of garlic, and add them, along with a few leaves of sage and a slice of ginger. Let that simmer for five to ten minutes, then add salt, black pepper, and chili. Reheat the spaghetti in this and at the very last moment, you add some olive oil (or rape oil for a change) and parmesan cheese.

[fommes]

Yeah, I cook the spaghetti, warm the sauce (from the store) in the microwave. Ready!

[pixie_twinkle]

Yeah, I cook the spaghetti, warm the sauce (from the store) in the microwave. Ready!

Or just buy alphabetti spaghetti, then you don't even have to cook anything seperately!

Alphabetti spaghetti, best served with a glass of Mouton Rothschild '76.

It's also kind of important that you have the right amount of each vegetable. Too much carrot makes a sauce or soup sweet.
Roughly, you should have less celery that onions, and less carrot than celery, and celery and carrot together shouldn't be more than the onions. So, the ration would be like
Carrots : Celery : Onions = 1 : 2 : 3

Sounds like something I should try at some point. Personally I find my way takes just the right amount of hard work and still leaves me with enough free time to drink some red wine while preparing the food! I've saved your directions to my computer though.

[Luke Skywalker]

But It's 20:30 yet (and you ate at 19:45)!

You continental europeans eat too soon...

Technically, eating after 20:00 is unhealthy.

Never heard that...I hope i'm not killing myself...

Anyway, they always say the mediterranean feeding habits are very healthy, so i'll stick to them...

[pixie_twinkle]

It's not eating after 8pm specifically, but rather don't eat less than two hours before you go to bed. If you are physically active until 3am then you can eat until 1am quite comfortably. You just can't go to bed on a full stomach every night. You won't burn off the food and you're setting yourself up for obesity, heart problems, indigestion-related stomach problems, and sleep-related problems like apnea.

[Pasi Tiitinen]

Beer and Currywurst

[Hitch]

Marmite and coleslaw on toast.

[Koray Savas]

Chicken bake.

[gkgyver]

Chicken and baked potatoes.

[indy4]

Chicken Drumsticks!

[pixie_twinkle]

Marmite

Yeah! Let's hear it for Marmite!

My mate! Marmite!

[Luke Skywalker]

It's not eating after 8pm specifically, but rather don't eat less than two hours before you go to bed. If you are physically active until 3am then you can eat until 1am quite comfortably. You just can't go to bed on a full stomach every night. You won't burn off the food and you're setting yourself up for obesity, heart problems, indigestion-related stomach problems, and sleep-related problems like apnea.

wow, thanks for the heads up.

Thank god i take dinner arround 21:00 and got to sleep arround 23:00. phew...

[Mr. Breathmask]

It's customary for the Dutch to eat around 6:00 p.m.

Of course, we don't have a hot lunch either.

[Marian Schedenig]

I usually go to bed between 2:00 and 4:00, so I guess a little cake at midnight can't do much harm.

Marian - eating toast tonight.

[indy4]

Ahhh,I love cake.

indy4 - celebrating his 2000thpost!

[Richard Penna]

Chicken casserole

Probably followed by several Crunchie bars. Curse work for getting me addicted to them

[Red Rabbit]

Ahhh,I love cake.

indy4 - celebrating his 2000thpost!

When I look at you, I see myself.

[Miguel Andrade]

This evening I'm skiping dinner.

[gkgyver]

Ahhh,I love cake.

indy4 - celebrating his 2000thpost!

Which is one hell of an achievement given that you are only here for three months.

[Marian Schedenig]

Seriously? Seems like an eternity.

[pixie_twinkle]

LOL. It took me about two years just to reach 1000 posts!

[indy4]

Seriously? Seems like an eternity.

That's because friendship is timeless.

[Koray Savas]

I would have a lot more if I started discussing in the forum when I registered. I used this site purely for trading for about a year.