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Post by chrisg on Dec 23, 2014 16:36:12 GMT 10
 I'm nearly, nearly, done. Just picked up some great veg and a half kilo of prawns and the wife won over - found her one of the Heston hidden orange puddings, it better be good The blue cheese dressing can be either Mick, I'm going to make it to pour over broccoli, in the end it's really a fairly standard white sauce with cheese, kicked myself when I saw the recipe, but the devil is in the detail. Make a normal roue, for me a good chunk of butter heated to frothing, plain flour and mustard powder and stir until shiny, add enough milk to produce a thick sauce, depending upon what blue cheese you have, stilton is probably best, add a goodly portion of the blue cheese and stir in hard to combine, continue to add milk beating to get a nice sauce and then off the heat add more blue cheese to taste - done. Doesn't get a lot simpler but I've sort of added to it a bit by finishing with some seeded dijon mustard and white pepper. If re-heating it mounts very nicely with some extra butter. The real thing is to get it to a thick pour consistency. Jamie and I swopped recipes a lot, he messed around and improved mine for garlic prawns, this one I never did get back to him on because if it came from his grandmother it was not to be messed with A little poignant to read his posts in this thread, he always did cook up a Christmas storm Cheers |
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Post by smokey on Dec 23, 2014 17:51:31 GMT 10
Ahh, I was thinking a mayo, sour cream, milk based one. I did find one that looks a goer. Im sure Jamie would have something to say and would have enjoyed the thread so I bumped it. Just finished up with the small ham. Small because with all the other pork stuff I've got going on I don't want to overdo it. The left over hock from this will go into the brawn as flavour.  |
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Post by chrisg on Dec 23, 2014 18:37:50 GMT 10
That he would.... In the years between first encountering blue cheese dressing in the US, had never seen it before, which seems odd now, and mentioning it to Jamie, I tried several recipes to replicate what I'd liked the most. It's a bit of a tale - myself and a colleague had a highly fractured trip getting to Networld in Dallas in 1992 I think it was. We had flown United out of Melbourne with our wives who were to leave us in LA and go do Disneyland whilst we did some work, then they were meeting us in Dallas before we split of in pairs to do other things in the States then rendezvous in San Francisco for Interop. United's 747 made it as far as Auckland then had to sit and have some significant work done, not encouraging. Finally we left but the crew were then short on hours so instead of going direct we landed in Hawaii to have another crew take over. FINALLY we made it to LAX, the wives headed to Anaheim and we scraped onto the last AA 727, an ancient bird, down to Dallas. We were too late/early to have any cabs left but a couple of good ol' boy airport workers dropped us at our hotel in the downtown and we managed a few hours sleep before hitting the conference. Having slept a lot over the pacific and being jet-lagged anyway we were good for a night out so on the advise of the concierge went to a great steak place in the Latin Quarter. One option was a huge steak, if you could eat it you didn't pay for it - they did not know my colleague, tall rangy guy with a huge appetite. He ate it all, whilst I had a more modest but damned good steak, twice baked potatoes and the (finally ) brilliant blue cheese dressing. Whilst the monster steak was consumed I ended up with a small jug of the dressing and some extra veg and another potato and managed a chat to a very, very friendly chef, but he would not tell me what the dressing secret was The rest of the trip had other adventures but ever since then had been trying to replicate that dressing/sauce whatever. Jamie's basically was it. I'd tried mayo/sour cream etc, but nope. So simple, but right on the money. Combine it with some herbed butter dollars to melt in, pre-order a cardiologist and dig in It's an indulgence, don't make it often, not even always at Christmas but am this year, with bearnaise to sub for the herbed butter I was surprised that Jamie did not recall it - such a shame we did not get to enjoy more of his family recipes, but I do have some accumulated over the years. Cheers |
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Post by smokey on Dec 24, 2014 12:35:36 GMT 10
Great story Chris. Interesting how the event reminds you of the taste or visa versa. Well my menu is set, I just made the blue cheese dressing same as the vid below and wow, It's now an arrow in the quiver for sure. Freezing the blue cheese then grating works well. Tonight, Box Turkey (The wife likes it) and garden salad with carelamised pumpkin and Panchetta with blue cheese dressing Tomorrow, Traditional prawn cocktails, Thai BBQ king prawns and calamari(from here), Cold Blue swimmer crab and Spanner crab and possibly a pot o mussels. Here is the blue cheese vid I found that took my fancy, I also used soft blue. When frozen it grates perfectly then goes soft again in the dressing. I said to the wife that we must have some blue cheese in the freezer at all times. She agreed |
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Post by chrisg on Dec 24, 2014 12:59:51 GMT 10
Hmm, Yeah, I've made that one, a really great dip, the Jamie one is different again. Did forget the cheese is easier to work with if frozen, and I do normally top with some parsley but chives are good also. Mine is all made ready to re-mount tomorrow as I make the bearnaise, that's doesn't really lend itself to making ahead Cheers |
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Post by smokey on Dec 24, 2014 13:10:06 GMT 10
Dang, I put the wrong vid up, I'll edit it.
All fixed, I did add some flat leaf parsly and added enough buttermilk to make it more a dressing.
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Post by chrisg on Dec 24, 2014 14:19:23 GMT 10
Another different one, not tried that, looks good though I've always had the feeling that any of these would be to die for with the blue cheese of my youth, Dorset Blue Vinney. Sadly it does not travel, vibration breaks it down, even from the West Country to London, Selfridges tried once Cheers |
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Post by smokey on Dec 24, 2014 15:36:37 GMT 10
Mrs Clause just placed this thing into the garage fridge. Cake, Jelly, booze and custard,,,, I'm a trifle curious as to who this is for? Surely not the kids? Im sitting here staring at the fridge wondering if it's a trap. And I'm up for another beer   |
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Post by smokey on Dec 25, 2014 16:16:14 GMT 10
been a difficult day, One sick kid and the wife copped a wasp sting in the eye brow this morning. Her face looks like she's gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.
And I have all this sea food to cook. I might have to freeze a sand crab and spanner crab. Have no idea if it was frozen prior but I did buy it from a proper fish monger.
A few KG of Massive king prawns and three hoods of calamari are already in a marinade.
Buggar
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Post by chrisg on Dec 25, 2014 16:57:49 GMT 10
It always bloody well happens at Christmas mate, commiserations. Being three hours behind you we're just getting to the pointy end, roast veg in duck fat in and looking good, had to go with a boxed turkey after all, the fresh one went off (see what I mean ?) But, all sauces made, gravy on the go, cauliflower/broccolli mix ready to get nuked then cheese sauce poured over and in the oven for the final pass. Been a major, major chore to downsize to a meal for two, but manageable left overs Cheers |
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Post by smokey on Dec 25, 2014 19:24:31 GMT 10
The sick and wounded arose so I managed to put out somthing half decent. Starters, Prawn cocktail with home made Island dressing  Then on with the grill. King prawn and calamari Marinated in chilli, garlic, galangal, Ginger,Crab paste, Yuzu , schetscwan, Mirin, and chinese cooking wine. Other stuff was in it but was having too much fun to take notes. Some port wine, Seseme oil, white pepper, Chilli in soy oil paste, Sugar also come to mind. Served with the two dressings, Ham and left over turkey and salad.    Tomorrow I go again |
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Post by chrisg on Dec 25, 2014 19:30:51 GMT 10
:)We actually did take a pic of out modest but thoroughly delicious spread for two, will put it up tomorrow, too full atm No cooking for me on boxing day, we are taking step-daughter to a buffet lunch at a resort, suits me, I usually do not work between now and New Year but will be this year first three days of next week. Do not mind, time and data centre builds wait for no man Cheers |
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Post by chrisg on Dec 28, 2014 19:50:37 GMT 10
When I think back on the Christmas spreads of old with heaps of family this just looks sooo modest, but, it was just the two of us and we had an absolutely delightful Christmas really. More than enough roast veg for two, being potatoes, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip and onion, in duck fat, box turkey.... eh, last year she cons me into that, cauliflower and broccoli in the blue cheese sauce, before I scattered some parsley, jug of gravy, another of bearnaise, jar of cranberry there somewhere, champagne of course, wife took this before the ham cane out. Turned out to be more than enough - the Christmas pudding has still to come out Cheers  |
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Post by Bentley on Dec 30, 2014 4:41:21 GMT 10
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Post by Bentley on Dec 30, 2014 4:42:15 GMT 10
1st Stage of cook done. 15 minutes at 500°, the turn Memphis Pro down to 325° and cook for an hour. It is now tented and will sit on counter for 2 hours.   |
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