Lunch/Dinner Ideas

On the whole the stuff they sell in supermarkets in the Uk is a load of rubbish.

Meat is padded out with water etc. Additives But this is true of most modern countries these days, and yes even Italy.

You can shop around in the UK here and find some decent stuff even in urban supermarkerts (although it can vary, its much harder in cities), and some of the stuff you can buy from farm markets and local shops in the countryside is superb quality.

You won't find any 'quality' ingredients in all those poxy Tesco Metros and mini Sainsburys though.

Only the mega supermarkets have the wide range of choice and foods from other countries.

I'd love to make food from home and bring it in to work, but I'm generally too rushed and don't have time to eat 'proper' meals at work. Its a shame though, because the average diet of a Brit is absolutley shocking and it is made worse by how rushed and 24/7 our society is.

Heck we are lucky at my work to get our guaranteed by law, 1 hour lunchbreak, otherwise things just don't get done.
 
Peter Eyres said:
On the whole the stuff they sell in supermarkets in the Uk is a load of rubbish.

Meat is padded out with water etc. Additives But this is true of most modern countries these days, and yes even Italy.

You can shop around in the UK here and find some decent stuff even in urban supermarkerts (although it can vary, its much harder in cities), and some of the stuff you can buy from farm markets and local shops in the countryside is superb quality.

You won't find any 'quality' ingredients in all those poxy Tesco Metros and mini Sainsburys though.

Only the mega supermarkets have the wide range of choice and foods from other countries.

I'd love to make food from home and bring it in to work, but I'm generally too rushed and don't have time to eat 'proper' meals at work. Its a shame though, because the average diet of a Brit is absolutley shocking and it is made worse by how rushed and 24/7 our society is.

Heck we are lucky at my work to get our guaranteed by law, 1 hour lunchbreak, otherwise things just don't get done.
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The M&S shops at services are fantastic for sandwiches and snacks...
 
Dags - I made a big beef stew last night, not too hard to do (beef, onion, patato, carrots, some broth, bit of Worcester sauce, can of Guinness, Burgundy red wine, garlic, seasoned flour, dried thyme, bayleafs, sugar, salt, pepper, olive oil, all in a big pot, ok that sounds complicated but it ain't google a recipie) and lasts a few days if ya stick it in the fridge. Its a good tasty, hearty variation full of flavor and easy transportable for work. Otherwise I just load up at the supermarket on sandwich stuff, meat cheese all that and I have a lil mini fridge under my desk at work, that shit lasts the whole week amazing how much ya save if ya get into the habit of it and put in the effort.
 
Oh yeah everyone who works in an office should invest in a mini fridge its KICKASS. I put beers in there over New Years and watched the Macys fireworks in NY from the 40th floor of my office building whilst getting SHITFACED
 
Buy some Wraps and decent salad and then marinade some tender chicken strips (if you're a carnivore)or thinly slice some Quorn fillets, then brown off in a pan with a little hot chili oil. Then make up with the salad of your choice, remember no onion or garlic based dressings nobody likes a stinky breath...
 
well let me see what i cooked the other nigth
pork tenderloin marinated overnight in dry red wine with rosemary and garlic. Grilled over wood charcoal for about 15 minutes on medium heat(hold your hand 4 inches from the charcoal and count to 4, if its to hot before 4, its too hot) Then arugula salad with red wine vinegar, dry red wine, honey, dressing, with the tenderloin thrown in. I also took a big sweet onion and threw it in the coals made sure some coals were on top of it, i let it sit in the coals for about 40 minutes. Took it out and brushed off the black stuff, chopped it in half and you have the juicest sweetness onion you have ever had. I put that in the salad too. I love to grill out on the patio. Cant wait for valentines day this saturday
Ben do you have any suggestions for italian style grilling?
 
gomito#10 said:
well let me see what i cooked the other nigth
pork tenderloin marinated overnight in dry red wine with rosemary and garlic. Grilled over wood charcoal for about 15 minutes on medium heat(hold your hand 4 inches from the charcoal and count to 4, if its to hot before 4, its too hot) Then arugula salad with red wine vinegar, dry red wine, honey, dressing, with the tenderloin thrown in. I also took a big sweet onion and threw it in the coals made sure some coals were on top of it, i let it sit in the coals for about 40 minutes. Took it out and brushed off the black stuff, chopped it in half and you have the juicest sweetness onion you have ever had. I put that in the salad too. I love to grill out on the patio. Cant wait for valentines day this saturday
Ben do you have any suggestions for italian style grilling?
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Are you going to get flowers for your wood charcoal?
 
gomito#10 said:
(hold your hand 4 inches from the charcoal and count to 4, if its to hot before 4, its too hot)
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BurntHand.jpg


I got to 3 and this happened.
 
gomito#10 said:
Ben do you have any suggestions for italian style grilling?
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what about grilled swordfish with salmoriglio?
that's the easiest grilled fish recipe i can think about.
it requires about 15 minutes of preparation and 6\7 minutes on the heat (it depends by how tall is the swordfish steak, of course, but in any case, it shouldn't be more than that).

first of don't try to look for this recipe on the web..... don't even visit those websites which claim to have "real knowledge of italian cooking style", as i already tried...before writing this post i checked on the web if there was a ready recipe, so i could just send u the link..... but they were all completely wrong so i decided to write it myself.

i'm writing this assuming u're gonna cook for 2 persons (u and your lady).
u need 2 steaks of swordfish (have them big and tall)
the salmoriglio is a typical sicilian emulsion. let's begin with the salmoriglio preparation.

put in a bowl a half glass of extra virgin olive oil (it must be extra virgin, not simple olive oil, or the flavour of the emulsion will be different).
squeeze 1 lemon, filter it, and then put the juice in the bowl.
then put into the bowl 1 tablespoon of salt, oregano and pepper (fresh pepper).
whip this mixture with a fork (like u do when u prepare an homelette) until it gets emulsified.

as for the swordfish steaks, just a pinch of salt and then right on the grill (high heat).

once the steaks are ready, serve them on the plate and brush them with the salmoriglio emulsion u already prepared.

it's extremely easy, it takes just about 15 minutes to prepare the whole dish (the fish and the salmoriglio), and if u don't make a mess with poor quality ingredients (i repeat, fresh pepper and extra virgin olive oil.... the quality of the oil is vital for the end result, if u can get a "barbera" it would be perfect) the end result will be good looking and good to taste.

no need to say the swordfish must be fresh.
 
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lo zio said:
what about grilled swordfish with salmoriglio?
that's the easiest grilled fish recipe i can think about.
it requires about 15 minutes of preparation and 6\7 minutes on the heat (it depends by how tall is the swordfish steak, of course, but in any case, it shouldn't be more than that).

first of don't try to look for this recipe on the web..... don't even visit those websites which claim to have "real knowledge of italian cooking style", as i already tried...before writing this post i checked on the web if there was a ready recipe, so i could just send u the link..... but they were all completely wrong so i decided to write it myself.

i'm writing this assuming u're gonna cook for 2 persons (u and your lady).
u need 2 steaks of swordfish (have them big and tall)
the salmoriglio is a typical sicilian emulsion. let's begin with the salmoriglio preparation.

put in a bowl a half glass of extra virgin olive oil (it must be extra virgin, not simple olive oil, or the flavour of the emulsion will be different).
squeeze 1 lemon, filter it, and then put the juice in the bowl.
then put into the bowl 1 tablespoon of salt, oregano and pepper (fresh pepper).
whip this mixture with a fork (like u do when u prepare an homelette) until it gets emulsified.

as for the swordfish steaks, just a pinch of salt and then right on the grill (high heat).

once the steaks are ready, serve them on the plate and brush them with the salmoriglio emulsion u already prepared.

it's extremely easy, it takes just about 15 minutes to prepare the whole dish (the fish and the salmoriglio), and if u don't make a mess with poor quality ingredients (i repeat, fresh pepper and extra virgin olive oil.... the quality of the oil is vital for the end result, if u can get a "barbera" it would be perfect) the end result will be good looking and good to taste.

no need to say the swordfish must be fresh.
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awesome that sounds simple yet tasty, and i can get a barbera easily, you think the red wine will be fine with the white fish?

any ideas for grilled italian style side dishes?
 
gomito#10 said:
awesome that sounds simple yet tasty, and i can get a barbera easily, you think the red wine will be fine with the white fish?

any ideas for grilled italian style side dishes?
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fish and red wine is never a good pairing.... especially white fish (however swordfish actually belongs to the blue fish family ;)) ).
the only fishes which can handle (some specific) red wines are tuna and mackerel.

as for the swordfish it must be a white wine. wich grapewine depends by your personal taste. if u like well structured wines the grecanico is the best choice, if u prefere soft, sweet wines, then a chardonnay will do it.
if i can give u a suggestion i'd pick this one
http://www.planeta.it/ENG/vini.php?prd=alastro#
the alastro of planeta (a sicilian wine producer). the alastro is a blend of grecanico and chardonnay. first time i tried it i was quite skeptical, as i'm not a huge fan of chardonnay and i'm not a big fan of the grapewines blending technique either.... but i have to admit the end result is not bad at all, especially for such a cheap wine (it should cost from 7 to 15 euros).
planeta has a very good distribution network, so i guess it shouldn't be hard to find it in usa.


as for the side dish, i wouldn't pair a grilled main dish with a grilled side dish honestly. with a grilled main dish, u need a fresh, possibly uncooked side dish. otherwise the meal will be to heavy.

and there's another reason to prefere something uncooked: fishes must be paired to delicate side dishes, so that the taste of the side dish doesn't overtop the delicate taste of the fish.

when it comes to fishes, i'm a purist, so i always prepare a simple and light green salad with lettuce, fresh cherry tomatoes, fennel, radicchio and a little bit of balsamic winegar.
that would be perfect with the swordfish.

anyhow, if u really wanna have a grilled side dish, then a grilled potato salad could be a good choice.
http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff2008/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=252:grilledwarmpotatosalad&catid=61:csalads&Itemid=65
this recipe is slightly different from mine, but it must be pretty good aswell.....
jeez i'm getting hungry now :D
 
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lo zio said:
fish and red wine is never a good pairing.... especially white fish (however swordfish actually belongs to the blue fish family ;)) ).
the only fishes which can handle (some specific) red wines are tuna and mackerel.

as for the swordfish it must be a white wine. wich grapewine depends by your personal taste. if u like well structured wines the grecanico is the best choice, if u prefere soft, sweet wines, then a chardonnay will do it.
if i can give u a suggestion i'd pick this one
http://www.planeta.it/ENG/vini.php?prd=alastro#
the alastro of planeta (a sicilian wine producer). the alastro is a blend of grecanico and chardonnay. first time i tried it i was quite skeptical, as i'm not a huge fan of chardonnay and i'm not a big fan of the grapewines blending technique either.... but i have to admit the end result is not bad at all, especially for such a cheap wine (it should cost from 7 to 15 euros).
planeta has a very good distribution network, so i guess it shouldn't be hard to find it in usa.


as for the side dish, i wouldn't pair a grilled main dish with a grilled side dish honestly. with a grilled main dish, u need a fresh, possibly uncooked side dish. otherwise the meal will be to heavy.

and there's another reason to prefere something uncooked: fishes must be paired to delicate side dishes, so that the taste of the side dish doesn't overtop the delicate taste of the fish.

when it comes to fishes, i'm a purist, so i always prepare a simple and light green salad with lettuce, fresh cherry tomatoes, fennel, radicchio and a little bit of aromatic winegar.
that would be perfect with the swordfish.

anyhow, if u really wanna have a grilled side dish, then a grilled potato salad could be a good choice.
http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff2008/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=252:grilledwarmpotatosalad&catid=61:csalads&Itemid=65
this recipe is slightly different from mine, but it must be pretty good aswell.....
jeez i'm getting hungry now :D
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Man, a true gourmand... :BLINK::)
 
Nick Cave said:
Man, a true gourmand... :BLINK::)
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:DD
well it's no big deal actually.
infact this is arguably much easier to prepare than anything else i've been cooking in the last month.
everybody can prepare a salad, the swordfish steaks need no preparation at all (as u just put them on the grill, when the grill is ready) and the salmoriglio emulsion itself it's extremely easy to prepare (even a simple homelette requires more skills).

the whole meal (the fish, the emulsion and the salad) can be prepared and ready to eat in about 20 minutes (tops).

in 1 hour from the moment u put the fish on the grill u could be drinking a coffee on the couch.... or u might even be doing some jogging.... as the whole meal is much lighter than a mayo-tuna sandwich. :))
 
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