Some Cook

[robpage]

There used to be an excellent Pie and Mash shop near Waterloo Station , I am a great Fish Eater , and whilst I like Eel I have prefer to not have the Liquor with the pie , I like it with the mash , but have an aversion to fish flavoured sauce with minced beef . I have only ever seen " Meat and Potato " pie in Morrisons south of the Watford Gap , where you get a layer of potato chunks over a layer of braised pie beef all covered in a short crust pastry . I like the Scotch mutton pie too with the mash piped on the top crust , but the ones commercially available in stores such as Ice;land are a pale representation of the ones in a Scottish butcher's shop .

[john sutton]

be it known that the pie capital of the world is wigan the citizens are known as pie eaters.leigh which is close by has a local gourmet delicacy which is known as"a pie and a smacked *rse" which is a meat and potatoe pie on the bottom half of a balm cake and the top half of the balm cake placed on the top and smacked down.
Many years ago I bought a tool hire shop in leigh and worked there on some Saturdays .The first time I worked I volunteered to go to the chip shop for the lunches.One guy asked for a pie and a smacked *rse and chips.Now that's carbs bigtime

[Louis the Amigo]

HI shipmates Haybox? cooking is that the one they used for stews ? put all the veg and meat if any? in a pot with tight lid on, put on the stove, and heat when its boils up put into the hay box with blanket/cover on the top leave it for a few hours, a very cheap way of cooking food , Do they still do this? I seen the same thing with a solar box at a show for hot countrys no fuel needed. no bills or wood

[John Gill]

#12- I live in Leigh JS and you're correct about the strange names for some of the food that forms the staple diet of most of the natives. (can I say 'natives)?. I attempted, some years ago, to introduce my own native dish (scouse) to the local population, but failed miserably. Where's the crust? they cried. I do beileve there is a programme in place at the local Infirmary where 'carb' addicts can receive counselling and be gradually weaned off their addiction using a form of carb methadone, usually in the form of tiny cocktail pork pies. Never works- they're back mainstreaming in no time.
gilly

[Lou Barron]

Well Vernon i do like some Chinese meals as long as there is no rice or spicy.
That porridge sound nice ,i use to make porridge years ago but i dont bother now the kids use to love it not like the burgo we got on the ships.
That reminds of the time i was in the local jail for jumping the ship and i got the job as galley boy in the kitchen there was a women cook who use to cook for the police and the people in the jail .
It was a really good job as i got some better grub than the prisoners ,one my jobs was to get into the kitchen and help the women to cook the breakfast there was a bloody big pot with the porridge cooking any how the prisoners useto tell there was no sugar and it was not very sweet so when the cook was not looking i use to tip a lot of sugar into the pot and the guys use to say that wass a lot better those were the days

[Doc Vernon]

Well that's OK Lou
We can still have our Chinese and you can have noodles in place of the Rice,but there are as said many dishes to choose from!

Talking on slow Cooking I suppose only very few have heard of Potjie Kos (Food)
its a traditional South African way of making all kinds of Dishes in the Potjie over a Fire!
It is like a slow cooker in the outside and the taste of the food is delicious!
I must get another Potjie as my last one was very old and we discarded it when Moving here!

Cheers

Some recipes for Potjie Kos!

Oxtail Potjie - probably the tastiest potjie recipe

INGREDIENTS
500g Oxtails cut 2 inches thick pieces
10 slices Bacon cut in 1 inch pieces
½ cup Flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1 litre beef stock
1 can tomato paste
1 Bay leaf
6 black peppercorns
1 bouquet garni
6 large leeks, chopped coarsely
2 large onions, chopped coarsely
6 large carrots, chopped coarsely
20 button mushrooms
1 cup red wine
½ cup sherry
½ cup cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons crushed garlic

METHOD

1. Dry oxtails with paper towel.
2. Put seasoned flour in a Ziplock bag, then add the Oxtail and shake to coat with flour.
3. Heat butter and olive oil and sauté bacon pieces.
4. Remove bacon and brown Oxtail in resulting fat, remove and drain.
5. Finely dice 4 of the carrots. Coarsely chop the onions and the leeks.
6. Add the finely diced carrots, leeks, onions and sauté until softened
7. Add Oxtail, bacon, bouquet garni, bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, tomato sauce, red wine, sherry.
8. Bring slowly to a boil and cook slowly for 3 - 4 hours.
9. 1 hour before serving cut the remaining carrots into 1 inch pieces, add them and mushrooms and continue cooking slowly.
10. Just prior to serving, add cream and stir in.
11. If you want to thicken the sauce mix some cornstarch with the cream before adding.

Just one but there are many more!
Must post them in the Catering Section! ??
Cheers

Lamb Neck and Cabbage Potjie
Oxtail Potjie
All-In-One Pot
Paella Potjie
Curry Neck of Mutton Potjie
Chicken Potjie
Dambie - dumplings in a potjie
Beef and Beer Potjie
Hot Mutton Curry Potjie
Ostrich Potjie
Venison Potjie (Wildspotjie)
Bully beef and cabbage potjie
Oxtail and banana potjie
Mutton Potjie
Venison potjie with dumplings
Shank and potato potjie
Chicken in cream sauce pot
Yellow rice and chicken potjie

But of course you can make any type of Recipe you like in these Potjies!
Saves on Electricity too,plenty of free Wood behind us just over the Fence LOL!

castironpot.gif Made of cast Iron must be used on low Fire. Normally hangs on a Tripod above the Flame! Yummy Yummy!!

[j.sabourn]

Ships Cook... That is one person on a British Flagged vessel, even on smaller crewed and tonnaged vessels, that I have always agreed with, that a ship has to have a certificated cook. I only hope this has not also been changed re the big upheaval in manning scales of recent years. The manning scales over the past 20 years or so, I have always been against in most of the reductions in crew sizes, this was nearly always done on the promises of certain work loads on certain individuals being eased. To the best of my knowledge this was seldom the case. The foreign crews of today are going to have to go through the whole rigmarole again, before once again a cheaper source of labour can be found. A comparison study was done in the 70"s and a seminar was held in London to which I attended, the only cheaper ship to run than a British crew was the Greeks and this was by a very low difference. This Seminar had different subjects on the Agenda and this was only one of them. Was always amazed when costs were broken up to see British ships at that date and time were almost the cheapest in the world to run. This goes against all the arguments and excuses, this Seminar was run by a British Management Company. Anyhow I have nearly always been against the de-crewing of ships, and have written several times in Union Papers about. Keep the cook if still there. JS

[Doc Vernon]

Indeed JS
Just what would we have done without the good Cooks on board!
They as we always said were life savers! ;lol!
Cheers

[Lou Barron]

That sounds great Vernon i hope i dont put to much weight i will have to go for a run AHAH

[happy daze john in oz]

Pie, Eels and mash what a wonderful memory thta brings back. There was once one in Fleet Street thta served some of the best ever, now sadly long gone, as is Mick's Cafe only a few doors along from there. Pies here inOz area part of the staple diet but in South Australia the people there eat Pie Floaters. That is a pie in a bowl of pea soup with tomato sauce on top.

But I have a problem, my wife has been married for some 46 years now and apart from apple pies, fruit cake and soda bread she has never ever cooked a meal, in fact i do not know if she can cook. It was just a case of circumstances that saw me do all the cooking, and she got to like the idea. But she is great with a lawn mower.