Hey folks,
I have a few ideas I want to try out, but as I'm a fussy eater I won't eat half the stuff I'd like to cook, but I want to do it for the enjoyment of others having nice tasting food etc. As the ideas I have don't really need michelin star class cooking technique, I'd like to hope I can try and cook these things using instinct (is the correct term to cook 'blind'?)
These are just brainstorm ideas I've had over the past few days, so I apologise if my thoughts are a little jumbled or if I don't use proper cooking terminology. I need some help and guidance, so could you comment on the following things for me:-
I don't like Chicken Kievs because I don't like the taste of Garlic, but I like the concept of there being something in the middle of the chicken, to add something to the dish.
My idea is to replace the garlic butter in the middle of the breaded chicken with some very creamy mashed potato with finely chopped crispy bacon. I feel that bacon and chicken could compliment each other quite well, judging by the number of people I know who have chicken burgers with a slice of bacon on top, or those who have chicken and bacon sandwiches from sandwich shops.
I would like to cut the middle out of the skinless boneless chicken breast before cooking. Then cook the chicken throughout, and then put the potato mixture in the centre then cook for just a couple more minutes.
If I want it to be like a kiev I guess I would need to bread the outside, but I could try the idea with no breadcrumbs, just the plain chicken and filling.
I need to consider the seasoning. I would probably avoid salt on the chicken as I'd season the creamy mashed potato with salt and pepper. But perhaps I could finely chop parsley or some other herb like sage just to add another flavour - this would go on top of the chicken or I would cook the chicken on top of the herbs.
I was thinking also of using some kind of mint because I actually like chicken and mint sauce despite English tradition being to use mint with lamb. My original thought was to mix mint sauce in the mashed potato, but I realised that that may be a little overpowering and may not work with the seasoning. So the idea changed to making a minted pea puree type of thing for the chicken to lay on. Or maybe just making minted musy peas perhaps? A 'kiev' on its own seems a little dissatisfying though...
An alternative idea is to replace creamy mash on the inside with stuffing and then do mashed potato and minted peas seperately so it looks like a hearty main course.
2) BEST breakfast sandwich that isn't actually a sandwich at all
I have no idea how it would come together but the basic idea, is to use the ingredients of BEST (Bacon, Egg, Sausage & Tomato) in a totally different way. My idea was to enable people to eat this as a very small snack, and the idea is hard to explain but I'll do my best to explain it.
The idea is to first get a tomato, cut the top off then remove the inside of the tomato to leave you with a 'hollow shell' (similar to what you would do with a pumpkin by removing seeds and pulp etc). Cook your sausage and bacon, cutting them into very tiny pieces.
You probably think so far "How does this sound like a sandwich?"
It doesn't really, but the 'clever' part I wanted was to toast some bread and then dip it in egg. Then cut the toasted eggy bread into little cubes and then what to do, is put the sauage bacon and eggy toast cubes inside the tomato!
Perhaps I could put part of a proper egg inside it as well depending on how big the tomato is. Once I've have filled the tomato, I'd put it under the grill for a minute or two and then serve and eat hot.
So you get all the BEST taste, but inside a tomato rather than on a baguette or sandwich!!! Could be a perfect starter, if I made 2 per person.
3) Tomato soup starter
Same idea as with 2) is to make a hollow tomato by taking the insides out, but instead of filling the tomato with a breakfast, fill it with a nice variety of tomato soup probably served hot - not really sure if you can do tomato soup chilled, although Ive seen chefs on TV do things like chillled broad bean soup etc.
I think I would prefer to eat tomato soup hot in any case. I would toast some bread into strips so it would be a 'soup and soldiers' style starter. Very light, and a reminder of the childhood days of egg and soldiers, only replacing the egg with a soup to make it a proper dinner starter, as opposed to a breakfast.
4) Different Desserts
Aint a clue what I'd do for a dessert, it would have to be chocolate based because I love chocolate!
But for those who dont like chocolate as much, I was thinking about a 3 variety plum pudding - making jelly with one variety of plum and a sparkling white wine, using a second variety to use as a sauce/topping on some vanilla ice cream, and a 3rd variety of plum which would just sit alongside the jelly and ice cream so you get 3 lots of plums and 3 different textures on the same plate.
Another idea I had, if I can make it work, is rather than make jelly which might be technically hard for me as a beginner, to make a plum juice, and make a floating dessert. That is to have a plum shake at the bottom of a glass, topped with vanilla ice cream and a plum sauce. Put a straw in glass to get a nice cool drink or eat it as an ice cream, or do both, it is up to you!
All of this is making me hungry!!! What do you guys reckon? Would any of these ideas work at all? It's entirely random but thought it was worth noting my ideas somewhere and getting some proper opinions.
If any of you wish to try a version of these ideas yourself please let me know how you get on if you are brave enough, it would be interesting to see if these ideas are practical at all.
I thank anybody in advance who comments and can help me. My ambition would be to please my friends with something semi-creative and different to a takeaway on a friday night.
Cheers again
Barry
I have a few ideas I want to try out, but as I'm a fussy eater I won't eat half the stuff I'd like to cook, but I want to do it for the enjoyment of others having nice tasting food etc. As the ideas I have don't really need michelin star class cooking technique, I'd like to hope I can try and cook these things using instinct (is the correct term to cook 'blind'?)
These are just brainstorm ideas I've had over the past few days, so I apologise if my thoughts are a little jumbled or if I don't use proper cooking terminology. I need some help and guidance, so could you comment on the following things for me:-
- How do you think the dishes would taste?
- How do you think the dishes would look?
- Do you think these dishes are right for my 'target'? - that is a group of friends that meet every few weeks for a night of chess and food/drink
- How practical are the dishes to make?
- Any other comments you may have ( please feel free to ask questions if you have any, it will make me think more too! )
I don't like Chicken Kievs because I don't like the taste of Garlic, but I like the concept of there being something in the middle of the chicken, to add something to the dish.
My idea is to replace the garlic butter in the middle of the breaded chicken with some very creamy mashed potato with finely chopped crispy bacon. I feel that bacon and chicken could compliment each other quite well, judging by the number of people I know who have chicken burgers with a slice of bacon on top, or those who have chicken and bacon sandwiches from sandwich shops.
I would like to cut the middle out of the skinless boneless chicken breast before cooking. Then cook the chicken throughout, and then put the potato mixture in the centre then cook for just a couple more minutes.
If I want it to be like a kiev I guess I would need to bread the outside, but I could try the idea with no breadcrumbs, just the plain chicken and filling.
I need to consider the seasoning. I would probably avoid salt on the chicken as I'd season the creamy mashed potato with salt and pepper. But perhaps I could finely chop parsley or some other herb like sage just to add another flavour - this would go on top of the chicken or I would cook the chicken on top of the herbs.
I was thinking also of using some kind of mint because I actually like chicken and mint sauce despite English tradition being to use mint with lamb. My original thought was to mix mint sauce in the mashed potato, but I realised that that may be a little overpowering and may not work with the seasoning. So the idea changed to making a minted pea puree type of thing for the chicken to lay on. Or maybe just making minted musy peas perhaps? A 'kiev' on its own seems a little dissatisfying though...
An alternative idea is to replace creamy mash on the inside with stuffing and then do mashed potato and minted peas seperately so it looks like a hearty main course.
2) BEST breakfast sandwich that isn't actually a sandwich at all
I have no idea how it would come together but the basic idea, is to use the ingredients of BEST (Bacon, Egg, Sausage & Tomato) in a totally different way. My idea was to enable people to eat this as a very small snack, and the idea is hard to explain but I'll do my best to explain it.
The idea is to first get a tomato, cut the top off then remove the inside of the tomato to leave you with a 'hollow shell' (similar to what you would do with a pumpkin by removing seeds and pulp etc). Cook your sausage and bacon, cutting them into very tiny pieces.
You probably think so far "How does this sound like a sandwich?"
It doesn't really, but the 'clever' part I wanted was to toast some bread and then dip it in egg. Then cut the toasted eggy bread into little cubes and then what to do, is put the sauage bacon and eggy toast cubes inside the tomato!
Perhaps I could put part of a proper egg inside it as well depending on how big the tomato is. Once I've have filled the tomato, I'd put it under the grill for a minute or two and then serve and eat hot.
So you get all the BEST taste, but inside a tomato rather than on a baguette or sandwich!!! Could be a perfect starter, if I made 2 per person.
3) Tomato soup starter
Same idea as with 2) is to make a hollow tomato by taking the insides out, but instead of filling the tomato with a breakfast, fill it with a nice variety of tomato soup probably served hot - not really sure if you can do tomato soup chilled, although Ive seen chefs on TV do things like chillled broad bean soup etc.
I think I would prefer to eat tomato soup hot in any case. I would toast some bread into strips so it would be a 'soup and soldiers' style starter. Very light, and a reminder of the childhood days of egg and soldiers, only replacing the egg with a soup to make it a proper dinner starter, as opposed to a breakfast.
4) Different Desserts
Aint a clue what I'd do for a dessert, it would have to be chocolate based because I love chocolate!
But for those who dont like chocolate as much, I was thinking about a 3 variety plum pudding - making jelly with one variety of plum and a sparkling white wine, using a second variety to use as a sauce/topping on some vanilla ice cream, and a 3rd variety of plum which would just sit alongside the jelly and ice cream so you get 3 lots of plums and 3 different textures on the same plate.
Another idea I had, if I can make it work, is rather than make jelly which might be technically hard for me as a beginner, to make a plum juice, and make a floating dessert. That is to have a plum shake at the bottom of a glass, topped with vanilla ice cream and a plum sauce. Put a straw in glass to get a nice cool drink or eat it as an ice cream, or do both, it is up to you!
All of this is making me hungry!!! What do you guys reckon? Would any of these ideas work at all? It's entirely random but thought it was worth noting my ideas somewhere and getting some proper opinions.
If any of you wish to try a version of these ideas yourself please let me know how you get on if you are brave enough, it would be interesting to see if these ideas are practical at all.
I thank anybody in advance who comments and can help me. My ambition would be to please my friends with something semi-creative and different to a takeaway on a friday night.
Cheers again
Barry
