Whats for Supper...

[HappyChristian]

6 hours ago, Invicta said:

Lamb steak cooked in mint gravy.  Roast red onions, butternut and celeriac. Steamed potatoes,  carrot and French beans.

Mint gravy? How is that made?

We had leftovers - fried chicken left over from last night. 

[Invicta]

51 minutes ago, HappyChristian said:

Mint gravy? How is that made?

 

We can buy a packet of lamb gravy with a hint of mint I used lamb gravy powder and added some dried mint to it.  Here it is traditional to have mint sauce with lamb, but I prefer to add it to the gravy. If I was roasting a joint of lamb I would added a sprig of mint and a sprig of rosemary and make my own gravy with the juices, I think I have some lamb steaks in the freezer that I bought already minted.

[Jim_Alaska]

6 minutes ago, Invicta said:

We can buy a packet of lamb gravy with a hint of mint I used lamb gravy powder and added some dried mint to it.  Here it is traditional to have mint sauce with lamb, but I prefer to add it to the gravy. If I was roasting a joint of lamb I would added a sprig of mint and a sprig of rosemary and make my own gravy with the juices, I think I have some lamb steaks in the freezer that I bought already minted.

What a terrible thing to do to lamb. I love the flavor of lamb. If I wanted to taste mint I would buy mint. I am an unrepentant meat eater who believes that nothing should alter the natural taste of the meat. I do like to add light seasoning, like onion powder or garlic powder, like I said, very light on the seasoning. To me sauces and flavoring like mint or orange have their place with people that like to cover up the taste of meat.   

[HappyChristian]

Mint is also very typically used with lamb here (well, except for Jim...) in the US. I had never heard of mint gravy before, though. It's an interesting concept, using mint in the gravy. And I didn't know there was powdered lamb gravy, either! It shouldn't surprise me, since most other meats have a powdered gravy mix. I, personally, am not a fan of lamb. But that was due to a very bad experience years ago - a family I was staying with was given lamb. Apparently they didn't like the taste of it, so they had it mixed with equal parts sausage. Then, the wife made patties for dinner. She baked them in the oven, but before baking them put about a tablespoon of curry powder (yes, you read that right - a tablespoon) on EACH patty.

The smell was horrid, and the taste was even worse. I've never been brave enough to try lamb again, and I can't even stomach the thought of curry.

[Jim_Alaska]

Yes HC, I am aware that mint is a "usual" ingredient for lamb with most people, just as pineapple is a "given with most everybody for ham. Ham has a wonderful flavor and is ruined, in my opinion by pineapple. 

I just like the natural flavor of meat. Many don't care for lamb because of previous bad experiences with it. My wife was one of these people, she wouldn't eat it. Then one day I prepared land ribs on the grill, no mint sauces or marination. She quickly changed her mind and will now eat it. We had a very good experience with goat meat. My wife raised goats for a while and we had one big buck that we needed to eliminate because he was aggressive with her. I butchered and dressed it one day.

We thought that because of him being a buck and his age that the meat would be strong, it was not. It had a very mild lamb flavor and really lent itself to roasts and hamburg. We had guests that we served it to and they were surprised when we told them what it was.

[HappyChristian]

Oh, I don't care for pineapple with my ham. I agree - just give me a good ham and that's all that is needed! I do like A-1 sauce at times, and barbecue sauce on chicken sometimes, etc. But I agree that the natural flavor of meat is best. I am willing to try lamb again some time, if it's prepared by someone who knows what they are doing. And there is no curry involved. 

I've heard goat is very like lamb, although I've never tried it.

[Jim_Alaska]

I'm with you HC, I won't even try anything with Curry in it, I hate the flavor. It is used extensively by orientals and even a lot of Europeans and Americans like it, but I'm not one of them. I don't like A-1 or any kind of steak sauces, to me it ruins the taste of a wonderful steak. But that's just me, I'm weird that way and too old to change.

[Invicta]

Ah Jim. so you wouldn't like my lunch today, So Juicy Italian chicken. Chicken with tomatoes and peppers and Italian herbs and spices, Very yummy, enough left for tomorrow.

[Jim_Alaska]

Invicta, I may have inadvertently misled you and others in my previous posts. In my previous posts I was referring to meat dishes consisting of meats like  beef pork lamb chicken, served with vegetables on the side usually.

What you described in your last post is actually a recipe. I do like certain recipes, although not very fond of tomato based recipes. Do they cover the taste of the meat?....yes they do to an extent, but they also have pleasant flavor in and of themselves.

I hope this clarifies better than what I wrote before.

[Invicta]

3 hours ago, Jim_Alaska said:

Invicta, I may have inadvertently misled you and others in my previous posts. In my previous posts I was referring to meat dishes consisting of meats like  beef pork lamb chicken, served with vegetables on the side usually.

What you described in your last post is actually a recipe. I do like certain recipes, although not very fond of tomato based recipes. Do they cover the taste of the meat?....yes they do to an extent, but they also have pleasant flavor in and of themselves.

I hope this clarifies better than what I wrote before.

My wife  is a bit like you only with vegetables as she is a vegetarian, she doesn't like a sauce that covers up the taste of the vegetables.

She had the same sauce as me for a butter bean and vegetable dish.  It was from a packet by Maggi. 

The sauces and condiments we usually have over here are

With Beef: Bread sauce, horseradish sauce, can be very hot, but a creamed one is milder.  mustard . I prefer Dijon mustard to the English.

With Pork: Apple sauce.  I don't like pork, so I don't have either.

Lamb:  Mint sauce.

Chicken:  I can't think of one that is usual but I know a family that have bread sauce with it.  I have my own way with chicken if I am roasting it.  I Prick the  skin thoroughly especially and the wings and legs, then I rub it with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with  garlic powder, ground celery and ground bay leaf.  Rub that all in and pace on a baking tray with a trivet, and some water underneath with a chicken or vegetable stock cube or two of chicken or vegetable bouillon powder. 

Roast till the chicken at 180-200C, that is about 375-400F make sure it is well done and use the juice as gravy. You may have to top up the liquid during cooking.

NB Bay is laurier in French and some people call it laurel or sweet laurel I have not been able to get it in recent years so mine is way out of date.

[Jim_Alaska]

Invicta, I cook my chicken just about the same way with the temperature at 350-f. I do prick the skin, but not until the bird is almost done. At this time most all of the juices are down at  the bottom of the bird and I only have to prick under the thighs and where the thighs meet the breast. I have found that the finished meat is much less dry if the juices are allowed to remain under the skin while baking.

Once it is almost done I prick the skin and allow the juices to flow out for about the last twenty minutes or so. I do use a light sprinkling of garlic and a seasoning salt that we have over here called "Johnny's" brand. Caramelized chicken gravy can be some of the most flavorful gravy there is.

Browned chicken skin is a wonderful thing. At my house the cut pieces with skin attached are the object of much competition. Suffice the say that I have never met a chicken I didn't like.
 

[Invicta]

I goofed today I put some baking potatoes on the timer in the oven and we went shopping, expecting them to be done when we arrived home, intending to heat up some leftover in the microwave for a few minutes to accompany them, but when we arrived home I discovered that I had set the timer but not the temperature, so they were still uncooked.

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2017 by Invicta

[Invicta]

It is usual over here to have sage and onion stuffing with chicken but I sometimes make sage or sage and onion gravy.

Edited August 28, 2017 by Invicta

[Invicta]

The people that cook our fellowship lunches at church cook chicken  covered in foil in the oven.  It doesn't get brown and it ends up very greasy. Not my favourite way.

[HappyChristian]

I really like horseradish with fried chicken. It's good with roast beef, too, but I much prefer it with the chicken.  

Jim, my brother is like you in that he doesn't like sauces with his meats because he feels they cover the taste of the meat. I think the sauces enhance the taste. It's interesting how tastes differ, isn't it?

We put potatoes on the grill to cook one night...and they were still rock hard by the time the meat was ready. Of course, that's because potatoes take longer to cook. So I began zapping them in the microwave to soften a bit before grilling. That works pretty well. I rub some olive oil into the skins and then throw 'em on there. I love it when the skin gets crispy but the meat of the potato is melt-in-your mouth done!

Tonight my nephew is coming for dinner. My mom and dad basically raised him, so my mom is always thrilled to see him (I'm looking forward to it, too).  So she is making pot roast. I suggested that we cook 2 of them, because we always like to send food home with him. The house is starting to smell lovely...