blonde poker forum

The challenge: steak (medium rare) and chips

on the menu Chez Claw tonight is fillet steak, with chips, onion rings, and a cream and stilton sauce.  Not decided on veg yet, but probs peas, or maybe a salad.  we'll see.

I'm hungry already.

think you have lost already by including onion rings with a fillet imo! - ditch them for a lovely single mushroom and you are well in the road to victory!

i take your point - my preference would have been ribeye but as we're going medium rare I've plumped for fillet instead.  can't really change the menu now or that'll be cheating :)

In any case, as the deep fat fryer is coming out of retirement it might as well get some usage.  also much more potential for fking up onion rings than a mushroom imo ;D

Bugger the mushroom. Can't go wrong with onion rings.

Mushrooms means lost bet IMO...as does a cream and stilton sauce...and onions rings. :)

Pretty much agree with Boldie, but I am partial to an onion ring. 

What time shall I pop round?

Mushrooms are the food of the devil!!

I automatically lose points imo for not using fillet. But I'm cooking for 3 people so fck that.

As much as I love onion rings they have no place with steak. Steak should be a somewhat classy dish meaning onion rings have no place.

And mushrooms are just wrong.

Time to go get my steaks marinating :)

Why do you lose points for not using fillet?

Sure is the best for steaks

onion rings, and a cream and stilton sauce.


oh dear


Advantage cf.

We have a winner already!..you can burn the things to a crisp and you'll still piss this IMO

fillet steak bernaise sauce and about 4 thick cut chips would win it for me (if chips were mandatory)

nice steak with sauce is wrong imo

I'm using sirloin. I prefer fillet. So in my mind i lose points :(

Mmm, I love onion rings.

I reckon people should vote on what the food looks like, not on their personal preferences as to what they like.

A decent bit of sirloin tastes better than fillet anyway. People just assume fillet is the nicest cut as its the most expensive, that's not the case at all.

I love onion rings too, but not with a good steak. This is not some McDonalds burger or crap like that.

Claw's already has too many ingredients on the plate and it just won't work. (Yes, I watch Masterchef) :)

This, other cuts, sirloin, tbone etc have a lot more flavour than fillet

Tbone rules supreme IMO..then again, I reckon all meat on the bone has more flavour and therefore just don't understand why anyone would buy porkchops without the bone (thereby not actually being porkchops anymore)

i'm considering dropping the veg altogether.  after all, onions are veg, even if they're battered and fried.  just worried about it looking a bit colourless.  if it wasn't for the 'chips' stipulation i'd have done a nice creamy mash and asparagus, but asparagus and chips just seems wrong somehow.

this just keeps getting worse and worse.

Hmmm T Bone FTW, I just love chewing the bone after.

LOL your helpful  :D

A few peas ftw imo......

haha - whatever either of us do there'll be half the place criticising and half the place criticising if we do the opposite.  it's a tough audience round here :)

Steak and chips, nothing else, certainly don't use sauce.  If you need sauce on the steak, you've not got a tasty steak.

tasty vs texture is an interesting preference when it comes to steak imo

Veg can GTFO.

It's steak and chips - clue is in the title.

Why does everyone seem to hate on Mushrooms?


wattttt



mushrooms + onion rings + meat = win!

Peppercorn sauce is so good on chips though.

Steak and chips for the pics and do/add whatever else ye fecking like after.  Simples.

mustard is ok on a steak tho
but no pepper corn sauce or something like that

LOL all these personal preference should gtfo when it comes to judging. It gotta be done on how it looks on the plate, or they are both going to be serving a bag of shit according to most on here and what they do/don't like  :)

i'll make a decision on this depending on how aesthetically displeasing the onion rings and sauce are

did you never read the 'rate my fry up' thread woodsey?!

Sigh I'd have much rather make mash or something rather that chips lol. Starting on mine now.

Something green is a must (peas obv.)

Blue cheese sauce is nice but a flavoured butter shows real skill and finesse.

Peppercorn Sc can GTFO! too overpowering.

[ ] gl

gonna do mine in an hour or so

Yeah, that's why I'm saying it.  ;D

lol.  i lost the last cook off i did on here and the other participant bottled it and didn't even make anything!!

Ye should have an agreed time for posting pics so neither one has advantage with presentation as we rip ye to shreds.  Just sayin'....

Agreed time is fine by me.

Can see there being a lot of complaints about mine lol

pics up and poll open at 8?

Woodesy is right I think. Everyone has their personal tastes on what goes with the steak/chips

For me I am judging on the steak and chips only

Personally I'd prefer a non-chip potato product, but its not in the brief innit

Thread fails. Lack of pics

They would be better off picking 3 people to pick a winner who can see above the I do/don't like xxxx with my steak etc.

I am a good judge imo.

people are stupid and wouldn't know a good steak if it hit them in the face.

Looking forward to seeing the pics! Claw/CF, ignore people's stupid preferences.

but then it would be in danger of becoming a genuine fair competition ;dingdell;

hmm. turns out the nice big steak i bought is actually two steaks stuck together.  gonna have em both still, obv.

Fair enough, at least you have a chance the way it is  :D

Souz vide the Steak and serve it with a poached hens egg and pea puree.

We did a bit of " come dine with me",..a few years back...n the other week I was told,the steak dianne I made was and is the best steak a certain lady has had before,since or after...I was over the moon....cos she really is a fussy sod....looking fwd to the pics

I hope its medium rare...anything more is just sacrilege imo

Mine was lovely.

Cooked to perfection.

Steak has a spicy marinade and a spicy sauce (I like spicy things). Served with chips and a rocket salad. Pics in an hour!

WHY? Steak should be shown the grill and slapped on your plate. Faffing around with it is just wrong.

WTF grill.

Unless you have a proper restaurant standard grill then frying pan all day.

Yes but if you're a bad judge, your judgement about being a good judge will be bad.

If you are cooking steak conventionally- then you should seal it a pan, before grilling it to medium rare and then letting rest

Why the two steps? I cook for a 1.5 minutes each side in a pan. Ok, this is longer than you'd spend sealing, but not much...

mine tasted lovely too.  not sure how well the pictures came out - had to take them on my phone and struggled for light, so held the plate up under the kitchen light with one hand whilst snapping with the other.

yes, i may be getting my excuses in early :)

lol I don't think my pics are brilliant. Also light issues.

Shall we put them up now if we're both done?

Steak will cook more evenly and at a more consistent temperature thoughtout under a grill. The pan provides instant heat so you can seal the steak, keeping the flavours and juices in- for like 30-45secs, and then under grill.

The reason souz vide cooking is far superior for nearly all meats imo is you can obviously cook the meat to an exact temperature and dont bring it to 130degrees in a 200degree oven etc. The only problem souz vide cooking steak is you still need to char the edges after you have done quickly to add texture- For Chicken you simply cant ever beat souz vide, it has an amazing taste that you just dont experience any other way. It melts in the mouth, and you do the same thing as the steak by charring it in the pan before serving to add texture

yep ok - just waiting for hannah to get off my phone then i'll upload

Ok. Will let you have the honours and go first.

We're about to deep fry some chocolate bars using the left over oil.

OK here we go.  apologies for blurriness.

First just the steak and chips, followed by the freshly cut steak, then with all the extras. 

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/clairep75/050-1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/clairep75/051.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/clairep75/052.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/clairep75/054.jpg)

And mine. Two pics. First one plated up. Then cut open part way through cooking to see how well cooked:

(http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy259/CfNana/IMG_0117-1.jpg?t=1298316679)

(http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy259/CfNana/IMG_0118-1.jpg?t=1298316698)

poll going up now.  how long shall we leave it open for?

An hour should do it.

Yum yum


Claw is that medium rare?


ready to vote!

 more like rare rare

it was medium rare - 2.5 mins on each side.  looks a lot less well done in the pic than it did in reality (otherwise i'd have cooked it a bit longer, obv :D)

Claw needs to have sealed the edges a touch more and rendered the fat a little bit more.

CF- if you switched to the grill, you wouldnt have black char bits on it, thats just where the fat and sweet marinade is overrendering in a hot pan


I like the colour constrast with the rocket- Claw needs to have made the peas more predominant if its a presentation battle- they are lost in the monotone of the chips and onion rings

Claw's chips are an easy win imo. Golden and a good size.


Both steaks look good, however, cf's is hidden by charred marinade and Claw's is not Med Rare.

Tough one, but I think I'll go for Claire's chips as the deciding factor!

Was a bit dissapointed with the colour of my chips. And the potatos we had were smaller than i'd have liked.

That said... it's the first time i've ever made chips! So quite happy that they at least tasted nice :)

on the other hand, i was ecstatic when i saw the colour of your chips!

right - will kill it off at 9pm sharp!

Claw, although I don't usually like blurred food unless I'm drunk.

very disappointed by the lack of abuse :(

No abuse

Personally, Claw's steak looks far too underdone for medium rare, but the chips look great

cf's chips a big let down, but the steak looks nice

Score draw, but I had to cast my vote on the steak not the chips

I like the look of claws, but would prefer it cooked more.

Had to vote for CF cos Claw's steak hasn't been cooked

Claws chips and onion rings look nice but WTF is that steak all about :(

Cf covered his steak in sum garbage so on that note I'm on the fence!!

close but claw's just pipped it for me.

Not even close - Claws won easily although not idea why she had to fuck up what looked like a perfectly cooked steak by adding sauce.

I like sauce with steak

I  love steak but to put any kind of sauce/marinade is just oh so wrong.
I think there should be a neither voting button.
And for that reason I am out.

A good steak should taste good on its own of course. But that's no reason to not use a sauce to make it even better.

+1 Peppered would be my choice

Neither for ne too! Claw would win if steak was med to well done!!

Id deglaze the pan with red wine and make a quick red wine reduction. Can do it with Balsamic vinegar as well if u wish

Never wanna eat steak with someone who has it well done.

Claw just about wins it for me.

Cos it was a bigger portion? :)

I agree with this comment but not with sauce.

hahaha. sigh

Just thought it looked the nicer all round meal although i wudnt want it that rare.

dunno how to close the poll.  me 22 cf 12 at 9pm though.


wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Well played Claw :)

Bit annoyed my chips weren't better but first time i've ever made them so quite happy still.

As promised you have won yourself 5 bonus points in tomorrows quiz.

yeah, peppercorn sauce is the nuts.

booooo

not that it'll probs make much difference!

Claw's looks well nice. Would like it that rare and chips are A+.

If I was to have a sauce it'd be diane. Sauces are +ev imo. Love steak on its own but adds something to the dish and chips in sauce is an obv win

i didnt even know ppl ate stake well done

may aswell eat beef flavoured carpet

Thought Claw's looked just about spot on medium-rare. Liked the look of Cf's sauce. Had to vote for Claw for fear of tirade of MSN abuse :)

is that a euphemism?

Shag-pile?

Good work to both of you.

Think winner should stay on against the masterchef sounding Dubai for next Monday's cook off

LOL, this +1

Talks a good game lets find out imo........ :D

ok no problem. Can i pick the recipe?

Have a massive dislike to cheese, thats my only stipulation :)

Let me pick the dish for you to cook off to.

Why no rikey cheese?


cheese is goooooood!

Was allergic to cheese when young, so grew up without it

go on then.  Cos to choose.

I wonder if there's enough people to set up some sort of proper competition.

Get a couple of people who know what they're on about to be permanent judges. Dubai seems like an obvious candidate.

Then run it like MasterChef :)

you wanna join in again next week too?  2nd bite at the cherry and all that?

Tasting required surely for that to happen? I mean obviously presentation is important but flavour is always king

.....i might not finish last then  ;hide;

I would quite like to enter this ;D

Yeah go on. What are we cooking?

I'd give you a list of things I don't like but it'd probably be longer than the contents of the thread so far.

Hopefully nothing creamy :)

bugger off

Cos is gonna choose

Why?

this comp is like the APAT equivalent of cooking.  no pros.

 :'(

would be quite com if you entered and lost i suppose

Something featuring calves liver & pancetta - all other creativity up to you's - make it so please Cos

I should take this point to plug this week's RSQ... reveal is tomorrow. Get your entries in :) There is a prize for the winner!

I Poberly would.

Dubai seems to be in possession of a vacuum sealer and temp controlled water bath for his sous vide

Cos doesn't seem to want to choose anything. Seeing as Claw chose last week perhaps I should get to choose this week :)

And not curry obv!

hat thrown into ring as chooser, judge, cooker and taster


ta



Hurry up Cos, or else I'm choosing!

Beef Welly.

souffle for desert

I'm choosing. Get in line.

Put us out of our misery then

Anything where I can use mustard ice cream and or a mustard foam

Ok I will let claire and dave choose between...

Risotto or stew.

Are you doing deserts too?

No interest in either. Stew is all about taste and slow cooking to enhance flavours- hard to show hours work in a photo for that, and not a fan if risottos

Don't like risotto.

Stew is lovely but hardly appropriate for something where the judging is purely on photos.

lolz @ risotto or stew. may as well have gone for soup

Stew or Risotto!  :D

One bowl of liquid that needs hours to stew or one plate of soggy rice.


good luck showing flair with those in pictures!

nice fish dish ftw

How about giving them a few basic ingredients and letting them see what they come up with?

I vote TightEnd chooses. Cos clearly isn't up to the task.

Not fish pls.

This.

This is probably a good shout.

Otherwise maybe 3/4 core ingredients and leave rest upto person?

Do a greek dish.

- Moussakka

/

- souvlakia + trimmings

Beef Wellington?

Rack of lamb?

Stop making yourself hungry  :D

Doing a good toad in the hole is no walk in the park let me tell you.

Do you want 5 ingredients from me you must include in a dish then?

As long as one of them isn't fish then this gets my vote :)

Yes that sounds fun. Can make them unusual mixes if u want to make it funnier, no cheese tho :)

you can add standard 'larder items' though?

Can add anything as long as the core ingredients are the "key elements" of the meal?

If you decide to adopt this approach, next Monday's dish must include


Garlic

Mango

Balsamic Vinegar

Pork

An alcoholic measure of your choice

Yes can add all other standard kitchen/cupboard items/veg etc

Presumably yes.

Sounds good to me :)

Garlic and mango hahahahaha, GL with that :D

Prepare yourself for a South American inspired mango foam :)

an easily attainable short list of items, but slightly unusual mix. Creativity for the win please you two, and Claw


and no stews or risottos...unless you want to do GreekStein's version which is perfectly fine of course

I like those for a taste comp, problem is it's a visual comp though. they could leave out 3 of the 5 and no-one would know

they work superbly together, or did the one time I tried it

this is true, but hopefully they will describe where these elements are included in the dish and we can combine visual judging with thoughts on creativity of the cooking

Sigh.

Pork Wellington?

No taste buds obv  :)

says the man who would've picked 5 types of insect if he was in charge

Cooking doesn't get any tougher than this.










unless the steak is well done.

oops posted what was gonna make and then realised its supposed to be a suprise

I tell ya what, those dudes have skills if they can make that shit taste good  :)

(http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq167/Andr4w/bugs.jpg)

Not got to end of thread yet, but agree with this on all counts. Steak, excellent, although looked rare, but that's ok :). Chips looked lovely. Onion rings, good. Peas, good. Sauce....? Although I'll occasionally have sauce on a steak it's much better if you cook it medium in that case. Nice bloody steak, lovely. Nice bloody steak mixed with sauce, not so good.

Mr Charles, wtf? Looks quite tasty, I'll give you that, but it's not steak and chips by my definition :).

thank you for saving tighty.  got an idea what i might make, but will probs change my mind over the course of the week.  presuming we're going Monday night again?

I'll be at work next Monday, so will be a little later before I can get done (probs around 9)

Ahhh.... just realised why mine might have seemed a bit more burnt. I had 3 steaks to cook in the pan and could only do 2 at a time. As I was cooking I did mine last which will have been cooked in the burnt remains of the other two. Not that I personally have a problem with this - I like burnt bits on food :D

sigh - this is looking like it's going to get expensive!

mangos are 50p each in morrissons. everywhere else charges 2 quid each

Am cooking dinner tonight, will try and post results

price of mangoes hadn't even really occurred to me - more the other stuff - alcohol, balsamic vinegar etc that i'll need to buy a whole bottle of to use a little bit of.  I'll price it up once i've got a recipe in mind, but bearing in mind that i'm just cooking for myself if it looks like it's going to be more than a tenner or so i'll probs sit it out.

Ingredients go together very well. Nice one Tighty.

I shall give it a go, but not be part of the comp. is that ok?

Fine by me. If its too expensive claw sub olive oil for balsamic and any sauce for an alcohol based one. Its the creativity that counts not the strict ingredients

I'll buy the bottle and you have a lend...

we use a lot of it!

i've found some balsamic vinegar in the back of my cupboard.  if i do it i'll be doing it properly - no cheating!

Cooked Roast Gammon, with a honey glaze, half a roasted pineapple, fondant potatoes, potato and carrot puree, carrots roasted in pineapple juice and a brocolli and smoked bacon crumble with potato and carrot crisps- accompanied by a sweet ham jus

Will try upload photos now- took pics before put jus on as it looks prettier, taken on rubbish phone tho

...

Gtfo pineapple in a hot meal.

wrote the above before i saw the pics.

When am i comin round for dinner Dave?

This, but looks very presentable.

Ha- Hakkasan serve mango with their duck in slices like that- thats where nicked the idea from, honestly if you roast it like a Joint of meat and then slice it, the juices stay in the pineapple and its so good with Gammon

2nd pic is from my phone, dunno why the puree is so much duller than my gfs pics

This is not so bad. Thick frites and some good meat. Is rosbif rustic. What is this sauce? 

Then I see these petits pois, once they grey SF say no way.


6/10

lol.


Nice curry. Sauce on his rucula. I happy he no burn his rucula, is only thing with no black.


2/10

omg 6/10 from spacefrog.  i'm not worthy!

sauce is blue cheese and cream, Sir.

Paff

5/10

rotflmfao

Apologies SF, I admire your culinery critique with wisdom...

however, on this occasion the rosbif left the rosbif very mooooolive

pink blood juis is never good

4.5/10

rather than put myself under time pressure i'm gonna cook mine tomorrow, but will save the pics for monday when everyone else is done.  still not sure exactly what i'm gonna make

meh - i'm out i'm afraid.  looking forward to seeing everyone else's efforts though!

Unacceptable!

I hope you have a good reason!

i just can't justify spending the best part of £20 on one meal for me - would rather eat out one night!

Claire, the prices you quoted in the other thread seem very high. Saisnburys overpriced imo

Try Tescos, Mangos only £1 each or have a look in ASDA on Monday.

won't have time to cook on monday night plus if i'm gonna do the cook off i want to do it properly and make something really nice.  what i had in mind would require a fair few more ingredients than the listed ones.

plus i'm not that bothered about it to go shopping around tbh!

Surprised.

Pork and a Mango £4ish not £9ish I think


Next person choosing needs to make sure the ingredients are easier maybe

If price is an issue do you not have a butcher and greengrocer near you?

Ingredients shouldn't cost much at all.

And things like balsamic/olive oil should be considered a long term investment. I use them all the time :)

jeez - what's with the third degree?

can get a cheaper cut of pork for £4ish (couple of chops), but I didn't want to do a chop - was looking at doing kebabs or medallions.  coulda got a sainsbury's basic mango for 80p, but coz hadn't planned ahead don't have time now to let it ripen.  £1.50 for a pre-ripened one.  I was planning on using the mango in a salsa, which would require other ingredients.  At least a few quid for the alcohol element (I know tighty said to drop that, but really wouldn't want to bother without doing it properly, much rather leave it to the rest of you). I just couldn't justify it to myself.

don't have a clue where the nearest butchers/greengrocers are.  the last ones round here closed down years back.

can we please concentrate now on those that are taking part rather than making me feel like a moaning cheapskate? :)

cf + moaners, you're fucking tilting me. If you want Claw to cook so badly, ship her the ingredients.

list of moaners please? or is this another one of those threads where people invent people. it'll probs be too cliquey in a minute

I was also wondering who is moaning lol

ok not moaners but people challenging it, investigating prices of mangos, different supermarkets etc.... Tighty, Delboy and CF.

Just be less ghey pls.

Do we need to make this into a ready steady cook style, someone takes a photo of a bag of 'basic' ingredients from whichever supermarket. Those who are cooking have to use the same ingredients etc etc you see where i'm going!!!

Or judge picks a dish from Delia's Cooking for Sad Bastards like me One
Must have a week showcasing a pudding pls.

er, I wasn't moaning.

don't the teams use different ingredients in ready steady cook? spending up to a fiver on whatever they want? or is that another one of those progs? can't remember which one's which

They do use different stuff but that can be changed. Winner being the one who makes the best/edible meal from a bag of cheap goodies.

yeah I merely meant do we really need to have to have identical ingredients to stop squabbling?!

all competitors should have to make nachos. I really like nachos. I could be a judge and tastetester

me neither...only trying to help.....

anyone done theirs yet?

[ ] yes

Will do mine some time during the week. In no mood to do it atm.

whee - glad i pulled out now!

Cheer up mate :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

OK. I did do it, and after a small amount of cajoling from a colleague, here it is......

Poached Chipotle fillet of Pork on a bed of basmati rice

With a Mango and Calvados sauce

and a mango and cucumber salad (dressed with oil and balsamic vinegar).

p.s. cost for meal for two about £4.00

looks scrummy

It was

Well done you!  Winner imo.   ;applause;

Granted, helps that you were the only one entered this week.   rotflmfao

really wanted to see dubai's efforts too

oh, and cf's of course

I don't think it looks crummy.

Looks great

Delboy why don't you choose a sub £5 bag of ingredients for next week and people can have a go with those?

but delboy thinks you can buy calvados, mangoes, balsamic vinegar, garlic and pork for less than £4 :D

Didn't say that at all!

 I said that's what the meal cost

lol i know :)

Ingredients bag:

1 cooking apple
1lb plain pork or beef sausages
1/2 a red cabbage
small bag of long grain rice
tin of chopped tomatoes


Regular larder items are allowed to be added but the dish must include all items in the bag.


Good luck

whee - sausage casserole.  next monday?

why would you cook anything with apple?

Yes, but remember points awarded for invention.

Taste, texture, aid to digestion, colour etc

This i'm afraid. I love apples. However... cooking them is WRONG.

I still need to do mine. I might have a hard time beating that though! Even if it does like your last piece of pork is being sick :)

Sometimes my baby likes to make a piture with his food. A visage he likes. Is like this. Sometimes he make a sickie, is also like this.


A baby picture with sickie.


Is no for SF!!!

show us what you can do SF!

lolz.  quality rubz SF.  I note you still haven't given us your opinion on CF's steak.  I presume that because you didn't recognise it as a picture of some food?

My steak was lovely. Though I admit the dish was prob not what most people would expect to be served if they were to order steak and chips.

Is this one Claw75

No Monsieur, this is Claw75:

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=52037.msg1320278#msg1320278

Oui.  please let us have your critique.

Fancied a bump of this as got more time on hands and can do loads of cooking

Bought a couple of rabbits today so butchered them and was going to do Rabbit 4 way, however didnt start till 8:30 so idea of confit rabbit legs was meaning an impending 2am dinner, ended up just using legs for the sauce- so final meal was stuffed Rabbit loin with white pudding, onion, bacon, herbs and brandy, wrapping it in Smoked Bacon poaching it, sauteed Rabbit livers and kidneys with fungi jumbo morels, served with fondant potatoes, roast turnip and carrot, carrot puree and a white wine, mustard reduction. On my plate i grated some black truffle over it but missus doesnt like and pics are of her plate as obviously thats the better presented of the 2 when serving haha

Pics are presaucing and post saucing. Aiming to post a dinner every Monday as generally our weekly shopping day is Sunday/Monday

It looks like a plate full of sweeties.

Yum yum :)

Just like watching masterchef this. Where's that takeaway menu?

Osso Bucco next week, cooking for my nan whose parents are Italian, so she grew up on dishes like this. Wont be as asthetically pleasing but taste will be there, serving it with a saffron risotto so hopefully pics will look ok

very impressive mate

Looks nice. 

I had to Google Osso Bucco, that sounds lovely too, I'd give that a go. 

Yeh love Osso Bucco, think the rabbit dish is well above me (looks great though) but will tune in next week and see if I can pick up some tips.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/beonashow/masterchef

Give it a go

Very nice!

Believe it or not I've not made a curry in a long long time. This thread has inspired me to make one. Does anyone wish to compete? :)