Masterchef!

[Scottishtourist]

Does anyone in Luxor watch this programme?
Is it aired on satellite channels?
What's your opinion on this and "fine dining?"
I personally think it's a load of "tosh."
I see so-called chefs and enthusiastic cooks start off with a large table laden with foodstuffs and ingredients.God..they "jus"this,"puree"that and "reduce"any other.
What a bloomin waste of time,effort,food and money.
Then...they produce a plate of food that wouldn't fill a sparrow!
And cost of ingredients are extortionate!
Would anyone really serve this miniscule plate of food up to a "working man?"
In current worldwide economic climate,they should be showing people how to concoct a huge steak pie or a chicken casserole..how to make food go further...not pussyfooting about and condensing it to encourage waste!
Are you advocate of "fine dining?"or a frugal shopper who likes to make the most of the food you buy?

[dsaxelby]

lol,,, yes ST I have in my bored housewife days, stuck at home alone I have explored many minuscule recipes. I suspect this is the reason men do not leave me I satisfy many appetites.

I took my girls to London for the experience of an al carte menu lol.... essentially bangers and mash .... cost over £150 quid for the pleasure

The only thing was hearts, I could never find a recipe that I could honestly say we would have again.

One of my life's ambition was to have a large professional kitchen, when I got it I stopped cooking............

[Scottishtourist]

I used to be adventurous cook DS.
Then the kids came along!
Pretty amazing what you can do with "beef"mince and frozen veg!
Lasagne,chilli con carne,mince and "tatties",pseudo shepherds and cottage pie,steamed meat loaf!
Economy rations..do I really need all the spices when they don't know difference between a jar of cook-in-sauce... or a packet mix?
Cheese sauce(for macaroni cheese)always bamboozled me!
All that arsin about,flour,roux,making sure it didn't burn.
What a bloomin kerfuffle!They could'nt tell the difference between that or a "packet"sauce!
Best ever was tomato soup.God,I skinned,boiled,pureed,fresh tomatoes one year..added cream,etc and had it as starter for Christmas dinner.My brother said.."that's lovely,tastes just like "Heinz!"
Guess what got opened following year?

[dsaxelby]

With you there, I cheat on everything now Made our own cider few years ago, we still have not had the courage to actually drink it

[carrie]

We get Masterchef Austrailia here and is in it's 5th season, personally I love it, I now always start the day with scrambled egg with a little finely shaved truffle on the top. I then immediately start to prepare lunch, after all the reduction of the stock etc takes me sooooo long, then it's on to dinner, the boning of my chicken and the correct timing of my quail eggs after all you have to get it right, no breaks in my chicken skin, God forbid that my chicken dries out. Then on to supper, by this time I am so hungry with the miniscule proportions I have been eating all day that I sit down to a bowl of cornflakes with ice cold milk and savour every mouthful.
I can't understand your attitude ST you only work full time surely you could spend another 5-6 hours feeding your family correctly, then the washing up, have you ever seen so many dishes and pans being used, so all in all ST I think you should convert to the Mastershef menu, you can manage on one hours sleep a night surely.

[Brian Yare]

Does anyone in Luxor watch this programme?

I don't follow many of these recipes all the way, but there are some things that I do do. I make my own stock if I have a spare chicken or game carcase going spare. I make my own jam, jelly, pickles and chutney. I use 'ingredients' where available, and shy away from the 'ready' versions.

And if all else fails I am happy to have a steak, burger, curry, etc. at my local Wetherspoon.

Proper, home made, food tastes much better than any can, bottle, or freezer pack, as one has control over the preservatives, colourings and other e-numbers. But it does take longer.

[Scottishtourist]

Does anyone in Luxor watch this programme?

I don't follow many of these recipes all the way, but there are some things that I do do. I make my own stock if I have a spare chicken or game carcase going spare. I make my own jam, jelly, pickles and chutney. I use 'ingredients' where available, and shy away from the 'ready' versions.

And if all else fails I am happy to have a steak, burger, curry, etc. at my local Wetherspoon.

Proper, home made, food tastes much better than any can, bottle, or freezer pack, as one has control over the preservatives, colourings and other e-numbers. But it does take longer.

Totally agree with you Brian.
Now and again,I have small off-cut of pheasant,swordfish,etc,languishing in my freezer.What can I do with it?I know!
I'll make a stock with it..than I'll chuck it down sink cos I can't afford the salmon or game to transform it into a "proper"meal.
Billy Connolly got it right.He once did sketch on "toffs"cookbook.One suggestion from landed Scottish Gentry was "what to do with leftover venison!!!"
Make a pie...brilliant,just brilliant!

[Brian Yare]

I thought that I had some stock-pots in the fridge, or cubes in the cupboards.

SWMBO has obviously thrown them out for being out of date because I use them so rarely. She hasn't yet found the boxes in the freezer.

[LivinginLuxor]

To answer STs question - no. No British Masterchef, which always seemed too pretentious to me, but we do have Australian Masterchef, and Junior Masterchef, as well as a plethora of American and Canadian cooking programs. There was even a series on cheese - went on for weeks - presented by a Master of Cheese, going around the world looking at local cheeses.

[Chocolate Eclair]

I love Masterchef, better when John Torrode was on with Greg Wallace, but still good, Carrie is right, we also get Masterchef Australia, which is also good, and on top of that we get Masterchef the Professionals where the professional chefs get to compete for a place to cook for Michelle Roux.

Its suprising the programs you get on Showtime, even Eastenders is only 2 weeks behind and Doc Martin only 24 hours behind. At the moment we are halfway through CBB, just seen Sophie, Bruce and Dustin given the axe.

Everynight Monday to Friday, between 8pm and 10pm there is the usual Drama night with 2 hours of Poirot, Marples, Lewis and Doc Martin, so we get plenty of the entertaining programs, to relax to at night. 10pm Bedtime so cannot tell you whats on after that. You know, Early to bed, Early to rise--------

While writing this watching Antiques Roadshow, before that Cash in the Attic and Bargain Hunt, but a great little program to watch is Greatest Motorcycle Rides, introduced by Henry Cole, he has just completed the John o Groats to Landsend ride, before that he rode Route 66, The East to West Coast Road of Australia, Norway, Sweden and Finland, and the great Northern and Southern Island of New Zealand, absolutely stunning views and great information.

Not everyone has Showtime, but because we love our Television it has been worth the little extra in fee's, and we would spend more than that going out every night.

[Ruby Slippers]

DH is an avid watcher of Masterchef - but none of the dishes have yet to appear from my kitchen!

ps. He did make an extremely tasty fish pie yesterday, though!