Economy Gastronomy - new budget cookery programme; BBC

mama67

I have now made the Macaroni Cheese recipe twice, both times i've used value penne pasta rather than macaroni, I also subbed the artichokes for mushrooms and used streaky bacon instead of lardons, but the suace i made as directed and did the tomato/herb/cheese topping as per the recipe.

I had some peas and sweetcorn leftover from last nights tea so that went in as well today, it was great both times, Dh doesn't like pasta bake but loves this, so it is a keeper on our menu plan.

I even adapted the cheese sauce for cauliflower cheese the other day and put some wholegrain mustard in everyone loved it.

We have had it today as a late lunch early dinner as the boys have activities tonight so wouldn't normally eat until gone 9pm, but aswe are all here did it as a family meal instead.

Essex-girl_2

I am trying to keep my grocery budget under £75 per week at the moment due to an extremely large tax bill and my business suffering in the recession. I easily spent over £100 before and I am a good cook (dont mean to sound big headed just a fact). However if things do get better I will probably spend more again not on things like ready meals but on better meat, more meat, fish and seafood.

I am enjoying Economy Gastronomy as a cookery programme like I enjoy Nigella, Market Kitchen Nigel Slater etc etc but I cant believe some of the comments on this thread.

Some of you lot should go to my DD's school - I felt like banging my head against a brick wall when she was made to make things like Summer Fruit Gateaux in winter for food technology - that cost us over £5. Seasonal fruit and veg wasnt considered apparantly they just had to follow the curriculum. So I am not going to moan at the BBC for not being more thrifty when our schools wont even consider it. Luckily she has not chosen it as one of her options & she will be educated in cooking at home.

I have completely changed my cooking & purchasing now. I used to quite happily buy strawberries & runner beans in winter but thanks to this site I have now seen the error of my ways. To me the families in these programmes have all shown some positive results, I have spent an hour watching an enjoyable programme & been inspired by some new (to me) recipes - as Jamie Oliver would say - Happy Days

zippychick

mama67 wrote: »

I have now made the Macaroni Cheese recipe twice, both times i've used value penne pasta rather than macaroni, I also subbed the artichokes for mushrooms and used streaky bacon instead of lardons, but the suace i made as directed and did the tomato/herb/cheese topping as per the recipe.

I had some peas and sweetcorn leftover from last nights tea so that went in as well today, it was great both times, Dh doesn't like pasta bake but loves this, so it is a keeper on our menu plan.

I even adapted the cheese sauce for cauliflower cheese the other day and put some wholegrain mustard in everyone loved it.

We have had it today as a late lunch early dinner as the boys have activities tonight so wouldn't normally eat until gone 9pm, but aswe are all here did it as a family meal instead.

That's really nice to hear actually.:T

The thing that puts me off making the mac cheese is i would only ever have cheddar in. Do you think that would not be as nice or too rich? Any ideas? I wouldnt put bacon in (well wouldnt go out of my way to use it), but its good to knwo sweetcorn and peas goes. I made that myself one day from a pot - experimental. Was my first attempt at cheese sauce, and boy was i proud of myself.:D (white sauce is scary to first make - if you havent ever been taught to make it , before anyone tells me how easy it is to make)

(see what I did there, i took the recipe and am tring to adapt it OS style ) I do always have natural yoghurt in, but not much other dairy stuff - dont think it would be any use though?

attentionseeker1

MrsE wrote: »

I buy it in Tesco when its half price.

Whenever I buy fishcakes they seem a bit wet, I think I need flourier potatos.

I use Delia's salmon fishcakes recipe and it always works for me- no breadcrumbs etc. If the mixture ever seems a bit wet then I make it up into the fishcakes and then chill them in the fridge for half an hour to firm up. Then when you fry them on a decent temperature, they don't break up they just go golden and firm.

zippychick

Essex-girl wrote: »

I am enjoying Economy Gastronomy as a cookery programme like I enjoy Nigella, Market Kitchen Nigel Slater etc etc but I cant believe some of the comments on this thread.

yes, me either. I just remembered the comments about Allegras weight earlier. I have never read such a silly insensitive comment in all my life. Didn't someone state they wouldn't take advice from her as she carries a few extra pounds? Totally insulting, unecessary, and very catty if you ask me. :mad:

How many of us great cooks actually enjoy our own cooking a bit too much?

zippychick

attentionseeker1 wrote: »

I use Delia's salmon fishcakes recipe and it always works for me- no breadcrumbs etc. If the mixture ever seems a bit wet then I make it up into the fishcakes and then chill them in the fridge for half an hour to firm up. Then when you fry them on a decent temperature, they don't break up they just go golden and firm.

i'm not big on fish. Has anyone ever made "chicken cakes?" :rotfl:

raphanius

What rules?

the rules that say chefs shouldnt show off making impossible desserts on programmes aimed at home cooks and omit it from the book because it is obviously beyond any of us.

blueberrypie

rosieben wrote: »

I only meant that they seemed to be using up cheese for the sake of illustrating the 'use up what you've got' theme when in fact cheese will last till next week or the week after in the fridge; in actual fact I doubt he used much of the cheese in the recipe he subsequently made but saying things like that is misleading for those who are just trying to find their way with budgetting; all in all I'm enjoying the programme and I think its getting some good messages across.

We should all also bear in mind that editing can dramatically change how something comes across - it might well have been the case that he added "cheese stays good for ages, of course, or you can freeze it, but since you've got so much we'll add some of it into this dish", but that only the first few words avoided the cutting-room floor.

mama67

zippychick wrote: »

That's really nice to hear actually.:T

The thing that puts me off making the mac cheese is i would only ever have cheddar in. Do you think that would not be as nice or too rich? Any ideas? I wouldnt put bacon in (well wouldnt go out of my way to use it), but its good to knwo sweetcorn and peas goes. I made that myself one day from a pot - experimental. Was my first attempt at cheese sauce, and boy was i proud of myself.:D (white sauce is scary to first make - if you havent ever been taught to make it , before anyone tells me how easy it is to make)

(see what I did there, i took the recipe and am tring to adapt it OS style ) I do always have natural yoghurt in, but not much other dairy stuff - dont think it would be any use though?

I use strong white cheddar in the sauce but did use parmesan on top, I suppose you could use cheddar on top, it might just be a bit more stringy.

We always have parmesan in so it isn't a problem for me.

I think basically it is a recipe which will be fairly forgiving on substitutions, if I had broccoli or green beans I would have put those in as well.

I usually make my white sauce by warming my milk first then adding the butter then whisking in the flour and if need be I blitz it with the whizz stick.

Oh also forgot I din't take the garlic clove out either it was just blitzed in.

hth

Isis_Black

anything that uses wine though, what can be used in its place?
we dont drink wine as i am not allowed to due to meds, dont drink it anyway so how can we replace it??!!