Reverse Meal Planning

joedenise

I love cornichons but can't stand the big gherkins.  

I'm making a lentil shepherds pie tonight.  Will be cooking them with some carrots and celery which need using up.  The stock will be made from LO whizzed up onion soup from lunchtime which I've watered down a bit so it's not too thick for a bit of extra flavour.

Rowan9

Made two pots of soup. Tea will be soup plus a cobble together of what needs using - left over rice, mashed potato (both small portions), cooked broccoli and some feta. Thinking of bubbie and squeak type thing with an egg and the feta on top. Just for me. Easily pleased!

VALM

Pyxis said:

-taff said:

I thought cornichons were gherkins, just picked smaller?

Yes, smaller, but I believe that it’s also the way they are pickled that is different, cornichons being traditionally pickled with dill, whereas gherkins didn’t have dill.

It might all be different now, though, with ‘cornichons’ just referring to the size?

Is this what Americans refer to as dill pickle, then?

rtandon27

On the subject of pickles...
The other day the gardener (he comes with the rented property - lol) mentioned he had a craving for a pickle and cheese sandwich and could not find a jar of it in the supermarket...
...so there was me, the one from across the pond, who proudly ran in to the house and brought him out a jar of baby pickles (cornichons)...
...he took one look at it and burst into laughter...
...the OH had to channel his inner english-to-english translator and explain to me he meant branst0n pickle!
(don't worry ladies, we were all at an appropriate distance, more than 2 metres away from each other!)

-taff

Their dill pickles are enormous though, more like mini cucumbers than the size of gherkins or cornichons

rtandon27

LOL - North Americans tend to call any cucumber preserved in vinegar a pickle!  These are my favourite 'across the pond' brand! 15 different kinds! 😁
(my mouth is now watering - might have to open up that jar the gardener turned down!)

Spendless

Nothing cooked today apart from breakfast this morning (sausage sandwiches for us, scrambled egg on toast for DD).
This is because we had some fantastc news. Earlier this year DD auditioned for National Youth Thetre (NYT) for the first time. Around 5,000 apply for 500 places. Some famous people have started out with them eg Helen Mirren, Matt Smith (Dr Who) David Walliams, Catherine Tate. Anyway an email confirmed she'd got in. 

So if things had been normal we'd have gone out to eat. Instead we did chippy tea, as our local re-opened recently - one in at a time, perspex screen.
Tomorrow the task is to clear out of the freezer all the oddments including things DH keeps buying because #they're vegetarian with no thought to does DD like the stuff (no duck rolls come to mind - you can tell it's usually me who shops!). I've also got a cake mix to use. It was bought for DD's 17th birthday not long into lockdown when the shelves were bare and no flour to be had but we got  her a cake at the last minute. These will all be used for a 'buffet style' party for the BH on Friday

Suffolk_lass

Pyxis said:

-taff said:

I thought cornichons were gherkins, just picked smaller?

Yes, smaller, but I believe that it’s also the way they are pickled that is different, cornichons being traditionally pickled with dill, whereas gherkins didn’t have dill.

It might all be different now, though, with ‘cornichons’ just referring to the size?

It's also all about size and where you are, and what your pickle recipe is. Guerkins is the English name for pickled cucumbers and Wallys is the jar of pickled cucumbers typically on the counter in the F&C shop, alongside the pickled eggs). Americans call them dill pickles, with spears, chips and whole versions.

Cornichons are the French much smaller pickled cucumbers (used in tartare sauce recipes, among other delicious recipes). There are some specific small cucumbers that are used for cornichons - typically 1½ -2 inches long with nubbly bits on the skins. If allowed to grow to maturity they grow spiky bits. The varieties include fin de meaux cucumbers (but I think there are a couple of others). They can be sweet or sour pickled. The dill recipe is the sweet one, I think.  
Sweet - tarragon, shallot, garlic, a small hot chili pepper, black peppercorns, yellow & brown mustard seeds, salt, sugar, dill, and white vinegar
Sour - is salt, vinegar and mustard seeds.

OK other varieties grown for cornichons are Parisienne Cornichon de Bourbonne Cucumbers, and Parigno Cornichon pickling cucumbers.

Suffolk_lass

I can recommend using the inner leaves of cauliflower, steamed with the florets, it goes really well in cauliflower cheese. We added savoy cabbage from one we received as a gift in return for some seedlings I gave away. It was really yummy with chilli flakes from the grinder as well as black pepper.

I eat two strips of chocolate from the huge bar DS bought us and everything is a bit creaky and achy this morning. That will teach me to be greedy!

Pyxis

rtandon27 said:

On the subject of pickles...
The other day the gardener (he comes with the rented property - lol) mentioned he had a craving for a pickle and cheese sandwich and could not find a jar of it in the supermarket...
...so there was me, the one from across the pond, who proudly ran in to the house and brought him out a jar of baby pickles (cornichons)...
...he took one look at it and burst into laughter...
...the OH had to channel his inner english-to-english translator and explain to me he meant branst0n pickle!
(don't worry ladies, we were all at an appropriate distance, more than 2 metres away from each other!)

It could have been worse..... you could have told him you like his pants! 😂😂😂😂😂😂


Or his suspenders! 😂😂😂😂😂😂