Ok, i just get so nervous with these things.

oooo yeah. tandoori...oh baby

that's good stuff.

Think about it like your doin something very cool for your friends and there gonna appreciate what ya doin. Dont think of it as hard work or a chore.
Its awesome that you do wanna cook for your friends. Tho they may make you cook for them often hehe.

i know the perfect desert but if you do choose to make it then i suggest you ask cheebs and spal to give you some ideas to make it look nice.

Get about 15 large cooking apples (they must be large) and take the core out. In each one fill the little tunnel made by the core being removed with blackberries or strawberries. It doesnt matter about them being squashed infact that's usually a good thing. Put them in the oven for 5-10 minutes on medium heat (just enough to make them nice and warm.) Try not to leave them in there long enough for the apples to split. Take them out and cut them in half. Make sure you serve them hot and for extra enjoyment pour vanilla custard all over them.

It may not sound that nice but it's an old family recipe and everybody i know who has tried it has loved it.

That actually sounds tasty..But what you could do it not leave them whole but cut them in half and put the berrys on them. Chuck a lil mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and caster sugar and throw that on top before baking...MMmmmm thats making me hungry now.

AH YES! That does sound tasty. I never made a baked apple thing but have always wanted to. I read about one version where you put the apples in a deep dish and then pour ginger ale around them up to about a half inch or so, and then cook them in the ginger ale until they become gingery. Doesn't that sound yommy

Fuck yeah, ginger is the shit.
I reckon ginger beer might work better there though, usually more full bodied and concentrated in flavour than the ales.


Pink, just writing up recipes for you now, with a few additional suggestions, I'll have 'em to you sometime (my) tommorow.

mmmm..ginger.
Ginger and carrots go so well together. I want to try this sweet carrot dish. Basically its carrots, ginger, honey and mint.

this is quick and easy, i whippe dit up on Saturday because my mother in law and grand mother in law ended up having dinner with us unexpectedly (they were going to have to fend for themseleves when Bree and I went out to dinner with her sister, but she didnt show.... :mad: )

Good, old fashioned Meat loaf

ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (96% fat free. 1 lb fed 4 people. You could scale up from there)
worcestshire sauce
beer
whole shallot (small)
onion powder
paprika
1 egg
cider vinegar
kosher salt
black pepper
freash sage (just a little)
fresh thyme
1 slice of bread (ripped into small pieces then finely chopped)
a tiny bit of hot sauce,

dice the shallot into tiny pieces, add all of the dry ingredients (just a few shakes of onion powder, salt, pepper, etc) no more than a splash or two of any of the liquid ingredients. mix thouroughly, but dont over mix. It comes out weird if you do. PLace some bay leaves on the top and bake for about an hour and 15 minutes, for an internal temp of 160 f. OR, if you are pressed for time (like i was), spread it out in the bottom of a cast-iron skillet and bake it like a fritata. takes about 20-30 minutes that way.


Mashed potatoes:

these are easy, clean and dice 4 to 8 potatoes. put them in a steamer and shake some garlic salt and grind some pepper over the top. I like to smash and chop 1 to 3 cloves of garlic and scrape it onto the taters. steam until the pieces are soft enough to poke easily with a fork, and they pull apart if you twist it. dump the water, pour the potatoes into the pot, add a few tablespoons of butter (or your favorite butter substitute), and some milk (maybe a quarter to half of a cup) and mash them with a potato masher (you have one, right?), until nice and smooth. Server with butter. Add salt and/or garlic to taste.

that sounds good. we should call this the yum yum thread.