Garlic lightly fried with fresh thyme then a ribbeye thrown in with asparagus for a few mins, finished with butter then assembled. Sadly no red wine left in the cupboard so just a butter sauce. Wow.
2 Likes
2 tier lemon drizzle cake for Mrs 50th. Done with paying hundreds for posh cakes, done this with love.
3 Likes
Expensive cakes are one of lifeās mysteries to me.
My missus got me a cake with a photo of me and the dog on it for my birthday. It cost a fortune, the picture quality wasnāt great, and Iād have been happier with a cheap photo in a frame and a costco carrot cake. Feigning excitement for that was one challenge I was not up to.
Baking cakes is easy, much better to do it yourself.
1 Like
The cost on expensive cakes primarily comes from the elaborate decoration, something for which the skill does scale pretty well with the cost. This explains the new trend with weddings for fake cakes - a low cost model that looks like a real cake, with one small section that is real and can be used for the ceremonial cutting. After that it gets wheeled away to the back room to be discarded while the staff cut up a normal priced sheet cake to serve to guests without them knowing a thing.
It saves 100s of $ and eliminates one of the big risks for the day.
I had my partnerās parents over here for thanksgiving the other week. They are used to hosting so this was the first time in decades theyāve ceded responsibility for putting dinner on the table so was a bit stressful for all parties. It turned out great though.
5 Likes
No, put in the cake companiesā van and used the next day / next wedding fair.
Birthday coming up on Friday, going to cook my favorite, which is surf and turf.
When we were out in San Francisco a few years ago, I remembered eating a crab at Fishermanās Wharf and it was delicious. I couldnāt remember what it was so looked it up. Dungeness Crab. Which is a Pacific Northwest specialty, apparently.
I ordered some online. There were different options - whole crabs or clusters, and I went for the clusters as it seemed meatier and less faffing about. The plan is to take the day off on Friday, steam loads of crab legs, and make clarified butter/garlic to dip the delicious crab meat into. It will go down a treat with a nice chilled bottle of wine.
Later in the day I will cook steaks. Iām going to go shopping for them, as Iām pretty picky and need to see them.
3 Likes
my niece finished 4th.
1 Like
Happy birthday fella!
not that I eat a lot of seafood (strange considering where i live) but Iāve always found crab a pain in the ass. prefer large prawn (spot prawn are amazing). Good choice on the birthday dinner, whatās your favorite birthday cut? I donāt eat a lot of red meat either (usually roasts by my dad), but on a special occasion Iāll grab a full strip loin from Costco and cut it into 1.5" thick steaks and sear on BBQ and let rest. take the drippings and make a red wine peppercorn gravy (cheater method using Costco Trio brown gravy mix as you donāt have a lot of time) and a side of oven roasted yukon gold nugget potatoes and a caesar salad.
did I mention Iām a few weeks away from my own birthday? wheels are turning 
2 Likes
For anyone who has never tried Bavette Steakā¦ Also known as the butchers cut (the one they keep back for themselves)ā¦ it might be worth giving it a try 
itās a section of flank steak. if you want to try something nice, look at a bistecca all fiorentina. tough to find a porterhouse that size but it feeds a whole family
1 Like
Just watched this Sā¦ Think I will work through my freezer over the coming weeks then try this one out
He belts out arias and recites Dante while serving the best meat in Tuscany. The eighth-generation butcher Dario Cecchini adores bistecca alla fiorentina, a thick steak of Chianina beef, the largest breed of cattle in the world. He serves it at his restaurant-cum-butcherās in Panazano, Tuscany, where he puts on a rustic show for hungry guests from all over the world, who come to see the famous butcher in action. He believes in using every part of the animal and showcasing regional products and recipes.
1 Like
happy birthday Mrs Klopptimist!
1 Like
Went for prime Delmonico Ribeyes, 1.5 inches thick. Gonna need to spread it out. Crab legs for lunch, steaks for dinner, with asparagus and mixture of sautƩed mushrooms. Got a decent collection of wine from various wine clubs, 100+ bottles in the cellar. Nice lazy day coming up, good eats, wine, footy, both have the day off. Cheers!
4 Likes
Happy Birthday Mrs @Klopptimist you deserve that cake 
Happy birthday @RedOverTheWater .
2 Likes
For anyone that lives in and around Liverpool, I recommend Argentinian meet steakhouse just off the Waterfront for the best steaks.
Went there for work Christmas dinner last week and the 16oz Ribeye I had almost took up the whole plateā¦blue cheese sauce was unreal, caramel brownie was finished in 2 spoons, well mannered Spanish waitresses and easy on the eye.
What more could you ask for?
1 Like
Me and two colleagues went into a steakhouse in Porto onceā¦ real authentic Gaucho looking place it was, and as one of the guys spoke a little bit of Portugese, me and the other guy left it to him to deal with the waiterā¦ With lots of hand gestures and playing charades with the waiter for 10minutes the guy orders his meal - some t-bone type of steak for himself - and orders some sirloin type flat steak for usā¦
Best steak meal I ever tasted says me as we are walking back to our hotelā¦ so juicy, tender and flavoursome, which was agreed upon by the non broken Portugese speaking colleague of mineā¦ Looking at the guy who was earlier playing charades, which we thought he somewhat enjoyed too much because he suddenly started tapping his backside with one hand while holding an imaginary set of reins with the otherā¦ and nodding his head at the same time - like we all did at some time as kids in the playground if we wanted to get somewhere fast - "What the f** you doing"* says my sirloin eating companion to this T-bone ordering guyā¦ ācanāt you guessā he saysā¦ āthink of Red Rum as a clueā.ā¦
āNo I canāt Fāing guess says the sirloin guy, or it better no be what I think it is you meanāā¦ āWell you both just said you enjoyed it, so donāt start moaning about it nowā with the biggest grin ever on his faceā¦
So ladies and gentlemen and anyone else, to this day nearly 30yrs later, I still canāt confirm to my horror of horrors, whether I ate Red Rum or one of his relatives that fateful day or not - because the b***ard who did the ordering, still wonāt confirm or deny what it was he ordered for us 
2 Likes