The Art of Cooking and Drinking: A Conversation with Friends

As we sat around the table, savoring our delicious dinner, the conversation turned to cooking and drinking. The topic was approached from different angles, but one thing was clear - both were passions that brought people together.

One of us mentioned that when it came to beef, especially after three days of bringing it over, now was the right time to cook it. "It should be colder and harder than Ben's," someone said with a chuckle. This sparked a discussion about cooking techniques and the importance of timing in preparing a perfect meal.

A suggested method involved taking a carrot, a leap, an onion, roughly chopped with some garlic, and a bay leaf, all chucked into a pan to be boiled for 4 to 5 hours. The idea was to cook it gently, like a little boil, rather than a full-on boil. This approach allowed the flavors to meld together without overcooking the meat.

As we explored other flavors within this ruben of ingredients, someone mentioned that sauerkraut was a key component. "It's just like SRA," they said with a laugh. Another ingredient was Russian dressing, which added a tangy and creamy element to the dish. This sparked a discussion about the importance of condiments in food and drink.

Someone had attempted to make their own Russian dressing, using ingredients such as pickle relish, mayonnaise, Tabasco, ketchup, vinegar, chives, parsley, capers, and pickles. The result was a delicious and tangy sauce that paired perfectly with the salt beef.

The conversation then shifted to sandwiches, specifically the classic Reuben. A suggested recipe involved thinly slicing red cabbage, white cabbage, carrots, and two red apples, before chopping up some fresh parsley. Adding lemon juice, mayonnaise, and seasonings completed the ingredients list. Rye bread was toasted with melted butter and topped with a generous helping of salt beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and dill pickles.

As we enjoyed our meal, someone asked if they could create their own cocktail. The suggestion was to use Guinness as the base, combining it with black currant liqueur and a splash of cream for a creamy texture. After some debate, the name "Thirsty Horse" was chosen for this unique drink.

Another suggestion involved combining whiskey with Spiced Rum, ginger ale or beer, and orange peel for a twist on the classic old-fashioned cocktail. This idea sparked a discussion about flavor combinations and experimentation in cooking and drinking.

Finally, someone mentioned that salty caramel had become a popular ingredient in drinks, particularly in cocktails. The suggestion was to combine this sweet and salty flavor with something old-fashioned like gin or vodka, using ingredients such as rhubarb, apple, thyme, and lemon for added depth.

As the evening drew to a close, it was clear that cooking and drinking were passions that brought people together. Whether it was experimenting with new recipes, trying out unique flavors, or simply enjoying good company and conversation, there was no shortage of topics to discuss around the table.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enright so we have our Siders for the big night in we sure do and tonight we are having a Reuben now I've actually had one of those uh street food Cen garden and it was amazing So Jamie spafford and Ben eel you better up your game this better be good staying in is the new going out but only if you've got great food and jates with you unfortunately we don't have any other friends but the food is incredible in each of these episodes two of us cook up something awesome to share and to Kickstart Our Big Night in I going to give you my Reuben and you're going to love it I can't wait for it oh that is a good sandwich what you have in front of you a Reuben sandwich on rye bread with purple SLO M MH M wow I've got to be honest with you I'm so glad you've appreciated that sandwich cuz it's taken 4 days to make it we kid you not how four days we need to start with um with the beef you need to salt the beef to sort your beef first of all rewind 3 days and then start it does take a while a minimum of 2 days up to a week in a brine to make the brine Place coarse sea salt into 2 L of water and then add brown sugar and your spices peppercorns faay leaves ground coriander cloves and ground ginger heat the whole thing up until it all dissolves and then cool it right down again that definitely sounded like Ben was a 65y old man trying to go for a week not fair oh and Jay you know I said Grand coriander y I meant coriander seeds brilliant Autumn winter spring summer what would you call them quarters of the year or Seasons Seasons which is why Lauren wants to know what are the best things to use to season your food right genous I see um well obviously salt we put an awful lot in here pepper pepper we've also put Peppercorns in Sugar you can season things with also Citrus so a squeeze of lemon juice or lime can help to really season something because I suppose I don't really know the difference between season your food and flavor your food you're adding seasoning or adding flavor yes seasoning I find is about balance and adding things to bring out other flavors you can add sugar to bring out other flavors if you add sugar into vanilla and cream it tastes much more vanillary than actually just vanilla and cream uhhuh with the brine made and cooled the next step is to actually salt the beef okay so grab yourself some brisket we've got a kilo here brisket brisket is amazing it needs to be slow cooked but it is a relatively cheap part of a cow from the front end of the cow under the Chuck above the shank it goes into our Brine and needs to make sure it is completely submerged and kept in a cool place a fridge or an ouse what who has an ous well not everyone can get a huge vat of salt in yes so instead they're going to buy an OU housee see you haven't noticed the last few days toilet from Victorian was a lumberjack and lived in the middle of a forest with no one around the ouse that I would use to to go to the the bath that one or the one just left at the kitchen I left this in to keep it nice and cool for the last 3 days where it's alled you have an out house do I have an out house I think that's a utility room no you take it to the stable boys quarty after 3 days of brining your beef should be colder and harder than Ben's so and now is the right time to cook it so we're going to take a carrot a leap and onion roughly Cho them with some garlic and a bay Lea Chuck them into a pan and boil your beef for 4 to 5 hours yeah very gently just a simmer it's like a little boil like a little boil like a spot I'm going to explore the other flavors within this rubben of which there are multiple explore explore well I can see a I can see a girkin there is I can see some oh that is like sauerkraut it's just like s just like SRA is it sauerkraut M no the talents on the taste buds tongue talents talents in the tongue the taste bud sour crout is really good especially with like this type of meat isn't it it's and there is a sauce the thing with the reuben sandwich is aside from the salt beef it needs lots of other components and this is one of them Russian dressing I love it what do you think I've not seen many Russians dressing but that is a really good one and it's very easy to make although it needs lots of things I'm going to try and remember porse radish tomato ketchup Tabasco wora sauce cider vinegar fresh chives and fresh parsley missed one mix it all together and it tastes amazing you missed one stir love did you have any Capers any fun times any belly just theal pickles LOL and because I know that Jamie is King of the SLO and that you were at our table we went for this one the purple SLO could not be easy all you have to do is finally slice up red cabbage white cabbage cut into fine zulian or great a carrot and two red apples chop up some parsley a squeeze of lemon juice 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and season well but the construction is the key cuz once you got all the elements you then need to grab yourself some rye bread SL on the Russian dressing salt beef plenty of it sauerkraut got the Swiss cheese that melts and ooes we've got dill pickles in there another lid butter the outside with melted butter and then cook in the pan so a dry pan but the Butter's on the bread it goes crispy it warms it through nicely toasted job done Ben's enjoyed it so much that we're not going to get any cutaways of him eating it now I'm reaching into my pocket pulling out question a phone phone and the question is from Eugenia if you could create your own cocktail what would you put in it and what would you call it I'm sorry for adhering to The Stereotype I would go for a Guinness based cocktail cuz I don't feel like there's one already now Guinness and black is already a good combination so surely stick a little bit Guinness in there with some black currant lure of some sort and you only need one more ingredient to actually make it yeah so I only need three now if I add some sort of cream if I were to add Bailey's sticking with the Irish it would I would call that and after that reaction I'm going to call it the Thirsty Horse I would say whiskey Spiced Rum ginger ale or beer ale and probably some orange peel so it's kind of like an oldfashioned but I think with a Twist of um Spiced Rum yeah and a Twist of Ginger what I think you're getting there is a like Flavor a flal twisty a twisty Clementine which I'm which I'm going to call the James Curry nice Scottish Ginger with a Twist Barry over to you what is everybody raving about at the moment that you you just see absolutely everywhere in all shops they B salty caramel oh yes I can't think of a drink that has salty caramel in it caram so maybe combining s of caramel with something old fashioned like I don't know a martini or something I I'll have a experiment okay go bener um well obviously Jin and I've had a bit of time to think about this so I've gone just for my favorite ingredients gin I like it a little bit tart a little bit sour it's almost like a gin it's like um fruity rhubarb maybe maybe cloudy apple and some thyme so it's like Fruity Savory kick of gin over ice maybe over slushy I don't know and it's called a rubab Grumble that's the one I'm glad you're here a r gumbo yeah you know what our next night in we should just make our own drinks and yeah nice hey I've got a question okay is there any more of this left s be yeah we cook the kright so we have our Siders for the big night in we sure do and tonight we are having a Reuben now I've actually had one of those uh street food Cen garden and it was amazing So Jamie spafford and Ben eel you better up your game this better be good staying in is the new going out but only if you've got great food and jates with you unfortunately we don't have any other friends but the food is incredible in each of these episodes two of us cook up something awesome to share and to Kickstart Our Big Night in I going to give you my Reuben and you're going to love it I can't wait for it oh that is a good sandwich what you have in front of you a Reuben sandwich on rye bread with purple SLO M MH M wow I've got to be honest with you I'm so glad you've appreciated that sandwich cuz it's taken 4 days to make it we kid you not how four days we need to start with um with the beef you need to salt the beef to sort your beef first of all rewind 3 days and then start it does take a while a minimum of 2 days up to a week in a brine to make the brine Place coarse sea salt into 2 L of water and then add brown sugar and your spices peppercorns faay leaves ground coriander cloves and ground ginger heat the whole thing up until it all dissolves and then cool it right down again that definitely sounded like Ben was a 65y old man trying to go for a week not fair oh and Jay you know I said Grand coriander y I meant coriander seeds brilliant Autumn winter spring summer what would you call them quarters of the year or Seasons Seasons which is why Lauren wants to know what are the best things to use to season your food right genous I see um well obviously salt we put an awful lot in here pepper pepper we've also put Peppercorns in Sugar you can season things with also Citrus so a squeeze of lemon juice or lime can help to really season something because I suppose I don't really know the difference between season your food and flavor your food you're adding seasoning or adding flavor yes seasoning I find is about balance and adding things to bring out other flavors you can add sugar to bring out other flavors if you add sugar into vanilla and cream it tastes much more vanillary than actually just vanilla and cream uhhuh with the brine made and cooled the next step is to actually salt the beef okay so grab yourself some brisket we've got a kilo here brisket brisket is amazing it needs to be slow cooked but it is a relatively cheap part of a cow from the front end of the cow under the Chuck above the shank it goes into our Brine and needs to make sure it is completely submerged and kept in a cool place a fridge or an ouse what who has an ous well not everyone can get a huge vat of salt in yes so instead they're going to buy an OU housee see you haven't noticed the last few days toilet from Victorian was a lumberjack and lived in the middle of a forest with no one around the ouse that I would use to to go to the the bath that one or the one just left at the kitchen I left this in to keep it nice and cool for the last 3 days where it's alled you have an out house do I have an out house I think that's a utility room no you take it to the stable boys quarty after 3 days of brining your beef should be colder and harder than Ben's so and now is the right time to cook it so we're going to take a carrot a leap and onion roughly Cho them with some garlic and a bay Lea Chuck them into a pan and boil your beef for 4 to 5 hours yeah very gently just a simmer it's like a little boil like a little boil like a spot I'm going to explore the other flavors within this rubben of which there are multiple explore explore well I can see a I can see a girkin there is I can see some oh that is like sauerkraut it's just like s just like SRA is it sauerkraut M no the talents on the taste buds tongue talents talents in the tongue the taste bud sour crout is really good especially with like this type of meat isn't it it's and there is a sauce the thing with the reuben sandwich is aside from the salt beef it needs lots of other components and this is one of them Russian dressing I love it what do you think I've not seen many Russians dressing but that is a really good one and it's very easy to make although it needs lots of things I'm going to try and remember porse radish tomato ketchup Tabasco wora sauce cider vinegar fresh chives and fresh parsley missed one mix it all together and it tastes amazing you missed one stir love did you have any Capers any fun times any belly just theal pickles LOL and because I know that Jamie is King of the SLO and that you were at our table we went for this one the purple SLO could not be easy all you have to do is finally slice up red cabbage white cabbage cut into fine zulian or great a carrot and two red apples chop up some parsley a squeeze of lemon juice 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and season well but the construction is the key cuz once you got all the elements you then need to grab yourself some rye bread SL on the Russian dressing salt beef plenty of it sauerkraut got the Swiss cheese that melts and ooes we've got dill pickles in there another lid butter the outside with melted butter and then cook in the pan so a dry pan but the Butter's on the bread it goes crispy it warms it through nicely toasted job done Ben's enjoyed it so much that we're not going to get any cutaways of him eating it now I'm reaching into my pocket pulling out question a phone phone and the question is from Eugenia if you could create your own cocktail what would you put in it and what would you call it I'm sorry for adhering to The Stereotype I would go for a Guinness based cocktail cuz I don't feel like there's one already now Guinness and black is already a good combination so surely stick a little bit Guinness in there with some black currant lure of some sort and you only need one more ingredient to actually make it yeah so I only need three now if I add some sort of cream if I were to add Bailey's sticking with the Irish it would I would call that and after that reaction I'm going to call it the Thirsty Horse I would say whiskey Spiced Rum ginger ale or beer ale and probably some orange peel so it's kind of like an oldfashioned but I think with a Twist of um Spiced Rum yeah and a Twist of Ginger what I think you're getting there is a like Flavor a flal twisty a twisty Clementine which I'm which I'm going to call the James Curry nice Scottish Ginger with a Twist Barry over to you what is everybody raving about at the moment that you you just see absolutely everywhere in all shops they B salty caramel oh yes I can't think of a drink that has salty caramel in it caram so maybe combining s of caramel with something old fashioned like I don't know a martini or something I I'll have a experiment okay go bener um well obviously Jin and I've had a bit of time to think about this so I've gone just for my favorite ingredients gin I like it a little bit tart a little bit sour it's almost like a gin it's like um fruity rhubarb maybe maybe cloudy apple and some thyme so it's like Fruity Savory kick of gin over ice maybe over slushy I don't know and it's called a rubab Grumble that's the one I'm glad you're here a r gumbo yeah you know what our next night in we should just make our own drinks and yeah nice hey I've got a question okay is there any more of this left s be yeah we cook the k\n"