Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 50

My first recipe of the week was a much needed pick-me-up for the evening following our work Christmas parties (without fail every year my party is the same night as hubby’s), and with us both feeling decidedly worse for wear I figured the best option was curry. I was quite impressed that we didn’t feel worse to be honest but the overriding feeling was one of sheer exhaustion, so after a mid-afternoon snooze I felt ready to tackle the evening meal. I chose Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry from Sarah Raven’s Food for Friends & Family. Luckily it was fairly straightforward and even in my sorry state I was still able to hack up a cauliflower and chuck it in a pot with some spices and create a very tasty dish. I did cook it for slightly longer than it said because when I checked the cauliflower was still retaining too much bite, but that was ok since it gave me time for another quick nap. The spices weren’t overly hot but gave a really nice flavour to the cauliflower and together with the chickpeas made a very substantial vegetarian curry; I served it with naan bread to mop up all the delicious juices.

It turned out to be a very curry oriented week as my next dish was Keema from Nigella’s Feast, although I did allow a few days between curries. I love lamb, peas and curry so this was always going to be a winning recipe for me, the spices smelt wonderful as I added them to the pan and created a really lovely aroma in the kitchen. The overall heat from the finished dish probably good have done with a bit more of a kick but the actual flavour was delicious and served with some basmati rice it was the perfect end to a chilly winters day.

My third and final new recipe of the week was a Southern Sausage Stew from Jamie’s America, another spicy dish and this one seemed to have inherited the heat from the Keema earlier in the week, boy was it a hot one! With an abundance of paprika and cayenne pepper this was a rich and spicy stew filled with peppers and big meaty sausages. I served it with plain rice which was great to soak up the lovely thick sauce, and also to provide a bit of relief from the spicy hit that came with every mouthful. I think if I were to make it again I might just tone down the spice a bit, but other than that I think it was a very nice midweek meal.

Oh and look what my lovely husband bought for me this week, meet Jacques the Snowman, from Maison Blanc...

Recipe Count: 163
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 49

I have been meaning to make a pumpkin pie for the past few years but have always been too busy with Christmas prep to even think about it when Thanksgiving came around, however this year I was determined to give it a go (especially considering I did actually taste some last year at my neighbours’ and it was very tasty). So armed with a recipe taken from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook I set about a day of pie making (I was also knocking up a chicken and tarragon pie from my leftover slow-cooking efforts). I really didn’t think much to the pastry at all and ended up ditching it in favour of my second lot of pastry as I just couldn’t work with it at all, but once I switched I had the tin lined in no time ready for the pumpkin mixture. I left it in slightly longer than specified because it had just a little bit too much wobble for my liking. Once it was out and cooled I sprinkled the top with a mixture of icing sugar and cinnamon. When it came to pudding time I was glad to see that it cut well and there was no sign of a soggy bottom – Mary Berry would be pleased! The filling was set nicely and the spices really cut through the flavour of the pumpkin. 

 

My other new recipe of the week was Cantonese-Style Sweet & Sour Pork from Ching's Chinese Food in Minutes, a dish that I kept coming back to look at but never got around to making – probably because I’m not a massive fan of deep fried food. I think the batter might not have been thick enough as it didn’t coat the pork as I would have liked, and consequently did not quite have the crispy coating when cooked, it may have been because I used a large egg and the ratio to corn flour was not quite right. Regardless of that the pork was still very tender and the sweet and sour sauce was nice, and thick enough to coat the vegetables and pork well. I served it with plain rice which soaked up all the juices nicely, I think I’ll do this again in future and try and get the batter right as I’m sure it would be a lot better with a nice crispy coating on the pork.

Recipe Count: 160
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 48

As in recent weeks I wanted to begin the week with a spot of baking, but also to keep it cheap and cheerful so I was limited to what I already had in the cupboards – flapjack was the obvious answer so I made the recipe from Delia’s Cakes. After checking with hubby precisely how he liked his flapjack cooked, crunchy or chewy, I followed the recipe with the full quantity of butter thrown in. I love how easy they are to make, no creaming of the butter and sugar, just melt, mix and bake! I couldn’t decide whether or not to dip them in chocolate but with the acquisition of some mince pies (just for research you understand, they are supposedly the best ones you can buy!) hubby was otherwise distracted so I had some time to mull it over. The following morning I decided that yes why the hell not, let’s push the boat out and cover all that buttery goodness in some chocolate as well. I’m glad I did because that deliciously bitter dark chocolate really does cut through the chewy buttery oats and add a luxurious element to the classic flapjack.

Hubby had been craving a big fat burger for a few days so to prevent him from being lured into a substandard eatery I made Burgers with Spicy Mayo from Jamie’s America for dinner on Saturday night. The perfect thing for a quiet night in, I whipped up the meaty mixture and formed into six satisfyingly big burgers and popped them in the fridge to chill. In the meantime I mixed up the spicy mayo and chopped up the potatoes into wedges and left them to soak, then went and sat down with a nice glass of red wine safe in the knowledge that dinner would be a cinch to complete later on. When the time came all I had to do was to pop the wedges into the oven and then return a while later to griddle the burgers, I also griddled the buns slightly so that they had a little crunch. I layered the burgers with lettuce, spicy mayo, tomatoes and gherkins – the only struggle then was squashing it down enough to be able to take a bite! The slight crunch from the bun was a nice contrast to the soft fillings and the spicy mayo gave a lovely bit of heat, and was also good as a dip for the potato wedges. I made the entire recipe for six burgers so now we have a couple of little food parcels for the freezer – and we shall look forward to another burger in a few weeks.

After the success of last week’s slow cooking I once again cooked dinner at breakfast time and made Braised Beef with Horseradish from the Slow Cooker Cookbook by Catherine Atkinson. Having got the butcher to cut me some nice big braising steaks the previous morning, I quickly seared them in a hot pan and added them to the slow cooker, followed shortly after by the sautéed shallots and chopped carrots. Once everything else was added I switched on the cooker and looked forward to smelling the fruits of my labour for the next few hours. With dinner taken care of there was nothing left to do but write my Christmas cards and wrap all the presents that I’d bought so far, and with my festive jumper squirrelled safely upstairs it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Later on I simply prepared the veg, and served with mash and some green beans this really was the perfect wintery Sunday dinner. The steak just melted when nudged with a fork and went superbly well with the fluffy mashed potato, and there was plenty of sauce to be mopped up so I always make a little bit more mash just in case. This is my first winter with a slow cooker and I’m enjoying it so far, the only difficult bit is deciding what to cook next!

Trofie

My final new recipe of the week was Trofie al Pesto Genovese from The Geometry of Pasta. I must admit that I did commit the cardinal sin of using dried trofie, but as a week night meal I figure that I have a good enough excuse, and it seemed to take me long enough to strip my basil plants off all the leaves in order to make the pesto – ah, but what glorious pesto it was! Even with a couple of basil plants I still only had enough to make about a third of the quantity, but given that particular part of the recipe made enough for ten I was not too concerned. Cooking the pasta and adding the potatoes and green beans for the last five minutes meant that the dish was light on the washing-up too, something hubby is always grateful for. Once cooked all it needed was a spoonful or two of pesto to be stirred through it and it was ready, it couldn’t be simpler. The trofie was just slightly al dente and worked brilliantly with the soft potato and crunchy beans but I think the hero of the dish was definitely the pesto, did I mention it was good? And even with my meagre quantity I still have half of it left which can be safely tucked into the freezer until next time, hurrah!

Recipe Count: 158
New Target: 156

…With a mere four weeks to go I have broken my third target of the year, and this close to the end I don’t think I’ll be setting another one - I'll just see how many more I can cram in. But I have to say I’m pretty pleased with the amount of new recipes I’ve tried this year, for what was a rather flippant New Year’s resolution I’ve done quite well (it’s probably the only one I’ve ever stuck to!).

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 47

Another of my recent acquisitions in the cookbook department was Home Sweet Home from the Hummingbird Bakery, I had resisted it for a long time but when I saw it for the bargain price of five pounds on a certain website my willpower officially ran out. So to justify my new purchase I had to bake something immediately and eventually settled on some Chocolate Truffle Cookies. The recipe doesn’t call for many ingredients so I didn’t even have to buy anything in, and they were exceptionally easy to make – there’s just a resting period of about forty minutes which means you will have to entertain yourself for a while. Once the mixture is chilled you just have to roll into balls, smother them in icing sugar and pop them into the oven on a baking tray. During cooking they will melt down and spread slightly so that you end up with a wonderfully cracked appearance, the dark chocolate colour an amazing contrast to the icing sugar. Just be warned that when you try to eat them you will get a little dusty, but they are definitely worth it!

My second new recipe this week came hot on the heels of the cookies and I was in the kitchen a mere two hours later. My chosen recipe was Gammon Steaks with Parsley from Nigella Express, and I’d bought some lovely big steaks from the butcher that very morning. As the steaks were so enormous I cooked them under the grill instead, there’s no way one was going to fit in my frying pan let alone both of them. I mixed up the sauce and reduced it just the same, adding juices from the gammon along the way. I have to admit that I wasn’t too keen on the smell of the sauce, it seemed very vinegary and didn’t really lose enough of it through the cooking – that said though it didn’t taste too bad once it was plated with the meat and peas so maybe I spoke too soon. Hubby certainly seemed to enjoy it and as a gammon-lover that has to be some kind of an endorsement.

The following day I fired up the slow cooker and made Tarragon Chicken in Cider from the Slow Cooker Cookbook by Catherine Atkinson, a book that was kindly given to me by a lovely friend who knew I was on the lookout for just such a cookbook (I’d previously borrowed books from the library but didn’t have one of my very own). I’d forgotten how nice it was to prepare the evening meal early and smell it cooking throughout the day, venturing out from the ironing room a few hours later I was greeted by the most wonderful smell – I felt like someone else had cooked for me. When the cooking time was nearly up I turned on the pre-prepared potatoes on to boil for the mash and then a bit later some peas. The chicken was so fantastically tender and moist and the sauce was so tasty, and especially good when mopped up with the mashed potato. I made the whole quantity for this recipe so have some portions to pop in the freezer, which I think I might use as a pie filling in a few weeks’ time – I can’t wait! I think the slow cooker will be in solid use for the rest of the winter, I’d best get the butcher on speed-dial.

 

My final new dish of the week was Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage Butter from Gino’s Italian Escape, mainly because I had half a squash taking up residence in the fridge and it desperately needed using. With the squash cooked and pureed the rest of the recipe was fairly standard for a risotto, lots of stirring and slopping in more stock from time-to-time. The sage butter was simple to make and sat to one side as I continued my stirring, the butter had turned a nice brown colour and smelt nutty with overtones of sage – I couldn’t wait to taste it! Adding the final few elements to the risotto turned it really glossy and sumptuous, and with a trickling of the sage butter it looked even better on the plate. I’d forgotten how much I love the combination of squash and sage, and even more so that lovely crunch of the crispy sage leaves that had been fried in the butter – just heavenly. This is one risotto that is worth all the stirring! 

Recipe Count: 154
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 46

My first new recipe was supposed to have been made last week but with an abundance of pumpkin cake I didn’t really think some Chocolate & Pecan Muffins with a Maple Glaze, from Rachel Allen’s Cake, were strictly necessary. I find that it’s always a good idea to have cake in the house so with depleted stocks I found myself reaching for my apron again. These are a sort of cross between a cupcake and a muffin, the mixture was more of a cake mix than a batter, but with them being laden with pecans, chocolate chips and smothered in maple syrup you really don’t miss that creamy icing on the top. They were delicious with a cup of tea, not too sweet at all despite the syrupy drizzle, with the pecans and chocolate adding a wonderful texture and flavour… and they were the perfect thing for hubby’s lunchbox (no fear of the cupcake smear!).

Still in the mood for a bit of Thai spice, and consciously trying to incorporate plenty of fresh and healthy dishes into my diet, my next recipe was a Green Papaya Salad from Cook in Boots. My papaya was perhaps a little too ripe to fully do this dish justice but I didn’t really mind, and with hubby safely at a gig there was no one else to worry about. The dressing was that wonderful combination of sweet, salt and spice, and the crunch from the green beans and crushed peanuts more than made up for the papaya being slightly soft – I did modify the recipe so that it just fed one but I think I could have quite happily chomped my way through the entire thing (I can only imagine the chilli buzz after all that…I can quite believe that they’re addictive!). And I did omit the prawns because I didn’t really feel they were necessary, having enjoyed a prawn-less version in a restaurant recently too.

With the short cold days drawing in the memories of warmer places keep me nice and warm, one of my favourites being our honeymoon in Marrakech and all the wonderfully fragrant food we sampled there. With this in mind I thought I should put my latest acquisition to the test, so I made the Easy Chicken Pastilla from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course. Even with a few different stages this was very simple to put together and the smell of first the chicken roasting and then the spices mingling with the cooked chicken were sublime. Layering the filo and the filling in the cake tin was easy and it created one very packed pastilla (it’s amazing how much chicken you can pull off just four chicken thighs). A quick brush with some melted butter and it was in the oven to crisp up, then just a covering of icing sugar and cinnamon and it was ready. The flavours and the textures worked really well together, the crisp pastry and the crunch of the flaked almonds were a good contrast to the soft chicken filling, and I can attest to it being just as delicious cold for lunch the following day.

After a lunch of leftover pastilla you don’t really need or want anything too filling for dinner so I turned once again to Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course and made the Tomato Risotto. I absolutely love tomatoes and could eat them all the time, and I also love risotto so thought why not bring the two together. This is a fairly standard risotto recipe, all you need to do is cooked the tomatoes gently in some butter and add them to the dish along with some mascarpone to heat through just before serving. I think my only complaint with this dish is the inclusion of the mascarpone, maybe a smaller amount would have been ok but as it was it made the finished dish so overwhelmingly rich and creamy that you could barely discern any of the other flavours. There is no particular reason to add mascarpone to a risotto anyway as the rice provides the necessary creaminess as it cooks. I think next time I might just add slightly more parmesan and forego the mascarpone altogether…cheaper and healthier that way too!

I can’t believe that the Christmas edition of BBC Good Food magazine is out already, this is something I look forward to every year – the bumper edition!! Despite the fact that yet again we are going away for Christmas I’m still getting over excited about what to cook over the festive period. In between my excitement I managed to tear myself away from the Christmas pages and concentrate on more pressing food matters such as this week’s dinner, and I found a Moroccan Sausage Stew that sounded ideal. Essentially onions, sausages and tomatoes with some ras-el-hanout and dates thrown in for good measure – though towards the end of cooking I did decide that it lacked any punch so I threw in some harissa too. The recipe suggested serving it with mashed potatoes but I really couldn’t be bothered with scrubbing potatoes that night so I simply cooked up some couscous and I think that was just as good. The finished dish was ok, I’m not sure it really had the depth of flavour to call itself ‘Moroccan’ – you can’t just shove a spice blend in and hope for the best.

 

Being the recipient of some trofie pasta shapes (thanks to my mother spotting a bargain in Waitrose) my final recipe of the week was Smoked Salmon with Creamy Pasta & Pine Nuts from the BBC Good Food website. The pasta is a slighter firmer style and comparable with the texture of orecchiette so takes a little longer to cook, even to an al dente stage and the sauce really didn’t take much work so it only took fifteen minutes from start to finish. I was a little disappointed I have to admit, there was no real flavour to the sauce it just tasted of cream so I added the zest of a lemon to see if that would enhance it any and it did make a small difference but not really enough to elevate this to a lovely dish. I think my next dalliance with trofie will have to be more traditional and I’ll just stick with some pesto alla Genovese.

Recipe Count: 150
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 45

This week began with a particularly good turnout for our Halloween cake club meeting, the largest gathering to date which saw us sampling seven different cakes…the pieces getting noticeably smaller by the time we got to the last one. My contribution to the event was a Pumpkin Spiced Bundt with Maple Cinnamon Glaze, the recipe for which I discovered on Pinterest, and without any time to concern myself with ghoulish decoration it was perfect! I decided to forego breakfast that morning which turn out to be a shrewd move given the quantity of cake on offer at 10am. We spent a very enjoyable morning in the local garden centre café surrounded by beautiful cakes and making the other patrons very jealous. My cake was fairly large and as we were all limiting ourselves to smallish pieces I had plenty to take home again afterwards, hubby was mightily pleased and has spent the week carefully working his way through it. The addition of pumpkin made it a slightly moist sponge and the spices gave it a very warm and autumnal feel, while the crunch of the maple syrup drizzle added a very welcome sweet hit.

Still feeling the need for a pre-Christmas cleanse (if you ignore all the cake, obviously) my next new recipe of the week was Salmon & Sushi Rice from Nigella’s Kitchen, if only for the reason that I had some sushi rice hiding at the back of the cupboard which needing using. I think I’ve overlooked this recipe in the past because it just looked like salmon and rice and not particularly interesting, but after a lunchtime work trip to a Thai restaurant my taste buds were craving that salty, sweet and spicy hit that this recipe has in abundance. The most time-consuming part of this dish is cooking the rice and even that isn’t difficult so while that was cooking away I mixed up the chilli dressing and cooked the salmon. Even while I was plating up I thought it still looked a little dull, but happily looks can be very deceiving. We drizzled some of the dressing over it, tucked in and immediately we were won over – the dressing was absolutely beautiful and soaked down into the rice to completely transform it into something special. I love it when I get to the end of a meal and my lips are tingling from the hit of chilli, literally buzzing from the excitement of the dish!

My final new recipe of the week was Pan-Fried Sea Bass with Basil & Pine Nut Sweet Veggie Sauce from Lorraine Pascale’s Fast, Fresh & Easy; I really am loving fish at the moment. The sauce was a sort of cross between a French ratatouille and an Italian caponata, as the aubergines cooked down nicely to create more of a vegetable stew than a sauce. I was very sceptical while I was cooking this dish and I’m not sure I’m any more enamoured with it now, hubby said he really enjoyed it and while I didn’t dislike it I can’t really summon up enough enthusiasm to write about it let alone cook it again – suffice to say the fish was well cooked and the sauce was ok.

Recipe Count: 144
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 44

The clocks have changed this week and we are officially on the countdown to Christmas (I may have unofficially already been counting!), and I feel a pre-Christmas detox coming on in order to look and feel trim during the festive season. With that in mind my first new recipe of the week was Trout in a Parcel with Lemon, Fennel and Crème Fraîche from The Little Paris Kitchen. The most complicated part of the recipe is making sure that the parcels are totally sealed so that none of the steam or juices escapes during cooking, and even that wasn’t complicated just a bit fiddly! Once I’d convinced myself that the fish was cooked I plated it up with some lemon wedges and crème fraîche on the side. The fish was perfectly cooked (even though I do say so myself), lovely and moist and flaking wonderfully off the bones. The crème fraîche mixed into the juices to create a deliciously creamy accompaniment to the fennel and potatoes, which worked extremely well with the fish. If Rachel Khoo can whip it up in her tiny kitchen then I certainly can, and did, in mine. 

My second new recipe of the week was another fish dish, Oven-Roast Salmon with a Mustard & Parsley Crust from Lorraine Pascale’s Home Cooking Made Easy. The more I use this book the more convinced I am that no one tested any of the recipes or indeed proof-read it at all, because if you make the recipe as stated you would have been putting the fish into a cold oven – there was nothing to tell you to pre-heat the oven (ok, I can overlook that as everyone knows to do this), but more crucially there was no oven temperature even given…sloppy, very sloppy! So with the oven pre-heating to a temperature of my choice I made the topping for the salmon and pressed it firmly onto the top of the fillets, then I prepared my vegetables for the steamer and sat down with a cup of tea and waited for hubby to get home. Cooking was simply a matter of steaming the potatoes and green beans and popping the salmon in the oven – lovely and easy for a Monday evening. The salmon was light, moist and incredibly tasty with the crispy breadcrumb topping, the slight sweetness in the crust was a pleasing addition to the dish. 

Recipe Count: 141
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 43

After the excitement of cooking our Come Dine with Me meals I felt that we should slum it a bit with some more fairly standard fare and so I decided to make a Pizza, the Marinara Pizza from Gino’s Italian Escape to be exact. I whipped up the dough and left it to prove while I got on with making the sauce for the topping, which was very simple and took no time at all. Because the recipe made two pizzas I decided to make the topping slightly different on the second one just to mix things up so I added roasted peppers and ricotta to that one along with the marinara sauce and a few olives for good measure. The base was incredibly light and I didn’t feel stuffed like you can do with bought pizzas, they weren’t overly bready but just crisp enough to hold the topping and not become soggy. Really easy to make and greatly enjoyed while watching Strictly (who is not enjoying watching a Hairy Biker galumph around the dancefloor?!).

Having enjoyed a very nice week at home it seemed a bit mean to send hubby back to work without something tasty in his lunchbox, so I made Grated Chocolate & Almond Cake from Delia’s Cakes. Apart from the hassle of having to grate chocolate (without letting it melt in your hands) this was incredibly easy to make and the icing was even more so. I remember my mum making a similar grated chocolate cake when I was younger (it may even have been the same recipe, thanks Delia!) and I always really enjoyed it, there’s something about the texture of that grated chocolate and the bitterness of the chocolate icing that together with the slight nuttiness from the ground almonds work really well. The fact that it’s now been completely demolished means that it must have been a success, but the question now is which cake to make next?

Recipe Count: 139
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 42

I find that there is no better start to a week than making a cake, so this week my first new recipe was Cappuccino Squares from Rachel Allen’s Cakes. All it involved was sticking everything into the food processing and switching it on for a few seconds – even I can manage that! I did have a bit of a problem when I discovered there wasn’t enough icing sugar to make the topping, but luckily hubby came to the rescue and cycled to the shop for me (what a swell guy!). The cake was lovely and soft but I’m not sure the coffee flavour really came through enough, I think next time I’d be tempted to put in more of the essence, or even some freshly made coffee – seemed a shame not to get a stronger flavour. Though that said the cake was still much enjoyed and every last crumb of it was consumed before too long.

 

Hubby and I were celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary this week and although we went out for a meal on the day itself we also cooked for each other (a sort of Come Dine with Me, without the annoying guests!); so my next new recipe was a starter of Baked Figs stuffed with Herb Ricotta and Wrapped in Pancetta from Gino’s Italian Escape. This was an incredibly good dish for a dinner party as everything can be prepped in advance and simply popped in the oven just before serving. The pancetta really crisped up nicely and added a salty element to the dish while the ricotta gave a lovely creamy texture which complimented the jammy figs amazingly. Served with a lightly dressed salad this was a nice light start to the meal.

Next up was my main course which was Lorraine Pascale’s Salmon Saltimbocca from Fast Fresh and Easy, continuing with my Italian theme and also using up the remainder of the pancetta from my starter. Again everything could be prepared in advance and all I had to do before serving was pan fry the salmon and sort out the sides. I served in on a polenta cake with a pea puree and some roasted vine tomatoes so there was a little bit of work involved at the last minute and I saw myself in a frenzy of activity in the kitchen (while hubby relaxed with a glass of vino). Everything came together nicely and I even did a fairly decent job with the plating up! The salmon stayed incredibly moist wrapped in the pancetta and worked well with all the accompaniments, I was hoping for a lighter meal given that we were having three courses and I think I achieved it – I definitely didn’t feel overly stuffed by the end (so room for pudding!).

So onto the dessert! I don’t really make many desserts as I feel they’re more of a luxury and shouldn’t be enjoyed too often, so when I get the opportunity I have a rather difficult decision to make from the many recipes I have to hand. Continuing with my Italian theme meant my choices were narrowed somewhat (thank goodness!) and I eventually settled on the Baileys Panna Cotta from Gino’s Italian Escape. As this needed time to cool I cracked on with it first thing in the morning and started by making the caramel…I hate making caramel, a fact that might have contributed to me burning the first batch I made – oops! Second time around I managed to remove it from the heat before it got too dark and duly poured it into the bottom of my moulds. Making the next part of the panna cotta was much more simple and I had them in the oven to bake shortly afterwards. I was a little concerned because when the time was up they were still mostly liquid (albeit it with a skin on top) but during the ten minutes when I was considering my other options they set brilliantly and I removed them from the oven when they still had a good wobble to them. The next tricky point is removing them from the moulds when it came time to serve them, I dipped the moulds briefly in some boiling water and prayed while I turned them on to the plate…they turned out beautifully, with the caramel running down the side just like the best crème caramel! The flavour of the baileys really came through well but was not overpowering in the slightest, the caramel sauce really complimented the creaminess of the panna cotta and the texture was spot on. The bonus was that I’d halved the recipe and there was still a spare one in the fridge, we gobbled that up the following day!

Recipe Count: 137
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 41

I am now just over 10 weeks away from the end of the year, and the end of my challenge, a fact that is evident this week as I try and cram in as many new recipes as possibly in a bid to reach my target. To satisfy my baking urge I made Blondies from Nigella Kitchen, which are a sort of cross between brownies and flapjack (mainly thanks to the inclusion of oats). I’m usually fairly good at remembering to get the eggs and butter out of the fridge the night before I intend to bake, but this time I dropped the ball – luckily I woke up before the crack of dawn, thanks to a bad dream, and had the opportunity to remedy the situation. The blondies were extremely easy to make (especially with soft butter) and were soon in the oven and making the house smell all warm and delicious. I packaged some of them up in a pretty box as a birthday present for my cousin as I wanted to bake her something tasty, then I squirreled the rest away for midnight treats later on. The gift was gratefully received, not least because after a few hours at a beer festival they are great when you get the munchies – a sentiment I was happy to agree with on my return home!

Due to a beer festival and then a very lazy Sunday, on which we consumed mainly cheese and wine, my blondies were the only cooking I did over the weekend (besides making my morning porridge). It was something of a novelty therefore to return home after work and actually cook something for a change, and so I made Crispy Fillet of Salmon with Cherry Tomato and Anchovy Sauce from Fantastico! I can’t consciously ever remember crumbing salmon before but the suitably glossy photo beside the recipe looked ever so inviting so I couldn’t resist trying it. All the components of the dish were straightforward to prepare and really didn’t take too long to bring together, then I gently fried the salmon to give it a lovely crunchy coating. I was a little worried about over cooking the salmon as I generally bake/grill it in the oven but I needn’t have worried, the crispy outside gave way to perfectly cooked fish that melted in your mouth. The slight acidity from the tomatoes rounded the dish off nicely along with the lightly dressed green salad that accompanied it. 

Next up was Sour Cream Potato Bake with Aubergines & Taleggio, another dish from Fantastico! This recipe was a bit more involved as it meant cooking potatoes, aubergines and onions separately and then layering them up to be cooked once again in the oven. That said however none of the processes were particularly difficult, maybe just a bit time consuming for a midweek meal – luckily for me hubby was slightly late home so I had time to tidy up the mess I’d made, and obviously he came home to the smell of a delicious dinner waiting for him. The potatoes were lovely and tender and worked wonderfully with the caramelised onions and golden aubergine, and the taleggio cheese gave a wonderful flavour that really boosted the dish. As this dish was fairly substantial I served it simply with a lightly dressed green salad (possibly the last we see of salad now that the weather has turned cold).

 

In a hat-trick of new recipes, the following night I made Cauliflower Risotto with Chilli Pangrattato from Jamie’s Italy. Again this one was a little more involved as I had to make the pangrattato and then start cooking the cauliflower before I even thought about starting the risotto but, as with most risottos, it was a labour of love. By the time the risotto was cooking down nicely the cauliflower was lovely and soft and could be added to break down into the rice, adding to the creaminess of the dish. I’m not a huge fan of cauliflower by itself, I find it fairly bland, but I do love its ability to soak up the flavours of a dish (that’s why it’s so good in curries), or in this case to be soaked up by the dish. I was pleased when I dished it up to see that it looked exactly like the picture in the book, my pangrattato adding a brilliant splash of colour on the top and, upon tasting it provided a wonderful crunch against the softness of the risotto underneath.

 

 

My final recipe of the week was an extremely simple one from Nigel Slater’s Real Fast Food – and he really wasn’t kidding! Pasta with Tuna, Capers & Cream was as easy as it sounds, all that was required was to cook some penne and then mix all the other ingredients together before finally adding to the cooked pasta. As I was putting it all together I thought this could go either way, it could be far too simple and not work at all or it could be awesome. As I’ve come to expect from Mr Slater, it was awesome! The only thing I changed slightly was to add a small amount of the cooking water to the finished dish to ensure that the sauce coated the pasta evenly. The capers provided a really nice salty and acidic hit which balanced the dish wonderfully; it’s amazing that just a few store cupboard ingredients could make something so tasty – this is definitely one to remember.

Recipe Count: 133
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - week 40

For various reasons mainly to do with having no time to plan, and making the shopping list while in the pub, this week was a bit light on the new recipe front but I could just about remember the ingredients for Salmon Baked in a Foil Parcel with Green Beans and Pesto from Jamie’s Ministry of Food and so I managed to sneak one in. This was unbelievably easy to prepare, with everything just needing to be placed into a foil package and popped into the oven for 15mins. I boiled some new potatoes as an accompaniment but that again was no great feat. The smell of pesto that filled the kitchen was beautiful and I couldn’t wait to tuck in. When I took the parcels out of the oven I could hear them sizzling but refrained from ripping them open straight away to give them chance to rest and continue cooking for a few moments more. The salmon was incredibly soft and moist, flaking away perfectly and was a brilliant pairing with the pesto. Some of my green beans were a little crunchy but that’s probably because I crammed so many in and didn’t spread them out as thinly as I should have – a note for next time perhaps. A definite winner in our house and so incredibly easy to make, thank you Mr Oliver!

Recipe Count: 128
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 39

Continuing with my fondness for my latest cookbook acquisition, my first culinary adventure this week was to make Spigola in Padella con Couscous alle Erbe (Crispy Fillet of Sea Bass with Herby Couscous) from Gino’s Italian Escape. Apart from adding my finger to the hot oil along with the fish the cooking was very straightforward, with the couscous taking care of itself. The fish was perfectly cooked with lovely crispy skin which made a nice contrast to the zingy couscous, and the salsa added a much-needed bit of acidity and some extra texture that worked really well here. This is a real winner for a weekday meal as it’s quick to prepare and a nice treat after a day at work.

This week was a special week because it was hubby’s birthday, and no birthday is complete without cake so I made a Blue Velvet Cake from The Clandestine Cake Club’s Cookbook, I figured that it was suitably manly what with it being blue and all! I managed to get the cake made without making myself, or the kitchen, look like we’d been attacked by a smurf for which I was very grateful. I was slightly concerned when I took the cake out because on the surface the cakes had a slight green tinge, but I figured that green would still be acceptable colour so what the hell – I had accounted for the fact that blue colouring into a chocolate mix would turn green by adding some purple colouring too. The night before the big day I mixed the cream cheese frosting and plastered it all over the cake; I always get nervous during the crumb layer when it still looks all messy, so when I put the final layer on I was pleased that you could no longer see the fantastically dark cake underneath. The moment of truth came the following morning when the birthday boy blew out his candles and cut into the cake…it was blue!!

Now as if one cake wasn’t enough in between making and icing a birthday cake I also had to make a cake for my Clandestine Cake Club meeting, the theme being ‘autumn’. I settled upon making a Spiced Toffee Apple Cake I’d see in BBC Good Food Magazine last year as it summoned up images of autumnal leaves and bonfire night. The cake mix was rich with pureed dates and smelt wonderfully spiced as it cooked, and I was pleased with the concentric circles of apple that adorned the top (I’d made it in a round tin, not the square one specified). The toffee sauce for the top was very simple to make and with a light dusting of icing sugar it looked really quite inviting. At the meeting itself we discovered that cake and wine are great bedfellows, and with three magnificent cakes to try it was a super evening.

Recipe Count: 127
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 38

On our return from holiday I wanted something reasonably straightforward to ease myself back into the real world with, so I chose Autumn Tacos with Squash & Chorizo from Mexican Food Made Simple. It was the perfect dish for chilling out with in front of the TV while we caught up on some of the TV we’d missed while we were away (god bless Sky+, and The Newsroom). The fact that it didn’t take too much effort either was a bonus, simply roast the squash and then add it to the pan with the chorizo and you’re practically done. The squash was lovely and tender, with the chorizo adding that little bit of bite that was much needed. Autumn is one of my favourite times of year so while it’s sad to see the end of summer (and that nip in the air is definitely getting colder) I can’t wait to have more autumnal dishes like this…and it’ll be Christmas soon too!!

In a bid to justify my recent holiday purchase my next dish was Salsicce e Lenticchie (or sausages and lentils) from Gino’s Italian Escape. Now while I cannot claim to have sourced some genuine Italian sausages for this dish I did make sure to get some packed with herbs from the local butcher, and I think they were just as good as any fancy Italian ones. I’ve made similar dishes to this in the past but I think this one does surpass them all by a mile, there was still enough liquid to keep the dish moist without making it watery and the gentle buzz from the chilli really gave it that extra hit of flavour. I didn’t feel the need to serve anything with it, I suppose some bread might be a good accompaniment but for me the lentils provided more than enough substance and I was definitely satisfied by the time I’d cleared my plate.

In order to use up the rest of the butternut squash I had lurking in the fridge I chose to make a Harissa Chicken Traybake from BBC Good Food Magazine, a recipe that kept staring at me from my file but I had yet to try. The marinating time was minimal so I could cook this after getting home from work, then all I had to do was chop up the vegetables and roast them briefly before adding the yoghurt and harissa covered chicken. I love the smells that permeate the house when I cook things with spices; the best place is the spare bedroom at the front which is sometimes where hubby likes to hang out when I’m in the kitchen. When the chicken was almost cooked I simply soaked some couscous and set the table. I should probably also mention that I did chuck some marrow into the tray as well since it needed using up, and I figured that a few more vegetables couldn’t hurt. The chicken was lovely and moist and had really absorbed the spicy marinade, and the vegetables were tender and juicy which was perfect for accompanying the couscous.

My final new dish of the week was again courtesy of my new purchase but this time was a pasta dish, Rigatoni all' Arrabbiata con Salmone (Rigatoni with Salmon and a Spicy Tomato Sauce). It was simply a matter of making the tomato sauce and putting the chopped up salmon in right at the end to cook through in the heat of the sauce. By doing this the salmon was still nice and moist and did not overcook, I love pasta with a tomato sauce (and the chilli goes without saying) but the salmon was a really nice touch, it was soft and delicate in amongst the robust sauce and the substantial pasta – a nice twist on the classic arrabbiata.

Recipe Count: 124
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 37

This week I was away on holiday so not only was there very little cooking there was also very little chance for me to experiment with new recipes. But fear not, I still managed to sneak one in before I left! I thought that it might be nice to take a lovely homemade cake with us to enjoy with our holiday teas, and it obviously needed to be one that could travel well, there’s nothing worse than excitedly opening the cake tin to discover that all the icing has been daubed everywhere and there’s barely any left on the cake. To this end I chose a recipe that had been intriguing me for a while, Rachel Allen’s Ras-el-Hanout Spiced Fruitcake from Cake. The thought of cramming that wonderful combination of spices into a cake sounded amazing, and the fact that it was fat-free was an added bonus. The recipe really could not have been simpler, all you had to do was soak the fruits in some tea with the spices and then mix with the rest of the ingredients. The best part of making this cake was the aroma it created in the rest of the house, the smell of the spices was unbelievable – I didn’t really care what the cake tasted like at that point it was worth it for the smell alone. It was really difficult not to tuck into it once it had cooled but I was adamant that it would make the journey intact. A couple of days into our holiday we attacked it with relish (that is to say with delight, we didn’t have some kind of pickle with it – that would be weird!) with our evening cup of tea, and it was lovely. Now I’m not a big fan of fruit cake per se, but this one was incredibly light and moist and was the perfect antidote for a day of walking.

Recipe Count: 120
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 36

I’ve really been enjoying my baking recently, and hubby has enjoyed his afternoon tea and cake at work so I thought to keep the tradition going this week I’d make the Passion Fruit Cake from the Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook. I diligently made the passion fruit curd the night before so that it could cool and thicken in time for me to use, though it did mean there was more chance that there’d be none left by the time it came to actually use it – I absolutely love passion fruit, but in this case I did manage to resist. I found the finished cake a little disappointing I have to admit, the zing of the passion fruit doesn’t really shine through and I think that if I’d put the fruit juice directly into the cake it would have been more impact than making it into a curd first. My other slight niggle is that the recipe stated that the flour should be half white and half wholemeal, I have to disagree here I think it would have been much nicer with just white, the lack of passion fruit flavour meant that all you could taste was the wholemeal. As much as I love passion fruit, this just did not do it justice!

 

After coming across a couple of green peppers at the back of the fridge I decided to make Paneer-stuffed Peppers from Anjum’s New Indian, a book I have not made enough use of recently. In the past I’ve been put off trying paneer in Indian restaurants because they describe it as ‘cottage cheese’, and this is something that has never appealed to me at all, but I have to say that I find it like a cross between halloumi and feta. The peppers are roasted in the oven while the stuffing is prepared and cooked, and then they go back under the grill for a brief period to brown on top. I think my only issue was that my peppers were slightly on the small side so I had some leftover stuffing, but I served that up on the side anyway. There was a really nice heat to the spices and the cheese had absorbed so much of the flavour, I served them with a green salad as I didn’t want the meal to be too heavy and this was absolutely perfect.

 

For some reason this week I’ve decided that stuffing is the way to go, as my next recipe was Spanish Stuffed Marrow from BBC Good Food Magazine. I couldn’t tell you why I chose two stuffed vegetable recipes at once, but I guess I just took one idea and went with it! I love Spanish flavours and hubby is a huge fan of chorizo so this jumped out at me as soon as I saw it in the magazine, yet it has still taken me a long time to actually make it (I think it was in an autumn issue last year, oops!). Packed full of chorizo, peppers, tomatoes, paprika and topped with manchego cheese this was a beautifully balanced dish and evocative of several wonderful evenings in Barcelona. The crispy topping really made a nice contrast to the tender marrow and the wonderfully spiced filling, served with a simple green salad this was perfect midweek dinner and I give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Recipe Count: 119
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 35

I started the week off with a mammoth session in the kitchen and, with the hubby ensconced at a football game I even had to do my own washing up – sad times! First on the agenda was some Sticky Toffee Cupcakes from Boutique Baking, a recipe I had had my eye on for a while. Luckily before I started a noticed that I needed to halve the recipe (something I had failed to spot earlier), I mean I like cake but I don’t think the two of us could have got through 24 cupcakes without being seriously sick. So I diligently made the icing and left it to firm up, did the washing up and then cracked on with the cakes themselves. The mixture was really easy to whip up and I could smell that delicious scent of warm toffee before I knew it and dousing them in syrup when they came out of the oven ensured that the cakes were suitably sticky. Once cool I removed small pieces from the cakes and filled with dulce de leche before piping on the icing and sprinkling with fudge pieces (I opted not to make the very fancy toppers). Having not made any cupcakes for quite some time I think perhaps my piping skills need a little more work, but despite that these were absolutely heavenly – they tasted exactly like sticky toffee puddings and with the caramel oozing out of the centre they were a really luxurious treat! 

In between the various stages of cupcake making/decorating I was also putting together the evening meal of Hummus Kawarma (Lamb) with Lemon Sauce from Jerusalem. This not only added to the washing up but also the very slight possibility that I might pipe hummus onto my cupcakes instead of icing – thankfully I did manage to avoid this faux pas! I had already soaked the chickpeas overnight with some bicarbonate of soda and just needed to cook them for thirty minutes or so before blitzing with all the other ingredients. What I was left with was some of the nicest hummus I have made, and a jolly great big bowl of it at that! Once the hummus was made I chopped the lamb and left it to marinate until dinner time, when I quickly fried it and topped a delicious bed of hummus with the spiced lamb and drizzled with the herby lemon sauce. Served with some warm pitta bread this was a deliciously hands-on meal, and the generous amount of hummus that the recipe made meant we could enjoy more of it for lunch the next day (though sadly as I was so full of hummus this was the day that hubby had to go without any dinner as I didn’t feel like cooking the pork chops I had planned on…not that he ever mentions it at all!).

With some leftover smoked salmon in the fridge I made Penne con Zucchine e Salmone from Gino’s Pasta, although I did alter the recipe slightly as I had used all my lemons for the hummus and part way through cooking I decided a splash of cream would be a nice addition…so for the most part it is true to the original. I just find dishes a little dry when there is absolutely no sauce with which to coat the pasta, and I’ve cooked enough pasta to know what I’m doing by now (I hope). Well there were certainly no complaints in our house, though to be honest he was just grateful to be given some food as the events of Hummus-gate had left him feeling very nervous.

My final recipe of the week was a Gratin of Sliced Tomatoes from Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book, a very simple dish of sliced tomatoes baked with basil and sherry, to which some cream and a topping of cheese is added towards the end of cooking, and for someone who likes tomatoes as much as I do it was a must. This was a lovely simple dish to end the week with, which is always appreciated on a Friday night and served with just some crusty bread was not too heavy either – just perfect when you have cupcakes for supper! 

Recipe Count: 116
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 34

After a few days of not feeling too good and being generally lazy when it came to the evening meal I felt the need to snap out of it and make more effort, so to this end I cooked Duck Breast with a Rich Tomato, Jalapeno & Green Olive Sauce from Wahaca (Thomasina Miers). I love duck but haven’t had any for a while and the thought of making it in a Mexican style sounded very appealing. The dish was really easy to make, the sauce just needed to simmer, with the duck being cooked at the last minute, and served with plain boiled rice it really could not have been simpler. The duck could have done with slightly less cooking, because although it was still moist and by no means tough it was just not as pink as I’d have liked it – a note for next time I think. The sauce had a lovely spicy hit from the jalapenos and worked beautifully with the duck, I think to make it a lighter dish I might serve it with something other than rice, but it certainly worked well as a more substantial meal.

The mighty aubergine made a comeback this week with my next recipe taken from BBC Good Food Magazine, for our Sunday meal I cooked Baked Aubergines with Cannellini Beans. Just the thing having walked 15km the day before (accidentally I might add, there may have been a wrong turn somewhere…and some scary cows!), this dish basically looked after itself in the oven leaving me to rest my weary legs – they’re only little so it doesn’t take much! I did take a couple of liberties with the recipe in that I added some crushed chilli flakes to the sauce (naturally), and then when I was ready to serve I scattered some rocket liberally over the top, a dash of green really perked the whole thing up. The aubergines were wonderfully soft, and slightly crispy on top from the layer of parmesan, the beans added a lovely texture and the added kick to the sauce really gave the whole thing a nice lift – I figured the dish was substantial enough so didn’t feel the need for any accompaniments, aside from the rocket garnish that is! 

Feeling invigorated from a healthy weekend I wanted to continue feeling virtuous and so returned from work on Monday to cook Thai Trout with Red Pepper Noodles from Fast, Fresh & Easy Food (Lorraine Pascale). Cooked en papillote it meant that all I had to do was chop the veg and place it along with the trout, and various seasonings, in some little foil parcels ready for the oven later on. The noodles were cooked quickly just before serving and only involved frying some red pepper, adding the pre-cooked noodles and heating through with some soy sauce. This was incredibly tasty, the flavours of ginger, soy, chilli and trout had infused beautifully in the parcels and the aromas alone were absolutely delicious. Hubby was especially pleased with this dish, and even more so when he did his Masterchef ‘palette test’ and managed to identify all the ingredients – next time I’ll just have to make it harder! 

 

Next up was the obligatory weekly pasta dish and this week I chose Penne with Chorizo & Broccoli from BBC Good Food Magazine. I have to admit that I did mess around with the method a bit though, I prefer to cook the broccoli for the same time as the pasta instead of adding it for just a few minutes at the end, I like it when it breaks down into the sauce and is completely cooked – especially in this dish when you have the chorizo for extra texture. I also added the cream cheese to the chorizo before I added the pasta as I find that it breaks down a bit quicker and creates a sauce which coats the pasta more easily. Next time I’m not sure I would add the fennel seeds as I’m not sure they added anything useful to the dish, but aside from that (and my minor modifications) it was a lovely recipe and made good use of the chorizo I had in the freezer.

My final new recipe of the week was Elderflower Cordial Cake from The Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook, and was in honour of my friend’s birthday – she had previously admired the recipe in the book so when I decided to make a cake I knew it would be that one. This was a work in several stages as I made the sponge one night after work and then the following night I made the buttercream and the white chocolate ganache; which I had to leave to thicken and was subsequently slathering over the cake at ten-thirty that same night. My next challenge was to get it into the office the next day without destroying all my hard work, so for any cars following me on Thursday morning I’m very sorry but I had precious cargo (I’d like a ‘Cake on Board’ sticker for my car so that people know why I’m taking my time!). Fortunately it arrived in one piece so all I had to do was add a candle and leave it on the birthday girl’s desk. As she consumed three slices before the designated tea-break I’d say it was a success, and I believe a small piece may have made it home for her hubby to try.

Recipe Count: 112
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 33

This week I have discovered that if you get up before the crack of dawn you may well be worn out by the end of the day, but you’ll have an awful lot of cake! Upon waking on Saturday at 5:50am I decided that the best thing to do was to get baking, I mean that’s never a particularly bad idea is it? First up was the Lemon Limoncello Cake from Peggy Porschen’s Boutique Baking, as I had purchased some new cake tins and I thought I had better justify their place in the kitchen. The sponge was very simple to make and they were on the cooling rack in no time, soaking up the limoncello syrup nicely. Mine may not have looked as smooth and chic as the picture in the book (I’m going to blame my lack of a turntable!), but it sure did taste good – the weekend must be off to a good start when you’re baked and iced a cake before 9:30am. Though I must confess that I did not go to the effort of making the delicate daisies to adorn the top of my cake, I went for the retro ‘crystallised lemon slices’ instead.

Since one cake is never enough a few hours after my first creation I turned my attention to the Caramel Cake from the same book, it is essentially the same recipe but with a few changes in flavours – brandy in the syrup instead of limoncello, and dulce de leche in the buttercream instead of lemon curd. I managed to ice this one a little better as I discovered a cake board I didn’t know I had and once this was placed on my cake plate it created a make-shift turntable upon which I could work. Instead of dusting with cocoa powder, which would have turned moist before hubby returned from his trip, I had a little bag of fudge pieces in the cupboard and thought they would work perfectly, so I sprinkled them around the edge of the cake. This was without doubt one of the best cakes I have ever made, the sponge was lovely and soft, the syrup had made sure it stayed moist and the caramel icing was just divine – it was so good that hubby put in an order for another one before we’d even finished it. 

Having been up to my eyes in cakes so far I thought it was about time I turned my hand to cooking something savoury and with hubby returning from a festival I thought he might appreciate a nice bit of home cooking. So my third new recipe of the week was Masala Chicken Pie from BBC Good Food Magazine, I think it was in a pre-Christmas issue last year so I’m a bit behind! Essentially it’s a curry with a mashed potato topping which is then baked in the oven to get nice and crispy. I made it the day before so that I could just pop it in the oven when I got home, and then listen to all the exciting festival gossip. It was the perfect thing for a Monday evening dinner, with all the work already done it was like being cooked for by someone else and it was really tasty to boot – I think hubby certainly appreciated some hot food.

My final recipe of the week was Farfalle Salmone e Piselli from Gino D’acampo’s Fantastico! which was another resounding success, I love pasta but I do get fed up of always cooking the same thing over and over, and it’s frustrating when you go out for pasta and always get the same tired choices wherever you go. Therefore I’m making the effort to try loads of new recipes to see what works and to find some more exciting variations on a very tired theme. Having not been a fan of farfalle in the past I have really come to love it recently, the de cecco brand is especially nice and one of my favourites at the moment. This was a really simple dish of shallots, peas, smoked salmon and cream, all tossed through the cooked pasta and served immediately. It was full of flavour and made for a really delicious mid-week meal.

 

Oh, and I've had to up my target again...who knew I'd actually stick to this challenge!

Recipe Count: 107
New Target: 156

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 32

First off I need to make a small confession, I was quite innocently browsing cookbooks on a well-known website when out of nowhere two cake books just fell into my basket and before I knew it they had been delivered to my place of work…in a bid to appease my conscience I felt that I had to make use of them as soon as possible. Therefore my first tasty treat of the week was a Marbled Chocolate Crumble Cake from my brand new copy of Rachel Allen’s Cake. Extremely easy to make this was swirled, crumbled, and in the oven before lunch – and more importantly, ready for consumption just a few hours later. I did take one look at the size of it and think we’d have to give some away (I know, I know, what did I just say?!), but luckily hubby stepped up and accepted the challenge – he’s been putting on a brave face and packing some in his lunchbox every day. Slightly bizarrely when we sat down to enjoy a piece for breakfast on Sunday morning we switched in the TV to find Rachel Allen cooking this exact cake…spooky!

Following a successful cake-making session I decided an easy dinner was called for, so I whipped up some Aubergines with Buttermilk Sauce from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty. This was quite possibly the easiest dish to prepare, the aubergines take care of themselves in the oven while you prepare the sauce, and whack the hell out of a pomegranate to release the seeds (boy did I have fun with that, though I do wonder how many stray seeds I’ll find scattered about the kitchen this week!). Thanks to the thyme and the za’atar there are delicate hints of lemon, and then bursts of sweetness from the pomegranate, finished off by the creamy yoghurt dressing and the soft flesh of the aubergine – a wonderfully summery dish which I served with just a side salad. If you’re a fan of aubergines, which I definitely am, then this is the dish for you.
  

Having abandoned this next recipe in favour of an easier dish the night before I finally got round to making the Salmon Fishcakes from Delia’s Frugal Food for Sunday dinner. They didn’t actually involve much work but clearly the thought of waiting for potatoes to cook and then making the fishcakes was just too much for a Saturday. They were made with a tin of salmon, so nothing fancy at all, and much cheaper that way too (always a bonus!). With a pinch of cayenne pepper they had a slight kick to them which, along with the crunch and zing of the cornichons, lifted these from being just mundane fishcakes to being very tasty indeed. With just a side salad to accompany them this was a lovely fresh and light meal, just the ticket when you’ve got a massive cake stashed in the kitchen for supper! 

 

A week in our household just wouldn’t be complete without some form of pasta dish sneaking its way onto the menu, this week’s offering was Penne al Mascarpone e Pancetta from Gino’s Pasta. The recipe was in the gluten-free section of the book but I just substituted regular penne, and cooked it anyway (because I’m crazy like that!). I guess when I get aubergines on the brain one dish a week just isn’t enough, but when it’s finely chopped it doesn’t really count right? The aubergine cooked down and soaked up all the juices from the pancetta, I did add a little bit of the cooking water from the pasta towards the end, just to slacken the sauce slightly – I usually find that mascarpone sauce can dry out a little so this helped it coat the pasta nicely.


Recipe Count: 103
New Target: 104

Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 31

This week began with a very exciting and impromptu trip to Borough Market, when I arranged to meet up with a friend of mine in London. The place was absolutely packed, and every available space around the market was taken with people picnicking on the purchases they had just made. Since the main purpose of my visit was to catch-up with my friend we found a lovely little café in which to park ourselves for an hour or two, the fact that they had a table outside with all kinds of baked goodness may have lured us in! After several cups of tea and a almost an entire wedge (well it was enormous) of red velvet cake we headed for a quick look around, I managed to avoid the temptation of buying everything in sight and limited myself to a small pot of za’atar – I mean those Ottolenghi recipes just won’t be the same without it. I have resolved to go back here when I have some more pocket money!

Since the weather had turned wet, and a bit miserable, I decided that a nice warming/cheery curry was the answer and so I made Chicken with Spices and Cream from Nigel Slater’s Real Fast Food. This was such a quick and easy dish; I do urge everyone to try it, even if as Nigel points out in the introduction, you’re sceptical about using a ready mixed curry powder (I used a Rajah madras one). The chicken was still nice and moist and the spiced sauce was just heavenly, a good job really as the house still smelt of it two days later. I served it with some plain rice, and a nice glass of chilled wine – bliss! The recipe can be found here if anyone’s interested: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/apr/21/foodanddrink.recipes5

Next up was another curry; somehow the slight drop in temperature has brought me out in a wintery mood, so heaven help me when it actually turns cold! This was a dish that I had already had the good fortune of trying when my mum cooked it for us last year, so I was more than a little anxious about doing it justice. The recipe was Fisherman’s Curry from BBC Good Food magazine, another one that’s been lurking in my recipe file for too long. This was a lovely fresh dish, the fish absorbs so much of the flavour and spice (it may have been a bit on the zingy side!) and the sauce was just begging to be soaked up by the naan that I served it with. 

 

My final recipe of the week was Middle Eastern Koftas from Rachel Allen’s Home Cooking, and it meant donning my CSI gloves to avoid turning up at work looking like I had jaundice, there’s nothing like turmeric stains to make your hands look decidedly unattractive. We were heading to the cinema that evening so I wanted to get some of the preparation done ahead of time, therefore when I returned home all I had to do was cook them and arrange the smorgasbord of accompaniments (think Build-a-Better-Burger, but with koftas and pitta – anyone who didn’t have this game as a child just hasn’t lived!). I know my cooking always goes down well with hubby because he’s very good with the compliments, but there’s nothing quite like the twinkle in his eye when he gets to ‘build’ his food, the fact that it was also super tasty was merely a bonus!

Recipe Count: 99
New Target: 104