Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 19

With a bank holiday looming I made some great recipe plans for the long weekend, then in a flurry of invitations they were slowly but surely wiped out – but hey I’m not complaining. A wonderfully fun BBQ with our neighbours, and then an equally awesome one the following day with my parents was just the thing to make the weekend a truly relaxing one. So a big thank you to all our hosts for some truly spectacular cooking – not least the brioche and baklava which we thoroughly enjoyed!

My efforts this week now seem very paltry in comparison to everything we tasted at the weekend, and the fact that we were out for two evenings meant that I didn’t get to make very many dishes either; in fact my recipe count is only a very measly two. But given I’ve already exceeded my year’s target it’s not the end of the world, the dishes I managed to create still produced some smiles on the faces of those that ate them. First up I wanted to do a bit of baking so I flicked through my recipe file once more and decided to make one that I’ve looked at for ages and never actually made – Raspberry Bakewell Cake from BBC Good Food Magazine. Now my first mistake was leaving the butter on the windowsill to soften, in the full sun….all day (cue melted butter dripping off said windowsill on my return home), so with my second pack of butter desperately softening on my aptly named ‘butter-shelf’ (i.e. the shelf above the radiator) I set about weighing everything else out and hoping that by the time I needed it, the butter would be nicely squishy. Now although the recipe did call for a large quantity of ground almonds I also added a couple of dashes of almond essence too, because I just can’t resist that heady hit of marzipan. The cake was a hit with everyone that tried it, and it was especially nice with a scoop of ice-cream after a particularly meaty BBQ.

 

Thanks to my scavenger hunt a few weeks ago I had stocked up on pasta and so was able to try the recipe for Conchiglie with Yoghurt, Peas & Chilli from Jerusalem. I think it must have been all the warm weather we’ve been having which tempted me to make this dish, as the yoghurt sauce is cold the finished dish is not piping hot, but this seemed perfect…until the wind and rain reappeared. But I figured the addition of feta cheese would appease any qualms hubby might have, indeed I was right. This was a super dish, the pasta really held onto the sauce and each shell of pasta had filled with peas and yoghurt-y goodness – and the crispy pine nuts on top gave a really wonderful extra texture. I think I might have to head out for more pasta supplies soon…

Recipe Count: 62
New Target: 104