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