Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 51

Clearly the Christmas festivities were just too much for me, I didn’t sit down at a computer once to complete my write-up, but rest assured I did complete the challenge.

In the second-to-last week of 2013 I made two new recipes, in a last ditched attempt to eat healthily before the festive feasting began. My first new recipe was Pasta with Tomato, Anchovy & Chilli from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course. It was a very simple dish but it was packed with fresh flavours, a nice salty hit from the capers and anchovies, and a nice heat from the crushed chilli. This is a perfect midweek meal and will definitely be appearing on our menu in 2014…just the kind of thing I’ll be craving come January.

My final new recipe of the week was Italian Bean Stew with Bread Dumplings from Gino’s Italian Escape. A very substantial dish packed with beans and topped with ciabatta dumplings, this will keep even the most ardent meat-eaters happy. Nice and warming too on a cold and wet December day, the stew was peppered with a lovely heat from the chilli and the dumplings added a very welcome hit of crunch, giving way to a wonderfully soft centre that could be used to soak up the delicious juices. I think this book has proved its worth this year, I don’t think it’s in the firing line just yet and may well live to see another year on the bookshelf.

Recipe Count: 165
New Target: 156