Cook Something Different Challenge

JillS_2

angeltreats wrote: »

Organic wanabe - I am most definitely going to try that focaccia recipe, it sounds absolutely delicious.

I've just watched Delia Through the Decades and she has made what looks like a lovely coffee and walnut cake, I really fancy having a go at that as coffee cake is something I have never made. The recipe is here. Only trouble is it calls for instant espresso powder and I'm not sure I've ever even seen such a thing. I wonder if I could use normal instant coffee or freshly brewed strong coffee.

I would think the problem with most instant coffee is that it is granules rather than the powder it used to be years ago. I tried making a favourite recipe once using the granule rather than the powder and it didn't work at all well - little knobbly bitter bits in the mousse rather than an overall coffee flavour. It's OK if the coffee has to be dissolved in some liquid before adding to the mix but otherwise I would at least try grinding it very finely.

angeltreats

JillS wrote: »

I would think the problem with most instant coffee is that it is granules rather than the powder it used to be years ago. I tried making a favourite recipe once using the granule rather than the powder and it didn't work at all well - little knobbly bitter bits in the mousse rather than an overall coffee flavour. It's OK if the coffee has to be dissolved in some liquid before adding to the mix but otherwise I would at least try grinding it very finely.

Thanks Jill, that makes sense. I have a mill attachment for my food processor, I could grind up some coffee granules using that, but I did manage to find on the Sainsburys website some instant espresso so I might pick some up as I like coffee flavoured things and especially coffee desserts so I'd probably use it quite often.

ubamother

made american-style pancakes for DS for breakfast before coming to work (woke up very early!) made with part wholewheat flour, banana and frozen blackberries to get some morning fruit in him. Enough made for today and for the freezer for future breakfasts - I reckon they'll reheat really well in toaster bags for more rushed days.

Nancy888

ubamother wrote: »

Enough made for today and for the freezer for future breakfasts - I reckon they'll reheat really well in toaster bags for more rushed days.

What a brilliant idea!!! Saw a recipe for blueberry pancakes in the current Good Food and couldn't be doing with the faff but this is inspired...thank you :beer:

Penelope_Penguin

At the weekend DD cooked for her friends :T She made a red pepper and tomato pasta


and Delia's squidgy chocolate log (link to recipe below )



They were both delicious :j

Challenge update

Recipes cooked:
Week 1:
Delia's roasted vegetable and brown rice gratin

Jamie's Tomato macaroni cheese - Jamie's Dinners, page 204

Jamie's chicken legs with sweet tomatoes - Jamie's Dinners, page 222

Plum trifle

Week 2:

Madhur Jaffrey's chick pea and mushroom curry
Coffee buns

Week 3:
Red pepper and tomato pasta
Delia's squidgy chocolate log

Recipes to cook:

Jamie's Balsamic-Baked Onions and Potatoes with Roast Pork


Economy Gastronomy Salmon

Economy Gastronomy Salmon and Swetcorn Chowder (when I can find the recipe

BBC Good Food Devilled mackerel

Delia's parsnip and cheese roulade

Mumbai potato wraps

Cook with Jamie - tuna pasta, p 64; sausage fuisili, p 72; meatballs, p 92; gnocci ; waldorf risotto p 136; toffee apple tart, p 292; rosti, p302; braised red cabbage, p358

Gordon - cauli and cheddar soup, p 26; pasta with lemon and feta, p 64; canelloni, p 71; leg of lamb, p 132; spinach feta tart, p 158[/QUOTE]

kunekune

New things cooked in our house this week.

1. Hasselback potatoes (I used the whole potato, stuck skewer through the bottom while I sliced, and then roasted them (skewerless) with duck fat). Very nice indeed.
2. A new pizza topping which I found on the Jamie Oliver site - tomato first, then mozzarella and then a mix of anchovies, capers, chopped chilli & olive oil that had been marinated for a while. Very yummy.

And ... ta da ...

My OH cooked his first ever cake. It was a pear upside down cake. I was at work and there were a fair few emails - what is creaming? what is folding? I told him to chuck it all into the magimix. He googled that and, you know what, lots of people said it was lazy and then the good persons of the OS board popped up on the search and said they always use the food processor. So he did.

He got the measurements wrong (cos it wasn't the right tin) but my email told him how to scale up, so he made two batches of the mix. Then he thought he'd heated the oven, put it in, but then accidentally turned it off. So 15 minutes later he had a biscuity thing. He emailed me again, to ask for an emergency pud to be picked up, but I'd already left. So he left it in the oven and it did actually rise n the end.

And guess what, it tasted lovely. The pears were fantastic ripe doyenne du comice. The children have taken the small bit of leftover to school as lunch. I'm very proud of him.

freakyogre

My new recipe this week didn't happen, my own fault as I should have gone into town on Saturday to get some spices for it, but didn't. I didn't want to pay supermarket prices for something I might not use again, so had a simple stew instead!

To make up for that, next week I am planning 2 (possibly 3) new recipes. The first will be this. Then I will be making sesame chicken kebabs with a recipe from Nick Nairn's top 100 chicken recipes which sound lovely! I may also make these for 'lunch' during the week.

gerturdeanna

Not many posts recently - has everyone fallen off the wagon??

I'm making Paella tonight with a slight twist. I'm making it in a pealla pan bought from Spain a few years agao and the seasoning I'll use is the seasoning I used to use in Spain - need to buy some more next time I'm over visiting.

Mr_Lahey

Recently ive been trying new cuts of meat such as Venison, Pigeon, and some game birds. Also i have tried uncommon cuts of fish such as Ling.

To be honest the fish was pointless as Ling tasted just like haddock but the 'gamey' taste of the meats is very distinctive and adds a whole new flavour and is gorgeous with root vegetables.
In the oven right now i have a Sirloin Pot Roast with Root Veg including Kohlrabi (which is not too common) Ill get a pic up when its cooked - It smells lovely though!

Ladyhawk

I am using my slow cooker for the first time which is rather exciting. It didn't come with a instruction manual so don't really know how to use it.

I just layered some potatoes, carrots, leeks and mutton, threw in a tin of chopped tomatoes and a oxo cube... no idea what it will be like or how long to cook it for... but am sure it will be fine...