Cook Something Different Challenge

claire21

mummyjane wrote: »

I am trying really hard to only buy sustainable fish and had bought some coley fillets which have been in the freezer since we watched Hugh's big fish fight on tv . I made my first ever fish curry and although I was dreading tasting coley (after dh told me his grandad used to feed it to the cat :eek:), it actually tasted really good.

Apparently another less popular fish to try is pollock - not sure I like the sound of that though :rotfl:

Julie67 - you could dice the butternut squash and roast it with a few spices and some olive oil.

DH goes fishing, we had good cod last winter but Whiting is an underused fish.

missblonde

Can I join in?! I'm another one for buying loads of lovely cooking books, but never actually using them! When we had our new kitchen designed we specifically included two huge shelves for my books and I still have two boxes left! And don't even get me started on the Easy Cook magazine collection and hundreds of bookmarked recipes!:rotfl:

I've just started meal-planning and every meal this week is something new which could be ambitious and interesting....

Yesterday was Ham and Mustard Pasta (nom nom), Today was Sesame Chicken with rice (OH wasn't keen on the sesame but I liked it), tomorrow is Sun-dried Tomato Pork Bolognase, then we have Bacon and Cheese Scone pizza and then Friday is Tuna Pilaf. The ingredients are all bought and I'm ready to go.

Enid

Having a go at this challenge myself at the moment as I have so many books but just seem to go straight to the internet for recipes now. Such a waste with so many great ideas on my bookshelf.

So today I have been cooking a spicy pulled pork recipe in the slow cooker (sorry I can't post links yet)
I love the pulled pork in Hard Rock cafe but have never found a recipe anywhere close so fingers crossed

richj

Enid wrote: »

Having a go at this challenge myself at the moment as I have so many books but just seem to go straight to the internet for recipes now. Such a waste with so many great ideas on my bookshelf.

So today I have been cooking a spicy pulled pork recipe in the slow cooker (sorry I can't post links yet)
I love the pulled pork in Hard Rock cafe but have never found a recipe anywhere close so fingers crossed

can't wait to see the recipe for this...

hels234

My fave meal at the moment is venison with redcurrent and port sauce, garlic cheese mash and green beans. Done as follows:

Aunt Bessies Home Style Mash (4 circles per person)
Venison Steak from Round Green farm Barnsley (approx 5oz each)
Redcurrent and port jelly from tesco (near to mint jellys/ redcurrent sauces in the sauces isle) (1 tbsp per person)
Mature Cheddar Light (small handful per person)
1 clove of garlic
Some fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
Frozen green beans.

1. Heat pan with 3 sprays of 1 cal oil and put kettle ready for beans
2. Grate cheese whilst pan is heating
3. put some of the redcurrent jelly in a small pan with a little water and start to heat stirring occassionaly until it liquifies.
4. put mash portions ready in microwave but do not turn on yet!
5. Add water to green beans and start to cook
6. Cook venison 3 mins on first side (my venison was about 11/2inches thick). turn for second side and start the mash in the micorwave.
7. Turn the venison again so you are now cooking the ends (the venison will be stood vertically in the pan) once done, put on plate to rest.
8. Whilst the meat is resting turn the heat off on the sauce it should have reduced by now and be lovely and runny.
9. Mix the mash with the cheese, garlic and parsley and serve onto plate with the green beans which should also be ready by now.
10. Pour sauce over the venison and your done!

Its really simple and one of the most tasty meals ever, looks dead impressive! and less than 400 calories per person .

Enjoy!:T

Enid

richj wrote: »

can't wait to see the recipe for this...

1 medium onion, chopped
.5 cup(s) ketchup
.333 cup(s) cider vinegar
.25 cup(s) packed brown sugar
.25 cup(s) tomato paste
2 tablespoon(s) sweet paprika
2 tablespoon(s) Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon(s) yellow mustard
1.5 teaspoon(s) salt
1.25 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
4 pound(s) boneless pork shoulder blade roast (fresh pork butt), cut into 4 pieces
12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls, warmed
Dill pickles (optional)
Potato chips (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)
Directions

In 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce.
Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender.
With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly.
While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary.
Spoon pork mixture onto bottom of sandwich buns; replace tops of buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.


Read more: Pulled Pork Recipe - Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork - Good Housekeeping


Hope that is clear It was absolutely gorgeous I can highly recommend. Loads left for freezer sandwich bags too

richj

Enid wrote: »

1 medium onion, chopped
.5 cup(s) ketchup
.333 cup(s) cider vinegar
.25 cup(s) packed brown sugar
.25 cup(s) tomato paste
2 tablespoon(s) sweet paprika
2 tablespoon(s) Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon(s) yellow mustard
1.5 teaspoon(s) salt
1.25 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
4 pound(s) boneless pork shoulder blade roast (fresh pork butt), cut into 4 pieces
12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls, warmed
Dill pickles (optional)
Potato chips (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)
Directions

In 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce.
Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender.
With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly.
While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary.
Spoon pork mixture onto bottom of sandwich buns; replace tops of buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.


Read more: Pulled Pork Recipe - Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork - Good Housekeeping


Hope that is clear It was absolutely gorgeous I can highly recommend. Loads left for freezer sandwich bags too

Hi Enid,
what size are the cups?
Rich

Swan_2

richj wrote: »

Hi Enid,
what size are the cups?
Rich

hi Rich

the recipe sounds American, so the cups will be 8 fluid oz or 240 mls

richj

thank you very much

daisiegg

Hi all

for those that recognise my name I'm a long-time lurker and very irregular poster, mostly because my laptop is VERY irritating and is fickle about when it does and does not let me post. However...I have sneaked on to OH's PC and am hoping for more success!

Anyway - first I'll say if anything like this already exists, I apologise and will delete my thread! But I don't think I've seen anything...

We have grocery challenges, we have freezer challenges, we have what are you making for dinner threads, we have meal plans...but we don't seem to have a thread focusing directly on making use of cookery books.

I don't know if anyone else is like me, but I absolutely love cookbooks and hoarde them like crazy - but I have to admit there are some that I have never made a single recipe out of!

So, I am going to set myself a challenge of there being a new recipe from one of my cookery books in each week's meal plan, and that will continue without returning to the same cookery book twice, until I have cooked one thing from ALL the books I own. If there are any books that I look through and can't find a single thing I want to cook - then I must be ruthless, and off to the charity shop they will go!

So to summarise -
Each week, I will look at a DIFFERENT cookbook, and find a recipe from it to include in that week's meal plan
This will continue until I have cooked one meal from every cookbook I own (a quick count just found about 70 cookery books - so in theory this should take me through into 2013!)
If I look in any books and do not find a single recipe I want to make, I MUST get rid of them.
If anyone wants to join in, we can use this thread to post progress and comment on new recipes we've tried?

What do you think? any takers? I can't be the only cookbook fetishist out there!