Cook Something Different Challenge

freespirit66

Tonight i made the 2nd new recipe of the week Turkey Tortilla Pie, it was really nice, but the sauce was a bit watery and the tortilla on top didnt crisp up it was quite soggy, still enjoyed it but dont think i will make again

shandyclover

Weather has turned a touch chilly here so making Tuscan white bean and kale soup for dinner, along with foccascia (sp), will report back after dinner!

http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/soups-for-all-seasons/winter-soups/tuscan-white-beans-and-winter-greens-soup/

Well everyone ate it, and DD3 asked if we could put it permanently on the menu. Though the recipe doesn't call for it, I added veg. stock.

freespirit66

This year we have been cooking dishes from celebrations around the world, to try new foods and tonights was the Jewish New Year meal (i know only a few days late) but it was gorgeous i made Challah (jewish bread) tastes lovely but i couldnt plait it, it was too sticky and sloppy so just baked and hoped. Then i made Carrot Souffle, Honey Red Potatoes and Apricot Baked Chicken and for dessert Honey and Apple Bundt cake, we all really enjoyed it, very tasty and easy to do.

Ballymackeonan

I experimented with a Mediterranean-influenced nut roast at the weekend - based on Lidl mediterranean style mixed nuts (with dried black olives). Read a few recipes online, then mixed equal quantities of finely-sliced celery, shredded courgette and shallots, and some finely-chopped mushrooms, and sweated them for a few minutes. When they'd cooled, I added in the chopped nuts and olives, herbes de Provence and garlic, and three beaten duck eggs (equivalent to about 5 hen eggs), and added chickpea flour to thicken - an experiment as most of the recipes used breadcrumbs or rice.

It baked well, my veggie friend enjoyed it, and the leftovers sliced up for packed lunch today!

Lizling

Yum. I might try the Tuscan bean thing and something along the lines of the nut roast. I've got chickpea flour to use up. Carrot souffle sounds very interesting too!

More of a bake than a cooked thing, but I made carrot cake. I expect everyone else here will have made a carrot cake before, but I hadn't. The sponge turned out great but I wasn't so impressed with the icing.

Gigervamp

What did you use for the icing? I prefer cream cheese frosting, but some recipes use butter icing.

I love carrot cake, but have only made it once. Don't remember the recipe I used though.

Lizling

It was a cream cheese icing, but it came out lumpy. The friend who gave me the carrot cake recipe had had the same results with the icing, but forgot to mention it until later.

Apparently I should have ignored the instructions about gently folding it together and just whizzed it in a blender. Oh well, live and learn.

Gigervamp

Ah, that's a shame. Who wants lumpy frosting?

freespirit66

Hi, i find cream cheese icing is flipping temperamental, sometimes it comes out perfect and sometimes awful, all runny, the last one i made was a Nigella one and it had double cream in it at first i thought uh oh but whizzed it up and it was perfect and tasted really good

Lizling

Tonight I made Afghan carrot and split pea stew, but first a little bit of background.

I live in an area known for its curries. I can handle any level of spice that the local north Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi restaurants can throw at me (but not the hottest the Tamil place does :eek:).

And yet, given previous experience with scotch bonnet chillies, I went to the supermarket and bought a bucket of nice, cooling plain yoghurt, a beer and a pack of loo rolls before attempting this recipe. Honestly. I am being 100% serious here.

I tasted a little bit halfway through cooking - my lips were still tingling 15 minute later.

Now I've eaten a portion, the verdict: it was a cheap and easy recipe and it's quite tasty, though not outstanding, but I am very glad I went on that shopping trip first.

This is one that will probably taste better tomorrow when the flavours have had more time to mature.