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Kiwisaver_2

Today I made 'a Kinda hot-pot' a la page 186 Jamie's MoF.

Recipe feedback - the bulk of the work was done a couple of weeks back when I made the beef stew, so super easy just to parboil some sliced potatoes tonight, assemble and whack it all in the oven for 40 minutes.

Taste test - what's not to love, I could go hot-pot style potato slices any day of the week but rarely could be bothered to do the whole thing from scratch.

Would I make it again? Absolutely yes, I'm loving the fact that a bit of extra effort these past few weekends has built up the beginnings of various other meals such as this for midweek.

VJsmum

Last week I made Manchester Tart from the dinner lady cookbook - haven't had it since I was at school

Very simple - pastry case, spread with red jam, custard on top and chilled

It took me back but was maybe a little bland. I thought I could slice bananas under the custard another time.

Most of the family liked it - DD doesn't like cold custard apparently - and I would do it again.

sweaty_betty

On Sunday I made the roast pork from the Hairy Dieter's book. It was nice, but I'm not sure it was that much better than when I've done my own version before.
The best bit was a bit I improvised - I chopped up some old apples and a couple of leeks and put them in with the meat. Once it was all cooked, I blended them with the juices from the meat and it made a delicious sauce

Tonight it's the hairy dieter's korma, all prepared in the fridge and ready to cook...

sweaty_betty

So, the hairy dieter's korma was nice. I'm going to add almonds next time though (which might defeat the "diet" bit of it!).
Just preparing for tomorrow's hairy dieters' meatballs now...

VJsmum

sweaty_betty wrote: »

On Sunday I made the roast pork from the Hairy Dieter's book. It was nice, but I'm not sure it was that much better than when I've done my own version before.
The best bit was a bit I improvised - I chopped up some old apples and a couple of leeks and put them in with the meat. Once it was all cooked, I blended them with the juices from the meat and it made a delicious sauce

Tonight it's the hairy dieter's korma, all prepared in the fridge and ready to cook...

Ooh I did the Korma a couple of weeks ago - I was too heavy on the cloves so beware. S'lovely though

mandragora_2

sweaty_betty wrote: »

Just preparing for tomorrow's hairy dieters' meatballs now...

That really doesn't sound at all appetising....

Looby_Lou

I made JO spicy sausage cassoulet from the save with Jamie book. Unlike most of his recipes I didn't think the quantities were enough. I was only feeding teh equivalent of 3 adults not 4 and I put in 3 times as much pork belly and double the amount of beans.

I would make it again, but I would make it in the slow cooker as the pork needed to be cooked for longer.

aliama

Finally a main meal recipe.

I made pasta alla puttanesca, or as Nigella terms it in the book 'S**t's Spaghetti' for dinner last night.

Recipe Feedback - Such an easy and quick recipe, and virtually all from storecupboard ingredients: tin of chopped tomatoes, anchovies, jarred olives, capers, chilli flakes and spaghetti (admittedly I don't usually have anchovies sitting around in the cupboards, although since we use them quite a lot maybe we should), and this is such a simple recipe, it's worth having them at all times for those days when you really just can't be arsed to cook. Start to finish (and by start I mean start getting the ingredients out of the cupboard), this recipe shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.

Taste test - Really nice, gutsy flavours although next time I might add a bit more chilli. Nigella suggests either half a tsp of chilli flakes or a couple of tbsp of chopped jalapenos from a jar. I used chilli flakes, but it didn't have much of a kick, so I'd up it to a tsp.

Marks -- 9/10 for ease and speed.

aliama

And yet another baking recipe, Marmalade pudding, which I made for Sunday lunch.

Recipe Feedback - The most trouble I had with this recipe was finding an appropriately sized ovenproof dish. Nigella recommends a 24cm square Pyrex dish or similar, which we did not have. After pulling out all our ovenproof dishes to measure them I settled on our oval pyrex casserole, which I think is 4.5lts. Anyway, it seemed to work okay.

The recipe itself is particularly easy if you have a food processor -- your just bung everything in, whizz it up and pour into the baking dish. If you don't have a food processor it's a little more involved, you have to add everything separately.

The pudding takes 30-40 minutes to cook. Nigella's instructions are a little confusing here... She tells you to check after 30 mins, 'by which time the sponge mixture will have risen and a cake tester will come out cleanish', but it isn't clear whether this means you have to take the cake out of the oven. Only a minor quibble though.

I prepared ahead by measuring but the ingredients, putting them into two bowls, one for the wet, one for the dry, and leaving them by the food processor, with the eggs ready nearby. That way it just takes moments to mix the ingredients up and pour them into the dish to go in the oven while you're sitting down to dinner.

I really did have good intentions for the leftovers, fully intending to keep some aside for the orange and blackberry trifle. Sadly, it was not to be, and lesson learnt -- leave cake sitting around in the fridge for just that one day too long and it will get eaten.

Taste Test -- This is an ideal Sunday lunch recipe, especially now the weather's getting colder. It was delicious with custard.

Score - Quick and simple to prepare and cook, nothing fancy but a really handy recipe to have. The leftovers trifle looks good too, and hopefully next time I make this, I will keep some back for that. 8/10

Eltee12

I'd like to do

Slow Cooking Properly Explained: Over 100 Favourite Recipes

Will probably do 1 or two per week, so will take a whole year or two! think I'll start on Monday with Geordie Stew and Dumplings.

El