Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops

Cookbook Review ~ Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:30:00 +0000

It's no surprise that Nigella Lawson's latest book, Nigellissima, is an Italian cookbook since she is so emphatic about how much she loves Italian food and culture, and all of her previous cookbooks feature a lot of Italian or Italian inspired recipes. But what else would you expect from someone who spent a gap year working and living in Italy and has (at last count) around 500 Italian cookbooks!

I wouldn't necessarily classify Nigellissima as an Italian cookbook but it certainly is as the cover clearly states, an Italian inspired cookbook. In her latest book the Domestic Goddess has taken some of her favourite Italian recipes and influences and turned them into her usual no-fuss, no nonsense, speedy recipes that can be made in your home kitchen with minimal ingredients and hassle.

The book is divided up into 5 chapters which includes 'Pasta', 'Flesh, Fish & Fowl', 'Vegetables & Sides', 'Sweet Things' and 'An Italian-Inspired Christmas'. All of the chapters features a good variety of recipes bound to inspire you to get into the kitchen and start cooking with some Italian flare! I bookmarked a lot of recipes but in the end I tested 7.

The Tested Recipes:

Yellow Spaghetti

Cod with Broccoli & Chilli

Tagliata for Two

Chilli Crab Risotto

Chicken with Tomatoes & Peppers

Nutella Panna Cotta

Yogurt Pot Cake

It's not much of a surprise that an Italian inspired cookbook by Nigella Lawson starts off with the first chapter being (much to my delight) 'Pasta'. Being a pastaholic there were plenty of recipes bookmarked from this chapter and so the first recipe put to the test was her Yellow Spaghetti. When it comes to dishes flavoured with saffron, especially pasta dishes, I'm a little hesitant after a particularly bad dish I had several years ago at a restaurant, however I knew from the list of ingredients that hubby would love this dish so I decided to give it a go especially because it was a very quick recipe perfect for a mid-week meal when time is not on your side. It was incredibly fast and easy to make and tasted good. Scott absolutely loved it and only complained that there wasn't more! I enjoyed it as much as I would enjoy any creamy sauce (being more of a tomato sauce lover) and would make it again for the fact it was so quick and easy and a little different and of course to keep hubby happy!

Up next and Scott was away so I made the Cod with Broccoli & Chilli. Again it was a very straightforward recipe and didn't take long to prepare. I substituted the anchovies with bacon which Nigella suggests you can do if you aren't an anchovy lover because I knew Wee One would prefer bacon. Due to using bacon I did cut down the amount of oil required but other than that I followed the recipe to a tee! I enjoyed the dish and I did like the flavours of the sauce from the Broccoli but to be honest it didn't wow me. The broccoli although still lovely and tender-crisp was certainly not the vibrant green as in her picture and so looked a little sorry for itself! The fish was lovely and the chilli certainly elevated the recipe a bit but it wasn't a favourite, however it would make a healthy mid-week meal (especially if you use anchovies rather than the bacon) that can be on the table in a hurry. If I make this again I would stick to the original recipe of using anchovies rather than the bacon as I suspect that might be more successful.

Next up and with Scott still away I opted for the Tagliata for Two. I picked this recipe for when he was away, not because I wanted to torture him by eating a steak without him(!) but because the second main ingredient to this dish is cherry tomatoes which is a strict no-go for him! The other issue I had with this dish was how to cook the steak. The recipe suggests a hot griddle or frying pan – both of these options would cause Scott to have heart palpitations (or worse!) since he says the only way to cook a steak is to barbecue it otherwise you don't bother! The problem is after 8 years of barbecued steaks it's hard not to only eat them that way since they are just SO good but I figured in the end I should stick to the recipe so I went for the griddle pan option (much to hubby's horror!). I have to say though the end result was delicious! The marinade for the steak and tomatoes was perfect – both sweet and tangy and with a bit of a kick. I loved it and will definitely make it again, although next time perhaps on the BBQ!

With Scott's arrival home I decided to make something a little more special and tested the Chilli Crab Risotto since hubby is a huge lover of crab. It was a typical recipe for risotto but with the standard Nigella shortcuts (garlic oil instead of oil and crushed garlic, and spring onions for a faster easier alternative to onion!). I have to say as I tested it towards the end of cooking time I was really enjoying it, but then I added the final ingredients (the crab, lemon and rocket) let it stand and somehow along the way in my opinion went downhill. I couldn't quite put my finger on it – too much crab perhaps and definitely too much rocket but on top of that there was just something missing. We all ate it (including Wee One thankfully – even with all the rocket in it) and hubby's opinion was it was “ok” agreeing that something was missing but he wasn't sure what either. Unfortunately for me this recipe was a bit of a fail which is always a disappointment especially cause it looked so good in the picture and sounded so delicious.

Not to be deterred by the risotto I moved on to the next recipe which sounded like the perfect mid-week family friendly meal – Chicken with Tomatoes and Peppers. This looked and sounded like my perfect meal so I was hoping I wouldn't be disappointed. Thankfully I wasn't. It was a fairly simple dish – and certainly my favourite flavours so I enjoyed it more than hubby did but for me it was a success and a good midweek meal. That being said, next time I make it I would definitely add some extra's here and there, just to give it a little extra flavour boost, but all-in-all it was a good recipe.

It wasn't going to be long until I made my way to the 'Sweet Things' chapter which I think happened to be one of my favourite chapters! For a special weekend treat I just couldn't resist the Nutella Panna Cotta. A perfectly easy recipe for Panna Cotta it didn't long to make and I knew from licking the spoon after putting them in the cups that it was going to be good! Since the recipe served 6 we got to enjoy them over 2 nights which was a good experiment in terms of how long to let them set. Night one had had 6 hours which she suggests as the minimum time and although set on top were a little too wobbly underneath. By night two however they had a perfect texture – just set but still with a lovely wobble to them! This is a definite recipe to pull out next time I'm entertaining.

Finally I couldn't resist making the Yogurt Pot Cake because it reminded me so much of a recipe of my Granny's that I used to make all the time when I was younger (sadly I think the recipe has been misplaced as I unfortunately don't have it). I was desperate to get a savarin/ring cake tin like the one she uses as it looked so lovely but I wasn't able to find one so had to stick to a standard round cake tin. The other issue I had was that funnily enough yogurt pots are smaller in Canada than the UK (I know – highly unusual, normally it's the other way around!) but I stuck to the recipe and the principal that your yogurt pot is your unit of measure so as long as everything is measured by the pot then it shouldn't be a problem. This recipe was definitely a little more time consuming than the one I used to make as I certainly don't remember whisking the egg whites but it does make for a lighter cake so worth an extra few minutes of your time. I needed to cook the cake for 5 minutes longer than suggested (although could have probably got away with 3-4). The end result was just as I had hoped it would be and brought back lots of memories, however it was at it's best when still warm out of the oven. Although it still had a lot of flavour by the next day it was a little heavy so next time I make it I will try to be a little lighter with my mixing and see if that makes a difference. Due to it being baked in a large round tin it was also a fairly flat cake so I have to admit I'm still on the lookout for a Savarin tin to finish it off perfectly! All-in-all though I'm so happy to have this recipe again (or at least a close variation of it) and it was a great way to end testing the book.

As well as the recipes tested above for the purpose of reviewing this book, I've also made the Sicilian Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic & Almonds (which is the dish Nigella is pictured eating on the cover of the book which was very tasty although it was an effort finding the right type of pasta which isn't essential but I couldn't resist!) The Curly-Edged Pasta with Lamb Ragu (which I made for Christmas Eve and everyone loved other than the fact I made enough to feed the neighbourhood!) and the Broccoli with Lemon & Parmesan (great side dish which we love and I have made several times).

And of course I still have a list as long as my arm of bookmarked recipes that I want to try, including …...

Tortelloni Minestrone

Sardinian Couscous with Clams

Pork Loin with Parma Ham & Oregano

Chicken with Tarragon Salsa Verde

Green Beans with Pistachio Pesto

Cherry Tomatoes with Olives

Roast Brussels Sprouts with Rosemary, Lemon & Pecorino

Italian Golden Lentils

Gnocchi Gratin

Saffron Orzotto

Instant Chocolate-Orange Mousse

Vanilla Mousse with Berries & Pistachios

Double Amaretto Semifreddo with Golden-Gleaming Sauce

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Chocolate Pasta with Pecans & Caramel

Gorgonzola & Cannellini Dip with a Tricolore Flourish

Polenta Triangles with Chilli Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Basil, My Way

Spaghetti Spice

Pannettone French Toast

Chocolate Nougat Cookies

This book is certainly as the cover says, “Italian inspired” recipes which in true Nigella style have been simplified and adapted to be made easily in the comfort of your own home with minimal time and everyday ingredients and a definite “Anglo twist”. If you are looking for authentic Italian recipes I don't think you would be satisfied, however there are lots of delicious recipes that are certainly inspired by those authentic recipes. I like how a lot of the recipes serve 2 instead of the typical 4, especially the pasta recipes but they can all be easily doubled if need be. That being said the quantity they serve varies throughout the book with some recipes feeding 8 and the 'Italian Inspired Christmas' chapter serving lots!

I did have a couple of disappointments with the book, the first one being that there were no recipes for pizza! Being a huge pizza lover I'm surprised that a modern Italian inspired book wouldn't feature any (other that her recipe for Meatzza which I was not convinced with and opted to skip!) so I wish she had included a few of those but perhaps she just isn't a pizza lover! Secondly, it's not a major thing but I wish she had given a bit more guidance with the side dishes as what to serve them with. I loved the sound of a lot of them but there was never any suggestion as to what she would recommend they go with which I would have found useful. Other than that though it really is a lovely book.

Specialty Ingredients?

It seems that whenever I review one of Nigella's cookbooks it's my liquor cabinet that gets stocked up! This book has seen the addition of Marsala and Vermouth both of which I am happy to have though as they are great for lots of different recipes. I had a little bit of difficulty finding the pasta for the Sicilian Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic & Almonds but you could use any long pasta. Also the Sardinian Couscous with Clams that I have bookmarked may be on the list for a while as it's definitely not easy for me to find the Fregola that the recipe calls for. Other than that though I think most other ingredients are certainly everyday ingredients that you can find at your local supermarket or deli.

Learn anything new?

I don't think I learnt anything new with this book especially because I am also a huge fan of Italian food and cooking (and maintain if I wasn't Scottish I should have been Italian!) but it did inspire me which is always a bonus, and of course I rediscovered the recipe for the Yogurt Pot Cake and tried the delicious Nutella Panna Cotta.

As with all of her books this is a lovely book for when you want easy and simple dishes but this time with an Italian flare. The recipes are ideal for mid-week meals (especially the pasta dishes) but are also perfect for entertaining for a relaxed get-together. I definitely enjoyed the Sweet Things chapter the most (as you can tell from the amount of sweet recipes I've bookmarked!) but each chapter had plenty of recipes I was keen to try. I don't think my family would let me get away with changing tradition and opting for the 'Italian-Inspired Christmas' but I would certainly use the recipes for a family meal or Birthday and for meals in the lead up to Christmas.

Although I wasn't wowed by all of the recipes I tested (primarily the Chilli Crab Risotto and the Cod with Broccoli and Chilli) I really enjoyed the rest and will definitely make them again and of course continue to try the other recipes in the book.

Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval.

Father's Day Menu Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:30:00 +0000

From Top L-R: Twice as Spicy Wings; Jalapeno Popper Dip; Prawn Cocktail Trio; Classic Barbecued Beef Burger; Char-Grilled Steak with Basil Hollandaise; Pulled Pork Buns with Coleslaw; New York Cherry Cheesecake; Profiteroles and Homemade Ice Cream

It's Father's Day on Sunday so I've put together a collection of recipes bound to keep the Dad in your life happy! Whether he likes to chill out in the garden with a Beer and Burger, get finger-licking messy with Wings and Pulled Pork (don't forget the napkins!) or perhaps prefers a refined sit-down meal with a good glass of wine, Steak and homemade Hollandaise sauce I've got plenty of ideas.

So for all you Dad's out there (especially my Dad and my husband – both of which are the best Dad's ever!!) have a great day x

Twice as Spicy Chicken Wings

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Prawn Cocktail Trio

Mushroom Bruschetta with Aioli

Baked Brie with Asparagus & Prosciutto

Potted Crab

Crispy Calamari

Spicy Chickpea Fritters

~~~~

Classic Barbecued Beef Burger

Char-Grilled Steak and Basil Hollandaise with Potato Wedges

Pulled Pork Buns with Coleslaw

Scallop and Bacon Spaghetti

Penne Arrabiata

Mushroom and Goats Cheese Ravioli

Barbecued Pizza

Pan-Fried Duck Breasts with Red Wine Sauce

Friday Night Chicken Curry

Fiery Lamb & Spinach Curry

Steamed Crab with Trio of Dipping Sauces

Grilled Fish Tacos

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New York Cherry Cheesecake

Profiteroles

Ice Cream

Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Cream Buttercream

Nanaimo Bars

Black Forest Cupcakes

Quinoa Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:31:00 +0000

This is one of my new favourite lunches as it is so tasty but also pretty healthy too and gives me lots of energy for going to the gym! Even better I can make up a batch and divide it up into individual containers so it makes a perfect packed lunch for my hubby and will do us both for 2 days.....well most of the time!

Quinoa makes a great alternative to grains like couscous or rice and is gluten free so perfect for anyone needing to avoid gluten.

Serves 4

2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup quinoa

1 big handful of spinach leaves

5 or 6 basil leaves (a few more if they are small)

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)*

1 red pepper, chopped into small pieces

2 spring onions, sliced thinly

1 tomato, chopped (optional)

50g feta cheese

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Maldon sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to serve

Bring 2 cups (500ml) of stock to the boil then add the quinoa (you can use water if you prefer, the stock just adds a bit more flavour). Stir then turn the heat to low and leave to simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for a further 5 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking prepare the rest of the ingredients. Put the spinach and basil into a small food processor and blitz until very finely chopped. (If you don't have a processor simply chop it up using a knife as finely as you can.)

Once the quinoa is ready pour it into a large bowl then add the finely chopped spinach and basil, lemon zest and juice of ½ the lemon, the chilli, 1 tbsp of olive oil and some salt. Mix everything carefully together using a fork until well combined and leave to cool to room temperature before adding the red pepper, spring onions, tomatoes and feta cheese. Mix again then taste to check the seasoning and if needed add the remaining lemon juice and tablespoon of olive oil before serving.

*If you don't have a fresh chilli you can easily use a good pinch of dried chilli flakes instead.

Curtis Stone's New York Cherry Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:22:00 +0000

Just after I posted my review of Curtis Stone's new book What's for Dinner? I couldn't resist trying his amazing looking New York Cherry Cheesecake for a family meal. I'll be honest this is one serious cheesecake and not for anyone counting their calories, but my-oh-my it is worth every single one!! Loaded with cream cheese and eggs it still manages to stay light and super creamy and the touch of lemon gives it the perfect balance to the sweetness. If you like cheesecake and are looking for a new recipe to try I can't recommend this enough, especially since cherry season is just getting started. Try it and you will see what I mean!

Serves 12

Butter for the pan

Crust:

12 whole graham crackers* (see note at bottom)

3 tbsp sugar

5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

4 x 225g/ 8oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature (very important it's at room temp.)

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

Sour Cream Topping:

2 cups sour cream

3 tbsp sugar

Cherry Topping:

1 lb fresh cherries, halved and pitted

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F/ 180C. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform cake pan with 3 inch high sides.

To make the crust put the graham crackers (or digestive biscuits) into a food processor and blitz until you have fine crumbs (you should have 1 1/3 cups – make sure you measure this and see note at bottom of recipe!). Add the sugar and melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. (If you don't have a food processor pop the biscuits into a bag, seal and whack with a rolling pin!) Press the crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom and if you like 1 ½ inches up the side (I didn't bother doing that as I preferred to have a slightly thicker base). Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until the crust is a shade darker (took me 13-14 minutes). Cool on a rack, then wrap 3 layers of wide heavy-duty foil around the outside of the pan (make sure the foil is high all around).

For the filling clean the bowl of the processor then blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. If you need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure it's all properly mixed. Add the lemon zest, juice and vanilla and mix to combine before adding the eggs. Pulse until everything is well combined and silky smooth.

Pour the filling into the pan then place it in a large roasting pan. Pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the filling is set other than the very center which should still wobble slightly when the pan is gently shaken (the cake will firm once chilled).

While the cheesecake is baking mix together the sour cream and sugar for the topping. As soon as the cheesecake is ready pour the sour cream topping over the top and smooth before returning back to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the topping has set. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and carefully put the cake pan onto a rack and leave to cool for at least 1 hour.

Run a sharp paring knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it from the pan sides but keep it in the pan at this point. Cover loosely with cling film/ plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled (I only chilled it for roughly 6 hours and it was perfect so if you are short of time don't panic too much!).

To finish off the cheesecake make the cherry topping by combining the pitted and halved cherries with the sugar and lemon. Stir everything together then leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (I gave it 1 hour), stirring from time to time.

When you are finally ready to unveil your masterpiece (and can't wait any longer to try it!), remove the side of the pan from the cheesecake then cut the cake into 12 pieces (use a large sharp knife and dip it into hot water after each cut to moisten it and wipe it clean). Put the slices onto individual plates then top with the cherry topping and enjoy!

*I had a box of Graham crackers in the house already and so as per the instructions I ground up 12, however thankfully Curtis points out that once ground to fine crumbs you should have 1 1/3 cups. I wasn't even close! I think I had just over ½ cup so obviously Graham crackers vary (or for those of you in the UK/Australia if you are using Digestive biscuits) make sure to go by the end cup amount. If I hadn't bothered to measure it out I would have had the thinnest base ever!!!

*This recipe was taken from What's for Dinner? by Curtis Stone. To see my full review click here.

Cooking the Books ~ June

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 15:46:00 +0000

With my renewed attempt to get healthy and lose a bit of weight it seemed that Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai was a great choice for June's Cooking the Books. I've been going to the gym for 6 weeks now and have just changed my 2 month 'trial' membership into a 1 year one so I have no excuses! Of course working out is just one aspect of it and next to that is definitely watching what you eat so I am excited to see what news tips and tricks of the trade this model-turned-chef can teach me!

As usual if you have this book why not cook along with me or leave a comment and let me know what you think of it. So what are you waiting for, let's put this book to the test and start Cooking the Books!!

Cookbook Review ~ What's for Dinner? by Curtis Stone

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Mon, 27 May 2013 18:02:00 +0000

I've been familiar with Curtis Stone since his debut TV show 'Surfing the Menu' that he co-hosted with his friend and fellow Australian chef Ben O'Donoghue in 2003, however surprisingly this is his first cook book that I have bought. What's for Dinner? is a collection of recipes for time-saving meals for every day of the week that take into consideration how busy our daily schedules can be but recognise the importance of sitting down every day to eat a balanced meal. The recipes are designed to be straightforward and easy to prepare with everyday ingredients and minimal appliances. Chapters are divided into each day of the week with incorporated themes such as “Motivating Mondays” to kick start your week, “Time-Saving Tuesdays” for when you are in a rush, “Thrifty Thursdays” for feeding your family on a budget and “Dinner Party Saturdays” for when you want to entertain and “bring out your inner chef”.

The Tested Recipes:

Having read through the book several times and seeing plenty of recipes that I wanted to try it was time to put the book to the test and start cooking. I managed to test 6 recipes from the book but that was really just the tip of the iceberg as this book really does have a lot of recipes in it that jump out at you waiting to be cooked and devoured! In the end I picked the following recipes.....

Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad

Spaghetti with Garlic, Lemon, Kale & Parmesan

Chicken Masala with Cucumber Raita

Halibut & Spinach with Orange -Pine Nut Vinaigrette

Grilled Salmon with Orzo, Feta & Red Wine Vinaigrette

Olive Oil Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

~~~

The first recipe to be put to the test was the Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad which looked so good in the photograph I just couldn't resist! The dressing was absolutely delicious - packed full of strong, punchy flavours but a perfect combination of each ingredient that went so well with the salad. The salad itself was very straightforward to make and tasty, my only complaint was that I felt it could have done with some more veges in it so next time I make it I would add in some peppers and sugar snap peas for a bit more crunch and variety and to make it go a little further. Overall though it was a very nice, healthy and delicious salad that hubby and I enjoyed.

Next up and for a super quick and easy Friday night meal I made the Spaghetti with Garlic, Lemon, Kale & Parmesan which we were lucky enough to enjoy outside. I did half this recipe since it was the 3 of us (but more like 2 ½ when it comes to eating!) but also because I didn't buy nearly enough Kale. I bought one big bunch thinking that would be more than enough but after weighing it once home it turned out it was pretty much only a quarter of what the recipe called for! That being said it was more than enough for the halved recipe and I definitely didn't need any more so in future when I make it again I would keep it to the lesser quantity. I would also perhaps cut back on the amount of olive oil used although it was of course absolutely delicious with the amount suggested! The overall dish was really tasty and so quick that I would be crazy not to make it again, especially since Wee One enjoyed it. I couldn't resist and added some finely chopped red chilli to ours which for our taste buds it needed, but if you aren't a chilli lover just stick to the original recipe and you will be more than satisfied.

The third recipe to be put to the test was the Chicken Masala with Cucumber Raita. I don't normally think of having a curry on a Monday (definitely more of a 'Friday night curry' kind of gal), but not being one who is able to resist a curry recipe and needing a recipe I could prepare in advance so I could go to the gym I couldn't not make it! In this recipe you keep the chicken breasts whole which is definitely a little different for a curry recipe but it did mean the chicken stayed nice and moist. The sauce had good flavour and the addition of the spinach finished it off perfectly. Since there was no cream added it was a nice healthy curry which we really enjoyed. Unfortunately though the Cucumber Raita was not so successful! I have no idea what happened (whether it was the new brand of Greek Yogurt I used or the lemon was particularly sour) but it was far too bitter – to the extent it was just not enjoyable. I don't necessarily think it was the recipe so I would try it again, although next time I try it out I would certainly half the recipe as there was far too much for the 4 servings suggested.

Next up was the Halibut & Spinach with Orange -Pine Nut Vinaigrette. This recipe is included in the “Time-Saving Tuesdays” chapter and seemed like a nice light recipe with the bonus that it wouldn't take long to prepare. The vinaigrette had quite a few ingredients including obviously orange and pine nuts, but it was amazing. I have to admit when I first tried it on it's own I was a little hesitant as to how the finished dish would turn out but it was fantastic and by far by favourite of the recipes tried so far. It was so light and refreshing with so many bright flavours and definitely a perfect meal for Spring and Summer. The fish and spinach were very straightforward and the dish didn't take long to make at all. I will definitely make this dish time and time again and would use the dressing for lots of other dishes as well as it was just so good.

Following the success of the Halibut dish I couldn't resist trying another fish dish and made the Grilled Salmon with Orzo, Feta & Red Wine Vinaigrette. It was another hit and everyone really enjoyed it. I did feel that the Salmon could have done with something extra as it is cooked with just a little oil and then served on top of the salad – but perhaps maybe just save some of the vinaigrette to spoon a little over. (I had used all of mine on the salad as instructed so just spritzed over a little lemon which was good.) There was a lot of the pasta salad but it meant we just had leftovers for lunch the next day so no complaints there. This was another nice and simple meal with good flavours that kept everyone happy.

I couldn't finish reviewing the book without trying something from the Something Sweet chapter so after much debate (there are a lot of delicious looking sweet recipes!) the final recipe to be tested was the Olive Oil Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote since the Strawberries and Rhubarb were jumping out at me in the supermarket! A nice and simple cake recipe that didn't take long to make or bake. Since we were heading over for dinner with our family I decided to take it over for dessert (so that I wouldn't eat it all myself!) and the general consensus was that it tasted like a lemon pound cake as it was nice and fresh flavoured although I didn't really taste the rosemary in it. The edges were a little dry (I cooked it for exactly 35 minutes as instructed but it could of perhaps done with a minute or two less) but the rest was lovely and moist, however it was not nearly as risen as in the picture – in fact compared to the pic it looked a little like a pancake! Thankfully though it still tasted good. The Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote was a delicious accompaniment to the cake and made it that little bit more special and a perfect dessert. I will definitely make this cake again.

Out of the 6 recipes tested my favourite was definitely the Halibut & Spinach with Orange -Pine Nut Vinaigrette, however I enjoyed all of them and there were certainly no disasters or bad recipes. I still have a long list of bookmarked recipes that I am keen to try, including.....

Bookmarked Recipes:

Korean Steak Tacos

Steak & Green Bean Stir-fry with Ginger & Garlic

New Orleans “Barbecued” Shrimp with Amber Ale

Shrimp Rolls with Herb Aioli

Bacon, Corn & Potato Chowder

Kimchi Fried Rice

Asian Beef & Vegetable Lettuce Cups

Conchiglie Pasta with Chorizo, Peppers & Spinach

Chipotle Pork Tacos

Thai Red Curry with Butternut Squash & Chickpeas

Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks & Green Beans with Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette & Chilli-Gorgonzola Butter

Grilled Halibut & Asparagus with Melted Leeks

Seared Scallops & Spring Vegetables with Coconut-Lime Sauce

Classic Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes

Barbecued Spareribs with Apple-Bourbon BBQ Sauce

New York Cherry Cheesecake (see below)

Lozza's Sticky Toffee Ice Cream

Salted Caramel Pots de Creme

By far the biggest pro to this book is the typical relaxed, easy-going approach of an Ozzie chef! The recipes are straightforward and uncomplicated and as the book intends perfect for cooking 7 days of the week. I love how the chapters are divided into the days of the week for something a little different and instant inspiration. The majority of the recipes are accompanied by beautiful photographs to inspire and guide you but also of course, to make you drool and the Chapter on “Something Sweet” is reason alone to buy the book!

The only slight downside to the book was that it has a bit of a wintery feel to it as a lot of the recipes seemed fairly hearty and bold, more suited to colder seasons. I probably noticed that more since when I first bought the book we were going through a mini heatwave and a lot of the recipes didn't appeal as they were too hearty but it does mean it will keep you going throughout the year, especially those of you living in colder climates! Other than that though there were no real complaints. A few editing issues perhaps (for example the recipe for Chipotle Pork Tacos says to see the Kitchen Note regarding the chipotle chillies in adobo sauce, however there is no Kitchen Note) but that again is small and not a big deal.

Specialty Ingredients to buy?

There wasn't anything particularly special that I had to buy for the recipes in this book as it is really based on simple home cooking but he does love to cook with shallots and spinach so I had to be well stocked with both of those ingredients! I really wanted to try the recipe for Kimchi Fried Rice but I couldn't find any Kimchi so I guess that could be listed as a specialty ingredient, other than that though everything else though was definitely supermarket ingredients which is great.

Learn anything new?

I don't think I learnt anything specifically new with the recipes that I tried as they are so straightforward and aimed for even a novice cook, but I did use rhubarb for the first time in a very long time, so for me that's a bonus as I love cooking with new ingredients, trying different recipes with the ingredients, or being reminded about ingredients I haven't used for a long time. The book has also provided me with some new delicious ideas for cooking with fish which I'm really happy about as I am trying to eat a lot more fish.

Overall this book is a very family friendly cookbook with a lot of variety but all of the recipes are pretty straightforward so it really is a book everyone would enjoy to give you new recipes to help you get through the week whatever your schedule. I gave the book to my Mother-in-law to have a look at and she liked it so much she went and bought a copy for herself and tried the Grilled Halibut & Asparagus with Melted Leeks which she said was great, so if that's not a seller I don't know what is!

What's for Dinner? By Curtis Stone definitely gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval!

*After posting this review I made the New York Cherry Cheesecake. Normally when I make cheesecakes I prefer the unbaked versions but this one looked so amazingly good in the photo I knew I had to try it. Definitely not a healthy option (not even close!) but absolutely delicious, this is a must-try recipe for next time you are entertaining. Click here to see the recipe for it.

Creamy Tropical Fruit Smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

With Spring in full force (although with fairness last week felt like Summer!) I have been enjoying a lot more smoothies, especially since I have recently re-joined the gym. It's a great way to start my day or to give me an energy boost mid afternoon before or after working out. Even better my son loves it and not that I need any help getting him to eat fruit, if you have a fussy fruit eater in your family I am sure they will love this.

Makes 2 glasses (easily doubled)

1 cup of frozen mango cubes

1 full (slightly overflowing!) cup of strawberries, hulled

¼ pineapple, peeled

1 pot of yogurt (100g approx)*

Splash of milk (optional)

Put the mango cubes into a blender and leave to soften slightly while you cup up the other fruit, then add the strawberries and pineapple to the blender along with the yogurt. I tend to half fill my pot of yogurt with the milk and swish it around a bit to get the last of the yogurt before adding it to the blender. Blitz until smooth then serve while thick and creamy and icy cold.

Note:

If you don't have frozen mango cubes add a few ice cubes to the blended when you blitz it to make it nice and frosty cold.

Variation:

If you don't like/ have allergies to Mango or simply can't get any you can replace it with 1 large banana instead, just don't forget the ice!

Coconut & Lime Macaroons

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:49:00 +0000

Since I am a huge fan of coconut and especially coconut and lime, it's no surprise that I absolutely love these Macaroons. They are quick and easy to make and utterly irresistible! Sweet and chewy the lime cuts through a little just to add just enough zing to stop them from being too cloyingly sweet.

I've tried lots of different macaroon recipes over the years but this one is my favourite since it is very straightforward, quick and easy and doesn't fail. It's a recipe by Rachel Allen from Home Cooking, I just changed it to use lime instead of the cinnamon that she prefers. This is a great recipe for getting kids cooking in the kitchen as it's as simple as 1-2-3 and is perfect for making if you have any unexpected guests showing up and even better it is also gluten free. If you have a batch of these in the cookie jar you are guaranteed to keep everyone happy.

Makes roughly 12 bite-sized cookies

100g shredded coconut
75g sugar
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Simply put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix everything together until well combined. Use a tablespoon to measure out the macaroons and then with damp hands roll them into little balls and pop onto the baking tray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on the tray for roughly 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Variation:
For an extra indulgent treat dip half of the macaroons into melted dark chocolate. Total decadence!

Cooking the Books ~ May

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:42:00 +0000

I thought it was about time that I treated myself to a new cookbook so I managed to restrain myself and narrowed down the choices to 3 popular new books that have been recently released in Canada. The choice was between Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking (originally entitled Ultimate Cookery Course, which I have been watching on TV), Curtis Stone's new book What's For Dinner and finally It's All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow. It was a really tough choice but in the end after looking through all 3 books I picked What's For Dinner by Curtis Stone which is the book I will be putting to the test for this months Cooking the Books!

As usual if you have recently bought this book why not cook along with me or leave a comment and let me know what you think of it. Since it's so new I know there has been a lot of publicity on it so if you have perhaps seen a review or article in a magazine why not try those recipes? So what are you waiting for, let's put this book to the test and start Cooking the Books!!

Cookbook Review ~ Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomasina Miers

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:55:00 +0000

I received Mexican Food Made Simple just over a year ago after reading my Sister-in-laws copy and loving it! Since I'm not particularly familiar with Mexican cooking this definitely looked like a great book to get me started. I know a lot of Mexican cookbooks can be off-putting due to long lists of hard to find ingredients and complicated, time consuming recipes, but this one really did look straightforward so it was time to put the book to the test.

For those of you unfamiliar with Thomasina Miers she was the winner of Masterchef (UK) in 2005. Her first book 'Cook' was published in 2006 but her true calling definitely pointed towards Mexican food after spending a lot of time living in Mexico and even opening a cocktail bar there. Her time in the country allowed her to explore the regions of Mexico learning about culture and of course food and even the opportunity to cook with some of Mexico's top chefs. Returning to live in the UK she since opened the cantina Wahaca (in various locations) which focuses on Mexican street food and has published Mexican Food Made Simple (2010) followed by Wahaca: Mexican Food at Home, in 2012.

Mexican Food Made Simple is packed full of recipes that are divided up into Chapters including Salsas, sauces & relishes (a favourite of mine!), Soups, Street food, Cheesy things, From the grill and Soul food. The chapter on 'Basics' is a great guide for introducing you to the way Mexican's eat, but more so is incredibly informative on classic Mexican ingredients you will use throughout the book and on ingredients you can substitute if you can't fend the authentic ingredient suggested. In the introduction Miers states that she can show how “easy, healthy and exciting Mexican food really is” using ingredients that are easy to source so baring that in mind it was time to put the book to the test!

The Tested Recipes:

When I pulled this book off the shelf I knew I was going to be in trouble picking some recipes, since the book was literally full of my little post-it stickers. When I first got this book I went to work straight away marking recipes and although I did cook a little from it, it wasn't much so I was delighted to finally be cooking from it properly. However as I started re-reading it I was once again in the same dilemma – literally every page had a recipe on it that I wanted to try....some pages had 3! It was going to be a l-o-n-g list of bookmarked recipes so in the end I decided my best option was to pick some full meals as a lot of them used some of the initial recipes as accompaniments. In the end I managed to try 12 recipes from the book which were:

Autumn Tacos with Onion Squash & Chorizo

Pink Pickled Onions

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Steak Burritos

Black Beans

Red Rice

Roast Chipotle Salsa

Hibiscus Agua Fresca

Meatballs de Mehico with Smoky Tomato Sauce

Layered Passion Fruit & Flower Jellies

A Blow-your-head-off Salsa

The first recipe that I wanted to make was the Chipotles en Adobe since they feature in a lot of subsequent recipes, however after a trip to my local cook shop I realised this recipe was a no-go since I couldn't buy the dried chipotles and I only had a few left in my spice drawer.... I could have ordered them online but they were expensive for the quantity and by the time they arrived it would have been too late so I had to give in with this one (for the time being) and use canned Chipotles in Adobe. (For those of you in the UK though you can easily order them online for a very reasonable price and larger quantity per packet.)

Hoping that was going to be my only obstacle with regards to sourcing ingredients for this book, I moved on to the next recipe which was Autumn Tacos with Onion Squash & Chorizo served with Pink Pickled Onions and Fresh Tomato Salsa. I started by making the Pink Pickled Onions which was very straightforward although I wanted to use gloves to “scrunch it up” as instructed due to the addition of a Habanero (Scotch Bonnet) chilli but I didn't have any! Thankfully the Habanero I used wasn't too hot and so all was ok and I was left with the most amazingly puce pink onions ever which had a lovely flavour to them and great crunch. Next on the list was to make the Fresh Tomato Salsa which again was very straightforward. I found it interesting that she includes some sugar as this is the sort of tomato salsa I make all the time but don't ever need to add sugar so in future I probably wouldn't bother (unless I overdid the lime!). I halved the quantities and used less than half the amount of the salt suggested and it was still a little on the salty side so next time I would also use my own amounts of seasoning and not what she instructs. Up next was the filling for the Tacos – Squash and Chorizo which was really easy and simple and had a good robust Autumnal flavour. To finish the meal off I had to of course make some homemade tortillas. It was my first time making them and I was happy that there was nothing complicated about them. I didn't manage to get them quite as charred on the edges as I wanted but they were delicious none-the-less and the whole meal was lovely together.

Next up and for a Friday night meal I made the Steak Burritos with Black Beans, Red Rice & Roast Chipotle Salsa. This dish had even more components than the first so it was a bit time consuming to make but it was well worth the effort and nothing was complicated. It was my first time making my own Black Beans (as opposed to opening a can!) and they ended up taking less time than the recipe suggested despite not having soaked them. From now on I will always make my own as it was so simple and much more cost effective. The Red Rice was also straightforward and absolutely delicious and I would enjoy it happily on it's own or as a side dish and the Chipotle Salsa was fantastic with just a nice amount of spice to it to give the dish a bit of a kick! The Steak for the Burritos was just a case of marinating and cooking although we opted to barbecue it rather than using a griddle or frying pan. All in all though it was another big success that everyone thoroughly enjoyed and was worth the effort involved.

Having recently bought a small bag of Hibiscus Flowers I was excited to see a recipe for Hibiscus Agua Fresca for a nice refreshing non-alcoholic drink. I opted to half the recipe otherwise I would have used my entire bag of Hibiscus Flowers and I wanted to make sure I liked it first! Made of just the flowers, sugar, water and lime it was completely straightforward, it just took a bit of time to make the cordial and then to to let it cool. The end result was a stunning and vibrant cordial that was delicious served as suggested over ice and topped up with sparkling water. With the left over flowers I made a quick sugar syrup and popped everything into a jar to keep for adding to drinks or drizzled over ice cream. (If you would like to try this recipe click here.)

The recipe to be put to the test next was the Meatballs de Mehico with Smoky Tomato Sauce. I found the recipe really interesting as it included capers, rice and hard boiled eggs in the Meatballs but I continued on anyway, hoping the interesting combination would taste good and be worth the effort! I was definitely apprehensive as they were so soft as I put them in the oven to cook but she did warn that they would be. The Smoky Tomato Sauce was very straightforward and had a nice flavour to it. I cooked it a little longer than she suggested as it was very runny after 20 minutes but I didn't want to overdo it as I knew you need it to be runny for the meatballs (to cook and be absorbed by the rice I'm guessing). As it turned out after the suggested 45 minutes of cooking, the meatballs weren't ready. The rice was still super crunchy so I put them in for another 10 minutes after which time I turned the oven off and left them for probably another 5 minutes while I cooked the noodles which were suggested to accompany the meatballs. Unfortunately though when I lifted the lid of the pan the meatballs had almost exploded and there was virtually no sauce left – I couldn't believe it! That being said they still tasted great, there were just missing the extra sauce. I ended up serving them with some sour cream and coriander to make up for the lack of sauce and it was still delicious but for the leftovers we had (which was a lot) I made an extra batch of sauce up and enjoyed them even more the next night. I think I will make these again as the flavours were so good but I would definitely have to keep a closer eye on them when cooking them and I would be tempted to double the sauce quantities.

For a sweet treat I couldn't resist trying the Layered Passion Fruit & Flower Jellies as they not only sounded delicious but looked stunning. It was incredibly easy to make, all you need is time on your side as you need to allow the Passion Fruit layer to set before adding the hibiscus layer. I decided to make one large jelly in the mould I have rather than individual cups but you could do either. The taste was amazing – the passion fruit really shone through and although the hibiscus layer was subtle, it complimented the passion and orange layer perfectly. Scott even went so far as to say it was by far the best jelly he had ever had!

Finally I couldn't complete this book review without trying A blow-your-head-off Salsa! Unfortunately though the day before I used one too many carrots in my soup so only had 2 rather than the 3 the recipe called for. Since they were both big carrots however, I decided to give it a go anyway since I had all the other ingredients and was desperate to try it! It was really easy to make and didn't take long at all. One thing I should note is that although this is called a salsa it's actually a sauce which is why I had to try it because I love all kinds of hot sauce and loved the idea of making my own! The end result of this one was great! It had so much flavour and a good kick to wake up your taste buds. To really put it to the test I tried it with eggs since it's impossible for me to have an egg without hot sauce of some sort and it was really delicious and flavourful but definitely not as spicy as I was expecting. In fact by the time I ate it with the eggs there was hardly any heat at all. To be honest for some reason whenever I have bought Habaneros recently from my supermarket they haven't been nearly as hot as I was expecting and I don't think it's because I'm immume (far from it) so if you make this do go carefully as I think it really does depend on the chillies you happen to get. Another thing I have to say is that for this recipe the books says it makes about 1 cup whereas I got 750ml/ 3 cups!! If I had known that I would have halved the recipe for sure. I'm not quite sure how there was such a difference as other than the missing carrot I followed the instructions and quantities exactly. Anyway I certainly won't be running out of hot sauce any time soon and may be giving some of it away!! Still it was a great way to end the testing of this book and now I know I don't need to buy Habanero hot sauce anymore.

As well as the above tested recipes I have also made (in the past) the Mexican Crudites (served at a party and went down very well!), the Prawn coctel (see my Prawn Cocktail trio for a similar version of this) and her recipe for The great Mexican breakfast was the inspiration behind my own Huevos Rancheros.

And of course I'm only just getting started with this book so I have many more recipes bookmarked to try next including:

Searingly Hot Salsa

Chopped chilli relish

An easy-peasy peanut mole

Pickled vegetables

Corn & green chilli soup

Sweet & spicy squash & chickpea soup

Tortilla soup

Chipotle vinaigrette

Sweet & Spicy Pecan Nut & Goat's Cheese Salad

Spicy Bird Tacos

Queso Fundido

Chorizo, Potato & Thyme Quesadillas

Grilled Lamb Chops with Chilli Jam

Mexican Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo

Mussel Linguine with Smoky Chipotle Cream

Poached Plums in Rose Syrup

Churros y Chocolate

I have to say that after testing the above recipes I really did feel that she delivered with her statement that she can show readers how healthy, easy and exciting Mexican food can be if you just watch what you make, how you prepare it and of course by using the freshest ingredients. In the last month I have tried so many different flavours and love that I have made my own tortillas and hot sauce for the first time! My only criticism to some of the recipes I tried was that there is too much salt in them so I would suggest to go easy with the salt, since you can always add but you can't take it away! The methods she uses for cooking the dishes are really straightforward and you don't need any fancy equipment which I love. There is great information on making tortillas but also how to properly eat a taco or fold a burrito which I think is a lovely little touch to the book and ensures you aren't left with overfilled tacos spilling everywhere or burritos that fall apart as soon as you pick them up! For those of you living in the UK there is also a great list of suppliers so you won't ever be without your essential ingredients and for the rest of us a little research on the internet should result in finding a supplier close to you. I really do love this book. It is so bright and vibrant which to me is what Mexican food and culture is all about and it really has opened the door to cooking great tasting, authentic Mexican food at home which I'm delighted about as well as my husband! (Even Wee One enjoyed a lot of the dishes providing the spice levels weren't extreme!) Without doubt Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomasina Miers gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval.

Hibiscus Cordial {& Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup}

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:47:00 +0000

This recipe is taken from the fantastic book Mexican Food Made Easy by Thomasina Miers. It has the most delicious fruity, berry flavour to it that is sweet but has a tang similar to cranberry juice. Topped up with a little sparkling water, this cordial makes the most refreshing and delicious non-alcoholic drink or for a party it would make a great base to a cocktail, especially when served with a hibiscus flower as a garnish.

Hibiscus Cordial

Makes approx. 1 litre (easy doubled – I halved the recipe from the original)

30g dried Hibiscus Flowers

300g sugar

1125ml(4 ½ cups) water

1 ½ – 2 limes

To serve:

Sparkling water

While hibiscus flowers (see below)

Lots of ice

Put the dried hibiscus flowers, sugar and water into a medium sized pan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 30 minutes then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cooled strain the juice into a jug and keep the flowers aside for later. Squeeze in the juice of 1 ½ limes and taste to see if it needs any more lime or a touch more sugar depending on your tastes.

Fill some glasses with lots of ice and pour the cordial over the top then finish off with some sparkling water (I tend to do two thirds cordial to one third water but it depends how strong you want it). Serve garnished with a hibiscus flower.

Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

I absolutely love Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup and until recently always bought them at a rather expensive price. Now however thanks to the above recipe I always have some in my fridge ready to pop into a drink for an elegant garnish. The sweet fragrant syrup is also delicious and makes a refreshing change to any cocktail. Try my Wild Hibiscus Royale the next time you have friends over and wow them with your homemade Hibiscus Flowers and syrup.

Reserved hibiscus flowers from the cordial

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Put the reserved hibiscus flowers into a jar and set aside. Put the sugar and water into a small pan and bring to a boil, stirring from time to time to help the sugar dissolve. Once the sugar has dissolved let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before pouring over the flowers. Leave to cool then keep in the fridge and use as needed in your drink of choice.

Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:52:00 +0000

I love Thai food and I love noodles so it's no surprise that I absolutely l-o-v-e this dish! This is my version of a recipe I tested from Rachel Allen's book Home Cooking. I've spiced it up but if you prefer it milder just miss out the Sriracha and chilli (if you like you could serve them on the side at the end for any chilli lovers you are feeding!). I've also changed some of the vegetables used which of course you could also change to what you like or happen to have in the house, and if you wanted you could also add some chicken or prawns, however I love this vegetable version for the perfect Meat Free Monday meal. It is full of so many fantastic fragrant flavours (try saying that 3 times!) but isn't too heavy. Try it once and there will be no going back or ordering from you local Noodle restaurant! Thanks Rachel!

Quick Tip: Just like you would with a stir-fry you need to have all the vegetables prepared and chopped first for speedy cooking at the end.

Serves 4 hungry people

400ml tin of coconut milk (use low fat if you prefer)

2 tbsp red curry paste

3 tbsp peanut butter (can be smooth or crunchy – whatever you have/like)

300ml vegetable or chicken stock

3 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)

1 tbsp light brown sugar

3 lime leaves, ripped in half (optional)

2-3 tsp Sriracha sauce (or other similar chilli sauce)

1 lime, plus wedges to serve

1- 2 red chillies, finely chopped (de-seeded for less heat)

350g/ 12oz medium rice noodles

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

150g/ 5oz broccolini (Sprouting Broccoli), stalks chopped into inch pieces and any large florets halved

150g/ 5oz sugar snap peas, cut in half on the diagonal

2 fat spring onions, finely sliced

150g/ 5oz beansprouts

55g/ 2 oz unsalted peanuts, toasted in a dry frying pan and roughly chopped

Small handful of fresh coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped

Heat a large frying pan or wok then add the coconut milk. Mix well to make sure there are no lumps if it has separated at all then gently bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes then add the red curry paste and peanut butter and mix well before then adding the stock, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaves, Sriracha, the juice of half the lime and one of the chillies. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly.

While the sauce is reducing put the noodles into a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 5-7 minutes to soften then drain and rinse with cold water to stop them cooking further and from sticking together, then set aside. (If they are still a little on the crunchy side don't worry – they will finish cooking in the sauce.)

Taste to check the sauce then adjust the seasoning if needed (more fish sauce if you need more salt, more lime, sugar, spice etc) until you have the perfect balance. Add the sliced red pepper, broccolini, and sugar snap peas to the pan and stir well through the sauce. Cook for a minute or 2, uncovered, until tender-crisp, then add most of the spring onions and bean sprouts (reserving some for garnish), the drained noodles, three-quarters of the coriander and the peanuts. Toss everything well together so it is all coated in the sauce and piping hot then divide between 4 bowls. Finish with the remaining beansprouts then sprinkle over the spring onions, coriander, chopped peanuts and if you like the extra chilli and serve at once with a wedge of lime, chop sticks and a cold beer!

Cooking the Books ~ April

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

After deciding that's this month's theme for Cooking the Books would have more of an International twist to it, I narrowed down my choices to 4 books featuring Italian, Mexican, Thai and a mixture of European delights (courtesy of Jamie Oliver Does), and let those of you on Facebook vote for your choice. It was very close but in the end you picked Mexican as your cuisine of choice to be put to the test with Thomasina Mier's Mexican Food Made Simple. I'm so excited to try out this book and I'm hoping since I can't quite jet off to Mexico for a little break, that perhaps this book will give me at least a culinary holiday in the comfort of my own home!

As always if you have this book why not cook along with me and put your copy to the test, or if you use it on a regular basis let me know some of your favourite recipes that you recommend I try! So what are you waiting for - let's start Cooking the Books!

Cookbook Review ~ Home Cooking by Rachel Allen

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 03:15:00 +0000

Although this is one of her older book's (2009) I couldn't resist testing out and cooking from Rachel Allen's Home Cooking for this month's Cooking the Books. My son is now 3 years old and although a fairly good eater, I'm always looking for ideas and reminders of family friendly meals that we can all enjoy without a fight at the dinner table! On top of that, my sister was coming to visit us for 2 weeks during March and unfortunately despite being 17 weeks pregnant was still suffering from morning sickness, so I thought she would appreciate some good home cooking and nothing too over the top! Cue therefore Rachel Allen's Home Cooking book which is packed full of very family friendly meals that are guaranteed to keep even the fussiest eater in your family happy (hopefully!). It was just coincidence that I happened to pick a book by an Irish chef for the month of March and the celebration of St. Paddy's Day!

The Chapters are divided up into meals of the day including Breakfast, Lunch, Supper and Dessert. There is also a chapter on Sunday Lunches and since this really is a family friendly cookbook there is even a handy chapter on Baby Purees. It is a lovely homely book with pages printed on different pretty pastel colours and lots of photographs throughout, showing not only the delicious looking meals but family snaps as well, which really adds to it being a family cookbook.

As per my standard method I bookmarked over twenty recipes which gave me lots to choose from. In the end I tested 5 recipes although I'm making a 6^th one this weekend as a special treat and have a 7^th one on my meal plan for next week!

The Tested Recipes:

Thai Peanut, Vegetable & Coconut Noodles

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage & Pine Nut Butter

Ham and Cheese Macaroni

Creamy Gratin of Butternut Squash

Chicken and Coconut Indian Curry

I absolutely love noodles in spicy peanut sauces so I had to try the Thai Peanut, Vegetable & Coconut Noodles. I had recently had something similar at a restaurant so I was keen to see if this one was as good and it was! Easy to prepare and cook and full of all of the flavours I was craving. The only thing I had to add was some fresh lime as it definitely needed some citrus to cut through the coconut peanut sauce and of course I couldn't resist some extra chillies but other than that it was perfect. I will certainly make this over and over again, just with a few tweaks here and there.

Next up and Scott had been away for a week so I decided to make us a special treat for dinner and tried the Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage & Pine Nut Butter. You start by cooking the squash in a frying pan with butter and oil “until pulpy but not brown”.......I was little distracted so mine did not follow the instructions and was most definitely brown – not a great start! It took longer than suggested to cook and I think in future I would rather roast them however it tasted great and the fact that they did brown just added a lovely caramelized flavour! The pasta recipe was exactly how I make my own pasta so that was easy enough and it didn't take too long to assemble although I found a lot of the pasta dough was wasted using the method she suggested. Regardless the end result was absolutely delicious and after a week of eating out my Scott was ecstatic and loved it! My only criticism to the dish was that it suggests 5 pieces of ravioli per person which in my books (and certainly my husbands!) isn't enough – especially for a main course! Thankfully I had more and the leftovers I didn't cook were popped into the freezer for another time. I will most definitely be making this again – it was simple enough (as far as making your own ravioli) and absolutely delicious!

Next up and with the arrival of my sister I was looking for something comforting and not too strongly flavoured so with her approval we decided to test the Ham and Cheese Macaroni. I was treading on dangerous ground with this one as my sister's husband makes the best Macaroni and Cheese but I thought that meant it would really put the recipe to the test. The recipe itself was very similar to my own recipe so I knew there weren't going to be any surprises. It was a typical recipe for Mac and Cheese so completely straightforward and fairly quick to prepare. The finished dish went down well - the addition of the ham was liked by everyone and it was nice and oozy although I did find the cheese flavour quite mild. There was certainly plenty to eat (recipe serves 6) so since there were only 3 ½ of us eating we had lots of leftovers which no one complained about! A lovely recipe but to be honest I would probably just stick to my own version, maybe just adding the ham to it instead.

For recipe number 4 we tested the Creamy Gratin of Butternut Squash which I served alongside a Roast Beef for a family meal. It was incredibly easy to make and was a lovely change from a potato gratin. The taste was fantastic and the cream and gruyere cheese made it a deliciously naughty little treat that I will definitely make over and over again. It was a big hit for everyone.

Although her sickness eventually stopped whilst Lauren was out visiting here, there were still certain things that she was avoiding so I saved making the next recipe until after she had left! Recipe number 5 was Chicken and Coconut Indian Curry since it seems I can never resist a curry recipe! I'm so glad because it was perfect and a very family friendly curry – the perfect introduction to curries for Wee One. I did miss out the optional green chillies from the curry and instead just sliced one up for Scott and I to sprinkle over at the end if we wanted, but to be honest it was such a lovely mild flavourful curry that it was nice to just enjoy it as it was. We all loved it so it will definitely get made again and added to my curry repertoire!

One of my favourite parts of the book is that there are several recipes for homemade sweets/candies including Turkish Delight, Liquorice Toffee and Butterscotch to name a few. I love the idea of trying to make my own so the next recipe I will be trying is for the Turkish Delight but I ran out of time before the review was to be posted so I'll let you know how I get on with it! Having never made anything like that before I'm really excited to give it a go and just hope I don't end up with a giant gooey mess!!

The 5 recipes that were tested were all great dishes so I'm looking forward to trying more and know I won't be disappointed. Here are some of the recipes I bookmarked to try out in future.....

The Bookmarked Recipes:

Waffles

French Toast

Spotted Dog

Zac's Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

Fragrant Sugar Snap & Beansprout Noodle Laksa

Middle Eastern Spiced Lamb Koftas with Dips and Spicy Pittas

Stir-fried Noodles with Chicken Dumplings

Quick Swiss Cheese Fondue

Fish Pie

Family Chicken Burgers with Roast Tomato and Lime Mayonnaise

Roast Chicken Legs with New Potatoes and Summer Herb Dressing

Individual Steak & Mushroom Pies

Strawberry and White Chocolate Tiramisu

Dark Chocolate Layered Semifredo

Millionaire's Shortbread

Coconut and Chocolate Flapjacks

Cherryade

Liquorice Toffees

The ethos of this book is definitely delicious, easy home cooking to keep all of the family happy from morning til night year round. It has so many familiar, classic recipes that I grew up with and love but there are also plenty of new recipes for a new generation. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who perhaps is new to cooking for their family and are looking for straightforward recipes that don't take too long and will please everyone with delicious results. The book is filled with tips and tricks to make life easier for you as well as lots of variations on the recipes so you can change things up to suit your tastes. She also provides good explanations on dishes that you have perhaps not heard of before and advice on where to buy ingredients or what you can substitute them with. Whether you are looking for some classic quick mid-week meals, new breakfast/brunch ideas or are having friends over for dinner, you won't be stuck for ideas of what to make with this book. This is a fun, friendly book with lots of fantastic recipes that won't disappoint. Home Cooking by Rachel Allen definitely gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval!

{Although this is a slightly older book you can still purchase it from Amazon and other online stores and it is now also available for Kindle users.}

Mini Eclairs

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:30:00 +0000

These little eclairs are the perfect treat to make for a special occasion. They aren't as time consuming as normal eclairs since they are filled with vanilla whipped cream rather than a custard filling, but they taste every bit as good and make a delicious change to traditional chocolate eclairs. Now they might not look perfect but they are homemade and made with love so for those of you in the UK why not treat your Mum this weekend and make up a batch of these to celebrate Mother's Day. She'll certainly thank you for them!

This recipe is the same as my recipe for Profiteroles I've just changed the quantities of cream filling and the topping.

Makes 10 mini eclairs (easily doubled)

For the choux pastry:

70g/ 2.5oz all-purpose or plain flour

55g/ 2oz unsalted butter

150ml water

2 large eggs, beaten

Cream filling:

250ml whipping or double cream

1 tsp caster sugar (or to taste)

1-2 tsp vanilla paste or extract

Icing:

250g/9oz fondant icing sugar

Food colouring of your choice

Edible decorations of your choice

Preheat the oven to 425F/ 220C. Line a large baking sheet (or 2 smaller ones) with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium sized pan melt the butter with the water. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat. While the butter is melting sift the flour onto a sheet of parchment paper. Tip the flour off the parchment and into the butter and water mix and beat with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough. Return to the heat and continue beating until the dough forms a smooth, shiny ball that leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly for roughly 3 minutes then add the eggs gradually, beating as you do until the mixture forms a shiny and thick paste.

Spoon the pastry mix into a piping bag fitted with a 2.5cm nozzle (or alternatively you can use a large sandwich/ Ziploc bag and then just snip the end off so the opening is approximately 2.5cm) and pipe roughly 2 ½ - 3 inch lengths onto the baking sheets leaving room in between each one to allow them to expand.

Bake the eclairs for 15-20 minutes until they have risen and are crisp and golden. Remove from the oven, then using a skewer, make a small hole in each end of the eclairs so that the steam can escape. Put them back in the oven for a further 2 minutes then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

While the eclairs are cooling, whip the cream along with the sugar and vanilla until you have soft peaks, but be careful not to over whip. Using a sharp knife (I find serrated knifes work best) cut the eclairs in half but not all the way so they can open up like a book. Fill a piping bag with the cream and then once the eclairs are completely cool pipe the cream into each one, being careful not to over fill. Pop them into the fridge to chill while you make up the icing.

Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add just enough water so that you have a runny icing that is still thick. Don't be tempted to make it too thin as it will just run of the eclairs (trust me!). Divide the icing into as many bowls as you like depending on how many colours you want, then add a little colouring to each bowl until you get your desired colours.

Using a spoon or small offset spatula (or even a knife, using the back of it and not the serrated edge) spread a little icing on each eclair then if you like top with your decoration of choice. Once they have all been iced and decorated return to the fridge for 10 mins (or more if need be) before serving and enjoying.

Cafe de Paris Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:30:00 +0000

Cafe de Paris Butter is a compound butter which is made and shaped into a cylinder, tightly wrapped in clingfilm and tin foil and chilled, before being sliced and used traditionally, to top a delicious juicy steak. That being said, it is also fantastic served with lobster – either sliced and put on top of a lobster half and grilled, or melted (and kept warm in a butter warmer) for decadently dipping the lobster meat into. It works perfectly as the combination of flavours just enhances the rich, succulent flavour of the lobster meat and makes a truly indulgent gourmet meal! We enjoy this luxurious butter both ways but regardless of what we have it with, a little bit of this magical butter transforms the dish and takes it to a whole new level.

One thing I have to warn you though is that whenever I make this butter I feel a little like George from George's Marvellous Medicine as it literally seems like you are adding everything but the kitchen sink to it! Don't be put off however, as it is really worth it (you might need to just tick off the ingredient as you add them in!!) and a little goes a long way so you can keep it in the fridge and use for a few meals (unless you have a large number of guests to feed!).

This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Maze by Jason Atherton, I have just changed the quantities of some of the ingredients to suit our tastes, but it is virtually the same because it is too good to mess with.

Continued after the jump.....

Cafe de Paris Butter

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp capers in brine, rinsed and chopped

30g shallots, finely diced

2 tsp parsley, finely chopped

2 tsp chives, finely chopped

pinch of dried marjoram

pinch of dried dill

pinch of dried thyme leaves

pinch of dried tarragon (or use fresh if you have it – about ½ tsp max)

½ garlic clove, crushed

1 anchovy fillet, rinsed and finely chopped

2 tsp brandy

¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce

pinch of sweet paprika

pinch of curry powder

pinch of cayenne pepper

freshly ground black pepper

pinch of finely grated lemon zest

1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

pinch of orange zest

Mix all of the ingredients apart from the butter in a small bowl. Stir well then add the softened butter. Fork the mixture together to it is evenly mixed then spoon onto a piece of cling film. Gently roll the cling film up to form a log then tightly twist both ends and shape it so it is evenly sized. Pop into the fridge for at least 1 hour then when ready to use slice into pieces and top as needed. Alternatively if using as suggested for dipping lobster into put the butter into a butter warmer or small fondue pot and keep warm.

Cooking the Books ~ March

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:36:00 +0000

I am SO excited that my Sister is coming to visit us for a holiday for 2 weeks this month and so because of that and the fact that she is pregnant (Yay!!!) but still suffering from sickness (boo!), for this month's Cooking the Books I will be testing and reviewing Home Cooking by Rachel Allen (available from Amazon and some book shops). If you have this book why not try it out with me? I'll post what recipe I'm trying the day before I make it on my Facebook page and Twitter so you can join in. So what are you waiting for? Let's Cook the Books!

Cookbook Review - Jamie's 15 Minute Meals

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:30:00 +0000

It seems like Jamie Oliver is always after a challenge. Not content with bringing us the fantastic (but perhaps a little unrealistic) 30 Minute Meals book, he has now brought out Jamie's 15 Minute Meals. With the emphasis on eating well but not spending a long time in the kitchen, Jamie has set about trying to show us how we can cook a well balanced meal in less time that it would take to get a take away delivered.

Working with a team of nutritionists this book is full of recipes that are lighter and healthier with the nutritional information included for each recipe so if you are counting calories you don't have to worry. The chapters are divided up into Categories such as Chicken, Pork, Fish, Vegetarian and Pasta so it's easy to just go to your chapter of choice depending on what you want to cook.

Now I have to say my initial thoughts about this book was that making a delicious, nutritious meal in 15 minutes seemed far too good to be true but I was more than happy to try it out, especially after watching the episodes on TV. As usual I bookmarked over 20 recipes but in the end I tested 5.

The Tested Recipes:

Thai Chicken Laksa, Mildly Spiced Noodle Squash Broth

Mushroom Soup with Stilton, Apple & Walnut Croutes

Golden Chicken, Braised Greens & Potato Gratin

Modern Greek Salad, Spinach, Chickpea & Feta Parcels

Chicken Pasta with Herby 6-Veg Ragu

Ok so it was time to put the first recipe to the test so I started by making the Thai Chicken Laksa with Mildly Spiced Noodle Squash Broth. Having learnt my lesson from 30 Minute Meals I knew I had to be prepared so I boiled the kettle, got the griddle pan on full whack and got my ingredients out....well most of them. I have to say it was definitely quite a bit less stressful that 30 Minute Meals but unfortunately I didn't manage to make this one in just 15 minutes (was I surprised – no not really!). That being said I think the final time was about 25 minutes and you could definitely whittle that down with a few tries. The chicken was delicious and definitely benefited from being chicken thighs otherwise I would have dried them out while I was focused on the Noodle Squash Broth. Thankfully they were deliciously moist and full of flavour. The noodles were really good as well – lots of great flavours and I loved the addition of the grated squash but they soaked up all of the broth despite me adding extra water to them. Next time I think I would cut down the quantity of noodles as we had so much (more than 4 servings) and no broth. Other than though it was a typical Jamie Oliver meal full of great flavours and ways to tweak it to make it your own.

Up next and I couldn't resist the Mushroom Soup with Stilton, Apple & Walnut Croutes as a treat to myself for lunch. I'd recently watched this episode on TV so I knew it looked good and fairly straightforward but then I've come to realise that Jamie makes every recipe look completely straightforward and effortless and for me they don't quite turn out that way! The stopwatch for this one stopped at 23 minutes which isn't bad I guess but certainly not 15 minutes and to be honest the soup could have done with a bit longer as the rice wasn't quite cooked enough which made it a slightly chunkier texture than I wanted. Taste wise though it was good, it needed thinned down a little for my liking as it was super thick but the flavours were there, although I did find the flavour of the rice to be a little overpowering so I would use less next time. The Croutes however were a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I will definitely make those again with or without the soup! Only problem with them is how you are supposed to get them in your mouth as they aren't the easiest thing to eat but since I was eating alone I had no problems!

Next up and it was another chicken recipe. The idea of having Potato Gratin in roughly 15 minutes (lets be realistic – I knew it would never take me 15 minutes but still!) was too good not to try so I made the Golden Chicken, Braised Greens & Potato Gratin. To be honest I didn't even bother timing this one but what I can say is that it was fabulous. The Gratin was so easy to do, had a lot of flavour and a lot less calories than a normal Gratin but still all of the taste. The chicken and vegetables were also fantastic and the whole meal was straightforward to make and although it didn't take me 15 minutes it was still on the table fairly quickly.

For the 4^th recipe I went for a vegetarian option and made the Modern Greek Salad with Spinach, Chickpea & Feta Parcels. I knew I was pushing my luck a little with the parcels as my husband doesn't really like chickpeas but I hoped the Greek Salad would make up for it. As it turned out the Salad was fantastic – very fresh and full of wonderful flavours that we all enjoyed. The parcels didn't go over quite so well but they were still enjoyed to an extent, especially when you had them with the yogurt and salad. On their own the texture was a little off for our liking so next time I would maybe not blend them quite as much and possibly add a little extra feta. It was still a nice meal to try and visually the whole meal looked fantastic, it just needs a little work for our tastes.

The last recipe I tested was the Chicken Pasta with Herby 6-Veg Ragu. Since my son loves pasta I thought this would be a great, quick mid-week meal for the family. Once again I decided not to bother timing it since I wasn't able to focus solely on cooking plus I had a little 'helper' and also because I knew it was never going to only take me 15 minutes (and it definitely didn't!). The end result was good but there was FAR too much sauce for the pasta. I should have used my head and removed some of the sauce from the pan as I knew looking at it there was going to be too much, but alas I didn't and we ended up with far too much sauce on the pasta. I think to be honest I pureed up the vegetables far too much and so it was more of a paste than chopped up vegetables which probably contributed to the excess sauce, but what I did love about this recipe was how you sprinkled the golden chicken and bacon mixture on top of the pasta rather than mixing it in. I'll definitely make this again as it was a hit, next time I'll just make sure I don't blitz the veges so much and if need be take away some of the sauce to keep for another day.

So there you have it. Five recipes tested, none of which took 15 minutes (the first time anyway but I know I could cut down the time once I've repeated them a couple of times) but all of which were tasty. Some appealed to our tastes more than others but I love how inventive and slightly different the recipes are.

When I first looked through this book there were so many recipes that I wanted to try (and if I listed them all this review would turn into a small book!) so on top of the 5 that we tried here are a few of the other ones that I bookmarked to try in the near future:

Mexican Chicken, Wicked Mole Sauce, Rice & Veg

Gorgeous Greek Chicken, Herby Vegetable Couscous & Tzatziki

Sizzling Beef Steak, Hoi Sin Prawn and Noodle Bowls

Beef Stroganoff, Fluffy Rice, Red Onion & Parsley Pickle

Cajun Steak, Smoky Baked Beans & Collard Greens

Glazed Pork Fillet, Cajun-Style Pepper Rice & BBQ Sauce

Lamb Lollipops, Curry Sauce, Rice & Peas

Crackin' Crab Briks, Couscous Salad & Salsa

Moroccan Mussels, Tapenade Toasties & Cucumber Salad

Crab Bolognese, Crunchy Fennel Salad

Sausage Gnocchi, Warm Kale & Bean Salad

Chicken Cacciatore Spaghetti & Smoky Tomato Sauce

Mexican Tomato Soup, Chilli Nachos, Veggie & Feta Sprinkles

The Best Fish Baps, Mushy Peas & Tartare Sauce

Tasty Daal Curry, Warm Tomato Salad & Naan

This book is packed full of recipes with influences from all over the world which I love because ultimately what it is giving you is a ton of exciting, different recipes to liven up your meal times. On top of that he has also gone for a healthier slant on the recipes to lighten things up a little and with each recipe the nutritional information is included. You definitely need a food processor for this book (it's too bad one doesn't come with the book!) otherwise there is no hope of being even remotely close to 15 minute meals and you need to get used to cooking everything on a high heat (something I don't normally do) to get things cooked in time, but it is definitely less chaotic than Jamie's 30 Minute Meals and it is a book that I will continue to use, not necessarily for the time aspect of the recipes but for the fact that they seem to have something a little different to them which I love. This book absolutely gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval!

Nigella's Breakfast Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:02:00 +0000

I discovered these delicious treats when I was recently reviewing Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson and I like them so much (and have made them a few times now) that I thought they deserved to be shared with you! They are so simple to make and although they are perhaps not the healthiest (due to the can of deliciously sticky sweet condensed milk!) they will disappear in a hurry. Perfect for a breakfast on the run or with a cup of tea or coffee for a mid morning snack, these bars are a crunchy, sweet little treat which Nigella herself says she is addicted to..... and to be honest I don't blame her!

Makes 16

1 x 397g can condensed milk*

250g rolled oats (not instant)

75g shredded coconut

100g dried cranberries**

125g mixed seeds (I use pumpkin, sunflower and flax)

125g natural unsalted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 250F/ 130C/ GM ½, and oil a 23 x 33 x 4cm baking tin.

Put the condensed milk in a small pan then gently heat.

In a large bowl mix together all of the other ingredients then add the warmed condensed milk and stir well until everything is evenly mixed together and coated in the condensed milk. Put the mixture into the oiled tin and press down using either a large spatula or the back of a spoon (or as Nigella suggests, you could use your hands wearing disposable vinyl gloves to prevent you ending up with a sticky mess all over them!) to make sure the surface is even. Bake for 1 hour, then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into 16 chunky pieces. Let cool completely and see how long they last!

*The version of Nigella Express that I have is the British version but the tins of Condensed milk that I buy in Canada are 300ml and although they might be a little bigger than the UK sized can they work just fine.

**The last time I made these I didn't have enough cranberries so I used half cranberries and have raisins and they were delicious! So good in fact that from now on I will be using half and half! Use what you like but don't worry if you are short and need to substitute.

Buttermilk Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:07:00 +0000

If you want the lightest, fluffiest pancakes ever then this is your recipe! A variation from my Classic Pancakes recipe, this one uses buttermilk which helps to make them extra fluffy and light and melt-in-your-mouth. Served with a little butter and plenty of maple syrup this makes the perfect weekend breakfast to sit down and enjoy with family and friends.

Makes 12-14 (depending on how big you want them!)

210g/7 ½ oz/ 1 ½ cups all-purpose or plain flour

3 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

425ml/14fl oz/ 1 ¾ cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 tbsp melted butter, cooled (plus a little extra for the pan)

1 tsp good quality vanilla extract (optional)

Optional Servings:

Butter

Lots of good quality, warm or room temperature Maple Syrup

Streaky bacon, cooked to your liking

Fruit of your choice

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl or jug combine the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Whisk well then add to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together until you have a fairly smooth batter although it's ok to have a few little lumps.

Heat a griddle or frying pan then drizzle a little extra butter into your pan. Ladle or pour some of the mixture onto your cooking surface, leaving room for them to spread. Cook for roughly 2-3 minutes until you have lots of small bubbles on the surface then flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute or until they are golden. Keep the cooked pancakes warm and continue making pancakes until you have used all of the batter. Serve with a little butter, lots of warm maple syrup or your favourtite accompaniments then eat and enjoy!

Chocolate Valentines Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:14:00 +0000

Chocolate and hearts – the perfect treat to make for Valentines Day! Sugar cookies are not only fun to make (and great if you have little children to keep busy) and delicious to eat, but they are make a great personal gift to give to someone. Make up a batch, keep some for yourself and treat everyone you love this Valentines Day!

200g unsalted butter

200g caster or berry sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large egg

350g plain or all-purpose flour

50g cocoa powder

To decorate:

12g / 1 heaped tbsp dried egg white powder (meringue powder)

500g icing sugar

5-6 tbsp water

Pink & red food colouring

Decorations of your choice

To make the cookies cream together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Be careful not to over mix as this can cause the mixture to spread during baking. Lightly beat the egg then mix into the cream and sugar until well mixed. Sift in the flour and cocoa then with the mixer on low speed gradually mix together until a dough forms. Take the dough out and form it into a large disc then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment or greaseproof paper.

Sprinkle some flour on a large chopping or your work surface. I tend to cut the dough in half and work on one half at a time. Put the dough onto the floured surface and knead slightly before rolling out to roughly ¼ inch in thickness. Using cookie cutters of your choice (obviously since these are Valentines cookies hearts were the shape of my choice!) cut out the shapes and carefully place onto the lined baking tray. Once they are all cut out chill the cookies for another 30 minutes (If you are short on time you can miss out the second chilling but the cookies might spread a little).

Preheat the oven to 350F/ 180C/ GM 4. Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size, then remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

While the cookies are cooling make up your icing. Sift the dried egg white (meringue powder) and icing sugar into the bowl of a free-standing mixture or large bowl, then add 5 tbsp of water. Starting on a very low setting mix everything together then increase the speed and mix until well combined, glossy and smooth. In order to pipe the outlines you want the icing to be fairly thick so don't be tempted to thin it too much. Divide the icing into bowls depending on how many colours you want to make, then add a little food colouring to each bowl (I use gel paste food colouring so it doesn't thin the icing and use a cocktail stick to add the colouring – a little goes a long way!). Put a little of each icing into a piping bag – I use sandwich bags then cut the very corner off so you just have a small hole. Carefully pipe the outline of the cookies. Once they have all been done you can add a little extra water to each icing to thin it slightly. Spoon some icing into the centre of each cookie and carefully let it flood to the edges, helping it with the back of the spoon or a small spatula. Once the cookie is evenly covered set aside and repeat using up all of that colour. Once you are finished sprinkle with decorations if using then let dry completely. Repeat with all of the cookies then sit back and admire your handy work before enjoying with a cup of tea!

Cookbook Review ~ Nigella Express

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:46:00 +0000

This is a very overdue review since I started testing this book out last October, however I will spare you any excuses as to why this is so late and just get on with it because one thing is for sure - this is a book worth reviewing.

I'm a big fan of Nigella Lawson, particularly her recipes, and having already reviewed Nigella Kitchen (which is still to date one of my favourite cookbooks to cook from) I knew it wouldn't be long before Nigella Express was put to the test. In this day and age although at times we like to relax and take our time to potter around the kitchen at weekends, the reality is that for the majority of the week we need quick, delicious meals that can go from kitchen to table in as short a time as possible but without compromising on taste. Nigella Express is a book that is all about fast food where the recipes claim to be minimum stress for maximum enjoyment.

The chapters are divided up into categories depending on your needs such as 'Everyday Easy', 'Workday Winners', 'Get Up and Go', 'Instant Calmer' (Soul Food), 'On the Run' and my favourite, 'Razzle Dazzle' for when you need to put together a party pronto! As is becoming increasingly familiar with all of my cookbook reviews I once again bookmarked a ridiculous amount of recipes but in the end I tested 9 which is good for a review but a mere dent on the enormity of recipes in this book!

The Tested Recipes:

Prawns with Maryam Zaira Sauce

Mozzarella with Crazy Gremolata

Minestrone in Minutes

Scallops and Chorizo

Sweetcorn Chowder with Toasted Tortillas

Chicken, Mushroom & Bacon Pot Pies

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Flourless Chocolate Brownies

Breakfast Bars

First up was the super simple Prawns with Maryam Zaira Sauce which got a big thumbs up not just because it's delicious, but because it's super quick and easy to make. This is a Moroccan inspired version of the classic UK style Prawn Cocktail and would make a perfect starter or light lazy lunch enjoyed outside in the sun with a chilled glass of wine. As someone who loves Prawn Cocktail (or for that matter prawns with most dipping sauces!) I will definitely make this again for a ridiculously easy meal that is a little bit different from the usual.

Next up and there was no resisting the Mozzarella with Crazy Gremolata. I will eat Mozzarella any way I can so I was delighted to find something a little different. Even more so when I saw this 'Crazy Gremolata' included olives and chillies – 2 of my favourite ingredients and things that I always have in my fridge. Before I even made this I knew I couldn't go wrong and I was right – completely delicious, super fast and easy!

The third recipe I tested was the Minestrone in Minutes. From the moment I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it since it promised me a delicious minestrone in minutes using only 4 ingredients....how could I not try it?! It really did take no time at all to make – the hardest part was waiting 10 minutes to let it sit and the pasta swell before eating! I don't ever buy bought pasta/tomato sauces so I would probably change the one I bought but if you have a favourite jarred tomato sauce then you will love this soup. I couldn't resist by finishing mine off with a sprinkling of some chilli, parsley and for completely unnecessary indulgence and greed, a little grating of cheese. It was delicious but if you want to be more restrained very unnecessary as the soup was still good without the additional ingredients!! I will definitely make this again when I need something filling and hearty in a hurry using 4 ingredients that you can keep on hand in your pantry.

Being a lover of tapas and food that I can generally pick at and graze over for a long time, I couldn't resist trying her recipe for Scallops and Chorizo to accompany some other tapas that I made for a relaxed Friday night meal with my husband. All I can say is from now on whenever I make Tapas I will always be making this! To be honest being a huge fan of Chorizo and Scallops we couldn't really go wrong because it is as simple as simple gets but regardless it is a great recipe and I'm glad we tried it.

So after so many successes it was bound to be time for a bit of a fail and that came in the form of recipe number 5 which was Sweetcorn Chowder with Toasted Tortillas. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad but I would only really describe it as okay and wouldn't be in a rush to make it again. It just seemed to be missing something and I found the taste of the spring onions to be a little overpowering which took away from the sweetcorn. The soup is finished with toasted tortillas topped with melted cheese (think basic nachos) and if you like, some fiery red chilli, and it was these toppings that really finished the soup off nicely and without them it would have been a real miss for me. Not terrible but not great, this is a recipe that I would have to adapt to make it one that I would repeat.

With plenty of lighter easy meals having been tested (and devoured!), it was time to try a dish that was more substantial and could be enjoyed as a main course, so next to be put to the test was the Chicken, Mushroom and Bacon Pie. Now I say more substantial because it was a main course but that doesn't mean it was any more complicated or labour intensive – it wasn't. Minimal ingredients, maximum taste is definitely the backbone to this book. Now since Chicken Pot Pie is one of my husband's all time favourite meals this recipe was really going to put the book to the test. Thankfully it passed – with flying colours!! It was fantastic but then can you really go wrong with a Chicken Pie when it has plenty of bacon in it?! I had to deviate from the recipe slightly since I wanted to double it and didn't have 4 individual dishes of the right size so instead I made 1 big pie and I did add a little seasoning which the recipe didn't call for but I didn't want to be disappointed by lack of salt and pepper! Anyway it was fabulous and as hubby said, he would recommend buying the book purely for that recipe alone!

Having been successful with plenty of savoury dishes I decided it was turn to the sweeter side of things so I made the Chocolate Mint Cookies which Nigella suggests as a great alternative to after-dinner mints or dessert. Although a cookie they had a slight resemblance and density to Brownies and were completely addictive. The mint drizzle provided a fantastic finish to cut through the deeply intense chocolate and made them very moreish! I loved them and so did everyone else in the family so they didn't last long!

Up next and we had family round for dinner so I made the Flourless Chocolate Brownies since my niece has an intolerance to wheat. As with most brownie recipes they were very simple to make and didn't take long to bake. The end result was a very dense, rich brownie which everyone loved although I found a little rich, but if you are a chocolate lover you would love these. You serve the brownies with a chocolate sauce which to be honest I wasn't a big fan of. There was far too much as it was so rich you only need a drizzle and the espresso in it really overpowered it so next time I would probably miss out the chocolate sauce altogether or certainly reduce the espresso in it.

Finally the last recipe that I tested out was the Breakfast Bars (click on link for recipe). I knew from looking at the list of ingredients that these certainly weren't going to be the healthiest option for a homemade breakfast bar (hello condensed milk!) but they looked so good on the photograph and seemed so straightforward I just couldn't resist, especially since I had all of the ingredients in my pantry with the exception of the unsalted peanuts which I promptly went out and bought then forgot to put in the bars! But even with the peanuts M.I.A these bars were still great. They weren't as sweet as I was expecting and were perfect with my cup of coffee although I suspect I would keep them for a snack as opposed to having for breakfast. That being said if you are on the run and need to grab and go these would be ideal.

So out of 9 recipes tested 7 were complete successes, 1 needed a little bit of work (just need to change the chocolate sauce for the Brownies) and 1 was to my tastes a miss but that's not bad odds if you ask me! On top of the tried and tested recipes I also bookmarked the following recipes which I still plan to try over time.......

Potato & Mushroom Gratin

Blackberry Crisp

Mouclade

Cheese Fondue

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Green Eggs & Ham

Maple Chicken 'N' Ribs

Crispy Duck

Forgotten Pudding

Chicken Schnitzel with Bacon & White Wine

Mirin-Glazed Salmon

Instant Chocolate Mousse

Doughnut French Toast

Glitzy Chocolate Puddings

Sesame Peanut Noodles

Amaretto Syllabub

Golden Goat's Cheese with Lentil & Walnut Salad

Mellow Meatballs

I have to say that with this book it really doesn't feel like you are cooking. Things are so easy and quick to prepare it's a little bit of this and that, a chop here, a stir there and you're done! It's like magic! That being said I am happy to say that despite the ease and speed there is no compromising on flavour. Nigella has once again delivered and this book is a must have for your kitchen library if you want speedy, easy and super tasty meals that will be on your table in no time! This book absolutely gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops stamp of approval!

Game Day Menu Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 08:30:00 +0000

Whether you are getting excited about the upcoming Superbowl final, or just want to have some friends round to watch your favourite game on the big screen, the reality is that while the game is fun and perhaps a little nerve racking to watch, the most important part of the day is not actually the game but the food! So when the half-time whistle goes make sure you are set to go with plenty of food to munch on, and lots of cold beers in the fridge - both of which are guaranteed to keep your crowd happy for the ultimate game day.

Here are a few of my favourite things to eat while watching the big game.

Hot & Spicy Nuts

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Fiery Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

Guacamole

Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

'Twice as Spicy' Buffalo Wings with Cooling Sour Cream Dip

Sticky Sausages

Crispy Gnocchi with Tomato Dipping Sauce

Loaded Potato Skins (New!)

Baked Potato Soup (New!)

Celery & Blue Cheese Soup with Hot Sauce

Chilli Con Carne

Everyday Chicken Cassoulet

Pulled Pork Buns with Coleslaw

Grilled Fish Tacos

Marinated Steak Rolls & BBQ Sauce (New!)

DIY Ice Cream Sundaes

{Simply serve a selection of your favourite Ice Creams and then have lots of bowls of toppings such as nuts, sprinkles and chocolate chips then finish with some good quality chocolate and caramel sauces}

Baked Potato Soup with Crispy Potato Skins

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:33:00 +0000

This soup is really a meal in itself. It is filling and delicious and if you like Baked Potatoes you will love this! It takes a little bit of time to make since you have to bake the potatoes first but it is well worth it.

4 medium sized baking potatoes, washed & dried

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the potatoes

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 leek, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

750ml vegetable or chicken stock

250ml milk

60ml cream

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the toppings:

Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt

Grated cheddar cheese

Spring onions or chives, finely chopped

Bacon, cooked til crispy then crumbled into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F. Rub a little olive oil over each potato then put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 190C/375F and continue to bake them for a further 45-60 minutes until you have crisp skins and fluffy, cooked centers (check by piercing a small sharp knife into the center of the potatoes to make sure they are tender and soft). Set aside and leave until cool slightly then cut them in half and let them cool some more.

Increase the heat of the oven to 200C/400F.

Once cool enough to handle carefully scoop out the potato flesh leaving the skins intact with enough potato still on them to make potato skins. Set the scooped potato aside. Cut each potato skin in half then put them on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper then put back in the oven and bake for roughly 20 minutes until golden and crisp.

In a large pan heat the butter with the tablespoon of oil then add the onion and leek and cook for roughly 7 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for another minute before adding the cooked potato, stock and seasoning. Leave to cook for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Leave to cool slightly then liquidize in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to a pan then add the milk and cream. Taste to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Once the potato skins are almost ready remove from the oven then put a little grated cheese on each one. Return them back to the oven just until the cheese has melted. To serve add a small spoonful of sour cream or Greek yogurt to each one then sprinkle over some thinly sliced spring/green onions.

To serve the soup ladle it into 4 bowls then as with the potato skins top with some grated cheese, a little Greek yogurt or Sour Cream, some spring onions and some bacon pieces. Serve at once with the potato skins on the side.

*If you prefer and want to cut out some of the calories serve the potato skins plain - they are still absolutely delicious and perfect for dunking!

Cooking the Books ~ February

noreply@blogger.com (Lyndsey Fleenor) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:07:00 +0000

For this month's Cooking the Books I will be testing and reviewing Jamie Oliver's most recent book - Jamie's 15 Minute Meals (available from Amazon and all good book shops). If you have this book why not try it out with me? I'll post what recipe I'm trying the day before I make it on my Facebook page and Twitter so you can join in. So what are you waiting for? Let's Cook the Books!