Hats off to Julie Powell...

...for she is a better woman than I! How she managed to cook her way through Julia's book I don't know!

So anyway guys I have some news...while I have been cooking from the book, including mac & cheese, sausages & mash with onion, red wine & cumin gravy and chocolate cake I've become bored and stressed already.

It's time to admit the truth...I can't carry on cooking from the book! Sorry dedicated fans!...But then for those that have been reading this blog you will know that I have rarely stuck to any plan that I have made thus far!

It's too much and too time consuming for my life, I had high hopes when I started but have fallen flat on my face! The upshot of starting this blog though was the fact it has cemented my want to write my own cook book so instead of cooking someone else's recipes I'm going to cook my own and blog about that!

I'm going to compile my recipes, cook them, make sure they work and get friends to test them. There are several things I want my book to be but the most important thing is realistic and that it is something people will genuine want to read and use.

If you have any suggestions on what you would want from your ideal cook book please let me know.

Thanks for reading, hopefully you'll stay tuned and pick up some hints, tips and recipes along the way.


Keeley xxx

Cooking for company

Tirzah making the Guacamole

This Sat I had my friends Tirzah and Fletch over for dinner, so I took the chance to cook a full 3 course dinner. On the menu:
Guacamole with Paprika-Toasted Potato Skins
Marinated Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Garlic Potatoes & Watercress & Raw Mushroom Salad
Pavlova

When cooking for guests I really like to do as much as I can in advance ro do something easy. So Sat morning I had cooked the meringue base for the pav, prepped all of the potatoes, butterflied and started marinating the lamb. Nigella suggests getting your butcher to butterfly the Lamb but I don't have this luxury on a busy Sat so I gave it a bash myself! I didn't have the correct knife but I knew the basics and did my best. Don't get me worng it probably wasn't the prettiest but hardly any meat was wasted and when cooking at home I say it's better to taste good than look good.

Guacamole with Paprika-Toasted Potato Skins

Jacket pots were in the oven by the time they got here were and almost done by the time they got here, dinner only took and hour to cook and the pav would take 5 mins to whip up. So...as they say 'many hands make light worl' so I got Tirzah to make the guacamole (see T in pic). This a recipe I have tried before as is how my Mum always makes it (from How to Eat) so I'm used to it but T said she usually puts garlic in hers (no garlic here) and that it was a little too limey. On a plus note Fletch hadn't tried it before but tried it on Sat and said it was 'alright' which coming from a bloke I think is a compliment!

Lamb with Garlic Pots & Watercress & Mushroom Salad

The main was lovely, overcooked the lamb a little more than I like but this was to please guests and the husband...would deffinately cook it this was again (butterflied) as cooked really quickly. Thought this would be a good way to do a quick roast as the garlic pots were cubed to a 1cm dice (roughly of course) so they cooked qickly too...Could have easily knocked up some veg, yorkies and gravy!

Now dessert was Pavola...Meringue is one of my favourite things to eat on the planet so I'm quite fussy as to how I like it! Normally I don't add anything to my egg white sugar mix but this recipe called for white wine vinegar (I used red as thats all I but presume it didn't make a difference, if it did I couldn't tell), corn flour  and vanilla extract. The result cruncy on the outside soft on the inside. I normally ike meringue to have a chewy middle, the kind of chewy that sticks to your teeth. This was more marshmellowy (like marshmallow fluff) and it was GOOD! Was meant to be topped with passionfruit but there wasn't any at the supermarket so went with the good classic topping - strawberries and raspberries. We all had two slices so that speaks for itself!

Strawberry & Raspberry Pavlova

So thats a few more recipes ticked off my list! Just need to decide what to do next. Dad is also coming over in a couple of weeks for a take away so I may knock up a dessert...but you know me, how often have I stuck to the plan I've made!

Night All




Keeley xxx

Thanks Zach...

...I say tonight was a joint effort but really I cheated! Zach cooked the majority! We made Nigella's Yorkshire Pudding recipe but converted this to Toad in the Hole by adding some cooked sausages to the batter.

In my defense I wasn't allowed to help! Toad in the Hole is one of the few dishes my Husband can cook well and usually (to give me a night off) if Toad in the Hole is on the menu he takes control...with his rare opportunity of kitchen control though comes a price...I'm not allowed an input and despite being the cook in the house suddenly (according to him) I don't have a clue and he knows best.

I was however, allowed to cook the frozen petit pois! We all know how difficult that can be! I cooked these in one of the ways Nigella recommends too, its so simple a little sugar and salt and basil in the water and hey presto. I have never added sugar to peas before as I think they are sweet veg anyway and I'm not 100% sure it made a difference. Saying that though she only said to use a little bit (no specific quantities given) so I guessed. Next time I'll cook without and see if I notice the change.

Worked a bit on my cook book today. It's something I'm definitely going to do so have been working on recipes, chapters and the narrative. Also, I've been asking friends and family on what they would want their ultimate cook book to include and any fav recipes they would want to see in it...can't beat a bit of free, honest market research! If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them so please comment.

The final results tasted better than it looked (no offensive Zach)...It puffed up but not as much as usual but I think this is because he made the same amount of batter as normal but cooked it in a bigger tray.

Having my friends Tirzah and Fletch over for dinner on Sat so will be cooking up a storm. All recipes from the book and I'm even making two desserts! Hope they enjoy it :o)

Will be back Sunday to let you know how it all went.

Thanks for reading

Love Keeley

My first let down...

...Tonight I managed to strike 3 recipes off my list! I cooked what Nigella calls 'Tagliatelle with Chicken from the Venetian Ghetto'. This recipe sounded lovely...roast chicken, a rosemary, pine nut and sultana sauce all mixed with tagliatelle pasta. I started by cooking 'Basic Roast Chicken' as per the book which was great...crispy skin, juicy flesh just as a roast chicken should be. I then converted this to the pasta dish...I didn't like it! It had all the components I would love in a dish and all the flavours I love individually but all together there was no Umami in my mouth!

I'm one of the first to praise Nigella but this just didn't work for me and Zach wasn't too keen either. I was so disappointed as on paper this sounded like it was going to be so good...I suppose you can't please everyone all of the time and I'm sure that I may not like other recipes in the book but this left me feeling disheartened at such early stages and still hungry!

But as someone who never likes to be down for long I thought "Hey, lets end tonight on a high" so I cooked up the Victoria Sponge from the book too! This looks good and filled the house with that lovely vanillary, cakey smell! I'll be taking it to work tomorrow so I hope my colleagues appreciate it and that it tastes good...Can't wait to have a slice and cuppa for elevenses.


Night, night

Keeley x