Sunday 25 November 2012

106. iced Lemon Traybake (M Berry)

Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book 
Rating: 4.5/5
Comment: Yummy light, quick and easy lemon tray bake with a subtle taste of lemon in the sponge part and zesty icing. Very simple all-in-one method. Cooked it at 170 degrees - fan oven for just under 30 mins.
Use it again: Yes.
Lovely recipes from this bookCoffee victoria sponge.

Saturday 24 November 2012

105. Cauliflower & Broccoli mac 'n' cheese (D. Skehan)

Link to recipe
Kitchen Hero: Great Food for less (Donal Skehan)
Rating: 4/5
Comment: Great winter comfort food. Saw this on Donal's cookery tv show and thought it was a nice twist on a childhood favorite - mum used to make Delia Smith's mac 'n' cheese with rashers and leeks - a recipe I now use for a comfort food treat very occasionally. Will now also use this recipe with some modifications -  rashers. I think a head each of both broccoli and cauliflower is a bit too much though so will use two-thirds of each. Also, Donal used a mixture of cheese on the tv show (cheddar, parmesan and some kind of blue cheese?), so also used a bit of a mixture and topped it off with some breadcrumbs as well as cheese.
Use again? Yes.





104. Tarragon Chicken (R Allen)

Rachel Allen- Easy Meals
Rating: 4/5
Comment: This was tasty enough and very easy, even with dried tarragon, but I think the amount of stock specified is too much. At 1 pint the liquid is supposedly meant to reduce and thicken after simmering for about 8 minutes - it took over 15 minutes and it still hadn't reduced down by much. (I used the kindle version of the book which may have mistakes). However, it did still taste lovely and was so easy - great for mid-week dinner. This uses creme fraiche.
Use again? Yes.
Lovely Recipes from this book: Easy Lemon Cake, pork chops with apple and sage.

103. Pork chops with apple and sage (R. Allen)

Rachel Allen- Easy Meals
Rating: 5/5
Comment: Very tasty pork loin chops and very fast to prepare. This uses eating apples, cider, sage and creme fraiche. My mother told me about this and I will definitely be making this time and time again. I used yoghurt this last time which split on me so I think I'll stick to creme fraiche.
Lovely Recipes from this book: Easy Lemon Cake.

102.Tin foil salmon (L Pascale)

Lorraine Pascale's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food
Rating: 4.5/5
Comment: Lovely refreshing way to cook salmon. Very easy and quick and tasted lovely. Used sesame oil for the first time which worked very well.
Use this again: Yes. The recipe also suggests using trout which I will try another time.
Lovely recipes from this book: Chocolate cake, lemon& lime poppy seed cake,warm bramley apple pies, spicy chicken fajitas, roasted new Potatas&chorizo Bravas, cottage pie with rosti potatoes, tandoori chicken, french onion soup.
Nice enough recipes from this book: Twister Bread, chocolate mousse, salmon in filo pastry with pesto, chicken tikka misala.
Recipes to avoid: Lamb Biryani.


Wednesday 14 November 2012

101. Lemon yoghurt cake (M Berry)

Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book 
Rating: 2.5/5
Comment: This was easy enough to make but disappointed with the result. Tastes fine but a little heavy.
Use it again: No.
Lovely recipes from this book: Coffee victoria sponge.

Sunday 11 November 2012

100. Dreamlike shortbread (L Pascale)

Lorraine Pascale- Baking Made Easy 
Rating: 3/5 
Comment: Only OK. This recipe uses a mix of flour and rice-flour. I think the rice flour gave it an odd taste, but I did use brown rice flour which may be the cause. I added in some chocolate chips for variety. I will make these again using regular flour.
Use it again: Yes, probably.
Lovely recipes from this book: Fudge brownies, classic victoria sponge, pavlova, Chocolate cake, Chocolate melting pots, Soda bread, Strawberry and mascarpone swiss roll, baked plaice with rosemary and anchovies, mini toad-in-the-hole, Focaccia, glam mac and cheese, mini dark chocolate and raspberry swirl cheesecakes, lemon tart.
Avoid: Banana and Honey Souffle, ginger and mascarpone creme brulee.

99. French Onion Soup (L Pascale)

Lorraine Pascale's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food 
Rating: 4/5 
Comment: Tasty enough onion soup - the first onion soup I've ever made and pleased enough with the result. This was a very easy recipe which suits the cold winter days. Photo to follow next time.
Use it again: Yes.
Lovely recipes from this book: Chocolate cake, lemon& lime poppy seed cake,warm bramley apple pies, spicy chicken fajitas, roasted new Potatas&chorizo Bravas, cottage pie with rosti potatoes, tandoori chicken. 
Nice enough recipes from this book: Twister Bread, chocolate mousse, salmon in filo pastry with pesto, chicken tikka misala.
Recipes to avoid: Lamb Biryani.

Thursday 8 November 2012

98. Cheesecake brownies (R. Allen - Cake)

Rachel Allen - Cake
Link to the recipe
Rating: 4.5/5 
Comment: Yummy - much nicer than a regular Rachel Allen brownie recipe I sometimes use - the cream cheese balances out the richness a little, although it has a slightly odd taste, still good. I also think I will add more of the chocolate chunks part to the melted choc/butter mixture relative to the amount of chunks - maybe 30-40 %. These were even nicer the second day.

Use it again: Probably, but not as often as my regular brownie recipe.

Sunday 4 November 2012

97. Chicken Tikka Misala (L Pascale)

Lorraine Pascale's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food 
Rating: 3/5 
Comment: This was alright but lacking in something. a quick and easy dinner for mid-week. 
Use it again: No. 
Lovely recipes from this book: Chocolate cake, lemon& lime poppy seed cake,warm bramley apple pies, spicy chicken fajitas, roasted new Potatas&chorizo Bravas, cottage pie with rosti potatoes, tandoori chicken. 
Nice enough recipes from this book: Twister Bread, chocolate mousse, salmon in filo pastry with pesto.
Recipes to avoid: Lamb Biryani.