New and inventive ways of cooking a potato? Yeah not much comes to mind apart from mashing, boiling and roasting so when I saw the recipe for hassleback potatoes in April's Rachel Ray Everyday Magazine I was sold. Pimpin' up your regular potato was just what the doctor ordered! I chose the Garlic and Parm version as it was what I had left in the fridge and did not require that much cheese (yes, I'm cutting back).
Yay or Nay: Nay
When prepping for this side dish it all looked promising, from the cuts that made the potato fan out prettily or the delish combo of garlic, oregano and oil (I substituted the butter for olive oil), I was truly disappointed that it did not live up to its expectations. Yes, when it came out it smelled and looked great but the flavour wasn't full enough (I didn't have time to brush the herby oil, cook and then brush again). The potatoes didn't cook all the way through and the parm was barely detectable. Maybe it was because I used grated parm rather than shaved and different potatoes (possibly differet size too) that gave me such poor results. It'll be a while before I consider making these again.
We all need a little more fish in our lives and I was doubly inspired to add some seafood into the repertoire after an amazing trip to Cape Town, South Africa! I admit I did find this recipe for Brazilian Fish Stew before I went away but I knew I needed to try this. I have failed on several occasions to make a hearty and deeply flavoured fish curry/stew so I hope this one from Recipe Tin Eats will make the cut!
Yay or Nay: Yay
Whenever I cook cod/halibut/any white fish via frying/browning it always, ALWAYS falls apart. At least I had the foresight to give it a tentative poke while cooking (and yes I know, don't touch the fish until it is properly cooked), removed it to add at the end of the dish rather than warming it back in the pan for it to only fall apart into tiny little inedible pieces. Instead I layered rice, then the fish separately and then stew on top. This was actually very tasty, the coconut was fragrant and the tomato tempered the heat so don't go optional on the cayenne pepper. Word of warning, if you have a small house it will stink of fish the day after.
Who doesn't love a box of 6 chicken nuggets? Ok a box of 10! If you don't you're lying to yourself. Every now and then I get cravings for nuggets but every bite is a reminder that it probably isn't real chicken and that it is whole heartedly (pardon the pun) bad for you! Researching recipes for healthier versions I came across this recipe for Baked Buffalo Chicken Nuggets, and the as the Hubby grew up not far from Buffalo I knew this could be a winner!
Yay or Nay: Yay
These were deliciously tangy with a spicy kick at the end. The only downside was that it wasn't as crispy as I'd hoped they would be. I didn't add oil when I got round to baking them so perhaps that was what it was. For the prep, it was pretty much roll it around in the breadcrumbs and then cook. I would add more red hot next time and up the amount of breadcrumb as it didn't completely coat them. Yes, there is no finished picture as we pretty much polished them off so that kind of speaks for itself.
