When a craving for a particular food takes over, you know you just have to have it! I don't know what it was that spurred my craving for katsu curry but I knew I had to find a version that I could cook at home. I found Just One Cookbook's recipe for Crispy Baked Chicken which is a healthier version of tonkatsu which is made with pork. I knew pork was already on the menu for this week so I went for something different and chicken won. I admit straight off that I won't be making the curry sauce as that seems like it would be tricky and nothing worse than being disappointed after all that effort - besides, the Japanese make a great instant version!
Yay or Nay: Yay
This ticked all the boxes, healthy, authentic tasting and delicious!! It took me right back to the first time I had it, in a UK Japanese chain restaurant called Wagamamas. Yes, it's not real-real Japanese food but it's comfort food for me and it was great! The breading was similar to how I make fish fingers so it wasn't difficult and the sauce was pretty much boil water and dissolve the curry cubes! SO EASY!
Thinking of inexpensive but thoughtful Christmas gifts for co-workers I came across this recipe for Gingerbread Granola. Now, I'm a die-hard fan of Deliciously Ella's Granola but it wasn't very Christmassy! When I think of Christmas I think of Mince Pies, Christmas Pudding and more recently Gingerbread (very American not British!) so hopefully The Healthful Ideas's recipe for Gingerbread Granola would be a mouthful of Christmas first thing in the morning!
Yay or Nay: Nay
This was fairly easy to make, I'd say pretty similar to the Deliciously Ella one. However the ingredients didn't really clump together like you see in the shops. On the plus side, the addition of nut butter gave it a richer taste but I was surprised by the 1tsp of ginger powder. I don't know about you, but gingerbread screams a ton of ginger to me so I ignored the recipe on this front and went for three! I figured the recipe as it currently stands wouldn't have a strong enough gingerbread taste and I didn't want to tell people it was 'gingerbread granola' and for it to taste nothing like that! Even with the change there still isn't a strong ginger taste but there is a little hint of spice. BTW MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
I love a good pie, mainly because of the crust more than the filling! I've used Jamie Oliver's recipe for a while now and figured I'd share it here. I got this from his cookbook Comfort Food but I found it here on the 'net!
Yay or Nay: Yay
So easy to make and even easier to eat!
Whenever the weather gets colder, I always have a hankering for a good ol' fashioned pie. Not a sweet one, not a weird pot pie but a proper shortcrust or puff pastry pie with a yummy, warming filling. Nothing beats steak and ale pie, unless it's a steak and Guinness one but when you can find a single can/bottle of it then an ale will do!
I usually make my crust via Jamie Oliver's recipe but the filling was from UK newspaper The Telegraph. They managed to convince Pieminster (one of the best proper pies around in the UK) to give up their recipe for Moo 2 Pie!
Yay or Nay: Yay
Although this took over 3 hours to make start to finish, it was worth it! Rich and comforting in the snowy weather, there wasn't much to fault it apart from the time it took! I took out the carrot once I had to put together the pie, I didn't add the squeeze of lemon as I didn't have any and I didn't glaze the pie with an egg wash as I didn't want to waste any more time! I was hungry, it was time to eat!!
