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.
Another up-the-veggie quota recipe, I originally wanted to make celeriac fries from a recipe online but I couldn't find any. I'm pretty sure it is out of season so I had a backup plan in the shape of carrot fries. Now, I know sweet potato fries are usually the plan B option, but the Hubby DOES NOT LIKE sweet potatoes. Boo. I do know he likes carrots though so these Roasted Parmesan Carrots were worth a try...
Yay or Nay: Yay
Even though they look Nay, they were a yay after all. So it turned out that the Hubby doesn't like cooked carrots as they remind him of sweet potatoes and in turn I did have to give him a portion of raw carrots instead. The prep was easy enough, I put everything in a bag, gave it a shake and hey pesto! The only complaint was that the crumb didn't quite stick to the carrots but that may be down to the frugal amount of oil I was using. Also, the crumb cooked before the carrots so they were erring on the side of still being raw. On the plus side, the Hubby did like them after all as they had a bit of a bite to them. Result!
I'd read in the weekend paper that it is recommended that you eat at least two and a half cups of veggies a day. I did a quick calculation of what I usually eat in a day and it definitely fell short. Now I consider myself a pretty healthy eater but this scared me a little as I knew I wasn't getting half of that. Anyway, I browsed the net for recipes that would include more veggies and most importantly disguise them for the Hubby. This Spicy Shrimp with Cauliflower Mash ticked the (more) seafood box and the hiding-the-veggies box too, no harm in trying right?
Yay or Nay: Hmm...in the middle
It's meant to be one or the other right, but this divided us both. We both loved the shrimp, it was seasoned well and had a nice kick. However, the mash was, er, interesting. Yes I didn't use the white beans so maybe that affected it but the texture was slightly off. The cornmeal thickened but made it look a little unappetising. Even though I've cut down on my cheese intake, it definitely needed more cheese to add somedepth of flavour and DO NOT SKIP the salt, as I learned the hard way, I can promise you it will be a tasteless mealy slop.
There's nothing better than a surprise right? By chance someone at work had left a pile of old Bon Appetit magazines on the communal table. Honestly I have never flicked through the magazine or considered reading it, but seeing as there was nothing else to do during lunch I figured it can't hurt. The surprise was, they were pretty informative and definitely inspiring for mid-week meals. Yes they probably require a little more work or ingredients you can't quite get your hands on but it's worth a try!
The recipe for Passport Pasta intrigued me as it sounded as delicious as a meaty pasta I usually make but switched up with harissa and Merguez sausage.
Yay or Nay: Yay
It was better than I expected, the chorizo gave it a kick and the feta added a nice salty element. I do have to say that actual merguez sausage probably would have elevated this but could not find it for the life of me! Next time I might make my own sausage based on Ottelenghi's recipe in this weekend's Guardian instead.
I had a craving for some juicy, spicy and crispy chicken and I knew Jerk Chicken would hit the spot. I tried to make some before but it didn't have the depth of flavour I was expecting. I was hoping that researching several spice combinations would help see what I might be missing or could do without. This spice mix from Diethood looked simple enough and I combined it with a slow cooker method for Jerk Chicken.
Yay or Nay: A 50/50
The method itself was easy, cook for a few hours and then finish off in the broiler in order to make the skin crispy. The spice mix was a little lacking, so I think next time I'll either buy a ready made spice mix or try another recipe.
