Not a first timer.

Christmas Count down: 2 months.


Tonight was Recipe #62: Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon & Pea Sauce. I think a very fitting dish since its nearly Christmas and it makes a great left over dish. 


I do have to admit this was not the first time I have made this pasta dish. I love it! The first time I made it was at the beginning of this year with Christmas ham left overs instead of bacon. A very versatile dish. Leave out the parmesan for a lighter dinner which suited greedy me tonight or keep it in for a heavier dinner when you haven't finished of the weekends leftovers for afternoon tea.


So here it is. Very simple and scrumptious.
I finely sliced the bacon and chopped the fresh mint. Add a little olive oil because the bacon was not very fatty and fried it until golden and crispy. My pasta water was boiling and the pasta was added while the bacon was frying and spitting and popping all over mums kitchen top. I used bow-ties instead of little shells as we had them already at home. Next I added a large handful of peas, a dash of light cream (you are meant to use creme fraiche but all we had was light cream which worked well and made me feel like my bum might stay the same size tonight and not enlarge itself after eating) and some of the mint. Cooked the peas for a couple of min, drained the pasta, added the cream to the peas, added the pasta to the pea and bacon sauce reserving some of the cooking water and squeezed in half a lemon. Served it with a sprinkle of parmesan and dug in. 


Mmmm YUM! 
Mum had seconds :)

Quick, Easy and Tasty...

What more can you ask for?


Recipe #61: Broccoli and Pesto Tagliatelle

First things first, I hate jared pesto and when I saw that this recipe asked for jared pesto I immediately turned my nose up and thought Ew!! but knew I had to give it a go. Now a few weeks ago my friend Katie had the girls over for dinner and a movie and called me to tell me what she wanted to cook for dinner and if it sounded ok, it sounded delicious apart from the pesto she mentioned that she was not going to make from scratch but buy jared. I instantly held my tongue well aware it gets me in trouble at the best of times and said it still sounded delicious even with my silent fears of jared pesto ringing in my head. But as I helped her cook the dinner I sampled the jared pesto and there must have been a revolution in jared pesto world since the last time I tried it because this one was delicious. I instantly took a shine to this jared pesto and would say its the only one to buy. EVER. Its doesn't tastes the same as home made as it lacks the potent punch home made pesto has but with a but of extra cheese, garlic butter and S&P it was so yummy it has made an appearance at home a couple of weeks later. I have named it 'Katie's Pasta'.


But on to the dish I cooked the other night; Broccoli and Pesto Tagliatelle. It was yum but I do prefer Katie's Pasta... I think I over cooked the pasta slightly and under cooked the potatoes. I didn't have a choice though... either cooked pasta and slightly underdone potatoes or cooked potatoes and mushy pasta. I couldn't win.

So to start with Jamie asks you to cut the florets off your broccoli then slice the stalk in half (discarding the  very end bit) and finely slice. I used two small bits of broccoli but I think one would have been plenty like he says but I got greedy as usual and slice your potato using a speed peeler. The pasta (I used spaghetti as we didn't have tagliatelle at home) goes into salted boiling water with the sliced broccoli stalks. 2min before the pasta is done you are meant to add the broccoli florets and the shaved potato and cook for 2 min. Drain it all, reserving some of the cooking water and return everything to the pan. Stir through the pesto and halved baby cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes are my little touch as I know they go well with this jared pesto. Add a little extra parmesan cheese, a good amount of seasoning of S&P and a slosh of the reserved pasta water if it looks to dry. 

We served this with fresh sourdough bread smothered in butter. Mmm I love real salty butter :)

Converted.

You know when somebody finds out that there is anchovies in the dish you can see their noses turn up? well I used to be one of those people. I was even worse. When I read a recipe and saw anchovies in it I would quickly turn the page and never read the recipe again and pretty much skip over the page when I flicked through the book. Hmmm how things can change with a little trust. 


I was watching an episode of 'The Naked Chef' and Jamie mentions anchovies and how he never really liked them but now does. How you have to try them in dishes even if just a small bit the first time and that they are not fishy (like they smell...ew). So that is exactly what I did. I tried them, didn't dodge on them and you know what. I loved it. It gave the dish a subtle flavour with a different kind of salty-ness. Delicious!

I cooked them in one of Jamie's new recipes in his new book. I know I should be sticking to the book I chose to cook all the way through but I just couldn't help my self when I just walked... yes, I say just walked its because thats all I went to Borders for in my lunch break but before I knew it I was at the cash register with my shiny blue credit card in one hand and Jamie's 30 Minute meals in the other. I call it fate :)


Naturally, I was keen to see if his method of cooking in this new book was really revolutionary as he claims it to be. I had one problem... to complete these recipes you require a food processor, you all know that the only food processor my mum owns is tiny Oscar which doesn't slice and dice, only blends one cup at a time. Pft! I thought as I requested all the ingredients I required to make 'Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, crunchy salad and garlic bread'; a whole meal in 30 minutes (minus the dessert because I am getting fat as it is and don't need to add Silky Chocolate ganache to my already expanding bum). I got home after a sweltering day wearing way to many clothes for what the weather asked for and striped off into Tristan's sexy Hawaiian board shorts. I looked a tread in the kitchen I can tell you that much, unfortunately no pictures to show you though.


First things first, Jamie asks you to pre-heat your oven and get some water on the boil for your pasta. Done and Done, So far so good. Remember that I bailed on dessert so this probably should have taken me a little quicker but I blame the lack of food processor and the fact I had to use a crappy slicer which totally didn't work for me so I had the lovely boy do some manual labor in the kitchen and get it to work.


Half a loaf of half sliced thought ciabatta was smothered in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley and S&P and wrapped up in baking paper. It then went into the oven (no butter in the recipe so I think it should be rename as Cholesterol healthy GB) almost to be forgotten about, the best kind of recipe so far. The pasta went in the salted water and then the goodies for the pasta sauce went in a frying pan. The ten minutes it takes the pasta to cook completely disappeared and suddenly the pasta was done but I was still trying to get the stupid slicer to work. Stuff it, overcooked pasta tastes like shit so the fennel salad could wait. (This is when my lovely boy came and took over)


The pasta was mixed with the sauce and directed to the table, the fennel and radish salad was dressed and seasoned and also directed to the table and finally the almost forgotten garlic bread came out of the oven looking delicious and golden. 


A total success, Thank-you Jamie!


I cannot wait to try the other meal plans in this new book, maybe even with a dessert if my jeans allow it :)

Guilty as charged.

I've been lazy lazy lazy!

love LOVE cooking with white wine

The aroma of white wine cooking gets my taste buds going. There is something about it that I know when its cooked delicately that the meal is going to taste fabulous. I've cooked this recipe of Jamie's about 4 or five times by now but never posted it, why? I have no idea but now its time as I made it again last night and it was scrumptious. White wine, leek, chicken, cream... mmm what a fantastic marriage. 

Recipe #60 :Chicken and Leek Stroganoff


I've added an onion in the mix to make more sauce and changed the way its cooked slightly. Making it better and better with each time its done and making it more mine. I feel I'm an expert at cooking this now. 


Splosh of Extra Virgin Olive oil
nobb of butter
1 large leek (cleaned, quartered and chopped)
1 large onion (sliced in half moons)
2 classes of dry white wine (plus extra if needed)
4 small chicken breasts (sliced into finger sized pieces)
4 handfuls of sliced mushrooms
bunch of parsley (finely chopped)
200mL single or low fat cream
1/2 lemon


1- Heat olive oil and butter in a large frying pan and add the onions, leeks, wine and season with S&P and loosely cover with a lid or piece of foil and cook on medium heat for about 5 min. 
2- Add the chicken pieces and cook until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink. (You can add more wine here if it starts looking dry)
3- Sprinkle the mushrooms over the top so it covers the chicken (the mushrooms act as like a lid so the chicken steams a little as well as the mushrooms) then sprinkle the parsley over the top.
4- Stir everything up then add the cream. Bring to a simmer and right before you serve it sprinkle the lemon juice over the top. Season to taste.
5- Serve it with plain rice.