Just give me Mac & Cheese Pleeease!

Recipe #58: Macaroni Cauliflower Cheese Bake


This looks delicious in the cookbook and looked delicious when it came out of the oven all bubbly and golden but I'm just not a fan of cauliflower. I don't mind a bit but all through mac & cheese... please just mac & cheese with NO cauliflower next time.


On the bright side, my mum who likes cauliflower LOVED it!


This is what went in it:
- 1/2 a head of cauliflower (I put a whole one in because I only just realised then I read the recipe wrong so maybe thats why it was too cauliflower-ee)
- 200g cheddar cheese (we only had low fat grated cheese)
- 100g parmesan cheese (grated)
- a bunch of fresh parsley
- S&P
- 400g dried macaroni (I used elbow pasta)
- 200g creme fraiche (I used 100g sour cream & 100g of pouring cream because we didn't have any creme fancy delicious-ness at home)
- pinch of chilli flakes (this was my touch as I felt for a little spice tonight)

I chopped the cauliflower up breaking small florets off and finely slicing the stalks of the larger florets. The cheeses when in a large heatproof bowl and the parsley finely chopped and kept to the side. I brought a large pot of salted water to boil and threw in the pasta and then placed the bowl of cheeses over the boiling pasta. The creams went into the cheeses and attempted to melt... I say attempted because it all glooped up to start with and the pasta water started to over flow onto the stove top. But once that was under control and the sauce stirred, it started to melt I regained my faith in Mr Oliver.  After 5 min I threw in the cauliflower and let cook for a further 3-4 min. 

Parsley and S&P went in the melted cheese and cream while the pasta and cauliflower drained. Everything was then combined and poured into a baking dish. I then topped this with a bit more cheese and grilled it in a preheated oven for about 20min until golden and oozy on top.


I made a variation of my favourite salad to go with this and I needed a fresh taste after the creaminess of cauliflower. The salad had rocket, ripe tomatoes, red onion and avo; dressed with the usual white wine and balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.


Sorry Jamie but wont be making it again...

Never fear, I have returned.

I cooked recipe #47 a few weeks ago and yes I have been extremely lazy, apologies to my faithful readers. 

Moroccan Lamb with couscous.

First things first. I hate cooked fruit especially in savoury things. I’d have to say that its one of the only things I really hate when it comes to food! This recipe has apricots in it. (Gag) EW! They were evicted from the recipe.

    I chopped the onions, tomatoes, chilli and parsley as Jamie asks. Next was to heat oil in a large pan cook onions and garlic till tender. Add 2 tsp of cumin, pepper and salt. Next add tomatoes, parsley, pine nuts and chickpeas. Cook for about 5 min.

    Meanwhile cut Lamb; I used lamb back-strap, into 2.5cm pieces. Season with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of ground cumin. Put a pan on high heat and cook lamb for about 2-3 min on each side. My Lamb was still a little frozen so it didn’t go as crispy as what Jamie’s looked like.

    I had Julia Child’s voice going through my head. (Well actually Meryl Streep’s voice) telling me that “wet meat does not brown properly” and she’s right! My lamb cooked in a puddle of water that came out of the lamb during the cooking. It did not brown nicely and I overcooked it waiting for the couscous to cook which ended up being a big bowl of glug.

     Yes Glug.

What is Glug? It is couscous that does not separate and sticks together as one big disgusting patty. How can you stuff up couscous?? I have no idea what I did wrong. Every time I cook couscous not following a recipe it works, when I use a recipe it glugs. If someone knows what I might have done wrong please comment and let me know because I failed at making it this time.

    You are meant to squash the sauce with the back of a spoon and add a tbs of balsamic vinegar before serving to make it saucier. It was nice though but not enough chilli.

    All I kept thinking was that if Pete and Manu were in my kitchen last night I would have been so embarrassed. Overcooked Lamb and Glug.

FAIL.

Fear of cheats garlic bread FOREVER!

I am back from a dinner last night that makes me gag. No this was not a Jamie dinner or one of my own creations. We thought we'd go the cheats ways and by Coles garlic bread instead of making our own. I could hear Jamie's voice in my head saying...

"Make your own, this is not what Jamie's Ministry of food is about" 

 I should have listened to Jamie because as we started to eat this cheats garlic bread I thought 'hmm this tastes a little funny, maybe its because I'm used to the Woolworth's brand one and Coles brand are a little different. I'm into my 2nd or 3rd piece (I am still trying to block this memory out) and Tristan says "whats that?" I look at the end of my piece of garlic bread to say its just the charcoal bit from the sausages. When I look closer it's MOLD. Bluey-green MOLD. It can't be we both say and look at the whole loaf... Oh yes it was. The 2nd loaf was worse! I actually felt like being sick. The thought of last nights dinner is blur... I feel ill now. How can a store sell moldy garlic bread? If it was on special I can understand maybe... but it wasn't and not they have ruined cheats garlic bread for me forever. EW. 
     The Jamie in my head is reading this and going "told you so, should have made something healthy form my book" and yes I admit I should have and a regret I didn't. 

I'm sorry Jamie.

Recipe's #30 and 31: Dinner tonight was Baked Cod wrapped in Bacon with Rosemary and Baked French Potatoes. Sounds fabulous and restaurant worthy right?


Two words is all tonight gets. YUK and FAIL.


The fish when baked poached... the potatoes also poached in stock that didn't evaporate when it should have. The bacon and rosemary was nice but I'm not a huge fish eater and well cod is a very fishy fish. The thought of food is making me feel ill.


Molly the cat didn't even get the cod that we left uneaten. The bacon was eaten but the cod.... was filed under B for bin.