Cookery Book Club March - Hairy Dieters and Paul Hollywood

[Pantah630]

This month we'll be losing it with the Hairy Bikers, while piling it back on with Paul Hollywoods book/recipes of your choice.

I think there are some recipes from Pies and Bake on the internet as I broke "no spend February" at the last minute and picked up Leon book 2 and Darina Allen's forgotten recipes in TKMaxx, therefore March is the new February and no spending, except on ingredients, for me.

If anyone has some recommendations from either please shout out. The HB Korma, replicated in Curries, is very nice, if a lot hotter than a takeaway korma. Will be making that again this month, I need to wrestle the book from DS1 who now lives in a house share and took his copy with him :)

[ELR]

Thanks, marking place.
I have an old Paul Hollywood recipe book and the hairy bikers curry book so will be doing those as really can't get anymore cook books, plus I will be googling for recipes too.
Can recommend Paul Hollywood's wholemeal, walnut and blue cheese swirl rolls not sure what book they were from but they are delicious.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Started a bit early and had the HD cooked breakfast yesterday. It's really nice. Have also tried their tuna wrap, korma and veg stew. We liked them all.

[pregnantpause]

I just looked through the hb book and realised.i've not made anything from it, despite owning it for two years I have my eye on numerous recipes- it's seemingly another family friendly book. I'll have to google ph, as I don't have a book and don't like baking enough to buy one.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

pregnant I'd start with the cooked breakfadt! very easy and very tasty

[glorious]

pantah how could you, I was so good!

I'm off to check the library catalogue...

[pregnantpause]

Okay, first up I did as instructed and made hb breakfast- the tomatoes were special to be fair, and as far as I'm concerned, any breakfast which has involved poaching eggs is special. Really enjoyed it.

Today for lunch dd 2 and I have had the coconut prawn curry, which was very satisfying. It has to he said that's largely down to ingredients not the recipe though- I used a good Thai curry paste, fresh prawns and my own homegrown spinach. I do judge a recipe which includes a 'medium curry paste'-- surely the whole thing could then change- a tikka paste, Thai paste, adsa own medium paste will all be different and influence the overall outcome more than much else. It's fine to use a curry paste, but be more specific boys. And maybe include a curry paste recipe for those who would make and store it themselves.

[pregnantpause]

The hairy bikers cottage pie preceded the pancakes for us last night and was very nice. I honestly didn't think there would be enough mash, and had I had any smash would have considered topping up before I put it in the oven the layer was so thin, but it turned out to be enough. All the family enjoyed. I think I will make it again.

[glorious]

Well we're planning the HB schnitzel and the chorizo crusted fish, but not until next week (doing a fortnightly meal plan and ocado order now I'm at work).

[pregnantpause]

The fish is in my to do list.

I made hb Korma last night. It was nice, chicken very tender, very lightly spiced. It wasn't a Korma though- it is a very mild curry, it didn't satisfy my want for a creamy Korma. it was a bit grainy too, but I used a food processor not a blender so that's probably why.

[ScienceRocks]

Helllloooooo!

Found you at last. I rather fell off last month's thread as I didn't have the books but I have both of this month's so I will peruse and come back with some recommendations before joining in with gusto :-)

[DumSpiroSpero]

Can anyone join in?

I've got both Hairy Bikers Diet books - they are fab.

Totally agree re the chicken korma - it's ok but not really korma like. The chicken jalfrezi is amazing though, and also nice made with lamb.

The sweet and sour is really good, and the chilli & lemon tuna with broccoli spaghetti is gorgeous. There's also a sticky ginger salmon recipe which is really nice.

Can you tell I'm a fan?!!

[glorious]

Yes of course, welcome! especially if you know what's good to cook

The idea is that we all cook at least two recipes we haven't tried before from each book, but nobody is counting.

[ScienceRocks]

Right, I'm back with Hairy Dieters book 1. I have made:

Minestrone soup - very filling with the spaghetti, and freezes well. Good if you are 5:2ing.

Roasted cod with parma ham and peppers - very nice but takes a while to make. Again, it is suitable for 5:2ing but the time it takes is offputting when hungry!

Spanish style chicken bake - hardly revolutionary but very nice.

Salmon with chilli ginger sauce - a favourite in our house with some steamed pak choi or to top a veggie stir fry.

Peppered steak - again, excellent for fast days.

Harissa chicken with bulgur wheat salad - excellent. Another one for the 5:2ers.

That's all I've done, I suspect because they fitted with 5:2ing. But I am going to try more, and from the second book which I have but have yet to use.

I will be back with Paul Hollywood's How To Bake

[DumSpiroSpero]

Salmon with Chilli Ginger sauce - that's the one! We had it with Sainsbury's Taste the Difference fresh stir fry veg and rice - yum.

I'm going to be doing the beef in red wine in the slow cooker at some point this week, probably Wednesday, and might try making the biscotti from the second book.

The fruit compote in book one is also lovely and can be made with frozen summer fruits which makes it a bit cheaper. It's nice cold with yogurt and granola for breakfast (I wasn't keen on the granola recipe so just use bought) but also works well warmed up with low fat vanilla ice cream as a pudding.

[Pantah630]

Not cooked anything from either yet this month but I got some salmon steaks out of the freezer and am going to do the chilli ginger sauce one tonight, following all your recommendations.

Hello to everyone, new and old. Keep the recommendations coming please, especially some PH ones. I'm sticking to internet recipes for him, hopefully there's lots out there.

[Pantah630]

Well we had the salmon, I had to adjust recipe a tad as I had no stem ginger. I used fresh ginger and added honey and caster sugar to make up for lack of syrup. It still tasted lovely, I'm afraid I couldn't discard the skin, that's the best bit!!!

[glorious]

Sounds good, might try it for DD as she loves that kind of thing.

Fish skin is the one fairly ordinary thing I just hate.

[DumSpiroSpero]

Still on the chilli & ginger theme...under the heading 'I cba to go shopping' I tried the same marinade tonight with strips of chicken.

Drained the marinade into a bowl, stir fried the chicken with onion, courgettes and peppers then added leftover marinade & bubbled for a few minutes - served with rice.

It wasn't quite as good as the salmon, possibly because I didn't have an orange so just used juice from a carton . I also didn't marinate it for so long, but it was perfectly ok for a midweek meal, and DD ate it all after having moaned initially.

I'd try it again when I've got a bit more time and inclination to do it properly.

[pregnantpause]

Made hb.stuffed peppers,last night for dh and I- they were really nice. I scaled down and we had half a large pepper each, and I made a third less filling, halved the cheese and added 15g chorizo cubed, which was fried with the shrooms which soaked up all the juices- yum, and it was plenty next to a plain salad. I really enjoyed it and will be making it again. I know I shouldn't be adding chorizo to a diet recipe, but having halved the cheese and bread amounts the additional meat didn't add any more cals as it was such a small amount. I think it made the recipe perfect too.

[ScienceRocks]

Pregnant, I think adding a small amount of a highly flavoured ingredient lifts a dish from unexceptional to interesting. Seems to be what the hairy bikers are all about.

I have to say that their books have really grown on me. At least once a week I cook something from them, which is very good by my standards.

Is anyone watching Mary Berry cooks? I am really enjoying it and am thinking that I might ask for one of her books for Mother's Day. Does anyone have any recommendations? I have her fast cakes book, but it is from an era of considerably smaller baking trays so I always have to scale up the ingredient quantities. Is she good for savoury stuff too?

[ScienceRocks]

Should say that the HB books I use most are the curry book and the pieble

[Pantah630]

Oo DS1 has the pie one, might need to borrow it on that recommendation.
I love their curry book, some very good recipes in there.

[pregnantpause]

I made the salmon from hb this evening. I really enjoyed it, I can understand why some say it's a staple, it's easy and delicious. My dds weren't fans, and Dh tolerated it, but for less fish fussy families it's just lovely. I had it with spinach and broccoli, both steamed. Enough left over from the wastrels that are my family, for me to have it f or lunch again tomorrow.

[pregnantpause]

Rogue smile there- not intended.