Cookbook club - September is GBBO month!

[ScienceRocks]

This is a thread for all those wanting to share their experiences of cooking from any of the recipe books or blogs written by the Great British Bake Off judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, and any of the contestants or spin off books.

For those not familiar with the MN cookbook club, the idea is to choose a couple of books each month and then cook a few of the recipes from one or both. The thread means anyone taking part can celebrate successes, highlight problems or mistakes in recipes, and pass on any tips or changes that others may want to incorporate when they cook the same recipe. And if course, we have tried and tested the MN cookbook Top Bananas!

In the past we have done books by well known cooks such as nigella lawson and nigel slater, searched through blogs by the likes of smitten kitchen and been wowed by the flavours of yotam ottolenghi and Thomasina miers. Some of us find it gives focus to our menu planning, others feel it is the encouragement needed to try something different, whereas for some people it is the push needed to dust down an ignored book from the kitchen shelf and leaf through its pages for inspiration.

All welcome!

It's the book from the first bake off, so Mary, Paul and the first contestants.

Ah, I see. Was that the one jo Wheatley won?

Yes I think so. Some nice recipes in there but not all have pictures :(

I don't mind no pictures. It means there is no pressure to get a dish to look a certain way

I made Paul Hollywood's banana and walnut loaf from How To Bake this evening.

It was lovely. Very simple recipe. I found it a bit over sweet, but that could have been my - almost walking to the compost on their own -bananas. I'd do it again.

Sounds nice manatee. Did you eat it very quickly or did it keep well?

I made the baguettes from How To Bake today. I clearly got the shaping wrong as they looked more like small bloomers than baguettes but the texture and taste was bang on. The recipe made four small ones, and there is only one left!

Yesterday I made Mary berry cooks' butternut squash and spinach lasagne, which DH and I thought was really nice. The DDs complained that it wasn't "proper" lasagne, but maybe they will change their minds when they have it for dinner tonight - yes, there was plenty leftover! I followed it with the double chocolate chip cookies from the same book, which are my new favourite biscuit recipe. So easy! So tasty!

As I had the oven on for the bread today, I made a lemon drizzle cake from Mary Berry's fast cakes. Haven't eaten it yet, but the dog enjoyed licking out the mixing bowl that I had put in the dishwasher The drizzle part was much larger in quantity than my usual recipe and it almost like an icing, so I will see how that is when I have a slice with my cup of tea this afternoon.

I think it would keep well, but it didn't get a chance!

Did the chicken with lemon and fennel from Mary berry cooks last night. It was much saucier than I envisaged so I ended up thickening it with a little corn flour and serving it with brown rice rather than her suggested mashed potato. Tasty though.

Pastistio tonight from Mary berry cooks another recipe involving layering a tomato based sauce with a cheese sauce over a form of carbohydrate which the DDs loved! Have to say that her portion size is very generous, even by my gluttonous standards

You're on fire this month Science! Pastitsio sounds good.

I tried a smoked salmon terrine from an early Mary B book - bit retro but quite elegant starter.

The berry is very traditional, isn't she icsntdothisagain? But I'm quite enjoying it, though my Mexican ingredients are now calling me

Well my sourdough starter doesn't seem to be very active, so I've not been able to make any of PH's sourdough recipes yet.
We did have his savoury brioche couronne with spicy squash salad for tea last night though.

The brioche was lovely, although by coincidence the good food channel was showing the bread episode the recipe is from just after I had put it in the oven. I now think the bbc online recipe was missing a step! On the programme PH said it was really important to chill the dough before shaping so the butter didn't melt, but this wasn't mentioned online so I just let it prove at room temperature then shaped at room temp too, no wonder it was so difficult to work with! It still came out well though.

Dh loved the squash salad, I thought it was okay but needed a better salad dressing. Not sure if I'd make the salad again but I'd definitely make the brioche, it was an easy recipe considering how impressive it looked.

I haven't done his brioche Madame, I must give it a try.

Just remembered that I made a friend the chocolate traybake from Mary berry cooks last week (as a birthday cake). She has reported back that it was very good

Snap Science! Did Mary's choc tray bake for a coffee morning and it went down v well.
And yes - she is very traditional, and reassuringly so in a way.

I have a craving for tomatillo salsa again...

Good call, cant. I must dig out that jar of tomatillos

Anyone got or been watching Jamie's comfort food? I was wondering if it should be a contender for October.

Me- I've been watching Jamie. Really like the look of some of the recipes shown: I would definitely be up for it.

I froze some tomatillo salsa - no idea if freezing it is ok or not - will find out!

And me. Loved the look of the osso bucco and sticky toffee pudding he made the other night.

I'm on a roll this month. Last night I made the beef and mushroom casserole from Mary berry cooks though I didn't have porcini mushrooms. Very nice it was too, particularly with the mustard mash.

Science, which section is the casserole in? I have the book on Kindle and struggle with finding recipes [useless].

Joining in finally - bit late! Science I feel tired just reading what you have done!

I have a few books written by GBBO contestants / judges and follow a few of their blogs.

I have these books:-

Ruth Clemens Caking Making - made lots from this one, great cakes, easy to make, nothing fancy (finalist in first series of GBBO), I can really recommend it.
GBBO How To Bake - book of the second series. I agree with Pantah - some of the recipes don't have pictures and haven't baked a lot from this as a lot of the recipes are quite time consuming. I got it to learn how to make Tart au Citron! In the past I have made the Christmas shortbread and marizpan biscuits which were lovely (although I didn't properly seal them so the marizpan leaked out of the sides), the Banana and almond slice and the oat and raisin biscuits
Mary Berry's Baking Bible -have done a lot of the traybakes, cakes and biscuits. Everything has turned out well.
Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds - recently got this so not done many.
Ed Kimber The Boy Who Bakes - just got this out of the library
Paul Hollywood's 100 Great Breads - DH makes bread and has done quite a bit from this. The guiness and treacle I think is the best - it goes with everything and keeps for ages.

Blogs wise I follow
Recipes from a Normal Mum (Holly Bell)
The Pink Whisk (Ruth Clemens)
Jo's Blue Aga (Jo Wheatley)

Today I made the meat and potato pie from Pies and Puds. Some of the potato is supposed to thicken the sauce which didn't really work so I had masses of liquid and had to drain it off and reduce it and I forgot to season the meat but the suet pastry came out really well and overall it tasted quite good. Next time I will put less liquid in and much less potato. At the end of August I made the pork, apple and cider pie which was really good although the cider pastry doesn't keep.
This week hoping to make the stem ginger shortbread from How to Bake.

Made the red velvet cake from Edd Kimber this weekend, I'd only tasted shop bought (and not very nice) red velvet cakes before so I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was delicious. Nice, subtle cocoa flavour and the cream cheese frosting was lovely and not sickly considering the amount used.

Also, can I suggest a book/books for next month or a future month - I've got two of Simon Hopkinson's books that I've never cooked from but really should.
I'd also like an excuse to get Thomasina Miners new book Chilli Notes, was flicking through it in a book shop today and it looks great.

Nolda, the casserole is in "family favourites". I think it is listed as a stew rather than a casserole.

Lovingkent, I have made that pie with the cider pastry from a recipe that came in a newspaper. I thought it was good, but I'm reluctant to get another book of PH's as I think bread is really his thing and he should stop trying to cash in but doing other things that are better done by other people.

Madamecake, Thomasina miers is a great fave of mine and of several other cookbook club regulars, and we have done her Mexican book in the past. So she might be better saved for another month and maybe simon Hopkinson plus Jamie's comfort food can be the books for October. Views appreciated!

I watched Jamie, well the first half before DH pinched the telly, he does always seem to deliver on taste, Jamie not DH, unless you're into mini kievs and chips!! I'm hoping his recipes are available online and Simon Hopkinson, I really shouldn't be buying any more books at the moment, though will make an exception for Thomasina, I can buy that for DS2 he loves Wahaca.

I'm doing rubbish this month, I did get some fresh yeast in Tesco at the weekend so the intention is there, I just need someone to recommend me a cinnamon bun recipe from one of the Bake off team please

Fresh yeast, Pantah? Take me back to home ec days at school...

I made the triple tomato risotto again last night, with tomato puree this time and the rest of the sundried tomatoes I had leftover from the beginning of the month. I wilted some peppers in a cooling oven rather than using jarred, and it went down well with the whole family. Not sure about her quantities though. I halved the recipe so it should have fed 2-3 (the original stated 4-6) and there was masses. 200g of carnaroli rice goes an awfully long way, and even the back of the back states 60g per person.

Me, complaining about portion size, I must be unwell.