Recipe review club

[GlumyGloomer]

I love trying out new recipes, and thought it would be fun to have a thread where we try stuff out and report back. Source must be cited and link provided if online. Photos encouraged.

Tonight I'll be making asian aubergine wedges, from Nadiya Hussain's Time to Eat book.
I like the taste of aubergine but have grave doubts about the texture. Still, I'm being brave and giving this a go.
Worth noting that I leave the chilli out of everything so that the dd's can eat it (I add at the table).

Anyone fancy joining me? (Waits for tumbleweed...)

I've just bought a very cheap haggis as it's the 26th !

I'm going to try this :-
www.telegraph.co.uk/recipes/0/haggis-mac-cheese-recipe/

Am I imagining it, or can I sense sharp intakes of breath from Glasgow?

@Georgyporky excellent! DD enjoyed it with macaroni cheese and I was thinking it would be good to have more regularly but not with neeps and tatties! Let us know how it is.

@Imicola I was expecting you to be aghast !
It's very long-dated, I'll report back when I've had it.

Just tried Korean fried chicken but with cauliflower. Total yum! Dh polished off the lot while cooking the veg so a v disgruntled dd!

Oops, haggis still in freezer!

Tonight we had a slightly random selection as I was trying to get rid of some veg! Cauliflower rice, couscous, toasted beetroot, and feta with tahini and lime dressing. It was nice, and to my great surprise even the toddler enjoyed it! Bonus.
The dressing recipe was from this book and was really nice. agreatread.co.uk/sour-more-than-mere-taste-the-magical-element-that-transforms-your-cooking-9781787132269/?setCurrencyId=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3smABhCjARIsAKtrg6L129YjSsu5TGC60X9MyP6pcE_4wZnm9QgHHESzQIrEIFXozweLZRQaAksREALw_wcB

@Imicola that sounds delicious! I'm going to work through my Two Chubby Cubs recipe book at the weekend and do some batch cooking. It's much easier to have lunch ready rather than have to deal with grumpy DC complaining that I'm not helping with their school work whilst I cook

Hi everyone, I've been in survival mode this week, so nothing much exciting except a microwave mug cake recipe (which was delicious, but too big for my mugs so made in a bowl and shared with the kids).
Dd1 wants to make something using frozen cherries tomorrow (left over from the Christmas pudding). I've suggested crumble because that's the only thing I really use frozen fruit for. Is apple and cherry crumble a thing? I also have pears and frozen blackberries. What do you all do with frozen fruit? We've not got any bread so summer pudding is out.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/microwave-mug-cake

How about clafoutis? I don't normally have puds, but a friend made this once & I liked it.

I use my frozen berries in muffins and porridge @GlumyGloomer I find they bake better than fresh ones and are also handy for things like overnight oats. Or I reduce it down and make a sort of preserve with it for putting on porridge (yes, there is a theme here) - put it in a pan with a very little amount of water, bit of sugar/ syrup/ fruit syrup, maybe star anise or cinnamon - let it boil then simmer for ages till it's nice and sticky. Good for crumpets etc too if you're not a porridge fan!

Ooh Clara, that all sounds lovely.
Enjoying this thread for desperately needed inspiration!

I think I shall need more frozen cherries to do all the suggestions
Dd1 has forgotten the cherries for the time being though in favour of a trip to the woods, so baking will wait for now. I shall report back on my efforts.
Made this for lunch today:
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gnocchi-fish-pie
I thought it made a really nice change from the traditional fish pie. Sadly the rest of the family didn't agree with me, sigh.

Inspired by a mn thread on nando's I decided to do some restaurant at home evenings, starting with dd1's favourite, pizza express. They actually give instructions for a lot of their pizzas online here:
www.pizzaexpress.com/homemade-favourites
We made the veneziana and Fiorentina, and a chicken pizza for the girls. Dd1 had a blast assembling the toppings, and then pretending she was ordering in the restaurant. Only in lockdown, but it was fun

I'm really surprised that they put those recipes on-line.
Will anyone go there when they can make them at home?

We did a "restaurant at home" last week for DH's birthday.
"Dishpatch" had been recommended on MN, so we ordered a meal.
Very disappointed, lots of things weren't right.
However, I gave a detailed list on the feedback form, & they have been very good.

Hit the wrong button again.
I got a full refund, plus a gift voucher to order again - which I will.
They are the middleman, so I'll try a meal from a different resto next time.

Georgy I assume they're banking on most people being lazy/preferring the experience of the restaurant, but publishing the recipes shows a bit of lockdown community spirit. Tbf, our versions weren't as good as the originals, but they were assembled by a 4 year old so that's kind of to be expected.
Glad you're getting your money back. BBC good food reviewed a load of proper restaurant kits, some of which looked awesome. I just know I couldn't do the ingredients justice while child wrangling so it would be a waste of money for us. Love the idea though.

@GlumyGloomer DS1 loves Pizza Express; I was planning to take him before term started but of course the restaurants shut before I could do it we've tried making the dough balls at home but he informed me sadly that it wasn't the same...

What a shame about your meal @Georgyporky but at least they took notice of your feedback. I'm hoping to try a few more local places if this lockdown carries on much longer, as cooking whilst tripping over the DC in the kitchen is not much fun

I made raspberry cheesecake croissants this morning, from my NH time to eat book.
I thought they were great. Dd2 sucked out the cream cheese and left the rest, dd1 turned her nose up at it completely so I ended up eating hers too (oops). The recipe uses half the cream cheese mix to make a batch of overnight oats too. I've never had them before, so that'll be interesting tomorrow.

GG Can't find restaurant kits on BBC Good Food website, have you got a link, please? I'd like to try some, we miss going out to eat & of course the kits are much cheaper.

I found the reviews of the raw food boxes, but can't honestly see the point of them. I tried "Simply Cook" , which is just little pots of spices & pastes that you add as per instructions. That was another failed attempt to get DH cooking !
Despite the problem with this one, it was very simple to prepare. 3 things to re-heat on the hob, & 2 in the oven. I did suggest that they could have made them boil-in-the-bag. They've got Ottolenghi & Hartnett on board, I'll try one of those next.

Sorry Georgy I've just checked and it was Olive, not good food.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.olivemagazine.com/guides/best-diy-restaurant-meal-kits/amp/

Those croissants look delicious @GlumyGloomer! What is the Time to Eat book like? I do miss poking round the cookbook section at the library

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl My library has a reservation service, maybe yours does?

@GlumyGloomer Thanks, bookmarked it.

They do @Georgyporky but I liked to go and have a look round, see what took my interest... plus it's taking them ages to process reservations!

They have an app as well which has been great, but I like to have a physical cookbook and drool over the lovely pictures