Recipes Collection: cooking

Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts

Friday, March 28, 2014

Dish of the Month December Cooking the recipes of Nigel Slater

Sue from A Little Bit of Heaven on a plate and I have cooked Nigel Slaters the kitchen diaries II all year and here we are at the end of our journey. It started as a way of making sure that we both got the most from this large repository of recipes which we feared might otherwise be neglected. I have to announce that this is the last time we will be launching the linky for you to join in.

Id like to thank all of you who have travelled the Nigel Slater journey with us, some hopping on and off the carousel, others who bought a season a ticket and rarely stepped off for a break. There will be a December round up and a final post where Sue and I will choose our Dish(es) of the Year and celebrate the fabulous recipes that you have all cooked up for this little blog challenge.

My final hurrah, as 2013 draws near to its end, features one of my favourite things about Christmas - the leftovers! Mincemeat Hot Cakes is a very simple recipe using lightly whipped egg whites to help, the flour, mincemeat and egg yolk mixture to rise. I managed to whip them up in about 15 minutes from ingredient assembly to pan.

Nigel suggests serving the hot cakes with some leftover brandy butter, as I didnt have any I simply added a little butter to the warm hotcakes. They were really fruity, not as light as Scotch Pancakes more of a solid type of hotcake, very tasty though and the flavour of the spices in mincemeat really came through.

If you would like to take part in Dish of the Month, then please:

Make a Dish of the Month from ANY recipe by Nigel Slater
Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen or A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate
Use the Dish of the Month logo in your post
If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook or @Heavenona_plate and #DishoftheMonth and we will re-tweet it to our followers.

Rules:

If you own The kitchen diaries II please do not publish the recipes on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
If you are using recipes from the BBC Food website, please link to the recipe on BBC Food rather than publishing the recipe. Likewise recipes on the Guardian Lifestyle website.
One entry per blog.
Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

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Sunday, February 23, 2014

Announcing Cooking Concepts 10 Mom’s Recipe

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

As mother’s day falls on 13^th may so to make this month a super special to mom’s I decided this month’s concept as “Mom’s Recipe”.

Mommy is the first teacher in everybodys life. She teaches how to eat, talk and everything. And many of you might be same like me who does not set any interest in cooking when you stay with your sweet mom’s. Nevertheless when you start cooking and you stay far from mom then you recollect that entire cooking mom used to do. Mom who gives us the first piece of a sweet/snack and she sees your eyes light up as she cooks. Its Mom who will be the first happy women when you begin your first solo effort in kitchen. Love you Mom!!!!

Most of us learn many recipes from our moms. So Cook any dish/recipe that you grabbed the recipe from your sweet mom. You can send both Veg and Non Veg entries from Breakfasts, Curries, Sweets, Desserts, Meals, Tiffins, Snacks, Cakes, Cookies…. so on

So why waiting friends, link as many entries as possible.

Here are some guidelines

Make recipes which fit this month’s concept and link using the linky tool.
Please link back to this page.
Archived entries are also allowed.
Both Veg and Non Veg recipes are allowed, but No pork and beef.
Use of logo is mandatory which helps to spread the word.
Non bloggers or friends who have problem with linky tool can send me the recipes along with the picture to sravscc@gmail.com.

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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Cooking Isnt Life and Death Its Much More Important Than That

This is my response to Jim and his recent letter. His comment are in bold.

" I feel very nervous when it comes to flavoring food."

Ive got good news for you - the food is already flavored. You are nervous because youre trying to push and pull ingredients, force them to submit to your recently acquired skills and techniques, instead of following them to see where they go.

A bowl of perfectly cooked spaghetti, tossed with good olive oil, garlic, basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and chili flakes, is an "awesome meal," as your friend put it. True, your training is why the water had enough salt in it, the pasta was drained at the right moment, the basil was a beautiful green chiffanade, instead of an ugly black pile - but, the "awesomeness" of the meal, the "flavoring food" part, had little to do with you - it was the inherent goodness in the ingredients.

Dont try to make the food do tricks. Sliced leeks slowly melted with a strip of bacon, topped with grilled salmon is done - why are you trying to make a béarnaise sauce? Because you know how? Dont take credit (or blame) for the foods flavor, only for bringing (not forcing) it out.

Young painters use too many colors, young musicians use too many notes, and young cooks use to many ingredients.

"But the challenge to "make an awesome meal" out of random ingredients (i.e. without a recipe) made me want to throw up."

There is no harder task than trying to cook in a strange kitchen. Even the most experienced chefs lose that precious confidence stumbling around a foreign pantry. The key words in your sentence are "the challenge," because thats exactly what it is - a challenge, as in a fun, exciting, and dangerous dare.

Feeling like you want to throw up before the meal is understandable. Especially if you confuse "challenge" with "necessity " And, if after cooking the recipe, it really is bad, pretend to drop it on the floor and call for pizza.

"Is it just experience? I hope not!"

Its never "just" one thing, but, experience is a big part of it. Your 1,000th hollandaise will probably be better than your 4th. Theres a reason people start as cooks, and then become sous chefs, chefs, and finally executive chefs. Whats your hurry?

Old experienced chefs are expected to put out stunning food; cooks right out of culinary school arent. This is why you should be cooking with relaxed abandon, free to mess things up royally. That whole "learn from your mistakes" thing was invented in a kitchen.

"Maybe I am looking for the holy grail of cooking, but…"

Get in line. Were all looking for it. And, even though you wont find it, never, ever, stop looking.