Kirstin: Yet ANOTHER winning traybake from the fabulous Rukmini Iyer. This time with wonderful coconut milk and a spice paste that transported to Malaysia. I had two students with me on this occasion and both wanted to know how to make this recipe and I can see why. It could easily be made in batches and reheated or frozen for later. And the flavours are just wonderful with chilli, ginger and spices floating in the thickened coconut milk.
Kirstin: I am not sure what’s been going on this past week but I’ve been on a major Indonesian/Malaysian food thing. The first cooking that I learned about when I moved out of my home, was Indonesian. I have no idea why, but there you go. And that was back in the days when it was super difficult to get the right ingredients. And I mean everything quite often ended up being substituted even though we lived in Camden, the source of many an interesting food. Nowadays, it’s much easier. And yet, this was the first time I had fried curry leaves. And they were just incredible smell through the house and tasted delicious. I do love an Indonesian curry; they are dried than others and the flavours are fresher (to my palate anyways). This books is also fascinating because a different sambal is suggested for each recipe. Brilliant!
Kirstin: It’s Monday night, the heatwave is over and I’m back at the hob, frying up prawns, chicken and some lovely Indonesian flavours. While I was cooking this up, I was sure there would be leftovers, but no. Every last morsel was devoured. And Tate wants to cook this at Uni, all of which makes this already a winner of a recipe.
Kirstin: I continue valiantly in my quest for all the amazing roast chicken recipes. I thought I would take a look at the NYT app for inspiration this week as it’s getting harder to find new recipes now. And there was so much to love about this recipe. I woke early on the Sunday morning (slightly aided by a whiff of a hangover, it has to be said) to brine the chicken in beer. And used more beer during the cooking. It’s been a while since I brined a chicken and I had forgotten how moist it makes the meat, how flavourful and how creamy. This recipe was delicious. I would definitely make it again. And I loved that it came all the way from Harlem.
Full disclosure, we did not eat all the brussel sprouts. That would have been an unpopular decision for all those our current semi-lockdown situation.
Kirstin: Tom loves sichuan peppercorns. He loves everything about them, he really does. So I KNEW this was going to be a winner. Rukmini Iyer is a genius with these simple but tasty recipes. There is everything to love, especially with the texture of squash, chicken and crunchy peppercorns. Or as our children call them from another recipe I make using Sichuan peppercorns, ORBS. And if you don’t already own one of Ms Iyer’s books, you need to get on that, you really do. They have been particularly wonderful during the heatwave, as I step away from the hot hob.
Kirstin: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the desserts from this book are just fabulous. This recipe is a case in point. A giant sea salt and chocolate chip cookie. What is there not to like? Well nothing is the answer. I’ve had this on repeat for the last few months. And with very good reason. Also the sage adds a lovely almost menthol flavouring within the cake and also a very pretty feature on the top of the cake.
Kirstin: My in-laws love lamb. So I always try to make if for them when they come around. But with Lockdown, those opportunities have been few and far between. I had actually originally planned to make this for Mother’s Day back in March. And then we all know what happened. Five months later, and I would say it was worth the wait. I chose to braise the lamb (AR gives the option of roasting too) to make the lamb fall off the bone. The addition of fennel, sumac and chilli was just lovely. And see how pretty it looked on the plate too with very little effort.
Kirstin: That moment when you are cooking from a recipe and it says to add the peppers which are already roasted, peeled and seeded. And you have just peppers, not prepared and the garlic and tomatoes are already sizzling in the pan. THAT MOMENT. But I managed to pull it back, quickly roasting peppers, skinning and chopping them up even if I don’t think I’ve roasted a pepper since the 90s. But that’s another story. And I am so glad I went ahead with them because they added a richness to the sauce which worked perfectly with the sea bass.
Kirstin: I’ve been cooking a lot from this book by Gwyneth Paltrow and Thea Baumann for the last few weeks. I really like the chapter titles; we are currently in the Summer Nights section which is obviously perfect for the current mood. Also the recipes ARE easy (as the title suggests), cover all the bases with options for vegans, gluten free etc AND are well thought out and yum. Of course, it helps that all the pictures are divine, but then again Ditte Isager (the photographer) can do no wrong, especially when teamed with Gwyneth Paltrow.
We all had seconds of this recipe, Tate even asked if this could be something they could make at uni and Miles admitted he liked the tofu (this is a FIRST). I think it would be fair to say it was a success. But here’s the thing. I often wonder (I really do, actually) how we could get GP back on track with her cookbooks. I have truly loved It’s All Good and It’s All Easy, both firm favourites on our shelves. The Clean Plate not so much (I don’t even know where our copy is at present). I also love that she always includes the people she collaborates with in the books, unlike other celebrity writers, which makes a huge difference to me. So come on Gwyneth. I know you can do it! I can’t wait for some lovely recipes from you accompanied by the best food photography. Just step away from the clean eating brigade and you’ve completely got this!
Kirstin: This is the first cobbler I have ever made. I was hoping to not like it, as it was more of a fiddle to make than my usual crumble. But it was divine; the salt, the honey and the apricots mixed beautifully together with the juices and were offset by the shortcake topping. I am so making this again, but only when the apricots are ripe. And now I know what I am doing, I reckon the cobbled part need not take quite as long as last time! I am so hopeless with pastry.
A cookbook a month 