Author: platesmates

We were sorry to not have Tracey with us tonight, but had a great evening with free ranging discussion including holidays and a deep dive into the various sports of the Winter Olympics. Sadly no group photo, so no record of how lovely Justine and Matt’s kitchen was looking! But lots of great food. We felt that some of Angela’s recipe instructions left a bit to be desired, but all were at least moderately successful. We generally got the recipes from her books Cucina and The Weekend Cook which Janet had got from the library.

Starters

Julie – stuffed onions with Parmesan breadcrumbs

The filling used porcini, shallots and celery together with breadcrumbs and Parmesan . The onions were part boiled, then the centre was taken out to be replaced with the filling. Julie described it as a bit fiddly, but very tasty, the onion was still quite crunchy but less harsh from boiling. 

Debrah – Mozzarella and pickled radicchio. Radicchio was pickled and light, and many who didn’t generally like it found this very agreeable. The recipe very firmly forbade the use of burrata. So tasty.

Mains

Justine – Fish pie.

This used hake, salmon and prawns . The fish was left to cook in milk that had stopped boiling, Jus thought there was a lot of faff. Sliced potatoes instead of mash, it worked very well.

Sue

Rigatoni and truffle pasta. This used Italian sausages with fennel. It was supposed to have black truffle, couldn’t get it so Sue used a jar, which also meant that the truffle taste wasn’t so overpowering. She also added peppers from a different recipe that broke up the monochrome look. It made loads, I’m sure Sue and Des were having it for lunch today!  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/salt_cod_fritters_with_57976

Sides

Jane – Cauliflower with pine nuts and raisins

This was the best combination, being both very easy and very tasty. It was a bit like a caponata, but with cauliflower and curry powder. I would definitely do it again. 

Puddings

Janet – Walnut cake.

Janet was going to do an almond cake but it had 10 eggs in it…. The recipe for this suggested that the cake should be cooked for an hour and twenty minutes, which felt too long. Served with crème fraiche which definitely helped as the length of cooking meant that it wasn’t very moist. Tasty though.

Karen – Lemon mousse.

‘The faffiest mousse I’ve ever made…. ‘ For this Karen used a Bain Marie for the first time, and also a Swiss meringue as well. She tried it a few weeks ago and it was too rubbery. So she reduced the gelatine from what was in the recipe, and it resulted in a light and delicious end to the meal.

Some weren’t specially keen on the idea of Japanese food, others were very excited! We ended up with a lovely meal, with some tastes that suited palates more than others…. We missed Tracey, but were delighted that Karen arrived in time for the pudding.

Starter

Janet – Furikkaki devilled eggs

From BBC good food. Janet described this as very easy and quick, she boiled the eggs, mixed the yolk with kewpie mayo, sesame oil, wasabi. She made the spring onions curly by putting them into ice cold water and then drying them. The white had furikkaki seasoning which made Janet retch….The eggs were spicy and really tasty.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/furikake-devilled-eggs

Mains

Julie – Chicken yaki udon

Julie used precooked udon noodles. Then she added soy, mirin, chicken, dashi, cabbage and shiitake mushrooms. She made it all at Sue’s, it took very little time and was very tasty.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/chicken-yaki-udon-recipe-8574974

Sue – Teriyaki chicken

This also used mirin, and added sake, ginger, garlic and sesame seeds. She makes this regularly and we could see why.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/how_to_make_chicken_71312

Sides

Justine

Udon noodles made another appearance, this time with, pak choi, stir fried with garlic and sliced ginger.

Jane – seaweed salad

This very much divided the room! The seaweed was soaked in water before cooking it in the combination of dashi, soy, sesame oil etc. it was then combined with various veg including soya beans for protein. Some loved it, some took a tiny portion to be polite….

https://sudachirecipes.com/hijiki-salad/#wprm-recipe-container-22740

Dessert

Debrah – Matcha ice cream and matcha biscuits

The picture beautifully describes Debrah and Janet’s reaction to this. But others found it strangely moreish despite the weirdness of the matcha taste.

https://www.wandercooks.com/matcha-ice-cream/

https://www.wandercooks.com/matcha-cookies/

What a fantastic choice of book, created to help people who struggle with their sense of taste due to chemo or other medical reasons. We were all really interested to see if the things we chose would work for Karen, but aside from that, the food we created was tasty and zingy, we all loved it. And the best thing was that Tracey was with us, we’ve missed her so much.

Starters

Julie – pea fritter

This came with a lemon mayonnaise which had preserved lemons in. Julie made the mayonnaise from scratch for us, and it was delicious. The fritters used frozen peas, chilli, preserved lemons. It had a substantial kick which somewhat masked the pea flavour.

Jus – cauliflower with gochujang

Jus had originally planned to make a butternut squash and mushroom thing which she didn’t like the look of, and having tried it the next day she was glad she followed through. Instead she made cauliflower with gochujang. Roasted, and then the sauce was cooked separately, including maple syrup. 

Mains

Janet

Lasagne – garam masala and turmeric with it. She roasted the meat with the vegetable base and the spices. The white sauce had cardamom which was a great addition. Although there were a lot of stages to it, it was easy to make.

Karen

Salmon with rose harissa on fennel salad. This was the first time she’d used fennel – it was all so tasty with the addition of a yogurt dressing.

Sides

Sue 

Satay cabbage and mushrooms. Lovely taste. A lot of cornflour, which she thought seemed more than necessary. The recipe asked for shiitake mushrooms, instead she used portobello which worked well. The distinctive and delicious satay taste came from a combination of peanut butter and cashew nuts. 

Debrah

Mango salad with chicory, mango, tomatoes, nigella seeds. Very fresh and light.

All of the dishes worked well together, and the meal felt light and healthy. 

Puddings

Jane – tiramisu

Looked a bit solid, and I thought it would be a bit too acidic, but actually it was tasty and luscious. The coffee and cherry mixture worked really well. 

Tracey – peach galette with citrus cream.

Peaches marinated in orange blossom water. It used dukkah that Tracey made with rose petals, lots of nuts, cardamom seeds and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon – though interestingly we could only smell hazelnuts. 

What a great choice of a theme – the food was very varied, but drawn together with one of our favourite components, alcohol! A great evening, but with Tracey very much missed.

Starters

Janet – Prawn cocktail (with brandy in the cocktail sauce).

This was a (whisper it) a John Torode recipe, we decided not to cancel him on the strength of this lovely sauce. And then we discovered the sauce wasn’t his after all – just his prawn cooking technique. Phew. As a double alcohol whammy, it was served with bread, the recipe for which Janet got from a restaurant called Fishy Fishy in Kilkenny. It has Guinness in it. Lovely and sweet, partly from the treacle, we think, and set off with the genuine Irish butter. 

https://www.jamesmartinchef.co.uk/recipes/ultimate-prawn-cocktail/

Jane – Beetroot and Vodka cured salmon

This dish was really brought to light by the sauce, which was another double alcohol whammy, although the horseradish in the cream meant that you couldn’t taste the vodka. But it contrasted brilliantly with the smoothness of the fish. 

https://proware-kitchen.co.uk/beetroot-and-vodka-cured-salmon/

Mains

Julie – sweet and tangy bourbon chicken.

Lovely kick from cayenne and paprika. The recipe was from the website Mashed. It had tons of bourbon in it, tasting all the better for being Matthew McConaughey’s bourbon, donated to Pete by the man himself. And this was served by the third double alcohol serving of the night, which was a beer bread, made with self raising flour, sugar and beer with melted butter on the top. It was so delicious I could have eaten the whole loaf. 
https://www.mashed.com/914050/sweet-and-tangy-bourbon-chicken-recipe/

Debrah – venison sausage in red wine.

This was a Delia recipe, maybe from Winter, and it happened to be one of Janet’s favourites. The sausages were from Warners, which led to a wide ranging discussion of local butchers. The food was tasty and warming. https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/succulent-sausages/venison-sausages-braised-in-red-wine

Sides
Karen – Green beans with onions, bacon, cranberry, maple syrup and bourbon

This was ‘from the internet’ and was so tasty and sweet. Having never had bourbon, it was no hardship at all to have it twice in one meal. Definitely a side to repeat.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/maple-glazed-green-beans/#RecipeCard
Puddings

Justine – Raspberry clafoutis 

This had Chambord in, which is a raspberry liqueur that was new to me. On Helen Lindsey-Clark’s suggestion it was made with raspberries instead of cherries. The texture was a bit soft in the middle, possibly because of extra chambard?  But very tasty, with the tartness of the raspberries. 

Sue – Tipsy dessert.

An old recipe that Sue has made for years, involving sponge fingers, soaked in amaretto, that lined a pudding bowl. Inside them there was chocolate cream and raspberries, and then it set in the fridge. And then there were almonds and chocolate as a lovely additional texture. 

Tipsy cake dessert
Sue Greenwood recipe

Sponge fingers. Shop brought
Almond liqueur or any other tipple
Double cream 1 pot medium
Chocolate 🍫 bar milk or dark
Raspberries
Almonds or hazelnuts
Coco powder

In a mixing bowl line with grease proof paper. Dunk the sponge fingers in the liqueur for a few seconds. Not too long otherwise go floppy. Place them around the outside of the bowl upright and place a couple of half ones in the bottom. Completely line it.

Whip double cream. Halve and mix one with melted chocolate and almond slices broken up or hazelnuts. Or any other nuts you like but small pieces
Other half with raspberries or black cherries. They can be cut up small too.

Place the chocolate cream in first and make a rounded whole to place the raspberry cream in. Once full. Cover with more soaked sponge fingers. Leave overnight to set. Put plate on top of bowl and turn upside down so it’s a dessert mountain. Cover using a sift with coco powder or icing sugar or a mix.

Keep refrigerated but normally doesn’t last long. A must for family gatherings in summer or winter. Can serve with runny. Chocolate or cream too. For more calories ! Xx

Another great theme, giving us a huge choice, of any book shown on the puzzle that Janet and Paul had finished in a quiet moment a couple of months ago. And despite the wide range of possible chefs, the meal went together beautifully.

Starters

Sue – asparagus and ricotta tart with miso and black garlic

This was an Ottolenghi treat involving miso and black garlic in the sauce.

 https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/asparagus-ricotta-tart-miso-black-garlic

Julie – halloumi saganaki from Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan 

This was a chef I’d not heard of, but I’d certainly make it again. It had semolina on the halloumi, with honey and thyme. Really crunchy coating

Mains

Janet – Pork tenderloin with spiced rhubarb sauce and pickled rhubarb herb salad from MOB: a ‘groovy millennial’ book

The rhubarb was pickled in lemon juice and honey, for only 15 minutes. It involved lots of herbs from the garden plus rhubarb from the garden, and was finished with a rhubarb sauce

https://www.mob.co.uk/recipes/pork-tenderloin-with-spiced-rhubarb-sauce-pickled-rhubarb-herb-salad

Justine – courgette asparagus and goats cheese tart from the ‘Green roasting tin’

Although it looked similar to Sue’s starter tart, it was different flavours. Jus said that it was very easy and they have it for a midweek supper regularly. 

Sides

Debrah – Nigel Slater’s tomato salad with feta and pea

Feta, mint, parsley, lemon, olive oil plus cucumber whizzed up. Debrah had time to make it even though she arrived back from holiday at 5.30 this afternoon. 

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/sep/05/nigel-slater-recipes-for-tomatoes-with-peas-and-feta-and-blackberry-and-apple-pancakes

Jane – aubergine, yogurt and nut salad from The Palestinian Table by Reem Kassis

This was the great combo of being very easy and very tasty!

https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/1852070/eggplant-aubergine-yogurt-and-nut

Puddings

Karen – Lemon meringue cake by Nigella

This involved a cake mix with a meringue on top which was then all baked together. Karen thought it would be easy and it was a faff. However, it was very successful, with the two components working together very well.  

Tracey – sweet and salty cheesecake with cherries – Ottolenghi

This was like a deconstructed cheese cake. The cheese bit was Feta, cream and cream cheese, and it should have had olive oil on the top but Tracey decided against. There were nuts in the crumble plus butter and sesame seeds. And then the cherries were a compote including star anise. So delicious, I’ve imitated it two or three times since with our cherry glut!

A great choice of theme, which led to a huge range of options for lots of us, who knew there were so many chefs beginning with J! Also great to have a full house.

Starters

Karen – Spinach and pea soup from Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi 30 minute diabetes cook book

This included nutmeg with the spinach and peas, and felt very nourishing and good for us. I forgot to take a good photo, and had to scrabble for one, sorry!

Janet – Portobello mushroom with goats cheese & beetroot and walnut salsa from James Tanner (Ready Steady Cook)

This was described as a main course, but worked very well as a starter.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/grilledmushroomswith_85581

Mains

Debrah – Meatballs by Donna Hay

This involved lamb, bulgur wheat, the ubiquitous PWM pomegranate molasses and lots of spices with harissa. Although there are various people who don’t normally enjoy lamb, everyone liked it.

https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/s/baked-lamb-and-oregano-meatballs

Tracey – Sweet potato and halloumi curry by Matt Tebbutt

The veg was roasted and then the curry sauce was made separately with some additional apple. Really tasty.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sweet_potato_and_08653

Sides

Jane – East meets West greens with kimchi by Jill Dupleix

This was super easy, but very effective with the kimchi and the sesame seeds.

http://delicious.com.au/recipes/east-meets-west-greens-kimchi/b4ba888c-8a67-4c9c-942b-013f2e4a1a95?current_section=recipes&r=recipes/collections/jilldupleixrecipecollection&c=1bb9ca41-8452-4c7b-aaeb-9db381791289/jill dupleix recipe collection

Sue – Fattoush by Saskia Sidey (double S!)

This chef is a ‘conceptual food stylist’ who trained at Leith school. The Fattoush was very fresh and tasty.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chickpea_fattoush_38833

Puddings

Julie – Tiramisu roulade by John Torode

Emmeline helped with the dipping of the sponge fingers. Julie thought that there was too much cream and not enough coffee. She also thought it would be simple, but it was more difficult than expected.

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/tiramisu-roulade/

Justine – Apricot sherbet by Julia Child

This was apricots, egg white and sugar, frozen and then whipped up. Really refreshing for the end of a meal. The issue with the recipe was that it involved cups, as it was American, which can be tricky for British cooks.

This was a cracking evening, being a full house with the theme being love/red/Valentine. It led to lots of delicious dishes on this loose theme with some food that would definitely be repeated.

Starters

Jane – Chilled beetroot soup

https://www.jamieoliver.com/inspiration/beautiful-chilled-beet-soup/

This was possibly more pink than red, but was certainly on the right lines. It was tasty and felt cleansing, and I added some caraway for an extra tang.

Julie – Burrata with sticky tomatoes

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/burrata-with-sticky-roasted-tomatoes-pine-nuts-and-basil/

This came from Delicious magazine, and it definitely was. The tomatoes were roasted with flavourings of balsamic, then there was a drippy green sauce with burrata on top, and some heart shaped croutons as the final touch.

Mains

Debrah – ‘Marry me’ chicken

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a46330/skillet-sicilian-chicken-recipe/

This involved chicken, tomatoes, Parmesan and double cream. Absolutely delicious, on the strength of this dish, I’d marry her.

Tracey – ‘Marry Me’ tofu

Another wonderful dish, presenting tofu in a way that we all thought was a great improvement on previous encounters. The tofu was brined with herbs, then dried, coated with corn flour and then fried. It was reported to be a faff, but the results were great.

Sides

Janet – Shakshuka

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/healthy-shakshuka

This was from Good Food, and was the vegetable base without the eggs as it was a side dish. It was very spicy and smoky from the paprika, and beautifully red!

Justine – Red rice salad

https://www.recipetineats.com/wild-rice-salad/

This was really tasty with a variety of flavours, and involved pomegranates, which are thought to be the food of love.

Pudding

Sue – Lemon posset tart

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lemon_posset_tart_with_94633

A Mary Berry gem, lovely and lemony with a satisfyingly crisp bottom. Sue had made a heart of raspberries on the top which finished it beautifully, both thematically and for flavour.

Karen – chocolate mousse

This came from the Times cookbook from the 1970s, a mousse that was very light and Karen reported it to be simple to make. Some lovely little hearts on the top closed our romantic evening off.

Illness hit again, this time Tracey and Debrah couldn’t be with us. We were sad not to have them for what turned out to be a delicious meal. This book is a celebration of comfort food from around the world, and it certainly felt that. We were so comforted that many of us were half asleep by 9.20. Or maybe that was the wine….

Starters

Sue – Roasted aubergine, red pepper and tomato soup

The inspiration for this was Heinz tomato, and it was certainly comforting like that, but with a lot more going on. The fried almond topping was great, adding an extra dimension. Sue reported that it was quite time consuming, with the prep of the veg. Worth it though.

Justine – Salmon fish cakes with chermoula remoulade

Although Jus thought she could have cooked these a little longer, everyone agreed that they tasted fantastic. Especially the pickle filled chermoula sauce. I could have eaten that by the bucketful.

Mains

Jane – Puttanesca salmon traybake

This involved steeping an oil with anchovies and chillies amongst others overnight before using it to baste the fish and vegetables. Then there was a piquant salsa to add to the top for freshness. This was very popular and very easy, and I’d definitely make it again.

Tracey – Butternut, tamarind and coconut stew

Tracey was heroic and supplied her course even though she was too poorly to come. She played a blinder with this, it was tasty and the sharpness of the tamarind cut through the coconut. The recipe asked for 10g of curry leaves – one jar is only 4g…. Another one to repeat.

Sides

Karen – Garlicky aligot potato with leeks and thyme

The epitome of comfort, this was smooth, luscious, rich and cheesy. Karen said that it took a long time to make for what was essentially mashed potato, but the cream and butter took it to a new luxurious level.

Janet – Charred sprouts with olive oil and lemon

Maybe the only misstep recipe in the meal tonight. These took a while to make, and although they looked good, Janet’s view was that they weren’t worth the bother, taking a while to char, and the lemon possibly not quite fitting the sprouts.

Pudding

Julie – Chocolate ripple fridge cake

Wow. This was spectacular, both in appearance and taste. The grand marnier soaked strawberries, the cream soaked home made biscuits. The groans of pleasure were extremely evocative. The only downside was how hard it was to cut!

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/chocolate-ripple-fridge-cake

We missed Tracey and Janet, all the pesky bugs that are around at the moment are very annoying. But we had a good evening nonetheless, even though a couple of the recipes were very much less than successful!

Starter

Julie – roasted squash soup with chestnuts 

From Sainsbury’s magazine. This had crème fraiche in the soup and chestnuts and bacon in the topping. Julie said it was to make. We loved it and thought it might make a good soup at Christmas time. 

Main

Justine – Spiced rubbed lamb.

This was roasted, and then had a sauce made which didn’t reduce as much as she thought it should. Although there weren’t many lamb lovers at the table, we appreciated the tasty gravy that had the addition of Marmite in the stock.

Sides

Karen – spicy aubergine and feta with oven dried tomatoes

Karen said that this was labour intensive, but a benefit was that it could be vegan. It included raisins soaked in white wine vinegar, plus pine nuts, long roasted tomatoes. Really delicious.

Debrah – cashew coriander and mango salad with cabbage and carrots.

This had a refreshing citrus dressing, involving no oils but also ginger and sugar. Light, tasty, lovely.

Puddings

Jane – raspberry and pistachio tart

It was a palaver making pistachio paste, then whilst making it it seemed that the pastry was too wet and chunky. It was tasty, but the cream was runny and the pastry was miles too thick. 

Sue – Chocolate peanut butter fondant puddings with banana ice cream 

The recipe said to cook the fondants for 8 10 minutes which seemed much too short. And indeed it was, Sue ended up cooking them for at least half an hour. Eventually delicious, but certainly no good following the recipe. Banana ice cream was just bananas and crème fraiche combined, not the best.

Both the puddings would not have been done again

We missed Debrah and Justine, but enjoyed a delicious meal with strong French overtones!

Starters

Julie – chicken liver pate

A French classic, but with the twists of additional pistachios and port soaked raisins. It involved a lot of sieving, but was utterly delicious.

Jane – Pear, chicory, walnut and Roquefort salad

This was what Tracey had brought as a side, and Debrah would have too, had she been there. It was really tasty, especially the blue cheese dressing, but we decided that we didn’t need two of them, and forewent Tracey’s version, even though it was going to be with Janet’s home grown pears!

Mains

Sue – braised chicken in mustard

This involved lots of garlic, wine and white wine vinegar, and lots of Dijon mustard. We took issue with Raymond’s recipe – it looked like he’d suggested too much liquid, and possibly a typo with the heat of the oven. Tasty though!

Sides

Janet – dauphinoise potatoes

Raymond recommended Maris Pipers, but Waitrose let her down, so Janet got red ones instead, which worked well. Supposed to be sliced on a mandolin, but she used a food processor. He asked for ‘pinches’ of things, we agreed that teaspoons are more accurate. The cooking also took longer than expected. But that aside, we wanted to bury our heads in it, it was so delicious.

Puddings

Karen – upside down chocolate crumble

This was almost another duplicate, and it would have been no bad thing to eat it twice, a huge success. Very tricky to serve as it was so soft, but a lovely crunchy base – we thought we could have had double the base quite happily. Delicious as it was, but we thought we could also add raspberries or orange liqueur.