1. Baked potato galette
Now, this was an interesting one. The instructions are to cut the potatoes into matchsticks, press them into a hot pan and fry until golden underneath. You then bake in the oven until cooked through. Somehow, I had it in my head that this would become a sort of potato cake. It didn't... as you can see it looks like chips. Nigel read the recipe and said that was pretty blooming obvious! Megan was very happy, "ooh, chippies, chippies!"
It's supposed to be served with smoked salmon and crème fraiche, but we had it as an accompaniment to roast chicken.
2. Creamy vanilla rice pudding
I love a good homemade rice pudding, and this was so easy I wondered why I hadn't tried before! You simply place rice and sugar in a pie dish, then boil milk and cream with vanilla extract, pour it over and bake. It tastes so much richer and creamier than what you'd get in a tin, I loved it. Here my husband and I differ, as I love the skin and he doesn't. As I cooked this in a shallow dish, it had quite a good skin (I didn't do this on purpose, honestly Nigel!)
3. Baked cheese fondue in a squash
A great winter warmer which we all enjoyed, yes, even Evan fuss-monkey! Rachel recommends a round squash which I couldn't find - I used 2 butternut squash instead. You cut off the lid, then hollow out the flesh and discard the seeds. Place into the squash, some grated Gruyere or Gouda cheese, and then a mixture of cream; garlic; nutmeg and seasoning. The squash is then baked for about 50 minutes. I served it with baked potatoes and some crusty bread. Very simple and delicious!
4. Beef and stout pie
This is made with a hot water crust pastry, unlike any pastry I'd tried before but very easy! You simply mix butter and water in a saucepan and allow to boil. Then mix flour; salt and egg in a large bowl. Pour in the hot liquid and stir together, that's your pastry made! You then need to leave it to cool, and firm it up in the fridge, and it's ready to use. Nothing to it, really. Rachel adds anchovies in to the pie, but I left them out for a more classic taste.
5. Sourdough
As Rachel says, this is a simplified sourdough recipe. A classic sourdough has no yeast, but she adds a little to make it easier. You create your sourdough starter with 1 sachet of yeast, 500mls of water and 300g plain flour. Then cover with cling film and leave for 3-4 days (more time creates a stronger flavour). I loved making this, you can literally see the starter bubbling away and working its magic! When you're ready to bake, you mix the starter with strong white flour and salt. This created a really sticky dough, which I wasn't convinced would do anything. However, it did work and produced 2 very tasty loaves.
6. Christmas pudding
And on to a proper Christmassy recipe! I have to admit to feeling a little daunted at the idea of making my own Christmas pud, but it was surprisingly straightforward. I loved it - and I think our guests did too! I've recently found that some of the supermarket puddings leave an unpleasant, 'lardy' coating on my mouth. This didn't at all, it was quite light and Rachel adds dried cranberries for an extra fruity tang. I'll certainly be making my own puddings from now on. Might try and make them a bit earlier though, instead of steaming at 10pm on Christmas Eve!
7. Walnut cake & American frosting
Made this on Boxing Day, for my Dad's 70th birthday. Apologies for the quality of the photos - I'd lost the camera in the Christmas chaos, and had to use my phone. The cake was delicious and very moist. Failed at making American frosting again, at the third attempt. If you've never tried it, it involves making a sugar syrup. Despite using a sugar thermometer, my sugar always overcooks and crystallises. It tastes OK, just a bit grainy, and not smooth as it's supposed to be. Definitely one to spend time practising when this challenge is over!
8. Chocolate eclairs
Made these for a little family get-together, between Christmas and New Year. My first attempt at choux pastry, which actually wasn't complicated at all. I did get in a pickle with the piping bag, as the stitching split while I was piping the pastry. Quick trip out to get a new one, then I had to try and scrape the mixture out of the split bag. Got there in the end, and as you can see, they didn't look too bad. Evan came to help me ice them, and as usual, got in on the act of licking the spoon! The eclairs went down really well with our guests, especially Nigel's niece, who hid in the dining room with the plate! A compliment indeed.
9. Gingerbread house and people
Having meant to do this all over Christmas, Evan and I finally managed it on January 2nd. We tried to make it last year, but it all fell apart. I got so frustrated, I gave up and we just ate the gingerbread. I've now realised that it takes quite a bit of patience. You need to stick each section and hold it together for a while, allowing it to bond before adding the next section. I was amazed, and very happy, to see it standing up! Evan really went to town on the decoration, as you can see. We found a Minnie Mouse biscuit cutter, therefore it became Minnie and Mickey's house! He decorated it with many chocolate buttons and little chocolate bars, banana sweets for 'bunting', and finished with a fish pond made out of icing. Loved spending the time doing this with my boy, and I'm glad we waited until the busy-ness of Christmas was out of the way!
10. Pork, chorizo and spinach pie
A weird one this. The pie is really tasty - it's made with a hot water crust pastry, and filled with minced pork; wilted spinach; chopped chorizo; nutmeg; garlic (plenty of it, of course!); sage and eggs. I just wasn't sure what would go with it. I served it with jacket potatoes, as that's what Evan fancied that evening - but it didn't seem quite right. Maybe I could try it with new potatoes in the spring/summer.
11. Paper thin crispbread
I have to admit, I'd ignored this recipe for a while as it didn't seem the most exciting! I'm glad the challenge made me try though. They're simple to make, and good to have as part of my repertoire. It takes a bit of time rolling out the dough, as it has to be, well, paper thin. Apart from that, there's really nothing to it. I mixed crushed fennel; coriander and black pepper seeds into my crispbreads. Before baking, I sprinkled them with some Cornish sea salt - I love the little flavour bursts that this gives. I enjoyed my crispbreads with leftover Christmas Stilton, and chutney. I might try making them in strips instead of rectangles, to serve with dips for a party.
12. St Stephen's Day Muffins
These are a great 'using up' recipe - basic muffin mix, mixed with lumps of leftover Christmas pudding. OK, so there's never any Christmas pudding left in our house. Nigel will see to that! To be honest, I bought a reduced pudding from Co-op's bargain shelf, simply to make this recipe. Which sort of defeats the object, but the muffins were great, so that's OK. Rachel's recipe calls for 2 tbsp of sherry, brandy or whisky. Instead of this, I replaced the butter with brandy butter. It gave a subtle kick. Next time, I might be brave and do brandy butter and the extra booze!
13. Sweet potato and pecan bread
This is a really easy, loaf shaped cake - similar in many ways to carrot cake. You grate up some sweet potato and mix with eggs; oil; sugar; chopped nuts (I used a mixture of pecans and walnuts); flour; salt, and spices. Pour into a loaf tin and bake, it's that simple! It's a very moist cake - I thought it was undercooked when I first cut it, but then I realised it's meant to be that way. I took the cake to church to share on Sunday, and it was hoovered up very quickly. I received many compliments, and a few recipe requests too. Definitely one to make again! Oh, and as it was eaten so quickly, so time for photos. Sorry!
14. Croissants
I'd saved these until nearly the end of my challenge, thinking they'd be quite complicated. They weren't, although they do take some time due to all the steps involved. You begin by making a bread dough, but instead of leaving it to rise, it's chilled for 2 hours. The dough is then rolled out, and folded around a slab of butter - similar to making puff pastry. After some folding and chilling, it's finally rolled out thinly and cut into triangles. The shaping of the croissants is fairly easy - you roll up from the triangle base, voila, your croissant shape! I enjoyed one for lunch with ham and cheese, very happy with my efforts!
15. Waffles
I'd been waiting to try these out ever since our trip to Brugge, last September. Very happy memories of eating fresh waffles in the main square, relaxing in the Autumn sunshine. The question was, how to make them? I didn't want to splash out for an electric waffle maker, yet another kitchen gadget to sit in the cupboard. Having researched it, I found that you can get long handled waffle irons - designed for outdoor cooking but also useable on a hob. I decided to treat myself with my Christmas money - see above! This particular one is by Gardeco, and was £17.99 on Amazon. It's easy to use. and cooks the waffles in about 5 minutes. You just have to remember to turn the plates halfway, so the waffles are evenly cooked. We enjoyed our waffles Belgian style of course, with whipped cream and cherries. Evan picked chocolate spread and cream and as you can see, was proud of his creation!
Megan went along with the Belgian theme too! These were great fun, and I'm determined to use my waffle irons and not stick them in the back of a cupboard. Looking forward to using them on the barbecue this summer.
So here I am, nearly at the end of my challenge! I made my first recipe on 17th January 2014, so aim to finish by 17th January 2016 - this Sunday. Eek! 8 recipes to go, the end is tantalisingly in sight. It's going to be a busy week!
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