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Saturday, 28 December 2013

Dish of the Month Round up - a year of Nigel Slater Recipes

Last Christmas I recevied a copy of Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries II, my friend Sue, of A Little Heaven on a Plate fame, is also a fan of this book and we resolved to cook from the book every month and to make sure we actually did it, we created a blogger challenge, and so Dish of the Month was born! As everyone may not own Kitchen Diaries II we opened up the challenge to any recipe by Nigel Slater, and there are many freely available online.


We never intended that it should run for more than a year so this is the end of the line for Dish of the Month. First I am going to share the round up of the December entries:

London Busy Body has gone all festive and offers us A Partridge in a Pear Tree as a Dish of the Month. It looks amazing and comes highly recommended.

Sue made this gloriously thick and creamy Sweet Potato Soup for her final Dish of the Month.

I made Mincemeat Hotcakes which were easy to make and surprisingly tasty especially with some butter slathered on them hot and straight from the pan.

I've loved co-hosting this challenge with Sue, but all good things must come to an end. I hope you will all keep cooking the recipes of Nigel Slater. I got a copy of Eat this Christmas and, no doubt I will be sharing some of the recipes with you, just not as Dish of the Month.

As a final hoorah, I thought I'd choose my favourite Dish of the Month from each month of the year.

January Dish of the Month - Slow Cooked Shetland Lamb from Elizabeth's Kitchen


February Dish of the Month - Carrot and Coriander Fritters from Marmaduke Scarlet


March Dish of the Month - Coffee Cake from Belleau Kitchen


April Dish of the Month - Parfait of Lemon and Orange from A little bit of Heaven on a Plate


May Dish of the Month - Lamb Flatbreads from The New Mrs P


June Dish of the Month - Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Dip/Spread from Lavender and Lovage


July Dish of the Month - Mixed Tomato Chutney from Fab Food for All


August Dish of the Month - Smoked Haddock Chowder with Leeks and Sweetcorn from Foodie Quine

 
September Dish of the Month - Baked Figs with Marsala and Honey from How to be a Gourmand
 
 
October Dish of the Month - Spelt and Cider Loaf from Food Jam
 
 
 
November Dish of the Month - Roast Quinces in Vanilla Syrup from Chez Maximka
 
 
December Dish of the Month - A Partridge in a Pear Tree from London Busy Body
 
 

Many thanks to everyone who has taken part, it's been such a pleasure to see what you made each month. Remember you can see all the dishes cooked for Dish of the Month all year on our Pinterest Board.

 

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posted by Janice @ 20:22 5 Comments

Monday, 2 December 2013

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 Slater's 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. 

I'd 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 didn't 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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posted by Janice @ 21:24 4 Comments

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Baked Chicken with tomatoes and olives - Dish of the Month August

It's summer and, for once, we really have had some summer weather. I find that I am less motivated to cook when it is warm so simple, throw it all in one pan, recipes are very appealing...oh wait...simple, throw it all in one pan, recipes are very appealing to me all year round!

Nigel Slater is noted for the simplicity of his recipes, he cleverly combines a few key ingredients to create delicious dishes you want to make again and again. The August chapter of The Kitchen Diaries II features a number of ingredients that are not quite ready yet in Scotland, but tomatoes are at their peak and I can hardly keep up with my pots of herbs as they are loving the warm weather.

Nigel suggests chicken thighs for this recipe, but I bought a whole chicken and jointed it, I also used some green olives rather than the black ones in the recipe as I had half a jar left over from another dish.

It's a great recipe, just brown the chicken and throw in the tomatoes, garlic and olives and thyme. put it in the oven and leave it to cook. I did cover it with foil after about 10 minutes because the olives were drying out, the chicken was lovely and moist and the we mopped up the juices with some mediterranean bread.


Enter Dish of the Month in August for a chance to #WIN a copy of Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food. This is a classic Nigel Slater book suitable for beginners and experienced cooks. This giveaway is run in good faith and only open to those resident in the UK. The winner will be picked at random using the random number generator. Sue, from A little Heaven on a Plate, and I will be excluded from the draw.


If you would like to take part, 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 @serialcrafter 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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posted by Janice @ 08:00 6 Comments

Friday, 26 July 2013

July Dish of the Month Round Up

The one advantage of having only a few entries to a blog event is that the round up doesn't take as long to write up! I guess the warm weather is responsible for all but the regulars deserting us and who could blame them, I know I haven't entered many challenges myself. Of course, the standard of the entries we have received is, as usual, exceptionally high, a tribute to Mr Nigel Slater and his lovely recipes.

Let's start with this month's 'hostess with the mostess' my friend and co-conspirator, Sue at A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate with a delicious plate of Pistachio and Lemon Cookies This recipe is a little extra provided by Nigel in the inside of the slip cover of The Kitchen Diaries II.

Rachel Kelly of Marmaduke Scarlet is making a bit of a name for herself appearing almost weekly in the Guardian Cook Magazine on a Saturday, I always look out for her contributions to Felicity Cloake's themed reader recipe pages. Rachel is also a regular here at Dish of the Month and this month brings us these glowing Baked Tomatoes with Fragrant Spices and Coconut In true Dish of the Month style, Rachel didn't stick rigidly to the recipe making a few subtle changes, they don't seem to have had any negative effect on this rather unusal recipe of tomatoes stuffed with tomatoes.

I also took a few liberties, this time with Nigel's recipe for Plum (or greengage) and Almond Tart in the Kitchen Diaries II. I didn't have plums or greengages and I didn't have time to make pastry. I did have cherries, ground almonds and eggs though and the result was these Cherry Frangipane Ramekins which I served warm with some lovely vanilla ice cream.

Camilla at Fab Food 4 All has gone preserving mad, especially after winning her local show with her Peach and Apricot Jam. Congratulations Camilla! This Mixed Tomato Chutney was inpsired by some lovely multi-coloured cherry tomatoes and based on Nigel's recipe for Mixed Tomato Chutney.

Many thanks for entering July Dish of the Month and we hope to see you again in August when I will be hosting. The link and details of a GIVEAWAY will be posted on 1st August.

See all the dishes on our Pinterest Board or have a look at the round ups on the Dish of the Month page here at Farmersgirl Kitchen.

 

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posted by Janice @ 20:43 7 Comments

Wednesday, 29 May 2013

Dish of the Month Round Up - May 2013

Dish of the Month, Cooking the recipes of Nigel Slater had fewer entries in May,  however the quality of the cooking was not diminished. There are some real treats to enjoy so many thanks to you all.

Sue at Heaven on a Plate hosted the challenge this month and presented this delicious looking dish of Spiced Lentils with Mint Labne from the Kitchen Diaries II. 

 
Braised neck of lamb with apricots and cinnamon is the warming dish shared with us by Rachel at Marmaduke Scarlet. It's well worth reading this post from Rachel where she compares Nigel to an enormous fluffly alpine dog with a barrel of brandy round his neck!


Jane from Onions and Paper found an unseasonal recipe from Nigel Slater, on the Guardian website, to match the unseasonal weather!  This Pork Belly and Beans looks like a great comfort feast.



 My own entry is a simple one, Rhubarb with Butterscotch Sauce from The Kitchen Diaries II.  I can recommend it!

I love the look of this Lamb Flatbread dish brought to us by The New Mrs P who seized on the first recipe in the May chapter of the Kitchen Diaries II and I'm so glad she did!

Claire at Foodie Quine, caused a bit of a stir on Twitter and 'himself' seems rather pleased with her delightful Chicken Skin Popcorn

Let's finish with a nice cup of tea and slice of the entry from Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog,  Chocolate Muscovado Banana Bread,  check out the post to find out why "it was a victim of it's own success and had it coming".



Thanks to to Sue at Heaven on a Plate for hosting the May Dish of the Month, I'll be posting the June event at the weekend, I have my dish planned already.

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posted by Janice @ 21:44 9 Comments

Saturday, 18 May 2013

Rhubarb with butterscotch sauce - Dish of the Month



This dish is simple but devastatingly good. Stew some rhubarb with sugar and water until tender, then remove the rhubarb to a dish, reduce the syrup and add muscovado sugar, cream and vanilla.

Nigel describes it as a 'sweet sour sauce for rhubarb' in the kitchen diaries II, a sauce for rhubarb that has the same comforting vanilla flavours as custard without making custard, I served my rhubarb with Madagascar Vanilla Ice-cream. Being a bit of a rhubarb obsessive at the moment, this certainly hit the spot.



 If you would like to take part, 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 @serialcrafter 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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posted by Janice @ 19:29 5 Comments

Saturday, 2 March 2013

The Marmalade Awards 2013


These quirky awards were founded in 2006 by Jane Hasell-McCosh with the initial idea of preserving, growing and widening one of the most British of customs – making marmalade. They have gone on to generate a following far beyond Jane’s wildest expectations and allow many different varieties of marmalade to come together and allow the judges the great opportunity to taste them all!
Proceeds from amateur entry fees will be donated to charity. The 2013 beneficiaries are Hospice at Home and Action Medical Research.

The idea of entering and visiting the Marmalade Awards came out of some Twitter exchanges with Sue from A little bit of Heaven on a Plate and Karen from Lavender and Lovage.  It's not that far over the border for me to get to Dalemain Mansion near Penrith where the awards are held, so I was keen to attend.  I managed to source some Seville oranges and duly sent off my pot of Seville Orange Marmalade.

The Awards are centred on Dalemain Mansion, a Georgian stately home lived in by the same family for over 300 years, which also happens to hold a very rich archive of Marmalade recipes. The courtyard of Dalemain was set up with various stalls selling artisan foods and other related product.  I met up with Sue in the courtyard...NO that's not her, that's an Alpaca!!!  Sue likes to preserve a little mystery so there are no photos of her in this blog post.  Unfortunately, Karen wasn't able to join us, but we were able to meet up with Vivienne Lloyd, more of that later.

 
I bought some flour from Little Salkeld Watermill, which is located near Penrith,  I'll write a little more about their plans for a community buy out of the Watermill soon. 

 
I also bought a couple of fabulous looking and tasting loaves from More, Artisan Bakery.  I chose the  Lakeland Walnut and Treacle Loaf and Rye with Figs and Walnuts


As well as the stalls, there was a marquee with workshops and lectures and the location of sponsors Mackays of Dundee.


 
It was soon time to hear the prize winners announced by, celebrity baker and author, Dan Lepard at the front of Dalemain Mansion.
 
Here are the winners in the children's category

 
There was quite a crowd outside the mansion despite it being pretty cold standing there.

Paddington Bear was there with his marmalade sandwich.

 
The hostess of the Marmalade Festival and Awards was also in attendance.  
Jane, a self confessed marmalade bore, is passionate about the preserve. As a child she helped her mother make marmalade year-round, a tradition she has continued with her own three children.
Frustrated by an apparent growing decline in the popularity and standards of marmalade making, Jane decided six years ago to hold a small event with her friends, celebrating this most British of preserve and, at the same time, raising money for Hospice at Home. This became an annual event, growing in size every year, and is now the largest of its kind in the world.


 And then it was time to enter the house and find out how we had got on with our marmalade entries.  I did not have high hopes as I knew mine was over set and the peel was too thick (I'm not patient enough to spend two hours finely slicing peel!) what I didn't expect was that I would have two points deducted for using a 'commercial' jar!  There was no mention in the terms of entry of the type of jar to use and one of the the winning entries used the same type of jar.  What was really thrilling was how well Sue did with her entries, a gold and two silver stars!  Karen also managed to collect a silver, a bronze and a merit for her entries.  Huge congratulations to both!

Winning Merry Marmalade in same 'commercial' jar as my entry
The Awards  have inspired people from all over the world to get involved. In 2010, 800 jars of marmalade were sent in from countries far and wide including the Yukon - Canada, Japan, Australia, Spain and France.  I overheard one of the organisers say that there were nearly 1500 entries this year.

International Marmalade entries
Amazing Marmalade display in the dining room
 
The rooms were packed and everyone was very friendly, you can just see me (in the turquoise hat) chatting to some poor innocent bystander! 

 Oh, there I go again, chatting away to people I've never met before, and looking scarily like my mother from behind - eek! Thanks Sue!

In the middle of the 'madding crowds' sat a huddle of judges, tasting and judging marmalade from Britain and Australia for the Marmalashes Award.  That's Vivienne Lloyd, author of First Preserves and winner of the 2008 Marmalade Festival, with Dan Lepard to her right.

, 
Pam 'the jam' Corbin was also judging along with representatives from Fortnum and Mason and Mackays, the last remaining producer of marmalade in Dundee, the home of marmalade.

I loved this replica of Dalemain Mansion with the jars of Artisan marmalade in the the 'windows'.

And here I am with a Marmalade coloured VW Beetle outside Dalemain, what a great day out!

The winners:
Amateurs:　Best in Show - Yen-Chung Chong; Man Made dark and chunky - Adrian Young, Canberra, Australia; Man Made Seville -Tom Maier, Compton, West Sussex; Children's (sponsored by Paddington Bear) - Matthew Foster, Stanwick, Northamptonshire and William Preston, Silsden, West Yorkshire; Seville - Margaret Burke, Knutsford, Cheshire; Heritage (sponsored by Mackays) – Mary & Nicholas Hart, Morden, Surrey; International (sponsored by Mackays) Tom Benford, Kyoto, Japan; Dark and Chunky – Elizabeth Maclay, Andover, Hampshire; Merry - Yen-Chung Chong, Brighton; Novice - Jane Boylan, Penrith, Cumbria; Any Citrus - Jonathan Hamel Cooke, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; Clergy - Rev James Milnes, Macclesfield; Tri-Services - Colonel Kieran O’Kelly, Andover, Hampshire.
Artisan & Commercial Producers: Double Gold - Nase Dobroty
Gold – Nase Dobroty (Marmalade with Interesting Additions Bourbon and Vanilla), Hubble Preserves (Fine Seville Orange Marmalade), Bracken Hill Fine Foods (Savoury Marmalade Orange and Cider), Mary’s Marmalade (Medium Seville and Any Citrus Grapefruit), Radnor Preserves (Medium Seville, Any Citrus Blood Orange and Any Citrus Lime), Mrs Jampot’s Parlour (Savoury Marmalade Clove and Cinnamon), JR Jams (Any Citrus Marmalade Three Fruit), Jammy Bodger (Medium Seville), Jill’s Natural Preserves (Marmalade with Interesting Additions with Somerset Brandy), Love Jam Kitchen (Any Citrus Marmalade Pink Grapefruit), Wild & Fruitful (Savoury Marmalade Thai Lime), Beta 5 Chocolates (Any Citrus Marmalade Yuzu).

To find out more about the Marmalade Awards visit www.marmaladeawards.com. 



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posted by Janice @ 22:18 12 Comments