July Cooking Challenge Week 6

Week 6 (the final challenge):
Challenge: Desserts - Tiramisu (It was a touch task to choose just 1!)
Level: Easy
Food Photography: Difficult - Who knew fluffy cream would be so difficult?
Result: 9/10 Delicious

Tiramisu is one of my favourite desserts and I have never even attempted to make it, thinking it would be too difficult.

I used Amarula as my alcohol of choice. YUM!!

I have used Amarula in a recent Malva Pudding and at the moment, Amarula is my favourite cooking ingredient as it never disappoints me.

Handy Hint: Buy the Boudoir finger biscuits - the fancy looking italian biscuits are just not the same.

Wine Glass to serve

After taking my photos I popped half a biscuit in when I served the dessert and forgot to take another photo - but it looked quite cute

Fluffy Amarula/Coffee taste

Remember to visit Simply Delicious for many more tasty recipes.

This has been such a fun challenge.

It challenged me way out of my comfort zone. 

Claudz, thank you for making me take part, I discovered that I am not as bad a cook as I thought and I also learnt to appreciate the satisfaction of sitting down to a delicious home-made meal which I cooked myself.

These recipes have been cooked more than once since this challenge:

After my dad's operation, I made him Baked Fish to make him feel better.

I made Tiramisu for my friend and her husband - I thought they needed a treat since having a baby.

This challenge will have long term results in my future enetertaining and I do thank you, from the bottom of my heart now flabby tummy.

July Cooking Challenge Week 5 (belated)

Apologies for the belated post!

Week 5:
Challenge: Vegetarian (I love my meat, so I chose an alternate version of the Mac 'n Cheese ) -Beer & Bacon Mac & Cheese
Level: Medium purely because the prep requires a bit of time
Food Photography: Easy - it's impossible to mess up a photo of melted cheese!
Result: 8/10 The Beer taste is a winner - but I found upon re-heating, the taste had diminished a bit and wasn't as tasty as the night it was cooked

A word of advice though - ensure you have all your ingredients for the sauce measured out and sitting next to you by the stove.

As soon as you pour that beer into the flour and butter mixture, the sauce thickens very quickly and you need to quickly add your cream and milk.

The breadcrumbs topping was a tasty addition and so delicious when all cooked.

I halfed the recipe and still have a truck-load of food!

I am going to EAT YOU UP!!

Comfort Food Deluxe

Remember to visit Simply Delicious for many more tasty recipes and to join the challenge, click the button on my homepage or visit Claudz on Purple Lips and Perfect Smiles

July Cooking Challenge Week 4

Week 4:
Challenge: Baked Goods - Chocolate Truffle Tart
Level: Medium
Food Photography: Difficult due to the dark glossy appearance causing reflections
Result: 10/10 Delicious - could be worth all the effort!

This is probably one of the most difficult cooking challenges to date. I faced all sorts of obstacles due to not having the correct kitchen utensils and what-not.

After this challenge was completed, I went straight out to buy myself a little electric mixer or risk the development of huge arms from all the manual labour!

Crust: Crush Oreo cookies using food processor

Novice cooking tip # 1: Crush using a drinking glass inside a bowl -  Do you have any idea how hard Oreo cookies are?? 

45 minutes later (?!?) and my crushed Oreos resembled wet sand:

Wet Sand / Oreos

Filling: Chopped dark chocolate to dissolve in cream for 5 minutes

Novice cooking tip # 2: Woolies don't sell chopped dark chocolate and you don't own a sharp kitchen knife -  nuke in microwave - softened? Good enough!

Pour the filling into crust shell through a sieve. - this step is required, because after leaving the chocolate to melt in the heated cream, a skin begins to develop on top and if not poured through the sieve is just yucky for the person getting a small piece of "plastic"

Novice cooking tip # 3: Don't own a sieve? Use your coffee plunger! Does the same thing and you can even drink taste the filling

Chocolatey Yumminess

This tart challenged me and I almost gave up. But... when it was done.... WOW (look how fancy!)

Handy Tip: Serve with a nice red wine... the flavour pairing is incredible!

Remember to visit Simply Delicious for many more tasty recipes and to join the challenge, click the button on my homepage or visit Claudz on Purple Lips and Perfect Smiles

July Cooking Challenge Week 3

Week 3:
Challenge: Pasta - Fried Gnocchi

Level: Ridiculously Easy
Food Photography: Easy (because I didn't try)
Result: 10/10 Delicious - What a nice surprise!

Main:

I don't fry food as I prefer to bake it - not because it is the healthier alternative (that's the bonus) but because I hate splashy oil and I prefer to bake food in the oven and get on with other thins in the meantime.

I have only ever eaten gnocchi once in my life, so I thought this was a fun challenge to try.

I served the gnocchi with chicken schnitzel and mushroom sauce along with minted peas. 

I was so excited about eating these delicious little balls of golden heaven that I forgot to take more than one quick snap. (The trick is to fry them until they are really crispy)

I think this was the easiest cooking challenge so far (but looking at the next challenge... I shouldn't become too complacent!)

Don't forget to visit Simply Delicious for many more tasty recipes and to join the challenge, click the button on my homepage or visit Claudz on Purple Lips and Perfect Smiles

July Cooking Challenge Week 2

Week 2:
Challenge: Fish - I substituted a recipe Baked Fish with Lemon Garlic Butter
Level: Easy
Food Photography: Easy - because I forgot and after eating realised I hadn't snapped a pic
Result: 10/10 Delectable!!

Main:

Fresh Fish with Woolworths Fish Rub

Cooked!

Before I ate it all...

Sides:

Served with Baby Potatoes and another of my new favourites: 

Watercress, Rocket & Pear Salad, a-la-Jamie-Oliver

To make this salad, read my blog post from Monday (for some reason it won't link!)

After the chicken dish, I was wondering if I was doing the right thing by joining this challenge.
I now have a new dish I enjoyed making and it was so easy.

I won't fool myself into thinking that the rest of the challenges will be this easy, and I won't let this challenge get the better of me (I want those pink Le Creuset mugs dammit)

Don't forget to visit Simply Delicious for many more tasty recipes and to join the challenge, click the button on my homepage or visit Claudz on Purple Lips and Perfect Smiles

(If I can do it, so can you!)

Rocket, Watercress, Sweet Pear, Walnut and Lemon Juice Salad

In June I had the girls over for a small birthday dinner where I cooked a signature meal of mine: Roast Chicken.
I wanted a small starter for my guests to nibble on while I prepared the food in the kitchen and I came across this awesome recipe in my Jamie Oliver cookbook.

I can hear your sniggers. 

I don't cook, but I own a Jamie Oliver cookbook, a Nigella cookbook and I won a South African cookbook as a book prize in Matric (Grade 12) for Business Economics. (I know right?)

The recipe was for a Rocket, Watercress, Sweet Pear, Walnut and Lemon Juice Salad

Simple & Delicious

This is what Jamie has to say about making his delicious salad: 

For one person I normally use around half a pear 2 big handfuls of watercress and 2 big handfuls of rocket. If the skins are nice just give them a wash, if not remove with a peeler. Then cut them in half and de-seed. It doesn`t really matter how you cut them up. Sometimes in big rough chunks, maybe sliced up or even grated. 

Then place into the bowl with the watercress and rocket. The pepperiness of the leaves works so well with the sweetness of the pear. 

Drizzle with a good extra virgin olive oil just to coat, a small squeeze of lemon juice (because the pear juice is slightly acidic but very tasty), and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Shave over some Parmesan or Pecorino, crumble your nuts over (I substituted the walnuts for pecan nuts.) and tuck in. Toss all this together and serve.  I love this salad with roasted meat or as a starter on its own.

Part of my Twenty Wishes was to cook more this year and while planning for the dinner I realised that I only have a handful of great meals I can cook. 

Everyone has eaten those meals, so what do I do after this? I can't invite friends over and expect them to eat the same food.

Thank goodness Claudz came up with this challenge when she did! (Even though I almost didn't take part, it's fortuitous that I did!)

July Recipe a Week Cooking Challenge

Week 1:
Challenge: Cornflake Chicken
Level: Easy
Food Photography: Flippen Difficult
Result: 7/10

End Result

I chose this recipe because I love KFC's deep fried crispy skin and it is just sooo bad for my hips.

The food prep is really easy and even a novice like myself had no problems.

Buttermilk, some spices, cornflakes and you are ready to go.
("Use a rolling Pin to crush flakes" Don't own a rolling pin? Novice Cook Tip: Use a can of tomatoes instead)

Cornflake Coating

The smell of the paprika permeating the air had me waiting in anticipation to taste what I had created.



I had problems with my chicken taking much longer than 25 minutes (on 220) to cook, so I was somewhat disappointed because I had to keep returning it to the oven. (This being a new oven and with a few previous meals, I suspect that I have to add on extra time.)

The result looked amazing. A very crunchy, healthy alternative.

Next time I will attempt this recipe with chicken fillets as I think it may be alot easier to eat without cutting the chicken off the bone.

Side Dishes:

Coleslaw

Garden Salad

Dessert:

Friend's Homemade Chocolate Fudge Ripple Ice-cream 

To make this meal yourself, view it on Simply Delicious's blog

To join the challenge - click the button to Claudz's website on my homepage, or here: Purple Lips & Perfect Smiles