Favourite Recipes

So, being something of an expert on this cookbook now I'm recommending my favourites from this book.
1. The recipe that I love more than anything are Oeufs en Cocotte. This recipe is soooo delicious and so easy. It's a luxurious breakfast. Make it!

2. The most used recipe for me is Curry in a Hurry. This recipe is delicious and one that you can really make your own. Fast and delicious dinner, I make a variation of this almost every week.

3. Replace your store bought pancake mix with Nigella's Homemade Instant Pancake Mix. Again, super easy and super delicious and I always feel better about making something from scratch as opposed to from a box.

4. Before this cookbook challenge I had never had or heard of halloumi cheese. Now I love halloumi cheese so I think you should expose yourself too and try the delectable Halloumi Bites.

5. A crowd favourite among my friends is the Rocky Road Crunch Bars. Everyone loves these and you can make them in a snap. You will win friends and hearts by taking this recipe to a BBQ, picnic or potluck. Be sure you give these a try.

So there are my top 5 recipes. There are of course many more great recipes in this book but these are my real go to recipes from this book.

So I don't think this will be the end of my blogging days. I have other recipes that I wish to share and hopefully try to influence you to go outside your box of recipes as I will be doing too. So happy cooking friends, until next time.

Duck Breast with Pomegranate and Mint

Well folks ,this is it. 185 posts, 186 recipes, 18 months and finally , FINALLY, I am done. I cannot tell you how glad I am to have finished this. How crazy was I to say I would do this? Pretty effing crazy. But it's done now and i have to say I am officially an expert on Nigella Express. I definitely learned a lot about cooking and a lot about blogging doing this. So it's not like it was all for naught. But I am really looking forward to cooking from a book that is NOT Nigella Express.

This recipes is really pretty easy. I knew that my Metro would not have a duck breast so I didn't even bother trying there (see lessons learned!). Instead I went to Longo's and was lucky enough to get the very last duck breast. So it was meant to be today I think. There's only 4 ingredients wot this recipe so it's very simple to prepare. Cook your duck and toss things on a plate is pretty much it. Husband came home to this for dinner (fresh out of the oven) and he seemed to like it. He said it's not his new favourite meal or anything but that it tasted good and was enjoyable. So it's not like this recipe had me finishing with a bang or anything - but I really don't care. I'm just glad to be done. I should have finished this ages ago, but at least now this is all behind me.

I guess I'm glad that I did this but right now I'm just still a little bitter about what a task this was. Maybe in a couple weeks I'll be able to laugh about the pain. I plan on doing a top ten recipes entry so stay tuned for that!

Black Pasta with Red Mullet

Red Mullet. Not an Irish man's haircut in the early 90s. Rather the other red mullet which is apparently a delicious fish. I unfortunately have more experience with the hairstyle than the fish. And to my great disappointment it shall stay that way. I was not able to lay my hands on a red mullet....at least not the fish. Nigella has an answer for this problem; Bream. So that's what I went home with. I picked up a whole bream fish at the market and had them clean the fish for me with the head off please and thank you. However, when I got home the fish was not quite in the shape I was hoping for. I guess what I should have asked for is to have the fish filleted. This I will chalk up to my innocence and ignorance of what is involved in dismembering animals - which I'd like to keep that ignorance and innocence thank you very much. What I had on my hands was a headless gutless fish. A fish with quite a strong spine that I was not prepared to deal with. But I knew I'd have to get the bugger apart somehow and when faced with this task I was also faced with a childhood trauma. When I was very young, I'm not sure how old exactly, my father decided to show his youngest daughter how to clean a fish. A life lesson for certain. The only problem here is that my father's youngest daughter (me) is incredibly sensitive to animals being harmed in anyway shape or form. She tends to prefer watching humans be dismembered as opposed to animals. And, at around this same age, would cry for hours when a farmer struck a donkey in a Christmas claymation special titled "Nestor" (Nestor is the donkey that carries Mary to the stable in Bethlehem). So my father decides it's time to show me basic survival skills and that even in my innocent and sensitive state of mind, I should know how to clean a fish. I guess in the event I took off and was alone in the woods for days with no food source. So, things were going swimmingly in the beginning. We caught a fish (oooo how exciting!), we took the fish off the hook (not my favourite part) and, here's where we strayed from the normal routine I was accustomed to. Instead of throwing the fish back in the river my father pulled out a knife and sliced open the belly of the poor bugger. Then came the blood and guts, then came the tears. Ridiculous amounts of tears. I didn't eat fish after that until I was 16 years old. No joke. 16.

So with all this trauma in my back pocket I have to now fillet this fish. Lemme tell ya, it did not go well. I did not fillet this fish so much a butcher it up. After a few minutes I realized I would not be successful at this and just did what I could to salvage this dinner.

Filleting was the hardest part of the dinner. So if you can buy just a straight up fillet - do it. The rest of this meal prep is all about timing. Getting your pasta cooked and ready at the same time your sauce is ready for the pasta. And I'll tell you this is much easier to do if you prep all your ingredients ahead of time.

Taste wise this is alright but not fantastic. Because I'm bollocks at filleting a fish, we had a few bones to contend with but it was alright. This recipe will not make my top ten but if you want something a little different give it a try. It does have great visual appeal.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sundae

This I was going to have be my very last recipe but it seems that is not to be the case. I actually made this because I realized in the grocery store today that it has been quite a while since I made the last recipe and I knew that all I needed for this recipe was some chocolate, some ice cream and peanut butter. I was also putting this recipe off for so long because I couldn't fathom buying tubs of ice cream that I knew would go to waste because I never eat ice cream. And if I do eat ice cream it's usually on a stick. Whenever I buy a tub of ice cream after I eat 3 scoops of it, it sits in my freezer for a year, gets freezer burnt and then I throw it out. So even as I was heading towards the freezer section in the store I was mourning the ice cream I was about to purchase and throw out in a year. Then I saw a little bit of genius in the freezer. Haagen Daaz has released a product that is one scoop portions!!!!! I couldn't believe my luck. Exactly what I needed. I bought 3 scoops and was on my way. Perfect.

I get back home and make myself a sundae. But first the sauce. Cream, peanut butter, chocolate and honey melted together. Then just pour over ice cream, top with peanuts and your afternoon treat is ready for enjoyment.

If you like ice cream then you will of course like this. I have to tell you that what is amazing to use for this sundae is Haagen Daaz Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream. That really made it for me. Only 2 recipes left! I can't even believe this shit.

Peaches in Muscat

I should have been done this project ages ago, but I still have around 3 recipes to make. Even after having made this one. I feel like this book is growing recipes and I'll never be done. It of course doesn't help that my production line has all but ground to a halt on this project. I'm painting pictures, sewing dresses doing everything BUT cooking it feels like these days. Husband has been picking up the slack there, but him cooking doesn't get the this project done. And I have to tell you I kind of feel like - why did I think this was a good idea? Am I really in my third calendar year of doing this? That's a little bit shameful. But I am finishing. One thing I am good for is coming thru on my word. Generally if I say I'm going to do something I do it - which isn't always a good thing when I'm suddenly stuck by conviction if I've had a few drinks. God knows that my drunk ideas are not usually my best ideas. However those events do usually turn into good stories later down the road of life. Once I'm over the trauma and can laugh off the embarrassment that is. But here I am now with Nigella Express in hand - I can see the finish line but it feels like a mirage. Three bloody recipes to go and it will probably take me 3 bloody weeks to crank them out. But oh the glory I will feel once this is done. Well, perhaps glory isn't the right word..I'm thinking relief, good riddance and thank effing god that's over with I must have been drunk or insane when I had that idea....

Today though I don't get to close the book for good but rather make another check off on yet another recipe "peaches in muscat". All I can say is I am so glad this is absolutely NO effort whatsoever. All I did was cut up a peach and poor booze over it. This is about all the level of effort I had for this today too. As it turns out this is actually highly rewarding in the flavour department. I think I'm becoming a fan of the late harvest vidal which is my north american suburban replacement for a muscat wine. I'm starting to think you can soak any fruit in muscat wine, serve with a variation of cream and it will be delicious. I do recommend this recipe if for no other reason than because we all need to eat more booze soaked fruit.

Ginger Passionfruit Trifle

I gotta tell ya - this is the perfect dessert to make if you have no time at all. I made this in about 15 minute this morning and that might even be an exaggeration. I took this dessert for Easter dinner to my sister's house and I think just about everyone liked it. The only person who said they didn't like it was Husband and really, he's a bit if a fussy muss when it comes to desserts. I found this recipe easy enough to make that I think I could do it even it I was really drunk. And it's got that nice quality of not being a heavy dessert. It's light and just a little bit of sweetness at the end of your meal. I think this one's worth making and it feeds a considerable amount of people.

Blackberries in Muscat Jelly

I really did not want to have to eat this. It looked pretty effing repulsive to me. But I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe. I had a bit of a struggle in the LCBO trying to find muscat wine. I had to seek advice from an employee who was not able to find a muscat wine for me but hooked me up the a late harvest vidal from Henry of Pelham. It was a pretty good substitute - I told him it was for a recipe and he had some good ideas about what would be a cost effective supplement. So if you can't get your hands on a muscat wine look for a late harvest vidal.

Back at the ranch this was really very easy to put together. Put everything (less the berries and gelatin) in a pot and wait for the sugar to dissolve. Then add the gelatin and pour the mixture over the berries. Then all you do is wait for dessert time. Nigella suggests you make this in the morning. I made it around 4pm and then indulged just before 8pm so the jelly had about 3.5 hrs to set. Now it's important to keep in mind here that the gelatin does not fully set. You'll just get a thicker version of your concoction. And I have to tell you it's a little bit delicious. I was a hater of this recipe. Look how long I waited before making it. But I gotta tell ya I have been turned. Like freakin' Aniken Skywalker to the dark side. I enjoy this recipe and despite the fact that it may look a little nasty or questionable I say take the plunge. I'm betting you will enjoy this.