14.12.08: Festive finger food

It was time to put up the tree, so We decided to get festive and picked up some nibbles to eat while putting up the baubles. Waitrose supplied the treats: mini salmon cakes with chili, garlic and ginger dip; pigs in blankets; mini pancakes (blinis) with soft cheese and basil plus smoked salmon; pumpkin seed and soft cheese smoked salmon canapes; and some low fat crinkle crisps for good measure. Some mulled wine help things go down easy.

SHE SAYS: This was fun, but a bit too rich in the end. I think the nibbles route should stay simple from now on: doubling the pigs in blankets and the amount of crisps would have been good enough. The blinis suffered from bitter-basil syndrome so typical of any store-bought item with pesto in it, and I found the pumpkin thingies a little icky - seeds, cream cheese and salmon combined blew out my fun-fat receptors. Still ate my share, it must be said. Best discovery: Waitrose low-fat crinkle crisps are full of nummy fresh-tater flavour and carry just enough salt to satisfy.

HE SAYS: These treats weren't bad, in fact some were more then okay. I augmented most with the chili and ginger dip that came with the salmon cakes, making them all a little bit more shpesh. Pigs in their bacon blankets were obviously the highlight. The tree looked very good, by the way.

05.10.09: Pumpkin Pie and Green Chard

Autumn made yumsome: she's been meaning to try this savoury punkin' recipe, courtesy of Sophie Conran, for nearly a year, and now the time is right.

Pumpkin, sage, feta cheese, parsley and filo dough made for a decadent Sunday eve pie-high, while the punkin' seeds toasted up nicely with salt and pepper for compulsive snacking. Steamed chard from yesterday's market in Richmond snuggled up steamily to its richer plate-mate, while figs, thin slices of baby fennel, and mixed leaves commingled contentedly nearby in anticipation of a balsamic drizzle.


HE SAYS: I likey this pie. I was especially enamored with the crusty topping (you could put filo pastry on top of a smelly sock and I would eat it). I do think though that maybe next time we could try butternut squash (my favourite gourd) instead of fresh pumpkin (nothing like the tinned variety, trust me) which was a little bland for my taste buds however much the cumin tried to raise the taste stakes. I, like Her, peppered it with ample hot sauce and it tasted so goood.

SHE SAYS: Make no mistake, this is not a weekday meal - peeling and preparing the pumpkin is fiddly and takes plently of elbow grease. The result was good, but quite overpowering in the cheese dept. – too rich. Some Crystal hot sauce cut through the heavy savour, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed the crisp sheets of filo on top. Not sure I would make this again, but I'm glad I tried it. (A lighter goat cheese, and less of it, would be more suitable, and perhaps some ras-al-hanout in place of the cumin seeds would brighten up the flavour.) The chard was amazingly sweet, esp the stems, and I added nothing to it, not one bit of anything. Salad was as refreshing as it was meant to be, bringing welcome crunch and aniseed insouciance to the meal.

23.08.08: Imposter saag paneer

She made Saturday nite at home awfully cosy with Our fave saag paneer, starring halloumi as paneer, with Geeta's papaya orange chutney quietly shining in its supporting role. A soopah salad of radishes, avo, toasty pumpkinseeds, carrot, and lamb's lettuce drizzled with Nigella's wasabi lime dressing made for a pretty, well-balanced plate.

SHE SAYS: There's something about piling a spicy, rich curry on the fork with lots of crunchy salad that makes everything seem right for a little while. I suspected the M&S halloumi would be best for this dish, and it did indeed keep its firm texture, release perfect saltiness, and add the merest hint of mint to the proceedings.

HE SAYS: This dish has a lot going for it. The halloumi is so saltastic and moreish and the spinach, mild and creamy without the cream, so the overall effect is so satisfying. With a big dollop of chutney on top adding a little shweet spice to the plate, I was one happy camper. I am so enjoying our current craze of julienne carrots and delish toasted pumpkin seeds smothered by the always tasty dressing, which manages to intensify all that it covers - including some rice, which didn't mind a bit. In fact it made for some interesting unexpected mouthfuls.

11.08.08: Lemon chicken nite

He got out the big white roasting pan and cooked up some lemon chicken (with the judicious addition of lemon thyme) and assembled a bright spectrum of a salad with tomatoes, roasty pumpkin seeds, strawberries, avo, and sweetfire beetroot.

SHE SAYS: Such fab comfort food to come home to. I lingered over the we-be-jammy lemons and melty potatoes along with chicken that combined crunch and tenderness with lashings of garlic and lemoniness...well, really, need I say more? Salad was only slightly less a star, with deeply ripe strawberries mixing esp well with the toasty seeds.

HE SAYS: I think I reached the zenith of the lemony-oil-jamminess factor in this latest entry in the 2008 Zesty-Lemon stakes. it's only taken around, give or take, 30 or so tries this year to find the ultimate balance between how much olive oil to pour and how much lemon juice to stir into the mix. With crispy skin on the chix and still enough liquid left to spoon over, it was neither too dry nor too soggy. The salad was pretty much a "throw everything in from the fridge except the physalis" affair but it worked well, especially the added roasted pumpkin seeds, which were particularly exquisite tasting, if I allow myself to be so brazen as to boast.

26.07.08: Indian pork vindaloo and crunchy salad

She dug out the pork vindaloo recipe, adding chunks of aubergine and an extra bottle of sauce to the pan of pork loin, plus more cinnamon and some star anise to the rice, to see us thru a lackadaisacal Saturday nite movie. Wielding the KTOTY*, she stripped a carrot for extra crunch in a salad of pear, leaves, beetroot, and toasted pumpkin seeds, all doused with an improvised dressing of juice d'orange, olive oil, fresh coriander, ginger, one mashed garlic clove, white wine vinegar, and salt-n-pepa.

HE SAYS: Pork and Indian are not two words that normally get along but this recipe brings them harmoniously together on one plate. The extra jar o' sauce helped make it a joy to mix in with the fragrant rice and with the new chutney atop of the curry mountain it was another Saturday nite taste sensation. The salad was also a hit with lots of sweet, tart, crunchy things going on, I was almost in Nirvana but stopped short to watch the movie.

SHE SAYS: Dressing was a dee-lite; would add more ginger but this time I only had a tiny stump in the fridge. Don't think I can get enough of shredded carrot this summer - juicy, sweet, and not too much work for the molars. Vindaloo def. benefits from extra sauce, but man, you need to cook it nearly three times as long as the recipe states.

*KTOTY = kitchen tool of the year

30.06.08: Smoky salmon, carrot tablouleh, and grnz

The salad strikes back: after sitting on the sidelines for many a post, the salad portion of the programme takes the main plate by storm. This carrot tabouleh, made oh-so-easy with the Kitchen Tool of the Year, pepped up our standard fare of smoked salmon fillet and plain, boiled- beyond-belief grnz.

HE SAYS: I was impressed by the carrot salad, the sultanas added a little sweetness but not too much, the pumpkin seeds helped out with salt and crunch duty, and the carrots were the star of the show - really intense fresh, carrot-y taste and bright citrus-y overtones. I managed to wolf down 2 and a half salmon fillets, seems I can't get enough of their smoke-infused goodness. And as for the salad...oh yeah, I mentioned it already, stoopid.

SHE SAYS: I was afraid the tabouleh (you know, I hate that spelling, should be an 'i' on the end!) would be too sweet, but lemon juice and ho-made harissa kept it even-steven in the flavour dept. This has got to be one of the best ways to eat carrots, esp in the summer, and the ease and fun of using the K.T.O.T.Y. ensures more such julienned delights are to come. Should have stirred some chili flakes into the grnz, never mind; and the salmon was good, but not inspiring. Might try give it a twist of sumpin' sumpin' next time.