Cool Cod, Fennel and Smoked Bacon Pie

I love a good pie. Thought I'd get that out there. I've had this cook book for quite a while, but I've never made this pie before. Partly because the supermarkets at home have only recently started to stock fennel bulbs. Or I've only just started noticing that they do... Anyway, there's quite a few places I can get fennel now I'm living in a city. As the weather is getting (a lot) colder, I thought it was time to start putting pies on the menu. And this is just the first of many...

Filling...



...topping...



...Good luck!...

...Out of the oven...

                                   Not cut very neatly... but it makes no difference to the taste!

Brilliant Braised Halibut with Chickpeas and Chorizo

I chose this recipe, because there's a fish market near me every Monday, and I kept forgetting to choose a fish recipe when doing my weekly menu. I finally remembered when I came across this recipe. It had two ingredients I love in (chorizo and chickpeas), and I'd get to go to the fish stall, so it seemed the natural choice. I'm glad I chose it, the smell alone when it was cooking was totally worth it!

My lovely fish!

In it goes...

                               The five minutes resting time... It was just calling out to be eaten!

Finally!

Simply Sumptuous Soba Noodles

I haven't had this dish for a long time. I'm not sure why- although I think it's perhaps just because soba noodles are a slightly unusual ingredient and not a lot of supermarkets have them. Tonight, I relieved some childhood memories, and ate Nigella Lawson's Soba Noodles with Sesame Seeds. I say I relieved memories, because I remember eating them for lunch when I was younger. The most vivid memory I have is watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with my mum while eating them. Well, you know what they say, vampires and noodles are such a great combination...

Everything about this dish is wonderful. The look of the sesame seeds after they've been toasted. The smell of the sauce mixed together. The pop of green from the spring onions against brown of the noodles. And of course, the most important thing- the taste.

Pancakes and Parsnips

Pancakes were on the menu for lunch today, as I had some milk that needed using. Long story short, I dressed as a cat for Halloween, and had a 'hip-flask' that was a pint bottle of milk. The milk was only poured into a glass, so needed using fairly sharpish. I had half savoury- grilled tomato, pesto and ricotta, and half sweet- honey and ricotta, and a teeny drizzle of golden syrup... I also had ricotta that needed using!



Very messy I know, but I hadn't planned to photograph it!


 

For tea, Chicken and Parsnip Stew. Two hours in the oven and the chicken literally fell apart, and the parsnips, apples and mushrooms were so soft!

Before...

...after!

                                          In-situ on my plate... it wasn't there for very long...

Posh-Sounding Pepper and Garlic Fettucine with Ricotta

It sounds like something you'd get in a nice Italian restaurant. Well, I'm sure you can get it in Italian restaurants, but it's actually incredibly easy (and probably a lot cheaper!) to make at home. All it is, is cook the pasta, and then keep it warm while making the sauce, which takes literally two minutes.

Also, for lunch today I had bulghur wheat with diced carrot mixed in. A very random combination, but a very nice one too. I thought the colours looked lovely and Autumn-y together, so I took a photo!

Hash of a Corned-Beef Hash

I did make a hash of opening the tin of corned beef. It took three of us to do it in the end. But in my defence, the little tab you're supposed to roll round came off. But we got there in the end! I'm glad we did, it was a very nice meal. I cut the potatoes a teeny bit too big, so they took a little longer to cook, but that's a minor niggle really. A Mary Berry recipe, and a recipe that I will be repeating. Few ingredients, most of which you're likely to have hanging about the house anyway- beef stock, butter, onions, potatoes, corned beef and seasoning. Well, you might not have corned beef. But five out of six aint bad! 

It might not be the best looking dish, but trust me, the taste more than makes up for it.



Remember, don't judge a book by it's cover!

Pizza, but not as you know it...

I'm aware that the title makes this post sound quite mysterious... But it's not. Unless you've never heard of French Bread Pizza, in which case it is mysterious. On the slim chance you haven't heard of them, let me explain. Basically, a baguette, cut into sections with normal piza toppings. Sounds simple, but it's a very nice, and very filling tea! First, I spreas mine with some tomato sauce I made a few days ago, then sprinkled it with oregano. Then sliced tomatoes, chestnut mushrooms and parmesan. Grill 'em for 10 minutes, and they're done. I know it's Saturday, but they are the perfect midweek supper. Be warned though, if you use a lot of cheese it's like molten lava after being so close to the grill! I didn't have a lot of cheese left, so no problem there tonight!

Right before one of them fell over...