At Home by Mary Berry & Lucy Young

One Cookbook : Four Intrepid Cooks : Several Taster Courses : Nothing Left!

 

 

 

 

 

....  Well!   Where do we begin.  They say, 'A change is as good as a rest'.  Well there was no rest this month for the Hussies!  They also say, 'Variety is the spice of life'.  Which is why, this month, we ditched the theory and introduced our first practical read.

 

 

....  It was decided that we would test out the book on our families and after a few practise sessions choose two recipes to bring to a tasting session hosted by one of the Hussies.  The Hussies or should we say, the self raising flour, certainly rose to the ocassion.  To say a competitive element arose from the cooking frenzy which followed was an understatement!

 

.... The supermarket tills were a ringing and the pans were a rattling.  Masterpieces were emerging from the oven and the  proud moment captured on film were being texted with gusto - it's just like the picture in the book - echoing! 

 

....  To take things a step further we also decided to cost our dishes which proved to be a real eye-opener.  Many dishes coming out at under £2.00 per portion.  A well timed exercise in view of the recent horse meat scandal and with many celebrity chefs promoting home cooking over processed ready meals.  The whole evenings dishes of which there were many showed you could eat well for half the price of many of our venues. 

 

....  Listed below are a few of our photos for prosperity.  We wanted to show other bloggers that Mary Berry is truly a National Treasure.  The recipes were easy to follow.  Good tasty results can be achieved from relatively few ingredients and very little stress.  It makes us realise there's a bit of Mary Berry in all of us.  Everyday uncomplicated cooking which really hit the spot.

 

 

Banana & Choc Chip Cupcakes

 

Italian Black Olive & Cheese Rolls

Chicken in Tarragon Sauce

Apricot & Almond Torte

Quick Chicken Curry 

The Best Fish Bake

Raspberry Jelly & Yoghurt Brulee

 

Paprika Chicken

Pissaladiere

Red Pepper Soup

Bruschetta Marinara

Mosaic of Salmon en Croute

Pear & Lemon Curd Tart

Tomato, Avocado & Parma Ham Platter

Simple Lemon Traybake

Smoked Salmon, Prawn & Dill Canapes

Spinach & Three Cheese Bake

Spicy Mexican Salad

Spicy Meatballs

 

 

....  Sorry to bore you with our selected photographs, but, we honestly enjoyed our cooking experience.  All the dishes were so quick and easy to prepare, we just kept on turning the pages.  So you could say this was also a page turner!

 

....  There was some constructive critisim, however, mainly pointing out that the book did lack the wow factor.  Although everyone agreed that's not what this book was about.  We all enjoyed the cooking experience and agreed it would be an excellent choice for inexperienced and young first time cooks - pretty fool proof!

 

Hopefully everyone will enjoy incorporating Mary Berry into their everyday cooking.  This one should not be left on the shelf!

 

....  Due to our impromptu meeting and straying from our usual schedule we are popping in a recommended title for a quick read to get us back on track.  We will be meeting very soon at a chosen venue to discuss ....

 

THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY  by  RACHEL JOYCE

 

  

 

 

Please join us with your views and don't forget to blog your cooking endeavours!!!



                                                                                                                                   11th April 2013