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Tuesday 15 January 2013

Cookbook Challenge - Progress Report!

I am thrilled to say that several people liked the idea of the Cookbook Challenge and have found their cookbook ready to start cooking! If you are new to this no worries, its never too late to start! Just pick a recipe book and challenge yourself to cook every recipe in it!


I started while I was home for Christmas and have cooked about 10 of the recipes so far.
 I must say, I don't think that there is a recipe in there that I don't like the sound of which is great!

I have decided to share pictures of my dishes followed by a three step rating system that you may recognise from my recipe-a-week challenge last year...

Taste - 
Time/Effort - 
Repeat? - 

So without further ado, here is a round-up of my efforts so far...



Taste - Delicious - especially warm from the oven with soup
Time/Effort - A lot of kneading (this was actually very therapeutic) and rising time was needed 
Repeat? - Yes - they were fairly simple and delicious



Taste - DELICIOUS! We used ours for eggs Benedict by adding ham, poached egg and hollandaise sauce!
Time/Effort - Again kneading and rising. 
These were cooked first on the hob and then in the oven which I really enjoyed!
Repeat? - Yes! I am an eggs Benedict convert and love it all the more for using my own muffins


Taste - I love anything with puff pastry but the bacon here added a really nice taste to these - I served them with tomato soup
Time/Effort - Very easy and fairly quick
Repeat? - Yes :)



Taste - this salad had a very sophisticated feel to it - it was a yummy starter for our New Year's Eve meal
Time/Effort - This was really quick but I found it quite full on - a few hot pans to watch 
Repeat? - Possibly




 Taste - Carrots were delicious; really simple and I was surprised at how tender they were considering I used whole carrots!
Time/Effort - Easy, minimal effort
Repeat? - Yes!

Taste - I wasn't sold here but I think this is partially because I didn't cook them long enough - I would definitely try it again to get the crispy edges to the broccoli
Time/Effort - Easy, minimal effort
Repeat? - I would try it again to try and improve it



Taste - Seriously Amazing (this is my title, not the one given in the book!) I love lasagne, it is the dish I always request when I go home and this recipe is awesome - it replaces some of the mince with sausage meat and is just generally scrumptious
Time/Effort - It is fairly hands on but not in a difficult way, more that there are lots of components to make - it is so totally worth it anyway!
Repeat? - I am cooking it next week!



Taste - Really good - and from a gal who isn't very partial to fish, this is high praise! I really enjoyed the combination of salmon, sweet potatoes and herbs
Time/Effort - This was a really easy dish because you boil the salmon and sweet potato together then just drain and mash with the other ingredients. I really liked this method of making them as it didn't feel as fiddly
Repeat? - Yes



Taste - A. Maze. Ing. Seriously this is good - luxuriously so! We left it cook for about 4 hours and came back to a beautifully tender piece of lamb with a gorgeous casserole of vegetables and chorizo. A very special meal
Time/Effort - Takes a long time to cook but actual effort wasn't huge - just preparing vegetables and things
Repeat? - Yes - this is a great special occasion meal



Taste - Chocolate heaven! I love cheesecake. I adore chocolate. Therefore this dessert is divine! And I love the professional look of the top
Time/Effort - A bit of effort involved, and chilling time but nothing too fiddly - even the fancy looking decoration on top was fairly easy!
Repeat? - Yes please!

So there you have my efforts so far. I realise that I have given fairly high praise for nearly all the recipes.
 This is completely genuine and 100 % my opinion! I really enjoyed all the recipes I have cooked so far. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the recipes themselves create delicious meals!



I am looking forward to cooking some more recipes out of this fantastic book!

How are you getting on with the 2013 Cookbook Challenge?

Love Rebecca 

15 comments:

  1. holy moly, it's pretty ambitious to cook everything in the bookbook - props to you girl! :)

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  2. 'Looks so YUMMY! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Advenures

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  3. So.....I might have to make a trip up north if you insist on continuing this yumminess. Seriously....how are you not 400 stone?!?

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  4. Crikey you have been busy! That cheesecake......mmmmmmmmmm!

    Alison
    x

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  5. Wow, that is quite a challenge!! I have some mega-thick cookbooks. Think I'd start with something a lot smaller. AND, wanted to let you know that I'm having a 4 HomemadeSoapnSuch Valentine Sachet Giveaway - on now through Friday. Hope you'll stop in at Cranberry Morning and enter. :-)

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  6. That cheesecake looks amazing!
    I am such a fussy eater I don't think I'd be able to find a book that I'd want to eat everything in it or even like everything in it. The book you are using does look like it has some great recipes in though.

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  7. Those salmon and sweet potato look really good! Those recipes look challenging, good job! Thanks so much for sharing at Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop.
    Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
    Bethany @ Whistle and Ivy

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  8. You are amazing! The cheesecake looks so good! I love to cook, but maybe I can cook everything in a recipe book when my kids can help me out more! LOL Julia @ juliakendrick.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind comment Julia! ha that would certainly make it easier! Good luck with that!

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  9. Love the idea of your cookbook challenge - the English muffins look just amazing.

    Found you via the Marvellous Monday link up party, and now following you via e-mail and Twitter.

    Kate x
    http://www.kateathome.com/

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kate, great to have you along! I did love the English muffins - may have to make those again!

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  10. Oh this is so fun!! So envious of your breads! I've never been able to do anything with yeast! Those look yummy!

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  11. Oh my goodness, I love this idea for a challenge! Thank you for linking up at Party In Polka Dots! You are so ambitious! Everything looks so yummy too! It's a good thing I am about to eat supper because this post made me hungry! lol Have a great weekend!

    Shelley

    www.piggyinpolkadots.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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