February is done!

Looking back over this month I am in no doubt about my dish of the month, mainly because it took me completely by surprise in it's deliciousness and leftover versality - the Nigel Oscar (topical!) goes to ..... the herb and barley broth.

Warm soused mackerel

I must say that if I wasn't completing this (self inflicted) task I wouldn't have made this in a million years. However, having just eaten this I feel totally vindicated in undertaking the project. It was such a lovely surprise - subtle flavours and a perfectly cooked fish. I loved this.

Spiced pumpkin soup with bacon

I love soup and this type of thing is exactly what I go for. Just the right amount of heat from the chilli, nice and creamy with the salty hit of the bacon. Yum!

Braised lamb with leeks and haricot beans

Tonight I felt total domestic goddessery due to the haricot beans being from my cupboard and the neck of lamb from my freezer (left over from January's stew). Also, this was a lovely creamy casserole which I devoured alongside some pickled beetroot (which is an effort to reduce my blood pressure). Lovely, lovely.

Slow roast lamb with chickpea mash

As I've said previously lamb is my fave meat and roasted like this it was absolutely delicious. I was less keen on the chickpea mash - for me it just didn't have the right consistency, and, even though I added more oil I found it that bit too dry. When eating though, I smothered it with lamb juices which made it much more palatable. I wouldn't make the mash again but the lamb was lovely.

Smoked haddock with flageolet beans and mustard

The massive quantity of cream in this dish somewhat overpowered the mustard and whilst I was moaning about mustard a few recipes back, it would have been nice to taste it a little. The parsley taste came through well as did the fish. I didn't really like the beans though and so wouldn't make this again.

Linguine alla vongole

I did mine in vermouth, for the record, which in my opinion gives a much greater flavour than your common or garden white wine. I thought this dish was perfect, if a little light on clam meat. It had everything for me - the delicious flavour of the vermouth, the garlic and a light heat from the chilli. This could become a cooking for friends staple, possibly as a starter.

Roast pumpkin, spicy tomato sauce

For the simplicity of the recipe this gave back an amazing return! The pumpkin was so deliciously sweet and the tomatoes were just spicy enough to make them more interesting than they would normally be. I would definitely make this again, perhaps with a roast lamb.

Sausage and black pudding with baked parsnips

I've been looking forward to this all day! I knew I'd love this because the main ingredients are amongst my favourite foods. It doesn't look pretty but the taste is hearty and full of flavour.

Hot chocolate pudding

My Valentine is vegetarian so the only part of Nigel's offering I could fulfil this evening was the pudding. I had it hot without cream or custard (as I suspect Nigel takes it) but I think custard would have rounded it off. Whilst perfectly cooked and a little oozy in the middle as it should be, it was just that bit too dry/bitter for my taste - a fault that custard could redress. This could be a perfect dinner party pudding though and I'm certain I'll make it again

Kipper patties, dill mayonnaise

Very easy to make and very fishy, if that's what you like. I did as it goes - it was a bit different from the type of things I normally make. I made the mayo for my daughter (I don't like mayonnaise) and that was a hit with her also. To go with it I fried the remaining barley 'broth' in butter with pancetta and that was totally gorgeous.

Lamb shanks with mustard

I've been really looking forward to making this one because lamb is my favourite meat and the recipe looked lovely. As I said earlier I was serving this with the broth that wasn't - it went perfectly. However, the lamb didn't deliver for me. I would have preferred a slower cooked version with more robust flavours and probably wouldn't make it again.

A herb and barley broth

Less broth and more liquid absorbed veg here so not sure what went wrong! To be honest I was dreading the 'broth' element of the dish so was delighted it turned out as it did and everything was perfectly cooked so no argument from me as far as taste was concerned. The potatoes on top had gone sweet and a little chewy which along with the almost sweet flavour of the barley and vegetables combined made it delicious. I had some for a late lunch (it takes literally hours to make this dish) and will be serving some up with tonight's offering of lamb shanks with mustard, rather than mash which is what Nigel suggests.

Pork chops, mustard sauce

I'm a latecomer to mustard, not having eaten it until I was in my late 30s and not very frequently thereafter. Consequently, I am quite sensitive to the taste of it, preferring just a hint of mustard flavour rather than it being the main deal in a meal. So whilst I could see that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with this meal, it's not for me really and probably wouldn't make it again. My daughter loved it though.

Spiced roast potatoes with yoghurt and mint

This had a lovely mix of flavours with the spices and the mint and yoghurt. This will go in the repertoire fo sho!

I've caught up!

As I have previously made Sausages with salami and lentils, my rule gives me the flexibility to not have to do it again, so January is now complete. My daughter would tell you that the highlight had been the lime tart but I'm going to say that it was the bulgar wheat dish, purely as it was the biggest surprise. Looking ahead to February, I have previously made the chicken patties with rosemary and pancetta, the treacle tart and the braised oxtail with mustard and mash so I shouldn't need to cram as many dishes as possible into the weekends as I have been doing - yay!

A clear, hot mussel soup

Having grown up with a poor cook, one of the things that until now I couldn't bear was a clear soup. I know this stems from Boxing Day turkey soup which often had the other offender pearl barley in it. Having to make a clear soup in order to recreate the kitchen diaries has reinforced the fact that the aforementioned poor cook would not have put any flavours in (such as the lime or coriander which is in this soup) and so obviously it was going to taste awful. This soup has got me over the psychological hurdle of voluntarily making a clear soup, but also demonstrated to me that I can really enjoy one. I had to cheat here because my local fishmonger doesn't open in a Monday and, yes you guessed it, my local massive supermarket doesn't stock shell on mussels unless you want them pre prepared with white wine or cream. I'm not going to beat myself up about this corner cut though. I'll definitely make this again.

A velvety soup for a clear, cold day

Or put another way, leek and potato with Parmesan. This soup was packed with flavour in a way that leek and potato soup rarely is. We loved it, but then we are massive fans of Parmesan in this house. I can imagine that I will return again and again to this soup as its simplicity is also part of the appeal for me, it has to be said.

A lime tart

Well! The compliments for this ranged from perfect to fabulous. Only after the compliments were given did I admit that I'd messed up the making of the pastry and instead if baking it I'd grilled it by accident (with the oven door shut obviously), but it didn't seem to make much of a difference to be honest. It was beautiful - the lime flavour was just right i.e not too overpowering but definitely there. This will become a dinner party staple.

A pot roast pheasant with celery and sage

Ooh this was surprisingly lovely, which I was not expecting. The vermouth made a delicious sauce with just the right amount of sweetness.

Onion soup without tears

In the spirit of playing catch up we're having a 3 course Nigel night tonight starting with an easy French onion soup. We loved the cheese croutes and the flavour was really nice, but for us the onions just weren't the right texture, so I doubt I'd do this again.

A herb butter for grilled chops

I've started a lot of posts in this blog by saying that this is really not my kind of thing but I can today quite categorically say that this is exactly my sort of thing! Oh my word! Delicioso! I don't choose pork chops very often - why, I'm not sure because I do enjoy them when I have them, but made like this they are a total winner. This will most certainly be going in the make again list.