Book 13: The Primrose Bakery Book

So this week I've had a few issues, firstly my computer has given up the ghost (or at least it will if the constantly dieing turd comes home again, there is a wall withs its name on it!!!) and I've had the flu!  Now I know that the term "flu" gets used way to often, but I've got to say these past 7 days are the sickest I have ever been.  Not only did I burst into tears at a local medical centre (which if you know me, is saying something!) but there were six straight days where I didn't go anywhere near a computer let alone buy a recipe book.  So because of me being sick and feeling sorry for myself, I'm dragging out something I made a few weeks ago.  Hopefully this will make sense when you read it, if not tune in next week when I'm hopefully feeling better :)

Recipe - Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake

For the loaf
155g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
155g golden caster sugar
20g cornflour
155g unsalted butter, at room temp, plus more for greasing tin
3 large eggs
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

For the drizzle
160g granulated sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 180c.  Grease 1 x 900g loaf tin and line with baking paper.
  Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and cornflour into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse the mixture for about 4 seconds until evenly mixed.  Add the butter, eggs and lemon zest and juice and process briefly until evenly blended (about 10 seconds).
  Pour the mixture into a loaf tin and level the top with a spatula.  Bake in the centre of the oven for about 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Let the loaf cool in its tin.
  Make up the drizzle by stirring the sugar into the lemon juice in a jug and mixing well.  Prick the surface of the loaf all over with a fork.  Pour the drizzle over the loaf and allow it to set, before removing the loaf from the tin and serving.  Keep any uneaten loaf in an airtight container at room temp for 3-4 days.

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So the Primrose Bakery Book, never heard of them before?  I hadn't either, but it has quickly become one of my all time favourite baking books!  There is a recipe in this book for Cinnamon Buns, may not sound like much but I think they would have to be the best thing I have ever made!  I love this book, I want to start from the first recipe and work my way through it!

If you like citrus this cake is the one for you!  The cake is delicious and moist and the drizzle while being very tart is fantastic!  The juice soaks into the cake and makes all deliciously syrupy!
So in the interests of making it quick, get this book!  Its awesome and easy to follow, with enough of a challenge to make it interesting! :)  They also have a cupcake book which I have yet to cook from, think I might make a point of it :)

Yours in tissues and copious medication
Thanks
Kate
xx

PS: here's a really bad photo of the most awesome Cinnamon Buns.... yum!!

Book 12: Delicious. Simply the Best - Valli Little (ABC)

I am bringing out the nerd in me this week by purchasing a bit of nerdy artwork (I always feel like a total nob when I say that, I feel like I need to roll my R's!).  Much to Matt's horror I'm getting a print that simply says "Beware Zombies" and I'm hanging it the entrance of my house (depending on the size it may go in the kitchen).  I lurve B grade horror, nothing in hell could make me watch a Saw movie, but give me zombies, werewolves or vampires and I'm there.  I have a bit of a soft spot for George A. Romero, if you don't know him he's pretty much the pioneer of zombie films, with his long hair and giant glasses I find what he puts on screen fascinating.  The problem with watching a stack of horror, no matter how cheesy, is that I always have in the back of my mind "what will I do if zombies take over the world?".  Its massively stupid and kind of insane but I will often go into buildings and assess their zombie hideout potential.  I don't want to sound like a mega loon but I think if zombies ever do take over the world, I'm your go to person!  And if I ever pull up out the front of your house in a bus, gun in hand and tell you to get in the bus, get in the bus!!  You might remember that I'm raising two small children, sadly their Mum will for ever be known as a bit of a nutter, but at least they should survive a zombie apocalypse :P 

I also make nice cakes :)

Recipe - Smoky Spanish Chicken

80g unsalted butter
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chili flakes
105g fresh breadcrumbs
60g pitted black olives, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 x 170g skinless chicken breast fillets
60 mls olive oil
1 chorizo sausage, casing removed, finely chopped
Rocket leaves and orange wedges, to serve

Melt 50g butter and cool slightly.  Combine the orange zest, garlic, paprika, chili, breadcrumbs and olives with the melted butter and 2 tbsp parsley.  Season.  Place the chicken on a clean board and carefully make a deep incision in the side of each fillet horizontally, being careful not to cut all the way through.
  Stuff each fillet with the breadcrumb filling.  Secure the fillets in four places with kitchen string.  Enclose each one individually in plastic wrap, twisting the end so its tightly sealed, then secure the ends with kitchen string.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  Remove the chicken from the fridge and place in a steamer.  Steam for 20 minutes or until almost cooked through.
  Melt remaing 30 g butter with the oil in a fry pan oven medium heat.  Remove the chicken from the plastic wrap, season, then cook, turning, for 4-5 minutes until golden on all sides.  Remove from the fry pan, loosely cover with foil, then set aside to rest.
  Return the fry pan to medium heat and cook the chopped chorizo for 1-2 minutes until crispy.  Set aside.
  On a clean board, roll the chicken in the remaining 1 tbsp parsley, then slice.  Divide chicken among plates, sprinkle with the chorizo and drizzle with any pan juices.  Serve with the rocket and orange wedges.  Serves 4

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This is a lovely book, from what I can gather its the best recipes from Delicious magazine, not sure over what period of time.  Its a great selection of savoury and sweet, with an equal mix of simple and complicated dishes.  It also has, my favourite, one picture and one recipe per turn of the page.  The most awesome thing about this is that at the moment you can pick up the books from Aldi for only $12.99 each, I on the other hand paid full price for this (but I did manage to sneak in 2 other additions I didn't have).

What I would recommend with this dish, if you decide to cook it, is to complete the whole recipe and use all the ingredients.... unlike me!  I got a little bit distracted whilst cooking this and forgot to do the bottom half of it.  The chicken was spot on but while I was eating it (I served it with smashed potatoes and over steamed greens) I couldn't work out why there was no sauce.  Eventually I realised it was because I didn't finish the dish.  I think with every element completed this dish would be awesome and next time I wouldn't bother with the potatoes or the bok-choy I forget was in the steamer.  Book wise this is highly recommended, I had a discussion with an old lady in Aldi about a couple of the recipes I really like in it, not sure if she wanted that discussion but she brought the book and didn't give me any weird looks.  She probably hasn't read my bit about zombies?...

Thanks

Kate

xx