BBC Good Food is the, absolute, best place to start; with lots of recipes which work as the ratings and comments testify. And start I did; with chicken biryani (a very quick but tasty version not that the purists would agree).
I was a bit apprehensive as there were lots of helpful comments from people that had tried the recipe and I wasn't sure whether I should adapt the recipe as per their suggestions or stick to it exactly.
I decided to stick exactly to the recipe and hope for the best. It worked brilliantly. I was so pleased with it. It tasted really good and even the LOVE OF MY LIFE seemed impressed. I felt on top of the world.
The next day on a whim I decided to bake a sponge cake. It stated that it would only take 30 minutes. That sounded very doable.
I was slightly distracted when it came to adding the eggs; which are supposed to be beaten into the mixture slowly one at a time rather than being chucked in all together and stirred. Disaster!! What could I do to rescue it? I didn't have a mixer and the only thing I could think of was to put it in the blender. That kind of worked apart from the mixture being too thick and it causing the motor to strain. So out it came again. I had contemplated throwing it away but figured I may as well carry on and what will be will be. I mixed in the flour and it seemed okay so I filled up the tins and popped them in the oven. They still looked okay when I took them out 20 minutes later. I left them to cool, whipped the cream, spread the jam and put them together. Voilà! So pleased with myself :-)) It was completely gone within least that 24 hours. (I bet I put on more than 2lbs this week!)
Thursday night and I was cooking again. This time chicken stuffed with herby mascarpone. I am not so confident with dishes that involve a number of items that need to come together at the same time. I also worry about making sure the meat is cooked properly and so tend to leave it longer in the oven than I should. It showed though, unfortunately, whilst it was nice it was little bit dry. Next time I shall have to try not to leave it in so long. To make the potatoes more interesting than just boiled spuds I did Parmesan roasted potatoes. Whilst they were okay I don't think the coating added that much too them. Maybe the chicken overpowered the taste. Anyway, this was my week in recipes on my journey to Me Discovering Me.
