September 2011 COTM Companion Thread: Nigel Slater

[greedygirl]

Here we can discuss recipes in other books by Nigel Slater. They are:

The Marie Claire Cookbook
Real Fast Food
Real Fast Puddings
The 30-Minute Chef
Real Food
Real Cooking
Appetite

Happy Cooking!

[cityhopper]

I'm about 18 months too late but Real Fast Food is an excellent culinary book. I have never truly read a cookbook before like a book. I think the lack of pictures made me focus on the the detail of the section preludes and each individual recipe.

Calling single-dwellers, non-cooks, great cooks and anything else in between: add this book to your collection.

[The Dairy Queen]

Gio, Mel, greedygirl and others who have good from Real Fast Food and 30-Minute Chef, when I skim through these books the recipes all scream BUTTER to me. I seldom cook with butter any more, just heart-healthy oils.

When I skim through your posts in this thread, they don't seem as butter-tastic to me as the books themselves do. Are you just being selective and choosing the recipes that don't call for butter? Or are you reducing the amount of butter? Or is my perception of this book totally skewed?

I really want to try to lose some weight this summer and am trying to pick a cookbook or two to take with m3 on my upcoming beach vacation (our beachhouse rental has a fully stocked kitchen. I won't have access to a lot of fancy imported ingredients shopping-wise, just the basics.) I love the idea of Real Fast Food in particular because it's so compact, but should I pack a different book if my aim is to kick-off my summer weight loss program?

~TDQ

[Westminstress]

Hi TDQ, I haven't cooked too much from RFF, though I own it, but I did have to go on a no-dairy diet for about 9 months when I was nursing my son. I just subbed good quality olive oil for butter in most recipes and it worked out fine. (I would also feel free to use less fat than called for if you want to cut calories). If olive oil is really the wrong flavor profile (Asian/Indian cuisines come to mind), peanut oil should work, though for keeping it simple at the beach I would go with olive oil only. FWIW, though, I'm no longer convinced that butter is so unhealthy when used in reasonable amounts, and I've started using it more as I have become suspicious of supposedly healthful, yet highly processed, "neutral" oils like canola, grapeseed, etc., and have therefore stopped buying them. One thing I like about butter is that it is a real, natural product that doesn't come from a laboratory - and it tastes good too if you buy a good one, so a little can go a long way.

[The Dairy Queen]

Thanks for this. You're totally catching my "keep it simple for the beach" vibe!

I think I might pack Nigella's "Forever Summer" too. Was going to pack Fish Without a Doubt, but I don't think I'm going to have easy access to reliably good fish... I can get fantastic freshwater fish, but not without a drive, which I am not feeling up for...

~TDQ

[greedygirl]

If it's calories you're concerned about, all fats are about the same, gram for gram. I wouldn't shy away from butter per se, just use it judiciously. Melissa Clark (size 2) advises eating a single piece of bread from the bread basket WITH BUTTER, because it tastes good, and the fat helps you feel sated. That's what the French do, and they're much slimmer than either Americans or Brits, generally speaking.

[Gio]

I agree with both Westminstress and Greedygirl regarding the use of butter, TDQ. When I cook these days I use mostly olive oil and if the recipe calls for a small amount if butter I include that... sometimes half butter and half olive oil. I noticed upthread that I used the full 4 Tablespoons of butter for a certain recipe. I did that because I thought the butter flavor was needed.

In the fridge right now I have a bottle of grape seed oil but it will be my last. I stopped buying canola and corn oils for the reasons WM gives, and deep-fried foods just aren't in our culinary repertoire. Well, except the occasional fried whole belly clams I crave during the summer. Walnut oil, Sesame oil; Greek, Spanish, and Italian olive oils live in my pantry and add their distinct flavors to whichever cuisine I cook.

Bottom line: make sensible, healthy, informed choices.

[The Dairy Queen]

Thanks gals. I hate to say it, but the problem with butter is that we enjoy it and if we have it around we use it. My husband especially thinks nothing of putting a quarter stick of butter in something "because it tastes good." Of course, he's right, but not while I'm trying to get my diet back under control!

What's wrong with Canola oil? I always understand that the organic, expeller-pressed stuff is a healthful neutral choice... Has that research changed? (It is about 6 years old...)

~TDQ

[Gio]

Chili-Chicken [Pita], Pg. 217, Real Fast Food

Having two chicken breasts in the fridge and wanting something quick and not too fussy for dinner I immediately thought this wonderful little book would have just the thing. And it did: tender, juicy, highly seasoned chicken lumps, as Nigel Slater calls them, stuffed into a warm pita. I doubled the recipe. For him this is a snack but for us it was dinner served on steamed basmati rice with asparagus on the side.

The chicken is cut into small chunks then marinated for a few minutes in a combination of: scallions, garlic, peanut oil, lemon juice, salt, honey, paprika, chili powder, fresh chili. This is then cooked on a red hot grill pan till cooked through and brown. Serve with a sauce made with: yogurt, chopped mint, paprika, scallions. Add a few lettuce leaves if you do serve the chicken in a pita.

This was absolutely delicious and completely satisfying. I had used a fresh jalapeno that had quite a bit of heat, smoked paprika, and a hot chili powder so those flavors enhanced the chicken considerably. This definitely warrants a remake with thighs.

[Gio]

REAL FAST FOOD: Porc Au Poivre, Pg, 250

We absolutely Loved this dish...! Fresh boneless pork chops slightly more than the 1" thickness Mr. Slater calls for, cracked peppercorns: I used a combination of Tellycherry and Sichuan, shallots, cognac (Metaxa), red wine, a bit of stock, and some butter were the ingredients. Per the directions I started out cracking the peppercorns in the mortar with a pestle but after 10-ish minutes decided to whirr them in the dedicated spice grinder for a few seconds being careful not to grind too much or we'd have pepper powder which would burn in the skillet.

Spread the cracked pepper evenly in a pie plate. Press the chops in the pepper on all side Melt a bit of butter in a skillet till sizzling and add the chops. Cook chops about 9 minutes turning once Remove chops and keep warm. Melt a little butter in the same skillet, add minced shallots, cook about 2 minutes. Add cognac, cook till boiling then add the wine, cook this for another minute or so. Pour in the stock and cook "at an enthusiastic simmer" till liquid has reduced to 6 tablespoons. You could add yet more butter, cold, to the sauce in order to create that silky shiny richness chefs love to do but we omitted that step.

The finished dish was extremely well flavored with a fulsome bouquet of mingling aromas and flavors. The pepper, although coating the chops very well, didn't seem to overwhelm the senses but complimented the meat without too much pepper sting. I think one could use chicken thighs here as well.

The side dishes were a Greatly enhanced Orzo and Bean dish from The Olive and the Caper, and a salad of sliced oranges, finely sliced white onion, and brined black olives with a basic Greek vinaigrette.

[Gio]

REAL FAST FOOD: Smoked Salmon Pate, Pg. 102

Nigel uses equal amounts of smoked salmon trimmings and pieces with ricotta pulsed in the food processor, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper to create the pate. It is served on hot fingers of brown toast...

I changed up the method for a Robert Burns Night dinner last night when I served little sandwiches as canapes with drinks. I removed the crusts from an artisan loaf of dark bread; spread a thin layer of organic mayonnaise on one slice, slathered fresh ricotta on that, layered a slice of smoked wild coho salmon, then topped that with another mayoed slice of bread; sliced the sandwich in triangles and served.

You can't imagine what a delightful, creamy rich, mildly salty sensation there is as you bite into the tiny bits of confection. It's like biting into a cloud. I imagine cream cheese could be a substitute for ricotta but we absolutely Love the original combination...

The rest of the dinner was a spicy meatloaf pretending it was haggis and smashed roasted tatties and neeps.

[greedygirl]

Washed down with a fine single malt, I hope.

[LulusMom]

I was thinking the same thing. That, or a Belhaven.

[MelMM]

Thai Spiced Chicken Wings - Real Food, p. 95

Chicken wings are not a favorite chez MM. Mr. MM dislikes most versions, either due to greasiness or stickiness or general messiness. But last week I accidentally wound up with a spare package of chicken wings, so I searched in EYB for something to do with them, and this recipe caught my interest.

The wings are marinated in a mixture of fish sauce, lemon juice (I used lime), sugar, garlic, and peanut oil. I doubled the marinade, because it didn't seem like enough for the amount of wings I had. You then make a dipping sauce, which involves boiling vinegar and sugar, then adding dark soy sauce, chiles, coriander and lime juice. When the wings have marinated for at least an hour, you grill them, and serve with the dipping sauce.

These were a hit. Because the marinade was thin and light, and they were cooked outside on the grill, they weren't greasy, sticky or messy. So Mr. MM was happy. The dipping sauce served on the side added plenty of flavor, without being overly sweet. It was a nice tang with just a bit of heat. I liked the grilled chicken flavor with the Thai-flavored sauce much better than the common "Buffalo" style preparations. So who knows, maybe there will be wings in the house for the next Superbowl. I think this marinade and sauce would also work very well for chicken thigh or breast meat on skewers.

[Gio]

Lentils with Tomatoes, Pg. 207, Real Fast Food, USA Ed.

This was the perfect answer to not wanting to cook a prolonged and semi-involved recipe that had virtually the very same ingredients, give or take a dozen. Very tasty and potentially healthy too, if I hadn't rendered diced pancetta for an extra flavor boost before sautéing the onion. I doubled the recipe.

After rinsing brown lentils cook them in boiling salted water with a bay leaf and a bit of olive oil for 15 minutes then drain. In the meantime, chop an onion and fry it in olive oil for about 7 minutes then add a chopped red chili (I used a large jalapeño) and cook that a few minutes more. When the lentils have been drained add them to the pot with 16 oz. chopped plum tomatoes w their juice. Season with S & P. I added dried oregano & basil, a pinch of peperoncino and crumbled sage as well. Recipe says to simmer this for 10 minutes and served hot. Since I had doubled the recipe I cooked the sauce a little less than 30 minutes.

This was Delicious. Very good for a chilly night. A hunk of artisnal crusty bread would have been a terrific accompaniment however, I served a Tuscan eggplant dish from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian and reheated brown rice. I Love This Book and won't be happy till I've cooked every recipe...

[Gio]

Salad Accompaniments and Dressings, Pg. 179, Real Fast Food

This is Dressing #3

Now, this dressing is better for the bolder leaves used in a salad such as radicchio, arugula, various chicories, etc. My notes say that I used escarole, arugula, tomatoes, new season onion, parsley.

Mix together red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk in either hazelnut or walnut oils (walnut for me) and peanut oil.

Simple isn't it? Each of these dressings were just perfect for all the salads I've made so far this month.

ETA: I'm trying to catch up on some of the RFF meals I made but haven't reported on yet. I must say, This is one book I'm going to use whan I really don't feel like cooking...which seems to be happening more and more lately.

[oakjoan]

I reported on this recipe from RFF at least once before. Now I'm too lazy to get up and look for the book for the page number. It's Chili chicken pita - a find lunch or light dinner meal. I've made it countless times when I don't feel like really cooking much.

[Gio]

Salad Accompaniments and Dressings, Pg. 179, Real Fast Food

This is Dressing #2

If a salad is meant to accompany an entre of fish fillets or vegetable fritters this is the dressing NS suggests...

Mix white wine or tarragon vinegar, minced shallot and salt in a small bowl. Whisk in olive oil and your choice of either creme fraiche, sour cream or fromage blanc. (I used Greek yogurt). Now mix in chopped fresh herbs: parsley and tarragon or chervil. (I used the first two). This dressing was used on salad that was a side dish for roasted halibut.

[Gio]

Salad Accompaniments and Dressings, Pg. 178, Real Fast Food
This is Dressing #1

Like many home cooks I make many salads, either as a whole meal or as an addition to the meal. NS has 3 salad dressings on pages 178 - 179 and we've made each one with very satisfactory results. Any combination of vegetables and/or grains or meats can be used with these dressings, although he does suggest the best uses for each dressing.

The first one is quite simple: a crushed 1/2 clove of garlic ground to a paste, placed into a bowl. Add a pinch of salt, then whisk in some lemon juice (I used tarragon vinegar), and fruity olive oil. That's it. This is best with a salad of all leaves.

[Gio]

Fragrant Brown Basmati Rice, Pg. 263, Real Fast Food

Loved this...! Even though his method of cooking brown rice deviates from our usual way. His way: Put rice into a pan and cover with water by one inch. Boil hard over high heat for 5 minutes. Drain water from rice and proceed with recipe. Our way: Rinse brown rice in a strainer under hot running water for a couple of minutes. Proceed with recipe... He says his way reduces the cooking time. Our way took the same amount of time: fifteen minutes. We used 1 cup basmati and 2 cups water.

In a saucepan heat peanut oil then fry the spices: ground turmeric, whole cloves, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 8 green cardamon pods, bay leaves. Cook these till fragrant. Add the drained basmati and water, cover, simmer for about 15 minutes till all water is absorbed. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, add lemon juice and a couple of knobs of butter.

All those spices gave the rice a wonderful flavorful quality. It complimented the sweet and sticky spare ribs from Kitchen Diaries beautiful and the baby bok choy we stir-fried was a great accompaniment too.

[The Dairy Queen]

Gio, thank you for keeping this thread going. I will definitely be referring to it in the future, perhaps even contributing to it.

~TDQ

[Gio]

You're welcome TDQ. I find that the recipes in this book are definitely quick and easy for busy week-day meals. If one pays attention to nutritional values and takes care about excess fats a really satisfying and delicious meal can be on the table in very short time. I like the variety of food stuffs he uses, and the encouragement he gives to use whatever is at hand. He manages to include just about everything one would find in any market. I hope you'll find the time to cook from this book before long.

[MoGa]

No "Kitchen Diaries"? (That's the Salmon & Dill Fishcakes, pg 160, out. Oh how I love these!) - oops, sorry, missed that it had it's own thread

In "Real Cooking", White bean fritters with anchovy mayonnaise" is a real staple at our house - however, the mayo is considered optional and we use panko for breadcrumbs. My two year old daughter adores them also.

[Gio]

Hi MoGa... I found an on-line recipe for the White Bean Fritters...Thanks for mentioning it.
http://www.lumpymash.com/white-bean-f...

[MoGa]

the recipe has definitely been adapted - so tweaked a little
The original calls for 4 large or 8 smaller anchovy fillets, stipulates 2 cloves of sweet, juicy young garlic, peeled and chopped, and the juice of half a lemon in the mayo
For the sausages a further 2 cloves of chopped garlic are called for as are two seeded and chopped red chillies.

I sometimes substitute the cheese for drained canned tuna.

Hope you enjoy them!

[Gio]

Many thanks for your clarification. It's much appreciated.

[Gio]

I Call This: Cabbage and Apples with Yogurt, Pg. 151, Real Fast Food, USA Ed.

This recipe comes under the heading of Recycled Greens which starts on page 150. It's in the first paragraph of 151. Simple recipe. Delightful outcome...

Finely shred 1/2 a green cabbage, chop an unpeeled apple (I used 2). Melt butter in a saucepan, throw in cabbage, apples and S & P (I included 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes), cover, cook over medium heat - Nigel says for about 12 minutes - we cooked it for almost 20 minutes. When cabbage is tender but still a little crisp stir in 1/2 cup "thick plain yogurt", then grind a bit of nutmeg over. Nigel suggests serving this with sausages but I served it with the Chicken with Leeks and Lemon from Tender and corn on the cob.

[Caitlin McGrath]

I guess he would call it that! It sounce very nice, and different from what I usually do because of the yogurt. I'll try it sometime.

[MelMM]

A Sausage and Mash Supper - p. 376, Appetite (UK ed)

I've made this several times over the past couple years, and it has become my go-to formula for bangers and mash. You melt butter in a roasting din or other ovenproof pan over moderate heat, then gently brown the sausages. Remove the sausages, then brown wedges on onion in the same pan in the butter and sausage fat. You cook the onions slowly until very soft and golden. You then season the onions with some combination of juniper berries, thyme, bay leaves, and/or fennel seeds. I've used several different combinations here - it's all good. Now you turn up the heat, so the onions start browning quickly, and sprinkle some flour on top. Stir this in, and pour Marsala wine on top, along with some stock. Let this come to a boil. As the gravy starts to thicken, season with salt and black pepper, and stir in some Dijon mustard (this last is what, IMHO, makes this gravy perfect for sausage). You put the sausages back into the gravy, and put the whole mess back into the oven until the sausages are cooked, about 40 min.

This is served with some very plain potatoes, boiled in salted water and then mashed with just a small amount of butter. That is just what you want, as the gravy is very rich (it has all the sausage fat still in it), and very flavorful. If you are the type that likes to put cream, a lot of butter, or other enhancements in mashed potatoes, you will need to restrain yourself here. What you want is something starchy and bland to balance the richness of the sausage and gravy, and that is exactly what Slater gives you.

[Gio]

Ohhhh... that sounds right up our alley. I think there's something similar in one of the other Slater books I have. I'll have to see, but your report is quite detailed. Thanks for that...!

[Gio]

Tuna with Cannellini, Beans Tomato, and Chili, Pg. 112, USA Ed.

This dish may very well be in the realm of comfort food, but not Real Fast Food. Fast is more like it. The result, however, was well worth the extra few minutes it took to bring everything together. I made 3 substitutions: chickpeas for cannellini, dried oregano and basil for fresh oregano and parsley, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes for 1 medium hot fresh chili . I used 4 garlic cloves instead of 2, 16 oz. chopped Pomi tomatoes, two 5oz tins drained Italian tuna in olive oil, 1 lb dry linguine.

Before anything put the water on for the macaroni. Heat olive oil in a saucepan, add 1 sliced medium onion and cook about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and chili, cook about 5 more minutes till onion is "transparent". Add the tomatoes, drained and rinsed beans, drained.tuna, herbs. The direction says to cook this "till beans are heated through." We let it cook till the linguine was al dente, drained the pasta, added to sauce and heated it all together for a couple of minutes.

It really was a perfect sauce with just the right amount of heat and zest from the herbs and dry chilies. And, the linguine had just the right amount of sauce. I like much less sauce than G but he was surprised at how tasty and full of flavor the finished dish was.

[MelMM]

Gio, are all your posts on this thread from Real Fast Food?

[Gio]

Yes, Mel... that's the only alternative book I'm using. As I read back I see I wasn't consistent in my titles...

The other books I have are Tender and Kitchen Diaries and reports of those recipes are in their respective threads.

[Gio]

Pan-Fried Salmon with Capers and Vinegar, Pg. 77, USA Ed.

We used wild caught Alaskan Sockeye to make this very tasty dish, and I dare say fish makes the fastest meal of all. G brought it home and we cooked it almost immediately. All it takes is to sauté two 5 oz. fillets (for 2 people) in 3 tablespoons butter 3 minutes on first side then flip and cook another 2 - 3 minutes on the other. We don't like salmon cooked through. I used 2 T butter and 1 T olive oil. Remove fish from pan and keep warm.

Make the sauce, which is more like a condiment than a sauce: In the same pan melt 3 T butter (again I reduced the butter and added olive oil), add 2 T rinsed capers, pour in 1 T wine vinegar (white) and let that "bubble away" while scraping up the fond and juices. Pour over the fish and serve.

Our fish had the skin still attached so we sautéed it skin side down first to get a nice crisp crust. That gave us some highly seasoned salmon crackling for the sauce. It was delicious and the tart tangy sauce was a perfect compliment for the fresh briny flavor of the salmon. I served a quick wokked bok choy with left-over onions and potatoes as a side dish.

[Gio]

Walnut Oil and New Potato Sauté, Pg. 174, Real Fast Food, USA Ed.

This is a quick fry-up of crushed garlic and small whole new potatoes in walnut oil, seasoned with S & P and chopped parsley when they're browned on all sides and very tender. I, on the other hand, chose to switch methods but did keep all the ingredients the same. Nigel serves these on a bed of mesclun.

Here's what I did: Using a medley of different varieties of new potatoes, some purple, some fingerlings, etc., I cut them into equal sizes after washing. The potatoes were set into a steamer basket over water into which I had placed 6 large new garlic cloves, unpeeled but with the stem end sliced off. When done they were tipped into a wide serving bowl, the cooked garlic squeezed over, seasoned with S & P, then tossed with walnut oil.

To serve, on a plate I put a serving of a mixed salad of shredded new savoy cabbage (soft inner leaves), arugula, chopped parsley, and minced celeriac leaves dressed with S & P, walnut oil, and white wine vinegar. The potatoes were placed on top of the salad and Lemony Chicken Wings from Kitchen Diaries were placed along side. Very, very nice.

[greedygirl]

I pulled the 30-Minute Cook off the shelf for the first time in ages the other night and discovered plenty of spattered pages!

There are a couple of things I've made time and time again. They are:

Chicken with garlic, cider and cream. p153
This is a lovely dish of chicken breast, pan-fried in butter and oil with blanched garlic. You then remove the chicken, add cider, and mush the garlic into the liquid. Once it has almost evaporated, add cream and S&P, and return the chicken to the pan to warm through gently. A quick, easy and luscious dinner.

Sausage and bean hotpot, p196
A hearty one-pot dish that's great on a cold night with a glass or three of red wine. Fry good sausages in a little oil until browned but not cooked through. In a casserole combine 2 x 400g cans flageolet beans with a tin of butter beans, some passata, harissa or chopped chillies, grainy mustard, English mustard and halved tomatoes. Add the sausages and bake at 450F for 20 to 30 minutes until everything is bubbling and lightly browned on top. Scatter over some parsley. We love this and it's good for mid-week when you haven't got much time or energy. You don't need anything else apart from maybe some lightly cooked broccoli, or perhaps a hunk of crusty bread.

[sarahcooks]

I second Chicken with Garlic, Cider and Cream. I've made it many times (a rare thing for me) and it is luscious. If we don't have hard cider on hand I have used white wine (maybe even apple juice) and it works fine. I love the technique for the garlic.

[Gio]

I found this on-line recipe. How does it differ from the original? TIA
http://food4two.wordpress.com/2010/03...

[greedygirl]

The recipe uses a whole breast, rather than one which is cut into strips. Skin on and with small bone attached if possible.

[Gio]

Thanks very much GG. "Serves 2 people who are not on a diet." LOL When is anyone not on a diet... ?

[greedygirl]

Me! I've more or less reached goal. It's liberating, I can tell you.

I'm sure you know this, but fry the chicken skin side down to start, until it has coloured, then flip over and brown the other side. Switch the heat down very low, add the blanched garlic and bay leaf, and cover. Cook gently until the chicken is cooked through, and the garlic very soft. Remove the chicken, and proceed with the recipe as above.

[Gio]

That's wonderful, thanks muchly. Sometimes I think I;ve been on a diet my whole life...

[Breadcrumbs]

Sausage and Bean Hotpot – 30-Minute Cook - p. 196

Harters posted about this dish on the WFD thread and it wasn’t until it was time to post that I remembered we had an adjunct thread and found gg’s review here!

We loved this quick and easy weeknight dish. This is an ideal meal to make w pantry ingredients provided you have some sausage in your fridge or freezer. A tomato-based sauce w a good amt of grainy mustard and a little English mustard stirred through for good measure makes for a delicious and very flavourful casserole with lots of beans and of course sausages dotted about. Despite the wonderful flavours of the sauce, I do believe it’s the flavour of the sausages that make (or could possibly break) the quality of this dish. I was lucky enough to have some plump English bangers from a Toronto butcher that worked perfectly. We absolutely loved this dish. It will most definitely be added to the rotation. The possibilities are endless!

[greedygirl]

This is a favourite in our house too. Must have made it a dozen times over the years.

[Gio]

Tuna Sandwich, Pg. 112, USA Ed.

Don't laugh. This real fast food, remember. He bases this recipe on "the classic Pan Bagna" or bread stuffed with Salade Nicoise then weighted down... much like a muffaletta without the tapanade.

Take a round loaf of bread or a baguette and slice in half horizontally. Sprinkle both cut sides with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, minced garlic. Place a layer each of sliced tomatoes, onions, bell pepper (red, jarred, sliced in strips), anchovies (in oil, drained), pitted black olives, tinned tuna (Italian tuna in olive oil, drained). Wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and press down with your hands to disburse the dressing throughout the bread. Slice and enjoy. I let the sandwich sit a few minutes weighted down with my grandmother's old flat iron (weighs a ton). NS calls this a snack. I called it dinner.

[Gio]

Tomato Salad, Pg. 185 , USA Ed.

Simple. Very simple but oh so lovely especially now when we're getting such wonderful tomatoes from home gardens, farm stands and farmers' markets. NS says he likes this with under ripe tomatoes but it really doesn't matter, IMO.

Slice tomatoes to the thickness you prefer. (Place them in one layer on a serving platter), sprinkle over salt (Maldon), pepper, and sugar, chopped fresh parsley and basil, then drizzle (really good) olive oil. Let this stand for at least 15 minutes (if you can wait that long) then Eat. Any leftovers are terrific in a sandwich with a couple of slices of Genoa salami, J/S.

[Gio]

A Spicy Sauce In Which To Toss Noodles, Pg. 123, USA Ed.

We used vermicelli for this recipe and angel hair the next time and both worked out very well but of course Chinese noodles would be best. Great for a no-time-to-cook meal.

Put all these ingredients into a food processor and whizz up:
1/2 cup tahini, 5 T light soy sauce, 2 T dry sherry, 1 T wine vinegar (rice), 1/2 t sesame oil (dark), 4 minced cloves garlic (I included 1/2 t red pepper flakes), 4 T water. Pour into a pan, slowly bring to boil, then pour into a large serving bowl. In the meantime cook the noodles. When noodles are cooked add to bowl and toss everything together. This is terrific with any salad but I like greens and bean sprouts with an Asian dressing.

[Gio]

Chicken with Spices and Cream, 219, USA Ed.

We've made this twice so far and will probably repeat many times over because it's a quick and easy chicken dinner. All you need other than this is steamed (Basmati) rice and a simple salad.

Melt butter in a large pan, add some olive oil then add chicken pieces ( thigh and drumsticks) that have been seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook chicken till the skin has turned golden. Add chopped onions and garlic and continue cooking about 8 minutes. Next add 2 tablespoons fresh curry powder (Madras) and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Cook this for 4 minutes then add chopped tomatoes, and chicken stock. Simmer till chicken is cooked through...about 15 minutes. Now stir in 1/4 cup of cream (1/2 & 1/2) and taste for seasoning. Spritz some lemon juice into the sauce, as much as to your liking, and cook for 1 more minute.

[LulusMom]

I don't have Kitchen Diaries (and neither does my library - sadmaking), but I had pretty good luck looking at the recipe list on EYB and then searching for those I was interested in on the web. I'm sure the same would be true with his other books too. I found 4 out of 6, which made me pleasantly surprised.

The only book I had before this month was Appetite. I had remembered it as a very pretty book that I found completely uninteresting. I decided last night to give it another look. I'm sorry to say that my opinion was unchanged. I found one vegetable dish that I might make, but other than that, the post it with just 3 lonely looking "try this" recipes sat on the front page.

[bakeanything]

Hey I know everyone is probably cooking their way through his books or links online but Toast, his first book has a movie. Here is the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7ZJRC...

[The Dairy Queen]

Thanks, GG, for putting this up. I hope I can cook this month. I have RFF (for which I do not have high expectations, so I'm encouraged and delighted by Gio's favorable reports thus far) and 30 Minute Cook.

Also, presumably everyone is aware of Slater's column in the Observer and, I assume, those recipes, are fair game for the companion thread if they aren't Tender or KD recipes... http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyl...

~TDQ

[Gio]

TDQ... You're going to love the Real Fast book. Everything we've made so far has been great. I been cooking from it for about 2 years now, every so often, and have more reports to post.

You can get the feed of Slater's Guardian recipes here too...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/nig...

[Gio]

Stir-Fried Cabbage, Pg. 149, Real Fast Food

Nigel says this is a principal dish for 2 people but for us it was a side dish. G used a wok to cook the cabbage although a large frying pan would do. Also, I used 4 cloves of garlic instead of 2 and at the end added freshly ground black pepper.

From a small green cabbage sliced in half take away the tough leaves and the inner stem core. Roll the leaves into a cigar shape and shred into thin slices. Add peanut oil and chopped garlic to a very hot wok.
Stir-fry vigorously for 30 seconds. Add salt and the shredded cabbage and shimmy in the oil till the cabbage has wilted but still crisp. We cooked it till just beyond this stage. That's it. The bright flavor of the very fresh cabbage was delightful.

[Gio]

Potatoes with Onions and Olive Oil, Pg 175, Real Fast Food

For this recipe I used fresh potatoes new potatoes about about the size of an apple. We steamed them in their skins instead of boiling and left the skins on. When cooked to your satisfaction drain and slice into small chunks.

In a shallow pan heat some EVOO and fry chopped large cloves of garlic and a chopped onion till onion is translucent. Add chopped parsley and S & P. Add the potatoes and carefully toss over low heat to combine. When oil starts to bubble turn off heat and serve. This is the essence of RFF... after the potatoes cooked I think the rest of the recipe took about 15 minutes...maybe. Great side dish...!

[Gio]

Baked Cod with Butter Sauce, Pg. 69, Real Fast Food

Butter, wine, thick fresh fish fillets (2 for 2 people)...what's not to like?

Butter is smeared on the inside of a baking dish, the fillets are placed in the dish, a wine glass (4 oz.) of white wine is poured over, dot a little more butter on the fish, roast about 10 minutes or more till opaque. Baste a few times during the cooking. Turn off the oven and remove the fish from the baking dish.

Pour off the liquid in the baking dish into a small sauce pan. Return the fish to oven to keep warm. Reduce liquid to 1/2 cup and whisk in a bit more butter along with chopped parsley. .Continue whisking till sauce has thickened. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Plate fish, pour sauce over each and serve.
Seriously delicious...

[Gio]

Thanks so much, Greedygirl. Real Fast Food will be my alternate this month. Lots of yummy food.