Here's one I didn't make earlier

I've not been very well the last couple of days - sore throat, swolen glands and earache - bring out the violins!  But there was a Giraffe on the menu plan for tonight and Mr offered to make it so how could I refuse?  He's actually fairly proficient in the kitchen but does have a tendancy to use every dish, utensil and gadget!  Hawaiian Chilli Bowl - Page 95 - looked fairly straightforward and well within his capabilities.

I had already noticed that the quantity of beef seemed a bit strange in relation to everything else. I would normally use around ½ kg of beef to one can of tomatoes and kidney beans but this called for 1kg.  I'd only taken a 440g pack of mince out of the freezer so thats what was used with the herb/spice quantity cut back accordingly.  The book says that all recipies serve 4 and I think a kilo would be far too much unless you were all ravenous or served it without any rice or similar accompaniment.

Mr said that it was pretty straight forward to make - just bung it all in a pan and leave it for an hour.  The only variation form the recipie was regular tomato paste as opposed to sun dried and regular chilli powder instead of ancho (smoky) chilli powder.  The final instruction advised that you may need to add a little water.  I think he may have added a little too much as it was a touch runny.  There were certainly some appetising smells wafting up the stairs to my sick bed as it was cooking.

The salsa was more "rustic" than I would have done it but Girl helped Mr make it so I can't complain too much about its chunkyness.  Of course she didn't actually eat any of it...  They forgot to add the corriander and used walnuts instead of macadamia nuts (which I hadn't bought when I saw the price!)   It would definately be better chopped into to salsa sized pieces.  I didn't really eat much of it as it was too sore on my poorly tonsils.

The chilli itself was gorgeous.  Very flavoursome without being too hot.  Boy and Girl scoffed it up in record time and both had seconds.  I only managed a wee bit but what I had was lovely.  Not quite sure on the Hawaiian bit though.  Apart from a pineapple ring in the salsa there was little in the way of grass skirts, palm trees and garish shirts but it brought a little sunshine into my day of indisposition.

Marinate overnight if possible - doh!

I should really read recipies more carefully beforehand as this isn't the first (and will undoubtedly not be the last) time that I get caught out with this. Oh well the Grilled Chicken Tacos with Fresh Orange Salsa - Page 103 - had nearly 2 hours of marinating time.  I'm sure thats overnight in some time zone. 

The marinade called for chipotle chillies and Tesco didn't have them - apparently they have a more gentle smokey flavour.  Will keep an eye out for them for future but for now bog standard red chilli.  As for the salsa it called for an orange seperated into segments.  Now me and segmenting oranges clearly don't go and I now have a fetching Peppa Pig plaster on my middle finger - cut finger & citrus juice & chilli - OUCH!  Even Peppa & George aren't managing to kiss it better.  If only it were as simple as the tap and unwrap of Terry's.  There's none of that pith and membrane when Dawn French tucks in.

So here's the finished article. There was supposed to be gucamole in the bottom of the taco (but I didn't make any/forgot/couldn't be bothered) then iceberg, then chicken, then salsa.  Girl had taco and chicken (with the bits of chilli picked off).  Boy refused the salsa but ate the rest. Mr ate it all (he knows which side his bread is buttered on)

Not sure I'd bother making it again.  Chicken itself was nice - basically marinaded in OJ, honey, chilli, S&P then grilled.  But the salsa wasn't all that special although the oranges did cut nicely through the chilli - or perhaps that was the blood!  Gucamole might have helped - seemed a bit dry. I served it with Jamie Olivers Rice & Peas from the 30 minute meals book. Its quickly become one of my staple side dishes and the leftovers are fab cold - it I will be making again and again.

I should be a Cookery Book Editor

Look up the index and it says that you will find Griddled Turkey Breast Fillets with Sage, Lemon & Pine Nut Pesto on Page 91 but you won't - its actually on Page 89 - spooky!  But thats not the last spooky thing about this recipie.  No matter how many times I read it it just didn't make sense.  The Salsa and the Pesto intructions were all muddled up and you were supposed to leave something in the fridge overnight but it doesn't say what.  I have a feeling someone somewhere may be getting their wrists slapped!

So I emailed the peeps and Giraffe and they emailed me right back "Please don’t lose confidence.  I will make sure I get you the correct recipe and I will be taking these issues up with the publishers first thing tomorrow as this is obviously a huge miss print on their behalves. I will definately get back to you in the next few days, and please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that this mishap has caused you."

Next day they get back to me with the correct recipie and the offer of a Gift Voucher for the resturant - RESULT!

But here's the real result...

Not to sure about it tbh  Definately the least special of the dishes I've cooked so far.  The Pesto was way too strong and overpowered by the garlic.  Don't think I'll be cooking it again - but if you like the sound of it here are the proper instructions... meanwhile I have a £20 Giraffe voucher to spend!

Step 1 complete as specified in the book
Step 2  finely chop or crush the garlic using some salt and the flat blade of a knife, then combine lemon juice, olive oil, chopped parsley and coriander . mix the marinade well and then add the turkey fillets rolling in the marinade, cover with cling film  and leave for 20mins or overnight. 
Step 3 preheat the grill or a fry pan and cook each fillet for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through
Step 4 place the turkey fillets on the plate leaning against some  mash or rice and spoon over a good dollop of the fresh pine nut pesto, serve with a wedge or lemon ( flavour hint, add the lemon wedge cut side down and cook till golden, then serve with cooked turkey )