We have a winner!

Hello everyone!

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to judge this round of Cook the Books. For one thing, it has taken the pressure off my own entry and for another I got to really think about the wonderful entries that everyone else put in.

I’m really impressed by the dishes that everyone was inspired to make! Such variety. And nobody could accuse them of being stodgy, boring or bland, which seem to be the criticisms usually laid at British food’s door.

So – to the judging.

In 3rd place is Claudia from Honey From Rock with her take on Sticky Toffee Pudding. I find STP very cloying usually, but her variations on the fruit sounded just wonderful, and less sweet. Plus the booze she added to the sauce makes it reminiscent of Tipsy Tart, which is my favourite South African dessert. Her pudding looks delicious and her post was a great read – with a playful tone that fit the tone of the book perfectly.

In 2nd place is Heather, the girlichef, with her fish & chips. I have often said that my last meal before they take me out and shoot me will be fish and chips, and it would be hard to beat Heather’s lovely version in a light ale batter. And as Nigel Slater wrote in the book, the smell of malt vinegar on hot chips really is “the smell of Britain”. We have a very good chippy down the street from us, and on a Friday night the queue will be out the door with people waiting for their battered haddock, and streams of people clutching their white paper parcels (not newspaper anymore) walking the other way. Heather really captured the essence of a fish supper in her post. Lovely!

And the winner is the Chicken Tikka Masala from Joanne at Eats Well With Others. If Heather’s post was the typical old-fashioned British meal, Joanne’s is the epitome of modern British food. A bit of spice (but not too much), fresh herbs and tender chicken. This dish has the added advantage of sounding much nicer than any I have ever had in a curry house over here! Chicken Tikka Masala may not look British or sound British, but apparently 23 millions portions of the stuff are sold a year in restaurants, so this is absolutely the perfect representation of British food for Cook the Books!

Thanks again for letting me judge this one.

Alicia

Eating for England ROUNDUP

Hello everyone!

I am really sorry it took so long to write the roundup, but I don’t even find time to write my own blog these days… So I decided, instead of  wasting more time in order produce something very well put together, with real commentary under each submission, I would just present each of the contestants and make YOU work harder by reading each person’s entry. This way they will get some traffic too!

When I chose “Eating for England” as a read for CTB I was hoping that all the “mysterious” foods and dishes described in it would provoke our readers/cooks to research, but also discover British cooking. As you will see from the roundup all entries were extremely yummy and most of us discovered new favourite flavours. So enjoy the feast below and hopefully we will have a winner soon!

Glennis from Cantbelieveweate made a mango fool.

Beth from Seventh Level of Boredom made a soft boiled egg for the first time in her life as well as treacle tart.

Claudia from Honey from Rock made  sticky toffee pudding

Andreas from Delta Kitchen made lemon and basil pasta

Wendy from Celiacs in the House made a gluten free sticky ginger cake

Heather from Girlichef made fish and chips

Simona from Briciole made digestive biscuits and Chesire cheese

Joanna from Eats well with others made chicken Tikka Masala

Natahya from Living in the kitchen with Puppies made an Amaretto Syllabub

Rachel from The Crispy Cook made Pickled Onions for her Ploughman’s Lunch

Deb from Kahakai Kitchen made a Thirty minute fish supper

Finally me, Jo from Foodjunkie, made Perfect Scones

Next CTB book: “Eating for England” by Nigel Slater

Hello everyone!

Sorry it took so long, but having a 4month old in the house doesn’t give me much time.   Our bext CTB book is “Eating for England: The Delights & Eccentricities of the British at Table“ Nigel Slater’s personal portrait of the British and their food. With his witty, warm and nostalgic tone Slater addresses favourite British cuisine staples (high tea, scones, black pudding, Sunday roast etc.) and products (biscuits, chocolates etc) sometimes with love and others with apprehension. He is both entertaining and informative, often focusing on the sociological aspect of foods, painting a vivid portrait of nation whose relationship to food “is unlike any other“.  If you have never read any of Nigel Slater’s books or cooked his recipes you are in for a treat, the man is amazing!

To find out more about the author visit his personal page here.

The deadline for reading and posting your dish for this selection is Friday, May 21st.