I made these yesterday because I was incredibly depressed in the morning, and I thought that baking would cheer me up. By the time I started baking in the afternoon, I mistakenly thought that these were no longer commiseration-cookies, but celebration-cookies. Of course, this morning I discovered that they were, indeed, commiseration-cookies. But that does not detract, in any way, from their deliciousness.

I have made this biscuits before, ages ago, and I recall them being nice, but unspectacular. I chose to reprise them simply because I had pistachios and white chocolate sitting around… In fact, initially I was thinking of making the Breakfast Biscotti again (because they’re lower in fat), and simply replacing the almonds and dark chocolate with pistachios and white chocolate. But my brother said to me, “Just make the biscuits! Don’t make things so complicated!” So off I went to make the fantastically sugary and buttery biscuits from the original recipe.

The cookie dough turns a fabulous shade of green, thanks to the addition of ground pistachios.


Wonderful nubbly green dough

They also spread out quite a bit on cooking, so there’s no need to squish them down too much. I think they’re better a bit thicker anyway. The recipe states that it will make “about 36” biscuits. Hah. I got 29. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with slightly larger biscuits. Largeness is a completely desirable quality in a biscuit.


Pre-cooked biscuits


Tray of biscuits cooling

They are absolutely delicious! Much better the second time around. (And I owe it all to my KitchenAid mixer and new oven… I think). I would describe their texture as akin to Mrs. Fields’ cookies – soft and chewy, with a slight crunch. And it would be easy to substitute other nuts and chocolates. White choc and macadamia! Pecan and dark chocolate! Peanut, milk chocolate and raisins! Oh the possibilities!

I feel quite guilty though, they’re so nice that my dad can’t stop eating them.
I remember the last time I felt depressed, my friend Nathan suggested that I bake and eat a whole chocolate cake. Tempting idea, but I restrained myself in the end. I have since discovered that biscuit baking is the ideal depression cure. The baking is fun, it smells great, and you can (theoretically) eat only one cookie, thus feeling comforted but not entirely guilt-ridden. As Nigella says, these cookies provide “elegance and comfort” in each bite. I had one delicious cookie and then scarpered sharpish to the gym.

This one’s an oldie but a goodie. It was one of the first dishes I made when I first bought Forever Summer (which was the first Nigella book I’d ever bought), and it was the first dish that was a complete and utter success with my family… it inspired such confidence in myself and in my ability to cook. I hadn’t made it for a while (you know, low carb diets and all), and having recently seen Nigella make it on TV, I thought it was time to give it another go.

The recipe serves six, generously. I thought we were going to have leftovers, but in the afternoon I decided to invite my friends Frances and Ed to join us for dinner.

The pilaf comprises bite-sized pieces of fried, marinated chicken meat, which are folded through basmati rice cooked in chicken stock (home-made too!) with pine nuts, almonds and cashews. Then you sprinkle chopped pistachios and parsley over for added taste and vibrant green. I also add sultanas to this dish, because I love the middle-eastern combination of sweet fruit in savoury dishes.


Saffron-Scented Chicken Pilaf – on my new Nigella Lawson Living Kitchen Serving Platter

It's a bit greener than you might expect - because I was very generous with the parsley and pistachios.


Half-demolished


The empty, speckled-egg of a platter (the speckles are parsley)

Yup. We finished it. Damn tasty.

And Frances brought over a poppyseed strudel for dessert. Yum. I would like to make Nigella's Honey Semifreddo for dessert the next time we have this, which will have to be when Uncle Cheok comes to stay... partly so he can try one of our favourite dishes, but mainly so we can share the calories.

I've been doing a bit of cooking with pistachios over the past couple of days. They're great. I bought 250 grams from Nut King in Box Hill, even though all I needed was a handful for sprinkling over a pilaf. I just would have felt kinda guilty for going up to the shop (which hardly has any customers anyway) and asking for $2 worth of nuts.

Pistachios are expensive, 250 grams costs $7.50... but they're so good!

My most-used chapter in Feast would have to be the Breakfast chapter. (See my previous post on the magnificent Andy's Fairfield Granola).

It all started with the Granola. It’s delicious. It’s nutritious (I hope). Well, I know it's full of fibre! (Don't ask for proof, just trust me). And my family loves it.


Andy's Fairfield Granola 1

In fact, I’ve been home from Malaysia less than a month, and I’ve already made it three times! (And the chocolate variation three times as well).


Andy's Fairfield Granola 2


Andy's Fairfield Granola 3 in Living Kitchen Storage Jar

I’ve also done the chocolate and peanut variation of the granola, which is just as, if not more, delicious. My dad prefers this one because he loves peanuts. In the recipe, Nigella says that she never puts raisins in the chocolate version, but I chose to ignore that suggestion. Chocolate, peanuts and raisins are a match made in heaven. (And anyone who’s ever had the chocolate fruit & nut cookies from Ben’s Cookies will know exactly what I’m talking about).


Choc Granola 1

Another recipe in the Breakfast chapter is the wonderful Muesli, which, whilst not as immediately addictive as the granolas, is now absolutely necessary in my kitchen to be a light alternative to the granolas, and as a delicious cereal in its own right.


Various Nigella cereals on Kitchen Bench.

In the above picture, the regular granola is on top, the chocolate granola is on the bottom, there is regular granola without raisins in the smaller container, and muesli behind the other cereals. You can’t really see it, but don’t worry, it doesn't look that exciting. By the way, the regular granola without raisins tastes incomplete. In fact, halfway through my breakfast of raisin-free granola, I had to go to the kitchen and add a handful of raisins myself to make it palatable.


Look at me go! I am so deliriously happy eating the Granola that I look like a cartoon crab from the Italian Ministry of Tourism…

And on to the Breakfast Biscotti. These are so easy to make, and fun too. I made them for the first time on Saturday, and have since made two more batches (it’s Wednesday today). I think they’re a good, lower-fat alternative to chocolate chip cookies. And dark chocolate is good for you anyway, as are almonds. I used 70% and 85% cocoa Lindt dark chocolate bars, which I chopped up myself, because I didn’t have dark chocolate chips.

You form the dough into a log (I do two logs because it’s easier to make them the right size that way), bake it, then slice it and let the slices dry out in the oven to become biscotti.


Baked, pre-sliced biscotti log

They can be hard to slice into shape without a very sharp knife, so I think it’s a good idea to reduce the amount of chocolate. And following Allan’s advice, I sprinkled the pre-baked biscuits with water and castor sugar for a delicious crunch. They’re highly addictive, very yummy, and perfect with coffee for a light breakfast or as a snack any time of the day.


Breakfast Biscotti 1

I love the way they looked when stacked up in a jar, just like a game of Jenga.


Breakfast Biscotti in a jar.

Quotes:

Jess T’s mum: upon eating biscotti Mmmm…. Mmm… MMMMM! Give Jess the recipe. Now!!
Daniel: upon eating biscotti Absolutely brilliant.

The cereals are so delicious that we’ve practically stopped buying cereal altogether. And bread-consumption has decreased dramatically in our household. (I still feel kinda guilty about the half-eaten loaf of sourdough bread from the local boulangerie that has since become rock-hard and inedible… but not guilty enough to choose toast over homemade cereal!)

The other recipes in the breakfast chapter that I want to try are the Banana Buttermilk Pancakes, the Cheesecakelets (like pikelets), Granola Muffins (with my homemade granola, of course), the Banana Breakfast Ring and the Breakfast Biscuits. Ooh and the Ricotta Hotcakes from Forever Summer.

With such delicious breakfasts, it's easy to see why breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Look what arrived in the mail on Friday!


3L storage jar, serving platter, citrus juicer

Peters of Kensington had a 50% off special on Nigella Lawson's Living Kitchen range, so I just had to go and order some!

All the products are "Dishwasher and Microwave Safe". Thank god, because I really, really want to microwave a citrus juicer. (Only joking). Besides, the platter is so enormous that it wouldn't fit in a microwave or a dishwasher, or even a sink. I think we're gonna have to hose it down instead...

The only other Living Kitchen product that I owned up to that point was a blue Salt Pig, which Dad bought from Myer at a slight discount. Myer, the sneaky buggers, always have the Living Kitchen range at full price, even during "sales". Hmmph.

Peters of Kensington was fantastic. The website was easy to use, and the products arrived in the mail quite promptly. I was so excited when the enormous package arrived, filled with styrofoam beans.

I've put Andy's Fairfield Granola in the storage jar (recipe from Feast) but now I need another one for the chocolate version of the granola! I was tossing up between a smaller blue one, or a white one in the same size. As cute as two blue ones would be (I've seen photos of them together in Allan's kitchen), I ended up going for the larger one due to the sheer volume of chocolate granola that we go through.

I think the sale's ending soon, so I ordered the storage jar and also some cookie cutters... can't wait...

This is the second thing I've made from Jamie's Dinners. And I'm happy to say, it was a success! I first made it on Saturday night for Mum & I, and it was so tasty that we decided to do it for the whole family tonight (Monday) plus my friend Adri.


Penne with Sweet Tomatoes, Aubergine and Mozzarella (First round)

Jamie says "It's one of those dishes that tastes like home - it's comfort food and it makes you feel good". So very true. You fry up some eggplant (aka aubergine) with onion and garlic, then simmer it tomato and basil. And it's finished off with some double cream and mozzarella, which you rip in at the last minute to make stringy strings of good cheesy goodness. (But actually, I think there was too much cheese the second time... making it a bit difficult to scoop).

Tonight when I made it, I made it with this funny freaky-ass eggplant.

I don't know what it is with the recipes in this book, but they make HUGE quantities! The amount I made tonight was supposed to serve 4 people, but the five of us (who have big appetites) just couldn't get through it. It was tasted beautiful, but we just could not eat another mouthful.

Next time I make this, I'll probably miss out on the cream and use half the amount of mozzarella (also to make it less fattening!)