Feed Me Now

This posts book Feed Me Now by Bill Granger (Quadrille Publishing) came out last year in 2009. I am conscious of neglecting my Bill books a bit, I guess it happens when you have, ahem – well too many cookbooks, don’t tell anyone I said that now will you? Recently though, I got my new Bill off the shelf and we have enjoyed a number of great family meals from it since.

The chapters are Rise and Shine, Midday Fuel, Afternoon Treat, Family Fare, The Dinner Dash, On a Shoestring, Freeze Me, Friends Over and Sweet Dreams. The layout is clean and bold, but softened too by very good use of colour in the text. This book is a bit bigger in page size than most, loads of fresh, light and gorgeous looking pictures and all the recipes I’ve tried have worked really well.

The book is as the title would suggest for feeding yourself and your family right now, when you haven’t long to linger over the prep and cooking, the results are fresh and delicious though, and good for busy days cooking.

Some more recipes I have on my list from this book are Italian Onion Soup, Melt and Mix Lemon Slice, Grilled Beef with Sweet Chilli Relish, Fettuccine with Asparagus Pesto, Pork Steaks with Cashew Nut Salsa and Gooey Chocolate Cake with Raspberries.

Porcini and Pancetta Risotto
I did use Bill’s recipe here, but varied it a little by using 2 leeks instead of onions, Marsala instead of white wine and stirring through one tablespoon of mascarpone at the end. I only did this really to use up bit and pieces I already had, but I’m sure Bill would not mind, he seems a very easy going cook on TV. It was delicious.

Baked Chicken with Lemon, Potato and Green Olives
Quick, tasty and kind of comforting too, what more could you want for a quick midweek meal?

Spicy Prawn Stir Fry
This is at its most basic a Thai red curry, it’s quick because it uses a bought paste, but it’s a lot lighter than many of its kind as there are lots of vegetables and not too much coconut milk. I love this one a lot.

Chicken and Shitake Stir Fry
Great family friendly Asian stir fry, but then I really adore kecap manis. I thickened up the juices at the end, by adding one teaspoon of cornflour (mixed with some water to make a smooth paste) at the end. Have made this one a number of times.

Grilled Pork with Warm Cranberry Dressing and Pistachios
This was just gorgeous, my family are big fans of meat and fruit together, and this was right up our street. Very nice supper indeed.

Blueberry Tea Cake
I tend to think of Bill for savoury recipes more than sweet, I’m not sure why this is. After trying this cake though I’, going to try more of his sweet ones, it’s really knockout. The blueberries are juicy, the sponge moist, the icing a perfect crowing glory.
For the recipe for this wonderful cake click here.