Final Catch Up (Fingers Crossed)

So I have a couple more dishes to catch up on which I cooked sometime in the last month. I went home to my parents, which has a much bigger kitchen than the one I have and did some baking. I made some delicious Lemon Muffins that I saw made by Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef and just had to try. If you love baking her blog is a really good on to get subscribed too. I am always getting tempted by the lovely thinks she bakes. Mine turned out quite well, even if I did over fill the cases, and they were such a hit with my sister that she missed her stop on the tube and got very jealous looks from those sitting around her!

I'm hoping to do some more baking this weekend, when I again go back to my parents for my bimonthly dehairing session, read haircut and leg wax, which is oh so much cheaper back at home than in London. This time I think it will be Cheesecake Brownies.

This lunchtime I'm going out for Sushi with my friend Liz, she has never tried sushi before and I am kinds intrigued by the conveyor belt, plus Yo! Sushi in St Pancras is doing a free hand roll when you spend over £5, which I think we will do easily! We will also have earned it as I'm off to the gym for my 3rd Steps Assessment thing. I don't actually seem to have lost any weight but I am definitely finding it easier to use the equipment and I'm using up all my surplus energy. So I think the Sushi is definitely deserved.

My parents have also just returned from a 3 week trip to India, where they thankfully missed the chaos in Mumbai but did meet a girl at the airport who had spent 12 hours lying on the floor in a cafe next to the Taj Palace. As I was with them the weekend before they left I got the contents of the fridge to bring back to London with me. So luckily for me this meant some Parma ham, which is a luxury I love but unfortunately very rarely have as its so expensive. I then had to decide on a recipe which would use up the Parma ham and struck upon Pesto Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Prosciutto With Pesto Cream Sauce by Dragon of Dragon's Kitchen. This was delicious, and I changed the cream for some creme fraiche as that's what I had in my fridge. I served it with a green salad and Spinach Tortelloni with Leeks & Gorgonzola from Delia's How to Cheat. It was such a good combination.

Spinach Tortelloni with Leeks & Gorgonzola (from How to Cheat at Cooking by Delia Smith)

300g fresh spinach and ricotta tortelloni
2 leeks, cut in half lengthways and chopped small
200g Gorgonzola, cut into cubes
200ml of creme fraiche
whole nutmeg for grating
1 heaped tbsp of breadcrumbs
1 heaped tbsp Parmesan grated

Heat the creme fraiche, in a wide pan, then add the leeks along with some seasoning. Keep the heat low and let them cook gently for about about 7-8 mins without a lid until tender.

Meanwhile, pre-heat the grill and fill a saucepan with boiling water and bring it up to the boil. Give the leeks a stir and grate in about 1/4 of a while nutmeg and remove from the heat.

When the water bubbles, add the tortelloni and cook it for 2 mins. After that, drain it quickly in a colander and with some of the water still sticking to it, tip it into the saucepan to join the leeks. Give it all a good stir, then spoon it into a gratin dish, stirring in half the Gorgonzola and scattering the rest on top.

Finally mix the breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan together, then sprinkle this all over, put it under the grill for 3-5 mins, or until the sauce is bubbling and the crumbs are brown and crisp. Serve in warm bowls.