Well this is another fine mess I’ve got myself into.
My goals this year included entering loads of competitions and creating a successful blog. So imagine my delight when I saw a blogging competition with great prizes including cash.
However, it’s a cooking competition! Could someone please send a tank of oxygen to Shambles Manor my husband is laughing so hard I think he’s going to pass out.
Cooking is possibly not one of the life skills I list on my résumé. But in my year of living dangerously I figured give it a crack.
So I signed up and the people at Gourmet Garden sent me a collection of their herbs and spices for the Cook Off/Blog Off.
Given that I’ve been known to destroy even the most basic of recipes the idea of cooking without one was challenging. But I decided to do a Chicken Pesto Pie, later I realised pesto should have pinenuts and other stuff in it so now it’s Chicken Pie.
I had two attempts at my pie. First try was a little runny. Mr Shambles patiently suggested perhaps a binding agent like, you know eggs, might be good. He also added Heston Blumenthal spends months perfecting recipes, and he CAN cook. Well, I’m on a deadline that doesn’t involve the time to learn to cook, so second night I added eggs and it worked very nicely.
Here’s my magnificent, created from scratch, recipe.
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Gourmet Garden Basil Paste
1 or 2 Tablespoons Philadelphia Cream for Cooking
1 or 2 chicken breasts diced
1 leek chopped
1/2 punnet chopped mushrooms
1 sheet puff pastry
60 or 70 grams goats cheese
3 or 4 eggs
little oil
Method
- Heat oil and sauté leek, mushrooms, chicken breasts.
- Whisk eggs, add Gourmet Garden Basil Paste, and cream.
- Add to cooked mixture.
- Line pie dish with sheet of puff pastry.
- Place cooked ingredients on pastry.
- Crumble goats cheese on top.
- Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.
And viola behold the gourmet masterpiece.
The family enjoyed it (but please bear in mind they are just grateful for a dish that hasn’t been on fire before it’s served).
Hey, it looks great! It’s really a chicken and egg pie isn’t it? Or ‘mother and child reunion’ as Simon & Garfunkel would have called it. Apologies to the vegetarian readers.
Love that. Yes Chicken and Egg pie, I’ll go with that.
Looks and sounds yummy.Im often afraid to try new things as have failed in the past,so the family tell me.Good on you for giving it a go.xx
I like to believe the disasters are improving the bacterial content of their gut in preparation for when they travel overseas and eat from street carts. But yes this one actually turned out quite well.
You don’t give yourself enough credit Janine, as I have always eaten like a queen at your house. Looks delicious!
Yum! I can’t create recipes like that, what a talent! I’m gonna try this. There is a -divine- chicken recipe over on my blog if you want to have a look, I love it cos it makes me look as if I know what I’m doing in a kitchen :p thanks for this one! 🙂
Now I’m nervous thinking someone is actually going to cook it!
every disaster and flop in the in the kitchen is a new recipe about to be created
That’s a good way of looking at it.
Hmm that gives me ideas … botch a few meals, before serving to create an atmosphere of appreciation for your regular meals. LOL, Janine … I love your sense of humor. 🙂