Cottage Cooking Club Month of April, 4 Recipes

It's time again for the Cottage Cooking Club to come together. We are a group of international blogger's that collectively post our pictures and experiences as we cook along with two of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cookbooks. The books are, "River Cottage Every Day" and "Love Your Leftovers". Our group is meant to be a project aimed at incorporating more seasonal dishes in our everyday cooking. Andrea of The Kitchen Lioness is our dedicated founder and leader. The goal is to cook and share as many recipes from either cookbook of our choosing. Currently we are in month three and I prepared 4 recipes.

Chicken and Mushroom Casserole with Cider 

The first recipe I prepared was the Chicken and Mushroom Casserole with Cider from Hugh’s, "River Cottage Every Day" cookbook. This was a comforting dish with a rich flavorful broth like sauce. The cremini mushrooms I used brought a wonderful earthiness to the mix and were cooked separately with butter and then added to the chicken pot when they released their liquid. The chicken pieces were dredged through well-seasoned flour and browned on both sides in a well-oiled frying pan then de-glazed with cider. (I used an apple hard cider). Mustard and heavy cream were added at the end to create a delicious and flavorful broth. Winner, winner chicken dinner.

Focaccia

Also from the “River Cottage Every Day”, I prepared the Focaccia. After checking the yeast to find out it was a month out of date I bought a new packet. My first mistake was not dissolving the yeast into warm water, instead I mixed it straight into the flour. I noticed that my dough was not sticky as described in the instructions. As the bread was baking, the intoxicating flavors of the focaccia with rosemary wafted throughout the house. I began to think that anything that smelled this good had to turn out alright. When removing the bread from the oven I noticed it was a third of the height it should have been and very dense. Last month Andrea of the Kitchen Lioness baked the same recipe with beautiful results. Hers looked just like it was supposed to and was loved by her family of taste tasters. My verdict: with only 4 ingredients each one must be measured and taken care of precisely. I will make focaccia again and follow the instructions more closely.

Crustless Tart Muffins

Since we were getting ready to leave for Oregon and I had quite a few ingredients leftover from Easter, "Love Your Leftovers Cookbook", came in handy. The recipe for a crustless tart caught my attention in the Launchpad chapter under eggs. Bacon, cheddar and green onions were the base for my dish. Instead of using a tart pan I sprayed a muffin pan with baking oil and scooped out the egg mixture and baked it for 18 minutes on 325°. They were perfect by themselves with a slice on toast and a piece of fruit. The next day they were even better on a sandwich. Sometimes I forget how versatile eggs can be.

Red Oak Lettuce with Blood Orange Segments and Fennel

Now for the fourth and final recipe. This one is also from the "Love Your Leftovers Cookbook". Here I brightened up leftover red oak salad leaves with blood orange segments and bits and pieces of fennel and fronds. I made a quick balsamic, mustard and olive oil dressing and enjoyed every bite.

These recipes have been adapted from the "River Cottage Every Day" and "Love Your Leftovers” by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

To see what recipes the other members chose for this month, head over to the LYL post for April 2017 on the CCC website, by clicking here.