In the Bag: Cooking the Month of February!

It’s time to share this month’s ‘In the Bag’ selection with you. We have a colourful line-up for you this month which I’m sure you’re going to have lots of fun with. The 3 ingredients are:

Forced rhubarb
An orange
Sugar

All you need to do to enter is to create a dish using these ingredients, then post about it on your blog or website and drop me an email.

Entry Details
Send an email with ‘In the Bag in the subject line to asliceofcherrypie AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk by Friday 29th February with the following information:

• your name
• the name of your blog or website
• a link to your post
• the name of your dish
• a picture of your dish

Rules
Here are the loose rules - but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:

1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients 'in the bag' for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, with it acting as a central ingredient.

2. Participants can include any "extra" ingredients that they see fit.

3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged "In the Bag".

4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month's host before the closing date.

5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.

'In The Bag' is a food event run monthly by 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' and 'Real Epicurean'.

Nice Matters

I've had a funny sort of a week, very much a roller coaster ride with big ups and big downs. There have been surprises, disappointments, moments of doubt and glimmers of hope. My cart was travelling down another dip today when I discovered that the lovely Antonia from Food Glorious Food had chosen me for the Nice Matters award, due to my work on the UK Food Bloggers Association and 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' discussion forums. Sometimes a lovely gesture comes just at the right time, when you need it the most, and this is one of those times. Thank you so much Antonia, I’m truly touched.

I hope I can make someone else’s day now by nominating a few bloggers myself. I’m not sure how many I’m allowed to choose but I’d nominate you all if I could – isn’t the food blogging community fantastic? But as I can’t choose everyone I’d like to use this opportunity to thank some key members of the forums for their input, which makes the forums such a great place to hang out and helps them to attract new visitors and grow. So Pixie, A Forkful of Spaghetti, Nilmandra, Andy, Holler, Wendy and Kai I nominate you all. And thank you also to every other member of the forums and also the members of the UK Bloggers Association - it's you that makes them so very worthwhile.

Some Things get Better with Age

Like a good Bordeaux, a pair of worn-in shoes and women (of course!), lamb is even better when it matures, as I learned this evening when I cooked it for the first time. I’ve wanted to try it for some time and was urged to do so by the readers who commented on this thread but until today I’d not seen it available. It was in the John Lewis Food Hall yesterday that I saw a sole packet of organic mutton, which I snapped up.

Mutton comes from a sheep at least two years old and it needs good hanging and long, slow cooking. But the flavour is nothing short of spectacular –deep, rich and almost gamey. Mutton is increasing in popularity through the good press it’s receiving, from celebrity chefs and the like but, as I’ve found, it can be difficult to get hold of, so if you do see it I urge you to try it.

There’s nothing fancy about the dish I put together this evening, it’s just a simple, homely casserole and in it’s simplicity it’s perfect – after all why dress mutton as lamb rather than appreciate it for what it is, that is, a damn fine meat?



Mutton, Red Wine and Potato Stew

Ingredients
500g mutton, roughly chopped
1 ltr beef stock
1 large glass of red wine
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped stick of celery
2 crushed garlic cloves
3 or 4 carrots, roughly chopped
3 or 4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon of plain flour
A sprinkling of dried thyme (about a teaspoon) or a couple of fresh thyme sprigs

1. In a casserole dish brown the mutton in olive oil over a high heat until well browned. Remove from the pan.

2. Saute the onion, celery and garlic in the same pan until starting to soften and colour a little.

3. Put the mutton back in the pan and sprinkle over the flour. Mix well, then add the red wine, beef stock, thyme, carrots and potatoes. Season well.

4. Bring to the boil then reduce to barely a simmer. Put on a lid and cook slowly for 2 hours.

5. Check the seasoning and if using fresh thyme remove the sprigs before serving.

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of January - The Round-up!

Wow, what a great start to the New Year for our monthly food event. Last month we challanged you to come up with a dish using pears, nuts and a lemon and here is the round-up of all the fantastic entries.

The lovely Pixie at 'You Say Tomato.....I Say Tomato' entered this mouth-watering Pear and Chocolate Crumble.



'A forkful of spaghetti' entered these delicious Pear and hazelnut brioche toasts.



Lovely Miss Bliss of Frolicking Foodie made us this Pear Kulfi.



How about this sweet offering from Mike's Table? Caramelized Pear Ice Cream with Toasted Pecans.



San, The Artful Cook, gave us these San's Spiced Pear and Walnut Galettes along with a spectacular illustration.



This enticing Pear and Almond Tart was baked up by Laurie of 'Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska'.



The Modern Apron went savory with Pecan Crusted Roast Pork Loin with Quince Glazed Pears.



Take a look at this very artful dish from Greg over at Greg Cooks Tart aux Poires en Cage.



The fabulous Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes made this heavenly Pear & Ginger Crumble.



These delicious Honey Pear Cupcakes with White Chocolate Pistachio Buttercream were dreamt up by Minko of Couture Cupcakes.



Chris at Mele Cotte entered this original Nutty Pear Compote.



How fantastic are these Beehive Baked Pears? They were entered by Gabi over at 'The Feast Within'.



Voodoolily from Gild the Voodoolily invented this very tempting Ya Pear Gallette with Pinenuts and Lemon-Pepper Honey Glaze.



These lovely Macerated Pears over French Toast were entered by Trisha at 'Cooking Like I Mean It'.



These Pear & Lemon Muffins from Caitlin at 'The Goosberry Fool' would be great any time of the day.



Kim at 'Eating In' gave us a lovely Pear, Cardamom Glazed Walnuts, and Gorgonzola Salad.



These sweet Stewed pears, candied lemon and almond tiles were served up by Myriam at 'My Kitchen Diaries'.



Babeth over at La vie in English baked us these delicious Japanese Pear and Pine Nut Scones.



These fabulous Stuffed Pears were served up by Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe.



How about this fabulously exotic Lamb and Pear Tagine with Pinenut and Preserved Lemon Couscous from Around Britain with a Paunch?



And finally my own dish was a Pear, Smoked Cheddar and Walnut Salad.



I don't know about you, but I'm drooling after that round-up! A very big thank you and well done to all our participants.

"In The Bag" is a monthly food event run by Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie and Scott at Real Epicurean