This week, we were back on a more familiar footing with Jamie Oliver’s book Jamie’s Dinners. If we’re honest, some of the week’s recipes didn’t resonate with the little ones, but it was fun to try different things. The week started with a cracking take on roast chicken: Super tasty Spanish Roast Chicken. This was roast chicken with chorizo and potatoes cooked in the chicken fat and oil from the chorizo under the bird. It was superb, the only problem being the heat at which it was cooked overcooked the chorizo we used, so we’ll use uncooked next time. We used the leftover steak from Saturday’s steak night on Monday lunchtime to do Japanese Style Saturday Night Seak Night Salad. This salad was brilliant and is the first time we’ve cooked with Daikon. The whole thing was super tasty and something we might do again occasionally. Next up was Tray-baked Sea Bass with Crispy Roasted Asparagus Bundles Wrapped in Bacon which the adults loved, but it was not a massive hit with the kids. It was a real shame as it was a super quick, tasty and easy recipe. Later in the week, we tried Pan Cooked Giant Prawns with Mangetouts, Peas and Butterbeans. We tweaked the recipe a touch (I forgot to order the Mangetouts, so they were replaced with leeks). Though not a massive kid hit, the adults loved it and will do it again.

One that I was convinced could be a kid’s favourite was Tray Baked Chicken Maryland; how wrong I was. Chicken, bacon, corn, cream and banana, what’s not to like? It turns out quite a lot – bananas are not your friend in savoury cooking. I quite liked it, but for the kids and Mrs B, it was a very low score. The final recipe of the week should have been an absolute belter but, again, was not one that will become a family favourite: Caramel Apple tart. This was a Dulce de Leche-filled tart topped with caramelised apples. The gang didn’t enjoy it particularly, but I liked it. That said, we’re getting pretty good a lining tarts using Jamie Oliver’s approach to it – way easier than rolling out ;-). Next time will bring us to one of our favourite dining experiences we’ve had in the world as we head to Tetsuya’s in Sydney. A touch cheffy it might be, but I am excited about cooking from this one.