• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • about Dom in the Kitchen
  • contact me
  • pr & demo’s
  • Private Dining

Dom in the Kitchen Homepage

Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

  • Home
  • Chicken Thighs
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Eggs
  • Vegetarian
  • Everything else

random recipes #31 – grab and run

1 August 2013 by Dominic Franks


… now that we’ve finally got a permanent place of our own again in London I’ve been thinking about which cookery books I should take down with me and which I should leave up at the cottage… it’s really hard as part of me feels I should take the inspirational books with me but another part of me thinks I should take just the practical books… I just know that there’ll be a crucial moment where i’ll be wishing I had something somewhere I don’t… we were leaving in a hurry for London yesterday morning and The Viking shouted to me that I should just grab a book and run for the car as we were going to be late… it was like one of those ‘life flashing before the eyes’ moments as the titles of all my dear cookbooks flickered across my mind… what should I take… which of my book-babies would I leave behind… and of course this inspired me for the theme of this months random recipes…

… if you had 10 seconds to grab one book, which one would it be…

… you probably won’t be surprised to learn that I chose Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course… it’s not my favourite book by far, this challenge is not necessarily about favourites but it’s my ‘go-to’ book for whenever i’m stuck for how to do something or for a recipe for something that’s so obvious I really should know how to cook… so that’s what I grabbed and randomly opening it on page 229 is a recipe for Baked Aubergines with Tomatoes… as it happens I have a fridge drawer full of aubergines… one of those random impulse purchases… so i’m good to go… how about you?

so here’s how you take part:
1. get a friend to count to 10 and in that time you have to run into your kitchen and grab the first book you feel is worthy of keeping
2. take that book off the shelf and open it at a random page
3. cook the recipe on this page or if it’s something you’ve cooked before then turn to the very next page and cook that dish… and don’t cheat… do it with a friend in the room who will make you stick to it…
it’s a challenge after all and you’re only cheating yourself… this is specifically designed to take you out of your comfort zone…!
4. you may change the recipe for dietary or monetary or seasonal availability reasons only
5. post it up on your blog, with a link to this page and then email me with a link at dominic(@)belleaukitchen.co.uk so I know you’ve joined in, you can also attach the badge to show people you’re taking part.
6. tweet your entry including the hashtag #randomrecipes and I will retweet all I see
7. challenge deadline is Aug 29th.
… go on then, what are you waiting for… start counting to 30…

Share this post:

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on E-mail

Filed Under: Everything else Tagged With: Delia Smith, grab and run..., random recipes

Previous Post: « random recipes #30 – the round-up
Next Post: baked salmon and chorizo »

Reader Interactions

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Comments

  1. Karen S Booth says

    1 August 2013 at 9:45 am

    FABULOUS theme Dom and can I grab 10 please?!! LOL! I am IN as always! Karen

  2. Jean says

    1 August 2013 at 10:14 am

    Great idea.
    I already know which book it is – it took me 5 seconds to decide…..

  3. janet @ the taste space says

    1 August 2013 at 10:44 am

    Perfect challenge! I just moved and whittled my cookbook library down to less than 6 cookbooks! 🙂

  4. Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says

    1 August 2013 at 2:31 pm

    Dominic, how fun! And I would happily participate except I've only just cooked something waaaaaay out of my comfort zone! AND I developed the recipe myself – Lamb Shanks Braised in Red Wine. I think I was very tactful in my post about the smell, while at the same time letting those new to lamb cookery know to be prepared for the distinctive smell.

  5. Sue/the view from great island says

    1 August 2013 at 2:42 pm

    I think this sounds like the most fun challenge yet! I know I would choose my current fave Jerusalem to bring with me anywhere, and I'd love to see what would come up on a random page…

  6. Susan Lindquist says

    1 August 2013 at 8:53 pm

    I'm sooo boring! I would, of course, grab The Silver Palate Cookbook! Fast and fun challenge!

  7. Alex Ryder says

    1 August 2013 at 9:35 pm

    This is a great theme! I have no idea which I'd pick.. guess we'll find out soon enough! 🙂

  8. Magnolia Verandah says

    1 August 2013 at 10:52 pm

    This is such a good idea for your next challenge. I didn't need 10 seconds to decide. I knew exactly which one to choose (if fact I was thinking this self same thing recently – if we were to move to the UK on a work contract which cook book would I choose to pack) so y decision was already made – don't you just love the coincidences of life.

  9. Keep Calm and Fanny On says

    2 August 2013 at 9:59 am

    Lovely theme, I'll need to bypass the Fanny Cradock Cookery Programme and grab another book… Off I dash!

  10. Janice Pattie says

    3 August 2013 at 8:16 pm

    oh this is a good one, surely I'll manage to make something this month!

  11. Baking Addict says

    3 August 2013 at 10:16 pm

    ooh sounds like a good challenge. I'll need more than a count of 10 to choose one. I'll try my best to enter this month but I can't promise!

  12. Choclette says

    4 August 2013 at 1:39 pm

    Ooh crikey, that's a challenge, especially as my books are scattered all over the house.

  13. Recipe Junkie says

    5 August 2013 at 5:01 pm

    AAARRRGGHHH. 10 seconds to dither. I am so indecisive. I might get the kids to do the grabbing for me.

  14. Stacy says

    12 August 2013 at 3:19 pm

    Great challenge, Dom! I don't even have to think. I'd have to take the one cookbook that comes in the luggage with me whenever we move on to the next country. The Illustrated Good Housekeeping, 1980 edition. Like your Delia, it is not my favorite book but it is an all-around reference for so many methods, techniques and recipes for baking and cooking. In the days before the internet, it was my lifeline. And when we move, often it takes a while to get internet set up so it still is.

  15. Shaheen says

    20 August 2013 at 8:49 pm

    I know exactly what book, just have to choose a recipe randomly and then cook it and submit it. I failed participating the past few months, fingers crossed I do so this time round.

  16. Alison says

    29 August 2013 at 11:48 am

    This was a fab challenge 🙂

Primary Sidebar

About Dom In The Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

Subscribe

Get new posts by email:
Powered by follow.it
  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Archives

Tweets by @DomInTheKitchen

as featured in Lincolnshire Life Magazine

Lincolnshire Life

creatively managed by

The Persuagers
Belleau Cottage

Footer

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

&copy 2010 - 2021 | All rights reserved | Website by Peckish Digital