… whilst last month’s challenge was both practical and fun (there I go doing my best Marry Poppins impression again…) i’m keen on not losing sight of the original idea behind random recipes and so this month I’m returning to the original idea of picking a random book from amongst your myriad of lost souls…
… so, keeping it nice and simple this month I would like you to refer to your birthday date as the number you should use to randomly pick your book… for example, my birthday is the 24th September and so I have randomly chosen the 24th book on my bookshelf counting from right to left…it doesn’t really get more tenuous or random than this does it but it’s nice to have a little theming every month don’t you think?
…and my book for November is Kitchen by Nigella Lawson… I have a feeling this pick must be karma as I’ve been a little mean about her recently because I think her new TV show Nigellissima is the most patronising and xenophobic pile of clap-trap she’s ever put out… don’t get me wrong, I really do like Nigella Lawson. I love her books and her style of cooking, it’s very me… but with this show I think she’s become a parody of herself – all the sly nods to camera, the cheeky grins and the voluptuous leaning over counter tops… and then there’s the soft-focus shots of her shopping in little boutiques or trendy food markets… it’s all very cloyingly middle-class and I really expect French and Saunders to pop up in the background somewhere… I know all this ranting is quite strongly worded but I almost feel disappointed in her for doing this – she seems to have missed a beat and you’d have thought she was more forward thinking than this and would have advanced her ‘formula’ just a little…
… anyhoo… the Kitchen book is a fab book, lots of great pictures and her recipes are fail safe, tasty and make for great dinner party food and on page 352 is a recipe for saffron risotto… as you know I love risotto and a classic like this is a wonderful thing to have in the repertoire…. just need to get out and re-stock my saffron supplies and i’ll be posting my finds later in the month…
… here’s how you can join in too…
1 – take your birthday date and count along your bookshelf that number of books
2 – take that book off the shelf and open it randomly
3 – make the recipe on the page you open – do not cheat, you’re only cheating yourself!
4 – you may adapt the recipe for health/dietary/product availability purposes only
5 – post the recipe on your blog linking back to meand my blog
6 – include the random recipes badge in the post
7 – email me a link to your post to dominic@belleaukitchen.co.uk
8 –challenge deadline is Nov 28th
9 – if you tweet your posts please mention @belleaukitchen, and use the hashtag #randomrecipes and I will retweet all those I see
10 – your post can be submitted to other blogging challenges, just make sure this complies with the rules of the other challenge.
… enjoy the picking my random recipes lovelies… oh and happy birthday!
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StephenC saysI'm going to join the fun this time. Peter and I brought only a few cookbooks when we moved to the nation's capitol 18 mos. ago, but I will count up to my birthday just by starting and the right and repeating right to left until I get to 26. Why am I scared?
I use to watch Nigella a lot on the Food Network. She hasn't been around though for awhile. I did see she lost weight and looks fantastic. I have wanted to purchase one of Nigella cookbooks for years. Perhaps you could suggest her best one.
- belleau kitchen says
Her books are great but I suppose the classic one would be Domestic Goddess, great book x
- Jean says
I entirely agree about the Nigellissima series and we are really not enjoying it – we find it almost unwatchable in fact – there seems to be a very high cringe factor this time.
Great challenge idea this time – I am looking forward to counting my 11th book from the left…. !!
- Blue Kitchen Bakes says
I agree with your comments about Nigella's new series. I used to love watching her programmes but after the first 2 episodes I gave up as it was painful to watch.
I have to count 12 books, my books keep rotating themselves on the bookcase so fingers crossed I'll pick a good one!
I agree with Blue Kitchen and Jean, I can't bring myself to watch her for more than a few minutes, she makes me uncomfortable! I am thinking of dipping my toes in the Random Recipes challenge…trouble is my birthday is on the 21st, and I have whittled down my cookbook collection due to several recent moves, so I guess I'll have to double back around through them!
- Marmaduke Scarlet says
I think this might be the time that I consider myself “first time entrant, long time reader” – I shall give it a go!
As for Nigella – haven't seen this programme, I stopped watching the last but one series. Thought the poor girl was becoming more like the Arabella Weir parody. And as for the whole “look at me and my diverse bunch of friends and children . . . ” and then there was the d*mned fairy lights. I am partial to a nice fairy light but as the lazy stylists medium of choice am getting a bit annoyed. 'Nuff said!
See AlsoThe Best Minestrone Soup Recipe - Karen S Booth says
I SO agree with your comments about the salacious Nigella, and she gets on my tit* to out it bluntly – and yet, like you, I DO love her recipes, and so although I find her annoying on the telly, I do still use her books….anyway, as ever, a GREAT challenge idea Dom and I shall be counting VERY carefully, as I am a number 5, so not many books to count! Karen
- Karen S Booth says
PUT it bluntly I meant! Doh….
- Lyndsey Fleenor says
I must be the only person to find Nigella vaguely amusing!! Maybe I've been out of the UK too long or I just like trashy TV! I do really love her books though and have yet to make something that was a disappointment (I reviewed Kitchen recently and loved it). Great choice Dom – I'm also on the 24th and am delighted that I get to cook from a Nigel Slater book 🙂
- Chele says
Oh you got a fantastic book! I really am going to try and find the time to take part this month.
- Susan Lindquist says
Phew! Strong feelings on Nigella, I see! I find her a caricature of the 'Domestic Goddess' much the same as Martha Stewart … she does come up with good books, though! I counted out my birthday number 10 and got Nick Malgieri's book, “bake!” … danish pastries coming right up! Like my butt needs those! Oh well, all in the name of fair play! Wink wink!
Agree with you!
Nigel has replaced Nigella in my affections…nuff said. x- Baking Addict says
I'm a September baby too! Not sure if I will have time as I'm packing and moving this month but will try my best! I love Nigella recipes as they always turn out well. I think I've only seen 1 episode of Nigella Christmas sometime ago and that was enough for me!
- Magnolia Verandah says
Oh I love Nigella, yes this series is a bit corny, but its a bit of light entertainment isn't it? I love her books and have played her dvds over and over again (while I'm pounding the treadmill!) now that's a contradiction in terms isn't it?
- belleau kitchen says
any excuse Susan… I know re Nigella I seem to have struck a nerve!
- belleau kitchen says
please do Chele, always nice to have you on board x
- belleau kitchen says
come ON you can do it!!
- belleau kitchen says
Do Stephen, being a random recipes virgin is only painful the first time!!
- Ruthdigs says
Love the birthday idea! Do we have to count right to left or left to right? Some of my books are stacked on top as the shelf's too small – maybe I'll have to lay them out as they would be if the shelf was larger. Also a Sept baby – 2 days before you! 🙂
- Ruthdigs says
Also with you on the Nigella thing – she has become a caricature of herself. TBH I always found her fairly irritating though…
- belleau kitchen says
no… go which any way you like! (ooh err missus)
- Caroline says
Well, my cookery book is Italian, which is a good start (given how many cookery books hiding in there I have that make me quiver to think what is in them). Wish me luck for a good recipe!
- Sarah says
Nigellessima hasn't made it to NZ yet (in tv form anyway) but I will be looking out for it now, just to check it out! Looking forward to this month, I missed this post and came searching to see how I should be picking my recipe!
- Choclette says
Ha ha Dom, I like it when you have a rant. I've only ever seen Nigella on TV once and that was some time ago. How to be a domestic Goddess is one of my favourite books and I can't fault her on that. I like the nice and simple approach for this month's RR, although it's not quite so easy when you have books scattered all around the house.
- Chris says
I haven't watched Nigella on TV even once. Anyway, 24 would also be my number for the cookbook. Now I only have to figure out, where to start counting. Hm, I could again use my list of cookbooks, the alphabetical version. Somehow I figure it out. I hope so, because I'm not good at things at the moment.
- Annes S says
I love that book, have made a lot from it but agree the new series is a way OTT! Both me and my flatmate have been giggling over her general whor*iness on it!!
As my books are on several shelves with some fictional books too, I skipped the first shelf…and on the 2nd out came one of the lovely Jo Pratt's books – just hope I remember to add mine in to the round up, always forget!
