We had such a great response to our Library Bake off at Christmas so
we thought we would do the same again for this summer’s big food event - the summer picnic!
The format is the same, five of the team chose their favourite recipes from our
vast collection of foodie publications and each provides photos of the outcome
and their verdict on the recipe.
Donna made Thomasina
Miers Chorizo and Parsley Scotch Eggs from the Guardian’s Feast supplement
available on Pressreader. This recipe caught
Donna’s eye because of happy memories of picnics with her family as a
child. She said “We would spend the
night before making scotch eggs, chicken drumsticks, quiche and salads and then
pack it all in the boot of the car and drive to a beach in Fife or Tayside and spend
the day eating and playing rounder’s. I boiled the eggs, mixed the sausage meat,
chorizo, parmesan, parsley and thyme together, then moulded the meat mixture around the boiled
eggs and fried until brown and crispy on the outside. Simple recipe, simple to
make, easy to follow and delicious – Despite the appearance!” We think they
look fab!
2 Nicky
chose to use the Libby
app and found Prima Summer cooking
magazine. The magazine is packed full of recipes for family gatherings, picnics
and summer baking. Nicky made the
courgette Tortilla, she said “I’m not the best cook but the recipe was easy to
follow. I changed the cooking method slightly and transferred the mixture to a
baking tin to cook in the oven as I was concerned about it burning on the
bottom. There were also some easy craft makes for summer which are quite cute
and I might go back to.”
3. Rachel made George Pickard's cheese
& ham muffins from a recipe book available at the Library Service called “Leon
brownies, bars & muffins: naturally fast recipes” written by Henry Dimbleby
of the famed Leon chain for restaurants and cafes. These cheesy muffins would make a
great picnic or after school/work snack and they couldn’t be easier to make.
Just add cheese and ham to a basic muffin mix. The recipe was logical and clear
to follow and the smell from the oven while they were baking was amazing.
Rachel said she was “really pleased with the end result and are fabulous with
just a spread of butter!”
4. Katie baked the fantastic ginger bread house at Christmas time so we were excited to see what she would make for picnic bake off! She chose lemon & ginger cheesecake bites from The Picnic Book by Ali Ray, she said “It's just as well these little cheesecakes are bite-sized, super sweet and indulgent they're the perfect addition to a summer picnic. The recipe was really easy to follow, no tricky technical skills required just a bit of elbow grease. I'd be tempted to experiment with other fruit instead of blueberries but either way it's a very aesthetically pleasing low effort dessert.” We can hardly tell which cheesecakes are Katie’s and which are from the book!
Natasha made Mocktails, and yes we know it is bending the rules slightly but it was worth it they were so delicious! She made the English Summer Punch from ‘Summer Drinks: over 75 refreshing recipes to enjoy in the sunshine’ (no author). Natasha said “I really liked this recipe, the instructions were short and simple and the end result was very successful (albeit with bright purple fingers after stoning so many cherries!). Having also tried some of the cocktails from the book I can confirm they too are delicious.”
