Pear, Pistachio and Rose Cake At My Table

Some one of you out there mentioned this cookbook, At My Table, by Nigella Lawson.  Who can be blamed??  I checked it out of the library, then was forced to buy my own copy.  Me, who had earlier determined that there was a surfeit of cookbooks around here. It was just kismet I suppose.  The too lovely photographs and too delicious sounding meals.  Wonderful concoctions I needed to try for myself.  One of which was this Pear, Pistachio and Rose cake.  And another, her Indian-Spiced Chicken and Potato Traybake.  Both turned out so scrumptious.

Now I have all the rest of Nigella's book to have fun experimenting with.  Because, of course, as must be admitted, and along with many of you, I actually get inspiration more than anything else from a good cookbook; it's a take-off point.

Though for the cake, I followed her directions exactly.  Recipes for cakes, and most baked goods are an area of cooking where it's important to respect the creator, at least for the first go around.  Glad I did, as it turned out as promised, "a delicately perfumed confection."  There are 3 pears ground up in there!!  As well as almonds and pistachios. I had a group of women over and we all thoroughly enjoyed this floral delight. Bob too, as we saved him a piece.

Luckily, I had just enough ground almonds in my freezer, so didn't need to improvise, grinding my own.  Though whirring the pistachios up in the blender was easy enough. The whole endeavor was simply and easily done; made the day before and topped before serving.

There was also a piece left for me the next day.  Perfect with a glass of iced tea, a new favorite of mine, Numi's Chocolate Rooibos.

Her Indian-Spiced Traybake is a form of cooking I've heard called a sheet pan dinner.  And probably what you, like me, just called a toss it together one pan meal.  Simple, quick and very delicious.  Can easily be adapted to what you have on hand.  I added in extra sweet red peppers, and used half sweet potatoes from our garden along with the regular white potatoes the recipe called for.

Nigella's combination of mostly whole seeds and spices in this was especially nice, including her signature nigella seeds, which I normally just use to top my bread. And the addition of lime zest and juice were just right, offsetting the unctuousness of the chicken.

I'm sharing this post over at Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking event, and with the November Foodies Read Challenge, hosted by Heather.  Be sure to stop by for good book suggestions, and some yummy food.