156: Celeriac and walnut remoulade, p355, and 157: Hot and sticky roast quail, p353

Sorry about the break in service - we moved house! From a two bed flat to a two bed house - yippee :) Kitchen isn't enormous, but it's definitely bigger than the last one, and much better laid out - and at last we can actually fit all the food AND the crockery AND kitchen bits and bobs in there, with no need to use the spare room as a pantry anymore. Phew!

So... getting a bit behind on the book, oh dear... but must crack on! So - tonight we had two recipes, the first of which I wasn't really looking forward to - every time I've had a celeriac root in a veggie box it's gone terribly wrong... but it was another revelation! The creme fraiche, grain mustard and lemon mixture gave the matchsticks of celeriac a really nice tangy kick. Of course I couldn't get 'paper thin slices of Bayonne ham' so I used some nice thin slices of English ham, and instead of serving the remoulade on top of the slices of ham, I sliced it into thin strips and mixed it into the celeriac mixture. Only real fault was that I wouldn't add any extra salt if I made it again, as I found it didn't need it, but with the ham mixed in (partly so that T wouldn't just eat the ham and leave the celeriac...) it had all the saltiness it needed.

Served with the quails on the side, just one each, this made a nice, light dinner for us. The quail recipe was easy as could be and twenty minutes in the oven was perfect. The basting sauce was delicious - not too hot at all, sweet and sticky, and scrummy - and a nice foil to the crisp, refreshing zing of the remoulade. A success all round!

52: Five-spice quail, p169, and 53: A hot, sour bean shoot salad, p163

Quails. Possibly the most anthropomorphic little carcasses to cook with - especially when their little legs aren't tucked/trussed up as in a chicken you'd roast, but instead are sticking out in a slightly disturbingly human way - with little knees and calves - making them look like little decapitated bodies...

But oh so yummy when marinated in a garlicky chinesey spicy mix, and then roasted...

Very easy little recipe and surprisingly the meat didn't dry out at all and was deliciously moist, and the coating had quite a kick to it.

Went really well served with another lovely crunchy hot Asian-style salad (we're really liking these salads) with spinach and bean shoots, and a good dollop of chilli and nam pla.