ratatouille (page 186)

Serves: 4 - I made only half the amount and we had it a side dish
Prep: 15 mins 
Cook: 45 mins

Variants: Loads! But only in the choice of vegetables.
Verdict: Really easy and delicious, could eat it as a main
Husbands Verdict: Delicious!

chicken & mushroom risotto soup (page 115)

Serves: 6 - We ate about half between two of us
Prep: 5 mins - Took me about 15... where did I go wrong?
Cook: 35 mins

Variants: None
Verdict: Delicously chickeny flavour, really surprised how far one chicken breast goes
Husbands Verdict: Warming, hearty and flavoursome and nice texture with the rice

maple glazed pork with roasted garlic & olive oil mash (page 165)

Serves: 6 - I used about half the amount of ingredients and it fed two
Prep: 10 mins - I also marinated the meat while waiting for hubby to get home
Cook: 60 mins

Variants: I used chops instead of fillets and olive oil butter in the mash as couldn't resist a bit of butter and added some more of the delicious sesame French beans
Verdict: I had chicken caramelised the same way it was fabulous, I found the garlic mash a bit of an effort but worth it as the garlic was so sweet
Husbands Verdict: Love those green beans and the pork was very tasty, second helping of mash for me

french beans with ginger & sesame (page 175) & chargrilled courgette ribbons (page 172)

Decided to try a couple of the side dishes tonight as we need to eat up the multitude of courgettes from our veggie patch

French Beans
Serves: 2-3 as a side dish - plenty
Prep: 5 mins - great as you can do this ahead of time
Cook: 5 mins
Variants: Left out the ginger as we didn't have any

Courgette Ribbons
Serves: 2 - would like more
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Variants: None

Verdict: The beans were delicious and quick, will always do beans like this, courgettes were another tasty side dish
Husbands Verdict: Loved the beans and the courgettes were nice and fresh with the lemon juice

tomato, chilli & basil soup (page 108)

Recipe
Serves: 4 - good portion sizes for a starter
Prep: 15 mins - so easy to prep
Cook: 40 mins - I simmered for 60 mins as made double the portion

Variants: None as all ingredients were easy to find
Verdict: Very tasty and spicy, will definitely try it again but use less chilli flakes
Husbands Verdict: Way too spicy to eat

lebanese chicken kebabs with garlic sauce & pickles (page 134)

Recipe
Serves: 2 - good portion sizes but we ate two tortillas each
Prep: 10 mins - very quick to prep (amazingly no interruptions) and can all be done ahead of time
Cook: 10 mins - just the chicken to cook so really easy

Variants: Used Peppadew mild sweet piquant peppers instead of jalapenos and some leftover salad replacing little gem lettuce
Verdict: Deliciously tangy pickle and cooling yoghurt to accompany really tasty chicken, will do this again but maybe leave out the tabasco & peppers
Husbands Verdict: Pickle was too spicy but LOVED the chicken

luxury fish pie (page 157)

Serves: 4 - good size portions
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 75 mins - was about 15 mins quicker to cook potatoes

Variants: Couldn't find celeriac so used potatoes (topped with some Parmesan cheese), forgot the creme fraiche so used cream (ooops), instead of the suggested seafood I used freshly caught Kahawai from Sunday which hubby smoked
Verdict: Again quite fishy as the sauce is quite delicate, will use the Maggi packet mix next time 
Husband's Verdict: The fish pie I make out of a packet is nicer