I’m sure you all know - I’ve mentioned it quite recently - that this blog is supposed to be all about the best thing I’ve cooked in the last week.

Well, if it wasn’t for salvation in the form of a rather elusive Beef “Red Dragon” & Aduki Bean Pie (of which more later), I think I’d be hanging up my pinny right about now.

We began the week with a salmon salad, in which the salmon was supposed to have been fresh (i.e. not previously frozen) but I fell into the trap of not looking at the small print on the ticket – and wound up with the soggiest bit of salmon slop that truly wasn’t worth the money.

Next came an onion tart, which looked easy enough to make and gave every indication that it would be delicious. Well, I was had there too – as it was only very marginally short of disgusting, with slimy onions and an egg/cream mixture that separated from the onions.

Following on from that, I made a very nice kedgeree that proved too hot and spicy for our son’s friend – who was staying over that night – so he had a ham sandwich.

Plus, the Rhubarb Upside Down Cake dissolved in between getting it out of the oven and serving it. Truly, it was just cake sludge where the rhubarb had released so much juice. So everyone had yoghurt, that night.

Unfortunately, we hadn't foreseen the problems that arose with son and his sleepover guest, which culminated in said sleepover guest returning home rather earlier than previously anticipated. Not through any fault of his own - she hastened to add - but because they both ran out of things to amuse themselves with and terminal boredom set in.

So we had bacon & egg sandwiches that night and the pie got bumped again. I was beginning to think that perhaps I might have stepped on a gypsy's toe and had the hex put on me - especially considering how a number of different dishes lately had failed!

Why is it elusive, you ask? Well, because we were initially supposed to be having it two weeks ago but it got bumped until last week owing to the fact that I just couldn't find Aduki (or Adzuki, or Azuki) beans.

Of course, I should have gone to Makkha's on the Ashley Road straight away (I think it's the best ethnic foodstore in the area) but life just didn't take us that way. Hubby eventually called in there on his way to another appointment and bingo - got the beans.

So, we were all set for this last weekend. I even remembered to put the beans in to soak before going to bed on the evening before - which was a start! I was then all prepared, with a plan and everything, to make the pie on Sunday.

Would you believe it, having woken up Sunday morning thinking we had a free day, we ultimately found ourselves heading in Bournemouth's direction for an unavoidable, emergency bit of shopping!

I was so determined to make the flipping pie, I managed to make it in stages. I put the dish together - consisting of beef brisket, it required a couple of hours of slow cooking before adding the potatoes and beans - and took advantage of the automatic cooking function on our cooker to switch the oven on at the right time to begin cooking.

Consequently, it seemed to take all day to make - but goodness me, it was worth it!

I had my first taste once I'd combined the sauce ingredients prior to putting it in the oven and it showed promise even then. I have got to say, though, that was nothing compared to how it tasted after the first 2 hours of cooking. It was rich and tasty and so very unlike a Shepherd's Pie as to be incomparable.

I was relieved about that, as I had been under instructions from the recipe's source, Martin Kitcher (mkmdigital.com), to make sure it went in a Stir Fried Beef direction and not in a Shepherd's Pie direction! So I felt all was as it should be.

Having added the beans, some more peppers and the sliced potato to the top, I put it back into the oven for another hour and felt a whole lot more confident about it than I had been!

After what seemed to be an unconscionably long time, we sat down to tuck in. I'd served it with some steamed Pak Choi and Broccoli, which seemed to go very well. Hubby had insisted on some gravy, which amazingly went absolutely perfectly with the pie too.

All in all, we were very happy bunnies with our dinner that night. Everyone cleared their plates and, if I hadn't have been so full, I'd have made inroads into the leftovers!

So, Beef "Red Dragon" and Aduki Bean Pie was not only a hit, but seems to have successfully broken my run of bad cooking. You can find the recipe for it on my blog, Jenny Eatwell’s Rhubarb & Ginger.

Can't wait to see what Martin finds for me next!