It has taken me about 3 weeks to realise that I have not updated my site to let you all know that I'm currently on my honeymoon in Hong Kong.

This year has been a whirlwind with me and Steve buying our first home, organising our wedding which we just celebrated on 29 August 2009 which was the most amazing day of our lives. And finally we are here in Hong Kong eating, shopping and hiking our way around and having the best time.

I will be back in a couple of weeks with lots of stories about our eventful dining experience at the Toilet Restaurant, being chased down the street by Tailors trying to get you into their store and our many adventures of riding at the top of double decker buses.

Until then happy cooking!

 

Sunday was my only day of the week at home and I was in the mood for getting in the kitchen and dirtying some pots and pans to create something delicious. Unfortunately the weeds overtaking my garden and dirty laundry piled as high as the sky had other things in mind for me.

 

Now because I'm a smart little cookie I shut the door on the laundry because if you can't see it it's not there and I sent S. out to battle the weeds alone with the promise that whatever I cooked up would be sweet and contain chocolate. This sealed the deal because the only person I know who loves chocolate more than me is S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I knew exactly what I was going to make, the recipe for Ginger and Fennel Thins I found in the latest edition of the Vogue Entertaining & Travel magazine. The recipes combines the bitterness of 70% dark chocolate with the spice of glace ginger, liquorice scent of fennel and the sweetness of golden syrup.

 

All these ingredients make for quite a sophisticated chocolate thin and something I would recommend putting away in your recipe box to dazzle guests at your next soiree but a couple of squares were perfectly fine with my afternoon peppermint tea.

 

Happy chocolate making!

 

Ginger and fennel chocolate thins...

Adapted from the June/July Vogue, Entertaining & Travel Magazine

 

Makes 24 pieces

 

250g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) chopped

30g unsalted butter, softened

3 tsp golden syrup

3 tsp finely chopped glace ginger

3 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed

2 x pieces glace ginger cut into thin batons to place on top of each thin

 

1. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted.

 

2. Stir in butter, golden syrup glace ginger and crushed fennel seeds. Then pour onto a baking paper-lined tray Using a spatula spread chocolate mixture to form a 3mm thick, 24cm x 34cm rectangle. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.

 

3. To serve, cut rectangle into 24 pieces or roughly break into shards and top with a thin baton of glace ginger.

 

On this day in 1798 the storming of Bastille occurred and so begun the French Revolution and tonight I had a table booked at France Soir for some french festivities until S. woke up this morning with a cold and put a halt to my french celebrations.

I should add I am in no way French but I'll use any excuse to eat at France Soir and I think Bastille Day is one of my most valid excuses. But seeing as S. was not up for an evening on the town I thought I would serve up an old favourite, French onion soup.

I know what you're thinking, french onion soup has been done and had its day but I truly hope you give my recipe a go it's a delicious mix of sweet as sweet can be onions, rich and hearty beef stock and nutty gruyere.

Happy Bastille Day!

Français soupe à l'oignon

 

5 large onions thinly sliced

1 litre good quality beef stock

110 g butter (preferably French)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

200 g gruyere cheese, grated

5 slices of baguette (about 2cm thick)

salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Heat heavy based pan on medium heat, add butter and olive oil and allow to melt and when it starts foaming add onions. Evenly coat onions in butter and sweat down until onions just start softening and become transluscent.

 

2. Place bay leaf and thyme in the onion mixture. Bring beef stock to a simmer in a separate pot and add to onions a ladle at a time and stir until soaked into the onions. Continue adding beef stock until it’s all been added to the onions.

 

3. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs, add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

 

4. Toast baguette slices, place them on top of the onion soup and sprinkle cheese over the top. Place under a hot grill until cheese is bubbling and golden brown.

 

5. Serve this family style in the middle of the table with extra toasted baguette slices with gruyere melted over the top.

 

Oh what a day last Monday was! First of all I woke up 5 minutes before I was meant to leave for work which left me no time for breakfast, I forgot my lunch and seeing as I was half hour late to work I had to cut my lunch break short.

Work was insanely busy with alot of people calling in sick and to make matters worse my desk was still not unpacked from the desk moves on Friday afternoon. That was because some brilliant person decided only one IT guy was needed to move 16 people and when I left on Friday the poor guy wasn't even a quarter of the way through. So not only was I late to work but I also had a desk to sort out, new surroundings to get used to and a million people coming up to ask where the guy who used to sit in my seat had moved to.

The hours of the day ticked by painfully slow but as soon as the clock struck 4pm I made a lightening fast exit and made my way down to meet S. for what turned out to be the car ride home from hell. Apparantly rain + slick oily roads = drive like an outta control formula 1 driver. I'm not kidding when I tell you that we saw not one not two but three accidents (minor ones thank goodness) on our short journey home up the freeway.

Finally we made it home and in one piece but I was tired, cranky and my nerves were on a little on the shaky side. I put on my comfiest pyjamas, dragged a blanket into the lounge, heated up leftover Harira and sank into the lounge to tune in for Masterchef and my bad day started to turn around after Aaron was voted off (sorry if you liked him on the show). They announced he was working as an apprentice at Hellenic Republic owned by judge George Calombaris which prompted me to go and check out their website where me and S. oohed and aahed over their menu especially a dish with pork shoulder called Hirino Youvetsi. I then checked out their recipe section and guess what was there? The recipe for Hirino Yiouvetsi. My day was not so bad after all and today was even better when I dished this up for dinner.

Happy cooking!

Hirino yiouvetsi...

Adapted from Hellenic Republic

25ml extra virgin olive oil

1kg pork shoulder, diced

75ml extra virgin olive oil

2 brown onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 cinnamon stick

800g can crushed tomatoes

500ml chicken stock

500g kitharaki (risoni) pasta, rinsed in cold water

200g feta cheese, crumbled

40g butter

handful parsley, roughly chopped

salt to season

 

1. Heat a heavy base pot until just starting to smoke. Add 25ml EVO and pork and cook until browned all over. Remove meat and set aside.

 

2. Add 75ml EVO and sweat onions and garlic until soft.

 

3. Add stock, tomatoes, cinnamon and cover and place in oven at 160C for 3 hours until tender.

 

4. Remove from oven, stir in kitharaki and bake in the oven for an additional 20 minutes.

 

5. Remove from the oven, stir in butter and season with salt. Serve with crumbled feta and roughly chopped parsley on top.

 

 

Sunday's are perfect day for pottering around the garden, enjoying a late breakfast and taking no notice of the time and today I did all of them. Today also happened to be perfect soup weather so I dusted off my favourite soup pot, fired up the stove and spent the afternoon enjoying the earthy sweet aroma of Harira simmering on the stove fill the house.

As we slip into the cooler months of the year there's nothing better than curling up on the lounge, cracking the binder on a new book and tucking into a soup that warms you right through to the tip of your toes.

Harira is a Moroccan soup typically eaten over the holy month of Ramadan to break the fast of the day. It is usually made with lamb, vegetables, lentils, chickpeas and a heady mix of spices. The soup is best served lemon quarters as it gives the soup a little kick, a mix of chopped flat leaf parsley and coriander and plenty of bread.

Harira...

From Gourmet Traveller

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 celery stalks including tops, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

500g lamb leg, cut into 1cm pieces

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed

120g lentils, rinsed

 

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, celery and carrots and sauté for 5 – 7 minutes until softened. Add garlic and lamb and sauté for 5 minutes or until lamb is browned. Add cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon and bay leaves and tomato paste and stir well. Add stock, bring to the boil then simmer covered over a low heat for 1 hour or until meat is tender.

 

2. Add tomatoes, chickpeas and lentils and cook for a further 30 minutes, adding a little more water if mixture is too thick. Season with salt and pepper.

 

3. Serve with lemon quarters, chopped flat leaf parsley and coriander and bread.

 

Firstly I must apologise for being away for so long but me and S. just moved into our first home and let me tell you it has been crazy! We have gone from living in an apartment with a tiny balcony to a big house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living areas and a backyard to care for which has been somewhat overwhelming but oh so rewarding to finally have something of our own.

Now all the boxes are unpacked, the garden has been tamed although there is still alot of work to do and the steady stream of visitors who came bearing bottles of celebration wine have left I am ready to get stuck back into cooking.

The first time I fired up my new stove was to make Pearl Pudding for dessert to enjoy after our pizza from a great local place we have discovered making wood fired pizzas. Pearl Pudding is made with tapioca pearls and a delicious mix of milk, raw sugar and vanilla bean.

The pudding takes a little while to pull together but is definately worth the labour of love and is just as enjoyable warm as it is cold.

Pearl Pudding...

1 cup tapioca

8 cups water

2 ½ cups milk

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

pinch salt

½ cup brown sugar/raw sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

 

1. Bring 8 cups of water to the boil, pour in the tapioca pearls and stir so the pearls don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Simmer until the pearls become transluscent and only a tiny dot of white is left in the middle. Pour into a fine sieve to and rinse with cold water to remove all the starch.

 

2. Pour milk, tapioca pearls, sugar, salt, lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract or bean and bring it to a light boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down and bring the mix down to a simmer and stir constantly and let simmer for approximately 12-15 minutes until the mix thickens.

 

3. If using a vanilla bean remove it and scrape out the seeds and place them in the pudding mix. Serve immediately if you want to enjoy it warm or let cool before enjoying it cold.

 

 

Con Christopoulos has alot to be thanked for, he has dotted our city with some of the finest establishments. Christopoulos has bought sophistication to the city with The European, taken morning coffee and pastry to another level with The Commercial Bakery and given us the perfect place for a night cap and late night snack with the Supper Club.

I think the biggest thank you though should be reserved for giving us the Journal Canteen and for placing Rosa Mitchell at the helm of the kitchen. In almost two years Rosa has turned Journal Canteen into a lunchtime institution by charming her way into our hearts with her rustic home-style cooking.

Now the charming Rosa has put together her first book, My Cousin Rosa which is a collection of her memories and recipes from her hometown of Sicily. In the Epicure last week we were treated to a few of her recipes, one which was the Cauliflower Fritters I have devoured on many a visit to Journal Canteen and one I thought well worth sharing today.

Cauliflower Fritters

half large cauliflower or 1 whole small cauliflower

300g self-raising flour

100g grated parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove, crushed

3tbsp chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

3 eggs, lightly beaten

olive oil for frying

 

1. Break cauliflower into small pieces. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add cauliflower and cook until soft (if a fork goes through the cauliflower easily it is cooked). Drain and cool in a bowl.

 

2. Add the flour, cheese, garlic, parsley and some salt and pepper to the cauliflower and mix lightly. Add the beaten eggs and mix again. If the mixture is too dry add a little water to bring it together.

 

3. Heat enough oil to cover the base of a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add tablespoons of the mixture, taking care not to crowd them. Cook until golden, turn over and flatten slightly with a fork. Cook on the other side until golden and cooked through the centre.

 

4. Serve hot or at room-temperature as a pre-dinner snack or serve with a salad for a light meal.

 

 

 

Summer is coming to an end and Autumn is making its presence known in the turn of the leaves, crisp mornings and cooler evenings. I love the turn of seasons but none more than the change to Autumn when all my favourite produce is available like figs, rhubarb, apples, pears and pumpkins.

Me and S. were lucky enough to escape the daily grind and head to Bright for a holiday last week and watch the golden and crimson hues of Autumn colour the countryside while we took bushwalks, enjoyed the wine of the region and stocked up on supplies from all the farm gates in the area.

At one farm gate they had a sign out front which read 'out with the old and in with the new' which immediately made me think there was a sale which of course I had to check out! I came out with punnets of late season Raspberries and new season Walnuts so although it wasn't a sale as such it was definately worth stopping for.

Friday evening when we arrived home the last thing either of us wanted to do was cook dinner so we opened a bottle of red, unwrapped the chunk of aged cheddar we picked up and cracked a few too many Walnuts to enjoy because I barely had enough for the (torta di noci) walnut cake I planned to bake the next day.

The recipe for Torta Di Noci is from the Silver Spoon and unlike other Walnut cake recipes I had tried before it called for a hefty amount of butter and quite a few whites. You will notice the mixture is thick like cookie dough before you add the egg whites but that's how it's meant to be, and even after you add the egg whites you will see that it is still quite a thick cake mixture which is normal. Once the cake is baked it will have a balanced texture of light but not too fluffy and dense but not too heavy.

This cake is perfectly good on its own but if you want to jazz it up you could serve it with custard as I did, or perhaps some sweetened mascarpone or even a big scoop of vanilla ice-cream and if you're feeling crazy booze up the ice-cream with some dark rum.

Cin cin to a new season and happy baking everyone!

Variations: This recipe uses lemon rind which I replaced with the rind of 1 orange. I made the first cake using cinnamon but in the second one I used a tablespoon of honey, both were delicious.

Torta di noci (walnut cake) from the Silver Spoon

150g unsalted butter, softened
plus extra for greasing
4 eggs separated
150g caster sugar
200g shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
150g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
grated rind 1 lemon or 1 orange
pinch of ground cinnamon (or alternatively 1 tbsp honey)

1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease a cake tin with butter.

2. Cream butter with a spoon, then beat in egg yolks one at a time.

3. Stir in sugar and walnuts, sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well.

4. Add the lemon or orange rind and cinnamon or honey and mix to combine.

5. Stiffly whisk the egg whites in a grease-free bowl and fold into the mixture.

6. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about an hour. Remove the cake from the oven, leave to cool and then turn out. Will keep refrigerated for about 2-3 days.

 

 

Last weekend I was well aware of the busy week that awaited me but do you think that spurred me on to get organised and prepare enough dinners to last a week? Of course not, I spent my weekend getting out and about I didn’t even do grocery shopping.

So, Monday came and I was flat chat at work and my only chance to buy food was on the way home at the extremely over priced but top notch quality store near the train station. Don’t tell my credit card or S. but secretly I was happy because it meant I could splash out on the best dried chorizo in Melbourne.

This salad of roasted capsicum, chickpeas and grilled chorizo while not much of a recipe is perfect for those days you want to come home, cook up something easy yet filling and delicious and then just lie down and veg out in front of the TV.

Whenever I make this salad I always make a big bowlful which lasts a few days and although I’ve added chunks of grilled chorizo you could serve it with poached chicken, flaked trout or add more grilled vegetables like zucchini and sweet potato.

Salad of roasted capsicum, chickpeas & grilled chorizo…

2 red capsicums
2 yellow capsicums
2 x 120g canned chickpeas, drained
1 dried chorizo, cut into thick diagonal chunks
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
Handful of continental parsley sprigs

1. Cook capsicums over gas flame or on a BBQ plate until the skin starts to blister and blacken. Once they are done place in a plastic bag, tie it up. This will help lift the skin from the capsicums and make them much easier to peel. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into strips and set aside.

3. On a BBQ plate or griddle pan grill the chunks of chorizo and set aside.

2. In a pan on medium heat splash in the olive oil and gently cook the onion and garlic until soft. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, strips of capsicum and salt and pepper to taste and cook until all ingredients are warmed through.

4. Combine all ingredients together, top with sprigs of parsley and enjoy.

* This salad will keep refrigerated for upto 3 days *

 

Barely into the new year and already it's turning out to be a big one! Plans for my August wedding to S. are in full swing, we just bought our first home and still found the time to entertain a steady stream of visitors over the Australian Open and Australia Day long weekend.

Now all the excitement January brought has died down and all visitors have gone home I finally found some time to relax at home. This meant I could crack the binder on my new novel I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley, work through the food and wine magazines that have been piling up since Christmas and get around to watching the summer series of The Cook and the Chef.

Of course no day at home relaxing is complete without good food to graze on. Breakfast and lunch were sorted but something sweet to enjoy with my afternoon iced tea was needed. I raided the pantry and found a pack of pistachios hiding behind cereal boxes - this gives you an idea of how un-organised my pantry is.

Next I popped the lid on my spice box to find something to pair with the pistachios - I found 6 tins of sweet paprika! How on earth does one end up with that much paprika and how on earth is one going to use it all? Anyway, lets remove the spotlight from my bad pantry habits back to the spice needed to give my cookies some oomph. I picked out cardamon and thankfully I only have one pack.

For me the perfect cookie has a crispy shell that gives way to a soft and chewy centre when you bite through and this recipe pinched from my mum I think bakes cookies with the perfect crisp/soft-chewy ratio. It's a recipe that allows for lots of creativity, you could mix in almond and cinnamon cocoa and chocolate chips or whatever combination takes your fancy.

Obviously with the soaring temps us Melburnians have been melting so you might like to enjoy this with iced tea like I did, my favourite at the moment is Tulsi tea with loads of ice and lime wedges, for a perfect afternoon tea.

Happy baking!

Pistachio and cardamon cookies

Makes 24 cookies

125g butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar white sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
3/4 cup natural pistachios, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cardamon

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten egg and mix well.

2. Mix in flour, cardamon and pistachios.

3. Place small portions of mixture onto a flat baking or cookie tray. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

4. Remove from oven, allow to cool on tray for 5 mins before transferring to a cooling rack. These can be stored in an air-tight container for upto a week.

 

When I met S. in the summer of 2003 our first date was the usual dinner and a movie. Since he was visiting from Melbourne with friends and we had met under tipsy circumstances on NYE I didn't think anything would come of it but he asked me out.

Seeing as I was the local I chose the restaurant, a little Turkish place which I can't even recall the name of it was that long ago but a few days back I was reminded of our first date while sorting through old books and found a piece of paper with the ingredients for Kisir scribbled down. I remember being rather embarrased asking for the recipe but the restaurant owner was only too happy to oblige although, they didn't give me their exact recipe, just the basic ingredients which I've used to create this recipe.

Kisir is often served in leaves of cos lettuce as part of Turkish mezedes. I served it in this style when I took S. on a trip down memory lane of our first date for sunday lunch but it goes well with fish or poultry or even on its own. Variations on this dish are endless, to name a few you could omit the tomato paste and replace with harissa for some heat or add cucumber and capsicum for sweetness.

Kisir...

200 g fine bulgur
125 ml boiling water
1 tbs tomato paste or harissa
juice of 2 lemons
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
1 red chilli finely chopped (optional and not necessary if using harissa)
300 g tomato, deseeded if you want to be fancy pants and diced
7 spring onions finely sliced
1/2 bunch continental parsley finely chopped
1/4 bunch mint finely chopped
pulp from 1/2 pomegranate
cos lettuce leaves, washed and dried to serve kisir in

1. Place bulgur in a bowl and cover with boiling water, mix water in with fork and leave to stand for 20 minutes. Don't worry if some of the grains are still hard after this stage, they will soften as you add more of the wet ingredients.

2. Add tomato paste or harissa and mix until thoroughly combined. Add lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, chilli and mix.

3. Add diced tomatoes, spring onion and combine. Add parsley and mint, mix through, top with pomegranate pulp and serve with lettuce leaves or however you please.

 

 

 

Part of my new years resolution is to cook my way through the pile of recipes I've scribbled in the back of my notebook over the past year. The first resolution recipe for the year is Maggie Beer's Sour Cream pastry.

I've watched Maggie many times on her show The Cook and the Chef make this for both sweet and savoury fillings and knew it would go perfectly with the lemon curd I made on a whim a few days back.

Lemon curd is a sweet, tangy, buttery spread that is perfect scooped over scones or sandwiched between layers of sponge. I used to enjoy it spread on toast as a child so when a friend brought it up in conversation over lunch the other day I just had to make it as soon as I got home.

When I made lemon curd as a child I was told to watch it carefully so it didn't boil because the mixture would curdle. The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander has debunked that theory with her recipe calling for the mixture to be brought to the boil making it a shorter cooking time which results in a fresher fruit flavour.

The lemon curd is complemented by the light flaky sour cream pastry with a melt-in-the-mouth texture. Don't be put off by the use of sour cream, it gives the pastry a slightly creamy taste and is unlike any other pastry.

Now if you have any lemon curd left over I must insist you take a piece of shortbread, place a good dollop of lemon curd on it then sandwich it together with another piece of shortbread. It was my afternoon snack of choice as a child and today as I write up this post.

Happy baking!

Lemon curd - adapted from The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander

Make the curd the day before you intend to use it for the tart to allow it to thicken.

8 egg yolks
340g castor sugar
120g unsalted butter
4 tsp grated lemon zest
200 ml lemon juice

1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until combined then tip into a heavy-based non-reactive saucepan.

2. Add butter, zest and juice. Stirring constantly, bring to simmering point over a medium to high heat
(about 5-7 mins). As soon as bubbles appear, remove from heat, still stirring. Allow to cool then transfer to sterilised jar(s) and seal.

Sour-Cream Pastry - adapted from Maggie's Harvest by Maggie Beer

200g chilled unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
250g plain flour
125 ml sour cream

1. Place butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor, pulse until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

2. Add sour cream and pulse again until the dough just forms a ball. Carefully wrap dough in plastic film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

3. Roll out dough until 5mm thick, then line a 20cm tart tin with a removable base. Chill the pastry case for 20 minutes (preferably in the freezer).

4. Preheat oven to 200C, line the pastry case with foil and cover with pastry weights. Blind bake the pastry case for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and pastry weights and bake for another 5 minutes.

Once the tart shell has cooled fill with lemon curd mixture and place in the refrigerator to set for about an hour. Serve with cream and raspberries.

 

 

Cherries have always meant Christmas to me, not a year goes by without bowls of big fat black cherries adorning the table.

Since the cherry season may be short this summer with the unseasonal rains we've had I wanted to take the time to preserve the summer flavour and made cherry jam as my contribution to my family's Christmas feast.

Usually I bake passionfruit shortbread and there were some grumbles when I pulled out jars of jam instead of a tin of shortbread but everyone was won over as we enjoyed it with everything from the ham to the pudding.

This recipe yields about 3 good-sized jam jars, two were enjoyed at Christmas and one reserved for me and S. which we enjoyed as a tartine with goat's chevre. Take a thick slice of crusty bread and toast, spread with goat's chevre, scoop over cherry jam and enjoy!

Happy jam making!

Cherry Jam

2 kg black cherries, pitted (if you can purchase a cherry pitter - makes pitting a breeze)
3 cups sugar
juice and finely grated zest of 1 ½ lemons

1. Pit the cherries, cut ¾ into small pieces but not too small, leave ¼ whole.

2. Place the cherries in a large non-reactive pot and cook on med-high heat until it starts bubbling up.

3. Add the lemon juice and zest and cook until the cherries are soft which takes about 15-20 minutes. At this point place a saucer in the freezer.

4. Once they are cooked add the sugar and stir often, be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure no cherries stick.

5. When the bubbles have subsided and the jam appears thick (it should coat the back of a spoon). Turn off the stove place a small amount of the jam on the frozen plate then put back in the freezer for a few minutes. Take it out of the freezer and if it wrinkles when you push through it it’s done. If not turn the heat back on and cook a bit more and repeat the freezer process.

6. When the jam is done spoon it into warm sterilised jars.

 

This past weekend S. took me on a surprise day trip to the Mornington Peninsula. I've been feeling a little home sick lately, and S. knew a day trip reminiscent of the ones I enjoyed with my family would cheer me up. When me and my siblings were younger, mum and dad would pile us in the car and we'd head to Sydney for a walk around the Harbour and picnic on the waterfront but the trip we favoured most was to the Blue Mountains being sure to stop at all antique stores along the way and then a picnic in a beautiful spot surrounded by bushland.

After a day of absolute pure delight soaking up sunshine, enjoying the beaches, walking the beautiful bush tracks and visiting farm gates sampling and loading up our car boot with exceptional fare the region has on offer we headed to our final destination, The Red hill Kitchen.

The Red Hill Kitchen is a charming little place producing wonderful homemade goods and when you arrive you have the pleasure of entering through their vegetable and herb patch, and on our visit we were greeted at the door by the smell of just cooked pies. While there, we treated ourselves to chocolate chip cookies, mini raspberry tarts, caramel tarts studded with nuts, rich dark belgium chocolate brownies, a loaf of sourdough dotted with slow cooked onions and we couldn't resist one of the fresh baked pies and picked the duck slow cooked in red wine sauce.

Now that our pockets were considerably lighter we took that as our cue to leave and on the way out I made a passing comment on their gorgeous display of strung up garlic bunches which they mentioned were for sale, so of course I just had to have a bunch. With the garlic now tucked away with all our other goodies we finally made it out the door.

Hot topic in the car on the drive home apart from the deliciously rich duck pie we were devouring was what to do with the garlic. When you get something special like this which has been lovingly tended too you want to make it last, and this got me thinking about pickling. I've not had much experience with pickling so I wanted a recipe with minimum fuss and good for a beginner like myself.

Surprisingly the recipe was easy to find while flipping through The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander I found a recipe with an intriguing name, Persian Sugar-Pickled Garlic. Apparantly this method of pickling can be traced back to the 1500's and improves with age, as long as 15 years. Stephanie's recipe calls for cider vinegar (AKA apple cider vinegar) as it's milder than wine vinegar found in most recipes.

The beauty of this recipe lies in the simplicity of both the ingredients and cooking method making it perfect for the beginner. Once the pickled garlic has been transferred to the jar and refrigerated leave it for at least a month before serving. It can be enjoyed with cold meats or chopped into grain or vegetable salads or any way you like.

Happy Pickling!

P.S. I'll be back in the new year with some serving suggestions once my pickled garlic has had time to mature.

Persian sugar-pickled garlic

4-6 heads garlic depending on size, cloves separated (I used 6 as the cloves were quite small)
2 cups cider vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
6 cloves (the spice, not more garlic)
2 tbs black peppercorns

1. Place all ingredients in a large, heavy-based, non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over a high hea and cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

2. Reduce heat to moderate and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

3. Transfer to a hot, sterilised glass jar large enough to take all the garlic and liquid. Seal and refrigerate for at least a month before serving.

 

 

The Daring Bakers' after a couple of months of experimenting with the savoury side have crossed back to the sweeter side of baking and it doesn't get any sweeter than this challenge of Caramel Cake smothered in Caramelised Butter Frosting with my own addition of spiced candied Pecans.

The great thing about this cake is that it can be prepared in advance, the cake will last for 3 days out of the fridge and the syrup, pecans and frosting is best made the day before. Of course the best thing about this cake can also be the worst because if you're anything like me you'll dip one too many of the spiced candied pecans through the frosting and have to make another batch!

Before we kick off the sweetest of sweet recipes I would like to introduce you to the host Shuna fish Lydon of Eggbeater http://www.eggbeater.typepad.com and co-hosts Alex, the Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo http://www.blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com and Jenny of Foray into Food
http://www.forayintofood.blogspot.com.

The recipe is courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006...he-recipe/

Caramel Cake

10 tbs unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup caramel syrup (recipe below)
2 eggs at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking pwder
1 cup milk at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 180C and butter 1 tall (2-2.5 inch deep) 9 inch cake pan. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.

2. In a bowl with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt and mix until light and fluffy.

3. Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs and vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well
after each addition. Scrap down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

4. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of
the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. (This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake
making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.)

5. Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

6. Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will
set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

**Cake will keep for 3 days outside of the refrigerator**

Caramel Syrup

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for stopping the caramelisation process)

1. In a small steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with a wet pastry
brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

2. When colour is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about. It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and
be prepared to step back! I used a splatter cover.

3. Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

Caramelised Butter Frosting

12 tbs unsalted butter
450g icing sugar, sifted
4-6 tbs thick cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 tbs caramel syrup
kosher salt to taste - I used Fleur de Sel

1. Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool. Pour brown butter into a mixer bowl.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add icing sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit
of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all icing sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelised butter frosting will keep in the fridge for up to one month.
To smooth out from cold, mcrowave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.

Spiced Candied Pecans

2 cups whole natural pecans
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line flat baking pan.

2. Warm melted butter, water and sugar until dissolved. Add spices and pecans mixing until well coated. This will take about 5 minutes.

3. Pour mixture onto baking pan in a single layer and bake for about 10 minutes until golden.

4. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Place cake on a serving plate, smother in icing, top with spiced candied pecans and enjoy!

 

 

After two long weeks S. and I have finally emptied out two years of accumulated trash n' treasures from our old apartment and crammed them in to our temporary home minus as much trash as I could handle to lose. I'm rather attached to my editions of Gourmet Traveller from 2002 much to the horror of S.

My new kitchen is fabulous. Bench space as far as the eye can see, more cupboards than I have stuff to fill them with and a new stove and oven ready to be fired up so a trip to check out my new local Farmers Market for supplies was needed.

Early sunday morning we headed off early to the market, when we arrived a couple of coffees were needed to clear our bleary eyes along with some still warm from the oven pastries to settle our rumbling tummies and then we hit stalls in search of goodies.

We treated ourselves to a box of new season cherries, a bag brimming with fresh roquette, a couple of loaves of soft dense chewy sourdough and while I was waiting in line to purchase some bouquets of herbs I spied a stack of boxes filled with a mix of baby kipfler, royal blue, purple congo, pink eye and carerra potatoes and just had to have a box.

When you have good flavoursome potatoes you need do very little but that doesn't mean you can't dress them up. I dressed mine in sprigs of rosemary, slivers of garlic, finely grated lemon zest and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil before roasting.

I enjoyed these roasted little babies with veal however, may I tempt you to serve them solo as I like to do on occassion? Maybe with chunks of crusty bread to drag through the flavoured oil? Mmm perfect.

Happy roasting!

Roasted baby potatoes with rosemary, garlic & lemon

1kg mixed baby potatoes, scrubbed clean and skins pricked with a skewer to help crisp skin
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced in slivers
1 tbs lemon zest, finely grated
salt and pepper
4 large sprigs rosemary snapped in half plus 1 tbs picked rosemary leaves set aside

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Scrub potatoes clean and prick skins a few times to help crisp the skin.

2. Place potatoes in a roasting pan, coat with olive oil, lemon zest, garlic and salt and pepper and mix until all
potatoes are coated, scatter rosemary sprigs on top.

3. Roast in oven for 45 minutes stirring occasionally to ensure they do not stick to pan.

4. Once done remove rosemary sprigs from pan, sprinkle with fresh rosemary leaves and serve immediately.

 

Today is my last day of cooking in the kitchen of my much beloved apartment before S. and I move on to our temporary digs until we find a house to buy.

My last hurrah was limited with so little left in the kitchen but not many utensils were needed to make use of the 3 egg whites in the fridge left over from breakfast. We all know there is only one thing to do with left over egg whites. Meringues!

As soon as I mentioned meringues S. put a request in for his favourite, meringues with cinnamon and toasted almond flakes.

The idea for cinnamon and almond flakes in meringues came about last year when friends came for dinner and there was left over almonds from the chicken tagine I had made. Instead of throwing them out I thought I would liven up the plain meringues I planned on making for dessert and what a delicious treat they turned out to be.

Needless to say after their debut they fast became a firm favourite and as I finish this post S. is finishing his fourth meringue.

Happy eating!

Meringues with cinnamon & toasted almond flakes

Makes approximately 10 meringues

3 egg whites
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup almond flakes, toasted (ensure they are cold before mixing through the meringue mixture)
1 tbs ground cinnamon

1. Toast almond flakes in a pan over medium heat, set aside and let cool.

2. Preheat oven to 150 C, line baking tray with baking paper.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Start adding sugar a little at a time while still beating until its all combined and it has a glossy sheen.

4. Fold in ground cinnamon and cold toasted almond flakes. Place spoonfuls of the mixture on the baking tray and place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Turn oven off, leave oven door slightly ajar and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven. Serve with ground cinnamon and more toasted almond flakes sprinkled on top.

Meringues can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Ensure the container is lined with baking paper and if more than one layer then lay down more baking paper before lining meringues on top.

 

 

I’m overrun at work, busy with study, chewing up all my free time with looking for a house to buy and packing up my rented apartment to shift in to the house out the back of my future mother-in-laws place so my partner and I can stash some much needed cash. So, with a million things on my plate I decided that I should squeeze on one more and joined the Daring Bakers brigade!

This month’s challenge was to bake Pizza with the dough recipe from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread. This recipe is simply and easy to follow and it’s important to make sure you have unbleached high-gluten flour that has been chilled.

After a long week at work I headed home Friday night to pummel and knead the hectic week away and popped the dough balls to chill in the fridge until their big unveiling on Sunday for a Pizza Party with friends for my partner’s birthday.

Sunday rolled around, our friends arrived and while everyone was enjoying antipasto I hoped Lady Luck was on my side as I prepared to entertain them all with my pizza dough tossing. I was on to my third ball of dough before it resembled anything like the below disc.

My first pizza was inspired from Pizza Modo Mio by John Lanzafame. The base was smeared with chilli infused oil then topped with crumbled ricotta, blanched asparagus spears and an egg cracked in the middle and served with crushed walnuts on top.

For the second Pizza I smeared the base with garlic infused oil, spread thick slabs of buffalo mozzarella over and topped with sliced mini roma tomatoes and fresh thyme.

With the remainder of the dough everyone went DIY and I won’t share the recipes because by this stage we'd all had a few wines and the toppings got very interesting!

Happy Tossing!

Basic Dough Recipe - Taken from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Makes 6 pizza crusts (abotu 9-12 inches/23-20 cm in diameter)

4 1/2 cups unbleached flour high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it's better with)
1 3/4 cups water, ice cold
1 tbs sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer)

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a cean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogenously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too try add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

Note: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but not stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50-55 F/10-13 C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

Note: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to three days.

Note: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the over. Preheat oven as hot as possible (500 F/260 C).

Note: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of the jelly pan. Do not preheat oven.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

Note: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully, then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn't as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-20 cm in diameter - for 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savoury toppings of your choice.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake
for about 5-8 minutes.

Note: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pan to a lower shelf before thenext round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelises, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly pan.

14. Take the pizza out of the over and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to all the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

 

As Melbourne sputters its way into Spring I like to start slowly peeling the layers off my wintry comfort food.

The first layer I peel off are the side dishes by making them lighter. The inspiration for this side dish came from Bedouin Kitchen where I first enjoyed it.

Bedouin Kitchen is a Middle Eastern/Egyptian restaurant tucked away from all the hustle and bustle of St Kilda in an unassuming brown building with a faded gold sign. I had been driving past it for 2 years on my way to work but only found out about it when a friend told me he had enjoyed a meal there.

So, naturally I had to check it out, but it turned out my partner was a step ahead of me and he booked it for my surprise birthday dinner. When we arrived for our reservation the cosy and friendly atmosphere immediately enveloped us and we knew we were going to be in for a good night.

To start with we devoured Egyptian Pumpkin, salad of Cucumber, Dill and Feta and mashed Potato with butter, garlic and coriander.

For the main event we stuffed ourselves with Kofta, plump juicy lamb meatballs bobbing in tomato sauce topped with a poached egg. Then Bamia with tomatoes, a stew like dish of sweet okra’s and tomato on a bed of nutty flavoured rice.

By this time we were about to burst at the seams but the couple dining next to us were enjoying a piece of cake that looked too good to pass on. So we ordered said cake and the only thing I remember about the name is that I couldn’t pronounce it! It was subtley sweet with a hint of orange with a light orange and cinnamon scented syrup drizzled around the edge.

Needless to say we rolled ourselves merrily out the door!

Now, onto my simple salad of Cucumber, Feta and Dill. This version is basic compared to the one I enjoyed atBedouin Kitchen but still delicious. I’ve also used the same ingredients chopped smaller to make a chunky dip.

Cucumber, Feta & Dill Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Lebanese Cucumbers, peeled and cut into small batons
100g Feta, crumbled
Good handful Dill, roughly chopped

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve alongside your meal. Sprinkle with extra Dill if desired.

Cucumber, Feta & Dill chunky Dip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Lebanese Cucumbers, peeled and diced
150g Feta, crumbled
Small handful Dill, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve with toasted pita bread sprinkled with sweet Paprika.

Variation: Add a teaspoon of finely chopped fresh chilli to either the salad or dip for a little kick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you do when you have a cold and basically feel like death warmed up? Well if you’re anything like me you drag yourself to a crowded market at one end of town then to an Asian grocer at the other end and then you drive home to start the 4 hour long process of making Chicken Stock from scratch all because Chicken Noodle soup is the only thing that that will make you better, you just know it!

Although making Chicken Noodle soup is a long process it’s fairly simple and well worth the end result.

These recipes for Chicken Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup come from my favourite book, Stephanie Alexander’s – The Cook’s Companion.

Chicken Stock

This recipe makes about 2 litres and if you are sensible unlike me who did everything in the one day you should make the stock the day before you make the Chicken Noodle Soup.

1-2 fresh chicken carcasses, chopped
500 g chicken wings
2 chicken gizzards, cleaned (only if available and you can stomach it)
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 stick celery, sliced
6 mushrooms, chopped (I like to use Swiss Brown)
1 piece lemon zest
1 tomato, peeled, halved and seeded (You can use a vegetable peeler, just apply gentle pressure)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
a few parsley stalks
6 black peppercorns

Place chicken bones, wings and gizzards into a stockpot and cover generously with cold water. Bring to simmering point and skim well. Add all remaining
ingredients. Adjust the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer and simmer for 4 hours. Strain stock and allow it to go cold. Remove any fat that has risen.

This will keep in the Refrigerator for 2-3 days or you can freeze it.

Chicken Noodle Soup

4 large dried shiitake mushrooms
½ cup shredded snowpeas
½ cup carrot, finely julienned (optional)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
1 litre well-flavoured chicken stock
250g egg noodles, boiled and drained
1 ½ cups shredded, skinless cooked chicken breast
1 slice leg ham, shredded (if possible, get a slice of ham off the bone, the meat is not so pumped with brine)

Soak mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes. Discard stems and finely slice caps. Toss snowpeas into boiling water for 30 seconds, then run under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy-based saucepan large enough to hold all ingredients and sauté mushrooms for 1 minute. Add soy sauce and rice wine and stir. Add stock and bring to the boil. Drop in noodles, chicken and ham and stir gently to mix well. Drop in snowpeas and taste for seasoning. Adjust with extra drops of soy sauce if necessary.

To serve, lift noodles out first and divide between heated bowls, then ladle in the soup.

Variations: Substitute or add sliced cooked pork or seafood. Alternative seasings might include chilli and Vietnamese mint. I topped mine with fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves.