tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58023110138448779672024-02-23T04:48:38.716+08:00Cookbook FiendThe erratic and technologically challenged ramblings of a hopeless foodieEmilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-50880570315053356282010-04-28T17:05:00.010+08:002010-04-28T18:56:46.904+08:00Successes, scraps and lost felafels<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7LK9BAgotiX4spYGAigLnX2RC4N7QED0O4oHAb8t0Nj0DmyXDa5TWr7lz1DuTXmTlRy-299G8dvMYik3Ol2-7YrS13r4KGRPreFkXGQUDkPOwAB-2zfwOH9AdztY2BERnffYIA-BnLpE/s1600/Muesli+slice.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465112175763280290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7LK9BAgotiX4spYGAigLnX2RC4N7QED0O4oHAb8t0Nj0DmyXDa5TWr7lz1DuTXmTlRy-299G8dvMYik3Ol2-7YrS13r4KGRPreFkXGQUDkPOwAB-2zfwOH9AdztY2BERnffYIA-BnLpE/s400/Muesli+slice.jpg" /></a> When, like me, you cook a lot, not everything falls into the 'spectacular success' category of recipes that you know you'll be making over and over again. Quite the opposite really, which is why it's pretty exciting when I do come across those rare combinations of ingredients and technique that demand instant addition to the never-to-be-lost-scraps-of-paper collection which regularly gets shuffled between my desk, kitchen, and lounge room table (and sometimes gets lost...if I can find the fresh pea felafel recipe I made a few months ago out of a magazine published around the same time, but that I can't for the life of me remember the title of or where I put it, I will actually skip to the kitchen to make it again, and you will all be hearing about it).<br /><br />Today's recipe was not destined to be of the spectacular variety, but it certainly wasn't bad and with a bit of work might even make it a little further up the ranks, so I thought I would share it anyway. It's another contender marked off the list in my endless quest for the perfect muesli slice, and although it doesn't fit my picky criteria on account of being a bit too cakey, I did quite like it in a fudgy, squishy, oaty kind of way. The one thing I would definitely keep in mind if I make it again (and I may) would be to reduce the sugar as it was quite sweet. I used my own <a href="http://cookbookfiend.blogspot.com/2009/02/stories-of-muesli.html">Toasted Nut Crunch Muesli</a> (which I would certainly encourage you to make, and not only for purposes of this recipe!) which does have brown sugar in it already, so I guess if you wanted to use an untoasted/unsweetened muesli perhaps you could get away with using the full amount of sugar.<br /><br />The bare bones of the oat cake base for this come from a recipe out of Jo Seagar's <a href="http://joseagar.com/store/books/jo-seagar-cook-school-recipes">The Cook School Recipes</a>, for White Chocolate Caramel Oat Cake (obviously minus the white chocolate and caramel - God knows what possessed me to set to work with the least appealing-sounding food of the three on that list, given the choice!). I picked up Jo's book in New Zealand last year, and while I'd suggest she's probably not that well known to the rest of the world, she is known throughout New Zealand, and reasonably well in Australia, for her cookery school <a href="http://joseagar.com/">Seagars</a> and her down-to-earth approach to delicious country-style food. I have long been an admirer and am really enjoying cooking from the book - particularly the sweet options, which are the sort of things your Nanna might make if she were a hip, modern Nanna (like mine, I am lucky to say).<br /><br />Back to the cake, though. It's ridiculously easy - you just throw everything in a bowl, stir it around until it's mixed, squash it into a tin and you're away! And let's face it, if it's not the absolute best recipe you've ever made, it'll be far from the worst, full of faux-goodness from the muesli, and give you something to work towards for the next time you make it. They can't all be winners, can they?<br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Muesli Slice</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">makes 16 large-ish squares, or more if you decide to cut them smaller</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">1 and 1/2 cups wholemeal plain flour</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center">3/4 cup white plain flour</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">1 tsp baking powder</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">2 and 1/4 cups toasted muesli</div><div align="center"><em>As mentioned above, I used my homemade muesli for this, although you could use whatever you like, even untoasted if you are prepared for the end result to be a bit less nutty and toasty tasting. The one thing I would advise is that if your muesli doesn't contain much fruit or nuts, add some extra into it or your slice will be pretty boring.</em></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">1/3 cup dessicated coconut</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">1 and 1/4 cups dark brown sugar</div><div align="center"><em>I would definitely reduce this to a cup, or maybe even 3/4 cup to make things less sweet, unless your muesli is unsweetened or you have a real sweet tooth.</em></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">2 large (59g) eggs, lightly beaten</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">250g unsalted butter, melted</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin or baking tray (<em>I like to line up the sides of the tin to make it easier to get the slice out after baking</em>).</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Put all your ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly until combined. Pour the mix into your tin and smooth the surface. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the slice is just cooked in the centre and a skewer tests clean. Don't overbake it - a dry, firm slice is not what you're aiming for here, more like a soft-ish cake. Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into slices or squares (I put the whole thing in the fridge overnight, which made it much easier and cleaner to cut).</div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-78392497493319187652010-04-07T18:14:00.008+08:002010-04-07T18:26:15.951+08:00Chickpeas and Spinach<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIFPbEZVDAt3b8sQcYYxKsTZOmnZpkcyknjFA7kfX6ECBsnhroOiJEl6dFAB4rLSE0Ao_bv34yQpUO71_9jh1jkltpIFFaQS7AHAiSF9LmZqLa5F35ro8NxKqHvJH1p5zC5D9v8ddNijU/s1600/Chickpeas+%26+Spinach.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457337562696949970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIFPbEZVDAt3b8sQcYYxKsTZOmnZpkcyknjFA7kfX6ECBsnhroOiJEl6dFAB4rLSE0Ao_bv34yQpUO71_9jh1jkltpIFFaQS7AHAiSF9LmZqLa5F35ro8NxKqHvJH1p5zC5D9v8ddNijU/s400/Chickpeas+%26+Spinach.jpg" /></a><br />This is not a dish that will win awards for its attractive presentation. In fact, as you can probably see by today's photo, I found it hard to present this little number in any way even beginning to resemble how good it actually tastes. That, and the fact that I made it to take to lunch at a friend's house meant I was trying to speedily point my camera at it while figuring out how to get it into the car and across the city while it remained hot and in the bowl (result: still hot but showing definite signs of 'car spillage' by the time it reached its destination. I don't think anyone minded).<br /><br />With this recipe, for once, I followed every instruction and almost every ingredient to the letter. You see, this is not just any chickpea and spinach dish I vaguely threw together from a magazine - this, my friends, is the chickpeas and spinach from the <a href="http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Cooking,_Food_Drink/International/General/9781921259395/?cf=3&rid=1963829477&i=1&keywords=movida">MoVida cookbook</a> I purchased after we ate this very dish in the restaurant.<br /><br />It was almost two years ago that we visited friends in Melbourne and took them to <a href="http://cookbookfiend.blogspot.com/2008/05/eating-melbourne.html">MoVida for dinner</a> as a thankyou for letting us stay with them. It was fabulous, and we have since been back with the same friends for another go round with the excellent food and attentive, friendly service. And although I bought the book the first time we went, and there are a lot of things in it I've wanted to make, this recipe is the standout. Odd, I know, but it's one of those dishes you just have to eat to understand. Odder still is the fact that it's taken me this long to make it, given that it's been discussed many a time in our house and with our Melbournite friends since we tried it. Put it down to fear, maybe, that my version would fall short of the restaurant's, or that it wouldn't be as good without the atmosphere of MoVida to eat it in.<br /><br />Happily, I can report that my fear was unfounded on both counts and the recipe I detail below is almost word for word the one printed in the cookbook, as I really don't see anything that could be changed to make it better. There's a bit of forward planning involved to soak and cook your chickpeas, and to make the bread 'picada' which thickens and flavours everything, but it really is worth it, and you can use leftovers of both the chickpeas and the picada to make other dishes (sounds weird, but I stirred some picada through a chicken, pumpkin and ricotta mixture I made as lasagne filling and it thickened up the mix perfectly as well as adding a little extra something to the flavour).<br /><br />So, now that all the talk of 'blogging the chickpeas and spinach' has finally come to fruition I am glad to be able to share it here and I sincerely hope you'll give it a go.<br /><br />Chickpeas & Spinach Slowly Cooked with Spices and Sherry Vinegar<br />from MoVida - Spanish Culinary Adventures<br />by Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish<br /><br />Serves around 6 as a side-dish, or 3-4 as a light dinner with some crusty bread<br /><br /><em>Following is Frank Camorra's introduction to the recipe from the book, which I have included as it has a lovely story attached and will hopefully give you yet one more reason to make it!<br /><br />"I learned this dish from my Aunty Pepa in Andalusia. My mum has always made this rich spinach dish, but I suppose I didn't value her cooking until I went back to live in Spain and watched Aunty Pepa pound the cooked chickpeas and add some bread picada to thicken the cooking juices. This recipe is packed full of flavour and always makes me feel good after I have eaten it. Sometimes Aunty Pepa added salt cod or poached eggs to the bubbling sauce at the last minute. At MoVida we do a simpler version, which is one of our most popular dishes. We serve hundreds of portions per week, going through tens of kilos of chickpeas and scores of boxes of spinach".</em><br /><br />20g/1tbs butter<br /><br />1 clove garlic, finely chopped<br /><br />600g (1lb 5oz) spinach leaves, washed and large stems picked off<br /><br />300g (10 and 1/2 oz) cooked chickpeas (instructions below)<br />Please, please soak and cook your own chickpeas for this - tinned are fine for a lot of things, but here you will notice the difference.<br /><br />400ml chickpea cooking liquid (reserve when you drain the chickpeas at the end of cooking)<br /><br />125g (4 and 1/2 oz) bread picada (recipe below)<br /><br />1 1/2 tsp Spanish sweet paprika (not the smoked paprika)<br /><br />1tsp ground cumin<br /><em>This was one of my two changes - I used a touch more cumin as I love it.</em><br /><br />2tbs sherry vinegar<br /><em>My other change, as I had no sherry vinegar, was to use a lovely pear vinegar that I buy from Margaret River's <a href="https://www.theberryfarm.com.au/">Berry Farm</a>.<br /></em><br />Melt the butter in a large, deep pan over medium heat. Gently saute the garlic for one minute then add the spinach. Using a pair of tongs, carefully turn the spinach over and over as it cooks until it has wilted down to about half of its original volume. This should take about two minutes.<br /><br />Increase the pan heat to high, then add the chickpeas and the chickpea cooking liquid. Using the back of a spoon, crush some of the chickpeas into the spinach to bring out the earthy flavour.<br /><br />After five to ten minutes, mix in the bread picada, letting it soak up the liquid in the pan. Add the paprika, cumin and a generous pinch of salt and mix well.<br /><br />Reduce the heat to low and cook for five minutes, then add the sherry vinegar and cook for another five minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken to a creamy consistency. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve hot.<br /><br /><br />How to cook chickpeas:<br /><br />Again I defer to Mr Camorra, whose detail on cooking one of my favourite pulses has definitely taught me a thing or two. I was previously unaware that chickpeas are particularly sensitive to sudden temperature changes when cooking. This means you should never drop your soaked chickpeas into boiling water to cook them, rather put them in warm water and slowly bring up to the boil, which will avoid them getting tough and chalky. Simple and<br />brilliant advice.<br /><br />Dried chickpeas will generally just over double their weight when cooked. I generally do about half a kilo (just under a pound) of dried chickpeas when I am cooking them - although this will give you far more than you need for the above recipe and the picada, they keep for several days in the fridge and can be thrown into all sorts of dishes or blended with tahini, garlic and lemon juice for delicious hommus. To cook, soak 1 part chickpeas to 3 parts warm water overnight (you don't need to put them in the fridge, just cover and stand on your benchtop). Drain and place the chickpeas into a large pan filled with fresh warm water. Bring them to the boil and add a cup of cold water to slow them down at this point. Return to the boil and cook until the chickpeas are tender but not mushy (this will depend on how old your dried chickpeas were - expect anywhere between 40 minutes and an hour and a half). Remove the pan from the heat and let stand until it reaches room temperature. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid (it can be used much as any vegetable stock would be, although remember it won't be salty at all). Store both the chickpeas and the cooking liquid, covered, in the fridge for up to a few days.<br /><br /><br />Bread Picada<br />from MoVida - Spanish Culinary Adventures<br />by Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish<br /><br />80ml (2 and 1/2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil<br /><br />4 cloves garlic, unpeeled<br /><br />4 slices 2-day-old firm crusty bread<br /><br />110g (3 snd 3/4 oz) cooked chickpeas (instructions above)<br /><br />2-3 tbs cooking liquid from chickpeas<br /><br />sea salt<br /><br />Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the garlic in its skins for 30 seconds. Add the bread slices and season with salt while in the pan. Fry the bread for around two minutes each side, or until golden. Remove the bread and the garlic from the pan and drain on paper towel. Allow to cool a little, then break the bread into 5cm (2 inch) pieces. Peel the garlic and discard the skins.<br /><br />Pound the garlic a little using a mortar and pestle (or pulse in a food processor), then add the bread, piece by piece. Pound or blend until it forms medium to large sized breadcrumbs, about 2-5mm (1/16-1/4 inch).<br /><br />Add a few of the chickpeas, the chickpea cooking liquid and some salt to taste. Mix until the chickpeas begin to break up.<br /><br />Continue adding the rest of the chickpeas, feeling free to add a little more cooking liquid, and making sure you don't overblend the mix. It should remain fairly coarse - the consistency of a rough-looking mashed potato or stuffing for a chicken.<br /><br />Bread picada will keep, sealed in an airtight container, in the fridge for a few days.</div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-45906532289955718502010-03-05T13:19:00.004+08:002010-03-05T14:07:24.407+08:00Easter prettiness<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInF21hffQK7LDvOZ3Qf5zaIU40Wb0sXuokgislZ179ldEzKNK5hI-FYcDvdTGbbEi6RNhQXH81NA0s2Zf0ggx5yqg0aNP2NzC58Z2Swxqx8l_t8MhCBDb6UkF_HzXyv0o9vMSNuga2iDm/s1600-h/Cutout+basket.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 355px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445015452399838610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInF21hffQK7LDvOZ3Qf5zaIU40Wb0sXuokgislZ179ldEzKNK5hI-FYcDvdTGbbEi6RNhQXH81NA0s2Zf0ggx5yqg0aNP2NzC58Z2Swxqx8l_t8MhCBDb6UkF_HzXyv0o9vMSNuga2iDm/s400/Cutout+basket.jpg" /></a><br />I love holiday-themed foods. Being inspired by things I find online, in magazines and in my beloved cookbooks always encourages me to push my own creative boundaries and try my hand at seasonal goodies to be shared with friends and family.<br /><br />A staple of my gift-giving (and my entrepeneurial pursuits!) for as long as I can remember has been decorated gingerbread cookies - rarely does a holiday or special occasion go by that I don't produce at least a couple of batches of these spicy cookies, sometimes decorated with rolled fondant, but most often iced with a royal icing which allows me to change the texture according to whether I want 'floodwork' pieces (such as the ones above) or delicately piped scrolls, swirls, letters or patterns. I also adore the lemony tang of this icing against the warmth of the deep spiciness in the cookies.<br /><br />Given that my new freelance career has, for the moment, left me with a little more time than in previous years, this year I'll be selling some of these gorgeous gingerbread treats to supplement my income and stimulate the creative juices. And as I'll be offering them for sale to the family and friends I also give gifts to, I think it's only fair that I find something different to make as gifts for those people, don't you? So below are a few little inspirations I'm hoping to try my hand at in the next couple of weeks before Easter rolls around:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/sugar-coated-marshmallow-bunnies-and-chicks?&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/easter-crafts-and-treats#slide_16">Sugar-sanded marshmallow bunnies</a> over at the Martha Stewart site.</li><li><a href="http://gourmettraveller.com.au/hot_cross_buns.htm">Hot cross buns</a> - there are heaps of recipes online, mostly the basic dough is the same, just vary the dried fruits according to your taste. I'll be leaving out the citrus peel but including some dried apricots and maybe some figs, too.</li><li>The very naughty but very nice-looking <a href="http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19108/chocolate+caramel+tart">Chocolate Caramel Tart</a> from a back issue of my Delicious magazine collection.</li><li>Another Delicious recipe, the aptly but perhaps strangely-named <a href="http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/3723/easter+salad">Easter Salad</a>, which I'll probably serve as a side dish to some kind of barbecued fish. Not so much a gift, unless you count it a gift to be invited to someone's house for dinner (I certainly do!).</li><li>And while we're on the fish idea, perhaps this <a href="http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/1111/fish-fillets-with-caper-butter-sauce.aspx">Fish with Caper Butter Sauce</a> might be nice too...</li></ul><p>What will you be making or serving this Easter?</p>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-44992918348896059062010-01-19T11:31:00.008+08:002010-01-20T22:05:01.679+08:00The poor zucchiniI love zucchini (and its little brother, the courgette), but I feel that this humble vegetable suffers from a bit of an image problem. Quietly sitting on the greengrocer's shelves, it sometimes gets overlooked in favour of other, more visually commanding fresh produce (artichokes, beetroots and unusually-shaped pumpkins come to mind as examples). Not in my kitchen, though. I sometimes wonder if I actually overuse zucchini in my cooking, such is its appeal and versatility.<br /><br />See, the thing is, it's just so agreeable. It's cheap; the flavour is mild and very 'clean'; and the texture is such that it will pick up almost any flavour you choose to throw at it (sweet things included). Also, it's one of those vegetables which lends itself to being eaten raw or cooked.<br /><br />In the hope of expanding your zucchini-eating horizons, I'm not going to give a single recipe today, more a collection of little ideas which you can incorporate into a wide range of meals. In any given week, I might include 'the zucc' in the following dishes (and more):<br /><br />Cut into rough chunks and tossed in a touch of olive oil, salt, pepper and perhaps chilli flakes, and roasted alongside a chicken or joint of red meat until melting and browned.<br /><br />Grated into a bowl, stirred up with other veg (maybe carrots, onions and parsnip), a little flour, egg and some crumbled feta cheese to make fritters.<br /><br />Sliced roughly into a pan with crispy-fried pancetta, mushrooms, garlic, chilli and a bit of white wine to make a fantastic 5-minute pasta 'sauce' (well, not so much a sauce as a collection of tasty bits to mix through your pasta, but the wine and pancetta fat will give you just enough of a slick to coat everything nicely).<br /><br />Sliced lengthways, grilled on a barbecue plate and dressed while warm with lemon juice, olive oil, lots of black pepper and the merest hint of sliced garlic - this will keep for days in the fridge and is great warm or cold with just about anything.<br /><br />Shaved into thin strips and tossed through a salad of leafy greens, bacon, carrot shavings and toasted nuts, with a light vinaigrette dressing.<br /><br />And, not really last or least, but to finish this particular post on a sweet note, turned into a cake in much the same way as you would with carrots. If you'd like to give it a go, there's a lovely recipe <a href="http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7013/zucchini+cake">here</a> (I'm not a fan of the raisins/sultanas in it, so I substitute chopped dried apricots and/or dates, which works like a charm).<br /><br />What's your favourite way to cook or eat zucchini?Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-86574724199516059092010-01-08T13:34:00.013+08:002010-01-11T13:05:43.256+08:00Happy 2010 (a few days late)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4MIuHoZv_4S2eixDgvykSsRY-d_CiC0zTcSeI8ZfWL4dyC8nDbbZN3xYGt_qOgOc7rn_CciT6hpB4AJXQ_KMOP18b88Bd2BrcaqCQ9IVGZowBZwGpuWHBvHYqcSHd9KSxxrz-mC63IdMR/s1600-h/Chocolate+Cake.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425081820897226610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4MIuHoZv_4S2eixDgvykSsRY-d_CiC0zTcSeI8ZfWL4dyC8nDbbZN3xYGt_qOgOc7rn_CciT6hpB4AJXQ_KMOP18b88Bd2BrcaqCQ9IVGZowBZwGpuWHBvHYqcSHd9KSxxrz-mC63IdMR/s400/Chocolate+Cake.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Usually, the coming of a new year doesn't bring about any big or noticeable changes, apart from requiring me to switch to my new <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/shop/product/category/Books/1987/2010-Foodies-Diary-The">'Foodies Diary'</a> and remember the right year when I'm writing the date. The finishing of 2009 and starting of 2010, though, is a different story altogether.</div><br /><br /><div>2009 was for the most part a year of certainty and solidity. It was the year I got married, and where things both at home and at work were challenging but focussed. Skip the calendar forward, and here we are in a whole new decade. For me, 2010 means a lot more uncertainty and possible 'wobbles' than last year brought - hopefully not at home where newly-married life is going along swimmingly, but definitely on the career front. There is excitement though, mixed in with that uncertainty. Quite a lot of it, in fact. For in a few short weeks, I will be leaving the day job which comfortably pays my bills to venture into self employment as a freelance writer/food stylist/developer.</div><br /><br /><div>And herein lies that exhilarating and frightening mix which a new future brings. Will it work? Who knows - I've done my research (and my networking), and things all point in the right direction, but the only way to really know is to try. </div><br /><br /><div>So in the interest of countering all that instability, today I'm going to share one of the most certain and comforting recipes I know. The recipe has changed and evolved over the years, but it's the first recipe I can remember making without Mum's help, and it always makes me think of my childhood self standing at the bench with a bowl and a wooden spoon. The feeling of quiet achievement and satisfaction in the kitchen has been with me ever since I managed to weigh, mix and bake this all on my own, so here's hoping it will give you the same pleasure.</div><div></div><div></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Chocolate Cake</div><div align="center">makes one 22cm round cake </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center"><em>This cake is not rocket science, and there are really no fancy tricks involved in making it. It is, however, my go-to recipe for chocolate cake as it's incredibly reliable, keeps well for days, and can be just as easily dressed up as a birthday (or even a wedding) cake as it can be sliced and served simply for afternoon tea.</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center"><em>The most important thing for getting that really deep chocolatey richness, I find, is to use a very good quality Dutch-process cocoa powder (in this recipe it's even more important than the quality of your chocolate in giving a good result). My cocoas of choice are either Valhrona or DeZaan.</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">250g unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">150g dark chocolate </div><div align="center"><em>I generally use a decent 70% chocolate, however in the past when I've had to make vast quantities of this cake I've kept costs down by using dark cooking chocolate, and it still comes out ok</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">200g white caster sugar</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">100g brown sugar</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">250ml strong black coffee</div><div align="center"><em>instant is fine, but by all means use plunger/machine coffee if you have it</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">100g plain white flour</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">100g self-rasing white flour</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">50g almond meal</div><div align="center"><em>just use an extra 50g plain flour if you don't have almond meal - the finished cake will be slightly less fudgy but delicious all the same</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">50g cocoa</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">2 large (59g) free range eggs, lightly beaten</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Preheat your oven to 170C. Grease and line a 22cm round cake tin.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Put the butter, chocolate, sugars and coffee into a medium saucepan and heat gently until the butter and chocolate are melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">While the butter mixture is cooling, sift the flours, almond meal and cocoa into a medium bowl and mix to combine.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Whisk the eggs into the cooled butter mixture, then stir in the flour mixture until combined and fairly smooth (don't overmix it or your cake will be tough). </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the cake tests clean with a skewer. Cool cake in tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">You can either dust the cake with icing sugar for serving, or make a simple icing by beating 150g butter with 50g cocoa, 300g icing sugar and enough warmed milk to give a spreadable consistency. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">This cake will keep well for up to a week in the fridge if sealed in an airtight container, and in fact tastes best if you can leave it for a day or two before eating. Just bring it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before serving.</div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-42451531757980984592009-12-26T18:02:00.000+08:002009-12-26T18:02:15.743+08:00Luscious Leftovers<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLoRhPPqlp1avBDmWhZv9acvC_snPjVkyxj-Enlv4N4LKgHpjnaNffD_MxcE66WZBiqCPHIbO8gvAqLhdcpyU7yM6po5sb84pEunBt0l-jVESNuuGkMu8d1O1y5s-c5kTMvMwSF5WvE79D/s1600-h/Mixed+veg+bruschetta.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419472431002409682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLoRhPPqlp1avBDmWhZv9acvC_snPjVkyxj-Enlv4N4LKgHpjnaNffD_MxcE66WZBiqCPHIbO8gvAqLhdcpyU7yM6po5sb84pEunBt0l-jVESNuuGkMu8d1O1y5s-c5kTMvMwSF5WvE79D/s400/Mixed+veg+bruschetta.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Last Saturday night, we had a Christmas party.<br /><br />I made dinner. A LOT of dinner (those of you who know me well will understand that very rarely do I make a little bit of dinner, so this is hardly news). And, well, a few less people turned up than expected, so there we were on Sunday faced with an entire fridge full of leftovers.<br /><br />You name it, it was sitting in my fridge or somewhere on my kitchen bench (except the mince pies - they were in the bedroom, under the air conditioner, nice and cool and, I suppose, at the ready for a little midnight snack or a bedtime reading accompaniment). Turkey breast stuffed with pork, apple and sage; an (almost) full leg ham, baked in Guinness and glazed with cardamom and ginger; prawns; scallops; lovely snapper with leeks, carrots and white wine; the best potato and bacon salad; florentine slice; chocolates; tiny chocolate-dipped gelato cones and the aforementioned mince pies.<br /><br />But what I want to talk about today are the vegetables. Not usually the star of the leftovers parade, the sad-looking mound of charred barbecued vegetables in the fridge could easily have been passed by in favour of the shiny glazed ham or creamy potato salad.<br /><br />But then, on Sunday afternoon, I saw <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/">Jamie Oliver's</a> Family Christmas special. I love Jamie. Yes, he has his detractors and is known to some in the UK as a bit of a crusading pain in the ass who should be put back in his box, but I am and always have been smitten and inspired by his approach. Anyway, Jamie's mentor and friend <a href="http://www.passione.co.uk/chef.html">Gennaro</a> was on screen, mushing up leftover roasted vegetables to smear on <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/other-recipes/beautiful-leftover-bruschetta-two-ways-g">bruschetta</a>, and I knew instantly what I was having for my leftovers dinner. It was perfect - there were a few slices of stale ciabatta loaf on the bench, and those unpretty but delicious vegetables, barbecued the day before with olive oil, garlic, rice vinegar and chilli. And to top it off, a spoonful of mayonnaise brightened with herbs and a bit more chilli.<br /><br />The result was so good that next time I may have to barbecue my veg just to make this dish - it was the perfect Sunday-night-on-the-couch dinner.<br /><br />Hope everyone had a great Christmas day yesterday, and that your leftovers inspire you to create something special.<br /><br /><div align="center">Leftover Mixed Vegetable Bruschetta</div><div align="center">enough for a light meal for 2</div><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center">4 slices stale ciabatta loaf</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">1 clove garlic, halved</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">the best olive oil you have</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">2-3 cups mixed leftover vegetables, chopped as roughly or finely as you like and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste</div><div align="center"><em>You can use whichever combination you have - my bruschetta had Spanish onion, leeks, asparagus, yellow baby squash, zucchini, aubergine and roasted capsicum, and as you can see from the photo, I chopped everything quite finely. And although I have used barbecued/chargrilled vegetables for this, you could also use leftover roasted vegetables, or make it using fresh vegetables instead.</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">A couple of spoonfuls of good, whole-egg mayonnaise</div><div align="center"><em>I added some rice wine vinegar, chopped chilli, sage and parsley to my mayonnaise, but plain would be fine, or you could substitute sour cream.</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Parsley to garnish</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Toast your bread. When it's done and still hot, rub one side of each slice with the cut garlic clove, then drizzle a bit of olive oil over each slice of bread.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Pile as much of your veg mix as you dare onto each slice of bread, top with a dollop of mayo and scatter some parsley over the top. </div></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-78175461445522716092009-12-14T07:18:00.001+08:002009-12-14T15:57:26.726+08:00All about the chocolate<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYTAQM9FFj2cYDsHFSLMQmtOX3lAnUDQuaD3q9nECUAzdrhn9l9_5jk6yqOlujZE_3W7Ou3pPhqVekUXdRwjllYW-u-gbUcTndNQnjrSa63Np12yZPvf2YTYnw7Su0Rugy_DQL0-CNrOC/s1600-h/ChocAlmondSnowballs1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324319548417110690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYTAQM9FFj2cYDsHFSLMQmtOX3lAnUDQuaD3q9nECUAzdrhn9l9_5jk6yqOlujZE_3W7Ou3pPhqVekUXdRwjllYW-u-gbUcTndNQnjrSa63Np12yZPvf2YTYnw7Su0Rugy_DQL0-CNrOC/s400/ChocAlmondSnowballs1.jpg" /></a>Several months ago, I made some truly delicious little treats for a party. We were giving take-home boxes of goodies to our guests and these delights formed part of the offering.<br /><br /><br /><br />Everyone loved them, and a few guests requested the recipe. And then, when I went to dig up the scrap of paper I had the recipe written on, it was gone. Gone somewhere into the depths of my home office, and certainly not where I swear I had left it (among the many other 'recipe paper scraps' and clippings, obviously - where else would I put it?).<br /><br /><br /><br />So the other day I was cleaning out a few bits and pieces from said home office, where the towers of books, papers and random miscellany had become, lets say, mountainous, and lo and behold, there it was. Quietly sitting atop a file of old accounts and business paperwork, and very definitely NOT with the countless other food-related clippings I hoard like gold dust for the distant-future time when I will collate, file and organize every recipe I own.<br /><br /><br /><br />Nonetheless, I think this little gem was just waiting for the right time to show itself again, and with Christmas baking requirements entirely upon us, these Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Bites might just be the thing you've been needing to add to the season's repertoire. They are simple (providing you have a food processor and a stand-mixer), rich and present beautifully in little beribboned boxes, either alone or as part of a holiday baked goods selection.<br /><br /><br /><br />Oh, and now that I've put the recipe up here, I need not worry about losing it again, and nor will you!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Bites</div><div align="center">makes a few dozen, depending how large you roll them</div><br /><div align="center"><em>I would like to credit this recipe to someone, but I cannot remember where the original came from, only that before I adapted it, it contained almonds rather than hazelnuts, and rum instead of Frangelico. I am sure that either way will work just as beautifully.</em></div><br /><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center">240g dark chocolate, chopped</div><div align="center"><em>As the title of the post suggests, it really is all about the chocolate - you will very much taste the chocolate in the finished cookies, so make sure you use something that you really enjoy eating. I went with a Barry Venezuelan 72% couverture.</em></div><br /><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center">50g unsalted butter</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">45ml Frangelico or other hazelnut flavoured liqueur</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">2 large (59g) eggs, at room temperature</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">1/3 cup golden caster sugar</div><div align="center"><em>you could use normal caster sugar at a pinch</em></div><br /><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center">1 heaped cup hazelnuts, toasted</div><div align="center"><em>Best way to do this is pop them single-layer on a tray in a 180C oven for 8-10 minutes until fragrant, then wrap them in a tea towel and rub most of the skins off while they're still warm. You can use pre-roasted nuts however they won't give as fresh a taste to the finished cookies.</em></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">1/2 cup plain white flour</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">1/2 tsp baking powder</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">a pinch of salt</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">white caster sugar and icing sugar for coating the cookies</div><div align="center"><em>Mine needed somewhere between half a cup and a cup of each sugar.</em></div><br /><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Melt the chocolate, butter and Frangelico together in a metal or glass bowl rested over a saucepan of simmering water (don't let any water or steam get into the chocolate mix or it will seize and you'll need to start again).</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">In a stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together until they are very pale and thick (around 5 minutes on medium speed). Slowly mix in the melted chocolate mixture.</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">In a food processor, blend the nuts until ground finely but not a paste. Tip the nuts into a large mixing bowl and stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Stir the nut mixture into the chocolate/egg mixture until well combined, then cover and chill the mix for a couple of hours or until firm (I leave mine overnight and it doesn't hurt the mix at all).</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">When you're ready to bake, line a couple of flat baking trays or cookie sheets with baking paper and preheat the oven to 170C. Fill a bowl with white caster sugar for rolling the cookies in.</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into balls, then roll each ball in the sugar before placing on the trays, leaving 2-3cm between each cookie. </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Bake for 12-15 minutes - the cookies are done when they are set at the edges but still a little bit soft at the centre (don't overbake them or you'll have dry, crumbly cookies instead of chocolatey, tender ones).</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Let the cookies cool slightly on the trays before filling another bowl with the icing sugar and rolling each warm cookie in it to coat generously. Over a number of days (if they last that long!), the icing sugar coating may start to look a bit 'greasy' - if this bothers you, just re-roll the cookies in some more icing sugar before you serve them.</div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">These will keep, sealed up somewhere cool (but not the fridge), for a couple of weeks easily. </div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-87581311485569183002009-12-09T16:43:00.010+08:002009-12-29T11:12:35.645+08:00The Chook Challenge<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtSTXtpINQ1Y1DRjs1w9Ptu5VQX5_vDYfL_8mkfaAG_byHAfgRQ_c2zOoYaEljw_Neg6HAq7nWlCD6GQRX4EEwPMevTYQeAEjY6pKJrJB2nTQUrq51B2-R5JLVPYC2QKTlbtY1sNUWVLS/s1600-h/Roast+Chicken.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413154841375166274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtSTXtpINQ1Y1DRjs1w9Ptu5VQX5_vDYfL_8mkfaAG_byHAfgRQ_c2zOoYaEljw_Neg6HAq7nWlCD6GQRX4EEwPMevTYQeAEjY6pKJrJB2nTQUrq51B2-R5JLVPYC2QKTlbtY1sNUWVLS/s400/Roast+Chicken.jpg" /></a><br />Are you afraid to roast?<br /><br /><br />Being a cook, I am always surprised when people tell me they are scared of roasting a chicken. To me, a gorgeous plump bird (free range, please) is one of the easiest roasting cuts to master, and almost looks after itself in the oven. Plus, while you can do a lot of different things with red meat and pork roasts, I find that a chicken will lend itself to the greatest number of cuisine types with generosity and happiness.<br /><br /><br />That said, though, I have eaten enough badly cooked chickens in my life to know that there are a few simple rules which people often neglect to follow, and which will ensure that your meat is cooked through without being dry, and that the skin of your bird goes a beautiful burnished brown in the process.<br /><br /><br />So here are my tried and true methods, with a few variations and comments about the way I like to do things.<br /><br /><br />Number One.<br /><br />Buy a happy chicken and give it some love. By this I mean spend the extra money to get a free range bird (or even organic if you're feeling really flush). Generally speaking, a free range chicken will be cheaper, or at least comparable, in price to a beef, lamb or pork roast, and buying well means you've won half the battle already. The love refers to how you deal with your bird after you bring it home, which we'll go into detail about below, but essentially means that if you pay just a little attention to your seasoning and preparation you will reap the rewards in eating it later.<br /><br /><br />Number Two.<br /><br />Prepare your bird and your kitchen. Turn the oven on to 180C and let it come up to temperature before you put anything into it. Pat the inside cavity and all over the outside skin of your chicken with a paper towel to ensure it's clean and dry. Get a roasting tray and either set a roasting rack in the tray to put your chicken onto, or roughly cut up a couple of onions and carrots into large pieces, strew them in the bottom of the tin and sit the chicken on top of these. The rack and the vegies serve the same purpose, which is to lift the chicken off the bottom of the tray and let the heat circulate all around it.<br /><br /><br />Number Three.<br /><br />Season your bird well. If you're in a rush, feeling uninspired or just want a bit of plain unadulterated chicken, this means sprinkling generous amounts of salt and pepper all over the bird (and the inside cavity), throwing a couple of bits of lemon into the cavity, and rubbing the lot with olive oil. That's fine, and will give you a perfectly delicious roast chicken. If, though, you are prepared to take things just a bit further, why not pop a few extra flavouring bits under the skin? Choices are endless, but I will often put a few nice pieces of unsalted butter in between the breast meat and the skin (cut the butter into 'sticks' and insert it when it's cold - it will look funny with the big chunks under the skin but is much easier than when the butter's soft and still cooks beautifully), which both flavours and keeps the breast meat wonderfully tender. Or you could slice a cacciatore or chorizo sausage; mush up fresh pork sausage (take it out of the skins); use halved dried apricots; or just get a big handful of mixed herbs. To insert any or all of these things under the skin of your chicken, gently poke your finger around between the skin and the breast meat on top of the cavity, which will loosen it and give you a little pocket. You want to get your finger as far under the skin as possible, but without tearing it. Then just carefully put your chosen flavourings into the pocket and using your hands on top of the skin now, work them down and around over the breast meat as far as you can.<br />At this point, you need to know the total weight of your chicken so you can work out how long to cook it (times are below). If you've minimally seasoned the bird you won't need to add any weight allowance for your seasonings, but if, for instance, you've put a lot of sausagemeat or something else dense under the skin, or lemons in the cavity, you should add the weight of this to the weight of your chicken to get a total.<br /><br /><br />Number Four.<br /><br />Time to get things cooking. If you've put seasonings under the skin, leave the chicken sitting upright (breast facing upwards). If, however, you don't have anything under the skin, you can start your roast off with the bird turned upside down, which will help the juices stay in the breast meat and prevent it drying out too much. With the upside-down method, you'll need to remove the chicken from the oven about 30-40 minutes before it's done, and carefully turn it over, trying not to tear the skin. It's not glamorous, but I have been known to perform this task wearing a big, thick pair of rubber gloves - it gives you a manouverability which tongs will never achieve, and you still need to be quick to avoid burning yourself but it's certainly better than trying to turn the bird with bare hands!<br />Put your well-loved bird into the preheated oven. Somewhere in the middle of the oven is best, this stops things getting over-browned on either the top or bottom of the roast.<br />Now, if you want to roast a lot of chickens in future, here's what you need to learn and remember about timing, provided that your 180C oven is actually running at the correct temperature: 20 minutes for every half-kilo, PLUS another 20 minutes in total. That's it, and has never failed for me yet. My only exception is if I were roasting a very small chicken (under 1.2kg), I'd give it the 20 minutes per half-kilo and only another 10 minutes in total. And remember the weight discussion from point 3? That goes for stuffing too (which is a whole other post to be dealt with separately) - if you've stuck a great big handful of goodness inside your bird it needs to be calculated as part of the cooking weight! No food poisoning here, people.<br /><br /><br />Number Five.<br /><br />Wait.<br />Have a glass of wine (or three), and enjoy the 'proper kitchen' smells coming out of your oven.<br />You could roast some vegies with your chicken if you like (again, something for another post), or just pop a green salad and a loaf of good ciabatta bread on the table in readiness.<br />When things are done, or you think they should be, take the roast out of the oven and put a skewer into the meat between the breast and thigh meat. Pull it out, and if the juices that run out are clear, you're done. If they're pinky-coloured, put your roast back into the oven for another 10 minutes and check it again.<br />And, I know you've been doing this for the past hour or two, but here it is again: wait. Ideally, you want to give the chicken about 15 minutes sitting in a warm place (on top of the still-hot oven is good), covered in foil, before you start carving it. This allows all the fibres of the meat to relax a bit and will give you much more tender chicken.<br /><br /><br />Number Six.<br /><br />Serve your bird.<br />If you want nice, thin slices of white meat you can carefully carve them off each breast with a very sharp knife. I tend to be a bit less elegant, though, and cut down either side of the breastbone and along the ribs to remove each breast entirely before cutting it into chunky slices. Then pull each drumstick and thigh away from the carcass and separate them if you wish. Remove the wings and then pull the remaining meat from the carcass (for us this is usually what we do after dinner when the chicken has cooled, and these little bits of meat are eaten in sandwiches later).<br /><br /><br />And you're done! All I can say to finish things up is that it might take a couple of goes to feel comfortable with adapting your roast to try different seasonings, but once you've nailed the basic method you can do almost anything flavouring-wise.<br /><br /><br />The challenge is on...let me know your favourite things to flavour a roast chicken with.Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-15462708226673949852009-12-08T13:08:00.008+08:002009-12-12T16:35:45.826+08:00How to make (and lose) a booking at Australia's best restaurantI had intended for this post to be an exciting and detailed food review, but as you will read, things don't always work out as planned despite our best intentions...<br /><br />Below is a copy of a recently-sent letter to the 'Food Detective' column at The Australian newspaper. Although I am under no illusions that the Food Detective will respond to (or perhaps even read) what follows, I feel all the better for having aired my issues and sent them out to the world! <em>**current update 12/12/09 - the Food Detective has indeed read my letter and responded to say that she will be forwarding it on to Tetsuya Wakuda, as she feels he would be very disappointed to hear of our experience! I will update again if I receive any further response...</em><br /><br /><br /><em>Dear Food Detective<br /><br />Following is a story of how one can make (and lose) a booking at one of Australia’s premiere restaurants. Lest you think I am writing to have a whinge about my personal experience, let’s clear this up at the beginning – I certainly am. I would, however, much appreciate if you’d take the time to read on (it’s a little long), as it seems there is a statement to be made about how a well-regarded restaurant treats its clientele based on reputation and the ability to fill tables.<br /><br />Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?<br /><br />Mr Restaurant-Goer (henceforth to be known as Mr RG for ease of writing) and myself reside in Perth. Perth is small and does not offer such a vast array of dining options as many cities, so when we travel Mr RG and I enjoy seeking out interesting places to eat.<br /><br />A little while ago, Mr RG and I decided to get married. We would have a destination wedding in New Zealand – a great plan ensuring lots of nice holiday time and the chance to dine out at several fantastic restaurants. ‘Where shall we go?’ we asked one another. <a href="http://www.saffronrestaurant.co.nz/">Saffron</a> in NZ’s <a href="http://www.arrowtown.org.nz/">Arrowtown</a> was a given, along with <a href="http://www.martin-bosley.com/">Martin Bosley’s</a> in Wellington. ‘And’, we thought, ‘how about we go home via Sydney so we can finally eat at <a href="http://www.tetsuyas.com/">Tetsuya’s</a>? We’ve always wanted to go, and it’s months away so we should be sure of getting a table’.<br /><br />So, in February this year, I made a booking at Tetsuya’s for the end of October. Downloaded, filled out and faxed back the booking request form as per their protocol, and received a phone call from a very nice female staff member the next day to confirm that yes, we did have a reservation for three people as requested (planning, as we were, to take a Sydney-based foodie friend who wanted to pick up the bill as a wedding gift).<br /><br />And that’s where things started to go wrong, although we didn’t realise it at the time.<br /><br />Early on the morning of our booking, we flew into Sydney from New Zealand, and I switched on my phone. Said phone does not have international roaming so had been switched off for a couple of weeks, and I expected to find some messages and missed calls to attend to. What I did not expect, however, was a curt SMS, sent the previous afternoon, to inform us that our table at Tetsuya’s had been cancelled.<br /><br />The horror! ‘Must be a mistake’, we thought, and promptly called the restaurant. ‘No mistake’, Mr RG was informed – apparently we had neglected to be available to confirm our booking the afternoon before and our table had now been given away.<br /><br />Now, we are not ‘fancy restaurant virgins’. We understand that busy and in-demand restaurants need to confirm their bookings in order to avoid empty tables, and have no problem with this process. Perhaps we were naïve to expect that a restaurant of Tetsuya’s calibre would confirm our booking only on the day of reservation, and had we known they would need confirmation a day or two prior, would have given Mr RG’s phone number rather than mine so they could contact us while we were overseas.<br /><br />But here’s the problem – nobody from Tetsuya’s, at any point, advised us of this procedure, so it seemed we had come to Sydney specifically to eat at a place which now would not recognize our booking.<br /><br />Thus ensued not one, but two, lengthy phone calls between Mr RG and the Tetsuya’s booking manager, wherein Mr RG explained our position and the fact that, being as we had only come to Sydney to dine with them, we certainly would have adhered to their confirmation policy had we known about it. Why, he asked, would we have booked a table a full nine months prior, and arranged flights and a hotel to match our booking, only to not bother being available to confirm?<br /><br />Sadly, we didn’t feel that the response we got to this argument was in any way helpful. Instead of a genuine apology or some accountability taken for not having explained their booking policies, Mr RG received the statement that ALL booking staff at Tetsuya’s inform ALL customers of these policies when a booking is made, both verbally and via email, that it was unthinkable that a staff member would not have done this, and it was unfortunately not their problem if we had provided incorrect contact details or not taken any notice of this information. Additionally, Mr RG was told that when confirming tables, staff will make every effort to reach the customer numerous times by both phone and email before cancelling a table.<br /><br />We move on to the next point: there was a single missed phone call and voicemail on my phone when we arrived in Sydney, made the day before, approximately one hour prior to the SMS which told us of the table’s cancellation. No extra phone calls, no emails (which I do check and which would certainly have avoided the whole sorry mess in the first place). In fact, I have never received a single email from the restaurant, despite the original staff member I spoke with way back in February checking all of my contact details.<br /><br />Impasse. Both sides maintained their stance, with Tetsuya’s only concession being that they could squeeze us in for lunch that day (it was now 11:30am, we were flight-dirty, had no hotel room to check into, bags everywhere and the third member of our dining party at work), or they would try to find us another restaurant to go to that evening. Alternatively, we may be able to come on a weeknight the following week (when we would have left Sydney to go home). We declined all offers on the grounds that they were very poor substitutes for our original booking.<br /><br />So what becomes of the desire to eat somewhere after an experience such as this? For our money, we’ll be going elsewhere for dinner next time we are in Sydney. No matter the reputation of a restaurant (and we don’t doubt that all the good stories of Tetsuya’s are true, it’s why we wanted to go), poor handling and lack of accountability when an error is made - even a seemingly small one involving lack of information given to a customer – can have a significant impact. For us, it meant a good deal of planning and money to travel to Sydney was effectively wasted. And the better the restaurant’s reputation, the worse the impact when something does go wrong.<br /><br />Oh, and in case you were wondering, we did go somewhere else for dinner (even managed to organize it for ourselves, aren’t we clever?). We tried Bodega in Surry Hills. It was fantastic.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br />Mrs Restaurant-Goer</em>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-39847048142200528212009-02-25T21:52:00.018+09:002009-02-26T10:15:25.219+09:00Stories of muesli<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-BQIyLuK9_g5QTbm4fj54bk7dA2SepD7hNmEjISRXvUaigJWUsPAMXEC6eic6hZLmmAP_Xv3mIuxfJEH2LGBm2Z9gWhYCs2ICzMtzKMDwpu8Cp5kPnufWzLIWoG7g4p9jvEDi4XvVLtoe/s1600-h/TNC+muesli+pic.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306867430674807138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-BQIyLuK9_g5QTbm4fj54bk7dA2SepD7hNmEjISRXvUaigJWUsPAMXEC6eic6hZLmmAP_Xv3mIuxfJEH2LGBm2Z9gWhYCs2ICzMtzKMDwpu8Cp5kPnufWzLIWoG7g4p9jvEDi4XvVLtoe/s400/TNC+muesli+pic.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The foods we make and eat are the end products of personal stories. Ok, so last Wednesday's toasted ham and cheese sandwiches might just tell the story of a long day at work and an empty pantry when you got home, but that's a story all the same (and one with which I'm sure most of you will identify). </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Today's story, though, for me, has a unique personal history which will forever make it special in my mind. And the minds and tastebuds of those who came along for the ride in ways big and small.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I've been making my own muesli for what seems like forever. I always liked the idea of it as a breakfast food, but found the commercial ones bland or too sugary. When I was a teenager I tried making my own, and it was great. Easy, relatively cheap and SO much better than anything I could buy. So I kept making it, adapting and improving the recipes, and over time my family and a few friends also benefited from my semi-regular cereal production. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Then I started my own business, making healthy home-delivered family meals for people who liked to eat well, but often didn't have time to do it themselves. The mueslis seemed to fit with my other offerings so I added them as occasional menu items. Then regular items, and eventually things evolved so that the muesli became the core of my business rather than just an add-on (don't be fooled though, the few lines above in no way detail the massive efforts of a few key people in getting the business to that point!!). </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Anyway, in July last year, after 4 years of trading, I quietly closed the doors to my first ever business. And while it was sad for me, I think in some ways it was more sad for the people around me, the ones who cheered me on for all that time only to see it not 'work out'. You see, from the outside, I guess it looks like that, but I learned a lot in my time that no amount of watching someone else's business could have taught, and on reflection I really don't feel unsuccessful about the whole thing. My experience landed me a great job when I closed up, and it gave me a real understanding of the joys and the pitfalls of small business should I ever be crazy enough to attempt it again. And besides, I've still got that muesli. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Unfortunately for my nearest and dearest, they <em>don't</em> have that muesli anymore, at least not on tap like they were used to. Wistful, slightly guilt-inducing comments have been made, and their muesli stocks now rely on my occasional baking frenzies to keep them in supply.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So in tribute to the the great support I've received, and a little bit in hope that at least some of those loyal followers will attempt to make it themselves, below is the recipe for my bestseller - Toasted Nut Crunch. And if you aren't already one of my muesli addicts, try it. It's got a great story.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div align="center">Toasted Nut Crunch Muesli<br />makes about 3-3.5kg<br /><em>(yes, it's a lot but your friends and family will thank you for the lovely gift, and it doesn't really take any longer to make than a small amount)</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em><br />This is the only one of my muesli recipes which calls for a brown sugar mix when baking (all the rest are lightly toasted with honey). You could use 200-300g good liquid honey instead of the sugar mix and it will still be great, but you won't get that same deep, toasty crunch which is the reason its followers love it so much.</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><br />1.3kg rolled oats </div><div align="center"><em>(not instant oats)</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />300g rolled barley </div><div align="center">(<em>I have occasionally used rolled spelt which is just as good, but harder to find)</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><br />150g flaked coconut 'chips'</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />150g pumpkin seeds/pepitas</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">15g ground cinnamon</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />10g ground mixed spice</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />140g whole raw almonds</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />140g raw Brazil nuts, chopped into large chunks</div><div align="center"><em>(you want almond-sized chunks, so each nut can be chopped into 3-4 pieces. Doing this by hand is tiresome but gives the best result)</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />300g sultanas</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />140g dried cranberries</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />140g dried apple, chopped into sultana-sized pieces</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />500g dark brown sugar</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />250ml boiling water</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />60ml canola or vegetable oil</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Preheat oven to 180C and have 2 or 3 large roasting trays ready to go.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />In a very large bowl, mix the oats, barley, coconut chips, pepitas, spices and nuts. The easiest way is to get in there with your hands and give everything a good turn to combine.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Mix your dried fruits in another bowl and set aside.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />In a third bowl, mix the brown sugar, water and oil.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Put your cereal/nut mixture into the roasting trays - don't overfill them as you'll be doing a lot of mixing while they cook, and they also take much longer to toast the deeper the trays are filled. It's best to half-fill them and do more batches if you have to.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br />Evenly distribute the brown sugar mix among your trays and give everything a really good mix to ensure all the bits are coated with the sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and mix thoroughly, scraping the bottom of the tray to make sure any stuck bits are loosened <em>(I can't stress enough the importance of stirring really well while you cook the muesli - the better you mix it, the more even and toasty the final product will be. So don't get lazy!).</em></div><div align="center"><em></em> </div><div align="center"><br />Return the trays to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes before mixing again. Repeat this process 2-3 times until all the moisture has steamed out and your muesli is loose and 'dry' - what you're looking for is an even brown colour with all the grains and nuts separate and free-flowing (no stickiness, this means it's not quite done). The total time the muesli needs in the oven will depend on your tray dimensions and how deep you've filled them, and could be anything between 30 and 60 minutes. Don't worry if it doesn't seem really crunchy yet as it will harden up while it cools. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br />Tip all your cooked muesli back into the large bowl and mix in the fruit, then let the muesli cool before packing into airtight containers or bags. </div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-71554079043767310622008-07-30T18:48:00.013+08:002008-07-30T19:33:15.224+08:00The Aftermath<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2ZbU78fTh6IAwNqJSp8baMzzd7LI9Qv0ncw6Gxq3zSRala81Hw6nOiS5txdLy9nKINzEcDrjQCyUKE-RkBPWL3bMxwEB2eZjeVYxswVJuvvyxFdNOAzAv4kx4aO1sW69qF-zzpisqK0m/s1600-h/The+aftermath.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228757390797950658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2ZbU78fTh6IAwNqJSp8baMzzd7LI9Qv0ncw6Gxq3zSRala81Hw6nOiS5txdLy9nKINzEcDrjQCyUKE-RkBPWL3bMxwEB2eZjeVYxswVJuvvyxFdNOAzAv4kx4aO1sW69qF-zzpisqK0m/s400/The+aftermath.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Once again, it's been a while. My sincerest apologies to those of you who keep asking when the next well-overdue post is coming! Whilst my intentions are good, there have been some major life upheavals to contend with over the past couple of months which have prevented regular blogging. Things look set to return pretty well to normal over the next few weeks, albeit a new kind of normal courtesy of my new job. Aah, life.<br /><br /></div>Anyway, this new kind of normal will hopefully include a lot more blogging and a course on how to properly use my camera, so that you all can see the true beauty of some of my kitchen experiments!<br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>And as for today's kitchen experiment, well, it didn't go too badly indeed, as you can see by the photo above. Unfortunately for you, I neglected to take pictures of the 'before' scene so you'll just have to make do with the recipe and trust me that it's good. Real good.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>And just for Nic and Sal's benefit: I see no harm at all in adding to this some figs lightly poached in a sugar syrup with a slug of port or dessert wine - go all out!<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Warm Almond Cake with Lemon Curd Icecream<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><em>adapted from recipe in 'Cocina Nueva - the new Spanish kitchen', by Jane Lawson<br /><br /></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center">Cake:<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">200g unsalted butter, softened<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">1tsp vanilla extract or paste<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">2tsp finely grated lemon zest<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">310g icing sugar<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">4 eggs, separated<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">125ml milk<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">400g ground almonds (always better if you can grind them yourself but the bought pre-ground ones are fine)<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Preheat oven to 160C, and line and grease a 23cm round springform tin.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Beat the butter, vanilla, zest and 250g of the icing sugar in an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk and ground almonds and mix to combine.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and the remaining icing sugar until firm peaks form. Fold a large spoonful of this through the almond cake batter to combine, then carefully fold through the rest. Spoon gently into the tin and smooth the top.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Bake for about 30 minutes, then cover the top of the tin with foil and bake for a further 20-30 minutes or until a skewer tests clean in the centre of the cake. Your finished cake will be quite dark on the outside but should be gorgeously moist and a bit squidgy in the centre. Cool slightly in the tin, then turn out and serve warm, with the lemon curd icecream on the side.<br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Lemon Curd Icecream<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><em>This is ridiculously easy providing you have some decent lemon curd (lucky me having made a huge amount of it last week with all the lemons falling off Mum's tree!). If there are no lemons, or you're feeling time-poor, by all means buy your curd - just don't skimp on the quality, as you will taste it in the finished product. And, obviously, make this a day ahead of baking your cake.<br /><br /></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center">600ml thick cream, chilled<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">about 350-400ml good lemon curd, chilled<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Mix the lemon curd and cream together (adjust the amount of curd to taste - you want something a bit sweeter than you're after as the coldness of the icecream will dull the sugar a bit).<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">If you have an icecream maker, put the mixture in and churn according to your machine's instructions. Otherwise, pour the mixture into a shallow tray, cover and freeze for a few hours until icy around the edges. Working quickly, transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Return to the tray and refreeze. Repeat this step three times, then transfer the mixture to an airtight container covered with a piece of baking paper and a lid.</div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-27964418122819728352008-06-23T22:32:00.005+08:002008-07-30T19:26:35.301+08:00Good adaptations<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCaotdKAHANLJmoErX8F5u5mlx0xnEaqX0YhgDbtNeATvsLgU8thb42EfkSpfKQA1VhruiWG5Dv6Hpxji7u02th8cdBOi0XMIkOM_75veAVwoUtmhHLRRQhR-VjknX0FoCuRMZJXAqFX6/s1600-h/Meatball+dinner.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207174926099184738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCaotdKAHANLJmoErX8F5u5mlx0xnEaqX0YhgDbtNeATvsLgU8thb42EfkSpfKQA1VhruiWG5Dv6Hpxji7u02th8cdBOi0XMIkOM_75veAVwoUtmhHLRRQhR-VjknX0FoCuRMZJXAqFX6/s400/Meatball+dinner.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="justify">I, like many fellow cooks, have a bit of a penchant for adapting recipes to suit my mood, or, perhaps more often, what's in my pantry. In a way it's what cooking's all about - taking various ideas, methods and ingredients and combining them in your personal style to create your own recipes. </div><br /><br /><div align="justify">Having the confidence to cook this way is truly one of the great joys of the kitchen for me. I can remember just starting to cook as a child, and following every recipe with great concentration, and an emphasis on getting each ingredient and step exactly as its author described. Then, over time, I became a bit more confident and liberal with my food, such that I now know (most of the time, anyway!) what I can substitute or change about a recipe which will make it suit me better. </div><br /><br /><div align="justify">It's worth adding, however, that this doesn't always work, even if you are experienced - some things don't take kindly to being played with (bread and a lot of baked goods, for example, and confectionery), and others just don't quite turn out the way you'd hoped. I have, needless to say, had some spectacular failures as well as amazing successes!</div><br /><br /><div align="justify">The two recipes that follow today, though, are great examples of recipe adaptation: the first, a Nigel Slater-inspired meatballs dish; and the second a gorgeous yoghurt cake made a bit special with the use of leftover poached quinces and caramel sauce to turn in into a fabulously sticky upside-down cake.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezVcJrUSJp6eVCCs_mZYc8HuKIOmv3503Le1TpgwY8SJGPw9p8CYoR7R2ru2Is0Y_2Q1FbBjkQXcOY3auHcy6_tWa8nGki3IHQM21TaIm6OA8xDfX0fp4oGITHi3HG4c_apr4_mQJ4b-c/s1600-h/Caramel+Quince+cake1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207179603318570114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezVcJrUSJp6eVCCs_mZYc8HuKIOmv3503Le1TpgwY8SJGPw9p8CYoR7R2ru2Is0Y_2Q1FbBjkQXcOY3auHcy6_tWa8nGki3IHQM21TaIm6OA8xDfX0fp4oGITHi3HG4c_apr4_mQJ4b-c/s400/Caramel+Quince+cake1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="justify">As promised in a <a href="http://cookbookfiend.blogspot.com/2008/05/brownieswith-oreos.html">recent post</a>, I've given Nigel Slater's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Appetite-Nigel-Slater/dp/0609610783">Appetite</a> a bit of a workout and thought I'd share my version of the meatballs recipe from the book. Mr Slater calls for pork mince as the basis for these little delights, and while I only had beef, I thought they were worth a try...good thinking me! Perhaps a little garlicky for my liking, but that could be easily rectified next time, and my scepticism about there not being any breadcrumbs in the mixture proved to be unfounded. The adapted recipe is below.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">As for the cake, I've used this recipe for yoghurt cake a few times and it's worked like a dream in every incarnation, including just the plain version with lemon syrup (which is how it appears in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Food-Delicious-Craving-Cookery/dp/1740452046">Sweet Food</a>, a little Murdoch Books creation from the <a href="http://www.murdochbooks.com.au/chunky.htm">Chunky Food</a> series). This time, I had some wine-poached quinces in the fridge, along with a little dribble of caramel sauce, so used these to line the base of my tin and poured the cake batter over the top. Bake, turn out, and voila! A sticky Caramel-Quince Upside Down Cake. This kept Chris and I going for dessert (and, I admit, breakfast on a couple of occasions) for about 5 days. And happily it was almost as good on that last day as it was straight out of the oven. No small feat for a cake, and I suspect it had a lot to do with the moistness that the yoghurt adds.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">Do try them, either as I've written, or add your own twist and see what you can come up with. As for me, I think my next yoghurt cake will be split and filled with lemon curd; and the meatballs will be made with pork mince and maybe a little ricotta cheese...happy cooking.</div><br /></div><div align="center">Midweek Meatballs</div><div align="center">(adapted from the 'really juicy, spicy meatballs' in <em>Appetite</em>, by Nigel Slater)</div><div align="center"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4DXZiUla1BzyBqj1NN_gkZ8sJhw4bYavnxqcU4Gd_TudU832RfsRXbY4sp_rN-QjCC6hHU8Clfc2aQBKvowarO1j4hDyMPYhf2J1Qe3F3XU4UQcoS8uu5VQIZrglpWaCG2sP8EQfbhC3/s1600-h/Meatball+mixture.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207175518804671602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4DXZiUla1BzyBqj1NN_gkZ8sJhw4bYavnxqcU4Gd_TudU832RfsRXbY4sp_rN-QjCC6hHU8Clfc2aQBKvowarO1j4hDyMPYhf2J1Qe3F3XU4UQcoS8uu5VQIZrglpWaCG2sP8EQfbhC3/s400/Meatball+mixture.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><br />I loosely based my recipe on the European version described in the book, using the following:</p><p align="center"><em>a decent handful of pancetta, sliced into lardons</em></p><p align="center"><em>500g beef mince</em></p><p align="center"><em>2 cloves garlic, crushed</em></p><p align="center"><em>zest of 1 lemon</em></p><p align="center"><em>2 small red chillies, finely chopped</em></p><p align="center"><em>a good pinch of freeze-dried oregano (MUCH better than normal dried herbs, try them if you can find them at your local gourmet store!)</em></p><p align="center"><em>salt and pepper</em></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center">Mix all ingredients together, trying not to overmix. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the mixture slightly, then roll into small meatballs (about a tablespoon of mixture for each one is good).</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207174921804217426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDxgTswHTATyvILOJcNu30Y9z-ppjgwhPPBlIr3lTMBpThdDDWUlvZMV_fA-9m_fN9fb51hElzvzmugIuHDIMmmbrpzxU3oRk54QkUA_mDpHCtBMecDftvH16Gku0pRw7x_k5Pr9kWb4d/s400/Meatballs+raw.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Heat a little olive oil in a frypan over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, then turn heat to low and finish cooking through.</p><p align="center">Serve your meatballs hot, with any of the following:</p><ul><li><div align="center">dropped into a chilli-spiced chicken broth with a few soba noodles and some Asian greens</div></li><li><div align="center">briefly tossed with a jar of tomato-based pasta sauce and perched atop a mound of spaghetti</div></li><li><div align="center">with mash and steamed vegies</div></li><li><div align="center">with tiny pasta shapes or rice (try deglazing your meatballs pan with a touch of white wine and throwing the pasta/rice around in this reduced mixture to coat & flavour), parmesan cheese and steamed broccolini - as per today's photo</div></li></ul><p align="center"> </p><p align="center"> </p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center"></p><p></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center">Caramel-Quince Upside Down Cake</p><p align="center">(adapted from the Yoghurt Cake with Syrup from Murdoch Books' <em>Sweet Food)</em></p><p><em></em></p><p align="center"><em>8-10 pieces poached quince, drained of any syrup</em></p><p align="center"><em>200ml pre-bought caramel sauce, or you could make it yourself if you're feeling industrious (NOT that nasty fake caramel ice cream topping, please!)</em></p><p align="center"><em>185g softened unsalted butter</em></p><p align="center"><em>250g caster sugar</em></p><p align="center"><em>5 eggs, separated</em></p><p align="center"><em>250g plain Greek-style yoghurt</em></p><p align="center"><em>2tsp grated lemon zest</em></p><p align="center"><em>1/2tsp vanilla extract</em></p><p align="center"><em>280g plain flour</em></p><p align="center"><em>2tsp baking powder</em></p><p align="center"><em>1/2tsp bicarbonate soda</em></p><p align="center">Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 24cm round springform tin.</p><p align="center">Spread the caramel over the base of your lined tin, then top with the quince pieces, arranging in neat circles so they present nicely when you turn out your finished cake. Set aside.</p><p align="center">Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add egg yolks gradually, beating well to incorporate. Stir in the yoghurt, zest and vanilla. Fold in the flour, baking powder and bicarb.</p><p align="center">Whisk egg whites until stiff, then fold into the cake mixture. Spoon carefully into the prepared tin, being careful not to move the quinces too much, and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer tests clean. Cool in the tin for 15-20 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate so any sauce/juice runs down the sides of the cake.</p><p align="center">Serve warm or at room temperature with double cream.<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9Cgc_4lE1XuqJ5eSX6-DrwvotevQMDfwuqEqkjU0uHhjpicLVpeZs3W0IvEWIZSKc_Mr0hiDnzM1Q4fSviryykkeTYBl88sOcIyNotR8sInNcyeJgxoraKxMOzBDV2A9MVdU0VZTc01M/s1600-h/Caramel+Quince+cake2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207179611908504722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9Cgc_4lE1XuqJ5eSX6-DrwvotevQMDfwuqEqkjU0uHhjpicLVpeZs3W0IvEWIZSKc_Mr0hiDnzM1Q4fSviryykkeTYBl88sOcIyNotR8sInNcyeJgxoraKxMOzBDV2A9MVdU0VZTc01M/s400/Caramel+Quince+cake2.jpg" border="0" /></a>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-4963854286807082008-05-20T11:48:00.008+08:002008-05-20T12:45:40.646+08:00Bright and white<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3hgZDybii3jbeZXOaWe2jqrWGVvTDiVd7xtAdZrad5mDUQXqmdUf2lGnQfxptfVY_2BFKVdS2zHXFrR3ipdL7BFGIM113qncpWgjxJjfB6x5hbvAXfBaDxpk5tbbbEtLyJEVns6aJVn9/s1600-h/Leek+%26+Potato+Soup.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202305696527762610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3hgZDybii3jbeZXOaWe2jqrWGVvTDiVd7xtAdZrad5mDUQXqmdUf2lGnQfxptfVY_2BFKVdS2zHXFrR3ipdL7BFGIM113qncpWgjxJjfB6x5hbvAXfBaDxpk5tbbbEtLyJEVns6aJVn9/s400/Leek+%26+Potato+Soup.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">Sometimes, when life appears to be throwing a lot at us, the idea of big, complex food can be a bit much. By big and complex I refer to things which, although fabulous in their own right at other times, might just require more of ourselves than we are able to give in terms of cooking time and eating appreciation - think prep-intensive long-cooked casseroles; many-ingredient marinades and sauces; and fiddly, fancy Asian-style buffets with innumerable different dishes on the table at once. All good, but not what my body craves on a fragile day.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />At these times, it's comfort that I seek, and even in my fairly broad culinary scope, comfort food more often than not entails white food. Fluffy mashed potato; saucy and gooey macaroni cheese (something which really deserves an entire future post of its own); eggy spaghetti carbonara; molten-cheese toasted sandwiches; and the above creamy leek and potato soup. Noticed the recurring carbohydrate theme yet?</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />So although I'm the first to admit that eating like this all the time is not where you want to be heading diet-wise (or cooking-wise if you like a challenge), the occasional day or two of white food can certainly have a calming and restorative effect on your emotional health. And that, really, is something precious. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLP7f5DMXuDB5ByafcZRUny2Pmdj4FqVsAPGgx4ozxjlI4Pi6M63rmVnfhqWIk2mXqmIjCYOBnjfXxMudSPBtCevtIbtZGCL1YavOfTp9x2jS6WyTLV85jeh2r4_3_WyqdsizdR78_TF1T/s1600-h/Leeks.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202305700822729922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLP7f5DMXuDB5ByafcZRUny2Pmdj4FqVsAPGgx4ozxjlI4Pi6M63rmVnfhqWIk2mXqmIjCYOBnjfXxMudSPBtCevtIbtZGCL1YavOfTp9x2jS6WyTLV85jeh2r4_3_WyqdsizdR78_TF1T/s400/Leeks.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p align="center"><em>Leek and Potato Soup</em></p><p align="center"><em>enough for around 4 decent servings</em></p><p align="center"><em></em></p><p align="center">1 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced</p><p align="center">1 large or two small leeks, white parts only, sliced</p><p align="center">2 cloves garlic, smashed</p><p align="center">5 medium-large potatoes (I used Nadines, but most general-purpose/tending to floury potatoes will do), peeled and diced into about 6 chunks each</p><p align="center">1 litre chicken stock (not too salty please, you can always season further at the end of cooking!)</p><p align="center">enough cream to make you feel indulgent, not so much that you feel queasy</p><p align="center">salt, pepper, parsley</p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center">Add a splash of olive oil to a large saucepan over medium-low heat and gently sweat your onion, leek and garlic without colouring until soft (if you find it's catching on the bottom, add the tiniest splash of water to give a bit more steam).</p><p align="center">Add the chopped potatoes and increase the heat to medium. Add your stock and bring gently to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes can be squashed with the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and leave to cool a bit.</p><p align="center">Blend your soup (I use a hand held stick blender for convenience, but batches in the food processor would also work), adding a touch of water or milk to thin it if necessary. Adjust seasoning to taste, then gently, over low heat, stir in the cream to reach your desired richness (I have, at health-conscious times, made this without any dairy additions and it's been just fine). </p><p align="center">Serve in deep bowls with cracked pepper and a scattering of parsley, and maybe some extra-buttery garlic bread if you feel the need.</p><p align="center">Will keep covered in the fridge for about 4 days (I find it best on the second day but can't usually wait that long to eat my first bowl!).</p>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-75589872923114653652008-05-13T10:40:00.010+08:002008-05-13T12:14:29.612+08:00Brownies...with Oreos?<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixktjVH6GjPgN5LC6N9R7PIB1MW9GTK8cbJ3a-dH1yAkgJWgTvI_5qwEbEHGqsaHg5F0tVlYXtjIdTGvv6okV71Y1xIletGypBEh4IDtmhjHvgZsX7tlJ5f5_Ewm6fiZMdHrBxY8bfNgR0/s1600-h/BooksForCooks+purchases.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199688695644898434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixktjVH6GjPgN5LC6N9R7PIB1MW9GTK8cbJ3a-dH1yAkgJWgTvI_5qwEbEHGqsaHg5F0tVlYXtjIdTGvv6okV71Y1xIletGypBEh4IDtmhjHvgZsX7tlJ5f5_Ewm6fiZMdHrBxY8bfNgR0/s400/BooksForCooks+purchases.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="justify">I did promise in my last post to enlighten you regarding some purchases I made in Melbourne... <a href="http://booksforcooks.com.au/">Books for Cooks</a> is the sort of store any cookbook lover wishes was right around the corner, particularly if you're a complete junkie like me. So, knowing that they're not just around the corner, it was with remarkable restraint that I left the store with only 4 new titles after a happy hour or so browsing the shelves (I will add here, however, that the restraint I speak of had far more to do with flight baggage limits and budget constraints than good sense).</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br/>As the picture demonstrates, my current cooking trend of 'all things chocolate' dominated on the day, although the Nigel Slater and Hugh F-W additions also made it in on the basis that I've had my eye on both books for some time...if you've never read/cooked with a book from either of these UK-based masters, well, where have you been? Both men are brilliant writers and dedicated foodies, and place strong emphasis on the origins and quality of what we eat - issues which are governing more and more of the foods I choose to buy and cook with.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br/>I've gotten off track, though...Nigel and Hugh's books will almost certainly be featured in future posts (when I've had more time to go through them in detail), but today's recipe comes from one of my other 'newies', <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ChocolateChocolate-Lisa-Yockelson/dp/0471428078">Lisa Yockelson's Chocolate Chocolate.<br/><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkW4c7NZBoZReFPyP6K_DP2DmFWRd0uyZ8R88B44r1M_iSivgEgdASR28XQoaBL-RnWOAg69DsXve4Q9RWrR8X6ogWTDOcp0D5SjhccYLKEmiPxHDRTV-2KvAhZWxkpAdbg8iOj-Fbqua/s1600-h/ChocolateChocolate+Book.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199688824493917330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkW4c7NZBoZReFPyP6K_DP2DmFWRd0uyZ8R88B44r1M_iSivgEgdASR28XQoaBL-RnWOAg69DsXve4Q9RWrR8X6ogWTDOcp0D5SjhccYLKEmiPxHDRTV-2KvAhZWxkpAdbg8iOj-Fbqua/s400/ChocolateChocolate+Book.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></a></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">I'd like to state for the record that the purchase of this book did cause me some angst due to its 'American-ness'. Now before any US readers get all offended by my statement, let me clarify - I certainly don't dislike Americans or their books as a blanket rule, but being so far away geographically can have its problems when using US published recipes. Not so much because of the different measurement systems (there are charts to help with that if you're unsure), more because a lot of commonly used US-brand-name ingredients are unavailable here, and it's not always straightforward to substitute something if you don't know what the specified ingredient is similar to. And herein lay my problem with Yockelson's book; there are pages (and pages and pages) of meticulously compiled charts and lists at the beginning of the book detailing chocolate-based ingredients, their sale weights and characteristics, but unfortunately most of the ingredients aren't available in Australia (excepting some of the major European brands). You see my dilemma.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br/>Having made my complaint, though, I read on and decided that this was still a book worth owning. The recipes are detailed and there are A LOT of them, covering just about any chocolate-themed baked good you can think of; most recipes have a photo; and when it comes down to it, it's just chocolate - pick a good quality version that you know you like, and it's more than likely to be a reasonable substitute. Oh, and the layout and design, though a bit flowery and flouncy, really suits the writing style and content (sounds simple but so often I come across a cookbook where this is really not the case, so it's worth mentioning the good ones).</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br/>So, the recipe. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br/>On close inspection, there were several things I wanted to make, but these Rocky Road Mud Bars won out on the basis of pantry supplies and Chris' insistence that they were the best looking in the picture. And, apart from the Oreo crumb layer on the bottom, which could really be left out altogether next time (it didn't add much in terms of flavour/texture in my opinion, although I'll admit I've never been an Oreos fan), they really are pretty good. And I followed Yockelson's recommendation of chopping up extra nuts, chocolate and marshmallows and scattering these over the top of the mixture about 5 minutes before the end of baking. Definitely a worthy addition.<br/><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGc7D5KqAbzMnrNj8tvhuGSTJpQ1F5CXDY3ovlQfGsi1E1tMYnmxx9orspWMjDAinkTKVOQ2gkwm9DcNY7NNq_JgMQhaK8eJEvococKhwQDUUQb8-1zCHTFVNFSDI5_sEIrqJSQWQTQTf/s1600-h/RockyRoadMudBars.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199689417199404194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGc7D5KqAbzMnrNj8tvhuGSTJpQ1F5CXDY3ovlQfGsi1E1tMYnmxx9orspWMjDAinkTKVOQ2gkwm9DcNY7NNq_JgMQhaK8eJEvococKhwQDUUQb8-1zCHTFVNFSDI5_sEIrqJSQWQTQTf/s400/RockyRoadMudBars.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="center"><em>Rocky Road Mud Bars</em></div><div align="center"><em></em> </div><div align="center"><em>from Chocolate Chocolate (Lisa Yockelson)</em></div><div align="center"><em></em> </div><div align="center"><br/>Chocolate Cookie Layer:</div><div align="center">1 stick (125g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to tepid</div><div align="center">1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons (<em>way too hard to figure out, I just used one packet</em>) chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (such as crumbs made from Oreo Cookies)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br/>Mud Brownie Batter:</div><div align="center">1 1/4 cups bleached cake flour (<em>plain white flour did the trick for me)</em></div><div align="center">1/4 cup unsweetened alkalised cocoa powder (<em>PLEASE use something good, my preferred brand is Barry Cocoa, but anything reasonable and Dutch will do)</em></div><div align="center">1/4 tsp baking powder</div><div align="center">1/8 tsp salt</div><div align="center">3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (<em>I used 60% buttons, roughly chopped</em>)</div><div align="center">2 sticks (250g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to tepid</div><div align="center">6 ounces (180g) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid (<em>again, 60% buttons)</em></div><div align="center">5 large eggs</div><div align="center">2 cups caster sugar</div><div align="center">2 tsp vanilla extract (<em>I used paste)</em></div><div align="center">1 cup chopped walnuts (<em>pecans</em>)</div><div align="center">1/3 cup miniature marshmallows </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br/>Preheat oven t0 325F (about 160C). Grease and line a 10x10inch pan (<em>mine was about 26 x 22cm and made a pretty deep brownie</em>). </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br/>Mix the cookie layer: pour the melted butter into the pan. Sprinkle the chocolate cookie crumbs evenly over the melted butter. Press down on the crumbs with the underside of an offset spatula so the crumbs absorb the butter. Bake the cookie layer for 4 minutes, then let stand on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br/>Mix the batter: Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl toss the chocolate chips with 1/2 tsp of the sifted mixture (<em>this will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the finished brownies</em>).</div><div align="center">Whisk the melted butter and melted chocolate in a medium-sized bowl until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for 1 minute to blend, add the sugar and whisk for a further minute or until just incorporated. Blend in the melted butter/chocolate mixture, mixing thoroughly. Blend in the vanilla. Sift the flour mixture over and slowly stir in. Blend in the chocolate chips, walnuts and marshmallows. </div><div align="center">Spoon the batter in large dollops onto the cookie crumb layer. Carefully spread the batter over the cookie layer using a flexible spatula.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br/>Bake, cool, refrigerate and cut the sweet: Bake for 40 minutes or until set (<em>don't overbake it, whatever you do - you want it still a bit gooey in the centre when tested with a skewer</em>). Cool completely in the pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm enough to cut neatly. With a small sharp knife, cut into quarters, then each quarter into 6 bars. Store in an airtight tin.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br/>Bake and serve within 3 days (<em>although we ate the last of them 6-7 days after baking and they were still ok</em>).</div></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-24535230926693641152008-05-05T11:13:00.018+08:002008-05-20T21:36:49.061+08:00Eating Melbourne<div align="justify">Somehow, somewhere along the line, I got the impression that Melbourne was over-rated and less than great. Maybe it was the 8 or so hours Chris and I spent there a couple of years ago for the purpose of a business meeting and - ostensibly - a bit of sightseeing. The same 8 hours wherein the fair city put on a fine show of its famed bad weather and we got on the homeward flight cold, wet and having seen nothing much except a rain-swept St Kilda and the inside of a peak-hour city tram.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">Okay, I admit it. I was hasty in making judgment, and, it now seems, horribly unfair. Melbourne, despite its strange weather patterns (which were again on display this time around), is lovely. And, more importantly to my mind, a food mecca not to be underestimated.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">Coming from Perth, which is deemed a 'small and isolated city' (but which is also a great place to call home, make no mistake), I'm always fascinated by the larger cities' ability to offer such a varied and thriving food culture. The sheer number of little boutique-style cafes and shops in these places would simply not be sustainable here due to our lesser population. Hence my excitement at eating my way through such places - the biggest downfall being the number of meals one can realistically cram into a single day, which severely limits my capacity to try everything!<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><p align="justify"><strong></strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Tour</span></p><strong></strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZUolNocORBpamfx_WXqliyTtcsfTowlCNVOUpcYYxTswx-ztNarOINidffODOZqGud-FNSiDSEX0WkAIB28Lxw9n4jJ2XhiHUMQ6Djv4oHAHZZtfZZSNm7ny8prlCsOUDDUq4j9PZoqC/s1600-h/Koko+Black+chocs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197102539462368210" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZUolNocORBpamfx_WXqliyTtcsfTowlCNVOUpcYYxTswx-ztNarOINidffODOZqGud-FNSiDSEX0WkAIB28Lxw9n4jJ2XhiHUMQ6Djv4oHAHZZtfZZSNm7ny8prlCsOUDDUq4j9PZoqC/s400/Koko+Black+chocs.jpg" border="0" /></a>Apart from much general discovery, Chris and I spent a relatively fine Saturday morning in the CBD on a dedicated <a href="http://www.melbournefoodtours.com/">'Foodies Walking Tour'</a>, led by the lovely and exceptionally knowledgeable <a href="http://www.campionandcurtis.com/">Allan Campion</a>. Not only is Allan an expert on his foodie information (partly due, I'm sure, to the research he undertakes to co-author the <a href="http://www.campionandcurtis.com/books.html">Foodies Guide to Melbourne</a> each year), he also offers many 'hidden extras' about the history of particular businesses and locations as you go along. And although my inclination was to give you a blow-by-blow account of every place we visited on the tour, and what we ate, I think it might be best to tantalise just enough that you might go on the tour yourself, rather than experience it through your computer! So, in no particular order of importance, highlights were:<br /><br /><ul><li>A visit to Maxims Bakery in Chinatown (cnr Little Bourke and Russell St's). Tiny, typically Asian and full to the brim with pastry delights. We tasted the interesting melon cake (which Allan rightly said was probably not something most 'Westerners' would choose, but was great to try) and the egg tarts during the tour, and were compelled to return a couple of days later for a gluttonous feast of curry beef buns, coconut buns, bbq pork puffs and curry puffs. I can happily say everything was great (and it's cheap enough that you can try A LOT of things withough blowing the budget, although the same probably can't be said about your waistline after you do this).<br /></li><br /><li>A stop at the iconic <a href="http://www.grossiflorentino.com/">Grossi Florentino</a> restaurant for a sneak peek at their upstairs Mural Room (complete with brief history of the business from Allan), followed by salt cod fritters and a glass of wine in the downstairs bar. We didn't have time to go back for a meal during our stay, but it will certainly be on the list for next time. A place that serves up handmade pasta with guanciale (pig's cheek, and no, I didn't know what it was until we asked!), cavolo nero and olives is a place I want to eat at...<br /></li><br /><li>Chocolates and a chat with the chocolatier at <a href="http://www.kokoblack.com/">Koko Black</a>. There are several stores around Melbourne, and if you live there but haven't visited one before then I would suggest it's high time you did. Classic high-class chocolatey goodness. Nothing else to say.<br /></li><br /><li>A wander past <a href="http://quistscoffeecomau.melbourneitwebsites.com/index.html">Quists Coffee</a>, Melbourne's first commercial coffee roasters. They were unfortunately closed the day of our tour, however we went back to try their coffee and were not disappointed. I might add here that appearances can be deceiving - apart from their prominently-situated coffee machine (which is truly a thing of beauty), Quists doesn't look like much from the outside. One tiny macchiato, however, will convince you otherwise.<br /></li></ul><p align="justify">There were many other fascinating discoveries made during Allan's tour which Chris and I referred back to over the course of our visit, and I sincerely hope that whether you think you are a 'tour person' or not (I have to say that it's not usually my first inclination to go on a tacky guided tour of a city when I go somewhere new), you'll give it a try if you get the chance. It was well worth the time and cost, and something any food-oriented soul should enjoy.<br /><strong><br />The Restaurant</strong></p><p align="justify"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV8tWAhQxVNNVrl-5860YSxNEqXgnkT_hySA8k3zmqAxoBOiTa5rdDzve7CRNoHz0wapQ_0aW9k6pLs2lnHZAQd3UaHGgm2niv7O9y1SJNFoj80QKCCks_9fPEnC4qkxR0amwVvEhHk8Y/s1600-h/MoVida+business+card.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197102543757335522" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV8tWAhQxVNNVrl-5860YSxNEqXgnkT_hySA8k3zmqAxoBOiTa5rdDzve7CRNoHz0wapQ_0aW9k6pLs2lnHZAQd3UaHGgm2niv7O9y1SJNFoj80QKCCks_9fPEnC4qkxR0amwVvEhHk8Y/s400/MoVida+business+card.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Oh, what a joy it is to go to a restaurant you've heard so much about and find that not only does it live up to your expectations, it actually exceeds them. On several occasions I've visited much-touted venues only to be let down by one thing or another and gone home a bit perplexed as to the deservedness of their reputations (the most recent that springs to mind is Sydney's Pier, where the service didn't quite match up to the setting/food/prices despite it's long-standing good name).<br /></p><p align="justify"><a href="http://movida.com.au/">MoVida</a>, in Melbourne's CBD, impressed on all counts. So much so, in fact, that I almost cry when I think about how far I must travel to visit again. The tapas style of eating is one which appeals a lot, due to its emphasis on eating many different things throughout the meal. Great for those of us who can never decide what to have, although at MoVida I wanted to try almost everything on the menu, which left another problem entirely: be a total glutton and try everything that looks good, or make a concerted effort to choose only the 'best' of the menu??<br /><br />Ultimately, our party of four went with the recommendation of our fantastic waitress and chose around 3 tapas each, then 5 racion (mid-sized plates) to share. Although we probably could have gotten through another 1-2 dishes between us, our restraint was later rewarded with the ability to fit in dessert - it's always a plus when you don't leave knowing you've eaten so much that you won't be able to sleep that night!<br /><br />I'd like to be able to tell you that everything we consumed has a matching photograph so you can actually see what was ordered, but, well, we were far too busy devouring it to worry about pictures! And to be honest, any photographs I could have taken would probably only detract from the deliciousness...a crumbed and fried ball of goodness might be about the best thing one can eat, but lets face it, there aren't many ways to make it beautiful on camera. So you'll just have to trust me. And if you really want to see it, their quirky <a href="http://movida.com.au/">website</a> has a few funny little pics that will whet the appetite.<br /><br />Highlights: the diminutive Croqueta, crunchy and golden on the outside, silky and mushroomy within; Vieira, jamon y espuma (baked scallop on the half-shell with jamon and potato foam), the potato foam giving a little nod to the molecular gastronomy groupies; the Gambas con pancetta (pastry-wrapped prawns with pork belly and chickpea shoots), possibly my favourite EVER prawn dish; and, surprisingly, an unassuming and simple little number of Espinacas con garbanzos (sauteed spinach with chickpeas and spices), which defied all expectation and was one of the best dishes of the night. The current <a href="http://www.movida.com.au/docs/movida_menu.htm">menu</a> lists these gorgeous treats and more.<br /><br />Go there. Go there now. Although you will want to book a table - it's not a huge restaurant and reservations need to be made well in advance (it took us 5 weeks 'thinking ahead time' to get our Sunday night booking). And if you don't live in Melbourne, like us, you'd better start thinking about planning a trip. It's that good.<br /><br /><strong>A couple of other things</strong></p><p align="justify">Try a cheap and cheerful vegetarian lunch at the <a href="http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/trippy_taco/">Trippy Taco</a> if you're near Collingwood, and churros with an array of different dipping chocolates at <a href="http://sanchurro.com/">Chocolateria San Churro</a> (several locations, we patronised the Brunswick St store in Fitzroy more than once). <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/restaurant-reviews/gills-diner/2007/12/10/1197135356181.html">Gills Diner</a> in the city is also good for a casual dinner (despite a rather unfortunate brand of service from our less-than-friendly waitress - all other reports have been favourable, and the food was great).</p><p align="justify">Still to come in the next post: my newly-acquired cookbooks from a little shopping expedition during our trip, with a recipe full of chocolatey ooziness to delight one and all.</p>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-4042438601027911622008-05-02T14:30:00.016+08:002008-05-05T13:02:17.236+08:00Digg me!<div align="justify">Sorry guys, no pictures today, although I promise a full write-up of our Melbourne trip over the next couple of days (including the <a href="http://melbournefoodtours.com/">Foodies Tour of Melbourne</a> with Allan Campion and our fabulous dinner at <a href="http://movida.com.au/">MoVida</a>). There's a fair bit of eating and book-shopping to talk about, so I've been writing a lengthy and time-consuming post over the past week to deal with it all!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Just wanted to let everyone know about a little way in which you can help me promote this blog to the world - head over <a href="http://digg.com/food_drink/The_Cookbook_Fiend">here</a>, sign up to use the <a href="http://digg.com/">Digg</a> site (if you haven't already - it's free and relatively painless) and 'digg' this blog. The idea is that the more diggs your site gets, the more prominently it will be displayed on their site for other users to find, thus increasing visibility to more than just friends and family... hopefully a good way to gain a bit of new readership and encourage my desire to post often.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"><br /><br />If you have a spare five minutes, <a href="http://digg.com/about">Digg</a> is worth exploring in general. Not everything is great (after all, anyone can add recommended sites, and we all know how many idiots are out there in internet-land), but I have come across several new blogs and websites this way. It's just about sharing the good things, really. :)</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"><br /><br />Delicious Melbourne stories soon, watch this space.</div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-36843451256244178792008-04-22T11:06:00.007+08:002008-05-02T14:53:39.473+08:00It doesn't look so pretty...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugcBn4y0DQZ5hU5k1eMJA6sv5fN7qSMQY-5v9AWyRgvfh0QCx-_X7oGov7TDq0FTDKpae8ZQwjkwhWOk5tPZbDjWK2mQ6IKHMxy9PfjAzvK4Bxah0-pyvBMa8a3x8-UjGY6XegWIKS0xv/s1600-h/Chicken+%26+Mushroom+Fusilli.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191537105740955666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugcBn4y0DQZ5hU5k1eMJA6sv5fN7qSMQY-5v9AWyRgvfh0QCx-_X7oGov7TDq0FTDKpae8ZQwjkwhWOk5tPZbDjWK2mQ6IKHMxy9PfjAzvK4Bxah0-pyvBMa8a3x8-UjGY6XegWIKS0xv/s400/Chicken+%26+Mushroom+Fusilli.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="justify">But I can assure you it tasted great!<br /></div><br /><div align="justify"><br /><br />It occured to me after looking back over my first few posts that I am yet to give a recipe for anything savoury. And bearing in mind my HUGE pasta addiction (to which Chris will attest and probably groan at, seeing as I try to feed it to him at least twice a week despite his adamant and definitely ridiculous view that it is far tastier eaten only occasionally), what could be better that a gorgeous Sunday-night chicken & mushroom fusilli with bacon, chilli, rocket and basil?</div><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />Over the years my relationship with this ubiquitous foodstuff has changed and, I like to think, grown somewhat to reflect my furthered knowledge and experience in the kitchen. I've always loved it in its myriad forms, and been happy to consume it pretty much to the exclusion of all other foods, however I can dimly remember a time in my childhood when the pinnacle of my pasta experiences involved spaghetti with minced meat sauce and pretend parmesan cheese. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but how things change! I now make, buy and consume varying fresh and filled pastas, along with the craziest of dried shapes coated in everything from basic tomato sugo to slow-cooked shredded rabbit with olives, pancetta and tiny onions. Which, unfortunately, has landed me with a slight problem: I am now unable to order pasta off most restaurant menus. </div><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />That's right. Call me picky, a snob perhaps, but I have spent so long in my own kitchen playing with pasta that the overcooked, oversauced and underflavoured (or just plain weird) offerings of many a 'cafe' or pub menu simply don't cut it anymore. There are notable exceptions at a few higher-end restaurants in Perth, but for the most part I must venture away from the pasta section on the menu and head instead for the proteins. A tall order for someone who loves the stuff as much as I do!</div><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />Anyway, back to Sunday night's chicken and mushroom creation. It's not my best ever, but was more than serviceable as a 'pull everything out of the fridge and chuck it in a pan' dinner for two. I've done my best to remember the main points below...</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center"><br />Chicken & Mushroom Fusilli</div><div align="center">enough for 2</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />200g fusilli pasta</div><div align="center">1 small chicken breast (always free range, people!!), diced</div><div align="center">1 clove garlic, minced</div><div align="center">salt, pepper, oregano for seasoning your chicken</div><div align="center">2tbs olive oil</div><div align="center">8 button mushrooms, sliced</div><div align="center">1 shallot, finely diced</div><div align="center">2 rashers bacon, diced</div><div align="center">1 chilli, sliced (more if you like it hot)</div><div align="center">250ml tomato puree</div><div align="center">a big handful of rocket and basil</div><div align="center">parmesan cheese</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Cook your pasta until al dente, then drain. Meanwhile, heat a large frypan over medium heat. Season your chicken with garlic, salt, pepper and oregano to taste (I just sprinkle the seasonings over chicken in a bowl and mix with my hands). Add the oil to your chicken and mix, then fry until browned all over (doesn't need to be cooked all the way through, you'll finish it off later). Remove from pan and set aside.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Place the pan back on medium heat and add the mushrooms. Cook for a minute or two until they start to brown and have lost most of their 'juice', then add your shallot, bacon and chilli to the pan. Cook until the bacon is browned, then add the tomato puree and a touch of hot water to thin the mixture if you need it. Add your browned chicken back to the pan and cook everything until the chicken is cooked through.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Add your drained pasta and rocket/basil mix to the pan and mix thoroughly. At this stage I like to add a handful of grated parmesan and mix it through, rather than just sprinkle it all on top once it's in the bowl. Season to taste and adjust if necessary.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Serve your pasta in large bowls with more parmesan cheese on top, and enjoy!</div><div align="center"></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-66656433265926521142008-04-20T14:08:00.020+08:002008-05-02T14:59:45.397+08:00Sweet treats<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZhIn5Gm3ePenaLe0ROjPRRXz2wKG5bDTOJXHWNsZCVOp6g-cPywWCgDFIsjiDtrASd5kYmVuJn4ig8N1hlOEOISH0kUme1KivtBcTulfZMUQ9eYNfDp0NZDk6I6IDME4j1MROBJ75mgp/s1600-h/Caramels+box.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191206109791322098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZhIn5Gm3ePenaLe0ROjPRRXz2wKG5bDTOJXHWNsZCVOp6g-cPywWCgDFIsjiDtrASd5kYmVuJn4ig8N1hlOEOISH0kUme1KivtBcTulfZMUQ9eYNfDp0NZDk6I6IDME4j1MROBJ75mgp/s400/Caramels+box.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Today's delicious post comes about thanks to my brainstorming session earlier in the week regarding possible 'Christmas products' for <a href="http://www.foodbyemily.com.au/">my business</a> this year. Yes, I agree it is a little early for most of us to be thinking about the festive season, however any additions to my product range need to be thoroughly tested and perfected by about June in order to fit in with production/packaging/distribution timelines for the remainder of the year (it's a long and tedious process the details of which will bore most of you to death, so I shan't go on about the 'un-fun-ness' and lack of spontaneity in developing Christmas products at Easter!). </div><br /><p align="justify">All of which leads us, in a roundabout way, to caramels.</p><p align="justify">I suspect that the main reason I have never pursued a career as a chocolatier or master pastry chef may have something to do with the mind-altering effect large quantities of fabulous chocolate, dairy and sugar products have on me. In moderate 'finished product' quantities I have some form of willpower not to eat everything in sight, but put me in a kitchen with a candy thermometer and a few select ingredients and I will taste-test until I make myself sick. Which, though I am slightly ashamed to admit it, is precisely what's been happening with these delicious little salted caramels I tested out a couple of days ago. </p><p align="justify">After deciding that caramels/toffee could be a great addition to the silly season range, it was straight to my bookshelves for inspiration and recipes. And although I found several ideas which would probably suffice, it occured to me that I am lacking in dedicated candy making books (something which I will shortly be rectifying with the purchase of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688175104/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance">this book</a> and possibly also <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chocolates-Confections-Formula-Technique-Confectioner/dp/0764588443/ref=pd_sim_b_img_9">this one</a>). So off I went to the great resource of my laptop and its lovely fast broadband speeds - thankyou Chris - and came across the <a href="http://www.chocolategourmand.com/">Chocolate Gourmand</a>, aka Brian from San Francisco. Brian's site is a great resource for amateur candymakers, full of delicious sounding recipes and detailed explanations (including step-by-step photos) of how to achieve the right results. The process of candy-making can be quite daunting if you've never attempted anything like it before, so these descriptions and details go a long way to de-mystifying it.</p><p align="justify">It's Brian's recipe for Classic Cream Caramels I share below, almost word for word, with the small addition of a tiny sprinkling of good sea salt over the top of the finished slab (whoever thought up salted caramels deserves only good things to happen to them). Being a bit of a novice in this area, I was thrilled with my first attempt at his recipe and hope he won't mind me sharing the love. Other things on my list to try soon are his <a href="http://www.chocolategourmand.com/recipes/candies/pecan_maple_caramel.cfm">Pecan Maple Caramels</a> and <a href="http://www.chocolategourmand.com/recipes/candies/english_toffee.cfm">English Toffee</a>. </p><p align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7DG9pQ-1PUlYLlzXlmetpRZYHZoJ0wAv2cAqfO1jgZibJIQb7H_4-HRnd96l0wy6sEp6V7_JAbdFgzUj9F1D5ZtDkGiE_peHJlMqRTouERsG-543P1lRYnPsejRUwfbFTAupvMeqGmKn/s1600-h/Caramels+slab.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191227125066301442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7DG9pQ-1PUlYLlzXlmetpRZYHZoJ0wAv2cAqfO1jgZibJIQb7H_4-HRnd96l0wy6sEp6V7_JAbdFgzUj9F1D5ZtDkGiE_peHJlMqRTouERsG-543P1lRYnPsejRUwfbFTAupvMeqGmKn/s400/Caramels+slab.jpg" border="0" /> </a></p><p align="justify">After making my caramel, I set most of it in a large baking tray lined with silicone paper, but also put a bit into some silicone ice cube trays I bought - they are the perfect shape and size to make individual caramels, however I soon established that my two (36 pieces all up) moulds would be severely inadequate for the quantity of caramel I had made. They are also fiddly to fill and I think on reflection it would be easier (if not so pedantically same-sized) to pour all of it into baking trays and just cut my set slab into individual portions.</p><div align="justify">I cooked the caramel to about 118-119C before taking it off the heat, which is a bit higher than the normal range specified in the recipe. This is because I knew I wouldn't be dipping the finished pieces into chocolate and wanted it to set hard enough not to run all over the place after being wrapped (not that chocolate-coated caramel is at all bad, it's just that I still haven't managed to get myself the <a href="http://www.chocovision.com/choco/site/revolation2_spec.htm">tempering machine of my chocolatier-girl fantasies</a> and can't bear my inadequacy when tempering by hand, or the compound chocolate alternative which would destroy the gorgeous morsels inside its chalky, cheap and nasty coating).</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><br />I am undecided about precise wrapping and packaging of these delicious treats, but think maybe the best way to go would be to cut bars of whatever size you prefer and wrap them in waxed/silicone paper before wrapping again in cellophane or boxing. Beware the cut but not wrapped caramel, it will become sticky, oozy and quite unattractive (yet still extremely tasty!) if left out, particularly in humid/damp weather.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em><br />Classic Cream Caramel</em></div><div align="center"><em>from The Chocolate Gourmand site</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />2 cups light corn syrup (<em>for us Australians, liquid glucose is fine - not an exact substitute but pretty close</em>)</div><div align="center">4 cups sugar</div><div align="center">60g unsalted butter, cubed</div><div align="center">4 cups (1l) whipping cream</div><div align="center">1 tsp salt</div><div align="center">1 tbs vanilla extract (<em>I used vanilla paste</em>)</div><div align="center">oil for greasing</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Using safflower oil and a paper towel, generously oil a 23x33cm (9x13in) foil-lined baking dish <em>(or do as I did and line your dish with silicone paper, which negates the need for greasing).</em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><br />Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until it comes to a boil. Wash down the sides of the pan several times with water using a pastry brush. Stop stirring and place a candy thermometer in pan (<em>I bought mine for $4.95 at Kitchen Warehouse</em>) and continue to boil over medium-high heat. You are going to boil the sugar syrup mixture until it reaches 151C (305F), which will take about 10 minutes or so.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />While you are waiting for the sugar syrup mixture to heat you can heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Once the sugar syrup has reached 151C (305F), reduce heat and slowly add the cubed butter. Slowly add the hot cream to the sugar mixture. I usually do this with a small ladle or measuring cup. Keep the mixture boiling while adding the cream, but beware of boil-over if you add the cream too quickly. The boiling mixture will rise rapidly after adding the cream. Let the mixture settle down before adding more cream. The game is to keep it boiling without letting it overflow.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Once the cream has all been added, continue stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 116C (242-243F) for dipping or 117C (246-248F) for wrapping. If you like your caramel harder, you can keep heating it until you get to around 119C (250F). If you like your caramel soft, be careful not to make it too soft. Extra gooey caramel is hard to package or dip. The caramel will usually continue to heat a degree past when you remove it from heat.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Let sit for 5 minutes before my favourite part: stirring in the salt and vanilla. Once you pour in the vanilla and salt, stir just until blended. As you stir the vanilla into the caramel, the vanilla bourbon will boil off and you can inhale the intense vanilla smell.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Cover well and let cool overnight. Once you are ready to dip or wrap, peel the foil off the caramel. Oil a large plastic cutting board and place the caramel slab there. Slice into pieces and wrap or dip.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />I typically prefer to make my dipped caramels more gooey than the wrapped caramels, but note that softer caramels are more difficult to work with and dip. Even firm caramels will succumb to gravity and sag after a few minutes. When dipping, slice off only as much as you need from the main block to maintain rectangular shapes. </div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-23303844497683414242008-04-07T11:10:00.011+08:002008-05-20T21:30:23.230+08:00The early morning collision of the seasons<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc9A7Vm1ofhoUIZNCWPgpJMayBF0e5NCffSbG-U5lP6fjA5yXVvgLaN_1_FrmQyi-l3uCaBBqlo-yvY8x1fZ-wnMPC83mKYmy7R0pdhoniqjk321xhiwZyYuk5pPvV9vKvxdH7JyFd40S/s1600-h/Plumscut1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186414798142702306" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc9A7Vm1ofhoUIZNCWPgpJMayBF0e5NCffSbG-U5lP6fjA5yXVvgLaN_1_FrmQyi-l3uCaBBqlo-yvY8x1fZ-wnMPC83mKYmy7R0pdhoniqjk321xhiwZyYuk5pPvV9vKvxdH7JyFd40S/s320/Plumscut1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">I love stone fruit.</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Every year, despite not being a heat-tolerant kind of girl in general (perhaps something to do with my all-too-easily burnt skin every time I go outside!), I eagerly await the summer arrival of peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums, along with their myriad variations and cross-breeds. Admittedly, I usually get so excited by my first sighting of summer fruit in the stores that I buy up these early arrivals and am inevitably disappointed by their lacklustre taste and texture. One day I may learn my lesson - these imposter fruits must be put on the shelves simply to tease us with their outer beauty...<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Nevertheless, the season goes on and the fruit, in most cases, gets better. And although we're pretty well at the tail end of stone fruit for this year, I did pick up some gorgeous plums at my local greengrocer this week. </span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">So what about the collision of the seasons post title for today? Well, summer's been covered above, but with the slightly cooler weather over the past few days it seems my appetite was also whet for a bit of winter warming - thus a breakfast combination of tart and juicy poached plums with soft and comforting porridge was in order. It's probably not the most common of food marriages (stewed apples or rhubarb coming to mind more as fruits to serve with porridge), however if you haven't tried it I can assure you that there's something a bit inexplicably special about the combination.<br /></span></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_cROGwL6dvq1APXHswayz9GGUH1YvR0GLbbwDWk7jPtsWukpcW8bv0CyMSMACPXycemeKW1TWJCgqFCm_BuH3fUfy-DgbLwTzNX4_otrQZSRLhLwLCUWNW4nkP5Xszk4MZl8sYra9O5g/s1600-h/Plumscut2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186416748057854706" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_cROGwL6dvq1APXHswayz9GGUH1YvR0GLbbwDWk7jPtsWukpcW8bv0CyMSMACPXycemeKW1TWJCgqFCm_BuH3fUfy-DgbLwTzNX4_otrQZSRLhLwLCUWNW4nkP5Xszk4MZl8sYra9O5g/s320/Plumscut2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXsTSR2QwoEbCNsDQjjEdNpkFKR-qDM9f5TYkGrzQaQPDOgWYZusWWUeGZZ1gmAzwjR7OqcYcuN-wXCgkpyLDdg-ZcH416PcJg175c0qI9R37RGaLeC_AREjpCeQI7cH3SamHu6nxGOYD/s1600-h/Plumscooked1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186416756647789314" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXsTSR2QwoEbCNsDQjjEdNpkFKR-qDM9f5TYkGrzQaQPDOgWYZusWWUeGZZ1gmAzwjR7OqcYcuN-wXCgkpyLDdg-ZcH416PcJg175c0qI9R37RGaLeC_AREjpCeQI7cH3SamHu6nxGOYD/s320/Plumscooked1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Not so much a recipe, really, then - more of a general idea/guide: I quarter and stone the fruit, adding a couple of tablespoons of sugar, some vanilla bean paste (or a split whole bean if you have one) and a tiny splash of water. If I'm feeling impatient, they go on the stovetop over a low-medium heat until they collapse (a lid on the pan will quicken things further, but you will end up with a mushier finished product); on a slower-paced day I'll bake them (uncovered at around 170C) instead to retain more of the shape and texture and give a more syrupy, reduced liquid.<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">As for the porridge part, I will probably horrify some of you by admitting that I always cook my porridge in the microwave! Though a microwave does NOT do appropriate justice to the end result of most dishes - no matter what the manufacturers will tell you in those little 'recipe' books that accompany the machines - I make an exception for porridge as I'm generally in a huge hurry first thing and it's just plain easier without too much of a flavour compromise. I use 1/3 cup oats (normal, not quick-cook), 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup water - easy enough for pre-coffee brains! A couple of minutes on high, stir, then another minute or so to get the consistency you like. If you like sugar in yours, add it after the first cooking burst, although personally I prefer honey and stir it through at the end of cooking.</span><br /></div><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSvbyDJR5NxV3BAkM4vWTERelmQiroRWGnyv2uu3uPFMHxqPCfQotvKqmgajo8fX-znTVhyphenhyphenosCq00k4Q-s6UYjeVl1G93NiqGPGRQA4W13HBnnXrkAm9FpZQhsZLB1m5A968m5dHziJEg/s1600-h/Porridge2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186417658590921490" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSvbyDJR5NxV3BAkM4vWTERelmQiroRWGnyv2uu3uPFMHxqPCfQotvKqmgajo8fX-znTVhyphenhyphenosCq00k4Q-s6UYjeVl1G93NiqGPGRQA4W13HBnnXrkAm9FpZQhsZLB1m5A968m5dHziJEg/s400/Porridge2.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Enjoy your fruity, warming breakfast as is, or be especially indulgent and add a big dollop of thick Greek-style yoghurt...there's something very appealing about the cold creaminess offset against the tart, warm fruit that always wakes me up. </span></p>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802311013844877967.post-72978852918440864992008-03-22T04:46:00.009+09:002008-04-07T11:10:18.100+08:00My favourite cookbook<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2pkmy8D44Y3TE0NxUV2wQepidd1M9jUxcpO3jBA-lNP0iFmQh0RDU95G4ikzR2iXwkW6eno4wqJ_0PSt-qsgeZfMBavobTzQmdKwjHHnwXuyFsfiDP7UvP3yDOaxYDpxQOG7xwi_jf41/s1600-h/Every-Day-Kitchen+cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180035908419715778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 176px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 227px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="274" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2pkmy8D44Y3TE0NxUV2wQepidd1M9jUxcpO3jBA-lNP0iFmQh0RDU95G4ikzR2iXwkW6eno4wqJ_0PSt-qsgeZfMBavobTzQmdKwjHHnwXuyFsfiDP7UvP3yDOaxYDpxQOG7xwi_jf41/s320/Every-Day-Kitchen+cover.jpg" width="210" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">To say I have an extensive cookbook collection would be an understatement. I'm one of those people who keeps a continuous list of 'books to buy', and as time goes on the list seems to grow ever larger due to the modern day proliferation of great publications (and my lack of funds to purchase all of them at will).</div><br />So, in keeping with this blog's title, I thought it appropriate that my first ever post should be about a cookbook. And not just any cookbook - this unassuming and not-so-glamorous number (compared to some of the stunningly beautiful 'coffee table tomes' available) would have to be the number one book on my shelves for sheer user friendliness and all-encompassing content.<br /><br />A bit of background: the authors of this fabulous book (and several others) are the Melbourne-based husband and wife team of Allan Campion and Michele Curtis. Both are chefs and general food personalities on the Melbourne scene - for more information see <a href="http://www.campionandcurtis.com/">campionandcurtis.com</a>. *As a small aside, I will be attending one of Allan's 'Foodies Walking Tours' in Melbourne at the end of April. I've been wanting to go to Melbourne and do this tour for ages, so stay tuned for the post-tour write up.* You can purchase Every Day in the Kitchen, along with their other publications, direct from the site, and I believe they sign the copies purchased via this method.<br /><br />But back to the book...it was first published in 2002 in hardcover with the title 'Campion and Curtis in the Kitchen'. This in fact is the version I own, although I've put up the newer softcover-version photo from their website as this is what you'll need to look for if you want to buy the book now.<br /><br />Split into 18 chapters, plus an introduction and 'how to use' section, Campion and Curtis cover just about everything the modern Australian cook could hope for. Each chapter starts with a brief insight to the following pages and a general overview of techniques and necessary information for that type of cooking, entitled 'things you need to know about...'. In addition, most of the recipes have their own short introduction which may describe the friend the recipe came from; their particular way of eating or serving it; or just a little anecdote about why they love that dish. This personal touch is, I think, what makes it so appealing to me, as I'm a sucker for food with a story.<br /><br />Whilst I am a competent cook and usually apply my own approach and style to recipes, this is still a book I find immensely useful and I often refer to it if not for an entire recipe, then for the wealth of variations and general know-how the authors include. Just as importantly, when I do follow the recipes letter for letter, they work without fail every time, and I'm yet to try something out of this book which is bland or uninteresting. High praise from someone who spends much of her working and leisure time poring over cookbooks and food websites!<br /><br />And now that I've spent all this time expounding on the greatness of Every Day in the Kitchen, it's probably only fair that I share one of my most-used recipes from the book...simply called Coconut Cake, it's something I've played with and baked in many different forms over the past few years. I think my favourite adaptation is to bake the cake as the recipe says, adding the zest and juice of a couple of limes whilst creaming the butter and sugar. This will split the mixture, however it comes back together again when you add the flour later in the recipe. I also don't bother with a springform tin as the recipe states, and use a normal 22cm round tin. Just make sure to grease and line your tin well or the cake won't turn out properly.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMS8GTSft7nw9eotsV1pu7RnXpO9LQQSUB4zHoNnCOsUlQsCSkwxC4WgIZWRadWtHakqICUy_5TXPi8A8Zv_VGcIqe-V9jLCD5-66Re0hELr_cNMOmC4iHZRTM9tHiBHGUZv0B5D_EFvZ/s1600-h/Lime+%26+Coconut+Cake.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180053960167260882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMS8GTSft7nw9eotsV1pu7RnXpO9LQQSUB4zHoNnCOsUlQsCSkwxC4WgIZWRadWtHakqICUy_5TXPi8A8Zv_VGcIqe-V9jLCD5-66Re0hELr_cNMOmC4iHZRTM9tHiBHGUZv0B5D_EFvZ/s400/Lime+%26+Coconut+Cake.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The above photo is a version of the Coconut Cake I made for a wedding (apologies to everyone that I don't have one of the inside of the cake!). The couple were after a cake which tasted great and looked pretty without being overdone, so I've iced with a basic buttercream flavoured with lime juice to complement the lime in the cake, and decorated with fresh flowers which matched those carried by the bride. Trav and Jac, hopefully you won't mind the use of your cake photo here!</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Coconut Cake</div><div align="center">taken from Every Day in the Kitchen</div><div align="center">Allan Campion & Michele Curtis</div><div align="center">Hardie Grant Books<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center">*this is word-for-word the version in the book, including the brief introduction*</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><em>This is a beautiful cake with a dense texture that can easily be sliced and passed around. Try it as your next birthday cake.</em></div><em></em><br /><br />270ml coconut milk<br />100g dessicated coconut<br />200g soft butter<br />300g caster sugar<br />4 medium eggs<br />250g self-raising flour<br /><br /><div align="justify">Preheat oven to 180C (350F).</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Place coconut milk and coconut in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes, then allow to cool.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one by one, fully incorporating each one before adding the next. Alternatively fold in sifted flour and coconut mixture until well combined. Spoon mixture into greased and lined 22cm (8 1/2 inch) sprinform cake tin. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Test the cake by inserting a skewer. If it comes out clean the cake is ready; if it doesn't, cook it for a further 5 minutes and test again. Allow to cool, dust with icing sugar and serve. Serves 6-8.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="justify"></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17154155763488513272noreply@blogger.com3