Rhonnie's Kitchen

Rhonnie's Strawberry Cake

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 08:42:00 +0000

Alright - so it's been forever, I know - but, all on purpose as I have a cookbook coming out, so it's been all go working on that for the past wee while - mainly, a lot of editing (in other words, test kitchen work with a few willing guinea pig cooks).

I'm hoping though, that this latest recipe of mine, might be enough to assuage those of you still reading / watching!

Last night, with 4 surplus to requirement punnets of strawberries in my refrigerator and a hankering for something seriously sweet, I decided to throw whatever I had together to create something sweet with the illusion of health - fruit means it has no calories right? (wishful thinking).

I didn't want something super cakey so I made a thick mixture (more strawberries) and spread it in a bigger pan to make more of a strawberry slice than a cake - more strawberry, hint of cake, not so much filler.

The result was undoubtedly divine! So divine in fact that not only I, but friends over at the time, all matched their mouthful with an "mmmm" followed by a more excited "MMMMMM!!!" followed by a "this is seriously good!" so, I would call this cake/slice, a definite success.

Proviso: This is not healthy in the slightest - you all know how much I love to add in my sugar, and in this delightful little cake/slice, there's two cups of the stuff!

You'll Need:

1 cup caster sugar
6-8 T butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 - 1 cup milk (use your own judgement on qty)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups Standard Grade Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract or Essence
2 punnets of strawberries, hulled and diced (you can leave as halves if you like too)

Method:

1. If you want a chunkier cake, add in less strawberries and use a smaller pan, or if you'd like to replicate what I've done, with a thinner slice, add in the full amount of strawberries and use a large slice pan.

2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius

3. Line a slice pan or cake pan with cooking paper and set aside

4. In a large bowl, cream together the caster sugar and butter.

5. Mix in the egg, milk, vanilla, strawberries and brown sugar. Stir to combine, squeezing out any balls of brown sugar.

6. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.

7. Gradually mix in the flour mixture until combined (don't overmix) and then transfer to the pan.

8. Sprinkle (even more) brown sugar over the top of the cake and bake for around 10 minutes. Depending on your taste, judge the cake by testing with a knife to see if it comes out clean. Personally, I like to take the cake out before it completely sets so that it's really moist and almost gooey in parts.

Enjoy the sweetness!! Perfect for these Summery months.

Yours in S'mores,

Rhonnie

Vege Eggs Benedict

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:14:00 +0000

This is a pretty standard recipe, but for anyone who doesn't know, this is how to make vegetarian Eggs Benedict - it probably has an actual name, but it's basically Eggs Benedict without the bacon or salmon.

You'll Need:

Ciabatta Bread
2 Whole Eggs
Spinach
Salt
1 T Flour
1 cup Milk
Pepper
Lemon Juice
1 Egg Yolk, beaten
1 T White Vinegar
Lemon Pepper - to taste

Slice the ciabatta to give you two slices. Lay a handful of spinach over the bread.
1/2 fill a saucepan with water and add vinegar and salt. Bring to the boil.
Break an egg into a saucer and slip gently into the boiling water. Repeat with second egg.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour, salt, pepper and mustard and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and add the milk slowly, stirring all the time.
Remove from the heat and add the egg yolk and the lemon juice -drop-by-drop.
Reheat, but do not boil.
The eggs should be ready when the whites are cooked.
Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and lay on top of spinach lined ciabatta
Spoon the hollandaise over the top
Sprinkle with lemon pepper

Super Yummo!!

Yours in S'mores!

xo Rhonnie

A trip to VEVO Foodstore

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:43:00 +0000

On a sweltering Saturday morning this past weekend, Mama, my Aunt and I headed along to VEVO Foodstore - the cafe and delicatessen owned and operated by my cousin Elliot and his wife Victoria, both accomplished chefs and avid foodies who opened the Foodstore on the 22nd of November this year. Elliot's resume includes Ottos, Bowmans, The Grove, O'Connell St Bistro and Head Chef at TriBeCa and currently, when he's not at the cafe, he's working at Hammerheads as their Executive Chef - so you know the food at VEVO, is definitely worth the visit.

Located in Titirangi Village among a bevy of local stores, the Foodstore has rapidly gained the attention of the Titirangi crowd but having only been open a couple of weeks, it still carries the cosy feel of your own special, local place. As well as a delectable blackboard menu and mouth-watering cabinet food, VEVO Foodstore also offers a selection of gourmet delicatessen items for purchase including deli meats, cardamom ham, freezedried fruits for cooking, oils, hot chocolates, fresh bread from Pandoro and an endless sea of other delicious items. They also provide out-catering for canapés, platters, weddings and small functions as well as offering a selection of delicious hampers - perfect for Christmas gifts, this holiday season. VEVO is a family friendly cafe because it's family owned. VEVO is an anagram for the members of Elliot and Victoria's family, taking the 'E' and 'V' from the couple as well as the 'V' and 'O' for their two sons... now that there's a third son, perhaps VEVO will adopt a 'J', or continue to offer 'Joel's Cupcake and Coffee Special' to patrons.

Naturally, I had the hot chocolate - part of my nationwide search for the best hot chocolate available!

Chef Victoria through layered salad bowls

My tasty poached eggs on ciabatta toast

Mama's Bacon and Poached Eggs on Ciabatta Toast

The beautiful view from the courtyard. I'm hoping one day they'll buy out the rights to the courtyard and offer outdoor dining overlooking this gorgeous view, but in the meantime, it's visible from the tables that line the East wall of the cafe and outdoor dining is available by the front door.

Mama ^^ I know, we look nothing alike. I'm the only brunette, olive skinned, brown eyed (except in this case, green eyed ha) girl in the family. Must be adopted.

I definitely recommend that you head along and check out VEVO Foodstore at 402C Titrangi Road in the heart of Titirangi Village, Auckland. Whether you're in the market for some gourmet additions to your pantry, after some outcatering for that special event or even tonight's dinner or you want to be served a lovely, high quality meal by two talented chefs, there's something for everyone at VEVO.

PS here are their Facebook and Website pages for more info.

xo Rhonnie

Miniature Cranberry Mascarpone Pavlovas

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:38:00 +0000

I wanted to create a lighter option for dessert for those that don't feel like a heavy pie after all that Thanksgiving fare. My original plan was to create Cranberry Mascarpone puffs using puff pastry cases like those used for vol au vents but when I saw these bite sized miniature pavlovas on the supermarket shelf, I couldn't pass them up. Normally, I don't like using anything ready made and all but this one dish have been made entirely from scratch but for this, I made an exception.

They're bite sized, super light (so you can eat many!) and they're super cute.

Ingredients:

12 pack mini pavlovas
cranberry coulis (reserved from the cranberry chocolate tart recipe - or cranberry sauce recipe)
mascarpone

Slice the pavlovas in half- gently
Spoon the cranberry mix onto the bottom half
Spoon a dollop of mascarpone on top
Replace pavlova lid and press down gently, making a pavlova burger

xo Rhonnie

Cranberry Mascarpone Chocolate Tart

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:28:00 +0000

This is a special Thanksgiving treat that is gone almost as soon as I lay it on the table. The sharpness of the cranberries is offset by the sweetness of the chocolate base and the creamy delicate mascarpone centre.

Ingredients:

For the Topping:

.5 cup cranberry juice
1 t unflavoured gelatin
12 ounce bag of cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 t lemon juice (fresh)
1 t peeled grated fresh ginger
1 t finely grated lemon peel
pinch of salt
4 T finely chopped crystallised ginger

For the Crust:

1.25 cups oreos (separated from the cream centres) blended to small crumbs
.25 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5-6 T unsalted butter (melted)

For the Filling:

8 ounce pack of mascarpone
.5 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
.5 cup chilled whipping cream
vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Combine the biscuit crumbs, sugar and salt in a medium bowl, aff the melted butter and stir until crumbs feel moist
Press crumb mix firmly into a tart pan with a removable bottom.
Bake the crust until it begins to set and is slightly crisp when pressed with a spoon
Transfer to rack and allow to cool completely.
Using electric mixer, beat all filling ingredients until thick enough to spread (do no overbeat)
Spread filling into chilled crust
Pour 1/4 cup cranberry juice into small bowl
Sprinkle gelatin over juice and allow to stand until oft
Combine 1/4 cranberry juice, cranberries and next 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan
Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves
Reduce heat to medium and simmer until cranberries are tender but still plump
Strain into bowl setting cranberries aside
Add gelatin mix to hot juice in bowl and stir until gelatin dissolves
Stir cranberries back into juice and chill until mix is cold and thick- about 8 hours
When cool, stir crystallised ginger into mix
Spoon cranberry mixture evenly over mascarpone filling
Chill at least 2 - 6 hours

xo Rhonnie

Rhonnie's Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and Chocolate Turkeys

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:10:00 +0000

Normally for Thanksgiving take-home gifts, I make my mother's famous 'Afternoon Tea Fudge' and package it in elaborately garnished chinese noodle boxes but this year, with fridge space at a premium courtesy of the extra side dishes and desserts I added to my menu, I opted for something a little different.

Utilising the Betty Crocker 'Devil's Food Cake' box kit I'm so fond of, I created my Rhonnie's Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla frosting and Chocolate Turkeys.

Ingredients:

Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake Box
Betty Crocker Vanilla Frosting Tin
Pink 'Fairy Flakes'
Milk Chocolate Melts
Cloves
Ginger
Nutmeg
Cinnamon

Make the Devil's food cake batter as directed
Add in cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon to taste
Pour batter into patty pans
Bake as directed
When cool, pipe the vanilla frosting on to each cupcake using your choice of piping head attachment
Sprinkle with fairy flakes
Seat each turkey on top of the cupcake

I bought my turkey chocolate mould overseas many years ago and it still produces perfect little chocolate turkeys. Have a search online or try Milly's Kitchen in Auckland for other possibilities.

xo Rhonnie

Yankee Cornbread

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:59:00 +0000

The delectable smell of cornbread wafting through my home is incredible and the use of cornmeal makes a more interesting taste and a lighter loaf than white flour. This cornbread recipe makes a loaf that flies off the plate into the mouths of happy guests faster than you can slice it!

For variations, try adding in some sharp cheddar cheese and jalapeños.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups yellow cornmeal
1.5 cups al purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 t baking soda
1t salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
8T butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
In a large bowl, sift the cornmeal, sugar, flour, baking soda and salt together.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the eggs, buttermilk and 4 T of the melted butter
Stir until just smooth, do not overbeat.
Pour remaining 4T butter into a pan and heat until butter is hot but not browned.
Pour batter into hot pan and baked until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, around 25 minutes.

You can make this loaf up to 8 hours ahead of time.

xo Rhonnie

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:49:00 +0000

This is my favourite cranberry sauce and it's basically just a standard cranberry sauce recipe that I added a huge amount of spice to. I'm a huge spice fan, anything I can add spice to, I do. I haven't put quantities here as you really just season to taste.

Ingredients:

4 cups cranberries
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
cinnamon
ground cloves

Mixs all ingredients in a saucepan
Heat to boiling, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
Cook about 10 minutes or until berries have all burst and liquid is reduced somewhat
Sauce will thicken as it cooks.

xo Rhonnie

Rhonnie's Cranberry Boysenberry Lattice Pie

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:45:00 +0000

I love a fruit pie - and a latticed fruit pie? drool. Cranberries are amazing in a pie served with mascarpone or cream -especially brandied and the combination of boysenberries and cranberries in this pie make a sharp and delightful flavour experience with the sense memory triggers to send you back to your favourite holiday memories.

Ingredients:

2 x sheets Sweet Short Pastry (or make your own)
1.5 cups cranberries
1.5 cups boysenberries (halved)
5 T flour
Vanilla Extract
Ground Cloves
.5 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
salt
2 T butter
brown sugar

Prepare pastry for pie by lining a pie dish with pastry and baking with baking beans briefly until firm
In a saucepan, add berries and water and bring to the boil
Mix dry ingredients and slowly add to the berry mixture, add spices and brown sugar (to taste)
Cook on low heat until mixture thickens
Remove from heat and add extract
Cool filling completely and then pour into a 9" pastry lined pan, dot with the butter
Add top crust as a lattice, crimping edges
Bake in a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for around 35-40 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown. You may like to brush with egg or milk and sprinkle sugar (I use Amaretto Sucre) to make a crispier crust.
Serve room temperature with cream or mascarpone.

Rhonnie's Spiced Pumpkin Pie

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:29:00 +0000

My mum taught me to make her Spiced Pumpkin Pie when I was young and used to 'help' her make it every Halloween for our themed dinner. Ever since I began celebrating Thanksgiving, the Spiced Pumpkin Pie took it's rightful place among the official desserts, simultaneously confusing and satisfying people who had no clue that Pumpkin could make something sweet.

While I know most of you can get hold of puréed pumpkin in a can, ready to mix but there's something more satisfying about making it from scratch. The most time consuming part is rubbing the cooked pumpkin through a sieve to get the pumpkin really fine and soft and leaving behind those annoying stringy bits that hold he fresh pumpkin together.

Ingredients:

Sweet Short Pastry (or make your own crust)
1 breakfast cup cooked pumpkin pulp
1 egg
1 dessertspoon golden syrup
Ground ginger
2 T sugar
1 dessertspoon flour
.5 cup milk
cinnamon
salt
nutmeg

Chop pumpkin into big pieces - no need to exert yourself on this part, place in large saucepan and add water to cover.
Bring to the boil and then allow to simmer on a low heat until a knife slides through the pumpkin like buttter
Pumpkin should be soft enough that just sliding a fork into it will make the outer skin fall off
Rub through a sieve
Beat egg and combine with all ingredients mixing thoroughly. The spices don't have quantities because it's all by taste. I like to be pretty liberal with the spices, just do it to your own preference.
Line a pie plate with short pastry and cook in oven with baking beans until firm, add mixture and bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

xo Rhonnie

Update

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Hey guys!

Apologies for the long hiatus, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, I'll have a huge amount of posts for you. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favourite holidays to cook for - and to celebrate- and even though Thanksgiving isn't exactly celebrated here in New Zealand, I've always loved everything it stood for and have celebrated it for many years now. It's always been a great time to gather friends and recount all the reasons I'm thankful for them and for other things in my life and I never do anything by halves, so my Thanksgiving dinners feature overly decorated dining rooms, a 20 person turkey with all the trimmings imaginable and a guest list of about 6-8 people so there's always a tonne of food on offer.

http://www.gifsoup.com/view1/1378983/turkey-head-o.gif

Stay tuned over the next few weeks for a constant stream of holiday recipes starting next week with desserts to prepare ahead of Turkey Day!

Haloumi, kumara summer salad and Tarakihi two ways

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:13:00 +0000

Sorry for the lack of posts of late, I've just moved to Auckland and am in between kitchens, staying in a temporary abode and borrowing kitchens where I can.

I did manage to make this meal though and thought I'd share. Sorry for the sub par image, it was taken on a cellphone.

There are three dishes in the meal:

Pan seared cornmeal lemon pepper Tarakihi
Baked lemon pepper Tarakihi
Haloumi and Kumara summer salad

I absolutely love Haloumi cheese. Frying it to that rubbery squeaky goodness that melts in your mouth makes any meal amazing. Adding the Haloumi and the Kumara (or sweet potato to you non NZers), technically makes it a Winter salad but since the main ingredient is baby leaf lettuce, I'm sticking to my guns on 'Summer Salad'.

Slice a brick of Haloumi cheese into 1/3cm slices and fry, turning once so each side is golden brown.
Cut kumara into cubes and boil or microwave until cooked (about 6mins in a 1200w microwave).
Add kumara and cheese to a bag of baby leaf lettuce and toss.

For the fish, we bought enough to feed a small army (or two small girls with manly appetites). I divided it in half and cooked it two ways for choice.

To bake the fish for the second dish:

Lie fillets in a piece of tin foil, drizzle over a little olive oil and lemon pepper. (and tuscan herbs if you have them)
Seal foil and bake in a 180 degree oven for approximately 6-7mins.
Remove from oven and serve atop some fresh lettuce leaves with an extra shake of lemon pepper and tuscan herbs.

To sear the fish for the first dish:

Cover a dinner plate with a coating of yellow ground cornmeal and lemon pepper and spread.
Lie each fillet in the mix and coat evenly
Add coated fillets to a hot frying pan (with olive oil sparingly in bottom)
Shake on a little lemon pepper as some will come off as you fry.
Turn once and cook until each side is golden and the coating looks crispy
Basically you want the outside to be crispy but the inside to still be flaky so don't cook too long, only until it browns and the cornmeal really glows yellow.

xo Rhonnie

Egg in a hole from the heart

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:18:00 +0000

Being the phenomenal organiser that I am, I managed to sort the photos from recipes I'd made in the past couple of weeks into a folder that I promptly deleted, thinking I'd already posted them.... I had not.
Awesome. I also can't remember what they were other than one trip up to Burger Wisconsin and in wracking my brain to recall what I'd made to share with you, I'm sure I've short circuited.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a super simple recipe that everyone knows but that up until now I'd never eaten or made! Egg in a hole- or in my case, Egg in a Heart!

It's the perfect anytime snack, makes a fantastic no mess breakfast and makes for an even better breakfast on the go- no need for poptarts!

You'll need:

A piece of bread (I've used Vogels Soya Linseed)
An egg
Butter or Margarine
**times whatever quantity your desire. Makes one.

Butter both sides of a piece of bread quite liberally, right up to the crusts
Using a cookie cutter( I used a heart because it looks cuter), cut a hole in the centre of the bread and reserve
Add a little butter to the pan and when it starts to melt, add the bread
Break an egg into the hole in the bread and let simmer until the egg starts to go white
Flip!
Flip again!
Cook until the egg is fully white and the yolk is cooked and the bread looks toasted and golden brown
EAT!

Depending on how long you let it cook, you can have the yolk still a bit runny or like mine, just solid enough to not drip yolk when it's cut but still be super moist to the tooth.

If you pop the reserved bread from the cookie cutter in to the pan at the same time, you get a perfectly crisp and buttery- melt-in-your-mouth toasted heart to sink your teeth into while the egg cooks too!

So, so easy to make, super fast and easy to make and run for a breakfast or snack on the go.

Yours in S'mores!

Rhonnie

Radler Beer Bread

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:19:00 +0000

As per usual, my fridge was stocked with a single solitary beer, a box of mixed herb packets and a can of dog food so choosing something to cook left me with highly limited options.
I decided to make a recipe I've had sitting around for a while, reserved for the next big dinner.

You'll Need:

3 Cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1.5 teaspoons salt
5 Tablespoons sugar
1 x can or bottle of beer (I used Monteith's Radler)

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl
Pour into a loaf pan
Bake for up to an hour (skewer inserted in centre should come out clean)

There's no need for yeast because everything you need is in the beer.

I added a tonne more sugar and some mixed herbs- odd combination yes, but I'm known for my strange food combining tactics.

This is one time when it's fun to watch the bread rise, the foamy beer makes it rise in fantastic peaks and shapes and when it's cooked, you're left with a super soft bread inside with a SUPER crunchy crust. I also sprinkled mine with sugar before I put it in the oven so it has this yummy crystallised sugar on top.

You can add cheese or herbs, make it saltier or sweeter- I went with sweeter because Radler is a sweet beer-which is actually what drew me to the beer in the first place about a month ago.
If you're using Corona or Steinlager etc I'd suggest going with savoury additions to taste.

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Pineapple Buttermilk Dessert

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:20:00 +0000

With my fridge entirely bare save for some leftover buttermilk and finding myself craving a sweet dessert, I rifled through my canned goods to find anything that could appease my sweet tooth stop aching from dessert cravings.
I managed to find a small can of pineapple slices in juice and I was sold.

You'll need:

about 400ml of buttermilk
small can of pineapple slices (about 6 slices)
cinnamon
nutmeg
sugar or artificial sweetener

Put the buttermilk, pineapple slices and 1/2 the juice in the can into a blender or food processor
Mix until the pineapple is blended in
Add sweetener to taste
Pour into four bowls and freeze

If you eat straight from the freezer it'll be the consistency of a slushie but if you leave on the counter for a bit, it'll become creamier like a sorbet.
It has a delicious tart taste to it from the buttermilk which I love! The best part is that you can eat the entire batch like you would a carton of icecream, but without any of the guilt.
Buttermilk is delicious and low fat and pineapple is healthy so you can devour as much as you want.

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Doughnut Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 07:12:00 +0000

The other night, I came across this recipe for Doughnut Muffins on The Culinary Chronicles while searching for a doughnut store in Wellington- alas there are still no doughnuts in the city, but this recipe makes up for it!

The recipe was adapted from the Blue Ribbon Cookbook. Once again, I added more sugar -about an extra cup of it so you'll probably want to stick to the recipe below.

You'll Need:

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
2½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
¾ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¾ Cup Whole Milk, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons Buttermilk, at room temperature
10 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
¾ Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Large Eggs, at room temperature

Icing:

1 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 2 (12 cup) mini muffin tins.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and buttermilk. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Add vanilla extra. With the mixer set on low speed, beat in one fourth of the dry ingredients. Then beat in one third of the milk mixture. Continue to alternate until all ingredients are incorporated, finishing with dry ingredients. Do not over mix. The batter will be heavy, it’s ok.
Fill the prepared muffin cups just to the rim with batter. Bake until lightly golden and firm to the touch, 15-20 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
To coat the muffins: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a paper bag. Brush each muffin generously with melted butter. Then place a few muffins in the bag with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Shake well to coat the muffins. Repeat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Jelly Doughnut Muffins: Allow muffins to cool and use a small pastry tip to make a hole in the bottom of each muffin. Fill the pastry bag with your favorite jam and squeeze into the muffin.

I made both standard muffins and the jelly doughnut style, but I'm thinking you could make these a little smaller, ie half a muffin cup, and add chocolate to the centre so it's kind of a round churro.

Food for thought?

Yours in S'mores!

Rhonnie

Blueberry Cornbread

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 07:00:00 +0000

I came across this recipe for Blueberry Cornbread while looking for a completely unrelated recipe on Myrecipes, and was instantly craving the salty/ sweet taste of cornbread offset by the tart blueberries.

I added a lot more sugar than the recipe called for- what, like you're surprised? ha, but for those that aren't sugar-monsters like me, stick to the recipe.

You'll Need:

2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter, melted
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed

1. In a bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, and butter to blend. In another bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture just until evenly moistened. Gently stir in berries. Spread level in a buttered 8-inch square pan.

3. Bake in a 375° oven until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then cut into 9 squares.

So delicious!! It's fantastic straight from the oven, or sliced and spread with jam. (aka....extra sugar)

Yours in S'mores!

Rhonnie

Perfect Baked Macaroni Cheese- healthy

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:05:00 +0000

Summer has waned and windy Wellington weather has picked up again. In dire need of comfort food, I decided to whip up some macaroni cheese, but lacking in most every ingredient and unwilling to venture outside into the cold, I decided to make do and actually ended up with a really fantastic and possibly healthier version.

You'll need: (to make entire pack)

Macaroni elbows (cooked to al dente)
a handful of grated cheese
a cup or so of breadcrumbs
3/4 a tub of Philadelphia Extra Light Cream Cheese
Mixed herbs
Water

In a small pan, combine the cream cheese, water and herbs and stir on a high heat until the cream cheese melts into a thin liquid, add as much water as you feel is necessary.
Pour the liquid over the macaroni and toss to coat
Transfer mixture into a greased loaf pan
Cover with grated cheese and breadcrumbs (I like to do mine in layers so the cheese melts through the crumbs)
Bake at 180 degrees or until the top has crisped up and is coated in a glorious golden brown hue

You can either eat immediately hot or wait about twenty minutes and eat slightly cooler. The macaroni crisps a little further and sticks together more as it cools meaning if you decided to use a shaped loaf pan or muffin cups perhaps that they would retain their shape over eating it immediately when it falls apart a little more.
The sides, top and bottom are deliciously crispy and the inside is gooey - the perfect macaroni!
These pics are straight from the oven.

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Bagels bagels bagels

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:53:00 +0000

Dining out for breakfast the other day with a friend at Aro Cafe, I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and jam and while I smeared my bagel, I illicited the oddest stares from across the table.
Apparently, she'd never heard of bagels with cream cheese and jam, taking the inclusion of jam as the oddity.

I've always taken my bagels with jam so it seemed quite absurd that someone had never heard of it!

Courtesy of Viciouscandy, click image to go to her tumblr site

Granted, bagels have been around forever, but personally I credit their invention- or their promotion to Josh Schwartz- creator of The OC. Bagels were such a big ritual in the Cohen house- check out this vid.

Talking to her about the glorious history of The OC and bagels, I was naturally starving and craving bagels all over again so I did it the cheats way and bought them... but I'll be making them in an upcoming post so stay tuned.

Naturally, bagels can go with any host of fillings, sweet or savoury but I've always liked mine at their bare minimum.

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Nutella Hot Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:37:00 +0000

Last night, intensely craving chocolate and not content with simply eating Nutella straight from the jar anymore, I decided I wanted something more comforting and randomly wound up with a jug of hot water, stirring in my Nutella.
Oddly, it wasn't as disgusting as I'd imagined (as most things aren't)
I added in some nutmeg to give it a spike and stirred in a tablespoon of Nutella into the boiling hot water and it was amazing. I'd wager it'd taste far better with milk, but at the time I was all out and it seemed to work really well with the water.

Such a tasty treat, easy to make and fantastic for when you're out of all ingredients and need a kick.

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Frozen yoghurt, liquid chocolate and creme eggs in a bar

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:33:00 +0000

Today, prior to a very disturbing trip to the theatre to see 'Saw 7 3D', in which I actually let out a short shock scream at one point (uncharacteristically), I headed to Plum Cafe with a friend and decided to test their ice chocolate against it's competition.

Sadly though, it fell pretty short. Where was the icecream? the cream?.... the milk? It seemed to be effectively cold chocolate water splashed over ice cubes and served with a chocolate fish, and while I highly value any candy that finds it's way into my drink or dish, it wasn't enough to save this far less than stellar version of an iced chocolate.

Plum Cafe are usually really on to it with fantastic pancakes, eggs, steak dinners and hot chocolates so I was pretty surprised and let down by this iced chocolate.

It won't stop me from dining there at all, they still have amazing food, but perhaps if you're the crazed iced chocolate fan that I am, order a hot one instead.

Immediately afterwards with a major craving for icecream, we headed to Wendy's Supa Sundaes and treated ourselves to a frozen yoghurt cup. The cool thing is that you can pick your toppings. I went with a berry coulis, chocolate flakes and a chocolate sauce (naturally) to coat my frozen yoghurt and it was sensational!

Now, while we're on the topic of chocolate, I found this new bar today (ok, I'm not entirely sure how new it is...but it's new to me) Usually I buy up Cadbury Creme Eggs in bulk, their delicious texture of the gooey centre and the combination of chocolate that melts in your hands is too good to pass up and now Cadbury have brought Creme Eggs to us in a different form- a bar.

I wondered how they could really work it to keep the centre as effective as the eggs, but breaking one open, you can see that all the goodness of a creme egg is present in the bar, yet far easier to eat!

Pick yours up today!

Yours in S'mores!

Rhonnie

Chocolate Jelly Tip Icecream Cake

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:08:00 +0000

I've been flicking through food blogs of late and have been seeing an abundance of really pretty, lovingly assembled icecream cakes but while they look; and I'm sure taste amazing, I like to think of cake and icecream as a messy food.
I decided to do my own take on the idea but with more of a 'rustic' (read: crappy ha) feel to it.

My approach was a pretty standard one and seeing as you're really throwing it together in most every sense of the phrase, there's no need for spring-form pans or intricate detailing.

You'll Need:

Chocolate cake mix (I used Edmonds)
1 x Cadbury Flake Chocolate bar
Tip Top Jelly Tip Icecream (or whatever your preference)
Whipping Cream
Nutella
2 x Eggs
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Milk

Make up the cake mix with the milk, eggs and oil as per instructions
Take another pan around the same size and line with tinfoil or parchment paper
Cover bottom of pan with icecream to however high you want that layer to be, pop into freezer
Whip the cream in a bowl until it forms stiff peaks
When the cake is cool, cut horizontally to make two layers
Spread the top of the bottom layer with Nutella
Take icecream layer from freezer and place upside down onto cake layer and remove foil/paper
Add top cake layer
Cover the top with a messy layer of whipped cream without spreading too thin, you want those stiff peaks and fluffy cloudlike appearance
Decorate with a broken or crumbled Cadbury Flake bar
Devour!!!

Ingredients

Icecream Layer

The Jellytip ice cream is a delicious addition and compliments the whipped topping with it's infusion of raspberry jelly and vanilla ice cream with chocolate flakes.
You can use any icecream and any cake flavours you wish and you might choose to make the designer version and make is pretty- if you do, link me your pics, I'd love to see!
Me, I like things messy.. perhaps this should be Rhonnie's MESSY Kitchen... though sometimes, like at holidays, I do prefer to be precise and make things as aesthetically beautiful as possible... For this recipe at least, it's all about having fun, just tossing it all together and devouring. It also freezes really well (including the cream) and a few minutes in the fridge brings the cream back to the desired consistency while keeping the icecream layer frozen enough to not turn into a big puddle.

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Sweet Omelettes- the pancake that's not a pancake

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Feeing blue and in major need of a pancake pick-me-up but lacking the proper ingredients, I was halfway through devouring my cheese omelette when it popped into my head....... sweeeeet omelette.
I'm not sure why it took me so long to think of it, I can't be the first person to come up with it!

I made a basic omelette mix but instead of mixed herbs, pepper and salt, I used flavoured sugar and nutmeg and instead of cheese, the glorious hazelnutty chocolate goodness that is Nutella.

The idea behind the sweet omelette is that you can create it with all of your own favourites just as you would, a savoury omelette. Oooh! another thought- marshmallows! mini marshmallows or marshmallow cream would go down a treat whisked into the basic mix- note to self, remember marshmallows for next time.

Serves One

You'll need:

2-3 eggs
Milk or cream (I used around a 1/4 cup of calcium enriched milk)
Flavoured sugar
Nutmeg or cinnamon
Nutella (or your choice of filling)

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk (whatever quantity you want, I did about a 1/4 cup), sugar and nutmeg
Add to the pan (greased with cooking spray)
As the omelette begins to set, lift the corners to let the uncooked mix run into the spare space
When the centre looks to be somewhat cooked, add the nutella in a line down the centre
Fold the omelette and then fold it again so you have sort of an omelette roll
Transfer to a plate and decorate with extra flavoured sugar, chocolate sauce, sprinkles- up to you!

Devour!!!

Super scrumptious, filling, satisfying and great if you're on a low carb diet and want pancakes (though the sugar content would kind of offset that).

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Steph's Sweet Treats

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:56:00 +0000

A good friend of mine, Steph started up her own company recently called 'Steph's Sweet Treats' and among the fantastic variety of expertly created birthday cakes, she also makes a range of cupcakes.

For St. Valentine's Day this year, she made Valentines themed cupcakes with fondant/cachou hearts on top and sent me a batch to devour.
My batch contained six double chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate ganache on top and in the centre of each cake and six red velvet cupcakes with the most incredible cream cheese icing I've ever tasted.
She also included a bunch of her favourite cookies as an added treat, Chocolate Crackles. So moist and chewy, the crackles had a delectable chocolatey almond taste.

Jut so you know mum, I'm here if you want to share

Even the dog approved with his "I'll just sit here in case any fall off the plate" approach to begging.
Mine flattened a little in shipping (still tasted just as good though!) but if you're in the Nelson area, this is the kind of result you can expect from Steph's Sweet Treats...

Photos courtesy of Steph's Sweet Treats Facebook page

Check out Steph's Facebook page for Steph's Sweet Treats here and oogle the delicious treats.
Steph's Sweet Treats is located in Nelson.

Thanks Steph!

Yours in S'mores!
Rhonnie

Chocolate Twists

noreply@blogger.com (R) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:34:00 +0000

Sometimes I just feel like indulging in a chocolate pastry but the selection I find in bakeries are always so overladen with sugar and glazes that they're rather sickening to eat.
This version however, is so good and so light that you'll find yourself devouring the whole lot.

Delightfully easy, these can be made in minutes and with any fillings you like.

You'll need:

Nutella
Short or Flaky Pastry (I've used 40% reduced fat short pastry)

Slice a sheet of pastry into strips
Spread half of the strips with Nutella or similar
Layer the other strips on top and press together
holding each strip sandwich at both ends, twist your hands in alternate directions several times to create the twist effect and place on a greased tray
Make sure you twist them as tightly as the pastry will allow as they uncurl a little as they puff up
Bake in a 180 degree oven for around 8 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and has started to brown.

These are so delicious that they never last more than a few minutes in my house, but they're so much lighter than bakery pastries and I've used a 40% reduced fat pastry so they're much better for your waistline too (even if you do eat the lot).

Yous in S'mores!
Rhonnie