Cooking homemade Italian meals with locally sourced produce from local markets. By #CassiesKitchen

Italy and back and I only went to Zone 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 18:30:00 +0000

It's almost been a month since I took the steps of taking on Cassie’s Kitchen part time in my stride. The change came after a after a long awaited (and needed) break to Australia to see the family.

With the support of many new faces and the regulars who have appeared on the blog before. I have made some wonderful contacts and I'm steadily learning the ups and down of turning my passion into an exciting outlet for all my energy. We’ve had some special days of recent, with a stall at Boxpark in Shoreditch, being involved at a Wimbledon themed event in Stratford and part of the Good Food in Greenwich and change for life roadshow. Over the weekend we had a stall at the Charlton House Community Day and this weekend coming will see us host a stall at the Progress Estate 100th birthday community day.

More excitingly we have also partnered up with #GreenwichHour to launch the end of Summer Party this September that will showcase all of the businesses and wonderful offerings in the Borough of Greenwich. This event will see Cassie’s Kitchen in its element working alongside the Head Chef of Season etc, serving a mix of traditional and Mediterranean dishes to 100 guests.

So, now you're asking OK, she’s told us all business facts. What are the fun things that have been happening to Cassie’s Kitchen.. Well here is my story!

Today I went down to Bella Vita translated to the Beautiful life Italian Food Expo in Islington at the Design centre and wow! what a fantastic-o day! I sampled the most delicate and delicious cheeses. The most scrumptious relishes and jams some delicious warm focaccia dipped in truly great balsamic and olive oils, and don’t even get me started on the the size of the panatone.

I was even lucky enough to see Massimo Bottura the saviour of Parmiganno Reggiano after the 2012 earthquake that destroyed 400,000 wheels of parmiganno cheese. Strangely enough it was only the other week I was watching an interview of his story of how he was called with urgency by the main producers of the delicious cheese to help them salvage an industry that had been running since the middle ages.

One of the things I noticed today was that Massimo, who freely admitted it, loves to talk. This character trait makes you drawn to him and his unique story. With the damage of the Parmiggano cheese near to his hometown area, he was tasked to invent a dish that not only could be sold to Italians to cook at home, but a dish to inspire the world and Risotto Cacio e Pepe or Risotto with cheese and pepper as some may know it was born.

It is such an interesting story to hear about how 1 simple dish launched a new way of eating and cooking and was able to save an entire economy.

My other highlight for the day was a 3 course lunch from Andrea Zagatti, who completely blew me away with his approach of cooking a dish using the selected ingredients available to him on the day. In my eyes this is a true talent.

To start we had a beautiful parma ham, with artichoke heart and the stem of tomato vine. Follow with melanzane parmiganna cooked with a smokey flavoured type of mozzarella ball

Main was Cuttle Fish ink Tagliatelle and then to finish we sampled 4 cheeses parmesan, pecorino, and a smoked cheese with matching jams or honey.

Overall it was such and exciting day of food and flavours and I only wish I was more confident to speak to more suppliers to find out about their wares more.

Anyways later kids.

Recipe for my secret arancini balls to coming this August!

Cass

Bringing homestyle dishes with plenty of punch to a plate near you!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 22:12:00 +0000

It's been a busy few months here in Cassie's Kitchen, I have hosted 2 large events and I am about to hold my 2nd official supper club. I've built and launched a website cassies.kitchen also been spending a lot of time talking about my future plans with new faces and developing my technique, whilst experimenting with new flavour combinations.

With friends from home visiting and family on the mind, I've scheduled in a few calls back to Australia to chat with my Nonna this month to pick her brain on a few of her traditional dishes, and working out a few way that I can make them my own.

Since artichoke season started, I have been busy making a tasty paste featuring these delicious and flavoursome vegetables with roasted cherry tomatoes. As a home style cook who scrutinises her own cooking's every detail. This paste is delicious and since I first made it, I have now made it more than 5 times and it's featured in at least 20 different dishes. I'm actually loving it so much it will feature as the main sauce of the my vermicelli pasta that features white wine in the dough this Friday at the Supper Club.

One of the biggest challenges I have set myself this February was to increase my vegetarian and vegan repertoire. Only last week I delivered a number of canapes that were vegan inspired for a catering job at London Bridge. One of those included making a spinach flat bread with an artichoke and roasted cherry tomato paste, served with asparagus and fresh lemon juice. The flavours were sensational and very well received by the client and the colleagues at work who gobbled them up.

If you are interested in attending the supper club this Friday, make sure to book your tickets through.

Getting down to ~~spinach~~ I mean business.

Recipe: Spinach Bread

You will need
500g Chop fresh baby spinach down
3/4 cup of milk ( use almond milk if your making a vegan alternative
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3 cups of plain flour + 1 cup for surface dusting/ hands
Olive oil ( for frying)

Juzzha aka Hand Mixer

Equipment
Rolling pin or a round bottle)
Hand mixer also know as a "Juzzah" to my mum.
Sauce pan
Frying pan
Tongs
Paper Towels
Cling film

How you do it
Stage 1
Heat the milk so it's warm to touch in a sauce pan over the stove
Chop up the spinach so it's fairly small
Add the milk to the spinach and use a Juzzha* to turn the milk into a green liquid

Stage 2
On a clean bench make a well with the flour, and slowly pour in the milk.
Gently fold the flour into the milk, making sure not to let the walls fall as you go.
Once mixed together knead the dough lightly with the palm of your hand.
If the dough is sticky, rub your hands in flour and sprinkle some flour lightly on the dough.

Stage 3
Let the dough rest for 30 -40 minutes wrapped tightly in cling film so it is no exposed to the air.

Stage 4
Once the dough is well rested, roll into balls and then using the rolling pin make large pancake sized flat bread. Roll to your desired thickness, I suggest 5mm.

Stage 5
Using olive oil very lightly and a frying pan, once the oil starts to spit, gently drop in your spinach bread, you will see parts start to turn golden and the bread will start to bubble, once this occurs flip the bread over until the same look develops on the other side.

I find it best to place the cooked bread onto paper towelling while it cools.
Once cool, fill up with all the yummy things you can think of, I suggest basil pesto, fresh capsicum and goats cheese or ricotta with cracked pepper.

So I know the word that doesn't really exist, but say hypothetically you were asked to replicate the sounds of a hand mixer. I'm sure "juzzh" would be fairly accurate and if not, It's my mum's word and it's stuck with me.

If you are interested in securing tickets to the supper club or are yet to connect on social media make sure you use the links below.

Have a great night foodie lovers
Cass x

Website : www.cassies.kitchen
Click here to like my Facebook Page
Click her to secure Supper Club Tickets

Post NYE 2015 Hangover Food - All Vegetarian!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:39:00 +0000

It's come and it's gone. However my seedy-ness still remains.

So as I lay pathetically around the house, I realise it is time to eat something both yummy and simple.

So here are two of my favourite Go-To Vegetarian Recipes for when I am watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on TV.

Cheesy Parmesan Risotto

1 cube of vegetable stock
1.5L water
1 tblsp olive oil
½ red onion diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 cups Arborio Rice
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tblsp of tomato paste
¼ cup of Parmesan shavings
sea salt
cracked pepper
fresh basil
dried oregano

1. Place the stock & water in a medium saucepan bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic & cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.
3. Add the rice to the onion mixture & cook, stirring, until the grains appear slightly glassy. Add a ladleful of stock to the rice mixture and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid is completely absorbed. Continue to add stock, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful.
4. This process will take around 20 min or until the rice is tender yet firm to the bite. Stir in Parmesan, seasoning & tomato paste until risotto is pink and creamy.
5. Serve with Parmesan shavings & piece of ciabatta bread

and then...

Chilli, Cheese and Honey Bread

Cibatta Bread ( Or any bread if you have any)
Honey
Chilli Flakes
Cheddar Cheese

Turn on the Grill in the oven
Slice up Cibatta Bread into slices 2-2.5cm thick
Lather up honey all over 1 side of the bread
Sprinkle Chilli Flakes over the honey -
Cover bread in Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese
Grill in the Oven until cheese is golden

Serve up and eat!

Let me know if you try any of these it would be great to hear back from you on your thoughts!

Best to find me / get in contact here:
https://www.facebook.com/cassies.kitchen.88

See you later!
#cassieskitchen

Rolling Gnocchi till 2am - Trials and Tribulations of a market stall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 21:57:00 +0000

Merry Christmas Everyone!

So it's Christmas holidays, can you believe it? Where did this year go?

It comes to this point of the year when we all reflect on what we've done, how well we've done it, and what could we have done better. - I know I sure have!

At the beginning of this year, all I wanted was to start my own food business. I didn't have answers to all the 5w's (who, what, where, when, why?) . I just had a dream, and slowly following some #businessbabysteps I managed to set myself a goal and actually bite the bullet and "just bloody do it".

Yes, I've invested a lot of time & money into it. Yes, so far the return has not been as great as I had hoped, however I learnt some valuable lessons and I realised I have more support than I originally thought.

Tried, Tested & Smiling!

In a matter of one weekend this December I ran my first & second market stalls and completed my first paid catering job. If your reading this blog, I am confident by now you know my speciality cuisine is modern Italian. However if this is new to you, Welcome! (and read on)

The past few month's I have been branching out and attending some networking events where I have been working on my "Elevator Pitch" and now can sum this up to be:

I cook using traditional Italian techniques my Nonna taught me, with 21st century flavour combinations. Therefore making heavy and unhealthy Italian food lighter and easier to digest. - The end goal being, so you can fit more in!

Following this mantra, my menu for the market stalls naturally followed this brief. From my last post, you would have seen how I have decided Gnocchi to be my signature dish. When I made this declaration, I was yet to spend over 12 hours preparing gnocchi for my two market stalls and came to the realisation, that this was a lot of hard work and pressure for one person, when it's not guaranteed to sell.

That said, I persevered, and still managed to get out there and promote my brand and the deliciousness of the roasted thyme and pumpkin Gnocchi. On both days we served up my hand rolled balls of delight with a traditional tomato based sauce or the alternative of sun-dried tomatoes and fresh spinach, both with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

It was rather interesting to observe people and customers at both stalls. Their questions and the process of it all, identifying what was left out, what needed to change and any gaps that appeared.

Without realising or it being intentional my offer is completely vegetarian and on request, I was even able to provide a Vegan option, to not one but two customers. Something I admit I hadn't even thought of before or even tailored my offer to accommodate for.

Camille & I at Deptford Christmas Market

In the end it wasn't the actually offer that was the problem from the two market stall events, it was the footfall. So although Stu helped me prep over 70 portions of gnocchi and Camille played an integral part in letting me freak out and calm down on day 1 (thank you Camille) we came to realise no matter how meticulous the planning for the two days was. If there are no people, there is no sales. It was a harsh lesson, however it was a lesson, especially on day 2 where we sold 5 portions.

However from the sales we did have, and the feedback from real live customers ( not friends and family) the flavour is there and a few tweaks Cassie's Kitchen will be in full swing.

Stu and the Stall at Hackney Markets

Some of the more ironic lessons from the weekend were, how to use a soup kettle and the best way to pack an Ice-Box. Both things you can't pre-plan for.

One more important thing I learnt, was never under estimate yourself.

For the catering job I did I managed to make 65 Aranncini balls stuffed with mozzarella & sun-dried tomatoes. Then 150 portions of Fritelli (Northern Italian mini fruitcakes) all by myself.

All of which were cooked, rolled, cooled, packed, labelled and delivered in 9 hours. After talking with my "flavour consultants" aka Mum & Dad. They agreed it would usually be a 2 person all day job. With that in mind and after we ate the samples the following day I had the reassurance I needed.

You should have seen me, cooking Fritelli in one hand and searing the Aranncini balls in the other. - It was intense, I felt like a machine. ( The deep house pumping in the background definitely helped).

So onto my next big task, one I am more suited for after doing a Christmas Sunday Roast for 11 people is a Supper Club this January. It would be great to get support from this venture and if you know of any one who would be interested make sure to share the love and send them this link to secure tickets:

http://www.meetup.com/Food-Lovers-in-London/events/219360951/

The menu will be as follows;

On arrival

Glass of Prosecco (naturally what else would I serve?)

Appetiser

Hand rolled Sun-Dried Tomato Aranccini Balls

Starters

Goats Curve Brushetta with peas, parsley and lemon

Main

Signature Roasted Roasted Pumpkin Gnocchi baked in a pink creamy sauce

Dessert

Salted Chocolate, Ricotta Mini pies

Coffee & Departure

Fritelli

If you are up for an experience, and would like to see me make the gnocchi from scratch in front of you, make sure to secure tix and come down and try some Gnocchi south of the River.

Tickets need to be bought in advance so make sure to book!

I love to gnocchi, hahaha I love to gnocchi and sing!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 16:49:00 +0000

I believe my calling is gnocchi, ( and drinking lot’s of prosecco) I make potato gnocchi, spinach gnocchi, pumpkin gnocchi and beetroot gnocchi. I use the traditional methods my Nonna taught me and use 21^st century flavour combinations to give the dishes the WOW factor that they deserve.

Beetroot Gnocchi

I love big portions, and I love small portions

I love red sauces and I love white sauces

I love to roll them, chop them and boil them until they float

I love to pour the sauce on them and gobble them up before they go cold

The thing I love more than anything else is watching others smile while they enjoy them.

Now that I have your attention and you know how much I love Gnocchi. I will let you know that I won't be putting my recipes up here as this is my "thing" and I want to make a business out of it! So if you have some hints and tips or would like to help me on this adventure get in touch! I'll even cook for you if you do!

Artichoke & Pumpkin Gnocchi

However what I can tell you, is that I recently made Banana and Avocado muffins, and what I learnt was no matter how many recipes are listed on google – this is a terrible idea.

The intrigue was enough for me, but use this as a warning – it’s kinda gross.

So moving onto something more on trend, Kale is the super food of the hour. Recently I bought a packet of the new craze Kale chips/crisps (depending on where you live) at a well-known sandwich shop chain in London. They are delicious and are super easy and quick to make at home, so here is a DIY recipe so you can do it yourself.

1 bag of curly Kale

¼ cup of olive oil

Sea salt

Pre Heat oven to 150 degrees C

Chop up Kale and remove spine from leaves, chopping the Kale into large pieces. *Remember the size will decrease by 60-70% once the leaf becomes dehydrated so don’t make this too small otherwise it will be hard to pick up when it comes time to eat them!

Place evenly on a flat baking tray and drizzle olive oil all over

Sprinkle sea salt across all of the Kale evenly

Place in the oven on the top shelf for 15 minutes

At 5 minutes remove the tray from the oven. You will see that the Kale has started to dry out and has shrunk in size. Lightly drizzle more olive oil and a sprinkle more salt then use a spoon to mix through.

Place back in the oven on the middle shelf for a further 10 minutes.

Remove before the leaves turn brown and set aside to cool, and add more salt because you can.

Also some fun news is that I am part of the Lidl UK campaign that is running in stores nationwide, so if you see a picture of me and my tweet - get in touch.

Much Love

Cassie's Kitchen xx

Click here for my Facebook page to find out what else I've been up to.

Out Comes the Crisps

In goes the Kale

Cassies Kitchen on a whisky and culinary tour in the highlands and Aberdeenshire in Scotland.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 21:27:00 +0000

This wee bonnie lass went up to Scotland on the weekend past for our friends Morven & Christopher's wedding in Aberdeenshire. We have had some amazing tour guides teaching us about William Wallace, whisky export during prohibition, offshore mining and general everyday life in Scotland.

Naturally whilst Cassie's Kitchen has been up North and on tour, I've tried a range of local dishes and experienced including eating tatties, stovies, butteries, haggis, black pudding, Scottish Salmon and went to the (voted) no 1 chipper in the UK for the freshest haddock ever.

To work off all the food, I've climbed in Castles walked through a tropical forest and a desert of cactus's. Witnessed a humanist wedding listened to the bag pipes, sampled true Scottish whiskies and danced Ceilidh dances. I've learnt about Kilts, sporrans, how to warm up bag pipes, what's included in survival training in the Atlantic Ocean and some new phrases like "Gie's a Boise!" & "Fou'syerdouse?" (Give us a cuddle /how are you?)

Overall it's been an exciting few days. I have also learned that the Scottish are fond of their traditional dishes, and have a proud history. Whilst taking all of this on board, I've also been instructed how to distinguish between Aberdeenian and Glasvegian. ( As I am sure your realising now, it's been a busy few days)

Whilst up north we visited the iconic Glenfiddich whiskey distillery in the highlands which has been family run since 1886. Our friend Dave played tour guide and we sampled a 12yo, 15yo, and 18yo malt whiskey.

Did you know the reason you smell whiskey ( and apparently wine) is be because the nose can smell 32 aromas but can only taste 4 or 5. - I didn't either!

I've also been super busy with Cassie's Kitchen, my new domain name is set up! www.cassies.kitchen (yep .kitchen not .com) and I'm slowly making some headway with packaging options and branding. I've contact a few market stalls and am working toward running a pop up in London this November - dates TBC, watch this space.

I've master my signature dishes, and mapped out my offer. It will be traditional Italian methods meets 21st century flavour combinations. I will be putting a twist on gnocchi, sauces and accompanying sides, I like to describe my dishes as delicious "roundish foods" as Arancini is also on the menu.

Not only is Cassie's Kitchen moving full steam ahead, I've also been playing with some new flavour combinations on the home front. Recently I whipped up an Avocado & Chocolate mousse for sweets mid week.

To catch up on everything that has been happening make sure to click here and follow me to keep up to date movements on whats been cooking.

A rough recipe outline below for you:

1/2 large mashed Avocado
80 grams of chocolate (I used Spanish chocolate, you could use milk cooking chocolate)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of icing sugar
2 tablespoons of milk (coconut will work also)
Sprinkle of coca powder

Melt the chocolate on the stove and mix into the above ingredients with a wooden spoon.
Once folded in, use a hand mixer until mixture thickens and is more a consistent texture.
Poor into serving cups and place in the fridge for 1 hour or freezer for 10 minutes.

For an extra "crunch" I suggest smashing up some biscuits (digestive or malt) and place in the bottom of the cups.

Ps: Check out how cute these kitchens are at George/Asda! - Love it
Cassie's Kitchen

Back to Basics -Chicken in red sauce a La' Nonna

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 19:40:00 +0000

As I write this I am currently sitting on the train singing to myself (in my head of course) the lyrics of "sending out an SOS…. message in a bo-tt-le". I just saw a street performance by a band, with a full drum set and guitars at Charing Cross, and they were great! This is one of the reasons why I love London, people can just do their thing anywhere and anyway they want too and it's part of the norm.

As I repetitively sing S.O.S it's got me thinking, I know something that's in need of some help, and that's my blog. Working in digital, you would hope I would practice what at I preach on my now personal sites. I can almost hear myself say "fresh is best" when it comes to content. So I'm feeling rather guilty about my blog at the moment. Plus I'm not sure why, but every-time I say or hear "fresh is best" I automatically think of fish.

So as I have come to realise living in London, naturally leads to a busy lifestyle. Finding time to exercise, socialise, and cook homemade dishes with a full time job and a decent commute everyday can be a tad challenging. Even for an over organised and sporadic person like myself. So today I'm going to dedicate my blog to back to basics and the simple stuff.

Now lets talk food, that's what you are here for isn't it? If you following me on my various social platforms, you would have seen my banana muffins, with butterscotch pieces. I had so many bananas going brown I cooked up loads of them and froze half so we could eat them at a later date with clotted cream. - Just in case you wanted to know..

So I won't back track with stories and tales of adventures past in the last month or so, I'll keep it #fresh.

Last week we went down for a delicious meal in #Greenwich at the Cutty Sark pub which belongs to the Young’s pubs estate.

We started the meal with the special; ½ dozen of fresh oysters with Spanish onion and red wine vinegar dressing ( totally looking forward to recreating this as it was delicious) and a very tasty gin cured salmon on buttermilk pancakes with toasted juniper berries and fennel salad.
Followed by the dressed Devon crab and salmon fish cake served on spinach with hollandaise sauce and a poached egg. I know what your thinking already.. #alittlebitfancy To keep it short, the food was great, the view was wonderful and I love seafood- possibly as much as I do cheese.

We have been super lucky for a foodie adventures this week and secured free tickets to
Feast food festival. We sampled the best cheese toastie from the Cheese Truck, pork lion in bbq sauce with spring onion from contemporary British restaurant the Aqua Shard, then a spicy satay chicken dish from Rosa’s Thai Café.

Amongst other things not only was the food delicious we sampled some of the Meantime beers, tasted the delicious and spicy Firestarter Whisky, sampled the Pontoon cocktails sachets on lanyards. Then finished the night at the Peroni bar drinking.., yep you got me Peronis. Overall the best way to spend a Saturday. This wasn't our first Feast and definitely not our last, I am already looking forward to the next one closer to Christmas.

So I mentioned back to basics earlier, and this is where we take all the trimmings and glamours food and go back to simpler time, a simpler time perhaps with an Italian nostalgia. My Nonna always called the dish I have in mind peasant food, perhaps because it's simple in flavor and simple to make. I guess peasants in Italy would eat it in the olden days. However that being said or typed I should say, I love this dish and would rather eat it all the time just because it tastes good, not just because it's cheap and easy to make.

I also think it's more of a wholesome meal best enjoyed on a lazy Sunday. So what's this dish called you wonder? It's chicken in red sauce. Not a hard one to remember, amongst the two core ingredients in the name of the dish you can also find fresh basil, garlic and spring onions (or brown onion, depending on what's in the cupboard) served on mash. I love this dish as it reminds me of sitting around my Nonna’s kitchen with all the family when I was a little girl. Little meaning like under 8.

One of the best things, well two actually is when cooked for long enough the chicken falls off the bone while you are eating, it’s simple to make and always delivers a smile to my face. ( Well that’s three good reasons!)

With the chicken I prefer to cook this slowly, as this is the key to making the meat juicy and tender so it falls off the bone. To start up, dice all the ingredients and cook off the onion and garlic in olive oil and pepper corns in a medium to large size pot. Once these have started to turn golden place the chicken in and add the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir, put on an a medium heat for 1 hour then on low for an addition 1-2 hours. I find that when cooking this dish you will need to check on it and give it a stir occasionally. If you feel the sauce is evaporating add some water at your own discretion.

What you will need if you want to try this as well.

4-5 chicken drumsticks, thighs

8 cherry tomatoes or 1-2 tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic

3 spring onions

3 springs of fresh basil

2 table spoons of tomato paste

2 cups of crushed tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube

Pepper and Sea Salt for seasoning

If I need to tell you how to make mash, you are reading the wrong blog, but just in case you need potatoes, butter milk and seasoning. I think YouTube will have a few options if you really get stuck!

Well that’s it for me for tonight, I am off to the supermarket to buy something to make for dinner.

Something with rice I think.

Make sure to follow my social feeds if you want to see what I am up to more regularly. Click here for my Facebook page

Good night from #cassieskitchen

Cass x

Belgium, Stockholm, Cassis = Biers, Picnic's, and Rosé

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 21:31:00 +0000

Travel.

I like to travel, and I would consider myself well travelled if you were to ask me.
I have lots of stamps in my passport, I have seen and done some fun, crazy, dangerous, and culture shocking, things.

I have climbed forgotten temples, eaten interesting street food, lived with foreign families and swam with whales. I've ridden motorbikes on sand dunes, partied in foreign countries and made friends from all around the world. One of the things I love most about travelling is eating different cuisines and sampling the local delicacies (and the not so delicacies). My other favourite thing is meeting new people along the way, especially those who take the time to speak with you even if there is a language barrier.

So what worldly experiences can I talk about in my discoveries of Europe? This Easter we went to Belgium and ate molasses & frits while sampling a varied range of Belgium biers and delicious handmade chocolates. We went to this fun little bar in Bruge called De Zandloper, FYI this place was fantastic and very accommodating to the discerned ale connoisseurs (which was us). We we're given an iPad with the brews on tap so we could read over the tasting notes before selecting our chosen biers. Once we were settled in we grabbed a pack of coasters to play with, and let the a tab grow as we lulled the afternoon away making our way down the list of Belgium biers.

To be fair, I can't remember to much of Belgium, I know I had a great time and drank lots of beer and ate lots of chocolates. Not much else we really wanted to do, so after such a great weekend away in Belgium we decided that we would book out next escape with no delay. We both selected three countries placed the new holiday possibilities in the biscuit tin and pulled the venues out until we got to the last one, and the winner was announced as Sweden!

In my opinion, Stockholm is the city of sunshine and picnics. ( and expensive bills) We had superb weather, marvellous views of the canals and yachts and overall such a great time. We had some really tasty reindeer at a restaurant called the Pelikan, but my favourite meal would have been the picnic we prepared and ate on Langholmen island.

The island is an old prison and sits in the middle of a large harbour, we sourced our goodies at the Ostermalm Saluhall market. After perusing around the stalls and ogling all of the delicious food, we purchased a delicious rice fed chicken, that was seasoned in salt & herbs, this was absolutely delicious. By far this is the best chicken I have eaten, the meat was so tender and juicy. We accompanied this with soft chèvre, and fresh strawberries for our dessert.

Once the late morning had started to settle down, we decided we would make our way onto the back of a premium jetty bar with the locals and enjoy the sunshine and some more Rosé and watch the sun go down over the canal.

I tell you what, if you ever go to Sweden, have a picnic on the water in the sunshine, it was such a beautiful way to spend the afternoon in Stockholm. Plus we had already been to the ABBA museum, so it was rude not too!

My next adventure was to the South of France, I went to Marseilles and the beautiful coastal town of Cassis. Now our first meal in France was the most surprising... a pizza! Apparently that is what Marseilles is famous for, who would have known? I was personally thinking wtf? That's Italian! but nonetheless we ordered the quattro formage and we were not disappointed, it was even better when washed down with a couple bottles of rose from the Provence.

While in Cassis, Helen and I enjoyed the spoils of the local life, we sunbathed at place de bestouan ( the best beach) ate fresh seafood at Bada restaurant on the Cote d'Azur and enjoyed the crystal blue water. We also enjoyed some delicious salmon baked in almond milk, a raw salmon steak fried in teriyaki sauce and the cutest mozzarella ball I have ever scene. Not only was the food, the definition of the word cuisine, the wine and the cocktails were deadly delicious. We were even lucky to be given some complimentary Creme de Cassis after one of our meals. I love the South of France, and I look forward to going back there with Stu and relaxing after a hard day of doing nothing but eating cheese and drinking quality wines.

It would have been a little bit mean of me if I hadn't bought back a present for Stu after all the spoils of the trip, so it seemed only fair that I bring back a gift summarising the adventure. I managed to locate some nougat and chocolate chip biscuits, some very tasty local wine and some cheesy magnets for the fridge! ( The wine is kinda for the both of us but, we will let him think its just for him)

So, after a few whirlwind weeks and lots of sunshine, I am back in London planning my next adventure. Who knows where I will go.. maybe Morocco? ;) ( Fingers crossed)

So that's it for me tonight, make sure to follow my Facebook page for the rest of the pictures from the trip, it's also a great way to keep up to date with my everyday foodie travels.

Much Love #cassieskitchen on tour
Good night x

Rostalicious, ma gravy is delicious.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 19:46:00 +0000

Yeh I know, it's been a while.

Although the actual blogging part of my quest to grow #cassieskitchen to something more tangible, has kind of slowed down, the want and love of cooking and sharing my culinary prowl-essence (also known as vanity) has still been active and growing stronger everyday. I have been sourcing my produce from local suppliers and travelling around London to find the best yummy goodies I can to aid in creating a new flavour.

I have been very active on my "Sunday roast" attempts over the past 6 months with my first successful pork roast with crackling! (1/5 aren’t too bad of odds)

In not such a giant fail but close too, I did learn during my first "crackling" experience that even though I think whole meal self raising flour should be a fine substitute for plain white flour when attempting to make Yorkshire puddings, it isn't. So don't try it unless you enjoy eating play-dough.

Although the "pud" as it is referred to in the UK was pitiable, I did hit the jackpot with the side. Sliced organic rainbow carrots, zucchini, red onion and potatoes arrange very so elegantly in a ceramic dish with a creamy Stilton sauce. YUMMMMY

Previously my roasts have varied attempts on fail. One week I forgot to put foil over the top and it was like trying to eat some very tough rubber. Another week I attempted a duck; to my disappointment he was still very very undercooked. I once even thought I very clever cooking the meat above a cooling tray of onions that would aid in creating a nice gravy flavor. Yet again RAW even though it had been cooking for a good 2 and half hours, I ended up slicing it up and cooking it in smaller pieces because I was hungry.

To try something a little different and I needed an ego boost after serving still oinking meat the week earlier. I plated up a pescatarian “ cooked” dinner of Chili crab for a Sunday roast. Now this recipe is delicious I have already cooked it once before click here to find out what went in the pot.

So it's Saturday again I'm thinking yep, Sunday roast tomorrow. Stuart & I head down to Brockley market to source some local produce in the town down the road.

We pick up a giant bag of kale, (it's a super food didn't you hear) some more rainbow carrots, big beetroots and some garlic leaves (delicious) and edible flowers. Yes you see correctly, edible flowers, I tell you what that may not be so flavorsome as garlic leaves, but they look pretty once served. Check out the Chicken stuffed with Chroizo, and served with purple broccoli above.;)

So we have the veg in our recycled hessian bag, looking like the rest of the foodie locals and now it's time to hunt down some meat. We spot a delicious rack of lamb that just looks like it will be as delicious and we think. We have this very bad tendency called we see, we buy, we ask how much later.

I tell you what! If I had known the price before hand, we would have missed out on one of the best pieces of lamb I have eaten in my life. The meat had aged well and has this “glow” that said eat me or eat meat… The meat was soft and tender and well worth the ££ I give it 6/5 chops!

So, more recently ( in the last 24 hours) I have had an attempt at juicy and delicious piece of Briskett, the way my mum does. Cooked in the oven on medium hit with fresh garlic, rosemary and olive oil.

The trick is letting the meat to air and get to room temperature before eating.

I learnt that from my vegetarian friend Helen!

I also had a "crack" at attempting to make Easter eggs yesterday. Click here to see the pictures

So although this blog isn’t my life story this time or a online journal, It is more about what I am actually doing in the kitchen. My foodie idea is to have guests who come and enjoy my food and contribute to the #cassieskitchen experience.

If you are interested in coming on a sourcing of produce adventure or would like to know more about coming for dinner contact me via twitter or facebook( I promised I would have a Facebook page in my last blog).

I shall leave you with the below quote

Later kids

Cass x

“Just the act of cooking made her feel better, because cooking was life.”
― Stephen King, The Stand

The #cassieskitchen adventures of Drake & Morgan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 22:05:00 +0000

There once was a social butterfly who frequented London Bars and funky bars.

So I like to explore London and I am always up to try something new and see as much as possible, and it just so happened without intending too, I have gone to not one but 2 Drake and Morgan venues in 2 days. (Not very “explorer” of me.) So to make up for this in the past week, I have been to The National Museum to see Picassos sunflowers, a Tapas Restaurant in Greenwich, a French Pattiserie in Soho a few wine bars including Gordons Wine bar near embankment and Guanabara.

I shall set the scene at the start of my adventures since my last blog. It's valentines night and I'm getting dressed to head out to some mysterious dinner in Canary Wharf with my husband Stuart. It's a special night, (the first as husband & wife) and I naturally decided to wear my favourite dress.

We arrive in Canary Wharf via the tube, and it' windy, oh so windy and at one point I am holding onto Stuart for dear life as the wind is blowing me over in my stilettos. We arrive, slightly windswept and a little wet after battling with the "breeze" of Canary Wharf, to a buzzing seductive bar/ restaurant pumping out some funky tunes that oversees the nearby ice rink.

We are seated by the host and served up a 2 glasses of water at wonky table. Not a great start, but shortly afterwards we are relocated to a more intimate table in the middle of the restaurant and a bottle of Champagne appears. Bingo.

Our first dish of the evening is a goats cheese curve served with hummus and edible flowers & sundries tomatoes. ( MMM CHEESE) Then our second course is followed shortly after with lobster & steak - yum checkout the picture.

Overall an enjoyable meal. We didn't stay for dessert as the night was getting on, (and now I sound like an old nanna) but we won’t be going back as this is a nice bar that serves food, not to be confused with a restaurant with a drinks selection.

My second adventure was to the newly opened Fable bar opened up in Holborn, I went here with my friend and fellow blogger Emma from whosebootsarethoseshoes. With my first steps onto the top level of the bar, I knew this was the perfect place to adventure for our blog brainstorm lunch.

FYI this is a super cool venue the decor is rather trendy and my sister Rebecca would love it, the walls are covered in pages of old books and it has such a beautiful effect with the unique lighting fixtures bouncing off alluring shadows. It makes you feel as if the golden goose is about to walk through and lay a golden egg.

Next stop is Greenwich. As I had already eaten a massive bowl of linguine earlier in the day Tapas was a great suggestion, and I headed there to meet Michelle, Linda and Stuart for a bottle of red wine, chorizo, patatas bravas & whitebait mmm Yum Yum.

Now it’s Sunday and I have a scheduled trike date with Camille & Bec and we travel to the National Portrait gallery to view Picassos Sunflowers then head on our mission for non-booked high tea. I tell you what if you plan on going to high tea, book ahead. So we wondered on, and by accident we ended up having high tea at the maisonbertaux.

This has to be the best hidden treasure, absolutely delicious! The berries were so fresh and amazing and I am counting down the days to get back there and order my next Strawberry tart.

So before my next blog I am setting myself a goal. A Google Places page & connecting with another blogger while I hunt for a mentor to take #cassieskitchen to the next level.

If you have any ideas or want to get in touch via twitter here.

Have a good night kids

Cass xx

Happy Valentines Nonno!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:39:00 +0000

So valentines has come around again, it's that time of year when we get all "yummy" towards our friends, lovers, husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends. This will be my first Valentines as a wife, and Stuart is taking me out for a special dinner in Canary Wharf. Many people think valentines is cheesy, tacky and I'll quote the hipsters " too commercial".

To be fair, for years I have been tooting a similar tune but deep down I love it, due to the nostalgia it holds closer to home. A special baby was born on this day in 1936 in Cornuda, Treviso Italia, his mother named him Bruno Valentino Cadorin. Later on his life Bruno moved to Australia meet his Italian wife Edda, and they started a family 2 boys & 2 girls.

The eldest, my dad or as I like to call him padre, and the next in line is my uncle Alan, who is born also on Valentines day! They had two more daughters, Sonia then Jenny who went on to start their own families. Jenny has son Fabian, and guess what, he is also born on Valentines day! What are the chances? 3 generations!

In addition to all the birthdays my dad is a romantic, and didn't want to be left out of the Valentines spirit, so he married my mum on Valentines day in 1982 and they had 3 kids. Sadly their are no more birthdays, but to top it off, when I was little I asked my mum what my name would be if I was a boy, guess what! My middle name would have been Valentino. - True story that.

So with love in the air & Italian family history on the agenda. It would only be fitting to share an Italian recipe this Valentine's Day.

Spinach Cannelloni in Arrabiata sauce.

Preparation time 20 minutes

Cannelloni:
1 bag of spinach
1 packet of fresh lasagna strips
1 tub of fresh ricotta
Seasoning ( salt, pepper, oregano, mixed Italian herbs )
1/2 bag of Mozzarella cheese

Arrabiata Sauce:
1 cube of chicken stock
2 Bay leaves
1 white onion diced
3 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of fresh basil
1 Tablespoon of Chilli flakes
1 tin or box of chopped tomatoes
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste

Sauce first :
Sauce is best when cooked over a few hours, or even the day before. If time is limited a quick and easy sauce to cook is Arrabiata ala Cass

Fry off diced onion & garlic, pinch of pepper & salt in olive oil until the onion is golden
Stir in chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, drop in the bay leaves and tear up the basil and leave to simmer while preparing the cannelloni, chilli flakes

Boil spinach over a medium heat, once wilted drain, then dice up finely, add to bowl and mix in the ricotta and pepper. - It will kinda look like seaweed

To roll the lasagna sheets ( ensuring they don't break) pour some warm water into a pot and very quickly submerge the sheet in the hot water. Be sure not to leave it in too long as it will be more likely to tear when handing it.
Place the sheet on a flat surface add a good portion of the ricotta mixture and spread the width of the sheet and roll, after the first roll add some extra mixture thinly to the remainder of the sheet and roll up tight.

Add rolls to cooking tray, once full pour your magic sauce over, place in the oven to cook with mozzarella cheese. Leave to cook for 40 minutes on high.

And serve up with a light salad and a voila!
Bellissimo. Now go out there and say ti amo to someone you love.

I may not blog all the time but make sure to catch my pinterest for more

simple recipes and instagram feed.

See ya later lovers

Cass xx

#cassieskitchen moved house :)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 18:51:00 +0000

So we moved house.

Yep that’s right #cassieskitchen has a new home and a brand new sparkling kitchen to cook in!

Lady Bugs - Tomato & Olives with goats cheese eyes

Since the move I have been serving up some delicious dishes including a very soft & tender lamb roast with roasted potatoes & turnips.

Yum Yum

Fresh linguine in a pink sauce with chorizo, bacon and Portobello mushrooms

Pasta spirals in Carbonara sauce with goats cheese

I used my new wok to make Sweet & Sour vegetable noodles

Baked chicken stuffed with Chorizo, spring onion & garlic

After our first week in the new flat we hosted Michelle for dinner, as we don’t have any furniture we had a picnic on the floor party.

We served up lamb roast and after realising that I hadn’t organised sweets, I had a quick scan of the cupboard and had enough ingredients to make 10 minute not cheesecake cream cakes.

They were delicious and a great after dinner treat!

Recipe:

10 minute not cheesecake cream cakes

10 small serving jars or tumbler glass-wear

10 Oatmeal biscuit

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tin of condensed milk

3 mandarins

Chocolate for shaving over the top

Crush up the biscuits and mix in melted butter, put this into the jar as a base

Mix condensed milk, cream and vanilla essence into a bowl and squeeze juice out of 2 mandarins.

Pour ¾ of the mixture into the jars and add 1 or 2 segments of the mandarin to each jar.

Pour in remaining mixture and shave the chocolate over the top, then place into the freezer for 10 minutes.

If you want to send me a food challenge make a comment or get in touch!

I may not blog every week, but you can follow my food adventures on Instagram and Pinterest

Well thats it from me kids,

Till next time xx

GYM memberships & basted Cod

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:38:00 +0000


Fried Ginger, Garlic, Lime Juice

For Christmas I asked for a gym membership. No that's not a joke, I stuffed myself with truffles, seconds and turkey over the holidays.

I just want to point out, that it is not a new year resolution as I haven't resolved to actually do anything, just behave myself after intentionally gorging in December!

So with the positive reinforcement that I now possess a gym membership and a growing waistline, I kick started the new year with a delicious fresh fish dish of basted Cod with a Thai persuasion!

While eating it (and smelling) it, I was reminded of the week we spent in Prachuap Khiri Kahn in late 2012. Stu and I laid by the sea, rode pushbikes and indulged in fresh fish and seafood everyday and did absolutely nothing else. It was such a good time :)

It's one of those small pleasures in life moments, when a dish or a smell can stop you in your tracks and reminds you of a specific point in time.... Well, I always find it special.

Drizzle marinate on cod and fold foil over

So here it goes recipe no1. for 2014!

Cod Basted in Lime Juice:

Fry off 1 spring onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1cm of ginger, with salt & pepper, chop up a few sprigs of fresh coriander in the juice of 1 lime and a table spoon of olive oil

Drizzle the mixture over the cod fillets & place in the oven wrapped in foil for 25 minutes, check at about 10 minutes and expose the fish to the oven air, ensure to drizzle the juice back over fish so it doesn't dry out.

Healthy and Fresh in 40 Minutes

Served with:
Boiled potatoes with vinegar, basil pepper, parsley tossed and set to cool. Also served with blanched snowpeas & beans.

Make sure to check out my Pinterest and Intsagram pages for more short recipes and delicious images!

Click here for Pinterest
Click here for Instagram

Goodnight kids xx
#Cassieskitchen

2013 in review for #cassieskitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 14:24:00 +0000

With another year come and gone and a new bag of tricks under our belts, this is the time of year we all find ourselves reflecting on what we have achieved, experienced or learnt while passing hurdles and working towards our end goal.

My goal this year was to learn to cook and wrap my head around social media and all things digital. Both of which I feel I have a rather good grasp on now.

I started my cooking journey last January after an experience house sitting, and cooking a turkey in a pot of water and successfully cooking a pizza in 2 saucepans. ( Using the top one as a lid) On the work front, Stuart and I went from jobless and homeless, to living in a share house with "real" jobs. After a drawn out few months I finally landed myself in a role (I wanted rather than needed) inside a digital agency.

I learnt to cook, blog and articulate recipes that I have made up and learnt from watching others, into something real and have the added ability with a few quick clicks to share my homemade goodies with my friends and social network across the globe. I am happy to admit that this time last year, I didn't have the foggiest idea on how to create a blog and now have 927 views since June. A success in my eyes!

During the past year, we travelled down to Cornwall a few times and enjoyed some quality time with Stuart's family were I learnt to make traditional Cornish pasties. Our parents did the big meet and greet on a day adventure to St Michaels Mount. Fast forward 3 months it's October and we travelled to Australia for my brothers wedding and shortly afterwards Stuart proposed, we were engaged and married in December.

Short and Sweet, just the way I, no I mean WE like it.

With the new year ahead and new challenges to look forward too, I have set myself some new goals, one is to master a few French dishes to add to my blog.

One of our many beautiful wedding presents was a French cookbook from my new friend Billie, who is a ray of sunshine in my working day.

The thing I love most about this gift was that I had known her for 2 weeks and I mentioned off handedly that I only know how to cook Italian food, and how I wanted to learn something new, and she brought me a cookbook! Such a wonderful gesture so, thank you Billie!

My wonderful husband Stuart, bought me a tagine for Christmas and I cooked my first dish to start off the year. Chicken marinated in ginger, lime, mixed spice and garlic. Served with vegetables cooked in stock and cous cous. A great first attempt for 2014, and I am looking forward to mastering a few more Moroccan dished this year as well!

Happy New Year Kids, and I hope you had a great break!
Cass xx

PS: Make sure to follow by pinterest board for recipes and instagram for regular foodie pics!

To cook or not to cook, that is the question.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 13:47:00 +0000

With so much going on in our daily lives, some of us find it hard to make space for the important things let alone identify what they are. I am one of these people.

I know that I enjoy cooking and I love being able to share this with you all, but it is very hard for me these days to sit down and give you some warm fuzzy things to read about and cooking ideas to inspire you. I believed “To be inspirational to others, you need to be inspired”.

So as I type the words of my dear mother come to mind. Chicken should take 15 minutes to cook from raw to edible, any faster and your going to make yourself sick. So here I am utalising my 15 minutes.

I recently headed home to visit my family in Australia for my brothers wedding, it was a jam packed eventful 8 days. Which consisted of way too many hours sitting on my bottom watching movies! We got to see my big brother Mark walk down the aisle with his beautiful wife Emma and congratulate them on their new journey together. I also got to play all kinds of games with my beautiful niece Sofia Grace and was lucky enough to spend the whole time we were in Australia with her. – She is so cute.

I spent lots of time with Mumma Bear and Pappa Bear who give great life advice and also know how to have a good time. Chill out with my Sister Rebecca and her Husband Michael and check out all the renovations that have happened while I have been away, as well as have a general catch up with everyone I care about.

So although I haven’t been blogging I did cook up a funky omelet with the help Sofia Grace and looking at how quickly she munched in down and wanted more I think the verdict was that it tasted pretty good! (The secret was pancetta) J

We were rather spoiled for adventures while we were home, as we did manage to squeeze in time to go to Sydney and see some of my friends there and some of our adventures including riding a giant snail, sunbaking at Bondi and looking over the Anzac bridge.

Here are some pictures of my time In Australia in Griffith and Sydney.

Check out this cute video of my nice :)

Feel free to make some comments and let me know what you think of the blog thus far, and if you want to set me some food challenges let me know! I am more than willing to give it a crack!

Later Kids

Fun, Friends, Gnocchi and Street Parties

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 19:57:00 +0000

This weekend was the best weekend I have had in a while, I really let go and relaxed and relased all my built up tension and now I feel uber happy! I think it was the excess Prosecco and the silly wana twerk / pose / pretend we are in bling ring times = EPIC LOL's all round.

On Saturday I headed to my Camille's for a delicious prosseco breakfast she cooked up for Bec and I, in pre big party day feast.

Camille cooked us baby tomatoes in vinaigrette, with scrambled eggs on sourdough. Shortly afterwards we consumed 3 bottles of Prosecco decided it was time for us to make our way down to the end of summer Shoreditch street party where Frankie Knuckles DJ'd the afternoon away.

Babes, tunes, gin and laughs -Overall a great day/ night! - thanks Dolls xx

So your proberly wondering where does the food story come in? So..after reflecting on such a great weekend with my ladies Bec & Camille I was thinking of home and longing to eat some traditional Italian food the way my nonna cooks it! With my thinking cap on and safe knowledge that I can boil potatoes, I made gnocchi arabiatta the old fashion way! Potatoes, egg , flour and love!

After mashing the potatoes, mixing in the egg and flour, we rolled them out and chopped them up. Then I cooked them the way nonna had taught me..wait till they float to the top Cassie!
They were soft and yummy! Enjoy the pictures :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Kep, Cambodia - Home of the Kampot Green Pepper Crab!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Last night we took a trip down memory lane and went back to Kep Cambodia. Some of you may or may not know that last year Stu and I backpacked around South East Asia, we travelled up from the Philippines, to Singapore, Cambodia, and Vietnam and back down to Thailand. Kep is well-known fishmongers town, on the south coast of Cambodia just off the border of Vietnam, with more fishnets than the backstreets of Soho London or Amsterdam’s red light district. This town in particular known as Kep is renowned for its Kampot Green pepper.

Crab Wars in the sink!

Fact: Green pepper used to be the number one pepper in the world and is the key ingredient in many French restaurants. Ask WIKI

2 crabs boiling up!

SO. I think you get where I am going for last nights theme dinner? Kep – Cambodia. We did what we could with the blue swimmer crabs and the peppers’ we could find at ASDA and came up with these bad boys.

Between the crab fights in the sink, grating ginger on our new “fan-dangle” grater, we picked up the other weekend, we managed to successfully pull off one delicious pepper crab Cambodian styles, white buns, rice and all.

We loosely followed this recipe, with the addition of a few how–to video’s on youtube on how to clean a crab and remove the apron. Check this recipe out!

Hello in Cambodian - Sous-dey!

I did learn from our last crab adventure that, chicken broth or stock is a good way to get the crab soft & juicy. - In case you wanted to know!

In other #cassieskitchen news, I am very happy and excited about my new job, I have been at Covent Garden for 3 weeks and I am learning so much and taking it all in!

Big shout out to Stu this week, he brought me an Ipad so I can blog more now, as I am not at home as much anymore!

Check out more pics here of the latest adventures of #cassieskitchen on pinterest.

FYI if you are a candy crush addict check this out. Bloody hilarious. :)

Later kids xx

Cass

SUGAR CRUSH!!!!

Breakfast on a Spoon, Cider, Prosecco, and Gate Crashing.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 20:35:00 +0000

It’s been a full week since my last blog, and yes I know that’s a poor effort. In my own defence it has been a crazy week! I started at a new company in Covent Garden, I attended a bar opening, went on a 2 hour hunt for the best fish and chips in Stratford, attended my first after work drinks, followed by gate crashing a 16years old girls epic house party, (I decided to meet my neighbours at 12am). Stu and I also went on an overnight trip to Birmingham to attend a cider festival, and on our way there we realised that I had the location wrong, and instead we found ourselves at an International Food Festival where we ate and drank the day away.

All in all, I have been 1 busy munchkin.

Not a bad last resort!

So, with so much going on, I have been a little lacking in the cooking department, but I promise NOT in the eating! I have been spoilt for choice all week starting with Stu cooking me creamy garlic prawns for dinner one night. Another night, with a suggestion from one of Stu’s colleagues we went looking for the “best” fish and chips in Stratford, with what felt like hours of walking on an already empty stomach we finally located our destination @ 10pm.

You know those places that scream “ DON’T EAT HERE” in flashing lights out the front? That’s what we encountered, so with sad smiles on our faces we turned around and decided to go to our trusty Westfield, where most places had already stopped serving and we stumbled upon a pizza shop. It was actually a blessing in disguise, as we had the special of the day which was a truffle, salmon and capers pizza, made with truffle oil base, and a Mediterranean anchovies and tuna salad.

This week I also attended the opening of the Duke of Wellington in Notting Hill. Now, that's a cool venue it has recently been refurbished and I am really looking forward in going back and checking out all the different rooms!

As it was the opening night that had so much free food for the patrons to sample, so I manage to eat my through a delicious array of nibbles, including breakfast on a spoon (see picture)
(I think it was a mix of pancetta and bacon base with an egg fried on top) – AMAZING!

I also sampled the Pork Lollipops – pork belly on sticks dipped in applesauce, cheesy potato croquettes, and crab meat and watercress served on crispy pork skin. (Also the free gin)

All the dishes were very delicious, the venue-looked great also with its eclectic mix of furnishing and funky art – Check it out, it’s a nice bar and the prosecco is cold J

So I tried to organise for us to do something special over the long weekend as we were suppose to go to the Bath, after a few FAIL! moments and some utterly useless brain activity on Saturday we decided to make the trip up to Birmingham for the weekend to attend a cider festival I found online...

Turned out I should have checked Google maps, the place was 1.5 hours from Birmingham. "Insert FAIL! x 5 for the weekend)

So we decided to make the most it, we went on our own cider festival and did a bit of a pub crawl starting at 11am, and ending when we had devoured too much food at the International Food Festival we stumbled along. In saying that, turned out Birmingham to be a blessing in disguise.

Here we enjoyed homemade chocolate, chocolate cannoli, French garlic roasted potatoes and chicken in a garlic red sauce, masala chips, chorizo, poppadoms, and finally what I had been waiting a week for, English fish and chips served with mushy peas!

The festival was a great break from London and even though I can't read a map, we ended up having a really good time, we also purchased this really cool grater! I tried it out last night with the garlic :)

So, as I have been quiet on the #cassieskitchen front, I did cook dinner tonight, and it was an oil based sun dried tomato and pesto fettuccine.

You can see the final product here

Singapore Crab-tastic in my belly #cassieskitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 22:07:00 +0000

From talking about going to Billingsgate markets at 4am for the past month, Stu an I decided to make the trip when we woke up at 8am on Saturday, after a quick brush of the teeth, some doubt about our timing and a ribbon added to the hair (I thought It may have "looked" like I did my hair), we were on our way! Unless you're not aware, the market shuts at 9:30am and most the stalls are already empty and cleaned by 9am.. we got there at 9:20am.

With 4 stores open and what looked like a successful day for the fishmongers (due to the immensely large styrofoam castle we walked through) we went on the hunt for some squid tubes, so we could get our Salt-N-Pepa on. After some distraction of pretending to be a giant fish and spotting some baby shark, we were completely engrossed in our adventure we forgot what we went there for, and managed to buy a kilo of fresh prawns and 4 blue swimmer crabs!
Distracted again once the seafood was in the fridge, It was time to assess the day and go out and play "shopping" at +Westfield and postpone the crab cooking till Sunday.

I have never cooked any sort of shellfish before, so a quick google and an assessment of my cupboard told me that I had found the correct recipe. A few minor adjustments, using what I had, I managed to whip up this delightful and delicious dish.

Way better than a Sunday roast :)

Check out my Pinterest for the final product shot and recipe! Or follow me on Instagram for step by step updates on my next culinary adventure!

#cassieskitchen

Night kids

“Jamie Oliver, eat your heart out!”

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:34:00 +0000

So anyone who knows me knows that I “follow”, and really enjoy anything to do with Jamie Oliver. I think he is inspiring in the way that he cooks, and socially he is really working to improve food awareness and reeducate people on the importance of eating healthy on an international scale. Add that to his smart and sexy venues that not only serve amazing food, but also include delicious cocktails you really do have a winning combination.

I am relatively new to cooking, there was a stage in my life (not that long ago) when I use to eat boiled eggs, smoked salmon and cereal every day. Sometimes when I wanted something “special” I would change it up and eat a hot spud with sour cream… I know tasty stuff!

So when the food craze started and Masterchef, My Kitchen Rules, Jamie’s 15 minute meals and Kylie Kwong cooking programs where everywhere I looked on TV, I started to get really into trying out some of my own dishes. Once I got my head around “seasoning” I finally started cooking yummy food. Strangely enough I developed this habit of following it with a proud shout off “Jamie Oliver, eat your heart out!” There’s not much more I can say about this, other than, yes I made it up, no I don’t know what the literal translation is, BUT it’s something that should be understood as, “check this out Jamie Oliver, and see how good my food is!”

His efforts in challenging society by campaigning on key issues are widely recognized, especially with his work on obesity issues in schools, and apprenticeship programs for unemployed youths. Not only does he work with young people he also runs a 10 week course through Jamie’s Ministry of Food in Australia focused on teaching adults basic cooking skills, how to grocery shop, and provides them with the knowledge and confidence to take their skills from the program and use them at home.

I feel these are fantastic programs, and what an opportunity for these people to be involved in! How many other chefs and international faces are putting their heart and soul into aiding and helping with these issues? I can’t think of anyone, other than the guy who did supersize me – and that was a different ball game.

Food for thought.

So, as this is my blog I would like to say thank you Jamie Oliver. You inspire me to cook healthy food everyday, you make me want to challenge myself to learn new skills, try new things in and out of the kitchen and share them via social media.

I made my second lasagna on the weekend. My mum hands down makes the best damn lasagna I have every tasted, till I made this one.

I made the sauces from scratch, I completed the meat sauce the night before, so it had a richer flavour (see pinterest for ingredients). I then boiled down the spinach, created my béchamel sauce, then worked on my layers.

I do admit I did get confused, and with Stu aiding me with a quick Google of my friend Jamie, I realised 3 important things

1 – don’t put a lasagna strip on top

2 - add basil and tomatoes to the top with LOTS of cheese

3 – cook with foil for the first half hour then remove afterwards.

I didn’t follow an exact recipe, my style of cooking is a bit loose, I have a sort of “mix a bit of this and a bit of that” style, working off what my Mother and my Nonna taught me growing up.

I let it sit to cool, and then served it up later on to my friends for dinner on Saturday.

Spinach Lasagna = bloody lovely, naturally I declared once the verdicts where in (and their was no more left) “Jamie Oliver eat your heart out”

Thanks for the tips JO.

Check out Food 4 Stu & I and CCAD88 for more recipes and pictures of delicious discoveries!

Mondayitis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:09:00 +0000

It’s Monday again, and the Mondayitis is kicking in, nobody likes Monday’s even the Boomtown rats new that, that’s why they made a song about it.

In reality the people who have jobs hate it because they have to go back to the grind. Contrary to that the people without jobs hate it even more, as all their friends are at work, while they sulk around the house looking for something to do.

The life of the unemployed in my experience consists of impromptu mirror dancing with a hairbrush, complimented with over exaggerated dance moves (also called interpretive dance). Then you look at the clock again make a cup of tea, get the heart rate down and gaze out the window. Then you spend 40 minutes thinking about what you will cook for dinner (that is several hours away) fun stuff hey?

I even seriously considered going to the bingo hall today. If I am in the same situation this time next week I’ll go, at least I will be sitting in a room with a bunch of people being “social” when really, no one is allowed to speak, as the concentration levels are beyond extreme! (Keep in mind, this is serious bingo you can win £500+)

Now that is enough of me being a soook. The perfect counteract for Mondayitis is the Easybeats, I got Friday on my mind. This song puts everyone in a good mood!

This blog was suppose to be about my kick-ass lasagna that I made over the weekend, I guess with all my spare time I can tell you about that this afternoon. See a picture here for a glimpse

Till later kids
Cass

Getting Amongst It

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 13:06:00 +0000

So, at the moment I am on the job hunt, my contract ended a few weeks back and I have been slowly working my way through online applications, talking with recruiters and generally getting "stuck" into it. To be honest though, it's rather soul destroying after what feels like a million applications, you start going a bit stir-crazy in the house.
So, I really have no reason to not be blogging other than being a bit lazy...

Last weekend was a real belter, I caught up with my friends Camille and Bec and we drank numerous bottles of Prosecco on the roof top just off London fields. Camille is a fantastic hostess, she cooked us up some delicious warm potato and spinach salad and topped it off with a majestic sunset. It was everything the unemployed needed. Fun, Friends, Food (and Prosecco)

Then on the Saturday, we had a laze about the house kind of day, Stu worked till 1pm so I made Cornish Pasties for lunch, and they were pretty delicious! I added some beef at the end, the picture didn't do it justice so I didn't upload it.
Stu came home to a very seedy girlfriend lying pathetically on the couch, he surprised me with a bottle of Prosecco to perk me up... Amazingly it worked and we went to the bingo hall with our housemates, followed by the Casino where I played my high roller cards , in with a tenner and our with two hundred! WINNING!

Here are some pics from the weekend, I finally decided what to do with all my recipes... Pintrest is where it is at. Check me out for regular updates!
Food 4 Stu and I

Till next time kids when the adventure continues.
xx

27 days with no microwave, no oven and 3 working hot plates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 16:03:00 +0000

Capsicum Stuff with Mushrooms and Fried Capsicum Ring.

In January we officially moved to London and house sat for Helen and Adrian while they went on holidays for a month. We had no jobs, the money was dwindling away quickly and it was time for us to snap out of holiday mode and find some jobs, and somewhere to live by the time they came back.

It was apparent very quickly, after eating out and ordering delicious food from market stalls across South East Asia every day for the past 3 months, that every meal we ate from now we had to cook at home and save our money.

So that is where my inspiration for cooking "most" nights came from. The best part about it was, we had no microwave, no oven, and 3 hot plates. Add to that I think in my life I had the reputation of 4 dishes and they where all Italian and had similar ingredients. The types of food and culinary delight and exotic flavours I had tasted was a different story. I didn't know how to recreate them. Plus I am a Cadorin, we don't follow instructions.. till it's broken or we have fkd it up..

Cooked this in a small pot with water.

In our time there, I cooked a huge array of dishes, sadly I don't have pictures of all of them.
But I do have 2 of my favourites.

Stuffed Capsicum filled with mushrooms, herbs and spices lemon juice and all sorts of flavouring I found in the cupboard. I cooked this with 2 sauce pans closed over each other like a DIY oven to cook the capsicum, so it was almost grilled.

My other favourite, which I wish I had the picture of it cooking! We went to Tesco and got really excited as we found a Turkey roast for Sunday night dinner (marked on sale of course) We got home, and went sh!t, how the hell are we going to cook this? A little bit of creativity, I seared the sides in a frying pan, put some water with vegetable stock and mixed herbs and spices in pot and cooked it with the lid on for a few hours. It was pretty darn good in the end, the plating doesn't do it justice.

Prosecco in the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 15:26:00 +0000

Anyone who knows' me is fully aware of how big fan of antipasti and prosecco I am! After the seedy Friday night past, I organised an outing on Sunday, and ventured over to Victoria Park for a picnic with Camille and Stu.

Camille is a fantastic Chicky babe, I have known her since I moved to Sydney in 2007! Truly one of my first friends I made out of my home town. My dad told me that if I joined a class I would make some friends, and he was right I started an event management class an now we have been friends for almost 5 years!

Anyways after a bit of miss direction on google maps and using a pin drop on our Iphones we headed down with our little picnic of yummy goods, ignoring the weather forecast of thunder and heavy rain, and braved the day outside. We found a great spot near a community group holding games and a competition in the park, It looked like heaps of fun, they even had the old school RnB tunes pumping. We may or may not have been doing a bit of the equivalent of chair dancing on a picnic mat!

Camille made us some yummy snacks, water crackers, basil pesto. salami Camembert, tomato and baby spinach. Yummo! Thanks for the great day pretty :) xx

Friday Nights in East London

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 11:02:00 +0000

Last night, after a long boring day doing data entry, I rendezvoused with my glamorous friend Helen, and we had some very delicious cocktails at Jamie Oliver's bar and restaurant Fifteen.

It was great venue, beautiful space, with a big pizza oven enticing you in. We sat on the lounges and relaxed with a couple £5 @ 5 cocktails. I had a delicious Aperol drink that was very refreshing and mind numbing after a long day! After the 3rd one I did feel a bit light headed, after a quick stop to the ladies and a freshen up using some Penhaligons hand soap and luxurious moisturiser I was ready to go again ....the night was still young!

Afterwards we decided to walk towards Hoxton Square, we took a "short-cut" and happened to walk past this interesting looking space filled with a mix of eclectic furnishings and art. Being nosey (and a little tipsy) we looked through the window and a young man came out, and asked if we would like to go inside and have a look. " Sure why not?" was the agreed answer. The space turned out to be The Trampery, a collaborative workspace, filled with technology innovators. After a cheeky chat and some business details being exchanged, we where back on our way, and with the added benefit of a free beer each! Talk about Serendipity!

We then wandered down to Hoxton square, settled ourselves in with a bottle of prosecco, and some merry conversations served from what looked like the hat from the monopoly set. ( I wish I took a photo, silly girl). Afterwards, we wandered to a local bottle shop, found yet another bottle of prosecco, and the cutest baby bottle of Chambord, a quick shimmy over to the park, we caught with some of Helen's friends and lazed around boozing and listening to a short film plot.
A true East London experience! Good times! :)