Mandarine

Lompe and pølse for Eurovision night

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:07:00 +0000

As the Eurovision final was being held in Oslo, Norway, I made miniature Norwegian hot dogs for our Eurovision tv night. I wanted cute and kitsch. I used cheerios/cocktail frankfurts or as some Australians like to call them ‘little boys’ he he. Everyone said that these hot dogs tasted better than those with white bread buns (and they feel healthier). They are really pliable and tasty.

Sausage with lompe can be bought at Petrol stations and fast food carts in Norway. Lompe are thicker than lefse and they don’t have ridges. Lompe also go well with scrambled eggs, swedish meatballs, jam, or cinnamon sugar and butter.

- and congratulations Germany!

image from wikipedia

My lompe are made small for nibblies. Before I first made them I read many long explanations of just the correct way to roll them and how it was very difficult and you had to use just the right amount of flour on the right part of the rolling out board. However, I thought why not make them smaller, roll between two pieces of gladwrap, and then use a circular cookie cutter or a round plate to make them just the right shape? This worked perfectly.

It is not recommended to replace the cream with milk as they can become tough, apparently. Also, once you have added the flour the dough should be used straight away.

Lompe

adapted from Lefse Time (recipe, pictures and video) and britta.com (recipe and pictures)

3/4kg to 1kg - 1.5 to 2lb potatoes (enough to make 4 cups riced potatoes)

1/4 cup butter

1-2 tsp sugar (optional)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 tsp salt

1 to 1 - 1/2 cups flour

Cook the potatoes until tender in the most dry way possible eg you can bake them in their skins; or you can quarter them and steam them, peeled or unpeeled. Otherwise, boil them in water, and drain them really well.

Push potatoes through a ricer while still hot (the ricer also removes the skins, however I usually peel mine first anyway). If you don’t have a ricer, push peeled hot cooked potatoes through a sieve.

Measure out 4 cups (lightly packed) into another large bowl. Don’t waste a lot of time here, your potatoes need to be warm to melt butter in the next step.

To your 4 cups of riced potatoes, add 1/4 cup butter in pats so it melts in evenly. Stir a few times to get the butter mixed in well, then set your potatoes aside to cool completely, with a clean tea towel or gladwrap covering them so they don’t form a skin. The potatoes need to be cooled to at least room temperature. Leave to sit 2-3 hours if possible. If the room is warm put them in the fridge, and try to bring back to room temperature before adding the next ingredients.

When your potatoes are cooled, mix in cream, salt, (sugar if using) and enough flour to make a dough (I didn’t use the full 1 and 1/2 cups of flour) (similar in texture to potato gnocchi). Stir until all the flour is mixed in evenly. Then knead (like bread dough) 10 times.

Depending how big you want your sheets correlates to the size of patties. To roll nibbly-sized lompe like mine use a 15ml tablespoon. If you want bigger ones 1/3 cup dough equals a 12 inch round approximately. This gives you a nice, not too thick, not too thin sheet.

Start by heating the pan. It needs to be quite hot. The Lefse Time recipe and video stipulates 500 deg F (260 deg C). I used a non-stick chapatti pan and a piece of wood that came with the pan for lifting and flipping over, on my gas stove.

Place a tablespoon of mixture between two pieces of gladwrap. Make sure the mixture remaining in the bowl is always recovered with a cloth. Using a regular rolling pin, roll out the dough over the top of the topmost gladwrap, and roll to an even thickness, fairly thin. Peel off top piece of gladwrap and cut a circle with a cookie cutter (I used a 9cm or 3 1/2”). Peel mixture off bottom piece of gladwrap and half lay on the wooden paddle. Gently manoeuvre onto hot pan. Cook until the lompe browns underneath and flip over. Cook again until brown. Lift up and put into a clean tea towel and cover up with the teatowel, so that it cools whilst covered. Repeat for remaining lompe. I found I could get 4 or 5 onto the pan at a time.

To store when cooled, put around 10 lompe into each sandwich sized plastic ziplock bag. Intersperse with pieces of baking paper if you wish to freeze them. Store in the fridge or freezer.

Technorati Tags: lompe,lefse,potato cakes,potato tortillas,eurovision,eurovision final,cheerios,cocktail frankfurts,hot dogs,norwegian hot dogs

Crumpets

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:10:00 +0000

I had recently been reading on ongoing discussion in Column 8 in the SMH about all the weird and wonderful toppings people put on their crumpets:

SMH May 20, 2010 ''I am aware that stories of coincidence abound in your column,'' writes Mark Gibbins, of Erina. ''This afternoon while working in my rather cold law office with the rain streaming down outside, I decided to cook a crumpet to brighten the afternoon. I commenced the toasting process and pondered what to do while waiting. 'I'll read something funny in Column 8' I thought to myself, and the first words I read were 'Crumpets, yes please, yummy!'''

It's been far too long since we've heard from Lady Agatha Maberley, of Bowral, but it seems the aroma of crumpets was enough to inspire her to put quill to parchment: ''An afternoon crumpet is not an afternoon crumpet unless it has something of a savoury nature added,'' Lady Agatha insists, ''such as finely grated (genuine) cheddar cheese and a sprinkling of anchovy on top. They must be served piping hot, and as a starter with the 4pm cup of tea. If one wants a sweet condiment on something hot, then choose either toast or an English muffin, and I am not referring to those horrid dough balls sold in supermarkets.'' More curious crumpet cuisine tomorrow, and possibly beyond. Some of the suggestions have been truly bizarre …

SMH May 21, 2010 We may have to organise a bake-off (well, a toast-off), to achieve a resolution of the crumpet-topping imbroglio. But positions are so entrenched that we feel no one would be satisfied with the outcome, whatever it may be. Best perhaps to just pass on suggestions from the brave crumpeteers who have rushed to the barricades, toasters and toppings in hand. Welcome to Column 8's All-Crumpet Special Edition!

''I have just finished two crumpets spread with avocado and topped with chilli tuna, including the whole chilli, while reading this morning's Column 8.'' - Neil Jones, of Panania.

''A truly sensational crumpet topping was called 'thunder and lightning' by my father when we were kids,'' recalls Josie McSkimming, of Coogee. ''Golden syrup, followed by a thick layer of freshly whipped cream. Unbeatable.''

And on it goes … ''I think sweetened condensed milk with sprinkled cinnamon is bliss! In fact, this topping can magically enhance anything from toast to coffee to curry.'' - Cynthia Ma, of Hornsby. ''Spread macadamia paste on the crumpet, then top with cumquat marmalade, preferably homemade.'' - Jen Stone, of Armidale. ''Peanut butter, apple and sultanas. Delicious!'' - Graham Bannerman, of Lewisham. ''Butter and Gentleman's Relish (if you can find same),'' - Nick Lampe, of Turramurra.

''As an Australian of Norwegian heritage,'' writes Randi Svensen, of Leura, ''the best crumpet topping would have to be pickled herrings. Very easy to make, and just think how tasty that pickle juice would be soaked into the holes of the crumpet. Yum!''

Crumpet holes are the key to another suggestion, albeit one at the far end of the sweet'n'savoury spectrum, from Vashti Waterhouse, of Paddington: ''A friend of my daughter's swore by hundreds and thousands as a crumpet topping. The h&ts sink into the holes where their colours blend, but the taste is … interesting.''

This crumpets-as-confectionary concept is taken to extremes by Lesley Laker, of Cremorne, who advocates ''breaking up a chocolate Easter egg''. Lesley celebrates Easter by ''placing the shattered egg on a hot cross bun,'' but insists that ''it works just as well with crumpets.'' '

But even Lesley's topping is topped by Ivor F., of Doonside, who swears by ''a hot crumpet served with a scoop of ice-cream and a pickled onion''.

All this trumpeting of crumpeting has not been in vain - not for Patricia Smith, of Avalon, anyway. ''At last I have a reason to bring out my silver crumpet dish. Given as a wedding present 55 years ago, it has rarely seen the light of day. A very stylish and pretty piece, complete with domed lid, room to accommodate several crumpets, and an inner dish that fits over a space to hold hot water, to keep extra crumpets hot. Anyone for afternoon tea?'' We're on our way, Patricia, with a wheelbarrow of anchovies, cumquat marmalade and Gentleman's Relish.

Column8@smh.com.au

and then I was reading Coby’s recent entry on The Claytons Blog discussing making them. Which all left me wanting:

Crumpets

adapted from this recipe: from taste.com.au

Note: Don't expect to create anything like the supermarket crumpet. Homemade crumpets are heavier, tastier and have far more texture. If the crumpet sizes look odd it’s because I used my cookie cutter set in graduated sizes so I ended up with different sized crumpets!

Ingredients

2 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast
250ml (1 cup) warm milk
250ml (1 cup) warm water
450g (3 cups) bread flour
1 1/2 tsp bread improver
3/4 tsp salt
250ml (1 cup) water, extra
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Vegetable oil, to grease
Butter, to serve
Honey, to serve

Method

1. Combine the sugar and yeast in a medium bowl. Gradually pour in the warm milk and water and stir until yeast dissolves. Cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.

2. Combine the flour, bread improver and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draught-free place to prove for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3. Combine extra water and bicarbonate of soda in a jug. Use an electric beater to beat the flour mixture for 1 minute or until mixture deflates. Gradually add the water mixture, beating well between additions, until well combined and smooth. Cover batter with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour to rest.

4. Brush a large non-stick frying pan with vegetable oil to lightly grease. Brush six 7.5cm-diameter high-sided cookie cutter rings (or use 70z or 210g tuna tins with tops and bottoms removed) with oil to lightly grease. Place cookie cutter rings in frying pan over medium-low heat. Pour 60ml (1/4 cup) of batter into each ring. Cook for 7 minutes or until large bubbles come to the surface, the base is golden and the top is set and dry. Pick up cookie cutters from the pan, then use an egg lifter to turn and cook crumpets for a further 1 minute or until golden. Lift crumpets onto a wire rack. Set aside. Repeat, in 4 more batches, with remaining batter, greasing and reheating the pan and cookie cutters with oil between each batch.

To serve, toast crumpets in a toaster and serve with whatever is your favourite topping.

Technorati Tags: crumpets,yeast,crumpet toppings

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:48:00 +0000

One of my beautiful daughters has always adored the Lewis Carroll books. This is the cake I made for her birthday last week. I didn’t realise the camera had a big smudge on the lens though and it was a bit of a rush, so these are the best photos I managed. The red blob in the above photo in centre back is supposed to be the Red King sleeping, just as he does right through the story. Below, the Red Queen,

and Humpty Dumpty.

Did you know the Mad Hatter appears in both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass? It was fun making all the figures. I felt like a little kid playing with play doh!

Technorati Tags: birthday cake,alice in wonderland,through the looking glass,red queen,fondant,humpty dumpty,birthday

Stacked Creamy Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Fri, 14 May 2010 06:07:00 +0000

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce is one of my favourite comfort foods. I find it’s great to make more than I need for one meal, as it’s easy to reheat portions quickly for a quick comfort fix during the week.

In this month’s Daring Cooks challenge we were asked to make Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas using homemade corn tortillas and homemade green chile sauce.

I am using a recipe for Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce and homemade corn tortillas which I’ve cooked many times before and which I love. The original recipe is found here: thatsmyhome - Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce.

The thatsmyhome recipe suggests using: (2 cans or jars (4.5 ounces each) chopped green chiles (undrained) ). In keeping with the challenge, this time I substituted fresh medium local green chiles, which I then roasted under the griller – much better! I also stacked rather than rolled them and doubled the cumin. I always like to make the corn tortillas too as I think they taste much better than store bought (ha ha - I can hardly ever find them available to buy where I live anyway, only the wheat ones). I buy masa harina at my local Indian ingredient supplier This is my amended recipe:

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce

1 T. butter
3/4 C. chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 T. flour
1 1/2 C. chicken stock or broth
8–10 fresh medium sized (medium heat) green chiles
vegetable oil for softening tortillas
12 corn tortillas (see recipe below)
500g (2 C.) boneless chicken thighs
2 C. cheddar cheese (or monterey jack), grated
1 C. cream
1/3 C. sliced shallots (green onions)
1/2 C. sliced green olives
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Avocado and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), to serve

Method
Prepare the fresh corn tortillas (recipe below).

Cut chicken thighs into smallish pieces. Coat in vegetable oil, brown and cook on ridge grill plate or frypan, until cooked through (or you can steam them). Shred or cut into even smaller pieces.

Coat green chiles in vegetable oil, put onto foil-lined griller tray and place under grill (broiler). Turn them every few minutes. They should be black and blistered.
As they are completely charred (they will probably not all be done at once), remove them to a bowl and cover with plastic, or close up in a paper bag. Let them rest until they are cool. Pull on the stem and the seed core MAY pop out . Open the chile and remove the seeds. Turn the chile skin side up and with a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Sometimes it just pulls right off, sometimes you really have to scrape it. DO NOT RINSE! Slice.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion until transparent. Stir in garlic, salt and cumin. Stir in flour until well combined. Slowly stir in stock/broth. Add chiles and stir well. Reduce heat to simmer; cook, uncovered, about 15 minutes. (Sauce can be prepared to this point, cooled and refrigerated 24 hours in advance.)

In a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Dip the edge of a tortilla into the oil to check – it should sizzle immediately. Using tongs, put a tortilla into the pan and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, about 15-20 seconds per side (at the most). Drain on paper towels. Stack on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

To assemble, place tortillas side by side to cover base of shallow 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Combine chicken and 1/2 cup of the green chile sauce. Place 2 tablespoons chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese on each tortilla. Cover each with another tortilla. Pour remaining sauce over the top of each; then pour cream evenly over entire mixture and top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle with the shallots and green olives. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven or under griller (broiler) for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes, fresh coriander (cilantro) and sliced avocado, and serve.
Makes 6 servings.

Corn Tortillas

Corn Tortillas (from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen)
Makes about 15

1 3/4 cups masa harina (a maize corn meal found at mexican or international ingredient suppliers - it is specially treated with lime – do not use normal cornflour or polenta)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot water

Method

Pour hot water over masa harina, cover and let sit 30 minutes. Add (additional) cool water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft but not sticky. Divide the dough into 15 balls and cover with plastic wrap.

Heat a large (two burner) ungreased griddle or two large skillets, one on medium-low and one on medium-high.

Put a ball of dough between two sheets of plastic (I use two sheets of baking paper and I flatten with a rolling pin). If you don’t have a tortilla press, press to a 5-6” circle using a heavy frying pan or bread board or other heavy, flat object. Put the tortilla into the cooler pan or cooler end of the griddle. The tortilla will probably stick, but within 15 seconds, if the temperature is correct, it will release. Flip it at that point onto the hotter skillet/griddle section. In 30-45 seconds, it should be dotted with brown underneath. Flip it over, still on the hot surface and brown another 30 seconds or so. A good tortilla will balloon up at this point. Remove from heat and let them rest while cooking the remaining tortillas. Use quickly.

These youtube videos show tortillas being made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDegTyqL55o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm6_iAZ-CCA&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFn3GKVLHnM&NR=1
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_corn_tortillas/

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

PS: If ever I can source tomatillos I will in the future make the far more authentic Green Chile Sauce suggested in the challenge. If you’d like the recipe it’s here: Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas and Green Chile Sauce. The recipe uses fresh tomatillos, charred fresh anaheim chiles, and monterey jack cheese.

Technorati Tags: Daring Cooks,Enchiladas,Chicken Enchiladas,Corn Tortillas,Green Chile Sauce,Mexican

Sticky Date Pudding – baked or steamed

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Sat, 08 May 2010 06:29:00 +0000

Sticky Date Pudding is a favourite in our house. I usually bake it. I’ve just tried steaming it. It’s delicious either way! The cake is moist yet not too sweet. The more sauce the pudding absorbs, the richer, sweeter and stickier it becomes. It freezes really well (I gladwrap individual portions of the unsauced cake and freeze the sauce separately). Also, the sauce is great on sliced bananas or ice cream.
I’d been exploring different ways of cooking Sticky Date “Pudd” during the Daring Bakers Challenge for April 2010 (see Steamed Steak and Kidney Pudding).
Choose:

baking
steaming in a saucepan
steaming in a steamer saucepan

Sticky Date Pudding

180g dates, pitted
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 cup boiling water
50g butter (salted or unsalted), softened
150g soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
130g self raising flour, sifted
50g wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Butterscotch Sauce

150g soft brown sugar, or dark brown sugar
250ml full pouring cream (no added gelatine) (I use 35% fat)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1tbl unsalted butter

Almond Praline

1/2 cup sugar or caster sugar
2 tbl water
1/4 cup almonds, slivered

Mixture
Roughly chop dates. Stir dates and bicarbonate of soda together well so the dates are coated.

Pour on boiling water. Stand and leave to cool.

Cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs one at a time and beat in.
Sift flours and cream of tartar and then add bran back in.

Gently fold in the flour and the cooled date mixture. Pour into prepared baking dish/pudding basin/darioles/ramekins.

Some mixture in a pudding basin ready for steaming.

Sauce
Combine sugar, cream, vanilla and butter in saucepan. Bring to the boil while stirring and simmer 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to serve.
Almond praline
If you wish, very lightly toast or dry roast the slivered almonds. Then scatter almonds onto a baking paper-lined oven tray or even better, a greased marble slab. Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a heavy based small saucepan (the smaller its diameter the better) over medium heat and cook caramel without stirring. Instead, swirl contents (ie. cook 5-10 seconds – swirl, cook 5-10 seconds – swirl), until deep golden. Pour over the almonds and cool until set. Break praline into pieces.
If Baking:
Heat oven to 180˚C (160˚C fan-forced).
For a large square dish - Lightly butter a 20cm (8”) square tin or ovenproof dish and put a square of baking paper at the base for easy removal. Pour in mixture. If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the lower half of the oven so the top of the pudding will be in the centre of the oven. Bake 20-25 minutes. If it is starting to get too dark on top cover with foil until done. Test for doneness with skewer – only crumbs should adhere. Cut into squares and place in centre of warm dinner plate. Pierce holes with a toothpick or skewer. Pour toffee sauce over each (reserving some) and place back in oven for 5 minutes, or else microwave for 1 minute, or else simply pour hot sauce over pudding, and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
For darioles and ramekins - Lightly butter individual dariole moulds, or ramekins and put a circle of baking paper in the base for easy removal. Fold a kitchen towel and place it in the bottom of a large heavy baking dish (for water bath). This cuts down on splashing and keeps the ramekins from sliding around quite so much. Fill darioles or ramekins to no more than 2/3 with mixture and place into baking dish. Put the dish on the oven rack inside the oven and only then carefully pour warm water around the sides of the moulds until it comes up 1/3 of the side of the moulds. Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until golden and testing with skewer comes out clean. Without removing water bath from oven, carefully remove darioles or ramekins individually from oven. Unmould and place on warm dinner plate. Pierce holes with a toothpick or skewer. Pour toffee sauce over each (reserving some) and place back in oven for 5 minutes, or else microwave for 1 minute, or else simply pour hot sauce over pudding, and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
If Steaming in a Saucepan:
(Steaming in a saucepan is not suitable for darioles or ramekins). Lightly butter a metal or china pudding basin and put a circle of baking paper at the base for easy removal. Fill with mixture to no more than 2/3. Cut a circle of baking paper and a circle of aluminium foil 4 cm (1 1/2”) wider in diameter than the basin. Tie up with string as pictured. If there is a lid use that too.
It helps to put something inside the large saucepan and underneath the pudding, such as:

a collapsible metal steamer basket
a folded up cloth
an upturned plate
a round cake cooling rack
a cake tin lid
a metal simmer mat with the prongs pointing downwards (one of these):

Put one of the items from the above list in the large saucepan. Cover with some water and bring to the boil. Also, boil a kettle in readiness. Put filled pudding basin into the saucepan and adjust (from the kettle) the level of boiling water so that it reaches half way up the sides of the pudding. Cover the saucepan with a lid. Bring to a rolling boil. Adjust heat so that you can hear large bubbles breaking, but it is not so hot or full that the pudding is being lifted too fiercely or floating. Keep topping up with boiling water from the kettle (check every 20 mins or so). A 500ml or 1 pint pudding took 1 and 1/4 hours – or 2-3 hours for a 1.5 litre or 3 pint basin. Steaming is very forgiving and there is a large time frame before it overcooks. The only failures I have had are when I didn’t have the water hot enough to hear the large bubbles breaking, as I described earlier, or if the water was too high and leaked into the mixture! Test for doneness with a skewer – only crumbs should adhere.

Unmould and place on warm dinner plate. Pierce holes with a toothpick or skewer. Pour toffee sauce over (reserving some) and place in hot oven for 5 minutes, or else microwave for 1 minute, or else simply pour hot sauce over pudding, and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Serve in slices.
If Steaming in a Steamer Saucepan:
Lightly butter pudding basin, dariole moulds, or ramekins and put a circle of baking paper in the base).
Fill with mixture to no more than 2/3. Cover with a circle of baking paper and then a circle of foil 4cm (1 1/2“) wider than the diameter. Tie twice around with kitchen string and/or a rubber band.

Pour water into base of pan and steam as you would vegetables or as per manufacturer’s instructions. Check water every so often and add more when needed. The darioles took me 45 mins. A 500ml or 1 pint pudding took 1 and 1/4 hours – or 2-3 hours for a 1.5 litre or 3 pint basin. Test for doneness with a skewer – only crumbs should adhere.

Unmould and place on warm dinner plate. Pierce holes with a toothpick or skewer. Pour toffee sauce over (reserving some) and place in hot oven for 5 minutes, or else microwave for 1 minute, or else simply pour hot sauce over pudding, and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Serve with extra sauce (warmed) and cream.

Technorati Tags: sticky date pudding,steamed,steaming,butterscotch sauce,steamer saucepan

Steak and Kidney Pudding – Daring Bakers Challenge April 2010

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:05:00 +0000

They had a pudding in a basin, and the smell that arose from it was so delightful that Bunyip Bluegum was quite unable to pass on.
“Pardon me,” he said, raising his hat, “but am I right in supposing that this is a steak-and-kidney pudding?”
“At present it is,” said Bill Barnacle.
“It smells delightful,” said Bunyip Bluegum.
“It is delightful,” said Bill, eating a large mouthful.
Bunyip Bluegum was too much of a gentleman to invite himself to lunch, but he said carelessly, “Am I right in supposing that there are onions in this pudding?”
Before Bill could reply, a thick, angry voice came out of the pudding, saying--
“Onions, bunions, corns and crabs, Whiskers, wheels and hansom cabs,
Beef and bottles, beer and bones, Give him a feed and end his groans.”

(by Norman Lindsay)
“Albert, Albert,” said Bill to the Puddin’, “where’s your manners?”
“Where’s yours?” said the Puddin’ rudely, “guzzling away there, and never so much as offering this stranger a slice.”
“There you are, “ said Bill. “There’s nothing this Puddin’ enjoys more than offering slices of himself to strangers.”
“How very polite of him,” said Bunyip, but the Puddin’ replied loudly--
“Politeness be sugared, politeness be hanged, Politeness be jumbled and tumbled and banged. It’s simply a matter of putting on pace, Politeness has nothing to do with the case.”
“Always anxious to be eaten,” said Bill, that’s this Puddin’s mania. Well, to oblige him, I ask you to join us at lunch.”
“Delighted, I’m sure,” said Bunyip, seating himself. “There’s nothing I enjoy more than a good go in at steak-and-kidney pudding in the open air.”
(by Norman Lindsay)
from The Magic Pudding, by Norman Lindsay

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

The recipe I followed is from the cook’s companion by Stephanie Alexander, except that I halved the recipe and used a 500ml or 1 pint pudding basin. I liked the mushrooms (I used swiss browns). They balanced the flavours of the steak and kidney well.

aunt nora’s steak and kidney pudding

Stephanie Alexander
1kg blade steak, cut into 2cm cubes
250g ox kidney, trimmed and cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
125g flat mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup rich stock or water

Suet crust
500g plain flour
250g coarsely grated suet
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water

Grease a 1-litre pudding basin. To make the crust, mix the ingredients in a large bowl and knead lightly. The dough should not be too stiff. Roll two-thirds of the dough quite thinly into a round and line the basin.

In a large bowl, combine the steak and kidney with the flour, mushrooms, onion, salt and pepper. Pack firmly into the basin.

Roll out the remaining dough to make a lid. Place on top of the mixture, wet the edges and press to seal very well.

(Stephanie doesn’t mention covering her pudding – which I did. I covered the pudding with a circle (4 cm or 2 ” larger than pudding’s diameter) of baking paper, then one of foil, held down the sides with a rubber band, and then tied it twice round with kitchen string. I didn’t take a picture though. But instead a picture of a smaller pudding in illustration.)

Stand the basin on a cake rack or steamer rack or upturned cake tin in a stockpot
(NB: I used a steamer saucepan this time which worked well. Other methods are using a collapsible vegetable steamer basket; or a folded cloth or an upturned plate on the bottom of the saucepan. Alternatively, this method (which is my own idea and worked well on a pudding I made the other day) - this pictured type of simmer mat sitting inside the saucepan and under the pudding with the prongs downward and then pour in the boiling water. )

and pour boiling water to come two-thirds up its sides. Cover and steam the pudding steadily for 4 hours. Check the water level every 30 minutes or so.
(The pudding puffed up while cooking and then when it was cooked I took it out and took off the baking paper and foil and let it rest for a while. The suet crust then changed from a pale yellow colour to a deeper colour and shrank down and settled to what you see.)
To serve, heat the stock to boiling or have boiling water ready. Carefully remove the pudding from the stockpot (use a tea towel to prevent being burnt). Cut a small hole in the lid and pour in the boiling stock or water. Wait 10 minutes before serving.

Steak and kidney pudding is traditionally served at the table from the basin, still wrapped in the tea towel. I like serving a puree of buttery parsnips with this, and a big dish of beans or crisply sautéed cabbage.
Serves 6.

Technorati Tags: Steak and Kidney Pudding,Suet,Recipe,Steak and Kidney,Stephanie Alexander,the cook's companion,daring bakers

Chicken Cacciatore

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:20:00 +0000

This recipe is a low fat, rich and tasty version of Chicken Cacciatore using either the stovetop or a slow cooker crockpot.

There are many versions of Chicken Cacciatore. This dish has been popular and commonly made in Australia (we have many Italian immigrants) for many years. This recipe is my adaptation of my mother’s recipe (I think she got it from a magazine, long forgotten), but now so altered by my changes over many makings that our recipes are now nothing alike.

I look for a thick, low fat very tomato-ey garlic oregano sauce which doesn’t separate. I like to add some extra tasty flavours right at the end, so that I can adjust them to taste.

I skin and then brown the chicken (brushed lightly with oil and sprinkled with pepper) on a ridge grill. This develops flavour and also cuts down on fat.

In the past I’ve tried versions where the pieces (skin attached) are coated first in seasoned flour before browning. I think this just soaks up oil however you do it, and there can be a tendency for the flour to burn, leaving a bad taste. Also, all that oil floating around tends to make the sauce separate later and that’s not a good look.

Cooking on a low heat also keeps the sauce from separating.

This recipe can be made in a slow cooker/crockpot (use less liquid) and it will be yummy. However, when I have the time I prefer to cook it on the stove top on a very low heat (a simmer mat is good), as even with the lid on some steam tends to escape during the cooking and you can take the lid off and cook for a short while at the end, which all results in a more condensed, tasty sauce.

Chicken Cacciatore

by mandarine

2 kg (4lb 40z) chicken pieces, bone in

(Use any chicken pieces with the bone in, because the bones develop flavour. If you only have boneless chicken pieces, then use chicken stock or consomme instead of water when it’s time to add the liquid).

Here I’ve used:

1 kg (2lb 2oz) chicken drumsticks; and

1kg (2lb 2oz) chicken marylands (chicken drumsticks attached to the thigh)

Olive oil

(1 tbl to sauté the onions plus enough to brush on the chicken pieces to brown them)

2 large onions, chopped (I used 4 small onions today)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

110g (4oz) tomato paste

2 x 400g(140z) tins peeled tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

Water (use chicken stock or consommé if using boneless chicken pieces)

1/4 cup dry red or white wine (optional)

2 medium anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1/8 tsp chilli paste (I used sambal oelek this time)

1 1/2 tsp vinegar or to taste (I use white wine vinegar)

1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 cup stoned black olives (I like whole kalamata olives, or use sliced)

Cracked black pepper

Salt

(I use a 250g or 8 oz cup)

Method

Remove skin and any bits of fat from chicken pieces. Brush chicken pieces lightly with oil and sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Heat a ridged grill or a barbeque plate and brown the chicken pieces, a few at a time. Remove chicken pieces from grill and set aside. When all are done deglaze the pan with water (or wine if using), scrape up any brown bits and reserve the deglaze mix.

In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, sauté the onions. When the onions are almost done, add the finely chopped garlic and cook a short while so the garlic doesn’t brown. Add the tomato paste and cook out the rawness for a minute.

Meanwhile, with a pair of kitchen scissors chop inside the tins of tomatoes to break them up (this way you won’t get squirted later!), then add.

Add bay leaf, oregano, reserved deglaze mix, and some salt and pepper.

If you want to transfer to a slow cooker/crockpot, do it now. If using a slow cooker crockpot pour in water (or chicken stock) to less than the level of the chicken. Cover and cook on low until tender, redistributing chicken occasionally.

If however, you’re continuing with the saucepan on the stove, pour water (or chicken stock) to the level of the top of the chicken pieces and cover the pot with a lid. Cook on a very low heat with hardly any bubbles, stirring sometimes to redistribute the chicken. I put my pot on a simmer mat. Cook until the chicken is tender and starts to fall away from the bone.

Finally, add the finely chopped anchovies, the chilli paste, vinegar to taste, sugar, olives, and adjust for pepper and salt. Heat through with the lid off.

I like to serve Chicken Cacciatore with plain boiled rice.

Technorati Tags: Low fat,recipe,chicken cacciatore

Bouquet of Roses Birthday Cake - How I made Flowerpaste Roses

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0000

I can now make roses from flowerpaste! It was my birthday on Monday so I told everyone I’d like to make my own cake and we had a family get together. The cake was made up of layers of Coconut Mud cake from the Planet Cake Book and Chocolate Mud Cake, syruped and then covered with dark couverture chocolate ganache. Homemade fondant here.

I thought it would be a good time to experiment again in making flowers out of flowerpaste and not allow my previous endeavours discourage me! Two years ago I’d tried making a couple of roses and they both really sucked so I gave up – my intention was for good. This is one of the roses I made at the time. See what I mean? Crap isn't it?

Anyway, I'm glad I changed my mind.

These videos are by Aine2 from Extra Icing on the Cake, who makes the most beautiful cakes. I used larger cutters than she did in the video – a 75mm (3”) and a 90mm (3 1/2”). The glue she’s using is 1 tsp Tylose (CMC) mixed with some 8 tbl (15ml tbl) warm boiled water and left to set a bit.

Flowerpaste Recipe (recipe from Cakes by Francesca)

500g fondant (sugarpaste) (I used fondant from the supermarket for this)

2 tsp Cream of Tartar

1 tsp Tylose (CMC) or gum traganth

1/3 tsp raw egg white

Copha or Crisco or vegetable fat

Rub copha over board. Knead fondant till pliable. Sprinkle Tylose and Cream of Tartar and knead in. Add egg white into a well in the dough. Mix well. Knead a very small amount (like about 1/16 of tsp) copha into the dough. Immediately wrap in glad wrap and then into a ziplock bag. Take out only enough to use immediately.

Syrup (Planet Cake)

100g Apricot Jam
100ml Hot boiling water
10ml Orange liquer
Mix all ingredients together with whisk.

Ganache

300 ml cream
600 g Dark Chocolate (couverture)

Boil cream, take off heat (I use a double boiler).
Combine with chopped chocolate and mix until the ganache is smooth.
Let to cool completely, best to use it the next day.
If ganache is too hard to apply on the cake it can be bought back to its right consistency by heating it in the microwave oven

Brunswick Stew - A pan-Southern Classic – Daring Cooks Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:44:00 +0000

Before now I had never heard of Brunswick Stew, from the Southern United States, (in my defence I am an Australian) but I am really glad that I have now made it. The meat flavours all meld together well, the vegetables have a sweet taste, and there is a vinegar and chili kick at the end (especially as I put in extra chili in mine, heh heh). It is absolutely delicious and I recommend it. Thank you Wolf of Wolf’s Den for the Challenge.

We enjoyed the Chicken and Pork Brunswick stew at a family dinner.

Not knowing until now what Brunswick stew was and finding it delicious I was very interested in its history.

Brunswick Stew has a long, and oft debated history. Brunswick, Georgia claimed that the first Brunswick Stew was created there in 1898. There is, at the Golden Isles Welcome Center on Interstate 95, a bronzed stew pot with a plaque proclaiming this fact.

However, Brunswick, Virginia claims that the first Brunswick Stew was created there by a camp cook named Jimmy Matthews in 1828, for a hunting expedition led by Dr. Creed Haskings, a member of the Virginia State Legislature for a number of years. He was said to have used squirrel in the original Brunswick Stew created for the group when they returned. The hunters were at first sceptical of the thick, hearty concoction, but upon tasting it, were convinced and asked for more.

Every year, there is an Annual Brunswick Stew Cookoff that pits ‘Stewmasters’ from both Virginia and Georgia against their counterparts, and takes place every October in Georgia.

In the early 20th Cent, the rivalry of the two Brunswicks helped make this dish as popular as it is today, and it quickly became a pan-Southern classic.

The main difference between the Georgia and Virginia versions have been the types of meat used. The Virginia version tends to favor chicken as the primary meat, along with rabbit. The Georgia version tends to favor pork and beef along with squirrel. As there is no "official" recipe for Brunswick stew, it is possible to find chicken, pork, beef, and other types of meat included in the same recipe. Also,North Carolina natives have been known for their own unique concoction, leaving the tomato base and thickness but divering between meats with chicken breast chunks or pulled Eastern Carolina style bbq. (Wikipedia)

The vegetables can vary widely from variation to variation, however, the Brunswick Stewmasters recipe says *exactly* what is used in competition stews, and states that “Adding any additional ingredient(s) will disqualify the stew from being an original Brunswick Stew.”

I found this at Welcome to: Brunswick County, Virginia.

Most agree that, Brunswick stew is not done properly “until the paddle stands up in the middle.”

Photograph of my stew in the pot to prove it was done properly!

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

Here is the recipe I used (with my comments in italics):

Recipe From “The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners” by Matt Lee and Ted Lee
Serves about 12

1/4 lb / 113.88 grams / 4 oz slab bacon, rough large diced
2 Serrano, Thai or other dried red chiles, stems trimmed, sliced, seeded, flattened (Note: I used 2 fresh red chilis and two dried chiles – don’t chop them up at all just deseed the fresh chilis because you fish them out later)
1lb / 455.52 grams / 16oz rabbit, quartered, skinned (I substituted pork shoulder with bone in)
1 4-5lb / 1822.08- 2277.6 grams / 64-80oz chicken, quartered, skinned, and most of the fat removed
1 Tablespoon / 14.235 grams / ½ oz sea salt for seasoning, plus extra to taste
2-3 quarts / 8-12 cups / 64.607-96.9oz Chicken Broth
2 Bay leaves
2 large celery stalks (leave whole because you fish them out later)
2lbs / 911.04 grams / 32oz Yukon Gold potatoes, or other waxy type potatoes, peeled, rough diced
1 ½ cups / 344.88 grams / 12.114oz carrots (about 5 small carrots), chopped
3 ½ / 804.72 grams / 28.266oz cups onion (about 4 medium onions) chopped
2 cups / 459.84 grams / 16.152oz fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob (about 4 ears) (I used tinned corn kernels)
3 cups / 689.76 grams / 24.228oz butterbeans, preferably fresh (1 ¼ lbs) or defrosted frozen (I used tinned butterbeans)
1 35oz can / 996.45 grams / 4 cups whole, peeled tomatoes, drained
¼ cup / 57.48 grams / 2.019 oz red wine vinegar
Juice of 2 lemons
Tabasco sauce to taste

Directions-

1-In the largest stockpot you have, which is hopefully larger than the 5 qt ones I have, preferably a 10-12 qt (I used an 8 litre pot) or even a Dutch Oven if you’re lucky enough to have one, fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it just starts to crisp. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Reserve most of the bacon fat in your pan, and with the pan on the burner, add in the chiles. Toast the chiles until they just start to smell good, or make your nose tingle, about a minute tops. Remove to bowl with the bacon.

2- Season liberally both sides of the rabbit and chicken pieces with sea salt and pepper. Place the rabbit pieces in the pot and sear off all sides possible. You just want to brown them, not cook them completely. Remove to bowl with bacon and chiles, add more bacon fat if needed, or olive oil, or other oil of your choice, then add in chicken pieces, again, browning all sides nicely. Remember not to crowd your pieces, especially if you have a narrow bottomed pot. Put the chicken in the bowl with the bacon, chiles and rabbit. Set it aside.

3- Add 2 cups of your chicken broth or stock, if you prefer, to the pan and basically deglaze the4 pan, making sure to get all the goodness cooked onto the bottom. The stock will become a nice rich dark colour and start smelling good. Bring it up to a boil and let it boil away until reduced by at least half. Add your remaining stock, the bay leaves, celery, potatoes, chicken, rabbit, bacon, chiles and any liquid that may have gathered at the bottom of the bowl they were resting in. Bring the pot back up to a low boil/high simmer, over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover, remember to stir every 15 minutes, give or take, to thoroughly meld the flavours. Simmer, on low, for approximately 1 ½ hours. Supposedly, the stock may become a yellow tinge with pieces of chicken or rabbit floating up, the celery will be very limp, as will the chiles. Taste the stock, according to the recipe, it “should taste like the best chicken soup you’ve ever had”.

4- With a pair of tongs, remove the chicken and rabbit pieces to a colander over the bowl you used earlier. Be careful, as by this time, the meats will be very tender and may start falling apart. Remove the bay leaf, celery, chiles, bacon and discard.

5- After you’ve allowed the meat to cool enough to handle, carefully remove all the meat from the bones, shredding it as you go. Return the meat to the pot, throwing away the bones. Add in your carrots, and stir gently, allowing it to come back to a slow simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for at least 25 minutes, or until the carrots have started to soften.

6- Add in your onion, butterbeans, corn and tomatoes. As you add the tomatoes, crush them up, be careful not to pull a me, and squirt juice straight up into the air, requiring cleaning of the entire stove. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often until the stew has reduced slightly, and onions, corn and butterbeans are tender. Remove from heat and add in vinegar, lemon juice, stir to blend in well. Season to taste with sea salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce if desired.

7- You can either serve immediately or refrigerate for 24 hours, which makes the flavours meld more and makes the overall stew even better. Serve hot, either on its own, or with a side of corn bread, over steamed white rice, with any braised greens as a side.

Orange Tian - Daring Bakers Challenge March 2010

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:46:00 +0000

Orange Tian sauce is especially delicious – only two ingredients. I sometimes forget how much I really love sugar cooked until it turns into toffee, how simple it is, and orange juice added to it and then cooked down to intensify the flavour is just divine. I could just eat the sauce with ice cream.

I loved the flavours of this month’s Daring Baker’s challenge. The dessert itself is a layer of pate sablee at the base, then a layer of orange marmalade, then some stabilised whipped cream with some marmalade stirred through, then orange segments which have been soaked in caramel atop.

I tried two types of moulds for the tian – darioles and circle cookie cutters with high sides (my set of cookie cutters are in graduated sizes – so only one of each size). Even though I liked the height of the dariole tian (above) I think the circle cookie cutters worked the best. This is because you could press down and and compact the cream and expel the excess juice down through the bottom. They were also easier to unmould and the finished product looked neater. What do you think was the best shape? I guess for for a number of cookie cutter shapes I could just use tin cans with both ends cut off leaving non sharp edges, or else some lengths of pvc pipe?

I put some homemade mixed peel that I already had on the plate also. Recipe further on.

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

For the Pate Sablee:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
granulated sugar 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon; 2.8 oz; 80 grams
vanilla extract ½ teaspoon
Unsalted butter ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams ice cold, cubed
Salt 1/3 teaspoon; 2 grams
All-purpose flour 1.5 cup + 2 tablespoons; 7 oz; 200 grams
baking powder 1 teaspoon ; 4 grams

Directions:
Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.

Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle.

Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden.

For the Marmalade:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
Freshly pressed orange juice ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams
1 large orange used to make orange slices
cold water to cook the orange slices
pectin 5 grams (in Australia you can use JamSetta, in the UK 'Certo Pectin' . Or, use the seeds which are rich in pectin - just boil them with the marmalade. Or, pectin is optional – marmalade can turn out fine without it)
granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes.

Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices.

Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor).

Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measurer and use the same amount of sugar.

In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes).

Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

For the Orange Segments:

For this step you will need 8 oranges.

Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice.

[See YouTube video in the References section below for additional information on segmenting oranges.]

For the Caramel:

Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
granulated sugar 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
orange juice 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons; 14 oz; 400 grams

Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it.

Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments.

Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the orange tians.

[Tip: Be very careful when making the caramel — if you have never made caramel before, I would suggest making this step while you don’t have to worry about anything else. Bubbling sugar is extremely, extremely hot, so make sure you have a bowl of ice cold water in the kitchen in case anyone gets burnt!]

For the Whipped Cream:

Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
heavy whipping cream 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp Gelatine
1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon

In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

Assembling the Dessert:

Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.

Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone.

Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel.

Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circles of dough ready to use.

Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snuggly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart.

Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cookie cutter in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.

Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on each circle of dough.

Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.

Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.

Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

and here is the recipe for mixed peel:

Mixed peel

Recipe by: Lynn Cole

Serves: 12
Yield: 250 g
Ready in: 7 days 4 hours (7 days Prep - 2 hours Cook )

Make your own sugared orange and lemon peel for baking. No commercial mixed peel ever tasted so good. Its a process spread over a week but each step is relatively quick. Keep your mixed peel in a wooden or cardboard box lined with nonstick baking paper. Mould may form in an airtight container.

Recipe provided by:

Readers Digest | Like Grandma used to make

Ingredients

4 large lemons, well washed, or 4 medium oranges, well washed
5 cups cold water
3 1/2 cups sugar

Preparation method

Cut the fruit in quarters and remove the ﬂesh. Weigh the peel – there should be about 250 g. Put the peel in a large, stainless-steel or enamel saucepan, add the water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour, or until the peel is very tender.
Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water and put the drained peel in a bowl. Pour the water into a saucepan and add 2 1/2 cups of the sugar. Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely, then bring to the boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour over the peel, cover and leave to stand for 24 hours.
Day 2: Strain the syrup into a saucepan and add the remaining sugar. Stir over low heat until dissolved, bring to the boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour back over the peel, cover and leave for 24 hours.
Day 3: Pour the peel and syrup into a heavy-based saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until the pith is transparent. Return to the bowl, cover and leave for four days.
Day 7: Drain the peel, place on a wire rack and leave in a dry, warm place for several days, or until no longer sticky.

Baking uses

Use this peel in your Christmas baking or any time mixed peel is called for in a recipe.

Risotto – Daring Cooks Challenge March 2010

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:21:00 +0000

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

I love risotto and was very happy to make it for the March Daring Cooks challenge. I chose to make pumpkin risotto based on the recipe from the actual Australian Masterchef episode, rather than the cookbook recipe version. Here is my take on what I saw on the actual episode:

The next dish was risotto with pumpkin and goats cheese. George said to use rice that hasn’t been crushed together in the packet. He said not to stir risotto but agitate it instead, so the grains aren’t broken up, releasing starch. George advised that the texture of risotto should be creamy.

George had Sandra assist him as he added butter, onion, garlic and rice to a pan, coating the rice in the butter. He also added a stick of rosemary. When the onions were translucent, he deglazed the pan with white wine, pouring it around the rice.

He then had Sandra, who was atoning for her past risotto sins, add chicken stock gradually. George said at each point there should be just enough stock to cover the rice. He advised agitating the risotto every couple of minutes and then leaving it alone.

Gary put grated pumpkin and butter in a saucepan with a lid on it to cook until soft. He then blended the pumpkin. George told Sandra to take the risotto off the heat and fold through some of the pumpkin puree and parmesan cheese gently.

He plated the risotto with crumbled goats cheese and baby basil leaves on top.

Pumpkin, rosemary and goats cheese risotto. Very nice.

My chicken stock was made following the Daring Cooks recipe below. After making this stock I would consider making the addition of cinnamon and allspice optional only, as I prefer a more basic recipe so that the flavour of the stock remains in the background. I used an 8 litre pot rather than a 5 litre one.

Chicken Stock

Ingredients:
1 large chicken 2-3 pounds about 1 kg
chicken bones 2-3 pounds 1 kg
2 onions, roughly diced
1 medium leek - white part only, roughly diced
2 sticks celery, roughly diced
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. white peppercorns ( Any type of whole peppercorn will do)
2 bay leaves (fresh or dried, it doesn't matter.)
peel of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp. allspice

Directions:

Wash the chicken and bones and places in a 5 Litre pot, cover completely with water and bring to a boil
Skim away any scum as it comes to the surface
Add the vegetables and bring back to a boil
Add the rest remaining ingredients and simmer very gently, uncovered for 1.5 hours
Carefully lift out the chicken, set aside. The chicken meat can be removed from the chicken, shredded off and used for other things like soup!
Simmer the stock gently for another hour. At , at the end you should have around 2 Litres
Carefully ladle the liquid into a fine sieve, the less the bones and vegetables are disturbed in this process the clearer the stock will be. The stock is now ready for use. Freeze what you don't need for later use.

Risotto Base

Ingredients:
olive oil 2 fluid oz 60 ml
1 small onion, quartered
rice 14 oz 400g
Any type of risotto rice will do. I use Arborio but the recipe itself says Vialone Nano. Another to look for is Carnaroli.
white wine 2 fl oz 60 ml
chicken or vegetable stock , simmering 2 pints 1 L

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Fry for a few minutes to flavour the oil then discard. (We diced ours and left it in as we like onion).
Add the rice and stir for a few minutes to coat each grain of rice with oil and toast slightly.
Add the wine and let it bubble away until evaporated.
Add enough stock to cover the rice by a finger’s width (about an inch or two). Don't actually stick your finger in, it will be hot. Just eye it off.
Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, until most of the stock has been absorbed.
Repeat Step 5 making sure to leave aside approximately 100 ml. of stock for the final step. .
Repeat, save 100ml for the final stage.
Once you are at this point, the base is made. You now get to add your own variation.

Pumpkin Risotto (Masterchef Cookbook Version)

Ingredients:
pumpkin, grated 7oz 200g Don't use butternut, the taste will be too watery
thyme, chopped 1 Tbsp
unsalted butter 3.5 oz 100g chilled and cut into small cubes
parmesan cheese, grated 2 oz 60g

Directions:

Melt half the butter in a saucepan. Add pumpkin and cook until tender. Set aside (optional - blend for a smoother texture)
Make the base up until the end of step 8.
Stir through the pumpkin mixture and thyme
Add the final 100ml of stock and the remaining butter and stir until both are completely absorbed. Stir through the parmesan, stick the lid on and let it sit for a few minutes.

Tiramisu – Daring Bakers Challenge February 2010

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:02:00 +0000

Tiramisu is a classic dessert which I admit I had up to now never made or eaten. Why? Tiramisu is after all simply made from some layers of only a few simple ingredients and is on the dessert menu of every second restaurant – and I love the novelty of trying new foods; it was because there seemed to be so many passionate opinions about what is a true tiramisu it just turned me off and did my head in! If that makes sense.

Thank you to the Daring Bakers for having helped me over this hump. I followed their recipe without any variation as I was such a complete novice. Thanks to them also was the bonus discovery that mascarpone made at home is easy, luscious and far cheaper than the supermarket version – who knew? For my mascarpone I used a thin Indian stainless steel bowl from the discount store that fitted snugly into one of my saucepans for the duty of a double boiler/bain-marie. I’ll always be making my own mascarpone from now on.

I loved making the Savoiardi /Ladyfinger biscuits also. I had to make extra batches because they’re so nice when they’re fresh and my family loved them.

Now I’m no longer a novice at Tiramisu, next time I’m going to be a devil and make the raw egg version!

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

RECIPE SOURCE:

Mascarpone Cheese – Vera’s Recipe (Baking Obsession) for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese.
Savoiardi/ Ladyfinger Biscuits – Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home
(Recipe source: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007 )
This recipe makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the vanilla pastry cream:
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

For the whipped cream:
1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

To assemble the tiramisu:
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:
For the zabaglione:
Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the pastry cream:
Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream:
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

To assemble the tiramisu:
Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

MASCARPONE CHEESE

(Source: Vera’s Recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese)
This recipe makes 12oz/ 340gm of mascarpone cheese

Ingredients:
474ml (approx. 500ml)/ 2 cups whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream (between 25% to 36% cream will do)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Method:

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.
It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.
Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.
Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

LADYFINGERS/ SAVOIARDI BISCUITS
(Source: Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home)
This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2" to 3" long) ladyfingers.

Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons /75gms granulated sugar
3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons /50gms confectioner's sugar,

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.
Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips.
Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.
Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.
Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.
Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

Nanaimo Bars and Graham Crackers

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:02:00 +0000

It's been a while I know! To renew my food blogging I've decided to undertake some Daring Kitchen challenges. While I was waiting to start officially I tried the previous month's (January) Daring Bakers recipe - Nanaimo Bars, and in doing so I made a surprising discovery – Graham Crackers!

Graham Crackers form an ingredient of the base of Nanaimo Bars and the challenge was to make the Graham Crackers also. Yum! Still haven’t tried the official Graham Cracker (not sold here), but if they’re anything like this recipe, I’m a convert. To me, the recipe tastes like a cross between Tiny Teddies and (when sprinkled with cinnamon sugar) Spekulaas – two of my favourite biscuits. Therefore, having spare dough I just had to go there – I present my Graham Cracker Tiny Teddies (Teddy Grahams - Wikipedia).

To give a sense of scale, these are on a bread and butter plate:

When I made the Nanaimo Bars I substituted unsalted pistachios for almonds in the base layer and I flavoured half the cream layers with peppermint essence and used green food colouring paste, and the other half with orange essence and used orange food colouring paste. When making the graham crackers I used wheat in place of the gluten-free ingredients. I found that when the dough became too sticky to handle, 5 minutes time out (for the dough that is!) in the freezer worked wonders.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

Recipe Source: Graham Wafers — 101 Cookbooks (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000126.html)

Nanaimo Bars — City of Nanaimo (http://www.nanaimo.ca/EN/main/visitors/NanaimoBars.html)

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

-------------------------------
Additional Information:

These bars freeze very well, so don’t be afraid to pop some into the freezer.

The graham wafers may be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Mine lasted about that long.

If making the graham crackers with wheat, replace the gluten-free flours (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and sorghum flour) with 2 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp of all-purpose wheat flour, or wheat pastry flour. Watch the wheat-based graham wafers very closely in the oven, as they bake faster than the gluten-free ones, sometimes only 12 minutes.

For the Nanaimo Bars, if making with wheat, replace the gluten-free graham wafer crumbs with equal parts wheat graham wafer crumbs!

LiveJournal Tags: Nanaimo Bars,Graham Crackers,Tiny Teddies,Teddy Grahams,Daring Bakers,Daring Kitchen,recipe,biscuits,cookies,bars

Shoe cake “Reebok freestyle Collette Married to the Mob”

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:52:00 +0000

My daughter’s lovely friend just turned 19 so I made her this cake and we gave it to her yesterday. She has a pair of these limited edition shoes. So this is my first attempt at shoe cake realism!

The cake is layers of chocolate and white mudcake, filled with raspberry syrup and milk chocolate ganache, then covered with milk chocolate ganache, and finally homemade fondant. ‘Michele Foster’s delicious fondant’ recipe can be found on http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-3663-0-Michele-Fosters-Delicious-Fondant.html. (It tastes eons better than bought fondant). Everything is edible except for the chain. I had fun making it and great pleasure in surprising her.

Mee Goreng

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:04:00 +0000

Technorati Tags: Mee Goreng,chicken,noodles,asian,stir fry,recipe

I made this two nights ago. As you can see I subscribe to the view that you can never have enough green leaves on the top! I used vietnamese mint, regular mint and thai basil. Mint I can grow, but my vietnamese mint grows like topsy for four or so months and then gives up the ghost. Maybe I should chop it back hard next time? Anyway, this time I bought a cut bunch at the Sunday markets.

1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red chillies, finely chopped
2 cm (3/4 in) fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup (60ml/2 fl oz) oil
350 g (11 1/4 oz) Hokkien noodles, soaked and pulled apart
500g (1 lb) green prawns
250g (8oz) porterhouse steak, finely sliced
1/2 steamed chicken breast or thigh, sliced
4 shallots, chopped
1 large carrot, matchsticks
2 celery sticks, matchsticks
1 tbl kecap manis (Australian tbl = 4 tsp)
1 tbl soy sauce
1 tbl tomato sauce (ketchup)
salt, pepper
extra shallots to garnish
vietnamese mint, mint, thai basil

Combine onion, garlic, chillies, ginger and make into a paste either in a mortar and pestle or small food processor (Add a little oil if necessary).

Heat 1 tbl oil in wok, stir fry drained noodles until warmed through. Place in serving dish and keep warm.

Heat 1 tbl oil in wok, stir fry paste mixture until golden and fragrant. Add prawns, steak and vegetables, stir fry 2-3 mins. Add chicken, the three sauces, salt and pepper. Spoon over noodles. Garnish with shallots and green leaves.

Welcome to my foodie blog!

noreply@blogger.com (mandarine) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:40:00 +0000

Hi! This blog is mostly about things I'm finding to eat, my experiments in cooking, and recipes. I’ve loved cooking since I was young, and the novelty of finding and using a new ingredient continues! Well, we all have to eat.

BTW Mandarine is an alternative way to spell mandarin in Australia.

My blog header is by:

kristy@cellophanedesign.com