http://spakatak.com/ http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/ RSS Feed for fivesquaremeals Blog. Sat, 10 Oct 2015 19:52:18 AEDT en-us fivesquaremeals Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Hello! I am back from my two month hiatus.
Summer in Australia is way too hot and humid to have ovens baking away, so instead time was spent at the beach and cooking multiple barbeques.
What has brought me back is this months Daring Bakers' Challenge, a simple heat and chill panna cotta dessert, perfect for these last few summer nights.
Many of you probably make this all the time, but it's new to me. I chose to make the chocolate panna cotta recipe, provided to us by Mallory.
Part of the challenge was to also make Nestle Florentine cookies. These are essentially an Anzac biscuit, someting I make fairly often, so I skipped it. But check out the full pdf recipes for both here.

Chocolate Panna Cotta

A few basics are all you need: cream, milk, sugar, vanilla and some dark cooking chocolate.

The only strange item required is gelatin, either in powdered or sheet form, both of which are available in specialty food stores or delis. Living in a regional town, that wasn't an option for me, so I ended up with Create-A-Jelly, which is essentially a jelly mix without flavouring. I am told if I looked harder in the baking section of Woolies I would have spotted the powdered gelatin, but no matter, we shall see how this works. :)

To start with, mix 1 tablespoon of powdered gelatin, or 2 tablespoons of the jelly mix with one cup of milk and let sit for 5 mins.

In a medium saucepan, place 2 cups cream, ]]>½

Whisk in 145g dark chocolate (about 20 pieces from a block, so yes there wil be leftovers...) until melted.

Whisk in the milk and gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin dissolves.
Pour into ramekins if you want to tip the panacotta out later, or into glasses if you prefer to spoon the dessert out.

Allow to chill for at least 4-6 hours.
Simple hey?
Now decorate any way you like, the panna cotta can be tipped out and topped with fresh berries, or layered in a glass parfait style with jelly, fruits and cream. The possibilities are endless for such a simple dessert, for inspiration, check out the results on the Daring Bakers' site.
I decorated my ones in glasses by topping with a jelly made from Saxbys Cherry Cheer, fresh cream and a sprinkle of blueberries.

My tip out ones aren't quite set so stay tuned...
Enjoy! :)
]]> Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Hello! I am back from my two month hiatus.
Summer in Australia is way too hot and humid to have ovens baking away, so instead time was spent at the beach and cooking multiple barbeques.
What has brought me back is this months Daring Bakers' Challenge, a simple heat and chill panna cotta dessert, perfect for these last few summer nights.
Many of you probably make this all the time, but it's new to me. I chose to make the chocolate panna cotta recipe, provided to us by Mallory.
Part of the challenge was to also make Nestle Florentine cookies. These are essentially an Anzac biscuit, someting I make fairly often, so I skipped it. But check out the full pdf recipes for both here.

Chocolate Panna Cotta

A few basics are all you need: cream, milk, sugar, vanilla and some dark cooking chocolate.

The only strange item required is gelatin, either in powdered or sheet form, both of which are available in specialty food stores or delis. Living in a regional town, that wasn't an option for me, so I ended up with Create-A-Jelly, which is essentially a jelly mix without flavouring. I am told if I looked harder in the baking section of Woolies I would have spotted the powdered gelatin, but no matter, we shall see how this works. :)

To start with, mix 1 tablespoon of powdered gelatin, or 2 tablespoons of the jelly mix with one cup of milk and let sit for 5 mins.

In a medium saucepan, place 2 cups cream, ]]>½

Whisk in 145g dark chocolate (about 20 pieces from a block, so yes there wil be leftovers...) until melted.

Whisk in the milk and gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin dissolves.
Pour into ramekins if you want to tip the panacotta out later, or into glasses if you prefer to spoon the dessert out.

Allow to chill for at least 4-6 hours.
Simple hey?
Now decorate any way you like, the panna cotta can be tipped out and topped with fresh berries, or layered in a glass parfait style with jelly, fruits and cream. The possibilities are endless for such a simple dessert, for inspiration, check out the results on the Daring Bakers' site.
I decorated my ones in glasses by topping with a jelly made from Saxbys Cherry Cheer, fresh cream and a sprinkle of blueberries.

My tip out ones aren't quite set so stay tuned...
Enjoy! :)
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=63 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=63 Sun, 27 Feb 2011 07:22:26 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=63#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=63#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=63#comments fivesquaremeals Waz here...

Today is Carly's birthday.
She is very old.

In an effort to make her happy, I have both opted to write her a birthday post, and make her a birthday cake - mostly because she likes cake, and blog posts are also kinda fun.

Since I'm not one for baking much, I went with a fairly safe recipe that Carly likes.. Shirley's Orange Cake, from The Country Show Cookbook, with slight modification - I ditched the orange and replaced it with a bit of vanilla essence instead.

Ingredients:
125g (4oz) butter (room temperature)
]]>¾ 2 eggs, beaten
]]>½ 1]]>¾ 2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Start by preheating your oven to 180]]>°°
Cream your butter and sugar together.

Add vanilla essence and mix (at this point the original recipe suggests adding 1 tablespoon orange juice and the rind of 1 orange).
Add eggs and mix.

Add milk, then flour, mixing in each time.

Add the water last, mix it in and you should have a nice thick and fluffy batter.

Pour into your cake tin and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Or roughly until it looks like this:

Yay. Cake. So far, so good.
Now, on to the icing.

I took this recipe for Vienna Cream icing from the Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book.

Ingredients:
125g (4oz) butter (room temperature)
1]]>½ 2 tablespoons milk

Beat the butter until it is almost white, as so:

Sift icing sugar into the butter.

Then add milk and continue to mix until it looks nice.
At this point I opted to colour the mix a nice aqua colour, because aqua is aqua-ish. 4 drops blue, 2 drops green food colouring, and mix!

Slather on cake and top with sprinkles or decorations of choice. In this case, Smarties.

Add candles, thrust at birthday girl while singing jovially.

Then step back and take cover as cake is devoured.

Happy Birthday Babe! I love you! :)
]]> Waz here...

Today is Carly's birthday.
She is very old.

In an effort to make her happy, I have both opted to write her a birthday post, and make her a birthday cake - mostly because she likes cake, and blog posts are also kinda fun.

Since I'm not one for baking much, I went with a fairly safe recipe that Carly likes.. Shirley's Orange Cake, from The Country Show Cookbook, with slight modification - I ditched the orange and replaced it with a bit of vanilla essence instead.

Ingredients:
125g (4oz) butter (room temperature)
]]>¾ 2 eggs, beaten
]]>½ 1]]>¾ 2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Start by preheating your oven to 180]]>°°
Cream your butter and sugar together.

Add vanilla essence and mix (at this point the original recipe suggests adding 1 tablespoon orange juice and the rind of 1 orange).
Add eggs and mix.

Add milk, then flour, mixing in each time.

Add the water last, mix it in and you should have a nice thick and fluffy batter.

Pour into your cake tin and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Or roughly until it looks like this:

Yay. Cake. So far, so good.
Now, on to the icing.

I took this recipe for Vienna Cream icing from the Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book.

Ingredients:
125g (4oz) butter (room temperature)
1]]>½ 2 tablespoons milk

Beat the butter until it is almost white, as so:

Sift icing sugar into the butter.

Then add milk and continue to mix until it looks nice.
At this point I opted to colour the mix a nice aqua colour, because aqua is aqua-ish. 4 drops blue, 2 drops green food colouring, and mix!

Slather on cake and top with sprinkles or decorations of choice. In this case, Smarties.

Add candles, thrust at birthday girl while singing jovially.

Then step back and take cover as cake is devoured.

Happy Birthday Babe! I love you! :)
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=62 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=62 Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:32:53 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=62#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=62#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=62#comments fivesquaremeals Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie's Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make Stollen. She adapted a friend's family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart's book.........and Martha Stewart's demonstration.

Merry Christmas Everybody!
Another year gone already? What better way to finish the year than with a spectacular Christmas Stollen. Yes, it is a few days past Christmas, but I have been filled with such cheer and goodwill that I missed my posting deadline.
Stollen is a fruit filled bread-like cake made with yeast and sometimes filled with marzipan.
The detailed recipe with quantities can be found here on the Daring Bakers site, but an abbreviated version of my recipe is below.

Christmas Stollen

Dried fruit gives the flavour to a Stollen and therefore is the most important part. Any fruit can be used, from currants and raisins to mixed peel, cherries, mango or ginger; select your favourites. You will need about 2 cups of fruit all up.
I chose to use sultanas, dried apricots and pineapple. I like to use these little packs as the unused fruit stays fresher longer.

I also threw in some dried apple.

The fruit needs to be soaked overnight for softness in about ¼ cup alcohol. Rum is the best choice, but using what I had on hand, I tried vanilla vodka and apple juice.

To make the bread dough, you will need basic pantry items: milk, caster sugar, plain flour, salt, butter, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, a lemon and orange. You will also need 2 packets of dried yeast sachets, these can be found in the flour section of the supermarket.

Tip two packets (14g) of dried yeast into ¼ cup of lukewarm water and leave for five minutes to activate and go bubbly.

Melt butter into milk in a small saucepan over a low heat. Leave to sit until lukewarm.

Lightly beat together eggs, vanilla extract, lemon and orange juice.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and zests of orange and lemon.

Stir in yeast mixture, eggs, and milk/butter mixture until mix comes together in a tacky ball. Cover with plastic and leave to sit for 10 mins.

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, then tip out all the soaked fruit on top.

Now, as a pre-Christmas work out, knead the fruit into the dough and keep going for about 8 mins.

Think of the how good the upper body exercise is, and how many more rumballs you will be able to eat! :D (You could use a machine, but that's cheating.)
You will know when to stop when the dough becomes tacky and the sultanas start falling off.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave overnight in the fridge to rise.

The next day, punch back the dough, and tip out onto a floured surface. At this stage I divided the dough into two balls to make two stollen. Roll out into a large rectangle, one centimetre thick.

Using almond icing or marzipan, roll out thin strips and place at intervals along the dough.

Roll into a long sausage shape, and then curl into a circle.

Cut knicks out of the dough at 6cm intervals and shape to form a wreath.
Leave to proof for 2 hours.

Bake for 40-50mins at 180°c until dark brown in colour.

While hot, brush the stollen with melted butter and allow to soak in.

Sift icing sugar over the top and allow to sink in, repeating three times to build up a protective coating.

Serve as thin slices with butter and a cup of tea, or wrap and store for up to 4 months in the freezer.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! :)
]]> Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie's Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make Stollen. She adapted a friend's family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart's book.........and Martha Stewart's demonstration.

Merry Christmas Everybody!
Another year gone already? What better way to finish the year than with a spectacular Christmas Stollen. Yes, it is a few days past Christmas, but I have been filled with such cheer and goodwill that I missed my posting deadline.
Stollen is a fruit filled bread-like cake made with yeast and sometimes filled with marzipan.
The detailed recipe with quantities can be found here on the Daring Bakers site, but an abbreviated version of my recipe is below.

Christmas Stollen

Dried fruit gives the flavour to a Stollen and therefore is the most important part. Any fruit can be used, from currants and raisins to mixed peel, cherries, mango or ginger; select your favourites. You will need about 2 cups of fruit all up.
I chose to use sultanas, dried apricots and pineapple. I like to use these little packs as the unused fruit stays fresher longer.

I also threw in some dried apple.

The fruit needs to be soaked overnight for softness in about ¼ cup alcohol. Rum is the best choice, but using what I had on hand, I tried vanilla vodka and apple juice.

To make the bread dough, you will need basic pantry items: milk, caster sugar, plain flour, salt, butter, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, a lemon and orange. You will also need 2 packets of dried yeast sachets, these can be found in the flour section of the supermarket.

Tip two packets (14g) of dried yeast into ¼ cup of lukewarm water and leave for five minutes to activate and go bubbly.

Melt butter into milk in a small saucepan over a low heat. Leave to sit until lukewarm.

Lightly beat together eggs, vanilla extract, lemon and orange juice.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and zests of orange and lemon.

Stir in yeast mixture, eggs, and milk/butter mixture until mix comes together in a tacky ball. Cover with plastic and leave to sit for 10 mins.

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, then tip out all the soaked fruit on top.

Now, as a pre-Christmas work out, knead the fruit into the dough and keep going for about 8 mins.

Think of the how good the upper body exercise is, and how many more rumballs you will be able to eat! :D (You could use a machine, but that's cheating.)
You will know when to stop when the dough becomes tacky and the sultanas start falling off.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave overnight in the fridge to rise.

The next day, punch back the dough, and tip out onto a floured surface. At this stage I divided the dough into two balls to make two stollen. Roll out into a large rectangle, one centimetre thick.

Using almond icing or marzipan, roll out thin strips and place at intervals along the dough.

Roll into a long sausage shape, and then curl into a circle.

Cut knicks out of the dough at 6cm intervals and shape to form a wreath.
Leave to proof for 2 hours.

Bake for 40-50mins at 180°c until dark brown in colour.

While hot, brush the stollen with melted butter and allow to soak in.

Sift icing sugar over the top and allow to sink in, repeating three times to build up a protective coating.

Serve as thin slices with butter and a cup of tea, or wrap and store for up to 4 months in the freezer.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! :)
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=61 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=61 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:22:46 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=61#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=61#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=61#comments fivesquaremeals

The cake recipe is taken from "The Country Show Cookbook" - lovely recipes that require simple pantry basics that seem to turn out beautiful cakes every time.
This is the recipe for Shirley's Orange Cake.
You will need one large orange, unsalted butter, caster sugar, 2 eggs, milk and self-raising flour. You probably have all this on hand right now so what are you waiting for?

Preheat your oven to 180]]>° Cream together 125g unsalted butter with ]]>¾

Mix in the rind of the orange and a decent hand squeeze of juice from one half. Eat the other half, it's good for you and will balance out the half bag of Jaffa's you will eat later...

Beat in 2 eggs one at a time, then ]]>½

Don't panic, just add 1]]>¾

Spoon into a 20cm round tin; as the mix is thick and fluffly push the mix a bit away from the center towards the edge to allow the cake to rise evenly.

Bake for 30-40mins until golden on top.
Allow to cool and then decorate.

I topped my cake with a store bought (I keep on hand for when I am pushed for time, but you can make any basic frosting) vanilla frosting to which I added a generous tablespoon of good quality cocoa and a squeeze of orange juice.

Then I bashed up a generous handful of Jaffa's with a rolling pin in zip lock bag.

Sprinkle on top and you have a lovely, simple choc-orange temptation.

I can't say how it tasted in the end, because I made it for a party I wasn't attending, but from "sampling" the various components individually, they all tasted pretty awesome. :D
]]>

The cake recipe is taken from "The Country Show Cookbook" - lovely recipes that require simple pantry basics that seem to turn out beautiful cakes every time.
This is the recipe for Shirley's Orange Cake.
You will need one large orange, unsalted butter, caster sugar, 2 eggs, milk and self-raising flour. You probably have all this on hand right now so what are you waiting for?

Preheat your oven to 180]]>° Cream together 125g unsalted butter with ]]>¾

Mix in the rind of the orange and a decent hand squeeze of juice from one half. Eat the other half, it's good for you and will balance out the half bag of Jaffa's you will eat later...

Beat in 2 eggs one at a time, then ]]>½

Don't panic, just add 1]]>¾

Spoon into a 20cm round tin; as the mix is thick and fluffly push the mix a bit away from the center towards the edge to allow the cake to rise evenly.

Bake for 30-40mins until golden on top.
Allow to cool and then decorate.

I topped my cake with a store bought (I keep on hand for when I am pushed for time, but you can make any basic frosting) vanilla frosting to which I added a generous tablespoon of good quality cocoa and a squeeze of orange juice.

Then I bashed up a generous handful of Jaffa's with a rolling pin in zip lock bag.

Sprinkle on top and you have a lovely, simple choc-orange temptation.

I can't say how it tasted in the end, because I made it for a party I wasn't attending, but from "sampling" the various components individually, they all tasted pretty awesome. :D
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=60 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=60 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 03:11:55 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=60#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=60#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=60#comments fivesquaremeals
Our first proper meal after landing was, of course, the tourist staple, Pad Thai.

Rice noodles, with veggies, chicken and tofu, flavoured with lime and tamarind and topped with egg. When served at a cheap plastic table in the middle of a bustling market for only 50 baht ($1.60), it doesn't get much better for street food.
A few strange signs only help the atmosphere...

For a fancy welcome dinner we dined outside right on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, at the Arun Residence / The Deck by the River. After a round of mocktails & beers,

(Fresh lime juice, with mint, soda and sugar syrup. Sooo refreshing in the heat and humidity)

The three of us demolished a range of delicious and (comparatively expensive) Thai food.
Satay chicken. The bread was great for mopping up all the excess sauce.

Massive river prawns in a green curry with baby corn, kale and capsicum.

Chicken stirfry with mixed veggies

We stayed out from the main hotel area, and this little café was our favourite lunch place.

Check out the funky chairs!

For 15 baht (45c) we could get an ice cold Pepsi,

to go with super tasty 40 Baht ($1.20) stirfries, such as chicken in yellow curry,

or beef with mixed herbs. Those little green things are fresh green peppercorns; they pack a serious heat punch when bitten into which no amount of Pepsi could counteract.

A visit to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for some hawker food.
Iced tea with lime and fresh fruit shakes, pineapple and watermelon. I lived on these! A huge chunk of fruit, ice and a squeeze of lime blended together into a refreshing drink.

Salt and pepper baby crab and spring rolls.

BBQ chicken with rice. Simple, but done so well, smoky and delicious.

A meal under the stars starting with a frosty glass of rosella juice.

Chicken with cashews.

King prawns with broccoli, fresh and simple.

Salt and pepper pork ribs, Lovely layers of crispy fat and a nice crunchy coating.

Cute heart shaped rice.

Tiny dishes of sticky, salty coconut rice, a perfect finish to a meal.

And finally, the simple and tasty lunch served as part of our Flight of the Gibbon day: Egg and rice, green curry sauce, watermelon and pineapple.

So hungry right now...
]]>
Our first proper meal after landing was, of course, the tourist staple, Pad Thai.

Rice noodles, with veggies, chicken and tofu, flavoured with lime and tamarind and topped with egg. When served at a cheap plastic table in the middle of a bustling market for only 50 baht ($1.60), it doesn't get much better for street food.
A few strange signs only help the atmosphere...

For a fancy welcome dinner we dined outside right on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, at the Arun Residence / The Deck by the River. After a round of mocktails & beers,

(Fresh lime juice, with mint, soda and sugar syrup. Sooo refreshing in the heat and humidity)

The three of us demolished a range of delicious and (comparatively expensive) Thai food.
Satay chicken. The bread was great for mopping up all the excess sauce.

Massive river prawns in a green curry with baby corn, kale and capsicum.

Chicken stirfry with mixed veggies

We stayed out from the main hotel area, and this little café was our favourite lunch place.

Check out the funky chairs!

For 15 baht (45c) we could get an ice cold Pepsi,

to go with super tasty 40 Baht ($1.20) stirfries, such as chicken in yellow curry,

or beef with mixed herbs. Those little green things are fresh green peppercorns; they pack a serious heat punch when bitten into which no amount of Pepsi could counteract.

A visit to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for some hawker food.
Iced tea with lime and fresh fruit shakes, pineapple and watermelon. I lived on these! A huge chunk of fruit, ice and a squeeze of lime blended together into a refreshing drink.

Salt and pepper baby crab and spring rolls.

BBQ chicken with rice. Simple, but done so well, smoky and delicious.

A meal under the stars starting with a frosty glass of rosella juice.

Chicken with cashews.

King prawns with broccoli, fresh and simple.

Salt and pepper pork ribs, Lovely layers of crispy fat and a nice crunchy coating.

Cute heart shaped rice.

Tiny dishes of sticky, salty coconut rice, a perfect finish to a meal.

And finally, the simple and tasty lunch served as part of our Flight of the Gibbon day: Egg and rice, green curry sauce, watermelon and pineapple.

So hungry right now...
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=59 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=59 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:37:02 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=59#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=59#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=59#comments fivesquaremeals Check out the "bacon" tab on ThinkGeek for some seriously awesome stuff.

I've got my eye on the Caffeinated Maple-Bacon Lollipops with a whopping 80mg caffeine per pop (about the same as an espresso shot or two cans of coke).


Or, the Periodic BaCoN T-shirt, because I'm a chemistry nerd.


Or possibly the Bacon Bubble Buddy because my cat goes nuts for bubbles and the house would be all bacon-y. Mmmm bacon-y...

Anyway, so if you're still out there present hunting, do it all online. And remember, my B'day is just after Christmas, so you have plenty time to get it to me. :D
]]> Check out the "bacon" tab on ThinkGeek for some seriously awesome stuff.

I've got my eye on the Caffeinated Maple-Bacon Lollipops with a whopping 80mg caffeine per pop (about the same as an espresso shot or two cans of coke).


Or, the Periodic BaCoN T-shirt, because I'm a chemistry nerd.


Or possibly the Bacon Bubble Buddy because my cat goes nuts for bubbles and the house would be all bacon-y. Mmmm bacon-y...

Anyway, so if you're still out there present hunting, do it all online. And remember, my B'day is just after Christmas, so you have plenty time to get it to me. :D
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=58 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=58 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 02:54:07 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=58#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=58#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=58#comments fivesquaremeals With such a fusion of cuisines to try: Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indian, Japanese from endless restaurants, hawkers' stalls, street vendors and malls, it might seem a little strange to launch this series of blog posts with talk of aeroplane food.
This simple meal on the plane is important, it is the first stage of your holiday, and if you are going to spend 9 hours in a tin can getting to your destination, it needs to get you excited about the rest of your trip.
The food on our flight to Bangkok with Emirates definitely lived up to hopes of tastiness, novelty and endless package opening.
We were presented with a full menu of all the meals we could expect, allowing us to plan our choices.

After a round of refreshing hot towels, we were given a pack of tasty snack crackers and a drink. Love the Arabic cola logos and the tiny cans. The best thing about flying is the novelty of small sized, individually packaged food.

While taking these photos, the hostess saw the flash and said "Oh, I thought you were taking photos of me!" We weren't...(??) but we said we could.
Hi there!

Back to the food, I had the super tasty pesto tortellini with three cheese sauce. Cheesy, with a nice, rich tomato flavour. Pasta will always be stodgy and wet when cooked hours before serving, but there was enough flavour and texture in the tortellini to counteract this.

Waz had the grilled beef steak with tomato ragout. Can't say I tried this, but meaty/stewy dishes are always win on planes as they are moist anyway.

Both came with a very tasty shredded chicken potato salad, bread roll, cheese, crackers and an itty bitty chocolate.
Unfortunately, by the time the next snack trolley came around, I was asleep, but I know from the menu I missed out on fruit, chocolates and chicken and veggie pasties. *sigh
I promise, my next trip post will be slightly more exotic, but a full three course meal served a mile high is too fun not to share. :)
]]> With such a fusion of cuisines to try: Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indian, Japanese from endless restaurants, hawkers' stalls, street vendors and malls, it might seem a little strange to launch this series of blog posts with talk of aeroplane food.
This simple meal on the plane is important, it is the first stage of your holiday, and if you are going to spend 9 hours in a tin can getting to your destination, it needs to get you excited about the rest of your trip.
The food on our flight to Bangkok with Emirates definitely lived up to hopes of tastiness, novelty and endless package opening.
We were presented with a full menu of all the meals we could expect, allowing us to plan our choices.

After a round of refreshing hot towels, we were given a pack of tasty snack crackers and a drink. Love the Arabic cola logos and the tiny cans. The best thing about flying is the novelty of small sized, individually packaged food.

While taking these photos, the hostess saw the flash and said "Oh, I thought you were taking photos of me!" We weren't...(??) but we said we could.
Hi there!

Back to the food, I had the super tasty pesto tortellini with three cheese sauce. Cheesy, with a nice, rich tomato flavour. Pasta will always be stodgy and wet when cooked hours before serving, but there was enough flavour and texture in the tortellini to counteract this.

Waz had the grilled beef steak with tomato ragout. Can't say I tried this, but meaty/stewy dishes are always win on planes as they are moist anyway.

Both came with a very tasty shredded chicken potato salad, bread roll, cheese, crackers and an itty bitty chocolate.
Unfortunately, by the time the next snack trolley came around, I was asleep, but I know from the menu I missed out on fruit, chocolates and chicken and veggie pasties. *sigh
I promise, my next trip post will be slightly more exotic, but a full three course meal served a mile high is too fun not to share. :)
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=57 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=57 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 05:49:09 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=57#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=57#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=57#comments fivesquaremeals Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Simona of Briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi's Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

The collective noun for a group of tarts is a "jam". Rather appropriately, the DBers filled this month's crostata (Italian tarts) with endless varieties of jams, as well as fresh fruits, creams, custards and caramels. My own crostata was filled with a rich baked chocolate filling and decorated for a baby shower.

The crostata base itself is buttery and biscuity, traditionally the pastry is rolled out and then folded rustically over a jam filling, but for me it was a perfect excuse to buy my first tart tin and make something more presentable. :D
The chocolate filling was delicious, however there was a minor disaster when cooking. The chocolate filling was quite fluid and it slowly dripped through the bottom of the tart case meaning that we ended up with a half-filled tart, but it was a great tasting one.

For the full recipe, check out the pdf here, for my variation, read below.

Baked Chocolate Crostata

Pasta Frolla Base

To make the pasta frolla for the crostata base, you will need some pantry basics, caster sugar, plain flour, salt, butter, lemon and eggs.

Mix 100g caster sugar, 1¾ cup plain flour, a pinch of salt and the grated zest on one lemon into a food processor and pulse until combined.

Add 115g of cold unsalted butter, cubed, and pulse until the mix resembles course sand.

Tip the mix out onto a floured surface, make a well in the centre and add one lightly beaten egg and one egg yolk.
Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solids, then switch to fingertips.
My fingers were too messy for photos at this stage sorry!
Knead lightly until the dough comes together as a ball.

Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic film and place in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

When required, roll the pasta frolla out to half a millimetre thick and drape into your tart tin.

Neaten the edges.

Now get creative with the filling, for ideas, check out the wonderful creations of the Daring Bakers at TheDaringKitchen.com.
My baked chocolate filling is below.
Whatever your filling choice, excess pastry can be rolled out and cut into lattice strips or shapes and baked on top for beautiful presentation. For the baby shower, I used people shapes and arranged them on top.

(Yes, I know it's the third month in a row these little guys have featured, but hey, I'm getting good value out of my cookie cutters!)

Baked Chocolate Filling

Preheat oven to 190°c.

Mix together 1½ cups caster sugar, 6 tablespoons of good cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of cornflour and a pinch of salt.

In a second bowl, mix together 4 egg yolks, 1 cup evaporated milk, 1-2 cups melted butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well incorporated.

Pour into the unbaked tart shell. Bake for at least half an hour or until chocolate is firm to touch.

If decorating with pastry shapes, roll out pastry, cut out but don't arrange on top until about halfway through the cooking process when the chocolate has set semi-firm. Brush the shapes with a little egg or milk so they crisp up nicely.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate coated fingers. :)

]]> Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Simona of Briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi's Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

The collective noun for a group of tarts is a "jam". Rather appropriately, the DBers filled this month's crostata (Italian tarts) with endless varieties of jams, as well as fresh fruits, creams, custards and caramels. My own crostata was filled with a rich baked chocolate filling and decorated for a baby shower.

The crostata base itself is buttery and biscuity, traditionally the pastry is rolled out and then folded rustically over a jam filling, but for me it was a perfect excuse to buy my first tart tin and make something more presentable. :D
The chocolate filling was delicious, however there was a minor disaster when cooking. The chocolate filling was quite fluid and it slowly dripped through the bottom of the tart case meaning that we ended up with a half-filled tart, but it was a great tasting one.

For the full recipe, check out the pdf here, for my variation, read below.

Baked Chocolate Crostata

Pasta Frolla Base

To make the pasta frolla for the crostata base, you will need some pantry basics, caster sugar, plain flour, salt, butter, lemon and eggs.

Mix 100g caster sugar, 1¾ cup plain flour, a pinch of salt and the grated zest on one lemon into a food processor and pulse until combined.

Add 115g of cold unsalted butter, cubed, and pulse until the mix resembles course sand.

Tip the mix out onto a floured surface, make a well in the centre and add one lightly beaten egg and one egg yolk.
Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solids, then switch to fingertips.
My fingers were too messy for photos at this stage sorry!
Knead lightly until the dough comes together as a ball.

Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic film and place in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

When required, roll the pasta frolla out to half a millimetre thick and drape into your tart tin.

Neaten the edges.

Now get creative with the filling, for ideas, check out the wonderful creations of the Daring Bakers at TheDaringKitchen.com.
My baked chocolate filling is below.
Whatever your filling choice, excess pastry can be rolled out and cut into lattice strips or shapes and baked on top for beautiful presentation. For the baby shower, I used people shapes and arranged them on top.

(Yes, I know it's the third month in a row these little guys have featured, but hey, I'm getting good value out of my cookie cutters!)

Baked Chocolate Filling

Preheat oven to 190°c.

Mix together 1½ cups caster sugar, 6 tablespoons of good cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of cornflour and a pinch of salt.

In a second bowl, mix together 4 egg yolks, 1 cup evaporated milk, 1-2 cups melted butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well incorporated.

Pour into the unbaked tart shell. Bake for at least half an hour or until chocolate is firm to touch.

If decorating with pastry shapes, roll out pastry, cut out but don't arrange on top until about halfway through the cooking process when the chocolate has set semi-firm. Brush the shapes with a little egg or milk so they crisp up nicely.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate coated fingers. :)

]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=56 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=56 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 02:38:02 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=56#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=56#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=56#comments fivesquaremeals I am currently two weeks into a three week trip eating my way around South East Asia. I will return shortly with many posts of our adventures, stay tuned! :D ]]> I am currently two weeks into a three week trip eating my way around South East Asia. I will return shortly with many posts of our adventures, stay tuned! :D ]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=55 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=55 Sat, 06 Nov 2010 06:35:59 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=55#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=55#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=55#comments fivesquaremeals October 2010 Daring Bakers' was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Ahh doughnuts. How awesome are they?. Having previously made Oliebollen and Baked Doughnuts, for this months challenge we set our sights on making proper deep fried cinnamon sugar doughnuts, and we also had some fun with filled iced doughnut balls.
The recipe we used come from Fried And True by Christopher Hirsheimer, if you are a lover of fried foods seriously seek this book out, I've had it on permanent borrow from the library for a couple of months. :) My waistline would testify to that...
These doughnuts are lovely and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Also, as the dough needs to be shaped before frying, you can use cookie cutters to make some awesomely tasty shapes.

Orchard Buttermilk Doughnuts

Mix 1½ cups plain flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg and ½ teaspoon salt.

With an electric beater mix in 2 tablespoons chilled butter until the butter resembles fine crumbs.

In a second bowl, beat together ¾ cup buttermilk (I made my own by mixing 2 teaspoons of white vinegar with 1 cup milk and letting it sit for 5 mins) with 2 large eggs and 1 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Stir into the flour mixture.

Gradually stir in an extra 1¾ cups plain flour to form a soft dough.

Tip out onto a lightly floured surface, gently knead until smooth.

Pat the dough out and then roll out to 3cm thick.

Using cookie cutters or glasses cut out shapes of your choice.

Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan to a depth of at least 6 cm, then heat to about 120°c.

Test the heat of the oil by dropping dough into the oil and seeing how quickly it cooks.

The inside should cook through without the outside burning.

We made traditional ring doughnuts, balls, letters and people! :)

Once doughnuts are cooked, drain on a paper towel for a few minutes.

Roll in a mixture of cinnamon and castor sugar.

Eat fresh, hot and crispy.

Cherry Cola Doughnut Balls

For more exciting filled doughnut balls, we pureed bottled morello cherries with some icing sugar and piped it inside the doughnuts.

We then made a glaze by pouring a can of cola into a saucepan and reducing over a low heat until syrupy, then combining whilst hot with 1 cup of icing sugar.

Delicious!

hmm, do I have to clean that up?

]]> October 2010 Daring Bakers' was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Ahh doughnuts. How awesome are they?. Having previously made Oliebollen and Baked Doughnuts, for this months challenge we set our sights on making proper deep fried cinnamon sugar doughnuts, and we also had some fun with filled iced doughnut balls.
The recipe we used come from Fried And True by Christopher Hirsheimer, if you are a lover of fried foods seriously seek this book out, I've had it on permanent borrow from the library for a couple of months. :) My waistline would testify to that...
These doughnuts are lovely and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Also, as the dough needs to be shaped before frying, you can use cookie cutters to make some awesomely tasty shapes.

Orchard Buttermilk Doughnuts

Mix 1½ cups plain flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg and ½ teaspoon salt.

With an electric beater mix in 2 tablespoons chilled butter until the butter resembles fine crumbs.

In a second bowl, beat together ¾ cup buttermilk (I made my own by mixing 2 teaspoons of white vinegar with 1 cup milk and letting it sit for 5 mins) with 2 large eggs and 1 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Stir into the flour mixture.

Gradually stir in an extra 1¾ cups plain flour to form a soft dough.

Tip out onto a lightly floured surface, gently knead until smooth.

Pat the dough out and then roll out to 3cm thick.

Using cookie cutters or glasses cut out shapes of your choice.

Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan to a depth of at least 6 cm, then heat to about 120°c.

Test the heat of the oil by dropping dough into the oil and seeing how quickly it cooks.

The inside should cook through without the outside burning.

We made traditional ring doughnuts, balls, letters and people! :)

Once doughnuts are cooked, drain on a paper towel for a few minutes.

Roll in a mixture of cinnamon and castor sugar.

Eat fresh, hot and crispy.

Cherry Cola Doughnut Balls

For more exciting filled doughnut balls, we pureed bottled morello cherries with some icing sugar and piped it inside the doughnuts.

We then made a glaze by pouring a can of cola into a saucepan and reducing over a low heat until syrupy, then combining whilst hot with 1 cup of icing sugar.

Delicious!

hmm, do I have to clean that up?

]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=54 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=54 Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:48:14 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=54#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=54#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=54#comments fivesquaremeals Hot-Cans ($3.50) in Target I had to try them. Mum grabbed the Cafe Latte and I chose a favourite, Hot Choc.

We carried these around for a few hours while we finished our shopping, then headed down to the water for a coffee break. The day was right, cool and overcast; we even attracted some on-lookers curious to see canned hot drinks!?

So how does this work? Well, the cans are cold to touch when you buy then, and are stored at room temperature until required. Then the fun begins! Crack the seal on the bottom, press in the base and an exothermic reaction begins that warms the whole can up. Leave it to sit for 3 minutes while you feed chips to the pelicans,

and you have quite a hot drink ready to go wherever you are.
Taste wise, yeah, not so great. The latte was deemed awful, and thrown away before finished, but still thought OK for the convenience and the ability to get a warm drink anywhere.
The Hot Choc was better, nice tasting but a bit thin and watery. I had a moment of alarm when I saw that each can contained 190g of sodium, the can was only 210mL, but as I am yet to have any cardiac problems, I think it was a typo...

So overall it's a great idea, cheap and easy and because of the convenience, the situations where they can be used are numerous. Potentially I think you would have to really be hanging for a coffee to drink it normally.


No pelicans were harmed in the making of this post.
]]> Hot-Cans ($3.50) in Target I had to try them. Mum grabbed the Cafe Latte and I chose a favourite, Hot Choc.

We carried these around for a few hours while we finished our shopping, then headed down to the water for a coffee break. The day was right, cool and overcast; we even attracted some on-lookers curious to see canned hot drinks!?

So how does this work? Well, the cans are cold to touch when you buy then, and are stored at room temperature until required. Then the fun begins! Crack the seal on the bottom, press in the base and an exothermic reaction begins that warms the whole can up. Leave it to sit for 3 minutes while you feed chips to the pelicans,

and you have quite a hot drink ready to go wherever you are.
Taste wise, yeah, not so great. The latte was deemed awful, and thrown away before finished, but still thought OK for the convenience and the ability to get a warm drink anywhere.
The Hot Choc was better, nice tasting but a bit thin and watery. I had a moment of alarm when I saw that each can contained 190g of sodium, the can was only 210mL, but as I am yet to have any cardiac problems, I think it was a typo...

So overall it's a great idea, cheap and easy and because of the convenience, the situations where they can be used are numerous. Potentially I think you would have to really be hanging for a coffee to drink it normally.


No pelicans were harmed in the making of this post.
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=53 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=53 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 05:56:20 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=53#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=53#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=53#comments fivesquaremeals First up, a selection of gorgeous cakes at Bittersweet Cafe Patisserie, Lighthouse Beach.
A lovely Caramel Banoffee Pie ($8). Yes, all that cream was for one person, but it wasn't sweetened and went perfectly with the caramel, fresh banana and super crumbly, buttery short crust base to create a treat that was delicious without being sickly.

Lemon Meringue Pie ($7.50) piled high with light crisp meringue on a tart lemon curd.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake ($8), dense, moist and rich. Love the big fresh strawberries on top!

Read about our first visit here.

Second, dinner at the Town Green Inn, Port Macquarie.
Entree of Bruschetta ($9). A little skimpy on the tomato, but the olive oil was fragrant and the bread very fresh and toasty.

300g Angus Sirloin with seasonal vegies ($34). A generous steak, perfectly cooked and seasoned.

The "Break-wall" Pizza ($22) on the all day pizza menu. This was AWESOME! So many favourite foods on the one pizza. Chunks of steak, sweet potato, prawns and I added ham, all smothered in melty cheese.

Ok, so it isn't traditional, and purists would not call it a pizza, but it was soo good and I have serious cravings to go back ASAP. I need to find an excuse to get to Port this weekend...
Our other review here.
]]> First up, a selection of gorgeous cakes at Bittersweet Cafe Patisserie, Lighthouse Beach.
A lovely Caramel Banoffee Pie ($8). Yes, all that cream was for one person, but it wasn't sweetened and went perfectly with the caramel, fresh banana and super crumbly, buttery short crust base to create a treat that was delicious without being sickly.

Lemon Meringue Pie ($7.50) piled high with light crisp meringue on a tart lemon curd.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake ($8), dense, moist and rich. Love the big fresh strawberries on top!

Read about our first visit here.

Second, dinner at the Town Green Inn, Port Macquarie.
Entree of Bruschetta ($9). A little skimpy on the tomato, but the olive oil was fragrant and the bread very fresh and toasty.

300g Angus Sirloin with seasonal vegies ($34). A generous steak, perfectly cooked and seasoned.

The "Break-wall" Pizza ($22) on the all day pizza menu. This was AWESOME! So many favourite foods on the one pizza. Chunks of steak, sweet potato, prawns and I added ham, all smothered in melty cheese.

Ok, so it isn't traditional, and purists would not call it a pizza, but it was soo good and I have serious cravings to go back ASAP. I need to find an excuse to get to Port this weekend...
Our other review here.
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=52 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=52 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 06:11:39 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=52#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=52#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=52#comments fivesquaremeals Whalebone Wharf, a seafood restaurant I have been wanting to try for ages, we were quickly out from under the blankets and made the wet 40min drive down to Port Macquarie. We arrived before dark (it being the first day of daylight savings) and despite the clouds, took in the amazing water views over the oyster farms and boats. The deck covered in fairy lights would be a perfect place to sit on a warm summer evening.

This is what we came for!

Fresh seafood at its best: between six, we shared two of these large seafood platters ($125).
Fresh prawns, oysters- natural, kilpatrick and mornay, scallops, soft-shell crab, salt and pepper calamari, fresh fruit and garden salad.

Lobster Mornay, garlic prawns, garlic prawns and fish of the day on a bed of rice.

As if this wasn't enough, we also added some sides to share:
Steakhouse fries with garlic aioli ($5.90),

Steamed vegetables ($7.90)

and Garden Salad ($9.50).

It was quite a feast!

To warm us up for the drive home, of course we had to sample the desserts.
The Chocolate Assiette ($19.50), a selection of petit chocolate desserts designed for two. Chocolate fondant, white chocolate pannacotta and chocolate tart.

Freshly baked sticky date pudding, drizzled in butterscotch sauce ($13.50).

Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee ($14.50).

A lovely dinner that brightened a gloomy night. We will be back on a clear night to sit out with the fairy lights!

Whalebone Wharf
269 Hastings River Drive, Port Macquarie
Ph: 02 6583 2334
]]> Whalebone Wharf, a seafood restaurant I have been wanting to try for ages, we were quickly out from under the blankets and made the wet 40min drive down to Port Macquarie. We arrived before dark (it being the first day of daylight savings) and despite the clouds, took in the amazing water views over the oyster farms and boats. The deck covered in fairy lights would be a perfect place to sit on a warm summer evening.

This is what we came for!

Fresh seafood at its best: between six, we shared two of these large seafood platters ($125).
Fresh prawns, oysters- natural, kilpatrick and mornay, scallops, soft-shell crab, salt and pepper calamari, fresh fruit and garden salad.

Lobster Mornay, garlic prawns, garlic prawns and fish of the day on a bed of rice.

As if this wasn't enough, we also added some sides to share:
Steakhouse fries with garlic aioli ($5.90),

Steamed vegetables ($7.90)

and Garden Salad ($9.50).

It was quite a feast!

To warm us up for the drive home, of course we had to sample the desserts.
The Chocolate Assiette ($19.50), a selection of petit chocolate desserts designed for two. Chocolate fondant, white chocolate pannacotta and chocolate tart.

Freshly baked sticky date pudding, drizzled in butterscotch sauce ($13.50).

Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee ($14.50).

A lovely dinner that brightened a gloomy night. We will be back on a clear night to sit out with the fairy lights!

Whalebone Wharf
269 Hastings River Drive, Port Macquarie
Ph: 02 6583 2334
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=51 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=51 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 06:08:42 +1100 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=51#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=51#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=51#comments fivesquaremeals Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mandy of "What the Fruitcake?!" Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

The appeal of Sugar Cookies is the chance to be creative, a chance to tip out all of your cookie cutters, decorating gels, piping bags and sprinkles and unleash them upon a small ball of unsuspecting dough. To be honest, I don't actually like the cookies themselves, I much prefer a crumbly textured, chewy cookie that is dropped in random blobs on a tray and baked, like an Anzac or giant choc chip cookie. But I have always wanted to make them, and this month was presented with the challenge by the Daring Bakers. Our only mandatory conditions were that we had to use the recipe supplied, and we had to decorate them, specifically with the theme of "September" and whatever creative spark that ignited.
Unfortunately my spark simply fizzled. I could imagine Christmas snowflakes sparkling with decorators' sugar, or a set of science cookies to contribute to Ms Humbles monthly round up, but September drew a blank. No weddings, birthdays, baby showers or anniversaries. There was one very sad family occasion, but not to be celebrated with cookies. This, and the fact that I only own one type of cookie cutter, a set of three gingerbread men cutters, meant I didn't actually start baking until one day before the deadline.
My results aren't fantastic, I had the cookies perfectly baked and cooling in the oven, when a few hours later I cranked up the temp to bake my Pear, Apple and Cheddar Pie. When I remembered 20 mins later, my cookies were looking a little worse for wear. It was then that I decided to create a beach scene to celebrate spring and the weather finally getting warm enough for a dip. Instead of being burnt, my little people are now just "sunburnt" and sending a sun safe message about skin cancer.

When I have proper inspiration I will definitely remake these, they are simple and surprisingly tasty. They definitely allow you to unleash something creative, and a browse through the cake decorating aisle in Spotlight will make a dent in your finances.
I challenge you to give it a go, and also check out the fantastic work of other bakers on the Daring Bakers site. Original recipe PDF available here.

Sugar Cookies

Very simple pantry items are required, sugar, flour, vanilla, egg. This is the full recipe, I halved it to produce my cookies.

Cream together 200g unsalted butter at room temperature, with 200g caster sugar and 5mL vanilla extract until just creamy, don't beat as much as you would for a cake.

Beat in one large egg until just incorporated.
Add 400g sifted plain flour and gently incorporate on a low speed.

Tip onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead into a ball.

Divide into 2-3 portions and place each between two pieces of baking or parchment paper.
Roll out to a thickness of 5mm, then place in fridge for at least 30mins.

Once chilled, take off top piece of paper and lay face down on lightly floured surface. Gently peel off second piece of paper.
Cut into desired shapes, place gently on oven tray.

Scraps can be kneaded together and the process repeated until all dough is used.

Bake at 180° for 8-15 mins until golden around the edges.

Once cool, decorate as desired using royal icing (recipe in original pdf), gels, sprinkles, lollies: whatever you can imagine.

Eat or store in an airtight container for a week if decorated, or a month if plain.

Hehe, Borat...
]]> Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mandy of "What the Fruitcake?!" Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

The appeal of Sugar Cookies is the chance to be creative, a chance to tip out all of your cookie cutters, decorating gels, piping bags and sprinkles and unleash them upon a small ball of unsuspecting dough. To be honest, I don't actually like the cookies themselves, I much prefer a crumbly textured, chewy cookie that is dropped in random blobs on a tray and baked, like an Anzac or giant choc chip cookie. But I have always wanted to make them, and this month was presented with the challenge by the Daring Bakers. Our only mandatory conditions were that we had to use the recipe supplied, and we had to decorate them, specifically with the theme of "September" and whatever creative spark that ignited.
Unfortunately my spark simply fizzled. I could imagine Christmas snowflakes sparkling with decorators' sugar, or a set of science cookies to contribute to Ms Humbles monthly round up, but September drew a blank. No weddings, birthdays, baby showers or anniversaries. There was one very sad family occasion, but not to be celebrated with cookies. This, and the fact that I only own one type of cookie cutter, a set of three gingerbread men cutters, meant I didn't actually start baking until one day before the deadline.
My results aren't fantastic, I had the cookies perfectly baked and cooling in the oven, when a few hours later I cranked up the temp to bake my Pear, Apple and Cheddar Pie. When I remembered 20 mins later, my cookies were looking a little worse for wear. It was then that I decided to create a beach scene to celebrate spring and the weather finally getting warm enough for a dip. Instead of being burnt, my little people are now just "sunburnt" and sending a sun safe message about skin cancer.

When I have proper inspiration I will definitely remake these, they are simple and surprisingly tasty. They definitely allow you to unleash something creative, and a browse through the cake decorating aisle in Spotlight will make a dent in your finances.
I challenge you to give it a go, and also check out the fantastic work of other bakers on the Daring Bakers site. Original recipe PDF available here.

Sugar Cookies

Very simple pantry items are required, sugar, flour, vanilla, egg. This is the full recipe, I halved it to produce my cookies.

Cream together 200g unsalted butter at room temperature, with 200g caster sugar and 5mL vanilla extract until just creamy, don't beat as much as you would for a cake.

Beat in one large egg until just incorporated.
Add 400g sifted plain flour and gently incorporate on a low speed.

Tip onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead into a ball.

Divide into 2-3 portions and place each between two pieces of baking or parchment paper.
Roll out to a thickness of 5mm, then place in fridge for at least 30mins.

Once chilled, take off top piece of paper and lay face down on lightly floured surface. Gently peel off second piece of paper.
Cut into desired shapes, place gently on oven tray.

Scraps can be kneaded together and the process repeated until all dough is used.

Bake at 180° for 8-15 mins until golden around the edges.

Once cool, decorate as desired using royal icing (recipe in original pdf), gels, sprinkles, lollies: whatever you can imagine.

Eat or store in an airtight container for a week if decorated, or a month if plain.

Hehe, Borat...
]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=50 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=50 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:13:31 +1000 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=50#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=50#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=50#comments fivesquaremeals Pushing Daisies", I have wanted to give it a go.
Having never made a pie from scratch before, I was inspired by my new copy of "Grillhouse" by Ross Dobson, and produced this rustic (ugly) and super tasty pie using a pile of fruit bought during a bargain '$2 fill-a-bag with produce' clearance at Woollies.

The cheese works surprisingly well, it blends into the crust and adds a salty and chewy contrast to the soft fruit. Choose a good aged or vintage cheddar, not too expensive, but not some cheap and plastic thing with no flavour. The pie should be served warm with some plain vanilla ice cream or thickened cream for simple and tasty comfort food.

Pear, Apple and Cheddar Pie
Adapted from "Grillhouse" by Ross Dobson

Shortcrust Pastry
A simple and quick pastry recipe, but I would recommend using a frozen pre-rolled shortcrust if pushed for time.

Place 300g plain flour in a food processor, pulse together quickly with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.
Drop 200g of chilled, cubed butter one piece at a time into the flour mixture until all added and pastry resembles wet sand. 2-3 tablespoons of iced water can be added to aid this process if required.
Tip out onto a floured surface and lightly knead into a ball.

Cut in half, flatten each piece into a 10cm disc and wrap in cling wrap. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least half an hour and up to one day.

Remove from fridge half an hour before rolling.
To roll, place between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out to at least 30cm or to fit a 23cm pie dish with some overhang.

For the base piece, remove the top piece of paper and place in the pie dish with the bottom paper attached. Shape to dish and place in fridge while filling is prepared.

Pear, Apple and Cheddar filling
You will need about 1.6k of fruit. I weighed out five Granny Smith apples and four green pears.

To prepare, peel, core and chop into desired sized chunks, not too thin or it all turns to mush. Place in large bowl.

For flavour, add 165g caster sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon all spice and 2 tablespoons of cornflour to the fruit.

Mix well with hands until well incorporated.

To assemble
Pile fruit high in centre of pie dish.

Arrange thinly sliced pieces of aged cheddar cheese over the fruit, up to about 150g.

Place top sheet of pastry gently over fruit, squeeze together edges and crimp with a fork.

Brush one egg white over the top to make it brown up nicely and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.

Bake in an oven preheated to 220°c for 20mins, then reduce to 180°c and bake for a further 25mins. Allow to cool in pan for at least 30mins before serving with cream or ice cream.

The pie is quite moist, possibly from the pears, so make sure to spoon out some of the saucy bit to mix in with the cream.

]]> Pushing Daisies", I have wanted to give it a go.
Having never made a pie from scratch before, I was inspired by my new copy of "Grillhouse" by Ross Dobson, and produced this rustic (ugly) and super tasty pie using a pile of fruit bought during a bargain '$2 fill-a-bag with produce' clearance at Woollies.

The cheese works surprisingly well, it blends into the crust and adds a salty and chewy contrast to the soft fruit. Choose a good aged or vintage cheddar, not too expensive, but not some cheap and plastic thing with no flavour. The pie should be served warm with some plain vanilla ice cream or thickened cream for simple and tasty comfort food.

Pear, Apple and Cheddar Pie
Adapted from "Grillhouse" by Ross Dobson

Shortcrust Pastry
A simple and quick pastry recipe, but I would recommend using a frozen pre-rolled shortcrust if pushed for time.

Place 300g plain flour in a food processor, pulse together quickly with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.
Drop 200g of chilled, cubed butter one piece at a time into the flour mixture until all added and pastry resembles wet sand. 2-3 tablespoons of iced water can be added to aid this process if required.
Tip out onto a floured surface and lightly knead into a ball.

Cut in half, flatten each piece into a 10cm disc and wrap in cling wrap. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least half an hour and up to one day.

Remove from fridge half an hour before rolling.
To roll, place between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out to at least 30cm or to fit a 23cm pie dish with some overhang.

For the base piece, remove the top piece of paper and place in the pie dish with the bottom paper attached. Shape to dish and place in fridge while filling is prepared.

Pear, Apple and Cheddar filling
You will need about 1.6k of fruit. I weighed out five Granny Smith apples and four green pears.

To prepare, peel, core and chop into desired sized chunks, not too thin or it all turns to mush. Place in large bowl.

For flavour, add 165g caster sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon all spice and 2 tablespoons of cornflour to the fruit.

Mix well with hands until well incorporated.

To assemble
Pile fruit high in centre of pie dish.

Arrange thinly sliced pieces of aged cheddar cheese over the fruit, up to about 150g.

Place top sheet of pastry gently over fruit, squeeze together edges and crimp with a fork.

Brush one egg white over the top to make it brown up nicely and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.

Bake in an oven preheated to 220°c for 20mins, then reduce to 180°c and bake for a further 25mins. Allow to cool in pan for at least 30mins before serving with cream or ice cream.

The pie is quite moist, possibly from the pears, so make sure to spoon out some of the saucy bit to mix in with the cream.

]]> http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=49 http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=49 Sun, 26 Sep 2010 05:46:14 +1000 fivesquaremeals http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=49#commentshttp://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=49#comments http://spakatak.com/fivesquaremeals/entry.php?id=49#comments