white chocolate mojito cheesecakes

this recipe i found in a delicious magazine and it was a hit with the whole family...

ingredients

20g unsalted butter, melted

150g ginger biscuits crushed in a processor

1/2 cup caster sugar

finely grated zest and juice of 3 limes

100ml rum

1 cup mint leaves

120g white choc, chopped

400g soft cream cheese

1 cup mascarpone

300ml thickened cream

* stir melted butter into biscuit crumbs until well combined. press mixture into 6 serving glasses and pack down well. chill in fridge

* bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to the boil in a pan, stirring to dissolve sugar and simmer over med-low heat for 5 mins until syrupy. set aside to infuse for 20mins

* meanwhile, melt white choc then leave to cool slightly

* add cheeses ti processor and whizz to combine, strain syrup thru a sieve, pressing down to extract as much flavour as possible

* add syrup to processor and whiz to combine

* add white choc and pulse 2 - 3 times until combined.

*spoon into glasses and set for a couple of hours

*when ready to serve, whip cream and put a dollop on each and garnish with mint leaf

level of difficulty: read a few times and make notes before you try

time: flight from sydney to melbourne

end result: hi fives all 'round

Thanks Mrs Fulton

Margaret Fulton, now there is a woman with vision. She who played a significant part in introducing 'exotic' (aka anything other than meat and three veg) to hundreds of Australian housewives..... anyway, thanks.. and thanks for this linzertorte recipe. It's fab!! Seems like the perfect afternnon tea cake- i don't do the afternoon tea thing myself, but as an evening treat seemed to work beautifully! Giovanni (aka dad, papa, nonno) was official reviewer on this on, and he does not give his marks away to freely, so when he says it's a 5/5 you know you are on a winner! Enjoy Angexx

Linzertorte

100g butter

1 cup caster sugar

zest 1 lemon or 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs

1 1/4cups plain flour

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch salt

1 1/4 cup almond meal
Great quality raspberry jam about 1 cup

preheat oven 160C, grease 23cm springform tin.

cream butter and sugar. Add zest or vanilla (i did bit of both), add eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition. Fold in sifted flour, cinnamon, salt and almond meal till well mixed.

Reserve a third of this mix, spread two thirds onto cake pan. Spread jam on top of mix, leave a 2cm border. pipe the reserved mix around outside edge of cake, also pipe criss cross pattern on top. Bake for 40mins. When cooled a little, sprinkle with some icing sugar. Enjoy either warm or room temp.

Lvl Difficulty- can watch tv at same time

Time - syd to melb flight

Overall - High 5s all round!!

food any way...

So there can be no question that the cooking of food is indeed a wonderful, generally happy and often times fulfilling and satisfying activity, both practically and creatively. But there are also times when having the food made for you is just as good, and in some instances much better! And yes i'm talking about the paying instances, the dinning out experiences.
About 6weeks ago i caught up with one of my oldest and dearest friends- we've been friends since year 1!! Yen and I go way back, she's seen me through some of the hardest times in my life, and now we enjoy lots of fun happy times, and for the most part it does involve food. So to this end we decided that we would come up with a list of food places that we wanted to try, now WARNING - This is i fear only the begginings of a list, but we sure are committed to adding to it and seeing it through.. This weekend we will cross off Yum Cha, and in June we get to cross of L'etoile (?).. and not too soon after, before the year end we will have Tetsuya's on the crossed off list.. it's just too exciting! So today, instead of writing up case notes i've decided i'll blog about the list.. any suggestions are most welcome!
Ange
x

Yen and Angela’s Gourmet Culinary adventures.

FOOD PLACE
Max Brenner
L’etoile
Tetsuyas
Italian -
Greek -
Lebanese -
Spanish
Vietnamese
Thai
Chinese
Yum Cha
Malaysian
Seafood
Korean
Steak
South American
Pancakes
German
Mexican
Nepalese
Indonesian
African
Portuguese
Pub Food
Indian
Brazilian
Breakfast

get some pork! on your fork...

Ahhh cooler weather, a great excuse to eat more hearty food! that err.. is perhaps not so good for the heart really.... but all that aside, we can't let that stand in the way of a culinary experience. So with that in mind i thought it was high time to have a go at pork belly.. and well what goes well with pork.. apple, so apple pie it is! So people, rug up, arm yourself with your fork and dig in! Cheers, Ange xx

Tuscan Pork Belly - Delicious May 2010

(Serves 6)

2.5kg piece boneless pork belly (skin on)

2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked

1T fennel seeds
Grated zest 1 lemon

4 garlic cloves

2T olive oil

2 cups dry white wine

2 onions, thinly sliced

2T plain flour
2 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup dry Marsala

Score pork skin and fat in criss-cross pattern. Place pork on rack in sink and pour over kettle of boiling water. Dry well. Crush rosemary, fennel, zest and garlic in mortar and pestle to coarse paste. Stir in oil, rub onto pork skin, cover marinate in fridge min 4hrs or overnight.

Preheat oven 220C, place pork on roasting pan, pour over wine. Rub 2T sea salt into skin, roast 30 mins. Reduce heat 160C, scatter onions in pan, roast for further 1 hour or till skin crisps, juices clear. Remove pork and onions from pan - rest 15mins. Discard all but 2T fat from pan, retain juices. Place pan over heat, stir in flour 1min, whisk in marsala and stock till smooth, strain. Serve over the pork.

Lvl Difficulty- Can watch tv at same time

Time- lazy flight syd-melb

End Result - DROP EVERYTHING MUST TRY THIS NOW!!!

Apple pie -Serves 6 (From an old delicious mag)

30g unsalted butter

1kg peeled, cored, sliced granny smith apples

1 vanilla bean split

100g caster sugar

1 lemon, rind grated, juiced

1T cornflour

1 egg, beaten to brush

Pastry

350g plain flour

175g unsalted butter, chilled
75g icing sugar

1 egg beaten

For pastry - process flour butter and sugar with pinch of salt. Process till resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and 2T chilled water. Process till smooth ball. Divide in 2 portions, cling wrap put in fridge 30mins.

Meanwhile, in pan place butter, apples, vanilla bean and seeds, sugar, lemon rind and juice. Cook over low hear 6-8mins until just starting to soften. Mix cornflour with 2T cold water and stir into apple mix. Cook 1 min. Remove vanilla bean, strain apples, discard juices.

Preheat oven 200C, grease 19cm x 5cm fluted tart pan. Roll larger piece of pastry and line base and sides of pan, place in fridge 30mins. Blind bake 10mins, remove paper bake another 5mins. Remove from oven, cool. Place apples into pastry, cover with 2nd piece of rolled out pastry. Brush with egg, sprinkle with caster sugar bake 25mins.. enjoy!!

Lvl Difficulty - Can watch tv at same time

Time- One way flight

End Result - hi 5's all round!

warm winter salads

i hate winter. i really do. i hate rugging up in five layers of clothing before i go out. i hate jumping out of a hot shower into ice cold air. i hate getting into bed and flapping my arms and legs around to warm the bed up. ...

the ONLY thing i love about winter, is the yummy food that warms your tummy up. now, normally for me, this would be hearty soups and casseroles but last night, i thought i would try a warm salad. now, it doesn't bring the same sort of comfort as soup does, but it's a really nice change. i found this one in the latest donna hay mag....

warm potatoes, beetroot, watercress and ocean trout salad

ingredients

*800g chat potatoes

*400g broad beans (blanched and shelled)

* bunch baby beetroot (i just used normal beetroot, peeled them and cut them into chunks)

* bunch watercress (leave picked and washed)

*400g smoked ocean trout, flaked

dressing

*half cup of egg mayonaise

* 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

* 1 tablespoon horseradish (i left this out as i'm not a horseradish fan)

* 1 cloved garlic - diced/minced

* sea salt and cracked black pepper

*boil potatoes in salted water till tender (15mins)

* put beetroot into bowl and coat with a little olive oil

* when tender, drain and cool slightly, then press each one with back of a spoon to 'smash' them a little

*put 2 tablespoon oil into pan and put into over (220 degrees) for 5 mins

* take pan out and put potatoes and beetroot in it and return to overn for 20min or until beetroot are cooked and potatoes crispy

* in a bowl, put watercress, broad beans, flaked ocean trout

* take potatoes and beetroot out of oven and cool slightly before putting into bowl with rest of stuff

* toss gently, then plate up and drizzle dressing on top

level of difficulty: can watch tv at the same time

time: light from sydney to melbourne

end result:good but more like the back up singers than the main star

Fondant that masterchef!!

Now i'm a fan, i really am, of most cooking shows including masterchef - Australia and UK version. But anyone watching either show or a number of other such cooking show could easily be fooled into believing that chocolate fondant is difficult to master and likely to be a disaster! Well fondant to that i say!! This is a myth, similar to the "souffle is difficult to master" myth as well.. (hmm wonder what that is all about??).. well i found a gordon ramsey chocolate fondant recipe- one that is destined for my definately to call upon over and over again section of my extensive recipe collection. This recipe is- even if i say so myself.. to die for!! It's cake like exterior ever so protectively holds inside the yummy chocolatey goodness that spills forth when you break into it... served with vanilla ice cream.. not much else is needed!!

Chocolate Fondant (makes 9)

*50g melted butter *cocoa powder for dusting

*200g good quality dark chocolate chopped small pieces *200g butter, small pieces

*200g golden caster sugar *4eggs and 4 yolks

*200g plain flour.

# Get moulds ready (i used ramekins). Heavily brush moulds with butter, place in fridge/freezer. Take out, brush more melted butter over chilled butter, add spoonful cocoa into mould to coat, tap out any excess.

# Melt butter and chocolate together, stir till smooth, cool for 10mins

#Whisk eggs and yolks together with sugar till thick and pale. Sift flour into eggs, beat together.

#Pour melted chocolate into egg mixture in thirds, beat well between each addition.

#Divide mixture evenly between moulds. Chill for min of 20mins or up to night before.

#Heat oven to 200C. Palce fondants on baking tray, cook 12 mins. Remove from oven and sit 1/2 mins before turning out.

#plate up with ice cream or cream!!

Enjoy! Ange xx

Lvl Difficulty - can watch tv at same time

Time- Flight syd-Melb

End Result - DROP EVERYTHING!!! MUST TRY THIS NOW!!!!!

Nutella Nutella Nutella

Can there be such a thing as too much nutella?.. i think perhaps not. Nutella, it's like a faithful friend, consistent and always just the right thing! Nutella is sacred to the Italians, you find it everywhere you go anywhere in Italy, and really who can blame them. There is always a jar in my cupboard. So you can imagine the delight when i happened across a nutella tart recipe. Yum just the dessert for easter!!

The recipe comes from Pierre Herme.. Thank you Pierre!! Thank you Italia!!

Nutella Tart - The crust

*285g unsalted butter, room temp. *150g sifted confectioner's sugar

*1/2 c almond meal *1/2 tsp salt

*1/2 tsp vanilla extract *2lge eggs, room temp, lightly beaten

*3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.

Put butter in mixer bowl with paddle attachment. Beat low speed till creamy. Add sugar, almond meal, salt, vanilla, and eggs. On low speed continue to beat ingredients. Add flour in 3/4 batches until mix comes together to form moist dough. Gather it into a ball, divide into 3/4 pieces (3 pieces for 3 26cm tarts..) Wrap in cling film. Allow dough to rest for 4 hours in fridge or up to 2 days, before rolling and baking (you can freeze this dough for one month).

When ready, roll dough out on lightly floured surface 2-4cm thick. Fit dough into tart pan, base and sides. prick dough all over with fork, chill 30mins in fridge. Preheat oven to 180C, blind bake crust 18-20mins, remove paper bake for further 5 mins. Remove from oven and completely cool.

For Filling

*200g nutella *140g good quality chocolate (70%) finely chopped

*200g unsalted butter *1 lge egg rom temp. stirred with fork

*3 lgr egg yolks, room temp, stirred with fork *2T sugar

*1 cup Hazelnuts toasted, skinned chopped in large pieces.

Preheat oven to 190C, spread nutella evenly over bottom of crust and set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter in seperate bowls, allow to cool.

Using small whisk stir egg into chocolate, little by little stir in egg yolks, then the sugar. Finally stir in the melted butter. Pour ganache over nutella in tart shell, scatter hazelnuts on top.

Bake tart for 11mins. Remove from oven, allow to cool... enjoy! Ange xx

Lvl Difficulty - Can watch tv at same time

Time - Aside from dough resting - flight syd-melb

End result - High fives all 'round

gathering of friends... Easter style!! or was it Xmas catch up?...

It's always going to a good night when we gather at Patty and Jeff's place. Their home is so warm and inviting, and the guests present are good friends who enjoy a good laugh with and warmly at each other... So this happened way back in early April.. perhaps even end of March.

Patty took on the main with the assistance fo his first assistant Brendan.. My contribution was an entree- Stuffed mushrooms, and the dessert, carmel cheesecake. Of course there is always room for that wonderful delight of rocky road! To the food..

The mushrooms and cheesecake both came from the delicious magazine (April 2010).

Stuffed mushrooms with gorgonzola dressing

*2T unsalted butter *1/4c olive oil

*1 onion, finely chopped *2 cloves garlic finely chopped

*8 anchovies, roughly chopped *3 cups fresh breadcrumbs

*1 cup grated parmesan * 2T finely chopped parsley

*4 large flat mushrooms *250g roman beans trimmed

* 1 Radicchio, leaves separated

Gorgonzola Dressing

*1 egg yolk *1 garlic clove roughly chopped

*2t hot english mustard *1T white wine vinegar

*1ooml sunflower oil *20g gorgonzola piccante, plus extra

*1T rosemary finely chopped

Preheat oven 200C. For dressing whiz egg yolk, garlic, mustard & vinegar in food processor. With motor running add oil slowly drop by drop first then steady stream til thick. transfer this to bowl. In clean processor, blend gorgonzola and rosemary with 2T lukewarm water until smooth. Fold into egg mix, season, Fridge till needed.

Heat butter and 1T oil in pan medium heat. Add onion, garlic, anchovies, cook, stirring 8 minutes. Onions should be soft, anchovies dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley, season. Remove stalks from mushrooms, lay flat on oiled baking tray. Fill with crumb mix, drizzle with oil, bake 15min till topping golden.

Meanwhile blanch beans in salted water 1/2 mins. Drain. Divide beans, radicchio, extra cheese amonge plates top with mushrooms. drizzle with dressing.

Note- ok so the first time i made this for this feast, i did use packaged breadcrumbs.. meant it was quite a dry dish.. next time i used day old sourdough, that i put in oven and processed.. much better result!

Lvl Difficulty - Can watch tv at same time

Time - Flight Syd-Melb

End Result- More like back singers at this event, but hi fives second attempt!

Baked dulce de leche cheesecake with toffee shards

*300g digestive biscuits *90g unsalted butter, melted

*750g cream cheese chopped *2T cornflour

*3 eggs *340g caster sugar
*2tsp vanilla extract *2x450g dulce de leche
*600ml sour cream

Preheat oven 200C & grease 23cm springform pan. Finely crush biscuits in food processor, pour in mleted butter, pulse to combine. Press into base of pan. Bake 8mins, remove from oven, reduce oven to 160C. Meanwhile place cream cheese in processor with cornflour, eggs, 100g sugar, 1Tsp vanilla. Process till smooth. Add one jar Dulche de leche, process till smooth. Pour over biscuit base. Bake 45mins. Meanwhile place sour cream in bowl, add 20g sugar and 1tsp vanilla. Beat with wooden spoon to combine. Remove cheesecake from oven. Top with sour cream bake for another 15mins till set. Leave in switched off oven with door ajar till compltely cooled, chill overnight.

To make toffee shards, line tray with foil. Stir 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in pan, low heat till sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, cook till golden. Pour onto foil, swirling to spread toffee. Set aside, cool, break into shards.

When ready to serve add, 2/3 T boiling water to dulche de leche till you have smooth sauce consistency. Top cake with shards, drizzle with sauce..Enjoy!!

Lvl Difficulty- Can watch tv at same time

Time - Lord of rings trilogy

End results - Drop everything, must try this now!

green tea tiramisu

soooooooo......... on the flight home from japan, gareth's meal came with a green tea tiramisu but because i have the vegetarian meal, i get boring stuff. airlines assume that cause you're a vego it automatically means you're a vegan and that means no dairy and no eggs grrrrr! so, ate half of gareth's green tea tiramisu and was pleasantly surprised at how much i liked. so much so that i came home and googled the recipe!

so, i found this recipe off this woman's blog "http://chezannies.blogspot.com/2007/01/green-tea-ramisu.html" however i didn't find it as easy to make as she had made out but it was still delicious...

ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 cups of strongly brewed green tea (i used 3 teabags but next time i think i'll use 4)

2 - 3 packets of ladyfinger biscuits depending on whether you want to do the fence

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

250g mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy cream (i didn't know what heavy cream was so i used thickened cream but next time will use 1 1/2 cups instead)

1 tspn vanilla extract

2 tspns matcha (green tea powder)

* beat the egg yolks and sugar in stainless steel bowl over pot of simmering water until the mixture is pale and double in size (now i had a little trouble with this trying to figure out when it was ready)

*cool the mixture in an ice water bath (i didn't do this, i just left it to cool whilst doing the other stuff)

*in a mixer, beat the mascarpone cheese until smooth and creamy

* add the match powder small amounts at a time. mix to blend well but don't over beat

* fold the mascarpone cheese into the egg yolk mixture

* in a seperate bowl, whip the cream till soft peaks form. add vanilla.

* fold the marscarpone mixture into the whipped cream and gently mix.

* dip each ladyfinger quickly into the brewed green tea and line the base of a cheesecake tin (if you want to do the fences, then line the side of the tin with ladyfingers that haven't been dipped)

* spread a layer of the cream over the top and then repeat with soaking and layering the ladyfingers (be careful not to soak them too much, dip them quickly so they get moist but that's it)

* the recipe said 3 layers of biscuits and 3 layers of cream but i only got 2 layers (however that could be cause i used thickened cream or cause i didn't beat the egg yolks enough - who knows)

* refrigerate overnight.

level of difficulty: read a few times and make notes before you try

time: free parking in shopping centre almost up

end result: hi fives all 'round

enjoy! we did!

ky xx

s

let's talk eggs

Well there went easter!! so many posts to put up yet, however my internet connection refuses to co-operate! so hopefully in the not too distant future you will see the nutella tart, stuffed mushrooms, caramel cheesecake and yes the divine rocky road!!!
Till then, lets talk eggs- easter eggs...

So many different ones to choose from, from the coloured greek kind - pretty to look at, not really fabulous eating choice.. i mean really it's a boiled egg.. and usually some food colouring has seeped through so that don't look too appetising and then you start to think.. wow i wonder how many days ago this egg was boiled and coloured.. see what i mean?..
then you have those fully foul candy/sugar eggs, those, they are just plain WRONG!!! -
So give me a lindt bunny, an egg with m&ms in it or a fruit and nut cadbury's egg (very hard to come by) and that works... Oh and i did come across those small cadbury solid eggs with strawberry filling.. yum they were good as well!!
Well have to dash off to kill myself running up hills twenty times all for the pleasure of having had all those chocolate eggs... it was worth it though!
Hope you had a nice easter!
Ange
x

barramundi burger

okay - this is my lazy, i don't really wanna cook dinner but still want something yummy... in saying that, cooking still required, just no real skill necessary...

ingredients:

bun

hash browns

egg

tomato

cucumber

tomato chutney

piece of barramundi

slice of cheese (optional)

all you need to do is pan fry the barra, grill the hash browns, fry the egg and then spread the tomato chutney on the bun, and layer all the ingredients..... it's really tasty! (sometimes i add lettuce, beetroot etc - just whatever's handy)

level of difficulty: a two year old could do it

time: quicker than an episode of neighbours

end result: drop everything now! MUST TRY THIS!

it's not a very good photo - but you get the idea....

mmMmMmm mars bar slice

this used to be an old favourite of mine when i was at tech and i don't think i've actually made it since! for a friends bday i decided to make these into little cup cakes rather than a slice (stole the idea from woman's weekly)...

ingredients:

6 x 53g mars bars

50g butter

3 1/2 cups rice bubbles

200g milk eating chocolate melted

line standard muffin pan with paper cases

chop 5 mars bars coarsely and cut the remaining bar into 5mm slices

place chopped bars in med saucepan with butter and stir over low heat until melted or smooth (or you can do all this in the microwave making sure not to overcook it)

stir in ricebubbles

press mixture into cases

spread melted choc over top and top with the thin sliced mars bar

refridgerate until set (about 30mins)

level of difficulty: a two year old could do it

time: quicker than an episode of neighbours (not including setting time)

end result: hi fives all 'round

texture of tapioca

So generally Xmas comes in December, although we do have xmas in July, well it was Xmas in Feb for this group, (belated Xmas from december rather than early July Xmas). Well we were in for a treat, with Patty making his special Briyani for main. I put my hand up for the dessert. I was thinking something different, a little festive and fit to follow the main. After some thought, consideration and yes some input.. i decided i would try the Berry & Coconut tapioca trifle in March 2010 Delicious mag. I did tweak it a little... here the photo is not a good representation of how good it actually did look...this dessert has a great texture with the tapioca, and sponge..Yum, Ange! xx

Berry & coconut tapioca trifle.

1cup caster sugar 3 titanium strength gelatine leaves

500g mixed berries, + extra 1/3 cup Chambord

2 x 400g sponge cakes Mint leaves to garnish

Coconut tapioca

1L Milk 165ml can coconut cream

1cup caster sugar 1 1/2 cups tapioca seeds

8 egg yolks

For Tapioca - Place milk, cream and 1/2 cup sugar in a pan bring to simmer over medium heat. Add tapioca, reduce heat and gently simmer 8 minutes - or until tapioca double in size. Drain reserve cooking liquid, rinse tapioca under cold water, set aside. Whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in heatproof bowl over pan of simmering water until doubled in volume. Stir in reserved cooking liquid, simmer gently stirring constantly for 4 minutes or until mixture thickens. Strain in bowl, stir in tapioca, then cool. (Here i tasted it and it was quite 'eggy' so i stirred in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract plus added some more coconut cream to taste). Place 100g sugar & 300ml water in pan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low simmer 20 mins. Meanwhile, soak gealtine leaves in cold water 5 mins to soften. Squeeze to remove excess liquid, add leaves to pan of syrup and whisk to combine. Add berries then cool in fridge for 30mins. Once cool blend till smooth, pass through sieve into a bowl pressing on solids to extract the juice. Place remaining 12og sugar and 1/3 cup water in pan over high heat bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, add Chambord return to boil remove from heat. Using 6cm cutter cut sponge cakes into 16 rounds and drizzle with chambord syrup. Divide 1/3 of berry mixture among 8 glasses, top ith a round of sponge, spoon over tapioca. Repeat process, finishing with final layer of berry puree. Chill 30 mins, serve topped with extra berries and mint leaves.

Lvl Difficulty- Read a few times - stay attentive to it.

Time- Free parking almost up

End Result- Drop everything must try this now!

Curry me up Jamie..

I've never made a curry, yes i have eaten a few, but never have i made one. I have had the best of intentions to make one for quite some time, years actually..lol.. and yesterday i finally got round to it. It's a Jamie Oliver recipe from his return of the naked chef, tried and tested by Rob..So on this recommendation off i went.. (this recipe serves 6-8 so i halved it).. Ange xx

LAMB CURRY

2T Butter 800g chopped tomato

285ml beef stock 1.5kg diced leg. lamb

1 handful both mint & coriander 2 red chillies

1 bunch coriander 285ml yoghurt

lime

Curry Paste

5cm fresh ginger peeled 2 red onions peeled

10 cloves garlic peeled

Hot Fragrant Rub

2T Fennel Seeds 2T Cumin Seeds

2T Coriander Seeds 1/2T Fenugreek seeds

1/2T Blk peppercorns 1 Clove

1/2 cinnamon stick 2 cardamon pods

salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly toast/roast these ingredients before grinding them into a powder.

Preheat oven to 170. Roughly chop paste ingredients, put in food processor with fragrant rub, puree. In a casserole pan fry curry paste mix add butter stir regularly till goldenish.. Add tomato, stock. Bring to boil, cover with foil put it in oven for 1.5hrs. Remove from oven put on stove simmer till thick. Meanwhile also fry off lamb in olive oil till golden, add to curry sauce, simmer for 1hr. Sprinkle with chopped mint and coriander, stir in yoghurt, season to taste, add in squeeze of lime to taste. serve on basmati rice. Garnish with chillies and corriander.

Lvl Difficulty - Can watch tv at same time

time - Free park almost up

End Result - Hi 5s all round!

It's all about the chocolate..

Some days chocolate really is the answer! All weekend the rain has persisted, it just keeps on bucketing down, what's one to do other than bake up a storm! With a birthday party and a conversation with Brendan last week as inspiration, i decided that chocolate biscuits were the way to go. Of course i could not decide on one recipe, so i made two kinds (but of course!)... Chocolate fudge cookies and chocolate & macadamia nut cookies! Thanks to Rob who is the official taste tester for these ones!! Happy happy eating, Ange xx

For the choc fudge cookies:

360g semisweet chocolate 250g unsalted butter (softened)

2 cups P.flour 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

3/4 c cocoa (sifted) 3 large eggs

1 tsp bicarb.soda (sifted) 2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp fine sea salt 120g white chocolate

Preheat oven 150C, Melt the dark choc, set aside. Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla till blended. Mix in the melted choc, then add in all dry ingredients till just combined. Scoop round Tbsp of the dough and drop onto baking paper, leave room as they spread. Bake for about 20mins. Cool on wire rack. For topping drizzle melted white chocolate over top of cooled biscuits.

Choc & Macadamia nut cookies!

1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts 40g cornflour

150g butter, softened 200g plain flour

160g brown sugar 1/2 tsp bicarb. soda

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 75g coarsely chopped white choc

1 large egg 90g raisins

30g cocoa powder 50g milk choc chips.

Preheat oven 160 fan forced. Place nuts on tray bake 5mins till lightly golden, remove from oven set aside. Cream butter, sugar & vanilla. Add egg beat well. Sift dry ingredients into butter mix till combined. Stir in white choc, nuts, raisins & choc chips. Roll Tbsp of mixture into a ball, place on baking tray, flatten slightly with palm of hand. Bake for 15mins.

Lvl Difficulty: Can watch tv at same time

Time: Flight syd to melb.

Verdict: Super hi 5's all 'round!

CB's Annonymous

My name is Angela, it's been 63 days since my lasy buy - I'm a cookbook addict. I have 80 odd...cookbooks and counting.. i have my eye on two or three i would like to add to my collection. I mean sure, i have no more shelf space, and no i have not even come near to trying every recipe in all those books- i mean people we are talking thousands of recipes!! I have improved though, i have cut down on my purchase of the food magazines.. that's good right?..
So why can't people understand that it's reasonable to have all those cookbooks? They are very informative and inspirational, i refer to them like a reference source. They are a great resource when planning a dinner party or a special function. Or indeed when i'm in the mood to create something new! or lets be honest, just when i feel like flipping through them. Sure it may not be all good for my carbon footprint (sorry trees), but it does bring pleasure (mostly when it works out) to me and to those who get to eat the food. Also i shop local (mostly) so that supports the economy, and i go to growers markets and buy seasonal so helping the environment in that way...
Wow.. ok this is not a problem at all.. it's my lunch break, i'll just run up to the bookshop to get one of those books i have been eyeing as clearly there is no real good reason not to!!

Happy food reading everyone!
Ange
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Happy Birthday Lori!

B'day gift sorted. Venue selected. Matina in charge of the main! All that's left is the cake and dessert...Well great company, nice welcoming comfortable home and divine Moussaka (made by Matina) is hard to match. So i aimed for being almost as good as all that! I settled on a chocolate creme caramel for the dessert and Raspberry-iced cupcakes for the b'day cake..and yes both are Karen Martini recipes... (and yes i do cook other people's stuff as well lol!!)

For the cupcakes (makes 18):

250g unsalted butter (softened) 160g icing sugar, sifted

200g caster sugar 40g frozen raspberries defrosted

4 eggs silver cachous (balls), for decorating

250g S.R Flour 18 raspberries for decorating

2tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract

5tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 180 (fan forced). Place butter, sugar, eggs flour, baking powder & vanilla extract in food processor, process till smooth. Gradually add milk till its smooth and combined. Line muffin trays with paper cases, evenly spoon mixture up to 3/4 full. Bake 15-20mins. Cool on wire rack. For icing, place icing sugar in processor with defrosted raspberried process till smooth. when cupcakes are cooled decorate with icing, cachous balls and raspberries!

Lvl Difficulty : Can watch tv at same time

Time: Flight from Syd to Melb.

End Result: Hi 5's all 'round.

Choc creme caramel (sorry Patty!)

1 orange, zest finely grated

160g dark choc - chopped

600ml milk

250g caster sugar + 3 tbsp extra

120ml water
4 large eggs
3 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 160 (fan forced). Combine zest and choc in small bowl. Bring milk to simmer then pour over chocolate.Stirtill smooth set aside. Combine 250g caster sugar & water in small saucepan, stir till sugar dissolves then leave on heat to boil and cook until becomes caramel colour. Pour caramel into 20cm ceramic ovenproof dish, swirl around so sides get some coverage. Whisk eggs, yolks and extra sugar until well combined. Add milk mixture stir till smooth. Pour egg mixture through strainer into dish. place dish in baking tray and carefully pour in hot water until reaches halfway up side of dish. Bake for 75mins or until just set. Remove, cool then refigerate min 6hrs or overnight. To serve run hot dry knife around edges of dish and invert onto plate.

Lvl difficulty: Can watch tv at same time

Time: syd to melb with baggage hold up!

End result: hi 5's all 'round.

Special guest critic Tom said: "choc creme caramel gets 6/6 for taste and depth pf choc with the perfect level of just delectable orangeness and the consistency was slightly grainy for creme caramel so i can only take .5 of a point off for that so it's 5.5 :).

The muffin was good but sli oily (or moist?) texture the topping was yummy, presentation was so so compared to last ones. but the raspberry on top was the bomb! overall 4/6."

pasta with crushed peas and mint

so, i found this recipe in a delicious magazine but as per usual, i tweaked it a little...

ingredients:

400g rotelle pasta (i searched high and low for this but couldn't find it so used orecchiette instead)

4 cups frozen peas

1/2 cup pure thin cream

1 small bunch mint leaves

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan

cook pasta as per instructions. drain liquid and add a little olive oil.

meanwhile, cook peas in salted boiling water until tender and drain.

place 1 1/2 cups peas into food processor with cream, 1/2 cup parmesan and half the mint.

pulse briefly till coarsely crushed.

add pea mix to pasta along with rest of peas, parmesan and mint. mix on high heat for 1 minute and serve.

optional: place vine-ripened cherry tomatoes on a tray with baking paper. drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake in preheated oven (180) for 15mins... place on top of pasta to serve

optional: chop up small pieces of bacon or pancetta, fry in fry pan and stir thru pasta with rest of ingredients.

level of difficulty: can watch tv at the same time

time: flight from sydney to melbourne

end result: hi fives all 'round

gingerbread men

for christmas this year, a client mailed me some home made gingerbreads in the shape of a christmas tree.... i didn't think that i was a fan of gingerbread so i took them over to my boyfriends place that afternoon. whilst i was waiting for him to get off the phone so we could go snorkelling, i decided to open the pack and try them just cause that's what i do when there's food around and i'm bored!.... and to my surprise - i devoured 4 right away before my boy came back and said 'hey - i thought they were for me!'

so, with my new found discovery that i actually LOVE gingerbread, i decided to try and make it. this recipe is from the exclusively food website.... and you'll have to excuse my dodgey decorating as i was trying to work and bake these at the same time!

ingredients

375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 teaspoons mixed spice (ground spice mixture consisting of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg)
3 teaspoons ground ginger
140g butter, softened (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon fine table salt with the butter)
130g (1/2 cup, very firmly packed) brown sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup or treacle
1 large egg, separated into yolk and white (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)

Icing
186g (1 1/3 cups) pure icing sugar, sifted
1 large egg white or 20-30ml (1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons) water
Food colouring, optional

sift flour, bicarb, mixed spice and ground ginger together in a bowl.
beat butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl.

beat until the butter and sugar are well combined and the mixture is creamy.

add golden syrup/treacle and egg yolk to the mixture.

Bbeat for about 30 seconds, until the ingredients are well combined.

using a spoon or the electric mixer/beaters on very low speed,gradually add the flour into the butter mixture.

preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees celsius fan-forced).
line a large baking tray with baking paper.

using your hands, bring the dough together into a ball.

divide the dough in half. place one piece of dough between two large sheets of baking paper and roll out until 4-5mm thick.

leave dough between sheets of baking paper and place on large tray put in the freezer for at least 15 minutes

repeat the rolling and chilling process with the second piece of dough.

once dough is cold and firm, remove from freezer, transfer to kitchen bench or leave on chopping board, and remove top sheet of baking paper. working quickly, use a 12cm long gingerbread man cutter and cut out men from the dough.

transfer the gingerbread men to the lined baking tray, placing them about 2cm apart.

place it in the preheated oven. it's best to bake one tray at a time. bake for 10mins.

remove from oven and let it rest for mins before transferring to rack to cool.

when gingerbreads have cooled, make icing mixing all ingredients together and decorate!

level of difficulty: read a few times and make notes before you try

time: free parking in shopping centre almost up

end result: hi fives all 'round