A Cracking Good Egg

Challenge Book #22 - Small Cheese Pies

2008-08-06T18:03:00.000+10:00

It's time to return to the KJ Wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge (where I have to make a recipe from every book I own before I can buy any new ones) with these Small Cheese Pies.

This time we are visiting Greece. Specifically, in the form of The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cookery by author unknown. I bought this book while on holiday in Greece quite a few years back. I loved Greece. My friends and I had a crazy time on the bus system, ending up in all kinds of unexpected places. A couple of times we had to end up hitchhiking because we did or did not get on or off at the wrong or right places. Happy days!!!!

I think this is the first thing I have made from this book. Somehow I have never really delved in Greek food. There are two reasons for this. First, Greek cuisine seems to be heavy on seafood and olives and I cannot stand either. Second, I just cannot get past the few great dishes I have tried and loved. I just go for moussaka every time. It's like it's pre-programed or something, I just cannot help myself.

Then there are cheese pies. When I was in Greece I almost ate the country out of these things. I would search out the nearest bakery type place and emerge with a little greasy bag of happiness - hot crisp buttery pastry, melted cheese, ham or spinach. They were just divine.

So when it came to choosing a recipe from this cookbook, what else was I going to try. In these pies the cheese filling is based on a bechamel sauce and ricotta cheese, seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. They were good!!

I halved the recipe because it makes a lot. I mean party sized quantities. They were fairly straightforward, although I had to add another 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk to get a liquid but thick bechamel. Admittedly, this could be from my dodgy mathematical skills in dividing 2.5 by 2. It's possible people. By the time I get halfway through a recipe, I forget that I'm altering it or how I'm altering it and anything can happen.

Forming the pies is also quick and painless. As you can see in the photos below, it's just a question of laying out the strip of pastry, adding a teaspoon of filling at one end, folding the pastry across the filling to form a triangle shape, and then folding forward along each inner edge until no unsealed edges are left. Then just slice off the pastry and then start again at the square end of the remainder of the strip of pastry. Like so.

Too easy!! This is the recipe for the full amount of pies.

Small Cheese Pies
(adapted from The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking)

1/2 kg of filo pastry
1 cup flour
1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups milk, warmed
350gm feta cheese, crumbled
3 eggs
1 tspn nutmeg
salt and pepper

Melt half the butter and stir in the flour and mix well for about five minutes. Add the warmed milk continuing to stir well. Add more milk if necessary, you should end up with a thick but liquid sauce.

Add the feta cheese, the nutmeg, eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Leave to cool.

Cut the filo pastry into long strips that are 3 inches wide. They can be made smaller, but they are easier to form if they are a bit bigger. Melt the remaining butter. Brush one strip with the butter and place another strip over the top.

Put a teaspoon of filling at one end and fold over into a triangle shape (as above). Place on a baking tray and brush lightly with the melted butter.

Bake in a 180C oven for about 35 minutes.

Brown Windsor Soup

2008-08-01T21:45:00.001+10:00

Here in Canberra, I am suffering the depths of winter. I hate winter. It's cold. I hate being cold. Enough said.

For the last few weeks my parents have been braving this purgatory to visit me. This is quite something given that they have spent their entire lives in warm and tropical Queensland. As compensation, they demanded 1) free reign over the heater, 2) sole custody of the TV remote control while the lawn bowls was on and 3) good food.

I was happy to oblige with one. I coped with two by retreating to the kitchen in order to deliver on three. I can think of nothing more snoreworthy than an afternoon of Jack High.

The requests on the food front came thick and fast, but the longest and loudest was for soup. Lots of hot and steaming soup. It was the perfect excuse to try out a Jamie Oliver recipe I snaffled while waiting endlessly in my doctor's surgery a few weeks back.

It's called a brown windsor soup. Not particularly appetising is it. I don't know about you but any food described as 'brown' just screams bleeech. Which is odd because there are lots of delectable brown coloured foods - chocolate being the prime example.

Not to mention this soup which is quite simply delicious. It's flavour is deep and rich and hearty. No doubt ably assisted by this little number - Vegemite.

As you probably know, Vegemite is a peculiarly Australian staple. Unpalatable to many foreigners but much loved by ourselves. I practically existed on this stuff as a child and I still eat it almost every day. It's usually spread on toast, sandwiches or cracker biscuits, but it can also find its way into gravies, soups, casseroles.

Marmite is an (albeit inferior ;-}) alternative for those in the UK and NZ. However, for those elsewhere, I'm not sure what the options are. There's nothing else quite like Vegemite. Unless it's Promite and you can only get that in Australia as well.

Brown Windsor Soup
(adapted from Delicious Magazine July 2008)

a large knob of butter
olive oil
500g chuck steak, diced
1 tbspn vegemite or marmite
splash worcestershire sauce
1 red onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 bay leaf
sprig of rosemary
1 tbspn plain flour
2 litres beef stock
1/3 cup pearl barley

Melt butter and add olive oil in a large saucepan. Lightly brown the meat and stir in the vegemite and sauce. Turn up the heat and keep stirring until all the liquid has evaporated.

Add the veggies, bay leaf and rosemary. Cover and sweat gently over a low heat for about 8 minutes until the veggies have softened.

Stir in the flour, and after about a minute add the stock. Season with pepper and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Add the barley and cook for about an hour and a quarter, or until soft.

Take the saucepan off the heat and discard the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs.
Whiz the soup with a hand held blender to allow it to thicken. Leave plenty of chunky bits.

Daring Bakers - Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

2008-07-30T00:05:00.000+10:00

Ring out the Filbert Gateaus it's Daring Baker time. The blogosphere will shortly be awash with hazelnuts, cake, chocolate and buttercream.

If I am perfectly honest I was a teeny bit disappointed to find another layered cake as this month's challenge. There have been quite a few lately. But I should not have doubted this month's host, Chris of Mele Cotte, because this cake is superb.

Yes it was a lot of work. But the end result was worth it. Let's go through the list:

1) hazelnut genoise - light, airy, soft and deliciously nutty
2) sugar syrup - flavoured with cointreau
3) praline buttercream - impossibly smooth, light and strewn with toffeed hazelnuts
4) whipped cream - always a good thing
5) glaze - tangy marmalade laced with cointreau
6) chocolate ganache - deep and rich and chocolatey

I had few problems in making it. The only issue was that the cake was not terribly high. I was convinced that if I tried to cut it into three layers it would crumble into crumbs. So I played it safe and stayed with two. I really need to learn how to do this better because one layer was double the size of the other.

There were no complaints though. Everbody loved it, including me.

The recipe can be found on Chris's blog. If it is not there just yet it will be in the next day or so.

To see a million other delicious versions of this cake, visit the Daring Baker blogroll.

Challenge Book #21 - Pineapple Tea Cake

2008-07-20T10:20:00.001+10:00

This is a photo of a black swan swimming on a lake at the Tidbinbilla nature reserve just outside of Canberra. I took this photo when I was at Tidbinbilla for a picnic a few weeks ago. Australia has the only native black swans in the world. They are also found in New Zealand where they were introduced.

And here is Mum and Dad swan with a selection of their five adorable little babies. I was actually this close to them. I was standing on the edge of a boardwalk and they swam right up to me and then paddled around by the shore. As you can see by the little ones dunking their heads they eat weeds and things found in shallower water.

While I wanted to show off some of Australia's beautiful wild birds, I have an ulterior motive for posting these pics. It's to draw attention away from this cake.

In the normal course of events I wouldn't post it. But I'm kinda stuck by the KJ wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge. When I started this challenge I knew it would come to this. I was going to have to make something out of this book - Day to Day Cookery (although mine is an earlier edition).

I really don't know how I came to own this. I have a feeling that it was an old home economics textbook of some ancient flatmate. They moved out and conveniently 'forgot' to take it with them. Somehow it gravitated into my belongings.

This always seemed to happen in share houses. There was always a pile of things everybody disclaimed. And a pile of things that everyone would swear was theirs. I had an almost knock down argument over a cake rack once. I won. I've still got it.

Anyway, back to this cake. It's a pineapple tea cake. And it's alright. I mean it is perfectly edible and okay. If you eat it straight away, because it turns rather rocklike after a few hours.

But really if you put this next to one of those mass produced cakes out of Woolworths or Coles supermarkets you could not pick the difference. And that's because this book and all its recipes are mean. Don't get me wrong I'm all for economy. But I can't help thinking that this book was written with the mindset of a population on war rations. You know the type - how to make the largest cake with the least amount of eggs, butter, milk and sugar. All the meat recipes are made with scraps of stewing steak. Desserts are tapioca, creamed rice, blacmange, sago and thin watery custards.

This is exactly in accordance with my own memories of home economics. The teacher didn't have much faith in the future prospects of the youth of today. She seemed to think we would all be ekeing survival out of welfare cheques.

There was one whole year where we just made tuna mornay, rice pudding and stewed apples over and over again. What's worse we had to take them home in old ice cream containers. So appetising. I remember my Mum getting mad because she had to keep spending money on ingredients for these dishes when the whole family detested them.

I'm not even going to bother posting the recipe for this cake.

Instead, I will leave you with a photo of Mr/Mrs Emu, another Australian native bird. The emu is unusual for being very large (up to almost 2 metres tall) and flightless, but even more so because the males hatch and raise the chicks. Those Mrs Emus have it all worked out. There was big kerfuffle a while back when two male emus co-shared a nest of eggs and chicks. Possible evidence of homosexual activity in the bird world apparently.

This particular emu and about four of its friends kept a handy eye on our picnic activities.

Challenge Book #20 - Chocolate Marshmallow Clouds

2008-07-16T08:50:00.000+10:00

Believe it or not, these biscuits are called marshmallow clouds. You can't really see it can you? Puffy, fluffly, cottony....? No. More like deflated marshmallow balloons. Like they've smacked into a rosebush and fallen splat onto the ground

This is all my own fault. It was only when I was in the kitchen surrounded by ingredients and all set to bake that I realised that the marshmallows were supposed to be frozen. BOTHERATION!!!!

I reasoned that the mallows would have plenty of time to freeze while I was making the batter. So I hurled them in and got started. It was a bit optimistic to say the least. By the time I came to form the biscuits they were only a bit frozen around the edges.

So I fidgeted around for a while. Then I fidgeted around for a bit more. Then I got fed up. Watched marshmallows never freeze!!!!!! I decided to just get on with it.

I'm hopeless at this kind of thing. I was not born with a waiting gene. I am the kind of person that constantly pokes at things to see if they are done yet - jelly that is trying to set, jam that is trying to gel, bread that is trying to rise, cakes that are trying to cool, sauces that are trying to reduce, meat that's trying brown. I'm there doing minute by minute reports in forensic detail.

Fortunately, in this case it really didn't matter too much. Yes, they don't look fantastic. I wouldn't serve them at any formal occasion. But they tasted great. The biscuits are quite soft and fudgy with the chips providing hits of chocolately goodness. With the addition of marshmallow - yum.

I found this recipe in the Mrs Fields Cookie Book, which is Book #20 in the KJ wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge (where I have to make a recipe from every book I own before I can buy a new one). I bought this book somewhere back in the depths of time. It has been well used but not by me. I think I have lent it to everyone I know at some point or other.

I'm kinda fascinated by Mrs Fields. In her picture in this book she is the very archetype of the late 1980's - big hair, big nails and big lipstick. Apparently, she is no longer Mrs Fields, having divorced and remarried. Whooooops!!

Jessica's Marshmallow Cloud
(adapted from Mrs Field's Cookie Book)

3 cups plain flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
225gm unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tspn vanilla extract
2 cups of chocolate chips
225gm mini or chopped marshmallows, frozen

Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat at a medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and the chocolate chips. Blend until combined. The mix will be quite stiff.

Group some marshmallows in your hand and encase them in the cookie dough. Make a ball about 5cm across.

Place on a non-stick baking sheet spaced well apart. Bake 8-10 minutes in a 200C oven. Leave to cool for 3-4 minutes on the tray and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Apple Paste

2008-07-11T23:14:00.003+10:00

Earlier this year I made membrillo - quince paste. It was something I have been wanting to try forever. It was a huge success. I was delighted.

So when I spotted a recipe for apple paste in this month's Delicious Magazine. Well I was there. There was no way I was not going to try it.

The magazine actually belonged to my Doctor's Surgery. I am of course banned from buying any new cook books due to the KJ wants a Kitchen Aid challenge. But I had a pen and a couple of old receipts. Some old dear was occupying the doctor well into my appointment time. So some mad scribbling, and voila, a hoard of scrumptious recipes were mine.

What a stroke of luck, because this apple paste is delicious. The apple flavour really comes through and the lemon juice provides a lovely acidic contrast.

It was simple to make. Pushing the softened apples through a sieve takes a little effort. But otherwise it just takes a bit of time and patience to allow it to come to the right consistency. As with my membrillo, it started to catch and burn at the end. I think next time I might try using a simmer mat for the last part of the cooking process.

I served this at a dinner party hosted by some friends. I served it with some Piano Hill Ironstone cheddar. Oh my golly gosh, I love this cheese!!!! It is really sharp and crumbly and intense. I love the combination of sharp cheese and fruit.

As if the taste is not fantastic enough, to buy this cheese I have to go into the cheese room at Manuka Fine Foods - a local gourmet store. You open a big sliding door and there is a whole wall of cheese in front of you. And they let you try anything you want. It is heaven!! I could spend all day in there.

Apple Paste
(adapted from Delicious Magazine July 2008)

2kg of granny smith apples
600gm castor sugar
juice 1 lemon

Roughly chop the apples with skin and cores. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for about 10-12 minutes or until soft.

Strain and discard the liquid. Push the apples through a sieve into a bowl. Return the puree to the saucepan.

Add the sugar. Cook over a low heat, stirring often, until the mixture is thick and coming away from the sides of the pan - about 2 hours. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. Spread the paste evenly to form a 2cm slab. Leave to cool completely. Invert onto a plate. Leave for a day or two to dry. Store in an airtight container.

Challenge Book #19 - Chocolate Custard Tarts

2008-07-04T20:41:00.012+10:00

Sometimes posts just write themselves and sometimes I sit for ages just twiddling at the keys. Like I am doing right now. All I can think to say is that these tarts are absolutely delicious and I love them. That's the whole story really.

The pastry is crisp and buttery. The filling is soft and deeply chocolately. It's just all good.

They are also easy to make. Using bought pastry simplifies thing magnificently.

They are also quite versatile, just by changing the type of chocolate and subsituting the water in the custard for a fruit puree. I have made these tarts as raspberry and white chocolate, as you can see here. They don't look terribly attractive, but they do taste fantastic. I've also made raspberry and dark chocolate and white chocolate and passionfruit, both also good. I am also keen to try a banana and milk chocolate version one day soon.

This recipe is from bills open kitchen by Bill Granger, which is Book #19 in the KJ Wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge. Bill Granger has some great recipes. I can highly recommend the yoghurt panacotta recipe from this book.

Chocolate Custard Tarts
(adapted from bills open kitchen)

3 egg yolks
55gm caster sugar
2 tbspn (8 tspn) cornflour
1 tspn vanilla extract
185ml cream
150gm dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sheets puff pastry

Whisk together the yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla. Add the cream and 125ml water. Pour into a saucepan.

Stir over a medium heat until the mix is thick. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted, leave to cool.

Layer the two sheets of puff pastry one on top of the other. Roll up like a swiss roll. Cut into 1 1/2 cm sections. Lay the rounds flat and roll out into discs.

Lightly grease a muffin tin and gently push a round of pastry into each hole. Chill in the freezer for about ten minutes. Divide the custard mixture evenly between the shells.

Bake in a 220C oven for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Remove and leave to cool.

White Chocolate and Raspberry

Replace the 125ml of water with 125ml of raspberry puree. Replace the dark chocolate with white chocolate. Add a whole raspberry or two to the tarts just before you pop them in the oven .

Challenge Book #18 - Ginger Lemon Eton Mess

2008-07-02T20:16:00.002+10:00

I have a confession to make. You know I am Australian and all, right. Well....I am afraid that I......cannot make pavlova to save my life. There I said. I'm a national disgrace. If you never hear from me again I have been bundled onto the nearest means of transport and shipped to parts unknown.

Pavlova is Australia's national desert (mitts off Kiwis ;-}). My aunts seem to churn them out effortlessly. There is a pavlova at any family occasion. Me, not so much. But not for lack of trying.

I've tried everything. Recipes from all the tried and tested Australian cooks - Margaret Fulton, Stephanie Alexander, Women's Weekly. Every tip and trick and bit of advice has been put into practice. And I've come up with nothing. They always seem to spread out so they are very thin and pancake like. Most often they are tough and sticky and plain awful.

I'm not giving up though. I will crack this eventually.

In my latest attempt I turned to an overseas chef - Jamie Oliver to be precise. Cook with Jamie has a coconut, banana and passionfruit pavolova that looks simply mouthwatering. I had to have a go.

But at the last moment I swerved off in a different direction. In discussing meringue's Jamie talks about the different flavours that can be added. I was seized by the idea of making a ginger and lemon pavlova. Served with strawberries I thought it would be absolutely delicious.

So I dived in. And well, as you can see above, I got the usual result. A flat pancake of a pavlova. At least it was marshmallowy on the inside and only slightly sticky. That's an improvement, believe it or not.

The thing is, it tasted FANTASTIC!! The heat of ginger with a tang of lemon all wrapped up in sweet cripsy and marshmallowy meringue. YUM!!

So what do you do when life gives you a deliciously sorry excuse for a pav? You make a mess that's what. An Eton mess. A gorgeous concoction of broken up meringue, cream and strawberries. It's all served in a bowl. So what the meringue looks like is no never mind.

I served it to some friends for lunch. It was a smash hit!!!! Not only the taste, but it was a bit of a novelty. We Australians are conservative with our pavlovas. The meringue is always vanilla and its always served with whipped cream and some combination of banana, kiwifruit, strawberries and passionfruit.

I didn't measure the ginger and lemon additions to my pav that closely. I've included approximations in the recipe. I actually used crystallised ginger, but I think its sugar coating may have contributed to my sad result. So I have suggested using stem ginger. I would be reluctant to add too much more lemon juice, but I think the zest and ginger can be increased or decreased as you like.

Cook with Jamie is Challenge Book #18 in the KJ Wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge. This is where I have to make a recipe from every cookbook I own before I can buy a new one.

Ginger and Lemon Eton Mess
(adapted from Cook with Jamie)

6 large egg whites
300gm castor sugar
zest 2 lemons
1 tbspn lemon juice
2 tbspn stem ginger, finely chopped
2 tspn ground ginger
whipped cream
strawberries, sliced

Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar. Beat until the sugar is fully dissolved into the egg whites. Rub the mix between two fingers. It should be completely smooth. If you can feel any grains keep beating. It may take 7-10 minutes.

Gently fold in the ginger, lemon zest and juice.

Heap the mixture into a mound on a lined baking tray. Bake in a 150C oven for about an hour. The meringue should be crisp on the outside and marshmallowy on the inside.

Let the meringue cool completly. Break it up into small pieces. Divide into bowls. Top generously with whipped cream and strawberries.

Meme times 2

2008-07-01T15:28:00.003+10:00

Elle at Feeding My Enthusiasms tagged me for this meme. Thanks Elle. I have to answer the following questions.

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?

Get Smart. Before that was Kung Fu Panda. Oh dear, this is sounding bad!! Before that was Moliere, so see I do have some sophistimication.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?

Oh crumbs. The Devil Doctor - a Fu Manchu novel. I know, I know. The blatant racism is galling. Put that entirely to one side, and these books are so bad as to be almost brilliant.

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?

The way things are going I should say Hungry Hippo. In fact, I rarely play board games, but I do like scrabble.

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?

I had a mischevious urge to say Zoo Weekly. But it is in fact Delicious.

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?

Freshly baked bread, freshly baked biscuits, freshly mown grass, fresh flowers.

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?

Magpies warbling, rain on the rooftop, laughter.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

Knowing that I have let somebody down.

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?

If it's a weekday it usually goes something like this - I want to go back to sleep, I don't want to get up, go away world.

If it's a weekend or holidays it's usually - what's the weather like and what's for breakfast.

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

Lemongrass Thai for pad thai noodles. I also like Kingsley Chicken for their chips - but I don't eat them very often.

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?

Girl - Murgatroid Snufflepops

Boy - Egbert Wrigglebott

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D......

Travel the world, renting little cottages here and there, trying out all the local eateries and produce and specialities.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?

Ummm yes (hangs head in shame).

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

No, I really don't like stuffed animals.

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?

Cool. I love storms.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

A Honda. It was over 20 years old when I bought it and it ran fautlessly for another seven years.
16) FAVOURITE DRINK?

Otai a fruit coconut drink from Tonga. YUM!!

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…

Buy a car and drive across the United States.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?

Yes. Why? Am I not supposed to!! Am I going to die now?

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?

If I had the nerve I would choose green. Not kermit the frog green you understand. A nice tasteful shade.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?

Pick some for me. They will probably be more interesting.

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

Cricket and tennis.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

I don't know much about Elle, but I do know that she posts the kind of recipes I like. I'm always thinking 'oooh I would love to try that'.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?

Dust, odd socks and stuff. Even I don't want to know what's under there!!

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??

Yes. But it woud be even better if I was the heiress to a great fortune.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?

Neither. I need a lot of sleep.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?

I like runny yolks. So whichever one of those that is.

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?

On the lounge with a good book, tasty snacks and something nice to drink.

28) FAVOURITE PIE?

Apple.

29) FAVOURITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR?

What? I can only choose one!! The pressure!! Mint choc chip. Or caramel. Or cherry coconut chocolate. Or....

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

I'm not tagging anyone. Feel free to participate if you wish. Really, go right ahead. Do!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next meme is kind of a follow on from an earlier meme. If you read it you will see. The less I say about it the better.

Oh hai, I am the food mill in Kitchen Chez KJ. When I heard that KJ had let that complete imbecile - the toaster - answer a meme, well........ I mean why him?? What makes him so special?? Big noting, two bit nothing special.... ‘I’m an actor’ my a...

Anyway, after a bit of healthy discussion (okay, a few grinding discs maaaaaay have been thrown across the kitchen) KJ said I can do one too. Fortunately, Dolores from Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity also tagged KJ for this meme. So here goes.

What was I doing ten years ago?

I guess I was hanging out as polymers or chemicals or some such. I’m not into the past. I’m all about the future.

What are five things on my to do list for today?

Well I generally sleep in until lunchtime. Then I’ll wander over to the tupperware corner. They always have a poker game going. You’ve got to watch yourself though. There’s a lot of odd mismatched lids that have gone a bit strange. They skulk around in the corners a lot. And they don’t muck around. I got in a bit over my head a few months back. I had to borrow off the spice grinder to keep things sweet. He always seems to have a lot of ready cash. I do wonder....

Anyway, then I will rice some potatoes for dinner. Then I’ve got a hot date with the magimix. Read it and weep bread boy!!!

Snacks I enjoy

Well I’m a veggie man. Mainly potatoes and tomatoes. I’m well known for my light fluffy potatoes. I did some apples a few days back. Superb if I do say so myself.

Things I would do if I was a billionaire

I would turn myself into a post-modern sculpture and live in the Louvre.

Then I would commission an autobiography of my life. Of course the book would be turned into a musical. Naturally, there would be a movie version of the musical. Followed by a TV series of the movie, based on the musical.

5 places I have lived

Well before I moved to the cupboard under the sink, I was a highly esteemed item in Cooking Coordinates - a select kitchenware store specialising in quality cookware and ingredients. I don’t slum it in department stores unlike some appliances I could mention.

I was great friends with the Le Creuset range. We're both European after all, we have a lot in common.

5 jobs I’ve had

Well, I’m a food mill. I mill. That’s what I do? I’m a highly trained specialist. I can do fine, medium or coarse. I don’t chop. I don’t grate. And I certainly don’t mash.

So there you have it. I'm sure you've enjoyed getting to know me. People usually do.

KJ said not to tag anyone specific. Anyone who wants to answer can join in.

Daring Bakers - A Non Danish Braid

2008-06-29T22:31:00.004+10:00

If you have come to visit me in the hope of seeing some Daring Baker Danish Braid I'm afraid you will be disappointed.

Life has intervened in my best laid plans. I still hope to make it - hopefully soon.

But don't despair you can see a squillon beautiful braids through the Daring Bakers' Blogroll.

I hope you are having a nice day.

Cheers
KJ

Challenge Book #17 - Lovely Lemon Curdy Pud (cue eyeroll)

2008-06-27T13:09:00.001+10:00

Jamie Oliver calls this 'A Lovely Lemon Curdy Pud'. Hrmmmph. Whatev Jamie. This is a Lemon Delicious Pudding or my name is Morag McSpuckleduck.

I know this because I have eaten hundreds of them. My Aunty is the best delicious pudding makers in the world. Her orange delicious pudding is to DIE FOR.

Now I am a Jamie Oliver fan, but I consider this to be a major failing of his - the tendency to give ridiculously twee or horribly gushing names to dishes. 'A Rather Pleasing Carrot Cake' anyone? Or how about some 'Bloomin' Easy Vanilla Cheesecake'? Would you prefer the 'Superb Sweet and Sour Squash' or the 'Incredible Boiled Butternut Squash'? Gaaaah!!!!

Petty grumblings aside, Lemon Delicious is a simple and lovely pudding. It's decidely old fashioned and has been enjoyed by many generations of my family.

A lemon curd custard settles on the bottom while a spongey cakey layer sets on the top. It should be served just warm. It has a delicious citrus tang which contrasts beautifully with some sweetened thick cream.

It's dead easy to make. I added a bit more lemon juice, as the pudding seemed a bit bland and I like it with a fair bit of lemony pep. I think just adding lemon juice to taste is the way to go.

This pudding is from Challenge Book #17 in the KJ wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge - Happy Days with the Naked Chef. I have used this book quite extensively. I can thoroughly recommend the steak and guiness pie, the pineapple with mint sugar and the summer fruit jellies. Avoid the the honey and banana bread at all costs, unless you really like chewing on hockey pucks.

Lovely Lemon Curdy Pud
(adapted from Happy Days with the Naked Chef)

55gm butter
115gm sugar
1 lemon, grated rind and 3 tbspn juice
2 large eggs, separated
55gm self raising flour
285ml milk

Cream the butter, sugar and lemon rind. Beat in the egg yolks and flour. Then add the flour and lemon juice.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently mix into the lemon batter. Pour into a buttered dish. Place in a roasting tray about a third full of water.

Bake in a 200C oven for about 45 minutes. The top should be set and cake like and golden brown.

Taste & Create - HobNobs

2008-06-22T14:57:00.001+10:00

I love a good HobNob me!!! A definite result of my English ancestry. I also have a prediliction for Yorkie bars, clotted cream, rainy days, hedgehogs and Ronnie Barker.

The recipe comes from my Taste & Create partner for this month - Kittie from Kittens in the Kitchen. I was already familiar with Kittie's blog as she was my partner back in April when I made her delicious Spinach and Garlic Soup.

HobNobs are a delicious cruchy oaty biscuit made by McVities. Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down has done a review and they suggest that they are "an ideal ice breaker at say a romantic biscuit moment".

I have no objection to trying this out, but I'm not sure what 'a romantic biscuit moment' would be??? Sure, I can see the concept back in say Edwardian times when the only chance of physcial contact was to brush fingers while passing a plate of biscuits over a cup of tea in the drawing room. But what about today? You catch someone's eye across a crowded bar and whip out a few HobNobs to entice them over? The mind boggles.

Anyway whatever you might do with them, these HobNob are great.

I had to add a bit more flour (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup) than the recipe suggested. I initially put this down to my poor maths in converting the butter measurement from cups to grams. But Ivy over at Little Ivy Cakes had the same experience. You should be able to roll the mixture into reasonably firm balls with your hands.

I was absolutely delighted with them. They were dead tasty and crisp and buttery. I halved the recipe, but then I made them a bit smaller than suggested. I ended up with a lot of HobNobs.

I am going to dip some of them in chocolate. So then I will have chocolate HobNobs. Apparently there's a chocolate orange version as well. I'm not too sure about that. Chocolate, orange and oats...hmmmmmmm. Maybe I will leave it for another day.

The recipe for these HobNobs can be found here on Kittie's site.

Challenge Book #16 - Lattice Slice

2008-06-17T19:18:00.001+10:00

This recipe is a slice of my childhood. This was my Mum's favourite recipe for get togethers - Horticultural Club meetings, tupperware parties, sewing circles. There always seemed to be a tray of this walking out our front door. Fortunately, she would always leave a few squares behind for my sister and I.

And it was not only my Mum making this. It was a favourite in our town. It would turn up pretty much everywhere - brownie meetings, netball breakups, picnics.

So much so, that it was certain starter in any local charity cookbook. It made it into this one twice. This book dates from before the days of calorie consciousness - there's a whole whallop of cream cheese and butter in there.
Amazingly, until now I have never made it myself. There's no reason for this, it just kind of fell off the radar when I moved away from home.

It seemed time to rectify this when I was asked to bring a plate to an afternoon tea. And it would give me the chance to cross off another book in my KJ wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge. This is Challenge Book #16.

It is the easiest thing to make. Really it could not be simpler. And it is so yummy. Creamy smooth cheescake with the snap of crisp sugary biscuits.

My Mum always made the filling plain. Which is delicious. But I couldn't help myself - I mixed in some raspberries and grated chocolate. Also great. I think you could mix in pretty much any flavours you want.

I have no idea about the origin of lattice biscuits. All I know is that they are made by Arnotts and are available in Woolies supermarkets. They are a bit like a sweet glazed SAO. I think really you could use any crisp sweet biscuits or pastry.

I'm so glad I rediscovered this!!!

Lattice Slice
(adapted from Care for Kids Morning Tea Recipes)

250gm cream cheese
250gm butter
1 cup castor sugar
1 tspn vanilla extract
2 tspn lemon juice
2 tspn gelatine
lattice biscuits

Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Dissolve the gelatine in water and stir in.

Line a small deep baking tray with the lattice biscuits, golden side down. Spread the mixture over the biscuits. Add another layer of lattice biscuits on top, golden side up.

Refrigerate until set. Cut into squares.

Challenge Books #14 & #15 - Char Siu Bau

2008-06-12T18:49:00.004+10:00

I love Asian food. I could regale with you endless tales of my culinary adventures in China and Viet Nam. But I will spare you, your life is too short. Consider your thank yous gracefully received.

But the thing is that I rarely cook Asian food. There is a reason for this - I totally suck at it. To cook Asian food well you need to be able to balance flavours. I struggle with this. It ends up bland, or too salty or too sweet or too something.

But naturally, that has not stopped me from buying cookbooks on the subject. Oh no!!!

And so we have Challenge Books #14 and #15. Into the Vietnamese Kitchen I bought after I returned from living in Hanoi. A Little Taste of China I bought after a trip along the Silk Road. Until now, I have never made a single thing from either. Shame on me!!!!!

Fortunately, the KJ Wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge has forced me to rectify this. There was no great difficulty in deciding what I would make - char siu bau (or pork buns to most of us). I am a nibbler by nature. My perfect eating habitat is having lots of different little dishes to choose from. I was born for yum cha.

The first step to Char Siu Bau is Char Siu (barbecued) Pork. I kinda wish I could infuse the whole process with the mystery of the orient, by making it out to be all complex and mysterious and hard. But really, there is nothing easier. It's just a question of mixing up the marinade and leaving the pork overnight so you end up with this.

And then roasting in the oven so you end up with this.

The recipe suggests pork shoulder. I used pork neck which was on special at the butchers. I had to cook it a bit longer than the recipe specified to get it done. But that's hardly mystical - I have a dodgy oven.

Next, came the dough. Again, there is nothing different here to most other yeast doughs. Just mix some basic ingredients together and leave to rise. Perhaps the only difference is that the dough is activated by kneading in baking powder as the last step.

This dough is fabulous to work with. It is lovely and soft and pillowy.

While the dough was rising I converted the cha sui pork into filling for the buns. The pork is diced and mixed with some oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar and rice wine. It literally took all of five minutes.

I ended up doubling the amount of filling suggested in the recipe. I rolled my dough quite thinly so I could fit much more into each bun.

Now it was just a question of rolling out little circles of dough and adding some filling. The dough is gathered up over the top and pressed together to seal.

To be authentic they should be cooked in bamboo steamers over a wok. As I do not own bamboo steamers or a wok, I used a metal steamer over a stockpot. It worked just fine.

I steamed them seam side down to form little smooth balls.

And was all this effort worth it. Oh yes!!! Oh my, YES!! They were fantastic. Incredibly tasty and delicious. My neighbours came over and we scoffed the lot in one sitting. I was ever so delighted with how they came out.

I still have a couple of strips of pork tucked away in my freezer, so these buns will be making a reapparance in my kitchen soon.

Char Siu Pork
(adapted from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen)

1.1kg of boneless pork shoulder

marinade

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbspn sugar
1/2 tspn chinese five spice powder
3 tbspn hoisin sauce
2 tbpn honey
1 1/2 tbspn shaoing rice wine or dry sherry
2 tbpsn light soy sauce
1 tbspn dark soy sauce
2 tspn sesame oil

Cut the pork into strips about 15cm long and about 5 cm thick.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the pork and coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours, turning 2-3 times.

Remove the pork from the fridge about 45 minutes before you wish to begin cooking. Place a rack in the top third of the oven and heat to 250C.

Line a roasting tray with alfoil and add a roasting rack. Put the pork on the rack with plenty of space in between each piece.

Roast the pork in the oven, basting with the marinade every ten minutes. To do this, roll the pork in the marinade using tongs.

The recipe suggests:

The pork is done when it looks glazed and charred. It should register about 63C on a meat themometer. This should take about 30-35 minutes.

My experience:

The pork was still very rare at this stage. I cooked it for about 50 minutes, at which point it was cooked but ever so slightly pink.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes to seal in the juices. Thinly slice the pork and serve warm or at room temperature.

It can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Basic Yeast Dough
(adapted from A Little Taste of China)

3 tbspn sugar
250ml of warm water
1 1/2 tspn dried yeast
400gm of plain flour
2 tbspn oil
1 1/2 tspn baking powder

Dissolve the sugar in the water and add the yeast. Stir lightly and then set aside for ten minutes, until foamy.

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the yeast mixture and the oil. Mix to a rough dough and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 8-10 minutes or until the dough is light and elastic.

Lightly coat the dough in oil and place in a bowl. Leave to rise for about 3 hours.

Punch the dough down. At this stage it can be stored in the refrigerator for later use.

To use the dough, make a well in the centre and add the baking powder. Knead the dough until it is well incorporated.

Char Siu Bau
(adapted from A Little Taste of China)

1 tspn oil
250gm char siu pork, diced
3 tspn shaoxing rice wine
1 tspn sesame oil
2 tbspn oyster sauce
2 tspn light soy sauce
2 tspn sugar
1 qnty of basic yeast dough

Heat the oil. Add the pork, wine, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar and cook for 1 minute.

Divide the dough into 12 or 24 pieces depending on how big you want your buns. Roll the dough into circles with the edges thinner than the middle.

For small buns, place 1-2 tspn of filling into the centre of the dough circle. For big buns, use 3-4 tspns. Use as much filling as you can comfortably manage. Pinch the top together and ensure they are well sealed.

Place the buns into a steamer lined with greaseproof paper. Cover and steam over simmering water for about 15 minutes. The buns should be well risen and skewer inserted into the centre should come out hot.

KJ Wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge Quarterly Review

2008-06-09T18:39:00.002+10:00

As you may or may not know, on 1 March this year I made a resolution. I would not buy a single new cookbook until I made at least one recipe from every cookbook I already own. All 52 of them. If I am good, I can buy myself a new mixer.

I have my heart set on a Kitchen Aid. It's going to be pistachio green. And I will hug it and squeeze it and call it George.

Anyway, having hit the quarter way mark I thought it was time for a recap. So far this challenge has been fantastic. It has forced me to try new things, instead of just making endless cakes and ice creams. I am particularly pleased that I have blogged some savoury dishes. I always find these far more challenging than baking. So it is particularly satisfying when they come out well.

The highlight so far has definitely been the Plums in Marsala I made back in March. These were simply divine. This would be closely followed by the Water Pastry. I was delighted with the way this came out.

And a big thanks to everyone who has left such kind and encouraging comments. I am simply delighted that anyone visits my blog and I love feedback.

Here is a brief overview.

Challenge Book #1 - Toasted Coconut Ice Cream and Pear Caramel Ice Cream adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.

Delicious and delicious. I seriously doubt that there is a less than delectable recipe in this book.

Challenge Book #2 - Plums in Marsala adapted from How to Cook Book One by Delia Smith.

An eventful experience, with oven doors flying open all over the place. But oh so so worth it. DIVINE!

Challenge Book #3 - Rocky Road Ice Cream adapted from Iced.

Fun to make and fun to eat.

Challenge Book #4 - Coconut Lemon Twinkies adapted from The Sweet Spot by Pichet Ong.

They looked good and they tasted good.

Challenge Book #5 - Italian Stallion adapted from Simply Simpatico by the Junior League of Alburquerque.

Blokey food at its best.

Challenge Book #6 - Water Pastry, Kofte and Pilaf adapted from Turkish Cookery by Inci Kut.

Delicious!!! I was so excited that this came out so well.

Challenge Book #7 - Membrillo adapted from Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander.

There were a few issues - namely its tendency to burn. But it was a great result.

Challenge Book #8 - Quince Yeast Cake adapted from Maggie's Table by Maggie Beer.

Not a great success, but I can see the potential.

Challenge Book #9 - Pot Roasted Quinces adapted from Maggie's Harvest by Maggie Beer.
Again not a total success, as the jelly didn't set. But it was still a delight to eat.

Challenge Book #10 - Plum and Cinnamon Oat Slice adapted from How to Cook Book Two by Delia Smith.

Loved the plummy jam filling.

Challenge Book #11 & #12 - Ice Cream Sundae adapted from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros and Family Circle's Classic Essential Chocolate.

A traditional favourite. Simplicity at its best.

Challenge Book #13 - Chicken Leek Pie adapted from Family Circle's Classic Essential Pies.

Hard to go wrong here - with puff pastry, chicken, bacon, leeks and cream.

As for Challenge Book #14, here is a sneak peek. Stay tuned.

Challenge Book #13 - Chicken Leek Pie

2008-06-05T17:35:00.001+10:00

I cannot resist puff pastry. It's just so good. It's all golden, crispy and buttery. Wrap it around an old sock and I would still try to eat it.

So it was a foregone conclusion that I would like this chicken leek pie.

Fortunately, the filling is worthy of praise in its own right. But really, how can you go wrong with chicken, leeks, bacon, cream and a lash of seasoning. I was always going to like that as well.

And it's dead easy to pull together. And it looks nice. So really, it's an all around foolproof winner.

And here I am at Challenge Book #13. Woohoo, I am motoring along. This one is Classic Essential Pies from the Family Circle collection. Yet another one of those little books that sit so invitingly at supermarket checkouts. While I've owned this book for many, many years, I've only ever made one other recipe from it. So it's about time I made some use of it.

Chicken Leek Pie
(adapted from Family Circle Classic Essential Pies)

30gm butter
2 small leeks, whites only
3 rashers bacon
3 chicken breast fillets
1/2 cup cream
2 egg yolks
salt and pepper
2 sheets of puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Thinly slice the leeks, dice the bacon and cut the chicken breasts into thin strips.

Melt the butter in a fry pan, and saute the leeks over a low-medium heat for about 10minutes. They should be very soft and golden. Spoon from the pan and set aside.

Fry the bacon until brown. Spoon from the pan and set aside.

Add the chicken and cook until lightly brown. Remove from the pan.

Wipe the pan clean. Return the bacon, chicken and leeks. Add the combined cream and eggs. Cook gently for about two minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

Cut thin strips from around the edge of one pastry sheet. Place the sheet on a lightly greased oven tray. Spoon on the chicken mix, leaving a border (about 2cm) all around the edge.

Brush the edge of pastry sheet with water and then lay the second pastry sheet over the top. Brush the edges with water and then roll them back over toward the middle of the pie and tightly seal. You can decorate with the cut strips of pastry.

Prick the pastry with a fork and brush with the beaten egg.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown in a 210C oven.

Challenge Books #11 & 12 - Ice Cream Sundae

2008-05-31T16:15:00.001+10:00

Simple things are always the best. Yes, yes, it's a cliche. But it's true, nonetheless.

At least it is when it comes to this dessert. A scoop of dense creamy vanilla ice cream and super thick rich chocolate sauce topped with chopped nuts. That's it. Perfection!!!

I discovered this ice cream in Tessa Kiros's Falling Cloudberries a couple of years ago. Tessa says 'this is not one of those nouvelle vanilla ice creams - it is dense, rich and very country style'. I could not have put it better. There is nothing airy fairy about this ice cream.

I have been making it pretty much constantly ever since that day of discovery. It can always be found in my freezer.

But it never lasts very long.

Falling Cloudberries is Challenge Book #11 in the KJ Wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge. This is where I have to make a recipe from every single cook book I own before I can buy any new ones. If I am a good girl, I can buy myself a new mixer.

Falling Cloudberries is a gorgeous book. I love the family stories she has entwined through the recipes. What an interesting life she has had.

A warning though, this ice cream contains raw eggs. Which is not for everyone.

Vanilla Ice Cream
(adapted from Falling Cloudberries)

4 egg yolks
1 tspn vanilla extract
300gm sweetened condensed milk
500 ml thick cream

Whisk together the yolks and the vanilla. Whisk in the condensed milk.

Whip the cream to soft peaks. Mix in the yolk mixture.

Refrigerate until cold. Churn in an ice cream maker.

The chocolate sauce recipe is from Challenge Book #12 - the Family Circle Classic Essential Chocolate. I have a whole stack of these little books. They are sold at supermarket checkouts, cost just a few dollars, in other words impossible to resist.

Chocolate Sauce
(adapted from Family Circle's Classic Essential Chocolate)

100gm dark chocolate, chopped
100gm unsalted butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
300ml cream
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Combine the butter, sugar, cream and cocoa powder in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer, stirring, for two minutes.

Strain the mixture over the chopped chocolate and leave for 2 minutes. Stir until melted and smooth.

Daring Bakers - Opera Cake

2008-05-28T00:05:00.001+10:00

Give me a D, give me an A, give me an ..... oh never mind. Yes, it's Daring Baker time again. Be prepared to be inundated by opera cakes. Don't fight it people. There's no escape. They're everywheeerreeee!!

When I saw this month's challenge I couldn't help but wonder just how many, if any, operas feature cake. Are there any arias devoted to pflaumenkuchen? An arietta in praise of madelines?

The computor says nooooooooo.

The closest I could get was a song called 'Opera Singer' by the band Cake. It goes a little something like this - I am an opera singer, I stand on painted tape, It tells me where I'm going, And where to throw my cake ... ooops.... cape. Eat your heart out Mozart!

So what about my opera cake? Well, first of all I had to choose the flavour. The stipulation from the hosts was that the cake must be light coloured. So I went for rose syrup and pistachio buttercream. I wish I had some deep and meaningful inspirational reason for choosing this. But no, it was the first thing that popped into my head and I just went with it. Sorry.

Now comes the making of. Well, it was quite a long and eventful experience.

First of the all the cake. It all went very smoothly, right up until I popped it in the oven. As I stood there patting myself on the back for a job well done, I spotted a little bowl of melted butter going all 'what about me' on the kitchen bench. Dooooh!!! I yanked the tin straight back out of the oven. Poured the batter back into a bowl. Mixed in the butter. Washed and relined the tin and shoved it all back into the oven. Crossed fingers and wished on a star. Amazingly, it came out again all risen and golden and spongy and cake like.

Next, the buttercream. I melted and beat and whipped. Runny goo. Delicious runny goo, but utterly useless. So I started from scratch and somehow, someway ended up with lovely, light fluffly buttercream. Don't ask me how. I was just along for the ride.

Followed by the white chocolate mousse. Clumpy curdled mess. Not delicious and equally as useless. This was no mystery. It was not a good idea to try to whisk the cream and melted chocolate together. Starting again, I mixed ever so gently and ended up with lovely light mousse.

I pushed my luck to the limit and went for the glaze. In a stunning upset, I actually managed this one first go. Haaa!

Pulled all together it looked like this.

And how did it taste. Well it was very nice. Everyone enjoyed it. But to be honest, it was not quite nice enough to justify the effort all over again. I am glad I tried it, but you can't win them all.

Thanks to this month's hosts Ivonne, Lis, Fran and Shea for a great challenge. Please visit the Daring Baker Blogroll to see what my fellow Daring Baker's have created. If you are interested in the recipe, you can find it here. If it's not there yet it soon will be.