We had a picnic this evening at the Zoo, all part of a work family night thing. There was an Abba cover band playing - Babba - and it was quite an enjoyable evening (despite the constant drizzle and eventual rain storm). I had thought about making a potato salad but Ant doesn't really like it (he eats mine but only out of kindness). I had a recipe for an asian noodle salad but thought that might be a bit messy to try and eat sitting on a picnic blanket. Inspiration struck when we were in Tasmania, when we were out for lunch. On the specials board was a "chicken, cheddar and chives quiche" - light bulb moment ahoy.
So, I made a variation on this for our picnic. Anthony said it was one of the best quiches he'd ever eaten, but I think he is biased. I have to say I really enjoyed it too - it was somewhere between a quiche and an eggy tart and the flavors mixed together nicely. I substituted caramelised onions for the chives and I used the breast meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken...so a lot of the hard work was already done. I made the pastry myself (and the recipe I use is Maggie Beer's classic and it is surpisingly easy and infinitely tastier than store bought pastry).
Pastry:
Ingredients
125 grams plain flour
100 grams chilled butter
65 mls sour cream (approximately)
Method
Chop all the butter into small cubes. Weigh flour and put into mixer. Blend flour and butter until it resembles a large breadcrumb consistency.
Add sour cream and process until it starts coming together.
Turn onto a floured bench and pull together with your hands into a rounded shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes before rolling out and lining your tin.
Blind bake at 200C for 10 minutes. Remove the baking paper and weights, and bake for a further 5 minutes.
NOTE: When lining the tin, have the pastry come up high as the pastry will shrink. This pie crust works great for savory dishes but also works really well in sweet pies too. This makes enough for one crust, double recipe for a two crust pie.
Filling:
Ingredients
2 x rotisserie chicken breasts, chopped in 1 cm chunks (we had the rest of the chicken for lunch, so no waste!)
125 grams sharp crumbly cheddar, crumbled
50 grams medium sharp American cheddar (orange cheese)
1/2 cup caramelised onions (from my crockpot recipe)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cream
fresh ground pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste
pinch of sugar
Method
Layer cheddar and chicken in the bottom of the baked pastry shell. Spread onions out on the top of the cheese and chicken.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a small pinch of sugar to the egg mixture and whisk one final time.
Pour egg mixture into the pastry shell. Bake for 15 minutes on 200C, then turn the oven down to 160C and bake for a further 30 minutes. The top of the quiche should be golden brown - depending on your oven this could take another 10 minutes or so. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Cheddar Cheese Risotto
So this is a third hand recipe, but the source is the patron saint of comfort food - Nigella herself. When trying to describe this culinary exploit to a friend, I described it as "mac & cheese for grown ups". I don't think this is an unfair summary, and it was certainly delicious and and very much in the comfort food category. I've adapted it a bit further again even from the original and my derived source, but I was certainly really happy with it.
Risottos are a bit of a pain in the butt to make - in that, like a child, they demand your full attention or destruction ensues. That said, the flavor of a properly made risotto makes up for this 20 - 30 minutes of focused attention.
This recipe actually only has a cup of cheese in it across four good sized portions - so not too bad in the health stakes but I wouldn't call it "everyday" food. Make sure you use arborio rice - there isn't really a good substitute for this when making a risotto. And of course, the chicken broth should be a good one. I don't always have home made on hand, but find a nice broth that is full of flavor and not too salty. It's also really important that the broth be heated - don't take a shortcut and avoid this or the whole cooking process can go a bit awry.
Ingredients:
Risottos are a bit of a pain in the butt to make - in that, like a child, they demand your full attention or destruction ensues. That said, the flavor of a properly made risotto makes up for this 20 - 30 minutes of focused attention.
This recipe actually only has a cup of cheese in it across four good sized portions - so not too bad in the health stakes but I wouldn't call it "everyday" food. Make sure you use arborio rice - there isn't really a good substitute for this when making a risotto. And of course, the chicken broth should be a good one. I don't always have home made on hand, but find a nice broth that is full of flavor and not too salty. It's also really important that the broth be heated - don't take a shortcut and avoid this or the whole cooking process can go a bit awry.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
300 grams (10 oz) arborio rice
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
300 grams (10 oz) arborio rice
125 ml (1/2 cup) white wine
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 liter (4 cups) chicken stock, heated
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 liter (4 cups) chicken stock, heated
200 grams (7 oz) cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
3 T chopped chives
3 T chopped chives
1/4 cup bread crumbs (preferably panko)
Method:
Melt the butter in an oven proof pan, add oil and onions. Cook, stirring, until onions are clear and beginning to brown.
Add rice, stir thoroughly so that each grain of rice is coated in butter and oil. Then add wine and mustard, and cook until wine has been absorbed by rice. Add stock, 1/2 c. at a time, stirring until the stock is absorbed by rice.
Add about 3/4 of the chopped cheddar and stir until the cheddar is melted.
Top with bread crumbs and remaining cheese and pop in the oven to bake at 200C/400F until the cheese is bubbly. Serve topped with chives.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Current Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes
My slow cooker is slowly becoming one of my favorite kitchen tools. At the moment I am using my slow cooker to caramelise onions - thanks to some tips from http://www.savour-fare.com/ (my current favorite foodie blog). I have been using caramelised onions in everything - but my favorite (and least healthy) use is in home made French onion dip.
Ingredients:
3 to 4 large onions, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
large pinch of sea salt
2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
additional salt to taste
Method:
Place onions, olive oil, melted butter and pinch of salt into your slow cooker, and stir to coat. Cook on high for 10 - 12 hours, or until onions are deep caramel brown. I find that I need to stir the onions every few hours - when I have left them unattended they get more brown around the edges and not brown enough in the middle section of the slow cooker. This could just be my slow cooker, but the first time you make these...keep an eye on them and learn how your slow cooker works.
Once the onions are all a rich brown, turn off the slow cooker and drain all of the cooking liquid off the onions. Mix the sour cream and mayonnaise together in a bowl, and add onions to taste. I like to use LOTS of onions in my dip, but everyone is different so add to your heart's content. Taste the dip, and add some sea salt (have I mentioned that I love the Maldon sea salt flakes? I highly recommend them) to your desired level of saltiness. Just remember, you're likely to be eating this on salty chips - so don't go overboard. Also there's enough fat in here to cause a coronary...no need to up your sodium levels to guarantee it!
Refrigerate the dip for a couple of hours before serving, it will thicken up in the fridge.
Any leftover onions should go in the fridge - you can pop them in a meatloaf, add to home made pizza or put on hamburgers. These onions are amazing, and in the slow cooker they are just soooo easy.
In addition to my love of my slow cooker, I also really love Costco. Our local Costco has an amazing butcher, so we get some great value meats but in bulk. I recently got a batch of boneless beef short ribs that were lovely and was trying to figure out what to do with them. I watched an episode of Giada at Home and got inspired to make this dish in my slow cooker - slow roasted beef short ribs in a red wine and roma tomato sauce served with penne rigate.
Ingredients:
1 kilo (2 pounds) boneless beef short ribs
drizzle of olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground pepper (to taste)
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 cans whole roma tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup beef broth
500 grams (1 pound) penne pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Method:
In a heavy pan, sear the boneless short ribs in a drizzle of olive oil. Lightly season them with sea salt and freshly ground pepper while searing. Remove the ribs and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions go translucent. Make sure not to burn the garlic, add a bit later than the onions if you are worried. Tip the onions and garlic into the slow cooker over the top of the beef, evenly spread.
Add the tomatoes, wine, beef broth and mustard to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a stick blender, puree the liquid in the slow cooker. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat - the goal of this is to reduce the liquid a bit. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces and stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, and ladle sauce over the cooked pasta. Serve with some freshly grated parmesan.
I also find some sort of bread accompaniment is helpful to sop up any remaining juices in your bowl.
Ingredients:
3 to 4 large onions, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
large pinch of sea salt
2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
additional salt to taste
Method:
Place onions, olive oil, melted butter and pinch of salt into your slow cooker, and stir to coat. Cook on high for 10 - 12 hours, or until onions are deep caramel brown. I find that I need to stir the onions every few hours - when I have left them unattended they get more brown around the edges and not brown enough in the middle section of the slow cooker. This could just be my slow cooker, but the first time you make these...keep an eye on them and learn how your slow cooker works.
Once the onions are all a rich brown, turn off the slow cooker and drain all of the cooking liquid off the onions. Mix the sour cream and mayonnaise together in a bowl, and add onions to taste. I like to use LOTS of onions in my dip, but everyone is different so add to your heart's content. Taste the dip, and add some sea salt (have I mentioned that I love the Maldon sea salt flakes? I highly recommend them) to your desired level of saltiness. Just remember, you're likely to be eating this on salty chips - so don't go overboard. Also there's enough fat in here to cause a coronary...no need to up your sodium levels to guarantee it!
Refrigerate the dip for a couple of hours before serving, it will thicken up in the fridge.
Any leftover onions should go in the fridge - you can pop them in a meatloaf, add to home made pizza or put on hamburgers. These onions are amazing, and in the slow cooker they are just soooo easy.
In addition to my love of my slow cooker, I also really love Costco. Our local Costco has an amazing butcher, so we get some great value meats but in bulk. I recently got a batch of boneless beef short ribs that were lovely and was trying to figure out what to do with them. I watched an episode of Giada at Home and got inspired to make this dish in my slow cooker - slow roasted beef short ribs in a red wine and roma tomato sauce served with penne rigate.
Ingredients:
1 kilo (2 pounds) boneless beef short ribs
drizzle of olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground pepper (to taste)
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 cans whole roma tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup beef broth
500 grams (1 pound) penne pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Method:
In a heavy pan, sear the boneless short ribs in a drizzle of olive oil. Lightly season them with sea salt and freshly ground pepper while searing. Remove the ribs and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions go translucent. Make sure not to burn the garlic, add a bit later than the onions if you are worried. Tip the onions and garlic into the slow cooker over the top of the beef, evenly spread.
Add the tomatoes, wine, beef broth and mustard to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a stick blender, puree the liquid in the slow cooker. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat - the goal of this is to reduce the liquid a bit. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces and stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, and ladle sauce over the cooked pasta. Serve with some freshly grated parmesan.
I also find some sort of bread accompaniment is helpful to sop up any remaining juices in your bowl.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Quick Dinner - Slow Roasted Flavor
We had a long weekend away, and got home with not too much time for cooking dinner. I wanted to make something relatively healthy...quick and full of flavor. Quick was very important. Full of flavor is always a must. The result is this recipe - Roast Curry Chicken & Vegetables.
Ingredients:
750 grams peeled sweet potato cut into 1 inch cubes
3 small peeled red onions with root and stem ends removed, and cut into wedges
1/2 cup canola oil, divided
Salt and pepper
200 mls plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
750 grams skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Roti or Naan, for serving
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 C.
Combine the ginger, garlic, curry powder, yogurt and 1/4 cup of oil and stir to mix. Toss the chicken in the yogurt mixture and let marinate while peeling, chopping and generally sorting out the veggies.
Toss the sweet potato and onion in 1/4 cup of the oil. Spread out in a 9 x 13 inch pan lined with foil, and season generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables.
Roast for about an hour, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is browned. Serve with roti or naan.
Ingredients:
750 grams peeled sweet potato cut into 1 inch cubes
3 small peeled red onions with root and stem ends removed, and cut into wedges
1/2 cup canola oil, divided
Salt and pepper
200 mls plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
750 grams skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Roti or Naan, for serving
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 C.
Combine the ginger, garlic, curry powder, yogurt and 1/4 cup of oil and stir to mix. Toss the chicken in the yogurt mixture and let marinate while peeling, chopping and generally sorting out the veggies.
Toss the sweet potato and onion in 1/4 cup of the oil. Spread out in a 9 x 13 inch pan lined with foil, and season generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables.
Roast for about an hour, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is browned. Serve with roti or naan.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Moorilla, MONA & The Source Restaurant
Should you find yourself in Hobart Tasmania, I can heartily recommend a meal at "The Source Restaurant". The restaurant is part of the Moorilla winery complex, which also now includes the re-designed Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). http://www.moorilla.com.au/
My meal was great - not quite "Vue due Monde" great, but lovely nonetheless.
I had a starter of onion veloute with a parmesan mousse and an onion caramel. I can't do this dish justice by trying to describe it...it was by far the best course of the meal for me and the flavors were superlative.
For my main, it was spatchcock with a layer of truffle under the crispy skin, truffled cabbage, and a truffled sauce. Truffle overload, but in the best possible way. Also on the plate was the chef's play on an "egg sandwich" which was an egg yolk served between two thin croutons. The spatchcock was lovely, the cabbage was even surprisingly nice...the truffled sauce made the whole dish. I'll confess the egg yolk grossed me out - I loved the idea of it, but when I bit into it the texture was...let's just say "off putting".
Dessert was a "chocolate and praline" bar. A simple mousse of hazelnuts layered with a light chocolate mousse, placed on top of a hazelnut praline - all coated in chocolate.
Service was great, and Anthony throws in a solid recommendation for their microbrew - he tried a bottle of their Moo Brew Pale Ale and said it was one of the best beers he's ever tried.
All up, a great day. The Museum is certainly worth a look too!
My meal was great - not quite "Vue due Monde" great, but lovely nonetheless.
I had a starter of onion veloute with a parmesan mousse and an onion caramel. I can't do this dish justice by trying to describe it...it was by far the best course of the meal for me and the flavors were superlative.
For my main, it was spatchcock with a layer of truffle under the crispy skin, truffled cabbage, and a truffled sauce. Truffle overload, but in the best possible way. Also on the plate was the chef's play on an "egg sandwich" which was an egg yolk served between two thin croutons. The spatchcock was lovely, the cabbage was even surprisingly nice...the truffled sauce made the whole dish. I'll confess the egg yolk grossed me out - I loved the idea of it, but when I bit into it the texture was...let's just say "off putting".
Dessert was a "chocolate and praline" bar. A simple mousse of hazelnuts layered with a light chocolate mousse, placed on top of a hazelnut praline - all coated in chocolate.
Service was great, and Anthony throws in a solid recommendation for their microbrew - he tried a bottle of their Moo Brew Pale Ale and said it was one of the best beers he's ever tried.
All up, a great day. The Museum is certainly worth a look too!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
While on the subject of perfection...
Brownies. I know there are theories about who invented them, what cooking mishap they resulted from...noise noise blah blah CHOCOLATE.
When you want a chocolate hit...when your day sucked...when you want to pamper a friend (and sometimes that friend is yourself)...Brownies are the answer. I've been known for my brownies for a long time - I make a mean brownie. There are two schools of thought regarding brownies - cakey (wrong) and chewy (right). I feel like I finally perfected my recipe with this recipe, and am thankful to all the other bakers whose ideas I took a little of here and there. These might not be perfect for you, but they sure are for me.
I tend to weigh the ingredients that are listed as weights, and use cup measures for those that call for cups. I'm quirky that way.
Ingredients:
• 300 g (10.5 ounces) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 150 grams (5.5 ounces) unsalted butter
• 175 grams (6 ounces) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) white chocolate chips or chunks
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) milk chocolate chunks
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160 C (320F) and grease and line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl resting over a pot of barely simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring gently. (Don't be tempted to do this in the microwave...the chocolate and butter melt in different times and it is worth taking this one slowly) Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla.
3. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour and salt. Fold in white and milk chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre of the brownies comes out clean. Cool before slicing.
Again, a nice big glass of milk is a good companion for these. Happy baking!
When you want a chocolate hit...when your day sucked...when you want to pamper a friend (and sometimes that friend is yourself)...Brownies are the answer. I've been known for my brownies for a long time - I make a mean brownie. There are two schools of thought regarding brownies - cakey (wrong) and chewy (right). I feel like I finally perfected my recipe with this recipe, and am thankful to all the other bakers whose ideas I took a little of here and there. These might not be perfect for you, but they sure are for me.
I tend to weigh the ingredients that are listed as weights, and use cup measures for those that call for cups. I'm quirky that way.
Ingredients:
• 300 g (10.5 ounces) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 150 grams (5.5 ounces) unsalted butter
• 175 grams (6 ounces) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) white chocolate chips or chunks
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) milk chocolate chunks
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160 C (320F) and grease and line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl resting over a pot of barely simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring gently. (Don't be tempted to do this in the microwave...the chocolate and butter melt in different times and it is worth taking this one slowly) Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla.
3. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour and salt. Fold in white and milk chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre of the brownies comes out clean. Cool before slicing.
Again, a nice big glass of milk is a good companion for these. Happy baking!
Chocolate Chip Cookies - Perfected?
So baking will be a continuous theme here - I love (a little too much) baked goods. I am forever striving to perfect some of my key recipes...and chocolate chip cookies are an all time comfort food. I think I may have perfected these, at least for my tastes. Give them a go...they are surprisingly easy and if, like me, you always forget to soften your butter when making cookies these are for you!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
250 grams salted butter (I use Danish butter) - for Americans this is two sticks
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
350 grams semi sweet chocolate chips (12 ounces)
Sea salt, for garnish (I use Maldon sea salt)
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350F). While the oven is preheating, melt your butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it goes nutty and a bit golden brown.
Pour butter into a large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and white sugar to the melted butter, and mix until the sugars are thoroughly combined and the butter is incorporated. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
Add flour, baking soda and salt, and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated. Add chocolate chips, and stir until they’re evenly distributed throughout the batter.Refrigerate the dough until it is firm enough to scoop, about twenty minutes.
On a large, non-stick cookie sheet drop spoonfuls of the dough about the size of a walnut. Sprinkle each bit of dough with a tiny sprinkle of sea salt.
Bake for about 9 minutes. The cookies may still be soft in the middle. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, then transfer to a rack.
Eat and enjoy. A glass of milk makes a nice accompaniment.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
250 grams salted butter (I use Danish butter) - for Americans this is two sticks
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
350 grams semi sweet chocolate chips (12 ounces)
Sea salt, for garnish (I use Maldon sea salt)
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350F). While the oven is preheating, melt your butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it goes nutty and a bit golden brown.
Pour butter into a large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and white sugar to the melted butter, and mix until the sugars are thoroughly combined and the butter is incorporated. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
Add flour, baking soda and salt, and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated. Add chocolate chips, and stir until they’re evenly distributed throughout the batter.Refrigerate the dough until it is firm enough to scoop, about twenty minutes.
On a large, non-stick cookie sheet drop spoonfuls of the dough about the size of a walnut. Sprinkle each bit of dough with a tiny sprinkle of sea salt.
Bake for about 9 minutes. The cookies may still be soft in the middle. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, then transfer to a rack.
Eat and enjoy. A glass of milk makes a nice accompaniment.
French Dinner Party
After a lovely trip to France, my husband Anthony and I wanted to start a gastronomic dinner club. We have two friend couples who both love to cook and (even more importantly) eat and they were intrigued by the idea. And thus the Dinner Party was born! Each couple would bring either an entree, main course or dessert and we agreed to follow a theme for each dinner. The first dinner theme was French.
Anthony and I were lucky enough to snag the dessert course for our first dinner party.
The entree for our meal was extraordinary - our friend Euan outdid himself with a seven course amuse bouche starter. We started with an aperitif of champagne, then a mouthful of corn & garlic soup served in a shot glass. Beautifully presented on a platter were four more courses - a salmon sliver served with a champagne sauce, a quail egg cooked in a brioche slice, steak tartare, and an onion tart with a goat's cheese foam. The "final" course of our entree was a champagne jelly. Truly an amazing start to the meal.
The main was a flavour packed cassoulet - tender duck and spicy sausages slow cooked with white beans and herbs. Filled with different flavours, it was a traditional country dish that we all loved. Served with this was a salad with roasted beetroot and orange segments. Delightful!
Our dessert was a three course feast. We started with some beautiful cheeses from the French stand at the Queen Victoria Market - a triple cream brie, a raclette and a triple cream blue. We served these with toasted hazelnuts and dried pear halves, all accompanied by a beautiful Sauterne wine.
Second course was a dark chocolate tart served with Cointreau poached black cherries. Now is the time for recipes.
Pastry:
225g plain flour
125g chilled butter, chopped
60g powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tbs chilled water
Method:
Place the flour, butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and water, and process until the dough just starts to come together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 4mm-thick disc. Line a round 3cm-deep 23cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry. Trim excess. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
It is incredibly important to let the pastry rest or it will shrink when it bakes.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with pastry weights or rice. Place on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights or rice. Bake for 10 minutes or until crisp.
Tart Filling:
150g good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
185ml thickened cream
1 tbs cocoa powder
2 eggs, lightly whisked
Method:
Reduce oven temperature to 180C. Place the chocolate, cream and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add the egg. Whisk until just combined. Pour into the pastry case. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Set aside for 3-4 hours to cool.
Cherries:
60ml (1/4 cup) Cointreau liqueur
60ml (1/4 cup) water
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
800g fresh cherries, pitted
Method:
Place the Cointreau, water and caster sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Add the cherries and cook, stirring, for 5-8 minutes or until the cherries soften and the syrup thickens slightly. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cherries to a container. Let the remaining syrup reduce to half its volume.
Serve the sliced tart with cherries and a drizzle of the Cointreau syrup.
The tart is delicious - rich but not overwhelming. Also it didn't travel very well to dinner...and I was not happy with how it presented. Fortunately we ate it by candlelight so I didn't get a lot of complaints, but I knew it didn't look perfect. Be gentle with it is the message here - the crust is light and flaky and oh so fragile. Also, it melts in your mouth. Yum.
For our final course we made a trio of sorbets - apple, lemon and raspberry. For the apple sorbet, I just juiced some pink lady apples and added some lemon juice - then put it in the ice cream freezer. To be honest, I was quite disappointed in the apple sorbet. The texture was too icy - I think it required some sugar syrup and if I were to do this again I would definitely do it differently. The other two sorbets were delicious, and came out exactly as I intended.
Lemon Sorbet:
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
1 T lemon peel, grated
Raspberry Sorbet:
500gr raspberries
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups sugar
Method:
In a food processor blend raspberries to a purée with the lemon and orange juice and sugar. Strain to discard raspberry seeds.Freeze according to ice cream maker instructions and then allow to firm up in the freezer for about 2 hours.
If I perfect my apple sorbet, I promise to share the recipe.
The dinner party itself, whilst full of great food and good friends, had a few surprise bonuses that I didn't anticipate. Firstly, it was all much more chilled out than I had thought it would be. Because the stress of the dinner party was shared across three couples, no one actually really got stressed. It also was great to see people being creative with food.
Our next dinner party theme is "finger food". I'm wracking my brains for a good menu - we are going to be doing the main course. I'm thinking of a sort of "retro" fingerfood approach...but haven't yet settled on a final menu. Suggestions welcomed!
Anthony and I were lucky enough to snag the dessert course for our first dinner party.
The entree for our meal was extraordinary - our friend Euan outdid himself with a seven course amuse bouche starter. We started with an aperitif of champagne, then a mouthful of corn & garlic soup served in a shot glass. Beautifully presented on a platter were four more courses - a salmon sliver served with a champagne sauce, a quail egg cooked in a brioche slice, steak tartare, and an onion tart with a goat's cheese foam. The "final" course of our entree was a champagne jelly. Truly an amazing start to the meal.
The main was a flavour packed cassoulet - tender duck and spicy sausages slow cooked with white beans and herbs. Filled with different flavours, it was a traditional country dish that we all loved. Served with this was a salad with roasted beetroot and orange segments. Delightful!
Our dessert was a three course feast. We started with some beautiful cheeses from the French stand at the Queen Victoria Market - a triple cream brie, a raclette and a triple cream blue. We served these with toasted hazelnuts and dried pear halves, all accompanied by a beautiful Sauterne wine.
Second course was a dark chocolate tart served with Cointreau poached black cherries. Now is the time for recipes.
Pastry:
225g plain flour
125g chilled butter, chopped
60g powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tbs chilled water
Method:
Place the flour, butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and water, and process until the dough just starts to come together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 4mm-thick disc. Line a round 3cm-deep 23cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry. Trim excess. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
It is incredibly important to let the pastry rest or it will shrink when it bakes.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with pastry weights or rice. Place on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights or rice. Bake for 10 minutes or until crisp.
Tart Filling:
150g good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
185ml thickened cream
1 tbs cocoa powder
2 eggs, lightly whisked
Method:
Reduce oven temperature to 180C. Place the chocolate, cream and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add the egg. Whisk until just combined. Pour into the pastry case. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Set aside for 3-4 hours to cool.
Cherries:
60ml (1/4 cup) Cointreau liqueur
60ml (1/4 cup) water
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
800g fresh cherries, pitted
Method:
Place the Cointreau, water and caster sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Add the cherries and cook, stirring, for 5-8 minutes or until the cherries soften and the syrup thickens slightly. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cherries to a container. Let the remaining syrup reduce to half its volume.
Serve the sliced tart with cherries and a drizzle of the Cointreau syrup.
The tart is delicious - rich but not overwhelming. Also it didn't travel very well to dinner...and I was not happy with how it presented. Fortunately we ate it by candlelight so I didn't get a lot of complaints, but I knew it didn't look perfect. Be gentle with it is the message here - the crust is light and flaky and oh so fragile. Also, it melts in your mouth. Yum.
For our final course we made a trio of sorbets - apple, lemon and raspberry. For the apple sorbet, I just juiced some pink lady apples and added some lemon juice - then put it in the ice cream freezer. To be honest, I was quite disappointed in the apple sorbet. The texture was too icy - I think it required some sugar syrup and if I were to do this again I would definitely do it differently. The other two sorbets were delicious, and came out exactly as I intended.
Lemon Sorbet:
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
1 T lemon peel, grated
Method:
In a saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Add lemon juice and peel, and then cool in the fridge. Once it is cool, freeze according to ice cream maker instructions and then allow to firm up in the freezer for about 2 hours.
Raspberry Sorbet:
500gr raspberries
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups sugar
Method:
In a food processor blend raspberries to a purée with the lemon and orange juice and sugar. Strain to discard raspberry seeds.Freeze according to ice cream maker instructions and then allow to firm up in the freezer for about 2 hours.
If I perfect my apple sorbet, I promise to share the recipe.
The dinner party itself, whilst full of great food and good friends, had a few surprise bonuses that I didn't anticipate. Firstly, it was all much more chilled out than I had thought it would be. Because the stress of the dinner party was shared across three couples, no one actually really got stressed. It also was great to see people being creative with food.
Our next dinner party theme is "finger food". I'm wracking my brains for a good menu - we are going to be doing the main course. I'm thinking of a sort of "retro" fingerfood approach...but haven't yet settled on a final menu. Suggestions welcomed!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Beginning
After much pestering from my supportive husband, I'm setting up this blog. My charter is to share my adventures in food creation and enjoyment. I plan to blog about amazing food experiences, both my own and when eating out. I will talk about flavors and smells and what they evoke. It will be personal but hopefully also resonate with others. I promise to include recipes and weblinks and tips and as much details as I can muster.
I haven't mastered photography, so pictures may be a few posts away.
Adventures ahoy!
I haven't mastered photography, so pictures may be a few posts away.
Adventures ahoy!
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