This year has got off to a flying start...11th March already...wow!
I have been on holidays this week with a trip up to the central coast to visit family then some local catch ups with good friends.
My cooking has been a little haphazard this week. Made a creme brulee using the egg yolks I had in the freezer from an earlier pavlova making effort....brulees looked great and the top 3/4 was perfect, but at the bottom was a watery layer...concluded it was a result of the frozen yolks...never had any dramas before.
Also made my friend Gails apple and almond cake but substituted fresh peaches instead of apples...cake baked perfectly but by the time I served it the middle was soft...the moisture from the peaches had made it all gooey...i wasn't too worried...everyone came back for seconds.
We are having left overs tonight...after 2 nights in a row of dinner guests there is bits and pieces of everything left.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Friday, July 22, 2011
One very slack blogger....
Time has flown this year...have done plenty of cooking and bugger all blogging! Apologies.
Today I made the italian beef ragu from the www.taste.com.au website and my kitchen smells incredible.
Also made pasta to go with it...not sure if the texture will be ok...400g flour and 4 eggs and some salt and it was far too dry...added an extra egg yolk and it seemded to be ok but when i put it through the pasta machine it seemed really dry.
I guess I will know tonight when I cook it....fingers crossed!
Today I made the italian beef ragu from the www.taste.com.au website and my kitchen smells incredible.
Also made pasta to go with it...not sure if the texture will be ok...400g flour and 4 eggs and some salt and it was far too dry...added an extra egg yolk and it seemded to be ok but when i put it through the pasta machine it seemed really dry.
I guess I will know tonight when I cook it....fingers crossed!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Cooking slow down
Apologies to all who are following my blog...my cooking has been a little boring lately mainly due to work pressures. Hoping to get back into the swing of things this weekend now that our conference is over for another year.
Port Douglas was lovely but so humid...felt like I sweated bucket loads during the 4 days I was up there. Gorgeous place. Resort was great.
Wild mushroom risotto at Il Pescatore in the Sheraton Mirage at Port Douglas was delicious...so was the dark chocolate panna cotta.
Only saw 1 cane toad in the wild...very disappointed at that as I thought they would be everywhere.
Port Douglas was lovely but so humid...felt like I sweated bucket loads during the 4 days I was up there. Gorgeous place. Resort was great.
Wild mushroom risotto at Il Pescatore in the Sheraton Mirage at Port Douglas was delicious...so was the dark chocolate panna cotta.
Only saw 1 cane toad in the wild...very disappointed at that as I thought they would be everywhere.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
The new Tefal pressure cooker
Santa was kind enough to bring me the new Tefal Minute pressure cooker...being unsure about how they work I was surfing the net looking for good pressure cooker recipes. Ended up finding a slow cooker one that sounded delicious. So tonight I made asian spiced chicken wings in my new pressure cooker in 12 minutes.
What a brilliant piece of cooking gear. 2 kgs of chicken wings, cut into wingettes, browned in the pressure cooker first, then a sauce of soy, diced onion, grated ginger, hoisin, tomato sauce and brown sugar poured over the top and cooked on high pressure for 12 mins.
The end result was tender, falling off the bone, very tasty chicken wings. Only thing I would do different next time is add some chilli and some star anise.
Was not sure if the kids would like them, but there is no left overs!
Bring on the next pressure cooker recipe....
What a brilliant piece of cooking gear. 2 kgs of chicken wings, cut into wingettes, browned in the pressure cooker first, then a sauce of soy, diced onion, grated ginger, hoisin, tomato sauce and brown sugar poured over the top and cooked on high pressure for 12 mins.
The end result was tender, falling off the bone, very tasty chicken wings. Only thing I would do different next time is add some chilli and some star anise.
Was not sure if the kids would like them, but there is no left overs!
Bring on the next pressure cooker recipe....
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Second pasta maker adventure
I decided to venture into the world of ravioli this past weekend...I had a few ideas about fillings but not a lot of confidence in what I had planned. Decided to wing it and it was either going to be a hit or a huge flop.
Made my pasta sheets, made a filling of ricotta, finely diced preserved lemon, egg yolk, salt, pepper and grated parmesan. It took a while to get into the rhythm of making the ravioli but once I got it going it was great. 5 tea bag sized pillows was enough for each adult.
I served them hot and poured over a nut brown butter and fresh mint sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
Delicious but next time I will be more careful with the ravioli...they got a bit sticky and a couple didn't want to come off the plate I had rested them on.
All part of the learning process...
Made my pasta sheets, made a filling of ricotta, finely diced preserved lemon, egg yolk, salt, pepper and grated parmesan. It took a while to get into the rhythm of making the ravioli but once I got it going it was great. 5 tea bag sized pillows was enough for each adult.
I served them hot and poured over a nut brown butter and fresh mint sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
Delicious but next time I will be more careful with the ravioli...they got a bit sticky and a couple didn't want to come off the plate I had rested them on.
All part of the learning process...
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Making pasta using bread machine and manual pasta maker
It was my 40th birthday earlier in the week and Mick kindly bought me an Atlas pasta machine with all the attachments...something I have had my eye on for a long time but didn't want to spend the dollars on one.
So today after visiting the library and spending some time on You tube, I have decided that I am going to make the dough in my breadmaker because I really hate kneeding and the mess it makes.
The recipe I have used is on the packet of italian 00 pasta flour I bought from Woolworths. 500g 00 flour, 5 eggs, 10g salt and 1 tsp olive oil.
It's in the bread maker now and is doing its thing. The dough setting is 1hr and 20 mins so I have also set the kitchen timer for 20mins.
Hopefully at the 20 mins mark I will be able to take the dough out and rest it for an hour or so.
This afternoon I am going to unpack my new toy and make some fettucine. We are going to have it for dinner tonight as carbonara. Carbonara is good because all 4 of us love it!
Also going to make another stromboli to go with it. Made one last night and it was lovely.
Recipe for the stromboli was 350g bakers flour, 200ml water, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of dried yeast. I put this in the breadmaker on dough setting. When that was done I rolled it into a large slab about 5mm thick. Spread this with roasted capsicum, tasty cheese and diced bacon. Rolled the dough into a log, tucking the ends in. I then let it rise for about an hour, cut some slashes in the top and brushed with olive oil. Baked at about 180degC for 30mins. I then turned the oven off and let the stromboli sit in the oven to keep it warm while dinner was cooking.
Cut into slices and serve warm.
Sensational! And tonight going to do with a garlic and cheese filling.
Will do some photos soon and post too!
Dinner is over and the fettucine carbonara was a massive hit! The sauce was just pan fried bacon, eggs, cream and shallots. The bacon fried off then the cooked pasta added to the pan and coated with the bacon fat, then eggs etc then stirred through and the heat turned off.
The above pasta recipe using the 500g of 00 flour is way too much pasta for 4. There is enough left over for 2 people for lunch tomorrow.
I think next time I will make it using 350g flour and 3 eggs. With a more meaty sauce this would be heaps of pasta.
So today after visiting the library and spending some time on You tube, I have decided that I am going to make the dough in my breadmaker because I really hate kneeding and the mess it makes.
The recipe I have used is on the packet of italian 00 pasta flour I bought from Woolworths. 500g 00 flour, 5 eggs, 10g salt and 1 tsp olive oil.
It's in the bread maker now and is doing its thing. The dough setting is 1hr and 20 mins so I have also set the kitchen timer for 20mins.
Hopefully at the 20 mins mark I will be able to take the dough out and rest it for an hour or so.
This afternoon I am going to unpack my new toy and make some fettucine. We are going to have it for dinner tonight as carbonara. Carbonara is good because all 4 of us love it!
Also going to make another stromboli to go with it. Made one last night and it was lovely.
Recipe for the stromboli was 350g bakers flour, 200ml water, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of dried yeast. I put this in the breadmaker on dough setting. When that was done I rolled it into a large slab about 5mm thick. Spread this with roasted capsicum, tasty cheese and diced bacon. Rolled the dough into a log, tucking the ends in. I then let it rise for about an hour, cut some slashes in the top and brushed with olive oil. Baked at about 180degC for 30mins. I then turned the oven off and let the stromboli sit in the oven to keep it warm while dinner was cooking.
Cut into slices and serve warm.
Sensational! And tonight going to do with a garlic and cheese filling.
Will do some photos soon and post too!
Dinner is over and the fettucine carbonara was a massive hit! The sauce was just pan fried bacon, eggs, cream and shallots. The bacon fried off then the cooked pasta added to the pan and coated with the bacon fat, then eggs etc then stirred through and the heat turned off.
The above pasta recipe using the 500g of 00 flour is way too much pasta for 4. There is enough left over for 2 people for lunch tomorrow.
I think next time I will make it using 350g flour and 3 eggs. With a more meaty sauce this would be heaps of pasta.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Beef paprikash
Adapted from the July 2010 BBC Good Food Magazine.
Good slow cooker recipe or just do it in a casserole dish in the oven.
1kg diced beef...chuck or gravy beef, would be nice with lamb chops too.
2 large brown onions, thickly sliced
2 red capsicums, seeded and diced in 2cm pieces
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1.5 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
400g tin tomatoes
400g sliced mushrooms (use the big field ones if you can get them)
Coat meat in flour, shake excess. Brown in pan with a little oil in small batches. bFry off the spices. Put all ingredients in large casserole dish with lid, or your slow cooker. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For slow cooker, cook on high for 4 hours. For oven cook at 150degC for 2 hours.
Serve with brown rice and sour cream, garnish with finely chopped parsley.
Good slow cooker recipe or just do it in a casserole dish in the oven.
1kg diced beef...chuck or gravy beef, would be nice with lamb chops too.
2 large brown onions, thickly sliced
2 red capsicums, seeded and diced in 2cm pieces
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1.5 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
400g tin tomatoes
400g sliced mushrooms (use the big field ones if you can get them)
Coat meat in flour, shake excess. Brown in pan with a little oil in small batches. bFry off the spices. Put all ingredients in large casserole dish with lid, or your slow cooker. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For slow cooker, cook on high for 4 hours. For oven cook at 150degC for 2 hours.
Serve with brown rice and sour cream, garnish with finely chopped parsley.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)