Polpette - Italian meatballs

After having the most magnificant spaghetti and meatballs at the University Cafe, Lygon St, Carlton, I went in search of an italian meatball recipe that recreated, the soft juicy flavourfull meatballs I had there.

Having discovered the secret to soft meatballs is that they are not pan fried, but simmered in a tomato passata instead, I went looking for recipes.  The following one is my adaptation of the Food.com recipe:

Polpette

- 1kg pork and veal mince (or mixture pork and beef)

- 2 eggs

- 1 cup breadcrumbs (fresh)

- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

- 1 tsp oregano

- 1 garlic clove crushed

- 1/2 small onion chopped finely

- tbspn shredded fresh basil leaves

- salt and pepper

- spaghetti sauce (or passata) enough to cover meatballs

Mix all ingredients together, form into meatball the size of golfballs.

Pour sauce in a large saucepan and drop meatballs in.  Simmer on low heat for 1 - 1.5 hours

Pesto prawns on the BBQ

These prawns turned out really well, and according to Finney (prawn aficionado), they didn't overwhelm the flavour of the prawn, and were perfect on the barbeque.

Basil Pesto

1 bunch basil
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup toasted pinenuts
1/3 cup grated strong italian hard cheese - parmigianno or asiago
good pinch salt and ground pepper
1/3 cup good olive oil

Whiz all but olive oil in the food processor into a chunky paste then gradually add olive oil until combined.

Pesto can be used as a dip, fold through cooked pasta or as a marinade for fish, chicken or prawns.

For the prawns, I used 500g green prawn cutlets (ie peeled, cleaned but tail still on) and used about 2/3 of the above pesto to marinate for a couple of hours. Add a glug or two extra olive oil if needed.

BBQ until prawns are cooked. Voila

Rrrraspberry Crrrreme Crrrrrush aka Raspberrry Meringue Trifle

I had to come up with a kid friendly summer dessert so decided to invent a triffly-like pudding (everyone like trifle right?) with meringue and raspberry. 

Was pretty happy with the result and let Jack and Mali have naming rights. They collectively settled on 'Raspberry Creme Crush' with rolled 'rrrr's' of course.  They gave this creation 11/10 in Masterchef rating style.

Jelly layer - bottom of bowl
2 x pkts raspberry jelly made up with 2/3 amount water
1 1/2 cups raspberries added

Set in fridge

Creme layers
2 x pkts Weight watchers strawberry pudding - made to instructions
250 ml thickened cream with 1 tbs icing sugar - whipped to soft peaks
1 1/2 cups raspberries

1. Make up pudding to instructions and add to top of set jelly
2. Top with raspberries
3. Top with whipped cream

Meringue layer
I went back to my 'Cookery the Australian Way' bible for the meringue recipe, but the following is fine:

2 egg whites
pinch salt
pinch creme of tartar
1/2 cup caster sugar
Couple drops red/pink food colouring

1. Beat egg whites with salt and tartar still peaks form
2. Gradually beat in sugar until thick and glossy
3. Beat in food colouring for a pale pink meringue
4. Put spoonfuls of mixture on a lined baking tray and bake at 120 degrees C for 2 hours (then leave in turned off oven for a few hours until dry)
5. Crumble meringues over trifle.
6. Refridgerate until needed - Voila

Cocktails

Here are two cocktail recipes, just for you Daxuan.

Sex on The Beach
20 ml Chambord
15 ml Midori
90ml pineapple juice
60 ml cranberry juice

Shake all ingredients together with heaps of ice.


Absolut Cracker..Makes 2
4 large strawberries,
2 tsp sugar
1 lemon juiced
60ml prepared earl gey or ladt grey tea, cooled
90ml Absolut Vanilla vodka
30ml Chambord, or other berry liquer

Muddle strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in glasses.
Place all ingredients in cocktail shaker half filled with ice.
Shake well and pour.
Garnish with fresh cracked black pepper.

Pedro ximenez and grand marnier

Pedro ximenez and grand marnier is a great flavor combo. Either on ice, stirred together with a cinnamon stick or added to .......

Crunchy Thai chicken rounds

Kathy put me on to this tasty recipe from the Women's Weekly. Although I can never find it on their web site :(

250g chicken mince
2 tblspns coconut milk
1 1/2 tblspns sweet chilli sauce
2 tspn finely chopped fresh lemon grass
1 1/2 tblspns lemon juice
2 tblspns finely chopped coriander
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large green cucumbers (800g)

Cook chicken in heated medium non-stick frying pan, stirring until browned slightly, cool 5 mins. Process chicken until finely chopped.
Combine chicken with coconut milk, sauce, lemon grass, juice, coriander & garlic in medium bowl, cover, refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Cut cucumbers diagonally into 1cm slices.Divide chicken mixture among slices. Top with coriander leaves, if desired.
Makes 25

Quinoa, rice and lentil salad with spicy cauliflower

I hadn't cooked quinoa before, so I thought it was time. I spotted this recipe in The Age Epicure this morning. It's quite tasty and healthy!

200g quinoa
200g red rice
150g black lentils
100ml olive oil, 3 tbs extra
2 brown onions, sliced
100g dried cranberries
1 orange zested and juiced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp groiund coriander
1/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cauliflower, broken into florets
200g pistachios
1 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

Dressing:
1 lemon juiced
1/2 - 1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt & pepper

Cook quinoa in pot of boiling salted water for 12-14 mins.
Drain and set aside.
Cook rice and lentils in pot of boiling water for 20 mins.
Drain and set aside.
Heat frying pan with 100ml oil. Add onions and caramelise.
Soak cranberries in ornage juice. until plump.
Mix cumin, flour and ground coriander and toss the cauliflower in this mix,
Heat 3 tbs oil in frying pan and fry cauliflower over low heat for 10 mins.
Toss drained quinoa, rice and lentils with the cauliflower.
Add onions, cranberries and zest and juice, nuts and herbs.
Shakle dressing ingredients rtogether and add to salad.
Mix well.

Doughnut Flavoured Muffins

Yes I make muffins often becuase they are good lunch box fodder. I know doughnut flavoured muffins sounds odd, but really you could call them cinnamon-nutmeg muffins. I love cinnamon, so I guess that's why they work for me!

2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp nutmeg
½ cup oil
1 1/8 cup sugar
1 1/8 cup milk
1 large egg
Berry jam

TOPPING
¼ cup melted butter
½ cup sugar
1 – 2 tsp cinnamon
Set oven to 190C. Put muffin liners in 12 muffin pan.
Into large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
In another bowl mix together oil, sugar, egg & milk. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stirt to combine. Spoon mixture to half fill muffin pans. Add half teaspoon of jam in centre of each muffin, then top up with remaining mixture. Bake for 20 mins. Remove from oven and while still warm brush with the melted butter then sprinkle with combined sugar and cinnamon.

Lamb Kofta

This Lamb Kofta recipe from Matt Moran are absolutely delish. Rated 8/10 in our house! I don't bother with the pine nuts, and I serve with tzatziki.

1 cinnamon quill
2 teaspoons coriander seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons salt
50ml olive oil
1 brown onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
600g lamb mince
1/4 bunch flat leaf parsley finely chopped
50g pinenuts, toasted
50g panko breadcrumbs

lemon cheeks and tahini to serve

Wooden skewers




Place cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger and salt in frying pan and heat gently until seeds start to pop. Transfer to mortar and grind to fine powder.

Heat olive oil in small pan over low heat and saute onion and garlic for 10 minutes. Stir in spices and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.

Place lamb in a bowl, add spice/onion mix, parsley, pinenuts and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Divide into 6-8 portions and mould each portion around a wooden skewer.

BBQ or grill on high heat for about 10 minutes, turning so they cook evenly.

Amazing food printer

Check this link out...a printer that prints food!


http://inhabitat.com/cornells-new-3-d-printer-lets-you-print-food-in-any-shape-and-texture/

Turkish pizza

My fellow blogger, Val, took me to a Turkish Pizza class at Lezzet, in Elwood. A selection from my pictorial account follows, and Kemal does make great Turkish Pizza.

Types of pizzas that we made:

• Margerita: Tomato (cooked tomatoes, onion, cumin, wine, garlic), mozzarella, salt, oregano
• Cheese: garlic oil, fetta, goats cheese, cooked then topped with finely sliced cabbage mixed with saffron aioli and parsley
• Kofta: tomato, kofta balls, cooked then topped with finely sliced onion with olive oil, salt, herbs then drizzled with sumac and yoghurt
• Meat: Kofta mince (lamb mince w with onion, parsley, egg, bread crumbs, cumin and paprika)
• Salmon: garlic oil and goats cheese, cooked then topped with raw salmon minced with chilli, capsicum, cucumber skin, onion with fresh salad greens (fennel frond) and candied walnuts (pictured above)
• Sausage: Tomato, cheese and sucuk (turkish sausage) and egg (pictured above)

Tea-smoked duck breast

I haven't cooked a lot of duck, but with the plethora of duck dishes on Masterchef, I feel as best equipped as I ever will. The recipe is from the Masterchef Cookbook, Volume 1. I was running short of time making this dish, so sacrificed the ravioli which was supposed to adorn the duck. I was rushing so much I didn't take a photo, but Hayley grabbed this quick shot. The sauce was tangy and delicious, and the smokey flavour of the duck was excellent. I didn't have blood oranges so substituted navels. I didn't have any dried orange peel, so just left it out. I also changed the accompanying spinach in the recipe to whatever was on hand.


Tea Smoked Duck Breast

4 duck breasts
salt

Tea Smoking Mix
1/2 cup oolong tea leaves
1/2 cup jasmine tea leaves
zest 3 oranges cut into wide strips
4 pieces dried orange peel
1 cup jasmine rice
1 cup brown sugar
5 whole star anise
1 tbs Sichuan peppercorns
6 pieces cassia bark (I used cinnamon)

Orange sauce
1 1/2 tbs caster sugar
1 1/2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 cup blood orange juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
grated zest of 1/2 orange
25g butter

To make smoked duck, line a wok with foil then place all smoke mixture onto the foil. Turn the heat to medium and wait until it starts to smoke. Place duck breasts skin side down on a rack in the wok. Cover and cook for 7 minutes or until rare.

To make orange sauce, place sugar in a saucepan and melt it slowly. Add vinegar and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add orange juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half. Add stock and simmer again until reduced by half. Add orange zest and butter. Season to taste.

Place duck skin side down in a hot frying pan and cook until the fat has melted and skin is crispy. Rest a few minutes then cut into slices. Drizzle with sauce to serve.

Lemon Muffins with a cream-cheese centre

This is a recipe I've cut out of a magazine ages ago, and they disappear quickly.
Makes 12 muffins.

2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
2 eggs
125g butter
250ml milk
2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 tsp lemon juice

Filling
150g cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat oven tp 180 C. Grease muffin pan or use liners.
Filling: Combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.
Sift together flour and bicarb. in a large bowl., then add sugar.
In a jug, lightly wisk together melted butter, eggs, milk, lemon rind and juice. Mix this into the flour until JUSt combined.
Spoon batter into muffin tray to half fill.. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into muffin, then top up muffin with remaining batter.
Bake for 20 mins. Cool 5 mins then turn out.

Gewurzhaus - Herbs and Spices

Ambling along Lygon Street the other day and came across a magnificent herb and spice shop - Gewurzhaus http://www.gewurzhaus.com.au/ 

This is the most gorgeous shop where you can serve yourslelf from the most amazing array of herbs and spices.  I was fascinated by the sichuan peppercorns (so fragrant), the spice mixes eg the bush pepeer, the salts, the dukkahs and the sugars, all beautifully presented.

I was so excited that I sent a text to Judy to tell her of my discovery.  The website is fantastic too, where you can order online and featuring recipes too.

Muesli muffins

Despite being the owner of numerous cookbooks, even one dedicated to muffins,  I googled 'breakfast muffins' in search of a recipe and found the following one at Taste.com: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/13907/breakfast+museli+muffins

Of course I tweaked the recipe (as I always do), but the result was a quite wholesome substantial muffin that could be a replacement breakfast on the run.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup light olive oil

2 tbs honey

2 cups muesli (I used half bircher muesli mix and half cereal mix)

1/2 cup of sultanas

1/2 cup chopped nuts eg pecans, walnuts

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1tsp baking powder

1 orange

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C or 180 for fan forced. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper cases.

2. Whisk eggs, milk, oil and honey together. Combine muesli, flour, dried fruit, nuts,soda and baking powder in a bowl. Finely grate orange rind into dry ingredients. Juice orange and add 1/2 cup of the juice to egg mixture.

3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix together quickly using a wooden spoon until just combined. Mixture may be lumpy and does not have to be evenly mixed.

4. Spoon mixture into paper cases. Bake for 20 mins or until golden and cooked through. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

Rhubarb and Walnut Chutney

This is a recipe my sister passed on to me years ago. I made it for my next door neighbour after he gave me some of his home grown rhubarb. I thought of it last night when Val presented me with a jar of her home made rhubarb chutney.

Rhubarb Chutney
5-6 stalks rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces
2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tbs lemon zest
1 stick cinnamon
1 inch grated fresh ginger
1 cup golden raisins
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Combine sugar, vinegar, lemon zest in saucepan over low heat until dissolved. Add rhubarb, cinnamon and ginger and cook stirring frequently for about 15 mins. Add nuts and raisins and cook 3-4 minutes. Place into sterilised jars while still hot.

Chicken Pie

When a new foodie entered our circle, her Chicken Pies were all the talk. (Who me, threatened?) Not to be outdone, after a reasonable amount of time had passed, in order that the hype die down, I decided to embark on making Chicken Pies. Without the much coveted recipe in hand, I chanced a reasonable replica in the June 2011 issue of Delicious magazine. Without my number one critic not home for dinner, and my fellow blogger invited for dinner, I set out to make a chicken pie. I think it was mighty fine. Other critics hailed Helen the ongoing champion.

Chicken Pie
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 handfuls chestnut mushrooms
6 small carrots, peeled and chopped
3 Leeks, sliced
1 bulb garlic
2 bay leaves
1 bunch thyme
½ bunch rosemary
150ml white wine
1.6 kg whole chicken
1 lemon, halved
Knobs butter
300-400 ml chicken stick
3 heaped tbs crème fraiche
handful grated parmesan
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
375 g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 200C. Place potato, mushroom, carrot and leek in roasting pan. Scatter with garlic, bay leaves, half of the thyme and rosemary. Pour over the wine, then place chicken on top. Place lemon halves, remaining thyme and rosemary in cavity. Score the legs, dot the bird with butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes. Remove foil from pan and drain off the juice (reserving), then bake a further 45 minutes or until cooked. Remove chicken from pan and rest. Then shred meat from bones. Pick out garlic skin and herbs from vegetables. Add stock and reserved juices to roasting pan. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in crème fraiche and parmesan. Add parsley then chicken and season. Leave to cool. Place in pie dish/dishes. Cover with pastry and cut a steam vent. Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 200C for 30-45 minutes depending on pie size, or until golden and puffed.

Tiani's Rhubarb Chutney

I met Tiani on a trip to Launceston earlier this year and on tasting her fabulous chutney, was keen to get therecipe.  Tiani explained that it was a family recipe (hence the measurements in pounds) and here is the recipe faithfully reproduced and attributed to Tiani.

Ingredients

2lb rhubarb
4 large onions

2 1/2 lb sugar (I used raw sugar)

2 1/2 dsp curry powder

1 cup white vinegar

2 tbs salt

2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tbs ground ginger or finely grated fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic crushed

Method

Roughly chop rhubarb and onions. Simmer all ingredients for an hour. Bottle when hot.

Delicious with cheese and cold meats.

Taxiboat - Review

Taxiboat is a little restaurant at 94 High Street, Westgarth in Melbourne, opposite the Westgarth Theatre. I ventured there with a friend earlier this month, looking forward to a good natter, nice glass of wine and of course some zingy asian food.

This place is a little pearler!! Very much on the petite side but with quick attentive service and fresh flavoured pan asian dishes.

We choose assorted dim sum and chicken san choi bau for starters followed by mongolian beef, rockling in sweet sake with rice and roti.

Each dish, served on beautiful asian crockery, was fresh and bursting with authentic balanced flavours.  

We rounded it off with a sticky date pud to share (great sauce!), and for less than $50 each which included a glass of  very quaffable sav blanc.  What a find - I'll definitely be back :)

Saucy spices - review

A while ago a workmate gave a rave review for a curry (a Rogan Josh I think) made with a spice mix from The Saucy Spice Co (http://www.saucyspice.com.au/ ).  So a group of us went for a bulk order of a 'favourite six' spice blend pack each which included Butter Chicken, Rangoon Lime Chicken, Beef Rendang, Afghani Lamb, Lamb Korma and Beef Massaman. The spice mixes all come with the recipe and what you need to add (nothing too complicated), and the results have been uniformly authentic tasting and delicious.

What followed has included a curry party and many memorable meals. All the curries have been a winner with the standouts for me being the Butter Chicken and the Afghani Lamb. 

Made the Afghani Lamb curry last night and added some baby spinach for some greenery.  It went very nicely with some Aghani garlic bread on the side.

I'll be ordering some more of those Saucy Spices!

Pear and Rocket Salad

Everyone asks me for this recipe. I'll add a photo at some stage. You can use baby spinach instead of rocket. It was a recipe from Victors Food.

Rocket with Spicy Pecans, Pears, & Walnut Raspberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients
2 tsp butter
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp water
½ cup pecans
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp raspberry wine vinegar
pinch salt
good pinch cracked black pepper
2 tbsp walnut oil
2 tbsp olive oil
150 gm rocket leaves
50 gm goat cheese, crumbled (or feta)
2 pears, thinly sliced

Method
Spicy Glazed Pecans
1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed fry pan over medium heat.
2. Add the sugar, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water. Cook until the mixture is bubbling.
3. Add the pecans and stir constantly until the pecans are well coated and the sugar has begun to caramelise, about 5 minutes. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet to cool completely. Try not to eat them.....

Walnut Vinaigrette
4. Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. Slowly add the walnut and olive oils and whisk until blended.
Salad
5. Wash and dry the rocket leaves. Transfer immediately to a large bowl and toss with the walnut vinaigrette and sliced pears.
6. Arrange on a large platter, sprinkle with the cheese and pecans.

Oatmeal Cookies

I’ve been making these cookies for years. The recipes is from one of Margaret Fulton’s cookbooks from the eighties. I like the fact they have rolled oats in them. I regularly substitute the nuts and raisins for combinations of choc chips, and today some dried blueberries. I also have reduced the sugar so I feel better about putting them in the lunch boxes. I used ¾ of both sugars without noticing much difference. Don’t skimp on the cinnamon! And to make them even healthier today, I substiturted half a cup of the oats for one of the latest superfoods: Goodness Superfoods Quick Barley & Oats.

Oatmeal Cookies
250g butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp Vanilla
¼ cup water
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins
2 ½ cups rolled oats

Cream butter with sugars, egg and vanilla until fluffly. Beat in water. Sift in dry ingredients and stir in nuts raisisns and oats. Drop heaped teaspoons of mixture onto trays lined with baking paper. Leave 5cm between each cookie. Press lightly. Bake at 190 C for 12=15 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Fish Curry with Snake Beans

When looking for something healthy without too many calories, I often open up the CSIRO total wellbeing diet book. The barramundi curry with snake beans caught my eye. It obviously has a Thai influence, but even though there’s no coconut milk it was really very tasty. The beans give it a little crunch. I opted for flake instead of barra, and it really worked well. And I made double the curry paste and froze half for a quick option next time.


Fish curry with snake beans

1 tbs peanut oil
800g barramundi fillets (or other fish), cut into chunks
1 tsp sugar
½ cup chicken stock
1 tbs fish sauce
200g snake beans
coriander leaves

Curry paste
1 red chilli roughly chopped
1 stalk lemon grass
1 tbs chopped spring onions
1 clove garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp chopped coriander root
1 tsp Shrimp paste
2 kaffir lime leaves (thanks Val)

Place all curry ingredients in blender and blend to fine paste. I added a little water.
Heat oil in wok. Add curry paste and fish and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add sugar, chicken stock, fish sauce, and beans and cook a further 5 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with coriander leaves. Serve with rice.

Chocolate Pie

For a chocaholic workmate’s farewell morning tea I wanted to make something rich, chocolaty and memorable, so I searched for recipes for Chocolate Pie. I found a simple recipe at

http://www.instructables.com/id/Chocolate-Pie/ , but I tinkered with it slightly (as I usually do).  

It was my kind of recipe as it was very easy to make (especially with the pre-made pastry shell), only a few ingredients, no difficult techniques and with a satisfying, fantastic result that was gobbled up.

 Easy Chocolate Pie

Pastry

• Store bought sweet shortcrust pastry shell OR you could use a biscuit base OR a sweet shortcrust pastry recipe of your choice

Filling

• 170g dark chocolate (70% Cocoa)
• ½ cup butter
• 3 eggs
• Pinch salt
• ½ cup caster sugar

Topping

• Chocolate shavings AND/OR whipped cream OR powdered chocolate

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 170° C
• Pre-bake pastry shell for 10 minutes on 170° C
• In double boiler over simmering water melt chocolate and butter and stir to combine
• In separate bowl whisk together eggs and sugar until well mixed and sugar is dissolved – approximately 2 minutes.
• Slowly add chocolate mixture to eggs and stir to combine and pour into pastry shell
• Bake pie for 25 minutes at 170°C or until set
• Allow to cool in pie dish then decorate

Voilá

In the beginning

In the beginning there were 2 friends that met at uni and over the years have fostered and facilitated, indulged and explored, experimented and waxed lyrical on all things FOOD! From the degustation menu at Vue du Mond (sublime!) to turkish cooking courses, a shared passion for the creativity and joy that food brings has brought us to the realisation that we would like to share our experiences with friends and family and foodies alike.

We hope you enjoy the journey with us :)