Sunday, 8 December 2013

NOELENES` OX TAIL BROTH

Finally a recipe I can call my own ............

I love the flavour and fall away tendency of ox tail meat that is so soft in your mouth , and needed to showcase the versatility of the cut.

Make your stock...

2. fresh ham hocks  ( not smoked  ) fresh from your butcher outlet
2. whole onions  ( red or brown ) sliced in half with skin on
2. whole carrots
1. med head of garlic (skin on ) sliced in half ( width wise.)
1. whole fennel bulb sliced in half ( length ways)
1. tsp of sea salt

Place everything in a stock pot and fill with cold water till the hocks are just covered .
Cover with a lid
Simmer gently for 6 hours.
Leave the stock to cool  covered in the pot overnight.

Preparing the ox tail........

Ask your butcher for one oxtail  ( bone intact ) the oxtail will be circular in shape and easily fit into a pan to brown on both sides ....Then into a large pot with simmering water
2. halved onions
1. whole head of a small garlic
2. whole carrots
simmer gently for 3 hours until meat is soft but still on the bone.
turn the heat off and leave to cool.....refrigerate to solidify fat

Ok prep all done .....
First try and spoon skim as much fat from the pot with the hocks as possible ,
then gently remove the hocks and lay them on  absorbent paper
remove any remaining fat residue from the pot and gently warm the natural jelly and vegie mix.
Once fully liquid.... strain through muslin into a clean bowl,disregarding the vegetables.

Now turn your attention to the pot with the  ox tail...
remove  the fat by spoon from the pot
then the ox tail to absorbent paper  and pat the tail dry.

place the dried tail into the stock mixture ,securely cover and let rest till service .

For service gently warm through ,season with white pepper and plate 2 discs per bowl and ladel over broth , garnish with finely chopped fennel ...
Enjoy.

The following post will explain what we can do with the remaining  cooked ham hocks .

Thursday, 5 December 2013

DIAL AN OCCASION........BOOKED EVENTS...

Option  1……… Dinner for 7 ..Ingredients, prep and service  
Tasting Plate…
Chilled cucumber soup with curry oil and toasted crumbs
Lentil salad with roast pear and marinated beetroot
Chia gnocchi on a horseradish smear
Pork belly and apple chutney
 
Mains…
Roasted quail , baked ricotta with braised lettuce and peas, dressed with chilli jam.
Warm Mediterranian  couscous salad
 
Dessert
Roasted fruits with maple ricotta cream.
Local cheese and seasonal fruit selection .
 
Total ….$550.00    
 
Option 2……………
Dinner for 7..Ingredients , prep, and service
TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS FARE
 
First Course ….
Fettunta ..with tomato , basil and feta.
Marinated turkey wing
 
Main course…..
Crispy rosemary roasted potatoes
Baked pumpkin
French beans
 
Linguine salad
 
Turkey and cranberry jam
Lamb and mint jelly
Pork and apple chutney
 
Dessert….
Sticky date pudding  on a cloud of cream.
 
Total..$385.00 

DIAL AN OCCASION.....MEAL WITHOUT BORDERS BOOKED FOR THE 14/12/2013

We will start on an Asian inspired Steamboat broth..( seafood)
Then off to the Middle East......
Lamb and tabouleh salad, served with a honey and cumin yoghurt.......
Over to Italy.....
Home made ravioli, with chicken , spinach and fetta , served with a velvet tomato sauce...
Off to the beautiful Greek Isles........
With a ricotta frittata , on a swirl of horseradish crème.....
Ending our journey in France .....
Baked quail with a lemon stuffing and crispy roasted rosemary potato accompanied by chilli jelly......
Sufficiently filled we will end with a refreshing , zesty lemon sorbet.
Enjoy !
6 courses for  $75.00 a head

Monday, 2 December 2013

CHICKEN, PASTA AND SPINACH CHIA PESTO

It`s only early, but it is already warming up.
There is a change expected later this afternoon but the house will still be warm on my arrival home and there is a special cake to be worked on tonight ....
This is a really tasty and filling meal and is super quick ...how quick ? Seriously  don`t time yourself , enjoy your preparation...by saying quick I simply mean there are not a lot of elements to the dish.

I have left over cooked chicken fillets in the fridge , so I will shred these to use for tea tonight.

First boil some broken pasta ..what`s that ?  , it is dry lasagne sheets broken or torn  into odd shaped large pieces and boiled like you would any pasta.( Any dried pasta that you have in the cupboard will do , tonight I will be using bow ties. )
 While the pasta is cooking place  2 large handfuls of spinach , a 1/2 cup  of fresh basil, 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 tablespoon of rice bran oil, 1/4 cup of vegetable or chicken stock 1. heaped teaspoon of chia seeds, 1 tsp spoon of dried cumin ,  1 tsp teaspoon of smokey paprika, and 1 whole clove of garlic, all into your mini chopper and give it a good pulse.. Magic you have your pesto

In a small pan along with 3/4 cup of veg/ chicken stock heat the shredded meat ,  add half a cup of pitted sliced kalamata olives , stir in the pesto.

Drain your pasta , plate up and dress with the chicken pesto spooned over  and garnished with halved cherry tomatoes and torn basil leaves  sprinkled with parmesan and pepper ..enjoy ! 

PORTERHOUSE STEAK WITH CHICKPEA TABOULEH

This is a great warm weather meal. Monday night tea at Castle Garden.
Trim your steaks , (again you can use  the steak of your preference ), brush the steaks with oil ( I use rice bran oil ) and sprinkle with ground cumin , sea salt , and ground black pepper.
Heat a char grill pan over a medium flame  sprayed liberally with cooking spray.

While the pan is heating....Place 1/2 cup of fine burghul in a bowl and pour in 1 &1/2 cups of boiling water , cover  and let stand for 15mins...The water will be fully absorbed , now add 1. can of chickpeas, 12 cherry tomatoes halved, 4 spring onions finely sliced , handful of fresh mint, coriander and flat leafed parsley all roughly torn,  the juice of one small lemon, and the rind finely grated.
Mix together gently and set aside till the steaks are cooked.
Add the steaks to the pan and cook for two minutes on each side ( med rare ), or until cooked to your liking.
Remove the steaks and cover loosely with foil for 4mins to rest.
Spoon burghul onto serving plate and place steaks atop. Enjoy !

1 , 2 , 3 SHORTBREAD

             
Some of you may remember this recipe .......
This was the recipe by which my aunt Ruby made her shortbread, and along the same lines that she taught me The Lords Prayer , I learnt the 1 ,  2  , 3  shortbread recipe.

1 x part icing sugar
2 x parts butter
3 x parts plain flour   

Now start small ...go 1/2up of icing sugar Aunt Ruby always sifted  ( I personally don`t see the necessity  of sifting ...but as the recipe works ...why fine tune it ?)
 I . cup of butter cut into cubes and at room temperature , slightly squashed into the cup.( Please don`t sit there wondering if it should be unsalted or normal butter ...whatever you have will do , and the recipe will still work ).
1&1/2. cups of plain flour.

First get your oven warm , for shortbreads it should be a slow oven...145deg C.
Now begin by creaming the icing sugar and butter..( electric beater or wooden spoon), you will know when its done as it will be pale , creamy and fluffy.
Use a table knife to mix in the plain flour and create a dough , once the dough has come together , turn out on to  a 18cm round oven proof plate, press the dough to the size of the plate, and score the dough into shapes of wedges and prick the surface with a fork for decoration
bake in slow oven for 35 minutes or until a pale golden colour.
Let the shortbreads cool and cut along wedge outline to serve.

                                            

Sunday, 1 December 2013

FOOTNOTE TO MY CHIA GNOCCHI POST...........ON FACEBOOK

My chia gnocchi recipe that I posted on face book is stock standard in instruction till you get to the boiling of water .....that is the traditional way to finish your prepared chia gnocchi....but as I showed you today your other option is to crumb your gnocchi and pan fry in rice bran oil.....with todays demonstration you can use a smear of horseradish crème or the walnut and gorgonzola sauce I made today.  Roughly chop a handful of walnuts ,and pan fry in a drizzle of rice bran oil to just heated   add 1 cup of cream and a pinch of nutmeg , mix and simmer on a low heat till the gnocchi is nicely coloured on both sides and then add a cupful of roughly broken gorgonzola cheese , gently combine remove from heat..... cheese should remain lumpy and smatter the serving plates with the sauce before plating the chia gnocchi ...Enjoy.!