CHOW MEIN

CHOW MEIN

1 large onion peeled and finely sliced placed in a large pan with 3 tbs of ghee and cook till the onion is tender .
Add 550gm of chicken or beef mince with 1 tbs of garlic .
Finely slice 1/2 cabbage and add to the pan , continue to cook till tender .
Then add 2 cups of grated carrot
1 dsp of fish sauce
1 tbs of oyster sauce
1 dsp of curry powder .
Mix ingredients to combine  .
Now add 1 cup of beef or chicken stock .( depending on the mince you use ).
Cover and continue to gently simmer for 20 minutes .
Serve with steamed zucchini pasta or a mix of wild rice and quinoa .

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POKEMON BIRTHDAY CAKE

Happy 13th  Birthday  Samuel Grigoleit .......

A chocolate chip panettone (pannetone ), a tall yeast raised cake made with butter .
Sliced in 3 and spread with a choc nut spread .
The top was spread with a choc butter icing and topped with a deck of pokemon cards .
On the serving tray I placed squares of caramel slice around the base of the cake and at the corners of the tray and used these as a stand for the excess pokemon cards from the pack .
The carmel slice squares were topped with monster faces .
The cards have a non toxic coating and icing can be easily wiped off , so not only does the birthday boy get a cake to share but a pack of pokemon cards to collect .

 

BOTERKOEK ............. DUTCH BUTTERCAKE

Dutch buttercake is a dense cake that should be soft on the inside and firm on the outside but not too hard !
Preheat your oven to 160 deg C
Grease a loose bottom flan pan or pie plate
In a medium bowl , mix together
340gm of butter or margarine
270gm of castor sugar
1 dsp of lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tsp of almond extract ......until light and creamy .
Gradually add 1 lightly beaten egg alternating with  a mix of 1/2 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 375gm of plain flour sifted into the wet mixture .
Continue to mix until well combined .
Pour the dough like batter into a 9 inch loose bottom flan or pie plate .
Beat another egg and add a tbs of water and brush over the dough / pastry .
Make traditional lines in the pastry with a fork ...OR/ AND
Sprinkle with almond slivers ..( optional .)
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch .
Allow the cake to cool in the pan before removing to a wire rack ...
Delicious .

 

SPANISH CHICKEN BASQUE WITH OLIVES AND ARTICHOKES

This is what we prepared in cooking class on Tuesday ......
Combine 1 dsp of salt , with 1 tsp of black ground pepper , 1 dsp of smoked paprika and 80 gm of quinoa flour in a large bowl .
Add 6 chicken thigh cutlets bone in , skin on and evenly coat in the seasoned flour .
Preheat your oven to 170 deg C.
Heat 1/2 cup of ghee in a large oven proof frypan over a medium heat .
Cook the chicken in batches , skin side down for 4 minutes and then 2 minutes the other side .
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate .
Return the pan to the heat and add 2 onions peeled and cut into wedges , 1 red capsicum sliced and cook for 5 minutes or until softened .
Add 1 tbs of minced garlic
3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
140gm of pitted olives ( we used black and green olives , kalamata and manzanilla )
1x 400g can of whole tomatoes
1 x 280 gm of roasted artichoke hearts
250 ml of chicken stock ,
Gently stir to combine and then return the chicken cutlets to the pan and bring to the boil .
Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the chicken is tender .
To complete the dish , gently stir through a handful of mixed green salad leaves , season with salt and pepper .
Sprinkle over the chopped zest of 1/2 lemon and the juice of 1/2 lemon .
garnish with fresh basil leaves ....
This is a classy Spanish style dish when you want to impress.

SCOTTISH TABLET

What is a Scottish tablet ? It is a crumbly fudge .
I often get asked for the recipe for a crumbly fudge as opposed to a smooth chewy fudge .
Spray an aluminium tray ( 30 x 20 cm ) or 25 cm square pan with cooking spray .
Place the following ingredients in a large pot ( the mixture doubles in size )
*250 gm of butter
*1 x 395 gm can of condensed milk
*175 ml of milk
* 2 tbs of golden syrup
*800 gm of sugar ( granulated )
* 1 dsp of sea salt
Bring this mix to the boil and boil for 15 minutes , stirring continually until the mixture is golden in colour .
To check that the fudge is ready drop a little of the mixture into cold water , it should solidify .
At this point add 1 dsp of vanilla extract .
Now use an electric whisk or beater ----and whisk and beat the fudge for 6 minutes or until it thickens to a stiff consistency .
* It is this final beating that gives the fudge the crumbly texture *
Place the mixture in the prepared tray ( you will need to push the mixture in the tray as it will be thick ) smooth over the top .
Refrigerate till cooled , ( about 1 and 1/2 - 2 hours ) then slice into squares before it sets completely .


 

MEDITERRANEAN SPINACH , CAPSICUM AND HERB ROULADE

First class back on Tuesday and we started in the Mediterranean , a roulade   with all the Mediterranean flavours ......
Preheat your oven to 190 deg C
Grease and line a Lamington  tray with baking paper .
Soak / steam 500gm or silverbeet or spinach.
Remove from steaming pot or bowl of boiling water and squeeze to remove all liquid .
Then chop finely and set aside .
Now place  your leaf mixture in a bowl along with
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
Finely chopped bunch of  chives
1 tsp of  fresh thyme leaves if you have them  ( or 1/2 tsp of ground thyme )
30 gm of butter / marg
3 tbs of cream
2 egg yolks  ( lightly beaten )
3 tbs of grated Parmesan cheese
Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl beat the 2 egg whites till firm .
Fold the egg whites into the spinach  mixture.
Spread the combined spinach mix into the prepared tray ,smoothing  out the edges .
Bake at 190 deg C till the batter is firm and springy to touch ... ( about 20 minutes )
Now we are getting serious .....
Lay your tea towel on a flat surface ,lift the spinach base from the pan using the baking paper lining and  place on the tea towel .
Set aside to cool .
It is now time to make the filling ......
Finely chop 55 g of Kalamanta olives
110 gm of roasted capsicums  chopped
Mix the ingredients together with a dsp of mince garlic in medium bowl
Contine to add .......
2 tbs of sour cream
170gm of creamed cheese
2 tbs of finely chopped Thai basil
Season with salt and pepper .
Spread the cream cheese filling over the cooled baked spinach mix
Dot with finely sliced  artichokes over the top .
Season with salt and pepper .
Now the scary bit ...its time to roll .
From the long edge , roll up the spinach and filling,  using the baking paper and tea towel as a guide.
Once rolled , wrap the roulade in the tea  towel and chill at least for 6 hours .
Slice into 2 cm slices to serve with a pesto alongwith  crackers .

FOWL PORN ...

After my purchase of a book by F.L Flower.. 50 Shades of Chicken ,I had to rethink my view of cookbooks ( mostly boring ).
The dialogue of the book was highly seasoned ( phew !  ) , the recipes included  will get you turning each page,  totally amazing and easy to recreate .
I purchased the book from Chapel Street Bizarre ..Windsor , Victoria , Australia
This is a great recipe book and I will  share the recipes with you over time .