This was a winner. Fresh, crunchy and even better the next day as a leftovers lunch.
Poach a couple of chicken breasts in water ( just covering) with salt, ginger and sliced spring onions. After fifteen minutes turn off heat and leave to cool for 30 minutes. Then discard the poaching liquid.
Cut a cucumber, a carrot and a stalk of celery into matchsticks. A bit of sliced sping onion is nice as well. Shred the chicken and mix with the veggies along with 1 tsp each of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and toasted sesame seeds.
Top with the sauce ( see below ) and serve.
Sauce - 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp sweet chilli, 2tbsp soy, 2tsp castor sugar, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 small red chilli, finely sliced. Mix all ingredients till you have a paste and then whisk n up to 100ml water until runny but still quite thick.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Hunter St Kitchen
I thought I would share a literary gem I came across yesterday, whilst reading my favourite author, Sebastian Barry. (On Canaan's Side)
"Mother sauces. The infinite delicacy of the bain-marie saucepot. 'Heat is how the pot thinks, Lilly. It is like my Grandma singing a lullaby, not too loud so you keep sleep away, not too soft and baby can't hear the words. Try and hear the heat, Lilly. Hear the pot thinking. You hear it? You hear it? It's there. You will. And when you do you'll be able to do any sauce in the world."
"Mother sauces. The infinite delicacy of the bain-marie saucepot. 'Heat is how the pot thinks, Lilly. It is like my Grandma singing a lullaby, not too loud so you keep sleep away, not too soft and baby can't hear the words. Try and hear the heat, Lilly. Hear the pot thinking. You hear it? You hear it? It's there. You will. And when you do you'll be able to do any sauce in the world."
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Hunter St Kitchen
In the local paper yesterday there was a double page spread about food bloggers. We weren't featured! One woman even makes money out of her blog.
I have decided that I cannot perfect the soufle until I can perfect the omelette - proper omelette, not the brick-heavy, potato-laden, Spanish variety that has fed the family for years. I had some success. The taste was right, the fluffyness was right, (I deliberately cooked the inside because I don't like runny centres). However, the left a lot to be desired. I guess it is like pancakes, one must gain confidence in flipping and turning!
I put the eggs, chopped herbs, salt, black pepper and little blocks of cold butter into a shallow dish. I didn't whisk them until the pan was hot and some butter in the pan was foaming (but not yet brown). Within a minute, I whisked them together and cooked the omelette, folding the edges in with a fork. I folded both sides inwards but it was in the turning of the whole shape to seal the "join" that I came unstuck. The result was one thick omelette, not a flat one. As I said, it tasted wonderful! I will try again tomorrow.
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| Three quick steps - all done within a minute |
Also, I need some tips from anyone out there about quinoa. I cooked some last night but I think there must be a trick. Mine was all husky. Is that over-cooked or undercooked? I feel this is a "good" food to eat on a regular basis as, unlike cous cous, it has low GI - and that's supposed to be good.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
King st kitchen
I tried a recipe from the recent Woolworths magazine that was a cross between caneloni and lasagna, made for a nice looking dish that was easy to serve. I used the rectangular lasagna sheets, which I had to precook to roll, more on that later. The filling was sautéed leeks, pumpkin chunks, cut in small chunks tossed in oil and black pepper and roasted in oven for 40 min or until browned, silver beet blanched, drained and all water sqeezed out and chopped, and small carton of ricotta. I added some salt too but not a lot as silver beet can be salty.
Back to lasagna sheets, I cooked these until soft in small batches then kept them on hold in tray of hot water. Once ready I placed some filling at the end and rolled it up. I cut each roll in half and stood them up on their ends in a baking dish with high sides. I covered them with my regular pasta sauce which is a meat one, but I think the recipe would work with a plain tomato sauce or even perhaps a chess sauce if you wanted to avoid the tomato altogether. I also put our Haberfield Parmesan on top and baked until the sauce was bubbling. I made this dish a second time and put the rolls in a smaller baking dish which is pictured here. They were packed in so tight that the sauce did not run down into the rolls, so leave some space around them.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Wareemba Avenue Kitchen - Moroccan Nights
I am afraid that this entry to the blog is more “What I made a few nights ago” than “What did I cook last night”!
The results of my second Moroccan jaunt were quite pleasing!!
I first made meatballs (lean beef mince, an egg, a couple of carrots grated and some salt and pepper) while I browned off an onion in the bottom of my Tagine with some Moroccan spice. I also added a good teaspoon of chilli flakes and let the flavours release into the onion. Then I added the meatballs and browned them off before putting in a tin of tomatoes and 2 zucchinis cut into large chunks. I let the sauce cook down for about 20 minutes and then added a large handful of baby spinach leaves.
I allowed the spinach to wilt and then cracked in 2 eggs, replaced the lid and let the eggs poach for around 5 minutes.
I served the meatballs with some cous cous. Bernie told me that it is difficult to cook something which fits all three criteria of being appealing to the eye, filling and tasty. He said that his appetite was well and truly sated and that he wanted to mop up the sauce with a slice of bread. I guess that is a compliment ...
On another exciting note, I have been desperate to start cooking some Indian dishes (one of my sisters is a vegetarian and I often struggle to find a meal which is tasty for her). Bern has an amazing Indian spice shop down the road from his workplace at Chatswood and just dropped by to get all of the ingredients which I could not buy at the supermarket. Being Bernie, he made friends with the owner who threw in a few extras for us to try out! You know what I will be doing this weekend!!
Valerie didn’t lift a paw to help me out on this one, though I am going to have her frying off pappadums over the weekend!! What a slacker!
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
King Street kitchen
Hey Christina Street, a great first contribution. It sounds like there are some unusual chefs at Wareemba Avenue Kitchen. And it is good to see the Douglas Street "Kitchen hands" making an entry onto the blog in concert with Hunter street.
Mushroom pasta for two, a quick and yummy pasta around two key ingredients, mushrooms and butter. I like to make this with a few different types of mushrooms but last night only had the ordinary champignons, around .5 kg.
Slice the mushrooms. Also prepare some sort of onion, any kind, yellow, red, green or leek. Last night I used leek. Heat some olive oil in a saute pan until hot, add onions and toss lightly, put in the mushrooms and toss till coated, leave heat on high until first mushrooms start to brown then lower the heat. Add salt and pepper. Add a good pinch of dried chile flakes. If you like using wine, a good splash of a white at this stage goes well. Then turn off the heat and allow to sit.
For pasta papperadelle is great or fettucine. The trick is to not use too much. 100 grams is plenty for two people. Prepare pasta.
When it is nearly done, reheat the mucshrooms and add a GENEROUS (don't skimp) chunk of butter and allow this to melt. Drain pasta thoroughly and add to pasta and stir until heated through.
Turn into serving bowl and add a generous covering of parmesan cheese and chopped continental parsley. Some good bread is handy for sopping up those juices. The smell of this pasta dish is fantastic!
Mushroom pasta for two, a quick and yummy pasta around two key ingredients, mushrooms and butter. I like to make this with a few different types of mushrooms but last night only had the ordinary champignons, around .5 kg.
Slice the mushrooms. Also prepare some sort of onion, any kind, yellow, red, green or leek. Last night I used leek. Heat some olive oil in a saute pan until hot, add onions and toss lightly, put in the mushrooms and toss till coated, leave heat on high until first mushrooms start to brown then lower the heat. Add salt and pepper. Add a good pinch of dried chile flakes. If you like using wine, a good splash of a white at this stage goes well. Then turn off the heat and allow to sit.
For pasta papperadelle is great or fettucine. The trick is to not use too much. 100 grams is plenty for two people. Prepare pasta.
When it is nearly done, reheat the mucshrooms and add a GENEROUS (don't skimp) chunk of butter and allow this to melt. Drain pasta thoroughly and add to pasta and stir until heated through.
Turn into serving bowl and add a generous covering of parmesan cheese and chopped continental parsley. Some good bread is handy for sopping up those juices. The smell of this pasta dish is fantastic!
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Wareemba Avenue Kitchen - Quick Moroccan Chicken
Thanks Christina St Kitchen! The Potato Wrap Bread looks great!
Last night in the Wareemba Avenue kitchen I was left to my own devices and I whipped up a quick chicken tagine while Bern and Val were out taking an evening stroll. First I browned off an onion in a little oil and added Moroccan seasoning mix to release the flavours. Then I added about 3 single chicken breasts cut into larger pieces and sealed that off.
Then came a tin of tomatoes, a couple of carrots cut into larger pieces, some zucchini and a little bit of chicken stock to make up the sauce.
I let it cook on the stove top for about 20 minutes waiting patiently, with lovely smells wafting, for the other members of the wolf pack to get back. The recipe worked very well and my first attempt at using the tagine produced delicious results! Bern had some couscous which looked lovely (and I had it without ... trying to cut out all pm carbs).
I am definitely going to try this one again and do some more experimenting with my tagine. I didn’t realise that you could use your tagine for a quick meal and thought it was more for “cook all day” type recipes. I even have some mince out for tonight and am going to try some Moroccan style meatballs. Hopefully Valerie won’t slack off and I will get some help (though I am not sure how easy rolling meatballs is when you don’t have opposable thumbs). I will let you know how it goes!
Last night in the Wareemba Avenue kitchen I was left to my own devices and I whipped up a quick chicken tagine while Bern and Val were out taking an evening stroll. First I browned off an onion in a little oil and added Moroccan seasoning mix to release the flavours. Then I added about 3 single chicken breasts cut into larger pieces and sealed that off.
Then came a tin of tomatoes, a couple of carrots cut into larger pieces, some zucchini and a little bit of chicken stock to make up the sauce.
I let it cook on the stove top for about 20 minutes waiting patiently, with lovely smells wafting, for the other members of the wolf pack to get back. The recipe worked very well and my first attempt at using the tagine produced delicious results! Bern had some couscous which looked lovely (and I had it without ... trying to cut out all pm carbs).
I am definitely going to try this one again and do some more experimenting with my tagine. I didn’t realise that you could use your tagine for a quick meal and thought it was more for “cook all day” type recipes. I even have some mince out for tonight and am going to try some Moroccan style meatballs. Hopefully Valerie won’t slack off and I will get some help (though I am not sure how easy rolling meatballs is when you don’t have opposable thumbs). I will let you know how it goes!
Monday, 29 August 2011
Christina St Kitchen
Since we found this recipe online it has been a family favourite. We use this wrap bread for any turkish/greek or indian meal. It is soft and holds a wonderful selection of yummy meats and salads. Tonight it is with a stack of felafel, hummus, tomatoes, spanish onion and tatziki. Delish! (we generally double this recipe)
Potato Wrap Bread
3+ cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 mashing potato, boiled and mashed
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs veg oil
1 tsp instant yeast
2 Big bowls for mixing
Place 2C flour in one of the bowls and pour the boiling water over and mix in thoroughly. (will make glue - don't be scared) Set it aside.
In the second bowl mix the mashed potato, 1C flour, yeast, salt and oil till you get a doughy mass.
Once the flour/water mix is cool enough (but still quite warm) to be bearable and won't kill the yeast, put the two mixes together and knead till smoother. (we are very lackadaisy with this bread. depending on the flour sometimes it is beautiful and sometimes terribly dauntingly sticky) NB use oil on your hands as opposed to flour
You will end up with a stiff, sticky ball. If it is way too sticky, add more flour before you leave it to rise. It is an oddly sticky dough though. Cover it and let it rise for up to 2 hours (1 or less is standard at our house)
Use a tray with sides and pour a little oil in the bottom to coat the base. shape tennis ball sized balls out of the dough and line them up in the tray. You can then roll them out and stack ready to cook or roll and cook in sequence. I try not to use flour at all in the rolling out process, but use baking paper and keep oiling my hands. I use two dry pans at the same time or they do really well on a flat dry bbq plate. Roll them out till they are about 5mm thick. Cook on each side till they begin to bubble up and if you peek under they will be brown in patches.
As they are cooked stack them in a pile on a wire rack. They will stay soft and warm.
Felafel
(you have to plan ahead for these and soak the chick peas overnight)(tinned does not work)
1 1/3 C dried chick peas soaked overnight
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs baking powder
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove - crushed
2 T chopped parsley
juice of 1 lemon
Whiz it all together till chopped but not pureed. Squeeze into balls (3cm diameter?) Shallow fry in veg oil.
Quick Hummus (stephanies)
1 tin chick peas, drained and soaked
2tsp cumin
juice of 2 lemons
2 big cloves garlic
good sprinkle of cayenne
ground black pepper
salt to taste
Whiz, taste, adjust to your liking.
Douglas St and Hunter St - Semolina Pastry
Today Cecily and Amanda were cooking Makrout, a Maroccan treat, at Hunter Street. This is another simple and unusual pastry - 3 ingredients, no rolling and unlike most pastries it likes to be handled.
Makrout is a a filled semolina pastry. For the pastry mix 1 cup of semolina with 1/3 cup of melted butter and just enough rosewater of orange flower blossom water to be able to form the mix into a stiff pastry. The pastry is easiest to handle if left to sit for 20 min while making the filling.
Filling could be any mix of dates, apricots, figs, almonds, pistacho nuts etc whizzed with a little sugar, cinnamon and some rosewater or orange flower blossom water - again this needs to be a thick paste. Make small balls of this mix. Take a tsp of the pastry, flatten into a disc and shape around the ball. Bake at 170C for 15-20 min until firm. Roll in icing while hot.
Any leftover filling can be made into fruit balls by rolling in coconut.
This pastry could be used in the same way for savoury options with fillings such as spicy mashed chickpeas or meat filling. The filled pastry can also be shallow or deep fried.
Makrout is a a filled semolina pastry. For the pastry mix 1 cup of semolina with 1/3 cup of melted butter and just enough rosewater of orange flower blossom water to be able to form the mix into a stiff pastry. The pastry is easiest to handle if left to sit for 20 min while making the filling.
Filling could be any mix of dates, apricots, figs, almonds, pistacho nuts etc whizzed with a little sugar, cinnamon and some rosewater or orange flower blossom water - again this needs to be a thick paste. Make small balls of this mix. Take a tsp of the pastry, flatten into a disc and shape around the ball. Bake at 170C for 15-20 min until firm. Roll in icing while hot.
Any leftover filling can be made into fruit balls by rolling in coconut.
This pastry could be used in the same way for savoury options with fillings such as spicy mashed chickpeas or meat filling. The filled pastry can also be shallow or deep fried.
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Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Hunter St Kitchen
I am so impressed with our gen y bloggers! How clever and competent! Pasta sauces..frittatas...yum!
Fatima fared much better in the King St kitchen than the Hunter St kitchen! Those little fingers looked great.
Last night I became inspired whilst cooking as Rick Stein was on the telly. I enjoy the way he links food with memories of past meals and experiences, literature and the aromas which surround him.
I made some zucchini and chic pea fritters which were pretty bland but another quick way to embellish a plate.
I mixed one tin of chic peas, drained and smashed; onion; zucchini; self-raising flour; lemon zest; dill; salt.
They were pretty bland actually. Needed more spice.
Fatima fared much better in the King St kitchen than the Hunter St kitchen! Those little fingers looked great.
Last night I became inspired whilst cooking as Rick Stein was on the telly. I enjoy the way he links food with memories of past meals and experiences, literature and the aromas which surround him.
I made some zucchini and chic pea fritters which were pretty bland but another quick way to embellish a plate.
I mixed one tin of chic peas, drained and smashed; onion; zucchini; self-raising flour; lemon zest; dill; salt.
Wareemba Avenue Kitchen - Hakuna Frittata
What do we do when we have a hungry man and not enough chops?? Why whip up a yummy Frittata using the beautiful free range eggs delivered by one terrific father!!
Valerie and I first whisked Dad’s eggs up. Look at how beautiful and yellow they were. All that green grass certainly does the trick!
We then added what we had in our fridge and pantry – baby roma tomatoes, English spinach asparagus and a potato. A sprinkle of parmesan on the top and voila! A beautiful healthy dinner with chops on the side and some steamed veggies!!
Jamie Oliver would be proud of our healthy - less than 30 minute meal!
King Street kitchen
Fatima's Fingers from the Hunter St Kitchen were so enticing I had to try them too. The Tunisian Brick Pastry is really interesting, although it does come with a lot of packaging as each round sheet is on its own paper. I made a filling of beef and pork mince, leeks, roasted pumpkin, cranberries, continental parsley (is there any other kind of parsley even worth mentioning?)and then some parmesan cheese and two eggs. My wrapping technique wasn't that great either, I need to find a Tunisian person to demonstrate. Then I pan fried them in a little oil. Very tasty and yet another take on flour based containers for tasty fillings. Every culture has them, a way to make a bit of meat or special filling go further.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Charles St Kitchen
Slow Cook Sunday
Here is our 'Plus 1' testing out the sauce, served with peas and bread for dipping. She approved! She even tried the asparagus (it wasn't a hit, but at least she tried some).
Later in the evening we had ours over rigatoni with pepper and extra parmesan. Not the healthiest, but very delicious. It made good leftovers, too.
Greetings all. I'm excited to be part of this cooking blog, although as you can guess from the title I am going to post a bit sporadically (ie. today is Tuesday...).
Sundays in our house are a day of relaxation, a day for me to cook something just for the fun of it: baking or roasting of slowcooking. This week I was keen to make some sort of family-friendly creamy chickeny pasta something.
I started with thigh fillets, shallots, mustard, and mushrooms. I was aiming for good carmelisation on the shallots and chicken but fell short of the mark; firstly I was a bit impatient, and secondly my saucepans are cheapies and I was too lazy to use a frypan first. Then I deglazed with chicken stock and let it simmer for a couple of hours or so until the chicken was lovely and tender.
Right before the end, I added a bunch of asparagus and cooked until tender. I took it a little further to make sure that the baby could eat them.
Then I poured in a good dollop of cream and heated until just boiling, then removed from heat and added parmesan cheese to taste (from Norton St grocers - yum!).
My sauce was finished! It sat on the stove smelling delicious until it was time to taste.
Here is our 'Plus 1' testing out the sauce, served with peas and bread for dipping. She approved! She even tried the asparagus (it wasn't a hit, but at least she tried some).
Later in the evening we had ours over rigatoni with pepper and extra parmesan. Not the healthiest, but very delicious. It made good leftovers, too.
A Wave from W-Ave
Hello everyone and thank you so much for inviting me to this Blog! What a fantastic idea!
Valerie (the Red Kelpie love of my life) and I can't wait to get involved from our Thornleigh kitchen. We will have to get our thinking caps on though.
If anyone is interested in some new ideas, SBS has put out a great monthly magazine. There is an amazing recipe for Asian style braised beef shin. We may just have to whip that up on the weekend! Will let you know how it goes.
Love from Jack and Valerie
Valerie (the Red Kelpie love of my life) and I can't wait to get involved from our Thornleigh kitchen. We will have to get our thinking caps on though.
If anyone is interested in some new ideas, SBS has put out a great monthly magazine. There is an amazing recipe for Asian style braised beef shin. We may just have to whip that up on the weekend! Will let you know how it goes.
Love from Jack and Valerie
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Hunter Street Kitchen
Fatima's Fingers.
Over the weekend I discovered the pleasures of cooking with brick pastry. I had never heard of it before Friday when we ventured to Essential Ingredient and bought a packet of these Tunisian pastry circles. I followed the recipe on the back - basically.
I seasoned and spiced up some pork and beef mince and added a chopped boiled egg. When it had cooled for a while I added 3 raw eggs and a fair bit of grated cheese.
Rolling them into the elegant finger shape is obviously something I need to practise. My Fatima's Fingers looked more like Fatima's arthritic thumbs! They only took a few minutes to shallow fry and they tasted terrific.
I am quite sold on brick pastry. So much easier that fillo and it has a nice crunchie texture.
I also made, what turned out to be quite a delicious cook-up on Sunday Night. I decided to use up lots of little green bits which were lurking at the bottom of the crisper bin: fennel, zucchini, garlic, mushrooms, a cos lettuce and a green apple. After slicing and peeling them. I put them all in a pan (with lid on) with seasoning and oil for about ten minutes. The apple made all the difference. In retrospect, some almonds or pine nuts on the top might have been effective. I might have to give this a name...Green Surprise???
Over the weekend I discovered the pleasures of cooking with brick pastry. I had never heard of it before Friday when we ventured to Essential Ingredient and bought a packet of these Tunisian pastry circles. I followed the recipe on the back - basically.
I seasoned and spiced up some pork and beef mince and added a chopped boiled egg. When it had cooled for a while I added 3 raw eggs and a fair bit of grated cheese.
Rolling them into the elegant finger shape is obviously something I need to practise. My Fatima's Fingers looked more like Fatima's arthritic thumbs! They only took a few minutes to shallow fry and they tasted terrific.
I am quite sold on brick pastry. So much easier that fillo and it has a nice crunchie texture.
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| Fatima's Fingers looked more like Fatima's arthritic thumbs - but tasted yum! |
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| Green Surprise: Sunday night left overs |
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
King St Kitchen
Tonight I made one of my favourites, Zucchini and Chickpea pasta, which is a bit unusual but really good. You need a can of chickpeas, a good-sized zucchini, some sort of onion, 100g of pasta (tonight I used papparadelle), some butter, ground pepper and some good parmesan cheese. Continental parsley is also great but not critical.
First run a can of chickpeas through cold water until they stop foaming (starch), then drain and let dry on paper towels. Deep fry in very hot oil until they start to burst open and then remove from oil with slotted spoon and let rest on more paper towels.
Take a good Zucchini and slice or chop in whatever shape takes your fancy. Saute in olive oil with any variety of onions, salt and pepper. Optional, a few slices of pancetta sauteed with zucchini.
Once Zucchini has started to brown, add a chunk of butter and turn off heat. Add cooked and drained chickpeas to vegetables.
Prepare 100g pasta of your choice. Once pasta is cooked, turn on heat under vegetables, add pasta to vegetables and warm in pan. Turn out into serving dish and add parmesan. Continental parsley and more pepper are also good additions.
First run a can of chickpeas through cold water until they stop foaming (starch), then drain and let dry on paper towels. Deep fry in very hot oil until they start to burst open and then remove from oil with slotted spoon and let rest on more paper towels.
Take a good Zucchini and slice or chop in whatever shape takes your fancy. Saute in olive oil with any variety of onions, salt and pepper. Optional, a few slices of pancetta sauteed with zucchini.
Once Zucchini has started to brown, add a chunk of butter and turn off heat. Add cooked and drained chickpeas to vegetables.
Prepare 100g pasta of your choice. Once pasta is cooked, turn on heat under vegetables, add pasta to vegetables and warm in pan. Turn out into serving dish and add parmesan. Continental parsley and more pepper are also good additions.
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Your kitchen
We are hoping that our blog grows as a space for sharing the magic that can happen in any kitchen on any night. This includes your kitchen. If you have received an invite from this blog, you can publish a post from your kitchen. You can be as detailed as you like, that depends on how you cook. Pictures are also up to you. I'm sure where photos are included, these will be appreciated.
Our blog is open so it can be found by anyone. But contributors are by invitation. We can have up to 100 authors, so the world is our oyster. Regarding naming your post, we are using our street names, eg King St kitchen. Then all the postings from your kitchen will be easy to find.
Our blog is open so it can be found by anyone. But contributors are by invitation. We can have up to 100 authors, so the world is our oyster. Regarding naming your post, we are using our street names, eg King St kitchen. Then all the postings from your kitchen will be easy to find.
Westcourt Rd kitchen
We are overdosing on our current pasta fave - Spaghelli Al Bianco. The original recipie is from an Italian cookbook Jason borrowed from the library. Unfortunately we can't remember which one. I looked at the recipe and thought - yuck (I.m not really a mince fan) but this pasta is fabulous. Rehydrate a packet of dried wild mushrooms in a cup of boing water (set this aside). Finely slice and saute a leek, a few stalks of celery and a couple of carrots with some olive oil and butter. Add 500g mince and saute till browned. Add a tbs flour and some good grinds of salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and the soaking water. Gradually add 500ml of hot chicken stock and simmer for 45 minutes or until you are so hungry that you can't wait any longer. Toss the sauce with cooked spaghetti and add the grated zest of two lemons and some good parmesan. The house smells fabulous and the leftovers the next day are an added bonus.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
King St Kitchen_8 August
I made a Ragu this weekend from beef, chuck to be exact. I never heard the term "Ragu" until I came to Australia. I now know it is regarded as the very best of meaty sauces to have over pasta and it is connected with Italian cooking. I grew up in an Itlalian cooking household in California and it is not something in my memory. But it is now in my favorites, being a dedicated meat eater.It is best on pasta but the pasta to Ragu ratio needs to be carefully managed, not too much pasta!And good parmigiano is important. cooking a Ragu does need commitment. It is a hands on dish and needs time.
This ragu should have been very yummy at the finish but is somehow not as tasty as it should be. Big chunks of chuck steak browned and then put in a covered pot with chicken consommé, salt and pepper and cooked for 3-4 hours. Then cooled and broken up by hand into small meaty morsels with the fatty bits sent to the big bin in the sky.
All those meaty bits are returned to the very enriched consomme that formed around the cooking beef. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes. Chop a carrot, an onion and a bit of celery and continental parsley, sauté in a bit of olive oil till flavourful and add to meat. Add a bit of nutmeg and salt And pepper to taste and cook for another 2 hours. Lid on or off depends on how the liquid is evaporating in your cookware. You want the sauce Around the beef to get less thin and more flavourful.
So this one is nice but I think we have been living with the cooking smell for too long as it is not as tasty as it should be. Mind you it is still tasty. We have had it on toast twice, one of steve Manfreddi's reccos for Ragu. but some thing is missing, so we need to put it in the freezer and bring it out on a new day when we need a tasty meal quickly.
This ragu should have been very yummy at the finish but is somehow not as tasty as it should be. Big chunks of chuck steak browned and then put in a covered pot with chicken consommé, salt and pepper and cooked for 3-4 hours. Then cooled and broken up by hand into small meaty morsels with the fatty bits sent to the big bin in the sky.
All those meaty bits are returned to the very enriched consomme that formed around the cooking beef. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes. Chop a carrot, an onion and a bit of celery and continental parsley, sauté in a bit of olive oil till flavourful and add to meat. Add a bit of nutmeg and salt And pepper to taste and cook for another 2 hours. Lid on or off depends on how the liquid is evaporating in your cookware. You want the sauce Around the beef to get less thin and more flavourful.
So this one is nice but I think we have been living with the cooking smell for too long as it is not as tasty as it should be. Mind you it is still tasty. We have had it on toast twice, one of steve Manfreddi's reccos for Ragu. but some thing is missing, so we need to put it in the freezer and bring it out on a new day when we need a tasty meal quickly.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Hunter St Kitchen : Monday Night
I looked in the fridge and saw that I had many pears and strawberries so I decided to make "pudding". We seldom have sweets or "afters" and on the occasions when we did, the boys would get all excited and say, "Oh good, we've got pudding!"
Nigella would have been very proud of my "well stocked larder". I improvised on a Donna Hay recipe which I had cut out of a magazine long ago because it was a tart which did not require a base. (Pastry is something I usually avoid.) The mixture is a combination of almond meal (one cup) , eggs x2, vanilla, lemon zest, brown sugar (half cup) , baking powder and a little flour (quarter cup). I put pears and strawberries into the mixture and cooked it for 40 minutes at 160. I think the good result came from painting Golden Syrup (yes - I actually had some in the cupboard from the last time I made Anzac biscuits) on the top when it was still hot. The syrup melted right through.
More of an "after" than a pudding. I think it needs a bit more flour than I used. I also think I should work on my presentation. The strawberries were a different texture from the pears, so in future I wouldn't mix my fruits.
More of an "after" than a pudding. I think it needs a bit more flour than I used. I also think I should work on my presentation. The strawberries were a different texture from the pears, so in future I wouldn't mix my fruits.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Hunter St Kitchen
Hello cookingbuddies!
I find that regular cooking rarely involves following a recipe but rather relies on improvisation, usually governed by what is in the fridge or cupboard - mix and match. More often than not, my results are pretty ordinary but sometimes the "accidental chef" emerges, which is very exciting. I hope that this blog means we can share those victory moments and that we can satisfy the need to record "what I did".
Last night I went very traditional; baked leg of lamb. It was a birthday dinner for one of the boys (men!) so the request for a baked dinner was bedded in nostalgia. So, how to dress up the conventional stand by? The leg had been de-boned so it did not need a long cooking time. This was marginally tricky as I am still not master of my new ovens. I think one needs three degrees to digest the voluminous instruction booklets.
To accompany the baked vegetables I cooked brussel sprouts in cream with almonds. I halved the sprouts and fried them in some butter, added a little vegetable stock and then let them simmer away in lots of cream for about half an hour or so. Crunchy almonds sprinkled on the top.
I have a couple of long term aims. By the end of the month I would like to have experimented with three things I have never been courageous enough to tackle: soufle, panna cotta and Vietnamese prawn soup. There, I've said it! I am now committed to attempting them!
Breaded meat sounds easy and tasty. Soy sauce seems to me to be an excellent idea!
I find that regular cooking rarely involves following a recipe but rather relies on improvisation, usually governed by what is in the fridge or cupboard - mix and match. More often than not, my results are pretty ordinary but sometimes the "accidental chef" emerges, which is very exciting. I hope that this blog means we can share those victory moments and that we can satisfy the need to record "what I did".
Last night I went very traditional; baked leg of lamb. It was a birthday dinner for one of the boys (men!) so the request for a baked dinner was bedded in nostalgia. So, how to dress up the conventional stand by? The leg had been de-boned so it did not need a long cooking time. This was marginally tricky as I am still not master of my new ovens. I think one needs three degrees to digest the voluminous instruction booklets.
To accompany the baked vegetables I cooked brussel sprouts in cream with almonds. I halved the sprouts and fried them in some butter, added a little vegetable stock and then let them simmer away in lots of cream for about half an hour or so. Crunchy almonds sprinkled on the top.
I have a couple of long term aims. By the end of the month I would like to have experimented with three things I have never been courageous enough to tackle: soufle, panna cotta and Vietnamese prawn soup. There, I've said it! I am now committed to attempting them!
Breaded meat sounds easy and tasty. Soy sauce seems to me to be an excellent idea!
Saturday, 6 August 2011
King St Kitchen
House guests tonight. Did a risotto and breaded beef.
My breaded beef starts with minute steak from the Luke, our local butcher. Cut into serving size and toss in beaten egg and soy sauce, this can sit in fridge for a while. Fresh bread crumbs are best, any multi grain toasted and then put into food processor with a bit of continental parsley, but alternatively multigrain krummies will do.
Risotto had pancetta, silver beat and leek, then parsley, parmegiano R and toasted mixed nuts on top.
My breaded beef starts with minute steak from the Luke, our local butcher. Cut into serving size and toss in beaten egg and soy sauce, this can sit in fridge for a while. Fresh bread crumbs are best, any multi grain toasted and then put into food processor with a bit of continental parsley, but alternatively multigrain krummies will do.
Risotto had pancetta, silver beat and leek, then parsley, parmegiano R and toasted mixed nuts on top.
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