Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Knife Skills
Found this video randomly when I was trying to research what to spend my Flybuys points on. Not sure why I never bothered to learn how to cut things properly, but now that I've watched the video I will definitely make more of an effort to slice things correctly!
I also ordered a new knife and chopping boards because my Flybuys points were expring this month. Can't wait for them to arrive.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Dessert Wine and Raspberry Tiramisu
I got this recipe from The Instant Cook by Donna Hay, page 174.
I think it's pretty vital to buy the packet sponge fingers because if you just use ready made sponge, it won't have enough sweetness. Also, the texture between sponge fingers and sponge are quite quite different.
Mascarpone and whipped cream are almost the same in texture and flavour, and without the sugar of the sponge fingers, it's pretty much just butter! I always thought tiramisu is a difficult dessert to make, but really it's just assembly. Although knowing what goes into it makes me less likely want to eat one - heart attack on a plate! Definitely for sharing.
First things first, find a suitable container. The recipe recommends a 10 cup capacity serving dish. As I was planning to take this to work to share, I used a fairly large plastic container.
Place the cream in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.
Fold the mascarpone through the cream and set aside.
Quickly dip both sides of half the biscuits and layer the base of the container. 13 didn't quite fit into my container, so settled for 12.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups cream (single or pouring)
500 g mascarpone
1 cup dessert wine (I used Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora)
600 g defrosted frozen raspberries (they only sell this in half kilo packs, so I only used 500 g)
26 store-bought sponge finger biscuits
cocoa powder for dusting (I used one of those chocolate topping duster thingees that come packed with Nestle coffee drinks)
I think it's pretty vital to buy the packet sponge fingers because if you just use ready made sponge, it won't have enough sweetness. Also, the texture between sponge fingers and sponge are quite quite different.
Mascarpone and whipped cream are almost the same in texture and flavour, and without the sugar of the sponge fingers, it's pretty much just butter! I always thought tiramisu is a difficult dessert to make, but really it's just assembly. Although knowing what goes into it makes me less likely want to eat one - heart attack on a plate! Definitely for sharing.
First things first, find a suitable container. The recipe recommends a 10 cup capacity serving dish. As I was planning to take this to work to share, I used a fairly large plastic container.
Place the cream in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.
Whisk, whisk, whisk, sore arm. Screw this, bring out the big guns.
Fold the mascarpone through the cream and set aside.
Quickly dip both sides of half the biscuits and layer the base of the container. 13 didn't quite fit into my container, so settled for 12.
Spoon half the cream mixture over the layer of biscuits, and layer with raspberries. Repeat. Dust the top with cocoa and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
The sponge cakes come 21 in a pack, so I had two packs. Had enough to make tiny little tiramisu-in-a-lunchbox. I'd make a great mother, really, I would. Start the kid with a heart attack, he'd be the envy of all his chubby peers :)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups cream (single or pouring)
500 g mascarpone
1 cup dessert wine (I used Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora)
600 g defrosted frozen raspberries (they only sell this in half kilo packs, so I only used 500 g)
26 store-bought sponge finger biscuits
cocoa powder for dusting (I used one of those chocolate topping duster thingees that come packed with Nestle coffee drinks)
Potato Salad
Recently I asked on Facebook to give suggestions for ingredients to cook with. One of the suggestions was pickled cucumbers. Apparently there is not much use for them other than a delicious snack or a topping on a pizza.
I've found this recipe in Kitchen Sense by Mitchell Davis, page 73. It specifically states that the secret to this recipe is to use plenty of chopped pickle and pickle juice. The salad tastes delicious, so I declare it "Mission Accomplished".
I went by "Three large potatoes" part of the recipe, and thinking I should have gone by "Two pounds" instead, because the amount seems rather small to make six serves. I guess New Zealand large isn't quite American large :) I served the salad with some saveloys to stretch the serving size.
The salad really doesn't take any time at all to make. The trick is to cook the potatoes and the eggs the night before. The recipe says to cool them for 2-3 hours, so unless you're preparing for some events, I don't see the point of making it on the same day. The next day the whole exercise takes less than 10 minutes.
Day 1: Place the potatoes and eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add two teaspoons of salt and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Lift out the eggs and cool under cold, running water. Continue to cook potatoes until they are tender when pricked with a fork, but don't overcook or the salad will be mushy.
Drain the potatoes and cool to room temperature or refrigerate the potatoes and the eggs 2-3 hours or overnight.
Day 2: Peel the potatoes and eggs, cut the potatoes into small cubes and place in a large bowl. Chop the eggs and add them to the potatoes, along with the celery, onion, pickles, pickle juice, mustard, mayonnaise, parsley 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Mix well, taste, and adjust the seasoning if required. Chill until ready to serve.
2 large eggs
Salt
2 celery stalks, finely chopped -- I omitted celery because I don't like it raw.
1 small white or red onion or 3 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped -- I used a small red onion
5 sweet midget gherkins or 1 large dill pickle, finely chopped, with 2 tablespoons pickle juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Best Foods mayonnaise (it really is the best, and this recipe specifically asks for it!)
1-2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or other herbs -- I used rubbed thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
I've found this recipe in Kitchen Sense by Mitchell Davis, page 73. It specifically states that the secret to this recipe is to use plenty of chopped pickle and pickle juice. The salad tastes delicious, so I declare it "Mission Accomplished".
I went by "Three large potatoes" part of the recipe, and thinking I should have gone by "Two pounds" instead, because the amount seems rather small to make six serves. I guess New Zealand large isn't quite American large :) I served the salad with some saveloys to stretch the serving size.
The salad really doesn't take any time at all to make. The trick is to cook the potatoes and the eggs the night before. The recipe says to cool them for 2-3 hours, so unless you're preparing for some events, I don't see the point of making it on the same day. The next day the whole exercise takes less than 10 minutes.
Day 1: Place the potatoes and eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add two teaspoons of salt and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Lift out the eggs and cool under cold, running water. Continue to cook potatoes until they are tender when pricked with a fork, but don't overcook or the salad will be mushy.
Day 2: Peel the potatoes and eggs, cut the potatoes into small cubes and place in a large bowl. Chop the eggs and add them to the potatoes, along with the celery, onion, pickles, pickle juice, mustard, mayonnaise, parsley 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Mix well, taste, and adjust the seasoning if required. Chill until ready to serve.
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| Chopped red onion |
 |
| Chopped eggs |
 |
Mixed well! |
Ingredients:
2 pounds boiling potato, unpeeled (about 3 large)2 large eggs
Salt
2 celery stalks, finely chopped -- I omitted celery because I don't like it raw.
1 small white or red onion or 3 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped -- I used a small red onion
5 sweet midget gherkins or 1 large dill pickle, finely chopped, with 2 tablespoons pickle juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Best Foods mayonnaise (it really is the best, and this recipe specifically asks for it!)
1-2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or other herbs -- I used rubbed thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
Zibibbo
Adam Newell is a Michelin Star chef and runs his restaurant Zibibbo on Tory St in Wellington. After Citron closed down, it is my most favourite restaurant. Zibibbo is also more accessible to every day dining, and is not at all pretentious as more upscale restaurants tend to get. The service is always fantastic, and the food is simply amazing.
There is a bar downstairs, and they also have a small functions room for group dining. The Zibibbo bar is my go-to place for the most delicious mojito in town.
The dining room has great atmosphere, with the chef prominently visible in the middle of the area. The tables are on a different floor from the bar, removing some of the drunken noise that might arise on a Friday night.
Zibibo does a set menu lunch during weekdays, with two or three courses, allowing a small selection for each course. The best part is that the menu changes very regularly -- it already does not have the items we had for lunch last month! If you do go, pay extra attention to the sides as they are often to-die-for. Special memories belong to the cauliflower gratin and to the roasted beets with walnuts.
Recently they did a deal through DailyDo and I just could not resist going there for lunch. Of course I paid for it with pain as it was far more food than my stomach was prepared to deal with. The flavour overload was totally worth it though.
There is a bar downstairs, and they also have a small functions room for group dining. The Zibibbo bar is my go-to place for the most delicious mojito in town.
The dining room has great atmosphere, with the chef prominently visible in the middle of the area. The tables are on a different floor from the bar, removing some of the drunken noise that might arise on a Friday night.
Zibibo does a set menu lunch during weekdays, with two or three courses, allowing a small selection for each course. The best part is that the menu changes very regularly -- it already does not have the items we had for lunch last month! If you do go, pay extra attention to the sides as they are often to-die-for. Special memories belong to the cauliflower gratin and to the roasted beets with walnuts.
Recently they did a deal through DailyDo and I just could not resist going there for lunch. Of course I paid for it with pain as it was far more food than my stomach was prepared to deal with. The flavour overload was totally worth it though.
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| Apple and Rhubarb Crumble with Pistachio Ice-cream |
Faux Venison and Aubergine Moussaka
The reason it's faux venison is because Lower Hutt is too ghetto to have venison mince in the supermarkets, so we substituted high quality lamb mince :) I do think it'd be a much better fusion of flavours with venison mince as leek and prunes definitely call for a more sharp gamey meat.
This is Adam Newell's recipe from his book Dine In, page 115.
This was quite an ambitious recipe to make because it is quite fiddly. I think the leek we got from the supermarket was far larger than what Adam used in his recipe because it made a tonne of moussaka and the sauce was quite thick -- I ended up adding a bit of water during cooking. The frying of aubergine took two frying pans and a George Foreman grill because I didn't read ahead and had to do it in a rush. D'oh!
I have a mandoline for slicing of harder vegetables into equal thickness slices. I got it at the Food Show in Wellington, and, unlike many "bought on TV" gadgets, it's actually really good and of high quality. It's indispensable for potato gratins. I used it to slice the potatoes and eggplants for this dish.
My oven dish was too small, so we made two moussakas at the same time. This was actually quite opportune as for one of them we added less oil to see the difference.
This is Adam Newell's recipe from his book Dine In, page 115.
 |
| The finished product. Dellissimo! |
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| Slicing tomatoes and eggplants. |
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| Frying of the aubergine. Cheese/mince/leek sauce is resting in the background. |
 |
| Slicing of all the vegetables. |
I have a mandoline for slicing of harder vegetables into equal thickness slices. I got it at the Food Show in Wellington, and, unlike many "bought on TV" gadgets, it's actually really good and of high quality. It's indispensable for potato gratins. I used it to slice the potatoes and eggplants for this dish.
My oven dish was too small, so we made two moussakas at the same time. This was actually quite opportune as for one of them we added less oil to see the difference.
 |
| The two moussakas, straight from the oven. |
Recipes never tell you these things in advance, and I'm too daft to read ahead. So, in case you're like me, here's the important stuff you'll need later. Preheat oven to 150°C. Make chicken stock if using cubes. Slice the eggplants and fry all the slices.
First off, the mince was poached in the stock and thyme for 10 minutes, then strained (reserving the stock), and set aside. I've never poached mince before, and I found this method of cooking it much more enjoyable. Frying raw mince always smells like fish food to me, I usually find it quite off-putting.
Using the same pan (so all leftover mince 'bits'), sauté leek and garlic in butter for two minutes. Add the flour and cook for two more minutes.
Slowly add the hot stock a little at a time, stirring to combine. Simmer for five minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Add the cream, bring to the boil, then add the cheese and cooked mince. Gently cook for two minutes, stirring.
Arrange a layer of eggplant in a large ovenproof dish. Add a layer of sliced tomato and season with salt and pepper. Spoon in a 5 mm layer of venison sauce, followed by a layer of sliced potato. Repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of prunes, Cheddar and Parmesan. Drizzle with the oil (I omitted the oil for the second dish and it didn't really make much of a difference, tastewise).
Bake, covered with a lid or a layer of tinfoil, for one hour, then uncovered for a further 20 minutes until a golden crust forms.
Ingredients:
500 g venison mince
200 mL chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped thyme
75 g salted butter
1 large leek, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
100 g all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
100 mL cream
150 g Cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for topping
50 g Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for topping
2 aubergines (eggplants), sliced and fried
4 tomatoes, sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
50 g prunes, pitted and chopped
75 mL extra virgin olive oil
First off, the mince was poached in the stock and thyme for 10 minutes, then strained (reserving the stock), and set aside. I've never poached mince before, and I found this method of cooking it much more enjoyable. Frying raw mince always smells like fish food to me, I usually find it quite off-putting.
 |
| Poaching mince |
 |
| Mince is resting, leek is sauteéing. |
Arrange a layer of eggplant in a large ovenproof dish. Add a layer of sliced tomato and season with salt and pepper. Spoon in a 5 mm layer of venison sauce, followed by a layer of sliced potato. Repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of prunes, Cheddar and Parmesan. Drizzle with the oil (I omitted the oil for the second dish and it didn't really make much of a difference, tastewise).
Bake, covered with a lid or a layer of tinfoil, for one hour, then uncovered for a further 20 minutes until a golden crust forms.
 |
| Serves 6. |
500 g venison mince
200 mL chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped thyme
75 g salted butter
1 large leek, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
100 g all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
100 mL cream
150 g Cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for topping
50 g Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for topping
2 aubergines (eggplants), sliced and fried
4 tomatoes, sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
50 g prunes, pitted and chopped
75 mL extra virgin olive oil
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Yet another food blog
In the inspiring steps of Julie & Julia and a thousand and one TV chefs out there, I feel compelled to add yet another pollutant to the world of blogosphere.
I am not going to cook every single dish in a book. Mostly because I never like every single recipe in a cooking book. I do have many cooking books. In fact, there is an entire book shelf in my kitchen, filled with recipes. I never considered myself a cook -- I resent the idea of "having something on the table after a day of work" or "It's dinner time, let's eat". For me, food is more than just the fuel that powers my body. It must be delicious and there must be something good on TV to watch or some pleasant company to interact with before I even consider eating. I would never "just grab something" or eat in the kitchen. For me, it is an experience, a joy in and of itself. Besides, food tastes faaaar better when you're hungry :)
I must define my constraints:
- A couple of years ago I felt very overweight and I joined WeightWatchers. I was very successful and lost nearly 20 kilos to date. I went from size 14 to size 8 (New Zealand sizes). The non-gimmicky calories in/calories out science-based concepts of WW really connected with me. I used to have "Cheesecake days" to test the programme, and it still worked. So I am conscious of not eating too much, but I would never restrict myself to "healthy" recipes that in reality mean "rabbit food". After all, it's the portion sizes that really matter.
- I recently had a change in personal circumstances and no longer have as high an income at my disposal. And most of the income that I do have will need to be ring-fenced towards my mortgage. While I am aware and very anxious of it, I still do spend ungodly amounts of money on food. But it also means I am not going to cook 70 dishes in one week just to show to the world what I can do. I like doing this because I like blogging and I like the process of cooking, but at the end it's still my meal. I often cook things that serve 4-6 people and then subdivide it into portions in plastic containers and freeze them. I have a stand alone upright freezer that has drawers (as opposed to those ridiculous "dump everything into this skip bin" freezers that you can never find anything in). It took me a while to find it, and it's amazing -- food doesn't go off and I always have something to eat when I don't feel like cooking. Plus, lunches!
- My laziness comes and goes and I get bored easily. At the moment I enjoy the process of cooking itself. I find Chef Academy more fun to watch than, say, MasterChef or Iron Chef, because it's more about the process than the creation of recipes. I don't really come up with new things, I like following instructions and basking in the glory when I get it right.
- I like interaction with people. It's very likely that I might find this blogging business largely dissatisfying and forget to update it. Oops.
With all that preamble out of the way, Onwards!
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