Gordon Ramsay, the MasterChef Judges and The Good Food and Wine Show 3-5 July 2009

July 5th, 2009

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Now some would say that counting down the days to buy tickets in the pre-booking period and calling your husband panicking 30 minutes before the lines open 6 months, 6 days and 1 hour before an event might be considered a little…. Let’s say… obsessive…

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I would be one to agree with that view.

But it did not stop me late January making sure I did not miss out – as this is the first famous person I’ve met (that I can remember) and the first Good Food and Wine Show I’ve been to. Last year I was too busy and the year before that was the first time I’d really heard much about the show.

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Gordon Ramsay was very different to how he acts on his shows. He seems to be more like how you see or hear him in interviews. Quite nice, with the occasional rude joke and a little swearing (I don’t even recall him swearing… maybe once or twice – but I missed it, which is not such a bad thing).

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He made (with help from another chef) Cod and Tomato Chowder, Glazed Salmon with Spinach and Radish Salad and for dessert Poached Pears in Mulled Wine – with the most fantastic smelling caramelized figs! Unfortunately I wasn’t picked to go up and taste test the dishes (two females and two males from the audience were chosen).

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After the show, Gordon did a book signing and was absolutely lovely in person. He greeted Nick and I, giving me a kiss on the cheek and having a small conversion about who does the cooking in our house, baking and how it is a science and wishing us well. I was delighted with how it went and look forward to cooking some of the lovely dishes from his new book Healthy Appetite, which we got singed.

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A Photo from Healthy Appetite: Vanilla pannacotta with blueberry sauce:

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In between this show and the next, we went around the Good Food and Wine Show trying out new foods and a lot of wines. The foods on offer ranged from lovely chocolates in a variety of intriguing flavours, nougat, biscuits, cheese, olives, olive oil, cakes, ham and lovely dips.

I was lucky enough to find my way to The Biscuit Tree, where ChocolateSuze was chatting to Lili and was extremely generous is giving us a taste test of some of her lovely biscotti and shortbread. The only problem with this was trying to decide on which to buy. 🙂 We ended up choosing a lovely Cardamon & Pear Pistachio Biscotti. The flavours complement each other really well and don’t compare to anything you can buy in the shops. Nice to meet you finally Suze! 🙂

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The wines on offer took up probably more than half the stalls, I decided to try and find a wine which I liked and since I don’t really like wine, Nick ended up with double the amount of wine he had asked for. I did find a couple which I liked though, so all-in-all with a lot of taste testing done – a few Muscato’s will be remembered and possibly bought in the future.

Moving on to the last show we saw before we left, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris (two of the judges from MasterChef) from the Boathouse and The Press Club respectively, were on stage making a lovely array of dishes including Jam filled Donuts. Matt Preston also made an appearance during their cooking, with Gary and George giving one of his cravats to an audience member. Matt made sure the oven and oil was at the right temperature, as he mentioned the day before it wasn’t checked which made some of the dishes not turn out as they should.

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Gary and George were very entertaining, working very well together, with many good jokes throughout. Some of the contestants from MasterChef came on the stage, with the audience picking Poh to help them with the donuts.

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I had seen George’s book The Press Club a while ago and had put it on my Birthday wish list. Although after hearing George was doing signings, I made sure I bought his book at the show and got it signed, so we’ll have to see if I have to wait till my birthday to get it, or whether it will be a present to myself 🙂 . George seemed surprised by the number of people at their show as it was more packed than the earlier Gordon Ramsay show (perhaps because it cost extra and was quite early in the morning).

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Just looking through the photos in The Press Club is enjoyable, with each dish presented like a piece of art. I look forward to making some of these dishes, especially as I have a big love of Greek food – especially sweets.

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Photo from The Press Club: Island of Chios Mastic Pannacotta, Greek Doughnuts:

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All-in-all, I really enjoyed my first Good Food and Wine Show in Sydney. I would have liked a few more foods available to try and I also found the prices quite high on a lot of the food to eat there. The shows themselves were very enjoyable, more for the celebrities themselves than the actual cooking.

Posted in Books, Chefs, MasterChef, Shows and Festivals | 16 Comments »

Croquembouche

July 2nd, 2009

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I was so inspired while watching MasterChef when Adriano Zumbo brought out a massive Croquembouche (a custard filled profiterole stack covered in toffee/caramel).

Hearing the crispy crunch as the contestants bite through the toffee covering layer, then seeing the thick custard and lovely fresh choux pastry… I just melted. I wished badly that I could be there trying one. (Maybe not competing – it seemed very stressful, with contestants burning their hands left, right and centre.)

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After such a good recommendation (of stress and burnings) – why wouldn’t I give it a go? 😛 Well I hoped that doing it at home without as much stress would allow the experience to be a good one.

I just needed a reason to make one, and what better than a “Welcome Home” dinner? (You would want to leave and come back every week if this was your reward for returning… or at least I would).

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Can I just say… this is truly the BEST, most FANTASTIC custard ever!!!! (sorry I didn’t get a photo that did it justice) The whole combination of choux pastry, custard and toffee was just amazing! I will definitely make this again, but next time I will be a bit more careful with the toffee…

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I made the quantities given on the MasterChef website (check out their video), and it ended up making around 180 profiteroles (8 trays worth) and enough custard to fill half of them, with enough toffee to coat those with custard. As we had so many pastry shells left over, we filled half of the remaining profiteroles with vanilla whipped cream and dipped the top in melted dark chocolate. For this reason I would suggest making half the quantity of profiteroles (or if you only want one small Croquembouche, make a quarter of the profiteroles and half of each the custard and toffee). Due to the excess in cooking, I ended up taking a small tower and some chocolate ones to work… those poor people 😛

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I found the toffee didn’t last very well for the next day, I’m not sure of the best way to store this overnight if you make it in advance, but I’m sure the custard could be made the day before, I’ve also heard the profiteroles can be made in advance… I’ll try and get back to you on what works….

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Croquembouche
Recipe from Adriano Zumbo on MasterChef Australia

Choux pastry:
425g Water
530g Milk
20g Sugar
20g Salt
400g Butter
530g Flour
16 Eggs

Pastry cream:
1300ml Milk
330g Eggs Yolks (around 18)
330g Sugar
130g Cornflour
130g Butter
2 Vanilla beans

Caramel:
660g Sugar
200g Water
260g Glucose

To make the pastry cream, place milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Heat gently until the milk almost boils. Remove from the heat, whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl until thick and pale. Gradually whisk in the warm milk. Return mixture to same saucepan and stir over medium heat until the custard boils. Spread over a tray to cool rapidly. Cover the surface of the custard closely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming, at 55°C transfer to a bowl and stir through butter and refrigerate to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees celsius convection. Lightly grease 4 oven trays and set aside. Combine the butter with water, sugar, milk & salt in a large heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and using a wooden spoon quickly beat in the flour. Return to the heat and continue beating until the mixture comes together and leaves the side of the pan. Cook, beating over low heat for 1-2 minutes to cook flour. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

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Transfer to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture to release any more heat. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well between each addition until all the eggs have been added and the mixture is thick and glossy. Beat for a few more minutes, or until thickened.

Spoon the mixture, in batches, into a piping bag fitted with a 1.25-1.5cm nozzle. Cover remaining pastry with cling film. Pipe mixture onto trays about 3cm x 2cm high leaving room for spreading. Bake for 25-30 minutes, in batches, or until firm and hollow when tapped. Transfer puffs to wire racks.

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Put custard into a piping bag with a nozzle less than 1cm. Poke a small hole in the base of each puff and fill with custard.

For the caramel, combine water and sugar in a saucepan until it boils add glucose, and cook until caramel in colour. Remove from the heat and dip the base of the pan in a bowl of water to cool slightly. Grease a cake ring and place ring mould on a baking paper lined tray, pour enough caramel to coat the base 5mm. This is the base for the croquembouche. (I didn’t make this base)
Dip the puff bases in enough toffee to coat and place upside down on a tray lined with baking paper.

(I just put a bit of toffee on the base of the profiteroles in a line so I could still hold the edges of the base. I then dipped the top in the toffee and stacked the profiteroles making a cone shape, sticking them together with extra toffee if needed)

To assemble, oil the croquembouche cone. Dip the sides of the puff balls in the toffee one at a time and place around the base of the cone. Continue adding balls until the cone is covered.
Transfer the base for the croquembouche to a serving plate. Place a small amount of caramel on the base. Grasp croquembouche gently and lift from the cone and place on the caramel base.

Re-heat the remaining toffee then dip two forks back to back in it. Spin toffee around the Croquembouche. Decorate with violets.

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Posted in Cakes, Slices and Biscuits, Dessert, Egg Yolks, MasterChef, Recipes | 39 Comments »

Fried Rice

June 30th, 2009

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Looking for something easy, quick, tasty and reasonably cheap? Well, fried rice is a good way to use up whatever is left in the fridge and easy to alter the recipe by adding fresh ingredients.

Easy Fried Rice
Recipe from Taste.com.au

Serves: 4

1 cup long grain white rice
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 bacon rashers, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 shallots, trimmed, finely sliced (I used a sliced onion)
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus extra to serve
I added a few sliced mushrooms too, when cooking bacon and onion (capsicum would also go well in this dish)

Cook the rice in a large saucepan of boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and leave to cool.

Using a whisk, lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Heat oil in non-stick wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add eggs. Swirl over base to form an omelette. Cook 2 minutes. Turn over. Cook 2 minutes until set. Transfer to a chopping board. Set aside to cool slightly. Cut into short strips.

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Add bacon to wok. Cook 4 minutes until light golden. Add carrot. Stir fry 1 minute. Add shallots, peas and rice. Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes. Add egg and soy sauce. Stir until heated through. Serve immediately, with extra soy.

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Posted in Budget Meals, Healthy Eating, Main Meals, Recipes, Snacks | 10 Comments »

Bakewell Tart… er… Pudding – Daring Bakers Challenge June 2009

June 27th, 2009

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My First Daring Bakers Challenge!! I was so excited to find out what my first challenge would be with the Daring Bakers, and was a little scared when I heard about the different components needed for this tart… er… pudding (as the hosts like to put it). And a Big THANK YOU to the hosts for this month and to the founders and everyone at The Daring Kitchen for all their hard work.

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The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

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Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

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Going by the suggestions given by the lovely hosts, I made the shortcrust pastry by hand (grating chilled butter into flour) and the jam also from scratch using fruits in season – Pink Lady Apple , Rhubarb and Cinnamon Jam. I’m glad I made the effort to make everything from scratch and would certainly make jam again, but would use a food processor for the pastry (Since making this tart, I have made pastry again and the food processor makes a nicer consistency with the pastry compared with what I was able to do by hand).

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Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges) (I used a quiche dish as this is all I had), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

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Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

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The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

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When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

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Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.

Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional – I used vanilla extract instead, like the notes said)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

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Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy.

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Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again.

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With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

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Annemarie’s notes:
• Add another five minutes or more if you’re grinding your own almonds or if you’re mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

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Posted in Cakes, Slices and Biscuits, Daring Bakers, Dessert, Recipes | 27 Comments »

Pink Lady Apple, Rhubarb and Cinnamon Jam

June 25th, 2009

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When making jams, or anything really, it’s important to use fruits that are in season. This is both due to a better taste, but also reduced costs. So whist deciding to make my first ever jam, I checked on the fruits in season in Australia in June.

Two that caught my eye were pink lady apples (which I had accidentally bought a lot of, due to low prices) and rhubarb, which I don’t cook with often. I also thought it would be a very different jam to make, sort of emulating an apple and rhubarb pie.

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For those who don’t like an extremely sweet jam, try this one, as it is a little on the tart side. For those who like a sweet jam, feel free to add another 200-400g sugar whilst cooking. I also didn’t realise how the fruit would act when cooking, I found the rhubarb fell apart quite quickly, whereas the apples held their shape quite well, making this a chunky jam. It could have easily been blended up at the end, or the apple pieces made a lot smaller for someone who likes a smooth jam.

I’m now looking forward to trying some new combinations and am (not so) patiently waiting for strawberries to come into season and be a reasonable price… or even more waiting for our strawberry plants to start bearing good fruit, now that they are off our balcony and can get proper sunlight.

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Pink Lady Apple, Rhubarb and Cinnamon Jam
Makes: 2 x 500-600g jars

380g Rhubarb, diced
400g Pink Lady apples, diced quite small
400g sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)
120ml water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ packet (25g) JamSetta (this is a pectin based Jam setting product that can be bought in Australian supermarkets – other people may need to test out jam setting sugar or other pectin products)

Place rhubarb, apple, sugar, cinnamon and water in a very large saucepan.

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Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

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Add Jamsetta and bring to the boil, cook for 5 minutes (be careful as the jam starts to spit out of the pot). Pour into warm sterilised jars. (See here on good tips to sterilise jars). Make sure both the jam and jars are hot.

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Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

Almond and Vanilla Porridge

June 22nd, 2009

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We all know “someone”, who can’t go past a freebee. Who goes around and around to people handing around free samples just so they can collect as much as possible…

Well I know a couple of those people, and I can certainly relate to it, especially when I see something that looks particularly appealing. And let’s face it – it’s the best sort of bargain out there – you get something for nothing!

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Even though I’ve never liked porridge that people have made (I’ve found they tend to be a bit plain, and since I don’t like dried fruit, it doesn’t even add an extra element that would entice me), I picked up a few samples of porridge in new flavours or a different brand being handed out. One had dried fruit, the other Vanilla and Almond Porridge. Well, the later actually sounds nice, so after trying it, I realised I would have it again. But samples don’t last long… they’re samples. And not finding them in the shops meant I would try and make it myself (and it’s likely to be both cheaper and healthier – as you know exactly what goes into it).

So, one trial for the recipe and I was pretty happy with the result (even more so than the original product, after being given another sample and doing a taste-test comparison)! This is great for our cold weather (and unfortunately weather that is going to get colder and rainier).

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Almond and Vanilla Porridge

Serves: 1 small serving, feel free to double the quantity

1/3 cup rolled oats, blitzed in a food processor until chopped slightly (or Quick Oats)
1 tablespoon blitzed roasted almonds
1 teaspoon caster sugar
A sprinkle of ground cinnamon
2/3 cup milk (approximately)
1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the vanilla with the milk and pour into bowl. Mix together and microwave on high for 1 minute (Be careful, this will be hot). Stir mixture and cook on high for another 30sec – 1min, until as thick as you like. Add more milk depending on the consistency and temperature you like your porridge.

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Posted in Breakfast, Budget Meals, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Vegetarian | 8 Comments »

The Best Ever Pancake Recipe

June 19th, 2009

Do you have many kitchen bowls or dishes that have a heap of writing on them? A recipe perhaps? Well, I have one (and certainly saw a few more in the range when I bought this one). It’s a pancake mixing bowl – with a recipe for The Best-Ever Pancakes!

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Very cool!

Although I find it hard to say that these are the “Best-Ever!”, they are certainly close. These pancakes are easy to make, lovely flavours and nice and fluffy and fantastic with maple syrup. I have made it a few times and been happy – and the recipe is always easy to find! 😉

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The Best Ever Pancake Recipe
Recipe from PRIMO pancake bowl

2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1½ cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
75g butter, melted
extra butter for frying

Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Whisk in beaten eggs, milk, sugar and butter. Sizzle some extra butter in a non-stick frying pan and pour in batter to desired size. Flip when bubbles appear and cook until golden. Enjoy with lemon juice and castor sugar! (or maple syrup)

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Posted in Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes, Vegetarian | 13 Comments »

Chorizo, Pumpkin and Feta Pasta

June 13th, 2009

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Can you imagine how we felt when we had used up only half the amount of pumpkin we had roasted for a pizza, with half a block (100g) of feta still in the fridge? Well I may have been a little apprehensive as to what to do with these… maybe make another pizza – I do love pizza.

How about a pasta sauce? Nick suggested.

Having already used up all the cream I had bought for a dessert, I thought, well… that combination does go lovely with the tomato base of the pizza, sure give it a go.

So as Nick concocted this recipe the first time, no photos were taken (as we weren’t sure of how it would turn out). As time passes, we realise we will be making it time and time again and always leaving some left over pumpkin and feta from the pizzas (as if the pumpkin is already roasted previously, this recipe will take less than an hour from start to eating).

The lovely feta falls apart slightly in this lovely pasta dish, producing a slightly creamy pasta sauce, the pumpkin adds a lovely depth to the meal and the chorizo (which can be left out for a vegetarian option) is cut into many pieces to ensure a smoky spiced flavour hit in many mouthfuls. I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I do.

Chorizo, Pumpkin, Feta Pasta
Serves: 6-8

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 chorizo, sliced thinly (0.5cm), then slices cut in 2 or 3 pieces
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
400g diced tomatoes
¼ cup red wine
¼ cup white wine
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/6 (400-600g) Kent pumpkin, or any other pumpkin, cut into cubes and roasted
100g Feta cubed (any variety will work, including Danish feta, reduced fat, Greek etc)
500g penne pasta

If not already roasted, place cubed pumpkin pieces on a baking tray with baking paper. Brush with a little olive oil. Roast in a preheated oven at 180C for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is soft. This can be stored in the fridge and used within couple of days.

Start pasta cooking.

Place diced tomatoes, red wine and garlic in a small food processor and blend.

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Place oil in a medium saucepan and heat over medium/high heat. Once hot, add chorizo (be careful of oil spitting) and cook stirring occasionally until chorizo is starting to turn brown. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes or until onion becomes soft.

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Add tomato mix and cook for a few minutes. Add the white wine, herbs, salt, sugar and tomato paste. Cook for 5 minutes or until pasta is ready to be drained. When pasta is al dente, drain in colander. Add the pumpkin and feta and stir gently through sauce mix. Place drained pasta back in large pot. Add sauce to pasta and stir gently. Serve.

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Posted in Main Meals, Recipes | 8 Comments »

Pizza

June 10th, 2009

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Pizza has so many possibilities… so many gourmet, traditional and common combinations. I guess that’s what makes it so appealing. Make the base, cover in pizza sauce then go wild with your options.

What is your favourite pizza combination?

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For me… I can’t choose. This is where a lot of people come in handy, the more people, the more pizzas, the more combinations – yay for all! Everyone knows (and loves) the more common pizza toppings of supreme, meat lovers (finding as much variety of meat as possible and covering the pizza), vegetarian, Hawaiian (Ham and pineapple) and Margarita.

A few extra combinations for pizza toppings include the following: (Use tomato base and spread grated cheese on top of toppings)

Chorizo and Spinach
Slice 1 chorizo and fry in some oil until slightly brown on edges. Place on pizza with 12 or more baby spinach leaves.

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Roast Pumpkin, Feta and Caramelised Onion
Cut 1/8 of a jap pumpkin (300-400g) into small cubes. Place on baking tray with baking paper. Lightly brush with oil and bake for 20 minutes or more at 180C until soft in the middle and starting to caramelise. Slice half an onion and cook over medium heat in some oil until onions become translucent and caramelised, Cut 100g Feta into cubes and place caramelised onion, pumpkin and feta on the pizza.

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Bacon, Potato and Caramelised Onion
Peel 2 potatoes and cut into cubes. Roast in oven preheated to 180C for 10-30minute or until cooked through and slightly crispy. Remove fat and cut 2-3 slices of bacon into pieces. Cook in a pan over medium heat with removed bacon rind or a little olive oil. Slice half an onion and cook over medium heat in some oil until onions become translucent and caramelised.

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Tomato, Basil and Boconchinni
Slice 1 tomato (or cut 4-5 cherry tomatoes in half) and place on pizza with 8-12 basil leaves and small pieces (approx 4, each torn in half) boconchinni.

Pizza base
Serves: 4-8 (2-4 pizzas, depending on how thick you like your bases)

3 – 3 ½ cups plain flour, plus a little extra for kneading
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 x 7g sachets (2 tablespoons) dry yeast
300 ml warm water
½ tablespoon oil (to oil the pan)

¼ cups tomato puree mixed with dried herbs and salt (or 140g Ardmona pizza sauce) or Pizza Sauce (see below)
1 cup cheese, grated
Plus any other toppings

Combine 2 cups of flour, salt, sugar, oregano and dried yeast. Add warm water and beat 300 strokes by hand. Add the extra 1 – 1½ cups of flour and mix until smooth, knead lightly. Cover with a clean tea towel or cling wrap and prove for 10-20 minutes.

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Preheat oven to 180 – 190°C.

Grease pizza pan or tray with oil. Punch the dough, divide into two and roll out to fit the tray. Place the pizza on the oiled pans and spread pizza sauce over the two pizzas. Arrange toppings and then cover with grated cheese.

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Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Pizza Sauce
Makes: Enough for 2-3 pizzas

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
440g can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup red wine

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add oil then cook onion for 5-10 minutes, until the onion starts to become transparent. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 30 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Puree sauce and cool. Spread over pizza base.

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Posted in Main Meals, Recipes, Vegetarian | 12 Comments »

Banana Bread

June 7th, 2009

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I don’t like wasting food. I try to eat all fruit and veggies before they start turning bad, but sometimes other things come up and I forget about them. Luckily, with bananas, even if I do forget about them for a short or long amount of time, they will still be perfect for banana bread.

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I often hear people say – I thought it was too ripe or too far-gone for banana bread. But I think it’s almost never too far-gone. I use bananas that have started ripening a lot, to ones that have turned completely black. And don’t worry if it’s a little or a lot squishy or becoming a little translucent – this just makes it easier to mash and gives a stronger banana flavour. If you don’t have enough time or bananas for banana bread, just peel the bananas, place in a plastic bag and freeze until ready, then thaw over a few hours and mash like normal.

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Now although this isn’t a “bread” as such, it’s still able to be toasted under a grill or sandwich press and served with a little butter. Any left over slices can be frozen and thawed for a snack – you may want to toast it up to make it a little fresher. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Banana Bread

125g butter
¾ cup white sugar
4 medium bananas
1 teaspoon bi-carb-soda
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups self-raising flour
pinch salt

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs, mix well.

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Peel and mash bananas, fold into butter mixture, add soda dissolved in milk, then fold in sifted flour and salt.

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Turn into greased 9”x5” loaf tin. Bake in at 180ºC for 50 minutes or until cooked through. Cool on cake cooler. Serve warm or cold sliced with butter.

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Posted in Cakes, Slices and Biscuits, Recipes, Snacks | 11 Comments »

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