"But soft, what smell through yonder oven seeps"- Romeo

So after my failed Frankenstein experiment I have decided to redeem my reputation and create a front cover blog special. Just like the segment on MasterChef, where they had to create a magazine front cover dish, I too have made the winning rich chocolate mousse tart for my blog. A la Mindy Chocolate Mousse tart with orange caramel sauce.
Ticks all the boxes for a good dessert. Delicious.Yum factor. 


I will admit that you have to put in a few hours of sweat over melted chocolate and caramel, but if you love cooking.....and by cooking I mean baking then this is worth all the effort and more. Pastry is always a little tricky- just make sure it's not too dry or moist. I took this into work and the positive feedback was astounding! One of the men even said it beat the Marriott dessert bar he had the night before. Score for me. It literally had people salivating and was demolished as soon as it was put down.

 

This dish is a crowd pleaser, makes a fantastic signature dish for those parties that you have to "bring a plate" and will trump all other dishes. 

Chocolate shortcrust pastry

• 100g (2/3 cup) plain flour
• 70gDutch cocoa
• 20gground almonds OR if nut allergy dessicated coconut
• 60gicing sugar
• 90gunsalted butter, chilled, chopped
• 1egg, lightly beaten

Chocolate mousse

• 275gdark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
• 140gunsalted butter, chopped
• 2eggs
• 3egg yolks
• 110g (1/2 cup)caster sugar
• 1orange, zested

Orange caramel

• 110g (1/2 cup)caster sugar
• 100mlorange juice
• 3oranges, segmented
• Baby basil leaves (optional) and mascarpone, to serve

Method

Preparation: 30 minutes plus 45 minutes to rest pastry
Cooking: 40 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. You will need a 24cm round fluted tart pan.

2. For pastry, places flour, cocoa, almonds, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor and process for 30 seconds or until well combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg and process until mixture almost comes together. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick, then use to line pan. Using scissors, trim pastry to 5mm above tart pan rim, then prick base with a fork. Freeze tart shell for 15 minutes. Line tart shell with baking paper, place pan on an oven tray and bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper, then bake for a further 10 minutes or until pastry is dry. Cool for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, while cooling, make chocolate mousse, by placing chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir occasionally until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. Reserve pan of water on the stove.

5. Place eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl over the pan of simmering water. Using hand-held electric beaters, whisk on medium speed for 6 minutes or until nearly tripled in volume and mixture holds a trail. (Alternatively, using a balloon whisk, whisk for 10 minutes.) Remove from heat, add zest, then fold into chocolate mixture in 3 batches until just incorporated. Immediately pour mousse into tart shell and level with an offset spatula. Place pan on an oven tray and bake for 18 minutes or until just set.

6. Meanwhile, place caster sugar in a medium frying pan over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes or until sugar begins to melt. Swirl pan as sugar begins to caramelise, but do not stir. In a separate small saucepan, bring orange juice to the boil. Once caramel is a deep golden, immediately pour in hot orange juice, taking care as mixture will splutter, and stir until smooth. Place orange segments in a heatproof bowl and pour over orange caramel. Brush hot tart with a few coatings of orange caramel, then set tart aside for 20 minutes.

7. To assemble, using a slotted spoon, place a spoonful of orange segments over centre of tart, scatter with basil leaves, if using, and drizzle with a little orange caramel. Serve with mascarpone and remaining orange segments and caramel.

Barefooting at the Barista

Another hot coffee hot spot has popped up in Palm Beach.
BAREFOOT BARISTA
Just follow the people to the door or those hanging out the front with their dogs, waiting for a take away or to just breathe in the coffee aroma permeating the cafe. It's popular so there might be a small wait on weekends for this little trend setter.
Rustic chairs, wooden benches and tables out the front provide a relaxing atmosphere for people watching, or you can head out to the courtyard out the back and gather around with your mates. It's all self serve so grab your own menu and order at the till.
They make great homemade fresh juices brought out in a jar. They have a variety of 10 dollar sourdough combinations with a twist- mushrooms, boston beans or avocado and salsa... and you can add an egg to that. There are also breakfast rolls or wraps available with bacon and chorizo or omelettes. Or you can choose from their behind the glass counter options of toasted sandwiches, savoury and sweet muffins or sweet slices. Some great frittatas and salads too! You'll just want to come back so that you can try something else the next time. Not a good spot if you hate making decisions- too much variety.

Probably not a great spot if windy and rainy as there isn't much shelter but if you have a healthy obsession with coffee then make this trip!

Sourdough with sicilian anchovies, tomato, lemon, oil and parsley- perfect Spanish combination.

Chorizo, egg, salsa verde and tomato wrap

Homemade muesli with yoghurt and apple

Every fair from fair sometimes declines

Vegemite and white chocolate. Together? A bizarre combination right. And yet this is what I made last night. Did it work out? Somewhat- I attempted and I failed in some regards. Not a first time either. But the first time I have decided to blog about a failed experiment because they do happen, even to the best of us. I think this makes this blog therefore more real. Not everything I cook always works out and so here's one of those moments immortalised on the world wide web for all to see. Talk about ownership right?
I will go so far as to say that I won't even add the recipe to this rant or add this to my recipe page- eventually it will be lost with time. Hopefully!

I created Julia's Vegemite and White Chocolate macarons to take into my Extension  English classes. I was hesitant at first to make this dish but curiosity got the best of me and so there I was in the kitchen, stirring and scraping and folding. I mean I wanted to taste these flavours together.  I had made macarons before but I was disappointed by this recipe- they didn't turn out 'pretty.' They came out biscuit looking. The white chocolate and vegemite ganache didn't really set and was a bit runny, and so was the raspberry puree. End result? Disaster. A mish mash. No elegant glossy macaron. Two hours wasted.

Did I give them to the students? Yes...they don't care about the presentation and they loved them. I mean the flavours tasted good but it just wasn't really worth all the effort. Getting them to guess the combination of ingredients was hilarious. Their faces after they realised they were eating vegemite ahahaha And I scored some brownie points.....or should I say macaron points.

So for all of YOU out there, it doesn't always work out. You just have to get back in that recipe book and persevere. Have another go. I know I will be. And it will be delicious!

And if you still want to attempt it yourself head to the masterchef website!

"Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook”- proverb

Perfect Pumpkin and goats cheese risotto- only a few ingredients and minimal time. One tasty dish for the family. Bonus: It's also Vegetarian!!!!




Risotto. So simple, easy and delicious and yet it is so hard to perfect. On Masterchef it is called the disaster killer dish, as anyone who has made it has been sent packing. On a recent episode it took them a number of goes to even make the dish. So what are the tricks and secrets?

1) You must add some butter to a hot pan, add 1/2 a brown onion nicely diced and sweat till the onions are translucent. Then add a cup of arborio rice (serves 2). TIP: Make sure you AGITATE the pan so that the rice gets coated with butter.

2) Add some rosemary stalks and add some white wine around the edges of the pan so that it washes all  the goodness in.


3) Then add HOT chicken stock (roughly a litre) to just cover the rice and cook on medium to high heat. Every few minutes continue to add stock. TIP: DO NOT stir the risotto EVER. Instead merely agitate the pan by picking it up and moving it back and forth. Continue to do this process for roughly 25 mins (add stock. agitate. simmer for some minutes....repeat). Make sure you don't get it to the point of glugginess and sticking together.

4) Meanwhile.................... get a big piece of pumpkin and grate it. Make sure you remove the skin.

5) Add some butter to a saucepan and add the grated pumpkin and cook/steam over a low heat with the lid on. Check it every now and then to make sure the pumpkin is not sticking to the bottom. Cook for 15 min or till the pieces become mushy and you can mash with a spoon.

6) Take off the heat and put into a food processor and process till it becomes mushy like baby food. (This could be turned into a great pumpkin soup too).

7) Once risotto is cooked and has soaked up most of the stock, add some more butter pieces on top and grate some fresh parmesan or pecorino and add spoonfuls of the pumpkin mixture (I put most in but its up to your taste buds). Stir in the pan all together. Season with salt and pepper.












8) To serve spoon the risotto on the plate. TIP: it should be a thin layer on the plate in its juice  not a gluggy ball.  Add some goats cheese on top and grate some of the parmesan etc on top...dress with rosemary and drizzle with some oil.

                                                            BON APPETITE!!!!

"My two favourite animals are pork and bacon" - Homer

Alright then, Char is sleeping and I’m hacking her blog! I’m taking over the Internet but it’s all for a good cause, as I’m about to drop on you all, the most banging Roast Pork recipe around the traps. Inspired by Justin North, with a little Foxy twist, this recipe is sure to impress your family and friends. If you follow this recipe to a tee they will want you to cook every roast from now on – so you better cancel all your plans for a few Sundays!  Key to perfect roast pork? Juicy succulent pork – check, delicious vegies – check, scintillating sauce – check.  Let’s do this! Oh wait silly me I nearly forgot about the crackling! I have un-locked, with some Justin North assistance, the Holy grail of crackling, kind of like Colonel Sander’s secret herbs and spices, let’s just say I think I have a black belt in crackling.

Righto get your pork piece, I bought a rolled pork but any nice roasting cut will do. Make sure you get plenty of crackling and a good bit of fat between the meat and soon to be crackling.  I unrolled the pork and cut it into two equal size pieces. It will cook faster this way and you will be able to get you crackling nice and even.  Score using your razor sharp knife down the outside. Most pork will come scored diagonally so you will make nice little diamonds on the outside.

Take some good quality salt and massage the hell out of your pork piece – top only. Be liberal with it! Rub it in for a good 1-2 minutes then place the pork in the fridge, upside down on a wire rack, for 4 hours. This process will draw out some moisture and without getting technical will go through a process of what I call ‘Crackleprepisis’ = or prepare to get your crunch on!

Now to cook a good roast you have to know the timing of events – meat takes longer than vegies, some vegies take longer than others – aghhhh what first??? Also you need to take in to consideration the size of the pork piece!!! I’m going to leave the timing to you! I’ve done everything else for you, time for you to pull your weight!! 

Prep up your vegies whilst your pork is in the fridge.

Put your oven on at 180deg.

Wipe off your excess salt, add a splash of vegetable oil to a pan. Put this on a medium heat and place the pork crackling side down into the pan -monitor your heat! Turn down if it’s getting too hot in the kitchen!!  You do not want this to burn the crackling, just caramelise – mmmmm caramelise!. 10 minutes of this and you are good to place it in the oven.

This is the part when you can say ‘here’s some I prepared earlier’! Get your vegies out and let’s do this.

1.     Roasted Parsnip = is the bomb! Peel and roast your parsnips at 180 deg, cover with olive oil and throw in a few garlic cloves at the same time.

2.     Potato puree – peel about 8 -10 smallish potatoes and boil in a saucepan – you don’t want to have them turn to mush in the saucepan, so keep an eye on them. Always use cold water when boiling you potatoes so the will cook evenly! Once the garlic is cooked from the parsnip throw the cloves in and add a dollop of cream. I like to use a blender to make my puree, whiz it up till it is silky smooth. Add cream to get the balance right, start with less cream and add as you like.

3.     Carrots – splurge and get yourself some nice little baby carrots – you know the ones with the little green tops. If you are feeling cheap go through the self serve checkout and just call them regular carrots! I don’t endorse any form of crime but it is for a good cause.  Cook in the oven, throw a dash of honey on them when you place them in to add a little extra touch. These will not take too long to cook so hold your horses and wait till the meat is ½ ish cooked.

4.   Scintillating sauce – Grab your trusty pan and add a big old dollop of butter, thyme and finely diced eschallots. Just soften these up and be careful not to burn this. When you can smell the herbs and the eschallots are soft add your pan juices from the roast in the oven. Add some chicken stock and reduce down till you have a nice little sauce. You may need to add a little more stock as you go to get the amount you need right.

Back to the pork! As this bad boy is cooking away you need to monitor the crackling situation. If you think it is looking a little dark you may need to cover with some aluminium foil. If its not crisp to your liking you may need to give it a last minute blast of heat to put the final crunch into it.

Plate this sucker up. Like the timing, I’m gonna leave this to you but I think place your potato puree down first, take you sliced meat and layer it across the potato, then strategically place the carrots and parsnips around the meat. I like to add them in little stacks to add some height to the dish. Generously pour the sauce over the meat and top with a couple of thyme sprigs to spruce it up, just nice!!!

Good luck to you good people! Let me know how you go and don’t let Charmaine know I hacked her blog! Peace out!

"He hath eaten me out of house and home, he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his"

Antipasto platter creation

Friday night in our house has become a traditional tapas night. After a week of work one can't be stuffed to actually cook or go out in this wintry weather. Instead it's nice to enjoy a glass of wine and organise a few platters of bite size nibblies.


So on Friday, I prepared an antipasto platter as a surprise for my husband, coming home from a day of work (domestic goddess tick).
I went to Ferry Rd Markets in Bundall to source some chorizo, peppered salami, a good quality cheese, marinated artichokes, an artichoke and garlic dip, some organic CC's and the yarra valley persian fetta (my favourite as it is so creamy).


At home I cooked up the chorizo with some fennel in chilli oil.
I quartered some figs and wrapped them in prosciutto, drizzling oil, thyme, lemon juice and goats cheese on top. I then baked these for 10 minutes.

Baked figs

I also made some potato, leek and cheddar croquettes, which I deep fried. They go all gooey and soft on the inside but the panko crumbs are crunchy on the outside.


And there we had it- a beautiful and easy romantic dinner for two- easily nibbled on from the comfy of the lounge while watching a few movies with the rain pattering outside. 
Life is good!!


Croquettes

 4 medium sized potatoes

2 tbs butter

2 tbs milk (if you want to be super naughty you can use cream)

2 egg yolks, beaten

½ leek, cut lengthways and sliced finely

1 cup vintage cheddar, grated 

¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped
½ cup plain flour

1 cup panko bread crumbs

croquettes

Sea salt & pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

(you can add bacon/ham)

Add ½ tsp salt to a pot of water and boil potatoes in their skins until soft (15-20 mins). Once soft, peel then mash, adding butter, milk and beaten egg yolks to create a creamy thick texture. 

Add leek, cheese and coriander to potato mixture, season with ground sea salt and pepper and combine well. Stir in flour, then refigerate mixture for 30 minutes. Once cool, gently roll 2 tbs of filling into an oval shape and coat with breadcrumbs. Do this with wet hands as stops the mixture from sticking to your hands.

Without overcrowding the fryer, fry the croquettes for 3 minutes each or until golden brown, turning halfway. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. 

Good wine is a good familiar creature if it is well used- Othello

Looking for Sangria and a fusion of Spanish tapas and Italian wood fired pizzas? An alternate dining experience perhaps? Well on the well known Kirra surfing beach is Bread n Butter, a well known gem among the GC local population.

Half authentic cured prosciutto, artichokes, black olives
and half spiced meatball, tomato, mozarella and mushroom

Sit downstairs and enjoy the beach and sunset views with the family (also BYO) or head on upstairs to the balcony to catch up with friends. Here you can relax on an assortment of couches, chaises and poofs, surrounded by modern and vintage inspired decor and artwork. It is quite intimate as you can sit close with friends and chat over exquisite food and wine, without being in a formal setting. Think of an ecclectic lounge room with Bob Marley, Jimmy Hendrix, Notorious B.I.G and Run DMC.  Lamps twinkle at night time, candles burn and the chatter gets louder. Get set for a rowdy fun filled atmosphere as the natives start to head on upstairs to boogey the night away or to attend a pre-booked function. I was lucky enough to have my birthday there so I know first hand the amazing time that can be had.

Marinated artichokes, spanish onion, anchovies, parsley
and mozzarella

The pizzas are authentically Italian due to the Italian chef, Giovanni. They are thin based, bubbly and crusty, cooked in the wood fire oven, just like in Italia. The toppings are also reminscient of traditional Roman flavours. Just a few. Thrown in together. Simple. Yet complimentary flavours. Wednesday night is extremely popular due to the $12 dine in pizza special. Make sure you reserve a spot!

On the menu are also tantalising spanish tapas such as Patatas bravas, butterflied prawns, lamb cutlets with salsa verde, juicy octopus and fried potatoes. Great dishes to share. Sunday night is $12 tapas night.....another good budget saver. And it all comes out super fast!

Enjoy the funky beats pumped out at night time with resident in-house DJ's and rappers playing on the decks and the mic- a good spot for a bit of dancing. Behind the bar talk to cocktail experts and mixologists  Martin and Matt, who make some deliciously good martinis and mojitos. Tehy are always up for a chat and a smile. If you like good rum the Cuba Libre cocktail is a classy drink and a hot favourite with the guys.

Eating the yummy thin based pizza      

The cosmopolitan- CHEERS!

I don't think you'll find a better pizza down this end of the coast. And if you don't want to sit down and eat, then you can grab a takeaway. Check out their website  for more details!

GC food authority on the carbs

"He was a wise man who invented coffee" Plato

                                                             Attention all foodies!

My hot chocolate

The art of coffee

Local little hot spot, tucked away from the tourist areas behind Twin Towns, for your coffee/hot chocolate fix and breakfast/ lunch options. Announcing Bambi Deluxe: brought to you by my friend "Bolster."

She suggested a breakfast at this cosy, relaxed back street cafe to catch up while we were both on our holidays. I don't drink coffee but she highly recommends it, and everyone else seems to as well. Instead I had an enormous glass size cup of hot chocolate. It was extremely good. Do they do take aways? You bet! A constant stream of locals kept heading in to get their craving fix     before work, and I might just have to join them in the future.

Everything is home made, as we watched them making our scrumptious breakfast. We had this sourdough bread layered with avocado and tomato salsa, with a side of scrambled eggs and salad to be healthy, while sitting on recycled timber benches just inside. It was hard to decide on this dish as there were a number of omelettes and scrambled egg variations with bacon and cheese and all sorts of delicious sounding produce that were proving to sway me over. The home-baked goodies on the bench? Let's just say I was lucky to walk out of there empty handed, and maybe because I was so full from breakfast. 

The staff are friendly and seem to know the regulars by name and seem to enjoy having a genuine conversation, questions and all.




So make the stop if you're a coffee snob.
But Shhhhh it's a secret.


Your GC food authority............................................

Ducks are a dabbling

Cooked a little bit of duck the other night, for the first time. The trick is to test it by pressing down on it- it should be springy! Marinated it and tossed it with some Asian greens. Also made some little wontons/dumplings to go with it. Pretty easy dish to make and surprisingly turned out well. Was a bit concerned with overcooking the duck but it came out perfect, according to us anyways- pretty sure Matt Preston might disagree.

Might tried a fried version this week. Stay tuned!

Chilli Duck with wontons and Asian greens- a recipe by the junior masterchefs!!!

Chilli Duck

• 1duck breast, scored
• 1chilli, finely chopped
• 3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tablespoonsoyster sauce
• 2 tablespoonsolive oil
• Asian green salad
• 2 tablespoonsolive oil
• 3cm pieceof ginger, finely grated
• 1garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2red chilli, finely chopped
• 1pak choy, washed and chopped
• 50gshitake mushrooms
• 4salad onions, bulbs thinly sliced
• 2tablespoons oyster sauce

Wontons (Makes 8)

• 1duck breast, skin removed and diced
• 1garlic clove, crushed
• 1long red chilli, thinly sliced
• 1teaspoon hoi sin sauce
• 1teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1teaspoon oyster sauce
• 4wonton wrappers
• 1egg, lightly beaten

Sauce

• 2tablespoons oyster
• 1tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4red chilli sliced, to garnish

• Preheat oven to 180'C.
• Rub duck breast with chilli, ginger and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a large fry pan over a high heat and cook for 4 – 5 minutes, rendering the skin. Turn and cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from pan and place into a baking dish.
• Brush duck breast with oyster sauce and bake in oven skin-side up for 10 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Rest for 5 minutes.
• For Asian salad, heat wok over a high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Add ginger, garlic and chilli and stir fry for 2 – 3 minutes. Add pak choy, mushrooms, salad onions and oyster sauce and stir fry for 5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat.
• For wonton filling, place diced duck into the chopper attachment of stick blender and process until minced. Transfer to a small bowl and add garlic, chilli, hoi sin, soy and oyster and mix well to combine.
• Place wonton wrappers onto a clean surface, place a heaped teaspoon of filling on to each wrapper. Brush edges with egg wash and fold the wrapper in half diagonally to form a triangle. Pull the top and bottom corners up to meet each other, so that 1 corner overlaps the other slightly. (This motion forms a pouch.) Press the ends together to seal.
• Place wontons onto baking paper-lined baking tray and spray tops of wontons with spray oil. Bake for 10 minutes.
• For sauce, combine oyster sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl. Transfer to serving jug.
• To serve, arrange asian green salad on serving plate and lay sliced duck breast on top. Place duck wontons onto a separate plate with sauce. Garnish with sliced chilli.

""Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in bed."

Love those girly gatherings that come with holidays. Time to drink some bubbles, snack on some high tea delicacies and discuss all things gossip and MEN! Of course also lamenting the end of these lovely two relaxing weeks. That was my afternoon today at a friend's house,  nestled in the hinterland, with a beautiful view of the mountains and rain coming in from their verandah.

We each brought a 'plate,' and so I made some melting moment biscuits, Julia's recipe from Masterchef. They turned out beautiful- the shortbread was crumbly and buttery, made my own raspberry jam which was sweet and red in colour.  You can see it oozing in the picture. Butter cream was easy and so was the assembly of it. They tasted delicious so I won't be buying these from stores again. First time cooking biscuits and first success. 


Try them and take them into work. You will be a star!!!

Biscuits

• 180g unsalted butter
• 60g icing sugar, sifted
• 60g custard powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 180g plain flour

Vanilla buttercream

• 100g butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 1 cupicing sugar, sifted

Raspberry jam

• 250g fresh or frozen raspberries
• 250g caster sugar
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• ½ teaspoon gelatine powder
• Icing sugar, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.

2. For biscuits, cream butter for two minutes in an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Add icing sugar and custard powder and mix until combined. Sift the baking powder and flour together then add to the dough and mix well. Roll dough into 40g balls, place on a baking paper lined baking tray and press each ball with a fork to leave an indent. Bake biscuits for 16-18 minutes or until light golden. Stand on trays 5 minutes to cool then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. For buttercream, whisk butter and vanilla until smooth. Add icing sugar and beat until mixture forms a paste, the consistency of thick icing. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle.

4. For jam, place raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook for 20-30 minutes until thickened. Mix gelatine powder with one tablespoon cold water together. Remove the jam from the heat, stir through gelatine mixture. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool in the fridge.

5. To assemble, place a spoonful of cooled jam on the base of half the biscuits. Pipe buttercream in a circle onto the base of the other half of the biscuits. Gently press one of each biscuit together to form a melting moment. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Is not this a lamentable thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made food? Henry VI

Most definitely am carnivorous! Ate a neck yesterday.

Made this Matt Moran masterclass lamb dish last night that I had viewed on the viewing screen one evening:

"Roasted Lamb Rack and Braised Lamb Neck with Pumpkin and Sheeps Milk Feta."

Used lamb chops/forequarters instead of the rack  though as we are on strict budgets in this household. Just something that we could caramelise. The recipe also uses lamb neck- a first for us. Didn't even know one could buy it. Thankfully, lamb neck seems to be only about $2. Had never had a neck before but surprisingly, after being braised and cooked for awhile it is really tender meat. Both cuts of meat melted in our mouths and the pumpkin puree was beautiful and soft. I preferred it to mash as it was lighter and sweeter. Made a little salad on the side and it was quite an easy budget friendly and tasty healthy meal. 

Try it I say!

Braised Lamb Neck

• 2lamb neck fillets
• 2tablespoons olive oil
• 1carrot, chopped
• 2stalks celery, chopped
• ½ brown onion, chopped
• 2stalks rosemary
• 2cloves garlic, peeled
• 1Ldark veal stock- we used beef

Roasted pumpkin

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 500gblue pumpkin, cut into 1-2cm cubes
• 3cloves garlic, peeled

Roasted Lamb racks

• 4 x 4 point lamb racks or lamb forequarters as cheaper
• Olive oil

Pumpkin puree

• 300gpumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
• 40g butter, softened
• 40-100ml hot chicken stock

Dressing

• 1teaspoon Dijon mustard

Dressing

• 1teaspoon chardonnay vinegar or just normal vinegar
• 40mlgrape seed or other oil
• 15mlextra virgin olive oil

Salad

• 80gsoft sheep or goats or blue vein
• 40gtoasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts
• Small bunch rocket, baby leaves picked

Method

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• 2. For braised lamb neck, season lamb necks with salt and pepper, pour oil into pressure cooker and brown lamb. Add vegetables, rosemary and garlic and cook for a few minutes to colour. Cover with stock. Bring to the boil, seal lid and bring up to pressure. Cook for 45 minutes until tender. Release steam and allow pressure cooker to cool before releasing lid. Remove necks, and tightly wrap individually into sausage shapes in cling film. Chill for an hour in the fridge to set firmly.
• 3. Pour braising liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a clean saucepan and simmer over a low heat until liquid has reduced to desired consistency. Cut chilled lamb neck into thick rounds, keeping cling wrap on the slice to hold shape. Add to reduced braising liquid and cook over a low heat, spooning the sauce over the neck slices. Cook until nicely caramelised and warmed through.
• 4. For roasted pumpkin, heat oil in a frying pan, add pumpkin and garlic and cook over a medium high heat until golden, place in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes until pumpkin is soft. Season with salt and pepper.
• 5. Meanwhile, season the lamb racks with salt and pepper and place into a hot pan with a little olive oil. Seal well on all sides, transfer to oven and roast for 6-8 minutes. Remove and rest for 10 minutes.
• 6. For pumpkin puree, bring a saucepan half filled with water to the boil. Add pumpkin and cook until pumpkin in tender. Drain well. Place in a food processor with butter and enough stock to thin to desired consistency. Season well with salt and pepper. 
• 7. For dressing, slowly whisk ingredients in a bowl until emulsified.
• 8. To serve, squeeze a round of puree onto a serving plate and spread with the back of a spoon. Cut the lamb racks in half and place on the plate. Place a lamb neck slice near the lamb and drizzle with reduced jus. Arrange roasted pumpkin on puree with feta and pumpkin seeds or pine nuts. Drizzle with some of the dressing, sprinkle with goats or blue cheese, olives and arrange baby rocket leaves on top.

Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing? As you like it

Blue cheese ice cream in a tuille with chocolate fudge,
orange toffee and orange soaked raisins

Procrastination. I'm a Goddess of it. At the moment I should be cleaning the house, preparing school work OR marking. SO I decide to a) take the dog for a walk b) write this blog and c) make a dessert for this Sunday afternoon. Inspired by Heston Blumenthal and his odd combination of flavours I've been wondering what blue cheese ice cream tastes like, especially after Kylie made the winning dessert on Masterchef and Heston was licking it all up. 
So as part of my procrastination I have whipped this calorie fest up: Blue Cheese and Honey Ice cream Sundae with Warm Chocolate Fudge Sauce, Muscatels and Orange .


It's a simple ice cream recipe  but it combines blue cheese and honey into the base mixture, which actually came out creamy and thick. For once I used the thermometer to reach 80C when stirring the custard over heat, which might be why.
The tuilles were a little harder to make. I substituted the walnuts for coconut due to Mr Darcy's allergic reaction to all thing nuts. They were a bit fatty and oily and thick for my liking, though they sort of shaped like cones. Might need to procrastinate more and practise this technique to perfect the art of tuilling.
Then I made the raisins soaked in orange juice and cream cheese over the boil- they plumped up and oozed the flavours. 
Made the sugar syrup for the toffee and just as it set I grated orange rind over it- best toffee I've made as of yet. And didn't have isomalt or know what it was. Just left it out! 
The chocolate fudge is like a ganache, added with more cream cheese.


Then the fun! The assembly! And as you can see they look like a treat. And the taste? Best ice cream flavour as the blue cheese is a mere hint and not overpowering at all. The orange flavour of the toffee and the juicy raisins complimented it nicely, while the chocolate drizzled on top we just kept adding. 

Definitely licking that bowl.


A must try for something different. A dinner party perhaps? This recipe is a keeper and I might use it as my signature dish for a wow factor. Might do a taste test and let them decide what the ingredients are.


Now off to that marking.

Ingredients

Ice cream

• 250mlmilk
• 250ml pouring cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 110gblue cheese
• 120g honey, warmed

Tuiles

• 100g caster sugar
• 50g butter, melted
• 75g walnuts, blitzed to fine crumb
• 25g plain flour
• 50ml orange juice, strained

Muscatels

• 100g honey
• 100g dried muscatels
• 200ml orange juice
• 10g blue cheese

Isomalt

• 150g isomalt
• 150g caster sugar
• 30g glucose syrup
• 30ml water
• 1 orange

Fudge Sauce

• 50ml milk
• 150ml pouring cream (35% milk fat)
• 10g blue cheese
• 100g dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids, chopped
• 50g chocolate 50% cocoa solids, chopped

To serve

• 50gblue cheese
• 50g chocolate 50% cocoa solids, chopped
• 5g orange zest

Method

Preparation: 1 hour + 45 minutes chilling
Cooking: 1 hour 10 minutes

1. For ice cream, warm the milk and half the cream in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk egg yolks until pale and thick, add 1/3 of the warm milk mixture, whisking constantly until combined then pour in the remaining milk mixture and remaining cream. Strain into a metal bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until it reaches 80°C or coats the back of a wooden spoon.

2. Crumble the blue cheese into a bowl, strain the custard over the blue cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in the honey. Chill until cold. Add dry ice, whisking until set, then cover and keep in freezer until required. N.B. If you can’t get dry ice, churn the custard in an ice cream machine until firm.

3. For tuiles, preheat oven 160°C. Mix all the ingredients together to form a paste. Cut a 10cm circle template from baking paper and place onto a silicone mat. Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into the centre of the template and spread to an even thickness using a palette knife. Remove template. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, stand for about 2 minutes to firm slightly then wrap around a metal cone. Set aside to cool.

4. For muscatels, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the muscatels have absorbed all the liquid. Set aside to cool then remove the seeds.

5. For isomalt shards, combine isomalt, sugar, glucose and water in a saucepan, stir until sugar has dissolved. Bring to 160°C on sugar thermometer, without stirring, cook for 5 minutes at 160°C or until the isomalt has dissolved. Pour onto a silicone mat and spread to about 2mm-thick. Zest the orange over the isomalt evenly. Leave to set then break into shards.

6. For fudge sauce, heat the milk and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Crumble over the cheese and stir until smooth. Combine the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Strain the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth.

7. To serve, place the tuiles in serving glasses. Sprinkle walnuts, muscatels, blue cheese, chocolate, orange zest and isomalt shards down the centre of the plate. Scoop the ice cream into tuiles, pour over sauce and serve.