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.

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.

What is the city but the food?

Wow- been a bit quiet on the blog front as I've been on a gastronomic odyssey in Sydney to waken my taste buds and inspire some ideas for my home cooking. Oh how depressing when one returns to reality and the limited food choice that we seem to have here in comparison to Sydvegas and all its tantalising eating abodes. Though it might be a good thing for my hips.......and purse!


On the first day we grabbed some danish pastries from Justin North's Becasse bakery in the Westfield mall. Made on site, all freshly baked and oozing home made custard was a great alternative to 'traditional' breakfast.


After much shopping we were happy to rest our weary feet at an all time favourite 'Jamie Olivers Italian.' The anticipation to go eat here had been building up for weeks, especially after seeing him on MasterChef deliver the 'goods' and owning all his cook books. Seeing as there were only two of us we couldn't reserve a table as this is for only 6 or more. Luckily, there was one table unoccupied as we arrived, though it was only noon. Sorry for those behind us...ooops.  It was completely full. We had some beautiful Tuscan and Venetian red wines sitting in the Industrial themed alley way, while others sat in booths up top watching the chefs cooking up a storm. The complimentary array of bread, consisting of grossini, turkish, flat and home-baked rosemary, sea salt and cheese focaccia filled the yawning hole in our stomachs. Then came the dilemma! Picking a few dishes from the huge menu and seeing everything walk past our table made it that much harder, but the waiters were lovely in helping us choose. 


We shared some arancini crispy rice balls stuffed with smoked mozarella and porcinis with a tomato relish and then some fried mushroom fritti with garlic mayo. Might even consider adding the antipasto platter next time, as these looked delicious as they went past on wooden boards carefully placed on cans of beans for a quirky touch.


For our mains I stuck with the pasta- beautiful mussels in a parsley, butter and lemon sauce tossed through linguini while "The Fox" took up the special of a pork schnitzel layered with parma ham and a herb crust with a soft gooey egg on top, sitting on polenta mash. we ooheed and ahhhed the entire time. There were so many other renditions we wanted to try so we'll just have to go again. Price wise this is great value for money- Jamie Oliver dishes at cost price with most being under 25 dollars, and its family friendly too in the heart of the city.








Instead of dessert at Jamie's we trekked to Pyrmont on the mono-rail, to go to The Star casino and visit Adriano Zumbo's patiserrie. OH MY GOD! I can never get enough of his desserts. This time we had a salted butter popcorn, chocolate donut and pancakes with maple syrup macarons. And they tasted just as they were described. It is indescribable to eat a dessert that tastes savoury and is all soft and gooey on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The apple crumble in the jar was cute and clever and hit the apple pie spot. We also bought a chocolate caramel tart and a vanilla brulee, which we took back to our hotel for a late night snack! And if you're there after 6pm you can try the dessert train!

After a few drinks at the cocktail bar at the Hilton we went to Momofuku, David Chang's restaurant. We had been to Momofuku before, but in New York. We sat at the bar as we had to go to the theatre and were limited with time. Though the food was relatively the same with pulled pork or beef slider buns, rice cakes with tripe and crab rolls with chips, the dishes are smaller and more expensive, so its not as good a value. I left slightly disappointed, though the service and attentiveness of the staff was commendable. Only Agatha Christies 'Mouse Trap' could stave off the lingering hunger pains......or the late night coke and fries back at the hotel!!


The next morning we fasted for our evening dinner, only having a small lunch at the food court in David Jones, at Noodle bar. We sat around the wok station, watched and dined on authentic pad thai, duck, cashew and chilli jam stir fry and dumplings. There was quite a line- up  for this little pop up kitchen, probably because it is reasonably priced, great tasting asian flavoured food and arrives in huge quantities. Struggled getting through it all. Great for the city slickers on a lunch break. We walked it off by walking to the Masterchef pop up kitchen near Hyde park for a few happy snaps and to watch the chefs at work. 


Dinner was the highlight of this sojourn. I had attempted twice previously to go to Porteno in Surry
 hills, an Argentinian restaurant that even Slash (Guns and Roses) considers the best in its food area. Normally, there is a huge line up for this restaurant but thankfully due to the rain and storms no one was in a rush to go outside. Great for us. We walked into a 60's rocka-billy era, where the wait staff are dressed alike in their bow ties and slick hair do's, sliding across the black and white tiled floor amongst animal hide restored furniture. You are welcomed by the smell of the 8hr pig and lamb, roasting and splayed on the spit fire like some sacrificial offering. I'm only too happy to indulge. The huge array of South American wines being consumed adds a soft sweet aroma to the smokiness. All delicious I might add, especially the Malbec. 

Chorizo- king of the sausage

It's a sharing environment so we ordered a few dishes, from our little nook, helped by our waiter, whose advice was spot on. We began with some home made breads with a pork pate and a trio of dips: olive oil, salsa, chimichurri. The creaminess of the fleshed pink pate and tang of the oils complimeted each other perfectly and went great with the octopus and chorizo side that came out next. Perfectly cooked octopus braised in a sauce with endive- yes please. The favourite however was the home made real deal chorizo sausage, which came out in huge cut portions. It was so juicy and flavoursome that I don't think I'll be able to buy chorizo from Coles or eat any other sausage again. This is a must!!!!! 

Oh Lordy- piggin on the pig

We then followed this with the 8hr suckling pig which had crunchy but salty juicy crackling and soft, succulent shards of tender meat that melted in your mouth. The best pork I have ever had. And the ribs dribbled with chimichurri were not like any rib I have had before!! They melted off the bone and one wanted more.....Please sir can I have some more! We should have gotten some vegetables but we got beans with creme fraiche instead, which were cheesy! And there was so much more we wanted to try but we were full and had no room for dessert though the Argentinian dessert sounded heaven. 


O happy food coma!

Sonnet 163- To the carbohydrate!

Weight- 10000 calories    Exercise- 10 km marathon run   Books- 1Pandemonium   Holidays- 13 days left   Carbs- too many   Days till health kick- 1

"Be not afraid of carbohydrates: some are born addicted to carbs, some achieve this obsession, and some have carbs thrust upon them."

Weekend food is usually NAUGHTY food. In this household anyways. There's just something about finishing a week of work and craving all things that surely must go straight to the hips, tummy and thighs! It's compensating for the good work we do on the other nights and allowing some freedom and guilty pleasure in eating what YOU want. Moderation is the key right?


On Master Chef they had an invention test where they had to cook "dude food." I personally don't understand why it's called that, as as a definite girl I also crave salt, carbs, grease and savoury delights.  Especially after watching the mouth watering concoctions they produced to satisfy these late night cravings. So instead of dining out this weekend (clap clap) we decided to create our own version of these challenges. Apart from the mess and time, the advantage is that you are getting exactly what you feel like. Minimal health benefits but soul comfort food.


We made crunchy onion rings- deep fried of course. After many previous failed attempts this batter is the easiest and has made the best onion rings. We cheated and bought aioli to dip them in too. So yummy but so bad! 

Onion rings

• 1L vegetable oil                                                                   
• 200g plain flour
• 200-250ml soda water
• 2 brown onions, sliced into 1/2cm rings

Kewpie slaw

• ¼ red cabbage, finely shredded
• 2purple carrots, julienne
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 150ml kewpie mayonnaise
• Juice of one lime

We complimented this with little ranch sliders (mini burgers). We bought little panninis from Coles, made some pork/beef/bacon patties and made coleslaw from red onion, wombok and carrot. We tossed the coleslaw through kewpie mayonnaise, an idea stolen from the 'dude challenge,' a Japanese condiment. And because we couldn't be bothered to make George's bacon mayonnaise from Masterclass (as delicious as it looked) we tossed some bacon through it for the flavour. Then we assembled them together with some added sliced cheddar cheese and there we had it. The perfect late night hunger quencher. 




Carb Verdict- Guilty!

love choosing wines by their labels

Shakespeare's Soup Kitchen

Another night for a soup with this cold, wet and miserable weather! Something that one can eat while lazing on the lounge with Ugg boots and a "blanky." Decided to attempt (for the first time) the classic French Onion soup. And I'm amazed I never cooked this before because it practically uses only 4 ingredients.
Gary made this soup on Masterclass last week, so I loaded up the segment and cooked it as I watched. I halved the recipe however- 2 kg of onions eeek! Bit of butter, some herbs, beef stock, cheese, a splash of sherry instead of cider and some crusty bread. Pretty much stock standard ingredients you have in the pantry! Also a good recipe for walking away from as you're pretty much just cooking the onions and sweating them for long periods of time. It's minimal fuss and prep.

Caramelise. Simmer. Add. Pour. Ladle. Grate. Grill.

I pull the soup out from under the grill and dip my spoon into gooey bubbling melted cheese- a little too hot on the tongue, but I keep eating!  Then I move the crusty bread around so it soaks up the sweet onion stock and pop that into my mouth.

 It's just what I felt like. Now for a good book.

Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers- Romeo and Juliet

Pitter Patter. The rain has finally hit today and the clouds all rolled up and gathered into one. A perfect night to sit on the lounge and rug up and watch "Masterchef." Or maybe, I could attempt a collossal feat in baking to celebrate the end of the Term and the upcoming school holidays? This way I can surprise some of the staff tomorrow with a bunch of calories instead of eating them all myself. This could save the hips.  So here I am, currently in the kitchen constructing a Mojito genoise, as made in Masterclass by Lorraine Pascall! Mojito cake? You had me at Mojito. What a great idea for a birthday cake for an 18th? This is no easy feat though. It requires a lot of ingredients, steps, time and love - all worth it though don't you think! The cake looks fluffy and similar to hers, and the butter cream......well let's just say I've licked the bowl a few times. The sugar syrup was a bit thick but will let you know how it goes when we eat it tomorrow. Presentation looks awesome and the praline.....lucky there is left over!

And the smells wafting through the house are delicious; the oven warming the living area on this cold wintry evening. Perfect baking weather methinks!


Great excuse to pull out the Bacardi and maybe reward myself with a Mojito cocktail too. Bottoms up!

Sugar Syrup

• 150 g (5.3oz) Soft light brown sugar
• 40 ml (1.4fl oz) Water
• 2 Finely grated zest and juice of limes
• 80 ml (2.8fl oz) White rum
• 1 Bunch of fresh mint, leaves only

Praline

• 400 g (7.1oz)Granulated sugar – Pecan coating
• 200 g (7.1oz) Pecans – Pecan coating                           
• 1 Dash of vegetable oil, for oiling – Pecan coating

Genoise Sponge

• 260 g (9.2oz) Caster sugar
• 115 g (4.1oz) Butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing
• 260 g (9.2oz) Plain flour
• 6 Eggs, lightly beaten

Buttercream Icing

• 300 g (10.6oz) Butter, softened
• 600 g (21oz) Icing sugar
• 2 Vanilla pods or 4 drops of vanilla extract
• 1 large or 23 small Lime – Finely grated zest and juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C; grease a 20cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Feel free to mix yourself a real mojito for consumption later – (although for this you’ll need more mint and sugar).
2. Make the sugar syrup first to give the mint and lime plenty of time to infuse. Zest 2 limes and put zest aside.
3. Place soft light brown sugar, water, the juice of the limes and 80 ml white rum in a medium pan over a low heat.
4. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 2-3 minutes until the syrup thickens.
5. Remove from heat and add the leaves from a bunch of fresh chopped mint (leaves only) and the lime zest .
6. Set aside to infuse.
7. Line a baking sheet with paper.
8.  Put sugar in a medium-size pan over a medium-high heat and leave to melt.  Don’t stir it, just swirl the pan to move the sugar round.
9. Once the sugar is melted, bring the mixture to the boil and cook until caramel colour is reached. Be careful not to burn it!
10. Add 200 g pecan nuts, swirl the pan to coat them a bit in the sugar and pour on the lined baking tray. Leave to cool.
11. Once this has cooled right down, blitz the praline in a food processor (or alternative place in a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin). Put aside.
12. Place a large pot around a third full of water and bring to the boil while you lightly beat 6 eggs in a heatproof bowl. You’ll want this bowl to fit snugly over the pot of water, which is the next step. Now’s also a good time to melt the butter gently, and measure out the flour so you have them to hand.
13. Remove the pot from the heat from heat and place the bowl over the top, containing the eggs and caster sugar. Make sure the base isn’t touching the water
14. Beat like crazy with an electric handheld mixer – trust me; you do NOT want to do this by hand. You should beat for about 10 minutes over the pan of hot water – this might be a good time to throw back another mojito, because you won’t be going anywhere for a while!
15. Remove the bowl from the pot and continue beating for 5 mins or so. You need to get to a ribbon stage – when if you take a spoonful and trail it back in, the resulting ribbon should hold itself for at least 3-4 seconds before blending  back into the mixture.
16. Pour the melted butter around the sides of the bowl, so as not to knock out the air (which is what happens if you pour it in the middle.
17. Fold the melted butter into the egg mix, moving the bowl around and scooping down to the bottom to fold the mixture over itself, using as few movements as possible to retain maximum air.
18. Repeat the process with the flour, again using as few movements as possible. Be aware though that those rotten flour lumps lurk at the bottom of the bowl, and you don’t want to be pouring it into the tin and finding a dry pocket at the bottom of the bowl!
19. Pour the mixture gently into the prepared tin, and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 mins. Keep an eye on it, as it’s easy to burn.
20. Leave to cool for 10 minutes or so, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
21. Once cool, divide the cake horizontally into two. I use a cake separator, but on Masterchef Lorraine used kitchen string stretched around the cake and then pulled tight to slice the cake evenly in half.
22. Prepare the buttercream by adding 300g softened butter, 600g icing sugar and the seeds of 2 vanilla pods (or the vanilla extract) into a bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the jest and juice from the lime.
23. Assembly time! Place the bottom of the sponge on the plate and brush with the reserved sugar syrup. Be quite liberal to make the cake really moist.
24. Put a big dollop of buttercream on top of the sponge bottom and, using a palette knife, spread the buttercream over the cake until it is level.
25. Take the top half of the cake, turn cut side up and brush with the sugar syrup. Turn it back over and put it on top of the buttercreamed sponge.
26. Next, cover the whole cake with the buttercream, including the top and sides, making sure it is a smooth as possible with straight sides and top. Put the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to firm up a little.
27. Use the praline crumbs to coat the sides of the cake, picking up the fallen crumbs and gently patting onto the cake.
28. Gently indent the cake top into sections, to work out where you will place whole pecans and lime slices.
29. Top with one pecan and one lime eighth per slice, and serve.

 It was demolished! 

Truly, thou art damned like an ill roasted egg, all on one saide- (As you like it)

Red bull (1 to get me through last week of school) Weight (+10 having one of those days) Exercise (gym class) Anticipation for Masterchef episode (+100)


Eggs. A necessity in most cooking, but hardly ever the hero of the dish. But the other day on MasterChef they had a quiche test taste which got me in the mood to make a Quiche Lorraine, which is purely about eggs...eggs and more eggs. 
When I say "got me in the mood" I mean I wanted. I wanted. I WANTED! I thought it would be great to make it on the Sunday night, warming the house with the heat from the oven and creating pleasant baking pastry aromas. Also it would be good to pack it up for our lunches for the next couple of days, teamed with some salad from our vegetable garden. 
This is perfect for families and the kids for those school box lunches, as it is a cheap option and can be prepared earlier too.


This simple quiche recipe works all the time, even the pastry. This pastry is light, golden and crisp against the softness of the rich egg mixture, so I recommend you make it instead of buying it. It's cheap and inexpensive to do so. The mix of egg, pancetta (or bacon for budget friendly) and leeks has a hint of saltiness with creaminess. Make sure you bake it so it is golden on top.


A quick fix for lunch. Eggsitement!

Short crust pastry

• 125g butter
• 240gplain flour
• Pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Filling

• 60g butter
• 1 small white onion, finely diced
• 2 texter leeks, washed and thinly sliced white and green
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 150gflat pancetta, cut into fine lardons
• 300mlpure cream
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ cup grated good quality gruyere cheese

• 1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a 21cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin.
  
  2. For pastry, place butter, flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg and lemon juice and process until mixture forms a ball. Turn onto a floured bench and gently knead to bring dough together. Do not over work. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
  
  3. For filling, melt half the butter in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Add onion and leeks cook for 3-4 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to a bowl and return pan to heat.
  
  4. Melt remaining butter in the pan, add pancetta and cook until golden, stirring occasionally. Add to the onions and stir to combine. Spread over a double thick sheet of paper towel to drain.
  
  5. Roll pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper to a 24-26cm circle 2-3mm thick. Gently ease into prepared tart tin, pressing pastry into the edges of the tin. Trim with a small knife and prick the base. Lay a sheet of baking paper over the base and fill with baking beans or rice and blind bake pastry for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven, take out paper and baking beans and return to the oven for 5 minutes to crisp.
  
  5. Whisk cream, eggs and yolks in a bowl until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
  
  6. Fill the base of the cooked pastry shell with onion mixture and scatter over half the cheese. Pour over egg mixture and sprinkle with tasty cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 160°C and bake until set. Allow to cool before cutting.

* Eggs are a good source of choline, a nutrient that helps to maintain the integrity of cell membranes and is particularly crucial to brain health and function.

I've created a monster....

No I'm not quoting Eminem but alluding to the classic novel "Frankenstein" as I just went and watched the National Live Theatre stage play and it was an "out of this world experience" and got me thinking.......about my monster creation- my husband. I've turned his savoury taste buds to delectable sweetness, and there is no going back! My kitchen's cogs cannot seem to produce enough sweet treats to satisfy these late night cravings. Cakes, ice -creams, tarts, puddings, cheesecakes, slices cannot come out fast enough before being consumed of the fox's produce line.


As a result we spent the majority of yesterday in search for figs to make Debra's cake from MasterChef, "Sticky Fig and  Caramel Cake with Vanilla Custard. We went everywhere to find the seasonal product that is out of course out of season. Of course once the thought of eating this cake had blossomed within our minds nothing would do, so the search continued to Ferry Rd Markets, which have everything.....and of course the elusive fig. 


My husband was literally jumping up and down screaming "We found figs....We found figs." Might as well have been "It's alive...It's alive." It was a Kodak moment.


So was it worth it? I'm going to let you be the judge!

Cake

• 150g butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (bean reserved for custard)
• 2 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1/3 cup full cream milk

Caramel sauce

• ¼ cupcaster sugar
• 50g butter
• 1/3 cup pure cream
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped



Pouring on the home made custard! Definitely making this again.

• 4 large fresh figs

Vanilla custard

• 1 cupfull cream milk, plus 1 tablespoon extra
• ¼ cup pure cream
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, plus reserved bean
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon plain flour
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 300ml pure cream, whipped to soft peaks, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm round spring form cake tin with foil then with baking paper.

2. For cake, beat butter, sugar and vanilla seeds together until pale, add eggs one at a time until combined. Add flour alternately with milk.

3. For caramel sauce, place all ingredients except figs into a medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar has melted. Bring to the boil and cook until mixture turns golden brown. Remove vanilla bean.

4. Pour caramel into prepared tin. Cut figs in half and arrange in the pan cut-side down with tops pointing towards the centre. Cover gently with cake batter, spreading until even. Place cake on a baking tray and bake for 45-50 minutes until cooked through.

5. For custard, pour milk and cream into a medium saucepan with vanilla and heat until scalding but not quite boiling. Meanwhile whisk egg with sugar until pale, slowly add warm mixture, whisking continuously. Mix flour with one tablespoon milk to a runny paste, add to mixture and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a clean saucepan, place over low heat and stir until mixture starts to thicken, 5-10 minutes. Once custard coats the back of a spoon, stir in honey. Cover custard closely with cling film.

6. Serve cake warm with vanilla custard and whipped cream.