Ambrosia - recipe

Tonight is New Year's Eve and after having less than eventful New Year's Eves for the last few years (sleeping through them), this year promises to be different. We are in Australia staying with my brother and sister in law, Mum is here too. My sister in laws family are also going to be with us. The menu planning started days ago, and while we have not totally decided on the starter and main, the desserts were quickly finalised.

Ambrosia seems to be a favourite in many families...but is not one my side of the family has had before. It contains most of Isabella's favourite things - berries, yoghurt and marshmallows so on the one occasion she has eaten it she has almost inhaled it.

The recipe I have used is from a website I have recently discovered "The Search For NZ's Favourite Recipe". It was a web based competition in 2009 where recipes were submitted and voted for.

I've made this again in autumn when berries are not in such good supply and just used a bag of frozen berries. It works really well and means it stays cool out of the fridge.

I have also served this with crumbled meringues on top in individual glasses - the  kids loved it.

Ambrosia

• 1kg of your fav yogurt (mine is strawberry)
• 500mls cream
• 1pkt marshmallows
• 1 punnet Strawberries (go with the flavor yogurt you used e.g peaches for a peach yogurt)

1. Slice strawberries and cut marshmallows in half
2. Whip cream till you get soft peaks
3. Add yogurt and mix till well combined
4. Add marshmallows and fruit
5. Leave in fridge to set for a minimum of 4-5 hours (best overnight) or just till marshmallows have softened

Mango Daiquiri

Greg and Marnie (brother and sister in law) have been freezing mangos in preparation for our visit to make this drink.
Greg made a half recipe and the blender was filled to the brim.

I'm convinced that this is almost a 'health drink' with the amount of fruit in it.

Sadly the blender died as part of this mission...however the verdict was...."Mmmmmmmm!"

Mango Daiquiri Recipe
The recipe comes from Taste.com.au

Makes

12

Ingredients

• 6 mangoes, peeled, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups white rum
• 1 1/2 cups vodka
• 6 lemons, juiced
• 1 cup sugar syrup (see note)
• 6 cups crushed ice
• 1 cup Cointreau - we added this as an after thought after looking at other recipes
• 
  

Method

1. Combine half the mango, half the rum, half the vodka, 3/4 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar syrup in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add half the crushed ice. Blend until just combined. Pour into 6 cocktail glasses and serve immediately.
2. Repeat using remaining ingredients.

Notes

• Note: For the sugar syrup, combine 1 1/2 cups caster sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Pour into a jug. Refrigerate until cold. Makes 2 cups.
  
  Another recipe was recommended by Marnie....http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7414/mango+daiquiri
  
  

Fresh Eggs

This morning we collected eggs from Greg's neighbours, then came home and cooked them. A new experience for Isabella who delighted in helping...picking up the still warm eggs, throwing handfuls of food out and especially in 'helping' get the chickens back in their pen.

There was of course the obligatory slow motion accident involving Isabella walking backwards into the dish of eggs...and yes a number of broken eggs!

Sydney Fish Market

We visited the Sydney Fish Market on the way home from the airport to pick up prawns and salmon. Even on Boxing day the market was full of people.

The options were great. Isabella loved seeing the men filleting the fish and we were amazed at the size of the crab legs (pictured).

We got to work shelling them at home, then ate them as a first course with avocado and a home made dressing. Simple and delicious.





Our lunch was followed by swims and drinking...an alcoholic ginger beer brewed by Greg (my brother)...but that's a post for another day.

Overcoming a fear of spiders?

Tonight's Christmas Eve dinner was at Taiko...it's getting to be a home away from home. We discovered time had got away on us and needed a little person fed and into bed. A quick walk up the hill to Kingsland for dinner was called for.

Patrick is now working in the kitchen (washing dishes) and we had earlier joked he could eat dinner with us and then start work and wash his own dishes.
He commented that there was a dish on the menu that he really wanted to try...we had not had it either -
SPIDER ROLL - Sushi rolled soft shell crab with cucumber and avocado.
It was really delicious and reminded me yet again not to get trapped into just ordering the same thin each time we go because it is so good!
The picture is not of the full dish...as usual I get carrie away in the tasting and forget to get a shot before the dish is started.


Over dinner I said we needed to stop and seriously think about Christmas presents...I had a feeling we had forgotten something. My feeling was right. After a quick phone call it was confirmed that we needed to take a 'secret santa' present for each adult. 
The quick fix was to get condensed milk to make fudge. Ian (Taiko owner) came to the rescue with the end of a bottle of scotch that could be used to make the fudge.

Freshly Dug New Potatoes For Christmas Day

Today is Christmas Eve. Along with packing for our holiday in Sydney (we fly out at 7am on boxing day), I've been harvesting potatoes from my garden and setting up a watering system so that Patrick who is staying behind can easily keep the garden going.
Last night we tried the first lot which were dug from the garden. Today we harvested the potato bags...so much easier to just tip a bag over in the garden and sort through the dirt for the bounty! I've never grown them before so it was all a bit of an experiment.

Tomorrow they will be cooked along with mint from my herb garden. We will also take lettuces and radishes from the 'green smart' bins. Out other contributions to Christmas lunch will be brined rotisserie chickens and pavlova.

Fudge For Christmas

A lovely friend of mine started the Christmas tradition of giving amazing platters of home made fudge laced with liqueurs presented with the liqueur and appropriate glasses. Her fudge is amazing.

Over the last few years I have tried a few different 'sweet treats' as Christmas gifts but really had to come back to the tried and true - Fudge.

The basic recipe is great as it is or can be embellished according on the occasion or who will be eating it.
For this years Christmas fudge is made one lot with white chocolate, macadamias and dried cranberries and the other with dark chocolate with pistachios. White chocolate with cranberries and pistachio looks really Christmasy too.
To add a liqueur or spirit flavour (baileys, brandy, whiskey are all good) just add a few drops to the mixture. Do only add a few drops or it won't be firm enough to set.

The recipe below is Nigella Lawson's Fudge recipe. Nigella's is kept in the freezer or fridge to keep it firm.
My friend's recipe is slightly different but I'm not going to publish that without her permission.

Chocolate pistachio fudge

Ingredients

• 350g dark chocolate, at least 70 per cent cocoa solids, chopped -I use more - about 500g to make it set more firmly 
• 1 x 397g can condensed milk - I think a NZ tin is 400g
• 30g butter
• pinch salt
• 150g unsalted pistachios, shells removed - I use all sorts of different nuts or dried fruits

Preparation method

1. Place the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter and salt into a heavy-based pan over a low heat and stir until melted and well combined.
2. Place the nuts into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin, until broken up into some large and some small pieces.
3. Add the nuts to the melted chocolate mixture and stir well.
4. Pour the mixture into a 23cm square tray, smoothing the top with a wet palette knife. I always line with baking paper to make it easy to get out
5. Let the fudge cool, then refrigerate until set.
6. Cut into small pieces approximately 3cm x 2cm. Cutting 7 x 7 lines in the tin to give 64 pieces best achieves this.
7. Once cut, the fudge can be kept in the freezer - there's no need to thaw, just eat straight away.

THE Gingerbread House

Bella decorating

The finished product

We've been building up to this one for almost a year. It was almost in the 'disasters' category but when the guests arrived for Isabella's 4th birthday party it all looked pretty good. Bella was really proud of her efforts and felt a real sense of achievement. I was pleased too but probably more relieved it had finally all come together.

Despite being ridiculously busy and despite my mother sensibly suggesting I buy a gingerbread house kit with the gingerbread pieces ready made I insisted on doing it all myself from scratch. The suggestion was based on the fact that we had had Patrick's 18th birthday party the weekend before, my staff for pre dinner drinks and nibbles on Thursday night at our place, John's staff for the entire work dinner on Friday night at our place and another birthday party to attend on Saturday. Isabella's birthday party was on the Sunday.

Propping the pieces while the icing dried

The house without the roof & cake pops

I am really pleased with the final product but the amount of time it took to get there was crazy (in hindsight). I'd been really organised preparing party food in advance and freezing it to make the day as stress free as possible. What I hadn't considered was really high humidity that makes gingerbread soggy and easily breakable. On the day of the party I ended up sticking the roof to a sushi rolling mat with loads of melted chocolate and constructing a cardboard structure to hold the roof just above the walls of the house.
While there were no tears, the tension was rather high for a while.
The recipe is included at the bottom of this blog. I had to make an additional batch because the template I used was not the same as the one this recipe had.

Cake pops before chocolate dip

The cake pops looked great but were pretty fiddly for something that was not the main feature and just an additional decoration. I used a recipe from a Foodtown NZ magazine (as discussed in a previous post).
As we were preparing them we watch the Bakerella Youtube video again for hints. I will probably make them again. I used Patrick's uneaten birthday cake and icing from the previous weekend as the inside part as per the recipe and froze them until the day before the party.

Savoury muffins

I've included a few of the other party foods as a reminder to myself for next year. The cupcakes were iced frozen the night before and the savoury muffins were pretty easy to filly with cheese and cherry tomatoes and were very popular. The jellys too are super easy. Each layer takes about 2 hours to set in the fridge. They were rapidly consumed by the children AND adults.

Next year's birthday cake is at this stage undecided...but I have a strong urge to just buy one!

Ginger Bread House - recipe

From Kidspot NZ

Ingredients:

• 200g butter, chopped 
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 1 tbsp ground ginger 
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1 cup plain flour 
• 3 1/2 cups self-raising flour 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1/2 cup golden syrup
• 2 quantities of Royal Icing
• Confectionary for decorating.

• Method:

  In a food processor, place the butter and sugar and process until fully combined.
• Add the flours and the cinnamon and ginger into the processor and process on high until fully combined.
• In a jug mix the eggs with the golden syrup. Pour this into the food processor while the motor is running and process until it is all combined.
  Turn out onto a lighly floured bench and knead until smooth. Divide into 4 pieces and shape into flat discs. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  Remove from cling film and knead until pliable. Roll out to 5mm thick and cut to the template shapes. Re-roll offcuts and cut as needed.
  Bake all pieces for 15-20 mins at 180°C or until golden.
  Leave to cool overnight on wire racks.
  When ready to assemble prepare the royal icing and set out lollies for decoration along with the cake board or heavy cardboard.
  Cut the slope for the roof from the end pieces. Cut the doors and windows from the front and back pieces.
  Take the royal icing and decorate the walls with lollies. Take a piece of brown paper spread with royal icing and stick it on the back of the two roof pieces so they are joined together (this will help support the weight of the roof). Leave to dry for 1/2 hour.
  Use the royal icing to glue the walls together and to the board. Use some heavy objects to support the walls as they dry.
  Place the roof on and use the royal icing to pipe the snow and shingles onto the roof. Complete the decoration and leave to dry. Gingerbread will keep for up to 1 week. 

Dishwashing Liquid - Recipe

Today's cleaning product made in bulk was dishwashing liquid (and spray surface cleaner). This is a new one for me. We don't use huge quantities as my theory is life is too short (and busy) to spend ages washing dishes -  if something doesn't come out clean from the dishwasher it goes back in and if it doesn't fit in...it isn't used often.

The thing that is a bit hard to get used to with this dishwashing liquid and the liquid hand soap I have previously made is that they are not the thick consistency we are used to. I'm not too worried though, if we use lots it is really cheap to make!

One key ingredient in most of the cleaning products I make is Dr Bronners liquid soap (eco friendly, organic, vegetarian, fair-trade...). A bottle is about $40.00 but you use such a small amount I even use it as the base for the spray surface cleaner we go though a lot of. I get mine at Huckleberry Farms Wholefoods.


Dishwashing Liquid
3 tbs organic liquid castile soap
2 cups warm water
2 tsp vegetable glycerine
2 tbs white vinegar or lemon juice
10 drops lemon essential oil

* Mix thoroughly in a clean jar or bottle, and use 1 tbs at a time.

Gingerbread People - recipe

We made these on a previous occasion.

We make these a lot. I'm not sure if the attraction is more about eating the uncooked cookie dough or eating the decorations as we decorate them!

In the lead up to Isabella's birthday this is just another thing I can make (as well as the cup cakes and muffins) in advance and freeze. I even managed to start making the inside part of the Cake Pops from Patricks left over birthday cake while he and his friends were 'partying' on the deck. Looks like the day of the birthday will be a breeze (ha ha - as if).






Gingerbread People Recipe
From Kidspot

Serving Size:

Makes 20 folk (depending on size of your cutter

Category:

Cakes & Baking, Cake stall, Kids cooking, Kids food, Lunchbox, Easy recipes

Special Info:

Nut free

Ingredients:

• 125g butter
• ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• ½ cup golden syrup
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 ½ cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• writing icings and smarties, to decorate

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C and line baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Using a stand mixer or hand held electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in golden syrup and egg yolk, then stir in sifted flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarb in two batches. Knead mixture on lightly floured surface until smooth, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Cut out folk and place 3cm apart on prepared baking trays. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

They burn really quickly (one lot of mine did today), it is important to keep a close eye on them for the last couple of minutes.

I often make a double recipe and freeze some. In fact this recipe makes heaps anyway.

'Aromatics' Wine Tasting - thank you Cuisine!

My darling husband (funny how the endearments flow in a situation like this) managed to get me an invite to the Fairfax Media - Cuisine wine tasting last week. This was as a result of being able to pass on how much I appreciated my private food and wine festival recently.

The wines on offer were all aromatics - rieslings, gewürztraminers and pinot gris. While only pinot gris would usually be my first choice I was happy to try a few (quite a few) of the different wines.

The Wine Editor explained that in each category there were around 130 entries. The wines there for us to try were the top 20-30 of each variety.
When John had attended the previous tasting, the wines were ranked 1-3 and a red dot indicated the 5 star wines. This time they had used a different system and we enjoyed trying wines rated 1-3, eventually identifying correctly that those that were 1 with a dot on them were the top wines. After about an hour I was even happy to tip out the wines I didn't like in the buckets you can see in the bottom of the picture.

The evening also gave me the opportunity to ask about the Cuisine website. It has been unavailable as a searchable site for about month and I have really missed it! The word is that it crashed and is currently begin rebuilt - ready next Tuesday.

It was interesting being there as John's wife and not 'the Principal', I was almost invisible and able to quietly observe everything going on around me. I almost sniggered when I was asked..."So, do you work"!

I made sure my appreciation of being on the invite list for this event was known and we have been assured we will be on the next guest list in a couple of months.

Chicken pan poached in white wine - recipe

This dish is one that I used to cook a lot but for some reason have not made for a long time. I really don't know why as tonight's version was fantastic and enthusiastically consumed by everyone!
I originally found this in the 'Quick Smart ' section of a Cuisine magazine  at least 5 years ago. It was a Ray McVinnie recipe (before he became well known as a NZ Master Chef judge!). I've always like his recipes. They are usually good quality food cooked simply....my kind of cooking. This is one of those recipes that I really need in my online recipe book that is my blog.




Chicken Poached in White Wine
Split a chicken (my preference is always organic if possible) down the backbone, flatten and place cut side down in a large frying pan.
Add some olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, fresh thyme (or rosemary), a quartered lemon, salt and pepper and a cup (or more) of white wine.
Place on moderate heat  and bring to the boil.
Cover tightly and turn heat down. Cook for an hour without opening the lid until chicken is tender.
Uncover, remove chicken and put on warm platter.
Discard lemon and herbs.

Add a cup of chicken stock and boil until syrupy then pour over chicken served on cous cous or rice. (I often thicken with four and water to speed this up)

Vanilla Cup Cakes and Savoury Muffins - recipes

With the big 4th birthday party only 2 weekends away, preparation has started to TRY to reduce work and stress on the day.
One of the things I am doing in advance and freezing is cupcakes that will be decorated on the day and savoury muffins that will also be finished on the day.
Both recipes are being made in mini muffin pans...not much more than a mouthful for an adult, but a perfect size for a little person.

The savoury muffins will be split halfway down the centre and then have a dollop of pesto or a slice of brie and halved cherry tomato in them.

The vanilla cupcakes will be decorated with little people in mind - bright icing and sprinkles! We had a practice on some big ones today - it's too hard to cope with baking muffins only to see them go into the freezer when you are 3...or in your 40s!

Savoury Muffins

• 1.5 cups self raising flour (or regular flour and one teaspoon of baking powder)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 200 gm cheese (a little less is ok, you can alter this to a cheddar/blue cheese mix, and fresh parmesan is also recommended).
• Savoury fillings: caramelised onions, chopped up cooked chorizo, spinach, roasted red pepper, roasted pumpkin/kumara, feta cubes. You can add almost anything you like. (I used red and yellow pepper, ham and spring onion)
1. Mix the dry ingredients, this includes the cheese and savoury fillings. Mix carefully to avoid mashing all the ingredients together. You can add a pinch of paprika or black pepper to the mix to taste.
2. Mix the wet ingredients well.
3. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Don't over mix, it should be a stiff mixture.
4. Spoon into greased muffin tin, garnishing the top. (A slice of tomato and some grated cheese works well, as do pumpkin seeds)
5. Cook at 190 degrees celcius for 20 minutes or until muffin coloured.

Basic Vanilla Cup Cakes

Serving Size:

Makes 12 muffin size or 24 small cupcake size
Ingredients:

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup (185mL) milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place muffin papers in one 12-hole muffin tray or cupcake papers in two 12-hole cupcake trays. In an electric mixer, beat butter for 2 minutes until pale in colour and creamy. Add sugar one third at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute between each addition. Add the vanilla essence and beat until combined.

Sift flour and baking powder and add half to butter mixture with half the milk, mix until well combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk.

Fill cupcake papers ¾ full (an icecream scoop is perfect for this). Bake muffin size cupcakes for 20-25 minutes and small cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.

Icing
Cream butter until pale and smooth. Add the milk and half the sifted icing sugar. Beat until well combined. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. The mixture should be a spreadable paste; if it is too dry add some more milk, if too wet add more icing sugar.

When cakes are cold, spread generously with icing and dip into sprinkles or decorate with small lollies.