Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows - party food

As a way of sticking to my 'reduced stress' birthday party food theory for Isabella's Rainbow Birthday party I made collected a number of recipes that seemed pretty quick and easy and in some cases could be made in advance. Some were great, others a bit of a disaster.

These were quick, easy and looked effective. I made them a couple of days before the party and they disappeared quickly on the day.



They were as simple as this...
1. Inser a kebab stick into a marshmallow
2. Dip in melted chocolate
3. Dip chocolate dipped marshmallow in a bowl of sprinkles

I painted polystyrene balls to stick the marshmallows in

Rainbow Birthday Cake

Isabella chose a 'Rainbow' theme for her fifth birthday. After last year's Ginger Bread House fiasco where stress levels were high to say the least I was determined to make this year's cake a lot easier.
I found lots of examples of cakes with separate layers to form rainbows which all looked reasonably easy but my concern was the time involved in baking each layer. I found a couple of recipes for this cake and gave it a try several weeks in advance.
My trial cake seemed like it was going to be a bit of a disaster but turned out really well - a good sign for the 'real thing'.
The key to this cake it using a cake recipe and mixture that is pretty thick - I chose a Madeira cake for this reason and using A LOT of food colouring.

I wanted to keep the decorating quite simple to get the 'wow' factor when it was cut open. The white icing and white chocolate fingers were easy to put on.
I used a 'Butter Cream' icing (below) which was easy to work with and eventually set a bit hard.
The '5' was just cut out of paper, placed on top of the cake, then sprinkles added.
I did the top decoration before I did the white chocolate fingers so that I could keep the sides 'clean'.


Rainbow Cake
Make the cake mixture according to the recipe.  (I used about a 30cm tin and doubled the recipe. There was some mixture left over)
Take about 1/2 the mixture and use red colouring to colour. Create a red layer around the outside of the cake tin.
Next take smaller amount of mixture and colour orange and create the next layer.
Continue through the rainbow colours until you get tot he middle where you use a very small amount of purple coloured mixture.
If you have a lot of mixture left over you can colour it according to the colour you are short on and add mixture in. The cake is very forgiving!


Maderia Cake

250 g butter
250g sugar
4 large eggs
250g self raising flour
125g plain flour
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line a 23 cm cake tin with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition.
Sift the flours together and fold into the creamed mixture.
Fold in the lemon juice
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.



Butter Cream Icing

125 g softened butter
1 tbsp warm milk
flavouring of your choice
colouring of your choice
375 g icing sugar


Put the butter, milk and any flavour or colour in a mixing blow. Sift in the icing sugar a little at a time and beat well between each addition until it has all been incorporated and the mixture is light and creamy.

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo

I pin lots of recipes on Pintrest and don't always get around to making them. Earlier this week I decided to go back and have a look at a few of them, especially those that looked quick and easy. Tonight's dinner was one of those and it was sooooo easy and really good to eat.
The other bonus is that it is cooked in one dish and pretty much prepare it and leave it to cook...nothing else!
I'd be tempted to spice it up with smoked paprika if I didn't have a little person eating it, but it was just fine with the spice from the chorizo coming through.
I always keep chorizo in my freezer so it is there when I need it and the other ingredients are pretty standard in my house. I added 2 capsicums to the dish to increase the vegetables and serves it with broccoli and cauliflower...but  it would have great with a salad too.


Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes
Recipe from Nigella Lawson's Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes from her bookKitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home.
Serves 6.

• 3 tablespoons regular olive oil
• 12 chicken thighs (bone in, with skin)
• 750 grams chorizo sausages, whole if baby ones, or cut into 4-cm chunks if regular-sized
• 1 kilogram baby potatoes, half the larger ones
• 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 chopped cloves of garlic
• 2 capsicums chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• grated zest of one orange
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Put the oil in the bottom of a large shallow roasting tin. Rub the skin of the chicken in the oil, season with salt accordingly, then turn them skin-side up. Spread the chorizo sausages and the new potatoes around the tin. 

Sprinkle the onion and the oregano over, then grate the orange zest over the arranged contents of the 2 tins. Cook for 30 minutes, then swap the top tray with the bottom tray in the oven and baste the contents with the orange-colored juices. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes or till chicken is done. 

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Not the best picture...but still worth a try!

I found this one on Pintrest. It looked good and it was pretty good. My 4 year old little person gobbled it down!
I made a double recipe and froze half for another night.
The dish wasn't strong in orange flavour, in fact I'm not sure you could even identify it. I did use orange juice and the recipe asked for concentrate.
I also added chopped onion, garlic and capsicum to try to increase the vegetable ratio.












Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Ingredients:
• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks
• 1/3 cup flour
• olive oil
• 1/2 T salt
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 T ketchup
• 6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (thaw or throw it in the microwave for 45 seconds)
• 4 T brown sugar

In a bowl, mix the orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and ketchup.

Pour the flour in a small bowl.
Cover the chicken breast chunks in flour and shake off the excess.

Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and brown the flour-covered chicken.

The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked since it's going in the crock pot.

After the chicken is done cooking, pour the pieces into the crock pot.
Then cover the chicken with your sauce mixture and give the pot a stir.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3.

Frittata

Isabella (4 years) for some reason is really keen to watch cooking programmes on TV with me. Masterchef has been a regular afternoon event for us to enjoy together, each selecting the chef we want to win that day. Last night she was allowed to stay up to watch Annabel Langbein with me. She has a current obsession with breaking eggs for cooking so when she heard the Frittata that was being cooked had 8 eggs she decided we should make it the next day.

Our version of the one we saw last night is as follows...








Frittata
1 onion, 3 cloves of garlic and a cup of chopped mushrooms fried in olive oil until soft.

8 eggs whisked
Add 1/2 a cup of parsley and thyme.
Add onion mixture
Add 6 large sliced potatoes (cooked until almost soft)
Season with smoked garlic salt
Sprinkle with edam cheese

Cook initially on stove until almost set, then move to oven to fan grill the cheese until brown.

We ate this at room temperature but I suspect it will be great cold.
We will make this agin with whatever vegetables we have and any left over veges....and maybe bacon.

'Low Tea' at Nostalgia

I was invited to 'Low Tea' (an afternoon version of High Tea) this week. While I was happy to go along I didn't have high hopes for the experience other than a nice afternoon with family. I'm not really a big tea drinker apart from herbal teas and the idea of intricate little items of foods didn't really appeal.
I was pleasantly surprised and will be going back. It would be an ideal school holiday get together venue for a catch up with colleagues.

Nostalgia Restaurant is in Ponsonby and is like taking a step into history. I've included a couple of pictures from their website as the low light made photos difficult inside.
I had a Low Tea with two very nice herbal teas and a 'perfumed' glass of bubbles at the end. There was a lot of food (yes, I had just been out for lunch before hand...not a good idea) and it was all really nice tasting. I didn't have high expectations for the food thinking it would look nice but probably would be a disappointment - it wasn't.

Lazy Sunday Lunch - Savoury Tarts - Asparagus and Mushroom

These were just the easiest thing to make and they looked and tasted great. The idea cane from Annabel Langbein's 'Free Range In The City' but of course I modified!

I used bought sheets of flakey puff pastry, cut them into 8 pieces and then put the toppings on. They were baked at 180 for about 8-10 minutes.

I use uncooked asparagus, parmesan cheese and lemon zest on one and mushrooms, edam, fresh thyme and smoked garlic salt on the other.

I'll be making these (or a version of these) again.

Moroccan Bastilla - Chicken Pie

I have a heap of recipes filed in my email and in Pintrest. As it is the school holidays I get a chance to do some 'fun' cooking - that is cooking that is not a rush after a hard day at work! I looked in my store of recipes and this was the first one I came to. Luckily I had all the ingredients.

This one is another from Nici Wickes 'World Kitchen' series on TV. It is quite unusual but totally worth a try. The spice flavours are great.
It was also really nice cold. I'd happily make it for a lunch dish and serve it cold with chutneys.

Moroccan Bastilla - Chicken Pie 

4 Whole Tegel Chicken Legs, skin on, bone in
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 stick celery, chopped
1 onion – peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons rice bran oil or other cooking oil
3 onions, peeled and diced
1 heaped teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon saffron threads (optional)

1 teaspoon salt, extra
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup chicken stock
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup roughly chopped parsley

1 cup ground almonds
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rice bran oil

10 sheets filo pastry
5 tablespoons butter, melted

Honey, cinnamon and flaked almonds to garnish

Chicken filling:

In a large stock pot, put the chicken legs, salt, pepper, celery, quartered onion and enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer and cook until the meat can be teased away from the bones with a fork (about 30-45 minutes). Remove chicken from the stock (reserve the stock) and allow to cool enough to handle. De-bone the chicken pieces and roughly shred. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. Saute until soft, then add the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, saffron, extra salt and black pepper. Add the chicken, ½ cup reserved stock and the saffron. Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Set aside.

Prepare Egg/Herb filling:

Heat 1 cup of the reserved chicken stock then whisk in the eggs and chopped parsley. Cook until it resembles scrambled eggs. Pour through a sieve and leave to drain excess stock.

Almond filling:

Meanwhile, mix the almonds with the sugar and oil until a dry paste forms.

Assembling & Cooking the pie:

Pre-heat the oven to 175 C. Grease a 25cm diameter metal pie dish.

Brush one sheet of filo with melted butter and line the pie dish with it, leaving it to overhang the edges (to be folded over the filling later). Repeat with 6 more sheets, buttering between each layer and rotating the dish so that there is some filo overhang all the way around the dish.

Now assemble the layers of ingredients.

First, spread the cooled chicken mix evenly in the case, then add the egg/parsley mix on top and finally the almond mix. Wrap the overhanging sheets to encase the filling, buttering them if they need it. Finish by layering 3 final sheets, each brushed with butter,  so that the top is smooth. Tuck them carefully down the sides.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown on top and bottom of pie is cooked.

To serve, dust the top with pinches of cinnamon, flaked almonds and honey (optional). Sounds weird but it works!

Aloo Mutter - Potato and Pea Curry

I have been craving a big Indian feast and managed to find the time this weekend. I used to do big Indian meals a lot more often, but its been a while. I came across this dish while I was hunting for a new vegetable dish and gave it a go. It is pretty mild.

The only change I would make would be to cook for longer. The 15 minutes didn't allow enough time to cook the potato through.

I used a bit more fresh ginger than the recipe called for and used tinned tomatoes rather than peeling and de-seeding them.
I served it with roti, rice, poppadoms and a chicken curry. A very filling and satisfying meal.

Aloo mutter - potato & pea curry

SERVES: 4

If you want more protein, it’s also good with cubes of paneer cheese. I like to serve it with roti or chapatti bread.

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3cm piece ginger, peeled, grated
600g floury potatoes (I used Red Rascal), peeled, cut into 2cm cubes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (or more if you prefer it hotter)
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable stock (or water)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup frozen peas

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat then add the onions. Cook until soft then add the garlic ginger and potatoes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric and chilli flakes then cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook gently for a few minutes before adding the stock or water and salt. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 15–20 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender. Stir in the peas and cook for a few more minutes until cooked through. Serve with Indian bread.

Breakfast - A very pleasant surprise

We buy our coffee freshly ground from the Atomic coffee rosters just up the hill from our home.
We have another cafe we usually go to for breakfast but as a change we will sometimes go to Atomic. Since they did did major renovations earlier this year they have increased their range of counter food and now have a daily menu as well with several more unusual options - not your standard cafe menu.
Yesterday I ordered Salmon Garvalax with Potato Salad, Fennel and toasted sour dough...perhaps not so 'breakfasty' but wow was I impressed!
Every part of it was amazing. I especially love the pickled fennel - something I'm going to have to try when the fennel in my garden grows big enough.
Yes, it was too big for me to finish!

Kiwifruit and Lime Jam

Kiwifruit jam isn't my favourite but the addition of lime is quite nice. This is a really simple jam recipe but is quite runny. Maybe I didn't boil it long enough?

I'm liking the suggestion of having it with hard cheese and crackers!

Kiwi fruit and Lime Jam

This recipe uses the flavorful kiwi fruit with a hint of lime juice and zest.

When making the jam, use just-ripe kiwi fruit to allow for the fruit's natural pectin to be at its highest levels. This will reduce the cooking time of the jam and also help it to set naturally.

The tangy jam is delicious with a little butter on toast and a cup of tea. If you're feeling adventurous, you could also use the jam as an accompaniment to a hard cheese with some cracker.

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe kiwi fruit, peeled & chopped
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 lime, juiced
• 1/8 tsp lime zest

Preparation:

1. Peel the kiwi fruit, cut into quarters and then chop roughly.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the kiwi fruit and sugar over a low heat.
3. Simmer gently until the sugar dissolves stirring occasionally. Add the lime juice and zest.
4. Once the sugar has dissolved turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a rapid boil for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently and be sure not to let the mixture burn.
5. Spoon jam into a sterilized, air-tight jar and refrigerate. The jam can be kept up to a month.
6. Spread jam on hot buttered toast and serve with a cup of tea.

Kiwifruit and Lime Sorbet

I have had kiwifruit arriving in my Ooooby Box each week and can't seem to manage to eat them all. I hate throwing them in the compost so decided this weekend to use lots of them up.
I used frozen kiwi fruit (that I had prepared earlier) and made the sorbet in the afternoon. I had pretty much set by evening without using an ice cream maker.
It didn't make a lot but enough for four small servings. It was a really refreshing flavour, quite sharp but really nice. A good use for extra kiwifruit.

Ingredients

• 8 ripe kiwi fruits (I peeled and froze them in advance)
• 2 fresh limes
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Peel and quarter the kiwi fruit.
2. Juice the lime.
3. Dissolve  sugar in water.
4. Combine the sugar water, lime juice and chopped kiwi in ablender.
5. Puree until the mixture is very smooth.
6. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker. (Or just into a dish in the freezer if using frozen kiwi fruit)
7. Freeze according to the specific machine's instructions. Freezing should take about 30 minutes in a small gel canister ice cream maker.
8. Let the sorbet harden for an additional 30 minutes in the freezer.
9. Serve immediately.

Chicken Baked with Green Olives

I have been wanting Ray McVinnie's 'Every Sunday' since it was released  about a year ago.
Ray McVinnie is one of my favourite New Zealand chefs and food writers. His recipes are always reasonably simple and rely on good quality ingredients.
I was to be given it by my sister and brother in law a couple of weeks ago. Up until today I had only managed to browse through it and find recipes I wanted to try. Today has been a lazy Sunday and I have had time to finally make one of the many recipes I want to try.

This one looks like a long list of ingredients and like it would take a while to make. In reality it was really quick and easy. I'll make it again soon! I only managed to marinate it for nearly an hour. Next time I'll prepare it the day before and then cook it the next night. An easy week night meal.

My picture doesn't look as good as the picture in the book but it tasted great.

This can be prepared in advance, with the exception of the stock and left to marinate overnight if desired.

(Serves 4 - 6)

Ingredients

• 1.5kg organic chicken, split in half either side of the backbone which is discarded  (or frozen for making stock later), the 2 halves of the chicken are then chopped into 2 wings, 2 breasts, 2 drumsticks and 2 thighs.
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 ½  cups green olives
• 1 teaspoon toasted coriander seeds
• ½  cup sultanas (I used currants and they were great)
• ¼  cup pinenuts
• 1 cup white wine
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 ¾  cups orzo or other rice shaped pasta (if orzo isn’t available use steamed long grain white rice)

Method

Put the chicken into a wide roasting dish, skin side up.  Sprinkle everything, except the stock, evenly over the top.

Pull the chicken pieces to the top so that the skin is exposed again.  Set aside to marinate 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Pour the stock over the chicken and place in the oven. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until the chicken is well cooked and browned.

While the chicken is in the oven, cook the orzo in plenty of boiling, well-salted water until al dente or tender to the bite. Drain well and toss in a little extra virgin olive oil to prevent it sticking.

Serve the chicken on the orzo to mop up the juice.

Yoghurt and Lemon Cake

I have to admit I didn't make this one but I certainly helped eat it. I have been incredibly slow in adding more posts to this blog. Perhaps this is an indication of being just a wee bit busy and not so well for ages?

We stayed the night with John's Aunty on Friday and she had made this cake. It was so light, moist, lemony and yummy!
The recipe looks incredibly easy too.





Yoghurt cake

1pottle or 225 ml of fruit yoghurt
1/2 cup cooking oil (not olive)
2 large eggs
Grated rind of one lemon


2cups of self raising flour
11/2 cups of sugar
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 160 deg fan bake. Grease and paper line the base of 21 cm cake tin
Mix the first four ingredients together in a small bowl
Place flour, sugar and salt in a larger bowl
Add wet ingredients to dry. Do not over mix ingredients
Bake for 35 mins. Let the cake cool and ice while warm, not hot

Use juice of two lemons and two dessert spoons of sugar mixed then poured over top of cake instead of icing

Note this recipe was found in an old British newspaper. It was called a dump cake, because you used the same container for all measurements ie a yoghurt pottle.

Chocolate Mi-Cuit

I'm not entirely convinced with the name (I googled it to try to find a translation and it doesn't fit the dish) but I am TOTALLY convinced with the dessert!
This is kind of a cross between a chocolate brownie and chocolate fudge. It was amazing with ice cream and berries and kept in the fridge for about a week (amazing it lasted that long).
It was really easy to make and I will make this again - another good make ahead component for a special meal.
It seemed a bit runny when the cooking time was over but it set beautifully.
It is really rich which means a small serving is essential.

Chocolate Mi-Cuit

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Chocolate Mi-Cuit

Ingredients 110g Unsalted Butter
100g Sugar
3 Eggs
225g Dark Chocolate (75% Cocoa) - in small pieces
1 Tbsp Cocoa
30g Corn Flour

Method In an electric mixer whisk eggs and the sugar and mix well, meanwhile melt the butter and pour on top of your chocolate pieces to melt.
Add the cocoa powder and the corn flour to the chocolate mix.
Whisk in the egg mix slowly and gently.
Pour into mould and cook for 6 to 8 minutes at 200c.
Remove from oven, it should still be runny.
Place in fridge for at least 3 hours.
The most divine and easy chocolate dessert.
And its gluten free!

Over Night Caramel and Apple Scrolls

I was on the look out for a 'make ahead' breakfast/brunch recipe to save time when I have a house full of visitors next weekend. I found this recipe and gave it a go last weekend.
They are really really delicious and the best part was pulling the prepared dish out of the fridge on Saturday morning and baking. I will be making these when I have my house full of guests this weekend!


I cooked them for 20 minutes and they needed a bit longer. They swelled up as part of the cooking process, so need to have a bit of space between each scroll.

Ingredients

• Rolls
• 3  to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4  cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  pkg. active dry yeast
• 1/2  cup applesauce
• 1/2  cup milk
• 1/4  cup butter
• 1  egg
• Caramel Topping
• 1/2  cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup applesauce
• 3  tablespoons butter, melted
• Filling
• 2  tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/3  cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. 1Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, salt and yeast; mix well.
2. 2In small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup applesauce, milk and 1/4 cup butter; cook over medium heat until very warm (120 to 130°F.), stirring constantly. Add warm mixture and egg to flour mixture; blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups flour until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl.
3. 3On floured surface, knead in an additional 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl; cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85°F.) until light and doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.
4. 4Grease 13x9-inch pan. Combine topping ingredients in pan; mix well. Spread evenly in pan.
5. 5On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 15x12-inch (about 30 by 40 cm) rectangle. Spread dough with 2 tablespoons butter. In small bowl, combine 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon; mix well. Sprinkle over butter.
6. 6Starting with 15-inch side, roll up tightly, pinching edges to seal. Cut roll into 12 slices; place cut side down over topping in pan. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
7. 7When ready to bake, let rolls stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400°F. (about 200 degrees c) Uncover rolls; bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan 1 minute; invert onto serving platter or tray. Scrape any remaining topping onto rolls. Serve warm.

Turkey, Mushroom and Cashew Terrine

This recipe is an adaptation of a Chicken and Pistachio Terrine in Nici Wickes 'World Kitchen' recipe book. I had turkey mince, not chicken, cashews not pistachios and chopped mushrooms in the fridge left over from making pizzas in the weekend.

I made it in advance and cooked it with an Upside Down Potato and Onion Tart. I served it with green vegetables and a fruit chutney...although 'some' members of the household ate with with good old tomato sauce. An good meal to make in advance, then cook for an hour before it is needed.
I left it to rest for about 15 minutes. A lot of the juices got absorbed back into the terrine.


My hope is that there will be some left for another meal, but I suspect it won't last that long. It was really really nice. I can't wait to try it cold.

Turkey, Mushroom and Cashew Terrine


2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic crushed
2 tsp of finely chopped rosemary
750 grams of turkey mince
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup of cashews
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
2 eggs
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
8 slices of proscuitto or bacon

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Heat olive oil in frying pan over med to low heat and cook the onion, garlic and rosemary for 5 mins until soft.
Place onion mixture in bowl with mince, breadcrumbs, nuts, eggs, mustard, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.

Line medium sized loaf tin with bacon allowing enough overhand to fold over the top of the terrine mixture.

Spoon in the mince mixture. fold overlapping bacon over the top of the mixture. Cover with tinfoil.

Bake for 1 hour, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to allow browning to occur on the top.

Coll before slicing to serve.

Upside Down Potato and Onion Tart

A day at home with a sick child has given me the opportunity to try a couple of new recipes. With her happily snuggled up in front of an old Disney version of sleeping beauty I had time to have a bit of a play in the kitchen. The less exciting  slow cooker chicken and vegetable soup I prepared last night can wait for another night!

I found this recipe on Pintrest, it come from a site called Hizzonders Deli.
After successfully making Feijoa Tarte Tartin recently, the concept really appeals - and the picture looked great.
Of course I was not able to resist a few changes to the recipe, some based on taste preferences and some to utilise the ingredients I had in the house.

I prepared the dish earlier in the day by cooking the onions, then putting the potato mixture on top.
My plan was to cook it with the Turkey Mince Terrine I was also making for dinner.
I increased the recipe and used a larger pan, this might be why it didn't turn out of the pan aas well as the picture on the website? It tasted great anyway.


Upside Down Potato and Onion Tart

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

12 sprigs thyme, strip the leaves from the stems (ooops, I left stems on)

1 large onion, sliced somewhat thickly ( a tad more than 1/4 inch thick) (I used 3, a mixture of red and brown onions for colour contrast)


(I added 5 small cloves of garlic thickly sliced and arranged between onion slices)

1 lb. waxy red potatoes, washed and very thinly sliced
 
2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup grated gruyère (I used a mixture of edam , tasty cheddar and camembert grated)

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1 cup grated mozzarella

sea salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Melt the butter in a 9-10 inch ovenproof frying pan (cast iron is great) over medium heat. Add the thyme and onion and cook for 5 minutes. Place the potato, oil, cheeses, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss to combine.

Top the onion with the potato mixture and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Turn upside down to serve.

Chef's Table at Euro - my new favourite dining experience

This weekend I had my new favourite dining experience at Euro in the Viaduct in Auckland. We had purchased 'Chef's Table' vouchers for a wedding anniversary treat. I really had not given much thought to what this would involve, but figured it might mean chefs bringing meals to the table and explaining them and the ingredients.
What is it turned out to be truly was 'entertastement' (as described on the website). The two chefs cooked in front of the 8 diners who sat at a bar overlooking the 'kitchen' area. We had two chefs guiding us through the 3 and a half hours and a 10 course experience. We got to see each dish being made, taste ingredients and then eat the dishes. There were even opportunities for the diners to get involved with the preparation.
It was great to see some of the techniques and ingredients that had been shown on MasterChef Master Classes, including very theatrical 'molecular gastronomy' involving liquid nitrogen. Lots of the dishes included 'caviar' made by dropping liquified ingredients into oil - my favourite was 'anchovy caviar'.

I can't wait to go back and do this again! It would be an amazing experience with a group of friends for a special night out.

It would be difficult to pick a dish as a favourite, they were all fantastic. The one that really stood out to me was the take on a Caprese salad. I love buffalo mozzarella and will always order this salad from a menu. While the key components were still there there was a clever twist of making the mozzarella into a liquid, then cooking it so a skin formed. It had to be eaten first with tomato caviar. What made it even more amazing was the process of 'smoking' the dis before serving it. There are two pictures showing this.
We wine matched the dishes. The wines were as good as the food.

The picture quality isn't fantastic but the idea is there. I've also included a couple of videos - one of sorbet being made in minutes with liquid nitrogen and the other John eating pavlova and mandarins frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Our Chefs

Panchetta with 'caviar'

Smoked 'Caprese' - being smoked

Caprese after smoking - AMAZING!

Prawn cocktail

Risotto

Ravioli

Wagyu Beef 

The Chicken option

Foie Gras custard with spun sugar topping

Mandarin Pavlova

Amazing chocolate liquid with grappa and choc fig

Slow Cooker Italian Turkey Meatballs

I love turkey mince as an alternative to our usual chicken mince. It is lower in fat and has more flavour. This recipe appealed because of how easy it was to make, and the potential to make part of it ahead of time.

I used a frozen cube of pesto as additional flavour. I'd use two next time.

Next time I make it I'm going to make a double batch of the meat balls and freeze half for another meal.

The cooking time for my slow cooker was about 4 hours on low.
I served the meatballs over pasta and with vegetables and lots of grated parmesan cheese.
It went down well with all of the family. this one is a make again and will probably become a regular in our home.



This recipe comes from a website called 'Skinny Taste'

Slow Cooker Italian Turkey Meatballs
Adapted from my stove top Skinny Italian Turkey Meatball recipe.

Ingredients:

• 20 oz (1.3 lb) ground turkey breast 93% lean (I used about 700g)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Reggiano Parmigiano cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 large clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp kosher salt + fresh pepper

For the sauce:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (I like Tuttorosso)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil or parsley

At the start of cooking.

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic and cheese. Using clean hands, mix all the ingredients and form small meatballs, about 1/8th cup each.

In a small saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. 

Pour crushed tomatoes into the crock pot with bay leaf. Add garlic and oil.

Drop meatballs into the sauce, cover and set crock pot to low, 4 to 6 hours. When meatballs are ready, adjust salt and pepper to taste and add fresh chopped basil or parsley.

Makes about 24 meatballs, 2 tbsp each.
Serve with ricotta, over pasta or enjoy with French bread.