Wild Yeast and Sugar Pie: August 2012

Monday, August 20, 2012

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

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

1Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, salt and yeast; mix well.
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.
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.
4Grease 13x9-inch pan. Combine topping ingredients in pan; mix well. Spread evenly in pan.
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.
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.
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.

Monday, August 6, 2012

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.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

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.