Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

I haven't eaten red meat for about 20 years now...with the exception of bacon. I'm not super fussy about it, a bit of red meat in dishes is fine, but I could not imagine sitting down to a steak or hunk of lamb. As a result I am always on the look out for new chicken and seafood recipes.
I'm also about to start a new job which I know will be be a huge time commitment. I'm determined not to resort to ready made, preservative filled meals for my family though. This week I got busy and made 5 meals to freeze one night.
When I found this recipe I figured I could make it for dinner and made another lot to go in the freezer to cook another night.
The original recipe was a bit different, it had a cup of water in it and the quantise were a bit different. My modifications worked well! It was quite salty (which I like). A reduced salt soy source might be a better idea.
The quantities below were plenty for two meals of 6 chicken thighs (12 thighs in total).

Not the best photo but the taste was great!

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

• 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup soy sauce 
• 1  cup brown sugar
• 1 bunch of green spring onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• 1/2 cup of a white onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can of coconut milk

Instructions

1. Trim chicken thighs of any visible fat. Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl. Marinade chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight to make sure the flavor gets infused.
2. Grill chicken at a low heat so that the marinade does not burn for 5-7 minutes per side or until done.

Garlic Pizza Bread

I had some pizza dough left over from making pizzas with two little ladies this week and couldn't quite bring myself to throw it out. I rolled it out - like I would for pizza, wrapped it in glad wrap and left it over night.
The next day I had a shared lunch and took the dough along.
I brushed olive oil with garlic and smoked garlic salt liberally over it, sprinkled it with herbs from the garden (thyme, oregano and rosemary) and a small amount of grated mozzarella  and baked it in a really hot oven.
The cooked bread was fantastic and disappeared really quickly.
I've since made this a few times and am looking forward to our next big group as it will be an easy starter for large numbers.

Lemon Shortbread

I've never had much luck with shortbread in the past...and therefore not made it often. This morning we had a friend coming for a coffee and Isabella suggested making it...no idea why but I'm glad she did.
I found this recipe on my trustee Cuisine website and liked the idea of the lemon zest in the shortbread.
They were super quick and easy to make and the baking time was quite short.
They tasted great and lemon zest lived up to my hopes.










Lemon Shortbread

SERVES: MAKES ABOUT 18If you'd like to make lots of star biscuits, this recipe can be successfully doubled or tripled.

125g butter, softened
1⁄2 cup icing sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup flour, sifted
1⁄4 cup cornflour

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, icing sugar and lemon zest until light and creamy. Stir in the flour and cornflour until well combined and a soft dough forms.

Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick.

Using a cookie cutter, cut 18 stars from the dough (re-roll the offcuts out). Transfer the shapes to the prepared baking trays,

then bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serve or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.

Swirl Cookies

While I committed to making Isabella's birthday this year reasonably simple I did want to try a couple of new things. These were one of them. I'd seen them come up on Pintrest from time to time and the seemed straightforward to make...although I had also seen disasters where the colours mixed and the shape distorted.
My 'research' informed me cooling the mixture between stages in the fridge was the answer.
I made the mix days in advance and rolled it up and covered in cling film. I needed to buy more sprinkles because this uses up a lot!
On the day I was ready to bake them, I sliced them and put them on the tray, then put the tray in the fridge for another hour.
All that cooling seems to work as the result was good. Not perfect, but home made never is!



Swirl Cookies

2 cups cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp raspberry extract 
1/2 tsp turquoise food colour
2 tbsp cake flour
Rainbow jumbo sprinkles

In a food processor combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and icing sugar, pulse to mix. Add the butter slowly, pulsing until combined. Add in the vanilla and process until the mixture forms a ball.

Divide the dough into 2, put one half back into the processor, add the raspberry flavouring and the turquoise food colour and the 2 tablespoons of flour and mix until combined.

Roll out the vanilla dough and the flavoured dough between wax paper, to form a rectangle around 11 x 8. Place the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Place the sprinkles into a large dish.  Remove the top sheet of wax paper from both doughs, carefully flip the coloured dough onto the vanilla dough, press together and remove the wax paper from the top.  Trim the edges and roll the dough starting with the long side, once rolled into a log place in the dish containing the sprinkles, roll in the sprinkles until completely covered. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 4 hours. 

When ready to bake, heat oven to 190 degrees C.  Slice into 1/4 inch rounds and bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

White Wine Roasted Summer Fruit with White Chocolate Sauce and Brown Sugar Meringue Shards

Inspiration for a lunchtime BBQ dessert came from the most recent Cuisine magazine. As usually when we have guests I look for a dish that can be prepared as much as possible before the guests arrive. This one had components that I made days in advance...I like that!

The meringue needed to be thinner than I made it...perhaps I should have followed the recipe properly?

The preparation of the fruit did take a while and did need to be down on the day it was being served. Maybe I can get my guests in on the job next time?

I used a variety of summer stone fruit and baked for longer than the recipe said.
I have to admit it didn't look as god as the picture in the magazine but it tasted good.

White Wine Roasted Summer Fruit with White Chocolate Sauce and Brown Sugar Meringue Shards
Meringues

2 egg whites
50g caster sugar
50g soft brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 100°C. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, add the caster sugar in a slow, steady stream and beat until glossy, thick and dry. Fold through the brown sugar. On a baking-paper-lined tray, use a spatula or palette knife to spread out the meringue to a thickness of 3mm-4mm.
Put the tray in the oven and bake the meringues for 3-4 hours until very crisp. Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar. When the meringues are cold, break them up into coarse shards. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Roasted plums

16 large plums (or 20 smaller), halved, stone removed
3 tablespoons brown sugar 
grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
2 tablespoons orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the plums cut side up in a roasting dish. Sprinkle with the sugar, orange zest and juice and the liqueur. Bake for 30 minutes or until the plums soften (this can vary depending on ripeness).

White chocolate sauce

100ml cream
40g butter
100g white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Heat the butter and cream in a saucepan or in the microwave until heated to just below boiling. Put the chocolate in a bowl, pour in the cream and stir until the chocolate melts, then set aside to cool and thicken.
To assemble, put the plums on a platter, top with the meringue shards and drizzle with the chocolate sauce. Eat immediately. 

Italian Lemon Tarte - Crosata di Limone

Someone who is very thoughtful gave me an Italian recipe book for Christmas...I'm not sure who, but thank you!
This recipe is the first the book opened to and it was amazing - like lemon curd in a tart. Not surprising really as the ingredients are similar to lemon curd apart from there being cream in this and butter in lemon curd.

We had it warm, but I also ate lots of left overs cold from the fridge.
The pastry shell is beautifully short and has a subtle lemon flavour. I loved making the pastry on the bench rather than in a bowl - it felt like 'traditional Italian cooking'.

I used baking beans to keep the tart shell in shape and chilled it again once I had it in the tin.
The mixture came right up to the top of the baked tart shell before it was cooked but shrunk back during cooking which didn't look quite as I imagined but it was still one I will make again.
My tart was very yellow compared to the book...that might have been because the eggs came from our chickens and the yolks are very yellow.

Italian Lemon Tarte - Crosata di Limone

Ingredients
200g plain flour
250g caster sugar,
    plus 2 tbsp
5 egg yolks
grated peel and juice of 2 lemons
1 pinch of salt
100g chilled butter
3 eggs
150 ml double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
oil for greasing

Method
Sift the flour onto a work surface, blend in 7 tablespoons of caster sugar, and make a well in the centre. Add 4 egg yolks, half the lemon peel, the salt and the butter cut into small pieces. kneed everything together into a smooth, supple dough. From the dough into a ball, cover in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 25cm springform tart tin. Roll out the pastry very thinly on a floured work surface and use to line the base and sides of the tin. Use a fork to prick several holes in the pastry, then lay a sheet of baking paper over it. Chill in fridge again for 30 minutes. Fill with baking beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beasn and baking paper and leave the pastry to cool.
Reduce the oven temp to 160 degrees C.
Beat the remaining egg yolk, whole eggs and the rest of the sugar and lemon peel into a thick pale cream. Stir in the lemon juice. Whip the cream and fold into the egg mixture.
Pour in into the case and spread evenly, then bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. I added about another 5-10 minutes.
Dust the surface with icing sugar, then return to oven until golden brown.

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken

I love my slow cooker dishes and this is another that is really simple to prepare and quick to cook either in the slow cooker or oven.
I have added capsicum, broccoli and other vegetables (whatever is in the fridge) and added cashews to serve to make it a more complete meal.
Serve with rice.


Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients

• 3-4 Chicken Breasts (about 2 lbs)
• 1 can of pineapple in juice (tidbits, chucks, rings, it doesn’t matter)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• ½ cup chicken broth

Instructions

1. Chop onion and place in crock pot.
2. Place Chicken Breast on top of onion.
3. Dump the can of pineapple (juice and all) over the chicken.
4. Dump the soy sauce and the chicken broth on top of everything.
5. Cover and cook on HIGH in the crockpot for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8
6. hours.
7. Serve over rice and with a steamed veggie

Heart Shaped Birthday Cake

It's been a bit of a crazy time for us with John away in South Sudan since August. I was determined this year to not put huge pressure on myself to create the perfect birthday part and cake for Isabella. Memories of previous year's efforts and the dramas in creating them still inter for us all!

I'd used the idea of surrounding the cake with white chocolate covered biscuit fingers last
year and it worked really well...and meant the icing around the cake didn't have to be perfect. I also replicated the paper cut out number (for birthday years) with sprinkles around it...although this didn't stand out as well as last year.

I had found the instructions for making the heart on Pintrest. It just seemed too good to be true - simple and very effective - and it was. The key was finding a square and round tin that were the right size. To figure this out I held the round tin up to the edge of various square tins until I got the right fit.


Isabella asked for a chocolate cake. I used an easy recipe from Sophie Gray's 'Enjoy'. See below
I tried making the cakes the same height by putting the same level of mixture in them...this didn't work but it was easy enough to slice a layer off the higher one.

I made Butter Cream Icing - I like this because it is easy to use and can be whipped up in the food processor. See below

I used pink tubular wafers to put around the outside and added a ribbon to make sure they stayed put.
A good end result, minimal fuss and no stress!



DANA'S CHOCOLATE CAKE 
from Destitute Gourmet by Sophie Gray
Very moist cake, freezes well, either process in food processor or put all in
bowl and beat together.
1 & 2/3 c flour
1 & 1/2 t baking soda
1 & 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c cocoa powder
1 t salt
1 & 1/2 c milk
100g butter, melted
2 eggs
1 t vanilla essence
Oven at 180 C, grease a 20cm loose-bottom cake tin and line bottom - it is a very liquid mix and you don't want it to leak!! Put all ingredients into
processor and mix until smooth. Pour into tin, bake 50 min to 1 hour, check if done with skewer.

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.

Lemon and Gin Cake

I'm not sure how this cake has not been included on my blog previously. It's a real favourite and is one that is requested for special occasions and birthday cakes.

Gin and tonics with lemon or lime are a favourite of mine so I was thrilled (several years ago now) to find a cake recipe that includes some of these ingredients.

It is definitely best served with plain yoghurt to balance the sweet syrup that is poured over the top. I usually double the syrup recipe to ensure there is lots to cover the cake.




Lemon and Gin Cake

SERVES: 12This gorgeous sponge-like lemon cake is soaked in a lemon and gin mixture immediately after removing from the oven.

200g butter
1@1/2 cups sugar
zest of 2 lemons
4 x size 6 (medium) eggs 
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (at room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 160ºC (fan-bake). Prepare a 24cm loose-bottomedcake tin by lining the base with baking paper, brushing the sides with butter and dredging lightly with flour.

To make the cake, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, and fold carefully into the egg mixture. Add the milk and stir in gently. Pile the mixture into the preparedcake tin. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the cake shrinks from the sides of the tin. This can also be made in 6 small loaf tins which would be baked for about 25 minutes.

For the topping
1/2 cup caster sugar
juice of 2 lemons
4 tablespoons gin

While the cake is cooking, prepare the topping and the decoration. To make the topping, stir the caster sugar, lemon juice and gin together. 

For the decoration
1 small lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water 

To make the decoration, slice the lemon finely. Melt the sugar in the water, bring to a simmer and gently poach the lemon slices for 10 minutes. Remove slices to drain. When the cake is removed from the oven, pour topping mixture over the hot cake. Add the lemon slices around the edge of the top of the cake and allow to cool. 

Salmon Terrine with Apple, Cucumber and Caper Salad

I was lucky to be invited to join a group that gets together for 'degustation' type dinners where each couple contribute a course. This dinner had a '5 Nations' theme based on the Rugby tournament.
Lynn (my partner for the night) and I selected 'France' as our theme country and were given 'starters' as a course.

We did a trial of the terrine which was very successful. The 'relish' is supposed to be a small amount on the side but we really liked it so increased it to a salad!

This really is a super super easy dish and one that can be be made in advance. My trustee mandoline ensured the salad was very uniform in size and quick to prepare. The hardest part (seriously) is cutting it thinly and keeping it in shape. We did this by having it very cold and using a very sharp wet knife.

We served it with french bread crisped in the oven and the 'salad/relish.

Themed berets, preparing to serve the terrine. 

It is very rich so each serving only needs to be small.

While not an inexpensive dish, due to the fact that it was so easy to make and could be made in advance I will be making this again for a special meal or occasion.

The recipe comes from NZ Cuisine online - my never fail go to when hunting for special recipes.


Salmon Terrine with Apple, Cucumber and Caper Salad
SERVES: 8-10This recipe is best started a day before serving to allow the creme fraiche and salmon time to set

I used smoked salmon pieces in the mousse – they’re the fatty bits from the belly and tail, which have more flavour.

450g smoked salmon pieces (I used Southern Ocean)
100g full-fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons chopped dill fronds, plus extra sprigs to serve
300g creme fraiche or quark
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of hot cayenne pepper
400g smoked salmon slices

Place the salmon pieces, cream cheese and dill in a food processor and process until just combined. Transfer to a bowl and stir through the creme fraiche or quark. Add the lemon juice and cayenne pepper to the mix then gently fold them through.

Line the base and sides of a terrine dish or loaf tin with cling film (a little water sprinkled inside helps the film adhere), leaving enough overhang to wrap over the terrine later. Arrange the salmon slices over the base and sides of the dish (save some for the top). Spoon in the mousse filling then cover with the remaining salmon. Cover with the overhanging cling film then chill overnight or for at least 8 hours. Lift out of the dish then invert on to a serving plate. Top with dill sprigs then serve with the relish (recipe follows).

Apple, cucumber & caper relish2 green apples, peeled and cored
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1⁄3 cucumber (or 2 Lebanese cucumbers), peeled, deseeded and diced into 5mm pieces
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
2 tablespoons grated horseradish (I used a sauce and it worked well)

Slice the apples very thinly then cut into fine matchsticks. Sprinkle with the vinegar (this prevents browning). Chop the capers to form a fine paste. Mix the apple, capers, cucumber, chives and horseradish together then season with freshly ground black pepper.