John's Birthday Cake(s)

My husband John turned 50 about 2 weeks ago. To celebrate we gathered friends and family at our favourite local Japanese Restaurant - Taiko.

Despite things being pretty crazy for us at the moment - John is about to deploy with the Army to South Sudan for six months and some health issues for me, I wanted to do something special for a cake for him.


When I first met John he worked for Apple New Zealand - his job description was 'Apple Evangelist'. In my career Apple computers have been a very important tool. Apple products are pretty important to all of our family. My idea for a cake was to use the 'Apple' logo as inspiration. I hunted on 'Pintrest' for ideas and found some good ones. Several years ago the Apple logo had rainbow stripes...this seemed like a great idea.

I purchased coloured fondant icing for the cake. The colours were not exactly right but it looked good. Luckily I had my Mum helping. The icing took far far longer than I expected! We measured the stripes of the icing, but the stretched when we lifted them on to the cake.
I used butter cream icing over the cake before laying over the fondant. The cake was made using my failsafe banana cake recipe with chocolate chips added.



I was a little unsure how many people I was feeding so decided to supplement the cake with 'camouflage' cupcakes as a 'nod' to the importance of the Army in

his life.
To make the cupcakes I just coloured basic cupcake mixture and added a bit at a time to create the pattern.



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 bowl or use food processor. 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.

Slow Cooker Duck with White Beans and Chorizo

Duck isn't something I have a lot of experience cooking. I often order it when we go out and really enjoy it. When my last Cuisine magazine arrived with a recipe that was both 'slow cooker' and 'duck' I decided to give it a go.
The dish was really nice and it was pretty easy to make.
I'll make it again.







Slow Cooker Duck with White Beans and Chorizo
SERVES: 4Cook delicious winter meals using a slow cooker.

olive oil for cooking
4 duck legs
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
250g fresh hot chorizo (I used Chorizos Garcia), sliced
1⁄4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 cups chicken stock
400g can chopped tomatoes in juice
1 bay leaf
1⁄4 teaspoon bittersweet
Spanish smoked paprika
400g can butter beans (or use El Navarrico large butter beans), drained, rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped sweet marjoram or oregano leaves
potatoes cooked in duck fat and wilted cabbage to serve

Preheat the slow cooker for 20 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add a dash of oil then slowly brown the duck legs on both sides. This should take about 10 minutes and allows the fat to render down.Remove the duck legs and set aside.

Drain off all but 1⁄2 tablespoon of the fat (allow the drained duck fat to cool, then use for roasting potatoes in).
Add the onions and garlic to the pan and fry until soft and golden. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Add the chorizo to the pan and fry until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker, along with the browned duck.

Pour the wine and vinegar into the frying pan and bring to the boil, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the stock, tomatoes, bay leaf and paprika. Bring slowly to the boil then pour into the slow cooker. Cook on High for 3 hours.

Add the beans and half the chopped herbs to the slow cooker then continue to cook on Low for a further 1 hour.

Sprinkle with the remaining herbsthen serve with potatoes and cabbage.

In the oven 

Follow the recipe, transferring all the panfried ingredients to a casserole dish rather than the slow cooker, then cook, covered, at 150°C-160°C for 2 hours

Slow Cooker Whole Lemon Chicken

I've seen loads of whole chicken recipes for slow cookers and have always been a dubious. After all part of the attraction of a whole roasted chicken is the browned crispy skin.

I decided to give one a go this weekend and found the results really good. No the skin was not crispy and brown, but the meat was really succulent and the lemon used to cook with gave it a really nice flavour.

As usual my 'slow cooker' was too fast! When the recipe said X hours, I reduced it to about 4 and it possibly could have had a little less.

This would be a good recipe for cooking chicken that will be used cold for lunches or salads. We had it hot with gravy which was nice too although I took the skin off mine because it was too pale looking.

I also added potatoes and jerusalem artichokes to the slow cooker to make sure I had most of the meal cooked at once.

Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 lemons
• 2-3 heads of garlic
• 1 whole chicken 
• Fresh rosemary, or any fresh herbs
• All-purpose steak seasoning or salt and pepper (I used smoked garlic salt)

Instructions

1. Cut garlic heads and lemons in half and lay in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Cut the bottoms off the lemons so they lay flat.
3. Add a sprig of rosemary, or any herbs.
4. Remove insides from chicken, rinse chicken and pat dry.
5. Season chicken well, inside and out, with all-purpose steak seasoning or salt and pepper.
6. Lay chicken on top of garlic and lemon slices and stuff the chicken with a garlic head cut in half, and a lemon cut in quarters.
7. Cover top of chicken with additional lemon slices and rosemary.
8. Turn slow cooker to high, and cook for about 4 hours, or until chicken reaches 165 degrees.
9. Slow cooker cooking times vary.
10. Important: Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
11. When chicken has reached 165, turn off slow cooker and let chicken rest for about 15 minutes.
12. Remove from slow cooker, carve and serve.
13. Liquid from slow cooker can be strained and served over chicken.

Lime and Gin Mousse

I used to make this dish years ago and for some reason stopped...maybe it was a little person who takes up a lot of time?
A friend coming for dinner who loves citrus seemed like a great excuse to bring this recipe out again. That and the fact that I could make it well in advance of dinner time.
I made this along with Persian Chicken Pilaf which went down so well last week - and was quick and easy to make. They both have citrus flavours so went well together.

My diners really really enjoyed this dessert with proclamations of 'best dessert ever' and they did disappear very very quickly!

Lime & Gin Mousse

SERVES: 6The tart flavour of this chilled mousse is perfect for a summer dessert.

To obtain a perfect mousse it is important to have the beaten ingredients all at the same soft texture.

4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/3 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon gin
2 teaspoons gelatine
3/4 cup cream
2 tablespoons sugar, extra

For the decoration
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup water
shreds of lime zest

Beat egg yolks, sugar and lime zest until thick and lemon coloured.

Combine lime juice and gin in a small stainless steel bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over. Dissolve gelatine by standing the bowl over a second bowl of hot water. Allow this to cool to room temperature, then gradually stir into the egg and sugar mixture.

Beat the cream until soft peaks form. Fold this into the mousse mixture.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually beating in the extra sugar. Fold into mixture in two batches. Pour into 6 glasses and refrigerate overnight.

To make the lime decoration, dissolve the 2 tablespoons of sugar in the water and then bring to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add the shreds of lime zest and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove zest and place a few shreds in the middle of each dessert.

Roasted Chickpeas

I've bought roasted chickpeas before and quite like them - although I'm always a bit worried about breaking teeth while easting them as they are very crunchy. After seeing several recipes recently I thought I'd give them a try. They were really easy but I think needed longer to get them all crunchy.

I'd probably make them in bulk next time and cook dried chickpeas first.
I used smoked garlic salt to flavour them that had been ground int he mortar and pestle - the flavour was great.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

INGREDIENTS

1 15 oz. can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons of spice mixture (a curry, Morrocan, or Mexican spice mixture work well)

DIRECTIONS

Make sure the chickpeas are completely dry after draining and rinsing them. Otherwise they'll end up chewy and soggy.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas in a colander. Pat dry.
3. Toss chickpeas in a medium sized bowl with olive oil, sea salt, and spices.
4. Arrange chickpeas on a baking sheet in a single layer.
5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until crispy. While baking, shake pan or stir chickpeas to avoid burning.
6. Transfer to a serving bowl.
7. If desired, sprinkle and toss with more spices.

Fish With Parsley and Hazelnut Crust

I'd marked this recipe in the most recent Cuisine magazine...it was another of the quick weekday meals - the Chicken Pilaf I made last week was one of these too.

The recipe was for the fish and also included a vege dish to go with it. What a great meal.
Of course I substituted ingredients...for some reason hazelnuts are hard to find at the moment. I've tried a few places, so I substituted with cashews. My parsley supply has been gobbled by our chickens - ha! fixed them today by installing some new fencing and reclaiming our gardens. I substituted the parsley with coriander.  I also added a lime infused oil in the nut mix to bind it together adn then used this to cook the veges.

I really liked this dish. The layered potatoes and leek was really easy...in fact the whole dish was pretty easy. We will be eating it again.

Roasted fish with parsley & hazelnut crust

SERVES: 4
2 tablespoons olive oil 
4 red-skinned potatoes, washed, thinly sliced 
1 large leek, white part only, thinly sliced 
1 1⁄2 cups (375ml) gluten-free vegetable stock 
3⁄4 cup flat-leafed parsley leaves, finely chopped 
1⁄3 cup hazelnuts, roasted, finely chopped 
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest 
1 clove garlic, finely chopped 
4 (about 180g each) skinned and boned John Dory fillets 
300g brussels sprouts, thickly sliced 
1 cup frozen peas 

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Brush a roasting pan with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Layer the potatoes and leek in a thin layer over the base of the pan then drizzle with 1 cup of the stock. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix together the parsley, hazelnuts, zest, garlic and 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of the remaining oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the fish on a clean work surface. Spoon the parsley mixture evenly over one side of each fillet, using the back of the spoon to lightly press to secure. Remove the potato mixture from the oven and arrange the fish over the potato, crust side up. Return to the oven and bake for a further 6-8 minutes or until the potato is tender and the fish is just cooked.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sprouts and fry, tossing, for 3-4 minutes or until lightly golden. Add the remaining stock and the peas and bring to the boil then cook, tossing, for 2-3 minutes or until the peas are heated through and the sprouts are tender. Taste and season. 

Spoon the potato mixture and fish on to serving plates. Serve with the sprouts mixture.

Chocolate and Pear Pudding

This was one of the daily recipes I get emailed from Mindfood magazine. I have not made any yet but since this was a Maggie Beer recipe I thought I'd give it a try.

The example in the recipe was in a deep round
dish. I made it in a rectangular dish that was more shallow.

It cooked for just over an hour and was well cooked - possibly a bit too much around the edge.

The result was a very rich and very nice dessert. The contrast of the pear was nice with the richness of the chocolate.

Chocolate and Pear Pudding

Serves 8

5 small pears (total weight 440 g)

375ml verjuice 1⁄4 cup

55g castor sugar

300g dark chocolate 70% cocoa

250g unsalted butter

4 free range eggs

2 free range egg yolks

200g brown sugar

60g plain flour, sifted

40g dutch cocoa sifted (unsweetened)

Pre-heat a fan forced oven to 160˚C.

Cut peeled pears into wedges (sixths). Cut out the core.

Over medium heat place the pear into a medium size pot. Add Verjuice and sugar and simmer 10 minutes, or until the pears are cooked.

Remove from heat and remove the pears from the syrup. Cool, then cut each piece in half.

Melt chocolate and butter over a low heat in a bowl on top of a small pot (the chocolate mustn’t come into contact with steam). Blend the chocolate and butter and cool.

Beat eggs, egg yolks and sugar in an electric mixer until thick and pale.

Stir in the chocolate mixture, then fold in flour and cocoa.

Place the pears in a large greased baking dish (20 cm x 9.5 cm). Pour in the chocolate mixture and place on a baking tray. Bake for approx. 1 hour to 1½ hours until pudding comes away from the sides and the centre should be a little gooey.

Serve warm dusted with cocoa and crème fraiche.