Baci Ice Cream

I belong to a cute little internet group on facebook called the Darwin Food and Wine Appreciation Society. It was formed so that some of our friends could get together and organise dinners and lunches. Last night was the first of many(i hope) dinners. We went to Saffrron at Parap for Indian food and then came back to our house for desserts, Singstar and Spaing.

What a great night with great friends and lots of laughs. Dinner was nice but the company was excellent.We wrapped up the final song at about 4am and trying to get the microphone off Parko was one of the funniest sights ive seen in along time....Ahhhh reminds me of Vegas ;)

Anyway this is a new dessert i made and I must say it turned out wonderfully. It was sinfully rich but very yummy. The kids went nuts over it too. The pics arent the best as i forgot to take a photo of it after I made it and were actuallt taken today. Hopefully they dont take away from taste!!!


Ingredients (serves 8)
6 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
900ml thick cream, plus extra to serve
150g good-quality dark chocolate
40g good-quality cocoa powder, sifted
250g Nutella
1-2 tbs hazelnut syrup*
2-3 Baci chocolates, quartered, to garnish
Method
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until light.
Place 600ml of the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until at scalding point. Add to the egg yolk mixture, beating to combine.
Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water). Cool slightly, then stir cream mixture into chocolate.
Add cocoa, place in a saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened. Cool a little, whisk in Nutella and syrup, then cool further. Whip remaining cream and fold into chocolate mixture.


Lightly grease a 25 x 11cm terrine and line with plastic wrap. Fill the terrine with the ice-cream and smooth the top. Freeze overnight or until firm. Remove from the freezer, dip the base of the terrine in a little warm water, then gently ease out onto a serving platter, discarding the plastic wrap. To serve, garnish with the extra cream and the chopped chocolates.

Yummy French Toast

1 egg
1/4 c. milk
dash of vanilla extract
1 tbsp. margarine
2 pieces of bread
Utensils:

medium-size bowl
mixing spoon
frying pan
stove (You'll need help from your adult assistant.)
spatula
serving plate
measuring cups and spoons
Directions:

Crack the egg into a medium-size bowl and beat well. Then mix in the milk and vanilla extract.
Put the margarine in a frying pan. Heat the pan on the stovetop on medium heat. It's hot enough when the margarine starts to bubble.
Dunk each piece of bread in the egg mixture. Make sure the bread is totally covered.
Cook the bread in the frying pan on low heat until the underside is light brown (about 5 minutes).
Use a spatula to flip the bread over, and cook again for another 5 minutes.
Use the spatula to transfer the French toast to a plate.

Chocolate Yogo

Ingredients
40 g cocoa powder
40 g cornflour
120 g sugar
800 mL milk

Method
Sift the dry ingredients together and mix with 300 mL of milk.
Heat the remaining 500 mL of milk in a saucepan until it gets hot.
Pour the chocolate milk into the hot milk and whisk until the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and pour into a bowl that you can place cling wrap over securely. The plastic wrap must touch the surface of the pudding with no air trapped beneath, otherwise a skin will form.
Place the bowl in the fridge overnight.

Baileys Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients
Melted butter, to grease
1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk
100g butter, cubed
255g (1 1/4 cups, firmly packed) brown sugar
2 tbs glucose syrup
150g good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
60ml (1/4 cup) Baileys Original Irish Cream liqueur
Method
Brush a 20cm (base measurement) square cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang.
Combine the condensed milk, butter, sugar and glucose syrup in a medium heavy-based saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat for 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes or until mixture thickens, turns a caramel colour and leaves the side of pan. Remove from heat.
Add the chocolate and liqueur, and stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Set aside for 1 hour to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.
Remove fudge from pan, using the paper to help lift the fudge. Use a sharp knife to cut fudge into 16 equal portions.

Caramelised onions

Makes About 1 cup

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
3 large red or brown onions, sliced
2 tbs brown sugar
1-2 tbs balsamic vinegar
Method
Heat oil in a large frypan over low heat. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt and cook very slowly for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from catching.

When onions are softened and tinged golden, add sugar and balsamic - this will start the caramelisation process. Cook onion over low heat for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sticky and caramelised. Use immediately, or store in the fridge, in a sterilised jar or plastic container, and use when required.



This recipe has become one of my favorites. it turns a sausage sizzle into lunch with a bit of flair. ive also used it on my 5 min bread dough with tomatoes and cheese.

Egg and Bacon Pie aka quiche

Last week decided to use up some food that was sitting in the fridge that was of no use on its own. I had some eggs and cream that needed using. Also some ham that had to be eaten. Im trying to be a bit more frugal in my shopping and well rather than waste stuff im going to start reinventing it.

I have a savoury short crust recipe ive been using for years. The trick to good shortcrust is to use cold water so the pastry doesnt go tough.The egg recipe i just wing. I usually use 1 egg to 100 ml of cream.

Shortcrust Pastry
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
pinch salt
125g butter
approx 4 tblspn chilled water

add dry ingredients into a bowl and rub ib butter till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix to a sticky dough with water. The pastry should form a smooth ball when mixed properly.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and roll to desired shape.

This recipe usually allows me to make 2 standard pie dish bases or 1 deep pan dish.

Blind bake in oven till lightly browned.....usually about 15 min.




While base is cooking i fry up 1 onion a clove garlic some capsicum and a handful of ham. cook until onion and capsicum are soft. Cool down

Egg mixture
For standard pie dish

3 eggs
300ml cream
salt pepper and a little nutmeg.
couple of handfuls of cheese

When pie base has cooked add your filling, your cheese and then the egg mixture



Bake in oven at 180 for about 20 minutes until mix sets. Eat straight away or pop some in the freezer for snacks later on. If it lasts that long.

Variations.

Meditteranian... chicken, sundried tomatoes, camembert, capsicum, onion and garlic.
vegetarian....onion, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes,capsicum,spinach and cheese.
catch of the day ....salmon tinned or smoked onion lemon juice and chives cheese.
Asparagus..... asparagus, chicken or ham, cheese onion and a bit of garlic.

Pretty much you are only limited by your imagination and whats in your pantry.

Strawberry and Marscapone Tart.

I have a favorite shortcrust recipe i use to adapt to most sweets i make. You can use frozen if you are in a hurry but really if youre trying to impress someone nothing tastes better than home made.

So here it is

Firstly get 2 punnets of strawberries and soak them in cointreu or grand marnier sprinkle some icing sugar over the top. about 2 tblspns. Leave them to soak for a couple of hours at least.

90gr butter
2 tblspns castor sugar
3/4 cup plain flour
1/3 cup of cornflour

Cream butter and sugar in small mixing bowl until light and creamy. Gradually add sifted flour and cornflour, turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes. Spread evenly over base of a tart flan. If case is to big you may have to double mix.

cook for about 15 minutes. i like to have my base element on in the oven to cook the bottom making it crispy. It is cooked when shell is a light golden color.

Marscapone filling

250gr tub of marscapone
250gr double thick cream
dash of cointreu
2 tblspns of icing sugar.

Whip cream and marscapone in small bowl until peaks form add sugar and cointreu mix for a further minute.

Add to cold pastry case. Add strawberries just before serving.

My favorite pastime....entertaining

Most of my life ive always fantisied about owning a vineyard in a Tuscan village and having a huge table on a courtyard that could seat about 20 or more friends. the table would have a red and white check tablecloth on it and lots of candles and wine bottles sprawled all over it. Mismatched glasses and cutlery to match. the table would be laden with all sorts of foods and breads, lots of pasta and different cheeses spread around.

Music would be playing in the background and the sounds of tears and laughter would mingle with the tunes to make the atmosphere inviting and enchanting.

Im on a mission to buy a big dining table this year. i already have it picked out. I just need to fund it now.

So our outdoor table and chairs have to host a down scale version of my romantic notions and a passionfruit vine shall replace the grape vines. a spa shall replace the trickling stream that would run through the vineyard. but when I close my eyes and hear the music and the laughter i can almost feel the same atmosphere that i visually want to create.




So yesterday we had my most beloved friends Nicole and Celso(pronounced thalso)over for lunch. Nicole was my neighbour on base and we have a strong connection to each other.I feel like ive known her for years and years and I dont get to spend nearly enough time with her as id like. Work and life just get busier so it was wonderful to have some time with her.

I decided to do a bit of an Italian feast as im still in love with my fresh bread baking.

So we had pumpkin soup with a fresh loaf of crusty bread



then for mains I made a tray of Cannaloni and some Chicken Parmigana a big fresh garden salad and some pizza bread.






For desserts i made a Strawberry and Marscapone tart.



The food was delicious and the company Divine. I cant wait to get my dining table so I can cook another feast!!

Recipes
Pumpkin Soup

Approx 2kg butternut pumpkin peeled and diced
4 lge potatoes peeled and diced
2 med size onion or 1 large peeled and roughly
2 or 3 cloves garlic depending on personal taste
2 litres of chicken stock chopped
about 1/4 cup of sun dried capsicum
Salt Pepper and ground cumin seeds to taste.
Cream

Garnish with sour cream and parmesean cheese

Add a little oil or butter to boiler and cook the onions and garlic till soft.

Add stock pumpkin and potatoes and boil until they fall apart.

Add capsicum then using a hand held blender mash it to desired consistency. Add seasonings. Add desired amount of cream I usually add about 300ml.
Pour into serving bowl garnish with sour cream croutons and parmesean cheese.

Canneloni

1 pkt cannelloni shells
Mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese
oil

Filling
500g mince beef
2 tblspoons of oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic
oregano
basil
2 tspn tomato paste
250g frozen spinach
1 egg
1/4 cup cream
salt/ pepper

bechamel sauce
1 onion
4 peppercorns
1 cup milk
15gr butter
1 tblspoon flour
1/2 cup cream
salt/ pepper

Tomato sauce
1 tblspn oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic
400gr tin tomatos
2 tblspn tomato paste
salt/ pepper
1/2 tspn sugar

Filling.... heat oil in pan, cook onion and garlic until tender. add meat and cook stirring to break up any lumps, until brown drain off surplus fat. Add oregano basil and tomato paste cook uncovered for 10 - 15 minutes Add thawed spinach. combine egg and cream and pour into meat season with salt and pepper.

Bechamel sauce....place onion and peppercorns in saucepan add milk bring to boil remove from heat and stand 5 minutes

melt butter in saucepan add flourand stir over moderate heat add starined milk and stir till thickened. add cream season with salt and pepper.

Tomato sauce.....heat oil, add chopped onion and garlic cook until tender.add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste sugar salt and pepper. Bring to boil reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Use a hand held blender to puree.

Place some sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Fill canneloni with meat mix using a piping bag or teaspoon.arrange side by side in dish.Spoon bechamel sauce over cannelloni and pour remaining tomato sauce on tiop. Sprinkle grated cheeses over top and bake for 3o minutes at 180

Chicken Parmegana

1kg Chicken breasts cut in half length ways
flour
salt/pepper
1 egg
1tblspn water
dry breadcrumbs
30g butter
1/4 cup oil
mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese

Tomato sauce
1 onion
1 stick celery
1 red capsicum
1 clove garlic
1 tblspn oil
400g tin crushed tomatos
1 tblspn chopped parsley
1/2 tspn dry basil
2 tspn sugar
1 tblspn tomatp paste
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
salt,pepper

Coat chicken lightly in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Dip in egg and water mix then coat with bread crumbs. refrigerate while preparing sauce.

Tomato sauce......chop onion celery and capsicum finely. add to pan with oil and garlic. cook until onion is tender add tomatoes to pan with parsley basil sugar tomato paste and chicken stock.bring to boil reduce heat simmer for about 30 minutes until sauce has reduced. season with salt and pepper.

Cook chicken until golden brown on both sides and place in oven proof dish. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Pour finished sauce over cheese Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan. Bake uncovered for about 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

NOTE..... you can also substitute the chicken for Veal....yummmm

My carb addiction

Oh my do i have a carb addiction anything with carbs in it is my friend. I have another friend who shared her version of 5 minute bread and yes its official im addicted.

I whipped a batch of this up on Tuesday as well and i will say i think we need a new fridge so I can have a container of this stuff in the fridge at all times. it would be great to whip something up for after school snacks,lazy dinners, sunday lunches or for when those friends drop by unexpectdly at midnight.

So far with this I have made sweet chilli scrolls, ham and pickles scrolls and last night and todays lunch were yummy pizzas topped with chicken capsicum onion and fresh tomatoes sprinkled with cheese.






The basic recipe for this is

6 cups of warm water
3 satchets of yeast
3 tblspoons of salt
3 tblspoons sugar

Add all into a big container that has a seal on it.

Mix in 13 cups of flour

leave on the bench for 2 hours
refrigerate for a further 3 hours

then use as desired.

Cook in a hot oven. I use the bottom element on my oven so the base cooks properly also.

make sure you have a tray of water in there for steam as well.

For the scrolls i rolled out into a rectangle shape added the sweet chilli sauce and cheese then rolled it up like a sponge and cut it into sections. After about 10 minutes i added more cheese to the top these took about 20 minutes to cook

For the pizza bread i sprinkled polenta on a tray. Rolled out the dough to about 1" thick then added my toppings. It also took about 20 minutes to cook.

ill add pics and recipes for different ways to use this as i try them out.

Bright Bickies

I made these on Tuesday in my baking frenzy that im having at the moment. Also another recipe that has been borrowed.Im not 100% happy with the look of them.I added extra flour as the dough seemed a bit wet so i think they dried out a bit too much. next time i make these i think ill try and roll them into 1 big log and just cut them like that.

Play Dough Cookies
3/4 C butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 and 3/4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
assorted food coloring (gel or paste works best)
...

1. In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

2. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Divide dough into Fourths. Tint each with a different food coloring. Wrap in plastic and chill for two hours. (I stuck it in the freezer for 15 minutes because I hate to wait!)

3. Preheat oven to 350. Shape colors into 3/4 inch balls. For each cookie place one pink, one orange, one green, and one blue ball together and roll to make one giant ball. Roll into a 12 inch long snake, and then starting at one end coil roll to make a cookie. Place cookies 2 to 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet to allow for spreading.

4. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.Enjoy!

The start

Ive decided that even though i have trouble maintaining 1 blog i would start another to post all my recipes. I love to cook and sew, so its only fitting that this shall be the place to store my recipes. Lots of them borrowed, some are mine that are variations on others and hopefully some will come from any readers interested in sending me some.

Ive had a very productive week in the kitchen starting with a cake i made for a gorgeous friend whos little boy turned 1 on saturday. They love frogs so i scoured the internet for pictures of frogs and came up with this one.



And just because i love my kids and think theyre cute i thought id add a pic of them




A friend gave me the recipe for the buttercream that I used. it is perfect for darwins humid conditions and it stood the test of time. I used unsalted butter for the trial run but for future uses i will buy lightly salted butter.

Ingredients:

(this makes enough to cover and decorate a 8″ or 9″ cake, and about 15 reg cupcakes)

3 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

(use white sugar for traditional buttercream, or brown for a caramel version)

150g butter, softened to room temperature

(cube the butter and blitz in the microwave at 7 seconds shots on high power to speed up the process. It is important that the butter be very soft but not melting. Also, tradition calls for unsalted butter but I’ve used salted on occassion and dare I say it, I like it even more. Do use the best butter you can afford. I often splurge on French butter, with the highest butterfat content I can find)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla or any flavoring you want

food coloring, if desired

You need a small saucepan. Find a stainless steel bowl that fits over the saucepan without sinking so low as to touch its bottom. The bowl should rest on the rim of the saucepan. Set aside the bowl and bring some water to boil in the saucepan.





2. While the water is boiling, carefully seperate the egg whites with clean, dry hands into the clean, grease-free stainless steel bowl that you are going to place atop the saucepan or double boiler. It is easier to seperate eggs when they are out of the fridge and cold. Add the sugar and whisk lightly to combine.





3. When the water comes to boil, turn the heat down to a simmer. Using oven mitts, carefully place the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. The idea here is to give the whites and sugar gentle heat from the steam of the simmering water, to dissolve the sugar.





4. Stir the contents of the bowl lightly with the whisk. Stir continously because you do NOT want the whites to get cooked- that would give you very yucky bit of scrambled egg in your buttercream. And make sure you keep a hold on the bowl. Remember to keep on those oven mitts.. the bowl gets hot! Stir the whites until they get foamy and very very warm to the touch. To check the teperature, and to see if the sugar is dissolved, dip your -clean- thumb and forefinger into the mixture. It should be very warm and when you rub your fingers together, the mixture should be smooth and not have any grainy sugar crystals. This should take about 4 minutes from the time you place the bowl on the saucepan.





5. Once the whites are ready, remove the bowl from the saucepan and wipe the condenstaion off its bottom. Turn off the flame. Now it’s time to whip the whites. Get your electric beaters, or whisk attachment if you’re using a stand mixer, ready, making sure they are clean and free of grease and water.





7. While the whites are still warm, start whisking them, first at a low speed to allow them to froth up and then slowly moving up to high speed.





8. Whisk the whites until they have tripled in volume, are glossy and hold stiff peaks when you lift the beaters up.





9. Add the softened butter in tablespoonfuls. Beat until thoroughly combined before adding the next tablespoonful.





10. The previously shiny and stiff meringue will now look disastrously soupy. Do not despair. This is normal.





11. Now, is the time to place your faith in the kitchen gods (they do exist you know). Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it thickens. This can take anywhwere from 7 to 15 minutes, sometimes even longer. Ever so often, scrape down the bowl with your spatula. If you’re using a stand mixer, you want to do this step with the paddle attachment on medium speed.





12. As much as you may think it impossible, the mixture will and does thicken and comes together to become that fluffy concoction we know as buttercream.





13. Now, at this stage, you can add vanilla, flavoring and/or food coloring to the buttercream. Add in small amounts and blend in with the beaters on low speed. The frosting can be used immediately, or if the weather is very very hot and humid, bung the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes to stiffen up the buttercream before using. It also can be refridgerated for 4-5 days in a clean, airtight container. If storing in the fridge, let the buttercream soften at room temperature for about an hour, and then whisk or beat until it becomes fluffy again before using.