Recipe 59: Home Made Ferrero Rocher

For my friend Sarah and her partner... was going to keep my little secret a secret but am twenty recipes behind, so its better if I post it anyway!

Home Made Ferrero Rocher

375g Nestle Milk Chocolate Melts

30g Copha
Nutella
Hazelnuts (approx 24)
Crushed Nuts

METHOD

1. Melt the chocolate and the copha on medium-high in a microwave safe bowl until melted.
2. Pour approximately 1 tsp of the chocolate into the base of the ice cube tray. 
3. Place 1/2 tsp of Nutella on top of the chocolate mixture and press in a hazelnut into each one.
4. Cover with the remaining melted chocolate and sprinkle with the crushed nuts.
5. Set in the freezer for 20 minutes. remove from ice cube trays and ENJOY!

Recipe 58: Mushroom sauce

A basic sauce which goes well with chicken and steak. I use this mainly to jazz up a steak and mashed spuds dinner.

Mushroom Sauce

Serves 4

100g small button mushrooms, sliced
100ml beef stock
50g butter
50g flour
350-400ml milk

METHOD

1. Melt butter in pan, then fry mushrooms until well cooked.
2. Stir in flour and cook further for 2 minutes
3. Slowly pour in stock and milk whilst stirring constantly until all combined (which will take approximately 5 minutes). Add more milk (if needed) to desired consistency.
4. Use salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe 56 & 57: Chicken in a Blanket and Cheese Sauce

Tonight's dinner- have never seen the husbands face so excited when he looked into the oven tonight! Easy to make and definitely a meal. Although you could make each parcel smaller by chopping the bacon and chicken into smaller bite sizes and could use it as a tapas dish.

Chicken in a Blanket

Serves 4

2 chicken breast
4 rashers of bacon (I used middle)
2 sheets puff pastry
200g ricotta cheese (or you could use cottage cheese)

METHOD

1. Slice the chicken breast in half length ways and in a hot pan seal on both sides, remove and allow to cool.
2. Cook the rashers of bacon, remove and allow to cool
3. Once the bacon and chicken are cool, cut the pastry sheets in half diagonally and place 1 slice of bacon, 1 halved chicken breast on top of the bacon and spoon 1 tbsp (50g) of ricotta over the chicken and bacon. Wrap/fold the puff pastry over the chicken and bacon mix.
4. Brush with egg wash  (beat a egg and using a basting brush, brush the pastry with the egg) and bake at 230c for 15 -20 minutes.

Cheese Sauce

50g butter
50g Flour
350ml-400ml milk
300g cheese (about 4 handfuls)

METHOD

1. In a pan, melt the butter and stir in flour - which will make a paste like structure.
2. Slowly pour the milk while stirring constantly until all combined (if you put all the milk in at once you will end up with a lumpy sauce, better to add the milk a little at a time).
3. Add the cheese, again stirring constantly. Add more milk (if needed) to receive the desired sauce consistency.

Recipe 55: Tomato Relish

Definitely one of my favourite relishes so far. I used my home grown chillis and boy, does it give some punch! 

Tomato Relish

makes about 2 litres

2 kg large ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced
750g onions, peeled and sliced
salt
12 small dried red chillis crushed
2 cups malt vinegar
2 1/4 cup Brown sugar
1 tbsp Curry Powder
1 1/2 tsp Mustard
1 tbsp Flour

METHOD

1. Layer the onion and tomato slices in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and leave over night.
2. Next day, drain and place the vegetables in a saucepan and add chillis and  1 1/2 cups of vinegar. Heat to boiling and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Mix the sugar, curry powder, flour and mustard into a bowl, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of vinegar to make a smooth paste.
4. Stir the paste into the vegetables, cook for an hour, slowly. Stir often (to stop it from sticking to the bottom).
5. Spoon into hot, clean jars and seal 

Recipe 54: Winter Vegetable Soup

Winter is fast approaching and today, being so extremely cold, called for a warm soup for dinner. Using my slow cooker, I could just pop everything in and after a few hours mashed everything to make this yum soup.

Recipe 54: Winter Vegetable Soup

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Swede, peeled and chopped
1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped
1 parnsip, peeled and chopped
2 tsps ground ginger
2 tsps cracked chilli (adjust to your own taste)
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Method 

1. To your slow cooker (or a pot) add the chopped vegetables to approx 1 Litre of water
2. Cook until the vegetables are soft. (Slowcooker on high for 3 hours)
3. Using a stick blender, blend all vegetables until the soup becomes smooth
4. Add ginger, cracked chilli, smoked paprila and stir
5. Add salt and pepper to taste

You can also add nutmeg for a bit more bite, but as I have used so much chilli in mine, there was no need to. Also, you can add whatever vegetables you like. I use pumpkin as a base as its thick and creamy and goes with most other vegetables.

Recipe 53: Corn Fritters

These fritters definitely have a pikelet type of quality when they are finished cooking. Love them with a bit of vinegar and salt. The husband prefers them with sweet chilli sauce.

Recipe 53: Sweetcorn Fritters

3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper
1 egg
1 can of creamed corn (approximately 440g)
Oil (for frying)

Method 

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and papper to taste into a bowl.
2. Add egg, mixing to combine. 
3. Stir in sweetcorn.
4. Heat oil in a frying pan, drop tablespoonsful of corn mixture into pan. When bubbles start forming on the top (much like pikelets), the fritter is ready to turn over.
5. Place cooked fritters on paper towels to drain off excess oil.
6. Serve hot. This recipe generally makes between 10-15 fritters, depending on the size.

A nice Surprise

It's quite simple really, all you want as a new parent is to be able to sleep into 8am. Prior to our son, my husband and I enjoyed beautiful breakfasts at lovely cafe's, late night suppers in the city and tapas, whenever we could get the chance.



This recipe is not mine, but nor is it really a recipe. But I tell you, when my husband made this for me on Sunday not only did it look amazing, but it tasted great too! So, cudos to him and it's in my recipe list.

Recipe 52: Easy Breakfast

Serves 4
200g smoked salmon
1 Avocado 
500g gourmet yoghurt
4 eggs
4 pieces of toast

Method 

1. Poach the egg
2. Whilst the egg is poaching, pop the toast into the toaster
3. Cut open the avocado, scoop out the flesh and chop into segments  (Approx 12 slices)
4. Place avocado segments on each serving plate, beside 50g smoked salmon
5. In a small bowl, add yoghurt. Then place on the serving plate for effect.
6. Get poached egg from pan, allowing the water to drip away then place on serving plate beside the salmon
7. Butter toast and place on serving plates. Voila! Flash breakfast is done!

So simple, but glamourous and it made me feel like a queen!

Sucker for a taste of Spain

There are so many places in the world where I would settle down to live but if it was just based on food- the top 4 places: France, Italy, Mexico and of course, Spain.

Two days ago I happened to stumble upon the General Trader in sale mode (well, that's what I tell my husband anyway!) and found a $20 paella pan. No excuse now, Paella for dinner!

The interesting thing about a Paella pan is that you have to "break it in", by doing this you basically have to get a steelo, scrub the bejebus out of it and then heat it up on the stove, letting the pan go black. Cool it down a bit and then using a paper towel with some oil on it you then rub it into the pan. Heat it up again, with a new paper towel wipe it and repeat the oiling and wiping until there is no more black residue showing on your paper towels. Your paella pan is now ready!
(NB: once you have completed your cooking, wash up the pan, then to dry, heat the paella pan, oil and wipe again. If you just dry it with a tea towel, the paella pan will rust)

Recipe 51: Chicken Paella

Serves 4 – 6
Variety of colourful fresh vegetables of your choice; broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, red capsicum, mushrooms, sweet potato, corn
¼ cup olive oil
500g chicken thighs (or breast meat), cut into strips
50g mild Salami, cut into strips *optional*
1 large onion, chopped
1 capsicum, cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika 
1½ cups short grain rice
3 – 4 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp saffron threads, (soak for 10 minutes in 1 tbs hot water)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 – 3 chillies 

Method 

1. Heat oil and fry chicken until cooked, put cooked chicken in a bowl and set aside. 
2. Add slightly more oil to the paella pan and aauté onion, capsicum & garlic until tender
3. Add tomatoes & paprika, cook until tomato is pulpy.
4. Add rice; stir until well combined with tomato mixture.
5. Add stock a little at a time and allow to absorb
6. Stir in saffron, pepper, tomato paste, chillies, chicken and salami strips (if using), if needed add more stock so its nice and moist
7. Arrange vegetables decoratively on top
8. Heat at 180c until rice is light and fluffy & vegetables are cooked through. (around 20 mins)
9. Serve with green or tossed salad.

The great thing about this was just as I was taking it out of the oven, two of our friends popped around for a couple of beers. The paella went down a treat and my husband enjoyed the leftovers the next day with a bit of toasted bread and a smattering of cheese.

Technique: Creating your own self raising flour

Ah... Learning so much from this years resolution- not only in cooking itself, but also techniques that I never even knew existed. It's just about May and granted I am 14 recipes behind, but I am content in reaching recipe 50! Truthfully I thought I would have given up by now.

So this morning when I was making Recipe 50: the Banana scones, I failed to check the pantry to see whether I had all the ingredients. Go figure, all out of self-raising flour.

Self Raising Flour- Home made

For 1 cup self-raising flour:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Please note that this is in addition to any baking powder already in the recipe.

The Result- worked like a charm!

Recipe 50: Banana Scones

Wow, 50 recipes down. I have a few more to add into the Blog, which will knock off the fourteen I am behind at the moment. On the plus side, only 144 more to go to make my 2011 resolution!

I shouldn't watch James Reeson's TV programme "Alive and Cooking" I just want to try all of his recipes, as 1) they look yum and 2) the ingredients he uses are ones generally found in the pantry.

Recipe 50: Banana Scones

(Makes approx. 10)
3 cups self raising flour
½ cup caster sugar
125g unsalted butter
2 mashed ripe bananas
½ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Cream together the butter and sugar. 
2. In a separate bowl, mash the banana, stir through the milk and vanilla essence. 
3. Combine both mixtures with a wooden spoon. 
4. Fold through the flour and lightly mix into a dough.
5. Cut into scones. Bake in a preheated oven at 210C for 10-12 minutes.

This is the FIRST time ever that I have made scones that tasted good- Let alone rose and didn't become rock hard! Thanks James!