Perfect Party Cake

I made this again on the weekend.

Actually, would you beleive I made it twice! Once on Saturday morning for a dear friends baby shower which was demolished in under an hour and then just the cake party (no buttercream) last night. I'm having some people over for dinner tonight whom I want to spoil and as I was throwing around ideas for dessert I thought why not amke just that gorgeous cake and serve it with some berries and fresh cream. I'll let you know how it goes. I can't imagine any other way than brilliant.

The method of rubbing the sugar with the lemon zest before you get started is genius. The smell it creates is divine!

Anyhow, I just thought I'd share just how brilliant this cake really is!

Sathya-rating *****

Baba ganoush

I don't like eggplants/aubergine. Nope, don't like it. Won't order it, cook it, serve myself some. For some reason this is changing. Its funny how things change. Everything does really, well, I think it does anyway. My tastebuds are ever changing and eggplant is one of the last things to cross the line. I made this eggplant curry a couple of months ago and loved it and now baba ganoush has come along. I love it. And, I love the eggplant curry. Does that mean I now like eggplant? Nah, I don't think so.

This is what came up when I typed baba ganoush in Google and its easy and delicious.

1 large eggplant baked then peeled
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of tahini
blend in blender or
mix with mortar
mint or parsley for garnish
olive oil/cayenne pepper to top

Roast the eggplant for one hour in a hot even and then place a plastic bag to cool, then you can peel and remove top, place in a bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice and tahini paste, blend in a blender or with a mortar. Spread onto a deep plate and garnish with parsley or mint and top with olive oil and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or paprika.

Serve with turkish bread, crackers or pita breads fresh or toasted under the grill with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

Sathya-rating ****

Tiropita - Greek Cheese Pie

Being back in my home town brings all sorts of feelings. One of my favourites is catching up and cooking a nice meal for someone I love and haven't seen much of in a long time.

Monday night was one of those nights. I'd had a hard start to a second week in my new job and had forgotten plans with a dear friend I'd hardly seen since being in Adelaide. I dragged my sorry bones home wondering where I was going to muster the energy to cook dinner and hang out. Our guest arrived as I did and the pure luxury of having her there gave me all the energy I needed. I had a great night, made this pie from what was in the fridge while catching up on the latest gossip and news and just hanging out with an old friend and too much wine - I was full of beans and feeling much happier!

80 grams baby spinach
4 eggs, lightly beaten
400 grams feta cheese
few shavings fresh nutmeg
salt and pepper
10 sheets filo pastry
6 tbs melted butter
1 tsp kalonji (black onion seed)

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the spinach, eggs, cubed feta, nutmeg and salt and pepper and blend together with a bamix till just smooth.

Lay pastry on flat work surface, covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush one sheet with melted butter and top with second sheet of filo. Repeat until filo is finished. Brush the remaining butter into the pie dish, line with the buttered filo and spoon the filling in and fold the sides onto the top. Cut pieces from the sides if too long and place over the filling to cover. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle on the kalonji or sesame seeds and place into the hot oven for 20 minutes or till golden and firm to touch.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving with salad (we chopped 1/2 cucumber, 1/4 red capsicum & 4 tomatoes into chunks and tossed them in glug of olive oil, juice of half a lemon & salt and pepper).



Sathya-rating ****

Lavender & White Chocolate Opéra Cake - Daring Bakers May Challenge

Herewith I share with you my 10th Daring Bakers Challenge - Opéra Cake. Ta-da!

Do you know what that is? I didn't. I had to read up and look through Google images. I realised immediately this was something I had eaten at a glorious high tea at the Sofitel Wentworth a few months ago. According to Larousse Gastronomique "Opéra gateau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing." The founders of our wonderful Daring Bakers group, Lis & Ivonne set this months challenge with clear instructions to follow the recipe but adapt the flavourings to our likings as long as the overall appearance was light in colour.

I threw around many ideas for about a week and eventually decided on an old favourite flavouring, Lavender which I had mainly used for pannacottas (that reminds me, I don't think I've done them on BCM - I will soon!).

So Lavender and White Chocolate it was. I followed the recipe we were given to the letter, however I flavoured the soaking syrup with a few leaves of lavender, the white chocolate mousse with a few more leaves of lavender and several strategic drops of food colouring.

I hope you like the look of this - I worked very hard to complete this in one evening. It went down very well, but next time I share it around I will be cutting pieces half the size as it was incredibly rich! I enjoyed this recipe immensely. As I've said many times now, my confidence gets better every time I complete a challenge and this was no exception.

If you would like to see how my fellow Daring Bakers went, please head on over to the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Here's what I did.

A Taste of Light: Opéra Cake

This recipe is based on Opéra Cake recipes in Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty's Chocolate Passion.


For the joconde

(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)

What you'll need:

2 12½ x 15½-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans
a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what's called for in the ingredients' list) and a brush (to grease the pans)
parchment paper
a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer
two mixing bowls (you can make do with one but it's preferable to have two)

Ingredients:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) white sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.

Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.

Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

For the syrup

(Note: The syrup can be made up to 1 week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.)

What you'll need:

a small saucepan

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 3 -5 cm piece of lavender leaves

Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the buttercream

(Note: The buttercream can be made up to 1 month in advance and packed in an airtight container. If made way in advance, you can freeze the buttercream. Alternatively you can refrigerate it for up to 4 days after making it. To use the buttercream simply bring it to room temperature and then beat it briefly to restore its consistency.)

What you'll need:

a small saucepan
a candy or instant-read thermometer
a stand mixer or handheld mixer
a bowl and a whisk attachment
rubber spatula

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
seeds of one vanilla bean
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons of melted white chocolate

Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) [*Note: Original recipe indicates a temperature of 255◦F (124◦C), however, when testing the recipe I found that this was too high so we heated to 225◦F and it worked fine] on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don't worry about this and don't try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

At this point add in the white chocolate and beat for an additional minute or so.


Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it's set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

(Note: The mousse can be made ahead and refrigerated until you're ready to use it.)

What you'll need:

a small saucepan
a mixer or handheld mixer

Ingredients:

7 ounces (200g) white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)

Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.

Stir to ensure that it's smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse. If it's too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it's spreadable.

If you're not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you're ready to use.

For the glaze
(Note: It's best to make the glaze right when you're ready to finish the cake.)

What you'll need:

a small saucepan or double boiler

Ingredients:

14 ounces (400g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)
5 - 8 cm piece of lavender leaves

Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream and the piece of lavender. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.

Let cool for 10 minutes, remove the lavender and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.

Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembling the Opéra Cake

(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you'll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 12½-cm) rectangle.

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup.

Spread about three-quarters of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Prepare the ganache/mousse (if you haven't already) and then spread it on the top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache/mousse the opportunity to firm up.

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.


Sathya-rating ****

Stirfry vegetables with tofu

So, I'm home in Adelaide, South Australia and its all good. Its so nice to be home and with all things familiar. We're housesitting for my parents who are in Holland at the moment. Its a gorgeous big house, just outside the city, on a gorgeous property. Its cold, dark, quiet, which means perfect sleeping weather! Mmm. Its great. We're here for a couple of months with my sister who's vegetarian.

I made this Kylie Kwong stirfry for us all just before Dad took off. He's on a special diet of only organic vegetables at the moment. With all the organic ingredients, this was a yummy dinner for all.

Here's what I did.

1 small Carrot, peeled
1 medium Zucchini
½ medium Red Capsicum
2 tablespoons Peanut oil
200g Tofu, sliced
1 medium Red Onion, finely sliced
1 tablespoon Ginger, julienne
¼ cup Shao Hsing Wine (Or Dry Sherry)
2 tsp White Sugar
2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tsp Malt Vinegar
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
½ teaspoon Sesame Oil
½ cup Spring Onion, julienne

Cut carrot and zucchini in half lengthways, then finely slice on the diagonal.

Remove seeds and membranes from pepper and cut into fine slices.

Heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly.

Add carrot, tofu, onion and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add wine or sherry, zucchini, pepper and sugar and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Pour in soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, 5 spice and sesame oil and stir-fry for a further minute or until vegetables are just tender.

Toss in spring onion, stir-fry for 10 seconds, then remove from heat.

Transfer to a large bowl and serve immediately.

Sathya-rating ***

One year on + Lemon Bars

One year ago today, this little blog, The Baker and The Currymaker began. Yep, that's right. I survived a whole 12 months. I didn't know I had it in me to come here several times a week and tell you all about my kitchens goings-on all the while, taking pictures, trying new things, trying to keep it exciting as well as suitable for the mouths that needed feeding. I've loved it. Honestly, every single time has been fun. I've made friends, I've tried new things, my photography is very slowly getting better, I feel a little more confident in my verbal ramblings to you all and according to the traffic, theres quite a few of you who like it here even though, no matter what I do, I can't get you to comment much, apart from my favourite day of the month, Daring Bakers challenge reveal day when I get my dose for ages.

To celebrate all this I decided to try something from 2 ladies I love - Smitten Kitchen and The Barefoot Contessa. I came across these Lemon Bars on Smitten Kitchen's site and its a Barefoot Contessa recipe she's adapted and here's my attempt at it.

It was almost too easy. Strange thing for me to say really, as I still don't consider myself a baker, but there's a little more proof I am I guess. So you make an easy shortbread style layer and chill it and then mix a few things together and pop it in the oven, slice it up and you have little pieces of heaven. Yum! These are delicious. My sister, Surya, must be happy to have me home, as I swear she ate like 6 of them, if not more!

For the crust:
225 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the lemon layer:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a 22 by 33 by 2-inch baking sheet.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the lemon layer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (less if you are using the thinner topping), or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with icing sugar.

Sathya-Rating ****

Sathya-rating

This evening I made the chicken curry I discovered last month for Liz.

I picked Liz up from work and made her dinner, as I was getting everything together Liz, who is unaware what I'm making, announces the chicken curry with the lemon you made recently looked great. Funny thats what I'm making. Liz loved it, which is always great and we were talking about how hard it is to portray to the people who read this blog who wonderful something is.

From this, comes the 'Sathya-rating' legend. I'm having trouble making it the right size, but I hope you can see it and understand where I'm going with this.

So, from now on I want to try to give each recipe a rating. We'll see how we go - whether you like it and I like it. Let me know what y'all think :)

Lemon, Pea & Proscuitto Risotto

I'm back, sorry I've taken so long, as some of you may know I've just moved from Sydney on the Eastern border of Australia to Adelaide in South Australia. It was wonderful, I bought a new car just before we left and we drove to Melbourne and had a wonderful night night of Tapas and Sangria, and then took the Great Ocean Road stopping overnight in Lorne, on the river at Pt Fairy, Mt Gambier, the famous Australian wine region - the Coonawarra and then arrived in Adelaide.

Just before we left Sydney, I made this wonderful risotto for our friends Stacy & Will from the Delicious magazine (Australian gourmet food magazine). I love risotto, I love proscuitto and lemon is a known favourite, so I was pretty sure this would be a hit. You'll be happy to know it was! This is going to be my go to risotto recipe, it was fantastic. You should try it and let me know what you think.

70 grams unsalted butter
2 large leeks (pale part only), thinly sliced (I used 2 onions, as I didn't have leeks)
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups (330g) arborio rice
1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock, kept at a simmer
2 tsp olive oil
70 grams sliced proscuitto, cut into strips (I doubled this to 150g as the boys love it)
1 1/2 cups (180g) frozen peas
2 tbs parsley, finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 - 2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs cream or 20g butter (I used butter)
2/3 cup (50g) parmesan, freshly grated, + shaved parmesan to serve

Melt the butter in a large deep pain over medium heat. Add the leek (or onions) and garlic and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring until soft.

Add the rice and stir to coat the grains for 1 - 2 minutes.

Add the stock, ladleful at a time, stir thoroughly allowing each addition to absorb before adding the next ladleful. Continue for 20 minutes or till the rice is cooked but still firm to bite. (I didn't need all the stock, I think I used about 4.5 - 5 cups, but it depends on the rice).

At the same time, heat the oil in another pan over medium heat, fry the proscuitto and cook for 2 minutes when it starts to get crispy, add the peas and toss until the peas are warm. Set aside and keep warm, by covering the pan.

When the risotto is ready, turn off the heat and add the parsley, lemon juice and zest and cream or butter and 2/3's of the pea mixture and stir. Season to your liking and serve with the remaining pea mixture on top with the shaved parmesan.

S

Taste & Create: Borani (spinach, feta & yogurt dip)

I have noticed the festivities of Taste and Create around the traps but have never managed to join in time until this latest one. Taste and Create is a blogging event which a terrific event created by Nicole over at For the Love of Food Each blogger is paired up with a fellow food blogger and you each make something from each other's blog.

I was partnered with We [Heart] Food which is a lovely blog by Chris and Lisa in Seattle. As you may know, I am moving interstate at the moment, so it may not have been a great idea to join in this month, but by the time I realised this it was too late. Story of my life really!

There are many recipes I was interested in making on Chris and Lisa’s site, but I was most attracted to a Persian dish called Borani which is a dip or salad made up of spinach, yogurt, feta and dill. It came together quickly and easily and went down a treat with some Turkish bread. I will definitely be making this one again! Thanks guys!

1 bunch fresh spinach, well rinsed, stemmed, and chopped
1 cup chopped onions
3 spring onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh dill
1/3 cup feta cheese
2 tbsp light plain yogurt
salt and ground pepper to taste

After rinsing the spinach, cook for a few minutes over medium heat in a covered sauce pan until wilted but still bright green. Drain the spinach and press in a colander or sieve to squeeze out the excess moisture.

Saute the onions, spring onions, and garlic in the olive oil. When the onions are soft and translucent, stir in the spinach and dill and heat for about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to press out any extra liquid and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the feta and yogurt and add salt and pepper to taste. Chill for at least an hour.

Serve with bread or pita.

Makes approx. 2 cups

S

April Daring Bakers Challenge - Cheesecake Pops

Its the end of April, which means it Daring Bakers challenge time. This month one of my favourite bloggers, Deborah from Taste & Tell joined Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasm choose the challenge - Cheesecake Pops. I was quite excited to see this recipe originally as I've never made a baked cheesecake and have not really 'played' with food like this to form it into something so fun.

We're moving back to Adelaide, South Australia from Sydney next week so I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete the challenge but things came together and I managed to make them this weekend for my gorgeous friends Stacy and Will who are kindly looking after us at the moment as we had to get get out of our apartment quicker than we thought.

I loved this challenge, the pops taste fantastic and I didn't struggle with any of the tasks. The only slight difficulty was the fact there are no beaters in this kitchen, so it took me a long time to combine everything to the right consistency. It made me realise how much I love my gorgeous red KitchenAid! I will definitely be making these again, maybe not us 'pops' but the cheesecake part for sure. It'll be a breeze with the KitchenAid.

Thank Elle and Deborah, this was a lot of fun. If you would like to check out my fellow challengers, please do so here.

Makes 30 – 40 Pops
5 x 225g packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
450g milk chocolate, finely chopped milk
2 tbs vegetable shortening
Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 160C. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it's shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.





S

Double-Baked Gruyere Soufflé

The news in our world is we are moving from Sydney, Australia to Adelaide, South Australia. For those of you who don’t know our wonderful country, that’s 2 days drive away or a few hours in a plane. In other words, a big move! Its all very stressful and we are in the midst of boxes, tape, bubble wrap and a few temper tantrums! (So, please bear with me, if there aren't too many posts up here in the coming weeks).

We had our last dinner party 2 weekends ago and I somehow convinced myself to make soufflés! I know, brave huh? Well, you’ll be happy to hear they went really well. The preparation was a little fiddly but they rose perfectly in the oven and tasted delicious along side a green salad of rocket, apple and toasted walnuts with a tart French vinaigrette. I used a recipe from a handy site called Cuisine, it makes 6 and is worth a try next time you would like to impress.

70g butter
65g plain flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sea salt
380ml milk
160g gruyere cheese, grated
3 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cup thickened cream

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease 6 x 200ml ramekins.

Melt butter over low heat. Add flour, nutmeg, cayenne and salt. Cook for eight minutes, stirring regularly, until mixture starts to foam and flour is cooked. Gradually add the milk, stirring to prevent lumps.

Cook further for 10 minutes, stirring. Stir through 80g gruyere cheese. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl then add egg yolks. Combine. Whisk whites to medium peaks and gently fold through in three batches. Pour evenly into ramekins. Fill a roasting tray with hot water, one-third the height of the ramekins. Bake 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. They will shrink. At this stage, you can put them to one side.

When ready to serve, remove from moulds and place upside down in six ovenproof dishes with sides. Pour cream evenly between soufflés. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. Serve immediately with a well dressed green salad.


S

Chicken with Sliced Lemon and Fried Onions

Do you love lemons? I do, they are my favourite, sweet or savoury, and honestly 9 times out of 10 a squeeze of lemon makes a dish better! In my book, anyway.

So, when I saw a Madhur Jaffrey on Serious Eats for a chicken curry focused on lemon I knew I'd love it. I organised a curry night with our newly wed friends, Merryn and Jamie and started this wonderful concoction.

It didn't take too long to prepare, but I did let it bubble away on the stove, on a low simmer for an extra 30 minutes to an hour. The end result is a delicious thick gravy with tender tasty chicken. It was devoured by all. Its not too spicy, or to Indian-ey either, like Robin Bellinger, I think this would be enjoyed even by those who think they don't like Indian food or curries.

Go ahead, give it a go, I will most definitely be trying it again.

1.5kg bone-in, skinless chicken pieces (I used all thighs; it’s easy to remove the skin yourself, if you can’t find bone-in, skinless parts)
3 medium onions
Ginger fresh, about 1-inch cube, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
2 tbs plain yogurt
4 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 whole lemon
1 tbs sugar
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

If the chicken pieces are skin-on, remove the skin. Rinse and pat dry.
Peel the onions. Chop two of them coarsely and put them into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Cut the third one in half lengthwise, then slice it into thin half-rounds and set aside.

Add 6 tablespoons of water, the ginger, and the garlic to the onions in the food processor or blender and blend at high speed until you have a smooth paste.

Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a 10-12 inch pot over medium-high flame. When hot, put in the sliced onions and fry them, stirring, until they are darkish brown and crisp, though not burned. Remove onions with a slotted spoon and leave them to drain on paper towels.

In the same oil, brown the chicken pieces on all sides until they are golden. Do this speedily over high flame so the chicken browns but does not cook through. I did the thighs about 2 minutes per side. You will need to do it in at least 2 batches. Remove the chicken with slotted spoon to a bowl or plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot. Pour in the paste from the blender (turn your face away!). Stirring, fry on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until the paste turns a nice golden brown. Now put in the coriander, cumin, and turmeric and fry, stirring continuously; after another 2 minutes add yogurt, a teaspoon at a time; after 2 or 3 minutes, the tomato sauce, a tablespoon at a time, continuing to stir and fry. Finally, add salt, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne pepper, and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Cut the lemon into 4 or 5 slices, discarding the end pieces, and remove the seeds. Add lemon slices along with the chicken pieces, fried onions, sugar, and the ground pepper to the sauce, stir, and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender, turning the pieces every now and then. If chicken sticks to the bottom of pot, add a little more water. You should end up with a very thick sauce.


S

Roast Pumpkin Lasagne

Between the 2 of us we've posted quite a few lasagne's and here is yet another one. I guess it shows how many different ways there are to do 1 dish! I made this one while I was at home in Adelaide recently for a large group including vegetarians. I found half a butternut pumpkin/squah in the fridge and sliced it very thinly and roasted it and included it as one of the layers. It worked so well! So many people have an infinity with roast pumpkin.

Note the empty plates and lasagne from a different angle at the bottom, everyone really enjoyed it.

½ butternut pumpkin/squash
2 sprigs fresh rosemary finely chopped
2 x 400g tins of peeled tomatoes
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 onion, diced
Handful fresh basil leaves, torn
1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets
Salt and pepper
½ tsp nutmeg
300g grated mozzarella
100g grated parmesan

Bechamel sauce
140g butter
3 tbs flour
5 cups milk
1 ½ tsp nutmeg

To begin preheat the oven to 200C.

Next peel the butternut pumpkin and cut into large thin slices. Place on a baking tray and sprinkle with olive oil, rosemary and salt and pepper. Place in hot oven for 15-25 minutes till roasted and set aside till you build the lasagne.

In a large pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion and garlic and fry on a medium heat till soft. Add the tins of tomatoes and season and stir. Allow to simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes till nice and thick. Add the torn basil leaves and stir through. Set aside.

To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter over low heat until foaming then add the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring until thickened. When thick, simmer for 2 minutes. Season well with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Lightly oil a lasagne pan and start with a little of the tomato sauce spread over the bottom. Lay the lasagne sheets on top. Next pop the roasted pumpkin in one layer and top with more lasagne sheets. Then the tomato sauce with a sprinkling and mozzarella and parmesan then the lasagna again. Continue, in this order with the layers, finishing with béchamel, top with the parmesan and mozzarella and bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown. Leave for 10 minutes before cutting and serve with a well dressed green salad.



S

Banana Bread

Here's a nice easy, comforting recipe for you when you have left over bananas, like we all do sometimes.

This recipe comes from Woman's Weekly cookbook collection, and is the only banana bread recipe I have ever used as it was perfect every single time.

1 ¼ cups self raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
20g butter
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup milk
½ cup ripe mashed banana
Preheat oven to 170C.

Grease 14cmx21cm loaf pan.

Sift flour and cinnamon into a large bowl and rub in the butter.

Stir in the sugar, egg, milk and banana and mix. Do not over mix, the batter should be lumpy.

Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked when tested.

Cool and serve sliced with butter.

S

Eggplant Curry

Molly over at Orangette posted a recipe for eggplant curry a few weeks ago and it sounded wonderful. I'm not overly keen on eggplant, but lately I've realised doing things a whole other way can make a difference. Certain things I did not like, I do now. Eggplant curry is the only way I can enjoy eggplant at the moment, although I have not yet made one myself. Here is my first attempt and it was wonderful. Molly is spot on, its not hard to make and it definitely gets better as each day goes by. The texture of the eggplants is like velvet and with all those spicing its my idea of comfort food. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, however I finely chopped up the roots and them stems of the coriander (cilantro) and added them to the pan with the ginger and the garlic.

The smell the filled our place when the onions, cummin seeds, coriander roots, ginger, garlic and jalepeno was warm and tangy and spicy all at the same time.

Adapted from Food & Wine, March 2005

3 large eggplants
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeño, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ½ tbs fresh ginger, minced
¼ tsp chilli flakes
3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp turmeric
1 cup frozen peas
¾ cup coriander, chopped
½ cup plain yogurt
Salt, to taste
1 tsp garam masala

Preheat the oven to 260°C. Put the eggplants on a rimmed baking sheet, and pierce them all over with a paring knife. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the skins are blackened and the flesh feels very soft when pressed. Set aside to cool slightly. Slice open lengthwise and, using a spoon, scrape the flesh from the skin onto a large bowl. Using a potato masher or a large fork, mash the flesh coarsely. (This part can be done a day or so ahead, if you like. Refrigerate the prepared eggplant in a covered container.)

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they begin to sizzle and pop, about 10 seconds. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is soft and beginning to brown, about 5 - 10 minutes. Add the jalapeño, garlic, ginger, coriander roots/stems and chilli flakes, and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, and stir well. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated, about 10 -15 minutes. Add the paprika and turmeric, and cook, stirring, for another 2 - 3 minutes. Add the eggplant, stir to combine, and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the peas, and cook to warm through. Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the coriander, yogurt, garam masala and salt.

S