geschmak,

Napoleon II - the Pastry

2010-12-17T16:29:00.003+11:00

you know this napoleon cake is also apparently known as a mille-feuille cake?
mille-feuille means a thousand leafs
and i have done a little bit of research to discover that a possible difference between the mille-fueille and napoleon is that mille feuille is puff pastry and napoleon is a butter-sour cream pastry.
and i was trying to work out why the cake would have changed name and pastry... (that didn't involve the region of naples)
so i came up with a theory that napoleon may have been afraid that a thousand leafs of puff pastry indicated that he was concerned that there should be added puff, just in case the cake was on the short side... or maybe he originally wanted to be assured that there was no shortage.
and i like to believe that napoleon, knowing that his stature would be the very height of humour, wanted to try and dispel some of the associations related to his... conquering (that has had such long standing over the years...)
so he opted for butter cream pastry... and tried to lose the over-compensating exaggerated name of 'thousand leaf'
i think it was a bit of a tall order really..
(okay enough! although i do relish these short jokes)
NOTE: this post may take a while to load... so just give it say... 32 seconds?
(don't forget, that the cream in Napoleon I can also be a two day process, so you can generally do the first process of the cream, and this process for the pastry on the same day. and the next day you will whip the cream, cook the pastry and assemble... the reason i haven't included the cooking of the dough in this post is because the post would be way too large...)
approx 230g butter.
butter.
BUTTER.
if even so much as hear a whisper of margarine...

then all into a mixing bowl like so:

so then add 4 tbs of white sugar...

approx 240 ml of sour cream (1/2 pint)

butter, sour cream, sugar; can you even imagine my delight at seeing all these rich flavours together?
okay, eggs. 6 of them

then, gotta add the flour...
the flour is added in stages... (a total of 2 1/2 cups of self-raising and 2 1/2 of plain flour)
add 1 cup of each:
i made a gif -

then mix... like so:

then add another cup of each flour...
mix
then add another 1/2 half cup of each...
mix
lookin' pretty good:

so, kneading the big pastry...

then you gotta cut the big pastry into fourteen pieces!

and then you gotta knead those little pieces into round balls, and store them all together in a bowl:

ta-da!

and now my friends, you leave it overnight...

verbal trailer for the next post:

you laughed on the day napoleon was whipped into cream.
you cried when he was kneaded and separated into fourteen parts of himself.
now, you'll be on the edge of your seats as napoleon undergoes the transition from dough to cooked pastry.
from the makers of Napoleon I - the Cream and Napoleon II - the Pastry comes the gripping story of napoleon, as he clings to the edge of the rolling pin, only to have himself completely laid out along the line of the baking dish.
coming to you, christmas 2010.

Napoleon - The Trailer

2010-10-13T15:34:00.001+11:00

okay.
where in g's name have i been? i am positive that napoleon would not have left a job (such as an invasion) unfinished for this long. therefore, whilst i'm not really one for excuses (boring, boring), i should explain my absence..

see, you kind of caught me at a bad time back in july; i had a month to finish my degree which was entirely hectic.
i then decided to gift myself with a trip overseas.
and now, voila, i am returned. with a killer tan. and delightful memories such as a passionfruit macaron that i ate in switzerland and a crunchy rice dish from a persian workers restaurant...

in any case, i have not yet put the second Napoleon post together, but i thought i would tantalise your taste-buds with these two photos... consider it a trailer for the bigger picture...

so divine!

Napoleon I - The Cream

2010-07-04T12:28:00.002+10:00

Napoleon I - The Cream
(disclaimer: post will take a while to load...)

this is the first part of a three part post of how to make a Napoleon cake.
i cannot take credit for this cake.
it was made by Bobba, a great-grandmother of a rather large family. i was demoted to assistant (and documenter).
like in any good sci-fi, there are a few unanswered questions:

so what is this cake?

it's a fourteen layer vanilla slice cake...

why the hype?

because it's a fourteen layer vanilla slice cake?

does it fall short?
will i conquer this cake, or will this cake conquer me?
is this a cake going to stand tall amongst its peers?
(just in case you didn’t get it, that was my attempt to be humorous at Napoleon’s expense.)

the truth is, that i am a sucker for food that captures history. and for Bobba and her whole family, this is a cake that does exactly that.

Bobba told me the following:

this was a cake that i would make for my family's birthdays. i had made a Napoleon for my father's birthday. that afternoon the cake was on the table, cut up into portions. my mother said to me 'put some away into the fridge, in case some of the family will be late'. this was so that everyone would get a piece. so i did. my mother died that day. after the funeral, i told all the family 'whoever didn't eat the cake before must eat some now'.

and that is the story of Napoleon.
Bobba had followed suit, making the Napoleon for her children’s birthdays. and as the family grew it was made on special occasions. each cake was divided into portions and distributed amongst all the children, grand-children and now great-grandchildren.

however, two years ago Bobba made her last Napoleon. she had decided that Napoleon was too much work (much like the conquerer, i can imagine), and vowed this last Napoleon would be the final.

until i came along and begged on behalf a cultural preservation that a cake invested with so much history (and a syndrome for gosh sake) needed to be documented and made for the very last time.
so, the finale. a little reshuffle on your chair with appreciation, as you are about to be taught by the best... and here we go
(note – the following is a double batch recipe...)
I – The Cream – ( Part (i) and Part (ii) )
Part (i) - the night before
combine in a bowl:
4 cups of white sugar

1.5 cups of plain flour

then you gotta work in 8 eggs...
start with 4, then add the rest...

watch...
then add 2 pints (litres) of milk...

okay, so now you have this very thin light yellow mixture. the aim now is to make a custard – like a roux method but for sweet, rather than savoury...
Bobba says that you can stand at a stove for 25 minutes, but ‘what for? when it works just as fine in the microwave. and you can do other things in between’. can’t argue with that...
okay, so as assistant i documented the following procedure...
put the microwave on 10 minutes.
press start.
at 7 minutes on the screen (which is after 3 minutes, but microwaves are count-downers, so i’m writing this up as what you see), take out the bowl.
stir.
you shouldn’t notice a difference.
put back in.
at 4 minutes take out the bowl.
stir

put back in.
at 0 minutes – i.e. end of 10 minutes, take out and stir.
you might be noticing these small little clumps of silky looking things... maybe, if you had to say, they look a little like... a smooth cheese?
put back in – another 10 minutes.
at 7 minutes, take out the bowl.
stir.
put the bowl back in.
at 4 minutes, take out, stir, back in, at 0 minutes, take out, stir, put back in.
you are now on to your last 10 minutes.
by now, the mixture is looking more like this – getting thicker.
so now you put it back in, but stop the microwave more frequently –
at 8, 7, 5.5, 4, 2 and 0 minutes...

at the 5.5 minute mark you add the vanilla –

once stirred in, back into microwave to complete the time...

now it’s done...
this is the right texture:
if you cannot make this the day before, then you must must must ensure that the mixture is totally cold before going on to Part II of the cream...
however, we did make this the day before.
Bobba sprinkled sugar onto the surface of the cream mixture – to stop a crust from forming. then into the fridge...

Part (ii) - The Day After
hold on to your arteries, you are in for a treat...
the aim here is to combine the butter with the roux-custard mixture...

so, 2 pounds of butter... which is approx 900g of butter (remember we are doubling here...)
use your kenwood (or kitchenaid... traitors) and whip it, just whip it...
till it is light, fluffly, creamy etc...
now, as this was doubled, Bobba told me that you need to combine in two batches – so the picture above is half of the butter.
the other half is kept in the bowl...
now, you have your bowl of butter;
and your bowl of roux-custard (see how the sugar has dissolved on top?)
and some vodka.
there is no specified amount. Bobba used about one small cup full (that you will see below) for each batch... the vodka, Bobba tells me, is to negate that buttery-milk after taste... and it totally works!
you now add spoonfuls of the roux-custard into the butter as it is mixing... like so:
in between, add a small amount of vodka..

and it should turn out like this:

and that my dear friends is the cream.
Bobba says you can use this for filling tarts as well... it is truly delicious but extremely rich...

so, in a daytime soap opera style, stay tuned for:
Napoleon II – The Pastry – ( Part (i) and Part (ii) )

n is for...

2010-04-25T20:06:00.002+10:00

okay i have a confession
i'm kinda obsessed with almonds in sugar...
and i have since learned that there are several methods and names for this...
so one method is the florentine
but i found this recipe for 'nougatine' in a recipe book we bought my father

(interlude on book: the book is called professional baking and it's totally written for university students. this means it has step by step instructions akin to this blog. (okay, but the pictures on my blog are much prettier))

anyhow, i was searching for a recipe for a sweet which does not have dairy or flour. (this is known as the yearly challenge of passover)
i saw this and i was intrigued.
why you ask? thanks, good question.
note: you don't have to read this next bit of text -
it's because the recipe requested i use glucose.
glucose makes the mixture more pliable.
now let's talk chemistry and the food industry
most glucose is made from corn.
i, at the time of making this, couldn't use corn derivatives.
so how was i going to get glucose?
answer: perform kitchen chemistry.
this means combining regular white sugar with a little bit of acid to turn some of the sugar into glucose.
this is actually known as invert sugar...
(thousands in school fees later mum, aren't you glad i did chemistry in vce?)

make the glucose if you want...
here is the recipe i used (but i adapted for less sugar)
1 g lemon juice (acid) to 1 kg sugar.
i used 1 tsp of lemon juice with 300 g sugar (with a little water to melt down) and boiled for 10 minutes

okay, so now prep the almonds... 375 g.
due to passover and a dash of fanatacism, i had to shell my own...

alright, so for the sugar syrupy things part
750 g sugar, with 200g if water into a pot... and the glucose.

heat it into a blond caramel.

and then you add those almonds; and
mix mix mix quick quick quick
and quickly turn it out onto a board covered with baking paper
now here is the fun bit - you can keep turning it over and over

look how amazing it is!
it's like a giant boiled sweet.
it's utterly gorgeous.

as it gets a little cooler, roll (bash) it out...

and then chop it into desired sizes...

here are some natural light shots...

and then optionally add chocolate...
if you don't know how, refer here

i reckon store in the fridge...
obviously, they are yum..
(they are however slightly combative with your teeth so be a little careful...)

super supped soup

2010-03-21T13:18:00.003+11:00

is there anything better than soup? is there?
don’t answer.
is there anything better than italian?
… again, don’t answer. (mainly because i fear that perhaps there is something better)
is there anything better than Italian soup?
this time a resounding no! (okay, so maybe an Italian stallion, but minestrone is a lot easier to handle)
so i looked at a jamie oliver recipe when figuring out how to make this one. i didn’t exactly follow the recipe but definitely got the fennel idea from it… and also, really jamie, do i need to be told put spaghetti pasta into a bag and bash it with a rolling pin to make smaller pieces of pasta? it’s unlikely i’ll feel more Italian because i bashed something with a wooden rolling pin… (or would i?) little sister says that it’s fun to bash things… true, but the point is to get small pasta pieces… not bash (or is it?)
anyway, enough ranting…
it’s all about the slow fry. at least that is what they tell me.
so you prepare your ingredients (veges) so they can all go in together to slowly sweat it out. we all know how sweat increases smell (and therefore flavor) (bad school gym flashbacks).
start it off with some oil, garlic, onion and leek.
garlic

onion

leek

add the following. turn the flame right down!
celery

carrot

fennel

slow fry for like 20 minutes.
lid slightly adjar

then add:
zuchs

basil, leaves and stems

beans beans beans. Berlotti or rigoletti… or both. i used canned beans.

tomatos

wine

spinach

finally, and optionally (depending on how you like your soup) the pasta.
my father doesn’t like thick soups, but i do… it’s always a trade-off…

add water... to the top of the veges in the pot...
and let it cook for about an hour...

then serve!

and italian soup fit for an italian stallion... or a family... or a superhero.
it's very hearty and probably a meal in itself... also and incidentally perfect for the change of season (to autumn).
yum!

misshapen ‘tashen

2010-03-12T16:57:00.001+11:00

okay so.
it’s not a great situation.
i was asked by a friend to make some hamentashen. and what did i do? i, in my profound lack of wisdom (a weak moment perhaps) decided to try a new pastry recipe.
oh, woe is foolish me, because of course it didn’t work.
well, it didn’t work in the sense that the pastry was not actually a pastry but more like a moldable biscuit dough.

any good news?
well, they tasted damn good.
(at least that was what my friends told... whilst watching the academy awards... but they might just have been caught up in the gushy moments of it all... so i perhaps i cannot rely on them...)

anyhow, the filling is seriously good – and you can use it for any pastry.
the post is of the slightly-failed pastry (no measurements) and the filling. i have also included a tried and tested recipe pastry dough from donna hay that i have used in previous years…

*skid to an abrupt stop*

what are hamentashen?

they are a symbolic food… based around an old jewish story that goes a little like this:
well, there was an evil senator named haman (surprise) back in Persia (predictable) that tried to kill all my jewish peeps (predictable). only he didn’t get away with it (surprise) and instead we eat pastries that represent his ears (out of left field). hence the triangle shape of these pastries (predictable in the circumstances). although, the thought of eating black earwax is slightly disturbing…

well, on to it then…

phew.

onto the filling.

yes, you guessed it – povidal. my favorite pastry filler.
take 3 tbs of povidal:

add to the mixture cocoa – about 2 tbs.

almond meal…

optionally you can add some white sugar… i don’t really like it too sweet but sometimes people can find the jam too tart…
okay that’s done.

so now we have to assemble this hamentashen… i couldn’t roll out the dough so i ended up flattening bits into circular shapes (normally you cut the circles using a glass or something else circular)
ahhhem, here we go:

into the oven on 180…
and then they come out looking like:

and then they eat like this…

there you have it… haman’s ears ready for snacking.
… weird, i know.

(donna hay's vanilla snap biscuit recipe - good for the dough:
185g butter
1 c caster sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla essence
2.5 c plain flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
-
oven 180, cream butter sugar vanilla, add flour and eggs etc., into plastic wrap for 30 mins, roll out dough between baking paper pieces... then follow above)

salad de fruit

2010-02-21T11:41:00.001+11:00

yeah i was weighing up whether to reference the wiggles but in the end i thought that a little romantic-language-derivative (“de”) would make my salad seem more exotic.
this is an old time favourite that really goes well after a heavy meal. there isn’t much to it – i suppose this post is really a visual splendor…

red grapes

white grapes

pineapple

rockmelon

white nectarine

strawberries

passionfruit (i managed to get some frozen – just pulp – i sliced it whilst it was still ice)

orange juice (just squeeze it in)

then

and then you mix it... and it's not quite as pretty but the taste is delicious!

when in florence, make like a florentine.

2010-02-15T19:09:00.003+11:00

does that mean that Florentines (people of) are a bit nutty, sweet and smooth like chocolate? i can tell you from my experience that the description is quite accurate. (also, above description could be applied to michelangelo’s david) (yes, there is a pun in there).

anyhow, i happen to love florentines so i made some…

this is a non dairy version... (a dairy version would likely be much better, but alas i had to work with the rules)

okay so what do you need?

nuts (almond slivers)

1 egg white (no pic of the white – but rather the shell and left over yolk… i kind of got excited about the cooking and forgot to capture)

rind of one orange… (it’s an animated gif… pretty cool huh?)

1 c icing sugar

1 tbs brown sugar

into a bowl and mix mix mix

so now you spoon into preferred florentine size…

press with fork… (tip: if you want crunchier florentines, make smaller & flatter medalians…)

cook until golden brown:

leave until completely cool and then peel off:

that’s the side you want to coat with chocolate.

how do you do that?

melt the chocolate.

okay admission time – i used a microwave to do it – because i was running out of time… i don’t recommend it as a habit but the microwave can be a saviour at times
and then:

into the freezer to dry…

then to eat.

and there you have it.

i think they ought to be stored in the fridge…

seriously moreish. yum!

bar back-up

2010-02-09T10:04:00.001+11:00

okay, i know it has been way too long.
i have had to attend to some things...
anyways, i actually haven't fully attended to said things - but i realised that ya'll need an interim post.
so here is a picture:

there is indeed a story behind these drinks.
remember my pav-post?
well obviously you cannot have a party without alcohol...
but the question that has plagued party-makers for centuries is what drink do i serve?
(okay, well, probably more like decades - because let's face it - moonshine really only has one flavour and it takes consumers to drive the market into things like frangelico... (can i just say that i seem to be having an anti-capitalist day))
and even worse is that you can get on the internet and find a billion recipes that seem fitting - but how are you going to test them? are they actually perfect?
you don't want to go and spend money on the spirits and liqueurs for a tester, and yet you are driven mad by the possibility of having the not-perfect drink.
oh woe betide a person who serves a not-perfect drink.

so, if you hadn't already guessed, i went to a really great bar with some ideas.
together with the barman - Clint - we came up with some drinks concepts.

basically, i went in and sat down at the bar-stool.
i got straight to the point with Clint (may i call you that? yes)
i wanted a drink with the following characteristics:

had to complement pavlova - and therefore could not be too sweet
had to look good (nay, great) being served in a pitcher
not allowed to have fussy amounts of things

alright, so from left to right -

crazy raspberry drink which was vodka based and quite sweet.
another raspberry drink which was quite nice - i think it was gin based with elder-flower syrup.
kiwi-fruit drink which was gin based with cointreau.
rum based cinnamon bitters drink.
most amazing gingerbread drink. i think it was rum based... had this amazingly sweet flavour.

so which one did i choose?
well drink 1 was too sweet and too much like raspberry coulis which was to be served at my party.
ditto for drink 2, but the elderflower syrup was pretty amazing in flavour.
drink 4 was my idea - i am not proud to say - and it was not good. too harsh. damn you google with your results.
drink 5 was absolutely delicious. but way way too sweet.
that left drink 3.

now, you see, the thing about kiwi-fruit is that it gives me menopause.
no, i'm serious... i drink it and suddenly i am getting hot flushes. it's really quite alarming.
but the base of drink 3 was really good - not to sweet and quite refreshing.

i turned to Clint.
'given that i don't particularly feel like a bout of menopause at my party, what do you suggest i do?'
Clint suggested that i just change the fruit.
to pomegranate.
hells yes.
'and maybe white nectarine?' i ask.
sure.

and you know what's brilliant about that? is that you have two different flavoured drinks - pomegranate and nectarine - with the same alcohol base - which means people can happily mix and match.
perfect.

i told Clint that the drinks would be named 'the Clint-pitchers'.
ahh, but alas they are for another post...

choose your own pav-venture

2010-01-15T23:09:00.001+11:00

move over extreme adventurers, geschmak is here.
consider:
it’s your birthday.
and you want to have a party.
and you haven’t gotten around to the much needed therapy sessions which will help to reassure you that there is nothing shameful or traumatic about being a summer-birthday child. (see, summer-birthday children constantly have their birthdays forgotten).
what do you do?
rather than relying on your friends being your friends (i.e. that because they are your friends, they will turn up), you create a choose your own pav-venture party. because if the guilt of your cooking efforts can’t reel them in, then surely pavlova will.
win-win.
(it turned out that some people *gasp* don’t even like pav, and they still turned up... if i had a therapist they would probably say i had made progress)

What do you need to be a pav-venturer?
(i should note that this is a visual post... not a recipe post)
Let’s start with the mini-pavlovas:

then the creams... yes dear friends, that was plural...
cream-cream (vanilla and castor sugar)

coffee-cream (tia-maria and fresh coffee)

lemon-cream (lemon curd)

then for the next layer
passionfruit

raspberry coulis

and lastly the fruit etc.

almond praline

(note i also had chocolate lattices... but alas i forgot to capture it on camera...)
then all you need is a nice setting:

and voila...
here are some said chosen adventures:

now that's what i call a real adventure.

kugelhopf flopf

2010-01-05T09:24:00.001+11:00

why flopf?
because it looks pretty... certainly not flopf there...

but alas the taste is not so great.
wait let me explain – it was the fact that the filling was too dry.
and really i only have myself to blame because i was following a recipe from vogue-living, christmas 2002 and i just knew that the chocolate filling was not going to be right but i pressed on anyways.
so why i have i posted my failure?
because the technique is the real thing to take away here, because i think i nailed it (if i can say so myself, oh so modestly).
all you need to do is decide on a chocolate filling that you enjoy and substitute.
also, note: this is a very very long process... as it’s a yeast dough and it needs time to rise and fall etc. maybe like 3-4 hours (kind of like seasons...)
actually, the process is so long that Yeast is likely to add comments as you go.
butter a kugelhopf pan. Liberally. even more than you see in the pic...

get 15g of yeast (fresh yeast, 7g dried).
i find yeast a very disconcerting ingredient because you know it is alive but it doesn’t have a brain or anything... and i kind of think that’s just weird.
(‘but,’ says Yeast to me, ‘you have a plant growing in your room’.
‘oh yeh... but you are still weirder... a plant doesn’t make my bread rise...’ i respond.
‘too true’ replies Yeast.)

65ml milk.

and crumble the yeast to combine with the milk...

then leave it... to dissolve for 5 mins... once dissolved, you must make a wet dough. this can get tricky and rather gross...
‘but it feels good’ adds Yeast.
so spoonful flour until it’s a wet dough... in other words, sticky.

now cover with a clean teatowel, and leave... for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

get the rest of the ingredients together...
130 mls warmed milk with 125g of butter (melted) and vanilla.
3 whisked-it-good eggs
60g castor sugar

make sure the milk and butter is only luke-warm.
'yeah,' says Yeast, 'you don't want me to die before i fulfill my destiny'.
add all those ingredients...
knead with hand for 5 minutes... you want an elastic dough...

put in a warm place and leave again for 30-40 minutes.
. . .
okay, so that's done.
get the dough:
now you halve the dough...

roll each flat out in the following shape:

now this is filling time... but don’t use this filling – figure out some delicious thing that is not too dry... like with lots of butter, cocoa, sugar, maybe some orange rind... some brandy... whatever goes..
rub the dough with butter:
'oh yeah, that feels great!' says Yeast.
i think i probably blushed...

sift on cocoa sugar mix

dot with more butter

now we get to the fun part
‘be careful not to tickle me’ Yeast says.
however, it’s kind of inevitable that you will tickle the Yeast so just go with it.
roll:

you should have two identical rolled dough things.
lift them, one at a time into the kugehopf tin... one roll on top of the other like so:

leave for another 40 minutes in the pan...
preheat oven to 190 clecius.
when time is up, put into the oven. wave goodbye to Yeast!
should bake in 40 minutes, but if it's browning on top, put some foil on...

hurrah!
is that not a thing of beauty?
thank you Yeast, you played your part very well. (alas it is sad to note that the yeast is now dead... but in a good way, like as a part of life)

i don't really feel like reiterating my failures, but you get the picture...
hah! get the picture...
hope you filling is better than mine!

orange hydration vacation

2009-12-27T16:55:00.000+11:00

so raw oranges are great.
but dehydrated oranges are really great.

they are a definite hit with the ladies.
i first came across these being sold in prahran market but then decided to reverse-engineer my own.
it's oh so simple... and oh so fabulouss (oh yeah, and yum).
get as many oranges as you like.
cut them into slices, and then into semi-circles:

arrange them on trays.
oven on 30-60 degrees celcius, with fan-bake. (fan is a must)
leave them in there until they are crispy and dried out.

then you need chocolate. obviously.
melt it down in a double-boiler.
into a piping bag or simply dip the semi-circles.
i piped because i was mass-producing.
(my mum thought they looked ugly but i didn't. i wasn't sure whether i should trust myself on their appearance because i was emotionally invested in the turn-out. but i feel as though they looked tempting. i do admit that there is something more enticing about dipped chocolate - probably something to do with the smoothness of the chocolate... okay did i just go too far? too obsessive?)
alright then, just get the chocolate on somehow...

put them in the fridge to dry...

serving suggestions?
looking abundant in a bowl.
and warning, do be careful because you'll have eaten fourteen of them before you know it...

jaffa cake in a jiffy

2009-12-20T18:51:00.002+11:00

i do apologise as it has been a while! also, does anyone else find that life sort of creeps up on you and suddenly it's december and you've notice some purple around your eyes that isn't mac eye-shadow, rather something more permanent?
at times like this i just think about mrs antoinette, who would tell me just to eat cake.
okay, i will then.
so putting together a post involves a lot of different processes - and as a consequence, i sometimes forget certain aspects (usually at the end - and usually because i am too busy eating my finished product).

i kind of forgot to take a picture of what this cake looked like as a finished product.
but that is kind of okay because i am about to admit something:
the final product wasn't that flash because i poured on the icing whilst the cake was too hot i think, and the icing seeped into the cake - so it didn't look smooth. (and yes i know it seems suspicious that i "forgot" to take a picture of it and it didn't look particularly scrumptious but i promise, (and you know i always show you my mistakes anyways) that this really was forgetfulness).
but i personally thought it tasted great - a kind of cake that reminded me of those rainy friday nights where you've just had a quiet family dinner and then you sit down in front of a good movie with a piece of cake.
nothing fancy, just quality comfort.

have a spring form cake tin ready - lined on the bottom with baking paper.
oven 175 degrees celsius.
you need orange juice and rind... rind first...

250 g butter (margarine - *gasp - but i needed it to be non-dairy), vanilla and 1c sugar...
cream it, just cream it.

ps. i love my kenwood!

add eggs x 4.

you know how it looks icky when the egg is half beaten? i thought i'd capture that.
(here kids, want to lick the spoon?)

250 g SR flour, oh so sifted.

then beat it, just beat it.
add in your orange juice and orange rind. i didn't add all the juice - probably about 1/2-3/4 cup - because you need some juice for the icing.

and then into the spring-form.

in the oven. for like... 45-55 minutes? skewer yadda yadda.
(tip: if you kind of bang the oven... or at least the shelf... and the cake DOESN'T wobble (especially in the centre) then it's cooked)

hurrah for icing
(now, do not do this until cake is completely cool. otherwise you will run into problems. literally, the icing will just run down the cake...)
again with some butter (or marg)

add 1 c icing sugar. so powdery. i love how it looks almost shimmery.

more orange juice.
okay confession time. i did in fact leave some orange juice from the batch i made (that went into the actual cake).
however.
i'm a little embarrassed to admit that i drank it whilst i was cooking. it was something to do with the allure of vitamin c, and the terror i felt surge through me at the thought of losing all the goodness...
so hence a picture of me squeezing in some orange juice... shameful.

cocoa. just some heaped spoonfuls.

onto a double boiler.
heat until all smooth and delectable.

now for my favourite part... icing the cake!

voila... choc-orange jaffa cake extraviganza!

triangles of flavour

2009-12-06T20:24:00.001+11:00

it's my first attempt at savoury filled pastries.
it really is quite an experience.
in some ways i've always hated savoury pastries as a concept - like why go to all the trouble if there is no chance to eat sugar or cream?
i learned the answer:
because sometimes it's just not about you (a lesson i still grapple with. i think probably, if that lesson has twelve grades, then i'm at grade six on the cusp of grade seven,)
so when my father asked me if i wanted to make something with the following characteristics:

savoury; and
non-meat; and
with spinach; and
with cheese; and
with pastry

i felt out of all my options, i should probably go for the spinach and ricotta triangles.
(my father asked because he was having guests for lunch... not because he wanted to back me into the spinach ricotta triangular corner)

filling:
spinach (3 packets washed from superduper-market)

frying pan + knob of butter

a lot of liquid seeps out

so when wilted and cooked, strain the spinach.

chop it up... and add salt and pepper. add more than you think - as it has to be baked and needs the added flavour (i don't actually know where the flavour goes... into the pastry?)

transfer to a bowl.
ricotta! (200-250g)

parmesan... i used both fresh and already shaved.

nutmeg

1 egg. more salt and pepper...

breadcrumbs

mix.

set aside...
so now with your dough... i used my mother's pastry but i do not think it was the right pastry to use. i would use a dough with more salt... i will try to make one in the future... we'll make it together, just you and me...
anyways, dough... i got it out of the freezer.
totally looks like an apricot spud...

dough is all about coaxing and crooning.
treat the dough as if it's your beloved.
sprinkle some flour.
let your dough know that you won't let it stick to unwanted surfaces...

keep putting flour on the rolling pin.
smooth the dough out.
roll again.
sing to it.
pick it up, caress it, flip it over.
get it as thin and square as you can (whilst reminding the dough that just because it looks square, doesn't mean it is square - you don't want your dough to get touchy... literally).
then cut the squares into squares... like so:

now take a square.

give it a little pat.
stretch it a little more into a square (whilst saying the following "this won't hurt. i'm just going to gently manipulate you into shape)
a little more crooning.
okay time to fill:
(i'll let the pictures do the talking)

then flip and repeat fork action.

your pastry should pretty much be submissive at this point, so treat it how you like.

how about some mass production: (to satisfy the capitalist in me)

the triangles, they're everywhere!
put them on the tray (with baking paper)
prick them to allow air to escape. you know how painful it can be...
upon inspection, it kind of looks like the triangles have vampire bites... i must be subconsciously influenced by all this vampire hype.

anyways, get an egg and crack it into a bowl.
whisk it. whisk it good.

paste it on...

to combat the lack of salt, i ended up cracking some sea salt on them before baking.
they then cooked with the salt pieces - like pretzels. yum.
bake for 15 minutes, give or take. on a 160 celsius oven.
remove when they look like this:

i think they tasted mighty-fine. as i said, you can use whatever pastry you like. and you can use the filling for cannelloni as well.
if you don't want to eat them straight away, half bake them and store them until you are ready to bake - a day or two. then bake until they are the right colour.
for a savoury pastry, pretty damn moorish.

(but, really, i'm not fooled. i still think that if you are going to use pastry, you need to be able to eat the finished product with cream and coffee. but that's just me)

some stuff to roll

2009-11-27T21:24:00.006+11:00

what did you think i was talking about?

rolled veal with fennel, apple & chicken-neck stuffing, right?
warning: i made up this recipe, so whilst making it and once it was tasted i realised some things could have been done differently. so the pictures i have don't quite match up to what i will tell you... but it's all part of learning.

on chicken necks:

okay well i agree, chicken-necks do sound gross. and you will see from the pictures (when cooked) that really, they look gross as well. and further, to touch them is quite gross.
then why chicken necks?
because the meat is so dark and it seems to absorb flavour so beautifully.
i used chicken-neck tendons, which are boneless. the end result is that you don't see the chicken-necks as necks... which is major bonus because no one likes to eat things that look like weird things.
note: how did i get the chicken-neck tendons? well i had to ask the butcher to specifically get them for me - raw... they are quite expensive and are not sold to general public. for further info, email me (geschmakazoy@gmail.com)

obviously we shall start with the stuffing.
so ingredients chopped - garlic, onion (white), apple, fennel (in that order)

so what you are going to do is saute these ingredients in the following order:
first garlic with chicken-necks. so they soak up the garlic flavour. then chuck in the onions.

warning: those chicken-necks will look awful. like something out of Aliens, when the alien rips open the human woman's body. (i actually don't quite remember it because i was about 7 when i watched it, and i closed my eyes at the scary bits - but these chicken-necks look like some of the scary stuff i had imagined happening.) but seriously, it is worth using these necks. and i think it's important to know that not every process in cooking is 'beautiful'...

add the fennel and apple.

saute until everthing is softened - maybe 6-7 minutes.
(see, gross right?)
okay so here is where i will ever so slightly differ from my pictures. once the sauteing is done, remove to a bowl and let completely cool down. this is because YOU will add an egg in - and if the stuffing is hot, the egg will cook. that's bad. so wait until it's cold. I didn't add an egg - but i think the egg is necessary in order that the stuffing doesn't fall apart when you cut it (after being cooked).
so, just imagine i waited until it was cold...

now kinda pick out the necks. they need to be chopped up to the same size as the fennel/apple mix.
breadcrumbs. that much...

and here is where you will at the egg (already lightly beaten). then combine.

okay well, the stuffing is done.

so get your veal.
this piece of veal... well i don't know what cut it is. but when asking the butcher what would be a good cut of veal to 'roll', they handed this baby (literally... ew) over.
i laid it out on twine.

but you need twine going both ways, and it's best if you start with the twine going horizontal (as opposed to the first pic below, where the twine is vertical) i.e. follow second picture below with regards to twine.
lay out the stuffing:

rock n roll

then tye the string tightly... the veal shrinks when cooked.

brush with some olive oil with garlic, black pepper (i.e. just squeeze a clove of garlic into a bowl with some cracked pepper. add olive oil (enough to coat the meat) and let sit for 1 minute. then brush on.

now roast!
for about... 40-50 minutes. i put some water at the bottom of the pan. it should look like this:

now it gets a little tricky. you know how anti-serving suggestions i am, but as a matter of practicality, you may need to bring this meat *gasp* to the table and cut it and serve onto plates straight away. yes, that means in front of your guests. which is great, because it will make you look like a hardcore cook - which is all the better for compliments.

so the egg will stop it from crumbling. but the flavour is seriously great. and my sister, who is totally fussy, really loved it. which is saying something.
the chicken necks amplify the flavour of the fennel and apple.
the meat serves as a great buffer - taking on the flavour of the stuffing, without becoming saturated with it.
seriously, yum.

the toll is on the house.

2009-11-20T11:05:00.002+11:00

so i made some tollhouse biscuits.
i thought the recipe was from my father's family - that whole passed down thing.
however, my father informs me that actually it was a recipe on the chocolate chip packet back in the early 80's.
i really liked that, because it means the recipe and i came from the same era. so we are in tune, you know?
these babies were highlights in my childhood.
what i mean to say is that my father would make them... twice a year maybe?
and we totally loved them.
i really think it has to do with the chocolate chips, especially when you are young... as you must wonder (upon reminiscing) why you laboured through eating all those nuts as an eight year-old.
exciting chocolate chips i tell you.

so prep nuts & choc first. 1 c of half pecans/half walnuts.
(also, i was wearing a particularly bright purple singlet... and the colour sort of... was captured. so, hurrah for purple tinges!)

so put aside for later.
butter, o friend of mine.
250 grams creamed with half half castor and brown sugar.

as i am sure you can see, i used a hand beater for this recipe.
don't get me wrong, i love my kenwood.
but sometimes it's nice to 'feel the dirt in your finger tips' (i.e. get down and dirty with the process)

i want to show you a little about creaming...
it's one of the best processes of all baking - really wonderful.
so the butter/cream mix goes from yellow to pale.
these pics try to show you - but you have to squint at them to see the difference in colour - i.e. i whipped up only one area of the bowl: the left top... sorta top.. middle-top... then all pale below...

vanilla.
beat it, just beat it.

eggs. 2 of them. one at a time... beat them, just beat them.

yuuuum!
okay now for flour - 2 and 1/4 c plain flour + 1 tsp bi carb (i think this bi carb thing was an 80's fad... probably you can use baking powder)

before you beat it, just mix in with a spoon - so flour doesn't go everywhere...

add nuts and chocolate...

so now. spoon onto trays... i have a little demonstration...

bake till golden and crispy.

serve and eat.

so, my usual response: yum!

the more the chai, no more the shy

2009-11-11T13:51:00.002+11:00

you have a bunch of non-talkative people; and
you make a pot of chai; and
everyone drinks; and
everyone starts talking; and
voila`! the more the chai, no more the shy.

anyhow, this is an interlude post about how to make your own spiced-tea mix.
i'm really no expert but i want to say some stuff about chai.
note, it's based only on the Chai's i met when i was travelling. so i could be biased.
(if you don't want to read, skip to the pics. i totally understand)

so Chai, right.
everyone thinks they know Chai. how often i've heard people say 'oh, yeah Chai. i know that guy. cinnamon, spices, creamy sweet flavour' (i totally was one of those people).
but Chai, being an east-meets-west kind of guy, is not as simple as you think...

in india, i met two Chai's. (*gasp, i know it hurts - you thought Chai was an original one of a kind)

"Chai" the original. this Chai is tea. like tea leaves. like what you and i drink when we put our tea-bag into our cup and add water (and then milk/lemon/sugar whatever). so basically, we all hang out with Chai every day.
indians love Chai with sweetened condensed milk. i mean love love. (the kind of love artsy students would have a problem with, because they would say it was based on colonialism and british conquest. you know the spiel - brits convincing Chai that it needed the milk to be loved etc etc...) but i say love is love.
"spiced-Chai" (the exotic Chai, who travels the world convincing you that he's all that...) this Chai is known as "masala Chai". masala being spices, and Chai being tea. spiced Chai likes to mix it up with different spices depending on the situation.
i know in kashmir all they drank was stinking cardamom Chai. ew. this Chai was really not my type. (they also had cardamom flavour chewing gum, can you imagine?)
down south the masala Chai is kind of tourist friendly - with those cinnamon flavours, slight cardamon, ginger etc. this Chai is a real floozy, chopping and changing depending on what tourists want...

so really spiced-Chai has been fooling us all... trying to pretend he was more than Chai. but really, spiced-Chai is just pimped out Chai (pfft, so western of him).

what is my point?

since y'all already drink chai, you can easily make spiced-chai. just chuck some tea-bags into a pot with water. boil them up with whatever spices you like!
and impress you friends by calling "spiced-chai/masala chai". not only will you sound exotic (always a bonus) but you will sound as though you know Chai better than anyone...

so here are the spices i use for my spiced-chai.

from left column, moving down:
[some israeli spice that i don't know the name. sorry! but not fatal to the spice plan. you normally drink this one with coffee - but it was bought in 1999 so i really have no idea what it is...], [cardamom (it's spelled wrong on our box)], [cinnamon], [nutmeg], [ginger], [mixed spice], [allspice], [star anise], [cloves].
i put them in mortar & pestle in order to crush the anise and cloves. but you don't have to.

you can store it in a box.
when you want to use it:
chuck some of it with tea-bags into a pot (as explained above).
you can boil it in water, milk or soy milk. or a combination.
then
add honey for sweetness.
strain for purity.
drink for flavour.
share with kindness.
(see, i can be all eastern...)

come bake with my "mom"

2009-11-08T20:26:00.002+11:00

this post is about capturing a memory.

you know how you always wish you had hindsight as foresight?
let me explain,
you have a memory of your mum/bubba baking in the kitchen.
and she made something that was so delicious it caused you to circle the kitchen like a vulture in anticipation. and now you can't remember how to make it.

so i invite you to come and bake with my mum.
this is not the recipe as such.
it's an observation in an attempt to cheat fate and have the benefit of foresight.

you are seeing what i saw.
my mum's attempting to make an apple pastry thing that her mum used to make.
it's an "attempt" because my mum is working from her memory.

pastry made before hand. i didn't see how it was made but i know it's not a yeast pastry - it's a flour/butter/sour cream pastry. i'm pretty sure...

put in the oven to blind bake.

then get your filling together:

CAREFUL with the v slicer.

povidal. (my fave) on the blind baked pastry.

they're almonds above.

and then it's baked.
"icing sugar," says my mum, "is crucial."

thanks mum!

you say go, i say sago

2009-11-01T10:08:00.000+11:00

raspberry red wine sago
sago comes from sago-palms - from the pith - from new guinea - in the tropical area between us and indonesia.
i guess what i'm getting at is that sometimes it's hard to understand sago. and it's not just about the language barrier (tok pisin translators are in high demand).
the best way one can relate to cooking sage is to realise it's all about transformation:

going from opaque to sheer (prediction for 2011 catwalks)
going from hard to soft (expired gym membership)
going from neutral to vivacious colour (discovering mum's makeup)

so view the sago: opaque, hard and neutral:
use 1/2 cup. put it to the side, for later.

now for raspberries.
i used frozen rasps as they are easier to get hold of, and cheaper (and i'm gonna cook them anyways).
so no, that white is not mold - it's frost.

and put them into a pot. with 3 cups of water.

and then bring to boil and kinda mash up the raspberries. (is anyone else noticing a red theme on my blog? it's totally not on purpose)

once that's done, add 1 c red wine with 1tsp vanilla essence:

then add 1/4 c brown sugar, 1/2 c white sugar and the sago.

so now it's about constant stirring for the first... 5-8 minutes... on medium flame - so it's hot but not boiling.
there is risk here that the sago will stick to the bottom and burn. nisht git! (not good)
so, you must stir. (you will notice that when you stir, the sago feels (when hitting the spoon) sort of like soggy chalk (if you can imagine) - lumpy but almost grating against the spoon... you'll understand when you get to this stage).

but, after that time of direct flame/heat/stirring, i discovered that if you put the pot onto a what i call a 'blech' - which is (and see pic below) a round thing designed to be a buffer between the stove flame and the pot.

you can turn the flame to low and leave it there to cook for 25-30 minutes - stirring every 6 minutes or so. (you will notice the sago becomes much less like soggy chalk).

this is where the transformation happens: i'm going to describe it, but you don't have to read it. unfortunately i don't have any pictures:
the sago cooks from outside to inside (like any grain) but it's kind of amazing because as the outside becomes sheer, soft and colourful, the inside is still opaque/hard/white - in a perfect sphere - getting smaller and smaller. it looks like those lolly-pops with bubblegum inside - the layer of candy is transparent, and the gum inside is opaque.
the sago gets smaller until it's all cooked - sheer, soft and bright red:

it will also coat the back of your spoon.

now pour into a bowl and leave to cool (should be cold!)
when you take out a spoon-full, the shape should remain in the sago - like so:

not sure how visible that is.

anyhow, serve it with coconut cream flavoured with a little lemon juice.
either in individual portions or as a communal dish

my communal dish got a little pollocky (google jackson pollock) or maybe ski-slope inspired:

individual portions are fun as well...

apple's in a stir

2009-10-25T13:44:00.003+11:00

a stir... a stir?
(don't pretend you didn't add the 2nd and 3rd stir in your head)

indeed this is apple compote

it's old school comfort food of the best kind. and underrated because (and yes i admit) it's not exactly pretty in the conventional sense.
oh, i'm really not into serving 'suggestions' (as it's your prerogative to eat/serve/mix whatever you want (and get credit for your good combos)) but this stuff is great with porridge in the morning.
and really, apples are so epic. (they realised they could get advertising in early with eve. eve=best publicist ever, tricking everyone into thinking the fruit of knowledge is the apple)

onto the compote
i used this many apples(eight)
peel and chop.
(i used a knife to peel in honour of my bubba, but peelers won't make you less of a man/woman/human etc.)

and one lemon (rind and juice).
put all (apple + rind + juice) into pot for cookin'.

one of my faves - cinnamon sticks (use ground cinnamon if none... like.. 1-2 tsp?)

i know that some people think it's sacrilegious to add water.
oh well.
1/2c water.

a wooden spoon full of sugar?
i think that's probably 2 tbs worth.
and if the apples are tart then more...
medium flame.
a little stirring.
when it's broken down to a pulp, turn the flame down.

so, at this point you can add raspberries or strawberries or passionfruit etc.
cook until it's your desired mush. i like a few chunks here and there

later on (at desired mush stage), i added a little 'sultana in wine' thing.
it's (eek!) optional...

so take some sultanas

add to them a splash of red dry wine
a splash of tokay. (or marsala - just some sweet wine)

ground cinnamon - 1/2 tsp

cook on very low heat for 20 minutes or until sultanas are softs and it smells yum
stir into compote.
oo steamy.

eat! mmm.
so easy to store as well...

err, remove cinnamon sticks.
lemon peels stay in (they can be eaten!)

a meidl in a crepe-stack

2009-10-19T19:37:00.008+11:00

it's much easier to find a meidl (= yiddish for maiden) in a crepe-stack than a needle in a hay-stack, let me tell you

i started with the chocolate sauce
but warning, if you do make this sauce ahead of time, then when you come to use it, you will need to heat it up a little (otherwise it's a little fudgy in texture).
otherwise, make it on the spot.
so start with chocolate.
i used 200g.
indulge me in the pictures - the light was excellent that day.

add some cream... 3/4 of a tub... (yes, that's only 'some' by my standards)

milk. 1 cup.

i totally got this idea from stephanie alexander, but honey!

now watch as a low flame turns this mixture into a pot of velvet (and don't forget to stir!)

should become glossy:

i call this texture 'valentino velvet'.
storage:

now for the crepes

crepes and pancakes cause me a lot of confusion.

i know crepes are meant to be super-thin;
pancakes super fat (and cakey);
pikelets are super sweet and small. (wow a lot of alliteration)

but what about the [smaller, not as thick as pancake, not as thin as crepe, not as sweet as pikelet] cake?

preplets? (and i don't mean the little cuties that just left kinder)
(shall i just move on to the recipe?)

melt some butter (20-30g)

and add it to some warmed milk with 1 pinch of salt.

and then sift 1 c of flour into separate bowl

2 eggs. and no, your eyes are not deceiving you - i made a double batch (in anticipation for ravenous school boys).
i am now going to explain what to do... if you can't be bothered reading, just watch the process.
so make a ditch in the centre of the flour (aka a 'well').
drop the eggs into it and kinda work the flour in a little.
then pour some of the milk/butter/salt mixture into it.
and then whisk. whisk it good.
then add the rest.
whisk. whisk it good.

let it sit for a while.

the rule is for at least 2 hours... but, no one is watching, right?
i refrigerated it over night.

cook, assemble, eat!
must use butter to cook them: no exceptions.

batter my head flat

2009-10-13T22:37:00.004+11:00

when fried foods come-a-callin' one must be ready to show them in.
that's why, when the flathead (FH) came forth with the idea of a beer batter, i had to accept the suggestion.

the thing about flathead (which FH already knows about itself, so i won't be offending it) is that it can quickly become dry upon cooking.
(FH is protesting, "hey! i thought i take to heat like a fish to water!". no, you don't FH, just let it go)

so you have to have a good batter (that coats well) and high temp oil (i.e. a veg oil, or my preferred peanut oil for frying).

let's talk batter.

take approx 200g of plain flour. sift it (FH really doesn't like clumps because it claims that clumpy batter makes it look fat).

white pepper. okay i know you are all as scared of white pepper as i am, but it really does work as a flavour in the batter. add as much as you feel necessary (use pic as guide). also add salt. maybe 2 tsp.

oregano. i don't know... maybe 1.5-2 tbs.

separate the 1 egg. keep whites in another bowl for whisking later. add yolk to the flour mixture.
(try not to let FH see because it kinda has this weird jealousy thing with chickens... only g-d knows where that comes from... something about bigger eggs... and really, FH should be in the fridge, awaiting fry-time)

rind of half an orange. can i just say, amazing flavour.

add one bottle of beer.

whisk it. yeh whisk it good. (you may or may not notice that there is no orange in this picture - this is because i added it afterwards upon reflection... so, it kills me a little inside to tell you that the orange rind is... *gasp... optional)

set aside for an hour. not in fridge.

prepping the fish

really, you want to exude a calm aura in order that your fish doesn't become frightened about its impending doom.

just kind of inspect etc.

oo, a scale. remove.

(ignore the screams of FH "no, my beautiful armoured coat!" reassure FL that new beer batter coat will be ample protection).

how pretty:

ready, set, fry

so just before frying whisk that egg white to stiff peaks.

quick, hurry, fold into batter. totally don't worry if it's not fully folded - aim is to move quickly - so as to keep as much air in batter as possible.

(i folded the eggwhites more than you see in this picture.)

coat FH in batter. please please please use your hands. utensils will only aggravate you.

(i have found that FH may giggle as the process can be ticklish)

look, frying isn't always fun: can be messy and many things can go wrong.

i used peanut oil, filled in pan so that it covered half the fish. (so, FH, when lying flap on its back is, let's say, 1 cm high. then fill pan to 0.5 cm)

also, these things that stop oil splatters are pretty good to use...

have ready a plate with paper towel to soak up oil.

yum yum yum. eat.

(call me morbid, but you are unlikely to hear anymore out of FH...)

it's a new dawn, a new day

2009-10-10T14:17:00.003+11:00

so it was my new years the other day.
and obviously celebration is sourced in the food.
here are a couple of symbolic foods you are meant to eat.

the first is a challah (bread) shaped as a hand clasping a pen.
my father put this one together, although i can take some credit for suggesting some sort of nail-signifier (see cooked pic)

the great thing about this challah is that it's kinda like cloud watching: the more you stare, the more representations you come up with -
eg.
- a tribal mask
- an ocotopus
- a subconscious manifestation of my father's wish to become some sort of cooking sorcerer with a sceptor

the second speak for themselves.

don't the look just darling?

we took them out of school especially for this.
get it, school of fish?
okay well, dad jokes are my specialty even though i understand they are an acquired taste...
hah again! (but actually it's true, i love dad jokes)

i called this one Dali

tuna carpaccio,

2009-10-04T17:53:00.009+11:00

raw food is meant to be healthy, right?
presenting tuna carpaccio with olive 'tapenade' and shaved fennel, dressed in orange and aniseed.

have i mentioned that carpaccio means raw meat?
puh-lease do not be put off by it - it's a seriously fantastic flavour... just think sushi but more italian.. like maybe succi...
and, since layers are in, this is the perfect spring dish.

note: there is a little bit of finicky slicing, dicing & flattening, but hey, what's one finger among five? (err, be careful - cut fingers tend to ruin the mood)
note: the processes for this dish are: one = tuna prep; two = 'tapenade' prep; three = dressing prep; four = fennel prep; five = assemblage.

one: tuna prep
so get some tuna steaks. i used three steaks (for about 6/7/8 people depending on size and apetite)

cut off anything that doesn't look edible... black bits etc.
tips: if you have a father present, get them to sharpen a knife for you. mainly because no one sharpens a knife as well as one's father. if you need to sharpen your own knife, get sharpening stone & small bit of oil. sweep the knife (against the grain) up and down the sharpening stone. rinse.

now, my knife usage is totally unprofessional. i basically just sliced the steak until it had regressed into slithers of tuna.
like so:

flatten tuna
use a plastic freezer bag. place a piece of your fish in the bag. use a mallot and gently flatten the pieces. they totally flatten and expand so don't try and put too many in the bag.

before:

after:

two: olive 'tapenade'

i know you are wondering why i use the ' '. this is because i my tapenade was more like a chopped olive salad. but either way...
a jar green olives (pitted), capers chopped finely & flat leafed parlsey (continental) - a handful.

purple salad onion (spanish onion?) - half.

ole ole the olive oil. black pepper and salt.

three: dressing
note: simmering required.. so i lied about the whole raw food thing...
aniseed. so beautiful. i mean it cannot be easy to be born with that shape.

beat it, just beat it. (okay fine, pummel it)

juice of an orange.

juice of the vine.

vinegar from the skipping girl.

simmer for like... two minutes.
pour through sieve to remove aniseed.
put to the side.

four: shaved fennel
confession time. i used a v-slicer. now, my very own mother is terrified of this machine. she claims that it can cause fatalities etc. so use carefully.
due to precarious nature i have no photos of the process but use slicer or a very sharp knife.

add half the dressing.

five: assemblage

pour over the rest of the dressing and drizzle olive oil.

do i really need to say six:eat?

so seriously guys, i'm drooling. mm.
p.s. it tastes great the next morning. for breakfast.

anti my pasti

2009-09-29T11:53:00.004+10:00

yeh what's with this garlic theme?
face it, everyone loves antipasto.
anyhow, this is really a post on presentation.

i mean, you have all these marinated vegetables (sometimes some meats) and you want it all to look simply sumptuous.

so, gather your weapons of choice.

asparagus: lightly steamed, with some sesame oil drizzled after.

zucchini: sliced whilst raw. grilled w. olive oil. mmm. serious fave of mine. put into olive oil and garlic to marinate.

yellow peppers, red peppers: grilled until charcoaled skin. put into plastic bag. let steam. peel skin. chuck into bowl with vinegar and oil and garlic.

eggplants: sliced whilst raw. salted (but seriously, does this really make a diff?). grilled w olive oil. oil & garlic to marinate.

fennel. remember how i said it was one of my fave things? well. yeh. it is. and slice it up. give it a grill. chuck in some olive oil and garlic. actually i think i grilled with some olive oil as well..

roma tomatoes. halved. grilled with that basil oil... see post below. grilled really slowly.

olives. my dad made these. i don't know how to yet.. (but i will *evil cackle). they have been marinated in herbs and olive oil.

presentation:

don't forget: bread to mop up that delightfully garlicy oil.

here chickee chickee

2009-09-26T16:18:00.005+10:00

Chicken Marbella

so i know, i know this recipe is well known. (see silver palate cookbook)
i just reckon it’s a terrific recipe and is very underrated.
also, i know there is this fear where you read the ingredients. you think that such a mix could not possibly work... or at least you can’t imagine it. that’s why you don’t have to... i'll take away your imagination and replace it with these pictures.

(note: don’t make it for newly blossoming relationships because the garlic content doesn’t really encourage that sort of thing... and if you must, make sure s/he eats it... so at least you both have garlic breath. )

things to know before-hand:
this recipe needs marinating time.. so the day before is a good time to start.
also it’s a combo of sweet and savoury... some people don’t like that sort of thing.

marinating:
get some chicken pieces – breasts, thighs (pulkas), cages, feet.. whatever.
i think i used 12 thighs and 12 breasts.. but i should think 10 of each is enough.. you choose. put them in the dish you plan to cook them in.

i cut off the extra fat...

mmm discarded fat...

add oregano (1/4 c should do it) (dried)

garlic... i'd say 3/4 to 1 whole head? should do. squeezing is fine

la di da add the prunes. i think the more the merrier.. but one pckt. pitted. whole.

capers. about 1 small jar ( coles makes a small jar of teeny capers.. get those). and only a little juice.. so drain most juice first.

add a jar of spanish green pitted olives.. love the salty goodness.

red wine vinegar. splash in about 1/4 c. also some olive oil.. i just kind swished some in.. chicken skin has a lot of fat.. so not too much. just use your own judgment..

add 5 bay leaves. even if you don't want to. do it. just do it. some salt and pepper to taste as well.

rumble tumble (fumble) and mix. maybe use gloves like i did... and leave overnight with foil on top.

so, next day. you want to cook it. it takes about 1 hour on approx 190 celsius.. so 1 hour and 15 minutes before serving time, take chicken out. arrange it in the pan so it will cook easily. and get some more disposable gloves (sorry environment) and some brown sugar.
i personally like to put some brown sugar.. (1/3 cup?) on a plate.
i then sort of 'dip' my hand into the sugar.
i then rub the chicken with it... (i know, that sounds kinda off. just do it.)
continue till all chicken is covered with a little brown sugar.

add 1/2 c white wine. mmm. (i dont measure it.. i just splash it in) (maybe take a swig if your guests are about to come as you are probably a little stressed, thinking this is going to totally fail.. oh is that your cake burning?)

it should look like this - ready to go into the oven. so put it in.

every 15 minutes i would baste and turn. you can just do whatever really, but the skin should get nice and crispy.. and it should smell amazing.

serve as you want. i served it on a bed of couscous (so easy to make). it's delish.

brush your teeth after.. and it's totally fine the next day. more than fine.

SNAP!

2009-09-17T13:34:00.001+10:00

This is the saga of the brandy Snaps (well, orange snaps):

so Snap says to me 'come on, make me, i'll look great, i'll taste great. your readers, they'll love me'.
and foolish me thinks, 'wow yeh Snap, great idea. i'll make you into baskets. fantastic. my readers, they'll love me. maybe even my eaters, they too will love me.'

(in retrospect i should have been suspicious because the Snap came into my head at a time when i was emotionally down: when my family had bullied me into making fruit salad for dessert.)

one problem: the snaps needed to be non dairy.
Snap suggests that i should use magarine. and i blindly agree, not thinking about the inferior quality of this imitation butter in a recipe that relies on the fat and sugar to work some magic.

so we make them.

and they turned out like this:

Snap and i safely agreed that these looked like gremlin skins.
and Snap taunted me because he knows that i had nightmares about gremlins for years.
this was fail # 1.

after one more failed attempt, i turned to Snap, in tears, and said 'you said you would work. you were full of promises, full of grandeur.'
Snap responded 'i am, it must just be a problem with you. maybe you just aren't good enough to make me.'

well. what cheek!
'not good enough to make you?' i exclaimed, 'i've done everything you suggested. i've tried a new method. you are an extremely uncooperative process!'
Snap shrugged and snapped, 'don't look at me, i'm just a brandy snap.'
right.

it was time for some tough decisions. i scrapped the margarine in favour of canola oil and tried a new method.

the following is Orange Brandy Snaps attempt 3 & 4. don't worry, it worked:
stuff to do before -

oven: 160 celcius
trays: line two baking paper.
have three oiled (chinese tea) cups out on a rack (see pic # 2 above)
prep some orange rind:

what are you waiting for ?

put 100 g canola (innocuous) oil, orange rind, 1/2 c golden syrup, 1 tbs orange juice & 1/2 c brown sugar into a saucepan.
(note: if you have brandy, this is where you sub the brandy for the orange juice... you can use cointreau as well but i didn't)

heat on lowest of low flames... gently stir... then get a whisk and whisk it over the low flame.
the mixture should NOT get hot... should be warm to touch.

the whisking combines the oil with the sugar and syrup..

so sift 80g of flour and 1 tsp ground ginger into the bowl.

add the mixture and mix.

okay so this is where you get tricky:

only three snaps per tray.
each snap is one soup spoon size glob.
so it looks like this:

into the oven.
now read closely as i am going to describe the horrific process -

the globs spread out in the heat until they are touching each-other and bubbling and looking absolutely inedible.
this goes on for about 5-6 minutes and the snaps look like disgusting gremlin skin (it's inescapable) but brown toffee coloured (browner on the outside).

take them out when they look like this:

don't just stand there, you need to act! now:

wait approx 50 seconds (okay so like a minute won't kill it) and then delicately use a spatula to scoop up the snap and drape it (by flipping) over the cups.
now kind of fiddle it into the right sort of bowl shape.

leave to dry/cool/form. and please don't be put off by the oil that drips off (better out than in, no?).

i suppose you probably want storage tips.
two words: air tight.

i ended up serving them with fruit salad and icecream...

what is the moral of the saga?

this recipe is not for neurotic people who don't like to fail.
... and don't listen to talking brandy Snaps as it is likely that they are not real.

Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudel

2009-09-14T11:15:00.002+10:00

a few of my favourite things -
but i wouldn't like combine them all in a pot and hope for the best...
just some stuff i use/eat/smell/spill all the time.

don't fake it, bake it

2009-09-13T21:30:00.001+10:00

i know, i know.
you want to make a birthday cake for your mama.
but what if it's not good enough?
I mean she did give birth to you, so you owe her.
so why not make a chocolate mud cake with raspberry chocolate decoration?
yeh, why not?

choc-mud cake: (thx donna hay)

PREHEAT that oven. i always forget. 130 degrees.
so take 300g of dark couverture

put the choc, tsp vanilla and 250g of butter (marg for lactards) into a saucepan.
melt.. yadda yadda

5 eggs, and separate those chickees.
put the yolks with 1/3 c caster sugar into kenwood.
beat it, just beat it. should go thick, creamy, pale yellow.

then beat the whites in another bowl (clean bowl..)
beat it, just beat it - stiff peaks.

add choc mix into egg yolks.

fold.
sift 1/3 c plain flour and 1/2 tsp baking soda.
fold.
add egg whites
fold.
pour into round cake spring form pan thing (20cm).
(i like to line it with baking paper.. sides and bottom).
cook 60 mins.
check.
if it's not wobbling in the middle, out; if it is - then 15 more mins.

should look like this:

yum.

now what?

make a raspberry coulis.. i don't follow a recipe..
so chuck some raspberries in a blender..
i buy frozen packets from green grocer.. so like 1 packet (not punnet -like yeh i don't know how to describe it)
then add sugar.. maybe like 1/2 a cup of castor?
then lemon.. some people use brandy..
and kinda taste it..
may need to add more sugar/lemon/brandy depending... should be tart(tarte?) and sweet.

then melt some more couverture choc... 200/250 grams?
USE DOUBLE BOILER... also make sure water in pot comes up to the height of the chocolate..
like.. you put the bowl into the water - the water surrounds the bowl - and it should go as high as the choc.

once melted, remove and make a space for yourself.
line some trays with baking paper.
get a spatula.. or butter knife.
and make the following shapes:

Freezer!!!!

whilst freezing, make some butter cream icing (250 g butter to 1 c icing sugar to 1 tsp vanilla)
I would make 1/4 of that recipe.. so that's like 60g butter... 1/4 c icing sugar.. splash of vanilla...

then add some coulis.. and beat it, just beat it.
so it's like pink frosting.. raspberry to be exact.
then cover the cake in the frosting (make sure cake is COLD)
THEN get those frozen choc things.
Cut in half.
and layer accordingly:

okay eat.
with the left over raspberry coulis.
BUT SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY.