Pork Belly Perfection

Babi Guling

I was inspired by the My Kitchen Rules Winners, Dan and Steph, to make Babi Guling, a  Balinese roast pork belly. So, I found a recipe in one of my Gourmet Traveller Magazines, bought a couple of pork bellies for our dinner party, and ground the fabulous paste to marinade the pork. I haven't had much luck with pork belly in the past, so I was starting from scratch in my mind, hoping it would go as nicely as Dan and Steph's turned out on MKR. It looked so good, and was exactly the kind of flavour combinations we love.

What an amazing result! Tender, juicy pork, with an amazing flavour, and an impressive crackling (although I didn't follow the recipe on this one - instead of brushing the skin with turmeric, I sprinkled some ground turmeric on and oiled it up as usual) Just delicious!

Laksa Leftovers

The question I always have with amazing roast dinners, is what to do with the leftovers. Chicken is easy - I just add it to a salad. I have a great recipe for filo parcels for leftover roast lamb. Nothing though for Pork. This pork leftovers had that amazing paste running through it - mildly spicy with a great curry flavour. Perfect I decided for Laksa. All I needed was some noodles, coconut milk, stock, fried tofu, chilli, and some veg to throw in and out came a delicious Laksa!

Winner dishes that will be a definite addition to our regular repertoire!

Babi Guling

I was inspired by the My Kitchen Rules Winners, Dan and Steph, to make Babi Guling, a  Balinese roast pork belly. So, I found a recipe in one of my Gourmet Traveller Magazines, bought a couple of pork bellies for our dinner party, and ground the fabulous paste to marinade the pork. I haven't had much luck with pork belly in the past, so I was starting from scratch in my mind, hoping it would go as nicely as Dan and Steph's turned out on MKR. It looked so good, and was exactly the kind of flavour combinations we love.

What an amazing result! Tender, juicy pork, with an amazing flavour, and an impressive crackling (although I didn't follow the recipe on this one - instead of brushing the skin with turmeric, I sprinkled some ground turmeric on and oiled it up as usual) Just delicious!

Laksa Leftovers

The question I always have with amazing roast dinners, is what to do with the leftovers. Chicken is easy - I just add it to a salad. I have a great recipe for filo parcels for leftover roast lamb. Nothing though for Pork. This pork leftovers had that amazing paste running through it - mildly spicy with a great curry flavour. Perfect I decided for Laksa. All I needed was some noodles, coconut milk, stock, fried tofu, chilli, and some veg to throw in and out came a delicious Laksa!

Winner dishes that will be a definite addition to our regular repertoire!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Herb and Garlic Crusted Prime Rib Roast with Burgundy Thyme Gravy

Herb and Garlic Crusted Prime Rib Roast with Burgundy Thyme Gravy

This is one of my favorite celebration meals and although I do cook prime rib roast several ways, this is still the easiest and one of the most flavorful. The burgundy thyme gravy is something I almost always serve with this particular meal along with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables. Some Yorkshire Pudding popovers are also delicious with this meal. Find out how to make perfect popovers here:  http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2012/10/cheddar-parmesan-popovers.html

Serves 6 -8

• 4 ½ - 5 pound Prime Rib Roast

Mix together:

• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 3-4 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ½ cup fresh chopped mixed herbs (Oregano, rosemary and thyme work well.)

Rub the herb garlic mix all over the surface of the roast. Press it into the meat a little to make it stick as much as possible. Roast, rib side down, uncovered on a rack in a preheated 375 degree F oven until the center reaches the desired temperature on a meat thermometer; 145 degrees F for rare, 160-165 degrees F for medium and 175-180 degrees F for well done.

It is essential that you let the roast rest, tented in aluminum foil for about 20 minutes for a large roast. This allows the juices to settle and the meat fibers to relax, making the meat far more tender.

Burgundy Thyme Gravy

• 4 cups beef broth (or a combination of fat skimmed pan drippings and beef broth to make 4 cups)
• 1 cup burgundy wine
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme (or about 1 tsp dried ground thyme)

Simmer together uncovered for about 20-30 minutes until the volume of the liquid is reduced by about one third.

In a separate heavy bottomed saucepan add

• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Cook together stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until foamy. Slowly and steadily whisk in the boiling broth mixture. Whisk quickly and steadily as you add the hot liquid to prevent lumps in the gravy. Season with salt to taste. Add a little more beef broth if you like thinner gravy.

Herb and Garlic Crusted Prime Rib Roast with Burgundy Thyme Gravy

This is one of my favorite celebration meals and although I do cook prime rib roast several ways, this is still the easiest and one of the most flavorful. The burgundy thyme gravy is something I almost always serve with this particular meal along with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables. Some Yorkshire Pudding popovers are also delicious with this meal. Find out how to make perfect popovers here:  http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2012/10/cheddar-parmesan-popovers.html

Serves 6 -8

• 4 ½ - 5 pound Prime Rib Roast

Mix together:

• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 3-4 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ½ cup fresh chopped mixed herbs (Oregano, rosemary and thyme work well.)

Rub the herb garlic mix all over the surface of the roast. Press it into the meat a little to make it stick as much as possible. Roast, rib side down, uncovered on a rack in a preheated 375 degree F oven until the center reaches the desired temperature on a meat thermometer; 145 degrees F for rare, 160-165 degrees F for medium and 175-180 degrees F for well done.

It is essential that you let the roast rest, tented in aluminum foil for about 20 minutes for a large roast. This allows the juices to settle and the meat fibers to relax, making the meat far more tender.

Burgundy Thyme Gravy

• 4 cups beef broth (or a combination of fat skimmed pan drippings and beef broth to make 4 cups)
• 1 cup burgundy wine
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme (or about 1 tsp dried ground thyme)

Simmer together uncovered for about 20-30 minutes until the volume of the liquid is reduced by about one third.

In a separate heavy bottomed saucepan add

• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Cook together stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until foamy. Slowly and steadily whisk in the boiling broth mixture. Whisk quickly and steadily as you add the hot liquid to prevent lumps in the gravy. Season with salt to taste. Add a little more beef broth if you like thinner gravy.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Apple Roasted Pork Loin Roast

Apple Roasted Pork Loin Roast

Apples and pork is a pretty traditional combination and I couldn't count the number of ways I've put the two together in the past but this one is a little different. The Granny Smith apples are diced quite small and then cooked in a reduction of honey, apple cider vinegar and spices. Granny Smiths are good to use because they won't break down into apple sauce during the cooking. The cooked apples are then used as a top crust and glaze for the roast pork. Our Perfect Roast Potatoes are an absolute must with this dinner at our house and should be at yours! Here's your Sunday supper! Originally published on Jan 10, 2010.

3 lb pork loin or rib roast

Season the pork with salt and pepper and open roast on a rack in a roasting pan at 375 degrees F for about a half hour.

Meanwhile dice very small, (about a 1/4 inch dice)

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

In a large saute pan over medium heat add:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

Cook for a minute or two to soften but not brown the garlic. Add:

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder or  cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer until the volume is reduced by about half. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the diced apple and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has reduced off.

After half an hour in the oven, take the roast out and spoon the apples all over the top. Return the roast to the oven, reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F on a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast. Allow the pork to rest for about 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Apple Roasted Pork Loin Roast

Apples and pork is a pretty traditional combination and I couldn't count the number of ways I've put the two together in the past but this one is a little different. The Granny Smith apples are diced quite small and then cooked in a reduction of honey, apple cider vinegar and spices. Granny Smiths are good to use because they won't break down into apple sauce during the cooking. The cooked apples are then used as a top crust and glaze for the roast pork. Our Perfect Roast Potatoes are an absolute must with this dinner at our house and should be at yours! Here's your Sunday supper! Originally published on Jan 10, 2010.

3 lb pork loin or rib roast

Season the pork with salt and pepper and open roast on a rack in a roasting pan at 375 degrees F for about a half hour.

Meanwhile dice very small, (about a 1/4 inch dice)

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

In a large saute pan over medium heat add:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

Cook for a minute or two to soften but not brown the garlic. Add:

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder or  cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer until the volume is reduced by about half. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the diced apple and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has reduced off.

After half an hour in the oven, take the roast out and spoon the apples all over the top. Return the roast to the oven, reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F on a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast. Allow the pork to rest for about 15 minutes before carving and serving.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Christmas 2012: Christmas Dinner

Pudding!

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you've all been enjoying the silly season and eating way too much! We had our family dinner on Christmas Eve, and here's what we ate!

Christmas Dinner for 6

Roast Turkey

Gravy

Butter and Sage Roast Potatoes

Roast Butternut Squash with Sage and Pine Nuts

Crispy Roast Kale

Roast Carrots

Red Cabbage

Christmas Pudding with Crème Anglaise

Christmas Dinner

As you can see, the menu I chose was similar to last year's Christmas Dinner, with just a few little changes. I love, love love Gordon Ramsay's turkey and gravy - pure juicy deliciousness and no need for any brining or other difficult tricks. The potatoes were Jamie Oliver's perfect roast potatoes, roasted in butter (zomg!), with sage, rosemary and garlic for extra flavour. They're crispy, chewy, fluffy and gorgeous!

The other sides were our usual red cabbage, some crisp roast kale (great for texture contrast and extra vitamins), roast carrots (just roasted in some olive oil with a little salt and pepper) and some roast butternut squash with sage and pine nuts. Woah!

Normally with my Christmas dinner posts, I just provide links to the original recipes and tell y'all the different little adaptations I made - but you know what? This means when Christmas rolls around it takes me forever to marry up all the changes to try and figure out what I did the year before. So this year I'm publishing my adapted recipes right here, as well as my original ones. (The adapted recipes are all already online anyway, sources are clearly stated, recipes are rewritten in my own words and with my adaptations etc etc etc.)

Next year I'll just be able to bring up this post and start cooking! Future Sarah: you're welcome.

The whole dinner wasn't that difficult: Sandra and I did the shopping a couple of days before, my dad picked up the turkey on the day, and we started cooking around 2pm with dinner starting at 7pm. (Please note we weren't cooking for the entire five hours; in fact, most of that time was spent on the couch watching Nigella's Christmas Kitchen while waiting for things to roast in the oven!) Like most people, we only have one oven, so we roasted things one after the other: turkey first, with the butternut squash underneath, then potatoes and carrots, and finally the kale. This meant that the butternut squash wasn't piping hot, but it was all delicious, and hot gravy solves everything! (I've found that roast turkey stays hot for a good few hours, loosely tented in foil, and it needs to rest for at least an hour anyway - so don't stress!)

Yay for Nigella marathons

At this point in the post, I feel it's time for a little drink! Sandra made an awesome Christmas cocktail, inspired by the "Pig" cocktail at Spice Temple: Prosecco, gin and lychee syrup, lychees and soda water. Cheers!

Cocktails!

The Turkey

Bacon Blanket!

Mmm... roasted turkey

The Turkey
(Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Roast Turkey with Lemon, Parsley and Garlic Butter)

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Stir together 125 grams soft butter, 2 minced cloves of garlic, the zest of one lemon (keep the lemon for the cavity), a small handful chopped parsley and some salt and pepper. Loosen the skin under the turkey, and spread the flavoured butter under the skin. Spread any extra butter on the outside of the skin, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place 2 peeled and halved onions, the zested lemon, and a few garlic cloves in the cavity. 
Roast the turkey, breast side up, for 15 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 180C. Cover the breast with 4 slices streaky bacon, and roast the turkey for 30 minutes a kilo, or until cooked. (Test by piercing the thickest part of the thigh - the juices should be clear, not pink).
Place the turkey on a platter, remove the bacon blanket and all the flavourings from the cavity (keep it all for the gravy!). Tent loosely with foil and allow to rest for at least an hour.

The Gravy

So much flavour...

The Gravy
(Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Turkey Gravy)

Pour as much fat out of the roasting tray as possible. Add the bacon and flavourings from the turkey cavity to the tray, with 2 chopped tomatoes and a sprig of rosemary. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring to get all the sticky deliciousness off the tray. Pour in a bottle of dry white wine, and allow to simmer strongly until reduced by half. Pour in 600 millilitres of chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer strongly for about 10 minutes. Strain the gravy and discard all the extra bits. Thicken with a mixture of flour and milk, if desired. Serve HOT.

Roast Butternut Squash with Pine Nuts and Sage

Roast Butternut Squash with Pine Nuts and Sage
An Original recipe by Sarah Cooks

Wash one butternut squash. Trim the top and bottom, cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. (No need to peel). Toss with olive oil. Place in a baking dish, and roast at 180C for 20-30 minutes. Add a few sage leaves to the tray and allow to cook for another 20-30 minutes, until the sage is fragrant and the squash is softened and nicely browned in parts. Sprinkle over toasted pine nuts to serve.

Roast Potatoes

Butter-Roasted Potatoes
(Adapted from Jamie Oliver's "Perfect Roast Potatoes: Flavour Combo 2")

Peel 2 kilos of roasting potatoes, cut into medium chunks and rinse off the starch. Place the potatoes into a large pot of cold water and add a generous spoonful of salt. Bring to the boil and allow to boil for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and allow them to steam dry. (This can all be done in advance). 
Place 100 grams of butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a large roasting tray, and place in the oven so the butter can melt and the tray heats up. (I just put this under the turkey for the last 10 minutes of its cooking time). Carefully place the parboiled potatoes in the tray and toss to coat in the melted butter. Roast at 200C for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, a small handful of sage leaves, 3-5 unpeeled garlic cloves, a drizzle of red wine vinegar and olive oil. 
Take the potatoes out of the oven and squish them down flat with a potato masher (for extra crispness). Pour over the herbs and garlic, and place back in the oven for another 30-45 minutes or until really crispy and delicious. Season generously with salt to serve.

Crispy Roast Kale

Crispy Roast Kale
(Sarah's version of a classic recipe)
Remove the tough stems from one bunch of kale. Rip the leaves into smallish pieces, wash under running water and dry thoroughly using a salad spinner. Place the leaves in a large baking dish in a shallow layer, pour over a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and toss with your hands to coat. Roast at 200C for 20-30 minutes, until it smells cooked (you'll understand what I mean when you cook this yourself), and the leaves are mostly crisp. Season generously with salt.

Christmas Dinner

So much food! So tasty! So good!

The pudding was barely any work at all: I made two last year and kept one in the freezer the whole year! Easy. (It was Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding, recipe available on her website. I'm not publishing the recipe here because I didn't make any changes - it's perfect just as it is!) It takes three hours to steam, so I put it on as we started dinner, and kept topping it up with boiling water every now and then. I also made a vanilla bean crème anglaise to accompany it, which only takes about 15 minutes. (It's best if you make it at the last minute, but I thought this was a good excuse to get up and move around a bit between dinner and dessert!)

We flambéed it with Bacardi 151, which is actually over-proof, with an alcohol content of 75%! Eep! It's highly flammable: don't try this at home kids! (Or at least keep a fire blanket close by!)

Fire, fire!

And once the pretty flames subsided, it was time to eat!

Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding

One year in the freezer and still good! So moist and wonderful - this pudding is fantastic, you must try it! I think I went a bit OTT with the vanilla bean (1 massive vanilla bean to 300 ml cream, 3 teaspoons caster sugar and 3 egg yolks) - but hey, it's Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Pudding!

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you've all been enjoying the silly season and eating way too much! We had our family dinner on Christmas Eve, and here's what we ate!

Christmas Dinner for 6

Roast Turkey

Gravy

Butter and Sage Roast Potatoes

Roast Butternut Squash with Sage and Pine Nuts

Crispy Roast Kale

Roast Carrots

Red Cabbage

Christmas Pudding with Crème Anglaise

Christmas Dinner

As you can see, the menu I chose was similar to last year's Christmas Dinner, with just a few little changes. I love, love love Gordon Ramsay's turkey and gravy - pure juicy deliciousness and no need for any brining or other difficult tricks. The potatoes were Jamie Oliver's perfect roast potatoes, roasted in butter (zomg!), with sage, rosemary and garlic for extra flavour. They're crispy, chewy, fluffy and gorgeous!

The other sides were our usual red cabbage, some crisp roast kale (great for texture contrast and extra vitamins), roast carrots (just roasted in some olive oil with a little salt and pepper) and some roast butternut squash with sage and pine nuts. Woah!

Normally with my Christmas dinner posts, I just provide links to the original recipes and tell y'all the different little adaptations I made - but you know what? This means when Christmas rolls around it takes me forever to marry up all the changes to try and figure out what I did the year before. So this year I'm publishing my adapted recipes right here, as well as my original ones. (The adapted recipes are all already online anyway, sources are clearly stated, recipes are rewritten in my own words and with my adaptations etc etc etc.)

Next year I'll just be able to bring up this post and start cooking! Future Sarah: you're welcome.

The whole dinner wasn't that difficult: Sandra and I did the shopping a couple of days before, my dad picked up the turkey on the day, and we started cooking around 2pm with dinner starting at 7pm. (Please note we weren't cooking for the entire five hours; in fact, most of that time was spent on the couch watching Nigella's Christmas Kitchen while waiting for things to roast in the oven!) Like most people, we only have one oven, so we roasted things one after the other: turkey first, with the butternut squash underneath, then potatoes and carrots, and finally the kale. This meant that the butternut squash wasn't piping hot, but it was all delicious, and hot gravy solves everything! (I've found that roast turkey stays hot for a good few hours, loosely tented in foil, and it needs to rest for at least an hour anyway - so don't stress!)

Yay for Nigella marathons

At this point in the post, I feel it's time for a little drink! Sandra made an awesome Christmas cocktail, inspired by the "Pig" cocktail at Spice Temple: Prosecco, gin and lychee syrup, lychees and soda water. Cheers!

Cocktails!

The Turkey

Bacon Blanket!

Mmm... roasted turkey

The Turkey
(Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Roast Turkey with Lemon, Parsley and Garlic Butter)

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Stir together 125 grams soft butter, 2 minced cloves of garlic, the zest of one lemon (keep the lemon for the cavity), a small handful chopped parsley and some salt and pepper. Loosen the skin under the turkey, and spread the flavoured butter under the skin. Spread any extra butter on the outside of the skin, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place 2 peeled and halved onions, the zested lemon, and a few garlic cloves in the cavity. 
Roast the turkey, breast side up, for 15 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 180C. Cover the breast with 4 slices streaky bacon, and roast the turkey for 30 minutes a kilo, or until cooked. (Test by piercing the thickest part of the thigh - the juices should be clear, not pink).
Place the turkey on a platter, remove the bacon blanket and all the flavourings from the cavity (keep it all for the gravy!). Tent loosely with foil and allow to rest for at least an hour.

The Gravy

So much flavour...

The Gravy
(Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Turkey Gravy)

Pour as much fat out of the roasting tray as possible. Add the bacon and flavourings from the turkey cavity to the tray, with 2 chopped tomatoes and a sprig of rosemary. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring to get all the sticky deliciousness off the tray. Pour in a bottle of dry white wine, and allow to simmer strongly until reduced by half. Pour in 600 millilitres of chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer strongly for about 10 minutes. Strain the gravy and discard all the extra bits. Thicken with a mixture of flour and milk, if desired. Serve HOT.

Roast Butternut Squash with Pine Nuts and Sage

Roast Butternut Squash with Pine Nuts and Sage
An Original recipe by Sarah Cooks

Wash one butternut squash. Trim the top and bottom, cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. (No need to peel). Toss with olive oil. Place in a baking dish, and roast at 180C for 20-30 minutes. Add a few sage leaves to the tray and allow to cook for another 20-30 minutes, until the sage is fragrant and the squash is softened and nicely browned in parts. Sprinkle over toasted pine nuts to serve.

Roast Potatoes

Butter-Roasted Potatoes
(Adapted from Jamie Oliver's "Perfect Roast Potatoes: Flavour Combo 2")

Peel 2 kilos of roasting potatoes, cut into medium chunks and rinse off the starch. Place the potatoes into a large pot of cold water and add a generous spoonful of salt. Bring to the boil and allow to boil for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and allow them to steam dry. (This can all be done in advance). 
Place 100 grams of butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a large roasting tray, and place in the oven so the butter can melt and the tray heats up. (I just put this under the turkey for the last 10 minutes of its cooking time). Carefully place the parboiled potatoes in the tray and toss to coat in the melted butter. Roast at 200C for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, a small handful of sage leaves, 3-5 unpeeled garlic cloves, a drizzle of red wine vinegar and olive oil. 
Take the potatoes out of the oven and squish them down flat with a potato masher (for extra crispness). Pour over the herbs and garlic, and place back in the oven for another 30-45 minutes or until really crispy and delicious. Season generously with salt to serve.

Crispy Roast Kale

Crispy Roast Kale
(Sarah's version of a classic recipe)
Remove the tough stems from one bunch of kale. Rip the leaves into smallish pieces, wash under running water and dry thoroughly using a salad spinner. Place the leaves in a large baking dish in a shallow layer, pour over a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and toss with your hands to coat. Roast at 200C for 20-30 minutes, until it smells cooked (you'll understand what I mean when you cook this yourself), and the leaves are mostly crisp. Season generously with salt.

Christmas Dinner

So much food! So tasty! So good!

The pudding was barely any work at all: I made two last year and kept one in the freezer the whole year! Easy. (It was Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding, recipe available on her website. I'm not publishing the recipe here because I didn't make any changes - it's perfect just as it is!) It takes three hours to steam, so I put it on as we started dinner, and kept topping it up with boiling water every now and then. I also made a vanilla bean crème anglaise to accompany it, which only takes about 15 minutes. (It's best if you make it at the last minute, but I thought this was a good excuse to get up and move around a bit between dinner and dessert!)

We flambéed it with Bacardi 151, which is actually over-proof, with an alcohol content of 75%! Eep! It's highly flammable: don't try this at home kids! (Or at least keep a fire blanket close by!)

Fire, fire!

And once the pretty flames subsided, it was time to eat!

Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding

One year in the freezer and still good! So moist and wonderful - this pudding is fantastic, you must try it! I think I went a bit OTT with the vanilla bean (1 massive vanilla bean to 300 ml cream, 3 teaspoons caster sugar and 3 egg yolks) - but hey, it's Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Embrasse Sunday Lunch

For Mothers' Day this year, we celebrated with a Sunday lunch at Embrasse.  You may remember that we visited Embrasse last year and loved their incredible eight-course degustation, so I was very much looking forward to bringing my parents! Mothers' Day this year happened to coincide with my dad's birthday, so it was a double celebration!

Embrasse offers a four-course lunch on Sundays, served family style, from the centre of the table.  At $62 per person, it represents excellent value.  I'm particularly impressed that they didn't increase the price for Mothers' Day - it seems that practically all other restaurants, florists and high teas do it!

Yarra Valley Shiraz - $19 for 500ml

As part of the Sunday lunch, half-litre carafes of wine are available at $19 - on the day of our visit, it was a lovely Yarra Valley Shiraz.  I really like this idea; it makes choosing the wine so much easier and adds to the casual, convivial nature of the lunch.  (Of course the full wine list is available too).

Butter

Sourdough

The dishes, as expected, were a lot more casual than the evening fare, but still had the finesse and thoughtful presentation that seem to characterise Chef Nic Poelaert's cooking.

It happened to be a freezing day, with lots of rain and wind, so we were very happy to see that the first course was a big pot of warming pumpkin soup.

French pumpkin soup with creme fraiche

I was pleased to find that the soup itself wasn't overly creamy, and that the taste of the pumpkin really shone through.  Accompanying the soup were crisp little croutons made from olive bread.

Croutons

I had expected the second course - chicken and lentil terrine with brioche - to be a heavy, rich affair, and was pleasantly surprised to see the mass of salad and greenery that was brought out.

Chicken lentil terrine with French breakfast radishes, lettuce, parsley

Four thick slices of terrine, wrapped in cabbage leaves, were arranged amongst a salad of lettuce leaves, flat-leaf parsley and thin slices of French breakfast radishes.  The terrine itself was quite meaty for a terrine, and not fatty at all.  Lovely!

I enjoyed the thick slices of toasted brioche that came with the terrine, and my dad especially loved the Piccalilli, comprising cauliflower, cucumber and onions that had been lightly pickled and still retained their crunch.  (It actually reminded me a bit of achar, one of my favourite Malaysian dishes.)

Piccalilli and toasted brioche

And now, the mains. What Sunday lunch would be complete without a roast?  The roast in question was a slow-roast wagyu rump cap, served with peas, purple carrots, sweet potato, green beans and onions.

Slow-roast wagyu rump cap with peas and heirloom carrots

The slow roasting process resulted in soft, tender meat.  I think going the slow-roast route was a great way to please everyone across the rare-medium-well-done divide!  (Y'all will remember we all like our beef cooked differently, and when I heard the main was beef, I was a little concerned that one or more of us would end up not liking it. Luckily none of that occurred!)

I'd never had such dark purple carrots before, and I wasn't hugely enamoured of them - it felt like it was more about the novelty factor than the taste.  I did think it was quite cool that we ended up with purple tongues though!

Sweet potatoes, beans, roasted onions

Dessert was a lovely, homestyle frangipane tart, contrasted with a cheffy topping of quince puree, apple jelly and rhubarb!  I'd actually spied the tarts being prepared when walking past the kitchen earlier on during the meal, and was very excited for this dessert!

Frangipane tart with apple jelly, rhubarb, quince puree

Creme chantilly, rhubarb puree

I love frangipane, I love pastry, so this was dessert heaven for me.  The toppings looked a little alien-like and futuristic, hehe, but provided a wonderful bright and fruity contrast to the sweet cakey almond base. The only potentially negative aspect I could mention is that the slices were gigantic - we could only manage about half a slice each, and it felt like such a waste of a lovely dessert!

Overall though, we loved the Sunday lunch - it's such high-quality food at excellent value, in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.  I'd highly recommend it for a lovely afternoon!

For Mothers' Day this year, we celebrated with a Sunday lunch at Embrasse.  You may remember that we visited Embrasse last year and loved their incredible eight-course degustation, so I was very much looking forward to bringing my parents! Mothers' Day this year happened to coincide with my dad's birthday, so it was a double celebration!

Embrasse offers a four-course lunch on Sundays, served family style, from the centre of the table.  At $62 per person, it represents excellent value.  I'm particularly impressed that they didn't increase the price for Mothers' Day - it seems that practically all other restaurants, florists and high teas do it!

Yarra Valley Shiraz - $19 for 500ml

As part of the Sunday lunch, half-litre carafes of wine are available at $19 - on the day of our visit, it was a lovely Yarra Valley Shiraz.  I really like this idea; it makes choosing the wine so much easier and adds to the casual, convivial nature of the lunch.  (Of course the full wine list is available too).

Butter

Sourdough

The dishes, as expected, were a lot more casual than the evening fare, but still had the finesse and thoughtful presentation that seem to characterise Chef Nic Poelaert's cooking.

It happened to be a freezing day, with lots of rain and wind, so we were very happy to see that the first course was a big pot of warming pumpkin soup.

French pumpkin soup with creme fraiche

I was pleased to find that the soup itself wasn't overly creamy, and that the taste of the pumpkin really shone through.  Accompanying the soup were crisp little croutons made from olive bread.

Croutons

I had expected the second course - chicken and lentil terrine with brioche - to be a heavy, rich affair, and was pleasantly surprised to see the mass of salad and greenery that was brought out.

Chicken lentil terrine with French breakfast radishes, lettuce, parsley

Four thick slices of terrine, wrapped in cabbage leaves, were arranged amongst a salad of lettuce leaves, flat-leaf parsley and thin slices of French breakfast radishes.  The terrine itself was quite meaty for a terrine, and not fatty at all.  Lovely!

I enjoyed the thick slices of toasted brioche that came with the terrine, and my dad especially loved the Piccalilli, comprising cauliflower, cucumber and onions that had been lightly pickled and still retained their crunch.  (It actually reminded me a bit of achar, one of my favourite Malaysian dishes.)

Piccalilli and toasted brioche

And now, the mains. What Sunday lunch would be complete without a roast?  The roast in question was a slow-roast wagyu rump cap, served with peas, purple carrots, sweet potato, green beans and onions.

Slow-roast wagyu rump cap with peas and heirloom carrots

The slow roasting process resulted in soft, tender meat.  I think going the slow-roast route was a great way to please everyone across the rare-medium-well-done divide!  (Y'all will remember we all like our beef cooked differently, and when I heard the main was beef, I was a little concerned that one or more of us would end up not liking it. Luckily none of that occurred!)

I'd never had such dark purple carrots before, and I wasn't hugely enamoured of them - it felt like it was more about the novelty factor than the taste.  I did think it was quite cool that we ended up with purple tongues though!

Sweet potatoes, beans, roasted onions

Dessert was a lovely, homestyle frangipane tart, contrasted with a cheffy topping of quince puree, apple jelly and rhubarb!  I'd actually spied the tarts being prepared when walking past the kitchen earlier on during the meal, and was very excited for this dessert!

Frangipane tart with apple jelly, rhubarb, quince puree

Creme chantilly, rhubarb puree

I love frangipane, I love pastry, so this was dessert heaven for me.  The toppings looked a little alien-like and futuristic, hehe, but provided a wonderful bright and fruity contrast to the sweet cakey almond base. The only potentially negative aspect I could mention is that the slices were gigantic - we could only manage about half a slice each, and it felt like such a waste of a lovely dessert!

Overall though, we loved the Sunday lunch - it's such high-quality food at excellent value, in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.  I'd highly recommend it for a lovely afternoon!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

PORKDATE

A short while ago, I finally had April over for a long-awaited PORKDATE.  April loves crackling, and I never need any excuse to get roasting!

As you can see, this menu is similar to PORKTOBERFEST II, and the dinner I cooked for Kate & Rob, with a few little extras. I wish I could say I made those triple choc custard tarts myself, but they were made and brought by the super-talented Adrian!

Here's the pork shoulder (free-range), all oiled up and anointed with sea salt, fennel and caraway seeds.

Pork shoulder

One of the side dishes was Chef Mathew Macartney's pickled kohlrabi, apple and cucumber, the recipe for which I got at his cooking class in March.  It's always good to have something refreshing and astringent against a fatty, juicy roast pork! We sliced the kohlrabi super-thinly, using this new Borner V-Slicer Multibox V5 that I received from Kitchenware Direct. I've got a few other things planned to make with this new gadget, so stay tuned!

As a nibble to go with drinks, I made some parmesan shortbreads, from the first Ottolenghi book.  These are quite like cheese stars or cheese straws, crunchy salty little bites.  I was a bit cautious and may have undercooked these slightly - you can definitely let them get a bit browner than ordinary sweet shortbread, so you get a definite crunch all the way through.

Ottolenghi Parmesan Shortbreads

And here's the full meal!!

Juicy, crackly pork...

...and a second picture of the pork, just because!

Red cabbage...

...handmade bread dumplings...

... and the tart, crunchy kohlrabi, apple and cucumber salad.  (Hint: it's even prettier if you use a red apple!)

And the table...

After quite a bit of rest, we were ready to tackle dessert.  Adrian's triple-chocolate custard tarts are insanely decadent and super yummy!  I think it takes him a good few hours to make them, most of which is spent slowly stirring the custard! He adds extra chunks of milk chocolate into the filling - so yum!  He also used Careme sweet shortcrust pastry, one of my favourites.

I actually made some walnut shortbreads as well, using some walnut meal that I'd been given at Wagner Bros' fine food store in the Goulburn River Valley, but they weren't great so I quietly "forgot" to serve them.  My created recipe didn't work brilliantly, with the shortbreads becoming quite hard and mealy, without any of that lovely walnut aroma.  Whilst the walnut meal is a great product - it smells amazing before baking! - I'm struggling to figure out what to do with it!  Any ideas?

Thanks to April, Adrian and the gang for a super-fun afternoon!

A short while ago, I finally had April over for a long-awaited PORKDATE.  April loves crackling, and I never need any excuse to get roasting!

As you can see, this menu is similar to PORKTOBERFEST II, and the dinner I cooked for Kate & Rob, with a few little extras. I wish I could say I made those triple choc custard tarts myself, but they were made and brought by the super-talented Adrian!

Here's the pork shoulder (free-range), all oiled up and anointed with sea salt, fennel and caraway seeds.

Pork shoulder

One of the side dishes was Chef Mathew Macartney's pickled kohlrabi, apple and cucumber, the recipe for which I got at his cooking class in March.  It's always good to have something refreshing and astringent against a fatty, juicy roast pork! We sliced the kohlrabi super-thinly, using this new Borner V-Slicer Multibox V5 that I received from Kitchenware Direct. I've got a few other things planned to make with this new gadget, so stay tuned!

As a nibble to go with drinks, I made some parmesan shortbreads, from the first Ottolenghi book.  These are quite like cheese stars or cheese straws, crunchy salty little bites.  I was a bit cautious and may have undercooked these slightly - you can definitely let them get a bit browner than ordinary sweet shortbread, so you get a definite crunch all the way through.

Ottolenghi Parmesan Shortbreads

And here's the full meal!!

Juicy, crackly pork...

...and a second picture of the pork, just because!

Red cabbage...

...handmade bread dumplings...

... and the tart, crunchy kohlrabi, apple and cucumber salad.  (Hint: it's even prettier if you use a red apple!)

And the table...

After quite a bit of rest, we were ready to tackle dessert.  Adrian's triple-chocolate custard tarts are insanely decadent and super yummy!  I think it takes him a good few hours to make them, most of which is spent slowly stirring the custard! He adds extra chunks of milk chocolate into the filling - so yum!  He also used Careme sweet shortcrust pastry, one of my favourites.

I actually made some walnut shortbreads as well, using some walnut meal that I'd been given at Wagner Bros' fine food store in the Goulburn River Valley, but they weren't great so I quietly "forgot" to serve them.  My created recipe didn't work brilliantly, with the shortbreads becoming quite hard and mealy, without any of that lovely walnut aroma.  Whilst the walnut meal is a great product - it smells amazing before baking! - I'm struggling to figure out what to do with it!  Any ideas?

Thanks to April, Adrian and the gang for a super-fun afternoon!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Australia Day Party

Hey hey! A picture-heavy post today, on the fab Australia Day party we had today!  Even though there was heaps of food, somehow it wasn't stressful, and all fell together pretty easily.  In addition to the menu below, lots of our friends generously contributed salads and extra desserts.  Yay!  I plan to blog the individual dishes in more detail in due course, but for today let's look at some pretty pictures!

An Australia Day Feast for 11

Roast Pork Belly

Frikadellen

Thai Chicken Burgers

Sweetcorn Fritters

Parker House Rolls

Lettuce, Tomatoes, Avocado, Cucumber, Red Onion

Pavlova

 The Table

The Burgers: Beef Frikadellen, Thai Chicken Burgers, Sweetcorn Fritters

The condiments: Guacamole (made by my cousin Catherine), Red Onion, Cucumber, Avocado Slices, Tomato

The Salads: Watermelon & Feta (brought by Alaina)

Cupcakes (they count as salads, yes?) and Asian Salad (brought by Adrian)

Mixed Veggie Salad (brought by Kristine) 

Parker House Rolls

PORK BELLY!

The pork belly was incredibly crackly - amazing!  It's the recipe from The Ottolenghi Cookbook if you want to try it out.

Cute burger!

And because I know you guys love it... more CRACKLING!

The Desserts: 

Pavlova

Lamingtons (brought by Alae)

Cupcakes by Paolo (brought by Adrian)

I used a Donna Hay recipe for the pavlova and was so pleased with the result.  I know I've bagged Donna's super-stylised style before, but her recipes for the basics are really great!

Aftermath

Phew! That was a lot of food!  Happy Australia Day!!!

Hey hey! A picture-heavy post today, on the fab Australia Day party we had today!  Even though there was heaps of food, somehow it wasn't stressful, and all fell together pretty easily.  In addition to the menu below, lots of our friends generously contributed salads and extra desserts.  Yay!  I plan to blog the individual dishes in more detail in due course, but for today let's look at some pretty pictures!

An Australia Day Feast for 11

Roast Pork Belly

Frikadellen

Thai Chicken Burgers

Sweetcorn Fritters

Parker House Rolls

Lettuce, Tomatoes, Avocado, Cucumber, Red Onion

Pavlova

 The Table

The Burgers: Beef Frikadellen, Thai Chicken Burgers, Sweetcorn Fritters

The condiments: Guacamole (made by my cousin Catherine), Red Onion, Cucumber, Avocado Slices, Tomato

The Salads: Watermelon & Feta (brought by Alaina)

Cupcakes (they count as salads, yes?) and Asian Salad (brought by Adrian)

Mixed Veggie Salad (brought by Kristine) 

Parker House Rolls

PORK BELLY!

The pork belly was incredibly crackly - amazing!  It's the recipe from The Ottolenghi Cookbook if you want to try it out.

Cute burger!

And because I know you guys love it... more CRACKLING!

The Desserts: 

Pavlova

Lamingtons (brought by Alae)

Cupcakes by Paolo (brought by Adrian)

I used a Donna Hay recipe for the pavlova and was so pleased with the result.  I know I've bagged Donna's super-stylised style before, but her recipes for the basics are really great!

Aftermath

Phew! That was a lot of food!  Happy Australia Day!!!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad