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Please come with me to Cheese night………. Prince

Posted on May 15, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

I have seen some reviews of the Prince concert on other blogs, but I haven’t had enough of Prince yet. This concert just left me wanting more and more and more and luckily Prince did give more and more with his 7 encores. I have loved Prince forever and he has lost nothing of his sexy funkadelia for me……… The place went wild and we danced and danced and sang and he asked us what we were doing tomorrow…… if we would like to stay the night……….!….until he finally left us in the dark…waiting for more.

More stolen pictures a minute…………….

Also pictures to follow of the Official Vth Cheese night in Surry Hills involving more cheese than a group of humans should possibly eat…. and the winner of Rabbit Hole Tea give away!

In the meantime this is my official thank you and shout out to Cafe Sicilia…………….

In a nutshell: Caffe Sicilia is delighted to announce its first ever collaboration with OzHarvest. They are offering an exclusive ‘OzHarvest Menu’ in the month of May to help feed those in need. $30 from each $60 menu sold will be going straight to the charity – which is the equivalent of providing 30 meals to one Australian in need. please If you can support them in this cause and you want a delicious and fun even ing head down there… review here

OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn will now host a special closing gala dinner on Wednesday, 30th of May. The dinner will see the announcement of funds raised together with Caffe Sicilia and mention other future charitable initiatives. Guests will also get their hands dirty as Caffe Sicilia’s team of chefs teach them how to roll their own pasta and pipe their own pastries. The finished products will then be picked up by an OzHarvest van the next day to distribute to local shelters.

Any support you can give them would be greatly appreciated

cite>www.caffesicilia.com.u

Now for cheese Night, Every one must turn up with a piece of cheese or something made with cheese. Needless to say that these are no ordinary people ….. they are cheese obsessed. Here is the spread……………

Parmesan and gruyere fritters

Goats curd cheesecake

The most amazing raspberry cheesecake sable slice

My goat curd cake with Praline walnuts and Guava paste balls…………….

At 10pm

The wheel of Comte was cut.

36 kg of beautiful French cheese….

People had some Lactic acid problems on Sunday………………………

The winner of the Rabbit Hole Tea caddy and three beautiful teas is…..

Cindy Bowen of www.mslimilicious.com Congratulations! and thank you to every one that entered

And now back to Prince ……………Enjoy <3. Nothing compares 2 U

He asked everyone to take out their cellphones and flash them.

Posted in RECIPES | 16 Comments

Chicken Cakes with Tahini, Mint and Preserved Lemons

Posted on May 12, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

I am not very good at throwing parties. I can cook till the Cows come home but don’t ask me to be the social director. On Skaters 9th birthday, some friends of mine arranged for him to have a Treasure Hunt party, inviting 20 of his nearest and dearest pals. It was quite a lot of organising for them and they were exausted by the time the Tiny Bacon and Egg Tartlets, Pork and Fennel sausage rolls and Risotto Balls hit the table…….. and wine had to be dispensed along with cordial ( for the children). Once the reviews came in several days later, it was revealed ‘The Triplets’ Treasure Hunt party was actually better

Fail…….So, on Skaters 10th birthday I decided to keep the party on my turf. I asked him if he would like a dinner party, to which he happily replied in the positive. I asked him what he would like on the menu. With some thought he replied Mum’s Special Fried Chicken and something with chocolate. Well hello…. how easy. Once the guest list was secured, 3 girls 4 boys , another friend volunteered to be the waitstaff and menu writer. ( as yet undeterred about the reviews) . Menu placemats were made up and put at each place. Glasses, serviettes and lovely low lighting were arranged. After the Chicken Drumsticks marinated in buttermilk, spiced and baked, served with special New York fries ( new potatoes steamed and then fried till crispy) they all had homemade chocolate icecream in wafflecones with a choice of sprinkles and lollies and chocolate pieces on the table. Seemed to go down well………

After dinner they retired to Skaters room where they seemed to be having a lovely time ( with the door closed) while we had a couple of well earned glasses of wine. After a while there was a reasonable amount of giggling and chatter but the waitstaff and I figured we should check on them. After a quick knock we entered the room to find a boy on a girl on the bed kissing, and the others kind of looking on, but chatting. Skater was happily laughing and chattering to his mates, seemingly unaware that some of his dining companions were taking their rather grown up dinner to another level.

After quietly leaving the room to squeal**…….my friend and I had to take a minute here. Hmmmmm, a bit of a shock. Was this a normal 10 year old thing? This was not expected at all, and Skater didn’t even seem to notice this boy on girl action going on on his bed! We returned to the room and suggested that they may like to come out and watch a video. When the night was over Skater thanked us and said he’d had a great time. There were no negative reviews or comparisons, as none of the other 10 year olds had ever had a dinner party!! Ha

This recipe for Chicken Cakes with Mint, Tahini and Preserved Lemon hadn’t been thought up then, but Skater does like them now….also a hard review to crack.

For other recipes with Preserved Lemon look here and here and here

Chicken Cakes with Tahini , Mint and Preserved Lemon

Chicken Cakes

500gm( 1 lb) chicken minced ( ground)
3 teaspoons cummin
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika ( opt)
1 x 1/4 piece of preserved lemon
1/2 bunch picked chopped mint ( 1 cup)
1/2 cup of rolled oats
1 cup washed drained chickpeas
2 eggs
pinch of sea salt
1 frypan and 4 Tablspoons oil

Put all of the ingredients except the oil into a food processor and whizz to combine. Shape into 12 round patties ( or 24 smaller sized ) and chill while the dressing is made

Tahini Dressing

1/2 cup of tahini paste
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1/12 cup of water
1/4 cup of olive oil
salt to taste

Put the water, lemon juice and olive oil into a bowl and add the tahini. Whisk to combine and add salt
You can also add garlic or cumin if you like those flavours

Salad

Use a combination of which ever ingredients you like, but start with two ripe diced tomatoes sprinkled with some sea salt and left for several minutes to release their juices.
Then add diced cucumber, diced red pepper, Finely sliced Spanish onion, leftover chickpeas, 1/2 bunch of mint leaves, 1/2 bunch of coriander and a diced avocado If you like add a chopped chilli or some parsley.
Dress the salad with a couple of table spoons of Tahini and a drizzle of olive oil.

To Cook the chicken

Heat the frypan over high heat, reduce the temperature and add the oil and chicken cakes ( making sure to not over crowd the pan. If your pan is small work in batches). The outside of the cakes goes a lovely golden colour. When one side is done , flip and cook the other side without over cooking. Put the lid on the frypan and let to stand off the heat for several minutes before testing one to make sure they are cooked through.
Serve these with homemade flat bread or some store bought. It works with pork mince and I would suspect lamb or prawn. This will also taste very nice with Hommos. I served this with couscous but it is better with flat bread- a fabulous recent discovery!

Yoghurt Flat Bread

250gm Self Raising flour
1 tspoon of Baking Powder
200 gm plain Greek style yoghurt
50 gm ( 2 ozes) butter melted with 1/2 clove of garlic
2 Tablespoons chopped mint
Sea salt

Put the flour, yoghurt and a pinch of salt into the food processor and whizz till just combined. Pour onto a bench and work the sticky dough together for several minutes. Wrap in plastic and set aside for at least and hour. Divide into about 12 balls and roll paper thin on a bench top with lots of flour.
Heat a non stick frypan to very hot. Lightly sprinkle with oil and drop into the frying pan a couple at a time. When they bubble flip over and paint with some garlic butter , sprinkle with salt and mint and keep warm in foil till needed.

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Posted in Interesting ingredients, RECIPES | Tagged Chcken cakes, Chicken, Chicken patties, couscous, Dinner recipes, Preserved Lemons, Tahini | 16 Comments

Sausages …. Hands On!

Posted on May 7, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

The Family Crest

Kogarah is a suburb about 20 minutes from the centre of Sydney. There is not much of note here unless you are interested in Italian food and Charcuterie. Pinos Dolce Vita Fine Foods has been here for the last 30 years, and if you have not yet paid a visit….. it’s time!

I know there are a lot of keen cooks in Sydney who would just love to get their hands on some sausages given half the chance. This is your chance .

Pino is considered to be the Godfather of Sydney’s Italian Charcuterie heritage. His love of food and family has finally come full circle with the long held dream of opening a relaxed family style restaurant, and now, the Dolce Vita Cooking School. Daughter Carla, is his resident Chef , sons Fabian and Marco run the shop . Wife Pia charms all with her sweet nature, while paddling furiously under water to help make it all happen.

Have you always wanted to know how to make sausages?
Would you like to learn the secrets of Charcuterie making the Italian way . Make Cappocolo and Prosciutto.
Learn the secrets of butchery and how to cook meat to perfection.
Buy beautiful Italian products such as pasta, truffled flour and sugo

Well……………….

I know this all sounds like a bit of an advertisment for them…….. and in a way it is.

They have had trouble getting the website program up and running and these classes are just too good to be missed, so I have volunteered to yell for them!

If you and a friend book any class in May and mention My Kitchen Stories when you book, you will receive a 10% discount.

ring 0295874818 or on line at…….. www.dolcevitacookingschool

The Program so far in May

Hands On………………………….

The Art of Sausage Making with Pino

Hands on class- Wednesday 9th May-6 pm– hurry for this one $180.00

Capocollo Master Class with Pino

Not to be missed Hands on class with Pino. He will show you how to roll and cure and once completed you will be able to take your completed delicacy home $280.00

Wednesday 16th May at 6pm a couple of places lef

Learn to Churn- with Pepe Sayer- $120.00

Make your own butter, Mascarpone, Yoghurt and Creme Fraiche over two afternoons and take your fresh produce home

Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th at 2pm

Demonstration…………………………………….

Art of Pastry – three styles of pastry

Shady Wasef of ‘Mikes Kitchen’ and Carla Tomini Foresti

Tuesday 17th May 6pm $90.00
Fregola, Farro and Orzo How to cook and serve these versatile staples

Shady Wasef ‘Mikes Kitchen’ and Carla Tomini Forresti -

Thusday 24th May $90.00 6pm

0295874818 or www.dolcevitacookingschool.com.au

dont forget to mention me………… Tania @ My Kitchen Stories

You can even relax and have a coffee or surf the shelves for Italian goodies

See you there!

Don’t forget to enter the Rabbit Hole giveaway for your chance to win some beautiful tea and a travel plunger

Posted in reviews | Tagged cooking schools in sydney, meat cooking, sausage making, sydney butchers | 13 Comments

Follow me down The Rabbit Hole for a giveaway!!

Posted on May 4, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

Tea , if only more cafes and restaurants had great tea. How many times have you been to a restaurant/ cafe and they bring you tea in a lovely looking tea pot with a teabag hanging out the top. Coffee has become an obsession for many. So its time for every cafe to also have good tea!.

I recently met a Singing Teacher and a Fire Fighter, two people who have made this their mission . The Rabbit Hole Tea Bar was born as an on line business and has picked up a good deal of momentum in cafes and restaurants. The business is growing with every satisfied sip of perfumed well brewed tea. On line, anyone, anywhere can buy and enjoy.

“Teabags may be marginally more convenient but what you gain in convenience, you lose in flavour. Nothing compares to tea brewed from full loose leaf, but teabags only have room for the small broken bits left over after the tasty whole leaves have been sifted out.

What’s more, the health and safety of consuming brewed petrochemical based nylon teabags (so-called “silk”) or other teabag materials is questionable and we don’t like to take those kinds of chances with our health or yours. Oh and in case you’re wondering, the carbon footprint of drinking loose leaf tea is substantially lower than drinking teabags. Another reason to un-bag your brew. ” -The Rabbit Hole.

Visit the beautifully designed website for more information on Tea and also which Cafes ( in Sydney and further afield) serve Rabbit Hole Tea…….and how anyone can buy it online……….or how your favoutrite cafe can also serve beautiful Rabbit Hole Tea.

I have 3 packs of tea to give away along with a special travel press above valued at $25.00…………………….Berry Bomb,Ginger Snap and Refresh a Mint all smell incredible and are waiting for someone to brew them up and enjoy

“Be the envy of your fellow commuters with freshly brewed loose leaf tea on the go. This environmentally friendly choice is BPA free and can be filled with the loose leaf tea of your choice, brewed to your exact taste and then plunged for the perfect cuppa.” – The Rabbit Hole

This competition is open to anyone anywhere.

1. To be eligible to enter you must subscribe to My Kitchen Stories via email and leave a comment on this post. If you are already subscribed via email to My Kitchen Stories, just like My Kitchen Stories on facebook and leave a comment on this post .

Entries will be drawn from a hat 16/5/2012……………….Good Luck

In the meantime,

I made a couple of delicious things with these intensely flavoured teas. The first was a Ginger (Snap) Tea Panna cotta with Quinces poached in Ginger Tea with fresh Ginger, crushed Ginger Biscuit Crumbs and jelly made from the Tea poaching liquor.

The other is a Berry Bomb Teacake with Golden raisins. This is the bomb…… the berry flavoured tea soaked into the big fat golden raisins and created the most exceptionally flavoured cake. I slathered it with unsalted butter mixed with a spoon of powdered sugar and some frozen raspberries

Berry Bomb Tea cake with Golden Raisins

300ml boiling water ( 1 1/4 cups)
1 Tablespoon Berry Bomb Rabbit Hole tea
120 gm (a bit less then 4.5 ozes) butter chopped
350 gm golden raisins (3/4 pound)
100 gm brown sugar ( a little under 1/2 cup)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225gm flour ( 2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
2 beaten eggs
vanilla

Brew the tea for 10 minutes to extract the maximum flavour

Strain the tea into a saucepan with butter, sugar , raisins and bicarb. Melt on low, stirring until the butter and sugar has dissolved. Stand till cooled. Mix in eggs, flour and baking powder, until combined . Pour into a loaf tin or a round tube tin and bake at 180C
Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested

Berry butter

125gm softened butter (1 stick)
2 teaspoon powdered sugar
1- 2 Tablsp frozen raspberries ( defrosted)

Mix the ingredients together and serve

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Good Luck and look forward to your entries

www.therabbithole.com.au or on Twitter @rabbitholetea

I have the feeling these would make a great Mothers Day Gift.

Posted in Interesting ingredients, RECIPES | Tagged Berry Tea, Organic Teas on line, Rabbit Hole Tea Bar, Tea Bread | 31 Comments

Beetroot Couscous, Spiced Chicken and Chorizo

Posted on April 29, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

The other night, I was not really making dinner for my Teenager specifically, however he needed to eat and I needed to dream up a recipe. I know that he will accept couscous, but I was pushing the boundaries with this one and he let me know. Apart from being a really great colour I know all of those vego loving readers out there will love this invention…..

And what happened when I called Skater for dinner?>>>>>> Well he took one look at this dish and said. …..

” Why do you have to make me things like this , why cant I just have something I like, like pasta for instance?” After picking over it for a bit, he ate most of it, even the couscous!

The bright red beetroot colour of this couscous will hit all the right notes nutritionally and aesthetically . Use it how you will but I have paired it with spiced Chicken. You could try Lamb or Salmon or with a lovely Tagine. This recipe also uses Preserved Lemons. See here and here for other recipes

Beetroot Couscous with Spiced Chicken and Chorizo- Serves 4 to 5

The chicken is cooked in the sauce and served with the vibrant couscous

2 x 1/4 pieces of preserved lemon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
olive oil
salt and pepper
4 x double chicken breasts

Put the chicken into a bowl with spices and finely chopped preserved lemons, olive oil and seasoning. Leave to marinate 5 minutes to overnight.

Beetroot Couscous

1 cup of minced fresh raw beetroot ( peeled and put through the food processor – approx 1-1/2 beetroots).
1 small onion finely diced
2 tablspn olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 cup of boiling chicken stock
1 cup of couscous

Extra olive oil and salt

Put a saucepan onto medium heat and saute the onion and spices. Add the beetroot and stir till warm. Add the couscous and stock extra salt and olive oil. Take off the heat add a lid and set aside.

Chorizo Sauce

2 chorizos diced
1 small onion sliced
1/2 capsicum sliced
1 clove of garlic
1 cup of chicken stock

Cook the chicken and the sauce

Use a deep saute pan that will fit the chicken and sauce. Saute the sliced onion, chorizo and red pepper in a little oil. Saute until softened but not coloured. Turn up the heat and push the vegetables and sausage to the outside of the frypan. Put the chicken in and brown on one side before flipping, move everything back into the middle and add the stock and a lid and bring back to the boil. Then take off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes. This will steam cook the chicken. Test in the thickest part of the chicken before serving. If it is not cooked, slice off the thickest bit and put back into the sauce till done. Toss some rough chopped parsley or mint into the sauce and serve.
Put the couscous onto plates. Top with the sliced chicken and some sauce. Serve with plain Greek yoghurt

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Posted in Interesting ingredients, RECIPES | Tagged Beetroot, Chorizo, Cooking with Chicken, couscous, Preserved Lemons | 22 Comments

Tuna Cakes with Preserved Lemon and Whipped Feta

Posted on April 24, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

Tuna was a staple of my diet when I was a child, and I don’t mean lovely tuna fillets, I mean canned Tuna….With four girls in the family and my parents both working, cooking was on a roster system. There was a great new product on the market called Risa Riso and my sister embraced this with gusto . Essentially it was a pack of rice shaped pasta with a flavour sachet. Her version included Tuna, peas, onions , carrots , red peppers and of course cheese. It was her speciality and I always think of it when I open a large can of Tuna. This recipe is inspired by and based on one by Karen Martini from Where the heart is. I love the recipes in this book. They are full of perfectly matched flavours, using lots of vegetables . I wanted a more chunky style ‘cake’ rather than fritters she gives the recipe for, and I wanted to incorporate preserved lemon and dukkah. The result is very nice, give it a try.

Tuna , Preserved Lemon Fish Cakes with Whipped Feta makes 12

250gm ( 8 oz) cooked mashed potato cooled
2 x 1/4s preserved lemons, cleaned
2 small eggs
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
425 gm or (just under 1lb) can drained tuna
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 small finely diced Spanish onion

Crumbs

1/4 cup of Dukkah
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups of breadcrumbs ( I used Japanese Panko crumbs)
1 cup of milk beaten with 1 egg
1 cup flour for dusting

Put 1/2 the potato in to a bowl with 3/4 of the drained Tuna (leave the Tuna in lightly broken up chunks , for texture). Add the onion, parsley, paprika and crumbs. In the bowl of the food processor add the preserved lemon, egg and remaining tuna and puree. Combine both of the Tuna mixtures and mix well. Shape into patties and chill for an hour or pop into the freezer for 15 minutes,before crumbing

Mix the dukkah, cumin and crumbs . Flour, egg wash and crumb the cakes and chill to set.

Whipped Feta

200 gm creamy Danish Feta
200 gm ricotta
4 Tablespoons thickened cream

Combine the Feta and Ricotta with the cream in a food processor and whizz until fluffy and combined. This is addictive and perfectly matched to these Tuna cakes.

This beetroot salad made of raw beetroot was a big hit. I have several converts who now make this every week. Use nice fresh firm beetroots they’re sweeter

Beetroot Salad

1 bunch or 3 medium beetroot’s (peeled)
1 bunch of mint picked and chopped roughly
2 Tblspns pomegranate molasses (from middle eastern stores, a very thick sour sweet syrup. If this is unavailable use a balsamic glaze from the supermarket)
2 Tablespoons lemon oil (or olive oil)
1 Tblsp caster sugar ( granulated)
1Tbsp hot water
1/4 tsp sea salt or to taste

Grate the beetroot, and add the mint. In a separate bowl mix the sugar with the hot water to dissolve then add the molasses, oil , salt and till combined. Mix into the beetroot and let stand for several minutes. The combination of the salt and sugar encourage the beetroot to bleed making a very nice dressing…. that is not to be dribbled on clothing!

Deep or shallow fry the cakes till golden. Serve with the beetroot and whipped feta.

For more ideas on how to use preserved lemon see here.

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Posted in Interesting ingredients, RECIPES | Tagged Fish Cakes, Preserved Lemons, Seafood, Tuna, Whipped Feta | 36 Comments

Dukkah Crusted Ocean Trout with Preserved Lemon Mash

Posted on April 19, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

Lets face it sometimes you get all inspired and buy an ingredient and then just don’t use it . Do Preserved Lemons fit into this category for you?. I’ve been playing around with Preserved Lemons to find a couple more interesting recipes other than Tagine with Preserved Lemons………

For now I have a couple of Fish based recipes because we could all do to be inspired to cook fish . Working on interesting recipes for Preserved Lemons brought me to what I love eating with fish…. mashed potato and salad. I came up with the idea to add preserved lemon to the mash and I can tell you that I am very happy with it. It is salty and lemony.. so don’t salt your potato! I have also added some Dukkah just to up the anti. Lets start with the Ocean Trout

Dukkah Crusted Ocean Trout with Preserved Lemon Mash

You will need a side of Ocean Trout or Salmon or the number of serves you would need

Dukkah Crust

1 x 250gm container of sour cream (8.82 oz)
1/2 cup of dukkah
3/4 cup of Panko Japanese beadcrumbs ( or fresh bread crumbs)
2 teaspoons of cummin
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (optional but delicious)
Salt and pepper

Combine the dukkah spices and crumbs mix well. Spread a thin layer of sour cream over the fish ( one side only and thats the top) and dip the fish into the dukkah crumbs. Put onto a tray and put into the fridge till required

Preserved Lemon Mashed Potato- the good bit

500 gm potato(approx 600gm before cooking) (1 1/4 pounds)
2 x 1/4′s of preserved lemons (P.lemons are usually quartered before they are jarred, this recipes calls for 2x 1/4′s or 1/2 a lemon)
30 gm butter (1oz)
150 ml approx milk (5 fl oz)

Boil the peeled and diced potatoes with the preserved lemons (the whole thing pith and squishy fruit bit and all), until tender. Drain and put the whole lot through a ricer ( lemons and all) , add the butter and as much of the milk as needed.

Salsa

1 can drained and washed chickpeas
1-2 large tomatoes evenly diced
2 tablespoons finely diced blanched spanish onion.
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cummin
1/2 bunch of torn mint
1/2 bunch of picked corriander leaves
1/2 bunch rough cut parsley
2 slices jalepano peppers diced
juice of 1/2 a lemon and 2 Tblesp olive oil
salt and pepper

To Cook the Fish

Set the Oven 200 C or 400 F
Heat a fry pan(that will fit into the oven if this is not possible have a tray in the oven ready to transfer the fish into)
Add a little oil to the very hot frypan and add the piece( s) of fish . This will be on the bottom uncrusted side. Sear until it starts to turn opaque(2 minutes), and crispy . Sprinkle with a couple of drops of olive oil onto each fish piece, the uncooked side. (You will not be turning these over they will go straight into the oven to bake). Transfer the whole frypan to the oven for approximately 8 minutes. The crumbs will be starting to brown and the fish just cooked. It doesn’t need to be turned

Serve the fish with the Preserved Lemon Mash and salsa

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Other uses for Preserved Lemons

Add to soup
Add to Indian or Thai style curry to add salt and a spike of acid
Puree and mix into a white sauce to be added to cauliflower bake
Use in couscous with vegetables to give a hit of flavour
Make a tabouli and add some Preserved Lemon
Preserved Lemon mayonnaise
In lemon dressing for things like roast pumpkin salad with goats cheese
Make a salsa and add Preserved lemon serve with fish
Marinate Lamb cutlets in Preserved Lemon with oregano and salt and pepper
Slow cooked Duck with preserved lemon and chorizo
Crispy pork belly with white bean and preserved lemon puree

That should do it…….hope you find a way to use yours. Stay tuned for the next Preserved Lemon recipe.

Posted in Interesting ingredients, RECIPES | Tagged Cooking Ocean Trout, Dinner., Dukkah, Fish, Fish recipes, fluffy mashed potato, Main Courses, Ocean Trout, Preserved Lemons | 27 Comments

Frozen Lemon Mascarpone Meringue

Posted on April 16, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

Being a close ( or crazy family)when I was growing up, we all lived within a small radius of a few houses. My Aunties, Grandmother and Great Grandmother were all within earshot of each other. This came about due to the fact that the area was predominately market gardens when they all settled here from England in the early 1900′s. Nana Dearest…. as she liked to be called was beside us, with her chickens and fruit trees. There was a lemon tree in the yard between our place and my hers, it was a sort of fence in a way. . It was in a thoroughfare, a place you had to walk . If you weren’t walking past then a ball was probably stuck under its fruit filled branches or the cat was up it and needed rescuing. This tree scared the hell out of us, as it was full of stink bugs that flew at us and spayed a toxic smelling spray. My Grandfather prefered not to treat them with chemicals, but was seen on the odd occasion with a pair of tongs, his beekeepers hat and a plastic bag to pick the smelly things off. We knew to stay well clear, as this caused the remaining bugs to try to hurtle towards the swearing man in the hat. my Grandfather got into trouble for swearing around us, but I thought the swearing was better than the chemicals.

The smell of a home grown lemon can take me back to this time with just one sniff…..

This Lemon dessert, I have made only smells of sweet lemon and tastes even better, it is my twist on Lemon Meringue Pie. A frozen Lemon Mascarpone Parfait with Meringue to finish.

This dessert fits perfectly into the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop- April hosted by Jennifer at ledelicieux

SABH is brought to you by your hostesses – Delicieux, 84th & 3rd, The Hungry Australian, Dining With a Stud, and The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader.

Have a look at all the other great entries

: Frozen Lemon Mascarpone Meringue

this is an original recipe however I have based the lemon thins recipe on one from Belinda Jefferys- Mix and Bake

Lemon Thins

1.5 cups plain flour ( 225 gm )
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarb
150 gm unsalted butter ( 1 stick and tablsp)
3/4 cup 165 gm castor sugar
zest of 2 lemons
50 ml lemon juice (1 1/2 Tabsp)
vanilla

1.Mix the flour. baking powder and soda together.

2.Put the softened butter, sugar and zest into the food processor and whizz until white and creamy. Add the eggs and then lemon juice. ( the mixture will curdle).

3.add the dry ingredients and pulse till combined. Pour onto a bench top and roll into a log, wrap and refrigerate till firm. ( the mixture will be quite sticky).

4.Cut into thin disks and bake at 10 for about 10-15 minutes. They expand quite a lot. Cut into the shape of your icecream mould.

Lemon Mascarpone Parfait

250 gm ( 8.8 oz or 1 container) Mascarpone
Zest of 2 lemons ( very finely grated)
1 cup caster sugar ( granulated)
Juice of 2 lemons
250gm (8 fl oz) thickened ( whipping) cream.
4 egg yolks

This is a simple icecream parfait . Its success depends on the beating of the yolks and sugar syrup.

Beat the yolks in an electric mixer until very light in colour, thick and fluffy.
Put the sugar and lemon juice into a sauce pan and melt on low without colouring until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the hot sugar syrup over the yolks a dribble at a time while beating until all incorporated. Beat this mixture till cool.
Put the mascarpone in a separate bowl and whisk in 1/4 of the egg yolks to lighten . Lightly whisk the rest of the yolks into the mascarpone. Don’t overmix
Clean the bowl and beat the cream to soft peak. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture . Pour into a loaf mould or individual moulds.
Freeze overnight.

Meringue

2 egg whites
3/4 cup of sugar
Beat the whites till lightly foamy and white. Gradually start adding the sugar until the meringue is glossy and thick.

To Assemble

First pipe some meringue onto 6 biscuits. Using a blowtorch brown the meringue or pop under a hot grill till coloured.
Put another 6 discs of lemon thins onto a plate. Top with the Lemon Mascarpone parfait, then top with the meringue layer.
Serve this with fruit ( quinces or raspberries or strawberries or with lemon caramel sauce if you can handle more sugar
1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 50 gm of butter. Caramelise the sugar till dark brown, add the lemon juice and cool slightly. Whisk in the butter and cool.

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Thank You Jennifer www.ledelicieux

Posted in RECIPES | Tagged dessets, frozen lemon parfait, Lemon meringue, Lemons, mascarpone parfait | 40 Comments

A Greek Affair

Posted on April 12, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

Last month I did a cooking demo for a Food Safari Tour, called A Greek Odyssey. This is a tour run by Maeve O’Meara from the television show of the same name in Australia. This is one choice in a feast of tours you can join when in Sydney. This tour lets small groups of people look behind the scenes of where Greek food artisans and providores, live, cook and work. I am not Greek but, I wanted to demonstrate some traditional Greek food with a modern twist

I needed to make a dish that was very quick , interesting, that was pretty obviously Greek in nature. I came up with this skewer. It has Quail breast and haloumi marinated in olive oil, lemon and oregano. Almond Skordalia gives it a crunchy base and a punch of garlic and a Greek salad “salsa” completes the picture.

After speaking to Karl Fraser from Game Farm, I decided to use some of their fabulous Quail breasts. There are about 14 or so boned skin on Quail breast fillets in a pack, perfect for skewering or pan searing.

Gourmet Quail Breast Fillets

Game Farm is owned and run by Australians and has been in business now for well over 15 years. What I like about Game Farm is that they continually strive to provide new and interesting products to restaurants and for us in retail, and I have known Karl since he delivered the products himself (enough said) . Check out their website for recipes and products . What about this cute idea the”Quail Tulip”( right) . Legs frenched and prepared skin on. I love quail and the boneless breasts are a very special way to eat it. Karl says , with a laugh that Australians, it seems, would rather peel a prawn than peel a Quail. So they are finding lots of ways to appeal to our lazy nature. You can find lots of their products in Woolworths and speciality poultry stores. We sometimes buy the boned duck Breast fillets to pan sear with five spice and salt and even my teenager likes them!!

So to the Greek dish…… did they like it, did the tiny Greek Salsa work?

Yes I think they liked it.

Grilled, ready to serve Karl Frazer Game Farm’s Quail recipe book

For the Marinade you will need;

1 x 400gm pkt (Game Farm ) Quail Breasts ( if unavailable use chicken thigh fillets)
2 lemons
1 bunch Oregano picked
1 small clove garlic
1/2 to 1 cup olive oil (or Lemon oil, I used Alto)

Put all the Quail into a container Roughly chop oregano. Half and slice 1 lemon and juice the other mix with oil, crushed garlic and add to the Quail. Marinate 1 hour to overnight.

Skordalia- or Greek Garlic Dip

50 gm crustless bread (1-2 slices)
50 ml milk (3 1/2 tbsp)
50 gm almonds ( blanched)(3 1/2 tablsp)
1 x clove garlic
200ml Australian olive oil ( or lemon oil)(1 cup)
juice of 1 lemon or approx 50-60 ml. (4 tblsp)

Put the bread in the milk till soaked, squeeze and set aside. Put the almonds into the food processor and pulse until evenly broken down. Add the bread, garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and puree, adding olive oil in a steady stream until nearly all of it is incorporated. Stop the machine and clean down the sides. Check for seasoning and the consistency of the mix. It should be loose and dippable yet not too runny. The sauce will need to be stirred to reincorporate the oil if it is left for too long. The dip will retain it’s crunchy texture and nutty taste.
Greek Salad Salsa

2 ripe tomatoes, cut into small dice
1 Lebanese cucumber cut into dice the same size as the tomatoes
1/2 Spanish onion, washed ( blanched)
1 Tablsp chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons lemon or olive oil
50 gm chopped Kalamata olives (3 1/2 Tablesp)
Salt and pepper a
juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine the tomato, cucumber, parsley and olives. Chop the onion into fine dice. Put into a bowl and add boiling water sitting for several minutes before draining and refreshing with cold water. This ensures that the onion doesn’t overpower the other ingredients in the dish. As the salsa sits it will be more flavourful , and the tomatoes will form part of the dressing with their juices.
To Serve as a starter

Thread the Quail and the Haloumi onto skewers with a piece of lemon. Oil the grill well then cook in a grill pan or BBQ plate for two minutes each side. Spread some Skordalia onto a plate and put a skewer on top. Put a spoon of Salad salsa on top.

To serve as a canape

Oil and grill some sour dough bread . Cook the Quail breasts till golden, rest then slice in half. Spread some skordalia onto each toast , put a piece of quail on top with some salsa. Serve immediately.

Microformatting by hRecipe.

A list of what stores stock the Quail breast fillets can be obtained directly from Game Farm

Posted in Interesting ingredients, RECIPES | Tagged Game Farm, Gourmet Safaris, Greek salad salsa, Haloumi, Quail | 23 Comments

Easter … chocolate and cafes

Posted on April 9, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

This has been a lovely long Easter weekend in Sydney. If you live somewhere else in the world this was the Easter moon over Bondi.

Thought I might just quickly show you a couple of goodies and some nice places I went to this week

First up …………..

Gingerbread cup cakes find the recipe here. These have lemon royal icing, which is pure icing sugar, eggwhite and lemon juice. Do you think these are Penguins..? I thought they were Easter chicks…but I have been ridiculed for this.

Easter Brownies with Penguins. Get a recipe for Brownies here.

These are Easter eggs filled with Cheesecake and passionfruit (yolks) . I played with the recipe but the original came from Raspberri Cupcakes ( blog, which I love ) get the recipe here.

I visited Fredas. Its a new bar down a side alley in a quiet part of Chippendale ( inner city suburb most unlikely for such a bar). Sydney has experienced a bar explosion. They all mostly seem to have great food and hidden addresses and are packed to the rafters when you find them. See a review here ( Grab Your Fork)

So on to other new places.

Like all cities we have a swing towards restaurants that serve sustainable foods, foods that are grown and produced as locally as possible. There are no shortage of these type of openings.

Kitchen by Mike is one of these

85 Dunning Ave, Rosebery NSW

(02) 9045 0910 www.kitchenbymike.com.au

“Mike” McEnearney was once the chef at Rockpool. The new space is industrial and “self service”. The food is bright and crunchy and clean served on enamel plates. The menu changes daily and can be checked on the website. Some of the offerings are unusually served by the “scoop” There are preserves and fresh vegies on the shelves and plans for hives and herbs in the outdoors area. Its a great concept. I am not too fond of the lining up . This is never a favourite thing for me in restaurants, I’d rather go somewhere with waiters. It makes it hard to carry on a conversation at the communal tables while popping up and down to order at the counter. I am sure that I will not be popular for saying this…. or that I don’t like enamel plates. BUT, you can get a fresh and delicious salad, not any easy thing Have a look…..see a review here ( the unbearable lightness of being hungry).

Next…….. to Bread and Circus in Fountain Street Alexandria. Its hidden in behind Campos Coffee. A delightfully chaotic whole foods haven . The choice of fresh, organic or sustainably gathered foods is inspiring. For a review of Bread and Circus look here

Bread and Circus, 21 Fountain St, Alexandria NSW www.breadandcircus.com.au Have a look………………………….

Next up a completely different lunch in a suburb that really needs an interesting restaurant, Kogarah. Pinos Dolce Vita has a coffee, breakfast and lunch bar that you can induge in while you are buying your meat, and Italian staples or just make a beeline there for some authentic Italian food..

The new Kitchen and Cooking School

But now back to Easter. The fun of the hunt……..

Lunch Iggys bread, Petuna Ocean Trout, La Parisienne pate and My Kitchen Stories pickled carrot

Comte, Tourree de L’Aubier, Holy Goat Skyla, Roquefort and Petite Basque………..

Pickled Carrot with pate…………. find the recipe for pickled carrot here.

And then there was the matter of some odd anarchy in Camperdown

Hope you spent time with some family and friends this Easter

Posted in RECIPES, reviews | Tagged bread and circus, brownies, Kitchen by mike, Pinos dolce vita fine foods | 21 Comments

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tarts

Posted on April 2, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

The first time I tried this mousse-y chocolate tart filling I was very happy, because I new I had found a recipe I would use for a long time. ( that was at least 10 years ago) It is a lightly cooked version of a chocolate tart that can be eaten warm if you can’t wait. This recipe involves three steps. I have been asked by a number of people to post it as, I think they enjoyed eating them. Even , Skater ( teenager) likes these chocolate tarts which is a minor miracle in itself .

When my teenager was about 5 or 6 he asked me what I did when I went to work. I told him that I was making desserts for people and he wanted to know if there was anything made with chocolate. I asked if he would like me to bring him home a piece of chocolate tart and he eagerly agreed. The next day I sat him at the table with his little knife and fork and a big piece of chocolate tart. He dived in taking a chunk and rolling it around in his mouth, once he had finished his mouthful he asked me how much people paid for a slice of this dessert. I thought that he was really clever asking this and informed him that the cost was around $15.00. He looked at me in horror and then said he wouldn’t even pay $2.00 for it. I was shocked … the little smarty pants! This is not the tart that he rejected by the way…

Chocolate Caramel Tarts

: This recipe will make 12- 18 tarts, depending on the size of your tins

Chocolate Pastry. This recipe makes quite a large amount of pastry. Cut it in 1/2 and freeze for next time . It is delicate to work with but it is the most beautiful pastry.

250 icing sugar(8.8oz)(powdered sugar)
30 gm cocoa powder, unsweetened (1/4 cup)
450 soft butter (15.87oz)
3 eggs (70gm, large)
100gm almond meal ( 1/2 cup)
780 gm plain flour ( 1.720lb)

Beat the butter and powdered sugar until light. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the sifted flour and cocoa and mix till just combined. Turn on to a bench and push together into a disk. This pastry is very soft and needs to be chilled till firm. Take it out of the fridge and leave till just softening. You will need to work quickly and flour the bench well. Alternatively use baking paper to help roll it out thinly as possible. If holes form it can be pushed together to cover, but do this well, over lapping and keeping it chilled and thin. Roll out, lining 12 – 18 small or 6 medium individual tart tins ( yes you can make 1 medium sized one). Rest again in the refrigerator 15 minutes. Blind bake till golden. Cool .

Salted Caramel

250gm caster sugar(superfine)8.8oz
100ml thickened (heavy) cream (3.4oz)
150gm(5.28oz)unsalted butter chilled cubed
1-1.5 teaspoon flaked sea salt
2 Tablespoons water mixed with 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Put the sugar into a heavy saucepan along with the water and lemon juice. Swirl the pan to coat the sugar completely. ( try not to stir the sugar, it will encourage crystalization). Put the pan onto medium heat and watch, only swirling occasionally until it starts to colour. Watch it carefully from here. Let it get deep dark golden brown then take off the heat. Carefully add the cream and whisk to combine. The cream will bubble up, before subsiding . Be very careful of the steam and the heat in the sugar syrup. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and whisk to combine. Now add the butter a few cubes at a time, whisking it into the caramel. Once all of the butter is incorporated test for salt again. It will take up to another 1/2 a teaspoon but add to your taste. Put into a container and cool. (best straight from the fridge for this recipe).

Chocolate Mousse Mixture

150gm(5.28oz) dark chocolate 50-70 %
100gm(3.5oz) unsalted butter chopped
1 egg
1 yolk
60gm(2.11oz)caster (superfine) sugar

Melt the butter and chocolate together and set aside while you beat yolk, egg and sugar till light and creamy ( I use the stand mixer). This lightness gives the mixture its moussey lightness so beat it till white and fluffy. Fold the two mixtures together till combined.

To finish and cook

Put a 1/2 teaspoon of ( chilled)caramel into the bottom of each tart case, spreading well. Spoon chocolate mousse onto each tart till 3/4 full.
Put the tarts onto a tray and bake at 160 ( 320 F) degrees for 10-12 minutes. The tarts should still be soft .
Cool and dust with cocoa and place a 1/2 marshmallow on top.

Microformatting by hRecipe.

This recipe will make 10 times more caramel than you need. Use it with icecream, mixed with cream for cake fillings, drizzled over a warm cake or as a glaze over hot fruit and frangipane tarts.

Do you have a favourite chocolate recipe or a very fussy child?

Posted in RECIPES | Tagged Chocolate Baking, Chocolate Tart, easter desserts, Salted Caramel, Sweet Tarts | 46 Comments

Organic Bread Bar

Posted on March 29, 2012 by My Kitchen Stories

Bread is one of the things that I find very hard to resist. The homely smell of the browning crust and the crack and crackle of the knife sawing through it to the soft interior. There are few better things in life than cutting into a warm loaf and slathering it with a salty creamy butter. This is exactly what I did on Monday after discovering The Organic Bread Bar on South Dowling Street in Paddington, Sydney.

Andreas Rost the Master Baker and owner of this little bakery, was there kneading the wholemeal dough while I was talking to him. It is an unusual Bakery, walk in the door and there you are inside the bakery with the bakers. It feels a little strange at first, you are not quite sure whether you should be there staring, you cant help it if you are at all curious about bread making. Andreas is a gentle charming man, and you soon find that you are questioning him………and being very nosey ( was this only me?) After travelling back home to Germany he returned in 2007, hoping to found his own Bakery, it took him 3 years to find the space and during this time he worked in Organic bakeries in Sydney. He grew up on a farm where his Mother made everything they ate including bread every day. At 15 he was a very good bread maker. Every day he makes a little more bread then worries that he will have too much left over and every day he sells it all. He has now been open for 6 months.

The surroundings are simple , cause it is all about the bread. He is visibly chuffed with his little space with the gleaming deck oven and BIG mixer, brought from Stuttgart. He says that this old girlie makes a beautiful dough as it mixes at a slow even speed, and he even turns her on to show me. As the big old engine rumbles to a start and the dough hook winds around the bowl he stands there looking down smiling at it.

The secret of good bread he says is not only technique but also the quality and taste of the flour used. He buys nutty tasting organic flour. When he has a chance to have a day off he will start to think about sparking up the wood fired oven. This will be one of the first true woodfired bakeries in Sydney.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of his work, along with his two fledgling bakers , who he says excell in there own ways at different things. The coffee is good ( and organic). There are lovely teas, filled sandwiches, spelt scones and flavoured foccacia. Try the pretzels, chocolate biscuits or cupcakes or have a perfect hot cross bun for Easter.