Luck of the Irish!

Last night I found myself home alone. OH has gone intertstate for a family emergency. So armed with some lamb I needed to use and my trusty AWW Cookbook, I decided that on a cold blustery winter's night (hello what happened to spring!?) I would make myself some Irish Stew. Keeping in mind I don't love lamb so I was a bit hesitant going into this dish, but the end result was absolutely delicious. I only cooked with fresh thyme for the first time on the weekend and I had to use it in this dish too, you can really notice it and it adds so much flavour, I am now a fresh herb convert!



Irish Stew

500g diced lamb - the recipe actually said 1kg of lamb neck chops but that was pushing it a bit for me.
2 carrots
1 large parsnip (bout 350g)
1kg potatoes
2 onions
2 sprigs thyme
1 tbspn worcestershire
2 tbspns tomato paste
3.5 cups beef stock

Preheat oven to 170C
Dice all your vegetables, I left mine chunky because it's a rustic homestyle stew.
Layer vegetables and lamb in a heavy based casserole dish and cover with liquids.
Place stew in the oven with lid on for 90 mins, checking every half hour. It is ready to serve when the lamb is tender and the vegies are cooked.

All it really needed was a crusty fresh bread roll to mop up the sauce....but seeing as I have another 3 nights of it, I have plenty of time to try it!

As I am writing this I have just got some cheese and vegemite scrolls out of the oven and I'm waiting for some pineapple jelly cakes to finish baking...but more on those tomorrow!

I'm off to try some pole dancing to keep warm, it's actually snowing here!

Em x

The Master of Many Cookbooks!

Typical Tuesday night shenanigans....last night we headed down to Mum and Dad's for tea and as usual got kicked out of the kitchen pretty quickly! One thing I noticed though was that Mum was working out of about 3 differenty cookbooks and whatever she was making was gonna knock our socks off....and you know what, I was right!

There was a flurry of pots and pans and cheeses and bowls and the end result looked something like this


It consisted of a Roast Tomato on Goats Cheese, Portobello Mushrooms with Garlic, Fetta and Balsamic and Creamy Polenta...but believe you me, this does not do justice however to the meal that was served up. The goats cheese was velvety smooth, the mushrooms were roasted with garlic and topped with fetta and balsamic vinegar and served on a bed of wilted spinach and the polenta was cooked with milk and a tub of philadelphia herb and garlic cream cheese making it creamy and tasty. It was a fantastic combination of flavours and would also make a very decadent brekkie too!

Roast Tomatoes on Goats Cheese
4 Roma Tomatoes
2 tbspns Olive Oil
200g Goats Cheese

Drizzle tomatoes with oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in a medium hot oven for 10-15 mins. Serve tomatoes on a bed of crushed goats cheese. This would also be lovely served with some pita bread lightly toasted in the oven.

Portobello Mushrooms with Garlic, Fetta and Balsamic
8 x Portobello Mushrooms
2 x cloves of garlic thinly sliced
Olive Oil
Butter
1 x bag baby spinach
100g Fetta
Balsamic

Pre-heat oven to 200C and add mushrooms to a roasting dish. Drizzle with oil and top with garlic. Roast for 15-20mins
Meanwhile wilt spinach and butter in a fry pan. Spoon onto serving plates and top with mushrooms.
Sprinkle with crumbled fetta and balsamic vinegar.

Creamy Polenta
1.5 cups skim milk
2 cups water
1 cup polenta
125g Philadelphia spreadable garlic and herb

Boil milk and water to the boil on the stove and reduce heat to low.
Add polenta and stir constantly until thick.
Stir in philadelphia (you can also add 1/4 cup parmesan here if you wish) and serve.

But that's not all! If you thought the main was great, wait till you see the dessert...


That my friends is a Cream Cheese Panna Cotta....and it was freakin awesome.

You need:

300ml light cooking cream
1/4 c caster sugar
1 tbspn vanilla essence
1 block of philadelphia cheese
1 tspn gelatine dissolved in 1 tbsnpn hot water
And some Irish Cream liquer

Heat cream, sugar and vanilla over medium heat until sugar has dissolved.
Beat philadelphia until smooth, add cream and gelatine.
Add 1 tbspn of liquer into bottom of serving glasses.
Top with cream cheese mixture and refrigerate for 3-4 hrs or until set.

I prefer to mix the liquer through the mix before eating but each to their own! Would also be delicious with berry sauce, black coffee, caramel or fruit puree instead of liquer.

Fan-freakin-tastic night, good food, great company!

And just before I go, a picture of our ridiculous dessert the other night, brandy snap baskets with chocolate custard, whipped cream and strawberries...mmmmmmmm

The weekend that was....

It is a sunny Monday morning here and whilst it was a hectic weekend, it was a good one.

On Friday night I continued the birthday celebrations (it is important to stretch them out for as long as possible) by having dinner at Customs House, which is a local pub down on Hobart's waterfront, with a group of friends. The atmosphere was great with big fires keeping the restaurnt warm and the meals were really well priced, not to mention they were massive! It was a great night catching up with friends, some I haven't seen for ages and seeing as it was such a diverse group of people that didn't really know each other, they all got along really well! I had the Apricot Butter Chicken and it came out with rice and pappadums and was delicious! We even finished the night off with a few shots and you know I had one with one of my oldest friends from school and one with OH and I was pretty happy, but not over the top you know? Did I mention it was a great night?! Yesterday I had a play around with photoshop and I really like the way this photo turned out, could be one for the wall!


And seeing as neither of us woke up feeling worse for wear the next morning, OH and I decided to load the ute up and go fishing up the coast for the day. We stopped at a bakery at Triabunna on the way up and they had the biggest chocolate eclairs I have ever seen, so of course OH got on to try and when I had a bite I could barely fit my mouth around it! But it was so very good....Anyway, we spent a few hours fishing off a pier in Swansea with no luck, but we didn't mind because it was a beautiful spot. Later in the afternoon we headed back down the coast and stopped at Orford to try our luck there and wouldn't you know it...


It was a little whiting and we did our happy dance around the jetty, took some photos and then threw him back....but unfortunately I think he warned all the other fish because he was our only catch of the day. But seeing as we had finally caught a fish and had had a really nice day together I promised to cook OH the biggest steak I could find for dinner with home made pepper sauce - as seen in my new AWW cookbook!

We picked up all the ingredients on the way home and I set about cooking the steaks and making the sauce. I was a bit nervous because it was basically cream and white wine with some celery, onion, peppercorns and thyme. I have never cooked with wine or thyme before but the end result was delicious. The thyme really balanced out the wine and it reduced down to a nice thick creamy sauce. I had a big plate of boiled vegies for tea and spooned some over that, but OH had his with some porterhouse and home made potato chips (I wanted to try the new food processor too!)


We decided to have a quiet day on Sunday, which in my mind screams BAKING! I also wanted to try my new cookie cutters and mixer so I set about making some gingerbread. Several months ago, Mum, Dad, OH and I found a business called Biskart (www.biskart.com.au) who make and sell cookie cutters. But not like your every day circles and squares....they do everything! And for my birthday I was lucky enough to get a selection of some of my favourites.




I really like the bats...and yes OH pointed out I decorated the skull upside down...we have since fixed that! Oh and I love the shoe too! And the excavator! OH is most pleased because now he won't get heart shaped biscuits in his lunches...well not all the time anyway!

I spent the rest of yesterday lying in my bean bag, drinking tea, eating gingerbread and reading Eat Pray Love...it's a fantastic book and very inspirational.

Hope you all had a great weekend !

Em x

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Yep...yesterday it was the big quarter of a century....and as much as I love birthdays because of the way my family celebrates them, I was not looking forward to this one. 25, half way to 50, quarter of a century, where did all the time go!? What have I achieved and accomplished? All these things have been racing through my mind for the last few weeks, but you know yesterday none of it mattered. I had a fantastic day with OH and my parents and I think days like that are what it's all about really - why worry about the past or the future when you could be making the most of the present?

So to explain, birthdays in our family are a full day event, everyone has the day off and we spent the whole day - breakfast to dessert - together if it is your birthday then everyone else plans the day and you are kept in the dark. It's fantastic and as a kid I always thought birthdays felt like public holidays, like the whole state should be off work because the days just felt so special. It is a tradition I will definetly be bringing my kids up with.

So the day started with breakfast at Mum and Dad's, Mum had made the most delicious choc-vanilla cupcakes and brought me some cupcake cookbooks to go with it!


Then we went to Brookfield Vineyard to look at this model village. It was so detailed and the whole thing took 12 years to make and was done by a guy who had polio, it's unreal to see. And the whole place was filled with collections of things like cows or shoes or piggy banks, and they had a gorgeous gift shop and cafe...we will definetly return the next time we have a sunny Sunday arvo to fill in!

This was followed by a journey up the Shot Tower....which funnily enough was first opened on the 8th of Sept : ) It is 157 ft tall and you walk up this flimsy spiral stair case to get to the top, it's a little nerve wracking but the view is spectacular and well worth it!


Next stop was the Taroona Lounge Bar for lunch. I had stuffed eggplant which was delicious...although I was a little jealous of the humongous vegetarian pizza Mum and Dad got!


This is Mum, me and OH : )


My Mum and Dad


Then it was onto the Casino for some cocktails...what birthday would not be complete without cocktails!!


And back to Mum and Dad's for presents...I got thoroughly spoilt, lots of cookbooks, novels, the sweetest tea pot and cup, some babushka measuring cups (how cute are they!) and a new Mixmaster and Food Processor!




Then it was off home for some time with OH. He brought me a beautiful locket (something I have always wanted) and some riding gear for when we take the quad bike out....sexy huh?


But apparently there was so no rest for the wickid so after a quick spin around the paddock on the bike we got changed into our swankiest clothes and it was off out for tea. OH suprised me by taking me to a restaurant I have been dying to try for ages. It's called Pashas and is turkish but they have alot of vegetarian stuff on the menu. My god was it good. OH had prawns for the entree and he got 16 prawns!! I had bread and dips and the dips were delicious, carrot and yoghurt, cucumber and yoghurt, hommus, eggplant, zucchini, all served with steaming hot fresh pide...mmmmmmm...but if we thought that was good, then out came the mains! OH got two massive pieces of salmon, crusted in herbs and spices and served with a buttered rice. I had a vegie stack, which was described as eggplant, zucchini, sweet potato and capsicum roasted and topped with a tomato sauce and yoghurt - that description did not prepare me for the huge plate of vegies I received, I couldn't finish them all but my god I wanted to! One of the best meals I have had for a very long time and my new favourite restaurant!



And then it was home for one final suprise.....a heart shaped strawberry ice cream cake...with 25 candles mind you, it was lucky the cake didn't melt from the heat!


I couldn't have asked for a better day and I am very greatful to Mum, Dad and OH for putting it all together.

Em x

Round One Votes Are In!!

We sat down last night, all hyped up to try our first round of wedding cupcakes...despite being in the fridge for 2 days they were still light and fluffy and soft. When we cut them open the swirl had gone through them beautifully. The problem was that the cream cheese frosting and the buttercream frosting were both delicious...so this is where it got technical...whilst the cream cheese icing was yummy, the cream cheese taste kind of over-rode the raspberry in the cupcakes, also the cream cheese frosting kind of comes out a creamy colour coz of the butter but I need a white frosting...and the vanilla buttercream frosting was easier to work with and it really brings out the vanilla flavour in the cake and compliments the raspberry I think, only problem being you have to be careful not to get any raspberry crumbs in your frosting or it goes pink! So our vote went to the buttercream whereas Mum and Dad's went to the cream cheese on taste, but the buttercream on practicality....who said they get two votes!? OH and I are having them for dessert again tonight, no judging, no delicate tastings, just plain old eating delicious cupcakes!!

And the winner is PKT MIX with BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

The cupcakes that made me do a happy dance : )

Several months ago amidst a minor tantrum over the quote for our wedding cupcakes, I decided that I would make them myself. I mean how hard could it be? And this was before the cupcake revolution of late that saw them being mass produced in our kitchen! I can't say anyone bar me was too thrilled with this choice, OH thought it would stress me out, Mum wasn't sure it was possible and thought it was alot to take on, the confidence votes were high, but I had decided and that was all there was to it. Stubborn much?! The order of the day was for Vanilla Cupcakes with a Raspberry Swirl and Buttercream frosting. However, I was informed that this would require several trials:

Packet mix raspberry swirl cakes with packet buttercream frosting
Packet mix raspberry swirl cakes with home made buttercream frosting
Packet mix raspberry swirl cakes with home made cream cheese frosting
Home made raspberry swirl cakes with packet buttercream frosting
Home made raspberry swirl cakes with home made buttercream frosting
Home made raspberry swirl cakes with home made cream cheese frosting

.....do you see my dilema.....so this weekend I decided to make a start. I made the packet mix raspberry swirl cakes and was slightly concerned at the swirling part because until recently, this is not something I have mastered. But these were super easy to swirl and the mixture sitting in the lil cupcake pans looked so freakin cool I called OH in to come check it out, did a bit of squealing and several happy dance laps of the kitchen...then decided I really should put them in the oven. I waited patiently and holy hell when they came out of the oven, I squealed, I giggled, I danced a lil jig and then I ran outside to get OH...slightly over excited I know, but check them out!


It was a shame to cover those gorgeous marbled cupcakes with frosting really....but half got the buttercream treatment and half got the cream cheese frosting treatment...and I couldn't be bothered making fresh buttercream frosting, but I promise I will for the fresh cake trials. The finished products were divided up and sent off to OH's Mum, my parents and of course us...and now we are just waiting for the votes to come in! We are going to try ours tonight, I am nervous, but really can't wait to cut into them and see if that swirl goes all the way through and really just to see how they taste. Despite the fact that everyone thinks I'm mad, I am looking forward to making our wedding cupcakes, it will give me something to do the day before the wedding and keep me occupied so I don't sit around and stress about things.

Next on my baking list was a request from OH which I found slightly odd, but he was adamant....so what can you do, you know the Strawberries and Cream jelly cupcakes from the other week? Well OH thought they would be great with Lime jelly and a lemon cream cheese frosting...lime cupcakes just don't sound appealing to me, but I made them and was slightly disappointed they didn't come out green! OH is doing the taste test today so fingers crossed...I'll let you know! EDIT: OH has informed me they were brilliant, the lime gave them a 'zing' and the lemon cream cheese frosting was the perfect match, so thrilled to here it coz I was worried about them!

And finally I have been reading about these cake balls everywhere lately. They are on my list for the next few weeks, but I went for a variation this weekend...

Oreo Truffles
2 pkts oreo smushed as much as you can
1 block cream cheese...maybe two...
Chocolate melts

Combine your oreos crumbs and cream cheese until you get a thick consistency that looks like a big dough ball.
Shape into balls and place in the fridge to set overnight or at least for a few hours
When that is done, melt your chocolate (best to do in batches so it doesn't set)
Place one ball on a fork and then spoon chocolate over it. Place back on baking tray lined with baking paper. Once they are all done put them in the fridge to set.

Now that is the proper recipe...I used two pkts of oreos, about a cup of the cream cheese frosting I had made for the cupcakes and 1 pkt of Nestle milk melts. This worked out well, but I think I added too much frosting as I didn't quite have the thick dough ball consistency, but they could still be moulded into something that resembled a ball...EDIT: OH came home from work and told me these were spot on too, no need to change quantities he says, although I may have over-coated them, but I can't help that I get excited when there is melted chocolate around!

Before chocolate coating

And after...


Nom nom nom....I think the fact I lost half of my bowl of mixture to OH before I got the chance to roll them up says it all...Stay tuned for when we try it the cake balls next week!!

Tonight I am getting out our new wizz bang casserole dish and attempting a Plum Lamb Casserole...OH has been singing plum jam lamb for about 2 days now...it's driving me nuts! Anyway, attempting that tonight and putting our cupcakes to the vote...

Happy Monday!!

Em x

How I love couscous!!!

I have said it before and I'll say it again, I am a huge couscous fan, cold in salads or with some roast vegies, hot with any number of additions, I just love the texture and the consistency and the flavour of it. And upon noticing we had large amounts in the cupboard at home I decided thats what we were having for dinner last night. But first I decided to look up what it actually is, so here we go: Couscous is made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour. Learn something very day huh!

Anyway, last night I raided the vegie drawer and the fridge and came up with this recipe which was lip smackingly delicious to the point where the leftovers may have disappeared....however I also think this recipe would be equally good if you replaced the chicken with a handful of roast pumpkin too.

Chicken and Vegie Moroccan CousCous
180g chicken breast diced
1 zucchini diced
1 capsicum diced
1 x punnet cherry tomatoes halved
2 x 125g tins of corn drained
1 cup of couscous
1 stock cube
1.25 cups of water
Moroccan Seasoning

In a fry pan over medium heat cook your chicken and then add zucchini and capsicum.
After 4-5 mins add tomatoes and corn and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and moroccan seasoning.
Meanwhile in a saucepan over medium heat combine water and stock cube and bring to the boil. Add couscous and stir till liquid has absorbed...you might want to take it off the heat now because unless you stir constantly it tends to blow up....lesson learnt the hard way.
Stir couscous through the vegie and chicken mix. Continue stirring for 2-3 mins until couscous has softened.
Serve and enjoy!


And remember I said we got that swanky new casserole pot thingy...here it is!


And here are the lamb shanks we made in it....OH said they were spectacular.


And here are the bread rolls we made all by ourselves in the oven, excuse the fact we have been nibbling on some of them...they were not rock solid (we were concerned), they were soft and warm and delicious...and about 2 seconds after this photo was taken they were being used to mop up the sauce from the lamb shanks and they ceased to exist...so much for making them for OH's lunches this week! I think they will definetly become a regular event though, I have a hankering to try them with fresh pumpkin soup and with butter and fresh home made jam....although we may need some sort of guard / system so we don't eat them all straight out of the oven again!



*sigh* well I am off to curl up on the couch with a book and a big mug of Creme Brulee tea (caramel and vanilla...mmmmmmm)

Em xx