Kaffir Lime & Pepper Marinated Beef Salad

Tried this Cambodian inspired dish from Delicious magazine.

Wonderful fresh clean flavours with a bit of "zing" to clean the palate. The quantities are for 4-6 servings, however it only fed 3 of my ravenous brood!!

 Ingredients 

• 500g sirloin steak                                                     
• 100ml lime juice (freshly squeezed, of course!)
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup grated palm sugar
• 1 lemon grass stem (inner core only) grated
• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1 small red chilli finely chopped
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 2 eschalots, thinly sliced
• 2tbs peanuts, roasted, chopped
• 1 tbs sunflower oil
• 1 bunch radish, thinly sliced
• 1 cup beans sprouts, ends trimmed
• 1 bunch mint, leaves picked
• 1/2 bunch basil, leaves picked
• 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

Method

Place beef in freezer for 20 minutes until firm. Very thinly slice and set aside.

Meanwhile, place lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, lemongrass, garlic and 1 tsp ground black pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Pour half the dressing over the beef, then cover and set aside to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Combine the remaining dressing with chilli, fish sauce, eschalot, half the peanuts and 2 tbs water. Set aside

Heat chargrill pan over high heat. Drain beef and pat dry with paper towel, then toss with oil. In batches cook beef for 1 minute on each side or until cooked through.

Toss beef with radish, bean sprouts, mint, basil and remaining dressing to combine, then transfer to serving plates. Garnish with remaining peanuts and serve.

Yum!

Cutlets



Pizza Dough

This pizza dough differs from others because it does not require a long rising time, but still makes a delicious base.

Ingredients

1 kg strong baker's flour or 000 flour
10 g salt 
10 g sugar 
20 g dry yeast or 40 g fresh yeast 
660 mls cold water 

Method

Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

Make a well in the centre. 

Slowly add only 600ml of the water into the well-never add warm water, it activates the yeast too quickly

Gently incorporate the wet and dry ingredients by gently moving the water into the 
flour mixture.  This will take 3-4 minutes. 

The remaining 50-60 ml of water is only added if required, depends on the nature 

of the flour. 

Place dough on a floured benchtop. 

Kneading the dough develops the gluten strains in the flour. 

If 1 kg of dough is too difficult to manage, divide in half and work in

 two batches. 

Press down and away from your body turning the ball of dough

clockwise. 

After 10 minutes you should have a smooth ball.

Don't skimp on the kneading time, use it as a meditative time or 

take out the frustrations of your day as you push the dough around.

It should have a smooth skin and 

feel like plastic.  Add extra flour if needed.

Divide the dough into individual balls for pizza.  

1kg of mixture can make eight 200g pizzas.  

Create round balls by using the palms of your hands to cup the dough.  

Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel  to stop a crust forming. 

Let them rise for 10 - 15 minutes. 
Using a rolling pin, evenly roll out each of the balls of dough.

Place on a preheated pizza stone or pizza tray and add favourite

toppings.

Cook in a preheated oven 200 degrees for 15 -20 minutes until base

 is crisp and topping golden.

Share with family or friends

Mama Marmalade

Toffee Nut Slice

This nut slice is inspired by Belinda Jeffrey's and is perfect to freeze so you can have a delicious sweet treat in the time it takes to defrost.

 Ingredients

2 cups (300g) plain flour
1/2 cup firmly packed (100g) brown sugar or if you want to be a little more healthy use rapadura sugar (available from health stores)
180g chilled butter

Pecan or Macadamia Topping 

125g unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) firmly packed brown or rapadura sugar
1/3 cup (4 tbsp) honey
11/2 tps pure thin cream
250g pecans (sliced lengthways) or macadamia pieces
11/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.  Grease and line a 4cm x 21cm x 30cm slice pan with baking paper, making the paper extend over the sides.  This will make it easier to remove the slice from the tin when cooked.

Whiz the flour, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor for 15 seconds.  Add butter and process until mixture resembles damp sand.
Tip into pan and pat out evenly over the base to smooth out.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Start to make topping when base is nearly ready.
Melt the cubed butter over a medium heat.  Add sugar, honey, cream and 1/4 tsp of salt, stir for 2 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.  Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium low and stir for one minute.  Stir in pecans/macadamias and vanilla.  Remove from the heat.

Remove base from the oven and cool for 1-2 minutes, then spread warm nut mixture evenly over the top.
Bake for 16-18 minutes or until topping is bubbling and deep golden in colour.  Place the pan on a rack to cool completely.

Using a hot knife loosen the edges of the slice and lever the whole slab out onto a board.
Slice into pieces.  Store the slice layered between baking paper in an airtight container, will last up to 5 days in a cool spot, maybe even the fridge in summer.

Mama Marmalade

Chicken and Feta Sausage Rolls

Chicken and Feta Sausage Rolls 

These rolls are inspired by a David 

Herbert recipe and are very addictive.   

As I usually seem to do, I added extra pinches 

of this and that. Also, I have 

successfully frozen half a batch ready 

to bake the following week – which 

were just as delicious and disappeared 

in nano seconds!  (witness Wilbur’s 

hovering greedy fingers in the photo!)

Allow 20 mins preparation,   30 mins pastry resting time    and approx. 20 mins baking time.

Ingredients

Makes approx 36 mini rolls.   (6 long rolls cut into 6 portions each – as in photo)

500 gram chicken mince.   Good quality – needs to be meaty, not watery.  (Lilydale is good)

1 small red onion – chopped

Grated zest of 1 lemon 

Good handful of baby spinach leaves – roughly chopped - about 4 tablespoons

2 slices of multigrain bread       (when later processed will yield 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs)

½  teaspoon dried chilli flakes    (this is not too hot, but omit if you dislike chilli)

150 gram firm feta crumbled    (Use the firm type, not the smooth, or it will lack texture)

Rosemary - fresh if possible -    about 1 teaspoon of fresh leaves chopped

Parsley    3 – 4 sprigs chopped  (Wilbur mistook my chervil for parsley –also turned out YUM)

Salt and Pepper - to your taste

3 sheets ready rolled Butter Puff Pastry – just thawed  - but do not allow to soften too much or will be gloopy and droopy and difficult to work with when rolling.  Thaws  very quickly.

Leave blue plastic on pastry sheet – for time being – aids with moving  pastry sheets about
Cut each sheet in half, so you will have 6 rectangles in total

Pampas brand is fine – use Non-butter type if you are avoiding butter

1 egg, beaten:    this is for brushing the pastry prior to baking

Optional – sesame seeds, either white or black – to sprinkle on top prior to baking the rolls

Method

Quick and easy using a food processor - but pulse only – do not mush to oozy mess. 

If mixing by hand, chop ingredients and mix well to combine in a large mixing bowl.

Whichever way the mix is prepared, ingredients need to be uniformly distributed through the mixture but not processed to mush.   It is good to see some texture and specks of green.

Preheat oven to 220 Celsius – NB - do this during the 30 min resting rolls time (see below). 

Your oven must be very hot before adding trays of rolls.

Prepare 3 medium-large oven trays. (Tiny edges or rolls won’t brown).  Line with bakepaper.

Place bread slices in food processer and pulse til crumbs

Add onion – pulse til onion finely chopped. You don’t want to bite into chunky onions

Add the mince, herbs, lemon zest, spinach, crumbled feta, spices, S&P – very brief pulses.

You just want it just to be mixed and combined – be careful not to over-process.

Divide the mixture into 6 equal balls.  

Use single use gloves if you like, or have your hands a little bit damp to mix so it won’t stick so much.   Make each ball into a long sausage shape tube.

Place sausage mixture tube onto the pastry - long-ways - about 2 cms from the edge of pastry. Fill to the ends.

Do 1 complete roll first to trial method - if you find there is not enough mix for 6 then do 5.

(Hope you find my fancy illustration below useful for how to place the XXXXX mixture)

Eggy wash xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Brush along edge (marked as ‘egg’) with some of the beaten egg on each pastry sheet.

Flip the long non-egged 2cm pastry edge up and on top of part of the meat roll (XXXXX).

LOOSEN the blue pastry plastic away from the pastry, - clean fingernails –

but keep the roll sitting on the plastic – will make cutting easier later.

Continue to roll the pastry towards the top edge.

Lightly brush pastry again, if needed, so both will stick together well. The eggy edge will now be able to seal down onto your roll and form a full sausage roll. 

The seam will be on the base of the final cooked roll.

Press gently to ensure pastry has sealed. But do not flatten.  Should look like a plump roll.

(If the pastry is getting a little soft at any stage, just pop the long rolls onto a tray and put in fridge for 5 mins –no more-  to firm up a bit. Will make cutting into smaller rolls easier).

With rolls still on the blue pastry plastic - Cut each long roll into 6 smaller sausage rolls. 

Now remove each cut portion off the blue pastry plastic.

Place sealed edge down onto prepared trays.  Do not crowd the tray.

Brush tops with remaining beaten egg.          

Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Chill in fridge for 30 minutes on the prepared trays. 

If planning to freeze – refer to option at end of recipe.

Remove from fridge.         

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Will depend on your oven.

Make sure you have removed the blue pastry plastic – Do not cook it onto the rolls (Ugh)

Check at 15 minutes – maybe rotate trays to ensure tops will all be crispy and golden.

Serve warm or hot with variety of sauces

Option:

If you decide to make 3 longer length rolls from each long tube instead of cutting into 6 mini rolls, you will need to prick tops with a fork a couple of times to release air during baking, and slightly increase cooking time by 5 – 10 minutes extra.  Again – depends on your oven.

Freezing option:

Place a tray of fully prepared uncooked rolls inside a large freezer bag.  Freeze overnight.  Once frozen, remove rolls from tray. Carefully bag up the rolls to store in freezer and have ready to cook later.  Hide them.

To cook from frozen: 

Allow rolls to partially thaw. 

Bake as usual (see above) -  but add  5 – 10 more minutes baking time.

Tested and approved by Wilbur                                                                   

                                                                                                                              

                                                                   Enjoy – Colleen

Jenny's Biscuits

Anytime you need a plate to share at a function or the kids need something sweet in their lunch box, then this quick and easy recipe is just what you need.  And the best part is "no creaming butter and sugar".  Not sure if it is only me, but sometimes that is a little too much fuss if you are frazzled already!

Ingredients

125g melted butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1   1/2 cups  self raising flour
Coconut approx 1 cup

Method

Combine first four ingredients in a bowl.
Roll a teaspoonful of mixture into a small bowl.
Roll in coconut.

Place on a greased oven tray and lightly press down with a fork.

Bake at 180 degrees c for 10-15 minutes until lightly gollden.

Cool on a wire rack.

Why are they called Jenny's biscuits?
Because 22 years ago Jenny bought a plate of biscuits to a mother's morning tea.


Mama Marmalade

Chai Panna Cotta

If you love Panna cotta and the spicy flavours of Chai Lattes

then this is the perfect dessert for you.  It is a Luke Mangan 

recipe that I love to make.    

I did include it in my Diner en Blanc menu, but would not do

so again as I forgot to keep it in the bottom section of the 

esky all night and by adding a little extra gelatine, it did not 

keep firm but tasted a little grainy.  

Although, it still disappeared very quickly.                             

If you want a more subtle taste, then use less cloves, ginger

and star anise.

Also, Luke Mangan strains the mixture after adding the 

gelatine. I strain it before and again after adding the gelatine 

because I find that works better and is easier for me.

I will post the strawberries and syrup recipe soon … …

                                                 

 Ingredients  (this will make 2 large Bodum and 3 small Bodum pots – large pictured, although I usually just serve it in the small Bodums, which makes about 6 small - you are welcome to double the ingredients if you need to make more)

1 vanilla pod    or     1 teaspoon of the Pure Vanilla paste

1 cinnamon quill, roughly broken

4 cloves 

3 black peppercorns

3 green cardamom pods crushed     or    2  1/2 gram (1/2  teaspoon) ground cardamom

2.5 gram (1/2  teaspoon)  fennel seeds (whole)

1 x 3 cm knob ginger, peeled and chopped

5 gram (1 teaspoon) allspice

3 star anise

8  gram (1/2  tablespoon or  2 teaspoons) English Breakfast Tea leaves

1/3 cup castor sugar

1 ½ cups milk  (375 mls)

And

1 cup chilled and whipped cream

3 gelatine leaves – soaked in cool water      or     2 ½ teaspoon gelatine powder dissolved well in a little of the liquid, 

just warmed so it is no longer grainy, before adding to the main dish

Method

In medium size saucepan, add the milk, spices, tea and sugar.

Bring to a very gentle simmer for 10 minutes – do not boil

Take off the heat and strain out the spices

Stir in the pre-soaked gelatine or the prepared gelatine powder

Mix well and allow to cool a little.  Strain again into a large bowl.

Fold the whipped cream through the spiced milk.

Carefully spoon into cups  or serving dishes.

Chill in the fridge - preferably overnight.

Options

Serve with strawberries in spiced syrup or spiced biscuit fingers or extra spiced whipped cream

                                                                                                                                                Enjoy!  Colleen

Diner en Blanc Brisbane - Special Report!

Decked out in our sparkling white ensembles, with white chairs, tables and picnic baskets prepared, our group was transported by bus to our mystery location. We were part of the lucky 1,000 who celebrated the First Australian Diner en Blanc - held at Southbank Brisbane near QPAC and the Wheel on Saturday night 1 September 2012. The first Spring Night. This was a community-driven event designed to encourage people to gather with anticipation, meet new friends and combine energies to create a unique, special occasion.

And what an amazing night it was!           

                               

The weather was perfect and the full moon obliged by gleaming silvery white in the clear sky above. We enjoyed great company and chatted with the lovely couples dining nearby.  Everyone entered into the spirit of the evening. There were some very inspirational table settings (I even saw a replica of the Taj Mahal and birdcages filled with flowers) white balloons, white wigs, white top hats and of course white Kayne West sunglasses.

Diner en Blanc's traditions were followed on the night. We brought our provisions and took everything with us when we left.  White napkins were waved skyward to signal the commencement of the festivities and later we released our inner child as we waved lit sparklers to create a twinkling sea of lights.  There were various singers performing during the night and they drew the energetic onto the dance floor.  White art installations and lighting displays were dotted throughout the attendees.  

All too soon, the clock dictated that it was time for us to disappear into the night, like a thousand Cinderellas and Cinderfellas. 

  

The night would not have been possible without the dedication of so many volunteers.  I would like to thank them for all their efforts because they worked so hard, prior to and during the event, to ensure we had a wonderful evening - it was indeed all white on the night.

And -                (I will post these Recipes soon!)

    

      Menu    Diner En Blanc     Brisbane 2012

Entrée

Tart of Goat’s Cheese, Roasted Tomatoes and Fine Herbs

with Snow Pea parcels of Smoked Salmon and Aioli

Main Course

Succulent Chicken Breast with Creamy Garlic Herbs, Toasted Pinenuts and Baby Spinach Leaves rolled in Crisp Prosciutto

Served with Crisp Tossed Greens and sauce of Caramelised onions

Dessert

Chai Latte Panna Cotta with berries and figs in aromatic spiced syrup with Macadamia crunch

Cheese Platter

Selection of King Island Cheeses, Figs, Strawberries, Decadent Chocolate Truffles and Rosewater Turkish Delight

Coffee or Tea
                           Bon Appetit    - Colleen                       

Angels and Devils on Horseback

                               
These tasty little morsels will astound your guests.......         

• Bacon rashers ( or prosciutto if you want to be more up to date)
• 1 grated granny smith apple
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 3/4 grated ceddar cheese
• 1 free range egg
• pepper
• enough fresh breadcrumbs to bind the mixture

Cut bacon rashers in half. Combine breadcrumbs with apple, chives, cheese, lightly beaten egg and pepper, mix well.
Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into sausage shapes about 4cm long, wrap in a piece of bacon and secure with toothpick. Place on wire rack over baking dish and bake in moderate oven for about 20 minutes.
E mangia!

Cutlets

I Can't believe it's Corned Beef! - My Posh Spiced Corned Beef.

Posh spiced Corned Beef

If the words ‘Corned Beef’ remind you of pink slices of meat served with white parsley sauce, then you are in for a flavour surprise! I found this recipe in the Courier Mail newspaper. At first it seems to involve a lot of hours but mostly it is allowing the beef to simmer happily - so it is my kind of cooking!

I thought this would be a really handy recipe for nights when you want to serve a hot roast style dinner, but due to time constraints, worry the meat might not be cooked through.  This is perfect as the corned beef is pre-cooked during the simmering stage and you just need to heat it through and baste regularly to achieve a rich glaze that doubles as the sauce.  Maybe this could be served instead of traditional baked ham for those awkward years when Christmas falls mid-working week. The rich orange-cloves sauce gives it that hint of Christmas spice!

I would suggest a dash of pre-dinner planning though. 

Do steps 1, 2 and the Sauce Preparation the day before - so all that’s left is baking the beef and cooking the accompanying vegetables, salads etc. 

Preparation: 20 minutes then 2 hours soaking. Followed by 1 hour simmering. So allow 3 and a half hours.

Final Cooking: 10 minutes preparation for final cooking then 1 hour in oven.

Ingredients to simmer the Beef.  Spices are a guide, if you are not a Fan of Cloves - only use a few.

1.5 kg to 1.7 kg piece of Corned silverside – not too fatty

2 medium carrots – chopped

2 stalks celery – chopped and include the leaves (whole) if you like

1 onion – chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon honey

20 (6 + 14 for later) whole cloves – depends on your taste preference – I use more as I love the flavour

Water for simmering

Ingredients for the Sauce.  Below are measurements for one batch of the basting / sauce.

I would recommend preparing a second batch to simmer/reduce on the stove as certain diners in my family drizzled it over their beef and potatoes and still went back for seconds – yummy sauce!

100 ml - freshly squeezed orange juice or good quality commercial brand.  Needs a fresh flavour

100g    -  brown sugar

2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard.   Recipe called for 1 tablespoon, but too strong for me.

1 to 2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper.    Start with less; adjust to your taste during basting.

Step 1.

            You need a deep ‘stockpot’ type of pan with a lid (clear - toughened glass lid if possible) for step 1. 
            The same pan and lid will be re-used for step 2.

Rinse your piece of Corned Silverside under the tap.

Place the meat in the pan and fill with fresh cool water to cover the meat.  Cover pan with lid.

Allow to soak (no heating) for 2 hours.  This helps reduce the saltiness. 

Remove meat and allow to drain. Empty pan and rinse the pan ready to re-use for Step 2.

Step 2.

Place meat, carrots, celery, onion, cinnamon, honey and 6 of the cloves in the pan. (more if wanted)

Add fresh cool water so the meat is covered by the liquid.  The meat may rise to the top, so at this stage I put an old bread and butter size crockery plate on top of the meat to keep it under the water.  Again, this depends on your preference. 

Bring to gentle boil then reduce to simmer. Lid on. I like to use a toughened glass lid to easily check the beef is always covered by the cooking liquid. If needed, top up with more water to keep covered during simmer.

Simmer for 2 hours.

Then remove the beef from pan, allow to cool then wrap in alfoil or similar and refrigerate overnight.

Step 3  -   Sauce preparation

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl / jug. This will be the basting sauce for the meat.

If you are preparing a second batch to simmer/reduce on the stove, you will need a second helping of the listed ingredients to place in a saucepan, and then simmer them on the stove until reduced to a thick sauce.

Step 4  -  Baking the Corned Beef with Basting Sauce.

Remove the meat from fridge preferably 30 min – 1 hour prior to baking, so meat is not 'fridge cold' when placed in the oven.

Preheat oven to 180 C. 

Stud the piece of meat with the 14 remaining cloves.  (or a few more / less - if you like)

Place the meat in a roasting pan, a bit bigger than the meat allowing for the sauce as well.

Cover the meat with the sauce and place the pan in the oven.  Cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Regularly baste the meat (every 10 mins) with the pan juices to develop the rich sticky glaze.

Remove from oven. Rest in a warm place for 5 minutes (the meat, I mean!). 

Slice and serve with the saved pan sauce and if desired, stove-simmered sauce.

Serve with whatever you prefer – roasted potatoes, pumpkin or steamed potatoes and vegies. 

Or salads. Everything will taste delicious and I would be surprised if any sauce was left over!

Enjoy!         Colleen

Chilli Con Carne – Quick, quick, slow

Chilli Con Carne 
– Quick, quick, slow                      

Make it quick for a hearty one pot dinner  

or 

Simmer slowly to fully develop the rich flavours

Inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe adding

Ideas from other wonderful cookbooks

Serves 6           

(prep time: 10 minutes.  
Cooking:   20 minutes for quick.     1 hour for slow)

2 onions               – finely chopped                  1 x 400g tin Chickpeas               – drained and rinsed well

2 cloves garlic     -  finely chopped                 1 x 400g tin Red Kidney Beans  - drained and rinsed well

2 carrots              -  quartered and sliced        2 x 400g tins Chopped Tomatoes  (maybe a tin of water*)

2 sticks celery     -  sliced                                  500g lean mince

2 red capsicums -  sliced and diced                1 small bunch coriander, or at least a few leaves parsley

Olive oil –   (Australian)                                  ½  tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (dash more if you like)

Spices  - 1 heaped teaspoon each of              Frozen peas, and/or corn kernels

-        Chilli powder                                           

-        Ground cumin                         Serve with:         

-        Ground coriander                            Basmati rice

-        Ground cinnamon                             Greek yoghurt with shredded coriander

-        Smoky paprika                                  Guacamole – mashed avocado & lime juice

Adjust spice measurements to your taste                Lime - sliced
Salt and Pepper to your taste.                                                      

Method:

In a wide stove-top pan (preferably at least 7 cm deep)

Heat a splash of olive oil then add onion and garlic, stirring til soft.

Add the spices, a little salt and pepper and heat til fragrant and onions are golden.

Stir in the carrots, celery, capsicums on a medium heat

Then the mince – using a wooden spoon to break up any lumps and brown the meat well.

Add the chickpeas and red kidney beans and stir well

Then add both the chopped tomatoes.

Simmer on a low-medium heat – a gentle bubbling simmer

If you are making this for a quick dinner  –   simmer without a lid  and   do NOT  add any extra liquid.

*If slow cooked - put the lid on slightly askew, add an extra tin of water* into the mix and stir gently

When it starts to thicken slightly, add the frozen peas and corn and finely chopped coriander stalks

Add the balsamic vinegar and stir in well.

Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.               Chilli Con Carne should be thick but not dried out.

Top with coriander leaves.  Ladle into bowls and serve with the prepared yoghurt, limes and guacamole.

Enjoy!   Colleen