A Feast with Old friends...

I really love roses.... there is something very perfectly sweet about them... this breed above is called Flamingo hybrid tea roses - we got them from the rose farm and this blossomed in my very own garden!

Had a cosy dinner with some old friends last night - combined with good food, plenty of laughter and weird jokes and moments, it was a great way to end the weekend! The theme was Italian.. so we had lasagne, cheesecake, and even started to celebrate Christmas in July with Turkey, yum yum!


This was caesar salad - the full works! I pan fried chicken tenderloins which was lighted marinated with salt and cracked pepper and white wine, pan fry till golden in colour. Then with the remaining oil in pan, pan fry bacon strips (I used short cut bacon, has less fat!). Keep this warm in the oven whilst you prepare the rest. Anyway, basically it's caesar dressing, cos lettuce, hard boiled eggs and parmesan cheese! Although, I feel this isn't exactly cooking as I didnt really make anything from scratch, there is something really nice about presenting something green on the dinner table! And honestly, for a proper caesar salad, you must use fresh chicken and bacon - personally I prefer to buy the bacon rashes and slice them rather than the bacon bits from the bottle (eww!) or even the diced bacon bits from the deli... use fresh whenever possible! It's so worth it!



I made bruchetta (spelling?!) for entrees... there is something very healthy and refreshing about it... and to make things a little different, I used an olive bread instead of a sourdough... not bad :)


Photography wasn't so good last night - we just wanted to dive into the food! This is an eggplant pasta... it does taste better than it sounds!!! Really nice for a vegetarian pasta... to be honest, Im apprehensive about vegetarian stuff... ie I hardly ever will order a vegetarian dish, I feel a dish needs to have meat or seafood... if it's just veggies it should be an "extra" or a side dish... however, really this eggplant pasta can be quite the winner! I threw in some chilli flakes for extra kick!



Mocha tarts! This was the most work! I made this on Saturday night! But there is nothing as satisfying as baking or cooking something from it's raw form! I made the pastry from scratch, and I wont bore you with the details, it was fun for quite awhile... it is a bit like play dough, except you get to eat the end result! The filling was a rich chocolate and coffee mixture which you bake... this is totally baked... my friends liked it, so that made it all very worth while!

Hope you had a very happy weekend too!

Tagged by Joey Poey!!!

Okay, Im not sure how exactly this works... so I hope Im playing by the "Tag Rules"...

The rules:
1) The person tagged has to write 7 facts about themselves, along with a copy of the rules.
2) The chosen one then needs to tag 7 others and make a note of whom they’ve chosen as the next ‘taggees’ on their blog.
3) And finally? Leave a comment for those that they’ve tagged, giving them a heads up to read their blog and find out what it’s all about.

Liz's Facts!...
1) I read my cookbooks on the way to work, before I sleep, whenever I have a moment ... :) I'm always thinking about what to cook, how to cook that particular dish or a dish I have read... I started cooking at about 8 or was it 10 years old.. I remember helping my aunt make sushi

2) I was a Barbie doll fanatic, and I think I owned about 13 barbies... and sadly, only 1 ken - I wanted a barbie house too but I never got one... :P

3) I played the piano till Grade 6, the flute for awhile and was born in London, UK. I have been abseilng, flying fox, canoeing, white water rafting, what's the other one where you use a compass... some navigation thing, believe it or not, I have actually done these things! :P

4) When people try to scare me, I often scare them back with screaming back in fright louder than their "boo!" (often though, I have about a 3sec delay lag... ie "Boo" silence than "AHHHH")

5) I always wanted to be the youngest in the family - my sister says it's not that fun though! Hmmm... :P I also wanted to be a doctor :)

6) I too thought the idea of wearing glasses were very cool (like Joey Poey) but totally regret it now!!!

7) I love peppermint - I love peppermint chocs, milkshake, ice-cream and once at camp, we stayed up talking at night and I managed to just lick away at the toothpaste... much to the disgust of my friends!

Friends to Tag (that havent been tagged before!):
1) Thomas
2) Seng
3) Gerard
4) Edwina
5) Jason
6) Steph!
7) Shona & Jimmy

Those who have a blog, post it on your blog and those who don't have a blog, email it to me :)

A Family Feast!

Hello hello! How was your weekend? Mine was great!!! Baked a chocolate cake on Friday night with my friend - it was actually a pretty good recipe (sorry no pics... I forgot!) - the chocolate sponge was real TASTY! How do you describe it... when you taste the cake, you FULLY taste the chocolate... you know how sometimes it's like half the taste, and before you finish it, it seems like the taste did not fully develop, and you wonder whether it was a chocolate cake you just ate? Well this wasn't that type of cake, it was really chocolatey, yet not too sweet, light and perfect texture for a creation I am already thinking of! The icing was simply melted dark chocolate with thickened cream... this is heaven!!! (btw - use Cadbury's dark cooking chocolate, it has 60% cocoa solids and I think much much better than the Nestle brand...)


On Sunday, my family came to my place for a Sunday dinner - cooked by me!!! So the menu was brushetta, spaghetti marinara, Spanish Tasty Roast Chicken (this is actually the name... I didnt name it!) and for dessert chocolate souffles with thickened cream drizzled on the top! :)

I used fresh roma tomatos, get rid of the core and seeds, toss with purple onions, fresh basil, season to your liking, olive oil and basil :) We used a thick type of bread... I forget the name... either ciabatta or a sourdough would be good!





Okay, not the most flattering picture of the chicken, but yes you basically stuff the chicken with a hot lemon that you have pierced... boil the lemon with the potatos in a pot for about 5mins... the different ingredients used here besides the whole lemon, is this italian dressing which is italian parsley, lemon zest and garlic - which you throw over the chicken once cooked :)


I have never made souffles before... so had NO IDEA what to expect... but they turned out really yummy... think a warm chocolate mousse... this must be perfect for Winter :) The ultimate comfort food and also something to eat when you're happy as well. I imagine it must be nice to tuck into this warm full of chocolate type pudding when you are not feeling the best! Yet, on good days, this also goes down real well. Souffles deflate real fast! So basically once baked, serve straight to guests! It also deflates once you microwave them (as I found out tonite!) - but the taste is not at all stolen... :) Still there, still comforting... worry about the calories another day... there is always tomorrow....

Hope you had a happy weekend!!!


p.s. Exciting weekend of food will be coming up.............. stay tuned! :)

Old fashioned goodies...

Amongst all the fancy food that we can create, eat and imagine these days, the different varieties of panna cotta, fancy names we call simple food, the mix of east and west, different types of sauces for pastas, and food for every person's desire, there is always going to be a soft spot for the old fashioned goodies... so we're back to basics today... and may I present you the very reliable chocolate chip muffins and banana and cinnamon bread.

Sometimes, and to sound very sentimental, it's the good old fashioned things, that last... that suit every person's palette... who can ever find fault with a chocolate chip muffin or banana bread? Okay, unless you really dislike those ingredients... but let me tell you, even if you dislike chocolate or banana, you will love the aromas that fill your kitchen when you bake these babies! I am not kidding... it's unexplainable... it's like you feel so comfortable, so homely and for me, very excited that my kitchen, was filled with the good old fashioned aromas. Whilst I have to admit that these muffins (From Nigella Lawson) were not the best - I have to tweak it for next time round - you honestly cannot help but smile when you take them out of the oven. Too bad for my kids next time, they will never be allowed to eat a store-bought muffin!!!



Why do I love banana bread? I just do! I have a soft spot for them... when I saw the recipe I couldnt wait to try it out! Let me describe this...now, these were extremely heavenly.... the whole living and kitchen area was embedded and showered with the aroma of bananas... my kitchen smelled like a bakery... I think what I love about cooking and baking is that it makes the house a home, the kitchen more than just a storehouse of pots and pans, but just totally alive!

When I was in Sydney last year for work, there was this small cafe at the bottom of the building next to mine that made EXCELLENT banana bread... and honestly it is the best I have tasted... in between toast and a moist bananan cake... they toasted it and spread it with a thin layer of butter... I looked forward to work each morning, knowing there was going to be banana bread and a cup of coffee :)

Whilst my banana bread last night was more like a cake, it was still very good, just not bread like enough.. although I'm going to tweak it to suit my taste buds, like my brother reckoned it could do with bananas (Im not sure it is possible! It seems saturated enough!), and I added a bit of milk due to my paranoia of dry cakes, and I think the sugar could be decreased.... and perhaps I would just put a couple of pinches less cinnamon, this was good... Best served as a thick slice! Im not sure the picture actually captures this, but whilst not as good as the Sydney one, it was certainly not bad!

Friday Dinner Review

It's often much easier to go out for take away, go out for dinner, especially on a Friday night. However, we decided that we could still have that style but less most of the effort. So whilst, what follows is all mainly purchased, I thought it was still worth a review to see how we can definitely spice up a dinner quickly - just to celebrate the beginning of a weekend!



Above - Mason's Rose Sparkling Grape Juice @ $2.97 per bottle, this easily filled 6 glasses. You can taste the tinge of rose at the end of the sip. Bonus, it was pink!

Rose Breed is "Peace" - a tinge of pink highlights the tips of this rose. It is one of the largest roses I have seen! From my garden :)

I love this black rectangular platter and dip bowl from Alex Liddy (Myer) - Dip was the Wattle Valley "Grilled Eggplant, Parmesan and Cashew Dip" - not bad, but I prefer the capsicum version, the cheese flavour was a little strong, but definitely one of the better dips avail as you can definitely feel the dip... :)

King Island Double Brie Cheese - man this is good!!! :)

Crackers and cucumber - the usual :)

Smoked salmon - who can resist! Try this with the Brie cheese and crackers... yuuummm....


Leonards has some good marinated chicken... we wanted the Tandoori chicken but they ran out, so tried their portugal marinated chicken, which is about $3.75 for half... we had about 4 pieces here... and it's really quite quick in the oven and browned really well and crispy too!

I baked the potatos, to quicken the process, microwave and then toss with oil, cracked pepper and salt and chuck it in the oven! Do this with some pumpkin too!


Now, this was really the star of the night! A strawberry flan from Jean Claude Pattiserie. It's on Rokeby Road, Subiaco and it is a tiny shop, that often has lines outside it (must be a marketing ploy! The shop is so small - packed with bread and of course therefore people have to line up outside!) - honestly, they have one of the best strawberry tarts. It definitely does not come cheaply, but definitely worth a taste... or two!

Breakfast by the Beach... in Trigg....

... the perfect way to start the weekend! A few of us decided to start the long Foundation Weekend with something different! Breakfast by the Trigg Beach @ 930am on Saturday! We found this humble cafe called Bennison Street Cafe on West Coast Drive or Hwy, Trigg! Trigg is one of the famous Northern Beaches, and it really is so beautiful, as the pictures below will show...

Breakfast is one of those meals that seem like a luxury, although we have been told is really a neccessity! But once you actually manage to pull yourself out of bed and sit down to a scrumptous breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or a refreshing juice, you wonder why you don't do this every weekend!!!

The Beach Breakfast - with Scrambled Eggs $15.90

Eggs Benedict... $15.90

New York Style Bagel! $14.90
This was filled with Smoked Salmon, scrambled eggs and spinach :)

Beach Breakfast with Eggs, Sunnyside Up! $15.90

Vegetarian Beach Breakfast with Poached Eggs ... $15.90

3 Egg Omelette $14.90
Filled with Ham I think!

Happy to finally eat... I made them wait for me to take photos of their food before they could eat it! Thanks guys!!! :)

Happy moments... after a filled stomach, we decided to walk across the road to appreciate the view... where the ocean was before us...

The Breakfast Club... where shall we patronise next?! :)

The Green Pancake and Shanghai Dumplings!

So as previously mentioned in my below post, I went cooking crazy! This green pancake is called "Kueh Dada" - not sure exactly what it's origins are! But basically it is a coconut, pandan flavoured pancake that you cook - make sure it is fairly thin and wrap it up with some fresh coconut that has been cooked with this brown sugar called Gula Malaka. It's really nice, very rich and not for the faint hearted! :)




I love Shanghai Dumplings - must be the combination of the grated ginger, chinese wine (otherwise known as Shaoxing cooking wine), sesame oil and the soya sauces - all mixed up with minced pork and chives and/or spring onion! Leave to marinate for awhile, and then wrap it up with either storebought or home made pastry. I actually made the pastry here - because well, if I can, I like to make things from scratch which at times is hard - ie curry pastes etc which require 101 ingredients, a pounder and other stuff! Hahaha! But here, all you need is flour and water, hands and patience :)

This pastry turned out sticky - so please make sure if you're not using gloves, wash your hands thoroughly before handling. Once made, let it sit for awhile and I still found it sticky, so use flour to make it easier to handle and roll it into a "log" and cut into slices which you then roll out using a floured rolling pin. Wrap the minced meat in it, lightly oil a non-stick frying pan, and lay down the Shanghai dumplings and you'll hear the satisfying sounds of a soft sizzle, add water for more sizzle, cover, which acts as a steamer till the pastry turns colour - it would originally be white as dough is, which when cooked turns to a light translucent colour... not exactly clear, but perhaps more like cooked wanton skin colour! :)

Serve with vinegar and thinly sliced ginger! YUM!

p.s. There is an art to folding these dumplings - mine looked a little odd... more like mini curry puffs I thought! :P Practice makes perfect I guess! :)

The Cookie Barrel!

I literally went kitchen crazy this long weekend! I was in this total baking and cooking mode and wanted to bake anything and everything! :) I think I wanted to take advantage of the full long weekend and totally inspired with all my recipe books that constantly stare at me :) I even read them in the car on the way to work!

Okay, the samples for the Cookie Barrel were Custard Hearts and Melting Moments with Passionfruit cream :) I have never made these before and only ever eaten Melting Moments store bought!

Cookies are pretty to look at and nice to nimble on, but they are time consuming! But satisfying once completed! I baked the cookies on Sat night and used my heart cutters to get the heart shape, and a cake tester to make the little dots on the hearts :) They do indeed look better with the dots :) Almost like cross stitch!



On Sunday, I made the 2 different creams and sandwiched them together. Okay, Im not much into the use of icing sugar and think it's just sweet and well just sweet! But I have changed my mind. The passionfruit cream, although sweet (made of icing sugar, butter and passionfruit pulp) was really quite pleasant, there was definitely a twist with the passionfruit.

The custard cream was a DREAM! I honestly cannot explain how I feel about the texture of the cream... I know, I sound bizarre, who ever gets passionate over cookie cream? This isn't your usual whipped cream, but really like the cream between your Arnold's biscuits. It was beautifully smooth, a very golden yellow custard colour and OH! just really nice :) Tasted okay too!

I have actually yet to try the custard heart cookies, but I did try the Melting moments which used Self raising flour - and when they say Self raising flour, they also mean self expanding flour. This was not just a moment, but a GIANT moment :) Came out larger than I expected, but yes it really does melt in your mouth and definitely deserves a "Fragile" sticker :)

Happy Happy Birthday!

Last weekend was my friend's Birthday, so we celebrated her birthday for her! Birthdays are a perfect opportunity to get together and let us say, last weekend was a very memorable birthday! We had plenty of food, which I dont have pictures for, but here is a picture of the cake that I baked and my Mum and I decorated! :)

The cake is Nigella's Chocolate Malteser Cake - but I decided to change it a bit and just used the cake but different decoration. There are 3 layers to the cake, filled with fresh cream and fresh strawberries, each layer of cake brushed with Baileys and to top it off, more fresh cream and crushed almonds for the side. Decorated with Strawberries and Maltesers! YUM!

Spaghetti Marinara!

This has to be one of my favourite pastas of all times.... simple, yet totally tasty and yet pretty healthy! Spaghetti Marinara! I cooked dinner for my friend last night, and was thinking of a fast, no-meat dish that would not be entirely boring and yet totally yummy to make!

I cheated and bought pre-cut up and already prepared marinara mix (this one was bought from our local gourmet grocers called Limes, in Melville) - this one was great, full of REAL seafood, rather than all the cocktail stuff which doesnt necessary taste much like seafood.

So here it goes.............

• Boil spaghetti whilst you cook the marinara sauce
  
• Heat some oil up in a deep pan
• When warm, fry with chopped garlic (I really do recommend the fresh garlic - one, it doesnt "spit" at you as much when frying and tastes just so much better than the bottled ones) till slightly brown - then fry the seafood.
• Okay, if you were to prepare the seafood yourself without any marinate, just marinate it with fresh parsley and garlic and perhaps some salt
• Dont overcook the seafood as you will be cooking it off again later
• When 80-90% cooked, take the seafood out and place it aside
• Now in the same pan, toss in canned tomatos and add salt, pepper to taste and also a couple of tablespoon of tomato paste - I find this just makes the sauce so much richer and tastier!
• Last night I added in a little water, but for an even richer sauce, dont add water and if you need more liquid, add more chopped canned tomatos
• Chuck in fresh basil
• Then toss in the already cooked seafood, together with any remaining "juice" and simmer for a few mins to ensure seafood is cooked through and also warmed up
• Lastly, toss in some spinach for your vegetable intake!

Honestly, it only takes about 30mins and you have a lovely, fresh and tasty healthy meal! :)