Posts tagged recipes

1 Tequila, 2 Tequila, 3 Tequila, 4!

Review 3 Comments

While on a Mexican food bend, Sean and I decided to head over to Tequila’s On Main at Rouse Hill for dinner. We decided that we would order an entrée and a main course to share, as we were already eyeing Baskin Robbins nearby for dessert as we were ordering dinner. hehe.

Our entrée was the Mexican Potatoe Skins ($16.50) (pictured above) with chilli con carne. The potatoes were soft and fluffly, and the whole combination was a very appetizing one. It seemed a little odd that the potatoes really only filled half the plate, and a very large lettuce leaf was spread out over the other half, but Sean and I realizes that there was a decent amount of potatoes, just that they were piled over each other!

For our main, we ordered the Fajita ($22.50 per head). You have a choice of beef, chicken, lamb or pork as your main meat, and Sean and I chose beef and pork. The pork was absolutely delightful – tender, juicy morsels sent a burst of flavour with every bite. The chilli, carrot and mushroom did not go awry either – they were just gently warmed through to release their flavour, and diligently soaked up all the juices the meat left in its wake.

To go with the Fajitas, they served a platter of sides. There were lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, guacamola, salsa, and not to forget, the wraps. To be honest, while the sides went really well with the main and made us feel like we’ve got our money’s worth, it really wasn’t needed, since the sizzling hotplate had its own bountiful mounds for us to plough through.

It’s all good though – you’d never hear me complaining that there’s too much food given!

And to sooth our tingling palates, Sean ordered up some Sangria. Now this is the only time that Sean will drink wine, so I’m guessing that it’s pretty good. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to alcohol, and can’t really go past one sip. Hence…

I would like to present you with a recipe for Virgin Sangria!

Tammi’s Virgin Sangria (an original recipe)

2L grape juice
2 navel oranges
2 tart apples
1.5 lemons

Firstly, pour yourself a good cup of grape juice – you need the space in the bottle to place the fruit in. Chop up the fruit – I cut them into wedges before slicing them, the smaller you go, the faster the flavours meld.

Chuck the fruit into the bottle in this order – apples, oranges, lemons. The reason for this is that the apples are 25% air, and will float. By forcing them to the bottom, it’ll allow the flavours of the apple to mix in with everything else, rather than just floating at the top.

Give the bottle a good shake, and leave at room temperature for 2 nights. (You can leave it in the fridge, but then you’ll have to leave it a little longer.) Give the bottle a good shake every so often.

And tada! Virgin Sangria! It’s quite a bit sweeter than the real thing, but you’ll find that as you get to the bottom of the bottle, the rinds in the citrus fruit give a slightly bitter aftertaste that mimicks wine. To me, at least. =)

We ate at:

Tequila’s On Main
Shop GR082 Main Street,
Rouse Hill Town Centre
Rouse Hill 2155
Tel: 9629 5055

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She Don’t Use Jelly

Recipe 6 Comments

Well, actually I do! =) I am absolutely addicted to Jelly Slice, and this easy recipe is my new favourite thing to make. It’s a cheap option and always a great hit at a party!!

Jelly Slice Recipe:

85g Jelly Crystals
395g can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 tsp Gelatine
Juice of 1 lemon
50g butter
Biscuits (I used Milk Arrowroot)

Crush the biscuits for the biscuit base. How many biscuits you use  depends on how thick you’d like the base to be. I used about 7 biscuits for the tin that I used. Melt the butter, and mix that in with the crushed biscuits. It should look like wet sand.

Press the biscuit into the tin and place the tin into the fridge while you make the other layers.

Use about 1/4 cup of boiling water to dissolve the gelatine. Once that’s done, add the lemon juice and the condensed milk. Pour that onto the biscuit base and leave to set in the fridge.

Once the condensed milk layer is set, mix up the packet of jelly crystals with 1 cup of boiling water. Leave to cool to about room temperature, then carefully pour that into the tin and leave in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.

Cut up the slice and serve!! Absolutely great for a hot summer’s day. =) 

The gift of food!

Recipe 5 Comments

My friend Mel once commented that I show people I love them by feeding them. And that’s absolutely true. I love giving food away, and I love putting in effort to tailor it to people’s individual tastes. =) So this year, I made sauces to give away at Christmas! First up, the easiest Raspberry Jam ever!

Raspberry Jam:

1.5 kg raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1.5 kg sugar
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Sterilize your jars how you wish. I wash them thoroughly in hot water, before placing them on a tray in a cold oven and setting the oven to 110C (without fan).

Soften the raspberries in a large pot over low heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, put four little saucers in the freezer. Once the berries get going, add the lemon juice.

Once the berries have softened to your liking, add the sugar. Now this is the important bit. Bring it up to the boil and cook the jam, stirring often. DO NOT WALK AWAY, IT WILL BURN. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. :S

Skim off any scum that comes up to the surface with a slotted spoon or a mesh skimmer.

The jam will start to thicken after about 15 – 20 min and this is the point that you start testing for ‘wrinkling’. Take the pot briefly off the heat and spoon a tablespoonful of jam onto a frozen saucer. Place it back in the freezer for 30 sec. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the surface of the jam wrinkles and you can draw a clear line through it, then your jam is done!!

Ladle very careful (it is VERY hot) into sterilized jars and seal. Leave to cool.

1.5 kg of berries yields slightly under 1kg of jam.

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Next, homemade Tomato Sauce!

Tomato Sauce

2.5 kg of ripe tomatoes (get the best that you can find)
2.5 cups cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp whole peppercorns
2 tbsp cloves
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp smokey paprika
3 cloves garlic
1 med onion, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
0.5 cup gin/vodka (optional)

Sterilize jars. (See Raspberry Jam recipe)

Roughly chop up the tomatoes and place in a large pot. Place the vinegar in and cook over low-med heat, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, place the cloves and the peppercorn in a piece of muslin and tie with string. Submerge this in the mixture in the pot.

After the tomatoes start to soften, put the rest of the ingredients in and bring to the boil. Then simmer and reduce the sauce slightly. When you are happy with the taste of the sauce, take the spice pouch out. Keep reducing the sauce till you get a thick-ish, lumpy mixture. Take the pot off the heat. Many recipes now tell you to strain out the sauce, but why would you waste all that goodness??? I use a stick blender and carefully blend all the ingredients into a smooth sauce.

Return to the heat bring back to the boil. Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and let cool overnight.

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And finally…

Barbecue Sauce

Tomato Sauce
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Brown Sugar
Soy Sauce
Chillies
Pepper
Rum (optional)

Sterilize jars. (See Raspberry Jam recipe)

Put all the ingredients into a pot (I used the remainder from my tomato sauce. The amount of each depends on your personal taste.) and reduce to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.

Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and let cool overnight.

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Et voila! Three bottles of love to give to your family and friends. And there are plenty of things to gift these with – cheese, barbecue spice mix, an apron…or turn up to a barbecue bearing these and I’m sure they’ll be a hit! Or make Jam Drops with the jam and gift those instead! So many ideas, and so much love. =)

Merry (belated) Christmas everyone, and a happy new year!

On the Sunny Side of the Street

Recipe 2 Comments

It’s less than a week to Christmas!! In honour of making something festive, I decided that a sunny Christmas-sy breakfast was in order. I present to you:

Sunny Side Up Eggs with Candy Cane Grissini and Cinnamon Salt

Eggs
Grissini (Recipe below)
Prosciutto
Tomato Sauce

The night before, make the grissini and shape them into cane shapes. Meanwhile, make the tomato sheets. Spread the tomato sauce either in a dehydrator, or on a piece of baking paper set over a baking tray. If using the dehydrator, use according instructions. If using the oven, set the oven to a fan-forced 50 degrees. Dehydrate till you can peel the tomato sauce off in a sheet.

Fry the egg (s) in a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Make sure the cookie cutter is stainless steel or can take heat.

Place the egg onto a plate, and wrap strips of prosciutto around the grissini. Carefully cut the tomato sheet into long strips and wind that around the grissini too. Sprinkle with cinnamon and a touch of sea salt.

Et voila! Novelty Christmas breakfast. =)

Grissini Recipe (Tweaked from Group Recipes)

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
100 ml lukewarm water

Mix the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the centre, and add the wet ingredients. Knead till smooth. Cover with cling wrap and set aside in a warm place to rest.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

When the dough has doubled in size, start rolling out little balls of dough into long strips. Alternatively, you could use a pasta machine and the fettucine cutters to ensure a more accurate end product. Personally though, I prefer having not-so-perfect looking grissini. =)

Bake till crispy and golden brown, and then wrap with tomato and prosciutto!

It really tastes like tomato and bacon on toast haha. Great as an entree. =)

Happy munching!

Get Egg-cited!

Recipe 4 Comments

Yeah so the title’s a bad pun – but you try punning “aubergine”! haha.

I love marinaded eggplant, but sheesh are they expensive! So I decided to make my own. I saw the instructions in a magazine somewhere, but I’m really doing this from memory, and you can add whatever spices you’d like too.

Marinaded Eggplant:

Ingredients
Eggplant
Red Wine Vinegar/ Apple cider vinegar
Salt
Olive Oil
Garlic
Whole Black Peppers
Dried Chilli Flakes

So, grab your eggplant and slice it. Half a centimetre is good, but if you like it chunky you can go a bit thicker.

I also sliced them horizontally instead of longways because I like smaller chunks to put on platters, and I find that it’s way easier to cut them before rather than after.

Then line a colander with paper towels, and then line that with eggplant. Sprinkle liberally with salt, then repeat with paper towels and eggplants.

Leave for 6hrs or overnight. Then make a one to one mixture of vinegar plus water, and gently poach the eggplant in batches.

Drain on more paper towels, then place in a single layer in a pan (or griddle if you have one – a griddle will give you the lovely chargrill marks) on high heat and grill till brown.

Meanwhile, crush some garlic. You want them just lightly crushed to leech the garlic flavour into the oil, but not into a paste.

Layer eggplant, garlic, whole black peppers, and some (very little!) rock salt in a sterilized*, heat proof container.

Jars and glassware works really well. Then just heat up some olive oil and pour over the eggplant! The hot oil will get the flavours in the jar to meld and be really yummy.

You can use all sorts of spices – cardamom, fennel and tumeric is next on my list to try.It is a bit finicky, and uses a lot of kitchenware, but I assure you that the result it worth it!

*To sterilize glassware, wash in warm soapy water, then place in a 100C oven till dry.

Being Cheesy

Recipe 8 Comments

So, after raving about the cheese bread in my review of Braza, I was inspired to try making them!

I got the recipe from this page, and tweaked it just a little because I kinda ran out of flour halfway. *sheepish*

Brazillian Cheese Bread (from allrecipes.com)

1/2 cup olive oil or butter
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk or soy milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups tapioca (arrowroot) flour (I mixed it in with some cornflour cause I ran out of tapioca flour)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 beaten eggs
 
Preheat your oven to 190C (375F)
 
Put all the wet ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Please use a saucepan that’s big enough to incorporate all the ingredients – it’s like making chioux pastry, you will add the other ingredients into this pan. 
Once it comes to the boil, take the pan off the heat. Stir in the flour, garlic and salt till well combined. Rest for 15 minutes. 
After resting, stir in the eggs and cheese, until well combined. It’ll be a bit lumpy, and for me, it was just a bit thicker than a successful chioux batter.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased, lined baking try (it’s going to practically fry in its own oil) and chuck into the oven till golden brown. 
And voila!

It’s pretty close to what I had, except that mine was had slightly more texture to it – not enough liquid maybe? Sean says that he prefers the crispier outside though, so it all worked out! The inside was also lovely, squishy and chewy, so that’s perfect for me. It’s so moreish too!! Be careful when you make it – I would suggest a double batch cause you’ll just end up snacking on the first batch while waiting for the rest to come out of the oven!!

Great for parties for sure. :D:D

Breaking Dawn

Recipe 6 Comments

I’m not often awake early, but when I am, I like to get industrious with breakfast!! People say that it’s the most important meal of the day and yada yada (no really. It’s important.) but I love it just because I think bacon&eggs is the best combination EVER! 

Here I’ve got an egg baked in a tomato, covered in diced bacon, with a side of a yoghurt parfait with dried cranberries and cereal.

Eggs en cocotte de tomat (An original recipe):

Ingredients
Eggs
Tomatoes
Basil
Bacon
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Preheat your oven to 220C. 

Carefully cut off the top of the tomatoes (I would use 1 or 2 per person) and scoop out the insides. (You don’t need the insides for this, but don’t waste it! I would suggest making your own ketchup. :)) Please make sure that you scoop out enough flesh – I didn’t for the first one and there was egg spilling out everywhere! Put a basil leaf in the bottom on the tomato, and crack some salt and pepper into the tomato shell. Then crack an egg into it and place into an oven proof tray. (On hindsight, I would’ve used muffin trays, cause it was a little finicky trying to get the cooked tomatoes off the tray.)

Drizzle the filled tomatoes and tops with olive oil (don’t ‘cap’ the tomatoes first!) and bake for about 5 min, or until just set. Then cap the tomatoes and bake for a little while longer, till the yolks are the way you want them.

While the eggs are baking, fry up some bacon.

When the tomatoes are done, serve up with yummy salty bacon!! =)

Yoghurt parfait:

Yoghurt
Cereal of your choice
Dried fruit of your choice

This one’s pretty easy. I just layered thick yoghurt, dried cranberries, weetbix, and oatmeal in a washed out jar. Et voila! Simple, and I think the jar looks super cute as little serving cups. heh heh. 

The closest yoghurt to what I used would be a Greek style yoghurt (I made my own), but remember that not all yoghurts are sweetened, so taste them first! I do think though that the slight tartness of Greek yoghurts are a good foil to the sweetened dried fruit. But really, use whatever you want! =)

Pop-parazzi

Recipe 1 Comment



Inspired by Bakerella’s cake pops (and by Halloween that’s coming up), I decided that I would try to make Lady Gaga’s Disco Stick. As you can see, it’s not quite a success, but the idea is there!! Also, rather than silver sprinkles I need to get white crystals. Does anyone know where I can get that? It’ll be really cool if you could tell me please! Thank you!

Cake Pop Recipe:

1 packet vanilla cake mix (you can make your own cake, but this was easier)
Frosting (recipe below)
White chocolate
Sprinkles

Bake the vanilla cake mix according to packet instructions. After the cake has cooled, crumble the cake into a mixing bowl.

Add just enough frosting to make the cake resemble wet sand. Just keep mixing through with your hands. The mixture should clump, but not be wet enough to stick to your fingers.

Make whatever shape you’d like. Pop that onto a cookie tray, and then put it into the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up. Alternatively, you can pop it into the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Dip the ends of whatever stick you’re using into melted chocolate, then push the stick into the cake pop, not going more than halfway through. Then lift the cake pop and dip the cake into the melted chocolate, making sure that the cake ball is entirely covered, and that it just touches the stick.

Put the stick into a block of Styrofoam and leave to harden. If you’d like, pop some sprinkles on before the chocolate hardens completely.

Frosting recipe (tweaked from this website)

250g vegetable shortening
About 4 cups icing sugar
100g thickened cream
Pinch of salt
Vanilla

Beat the shortening, 2 cups of the icing sugar, salt and vanilla together. Shortening is really hard, so you might want to nuke it for a bit first. Don’t be afraid of it melting a little though, it still works out.

Then add the cream and continue beating. It will thicken. Then beat in more icing sugar till you have your desired consistency. I only used another cup and a half, max.

Also, you might want to do the frosting by hand to save washin up on the machinery. It’s easier to do than buttercream frosting. 🙂

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It’s not hard, and definitely worth a shot. Sean actually ate the whole lot – that’s how more-ish they are! =)

Clap Your Hands to the Beet

Recipe 5 Comments

 Roast beetroot is AWESOME! I didn’t quite know what to make of them at first, but I was introduced, and it was yummy. So. I saw a roasted beetroot salad recipe by Jamie Oliver – when he was in Stockholm – and I just had to try it. I made some very minor adjustments, but otherwise, it’s just full of yummy goodness.

Ingredients:
Fresh Beetroot
Dill
Chives
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar

Wrap the beetroot in foil and roast in a 180C oven for about 40 min to 1 hour. To me, the way to tell a beetroot’s cooked is pretty much the way you’d tell a potato’s cooked – you stick a fork in and if it gives, it’s cooked.

Dice the beetroot into bite-sized pieces. Season liberally with salt and pepper, then add a liberal splash of good quality olive oil and vinegar (once I didn’t have red wine vinegar and used brown – it was fine). Snip some dill and chives in, and mix.

Et voila! Awesome, simple beetroot salad that frankly, I eat as a main. And beetroot salad is apparently very VERY good for you. =) =)

All win in my book.

Somewhere, beyond the sea…

Recipe 5 Comments

Made Salt-Baked Fish the other day!! Surprisingly easy, with fantastic results, although it’s such a waste that you can’t have the skin. =( I like fish skin.

So.

Ingredients:

About 500g course salt (sea salt is better if you can afford it)
Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
1 Egg
Chilli flakes
Pepper

White fish (whole, you can’t do this with a fillet)
Thyme
Bay Leaves

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Mix together the ingredients for the salt covering. I used lemon-y chilli flavoured salt here, but you can experiment with the different salt flavours. The lemon does permeate the fish really well though, and the aroma that wafts around the house while it bakes is absolutely fantastic.

You also need to add some water to the salt – it should be the texture of wet snow.

Stuff the fish with the thyme and bay leaves. I’m pretty sure (something to try the next time) that you can try other herbs as well, like lemongrass and the like. Then lay the fish on a bed of salt.

Then cover the fish with salt, and bake for 35-40 mins. (It’s really supposed to be 40, but I really hate overcooked fish, so I stopped at 35 just to be safe, because the salt retains a lot of residual heat, and the fish will keep cooking for a bit.)

When it’s done, take the fish out, carve open the salt crust, and voila! Beautiful, succulent fish that just flakes off.

Oh, and remember to line whatever roasting tray you use – salt will ruin your tray otherwise.

Bon appetit!