girl in a food frenzy

Snappy, Snapper, Pie!

Snappy, Snapper, Pie! from Girl in a Food Frenzy on Vimeo.

I’m no sailor and unfortunately I’m not a particularly good fisherwoman either. When we go fishing, I am the provider of snacks and home made goods. I am also the scarer away of fish, in that I frighten them occasionally with my continuous babble.

I’ve since had to make up for this by becoming efficient at cooking those delicious varieties of seafood in many creative ways, when we can get out hands on them… luckily our local fishmongers provides us with a beautiful choice of the fresh catch of the day for a somewhat pretty fee.

Imagine my surprise, when I recently scored 97% on my seafood & shellfish theory at school. Apparently, I can name the various estuaries, saltwater, fresh water and flesh types of our common finned friends, (at least those in Australia…)

What else can I tell you, other than this Snapper Pie is tasty! It’s a nice mid season dish, whether it’s Spring or Autumn, and I hope, that any fisher person in your life might approve…

Snappy, Snapper, Pie! for 2

Filling:
Allow 1 snapper fillet per serve
Mix of Mirepoix veg:
1 med celery stalk, chopped
1 med carrot chopped & diced
1/2 med onion, diced

Cheesy, fishy béchamel sauce:
1 bay leaf
Clouté- 1/2 onion studded with cloves
Garlic clove,
500ml milk
Pinch of nutmeg,
1 tbsp of flour
1 tbsp of Butter
Handful of cheddar,
Salt & pepper to season.

To top the pies:
Medium potato for the topping, sliced into rounds.
(Par cook for couple of minutes in the microwave before dressing the top of pies,)
Sprinkle of breadcrumbs*optional*
Small handful of flat leaf parsley chopped.

Method:

Prepare vegetables into a small dice and par boil potato, (or you can zap it in the microwave for 2 mins.)

Make onion Clouté (use a half brown onion and stud it with cloves,)

Poach fish in milk with clouté, bay leaf and garlic, for 3-5 mins, or until the fish begins to take on an opaque tone in colour.

Set aside the fish and strain the infused milk for béchamel sauce.

Make a cheese sauce using the butter and flour to form a roux, add the milk and lastly grated cheese. Season well with grated nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Divide between veg & fish mixture between two medium ramekins. Top with cheesy, fishy béchamel sauce and top with potato slices.

Sprinkle with a mixture of freshly chopped parsley & breadcrumbs.

Bake in the oven at 180C/356F for 25-30 mins, until golden brown.

11 comments

May 16, 2013

Road Trip, out & about!

Road Trips… they’re the life recharge we all need to take every now and then. Sometimes, this might be via car or plane, or both? Whether it’s stopping in at a quaint vineyard, apple picking, taking the time to admire those maple leaves and their changing autumnal tones…

It might be a big dinner with little-seen family and friends, (celebrating Mother’s Day perhaps?) Often or not, it’s about rediscovering that perfect little cafê tucked away somewhere special and hoping that (fingers crossed,) you’ll return soon one day.

Road Trips, out & about from Girl in a Food Frenzy on Vimeo.

Road trips, Autumn, apple picking and green trees. Family dinners, baking, wine tasting and time to ponder. Music from Vimeo Music Store, “Portofino” by Teengirl Fantasy

I was fortunate to have a little getaway last week to Tasmania and very lucky that those Autumn apples held out long enough for me to come and pick my fill at (my folk’s home.) Followed by lazy day baking (what else!) Big dinners at the family restaurant and warming my chilly fingers around a nice hot drink, I drank in all of life’s wonderful moments and took that time to ponder…

Brunch for mother’s day was the main event. Here’s an oldie but a goodie, which I revisited for my family. I’ve since updated that croissant recipe and added a step by step video too. These flakey, golden, buttery crescents could be yours soon…

18 comments

Gallery | May 4, 2013

Old School, Golden syrup dumplings.

41 comments

April 23, 2013

A Spaghetti Western, with a difference!

I recently made a little promise to myself that I wouldn’t take life too seriously. In fact, sometimes it’s really important to remember that all our great loves, passions or hobbies & (blogging!) need an occasional breather from time to time.

In truth I’ve been on term break for the last couple of weeks and there have been meals, lunches or dinners with friends elsewhere and time (gasp!) lazing about at the movies.

I have been collaborating on some new ventures with friends though, of which I’ll be be very pleased to reveal in the next month, so (I wasn’t entirely lazy…;)

In fact, I now have an official Girl in a Food Frenzy channel up on Vimeo. It’s slick, it’s shiny and it’s new!

Spaghetti Western! from Girl in a Food Frenzy on Vimeo.

Speaking of which I had a little fun with the video and yes, I know it’s just a plain spaghetti with an arrabiata sauce but I promise, this one is a Spaghetti Western with a difference!

Spaghetti western serves 2

Pasta Dough
3 eggs
300g strong flour *plus extra to dust*
10ml oil
30g semolina
Pinch of salt

Arrabiata sauce
Handful of fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped.
Chilli flakes
Olive oil,
1 clove garlic,
1/2 brown onion chopped
Pinch of sugar,
Salt & pepper,

Freshly grated parmesan to serve.

Method: (adapted from my school notes at Tafe,)
Make a well in the centre of the flour, add the eggs and mix together.

Add a pinch of salt and a small drizzle of oil, you may add these ingredients at the start before you begin mixing, or at a latter stage before the dough is kneaded. Knead together until a smooth dough is formed, rest for 20 mins.

Roughly chop some tomatoes, half a brown onion and one clove of garlic. Sauté the garlic & onion in a pan with some olive oil and the chilli flakes.

Add the tomatoes along with the pinch of sugar and season well. Simmer until it reaches a sauce consistency,

Roll out the pasta dough and cut to required shape, dust with the Semolina as you roll the dough to help it from sticking.

Boil in a pot of salted water for 2mins, or until al dente.

Serve with the sauce & lashings of freshly grated Parmesan.

Like this, you might want to see:
Lo Hei: Longevity noodles
Spaghetti Confetti
Homemade Fregola & Mushroom Ragout

48 comments

Video | April 12, 2013

Saving the Daylight…

Saving the Daylight from Girl in a Food Frenzy on Vimeo.

As the last of the light fades, I’m reminded of how good we had it in Sydney over the summer. It was a scorcher of a summer, hitting 43C (109F) sometimes and they were those long endless summer evenings which we spent chasing the daylight, with the occasional BBQ or two, or three.

Fast forward only a few days later and suddenly the skies darken from mid afternoon onwards. The garden is happier with just the right amount of rain and the mornings are brighter and clearer. Bonus being when I wake up at 5:30am on those school days, I’ll be able to see around the Figtree in my path a little easier.

Being the beachcombers that we are, my sweetheart and I couldn’t resist one last trip to the surf before those Autumn winds finally take hold of those Sydney shores. A dozy nap by the seaside, a little spot of fishing and always accompanied by a ravenous appetite back home.

Nothing satisfies those sea bellies more than freshly baked bread to accompany our supper and a bit of quiet time as we welcome the fading light…

Light Rye loaf

Starter:
1/2 cup rye
1/2 cup strong flour ’000′
half packet of dried yeast, approx 3g
two generous pinches of raw sugar
Sprinkle of sea salt
Glug of olive oil,
Warm water as needed.

Bread dough,
1/2 cup of rye flour,
1/2 cup of strong flour 000
(Optional, an extra pinch of raw sugar & sea salt,)
Water as needed.

Method:

Starter- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Slowly drizzle in some warm water until the mixture stirs together.

Bring into a soft ball and stir in a little of the olive oil.

Rest with a layer of cling wrap and a tea towel over & covered. The longer you rest, the more depth and flavour the dough will have.

Preheat the oven to 220C/428F.

Bread dough- Turn out the mixture onto a bench (or board) and gradually add some more rye and strong flour into the mixture, (if you like, add a little extra sugar & salt to balance the flavour too.) It will be quite slack at first but the aim is to work it gently and redistribute the extra flour throughout, this will take some time…

Rest the dough in a large casserole pot this time, with the lid placed on firmly in a nice warm spot. You want to leave the dough to rest for at least 1/2 hr (if not more.)

Bake with lid for first 25-30 mins to encourage steam in the rising, then remove the lid for last 15 mins.

Turn out bread carefully from the casserole dish and rest on the rack with oven turned off, for 1/2 hour to dry out the crust. You can also place a wooden spoon into the door handle so any escaping steam doesn’t linger and make the crust soggy.

Serve with lashings of butter & enjoy!

Like this, you might want to see:

Honey Bread with 24hr Biga starter
The plastic bag bread aka cheat’s sourdough
Pizzette

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