A little bit of steam goes a long, long way! You might remember previous posts like Steam Heat and nothing gets these beauties going like a bit of hot air! Add a tablespoon of marmalade, a bit of butter, batter and TLC and you get a warming steamed pud that’s sure to be a hit after your next supper.
We’ve actually been enjoying these in our prac classes at school so I can tell you this recipe is triple checked and tried, so that means more baking success for you!
Today I’m continuing my long over due post from the Heston Blumenthal Live show, which I had the fortune to experience a fortnight ago. I wanted to hold off on any potential spoiler alerts for folks who might have been seeing the show here in Australia & New Zealand. In case you want to know a litttle more, a link to the previous post can be found here
Continuing on then…
There were some surprises on the night from another celebrity/guest chef, Luke Mangan-Hilton Sydney (he’s the celebrity chef who catered for Princess Mary and Prince Frederick at their Denmark wedding and he also rocks out to Powderfinger) Another special guest of nearly Australian royalty appeared via video, Dame Edna Everage (aka Barry Humphries alter ego in drag!) simply asking the sort of food questions you might get from a lovely old gran before she attempts to cook a fancy supper.
Experiments & audience participation,
Heston spoke of perception, colours and senses which can delight & confuse. He used the example that as we eat, we are tasting, smelling, looking, hearing, ideally we’re using all our senses to experience what our palates have to offer.
Example, he staged a Wine experiment, with red & white wine tasting for selected members of the audience. They were invited to taste both types of wine (& wrote their notes down.) After the question time, they responded as you’d expect with different notes on the red or white wine and actually Heston responded at the end by saying both wines were exactly the same.
One had been slightly chilled and the other had been dyed red with beetroot colouring. He also mentioned the power of using this tool in his own creations like the beetroot/orange jellies at The Fat Duck and with the colours being reverse flavours of golden beetroot and blood orange jelly…
We were also asked to eat our chocolate biscuit/Tim Tams for an experiment.
To do this at home: (you’ll need a chocolate biscuit.)
Now hold you nose and take a bite of the biccy, chew a few times whilst continually holding your nose. The flavours will be muted, you might only taste sweet or salty… Then release the nostrils and sense the smells as they fill your head, from the creamy flavours, chocolatey, the full palate of that biscuit… It’s just like magic!
This experiment was part of his discoveries for British Airways and he’s also revamped their inflight menus (in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympics.) He’d also discovered that food tasted entirely different at certain points of pressure in the air and there’s a fantastic series which channel 4 released (and I think you can buy it on iTunes if you’re that keen.)
One of the most exciting parts of the evening (for me) were video crosses to The Fat Duck & footage/preparation of well know dishes, such as the Alice in Wonderland theme for the edible golden fob watches Mock Turtle Soup & The Queen of Hearts from edible playing cards in an envelope sealed with tinted white chocolate. Another well known dish was also shown, The Sound of the Sea (complete with iPod playing sounds of the seaside)
Also his latest restaurant has premiered at no 9 on the San Pellegrino top 50 restaurants of the world, no small feat! I have some extremely lucky friends who are en route to London and shall be stopping by the Mandarin Hotel for Dinner by Heston to see the historic food on offer. I can’t wait till they get back and recount each and every single bite!
Lastly, he ended on a very sweet note for Like a kid in the sweet shop, which details the reservation process and the lead up to dining at The Fat Duck. The audience members were delighted to find a little perfume vial (under our seats) filled with the scent of a sweet shop, from candy to lemons, to musk to wooden notes etc, which we sprayed whilst he played the animation, (for those who didn’t see the previous post with the animation, here it is again for your viewing pleasure.) That little vial is my piece of Heston magic I will keep forever!
Quote “This is the most incredible thing you’ve ever made…“
Those were the very words uttered by my sweetheart this evening. Ever since I mentioned my last cookery lesson and the variety of things we learnt including this amazing method for Pork Belly he’s been putting his hand up since.
I’ve learnt the secret to a good Snap, Crackle & Pop- that’s crisp crackling, a firm snap and that pop when you bite into it!
may I just add that this pork belly made a killer sandwich the following day, leftovers never tasted so good…
I don’t have much to write about today, there’s not much else to say besides New Season Chestnuts!!! There’s a lot of study to do. I’m cooking up a storm in preparation for prac tests later this week and it’s time to get crackin…those chestnuts that is!
Plan A: San Choy Bao
Funny how things work out sometime. You can be prepared and prepped for a great meal in, on a Saturday night with your loved one. However, sometimes even the simplest (most humble) of ingredients can go amiss in my kitchen. Witness plan A, crispy fresh lettuce cups, filled with an assortment of yummy things from ground pork to water chestnuts, carrot, peas and sweet sauce. All the mise en place prepped and ready to go…only problem being that by 5:30 pm all of the iceberg lettuce had been sold at the supermarket barr (one poor pale, sodden thing even my desperation couldn’t be bought for that limp old veg.)
Next step, is to go for plan B which involved a complete change of menu, followed by a dash to the fishmongers across the road. Another round of prep/mise en place for some Australian Snapper with a crispy skin, side salad and crisp potatoes… Fast forward to 9:30pm that night and a couple of hungry bellies later,
Just in case you want to do your own dinner rush, I’ve included Plan A for San Choy Bao and if you like, you just might see Plan B here too…
Witness Plan B: Crispy Skin Snapper with Butter Sauce & Lemon
Weekends sometimes call for a special brunch. Mid week mornings are usually fuelled by a banana and a protein shake (usually on the go because I’m a slow starter in the morning!)
So I say when the sun is shining and you have some time and the inclination to potter about in the kitchen, best get to it..
I’m including my pancake formula here on the homepage just to mix things up a bit (no pun intended)
%^*Formulae Pancakes*^% x 2
1 cup of flour (half cup per person)
2 eggs (1 per person)
2 tbsp of butter (1 per person)
+1/2 cup of milk + 1/4 cup of sugar + 1 tbsp baking powder + pinch of salt =
Brunch Time!!!
(y) Mix into a smooth batter + (x) pan fry with some extra butter till golden and crisp + (xy) = Maple syrup and crispy prosciutto to serve…
Nothing like a thick, rich & meaty sauce followed by layers of pasta (and my secret ingredient) layers of silky eggplant sandwiched with creamy cheese sauce.
This ones on rotation in the household, it’s a tried & true favourite which comes back again and again! It’s the kind of dish that for us, says Hello Weekend! Hello Lasagne!
I’ve got a new discovery, only the problem is…someone else discovered them first! That someone else is David Chang of Momofuku fame and these little babies are an ultra famous cookie from Momofuku Milk Bar. I’ve heard about them from various food articles and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen these gems featured on Masterchef Australia at some point too, see, they’re famous!
Luckily there are other folks who’ve discovered these too and have even provided a recipe (hurrah.) You can find one such recipe, here at Whisked
Of course, if you want some (Giaff) food happy snaps and a few baking pointers check out my version of the Compost Cookies here. Compost never tasted so good!
Two lonely apples sitting side by side in the fruit bowl. One thought comes immediately to mind, a Rustic Apple Tart followed by a pair of warm fluffy socks and the sunset…
Wild thing you make my heart sing!
Wild Rice is the key to this healthy salad, just a few veggies, some pickled wild rice and no guilt, (well hardly any!) Best served warm with some extra protein if you like, shredded chicken, tofu or even haloumi fritters would be lovely, Pickled Wild Rice Salad
Lazy days call for some lazy baking. I often make copies amounts of bread dough, bake one half and freeze the dough for later use. By doing so, I can pretty much guarantee fresh crusty rolls on any given day and that isn’t too lazy after all. Time to bake some Cheese & Onion Scrolls
Took a lovely ferry to Fort Dennison in Sydney harbour with the girls yesterday.
We just happened to enjoy a few of these…
Why is it fish n chips always taste better in the sunshine.
As does dessert too (chocolate parfait, honeycomb marquise & orange sorbet, yum!)
Meanwhile…back at the ranch…
It’s Breakfast time!
mise en place
Finally settling in for a cosy evening & Sunday night calls for some Apple, Coriander Sauerkraut & Sunday Schnitzels. Why not enjoy a few steamed veg on the side, a little Telly and a foot rub (if you’re lucky…)
Hope the evening’s getting more cosy for you now…
Best friend’s birthday, the very words can evoke a thrill of happiness and high heels for women all around the world! There’s a lot of fun to be had and I think it’ll happen somewhere between the ferry at Fort Dennison, Brunch & Champagne! I baked some pretty tasty coconut cupcakes for my bestie last year so this time, I’ve decided to add some birthday bling in the form of some tasty bars, chocolate and more. So let’s give it up for my Bestie’s Birthday Bling!
Ever decided to give your dinner a bath before you enjoyed it? No I’m not talking about anything weird or wacky, I’m talking about the technique of Sous-Vide.
I’d heard about it, I’d talked about it, but had I ever tried to do it, no!
The technique requires shrink wrapping foods with the (aromats) and vacuuming the remainder of the air out. Once tightly sealed we cooked the food items at an ultra low temperature for 3 hrs, or 1 hr depending on the food.
Was it a success, absolutely! Once we fished our little parcels out of the water bath to flash fry in a pan, added the sauce & garnishes it was simply the most melting, tender piece of meat that truly felt like butter on the tongue…
Chicken breast with tomato concasse, red wine jus & asparagus
Just in case you’re not into the idea of pieces of soft, melting chicken, I’ll leave you with some crunchy counterparts! The latter part of the day was spent at the deep fryer, mmm…crunchy!
pommes chips
Spring rolls with spicy veg & vermicelli
apple fritters with cinnamon & sugar
Stay Tuned for more recipes coming your way. Coming up is a girl’s brunch with my besties and I’ll be baking a little surprise for the gals, it’s cute, it’s chocolatey and it’s got bling!!!
Some one was very hungry today! It’s officially day three since the tooth operation so it was inevitable that a certain somebody would be seriously craving meat! After veg purée, soups or
mac n cheese I was craving something meaty too. Enter a wholesome Slow Braise of Ox-tail, meaty bone marrow & chunky veg. Better yet, who can say no to a soft velvety mash either.
This is perfect for those slow afternoons when you have a few hours before dinner time. Or, you can make it on the weekend and simply serve during those hurried weeknights, decisions, decisions, decisions…
