If clouds could only taste like this. . .

One of the cookbooks I squeezed into my hand luggage coming home from Hobart recently was this one.

Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter

Lisa Faulkner

Flicking through the cookbook later that day, I became aware of who Lisa Faulkner actually was - the winner of British Celebrity Master Chef.  To be honest, if I'd known this before purchasing it I probably would have left it behind.

I'm so very glad I didn't.

I'm loving this cookbook.  Filled with everyday recipes that make my mouth water, and the recipes I've tried so far have been absolute perfection.  Like this little recipe which was part of our entree for my mum's Mothers Day lunch last Sunday.....

Smoked Salmon Pate

200g smoked salmon, cut into pieces

50g unsalted butter, softened

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp double cream

a pinch of cayenne pepper

small handful of freshly chopped chives

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the salmon pieces and the butter in a food processor or blender and blitz until smooth.  Add the lemon juice to taste, followed by the cream, cayenne pepper and chives.

Check the seasoning and divide the pate between 4 ramekin dishes.  Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm.

Soooooo so good!  It's light, subtle and almost a little fluffy.  Like eating fluffy clouds (if clouds tasted like smoked salmon).

I served with little home-made Melba toasts.

Yum!

Mothers Day !

On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day.

Yes, you are correct- it is June. However, as we have so many birthdays during the month of May, my mum took it upon herself to move Mother's Day to a month when things were a little more settled for our family.

Unfortunately for me, I had "butter fingers" AAALLLL day!

Not only did I managed to smash my champagne glasses, I also managed to lose all of the mashed potato down the side of the oven....doh! Luckily, my bro jumped on his bike and came to the rescue with some loaves of yummy bread to help mop up the beef carbonnade I made for lunch.

Happy Mother's Day to the best mum in world.

Love you lots!

xx

The Cookbook Challenge #20 !

I'm finally back in the kitchen - Thank God! 

My fridge and cupboards are full. 

I've unpacked and found all of my pots and pans.

I'm finally home.

Enjoying the long weekend recently, I was able to finally get myself sorted, cruise around my new hood, and of course cook.  With a chill in the air, but blue sky's over head, I headed into the kitchen to make something warming and hearty.  Something fitting for this time of year.

 

Chicken and Mushroom Casserole with Cider

River Cottage Everyday

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces (about 1.5kg in total)

2–3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

3–4 tbsp olive oil

250–400ml dry or medium cider

A knob of butter

350–400g mushrooms, cut into large chunks or slices

1 bay leaf

1 large sprig of thyme

5 tbsp double cream

2 tsp English mustard

1 tbsp chopped parsley

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dust the chicken pieces with the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces well in the hot frying pan (in two batches if necessary, adding a little more oil for the second batch). Transfer the chicken to a large casserole dish or pan.

Add 250ml cider to the frying pan to deglaze, letting it bubble for a minute or two as you scrape up the bits from the bottom. Pour over the chicken and top up with more cider as necessary, so the liquor comes about halfway up the chicken.

Heat the butter in another pan, add the mushrooms and sweat gently until their juices run. Add them with their juices to the chicken. Tuck the bay leaf and the thyme among the chicken and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered, or partially covered, very gently over a low heat (or with the lid on in the oven preheated to 140°C for about 1½ hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender, turning the pieces halfway through cooking.

Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Pour the juices off into a pan, leaving the chicken and mushrooms in the casserole. Whisk the cream and mustard into the juices and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour back over the chicken. Bring the whole lot back to a simmer, and it’s ready to serve.

Top with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and serve.

Serve with some yummy mash, a delicious bottle of red and good company.

That's what I did!

Mid Week Meal Tme !

 

Even though I've just moved house, I actually haven't been home all that much.  I think I'm a little exhausted.  So as you can imagine, my food intake over the last little while hasn't been all that great.  Toast has featured heavily, as well as the the sandwiches I've been nicking from work to take home for dinner.  Not being a big bread eater normally, I'm starting to suffer!

Even though this dish involves more bread, it was my dinner of choice for a couple of nights......

Croque Madam

Paris to Provence Cookbook

Authors - Ethel Brennan & Sara Remington

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

nutmeg

salt

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

4 slices soft bread

4 slices of good quality baked ham, thinly sliced

Gruyere cheese, sliced

2 eggs

For the béchamel, melt butter in a small pan. Remove from the heat and add the flour and stir until smooth.  Return to a medium heat and gradually add the milk, whisking continuously into a smooth sauce. Simmer gently until the sauce has thickened and no longer tastes like flour. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Butter the outside of each slice of bread and spread the mustard on the unbuttered side.   Arrange the ham and cheese.  The recipe calls for adding the bechamel sauce to the top of the sandwich and placing the sandwich under a grill.  This is great if you can get your grill to work, so I simply spread the bechamel inside the sandwich and cooked it in the frying pan.

Meanwhile, fry the eggs until the white is cooked but the yolk is still soft, or to your taste. and place the toasts on a plate and top with the egg.

Note - any extra sauce can be easily frozen for next time.

Filling and definitely fattening!

Normally, the amount of times per year I would eat this delicious French sandwich, I wouldn't even bother factoring the fat content into the equation, but when you have if for dinner a couple nights in a row.....

...wow, my pants are starting to feel tight....whoa nelly!

A Cake for My New Home !

May.  What a whirlwind of a month for me.

Celebrating my birthday for the entire month kept me a busy girl, and if trips to Hobart, catering, cooking classes and lots of eating out wasn't enough....I also managed to move house.

Hence, the lack of cooking posts this month..sorry!

Sitting in the quite with a cup of tea in my new home, I'm reveling in the peace.  I love the sound of the trams whizzing by and overhearing snippets of conversation from pedestrians chatting as they wander by, but no longer do I hear the noise that constant construction generates from my old neighbour.

Peace is such a simple thing. 

It's amazing how much not having it can affect you.

So in the peace and quiet of my new kitchen, I made cake.

An old fashioned Apple Shortcake.

The recipe was found over at Dulcie May Kitchen

(see here)

Saturday !

My Saturday was spent wandering slowing and leisurely around Hobart's Salamanca Market.

With only 7kg of hand luggage allowed back on the plane, we tossed back our coffee, shrugged our shoulders and bought up big time...chopping boards, rolling pins and cook books gallour......oh mon dieu!

If only this stunning produce could have come home with us too!

The Agrarian Kitchen !

I've just been to a place that I like to refer to as Heaven. 

Heaven, or The Agrarian Kitchen if you want to be particular, is located in beautiful Tasmania.

It took me almost 2 years to return to this glorious part of the world (see my first visit here), but I got there, and I loved every single minute of it.

After a coffee and little sweet pick-me-up to get us started bright and early last Friday morning, we donned our gumboots and headed out to the garden.......

Our delicious menu for the day......

With the open fire crackling and jazz playing in the background, we settled in for the afternoon to enjoy all of our good work.

For me personally, life really doesn't get any better than this. 

I love this place.

It feels like home.

Secret Recipe Club - June !

It's officially Winter here in Melbourne and I couldn't be happier.  

We may not get the beautiful falling snow or frozen lakes that the northern hemisphere see, but we do still get to rug up in our woolly scarfs and gloves and curl up under blankets with pots of tea or bottles of red.

My first ever experience of snow was when I was 13 and travelling through North America with my mum .  We had set off from Las Vegas early that morning, travelled through Death Valley (with its 40 degree heat) on our way to Yosemite with its beautiful snow everywhere.  This was the place of my first every snow ball!

For me, and I'm quite sure for most people, Winter means comfort food, and nothing shouts comfort food than a hearty bowl of rich, chunky soup.  So when I was assigned this months blog for our Secret Recipe Club - Jess from Inquiring Chef - I jumped straight to her soup recipes.  Within 2 minutes I'd made my decision.

White Chicken Chili Soup

(see recipe here)

 

I'm a huge fan of Jess' blog (Inquiring Chef) as her stories and photography are just beautiful and fun.  Her personal story is also an interesting one in that she's an American who packed up her life and headed off to live in Thailand with her husband Frank.  I always envy people who have the courage to do this.  I'm not sure I have it in me.

Jess mentions that she has made the base of the soup much lighter by using plain Greek yoghurt instead of the heavy cream commonly used.  Being a fan of yoghurt myself, I stuck with this change also.  However, through having way too much on my plate this month, I had to make a few other changes at the last minute due to poor planning.  I completely forgot to get sweet corn.  I didn't have time to make the salsa verde.  And I had nothing green to add a fresh colourful touch.

Even with all this going on, I have to say that the soup was absolutely delicious....after I worked out that navy beans were haricot beans....who knew?!