DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE: Decorated Sugar Cookies

The September 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mandy of What the Fruitcake?! Mandy challenged us to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

The theme Mandy set was September - whatever happens in our life in September is what our cookies are to be about.


To me, September is the beginning of Spring; the beginning of longer days and lighter nights; the smell of Jasmine flowers in the air; and tea parties!


I picked up these gorgeous cutters recently - perfect for my tea party theme.


I really, really enjoyed this challenge, however the part I found the hardest was actually the baking of the cookies...sorry, but I can hear my brother yelling "their biscuits" in the background, followed by "we're not American". I've been baking biscuits for years, but having recently installed a new oven, I'm still not 100% comfortable with the temperature settings and found I was burning the bottoms of these delicate little babies.


Once I managed to overcome that issue, it was smooth sailing....well as smooth as my fingers would let me be.

I'm not great at freehand drawing (fantastic at colouring in between the lines though) so it took some practice to get the flow going, but when it got going I was in seventh heaven...


Thank you so much Mandy for picking such a wonderful theme which really challenged me through to the end. I've come out of this challenge feeling a lot more confident...and perhaps with the start of a new little hobby.

To check out the other challengers, click here.

The Cookbook Challenge No. 45: Raw

This week has officially stumped me!

Up until this morning I still had no clue as to what I was going to make for this week's theme of "raw".

As mentioned previously, I love, love, love sushi, however I'm not a fan of working with raw fish myself. And with no time to get to the butcher to make some sort of carpaccio dish, I ended up picking the first thing I found that involved no cooking and took no time ...


The Mothership Tomato Salad
Cookbook: Jamie at Home
Author: Jamie Oliver

1kg mixed ripe tomatoes, different shapes and colours
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Good pinch of dried oregano
Red wine or balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped


Depending on the size of your tomatoes, slice some in half, some into quarters, and others into uneven chunks. Place into a colander and season with a good pinch of sea salt. Give them a toss, season again and give a couple more tosses. The salt won
t be drawn into the tomatoes; instead it will draw any excess moisture out, concentrating all the lovely flavours. Leave the tomatoes in the colander on top of a bowl to stand for around 15 mins, then discard any juice that has come out of them.

Transfer tomatoes to a large bowl and sprinkle over the oregano. Make a dressing using one part vinegar to three parts oil, the garlic and the chilli (I didn't have any fresh chilli, and used some dried chilli). Drizzle the tomatoes with enough dressing to coat everything nicely.


YUMMMM! I'm very happy with this salad, and in fact I had to put the rest away as I could have easily eaten the whole lot...delicious!


I ended up serving this salad with some fish for lunch.

Only thing that could make this better, I think, is picking the tomatoes straight from your own garden.....ho hum....maybe one day.....

Thanks Jamie!

Babies x 2 and a Delightful Afternoon Tea...

There are two little words in the English language that I absolutely love....

Afternoon Tea.

One of my girlfriends recently gave birth to two gorgeous little babies, so what better excuse than to get a few girlfriends together over some bubbles and yummy treats to celebrate.


One of my other girlfriends supplied some beautiful gluten-free friands and cupcakes which she actually supplies to local cafes around our area. As always, these were delicious! This is one very talented lady.


I contributed these little delights....


How cute are these little feet inside the socks I brought back from New York...so sweet.

M & C - Congratulations on bringing these two beautiful little babies into the world. I can't wait to watch them grow up!x

The Cookbook Challenge No. 44: Chinese Part 2

Having stuck to my original planned recipe for this week's them - Chinese Chicken Parcels, I felt like I needed to do something a little extra. Unfortunately, I've had hardly any spare time to potter around the kitchen which meant I couldn't try a dish that would challenge me. As I was already craving calamari, I decided to whip up this very simple and quick dish.....


Salt & Pepper Squid
Cookbook: 500 Appetisers
Author: Susannah Blake

450g squid, cleaned
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp ground black pepper
70g rice flour
Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
Lime wedges to serve

Slice the bodies into rings. Squeeze the lime juice over, toss to combine, then marinate in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the salt, pepper, and rice flour. Drain the squid and pat dry on kitchen paper, then toss the rings in the salt and pepper mixture.

Pour oil into a pan to fill it by two-thirds and heat to 180 degrees.

Working in batches, deep-fry the squid for about 1 minute, until crisp and golden. Drain well on kitchen paper and serve freshly cooked, with lime wedges for squeezing.


Not too bad.

I LOVE calamari but when I cook it, I tend to grill it as I'm not a fan of deep-frying, so it was kinda nice cooking this a different way.

The taste was lovely and zingy, and it was definitely a quick and simple dish to make. Not sure if I'd make it again any time soon...bit messy with the deep-frying part of it, but an enjoyable snack, especially washed down with a cider.

The Cookbook Challenge No. 44: Chinese Part 1

I had marked this recipe down for this week's theme some time ago. However, I noticed a fellow challenger had actually used this recipe in an earlier challenge.

To switch or not to switch?


Well as you can see, I didn't switch recipes....


Chinese Chicken Parcels
Cookbook: Jamie's Kitchen
Author: Jamie Oliver

1 savoy or Chinese cabbage
sea salt
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed
1 handful of fresh coriander
1-2 fresh red chillies
1 tbsp fish sauce
4 trimmed boneless chicken thighs, skin removed, roughly chopped
1 handful of water chestnuts
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 tsp sesame oil
extra virgin olive oil

Remove and discard the core and outer leaves from the cabbage, undo the remaining cabbage leaves, and place them in a pan of salted boiling water for 2 minutes to soften. Cool them in a bowl of cold water, drain and put to one side.

In a food processor, whizz up garlic, ginger, spring onions, coriander, chilli and fish sauce with a good pinch of salt. Then add the chicken, water chestnuts, lime zest and juice and sesame oil and pulse until you have a minced meat consistency.

Place a heaped dessert spoon of the mince onto one end of the cabbage leaf. Fold it up and tuck in the sides, then roll up and place in the steamer. Place on lid and steam for about 6 minutes until cooked.


I found these surprisingly yummy. Not sure why I was surprised as I love cabbage. The lime gave a really fresh flavour and the cabbage kept the dish nice and moist.


The only thing I'd do differently next time is try a different cabbage. I used savoy for these and found the leaves a little too thick which: 1)made it hard to wrap them; and 2) a little too much cabbage with each bite.

Not a favourite recipe so probably won't make it again,but glad I tried it.



I had quite a large amount of the chicken filling left over, and with some left over filo pastry sitting in the fridge, I decided to put the two together and make some little chicken sausage rolls....


Little dry, but yummy all the same.

VIP Day, and Cupcakes Gallour......

1. Take a class of high energy grade 3 kids, bright and early one morning last week.

2. Take a scared and intimidated aunty, and stand her at the front of the above mentioned kids.

What do you get.....VIP Day.

I was a very lucky Aunty last week as I was asked to come along to my niece's class as her VIP. Basically, I was her 'show and tell'.

I was to give a little talk to her class about all the cooking that I do.

Talk about shaking in my boots! How to show no fear and keep grade 3 kids from attacking....


....CUPCAKES!


Instead of just talking and boring the pants off all her friends, I had the genius idea of getting them all involved in decorating cupcakes.


Talk about fun. I had an absolute ball with these talented kids, and I think they had fun too....especially the ones who ended up with blue and green tongues by the time I left.

A special mention to the gorgeous little cupcake below and to the right - my niece's.

Hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did Ms M.
xx

Good Old Fashion Country Air...

I've just returned from a wonderfully relaxing long weekend in the Victorian countryside - Dunkeld. Located at the foot of the Grampians.

There is something that I absolutely love about leaving the hustle of the city behind as the large expanse of land starts to show itself. The beautiful green farms, the amazing yellow canola fields, and the sheep...and in particular the Spring lambs....hehehe


After enjoying some well deserved afternoon tea, I went for a walk around the back streets of the little town and ended up down near the Dunkeld Arboretum. It was filled to the brim which is fantastic - all this rain is actually going to where it needs to go.


The wildlife were happy about it too...can you see the little ducky in the distance....


This is me having a little rest.....it's been a tough day.


Of course, no trip to Dunkeld would be complete without having dinner at The Royal Mail....wooo hoooo...


I'd eaten here once before and had loved every mouthful, so I was super excited to be going back. Although I will admit that I was also a little scared in case I had placed the last experience on a pedestal....could it live up to the expectations I'd set....


...oh my.....yes sir!

In fact, I think this meal has to be my favourite meal of the year... Corned Wagyu Silverside with creamy mash and carrots.....superb!


The next day, we woke up to a beautiful Spring day...the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the cows were mooing...and I was ready for a big hearty bowl of veggie soup with a home-made herb scone which we ate at a cute little Tea House/Antique Store in Penshurst (about 25 minutes out of Dunkeld).


Back to reality, and I'm finding it very hard to get back into city life again!

The Cookbook Challenge No. 43: Crunchy

I have been looking at this particular recipe for quite a long time now, waiting for the right time to bake it, so when I saw this week's theme was CRUNCHY I did a little jig on the spot....perfect!

Hazelnut and Chocolate Crumb Coffee Cake
Cookbook: Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes
Author: Jeanne Kelley


2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Butter a 9 inch square pan.


Combine the flour, both the sugars, the butter, and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture resembles coarse meal. To make the topping, transfer 3/4 cup of the mixture to a medium sized bowl, stir in the hazelnuts and chocolate, and set aside.

Mix the baking soda into the remaining butter-sugar mixture in the large bowl. Add the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla, and mix just to combine. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in the pan n a rack. Cut into pieces and serve (can be prepared 2 days ahead.)


I love this cake!

There is something so very satisfying about whipping up a cake that's so simple. It makes you feel you can accomplish just about anything, and that's how I felt when I baked this little beauty. The hazelnuts roasting in the oven only added to the high I felt when I pulled this cake out of the oven and it looked exactly like it should.


I took my new favourite cake along to a family get-together. Of course when it comes to my family, there were a dozen varieties of dessert already on offer, but a slice of this along with a cup of tea hit the spot.

It's not overly sweet, it's lovely and crumbly, and the hazelnuts give a great crunch....I'm so glad I finally made it.