Craving for Comfort Food...........

Me + cooler Melbourne weather = COMFORT FOOD!

With the cooler weather and less daylight hours starting to hit Melbourne, I've already started my craving towards comfort food.

Slow cooked casseroles, mashed potato, hearty soups. You name it, I want it.

So with some time on my hands one Sunday (which if you know me is not very often) I decided to cave into my craving and try another recipe from my 'fav cookbook of the moment' - At Home with Magnolia.

Beef & Vegetable Stew


My oh my!

This was exactly what the doctor ordered. Rich and hearty and so very filling. Served simply with some creamy mashed potato, I was in heaven!


Thanks again Alyssa!

DARING BAKER: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

It was time for the Daring Bakers to get their hands wrist deep in some smooth, silky dough and create something oh-so sweet!

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.


A brioche-like dough, rolled jellyroll style around a whipped meringue and whatever filling we choose, shaped into a wreath and baked.

I stuck with the all-American filling of pecans, cinnamon and bittersweet chocolate.


Don't be fooled like I was!

This sneaky little cake is not a sweet cake - only a hint of sweetness is present from the meringue that melts into the bread-like dough.

Having added the above filling I just naturally assumed my cake would be on the sweet side. In fact I was a little shocked at the lack of sweetness.


Please don't get me wrong, I really liked this cake. It was very subtle and understated, especially when it was still warm from oven - with the chocolate melted ever so slightly, and a slathering of butter smeared on top
(don't judge - you'd do it too - go on, admit it).


Eating it cold - not as enjoyable.


My point - get your knife ready to go as soon as it's pulled lovingly from the oven. Served with a fresh pot of coffee, sitting in the sunshine with a good book - it doesn't get much better!

To view my fellow challengers and to get the recipe, click here.

COOKALONG WITH NIGELLA: March

I've decided to give something new a wee little try. A fellow blogger highlighted this particular group to me, and being a fan of Nigella I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Cookalong With Nigella

Each month, participants vote on which of Nigella's dishes they would like to cook.

The dish with the most votes wins - simple!

So for the month of March (coinsiding with Nigella's visit to our sunny shores), the winning dish was:


Chicken Schnitzel with Bacon and White Wine


EXTREMELY simple to put together as there are only 4 ingredients, and to be honest, I'm not so sure I really liked it.

I guess when I hear the word "schnitzel" I think of crumbs, so I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be rolling the chicken in flour, egg wash and crumbs mixed with some special Nigella concoction of spices.


It was ok.

I ate it.

I wouldn't make it again.

The Cookbook Challenge No. 6: AMERICAN

American food.

To be honest, I'm really not a fan.

When I think of American food I think of loads of fat and carbs, lots of cheese, fried food, and salt, salt and more salt. (Although, I do have to add that when I was in New York last year I ate some of the best meals of my life).

However, I have fallen head over heels in love with this American cookbook....


At Home With Magnolia - classic American recipes from the lady who gave us the Magnolia Bakery.

So my contribution to this fortnight's theme is from this little baby....


Cream Cheese and Pecan Brownies
Cookbook: At Home with Magnolia
Author: Alyssa Torey

Cream Cheese Filling
227g cream cheese, not softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 tbsp flour

brownies
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
113g unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp whole milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. grease and lightly flour a baking pan.


Cream Cheese Filling - In a medium size bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. Add the egg and flour and beat well. Set aside.

Brownie - In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a medium size saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from the heat, transfer to a large bowl, and allow to cool to lukewarm, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar. add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and half the pecans and mix thoroughly.

Pour half the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Drop the cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls over the batter. Next, drop the reserved brownie batter by teaspoonfuls in between the cream cheese filling. Using a small knife, swirl the two batters together forming a decorative patter. Sprinkle the remaining pecans over the top, and using a spatula, gently press into the batter.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not over bake. Allow to cool overnight before cutting and serving.


One of the things Alyssa (my new BFF) mentions is that this brownie is not too fudgy and not too cakey.

If you know me you know I'm not a huge chocolate dessert fan, so when I read this (along with the addition of the cream cheese and pecans), I thought this would be the perfect brownie recipe for me.

Unfortunately, I have to admit that the lack of fudginess was a bit of a disappointment.

I also felt the cream cheese didn't make any impact at all. It seemed to just add colour to the brownie rather than any taste.


Would I make again - probably not. I have other brownie recipes that I much prefer so will stick with them from now on. Although, my friends loved them and ate them all up - so you never can tell, can you.

To view my fellow challengers, click here.

Watch Out Sydney Here We Come - Day 3

Whenever I think back to past holidays, my memories are all focused around the food I’ve eaten or seen. It could be an amazing meal, or a great coffee, or as simple as a surprise little find or a new taste discovered.

If you were to take a look at my photos, they are all centred around a dining table, in a kitchen, a restaurant or even simply just me with food in my hands.

This little holiday was no exception, with the pièce de résistance of the weekend - lunch on our last day.

After a light breakfast of toasted banana bread (which is advertised EVERYWHERE in Sydney), we wandered up towards Circular Quay, and in particular to Peter Gilmore’s QUAY restaurant.


I’d been wanting to try this restaurant for quite some time, however I did walk through the door thinking it was most likely going to be too touristy (because of it’s location), over priced, and way too pretentious.


How wrong I was.


This was one of those experiences I will remember for a very long time.


We started with Butter poached quail breast with pumpernickel, morrel and foie gras pudding, walnuts, quinoa, truffle custard and milk skin, as well as the Salad of French breakfast radishes with pickled beetroot, goats curd, blood sorrel, violets, olives, pine resin and balsamico.

If I’d had to leave the restaurant after that dish, I still would have been a very happy girl……..but there was more to come……………


Butter with a view!


Roasted Bass Groper with kabu turnips, hairy melon, hasuimo, radish pods, vongole juices and oyster cream, as well as the Roasted chicken breast with truffle butter, spring vegetables, young garlic cream, jamon and oloroso juices.


Of course no experience at Quay could be complete without trying the famous Snow Egg.


This dessert was so much more than I ever could have thought. Soft creamy meringue, sweet chewy toffee and cold refreshing granita - heaven in a glass!

And to top it off, Mr Gilmore took a wander around while we surreptitiously took photos.


So once again my little visit to the city on the harbour has come to end. I’m always very happy to get home to my own bed, but I’ll be leaving with some more wonderful memories.

Thanks Sydney!

Look Out Sydney Here We Come - Day 2

One of my favourite streets to walk down in Sydney is Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst. I just love the quirky mix of old, new, tatty and ritz all squished into the one street.

I also love the peacefulness of this street –away from the car horns and general traffic noises.

So because of this, DAY 2 started off blissfully with breakfast at Bills, Darlinghurst.


I LOVE BILL!

I love his Sweet Corn Fritters and Banana Hotcakes (which we shared).

I love that we could sit there for a few hours over cups of coffee and pots of tea and not feel rushed.

I love that I walked up that massive hill on Liverpool Street so I could sit and enjoy (without guilt) the honeycomb butter that melts all over the Hotcakes.


After breakfast we had planned to see the Terracotta Warriors which were on display at the Art Gallery. Unfortunately they closed the day before – doh!

What to do?

Adrian Zumbo’s in Balmain, of course!


So we hoped on the bus for Balmain.

Such a tiny, gorgeous looking bakery which I couldn’t stop snapping pictures of – unfortunately the food just didn’t live up to the hype (for my taste buds anyway).

So, where to next?


The Bourke Street Bakery, of course!


Now this place lived up to the hype.

I loved it!


I loved the walk down all the little back streets to Bourke Street. I loved the display cabinets filled with all my favourite goodies. I loved the food that I squeezed into my ever expanding stomach. I loved it!




Again, another exceptional day comes to an end in Sydney with some little treats -


Cupcakes from Sparkle!

Watch Out Sydney Here We Come - Day 1

Sydney.

Not a city I would like to live in but definitely one I love to visit, and that is exactly what I did this long weekend. Basically we ate our way all around the city from top to bottom and from left to right. Is there any other way?

Our first official day started with brekkie in the Strand Arcade - Nothing too flash, but not much else was open - Before heading to Circular Quay, and in particular the Museum of Modern Art to see the Annie Leibovitz exhibition.


WOW!

This was a highlight for me. I came out on such a high thinking I could do that too.......hmmmmm, maybe not.


With the sun shining on such a beautiful morning, we slowly wandered to the Rocks and stumbled upon a really interesting café – The Greenhouse. An eco-friendly café and bar which unfortunately for us had a queue out the door.


So with our bellies rumbling and the desperate need for a cup of tea, we decided to visit the Tara Tea Rooms which I first heard about on the Not Quite Nigella blog. It was the cute tea cosies that sucked me in.


Such a cute little tea room hidden in amongst all the hustle and bustle of The Rocks (especially on market day). The scones were delicious – not doughy like some can be, and they used REAL cream. Need I say more!


With our bellies full and being such a gorgeous day we decided to climb aboard the ferry for Manly.






I found Manly to be a little too touristy for my taste, so I was happy to people watch for a little while, collect some macaroons from Adriano Zumbo and then head back on the ferry where a cool, refreshing cider awaited us at the Opera Bar.




You really can’t do much better than relaxing back with a drink, watching the sun set, surrounded by the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

A fantastic end to DAY 1.