Book Club October Update: Slow – Valli Little

categories: Book Club

I didn’t want my Tasty Reads books to be something I only used for the book club meeting. So I set myself the challenge of cooking the recipes I liked the sound of even after we had had our meeting and discussion. This is where I will keep a tally of what I have cooked to date and what is left and what I thought about what I made.

August Selection – Slow: Valli Little

RRP – $19.99

Recipes in book: 60

Recipes marked to cook: 34

Cooked to date 12

Reason/s for Choosing

We only arrived back from holiday ten days before the Book Club meeting. I am a fan of Valli Little and Declicious Magazine and knew, without even looking through the book that there would be lots of things I could and would make.

Recipes Chosen

p6 Braised Beef Cheeks With Salsa Verde
p10 Steak with Wild Mushroom Sauce

p16 Chinese Braised Beef (made)

This wasn’t great, I will probably not make it again.

p20 Oven Baked Lamb Curry (Made)

I liked this. It was very tasty and easy. He didn’t like the rice being cooked into the dish.

p22 Lamb & Apricot Tagine
p24 Massaman Curry Lamb Shanks
p28 Lamb En Croute

p30 Radicchio and Gorgonzola Risotto (made)

This was Deeeee-licious. Tasted much better than the photo looks! I have always been a bit scared of radicchio – i thought it would be too bitter for my taste. I loved it!

p32 Deconstructed Lasagne (made)

This was average. I wouldn’t make it again. Not sure what happened to the photo. Maybe I didn’t take one.

p36 Macaroni Cheese with Truffle Oil
p44 Meatballs with Heavenly Mash (who can resist anything called Heavenly Mash?)
p60 Roast Chicken with Pan Roasted Romesco
p62 Roast Quail with Split Pea Dhal
p64 Oven Baked Thai Chicken Curry
p66 Moroccan Chicken with Olives
p70 Massaman Roast Chicken

p72 Chicken with Butter Bean Puree and Crispy Chorizo (made)

This was really good. I am now in love with white bean puree!

p 74 Fish Pie

p80 Salmon Poached in Olive Oil and Vanilla (made)

Certainly the weirdest dish in the book. I was strangely ambivalent about it. He LOVED it…apparently the best salmon he’s eaten in ages! There’s possibly an element of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” about both of our responses.

p82 Mussels in Cider (made) – Loved them!

p84 Fish Tagine

p86 Thai Style Tomato Soup (made) – Super!

p90 Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup (made)

The Carrot Soup for People who hate carrot soup. This is going on high rotation!

p92 Cauliflower Cheese Soup

p100 Eggplant & Chickpea Curry (made)

No photo. Probably because I didn’t like it.

p102 Baked Mushrooms with Pine Nuts & Feta
p104 Pumpkin, Goat’s Cheese and Onion Marmalade Jalousie
p106 Twice Baked Souffles
p110 Mushroom & Potato Tarts
p116 Bagna Cauda with Baby Vegetables
p118 Instant Fondue with Roast Vegetables

p120 Autumn Rosti with Hot Smoked Salmon (made).

Yummy! See Post here.

p122 Warm Barley and Mushroom Salad with Taleggio (made).

Soooo disappointed with this. It was quite expensive to make and despite lovely tasty ingredients such as taleggio was fairly tasteless.

Warm Barley & Mushroom Salad with Taleggio

p124 Deep Fried Brie with Sweet Chilli Sauce

Twelve down, 22 to go.

As you can probably tell I am enjoying this book. I also really like that in most instances the food resembles the picture in the book!

So tell me…what is left on the list that you like the sound of?

Have a great week!

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27
Oct
2014

Cha Ca La Vong

categories: Chilli, Dill, Fish, Pickles, Tomatoes, Tumeric, Vietnam

Let’s step back in time to a few years ago and a completely imaginary pub quiz. Let’s suppose I am poised on the brink of winning the meat tray. Believe it or not, a meat tray is a valid prize in Australian pubs. I won one once. It was awesome.

it was a whole tray of steaks and chops and sausages and, if I recall correctly, some very nice bacon. You may scoff, but it’s actually a pretty good prize. As long as you’re not a vegetarian.

And here comes the question.

And for the tray of meat “What is a Cha Ca La Vong?”

“Oh……:A Latin American Dance?”

“No, wait a moment…isn’t it the name of the slutty girl from Grease? The one stole the dance competition from Sandy?”

Ba-Bow.

No, Cha Ca La Vong is not the name of the best dancer from St Bernadette’s (with the worst reputation) or the type of dancing she may engage in.

It is a super delicious Vietnamese dish of fried fish with turmeric, dill and tomatoes.

I first came across this dish last year when I did the awesome Hanoi Street Food Tour with Mark Lowerson from Stickyrice. You can read about that here.

When I had Cha Ca with Mark it was a soupy style. And it was super, very fragrant and possibly my favourite dish (apart from the a-may-zing coffee with yogurt) of the whole tour.

This year however, I discovered a new way to have Cha Ca. We read about a restaurant called The Gourmet Corner. And being cautious, we dropped in one afternoon for a cocktail. I like to call it scoping out a restaurant before commiting myself. You can call it afternoon boozing if you wish.

Well, one meal later this became our favourite place to eat in Hanoi. I think we pretty much ate there every night after that. Fabulous food, great cocktails, and 360 degree views of the city. And all as cheap as chips!!!!

Cha Ca La Vong - Gourmet Corner Hanoi — Cha Ca La Vong – Gourmet Corner Hanoi

Their Cha Ca? O. M. G. One of the best things I have ever eaten. In. My Life.

First up, the combination of fish and dill and onion took me right back to my first ever time in Hanoi, my first ever full day in Hanoi and the tour with Mark. Kind of like Proust’s madeleines. But fishy. And second -So, so tasty. Perfectly cooked fish, perfectly spiced, the most amazing flavour of the dill and the tomato and the turmeric….I ate this EVERY night for pretty much a week. And I had such a craving for it the other night, I decided to make my own!

Two disclaimers. One. My version, whilst being pretty damn good, is not a patch on either version I had in Hanoi. There really is something about eating in situ that can make any meal super special. But, that being said…it doesn’t totally suck either. It’s actually pretty tasty. And so fun to eat! Particularly if you have a group of people. Set it all out and people can wrap and roll what they want. It would be best served outside on a tiny chair and table as at a Bia Hoi Bar and washed down with some icy cold beer but failing that, your own home or garden would also be fine. But do have that ice cold beer!

Which leads me to my second disclaimer. It’s an absolute bastard to cook. Not difficult but there are a lot of moving parts. Don’t even try to do what I did and make it all in the same day. Do the pickles at least one day ahead. I would also try to do the tomato and dill mixture the day before too and just heat it up when you need it.

I couldn’t find the right sort of rice paper rolls and the ones I had turned into a hot mess so I I wrapped my Cha Ca in lettuce leaves. They added a nice crunch. You could also use tortillas to make it into a kind of Vietnamese Fish Taco.

Alternatively, ditch these all together and make a noodle bowl – I had one of these with the leftovers the following day and it was super.

I’ve added a few photo’s from Hanoi. I’m really starting to love that city! And I think even possibly more that Saigon is a great food city. Food is everywhere and in such fresh abundance. I hope you get a feel of the city from these…looking at them and eating the Cha Ca really took me back to our holiday. And got me thinking about the next….

Hanoi Street Food – Suckling Pig and Duck

Hanoi - Freshly Made Tofu — Hanoi – Freshly Made Tofu

Hanoi - Street Market — Hanoi – Street Market…and a fabulous rose dress

Hanoi - Banana Shop — Hanoi – Banana Shop

Hanoi Chickens dressed with roses for a festival day

Hanoi - Street Scene — Hanoi – Street Scene from a Bia Hoi bar.

To make your week fabulous why not cook something from a place you love? And don’t forget to tell me all about it!

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15
Oct
2014

The Flower Power Cocktail

categories: Cocktail, Edible Flowers, Gin, Lemon, St Germain

No, I’m not getting out my love beads and turning all peace, love and mung beans on you but I have been inspired by all things floral this week and I made you an amazing cocktail which is a veritable flowerbomb of flavour! (And not even the slightest hint of Parfait Amour).

Spring has sprung in Melbourne which means it’s constantly windy, all the better to spread pollen all over the place, so I’m sneezing constantly. We’re also having bizarre weather changes….Seriously WTF Melbourne? From 27 to 13 in one day? We’re living in crazy times!

On a happier note, the sun has been shining more frequently, we’ve had a couple of gorgeous warm days, I did twilight yoga in the park the other night and the garden is growing like crazy. Back at Easter we planted the front garden – I was going for a Mediteranean look so we have an olive tree, rosemary, thyme and lots of lovely lavender. We have a couple of dark pink ones:

As well as the more traditional purple ones:

Then my mum brought over these gorgeous roses from her garden:

So in between the sneezes, it really has been all about the flowers. And they have inspired a fabulous cocktail, called the Flower Power. It’s really a trashed up Lavender Lemonade, and you know what? I can get pretty damn trashy!!!! I was almost tempted to call this one the snowball, because once it got started it took on a life of it’s own.

So here is the entire evolution of the Flower Power Cocktail.

The Spark – Flower Power Coctail v1

The lavender in the garden got me thinking about a recipe I read ages ago on Thug Kitchen (which is an awesome blog) for Lavender Lemonade. Which you can find here:

Lavender Lemonade

And it’s a great recipe.

You could just make this and live happily ever after. It’s nice, it’s refreshing and they are very, very funny people. But you know, with all due respect to Thug Kitchen…it’s not nearly trashy enough for this girl!

Enter the Flower Power Cocktail v2.

Flower Power Cocktail v2 – A Kiss From A Rose

I had some gorgeous dried rosebuds bought to make my Persian recipes for book club (coming soon) and thought that they would be a nice addition.

They were.

The mixture will start to turn colour after about 15-20 minutes. For the best flavour, let the petals steep for at least an hour, I left mine overnight. An added bonus is that during the steeping your kitchen will smell like a garden

The Lavender and Rose Lemonade was really good. And a gorgeous pink! Very girly and perfect for sipping on a sunny afternoon.

Kissed By A Rose - Lavender and Rose Lemonade — Kissed By A Rose – Lavender and Rose Lemonade

But you know what? Sometimes this girl needs a little bit o’ booze mixed in with her flowers and citrus…so enter version 3…

Flower Power Cocktail v3 – The Crackling Rosie

So if you take your Lavender and Rose Lemonade and add a little hit of a florally gin like Hendricks you have a very pleasant cocktail. Still very girly and whilst you could sip it all afternoon it does have a little ginny kick to it.

Flower Power v3 - The Crackling Rosie — Flower Power v3 – The Crackling Rosie

But you want more. I know you do.

So, without further ado…..

The Flower Power Cocktail

So far, we have been topping our lemonade or our cocktails up with a little sparkling water.

For the true Flower Power Cocktail, use the lemonade mix straight.

Add your half nip, or hell, a whole nip of Hendricks. Top with St Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

Oh baby, oh yeah!

A couple of these and you’ll feel like you’re in San Francisco with flowers in your hair!

Gilding The Lily – The Flower Power Cocktail Bling

If you really want to trash up your Flower Power Cocktail you can add some flower petal ice cubes and make some lavender sugar to rim your cocktail glass. If you make the ice cubes use big trays to make them. My ice cubes were kind of small and it was a hot day so I ended up with a couple of mouthfuls of petals. Which is not great tastewise and even worse if you’re trying to look all classy and have to keep spitting out lavender buds!

Have a great week. And live wild, flower child!

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09
Oct
2014

Rebel With A Cause – Smoked Trout Empanadas

categories: Chipotle, Cream Cheese, Finger Food, Fish, Mexico, Puff Pastry, Smoked Trout, Snacks, Starters

Have you ever read a recipe where the ingredients seem right….but the execution just seems horribly wrong?

The other day I was looking for something in…you know THAT room? Otherwise known as the room where we dumped all the crap we didn’t have a specific home for when we first moved in. Nearly a year later? It’s all still there. Thank the Lord for whoever invented doors. It makes it so much easier to metaphorically close the door and walk away from the room when you can literally close the door and walk away from the room.

I didn’t find what I was looking for in the room, because most things that go in there don’t come out. What I did find was a manilla folder full of old recipe clippings which included one for something called for Trout and Mascarpone Triangles.

Before we get to the point does anyone else have problems spelling mascarpone? For some reason in my mind it’s marscapone. I also can’t say the word “Preliminary” – that one just ends up a hot mess of r’s and l’s where they shouldn’t be.

But anyway, immediately in my head, (yeah the same one that can’t spell ma-scar-pone or pronounce pre-lim-in-ary) I had a vision of what these would be. They would look like exactly like these:

Hmm…except….maybe a little more triangular.

So, I was bitterly disappointed when I actually read the recipe and found it was nothing like that.

In fact, that whole recipe annoyed the hell out of me. In most cooking circles when you call something an X & Y triangle it’s pretty much a given that the X and Y are IN the triangle. Take these delicious looking cheese and spinach triangles from taste.com.au. Spinach and Cheese both EXACTLY where they should be i.e. inside the pastry triangle.

That is what I wanted from my trout and mascarpone triangles! Golden puff pastry filled with chunks of gorgeous pink smoked trout, creamy mascarpone, fresh herbs, a touch of chilli….that was what my mind told me a Trout and Mascarpone Triangle could, and should, be.

At best the original recipe is for trout and mascarpone ON triangles. And who the hell wants that? No one that’s who. I’m calling shenanigans on that recipe.

In some circles they say, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. In my circle I say if you think their recipe is a crock, make it like you think it should have been. And while we’re in the spirit of rebellion – the fancy pants Italian cheese I can’t be bothered writing the name of (because I would only have to re-write it to spell it correctly) can go fuck itself too. I’m using good old Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Which I forgot to take a photo of. The rest of the stuff is here:

I used a smoked trout, you could sub in smoked salmon if you prefer or cook a fillet of fish as per the original recipe. Or even used canned salmon or tuna to make these. Up to you. And I had an empanada maker thing but you could make triangles as per the original recipe. Or embrace the spririt of doing it your way and make them any shape you want!

If you are going to use an empanada maker, here’s how you do it from an expert,Connie Veneracion. Shame I didn’t read this until after I had made mine and hence some of mine were a little…shall we call them rustic? 😉

How To Use An Empanada Maker

And here is the revised, and in my not so humble opinion, vastly improved recipe!

Enjoy!

Print

Smoked Trout Empanadas

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

400 smoked trout or cooked fish of choice
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 red onion, finely chopped
100g cream cheese, chopped into a small cubes
1 canned chipotle chilli and approx 1 tbsp of the adobo sauce it came in
1 tbsp dill
1 tbsp parsley
2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
poppy seeds and chilli flakes to garnish (optional)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

If using a smoked trout, remove the skin and flake the flesh from the bones. Place this in a bowl with the cream cheese, red onion, lemon juice, chilli, dill and parsley. Mix lightly to combine.
Preheat your oven to 200C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut four circles out of each of your pastry sheets, using your empanada maker or tracing around a small plate or cup.
Place 1 tbsp of the trout mixture in the middle of each circle then fold the pastry over to seal in the filling.
Crimp the edges to seal.
Place on the baking tray and brush with the beaten egg.
Sprinkle with the poppy seeds and chilli flakes if using.
Cook for 15 minutes or until puffed up and golden.

Lesson of the week – if you don’t like it, change it.

Have a fabulous week and fight the power!

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29
Sep
2014

Hayman Island Chicken Salad

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Chicken, Pineapple, Salad

Don’tcha just love it when bits of your life just seem to fit together? This Hayman Island Chicken Salad pretty much joined all the dots for me last week.

If last week my life was a movie, this week is a jigsaw.

I have always been inordinately fond of a jigsaw. I think it stems from being an only child and it being one of the things I could do alone. We have been doing some jigsaws at work recently and it has been awesome. We set them up in the kitchen so, at lunch time or randomly through the day, people can go in a do a piece or two.

Although, just between you and me, I think the lady who is bringing them in secretly hates us. Not for her the art prints which are my favourites or the Alpine scenes and waterfalls of my childhood, No way, Uh uh…She likes the impossipuzzle. We had only just recovered from #2 which was this:

No, not a series of pieces thrown on the table. The top one is the picture.The bottom one is a close up. It was only five hundred pieces and it took us three weeks to complete! It also left us shattered remnants of human beings. Then she brought in number 3.

Yep, no borders and five extra pieces. Not to mention a plethora of cats that all look the same She really does hate us.

There was some weirdness as well. We finished puzzle #2 on a Friday but left it out so people could admire our puzzle making skills and laud us accordingly. No change on Monday. However, when I came in on Tuesday, someone had removed the four corner pieces. They hadn’t taken them or thrown them away. Just removed them and left them on the table. Who or why? No idea. I work with some strange people.

But enough of the literal, here’s the metaphorical.

After eating my weight in bacon whilst being obsessed with Fruity Devils I felt the need for some slimming.

I also had some left over pineapple and oranges and Rosemary Mayne Wilson’s Salads For All Seasons.

There is a section on diet salads in the book however it contains recipes like this

And this:

I don’t know, maybe I’m just being picky but if I was making a recipe that I wanted people to eat, I’d think twice about having the word “mould” in the title. Just saying. Maybe that was Rosemary’s cunning plan. You are so repulsed by the name of the food that your appetite is automatically reduced. Then you realise it’s either cottage cheese and pineapple juice (note, you don’t even get the pineapple) or lamb and curry powder in gelatine and what’s left of it disappears all together. Voila. I suppose it’s one way to get skinny!

Handily, not all of Rosemary’s recipes are that disgusting. I made my version of her Hayman Island Chicken Salad which used up my leftover oranges and pineapple. It was pretty tasty and looked quite pretty with the green from the avocado, celery and spring onion, the orange from the oranges (duh) and the yellow pineapple. Mango would also be great in here and would add to the tropical vibe. I have shown it here as a sandwich but I also took some into work for lunch and it was great just as a salad too. Also, there was no avocado in the original. I just had one that needed to be used….

There is no explanation given the Salads For All Seasons as to why this recipe is named after Hayman Island which is a holiday resort on the Great Barrier Reef. I can only assume it was served there back in the 1970’s. It is possibly the thing in the white dish front and centre below.

Hayman Island Buffet via Vintage Queensland

So I had made my Hayman Island Chicken Salad and then, in a coincidence weirder than someone removing the corner pieces from a jigsaw, I happened to glance at the cover of this month’s Gourmet Traveller which had been sitting on my coffee table unread for a couple of weeks. (It actually made an appearance last week, slightly obscured by my huge glass of wine…)

And totally obscured by my hot sauce was this!

Coincidence? I don’t think so. I think the universe is trying to tell me something. And I’m fairly sure that it is that I need to get to Hayman Island pronto.

You see, I read that article and there is no mention of a chicken salad. Nor does it appear on any of the resort menus.

Which is, as far as I am concerned a travesty.

I feel it is my duty, no my mission, to bring this salad to the attention of the resort owners. I would be quite happy to spend a weekend working with the chefs to bring help back this piece of Hayman Island history. Although…we would probably need to match it with some wines and a cocktail or two. Hmm…maybe I’ll need a week.

And we needn’t go all out with the retro vibe. The outrigger canoe as a buffet table? That can stay gone.

And I’m not greedy. I don’t need the $ 10,600-a-night penthouse. I have simple tastes. The $1990 per night beach villa with private pool will be just fine.

How glorious does that room look? The only downside is that now I have that Coldplay song running through in my head.

As do you now too. Don’t thank me. You’re more than welcome.

All together now…Para, para, paradise…..Whoa-oh-oh oh-oooh oh-oh-oh.

So what do you think of my chances of getting the all expenses paid trip to Hayman to act as historical cuisine consultant to the chefs?

Yep. Me too. (Sigh).

Oh well, at least I have the salad!

Have a great week!

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Print

Hayman Island Chicken Salad

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

4 cups cooked chicken
1 cup celery, chopped
1 tbsp spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp capers
1 avocado, flesh cut into cubes
2 oranges, segmented (the original recipe called for tinned mandarin segments)
1 can pineapple pieces
2 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon zest
dash of tabasco sauce (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper

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Instructions

Combine the chicken, celery, spring onions, capers and lemon juice.
Chill for 1 hour.
Mix lemon zest, tabasco if using, and mayonnaise. Chill.
At serving time, add the pineapple, avocado and oranges to the chicken mix.
Gently add the mayonnaise and carefully mix through.
Season to taste
Top with almonds and serve.

Retro Food For Modern Times

Author: Taryn Nicole

Book Club October Update: Slow – Valli Little

August Selection – Slow: Valli Little

Reason/s for Choosing

Recipes Chosen

p16 Chinese Braised Beef (made)

p20 Oven Baked Lamb Curry (Made)

p30 Radicchio and Gorgonzola Risotto (made)

p32 Deconstructed Lasagne (made)

p72 Chicken with Butter Bean Puree and Crispy Chorizo (made)

p80 Salmon Poached in Olive Oil and Vanilla (made)

p82 Mussels in Cider (made) – Loved them!

p86 Thai Style Tomato Soup (made) – Super!

p90 Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup (made)

p100 Eggplant & Chickpea Curry (made)

p120 Autumn Rosti with Hot Smoked Salmon (made).

p122 Warm Barley and Mushroom Salad with Taleggio (made).

Cha Ca La Vong

The Flower Power Cocktail

The Spark – Flower Power Coctail v1

Flower Power Cocktail v2 – A Kiss From A Rose

Flower Power Cocktail v3 – The Crackling Rosie

The Flower Power Cocktail

Gilding The Lily – The Flower Power Cocktail Bling

Rebel With A Cause – Smoked Trout Empanadas

Smoked Trout Empanadas

Ingredients

Instructions

Hayman Island Chicken Salad

Hayman Island Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Instructions