Book Club Update – Slow

categories: Book Club, Books, Fish, Pie, Seafood, Slow, Slow, Valli Little

It’s been a while so I thought I would give you a little update on how I am getting on with the Tasty Reads Books.

Slow: Valli Little: August 2014 pick

Recipes in book: 60

Recipes marked to cook: 34 38

Cooked to date 12 22

Newly Cooked

p50 Fresh Piccalilli

I did not make the Ham Hock Terrine that this was supposed to accompany but this was one super pickle!!! So fresh and tasty and zingy.

p60 Roast Chicken With Pan Roasted Romesco

This was delicious!

p64 Oven Baked Thai Chicken Curry

Meh…take it or leave it…a solid chicken curry but nothing to write home about.

p66 Moroccan Chicken with Olives

Sorry, I took this photo on the fly during a dinner party. Not the best quality but this dish was great. Very tasty and you can pop it in the oven and pretty much forget about it until serving time! Oh, and in the background you can see the fennel and apple salad from Persiana.

Slow - Moroccan Chicken With Olives — Slow – Moroccan Chicken With Olives

p70 Massaman Roast Chicken

I really wanted to cook this in style of the cover (above) but we had a heap of chicken breasts…this was delicious!

Slow - Massaman Curry Roast chicken — Slow – Massaman Curry Roast chicken

p74 Fish Pie

OMG. So good.

p76 Green Curry With Smoked Salmon

This was ok. I probably would not make it again. It was a bit too salty with the smoked salmon and the soy and the fish sauce.

p84 Fish Tagine

Superb!

p102 Baked Mushrooms with Pine Nuts & Feta

Absolutely delicous!!!

p124 Deep Fried Brie with Sweet Chilli Sauce

Of this lot, my top three were the mushrooms, the fish pie and the tagine. And you know…fried cheese is never wrong!!! The piccalilli was really good too.

The worst was the smoked salmon curry. Funny thing was, I don’t think I had it marked as something to cook, however we bought some hot smoked salmon which was on sale so I thought I would give it a go. I should have stuck to my initial instincts.

Still To Go

p6 Braised Beef Cheeks With Salsa Verde

p8 Braciola (you’ll notice I’ve added a few in)

p10 Steak with Wild Mushroom Sauce

p22 Lamb & Apricot Tagine

p24 Massaman Curry Lamb Shanks

p28 Lamb En Croute

p36 Macaroni Cheese with Truffle Oil

p44 Meatballs with Heavenly Mash

p62 Roast Quail with Split Pea Dhal

p88 Mushroom Soup with Garlic Bread

p92 Cauliflower Cheese Soup

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

Sixteen to go.

I’d like to cook them all before this August which will be the 12 month mark. Technically, that should be easy. Then again, I also have retro books, Persiana, Healthy Every Day and two Tasty Reads selections I have not even told you about yet!!! Plus at least one other bloggy project I am keen to get off the ground. We’ll see…

Have a great week!

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16
Mar
2015

Whiskey in The Jar – The Emerald Presse

categories: Cocktail, Ireland, St Patrick's Day, Whiskey

I was so disappointed with my attempt at an Irish Potato Salad Roll that it drove me to drink.

Quite luckily as it happened because that particular cab on the road to rack and ruin drove me right up to the Emerald Presse. And you know, if there’s one other thing the Irish are famous for outside of potatoes, corned beef and cabbage, it’s drinking. And the Emerald Presse will tickle the tastebuds of even the most fastidious of Fassnidges.

Emerald Presse1

I’m not normally a whiskey drinker so I was not sure how this would taste. I liked the idea of the mint, apple and lime even though they seemed a weirdly light combination for what I always think of as being a heavy drink.

Anyhoo….Put ’em together and have you got? Not bibbidi-bobbidi-boo but…My new favourite drink!!!!

The flavours worked really well together. That little frizzante from the sparkling apple juice also added some lightness to it. In my best Irish accent this was the fooking craic!!!! I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious this is. You need to make it immediately and come back to me.

Go on

I’ll still be here when you get back.

Now, take that first sip and “Ohhhhh…..Yeah, sooooooo good”

Then we’ll have a sneaky second. Just because that sparkling apple juice isn’t going to sparkle forever.

The original recipe for this called for 45 ml of Jameson’s. When I measured this out, it looked like a huge amount of whiskey. I scaled mine back to around 30mls and found it about right for my taste. You can scale up or down according to your preference.

Styling Tip

If you really wanted your whiskey in a jar, this would look really cute served in mason jars – in which case you probably could use the full 45ml of Jameson’s.

[yumprint-recipe id=’27’] Happy St Patrick’s Day, may the road rise to meet you!

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13
Mar
2015

When Irish Eyes Aren’t Smiling

categories: Ireland, Potato Salad

I wanted to make something really amazing for St Patrick’s Day and when I say something really amazing what I mean is an Irish Potato Salad Roll. And you all thought I was joking when I said I was going to make the PSR into a thing!!!

So, I found this recipe for an Irish Potato Salad – this baby has potatoes, cabbage and corned beef. Faith and Begorrah, could you get more stereotypically Irish?

I was so excited I played some Mumford and Sons and did a little impromptu Riverdance around the dining room.

Irish Potato Salad Roll here I come!!!!

The Luck of The Irish Part 1

The first problem arrived when I could not find celery seed in either of my two local supermarkets. Minor Detail. I have celery salt. And celery. How much flavour is the seed going to add anyway?

The Luck of The Irish Part 2

I”m just going to come out and say it. Corned beef is disgusting. Maybe I bought the wrong sort of stuff but it said Corned Beef on the tin:

The recipe said to cube it, so I assumed it was going to be kind of like Spam i.e. able to be cubed. What I did not expect was this disgusting gelatinous fatty mush which almost made me gag. There were also big chunks of fat left in the bottom of the can.

And it smelt really bad.

My original plan was to cook the corned beef, onion and cabbage together, then make a kind of chunky mash with the potatoes, mayo and pickle and swiss roll them together and serve it cold.

Having seen the corned beef cold put me right off though so that plan went out the window. Mine was going to be a warm salad.

The Luck of The Irish Part 3

So, I started cooking my corned beef and onion and….oh, god, this bit did actually make me gag. There was something weird in the meat. Initially I thought it was one of those lumps of fat. Except it didn’t melt.

It looked like a piece of skin. This picture does not even convey the disgustingness of this lump of….whatever the fuck it was…

So, whilst I was dry heaving, the corned beef started to stick to the pan. So I thought it might be a good idea to throw a glass of wine in there to deglaze the plan. Because wine makes anything better right?

Wrong. This is how doomed this dish was, Adding the wine just made a very fatty, milky, winey, even more stinky liquid rise to the top. This was so incredibly gross it’s kind of making me throw up a little in my mouth just thinking about it.

The Luck of The Irish Part 4

In the end I plated it up by making some chips with the potatoes and making a stack. Potato, corned beef, potato, mayo and chives, potato, corned beef, mayo and pickles.

The Luck of The Irish Part 5

If this was a Hollywood version or even a reality tv show, right about now, I’d saying something along the lines of “You know, when I plated this up, despite all the set backs, despite all the trials and tribulations, this tasted fantastic….best thing I’ve ever eaten”.

It was nothing like that.

It definitely wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten. Then again, I ate bugs in Cambodia. It was the definitely worst thing I’ve eaten this year. And this is the gift that keeps on giving, not only did it leave a layer of grease in my mouth that survived at least two tooth brushings but even though I had the extractor fan on for the longest time, the day after I made this, there was still a fug of corned beef and cabbage through my entire house.

Hmm…maybe this really did need the celery seed.

Epic fail.

Sorry people of Ireland. I tried.

And my head told my heart
“Let love grow”
But my heart told my head
“This time no, This time no

But never fear…just like a benevolent Colin Fassnidge on My Kitchen Rules, I’m giving myself a redemption round.

And this time, it’s something not even I can fuck up. Roll out the barrel of Jameson’s…next up…we’re having an Irish inspired cocktail. Please let it be fabulous…or you know…just better than this. Otherwise, I might have to strategically vote myself out….

How do you plan to celebrate St Patrick’s Day? If at all?

What’s the worst thing you’ve eaten this year? Ever?

What are your thoughts on strategic voting – MKR or anywhere

Have a great week!

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09
Mar
2015

Stuff and Nonsense – March 2015

categories: Books, Cheesecake, Persiana, Podcasts, TV

No retro food today just a random collection of what I’m doing and loving at the moment. I love it when other bloggers do this so I thought I might give it a go. The title for this is inspired by this gorgeous song by Missy Higgins, covering an old Split Enz song which I have just rediscovered on my ipod.

Stuff I’m Listening To

A workmate suggested the Welcome To Night Vale podcast to me. And I am loving it!!! Quirky kooky at it’s best!!!

Stuff I’m Reading

I joined a book club!!! Our book of the month is Us by David Nicholls. I am so excited to read this. I loved his last book, One Day. Also a bit scared about the whole book club thing. First meeting next Monday!

I have just finished reading this which I loved. This was one of those books where I just wished I had had the idea to do it. This was so funny although it did get a bit repetitive at times but this may have been because I read it in pretty much a day. And like most diets, it left me wanting more!

Blogs

I’m loving Flawless Visions take on MKR. Hilarious

So sad that Yinzerella is taking March off.

Stuff I’m Watching

MKR as mentioned.

I’m loving season 2 of Broadchurch

Stuff I’m Cooking

I took a fairly ordinary baked vanilla cheesecake and fancied it up with the addition of some Chambord and a take on Sabrina Ghayour’s Strawberries with Basil Sugar. This was delicious!!!

Have a great week. And beware the hooded figures in the dog park!

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06
Mar
2015

Peachy Keen for Peach Sorbet with Lavender & Rosemary

categories: 1970's food, Cocktail, Desserts, Lavender, Peaches, Rosemary, Sorbet, Sparkling

Summer, and peach season, is pretty much drawing to a close here. So, if like me, you love the stone fruit, how can you prolong the taste of summer through autumn, winter and spring? By making this gorgeous sorbet which combines lovely sweet peaches with (ahem)…homegrown lavender and rosemary. Yes, I have garden produce!!!

This is so simple, just these three ingredients, some sugar and water.

And you get one of the loveliest ice creams ever. This is really refreshing without being too sweet – the lavender and rosemary are not overpowering but add a little depth to the fruit and sugar.

AUTUMN – The Sorbet Ma’am, Just The Sorbet

Autumn in Melbourne is lovely. You get cold crisp mornings, warm days and cool evenings. To prolong the taste of summer as it starts to get darker and cooler, this peach sorbet is perfect just on it’s own in a cone. All alone. Like a rolling stone.

Yes. I think it’s enough now too. Because I heard you moan and groan.

Really stopping…NOW.

Because just look at this peachy goodness!

WINTER – Baked Peaches With Amaretti and Amaretto and Peach Sorbet

Mmmm…hot baked peach, cold peach sorbet , herby, nutty, sweet and boozy….that’s about all my favourite adjectives right there. And I totally forgot to take a picture of it before eating half of it. So I had to borrow a peach off my friend’s plate to take this picture. Thanks for the peach Monica!!!

Peaches Baked with Amaretti and Amaretto2

You may be wondering where you are supposed to find peaches in winter? Well my mum used to make this for us waaaaay back and we only ever used to have it with tinned peaches. And believe me, this is one of the few things where you will ever hear me say that this works as well (maybe even a little better) with tinned as fresh.

SPRING Into A Peach Sorbet Bellini

Spring in Melbourne means the Spring Racing Carnival which means lots of champagne. You can really welcome the warmer days by adding a dollop of the peach sorbet into the bottom of your champagne glass for a fabulous take on a Bellini.

So good even Lulu wants one!

Hope your week is peachy keen, jelly bean.

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Print

Peach Sorbet with Lavender and Rosemary (3 ways)

Print Recipe

This deliciious and easy to make peach sorbet will bring back the flavour of summer all through the year

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

For The Sorbet
200g sugar
2 tbsp edible dried lavender
2 springs of rosemary, about as long as your thumb
1 kg of peaches
200g water

To Serve

Ice cream cones

For The Baked Peaches with Amaretto and Amaretti

4 large peaches, or you can used tinned, in which case you will need 10 halves
20 crumbled amaretti biscuits
4 tbsp Amaretto Liqueur
2 tbsp brown sugar
Butter for greasing the pan
4 scoops of sorbet

For The Bellini

Sparkling Wine
Rosemary sprigs and lavender sprigs and peach wedges to garnish (optional)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For the Sorbet

Place the sugar, water, lavender and rosemary into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Then simmer for 5 minutes.
With a paring knife, make a small cross into the bottom of each peach. Place in a bowl and pour boiling water over the peaches. Let them sit for a few minutes then tip into a bowl of iced water. The skin should now be quite easy to peel off. Cut the peaches into wedges and place them in the sugar syrup.
Once this mixture is cool, remove the peaches and place them in your blender, strain the syrup to remove the lavender buds and rosemary and add the liquid to the blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container and chill in freezer for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm.
Serve with ice cream cones or as described below.

For The Baked Peaches with Amaretto and Amaretti

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Lightly butter a baking tray
If using fresh peaches, cut in half, remove the stones and, using a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out a little bit more of the peach flesh and place in a small bowl. If using canned peaches, finely dice 2 peach halves and place in a small bowl.
Place the crushed biscuits, the amaretto and 1 tbsp of sugar in the bowl along with the peach flesh. Stir to combine.
Fill the peach halves with this mixture.
Place the peaches onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
If using fresh peaches, bake for around 20 minutes until cooked through then place under a hot grill for the last 5 minutes to really caramelise the topping. If using tinned peaches, bake for 5 minutes, really just to warm the peaches through then place under the grill for the last 5 minutes.
Serve immediately, 2 to a plate with a dollop of sorbet.

For The Bellini

Add a dollop of sorbet to your champagne glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish as desired.
Enjoy!!!

Notes

I like to leave my biscuit crumbs fairly rustic so they vary in size from crumbs to larger chunks.

Slow: Valli Little: August 2014 pick

Newly Cooked

p50 Fresh Piccalilli

p60 Roast Chicken With Pan Roasted Romesco

p64 Oven Baked Thai Chicken Curry

p66 Moroccan Chicken with Olives

p70 Massaman Roast Chicken

p74 Fish Pie

p76 Green Curry With Smoked Salmon

p84 Fish Tagine

p102 Baked Mushrooms with Pine Nuts & Feta

p124 Deep Fried Brie with Sweet Chilli Sauce

Still To Go

Styling Tip

The Luck of The Irish Part 1

The Luck of The Irish Part 2

The Luck of The Irish Part 3

The Luck of The Irish Part 4

The Luck of The Irish Part 5

Related articles

Stuff I’m Listening To

Stuff I’m Reading

Blogs

Stuff I’m Watching

Stuff I’m Cooking

AUTUMN – The Sorbet Ma’am, Just The Sorbet

WINTER – Baked Peaches With Amaretti and Amaretto and Peach Sorbet

SPRING Into A Peach Sorbet Bellini

Peach Sorbet with Lavender and Rosemary (3 ways)

Ingredients

To Serve

For The Baked Peaches with Amaretto and Amaretti

For The Bellini

Instructions

For the Sorbet

For The Baked Peaches with Amaretto and Amaretti

For The Bellini

Notes