my guest post on "the jaded tourist"

I know I owe an explanation to you all with regards to my 4 month disappearance... I promise I will explain myself, but in the meantime check out my friend's blog The Jaded Tourist.

I was flattered when she asked me to do a guest post on my dining experience at Tetsuya's.

Image from Nathan Garnett's article from www.theworlds50best.com

planet cake: basic cake decorating 101

I have started 15 posts in my 2 month absence, the recipes are up the photos are edited but I struggle with the writing. I told John that I was suffering from writer's block, the only problem is that I'm not a writer! I wish I could write as eloquently and as effortlessly as some people to the point I have considered enrolling in a writing class. Then I begin to have flashbacks of high school and all those essays that I struggled to write and completely freak myself out.

With that in mind, this post was too good to wait. Even if the writing wasn't impeccable I wanted to share with everyone about this amazing experience. I took a cake decorating class at Planet Cake with one of my good friends Peggy, we are both cooking/baking enthusiasts and had been looking forward to this class for the last 2 months. A few days prior to the course we started texting each other about how excited we were and so finally after much anticipation and excitement, the day had come.

It was 6 hours of sheer bliss with the occasional frustrations, but overall I loved every second of it!! What's not to love about being surrounded by moist chocolate cake, dark chocolate ganache, icing and like minded individuals who did not need an explanation of 'ganaching a cake' and laughed when the teacher warned us about 'cracked sausages' (ok so it was Peggy and I who were laughing the loudest!). I am hooked, I already want to book myself in for the Cake Decorating 102 class (can you believe it's all booked out till June?!?!?!). The teacher and the facilitator at Planet Cake were amazing~ there were only 10 of us in the class so we were all well looked after. If anyone ever considered taking a cake decoration class- DO IT!!! Especially those living in Sydney, you won't regret taking the course at Planet Cake.

I am already thinking about all upcoming birthdays where I can put my new techniques to good use, so stay tuned!

guacamole

I am convinced that avocado goes with anything, on its own, in a salad, a sandwich or whip up a simple guacamole for a healthier dip alternative for a party or a quiet movie night, instead of buttery popcorn try this guacamole with some corn chips. Not only are they delicious but they have such amazing nutritional value.  I'm quite convinced that savory is not the only way you can eat them, I mean they are a fruit right? The only time I have seen them used in a dessert is in an episode of Iron Chef, where it was turned into an icecream... has anyone come across an avocado dessert recipe that has been tried and tested? If so please share!!

Only issue is that I don't always pick the perfect avocado, I can remember on a few occasion I've gone home only to be disappointed. I read somewhere that an avocado should feel like pressing your finger on your nose (can't seem to remember the source), it should have a little give and not be too mushy. I tend to hold them in my hand and give it a little squeeze, if it gives a little I put them in my trolley and hope for the best!!

But check out these green gems I picked up recently, look how perfect they are...

This a guacamole recipe I got from my Colombian friend, Olga, which I tweaked just a little (because I can't help myself). Every party I've taken it to its gotten great reviews and I've had to scribbled down the recipe on scrap pieces of paper a few times. I remember the first time I tasted this guacamole I couldn't stop dipping my corn chips- not to worry I don't double dip but I kept going back for more.

Olga's Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1/2 Spanish (red) onion
1/2 red capsicum (bell pepper)
handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves chopped finely
1/2 lemon, juice
salt
cracked pepper
1/4 tsp paprika

Cut the avocado in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Use a fork to smash the avocado. .

Finely chop the Spanish onion and capsicum and add it to the avocado. Squeeze 1/2 lemon juice in the bowl.

Add the chopped coriander and mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the paprika at the end and mix well.

Tip: Olga always leaves the seed in the guacamole to prevent it from oxidizing. Lemon should also help with that, so sometimes I add just a little more at the end.

seafood cooked in white wine

My current food obsession is Curtis Stone... yes, I am aware Curtis doesn't technically fall under the 'food' category but I'm still obsessed, to the point he has gotten a special mention on my facebook status "what would I do without Curtis Stone, he's just that little bit fancy but oh so easy". Most people thought I was talking about the chef, but of course I was talking about his food... I came across his cookbook 'Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone' in a kiosk bookstand at the local shopping center, a quick skim through the pages I was convinced I had to buy it (the fact that he is featured through out the book is just an added bonus... I promise!).

I got my chance to cook something from his cookbook when a highschool friend, Jess, came to Sydney to visit her family from a far far away placed called New York. A mini reunion was in order, 4 of us girls catching up where we left off... the sun was out, we were well and truly enjoying the hot summer days, perfect occasion for seafood!! Something not too heavy and would be a perfect a compliment to my current wine of choice: Momo Sauvignon Blanc, yes named after yours truly (that is a lie) from Marlborough New Zealand. Not many people would disagree that NZ makes some of the best wines in the world (a close second to Australia of course) and their sav blancs are definitely one of a kind.

Anyway back to the food, I knew that I didn't want to cook anything too complicated but I still wanted to impress. We all had too much catching up to do and I definitely didn't want to miss out on all the goss whilst cooking in the kitchen, so I made sure all the seafoods were prepped and ready to be thrown together 20mins or so before we were ready to eat. By the way don't forget to serve this dish with some crusty bread to dip into the delicious seafood sauce left in the bottom of your bowl, you wont be able to resist yourself!

Seafood Cooked in White Wine
Lemon & Parsley
Adapted from Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 eschalots, finely diced
2 long green chillies, seeded and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
500g king prawns, peeled, deveined with tails intact
300g fresh scallps, with or without shells
1kg fresh clams or pippies, scrubbed
1kg fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded (tip below)
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp baby capers
1 lemon grated zest and juiced
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Heat 2 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy deep frying pan or large wok over medium heat. Add the eschalots and chillies, sauté for 30sec. Stir in the garlic, thyme springs and bay leaves. Add the prawns, toss gently to coat and cook for 2mins. Add the clams and cook for further 2mins. Add the mussels and cook for about 5mins or until the mussels and clams begin to open. Through in the scallops Pour in the wine and immediately cover the pan. cook for 11/2mins, or until the clams and mussels are open completely (discard any that do not open). Add the parsley, capers and lemon zest and juice. Toss to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Note: How to clean mussels

Curtis' tip: To debeard the mussels, first use the back of a spoon to clean of any barnacles. You may see a small tuft of what looks like a little beard. Pull the heard off the mussel and discard. If you can't find a beard, it simply means the mussels have already been prepared for you by your fishmonger.

My tip: Apart from removing the barnacles with a spoon, I have always been taught to place the mussel in a bowl and fill it up with water. For about 1kg of mussels add about 1tbsp of cornflour to the water and gently mix with a spoon. This apparently irritates the mussels and encourages them to 'spit' out any sand/debris that is inside their shell. Leave the mussels in the cornflour water for about 5mins, rinse thoroughly.

white chocolate cheesecake & mixed berries

What if I told you I had the perfect solution for an impressive no-fuss summer dessert?? No I'm not talking about fruit salads, I'm talking a cake. You heard right, a no-fuss, NO-BAKE cake that will not only impress your friends but I can almost guarantee at least one person will ask you for the recipe, four out of 4 for me so far (but if they don't please hold it against me!!). Not only that but it's that easy that you will be almost embarrassed to share the recipe and it won't take you more than half an hour to put together. There are no lumpy bits often found in home made cheesecakes and subtle white chocolate is sure to win over the dark chocolate devotees, like myself.

One advice though, make sure you make it the night before as it will have to be chilled in the fridge over night.

White Chocolate Cheesecake & Mixed Berries
Adapted from Australian GoodFood December 2009

100g milk arrowroot biscuit
60g butter, melted

500g cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup caster sugar

180g white chocolate, melted and cooled
300ml thickened cream, whipped
3 tsp gelatine
1/4 cup hot water
250g mixed berries to  (fresh berries are recommended)
pure icing sugar to dust

Coarsley break the biscuits and place in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add butter and pulse until combined. Transfer to a 20cm springform pan. Using fingers, spread and press mixture firmly over base. Chill for 15mins until firm.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

Fold through chocolate and cream. Whisk together gelatine and hot water until gelatine dissolves. Stir 1/4 cup of cream cheese mixture and mix well.

Pour over biscuit base and smooth surface. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, until firm.

Remove cheesecake from pan and top with berries. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

christmas turkey

John and I like to host mid-week dinner parties. It's more to do with our work schedules that we can't always have people over on the weekends, and we're lucky enough to have friends who's work schedules work in sync with ours. The dinners are usually always last minute and I'm a planner... I like to plan the menu- What to make for entree?? Main? What to have for dessert? The wine??? You get the idea. So when John suggested a turkey I panicked. I'd never made turkey before and I couldn't help but picture myself stuck in front of the oven, basting the bird on a scorching hot summers day. But I always like a challenge, so I reluctantly agreed and headed straight to the magazine stands and bought the Christmas issue of BBC Good Food Australia magazine.

There on page 65 was a beautiful looking turkey and a step by step guide to making a perfect Christmas dinner. I decided rather than run around finding recipes for sides that I would make all the food out of the Christmas special pages. Then I remembered John telling my about a colleague of his that swears by cooking a whole chicken on the Weber. Turkey was just a bigger version of a chicken right?? I ran the idea past John and got excited by the thought that this might just be the first dinner party where I wasn't stuck in the kitchen all night, and lucky for me John agreed. Off to the shops we went, 4 hours before the guests were due to arrive (yes we were both aware the turkey was going to take at least 3 hours...) So an hour later we arrived home only to realise the Weber had to be cleaned and we forgot to buy string and toothpick to secure the turkey. As the queen of compromise, I found the next best thing- SKEWERS!! That's right, our bird was going to be secured and prodded like a voodoo doll (you'll see what I mean in the pics). I know this is a long post but trust me, you wont go wrong with any of the recipes starting with the stuffing, the caramelised onion and cranberry sauce (not pictured but delicious none the less), green beans with almond and garlic butter, right through to the smashed potato.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!! Don't worry I have added keeping up with my blog on my long list of new year's resolutions, so hope you stick around.

Roast Turkey with Prune, Bacon & Walnut Stuffing

50g butter
1 leek, washed well, trimmed, halved, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 rindless shortcut bacon, chopped
1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1tbsp rosemary leaves
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add leek and garlic. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes until leek starts to soften. Add the bacon and cook for 5mins stirring occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the prunes, walnut, rosemary and breadcrumbs.

Fill the turkey crop (neck cavity) with the stuffing, taking care not to pack too tightly as the stuffing will expand during cooking. Press outside of the breast to mould stuffing to shape of turkey. Any remaining stuffing can be placed inside body of the turkey. Bring neck flap over stuffing and secure to underside with a skewer.

To truss the turkey so it holds its shape while cooking, place it on its back and fold wings back and underneath to secure. Run kitchen string around the wing and underneath turkey to cross over back . Bring string up and tie legs together, keeping legs close to body.

Brush turkey with melted butter and season.

Place directly on the bbq with a foil baking tray in between the coals. Don't forget to cover the turkey with foil. Close lid and bbq for an hour. Remove the foil and bast the turkey, continue to bast every 40mins.

Our 4.5kg turkey was done in 3hrs 15mins. It works out roughly about 40mins per kilo, or use a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, it should read 80C/176F. Alternatively pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a fork or a skewer. The turkey is cooked if the fork/skewer goes in easily and juices run clear.

Gravy

3 cups chicken stock
1 onion
2 tbsp plain flour
1/3 cup or dry white wine or verjuice

Drain all but 2 tbsp of fat from pan. Add onion and place on medium heat. Add flour and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often for 2 - 3 mins until browned. Pour remaining stock and verjuice, stirring constantly. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Gravy should reduce and taste rick. Season and strain into a serving jug.

(a snap shot of my new kitchen!!)


(The dinner table with green table cloth and Christmas napkins)

Green Beans with Burnt Butter & Almonds

750g green beans, trimmed

80g butter, cubed

1/3 cup flaked almonds

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

grated rind of 2 lemons

Cook beans in a saucepan of boiling, salted water for 3 - 4mins until just tender. Drain and cover to keep warm. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Cook for 3mins until butter turns light golden brown (be careful it doesn't burn!!). Add almonds and cook, stirring for another 1min until they are golden.

Toss through garlic, lemon rind and beans. Season to taste and serve warm.

Smashed Roast Potatoes

12 - 15 baby potato

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Cover potatoes with cold, salted water in a pan on high heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low ans simmer for 2omins, until just tender.

Preheat oven to 220C. Line a large baking tray with foil, then baking paper. When potatoes are tender transfer to double layer of paper towel and drain for 1 - 2mins. Using folded towel in palm of hand, gently press down on potatoes to flatten slightly without breaking apart. Carefully transfer to prepared tray.

Season potatoes with salt to taste and drizzle with olive oil, making sure potatoes are well covered on all sides. Bake potatoes, using a spatula or tongs to gently turn one halfway through cooking time for 30 - 4omins, until crispy and deep brown around the edges. (Note: I accidentally found that the potatoes were even crispier than normal when I left them to cool before I put them in the oven)

Cranberry & Caramalised Onion Sauce
(not pictured)

2 tbsp rice bran oil
2 large onions
pinch of ground cloves
375g frozen cranberries
1 cup sugar (I used brown)
1/2 cup water

Heat oil in a 23cm frying pan on medium. Add onion, cloves, a pinch of salt and griding or two of pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, stirring occasionally for 20 - 25mins until onion is golden brown and very soft. Remove lid, increase heat to medium-high and cook for 2 - 3mins, stirring until caramelised.

Add cranberries, sugar, another pinch of salt and 1/2 cup water. Simmer for 1min (I smashed my cranberries, rather than keeping them whole because they looked more rustic and appealing). Cover, remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

work christmas party

Ok let's ignore the fact that I promised to keep updating my blog... and jump straight into the first official gathering John and I had at our place. It was a Christmas party for my staff- unlike all other year we decided this year we would do a bbq at our place (it sounded like a good idea at the time but we didn't take into the consideration the amount of cleaning and baby proofing we had to do...). It was nothing fancy, family, girlfriends/boyfriends and kids were welcome.

There was just 1 condition, the guys from the kitchen were in charge of the bar and the guys from the floor were in charge of the food. Bar was lead by head chef Adam and the food was headed by Nathan and Keiran. Sounds interesting huh? Well considering Nathan is a chef by trade (with 10 years experience!!) we all knew the food would be great at least! But in the defence of the guys looking after the bar, the cocktails were amazing!!! It explains how some of the photos are a little out of focus... and blurry (oops).

Marinated Prawns and Squid

The BAR....

Entree: Falafel and Samosa with home-made Babaganoush

Everyone just chillaxing in our backyard... as the sun is setting


The Buffet Table (with full Christmas theme)

Smoke Salmon Salad

Herbed Chicken

Good old Aussie Steak on the Barbie

Roast Pumpkin Salad
(with feta, pine nuts and baby spinach leaf)

Garden Salad

Marinated Salad (this was my favorite!!!)

The Vegetarian Table

(cous cous filled capsicum, veg lasagne, roast vegetables)

The Gang

Dessert

Apple Crumble

Italian Rice pudding (left)

White Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse (right)

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry

(as a very very close second favorite)

Baklava

Just like sitting by a camp fire...

John and I stuck doing the cleaning (thanks guys!!!!)