A Little break in the planning to cook...

Life has been hurtling along at such a frantic pace that I am fast being left behind in a dizzy daze. It is three weeks now till the wedding and there is so much to do still. 

I thought I'd be missing out on the daring bakers and cooks challenges for these two months but I have to say Dolmades are such a favourite of mine that I just had to have a crack at making them for myself after all these years. The results were delicious and have been easily demolished by friends and family. 

So for my filling I have started off with four kinds of rice: Wild rice, Basmati Rice, Aborio Rice and Brown Rice. 

I added in sparks of flavour with a little chopped tomato and mint, sautéed onions, preserved lemons, chopped dates and apricots, a sprinkling of raisins, pine nuts and pepitas and finally a small dash of cinnamon and garam marsala (or was it the chinese five spice bottle I grabbed - my mind has turned to mush so I shall leave you with images instead).

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Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

The challenge of getting through August

It's been a bit of a struggle this month, a lot of pre-wedding conflicts and issues to sort out so I've been disorganised in the kitchen. Things like dropping my mobile phone and wiping a lot of photos didn't help, I had made a second batch of periogi's with a steak and mushroom filling and fried them off in the pan at the end and they were yummy but my photos of them are lost forever courtesy of a knock on the technological head. Time was swallowed into black holes in the middle of things and slipped very much away from me. 

So what do I have to show for Augusts daring challenges. 

For the Daring Cooks Periogi challenge the first flavour I tried to make was prawns with coriander and tomato. I took some green prawns and simmered them in the pan with some diced tomatoes (a little larger than cherry tomatoes but not as big as your average one), chopped fresh coriander stems and olive oil. I only really got one or two successful dumplings out of this first batch as I didn't let my prawns and sauce cool down sufficiently before making them and I had a few issues with the heat melting holes in my dumplings.

Sticking with seafood for my Aussie periogi my second flavour was some slice golden shallots with more of the large cherry tomatoes simmered together with a tiny splash of marsala for sweetness and ras el hanout for a warm spiced note. Added to this was small little pieces of flathead fillet and then some fresh diced chives added at the end when wrapping the up. This time I waited for the mix to cool and didn't roll the dough out as thinly as before and pulled these ones up into more of a Chinese Dumpling style presentation that will need some more practice for sure.

For Daring Bakers I made my brown butter cake and caramel pear ice-cream sandwiched into little petit-fours. I tried making some chocolate fondant but had some issues working with it so only got one covered whilst the others waited in the freezer. I wasn't very organised and with the headaches of spans of time evaporating infront of me I didn't have much idea of what to do with my freezer abandoned petite fours which I wasn't sure would still be very tasty after three + weeks so I whacked on some leftover moscavado cream from another dessert and piped some icing over them without much thought really but its past the deadline and I just need to get something up however poorly styled it is. Hopefully I can revist something like this when things calm down.

I did however enjoy a nice big bowl of caramel pear ice-cream

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The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

Daring to tackle a new challenge – Daring Cooks July

Well I've decided to tackle a new challenge and join the group over at the daring kitchen, there are two challenges a month, a cooking one and a baking one and I've signed up for both. 

My first challenge was a nut butter which had me raising an eyebrow at first considering I am severly allergic to brazil nuts and mildly allergic to walnuts and pecans and generally suspicious of some other nuts out there. 

I do however love pine nuts so I got blending and they made a lovely rich dense creamy sauce. 

Of the recommended recipes I adapted the one of chicken and mushrooms with fettucine for some beautiful autumn mixed mushrooms and soba noodles.

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"The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online."

Recently - From the kitchen

First up we have a dinner party I forgot to post up at the time... the main was a lemoncello poached chicken with zucchini spaghetti. I was really pleased with this dish the flavours were really well developed, the chicken succulent and the whole thing was pretty easy and impreessive. 

Next I present the entree for the same meal (dessert was local gelato for our ice-cream loving friends).

So basically we have a tart of spiced salmon and mango salsa. I started with my own home made pastry which I flecked with some fennel and coriander seeds for some added interest and flavour.

Next in comes a layer of creme fraiche. On the side is served some watercress and a candied cherry tomato.

Now we add the mango salsa made with spanish onions, cucumber and mango with a lime dressing. Just a note with the spanish onions I lightly poached these for just a minute or two in some sugared water just to take a little of the sharpness off them as my fiancee hates raw onion and I'm not that keen on it either, remember to just do this very lightly as you still what the crispy zest of the onion and its just to take the edge off.

Next comes the flaked salmon, this was cooked in a spice crust which gives it a dark very smokey flavour to contrast with the sweet zestyness of the salsa and the softness of the cream. Final touch is to top it with some salmon roe and one or two pieces of salsa to give it a nice mixed feel. 

Now for another party contribution... some mini lamb pies, they don't look like that much from the outside as their fillings were very rich with slow cooked lamb in red wine sauce, some mushrooms, onions etcetera and kept leaking out of corners but they were a massive hit and went far too quickly. 

A meal for Geoff and I with the beautiful salmon fillet from the farmers markets... not much to do for this other than cooking some quinoa, quails eggs and some caramalised soy braised green beans and fennel slivers.

some baked creamy leeks

Mushrooms on toast with a touch of goats cheese and coriander

A very warming and cosy bowl of soup thats a blend of celeriac, fennel, potato and leek. A touch of milk at the end and careful seasoning and I was devouring this very happily. 

And whilst I had the blender out I made an entree of a persimmon, pear and custard apple smoothie - yum

Whilst we're in the winter spirit of things I made a Queen Pudding for Geoff and I. Always a family favourite.

Finally lunch the other week which was the perfect balance of simplicity and good taste. Some fresh zesty guacamole, corn chips and some fish cooked with a light sprinkling of ras-el-hanout, salt and pepper with fresh coriander. Dig your chip into the guacamole then pile some fish on top and its healthy and fun without any cheese or cream in sight. 

Christmas Eve Party

Another year, another Christmas. The second in my new place and the second time I hosted Christmas Eve for the family before the more traditional turkey and pudding on the day at Mum and Dads place.

So for this feast I created a spread of canapes around my penguin inspired advent calendar (the orange, blue and black thing at the back). Food included cherry tomatoes stuffed with goats cheese and cranberries, oven roasted oregano sea salt pita crisps (oh so simple but very nice, just store bought pita bread cut into triangles brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper and oregano and laid on a baking tray in the oven for 5-10 minutes to crisp up very nicely). There was little tartlets filled with tuna, cucumber and lime and another with roasted eggplant, sundried tomatoes and serrano ham. I had a cheese platter with a lovely French goats cheese rolled in herbs and an Italian pecorino matured in honey and hay. I made a cauliflower, cheddar and tuna dip (just those three ingredients whizzed round to creamy purree and seasoned). There was cucumber rounds filled with hummus (very tasty leftovers from a friend who made it themselves) and salami. Then there was a decadent salad in Christmas flavours, the base is chicken poached in galangal, kaffir lime leaves, ras el hanout and a touch of chilli, that was then shredded and combined with snowpeas, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, coriander, fennel, roasted potato and sweet potato and caramelised red onions.

Dessert was a special, I had made my gingerbread cake the week before for a barbeque and had some left over which I crumbled up into the base of trifle glasses and then added a splash of rum, grand marnier, morello cherries and a chocolate hazlenut cream poured over the top to make little Christmas flavoured trifles. I even toasted my own hazlenuts for the cream component.

Finally here is a glimpse of my Christmas Tree. This is for me the most special part about Christmas. No lights or tinsel here either, each decoration has been collected throughout my life and travels. Every baubel hanging on there is different and interesting and is attached to a memory from my past. Food might shift and change around from year to year but this tree will always be with me (albeit a different pine tree to hang it all from of course)

Aspiring to the Art of Food

Since moving out of the family nest and establishing my own it is interesting to reflect on how much my thoughts and priorities have switched. 

Previously I would be far more outward minded, thinking about the world around me and how all the dots connected, considering the twists and turns of society, the things that inspired me and the things I despised in the world. I would follow the news more and think about the events that impacted on us or what they said about us as people.

Now though I have new challenges which I am dedicating my time to and relishing in many ways. I never expected my blog to wind up focusing on so much food but I do love a good meal and I am trying to improve my cooking by massive strides. It helps that I have taken to it quite naturally and I have a well developed palette from years of eating good tasty food. 

Yet I want to achieve more than simply making a meal that tastes good. Gradually I want my dishes to start looking like little artworks as well. This is of course a hangover from being too busy to paint much any more either. 

That is is of course the challenge of new responsibilities, your thoughts and energies are refocused on other  things in your life whilst prior passions get left behind, at least for a while. 

In the meantime this is my latest creation. On the base is a pancake/fritter consisting of pulverised corn and fennel mixed in with a thick pancake batter to make a nice hearty fritter. On top of that is some shredded chicken which I poached in water with a teaspoon of ras el hanout spice mix to give it a delicate yet rich flavour. Then scattered on top is some pistachio nuts, toasted pine nuts, cranberries and coriander leaves. On road testing this got full marks for taste and flavour and I rather like the beautiful colours in with its jewels of red and green on a golden base. Now all I need is a name for it. 

A dinner party splashed in red and green jewels

It was wonderful to shake off some dust and leap into the role of hosting a small dinner party for my parents and partner. Nor is an excuse needed, after all it's a good chance to try a few recipes I hadn't tried before without the pressure of a 'special event'. First up a nice slow cooked lamb. Unfortunately I didn't have time to photograph the final dish as I was too busy chatting away and satisfying peoples stomachs but I have a shot of it half way through. I can tell you that after some further slow cooking I tore up the lamb into shreds and chunks, scattered pomegranate seeds, toasted pinenuts and mint leaves. The colours were lovely but my guests were well and truly ready to tuck in. 

The previous week I had bought a lovely long tart dish, perfect for a recipe that I had been eyeing off for some time and it was good to make it before the raspberries and figs disappeared until next season. It is a burnt butter tart with pistachio meal and with figs and raspberries embedded in it. After cooking, added is a raspberry caramel drizzle and some more pistachio nuts to bring out a lovely array of colours. My only disappointment is realising I don't actually have a suitable long plate for serving such a tart upon.

Pumpkin for one

I bought a rather sweet little baby pumpkin at Fratellis the other day, it was so adorable I wanted to do something interesting with it and also try to keep it whole rather than just chop it into chunks and turn it into wedges of roast pumpkin or blended into a soupy pulp. 

One thing that surprised me looking through my cookbooks was at how few references there were for pumpkins, some books didn't even have a single recipe featuring it. Jamie had some under 'squash' but my mums trusted hand me down copy of Delia's complete cookery course didn't have a single mention of pumpkins or squashes... am I missing something here? Why the unpopularity?

Anyway I had a baby eggplant which I diced into small little cubes and some tomato also diced and some chopped anchovies, (I would have added onion and rice but I'd run out of room by then) some seasoning of oregano, salt, pepper and a dash of cardamon and I squashed all this into the centre of my deseeded pumpkin... It ended up being just the right portion for one, warming without being too guiltily fattening...