Tis the season to eat, and eat and eat! 3 recipes for you.

Like many of you, at this time of year, I seem to do a lot of cooking and eating.  Because in Australia the 25 August signals the end of the school and working year, the beginning of the summer holidays and Christmas Day, the weeks beforehand are full of shopping, cooking, catching up with friends and family, eating out and at the homes of others, having friends and family to stay, drinking and stress!

This year, because of the move and because I managed to develop a doozy of a chest cold, I added a stressor but removed some of my usual activities.  Normally, I would use fruit soaking in alcohol to make fruit cake and chocolate balls.  I would make shortbread biscuits, panaforte, nougat,  white Christmas, mince pies, almond biscuits and lots of other goodies for gifts and to offer visitors.  This year, I only managed cathedral cake and rocky road.

Rocky Road

Ingredients:
100 g macadamia nuts
200 g marshmallows
1/2 cup cherries
600g chocolate

Method:
Line a cake tin with baking paper.
Mix the first 3 ingredients together.
Melt chocolate in microwave, then pour on other ingredients and stir together.
Pour into lined cake tin and smooth.
Put in cake tin infridge to set while you lick out the mixing bowl.

When cool, cut into chunks with a sharp knife

Gluten free Cathedral cake.
(if you want to, substitute plain flour for rice flour)

Ingredients:

5 cups mixed nuts (brazil, almonds, pecans and cashew)
5 1/2 cups glace fruits (cherries , pineapple, peaches, apricots, angelica, mango, pelon, pawpaw, canteloupe, oranges)
2 cups dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants)
4 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanella essence
1 1/2 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
alcohol( rum/brandy/whisky)

Method:

Heat fanbake oven to 120 degrees .  Grease a loaf pan. and line with baking paper
Cut larger pieces of fruit into chunks.
Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder and slat until smooth.  Add fruits and nuts,thoroughly.
Press even into pan and mix.
Bake 2 to 3 hours until firm when pressed.
Remove from oven and cool. 
Then, remove from paper and pan and brush with alcohol and then oil.  cut in slices wth serrated knife.

But, I have cooked a number of nice meals : a Japanese style dinner for my son's birthday.

By the way, the blueberry cheesecake his girlfriend made tasted as good as it looks!

and chicken " ribs" and potato wedges:

I also cooked my mum's Jamaican chicken recipe (sorry, but the photo didn't turn out), which, as usual, I have given my own twist:

Jamaican chicken

Ingredients:

Chop a whole chicken into pieces and marinate overnight if possible
in
Soya sauce( enough to cover and colour the meat, but not make it too salty)
Sugar, 1 dessert spoon.
Stones Ginger Wine, about 1 slosh
Garlic, 2/3 chopped
Ginger, about a knuckle size, chopped
Black Pepper
2 Onions sliced

Method:

Take chicken pieces from marinade, reserving marinade
Brown pieces in oil, then add marinade and extra water if needed.  Bring to boil then simmer till tender.  Thicken with cornflour if desired.

I usually serve this with rice and peas/

 

However, the best meals were made by others.  We had guests over and my husband created this amazing seafood paella:

They provided the salads

chocolate shortbreads filled with brandy cream and strawberries

and raspberry jelly

and I contributed a pavlova.

On Christmas day,  we had pippies

 

 as well as chips and antipasto olives and sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes.

 

My daughter cooked the ham with an amazing sauce:

My husband cooked the turkeys that I had stuffed with sausage meat, pork mince, cranberries, pinenuts and seasoned breadcrumbs:

 

I made the candied sweet potato 

and we also had salad, baked potatoes, peas and mint.

After opening presents, we had fruit salad:

Plum pudding, upon which my husband poured rum for the annual flaming

and ice-cream cake

as well as custard and chocolates.  No wonder we are all starting the new year with a desire to lose weight!

Experiencing a degustation, and eating out

I have finally surfaced enough from the tsunami effect of my move from Brisbane to Melbourne to be able to resume my blog. 

Needless to say, the meals I have created  have been a bit hit and miss, with all the unpacking, arranging, renovating of a move, but I have still managed to cook a few nice meals.  One was very simple:  steamed swimmer crabs with edamame peas.  Another nice one was rib eye fillet with mushrooms and vegetables.  Still another was a ham okonomiyaki.  However, my most memorable meals have not been at home.

I had my first experience of a degustation, when my husband took me for our 36th wedding anniversary at Esquire, in Brisbane.  Interesting, inspiring, an exploration, very enjoyable, but you wouldn't want to do this yourself every day or eat this way all the time.  And, not cheap!  We had the 14 course meal - rather too much food, in retrospect, but we wanted to try everything and enjoy the experience of eaing slowly and guessing exactly what was in each plate.

 The first dish was very good: sheep yoghurt, sorrel, granita and peanut.  A melt in the mouth, delicious, experience.

Next were spring vegetables with a buttermilk and dill dressing.  I really loved the fried kale and the young broad beans were amazing1

This dish was  sashimi-style, black flathead, mustard, ginger and shiitake mushroom powder.  Very good indeed.

Then came pilchards with cavalo nero and onion.  Another lovely dish.

This dish was eagle ray, parsley and brown butter with sorrel leaves.  Yummy.

We also, by the way, had sourdough bread and butter.  I had been told it was brilliant, but although it was good, it just seemed like nice bread to me.

My least favourite dish was the beetroot, goat milk and carrot icecream.  I wasn't sure that the tastes all went together well.  Plus, it looked like those revolting deep fried hot dogs they sell at the agricultural shows!

 

 But, I loved the strawberry leather, dipped in icing sugar.  I must try making it.

 

Then, we had lamb, almond and garlic with tamari.  Another good dish.

This was followed by mountain goat lomo, gouda with potato and an almond cream sauce.
Delicious. 

Another dish was the wagyu corned beef, pickles and ketchup, with a horseradish sauce.  I could have done without the ketchup.  Pity the photo didn't come out.

The richest dish was the very rich, very creamy, popcorn.  Too rich for me, but Bob ate it up!

I much preferred the swiss browns, which were crisp and sweet, and served with freeze dried blueberries.

And I loved the chocolate rocks!

I also adored the campari sorbet and curds and whey icecream with freeze dried manderines.  Yum.

I wasn't so keen on the wagyu fat caramel.  Again, it was too rich for my taste and I didn't think the flavours married well.

 

Thanks, Bob!  A great experience!

We also went to Pappa Rich in Glen Waverley with relatives from England and had meals at the other end of the spectrum, but very enjoyable, all the same.   I enjoyed my Nasi Lemak :

and Bob his prawns and noodles

Apparently, the roti canai was pretty good too. 

After, the meal, we strolled round the street, marvelling at the amount of eateries in the street, the amount of people out on a week night, and the variety of food available.  Despite being full, the ladies had to try the desserts at Dessert Story.  we watched one lady receive, with some amazement her volcanic looking crushed ice dessert. I tried, and enjoyed,  a Hong Kong sago black pearl cold soup if I remember correctly.  My partner in crime seemed to enjoy her yellow version.

We were lucky enough to be invited to a Vietnamese-Australian engagement party at the home of a friend.  The procedure was interesting, since it was decided to let the Vietnamese influence predominate, and the Groom-to-be's mother (who cooked most of it) and her relatives paraded this array of red and gold adorned food into the house to place on the red-clothed table:  alcohol, tea, suckling pig, moon cakes, spring rolls, rice noodles, fruit ( including the biggest and tastiest strawberries I have ever seen)

 

My favourite were the husband and wife cakes ( not pictured)- steamed XuXu cakes which symbolise faithfulness in marriage.

 

The Aussie side also contributed:  salads, desserts, wine, beer and soft drinks.  And the most amazing cakes.  My stomach felt like it was being ring-barked by my waistband at the end!  Dee- licious!!!!!!