One of the best things about food blogging is meeting fellow bloggers. Case in point is Christie from Fig & Cherry who has proved to be a great blogging friend and a lot of fun to hang out with. We have a lot in common, from obviously loving food, Dexter, pillow menus, hotels to being bossy chatterboxes. So when she read about our visit to Dunes, we got to talking and she mentioned that she hadn’t been to Palm Beach before. It seemed a tragedy for a Sydney-Sider so we sought to rectify this as soon as possible. However the weather gods decided to not let us have our picnic in the end. Such is the crazy weather that we’ve been having lately.
I was watching Food Safari’s episode on England and was fascinated by the way they made Pork Pies. I had one whilst in London and it was delicious, particularly the pastry (just don’t look at the nutritional information, you’ll think it’s a misprint but I’m afraid not!). I had heard that the traditional way to make English pastry for things such as Steak and Kidney pie is through using Suet ( the hard fat around the kidneys and loins in beef and sheep) but I had yet to cook with it. Sure it wasn’t in anyway healthy but I figure a few times eating it in your lifetime can’t hurt. But I dipped a trepidatious toe in the Suet pool by buying a Suet mix where I simply added flour, cold water and salt to create the pastry. If it worked, I’d look at ordering some from the butcher’s. Because I was pressed for time as I was making this on a Friday I took some shortcuts with the pastry and frozen spinach.
We woke on the Saturday morning to a light howling of wind and an overcast day. It seemed that today was not going to be the day to go to Palm Beach so we made alternate plans. As for the fate of this pie? It was my husband’s lunch, well received, and eaten picnic style with his hands. Just in front of a computer.
Click here to read the full story
|
February 6, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
I was really excited about this month’s Daring Bakers challenge…Tuiles, those delicate buttery thin crispy biscuits (ones that caused me so much drama when I was making the Gordon Ramsay RHR dessert). I was excited as I had a clear idea as to what I wanted to make and how I wanted to style it so when it came to the Australia Day weekend coming up in which we would eat it, my excitement grew. For those of you that read this blog, first of all thankyou for doing so and secondly, you would also know that I have a leaning towards desserts and sweets. This is mainly because I can use a colour palette that I like more with pinks and all sorts of pastels so it’s probably a surprise that when give a choice of sweet or savoury, I’ve chosen savoury.
The reason why I wanted to do a savoury tuile was that I wanted to pair this with Taramasalata, that deliciously creamy Greek caviar dip in a delicate pink hue. I liked the idea that people may have thought that this was a sweet item but once they tried it, they’d know it was savoury. I was also taken with how it would look, almost like a Paul & Joe Powder container I had many moons ago and how I’d love to sit that on my makeup table as it looked so gloriously art deco and pretty. Hence the jewelry and other dressing table acoutrements that feature in the images.
I don’t like buying new equipment for just one use as my cupboards are already bursting to full but when I saw some Tuile Silpats on sale I eagerly snatched them up. It occurred as serendipity often does, I saw them a few days after I read the recipe so I was grateful for the help as I was needing all the reinforcements after having a hard time with the December Ispahan Yule Log challenge. I needn’t have worried, the tuiles themselves are incredibly easy and the recipe is very straightforward which I was very relieved to see. The only thing that may pose a challenge is shaping them. Also, it was 31C the day that I made them. There I was, standing in front of the very hot 200C oven in a bikini and apron and I felt like I was melting but madness spurred me on. I don’t think I’m the only person that bakes in a bikini-or am I?
This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They chose Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux and Savoury Tuiles from Thomas Keller “The French Laundry Cookbook”.
Click here to read the full story
|
January 29, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Sometimes instead of running out to the shops for a new loaf of bread, I find that if I have the time, I prefer to make it. I would never have ordinarily done this a few years ago, pre-KitchenAid and its wonderful dough hook attachment. My arms simply don’t have the stamina for kneading (although carrying shopping bags seems to be an exception to this rule), nor does my mind have the patience so I always bought bread thinking that the rising yeast and kneading was too much of a production. Indeed the feeble attempts that I had made warned me off baking it myself as I’d often give up mid-knead resulting in a cake more than a bread. But now since I have the Dough Hook, bread is no longer my bête noire. I adapted this recipe from Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess, which has to be my favourite ever cookbook, and heeded her comment about how this bread really came into its own with cheese so I thought why not add some cheese throughout the bread?
I’ve often heard real estate agents purport that the smell of baking bread or freshly brewing coffee is a good way to sell a house and whilst I’ve never needed to sell a house, I have been lured by the smell of freshly baking bread. It’s something that even a hardened carb phobic like me finds hard to resist. When this came out of the oven, I took to it with a bread knife and cut myself a couple of slices and slathered them with butter. It was perfection. I then proceeded to cut off some more pieces before I realised that a good third of the loaf was gone. And I enjoyed every minute of being part of its disappearance.
Click here to read the full story
|
January 14, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
I am a recovering entertainer. Which is actually misleading as it suggests that I am trying to curb the habit and have sought help and/or advice for excessive entertaining. I haven’t and every month my husband tsks at the food bills and the array of people that come over for a meal or tea or lunch (not breakfast though, that’s too early). I can’t help myself. When someone emails me to ask if they can pop by I get all excited and start planning food. It’s a compulsion. A sickness. And no I don’t need any help thankyou very much.
I can trace back this determination to entertain and plan parties to very old dredged up memories from childhood when, at my 7th birthday party, I would have a tantrum at my Mother yelling “You’re serving things all wrong!”. Imagine the sight of a small child with an Anna Wintour haircut screaming directions-not so cute, more scary. Or think of Franck Eggelhoffer, the Wedding Organiser from Father of the Bride in a pint sized and less charming form. And only I was allowed to put together the lolly bags as I knew exactly which lollies each child would like. And I’ve a sneaking suspicion that “control freak child from hell” has a picture of me next to it in the dictionary.
I like to think that I’ve relaxed somewhat, knowing that a stressed and tantrum throwing host is not a good thing and now force myself to relax. These tiny little tarts are ideal cocktail party nibbly food or food for a morning or afternoon tea. They are best when warm from the oven, as I always think there’s something magical about hot pastry but cool pastry loses it mojo. As for the tomato on the top, I was torn, about whether I should top the tarts with the tomato before or after they were put in the oven. Once they’re baked they collapse a little, like a semi dried tomato so I’ve shown both, one with the baked tomato top and one with the fresh tomato half. You can choose whichever the inner Franck in your prefers.
Franck Eggelhoffer-organised.
I do concede that some habits haven’t died though and I maintain that Franck Eggelhoffer is the real hero of Father of the Bride and that entertainer extraordinaire Colin Cowie is a demi god in my books.
Click here to read the full story
|
December 7, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
Current Sydney weather not permitting, I love that we are in picnic season – a time when families and friends unfurl picnic blankets onto expanses of green grass and from their baskets, bags and backpacks, reveal the goodies that they’ve cooked up in the kitchen. One of my favourite things to make is the Muffuletta. I’ve made variations on this stuffed cob loaf many a time for picnics, even sans cob, with a hollowed out Baguette although that is probably a sacrilege. The part I like best about it speaks to the lazy part of me that enjoys waking up late on weekends. You can do this ahead of time and all you have to do on a weekend morning is take it out of the fridge and chuck it in the oven for 30 minutes while getting ready (although I suppose some people take longer to get ready than 30 minutes!). No faffing about or cutting or dicing a salad (or god forbid, kneading or mixing) in the morning. Set the alarm to 11am and roll out of bed, cook it for 30 minutes while getting dressed and off to the lunchtime picnic you’ll go.
Buying the vegetables pre made at the deli or supermarket will save you a significant amount of time. All you need to do then is buy everything, unscrew the lids and layer and pack it tight the night before. However if you’re a troublemaker like me (literally like making trouble and work for myself, yes it is a sickness), the following recipe is for you too.
Torn sun dried tomatoes
I believe the origin of this is Italian from what I’ve read and the list of ingredients does suggest so. Originally you were to use a Muffuletta loaf of bread, however having never seen one here I did with the cob roll instead. New Orleans is another place which seems to take their Muffeletta seriously and they have their own version of this which I shant even try to mess with (the olive mix is apparently the key to theirs). I shall stick my neck out here and say that you could certainly add a range of fillings to this, within reason, and it would still be delicious, even if it’s not completely authentic. The crunch of the freshly rebaked bread and the lusciousness of the filling will have everyone holding their hand out for a second slice (or a third).
Grilled zucchini layer
I often make double of the eggplant dip as it’s so good and because it’s so healthy you get the urge to eat more than you normally would. This is for a more modest amount (about a cup or so) although feel free to double it if you’re a fan of a luscious dip. It is strong on the breath for the rest of the day (the raw onion and garlic do that) so do your kissing beforehand. Or use it as an excuse to stop kissing people hello if you’re uncomfortable with it and are trapped in a Seinfeld moment.
Layering the sweet potato
Click here to read the full story
|
November 19, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
What is NQN up to now?
NQN on Facebook
RSS
