Once upon a time, my mother made some BBQ Pork buns. She told me that they turned out perfectly and she saved the recipe so she could make them again. However, like most mums, she became too busy to make these from scratch and would take advantage of the BBQ Pork Buns available in the freezer section of Chinatown grocery stores and we’d get our fill of them at Yum Cha. I was always naughty and ate the filling leaving the fluffy bun behind. Then one day recently she dug up this old recipe and straightened the paper reflecting on her batch made a long time ago “Would you like me to make these for you?” she asked me and without a moment’s hesitation I said yes and thus began the saga of the BBQ Pork Bun and the tale of the three attempts.
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| November 13th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella
I know a lot of people hate their names. I’m not really one of them. I have to admit though that I don’t really feel like a Lorraine if you know what I mean (my parents were going to name me Selina which I think suits me better). However it’s not a bad name-I could have had worse inflicted upon me. However as a consequence, I’ve been called Quiche Lorraine quite a few times which didn’t bother me as much as that Australian-ism “Lozza” which just made me cringe.
I didn’t particularly like Quiche Lorraine growing up, only because the Quiche Lorraine that I tried was the frozen type found in the freezer section of the supermarket. So I dismissed Quiche Lorraine as something watery and eggy and not particularly nice. Until I tried a good one.
This quiche is not your typical Quiche Lorraine with egg, bacon and cheese but a version made with whatever I had in the fridge before our move which happened to be leftover roast chicken, grilled eggplant and a few cheeses. So please feel free to use whatever you have to hand that you think would go well together. I’m hoping that by making Springtime and picnic friendly dishes that the weather will continue to be gorgeous. Sydney-siders be sure to enjoy the fabulous 28 degree day predicted for tomorrow perhaps with this quiche and a picnic!
And if you’re feeling like a night in I have some good news – an offer for Not Quite Nigella readers! The people at Menulog are offering you a $10 off coupon! The Australia wide website has over 600 restaurants in their delivery database delivering you food to your door so all you have to do is cue up Dexter or Mad Men on your DVD player. And how do you get this offer? Just use the coupon code “4D64FD” when making your order oneline. This is available for participating restaurants that display the “accepts vouchers” sign and is valid until November 2009. Minimum purchase $20 and for first orders. Have fun and happy feasting!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like or dislike your own name? And have you changed your mind about it once you got older?
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| August 15th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella
Every cuisine has their late night food. The food that whilst perfectly good during the daytime, tastes even better after a long, late night and is best enjoyed when your memory of it and whoever you kissed is fleeting and when your stomach craves something buttery or greasy to balance the alcohol within it.
Greece’s late night food looks almost too damn pretty to give it a tag of “late night food” (click here for an example of a late night monstrosity I had in Finland called the Kannibal). No greasy kebab or pie, it’s a delicious custard filled filo pasty parcel. I first heard about this from a Greek friend and my interest intensified when I started talking to David Tsirekas from Perama restaurant, a restaurant that I visited only the other night. He’d twitter tempting things such as “making mandarin bougatsa” and I’d be urged to bump this to the top of my “to make” list, a messy scrawled piece of paper that I’ve clipped to my teapot wall calendar. I knew of course that I wasn’t going to make the filo from scratch and my version wouldn’t be as amazing as his but I persevered.
These were very, very good. I wouldn’t be so presumptuous to say that they were as good as the ones at Perama but if you want to make your own version at home, say late at night when the clock strikes midnight, these will certainly do. I loved the crunchiness of the buttery, light filo and the softness of the oozing vanilla and lemon custard.
And yep you guessed it. It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! How about some Bannoffee Peanut Butter cups? I’m sure we’ve all made a quick version of this late at night with a spoon, some chocolate and a jar of peanut butter!
So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite late night food either at home or when you are out? A kebab? A pie? A friend used to get the urge to make wedges at midnight. What’s yours?
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| June 24th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella
There’s something I know for certain: it’s pie season. The cooler temperature and shorter days signal to me, the need for comfort food and even thought the temperature itself hasn’t dipped that much, it’s low enough for me to yearn for the heat of the oven. I’m a different creature in Winter. During Summer it’s all about salads and water but in Winter, it’s a pastry and soup fest. And this comparatively cool Sydney evening made me hanker for some pies.
We try and eat vegetarian a few nights a week for health reasons and to reduce our reliance on meat. That’s not a sign that I am about to go full time vegetarian – I tried that once and it wasn’t for me but it feels healthier and better for the environment to do so three to four nights a week. It also lightens our grocery bill which is a nice bonus for my husband who tears his hair out at the things I like to put in my trolley.
If you’re a hardened carnivore, you could certainly add some chicken to these but I do think that they are perfect as is although by all means substitute it with whatever vegetables you have to hand – 3.5 cups will do. One thing that I never really saw any point to was making your own pastry. That is, until I found an amazing Pâte Brisée shortcrust pastry recipe. I will say that if you are not so inclined to make your own, you can use store bought but this Pâte Brisée pastry is to die for. But don’t worry I haven’t lost the entire plot, I still bought the puff pastry. That would probably signal a descent into utter madness if I were to make my own puff pastry. Feel free to call the authorities to pick me up should that ever happen.
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| May 5th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella
I’m a chip fanatic from way back. The idea of a perfect lunch for me as a kid was a chip sandwich, made with crinkle cut chicken chips. Forget fancy Kettle or Red Rock chips, we didn’t have those growing up. Nor do I remember Thins, which I’ve never really gone for (they’re just too… thin?). Crinkle Cut Chicken chips were my weapons of choice. And because my mother rationed me on chips, pouring a small amount out of a large bag I’d eat them crinkle by crinkle slowly until every last piece was gone. And you can bet that as a kid I ran my finger along the bottom of the bowl to catch any stray flavour flakes.
I still love crinkle cut chips but more recently I like the thickness or Kettle or Red Rock deli chips. They’re said to be just like home made so when I was munching a packet of salt and vinegar chips (not my favourite flavour but I was hungry) I wondered why hadn’t someone made Salt and Pepper flavoured chips? There’s Salt and Pepper Squid and Salt and Pepper Tofu and they’re both delicious. How about some Salt and Pepper potato chips?
I took out my V slicer and sliced them on the second setting – I don’t like my chips too thin as they aren’t as earth shatteringly crunchy, and drizzled a couple of tablespoons of oil on top and then baked them. After baking them, I sprinkled the salt and pepper mixture on top and tasted them. They were wonderful indeed and very Kettle Chip/Red Rock like too. And somehow I felt more virtuous that these were baked rather than deep fried. And yes I did put these in a sandwich-white bread with butter which is the only way really to eat these in a sandwich.
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| April 5th, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella
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