Herb Cheese bread with other bits of yum!

Everyone keeps telling me I should have stuck to being a baker.. mayhaps.. we'll see. :)
Having lots of leftover prosciutto from last night, I couldn't really think of what else to use it on, So I came up with a recipe as I went. It's a Herb, chilli, cheese, prosciutto, caramelised onion and roast tomato loaf.. well not so much as a loaf but kinda like a scroll? I don't know. I rolled it up as a scroll, so you'll see....

I kinda wish I had some feta cheese and spinach to go into it.. that would be divine...

2 cups plain flour
1 sachet 8g dry instant yeast
2/3 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
as much or as little of the following: chilli powder, basil and oregano (fresh or dry, I only had dry.)


1 medium onion, sliced
a few slices of prosciutto ham rind removed, diced or ripped, however you want it.

3-4 cherry tomatoes or 1 big tomato (I had some little vine ripened tomatoes)

mozzarella cheese grated

Okay so before making the dough, put the tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over some sea salt, roast until they just start to collapse, then remove and cool down. While that's roasting, pop your onion and ham into a frying pan and sizzle on medium until it starts to caramelise and look REALLY tasty.. must resist eating it at this point.. remove and cool.
While that's all cooking away slowly, start on the dough. In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast, herbs, chilli, salt and sugar. Add the olive oil and water, combine with a spoon then use your hand to gently knead/mix it in the bowl. Cover with cling wrap for around half an hour,somewhere warm to rise. It should double in size, but don't worry if it doesn't.

So by now every thing's cooked and cooled down, dice/slice up the tomatoes and add it to the ham/onion mixture. The dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured bench and knead gently, it should feel soft and pillowy. Flatten it out a bit using your hands and spread the mixture across it lengthways. Sprinkle a handful of cheese over it and roll it up from one side, like a giant sausage roll. Lay it on a lightly floured baking tray and top with some more cheese, bake for around 20-30 minutes on 170ishC or until cooked/light golden brownish.

I feel like chicken tonight..

Like chicken tonight.. Yeah yeah we eat a lot of chicken here. It's lean and full of protein! And it's just so damn tasty.
I love cooking as I go, always changing something as I'm going along.. What started out as simple boring roast chicken breast fillets became this:

Chicken breast fillets
Wheel, block, wedge, call it whatever of Camembert cheese
Handful of baby spinach
Slices of prosciutto ham (it's like bacon, but fancier.) I use 2 per breast

With a side of:
Some baby carrots diced
1 large leek sliced
2 medium potatos diced small to match the carrot
1/4 cup white wine or chicken stock

Throw this into a pan and sauté on medium-low. While that's cooking away, tend to the chicken below..

Slice the rind off the cheese if you don't like it, cut it into blocks and slice/finger a pocket into each breast fillet.. yes that's right. Use your fingers. Stuff the cheese into the chicken, and stuff some spinach in there too.  Seal it off in a hot pan so the chicken is lightly golden, remove from the pan then while burning your fingers, wrap the prosciutto around each fillet. Move them to a baking dish and bake at around 180C until cooked. The sautéed leek, carrot and potato should be ready when the chicken is cooked. Enjoy!

Practice makes perfect, right?

I decided to make a butter cake today which was quite a simple recipe I found -

3/4 cup butter softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 cups self-raising flour sifted
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then beat in the eggs one by one. Mix in the vanilla. Stir in the flour until mostly wet, then add the milk and beat for around 2 minutes.
Pop it into a lightly greased cake tin and into the oven at 140C for around 45 minutes or until it springs back when poked with a finger.

As with all cakes, allow it to cool before icing.. I watched MasterChef Australia lastnight and couldn't believe the stupidity of the dude trying to ice a cake that had just come out of the oven. That's like, a basic of cooking! Anywho..
Moving time forward and the cake is cool, in a large mixing bowl add 2 or 3 (ok I really didn't measure this part.. ) cups of pure icing sugar, sifted, and about 3/4 cup of butter, softened. Whip it together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy then add some vanilla essence.  Parge it on the cake, top and sides.
I got bored with the cake by this point, and found my packets of fondant in the pantry, way up the back. It's still good.. I had dreamed of making this really sweet-loving cake with pink love hearts over it, but I am limited to 2 items in the way of cookie cutters. Little "men" and a weird star-flower type shape. I chose the weird star-flower thing because I thought people might get the wrong impression if I present a cake (even if it's just photos on the internet!) covered in little blue and pink boys/girls....
Here's the result:

Not bad considering it's my 2nd attempt of playing with fondant/RegalIce.. I do enjoy it, I just.. clearly... need more practice :)