Prawn Skewers

Like most things, this is one of those "made up on the spot" deals. But still tasty! :)

However many prawns you wish.. a kilo is a nice rounded number, Make sure they're local/Aussie prawns, not dirty overseas prawns ;) - raw, peeled and devained, tails left on or off, up to you.

In a mixing bowl combine some lime juice (I had about 4 limes), splash of fish sauce, crushed garlic, chilli powder or flakes, and.... come to think of it I think that's all there was to it. Soak the prawns in that for a good 10 minutes, whack 'em on skewers and bbq/grill/bake until done!

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 :)

Winner winner Chicken Dinner!

Well my Creamy Chicken and Leek with Camembert Pie is such a big hit.. I am very happy :) I gave the recipe to a work friend, who loves it. He took the recipe to some friends in NSW where they love it, so much that there's a local pub there making it! They gave it to their friends and so forth. A huge chain reaction of chicken pie goodness. I love making other people happy through food :)

Pastry snacks

I love pastry. But I'm also lazy and so I only really ever make my own pastry when it comes to making a Chocolate Tart or similar. Bless the stores for having frozen pastry!
I've been making a few pastry snacks here and there lately, always good for a work-lunch treat - even handier if you make a tonne of them in bulk and freeze. Viola! Ready to heat 'n' eat any-time snackies.


Sausage rolls are a big favourite of mine:
2 sheets of puff pastry thawed
500g sausage mince (you can use the stuff that comes in a tube that looks like dog/luncheon meat, or just squeeze the innards out of your favorite snag)
1 onion finely diced
1 large carrot grated
Grated zucchini would go well too I guess, never tried it to be honest
Salt/pepper to taste, and any other herbs or spices
1 egg beaten lightly

In a large bowl mix the sausage mince and vegies and spices.
Slice the pastry sheet in half down the middle, and using one half at a time - wet your hands and place some of the mixture (don't use too much or it will spill out) longways on one side of the pastry, so it kinda forms a tubular shape. Roll the pastry up so the ends meet and seal the edge. Place on a lined baking tray and brush with the egg. Repeat until all mixture is used. You can cut the sausage rolls before they are cooked, or after. It probably makes it easier to do it beforehand.
Cook at around 170-180C until golden brown.

My brother was in hospital the other week, and I know all too well about the poor quality of hospital food.. and I know my dear big brother loves my cooking :D I wanted to make him something.. something small, light, easy on the stomach for when and if he were to bring it back up.. I had some leftover savoury mince from the night before - full of vegies and yummy goodness - Mini meat pies :D
My patty cake tin failed me (ok, the first batch stuck horribly!) So I wondered what else I could use.. I took a chance and risked it. Using a large drinking glass to cut circles of puff pastry out, I spooned about a tablespoon of savoury mince onto the flat discs, and topped them with another circle of pastry. Sealed the edges with a fork, threw them in the oven and hoped for the best!

Apart from the 2 up the back - which are a treat for Chef.. They turned out quite well! Puffed nicely :)

I also made him some ham and cheese "puffs" - kinda like a Danish I guess - Ham and cheese folded up in some puff pastry and baked - pretty tasty :)

I made Frosty a quick snack to take to lunch one day - Pizza Puffs:
Keep in mind this was to do him over a few days at least, but he had some for dinner lastnight, a midnight snack, and lunch for work..
4 sheets of puff pastry
1 large can of pineapple, drained
500g shredded ham
Mozzarella cheese
1 cup tomato passata
Chili flakes

Starting with one sheet of pastry.. for obvious reasons.. Spoon on some passata sauce, sprinkle over some chili flakes, top with ham (not too much filling here or it wont seal and will be a big mess) cheese and pineapple.

Roll up the pastry from one side to the other, like a giant sausage roll, seal the end and slice as thick or as thin as you'd prefer.

Pop them onto a lined baking tray and bake at around 180C until golden brown.. and piping hot so that you burn your lip when you take a bite :P

Clinker Icecream!

Yep... another icecream post, who wouldda thunked it :)

Basically it's just my basic Vanilla Bean icecream - and within the last 5-10 minutes of churning time in the machine, throw in a cup or 2 of crushed clinkers.

I wasn't too sure on how much clinker chunks I'd need at the beginning, so I bashed a whole bag. (note - put them into a zip lock bag first!)

Look at the preeety colours.. 

What to do with the remaining clinker chunks/dust? It's actually quite tasty and fun to just dig in with a spoon! :)
The Icecream itself turned out quite sweet, I'm surprised there's still some left.. I think Frosty has forgotten it's there. The candy bits don't stay hard/crunchy, they're melt-in-the-mouth.