Recently in Cooking Category

Childhood memories of Chinese New Year have always featured elaborate homemade banquets on the eve of the New Year followed by a day witnessing the roaring of firecrackers and drums as the lion dance parades through masses of crowds in Sydney's Chinatown.

This year however was different. I had taken on an ambitious project with Asian Home Gourmet at the City Of Sydney Chinese New Year festival markets (12 - 14 February 2010), to present a line-up of delicious kitchen demonstrations on a live stage, and hence wasn't home when families across the globe were reuniting with a feast.

Lots of love goes out to all the friends and fans who stopped by. If you missed it, you can check out a snippet of the action at the kitchen demonstrations here:

So my lovely parents agreed to celebrate a week in advance and decided that we take a year off from our usual banquet of seafood delicacies.

Instead, we would have a simple kind of Chinese New Year, celebrating with a decent sized suckling pig, served Vietnamese DIY style which I think brilliantly showcases the cultural background of my family (both my parents were born & raised in Vietnam with a Chinese Teochew heritage - while my siblings and I were all born & raised here, in Sydney).

Whole roasted suckling pig from Good Luck BBQ House

The delicate crunch of crackling on a whole roasted suckling pig

While I adore a slow braised abalone or a rich lobster stir-fry, nothing quite gets my heart pumping and my mouth drooling as much as the glossy delicate crisp layer of crackling on a juicy tender suckling pig.

Suckling pigs often need to be pre-ordered from local Siu Mei establishments (Asian BBQ Houses) weeks in advance if required during popular celebratory occasions such as Chinese New Year. Otherwise, I think three days is the general rule of thumb. The suckling pig is 2 - 6 weeks of age and are roasted whole with a generous rub of five spice powder, red and white vinegar, Chinese rice wine, garlic and maltose. The cost of a suckling pig is only confirmed once it has been cooked and weighed and will generally cost between $200 - $300.

Pieces of suckling pig - crunchy thin glossy crackling with juicy bites of meat

Deep-fried buns are the perfect accompaniment with suckling pig

Ours was ordered from Good Luck BBQ this year as they were much more flexible on our last minute timings than Emperor's Garden.

We served this with deep-fried buns which are crunchy on the outside and fluffy within, a crisp jelly fish salad fragrant with sesame oil, a zesty fresh lotus root salad, lettuce leaves, an array of garden mints, banh hoi (woven rice vermicelli noodle sheets), hoisin sauce and nuoc mam (fish sauce).

Our simple feast, a fusion of Vietnamese and Chinese

Traditional Chinese New Year treats: candied fruits in a circular tray and dried abalone

While a whole suckling pig is usually reserved for the main course of a celebratory banquet, you don't really need an excuse to buy just a cut to treat yourself today. So here are two of my preferred Asian BBQ houses where you can buy/order the best roasted suckling pig in Sydney:

Emperor's Garden
213-215 Thomas St
Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9281 9899

Good Luck BBQ House
Shop 18, 24-28 Hughes St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9724 0661

With Australia Day coming up and the end of summer approaching, I thought I would share my special chicken wing marinade recipe which is always a winner at BBQs. I'm already dreading the upcoming shorter days (without daylight saving) so will be BBQing at every given chance.

The flavours in this are vibrant and zesty and will help you appreciate the simplicity of Vietnamese cuisine. With nothing more than a stalk of lemongrass, a bulb of garlic, some fish sauce and sugar, this marinade punches and kicks the liveliness of Saigon in your mouth. It can be served alongside a fresh green mango salad or even just a bowl of fluffy white rice. Or as I have done, within a meat-fest of marinated beef, sausages and nem nuong (grilled pork patties).

A killer chicken wing marinade

1kg chicken wings
2 stalks of lemongrass, chopped finely (using only the main part of the stalk)
⅓ cup coriander, chopped coarsely
⅓ cup fresh ginger, chopped finely
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons salt

1. Combine all ingredients except for salt.
2. Clean chicken wings, removing the tip if preferred and sprinkle salt all over.
3. Rub the marinade into the chicken wings.
4. If you have time, pour the leftover marinade over the wings and store in the fridge for several hours or even overnight.
5. If you're in a hurry, then keep the leftover marinade on the side and while cooking the chicken wings, baste them with the sauce every few minutes.
6. Cook the chicken wings in the oven, grill or barbecue.

Sandwiches are the ultimate picnic food as they're portable and thousands of variations can be made to suit all tastes. For example, you could easily replace the usual white sandwich bread for tortillas, flatbreads, sourdough or a crusty baguette for a gourmet touch.

The warm sunny weather this summer just beckons for a picnic.

And that's just what I did (and have been doing since spring). Grab a picnic basket and stock it with some cheeses, Lavosh crackers, olives, and some fresh fruit then either pre-make the sandwiches, wrapping them individually, or pack the ingredients in separate containers and off you go! Remember, there's nothing worst than a soggy sandwich so keep the wet stuff like tomatoes, separate and whole until they're ready to be eaten.

Picnic at the beach

Here are a two of my favourite picnic sandwich variations:

Vietnamese-style chicken sandwich
Serves four

The flavours in this sandwich were inspired by my parent's quick and easy hunger solution every time they took us kids on a road trip. My Dad would either poach a chicken and shred it at home, or buy a box of takeaway roast pork from an Asian BBQ house. My Mum would box up her homemade pickled daikon and carrot, along with a few cucumbers, fresh coriander, shallots, chillis and the essential condiments of soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Then along the way, we would pick up a just baked baguette...

Shredded chicken, either from a whole poached chicken or a pre-bought charcoal chicken
8 - 12 sprigs of coriander, coarsely chopped
4 shallot sticks, halved and cut into strips
1 - 2 cucumbers, cut into strips
Pickled carrots and daikon
Fresh ground black pepper
Maggi Seasoning soy sauce
Sesame oil (optional)
Chilli (optional)

To make the sandwich, add a few splashes of the soya sauce, layer on some shredded chicken; then in no particular order, tuck in the remaining ingredients based on personal preference of texture and taste.

Gourmet ham sandwich with aioli and basil
Serves four

A luscious twist on the traditional ham and cheese sandwich.

8 - 12 slices of Smoked ham
1 Cucumber, sliced thinly
Handful of Basil, roughly torn
Jarlsberg cheese or Aioli
Salt & pepper

Spread aioli on one side of the bread (or replace with a slice of cheese), then put sandwich together by layering on remaining ingredients.

Vietnamese-style chicken sandwich and juice at the beach

At Wattamolla Lagoon in Royal National Park

While I'm not religious, my family and I have always celebrated Christmas as a time to be together, share food, and give love and appreciation. Part of the fun is of course within the preparation and cooking stages which gives you plenty of time to bond, giggle and make delicious goodies.

Cutting gingerbread, baked cookies pre-icing, whisking the icing and mixing colours into icing

The plan was originally to make an army of gingerbread men but my man-shaped cookie cutter was missing so I decided to use my set of star biscuit cutters to make a galaxy of colourful gingerbread cookies instead!

This recipe is really simple and the cookies are fragrant with ground ginger; the amount of which can be adjusted to suit your own taste. Plus with a baking time of only 10 minutes, you'll have your first batch of gingerbread, ready to be decorated in no time!

Let your imagination run wild, get the kids involved, mix different colours of the rainbow or experiment with hundred and thousands, cachous or raisins.

Iced gingerbread stars

Colourful gingerbread stars

Gingerbread Stars
Makes about 12 stars

Gingerbread

125g butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1½ tablespoons golden syrup

1½ cups pure icing sugar
1 egg white
4 drops lemon juice
Food colouring

1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. Add egg yolk and mix in remaining gingerbread ingredients
3. Combine and kneed until dough forms. Roll out dough and cut out shapes using cookie cutters or knife. Continue to remove excess dough for re-use
4. Bake for 10 minutes in a moderate oven (180C)
5. Remove immediately and place on a cooling tray
6. Whisk the egg white, then gradually add the icing sugar. Ensure that there are no lumps, then add lemon juice and food colouring
7. Decorate as you like

I quadtripled the quantities and as you can see, my dining table was truly a galaxy of gingerbread stars! Yum!

P.S. Merry Christmas! Thank you, my dear readers, for your support and words of inspiration throughout this year. I hope you all enjoy this holiday period both joyfully and healthily! x

A galaxy of gingerbread star cookies

Dehydrating fruit with a food dehydrator

After a quick search online, I found that it was only $59.95 on Deals Direct! Happy, happy, joy, joy!

The food dehydrator can be used to preserve food or make banana chips, dried mango or beef jerky. I can't express how easy it is to use or how economical it is, to be turn excess fruit into a snack.

There are 3 general methods to drying food.

1. Sun is the most natural form but requires a warm day with low humidity. Keep in mind that it could take up to five consecutive days to dry certain fruits.
2. Oven temperatures need to be consistent and low and also requires the oven door to be open for air circulation, making it a costly and inefficient process.
3. Food Dehydrator is energy and time efficient and is my preferred method :)

Homemade fruit jerky - pineapple, apple, strawberry, grapefruit and orange

Once you've decided on your preferred method to dehydrate fruit, you can experiment with different preparation methods to best bring out the food's natural flavours.

Here's a few which I have tested and tasted:

• Pineapples: brush a mixture of honey and water onto both sides of each slice for awesome pineapple jerky
• Apples: toss slices of apple in a bit of apple juice or a combination of cinnamon and sugar
• Pears: toss slices of pear with a bit of five spice and sugar
• Citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits... etc): don't require anything

Follow the directions on the food dehydrator and voila! Enjoy as a snack, with ice-cream or in a cocktail!

Last week, I had the pleasure of not only meeting Jason Roberts, but also cooking with him, thanks to IGA, Stellar* Concepts and City Public Relations.

Many of you will remember Jason from his time at Channel Nine's cooking program 'Fresh' which was broadcast to Australia and New Zealand, five days a week for four years! Since then, it appears he has cracked the US market, written a few cookbooks and now has become the brand ambassador to IGA's Food 4 Life program.

At the Sydney Seafood School, a small group of food editors and myself were invited to a demonstration and cook-up, highlighting the key message behind IGA Food 4 Life's program - by pre-planning meals and buying simple and seasonal produce, families can prepare easy and healthy meals, without spending hours in the kitchen and that daily interaction in the kitchen with family is an effective way of bonding with the family.

Jason's personable nature, cheeky smile and dedication to healthy home cooking was truly captivating, particularly as explained the Brain Garden concept. I'm no nutrition-geek but what he said made so much sense! I can go on forever, listing the examples but here are a few which will convince you to eat more vegies:

• A sliced carrot looks like the human eye and greatly enhance the function of the eyes.
• A walnut looks like the brain, with left and right hemispheres, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Its wrinkles and folds even look like the neo-cortex, and scientifically, we know it helps develop neuron-transmitters for brain function.
• Kidney beans do not only look like the human kidney, but they also heal and help maintain kidney function.
• Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb look like bones and they also help with bone strength.
• The tomato's colour and its four chambers looks like the heart. Research has also shown that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine which is pure heart and blood food.

And what did we cook?

Courtesy of Jason Roberts, I am sharing with you these two easy peasy recipes - Salmon in a bag, and a gluten and fat free passionfruit and praline souffle.

Fresh vegetables

Cooking Salmon in a bag

I personally love this recipe, not for the fish, but for the vibrant salad. Who knew that zucchini could be so tasty raw?

SALMON IN A BAG
Serves 2

"This is a delicious way to prepare a single portion of fish with minimal effort and incredible flavor, This method of cooking has been around for a very long time and is definitely a style of cooking that is underused. Once you have mastered this technique there are so many variations to play with." says Jason Roberts

2 x 180gm piece of  Salmon
6 small potatoes steamed and skinned removed, and sliced into 1cm rounds
3 tablespoons chopped green shallots
3Tblspn olive oil
1 lemon, cut 2 slices, the remaining used for its juice
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt
Ground white pepper
1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 small yellow and green zucchini finely sliced and lightly salted
½ bunch chives, finely sliced

1. Pre heat the oven to 200’C (430’F)
   
2. Make sure the fish is trimmed of fat, pin boned and free of scales
   
3. Take 2 pieces of baking paper about 30cm in length and lay it flat on the bench
   
4. In the center of each piece of paper lay the steamed potato slices along with a sprinkling of the green shallots, season with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and then top with a piece of salmon
   
5. Squeeze over a touch of lemon juice along with a little more of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, top with a slice of lemon and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and seal the bag. Take the edge of baking paper close to you as well as the opposite edge, bring together above the fish and fold downwards creating a tight pleat, fold the ends to the left and right back under the fish creating a snug little parcels
   
6. Place fish parcel onto a heatproof tray, and then put into the pre-heated oven, for approximately 8 minutes or until cooked to your liking. The best way to test is to pierce with a sharp skewer; you are looking for almost no resistance.
   
7. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the sliced zucchini along with the mint leaves and a scattering of the chives, season with a pepper, a little oil and another squeeze of lemon juice.
   
8. Once fish is cooked remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for a minute or 2 before opening bag
   
9. To serve, tare the bag open, Dividing the zucchini and mint salad evenly, and place on top of each piece of fish, it is not necessary to remove the fish from the paper bag
   
10. Enjoy

Passionfruit and praline souffle, the goodie bag and dining at the revamped Sydney Seafood School

It is hard imagining how a souffle with praline would rise, but this did. Because it is both gluten-free and fat-free, the texture is extremely airy and seriously melts in your mouth. The zing of the passionfruit simply spells out a summer delight.

PASSIONFRUIT AND PRALINE SOUFFLE
Makes 8 x 240 ml soufflé moulds

"This is one of those impressive desserts with wow factor, I love making this because it’s gluten and fat free, well...
Till I add a spoon of freshly whipped cream" says Jason Roberts.

Extra butter to grease the dishes and caster sugar to dust the interiors
 
160 ml (5.4floz) passion fruit pulp
200 mls (6.8floz) orange juice
25 g (0.9oz) corn starch
120 g (4.2oz) caster sugar
300 ml (10.1floz) egg whites, free of any yolk
Pinch cream of tartar
100 g (3.5oz) caster sugar
 
Praline
75 g (2.6oz) blanched almonds
50 g (1.8oz) toasted, skinned hazelnuts
125 g (4.4oz)sugar
2Tblspns water to melt the sugar
 
Icing sugar to dust
Whipped cream at your discretion

1. Pre heat oven to 175C (380F) for 14 minutes
2. Melt the sugar and water over low heat until dissolved thoroughly. Increase the heat and cook to a caramel - 175º C/380’ F on a sugar thermometer. Should be amber in color but not burnt.
   
3. Off the heat, quickly incorporate the nuts using a swirling action rather than a spoon if possible then turn out onto a clean flat baking tray. Spread with a  spatula.
4. Cool to room temperature then finely chop, set aside.
   
5. In a small saucepan place the orange juice along with the 120gm quantity of castor sugar, set over a medium heat
   
6. Mix well the passion fruit and corn starch to make a slurry, add to the orange juice mixture. With a wooden spoon, beat till thickened and then continue to cook for a further 8-10 minutes over a low heat. After this time place into a sieve and pass removing the seed content, return a few seeds back to passion fruit and cornstarch puree, set aside to cool
   
7. Either by hand or electric mixer you need to beat the whites to semi firm peaks, I find the electric mixer very helpful, but whatever you choose to use, make sure equipment is super clean and free from any fat content.
   
8. Place a kitchen mixer onto a medium speed, add in egg whites along with cream of tartar and continue to mix till well-incorporated and fluffy (approximately 1 minute) increase the speed and slowly start to add the 100gm sugar quantity, a little at a time.
   
9. The egg whites should almost triple in volume and hold semi firm peaks.
   Start incorporating the egg white into the passion fruit base; this will need to be done in thirds. The first quantity you can be quite liberal with, mixing well, the second addition of whites needs to be a little gentler, reserving volume
   
10. Before folding in remaining whites, scatter in the praline then the whites and very gently fold till well mixed
    
11. Fill each prepared mould to the top, leveling with a spatula,  tapping gently to remove any air bubbles, Using your thumb, run around the outside of the top of each soufflé to create a clear track for soufflé to rise evenly
12. At this point you can set aside in the refrigerator till ready to bake and serve, no longer than 6 hours in advance though,
    
13. When ready place into pre heated oven and cook till risen by at least a third of the depth of your soufflé mould, approximately 8-10 minutes
    
14. When cooked remove from oven, dust with icing sugar and serve

Cooking our own lunch inside Sydney Seafood School, Jason Robert's cooking demonstration and me with the man himself, after I won the door prize!

For more of Jason Robert's simple cooking ideas, visit the IGA Food 4 Life website.

Rice and pasta are kitchen staples I can't live without. And now, thanks to Blu and the team at Haystac, I can add Pearl Couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) to my list of must-have versatile ingredients.

You can win 1 of 5 packs of Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous to trial in your very own kitchen. Keep reading to find out how!

Peal couscous takes its name from its unique pearl-like shape and size. They're around 3mm in size and made from hard wheat toasted in an open flame oven, which gives them a rich, nutty flavour and a smooth texture -perfect for absorbing sauces, stocks and spices!

I put these to the test and made both a savoury and a sweet dish.

1 small fennel bulb
1 tablespoon butter
1 small leek, rinsed and finely sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 litre fish stock
½ litre water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4x 100g smoked cod fillets
4 tablespoons aioli
10 basil leaves, roughly torn
¾ cup Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous

Trim the fennel bulb, reserving the feathery tops, then cut the bulb in half and finely slice it.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the leek and cook until soft, then add the tomato, sliced fennel and stock. Bring to the boil, add remaining water then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and fish and cover. Cook for 7 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Lift out the fish and add the pearl couscous, stir well and simmer for a further 8 minutes.

Add fish back in and simmer for a few minutes. Divide among four warmed pasta bowls. Ladle the broth over the fish and top with a spoonful of aioli. Garnish with the fennel tops and basil.

Serves 4.

Smoked cod and fennel soup with pearl couscous

I love the simple flavours in this soup. It is almost a bouillabaisse but not as rich. The broth tastes delicate and light and the best thing about this recipe is that the pearl couscous makes it a meal!

I also wanted to play around with spices so poached a cup of pearl couscous in a divine syrup of fruit juices, lemon rind, cinnamon sticks, star anise, vanilla bean and honey, and then once chilled, I mixed it with some fresh strawberries and blueberries. The result was a sublime fruity dessert.

Sweet pearl couscous with berries, French vanilla bean ice-cream and pineapple jerky

Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 4 apples
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon butter
2 - 4 teaspoons honey, to taste
1 cup of Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous
2 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, split
water, as required
Handful berries, according to personal taste
4 scoops vanilla bean icecream

Combine the juices, zest, honey, butter, star anise, cinnamon and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir every few minutes until honey has dissolved.

Bring to the boil, then add the pearl couscous. Simmer for 6 minutes and add water if necessary.

Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid. Allow the couscous to remain covered until cool; fluff with a fork occassionally.

Remove spices and mix through berries (I've used quartered strawberries and whole blueberries). Serve chilled with a scoop of ice-cream.

Serves 4.

I've served these with a slice of pineapple jerky as well, as I've been slightly obsessed with my fruit dehydrator lately... more to come on that shortly!

Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous

Win 1 of 5 packs of Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous
To enter, simply leave a comment below in 25 words or less and tell me what you would use pearl couscous for?

Sorry, for Australian residents only. Competition entry closes on 8/12/09 11:59pm; winners will be announced on 9/12/09. Please use a valid email address so you can be contacted for your mailing address, shall you win.

Good luck and happy eating! x

For more information on pearl couscous, visit Blu's official website.

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED.

Vietnamese-style coconut and pandan waffles

I grew up on these waffles. I remember sitting on the kitchen bench on many after school afternoons, eagerly waiting for my parents to pour batches of batter onto our Black and Decker Sweet Hearts Waffle Maker. The aromas of coconut and pandan filled the house with a delicious scent.

So recently, while spring cleaning, along with throwing out all of my old size 6 clothes (which I know I will never fit back into), I found this cute appliance and was thrilled to discover that it was still in working condition!

My Mum had lost her recipe but a quick search online led me to Andrea Nguyen's fantastic recipe which I have simplified here.

Coconut and Pandan Waffles
Makes 3 waffles

1 all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, separated
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1½ teaspoons pandan (la dua) extract

1. Heat the waffle iron and have an electric mixer handy.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, salt and baking powder.
3. Use the whisk to combine the egg yolk, coconut milk, butter, and pandan extract.
4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to gently stir. Switch to a folding motion toward the end to incorporate all the flour. If the resulting batter looks lumpy, that's okay. Expect the batter to be thick and avoid over-stirring.
5. Use the electric mixer to beat the egg white for about 1 minute until it looks solid white. Use the rubber spatula to gently fold in the egg white.
6. Spread a decent amount of batter onto the waffle iron.
7. Cook the waffle until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Place waffle on a cooling rack.

These waffles are eaten as a snack by itself. There's no need for maple syrup or condensed milk. And they taste even better when re-toasted (as I like mine very crisp on the outside).

Have a go and I'm sure you'll agree with me that it makes the best air freshener scent ever!

With a name like this, how can anyone not like them?

Smiling doughnuts are also commonly known as smiling mouth cookies, happy mouth cookie balls, deep-fried sesame cookie balls or from it's direct Cantonese translation, 笑口枣 means smiling mouth dates.

These little gems are usually served during Chinese New Year celebrations because the natural cracks on the balls resemble a smile and hence brings happiness to the home.

You must not confuse these with the yum-cha favourite: glutinous sesame seed balls (jin deui or 麻团) which are larger but hollow (sometimes filled with lotus paste, black bean paste or red bean paste) and have a soft chewy texture.

Smiling doughnuts are easy to make which is why I decided to give them a go when my little brother's school was holding an international food fair.

Step by step guide to homemade smiling doughnuts

This recipe makes about 60 tiny balls (and by tiny, I mean the size of a golf ball or smaller). Special thanks to my Mum for sharing :)

Ingredients
2 cups self raising flour
2 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water
500 grams of sesame seeds

Directions
1. Pre-heat enough oil for deep-frying.
2. Combine all dry ingredients (except for sesame seeds) then add remaining wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
2. When the dough is smooth and sticky, using a spoon, scoop out tiny balls and roll it around your palms.
3. Drop the ball into a bowl of sesame seeds and coat it well. Repeat the process until you have enough balls to fill a frying pan.
4. Deep-fry the balls a handful at a time. You should notice cracks appearing around the balls.
5. Drain the deep-fried balls on a baking rack then transfer onto paper towels.

Boxes of smiling doughnuts, ready for a school international food fair

These doughnut balls are slightly sweet, crunchy and like anything golden and deep-fried... They're extremely addictive. Om nom nom nom...

The Aussie in me has never experienced a cold wintery Christmas. I'm used to the barbecues, the fresh seafood, chilled fruity drinks and spending the morning watching a repeat of Christmas cartoons followed by a balmy afternoon at the beach.

My dear friend Sarah decided to host a Christmas In July afternoon tea last week. There was no roast turkey or presents for each other. Instead, we used this occasion as an excuse to kick the boys out of the house and bake. Then instead of swapping presents, we brought along gifts and donations for kids in need and burnt off the calories wrapping some rather difficult open shoe boxes.

I took this opportunity to bake lemonade scones -I have always been fascinated by the simplicity of the ingredients required; and lemon meringue tarts, from my newly bought cook book: Patisserie (Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection), which was only $5.95 from Basement Books!

Lemonade Scones
(From Nigella's website)

Ingredients

3 cups self raising flour
1 cup thickened cream
1 cup lemonade

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine gently. Knead and pat out until 3cm thick and cut out with a 5cm scone cutter.

2. Place on lined tray, brush with milk and bake at 200 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes until top is browned.

Lemonade scones in the making

Lemonade scones

The scones were so quick and easy to bake! It's a great recipe for the young ones to be involved in too. The result were these delicious fluffy scones, which were accompanied with homemade mulberry jam and cream.

Scones with homemade mulberry jam and cream

Lemon Meringue Tarts
(From Patisserie (Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection))

Ingredients

Shortcrust Pastry
200g plain flour
Large pinch of salt
Large pinch of caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, chilled
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 - 2 drops of vanilla extract or essence

Meringue
4 egg whites
200g caster sugar
2 tablespoons icing sugar

Lemon Filling
6 egg yols
250g caster sugar
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
Juice of 4 lemons
60g unsalted butter

Method

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and place in the flour.

2. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the combined egg, 2 - 3 teaspoons water and the vanilla.

4. Slowly work the mixture together with a palette knife or pastry scraper until it forms a rough ball. If it is slightly sticky, add a little more flour. Turn out onto a lightly floured cool surface, gather the dough into a ball and flatten it slightly. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes before use.

5. Brush two 12-hole muffin tins with melted butter. Preheat the oven to moderate 180°C.

6. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a 3mm thickness. Cut 22 circles of pastry to fit the tins, then ease them into the tins and chill for 20 minutes. Cut 22 circles of baking paper slightly larger than the pastry cases and place in the cases. Fill with baking beans or rice. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove the baking beans or rice and paper from the cases and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, leave to rest for 2 minutes, then cool in their tins on a wire rack.

7. To make the lemon filling, half-fill a pan with water and heat until simmering. Using electric beaters, whisk the egg yols and sugar in a heatproof bowl that will fit over the pan without actually touching the water, until light and creamy. Add the lemon rind, juice and butter and sit the bowl over the pan of simmering water. Whisk continuously for 10 - 15minutes, or until the mixture is thick and creamy and leaves a ribbon as it falls from the whisk. While the filling is still hot, pour into the cases.

8. Preheat the grill to medium. Place the egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat them with a balloon whisk or electric beaters until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating well between each addition, until stiff glossy peaks form. Spoon or pipe onto the lemon filling in the pastry cases and swirl attractively with the top of a spoon. Sieve the icing sugar over the surface of the tarts and grill for 1 - 2 minutes, or until the meringue is just tingled golden, then serve as soon as possible.

Shortcrust pastry

Lemon meringue tarts in the making

Lemon meringue tarts

These tarts were tangy, sweet and divine. They were totally worth the effort it took to make the pastry and filling from scratch. (Although you may notice from my pics, that I did forget to add the icing sugar in the final step :-\)

Half section of lemon meringue tart

Afternoon tea at home

Wrapping boxes for a charitable cause

I'm not a regular baker and am definitely not the neatest. This challenge has led me to appreciate the hard work that goes on behind any scrumptious work of art but it has also triggered a new desire to perfect my baking skills! So stay tuned for more ;)

Welcome back! I hope ya'll had many delicious moments during the break.

To kick off a new year of blogging, I thought it would only make sense to firstly conclude 2008 with my family Christmas dinner.

It was a little chaotic at the start, with me doing too many things at once; whipping up the meringue, cutting and peeling vegetables, wrapping the last minute presents and more. But once the vegetables were sliced, fruits were cut up and meringues were baking, everything started to fall into place. Phew!

We started with some dips and crackers, then a giant seafood platter. I tried really hard not to over-cook this year. The following fed 7 adults and 1 kid... we had a few prawns leftover, as well as half the mashed potato and half the salad. I think I did fairly well!

Seafood platter with smoked salmon, shaved Spanish onion, dill and capers, prawns with 3 dipping sauces, fresh oysters with lime, lobsters and spicy wedges

Meringues baking in oven

Berries for the pavlova -strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi fruit and passionfrut

I forgot to photograph the wagyu which we bought from Vic's Meat, but it's marbling was delectable! We chargrilled these eggplants, sweet potatoes and asparagus on the side. These were simply prepared with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cracked pepper.

Vegetables for chargrilling

Mixed green salad with dill, cucumber, haloumi cheese, anchovy stuffed olives, cherry tomatoes and balsamic dressing

The baby carrots were caramelised with a combination of butter, brown sugar and parsley.

Caramelised carrots

Rosemary mashed potato

Charcoal and flame

Meringues are simple to bake and require minimal ingredients. This is the recipe I used:

8 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups of caster sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon cornflower
2 teaspoon white vinegar
Fruit and double cream to serve

1. Preheat oven to 120°C, whip up the egg whites and until stiff peaks form.
2. Slowly (spoon by spoon) add sugar while continuously beating the egg whites.
3. Once sugar has dissolved, all remaining ingredients and combine well.
4. Spoon onto baking paper into required sizes / shapes and bake for 90 minutes or until crisp.
5. Leave them in the oven with the door ajar to allow cooling.
6. Serve with fruit (I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, passionfruit and kiwifruit) and double cream.

Pavlova

Happy New Year!

Earth Day was Lidcombe Public School's theme for the 2007 fair. The weeks leading up to this, Bryan (my baby bro) was singing "3 is a magic number, yes it is, it's a magic number... reduce, reuse, recycle...". To continue his excitement, I agreed to bake a batch of cupcakes and brownies for the food stall.

Thanks to the power of online, I hunted down these 2 fab recipes --

Hummingbird Cupcakes by Su-Yin

Cupcake
3/4 cups self raising flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (440g) canned pineapple (crushed)
2 large sweet+ripe bananas (mashed)
3/4 olive oil (light preferably)
2 large eggs

Icing
1 block philly cheese
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
2 drops vanilla essence

Method

1. Sift flour & combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl


2. Make a well in the center; drop in all other ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon till well combined


3. Spoon into cupcake cases till 3/4 full and bake in preheated 180 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean wen poked thru the center


4. Cool completely before frosting

Brownies from Taste.com.au

Ingredients
Melted butter, for greasing
150g walnut halves
200g good-quality dark cooking
chocolate (like Plaistowe Cooking Chocolate), chopped
200g (1 cup, firmly packed)
brown sugar
125mls (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour
30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Brush a shallow 23cm square cake pan with the melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base with non-stick baking paper.


2. Spread walnuts on a baking tray and toast in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned (see microwave tip 1). Cool and chop coarsely.


3. Meanwhile: place the chocolate in a medium heat-resistant bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth (see microwave tip 2). Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.


4. Combine the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Use electric beaters to beat until well combined and paler in colour. Add the melted chocolate and beat until well combined.


5. Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder over chocolate mixture and use a large metal spoon to fold in until combined. Fold in the walnuts.


6. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes or until moist crumbs cling to a skewer inserted into the centre. Remove from oven and cool completely in pan. Turn onto a board, remove paper and cut into pieces.

Notes & tips

1. Store for up to 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature.


2. microwave tip 1: place walnuts in oven bag and twist the opening to seal. Cook, gently shaking bag every minute, for 3-4 minutes on High/ 850watts/100% or until lightly toasted.


3. microwave tip 2: place chocolate in a clean, dry small heat-resistant, microwave-safe bowl. Heat, uncovered, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, for 3-4 minutes on Medium/ 500watts/50% or until melted.

Merry Christmas! Last night, I was put in charge of our family's Christmas dinner. So instead of last year's roast, fresh prawns and lobster mornay, I decided to stock up on some oysters, scallops and green king prawns. I also did the gingerbread baking a day in advance!

Nothing beats fresh oysters with a few drops of Tabasco and a squeeze of lemon juice.

I adpated the Cashew-Crusted Prawns with Honey-Lemon Sauce recipe from the Coles Christmas Magazine. And instead of using cooked Australian Black Tiger Prawns, I opted for the uncooked Green King Prawns... The prawns were shelled and deveined , but I left the head and tail on (to look fancy).

1/2 cup plain flour
2 eggs
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
100g cashew nuts, chopped finely
18 king prawns, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup peanut oil
HONEY-LEMON SAUCE
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
50g butter

1. Place flour onto a plate. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and cashew nuts in a separate large bowl.
2. Dip each prawn in flour first, shaking off excess, then dip in egg wash and finally roll in breadcrumb mixture, pressing firmly to secure. Place on a tray sprinkled with breadcrumbs and put in fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes till slightly thickened.
4. Heat oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook prawns in batches for 2 - 4 minutes each side til golden. Drain on paper towel. Serve with honey-lemon sauce.

For our mains, I turned to Al Dente La Collezione (published by Hardie Grant Books, for Barilla Australia) - a compilation of pasta dishes by chefs around Australia.

120ml olive oil
1 leek, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 red chillies, finely chopped
4 tablespoons of sundried tomatoes, chopped
120g napoletana sauce
100ml cream
2 tablespoons of chives, chopped
24 large scallops
2 tablespoons of cajun spice
500g fettuccine or tagliatelle
CORIANDER PESTO
1 bunch coriander leaves, washed and dried
3 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 tablespoon of toasted pine nuts
salt and ground black pepper to taste
60ml olive oil

1. To make the coriander pesto, blend all the ingredients in a food processor. With the motor running, drizzle the oil down the feed tube until all are combined.
2. Heat 60mls of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add leek, garlic and chilli and cook, stirring often, until the leek is transparent. Add the sundried tomatoes and Napoletana sauce and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce starts to reduce.
3. Pour in the cream and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the chives and season to taste.
4. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, pat the scallops dry with a clean tea-towel. Dust the scallops with Cajun spice.
5. Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Cook the scallops in batches for 30 seconds on each side.
6. Drain the pasta and return to the saucepan. Add the sauce, and toss over a low heat until combined.
7. Arrange the pasta onto serving plats, and top with scallops and a dollop of pesto. Serve immediately.

And last but not least, for the gingerbread, I drew inspiration from Helen (GrabYourFork)'s post.

125g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons golden syrup
ICING
1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar
1 egg white
4 drops lemon juice
food colouring

1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. Add egg yolk and mix in remaining gingerbread ingredients.
3. Combine and keed until dought forms. Roll out dough and cut out shapes using cookie cutters or knife. Continue to remove excess dough for re-use.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in a moderate oven (180C).
5. Remove immediately and place on a cooling tray.
6. Whisk the egg white, then gradually add the icing sugar. Ensure that there are no lumps, then add lemon juice and food colouring.
7. Decorate as you like.