Snickers really satisfies

If you're anything like me the lure of peanuts and caramel, when the urge strikes, is irrestible. Luckily though, this is a rare occurence for me.  A new season of Master Chef started last week in Australia and the final challenge for the last apron into the top 24 involved peanuts and caramel, through Shannon Bennett's Chocolate Peanut Bar.  There's 9 parts to this dish, with around 15 ingredients, all normal things you can find in the supermarket with one exception (trimoline, which is apparently a glucose-type syrup).  It would probably take me at least twice as long to make this, than the 1.45 hrs that the contestants had, so I'm saving it for another day!

Which leads me back to peanuts and caramel.  I had planned to make a chocolate souffle with raspberry sauce, however after watching Master Chef, I pondered a peanut and caramel souffle.  This souffle recipe is one of the easiest ever. So if you've always wanted to make one, but never have, then this is the recipe for you.

Snickers Souffle (makes 2 souffles)
200g Snickers bars (roughly chopped) + extra for decorating or a sauce
80mL thickened cream
4 egg whites
butter
2 teaspoons caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 200C (no fan)
2. Melt the snickers and half the cream either slowly in the microwave, or on top of a double boiler.  Stir occasionally to break up Snickers, until just barely melted (do not allow to boil). Add remaining cream and stir to combine.  Allow to cool slightly so it is just warm.
3. Grease 2 x 1 cup ramekins and add a teaspoon of sugar to each and then move ramekin around so that sugar coats it.
4. Beat egg whites on high speed until they reach stiff peaks.
5. Add 1/3 of egg whites to snickers mixture and mix gently to combine.  Gently fold in remaining egg whites.  Fold gently until mixture is combined.
6. Divide mixture between 2 prepared ramekins.
7. Bake souffles in oven for 10-12 minutes, until risen and just cooked on top.
8. Remove from oven and serve immediately with a piece of Snickers on top (if you haven't eat it all) or a caramel sauce (melted snickers and cream and a bit of caramel topping!).

"Y" is Served.

"Y" is finally here. After a week or two (let's try a month and a half, we are back). Y was served at the end of August/beginning of September.  It was a wonderful meal full of colour and taste. Predominant colour was Yellow, a delicious Thai Yellow meatball curry and a very colourful Lemon Meringue Pie.

Thai Yellow Curry with meatballs

Pork and veal meatballs
1 small brown onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
400g pork and veal mince
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Curry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eschalots, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Thai yellow curry paste
1 1/2 cups salt-reduced chicken stock
400ml can coconut milk
200g green beans, trimmed, halved crossways
1 tablespoon grated palm sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
1 long red chilli, sliced
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve

METHOD
Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Pulse onion, garlic and parsley in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Add mince and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls.
Step 2

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook meatballs, in batches, turning, for 2 minutes or until browned. Add extra oil, if needed. Transfer to prepared tray.
Step 3

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Cool.
Step 4

Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add oil, swirling to coat. Add eschalot. Stir-fry for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel, leaving excess oil in wok.
Step 5

Reduce heat to medium. Add curry paste to wok. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Gradually add stock and coconut milk, stirring to combine. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until mixture slightly thickens.
Step 6

Add meatballs. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add beans. Simmer for a further 2 minutes or until meatballs are heated through and beans are tender. Stir in sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Sprinkle curry with eschalot, coriander and chilli. Serve with rice and lime wedges.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Hmmmm this was a tasty dish - kinda. I cheated and bought store bought pastry. MISTAKE!!!!! Don't do it!!!!! Spend the time and make it yourself. The filling was spectacular. Find a good recipe for a sweet pastry.

Here is the recipe for the filling.

Lemon filling
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup pure cream
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1/2 cup lemon juice

Meringue
4 egg whites
1 cup caster sugar

Make lemon filling Whisk eggs, sugar, cream, lemon rind and lemon juice in a bowl. Stand for 5 minutes. Pour mixture into pastry case. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until filling is just set. Cool for 15 minutes.


Make Meringue Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture is thick and glossy. Spoon meringue over filling. Bake for 5 minutes or until meringue is golden.

Winter Warmers for a tasty W treat

On a cold winter;s night it is nice to sit down to a nice warm meal. Beef Wellington and steamed vegetables and White Chocolate Bavarois with Chocolate Chilli soup. Both of these dishes are easy to prepare and certainly tasty to eat.
To add the the fun of "W" we had the mouldy yet tasty Whitestone Double Brie with some Wirra Wirra Red and some Water. Hmmmm Water.








The Beef Wellington sounds  complicated but really it is easy to make - just take your time and read the individual components (or
 you'll make some easy mistakes LOL).

Ingredients
For the Duxelles:
3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the Duxelles: Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.


For the Beef:
1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin ( filet mignon), trimmed
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices prosciutto
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Minced chives, for garnish

To prepare the beef: Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting board. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to encompass the entire filet of beef. Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.

Preheat oven to 220 Celcius.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together. Remove beef from refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides, brushing with egg wash to seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Top with coarse sea salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.

Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 52 degrees C on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices. Garnish with minced chives, and serve with Green Peppercorn Sauce,

Green Peppercorn Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 cup brandy
1 box beef stock
2 cups cream
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1/2 cup green peppercorns in brine, drained, brine reserved

Green Peppercorn Sauce:
Add olive oil to pan after removing beef. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme; saute for 1 to 2 minutes, then, off heat, add brandy and flambe using a long kitchen match. After flame dies down, return to the heat, add stock and reduce by about half. Strain out solids, then add 2 cups cream and mustard. Reduce by half again, then shut off heat and add green peppercorns.

Serve with steamed vegetables. Our sides were carrots, broccolini and mash.

White Chocolate Bavarois with Chocolate Chilli Soup

90ml milk
90ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise
3 large egg yolks
50g castor sugar
2 sheets gold-leaf gelatine
250g White chocolate, shaved
200ml double cream

Combine the milk and cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium-low heat. Scrape in the vanilla seeds, add the pod and slowly heat almost to boiling point - but don't boil or scorch the milk. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed until pale and creamy and sugar has dissolved.

Remove the vanilla pod from the hot milk mixture. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the egg and sugar, a little at a time. Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over a very low heat to create a custard. Stir until custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon (about 5 minutes, but don't scramble the eggs - if using a thermometer, cook to 82°C).

Place gelatine in a bowl of cold water and soak until soft. Remove the gelatine, squeeze it gently and stir into the warm custard. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl and leave to cool.

Melt the shaved chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering water. Stir the chocolate into the custard, cover, and chill in the fridge. When the custard starts to set around the edges, whip the cream until thick. Fold into the bavarois.

Lightly oil four 125ml dariole moulds and spoon in the mixture, tapping the moulds to avoid air pockets. Chill in the fridge until firmly set - about 4 hours.

Chocolate Chilli Soup

150ml double cream
200g good-quality dark chocolate
4 tbsp brandy

2 tbs cocoa powder

2 long red chilli finely sliced

Put the cream in a saucepan over a medium heat and gently bring to the boil. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small pieces using a heavy knife.
Once the cream is just boiling, turn off the heat and throw in the chopped chocolate and the cocoa powder and chilli. Stir gently until completely smooth, then add brandy. Let all ingredients sit and combine for 30 minutes. Strain soup through a sieve to remove chilli.

Place bavarois on plate and then pour soup around. 

Are we there yet?

We are getting close to the end of the alphabet in our #abcmeals challenge and are now talking about going in reverse and each doing the letters we haven't done before.  That seems like a good idea until I start thinking about all the yummy stuff that has been cooked for me, and that then I will have to use different ingredients for with the same letters.  Eeeeekkk!  One thing is for sure though, when we get to 'V' again, there'll no doubt be a whole plate of vegetables again, just like I did.  And if there's not vodka again, then look out!  The whole 'V' themed menu was this: vodka cocktails (ie Cosmopolitans!), with vintage cheddar; Veal fillet with veges; and Red Velvet Cupcakes.  Not too shabby for a crazy Wednesday night, if I do say so myself.

Thanks to Donna Hay for the inspiration for the easy veal fillet and veges.  All you do is seal the fillet in a hot frypan for 3 - 4 minutes each side, then spread dijon mustard on it and bake it in the oven for 7 - 10 minutes (or to your liking).  Bring it out, let it rest and roll it in chopped herbs (parsley and chives).  Slice it up and you're done.  This is an easy way to add colour, texture and different flavours to meat.  You could also do the same thing with pork, hummus and dukkah. 

"U" can't go past the United Kingdom for "U"

Udon noodles were the only thing I could come up with for a "U" ingredient. I'm sure there are others but for the first week back at work my brain wasn't really thinking to hard for "U" ingredients. My plans went for a country or Kingdom and settled on the United Kingdom.
As we are presently going through a cold snap, what a perfect time for a hearty soup. Entree: Tick.
As we are presently going through a cold snap, what a perfect time for a Roast n veg. Mains : Tick.
As we are presently going through a cold snap, what a perfect time for a hot pudding. Dessert: Tick.

Bubble and Squeak Soup.

30g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, white part only,
thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 litre (4 cups) good-quality
chicken stock
2 potatoes, chopped
300g brussels sprouts,
thinly sliced
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ cup (125ml) pure (thin) cream,
plus extra to serve
6 bacon rashers
Croutons, to serve


1. Season, then add nutmeg. Cool slightly, then in batches, blend until smooth. Return soup to the pan over low heat. Add cream and stir.

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning, for 4-5 minutes until crisp. Drain on paper towel, cool slightly, then roughly chop.

3. Divide the soup among 6 serving bowls and drizzle with extra cream. Garnish with bacon, croutons and brussels sprouts leaves, if desired, then season and serve immediately.

Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Ale Gravy

4-rib beef roast with top flap (about 1.5kg), bones trimmed
1 onion, thickly sliced
Olive oil, to brush
1 1/2 teaspoons plain flour

YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS
1 cup plain flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted fat from the beef

Ale Gravy

1.5 cups beef stock

1.5 cups mild English light ale

2 tbs redcurrant jelly

2 tbs plain flour


Preheat oven to 230C. Calculate the beef cooking time by allowing 30 minutes to brown, then 10 minutes per 500g for very rare, 12 minutes for medium and 20 minutes for well done. Put the onion slices in the centre of a baking tray.

Rub the beef with oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place the onion in a roasting pan and sit the beef on top, then roast on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes to brown the meat well. Reduce heat to 160C. Continue to roast for the calculated cooking times (1 hour 20 minutes for very rare for a 4kg 4-rib beef roast).

Remove beef from the oven. Lift on to a board, loosely cover with foil and rest for 30 minutes.

To make the Yorkshire puddings: Place the flour and 1 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor and whiz a few times. Add eggs, milk and 100ml water and process until smooth. Set aside for 30 minutes. While the beef is resting, turn the oven up to 220C.

Divide the fat between 8 muffin tins. Place tins in the oven for 5 minutes, then carefully remove and quickly pour in the batter.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve immediately. Meanwhile, place the roasting pan on the stove over medium heat.

If the onion isn’t already caramelised, cook for a further 2-3 minutes until caramelised. Sprinkle in the flour, stir well, then add beer, stock, jelly and any beef resting juices. Scrape base of the pan with a wooden spoon to release cooking juices.  Stirring, for 4-5 minutes until reduced to a well flavoured gravy. Strain into a clean saucepan. Uncover the beef and pour any juices into the gravy.

I served roasted veges with the roast beef, Flavoured with a few sprigs of thyme.

Sticky Date Pudding cake.

175g dates, pitted, chopped
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
75g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
150g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
170g self-raising flour, sifted
2 eggs
Thick cream, to serve

Sauce
200ml cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
60g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped pecan nuts

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place dates in a pan with 180ml water and bring to the boil. Add bicarbonate of soda and set aside for 15 minutes (it will bubble fiercely then settle down).

Cream together butter and sugar until pale. Add vanilla and 1 tablespoon of flour, and stir to combine. Add eggs one at a time, beating until smooth. Use a metal spoon to gently fold in remaining flour and stir in the date mixture (it may look a little curdled at this stage).

Grease six 250ml (1-cup capacity) dariole moulds with butter and pour in pudding mixture. Bake for 25 minutes until cooked through. Set aside for 5 minutes before turning out.

To make the sauce, mix ingredients in a pan over low heat until butter has melted. Cool slightly before pouring over puddings. Serve with cream.

Recipes by Valli Little