Well, winter has set in, and this dynamic duo have gone into a little bit of a hibernation period. What with a warm house and great recipes to try, it really doesn't seem that bad! However, I decided to have some friends around for dinner this coming Saturday night, and as the chef will be cooking for the patrons of his place of employ, the cooking was to be left up to yours truly. As there are about 5 people coming over, and this is not an episode of Come dine with me, I wanted to be prepared, not stuck in a kitchen, and certainly not getting stressed out.
I decided on Lasagne, Italian salad, garlic bread and Apple Crumble for dessert. Lasagne because I can kinda make that, with some help, salad and garlic bread - 'nuff said, and Apple Crumble, because that is a tried and true dessert I can do! So what's cheating you ask, besides potentially buying the garlic bread - which I'm not- and getting a ready-made salad - which is almost true? I made the lasagne with Marty on Monday and was given a basic tutorial in the finer points of cooking, froze it, and will defrost it on Friday to pop in the oven Saturday. Here's hoping it tastes delicious, that it has the right balance of sauce, but isn't too dry or runny, and the gorgeous flavours we worked on are all there!
To the first step of making this relatively easy Italian meal. The most important part and most essential ingredient is flavour. Now, I remember when my mom would make Spag Bol, and chops up the onions, carrots, garlic, and then add some bacon to it. She may have used celery too - correct me if I"m wrong mom! And now, I'm standing in the kitchen being instructed to dice some carrots, while the chef deals with the onions and celery. We're making a mirepoix (mirror-pwa), not just randomly chopping up veggies. This is the basis to stocks, meat dishes if you add bacon to it too, soups ans stews. But first, we popped some oil into the pot, brought it to a medium heat, added a couple of garlic cloves - a side note was we actually added some of our garlic-infused oil - some basil leaves, and thyme. Once this was all mixed through we added the onions and began to saute, then the onions and celery. This was cooked so that it was starting to soften, but not colour too much, and then removed so that the mince could be cooked off. This time we just used our garlic oil, which was delicious and easy to do and tasted delicious. Marty cooked the meat off in sections, added the mirepoix to it when done and then in with some tomato sauce (again we've used the Five Brothers Summer Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce) and stock. Left to bubble along while the white sauce was made.
Now the white sauce was the main reason for Marty's help as it's not something I've ever really known how to make and the 1 or 2 times it's been attempted have been disastrous. I'm not going to get into to as it's probably another discussion for another time, and really needs a demo!
Layer the lasagne, cooked for 30-40min at 180deg, and then leave to cool then freeze, if you're doing my cheat and cooking your main earlier than the party! So know, the night before all I need to do is take it out the freezer, prepare my garlic bread and cook up my apples if there's time.
On the Saturday - as I'll be working till 6pm - all that needs to happen is the table can be set, lasagne and garlic bread in the oven, salad tossed and crumble assembled to go into the oven. And a large glass of red wine poured. That sounds a lot easier then slaving away in a kitchen all day! Hopefully everyone enjoys it.
I used the mirepoix again this week to cook up a delicious Beef and Veg soup, and the flavours were lovely. Again I used the garlic oil and it gave a very subtle garlic taste without the fear of chomping into a great big clove of garlic. It is actually a French culinary term from the 18th century that was named after a Duc de Mirepoix, a region in Languedoc. This method had been used well before that, and in Italian it is known as soffritto.
Au Revoir
xoxo
Friday, May 20, 2011
Monday, May 02, 2011
Some really useful tools.
So, Masterchef Australia started again last night, and after my boycott on Season 2, I feel like I can watch Season 3 without wanting to smack George Calombaris' moving hands and telling Matt Preston to stop being an idiot. Gary is still my favourite! I'm also hoping we don't have to see much of Donna Hay. She bugs me. I digress.
Marty's making a chicken pie tonight and not really in the mood to teach, maybe he wants to keep his secret sauce, a secret; so we had a discussion about the most useful and necessary implements in our kitchen.
The Top 5 must haves in the kitchen according to us are, and in no particular order:
1. A good knife
2. A good pot - a Le Creuset casserole pot. Cast iron that stands the test of time, has a lifetime guarantee and can be used in the oven and on top.
3. A big, solid chopping board
4. A good pan - a great non-stick and also one that can go into the oven. This may mean you have to have 2. The funniest story about ours is that our 2 most used pans ever are a Le Creuset grill pan that was a wedding present, and a flat large pan that can be used in the oven and on top, that my mom was throwing out and passed on to me with the '2nds' when setting up our house. So mom - that pan has stood the test of time and is still being used daily. I am truly the queen of the 1 pan wonder!
5. A couple of good wooden spoons!
Our Top 5 ingredients, in order:
1. Olive oil - we often by the big canister on special and have a beautiful bottle that we keep it in. I even use an olive oil spray if I'm needing to fry something to keep it healthy.
2. Iodised flaky sea salt and cracked pepper. I don't think I can emphasise the importance of this type of salt. When you use flaky sea salt, and it really should be iodised for the various health benefits, you use less salt generally because you get a better flavour, and it's better for you. It's marginally more expensive but a box of it lasts us over a month, if not more. You will notice the difference. A certain amount of salt is required in our diets, and when you season correctly you use less sauces and additives that have hidden calories and preservatives in them.
3. Garlic
4. Lemons
5. Fresh herbs
And some other things you might need and like -
A good peeler - don't laugh, but Tupperware's is the bomb!
Mixing bowls
A food processor with blender
All the above make up a basic kitchen and there is so much that can be added. I love my servingware and glassware and will happily say that I'm a little addicted to the purchase of said -wares. So I think I have a fair array of bowls and plates, and will continue to add to it I'm sure. We also have a fabulous selection of knives and utensils, dried spices and a small fresh herb garden, and our slowly expanding oils and preserves. It all makes for an interesting kitchen and I hope you can use some of this information!
Happy cooking
xoxo
Marty's making a chicken pie tonight and not really in the mood to teach, maybe he wants to keep his secret sauce, a secret; so we had a discussion about the most useful and necessary implements in our kitchen.
The Top 5 must haves in the kitchen according to us are, and in no particular order:
1. A good knife
2. A good pot - a Le Creuset casserole pot. Cast iron that stands the test of time, has a lifetime guarantee and can be used in the oven and on top.
3. A big, solid chopping board
4. A good pan - a great non-stick and also one that can go into the oven. This may mean you have to have 2. The funniest story about ours is that our 2 most used pans ever are a Le Creuset grill pan that was a wedding present, and a flat large pan that can be used in the oven and on top, that my mom was throwing out and passed on to me with the '2nds' when setting up our house. So mom - that pan has stood the test of time and is still being used daily. I am truly the queen of the 1 pan wonder!
5. A couple of good wooden spoons!
Our Top 5 ingredients, in order:
1. Olive oil - we often by the big canister on special and have a beautiful bottle that we keep it in. I even use an olive oil spray if I'm needing to fry something to keep it healthy.
2. Iodised flaky sea salt and cracked pepper. I don't think I can emphasise the importance of this type of salt. When you use flaky sea salt, and it really should be iodised for the various health benefits, you use less salt generally because you get a better flavour, and it's better for you. It's marginally more expensive but a box of it lasts us over a month, if not more. You will notice the difference. A certain amount of salt is required in our diets, and when you season correctly you use less sauces and additives that have hidden calories and preservatives in them.
3. Garlic
4. Lemons
5. Fresh herbs
And some other things you might need and like -
A good peeler - don't laugh, but Tupperware's is the bomb!
Mixing bowls
A food processor with blender
All the above make up a basic kitchen and there is so much that can be added. I love my servingware and glassware and will happily say that I'm a little addicted to the purchase of said -wares. So I think I have a fair array of bowls and plates, and will continue to add to it I'm sure. We also have a fabulous selection of knives and utensils, dried spices and a small fresh herb garden, and our slowly expanding oils and preserves. It all makes for an interesting kitchen and I hope you can use some of this information!
Happy cooking
xoxo
"Everyone should know how to make a good stew!" - Chef Marty
Quote from the chef! He was certainly feeling proud of himself last night, because it definitely was a good stew. Sunday, 1st of May in Melbourne was a chilly one after the truly beautiful autumn week we had. The skies clouded over and threatened to rain for most of the afternoon, until the heavens finally made that commitment and opened. We had done our groceries by this stage, and a stew was already on the cards accompanied by DVDs and a warm blankie.
And so chef Marty decided it would a teaching kitchen, and armed with a glass of red, I attempted to take notes. This is the reason for the hasty blog, as I am more than likely to forget the pearls of wisdom if they are not recorded quick smart.
"The secret to a great stew - is about sealing the meat and getting the flavour right up front"- Martin Haines.
There are a number of vessels for this stew - a slow cooker for those who want to put it on in the morning before work, a casserole pot that can go on the stove top to be slowly cooked, or the easiest and most popular - a good casserole pot that you can seal off everything in,and pop in the oven for a couple of hours on a lower heat. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but our favourite kitchen item is definitely our amazing Le Creuset casserole pot. There is nothing quite like it for quality and value. A lifetime guarantee on the cast iron pot, and the ability to use it for just about anything. My mom certainly had a casserole pot that was used for so many dishes, that I made sure I had one of my own!
Right, let's make a stew! Firstly, you want to chop up your carrots, celery, leek, mushrooms and onion. A lug of olive oil into the pot and heat that up to a medium heat, and your garlic cloves (whole, peeled, slightly squished) and thyme can be added to that. Then add that chopped up veg and saute that off. So that means you want to cook it off lightly and get a little bit of colour going and those veg slightly softened.
Once that's been done, remove from the pot and pop aside. Now here's where things are different from what I've always known, and if you do your meat first, I recommend you try it this way and see the amazing difference if flavour - if you do - and if you don't let me know!
Once that veg has been removed, a little more olive oil in the pot and you want to add the meat. We used beef osso bucco, but gravy beef, blade steak, any cheaper cut of meat is great. This is a cost-effective dinner and because of the slow-cooking, you don't need expensive meat, it's actually better with cheaper cuts! And the secret he was talking about is now - seal that meat off with some seasoning. And not just a light colouring. You really want to get that meat cooked and coloured. It was easily a good 5 minutes of cooking. Once that meat is sealed, add a couple of large pinches of flour, a little salt and then your sauteed veg. And cook these all up together for a little. Using your wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to get all that flavour mixed through the stew. Add your stock - another good stew secret is decent stock. You can make your own, use it from previous stews that you've frozen, or we use Campbell's Salt Reduced Beef/Chicken/Veg whichever is appropriate. Add enough to cover the base and mix it through, then add some but keep stirring everything together and add a little more to cover. The longer you want to cook it the more stock you need to use because that will cook down and caramelise and flavour everything. We cooked the stew at 160 for a couple of hours so we added 3/4 of a box of Campbell's (1lt).
Preheat the oven to 200, and then put it down to 160 when you're about to put the pot in. Also get the stew bubbling on the stove top before it goes in the oven so that it's cooking away before you pop it in.
And that is that. Serve with some mash potatoes and green beans, or some brown rice - YUM! There is really nothing I love more than winter food and beautiful warming stews! I think I'm about to get another tutorial in making chicken pie tonight, so I'd better fill up that wine glass and get a pencil. There will be more Jamie in the next few weeks - I'm working on persuading chef extraordinaire
into making the duck confit from the French section!
Looking forward to hearing how the stews have gone!
Ciao
xoxo
And so chef Marty decided it would a teaching kitchen, and armed with a glass of red, I attempted to take notes. This is the reason for the hasty blog, as I am more than likely to forget the pearls of wisdom if they are not recorded quick smart.
"The secret to a great stew - is about sealing the meat and getting the flavour right up front"- Martin Haines.
There are a number of vessels for this stew - a slow cooker for those who want to put it on in the morning before work, a casserole pot that can go on the stove top to be slowly cooked, or the easiest and most popular - a good casserole pot that you can seal off everything in,and pop in the oven for a couple of hours on a lower heat. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but our favourite kitchen item is definitely our amazing Le Creuset casserole pot. There is nothing quite like it for quality and value. A lifetime guarantee on the cast iron pot, and the ability to use it for just about anything. My mom certainly had a casserole pot that was used for so many dishes, that I made sure I had one of my own!
Right, let's make a stew! Firstly, you want to chop up your carrots, celery, leek, mushrooms and onion. A lug of olive oil into the pot and heat that up to a medium heat, and your garlic cloves (whole, peeled, slightly squished) and thyme can be added to that. Then add that chopped up veg and saute that off. So that means you want to cook it off lightly and get a little bit of colour going and those veg slightly softened.
Once that's been done, remove from the pot and pop aside. Now here's where things are different from what I've always known, and if you do your meat first, I recommend you try it this way and see the amazing difference if flavour - if you do - and if you don't let me know!
Once that veg has been removed, a little more olive oil in the pot and you want to add the meat. We used beef osso bucco, but gravy beef, blade steak, any cheaper cut of meat is great. This is a cost-effective dinner and because of the slow-cooking, you don't need expensive meat, it's actually better with cheaper cuts! And the secret he was talking about is now - seal that meat off with some seasoning. And not just a light colouring. You really want to get that meat cooked and coloured. It was easily a good 5 minutes of cooking. Once that meat is sealed, add a couple of large pinches of flour, a little salt and then your sauteed veg. And cook these all up together for a little. Using your wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to get all that flavour mixed through the stew. Add your stock - another good stew secret is decent stock. You can make your own, use it from previous stews that you've frozen, or we use Campbell's Salt Reduced Beef/Chicken/Veg whichever is appropriate. Add enough to cover the base and mix it through, then add some but keep stirring everything together and add a little more to cover. The longer you want to cook it the more stock you need to use because that will cook down and caramelise and flavour everything. We cooked the stew at 160 for a couple of hours so we added 3/4 of a box of Campbell's (1lt).
Preheat the oven to 200, and then put it down to 160 when you're about to put the pot in. Also get the stew bubbling on the stove top before it goes in the oven so that it's cooking away before you pop it in.
And that is that. Serve with some mash potatoes and green beans, or some brown rice - YUM! There is really nothing I love more than winter food and beautiful warming stews! I think I'm about to get another tutorial in making chicken pie tonight, so I'd better fill up that wine glass and get a pencil. There will be more Jamie in the next few weeks - I'm working on persuading chef extraordinaire
into making the duck confit from the French section!
Looking forward to hearing how the stews have gone!
Ciao
xoxo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)