Cinnamon shortbreads and Roasted Figs... Delicious Autumn fare.

Here's another 2 things I've never done before. Made shortbreads and roasted figs. In fact, I've never cooked with figs before ever. How did this come about then you ask, figs were on special in the supermarket. I bought some thinking I'd find something to make, and on the day of the Spiced breakfast bread, I made these for a delicious dessert. Dinner that night is a whole other matter. It will become part of a 3-part saga in the hopes I try and test the best pastry for quiche.

The shortbread recipe was surprisingly easy and they were delicious. Another of Gordon Ramsay's but a different book completely - Chef for All Seasons. Marty thought they were perfectly cooked, but I could have had them cooked a little longer so that they were a little drier and crispier. This recipe is also designed to be kept in a tube-shape in the freezer so you can have shortbreads whenever you like, and that's what we did. We only needed a couple each for the recipe, and I have frozen the rest. I cut off a couple the other night and baked them a little longer and they were incredible.

Now when it comes to shortbreads, I may not be a connoisseur, but I have grown up on the best shortbreads I think there are - in my opinion. Christmas-time was the time that my gran, and too my mother and aunt would slave over the oven to make homemade mince-pies, Christmas cake and shortbreads. And those shortbreads were melt-in-your-mouth. Hopefully one day that recipe will be passed on to me so that my kids can enjoy them as much as we all did - unless my mother wants to make them and send them down from Queensland. An arrangement I am more than happy with. Could it be that we only had them once a year that made these shortbreads so irresistible or are they just that good? Nothing store-bought has ever compared and I can safely say that as nice as my shortbreads were, they were a distance second to the ones I love with all my heart! It's probably a very good thing for the waistline that we only have them once a year.

The figs were interesting, and tasty, but following the recipe I would have added more liquid, be it butter or whatever was appropriate, to make more syrup so I could have cooked them longer and they would have got softer. I will also listen to Gordon when he says use a pan that's big enough, the pot I used was too little and was a little bit awkward to work with. Nevertheless this was interesting and when figs are roaming about again I will put in a brave second attempt, potentially enlisting the chef's help with the figs.

Stay tuned for the delicious risotto we had on Saturday, and the quiche pastry debate is set to begin.

xoxo

Spiced Breakfast bread - an update and the recipe!

Well that took longer than expected. Here's a link to the recipe for this bread:

https://plus.google.com/107346167256278601901/posts/DhUBqH8EkzQ#107346167256278601901/posts/DhUBqH8EkzQ

And here's the recipe:

Spiced Breakfast Bread - From Gordon Ramsay’s “Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy”

Ingredients (Makes 10-12 slices)

• Butter to grease
• 3 free-range eggs
• 50g light brown sugar
• 250g thin honey
• 125ml milk
• 125g plain flour
• 125g buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp five-spice powder
• 1 tbsp ground mixed spice
• 2tbsp baking powder
• Finely grated zest of 2 oranges

Steps

Heat the oven to 320f/160c, and lightly butter a 25x10cm (9x5 inch) loaf tin.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl over a pan of hot water on the stove, using an electric whisk, until the mixture is pale and thickened (enough to leave a ribbon when the beaters are lifted). Remove the pan from the heat, but leave the bowl set over it.

Warm the honey and milk together in a small pan and gradually beat into the egg mixture until evenly mixed.

Sift the flour, spices and baking powder together into a large mixing bowl and carefully fold in the egg mixture, followed by the orange zest.

Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until well risen, firm to the touch and golden brown on top. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Author’s Note

Serve warm, cut into slices. Best eaten on the day it is made, though any leftovers can be frozen. Delicious with a compote of cherries.

Ciao xx

Spiced Breakfast Bread...experiment

Well, I have been industrious in the kitchen - at times, and industrious at work, but writing...hmmmm. I suppose I could say the computer deleted my post, but that's as likely as the dog eating my homework! No, I have just been procrastinating, and what makes it worse is that the finer details of my 'industriousness' are slowly fading. Could this be old-age?!?

The sooner I share with you the better! One Monday I decided to stop mucking about and get into the kitchen. I had actually been missing just getting in there, donning my red apron and mixing up something different. I decided to start with something I had never made before, with some methods I have never used before. Recipe to follow in the next post!

This is a Spiced Breakfast Bread recipe from Gordon Ramsay's Gordon makes it easy.. book. It is very clearly set out, and seemed relatively simple to make, but when the moment of truth arrived, the result wasn't as desired as I would hope.

Don't get me wrong, it was edible and I have certainly managed to eat it, but it was not soft and delectable as I had hoped. I will say that I made one change to the recipe, which I hadn't thought a problem, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, if any one's a breadmaker some guidance would be appreciated. The recipe called for 125g of plain flour (check) and 125g buckwheat flour (couldn't find) so I substituted it for plain flour. Could this have been the mistake? I followed the method of cooking to a tee, and when it came to checking the bread the clean knife I had used to test it came out clean. So I pulled the loaf out and left it to cool for 5 minutes in the loaf tin as instructed. When I can to remove it, it had sunk in the middle, and it seemed uncooked through the centre. Now, I've made 100 banana breads before with no hassle and never had a cake sink in the middle so I'm not sure whether it was the ingredient switch or a case of over- or underbeating in the recipe. If anyone has an answer, it would be appreciated as I'd really like to do this again, but I'm not in the mood for multiple flops! It's not good for my ego ;)

I ended up toasting a piece very generously and drowning it in butter, and then freezing the rest. The flavour was delicious. A really wintery, gingerbready smell and flavour enveloped the house for the afternoon and I was quite ready for a fire crackling in a fire place and a cup of mulled wine, but I can't keep baking a bread just for the smell of it!

I will post the recipe in a following post, and hopefully someone else will take a crack at it and pass on their comments. If yours is superb, pass on your hints and tips, or if any of you seasoned bakers can help let me know because...I want to get it RIGHT!!

See you soon,
xoxo

What's for lunch on Easter?

So the loooonnnggg weekend has been and gone and our Easter Sunday lunch has been gobbled up, and I think I miss it a little! Can't wait to have everyone over again because this one was definitely a success! Our contributing partners were 6 friends and then us, and they supplied some pre-lunch nibbles, while the Chef was working his magic - a Butterflied lamb marinated in Spanish smoky paprika, garlic and lemon juice, and a Spatchcock chicken marinated in garlic and herbs. Both done to perfection on the Weber. The lamb was a little dry due to the fact that needed to be basted constantly, but I may have been the only 1 that felt this.

We served this with couscous and mash potatoes, a salad of mixed greens, and then cucumber and cherry tomatoes served separately. Lastly we had some homemade tzatiki and red cabbage mixed through with balsamic vinegar, spring onions and garlic. Quite a spread that went down pretty quickly!

I think made a gorgeous sorbet and it was super simple! Based on a Spanish cocktail, it was very easy to make up and delicious to eat.
So you'll need:
300g Castor sugar
300ml water
300ml Red wine - a Spanish wine like a Rioja, or a nice fruity Shiraz blend. This doesn't have to be fancy, a nice quaffable wine works best!
300ml fizzy lemonade
zest and juice of 1 lemon.

Dissolve the sugar in the water over a medium heat and then bring to a rapid boil for 5 to 7 minutes before the syrup starts to colour. Put aside to cool. Combine the wine, lemonade and lemon juice in a large jug and add the cooled syrup when it's ready. Give it a good stir and either put it into 1 deep freezer container to be used all at once, or divide it into smaller containers to be used at different times.

Pop in the freezer and give it a muss up with a fork every 15minutes for the 1st hour or so. When you're ready to serve it, put small quantities into a food processor to blend it up to be fluffy and smooth.

And you're done! We served this before dessert which was Gordon Ramsay's Dark Chocolate Torte served with pouring cream. This is in his Just Desserts book and was divine! Our oven runs a little hot so we'll take the temperature down next time, but otherwise it was lovely! Recipe to follow I promise!

Follow this and add to it with plenty of wine and some Easter choccies and it certainly was a fun day! Looking forward to thinking up our next dinner menu. I'm feeling French, classic and warm for these autumnal nights that are quickly turning to winter. Lamb shanks, Coq au Vin and delicious heart-warming meals here we come! I can't decide what I love most about winter - the clothes, the food or the red wine? Staying in with friends is definitely up there too.

Ciao
xoxo

Jamie vs. Gordon. The Christmas dessert showdown... Part 1

Right from the outset I would like to say that the humble trifle did very well against Jamie's spectacular Moroccan dessert. And it was no mean feat to accomplish. I detailed the process as Marty did it, so you'll have to wait with bated breath until we're back in Melbourne to access the photos. On the other hand, I whipped up the trifle on Christmas Eve from scratch, and was quite proud of the outcome. Vanilla custard from scratch, a beautiful coulis made of strawbs and raspberries, and Madeira cake as base. And you would be right to question the fact that I hadn't added alcohol. It was an alcohol-free version- unlike everything else that was to be consumed that day!

Unfortunately the only glass dish I had had been smashed a few months prior, and never replaced. A mad dash around on the 23rd was fruitless, so there's no side view. I layered the Madeira cake - about a 3rd of it - on the bottom, chopped into bits. Then in the blender whipped up a 3rd/half of the raspberries and strawberries with castor sugar and some water, and mixed that in with the remaining full berries. Lastly, followed his recipe for custard very carefully. This whole recipe can be found in 'Gordon Makes it Easy', which is my favourite and most useful Gordon Ramsay cookbook, and definitely in our top 5 overall. The Madeira cake was layered with the fruit, then topped with the custard. and into the fridge overnight. 

This left the other dessert up to Marty, and that you'll need to wait for in part 2 on Monday or Tuesday! See you then.

xoxo 

Bon Appetite xoxo