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

It's been a while my friends...

While experiencing some downtime in Christchurch, I thought I'd take a little time to add some much needed updates. We have still been working our way through Jamie's book, and once I hit Melbourne again I'll let you know some awesomely easy recipes to whip up at home. We've done a great Chicken and Avo dip pita, an amazing Courgette and rice dish - perfect for veggies or as a side dish, and I'll definitely be telling you about the Moroccan dessert we had for Christmas.

Most importantly I can't wait to tell you about our 'Preservation Factory' we've started. Sun dried Tomatoes fresh from the vine, Basil oil and Garlic oil, and by now the lemons must be preserved! Hopefully our amazingly abundant Roma tomato tree will still be producing and maybe we'll make some chutneys. This is where I'd love to hear from you all - do you have a family fave, a special jam or relish recipe that you think is awesome and we can make. We're on the hunt for exciting things to do, and interesting vessels to preserve them in! I'll pop up photos when we have some on our shelves I need to clear.
Looking forward to hearing those suggestions!

The Chicken and Avo wrap...

xoxo