Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pumpkin soup recipe


Ingredients:
3 Rashers of finely chopped bacon ( fat removed)
1 teaspoon of butter
1 medium onion
3 cups of diced peeled pumpkin

1 clove of garlic ( crushed)1 teaspoon of tomato paste
dash of tabasco sauce
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
Bayleaf, p& S and nutmeg
1 cup of cream
* please note that if you want to use the whole pumpkin then increase the ingredients to suit. I usually make 3 times the recipe.
Method:
Put butter, bacon, garlic and onions in a large casserole dish and cook for 4 mins. Add pumpkin, tomato paste + tabasco sauce. Add 1 1/2 cups of stock, bay leaf, S&P and nutmeg. Cook on a low light until pumpkin in cooked. Add extra stock. Blend in a blender and reheat. Don't boil. Add cream and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Stuffed Chicken wings, Steamed egg & Blood Orange Granita Recipe


Stuffed Chicken Wings
(20 Wings)
Chicken Wings
20 Chicken wings
sugar, soy sauce, pepper
2-3 eggs
flour
oil for deep-frying

Filling
200g Pork/beef (mixed) mince
2 grated carrots
2 finely chopped shallots
2 Tb corn flour
2 Tb oyster sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp sesame oil
pepper & salt

Sauce
Chopped cucumbers
Sweet chilli sauce

Debone the chicken wings (see this video for help). Marinate with 1 tsp sugar and 2 tsp soy sauce and pepper.

Stuff filling into deboned chicken wings. Steam for 10 minutes (this is optional but the wings are less likely to explode when frying). Coat with beaten eggs and then flour. Deep fry until golden, Serve with sauce. (can be fried and reheated in the oven, or simply oven-baked)

Steamed egg
200g pork/beef mince (mixed)
2 Tb Oyster Sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
Pepper
finely chopped shallots
2 Tb sesame oil
6 eggs
water
Mix meat with all ingredients, leaving sesame oil last to mix in (coats the meat preventing the sauces from mixing too much with the egg)

Beat the eggs and add a volume of water that is just a bit less than the volume of eggs. Mix well. Mix the meat through the egg, breaking up large lumps. Steam for 15 mins or until the egg is set in the middle in a metal bowl (preferably like a cake tin) over barely boiling water. Serve with a dash of sesame oil and soy sauce, next to steamed white rice.

Blood Orange Basil Granita

1 1/3 cups water
2/3 cups sugar
juice of 1 lemon + blood orange juice to 2 cups volume in total
handful finely chopped basil

Dissolve sugar and water over heat. Add juices and basil. Freeze (4 hours min) and fork through to break up the ice and serve.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mascha's Stomach

# What is your favorite food to cook/eat? To eat, see above. To cook......... cakes, cookies, desert.......... (what a surprise.... not)

# Is there an ingredient you can’t imagine cooking without? Olive oil

# What ingredient are you most intimidated by? Chili

# What cuisine would you most like to try making? Anything Asian, absolutely love Japanese food (nearly set my kitchen on fire yesterday when making Sauce Katsu Chicken, thank goodness only a ruined pan)

# Do you have a signature dish or specialty? Nope (or is it my indulgent triple chocolate fudge brownie?).

# Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try to make? Molten chocolate cake

# Do you like to improvise, or do you tend to follow a recipe from start to finish?
I start to follow the recipe, than change things as I go or find in the cupboard while busy cooking.

# If you had to choose, would you rather make dessert or a savory dish? Desert

# On a scale of 1-10, how adventurous are your eating habits? 7 1/2

# Do you like to try lots of new foods and ingredients? Yes, but as long as it's not bugs, cockroaches, huhugrubs etc.

# Is there a food you absolutely hate? Coriander

# Are there any foods you can’t eat? No

Monday, January 25, 2010

Monique's Stomach

* Is there an ingredient you can’t imagine cooking without? Uhhhh ... salt?

* What ingredient are you most intimidated by? Japanese, I guess 'cause I don't know it.

* What cuisine would you most like to try making? Thai

* Do you have a signature dish or specialty? Pasta with chicken and vegetables, it doesn't have a proper name, but my whole family knows about my 'pasta dish'

* Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try to make? Creme brulee with the real crust on top

* Do you like to improvise, or do you tend to follow a recipe from start to finish? I usually have to improvise since I realize halfway through that I forgot to buy one or more of the ingredients.

* If you had to choose, would you rather make dessert or a savory dish? No need to think about this one, definitely dessert!!

* On a scale of 1-10, how adventurous are your eating habits? 5 - not too adventurous unfortunately

* Do you like to try lots of new foods and ingredients? Yes, I enjoy it!

* Is there a food you absolutely hate? Snails!

* Are there any foods you can’t eat? Any moldy cheese (the insides of brie and camembert are OK, though) due to a food allergy

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Clare's Stomach

* Is there an ingredient you can’t imagine cooking without? Garlic!!!
* What ingredient are you most intimidated by? Scallops - overcook them for fear of them being cold in middle
* What cuisine would you most like to try making? Japanese
* Do you have a signature dish or specialty? Thai green curry
* Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try to make? can't think...ahh yes...all the things I see on Kellys food pics on facebook they look so cool&yummy!!
* Do you like to improvise, or do you tend to follow a recipe from start to finish? I like to follow a recipe initially and then tweak it with some improvisation for some dishes too!!
* If you had to choose, would you rather make dessert or a savory dish? Like making both but probably prefer savoury to eat!!
* On a scale of 1-10, how adventurous are your eating habits? 9 - will try anything ..eaten snail, frog legs, ostrich, kangaroo (sorry Kelly!), pigs trotters, sheep testicle (didnt know what it was till I ate it..thought it was nice until I found out!!
* Do you like to try lots of new foods and ingredients? Yes well used to..my brain and creativeness have been lacking a bit since having Adam ...less time...too tired etc!
* Is there a food you absolutely hate? Whelks yuurgh!!
* Are there any foods you can’t eat? Nope ...well except oysters...never tried one just wretch at the thought of it!!

Colleen's Stomach

* What is your favorite food to cook/eat? Calamari
* Is there an ingredient you can’t imagine cooking without? Red Onions
* What ingredient are you most intimidated by? Indian Spices
* What cuisine would you most like to try making? Getting Thai right.
* Do you have a signature dish or specialty? I make a decent choccie cake and have a great Christmas cake recipe and when in SA I am the Queen of Calamari
* Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try to make? sushi (I have the bamboo rolling mats but have never attempted it)
* Do you like to improvise, or do you tend to follow a recipe from start to finish? When making a dish for the first time, I tend to follow the recipe for 90%, but then I do tend to improvize the next times. Same as Nicky on this one, although I have never been afraid to leave out or add ingredients depending what is in the cupboard!
* If you had to choose, would you rather make dessert or a savory dish? Prob savory as I have been known to make tremendous but mostly edible flops with desserts!
* On a scale of 1-10, how adventurous are your eating habits? a 10, Maybe an 8, I am not sure I would eat dog or frogs legs or grasshoppers but have eaten snails and ostrich and quite a bit of venison including bushpig.
* Do you like to try lots of new foods and ingredients? I tend to get in a cooking rut and with time being an issue find I bang out the same family favourites. Would love to be more adventourous and creative.
* Is there a food you absolutely hate? Some I am not keen on (oysters and brussel sprouts) but not that I really hate.
* Are there any foods you can’t eat? nope

Nicky's Stomach

  • What is your favorite food to cook/eat? Sashimi

  • Is there an ingredient you can’t imagine cooking without? Agree with Ali on this one: Gotta be garlic, with butter a close second

  • What ingredient are you most intimidated by? aniseed

  • What cuisine would you most like to try making? Japanese and Maroccan

  • Do you have a signature dish or specialty? white turkey chili (piece of trivia : won a chili cookoff among friends with this one back in the states)

  • Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try to make? sushi

  • Do you like to improvise, or do you tend to follow a recipe from start to finish? When making a dish for the first time, I tend to follow the recipe for 90%, but then I do tend to improvize the next times. c

  • If you had to choose, would you rather make dessert or a savory dish? Definitely a savory dish. I've got a mental barrier for desserts

  • On a scale of 1-10, how adventurous are your eating habits? a 10, I love frog legs, snails, ostrich filets and don't mind croccodile and snake

  • Do you like to try lots of new foods and ingredients? Use to a lot, before having the kids and living in the city. Now have less opportunities to explore,but still love it, just do it less often.

  • Is there a food you absolutely hate? yes, liver (uugghhh)

  • Are there any foods you can’t eat? nope

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Alison's Stomach

  • Is there an ingredient you can’t imagine cooking without?
    Garlic

  • What ingredient are you most intimidated by?
    red chili

  • What cuisine would you most like to try making?
    Japanese

  • Do you have a signature dish or specialty?
    Apricot crumble slice

  • Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try to make?
    sushi/sashimi

  • Do you like to improvise, or do you tend to follow a recipe from start to finish? Love to improvise and have experienced many disasters because of it!

  • If you had to choose, would you rather make dessert or a savory dish?
    hard question... ahhh dessert

  • On a scale of 1-10, how adventurous are your eating habits?
    10.... willing to try anything

  • Do you like to try lots of new foods and ingredients?
    yes..... very happy tester

  • Is there a food you absolutely hate?
    only a vegetable - brussel sprouts ( thankgoodness my cat loved them and I was able to throw them under the table to her)

  • Are there any foods you can’t eat?
    Fortunately.... I can indulge on everything that my heart desires

Monday, January 18, 2010

Kelly's stomach

The first response (brownie points to myself) to the Cooking Club Self-Test

* What is your favorite food to cook/eat?
oh such a vague question...my favourite eat and feel good food is asian (chinese) that reminds me of mum''s food. My favourite things to cook would be...things to get my hands into: rolling spring rolls, mixing meat, forming sushi, pasta, wontons etc...

* Is there an ingredient you can’t imagine cooking without?
soy or oyster sauce, pinch of sugar

* What ingredient are you most intimidated by?
tender meats

* What cuisine would you most like to try making?
not a cuisine, but french-inspired fancy amuses

* Do you have a signature dish or specialty?
hainan ginger chicken rice, roast pork w crackling

* Is there a dish you’ve always wanted to try to make?
Salt-baked chicken

* Do you like to improvise, or do you tend to follow a recipe from start to finish?
improvise/follow roughly

* If you had to choose, would you rather make dessert or a savory dish?
savoury no doubt

* On a scale of 1-10, how adventurous are your eating habits?
9

* Do you like to try lots of new foods and ingredients?
yes, but realistically don't get around to it...

* Is there a food you absolutely hate?
innards, chicken combs, tongue that looks like tongue.

* Are there any foods you can’t eat?
no

(from www.bonappetit.com/pdfs/cookingclub.pdf)

'The birth of an obsession'

The First Theme...'The birth of an obsession' will be a potluck. These are apparently not fashionable anymore, what with menu planning, wine matching and seasonal coordination. But hey, when we grew up, chic food was cheerio (sausage) on a toothpick with cheese and a glace cherry. So let's go back to the roots and get potlucky :)

Bring a dish and the story that represents how your romantic relationship with food/cooking was borne and developed: it could be mum's steamed egg dinner, soggy but tasty boarding school sweet and sour pork, rolled date cookies from your ex-boyfriend's grandmother (which I absolutely cannot find a recipe for, and cannot ask him :), the tajine from the backpacking days. (these are all mine!)

31 Jan, 8:00pm, @ Kelly's

For inspiriation: an excerpt from 'Eat Cake' by Jeanne Ray . The character is seeking her 'happy place' ...

" ....when i finally closed my eyes and tried, what I wanted came to me with complete clarity. The place that I went, the place that I still go, was the warm, hollowed-out center of a Bundt cake. It is usually gingerbread, though sometimes that changes. Sometimes it's gingerbread crowned in a ring of poached pears. The walls that surround me are high and soft, but as they go up they curve back, open up to the light, so I feel protected by the cake but never trapped by it. There are a few loose crumbs around my feet, clnging to my hair, and the smell! The ginger and butter the lingering subtlety of vanilla... I press my cheek against the cake, which is soft as eiderdown and still warm.
.......Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert.
There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when i serve cake.
No, really, I couldnt, she says and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is pressing a fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person is discipline. but that isn't a person with discipline, that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don't eat the whole cake. You don't eat a cake everyday of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious. You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace thats safe,uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what's served on the happiest days of your life. "

Hope to see you!

Invitation!

Dear Friends,
If you believe life is one long buffet table....let's make a food club! We've all talked at some point about doing something revolving about food...the proposals are:

* aim is to enjoy and explore food
* 1x month with the girls, perhaps the 3rd sunday of each month (saturday or sunday?)
* Perhaps every second month, we can get together with the husbands too.
* a changing theme
* rotating house
* easy- noone has to cook an entire meal for everyone- either everyone brings a dish or we get together and cook/experiment together

With the changing theme, perhaps the host for the month could nominate a theme. Some ideas:

* if you have an obsession/passion about a particular food we could theme a potluck evening around the theme (e.g. chocolate/soups/amuse bouche/avocados/cocktails/a world cuisine)
* if you have an passion about a particular cooking technique and you want to share/learn- we can 'workshop' it (i.e. just play around! e.g. moroccan/sushi/cakes/sugar modelling/spherification/dessication/wine pairings)
* a general theme: secret family recipes/wierd (but good) recipes/seasonal foods/unusual food