Upside Down Plum Cake

Last night Michael & I went to the lovely Dr Megs for dinner. It was wonderful to actually go out at night time for a civilized sit down dinner, its not very often we do this nowadays as (a) our friends don’t invite us over for dinner anymore now that we have a baby, (b) up until recently it was just all too hard with the lovely young Chloe demanding 110% of our attention & (c) the whole restaurant scene is not very welcoming to people with prams although we do find that pubs are much more accommodating & we love a good dinner in a beer garden with Chloe now that it is daylight savings, The Edinburgh Castle in Brunswick, our new local has a great menu & atmosphere & Chloe loves to stand around babbling & just generally keeping anyone amused as long as you bribe her with a piece of bread or cheese first.

Anyway back to dinner, as always when invited to dinner or lunch or just anywhere that I have the opportunity I stuck my hand up & volunteered dessert, another chance to test the new oven. I tried out this upside down cake from Bill Grangers, Simply Bill. As I have mentioned before, I love plums & am always trying out new recipes featuring them when they are in season. I didn’t read the recipe properly so was surprised when I came to make it that it was actually cooked much in the same way as a tarte tartin, ie making a caramel with the fruit in a frying pan first, then pouring over the cake mixture & baking in the frypan in the oven before turning out onto a serving plate, the difference being that it was a cake mixture & not pastry. The oven did really well with this cake, I cranked it up about 30c higher than the recipe asked to try & get the temp in my oven right for & it was cooked perfectly in the right amount of time, I think the fact that it was in an already hot frypan helped. I really need to buy me a thermometer of some sort to test out my ovens temp, sure you must be able to buy them in kitchen stores.

As I made this very early in the morning when Miss Chloe was sleeping I couldn’t serve hot out of the oven as suggested, instead serving at room temp with some double cream. Everyone had 2 big helpings which I think was a pretty good indication that it was a hit, the recipe is definitely a repeater & as always Bill didn’t let me down with this cake, soft cooked plums, sugary caramel on the top with a beautiful moist cake underneath & mmm of course I woke up wishing I hadn’t left the rest of the cake with Megan, though my body is thanking me. And a huge thanks to Megan & Andrew for a fantastic dinner, especially their first ever fresh pasta making effort of salmon filled ravioli - a big winner.

Sensational Chocolate Chip Cookies

After a week in Noosa where the closest I came to cooking was throwing together a sandwich or two or mashing up fruit & yoghurt for Chloe to eat, I was itching to get back into the kitchen & cook, more precisely to bake. So the day after we arrived home I was into it, baking these irresistible, melt in the mouth, cant stop eating them choc chip cookies from Bill Granger’s Sydney Food. Some were for my parents who were popping in for a visit after week long Chloe withdrawals & some were supposed to be for my Mother’s Group picnic which I didn’t make it to thanks to someone wanting their nap right in the middle of it. So unfortunately now I have a whole stack of cookies that I will have to gobble up myself, with a little help from Michael of course.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

125g unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups tightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 ½ cups chocolate bits

Preheat oven to 180c. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light & creamy. Add vanilla & egg & stir to combine. Stir in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt until just combined. Fold through chocolate chips.

Place spoonfuls of cookie mixture on a greased & lined baking tray, allowing room for spreading. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until they turn pale gold.

Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool further. Makes about 25

Mushrooms on Toast

Lately Michael & I have been going for nice long walks each weekend & going out for brekky with Miss Chloe which is something we all seem to like & behave for. This weekend however we went out for a quick dinner while giving the grandparents a trial run at babysitting. It didn’t go quite to plan with Chloe deciding she would not drink one drop of her expressed milk from grandma so I fear we will be needing lots more practice before we are able to leave her for more than a couple of hours, which we need to do in December for a wedding and various Christmas functions. Anyway the point of this is that as we went out for dinner we skipped our breakfast ritual & instead I cooked up a delicious breakfast at home. Of course I turned straight to Bill Granger for inspiration as I looovvee his breakfast recipes. This one was from Bills food & was no exception, I used some Hope Farm Rye & Caraway Sourdough that I picked up from the inaugural Carlton Gardens Primary Farmers Market which was delicious. The caraway seeds gave the bread a flavour that I have missed for years, my grandparents used to buy a particular rye bread all the time & have it out for sandwiches whenever we would visit & this is exactly what it tasted like. Thanks Haalo for your market listings which I regularly check & discovered this new market in. The mushrooms were simple & tasty, put the whole lot together with some ricotta & a beautiful dish is created once again.

Mushrooms on Toast

40g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra, for brushing
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
500g mixed small mushrooms
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
4 slices sourdough bread
1garlic clove, extra, for rubbing on bread
250g (1 cup) ricotta cheese

Put half the butter with the oil & chopped garlic in a saucepan over medium to high heat. Add the mushrooms, 60ml water & sat & pepper to taste. Cover & cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked & the liquid is syrupy. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, parsley, tarragon and lemon zest. Taste for seasoning & adjust if necessary. Whisk the remaining cold butter through to thicken the mushroom sauce.

Towards the end of the cooking time, brush the bread on both sides with the extra oil. Grill until golden on both sides, then rub both sides with a cur garlic clove & place on serving plates. Top with ricotta & then mushrooms & serve immediately. Serves 4.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Here is a recipe for a fantastic no fuss, no cook cheesecake from my favourite desert man Bill Granger from Bills Food. I know I have been a bit slack in the posting lately but it seems that I can’t quite muster much enthusiasm for blogging lately, I have gone from one extreme to the other. I am still cooking up a storm & eating lots of fantastic food, I'm just keeping it all to myself for now, sorry…

White Chocolate Cheesecake

100g plain sweet biscuits
50g butter, melted
250ml (1 cup) cream
250g cream cheese
250g mascarpone cheese
125g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
500g white chocolate, melted
Passionfruit pulp

Process the biscuits in a food processor until they look like breadcrumbs. Add the melted butter, process briefly, then tip the mixture into a 20cm (8 inch) springform tin lined with a disc of baking paper. Press firmly into the base of the tin, then place in the fridge until needed.

Using electric beaters, whisk the cream, cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar & chocolate together until smooth. Pour onto the biscuit base & put back in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve drizzled with passionfruit pulp & cut into wedges.

Sweetcorn Fritters with Roast Tomato & Bacon

I have been rather busy the last few weeks & haven’t had a chance to cook up a big brekky for Michael & I for a while so I got out my trusty Bill Granger books who I always turn to when wanting a new idea for breakfast. This recipe comes from Bills Sydney Food. Let me tell you these fritters were sensational, easy to make, they held together beautifully & the flavour was a lovely sweet, soft sensation. I made heaps & the leftovers were just as good cold or heated up in the microwave. I’d say this breakfast was the best I have had in a long time & could stand up to a few of my favourite cafes & a lot cheaper too!

Sweetcorn Fritters with Roast Tomato & Bacon

1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
½ cup milk
2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob
½ cup diced red capsicum
½ cup sliced spring onions
¼ cup chopped coriander & parsley (combined)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 ripe roma tomatoes, sliced in half lengthways
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

To serve
Rocket
Grilled Bacon

Firstly get your tomatoes roasting. Preheat the oven to 180c. Place tomatoes cut side up on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper & roast in the oven for 40 minutes.

Sift flour, baking powder, slat & paprika into a large bowl, stir in sugar & make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, combine eggs & milk. Gradually add the egg mix to the dry ingredients & whisk until you have a smooth lump-free batter.

Add vegetables & herbs & mix to combine. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, then drop in 2 tablespoons of batter per fritter & cook 4 fritters at a time. Cook for 2 minutes or until golden underneath, flip & cook the other side until also golden. Serve with tomatoes, rocket & bacon.

Finally my new toy arrives!

After my old cake mixer kicked the bucket a few weeks back I have been umming & aahing over various mixers with the Kitchen Aid being at the back of my mind the whole time. I wasn’t satisfied with any of the other brands in the shops & figured that if you’re paying a few hundred why not add a couple extra & get your dream tool, especially as I can easily justify it by pumping out a couple of cakes a week. So I ended up convincing myself that I had to have the Empire Red beast of mixers but there was no talking Michael into buying it for me even after I produced such a beautiful baby for him earlier this year, my birthday & mothers day came & went & still I was tool-less. Luckily a nice break on my tax return meant that I had the means to make the purchase myself & here it is, everything I dreamed of & more (sorry if I am sounding a bit over the top but it is a Kitchen Aid after all!)

So yesterday was the big day, I had bought it online for a discounted price that none of the other stockists would match so it arrived at my door which was much easier than dragging a 5 month old child through the rain to the shops, not to mention pushing a pram & lugging the box at the same time, would not have been easy. I was visiting the lovely Megan today who also popped out a beauty of a baby a few days ago so of course I had the perfect excuse to bake my first ‘Kitchen Aid’ cake. As it was an earlyish visit I chose this delicious but easy cake of Bill Granger’s from Bill’s Food. Once again he did not let me down & the cake was very yummy & I didn’t even make the custard that he suggested would go well with it. Oh and yes the mixer lived up to it expectations, it purred through the creaming like a dream & left me in no doubt that the right choice had been made.

Pear and Vanilla Cake

80g (3oz) unsalted butter
185g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest from 1 lemon
185ml (3/4 cup) cream
165g (1 1/3 cups) plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
4 pears (I only used 2)
20g (3/4 oz) unsalted butter, melted
60g (1/4 cup) raw sugar

Preheat the oven to 180c (350f/Gas 4). Cream the butter & sugar together in a bowl until light & fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla & lemon zest & beat for another minute. Add the cream & mix until smooth. Sift the flour, baking powder & salt & beat until smooth. Pour into a 24cm (9 inch) non stick springform cake tin & smooth the surface.

Peel & core the pears, cut into 3mm (1/8 inch) slices & arrange on the batter in two concentric circles. Brush the pears with the melted butter & sprinkle with the raw sugar. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean & te pears on top are lightly browned. Remove the side from the cake tin & slide the cake onto a plate. Cool slightly before serving.

Toasted Grain & Nut Cereal

After my success with granola the other week I was really keen to try to make some more home made breakfast cereals & found this recipe for muesli in Bill Granger’s Sydney Food. I didn’t add the rye flakes as I couldn’t find them anywhere I looked, for the fruit I added apples & apricots & the end result was absolutely delicious, even better than the granola & a lot less fussy with less ingredients. Try some, it’s oh so much nicer than anything you will buy & as good as the ingredients you choose yourself to put into it.

Toasted Grain & Nut Cereal

125g unsalted butter
¾ cup honey
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla essence
500g rolled oats
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
¾ cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
1 cup rye flakes
1 cup chopped dried fruit, such as sultanas, apricots or apples (optional)

Preheat oven to 170c. Place butter, honey & vanilla in a small saucepan & cook gently over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until honey and butter are combined. Place remaining ingredients, except the fruit, in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Slowly stir in the butter mixture, making sure that each grain is evenly coated. Spread the cereal over 2 large baking trays & bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the grains are crisp & very lightly browned. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the trays.

Remove from oven, cool & then add the fruit & mix well. Can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Makes 1.5kg.

Heart shortbread kisses

Well it looks like I have had disaster number 3 thanks to disaster number 2. I decided to make some shortbreads from Bill Granger’s Bill’s Food to take over to Megan’s for a sweet after lunch treat. The recipe stated minimal beating so I thought I could get away with doing it by hand while in the absence of a mix master. Not so, I don’t think the butter really mixed in properly & as a result the biscuits spread & melted into each other while cooking & some were so bad that they bubbled up & just crumbled when touched. So I ended up with about 8 biscuits (minus one perfect one I dropped on the floor) instead of the 15 the recipe states you will make. One thing though, disaster or no they still tasted amazing, that melt in the mouth buttery sweetness was fantastic sandwiched together with the sweet jam. Hopefully that’s it for kitchen disasters for while now, fingers crossed.

Heart shortbread kisses

40g (1/3 cup) icing sugar, sifted
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60g (1/2 cup) cornflour
185g (1 ½ cups) plain flour
a pinch of salt
80g (1/4 cup) raspberry jam
icing sugar for dusting

Beat the sugar & butter together in a bowl until just combined. Add the vanilla extract, sifted flours & salt & mix until a dough forms. Mould into a log 6cm in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180c. Remove the dough from the fridge & cut into 7mm slices, then cut shapes with a 5cm heart biscuit cutter. Reroll the excess dough & repeat the process until all the dough is used up.

Place the hearts on a greased & lined baking tray & bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to wire racks & leave to cool completely. Spread half the biscuits with jam, top with remaining biscuits & sprinkle with icing sugar.

Choc Oatmeal Cookies

On the weekend I made yet another batch of cookies & this time disaster struck again, my mix master blew up whilst creaming the butter & sugar, it is just a cheap Ronson that I have had for about 8 years (of which it probably has only been used a lot these last 2 years) & now the question is, what should I replace it with? I would love a Red Kitchen aid but will have to think long & hard before blowing that much cash on a kitchen appliance even though it will definitely be used! Now I’m just waiting for disaster no 3, you know what they say, things come in threes and I don’t suppose last weeks disaster where our drain water started dripping through the light fitting in the ceiling down into my kitchen due to a blocked toilet counts as that I am classifying as a plumbing disaster. Anyway the biscuits were from Bill Granger’s Bills Food & were nice & crunchy, they almost tasted like a butternut snap with choc chips to me which is good as I love butternut snaps. And thankfully they still turned out seeing as how I had to half beat them by hand – those arm muscles from carrying Chloe around are coming in handy lately.

Choc Oatmeal Cookies

150g unsalted butter, softened
230g (1 cup) soft brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
125g (1 cup) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
235g (2 1/3 cups) rolled oats
175g (1 cup) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180c. Line three large baking trays with baking paper.

Cream the butter & sugar together in a bowl until fluffy & smooth. Add the eggs & vanilla extract & beat until smooth. Sift the flour, baking powder & salt into the bowl & mix lightly. Add the oats & choc chips & stir to combine.

Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on the baking trays. Flatten the balls with a fork dipped in flour. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Remove from the oven & cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 30.

Spring Vegetable Soup

For some cleansing this week I made yet another soup, this one chock full of fresh veggies & even using my very own vegetable stock, the recipe is from Bill Granger’s Sydney Food. The home made stock does make a big difference, especially as this one is full of extra flavour including such ingredients as garlic, parsnips & spring onions. Now that I’ve been good I can safely make some more cookies!

Spring Vegetable Soup

25g butter
½ cup sliced keels, white part only
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup unpeeled, diced red potato
1/3 cup diced turnip
3 cups vegetable stock (recipe below)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly shucked corn kernels
1/3 cup diced zucchini
1/3 cup chopped green beans
½ cup ripe, chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup peas
1/3 cup parsley, chopped, to serve

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, celery, potato and turnip 7 cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add vegetable stock, salt & pepper & bring to the boil. Lower heat & add remaining ingredients. Simmer gently for 5 minutes until vegetables are just tender. Ladle into bowls & top with chopped parsley. Serves 2.

Vegetable stock

2 tablespoons olive oil
500g onions, chopped
500g carrots, chopped
250g parsnips, chopped
2 celery sticks including leaves, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 leeks, white part only, sliced
4 spring onions, chopped into 6cm lengths
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, parsnip, celery & garlic & stir fry for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and 2 litres of water, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer & cook for 1 hour. Allow to cool, then strain. Makes 2 litres. Leftover keeps well in the freezer.

Fresh Tomato Pasta

I picked up some fresh organic tomatoes from my local health food shop this week to make this fabulous pasta dish, Using the finest ingredients means the sauce doesn’t even need cooking, the hot spaghetti is enough to heat it through a little. The recipe comes from Bill Granger’s Sydney Food & is superb.

Fresh Tomato Pasta

1kg vine ripened tomatoes
1 tablespoon sea salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
juice & zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
300g spaghetti
1 cup lightly packed basil leaves, torn

To serve
Parmigiano Reggiano

Score a cross in the base of each tomato. Place tomatoes in a large bowl & pour boiling water over them. Drain after 10 seconds, then peel the skin away from the cross. Halve the tomatoes, and press halves to squeeze out seeds & excess juice. Chop tomato flesh roughly, place in a sieve over a bowl & sprinkle with sea salt. Leave to drain for half an hour.

Place drained tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice & zest, garlic, chilli and pepper in a bowl & stir. Leave for 20 minutes, for flavours to combine.

Cook the spaghetti in rapidly boiling salted water according to packet instructions. Drain well. Toss through tomatoes with freshly torn basil leaves, and serve with freshly shaved Parmigiano Reggiano. Serves 4.

Steak Sandwich with Garlic Crème

A great Friday night dinner would have to be the steak sandwich, easy to put together & its almost like having take away (which keeps Michael happy) but of course much better, this is Bill Granger’s version from Sydney Food which apparently has been on the menu at his place from the start. It has all of the right ingredients for me, onions, a bit of salady stuff, crusty bread & the garlic crème for me is ever so much nicer than tomato sauce – a condiment I don’t have a very good relationship with as un Australian as that may sound.

Steak Sandwich with Garlic Crème

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely sliced onion
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
8 thick slices bread, such as ciabatta
1 bunch rocket
4 ripe tomatoes

Garlic Crème
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2cloves garlic, crushed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup canola or other mild oil

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the onion & cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden. Add vinegar, salt & pepper & cook for a minute longer until caramelized. Remove onion from the pan & set aside.

Meanwhile make the garlic crème. Place egg yolks, vinegar, garlic, salt & pepper in a bowl & whisk until combined. Add the oil drop by drop, whisking constantly. When the sauce starts to thicken, add the oil in a steady stream until the oil is fully incorporated. If the crème is too thick, thin with a tablespoon of warm water.

Using the same pan as the onions, heat the remaining olive oil over high heat. Add steak to the pan and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cook for 1 minute, turn & cook the other side for a further minute.

Spread the bread with the garlic crème. Place rocket on the 4 ‘bottom’ slices of bread & top with tomato. Place onions on top pf tomato, followed by streak. Cover with second slice of bread. Serves 4.

Puy Lentil Soup

Well with the cold weather setting in it’s time for me to start making my usual pot of soup per week. Today I felt like I needed some fiber so it was this very hearty soup from Bill Granger’s Sydney Food. The soup was very tasty & didn’t require any extra seasoning, I think this is because my vege stock was very salty. It was also quite thick with almost no liquid remaining, bordering on a stew I guess, no complaints from me there, served with some crusty fresh bread it was the perfect lunch.

Puy Lentil Soup

50g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup chopped carrots
½ cup chopped Spanish onion
½ cup sliced leek, white part only
½ cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
400g tin chopped Italian tomatoes
1 litre vegetable stock, or water
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
½ cup lentils du Puy
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ cup finely chopped parsley

Melt butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion and leeks & cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add celery, garlic & chilli and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, stock (or water), bay leaves, oregano & lentils & bring to the boil. Reduce heat & simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Season with salt & pepper if needed & stir through parsley.

Apple, Dried Cherry & Almond Loaf

Finally I found some dried cherries down at my local health food store on Lygon street, they were bloody expensive so I hunted down all of the recipes I had that required them & this is the first one I tried. This is a lovely recipe by Bill Granger which appeared in a recent Delicious magazine, I’m not sure if it’s also in one of his books, it’s not in the 2 I own. I used the wholemeal flour making me feel very healthy yet again and I found the cherries to be quite nice in this loaf mixed with the nuts & dried apple. I didn’t bother with the toasting, extra honey or ricotta to serve & found it didn’t need them at all, both warm out of the oven or cooled down to room temperature it was great though I’m sure the additions would make it even more wonderful. Look out for my next dried cherry recipe which will be completely at the other end of the ‘healthy’ range & be completely wicked!

Apple, Dried Cherry & Almond Loaf

½ cup rolled oats
300ml milk
1 ½ cups plain flour (or you can use wholemeal)
3 teaspoons baking powder
100g dried cherries
50g dried apple, diced
75g soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup honey plus extra to serve
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup roughly chopped unsalted almonds, plus 2 tablespoons extra for sprinkling (optional)
Fresh ricotta, to serve

Put the rolled oats in a small bowl, pour the milk over them & leave to soak for about 10-15 minutes. Preheat oven to 180c. Lightly grease & line a 1 litre (4 cup) loaf pan with baking paper.

Sift the flour & baking powder into a bowl & stir in the undrained rolled oats, dried fruit, brown sugar, cinnamon, honey, egg & chopped almonds. Mix together well.

Spoon the mixture into the pan, level the top & sprinkle with extra almonds if desired. Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely. Toast & serve with ricotta & honey.

Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon & Mustard Dressing

Another breakfast from Bill Granger, this one from Bill’s Food. As I absolutely love potato pancakes of any description, even the ones from Macca’s when I have a hangover though of course it has been a long time since one of those was present, ahh those were the days! Anyway I thought that I would try this recipe of Bills even though I thought it sounded like an odd combination, you never know until you try right? The pancakes were good but I hate to admit that I don’t think they worked too well with smoked salmon & most of all not with the mustard dressing but who knows some of you might love these 3 together, all elements were great alone, they just didn’t do it for me as a mix, you decide.

Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon & Mustard Dressing

3 large potatoes (about 700g)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
60g butter, melted
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil

Mustard Dressing

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
60ml (1/4 cup) canola oil

To serve
8 slices smoked salmon

Preheat oven to 150c. Grate the peeled potatoes & squeeze out any excess liquid. Put the potato in a bowl & add the chives, butter & a little salt & pepper.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium to high heat. For each potato cake, spoon 1 ½ tablespoons of mixture into the pan & fry until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels & keep warm in the oven until all the potato cakes are made.

Meanwhile to make the dressing, whisk the mustard, sugar, salt & vinegar together in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved, then whisk in the oil in a thin stream.

Put two potato cakes on each plate, top with salmon & drizzle with dressing

Garlic Prawns

One of my favourite ways to eat prawns is simply cooked with olive oil, garlic & a bit of chilli, nothing else needed, here is Bill Granger’s version from Bills Food.

Garlic Prawns

20 raw king prawns, peeled & deveined, tails left on
250ml (1 cup) olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 fresh small red chillies, split lengthways but intact at top
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

To serve
Lemon wedges
Crusty bread
Green salad

Preheat oven to 250c. Cut a slit down the back of each prawn & place the prawns in an ovenproof dish that will hold them snugly in a single layer.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add half the garlic and all the chillies & cook for 1 minute or until the garlic starts to change colour. Pour over the prawns, then sprinkle with the remaining garlic. Season with salt & pepper, cover with foil & bake for 10 minutes, or until the prawns are pink & cooked through. Don’t overcook – remember that the prawns will continue cooling after being removed from the oven. Sprinkle with parsley & serve with lemon wedges, crusty bread & a green salad. Serves 4.

Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb Butter

Over Easter I whipped up another fantabulous breakfast from Bill Granger’s Sydney Food to snack on over the break. More on the pancake theme which I have to say is my favourite breakfast item at the moment & the honeycomb butter is truly special.

Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb Butter

1 1/3 cups ricotta
¾ cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
50g butter

To serve
Banana
Honeycomb butter (below)
Icing sugar for dusting

Place ricotta, milk & egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine.

Sift the flour, baking powder & salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture & mix until just combined.

Place egg whites in a dry clean bowl & beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.

Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of the butter and drop two tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan. Cook over low to medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden & cooked through. Transfer to a plate & quickly assemble with other ingredients.

Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack 3 hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar. Serves 6-8.

Note: Batter can be stored for 24 hours in the fridge covered with glad wrap before cooking.

Honeycomb butter

250g unsalted butter, softened
100g sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin
2 tablespoons honey

Place all ingredients in a food processor & blend until smooth. Shape into a log on plastic wrap, roll, seal & chill in fridge for 2 hours. Store leftovers in the freezer, apparently its great on toast too!

Spicy Roast Pumpkin, Feta & Olive Salad

This is a gorgeous salad to make for lunch or you could even stretch it to dinner as we did by adding a steak or the like on the side. It is another winner from Bill Grangers Bills Food. I know I’ve said it before but I really am loving everything I make from his books & this is no exception. The pumpkin is fantastic with the spices & the dressing really just makes the whole dish & pulls it all together.

Spicy Roast Pumpkin, Feta & Olive Salad

3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
800g pumpkin, cut into 2cm cubes
100g baby spinach leaves
150g marinated feta, drained & crumbled
20 Kalamata olives, pitted

Dressing
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
60ml extra virgin olive oil
1 French shallot, finely sliced (optional)

Preheat oven to 220c. Place olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper in a bowl & stir to combine. Add the pumpkin & stir to coat. Transfer to a roasting pan & bake for 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender & slightly caramelized.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl until combined.

Divide the spinach between four serving plates & scatter pumpkin, feta & olives over the top. Drizzle each with dressing.

Upside-Down Cake with Apple & Cinnamon

Finally I have used the last of the Granny Smiths so all of my leftover apple recipes (of which I still have quite a few), can for the most part be put away until next years crop. The lucky recipe to score the last lot was this luscious & wicked (see butter & sugar content) cake from one of my favourite sweets men, Bill Granger of course, from Bills Sydney Food. It was delicious as usual, a few steps to get through so not quite as simple as some but well worth the effort. Looking fwd to making something wicked with chocolate next week now that the apples are gone….

Upside-Down Cake with Apple & Cinnamon

Topping
100g unsalted butter
100g large firm apples, peeled, cored & cut into 1cm slices
juice & zest of 1 lemon
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Cake
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 ¼ cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pouring cream, to serve

To make the topping, place the butter in a non stick frying pan over medium heat & melt. Toss apples with lemon zest & juice in a bowl & add to butter. Cook apples gently for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar & vanilla & cook for 5 minutes longer.

Remove apples from the pan with a slotted spoon and arrange in the bottom of a greased & greaseproof paper lined 23cm spring form cake tin.

Increase heat & boil remaining liquid in the pan for 5 more minutes until a rich caramel forms. Pour caramel over apples in base of tin.

To make the cake, preheat oven to 180c. Place butter & sugar in a bowl & cream until light & fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla. Gently fold in the sifted flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.

In a small clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold through cake mixture with a large metal spoon. Spoon evenly over apples & caramel & smooth out with a spatula. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove cake from oven & leave in the tin for 5 minutes. Remove sides from the tin & place a large serving plate on top of cake. Turn cake over onto serving plate, remove base & greaseproof paper. Serve warm with cream.

Banana Maple Porridge with Buttered apples

Recently when I had Chloe I was lucky enough to be staying at Freemasons Hospital who have a ‘wing’ at the Park Hyatt which I stayed at for a couple of nights, much, much nicer than the hospital I can tell you, don’t get me wrong, Freemasons is nice but it is still a hospital as opposed to the Hyatt which had huge rooms, no one barging in whenever they felt like it, King size beds, a spa & lots of other luxuries including of course a fantastic menu to choose from! Michael & I also spent our wedding night there so it was nice & nostalgic for us to be staying there again (yes he stayed with me of course). Anyway the reason I’m telling you this is because while I was there I was hooked on there Banana Maple porridge on the menu which I had every day I was there, it was sensational so when I was flicking through Bill Granger’s Sydney Food book & saw a recipe for the same well of course I was dying to try out immediately. I’ve never made porridge from scratch before, normally I go the easy way & just add water & pop it into the microwave. This was a bit more time consuming but well worth the effort, it was sensational, I love it & cant wait to make it every weekend. It tasted exactly like the Hyatt’s so not sure who stole who’s recipe? The buttered apples on top were nice & of course I got to use up more Granny Smiths but next time I think I would just serve with some sultanas & extra banana a la Hyatt & save myself the extra effort & pan to wash up. Also I didn’t serve with extra milk as suggested as didn’t think it was necessary. Yet another winner from Bill’s brekky collection.

Banana Maple Porridge with Buttered apples

1 cup rolled oats
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 cup milk
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 banana, finely sliced

to serve
buttered apples (below)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
warm milk

Place oats and boiling water in a medium saucepan & stir to combine. Let oats sit for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients to oats in the saucepan & stir again. Bring slowly to the boil over medium heat. Reduce heat & bring mix to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. The banana should almost dissolve. Remove from heat & let the porridge stand, covered for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Spoon into bowls, top with apples & extra maple syrup & a jug of warm milk on the side. Serves 2.

Buttered Apples

30g unsalted butter
½ kg hard sweet apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced
1 tablespoon caster sugar

Place butter in a frying pan and melt over medium heat. Add the apples & sprinkle with sugar. Cook gently until the undersides of the apples are pale golden. Turn very gently to avoid breaking & cook until golden & translucent. Serve warm.