Pear & Macadamia Nut Crumble

It may seem that all I am doing is eating sugar & butter laden sweets lately but that is not true, its just that my dinners have not made it to the blog world. For instance this week Michael was in NZ on business for a few days so I ate food from my freezer that I had cooked before (not horrible package meals), or food my mum made for me. I did also make a big batch of my tomato & lentil soup. So here is this weeks sweet fix, this is a great crumble recipe that really stands out, in part due to the spiciness of the pears & secondly the addition of macadamia nuts really make this one a winner. The recipe comes from Surfing the Menu.

Pear & Macadamia Nut Crumble

8 Williams pears, peeled, cored & quartered
100g caster sugar
finely grated zest & juice of 1 orange
1 stick of cinnamon
1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways

Crumble
280g plain flour
125g caster sugar
100g roasted & crushed macadamia nuts
125g butter, softened

Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Place the pears in a medium saucepan with the sugar, zest, juice, cinnamon & vanilla bean. Cook, covered over a moderate heat until the pears are tender, but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick & vanilla pod.

Preheat the oven to 170c & grease an ovenproof dish (30cm x 8cm & 8cm deep). Spoon the pears into the prepared dish.

For the crumble, combine flour & sugar & nuts in a bowl. Add the butter and using your fingers, rub in until evenly distributed. Scatter over the pears & transfer the dish to the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm with ice cream.

Pears baked in red wine and vanilla

After my wonderfully light & healthy tuna salad for dinner the other night I was left wanting more, can you blame me? So to not entirely spoil my good intentions I steered away from cakes or anything stodgy & instead tried out a new recipe for baked pears. These were sensational, the best I have ever made & maybe even eaten! The red wine sauce goes all sticky, sweet & syrupy which is perfect with the soft juicy pears & tiny dollop of cream on the side. The recipe also comes from Ben O’Donoghue and Curtis Stones’s Surfing the Menu.

Pears baked in red wine and vanilla

4 ripe pears
55g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
2 vanilla pods, split in half lengthways
grated zest of ¼ orange
500ml red wine (Cabernet)
4 tablespoons crème fraiche, cream or ice cream to serve

Preheat oven to 150c.

Wash & dry the pears, then cut a small slice from the bottom so each can stand upright. Smear the butter all over them & sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.

Mix the remaining sugar with enough eater (1-1/2 tablespoons) to make a paste. Place in a heavy based flameproof pot large enough to hold the pears upright. Heat until the sugar paste turns a light golden color. Add the vanilla pods, zest & half the red wine. Place the pears upright in the pot & transfer to the oven.

Bake, spooning the red wine sauce over the pears at frequent intervals until the pear is soft and the syrup is reduced, about 45 minutes. Add more wine if the liquid reduces too much.

The pear is cooked when the flesh is soft & the outside slightly wrinkled. Remove from the oven & cool in the pot to room temperature. Serve drizzled with syrup & a dollop of crème fraiche, cream or ice cream.

Barbecued Hot & Sour Tuna Escalopes

Here is s simple marinade for tuna or any firm fish or even prawns, great for the bbq or grill. It’s healthy & the flavours are fresh & clean, serve it with a salad & do your insides some good. The recipe comes from Ben O’Donoghue and Curtis Stones’s Surfing the Menu.

Barbecued Hot & Sour Tuna Escalopes

Marinade
2 tablespoons chopped shallots (escahlots)
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
2 tablespoons chopped chilli
2 tablespoons crushed lemongrass
zest & juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons chopped basil
2 tablespoons chopped coriander

4 tuna escalopes, weighing about 150g each
1 tablespoon olive oil
mixed salad leaves, to serve

To make the marinade, place all ingr4edients in a large bowl & mix well. Add the tuna & rub in the marinade. Cover & chill for 30 minutes.

Heat the barbecue or grill. Add the olive oil to the bowl & toss to coat. Cook on a hot barbecue or flat grill until cooked through. Serve on a bed of fresh salad leaves.

Barbecued Sweet Corn with Lime, Chilli & Parmesan Butter

To go with some leftovers I cooked up some corn cobs with a really tasty butter that I found in Ben O’Donoghue & Curtis Stone’s Surfing the Menu. I halved the quantities for 2 & still have heaps of butter leftover which I think will go nicely with some baked spuds. It was delicious & went fantastically with the grilled corn cobs which were tender & juicy yet not overdone at all cooked in this manner.

Barbecued Sweet Corn with Lime, Chilli & Parmesan Butter

4 whole corn cobs, in their husks
100g unsalted butter, softened
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
finely grated zest of 2 large limes
1-2 birds eye chillies, seeded & finely chopped
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, quartered

Place the corn cobs on a preheated hot grill and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes, turning often. Peel off the husks when cool enough to handle.
While the corn is cooking, combine the butter, cheese, zest & chilli & beat until smooth. Season with salt & pepper. Smear each cob with the butter & serve with a wedge of lime

Char Sui Pork with Asian vegetables

Another quickie tonight – so quick in fact that Michael whipped it up as I was held up on my way home from work (shopping & late trams as usual). After I marinated the pork last night there wasn’t much left to do except for a bit of chopping & grilling. The recipe comes from Ben O’Donoghue and Curtis Stone, Surfing the Menu. The pork is fantastic, juicy & tender from all the marinating & char sui is such a delicious flavour, with the added extra’s it was even better. The veggies were ok however the sauce was a bit too strong for my liking so wont be making them again.

Char Sui Pork with Asian vegetables

Marinade

200g char sui paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 garlic clove, bruised
1cm piece ginger, sliced

2 medium pork fillets

Vegetables

½ head of broccoli
1 zucchini
1 carrot
¼ each of red, yellow & green capsicum
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Asian shallot, sliced
1 small clove garlic, crushed
¼ teaspoon grated ginger
½ head pak choy, shredded
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a ceramic or glass bowl and add the pork fillets, turning to coat. Cover & refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 180c. Remove the pork from the marinade & seal on both sides in a medium fry pan, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a roasting dish for 8 minutes in the oven, remove & rest covered with foil for 3-4 minutes.

Cut the broccoli, zucchini, carrot & capsicum into bite sized pieces. Heat oil in wok add the veggies & shallot, garlic, ginger & pak choy. Stir fry for 15-20 seconds. Add soy & oyster sauce & continue to fry until vegges soft, about 20-30 seconds. Stir through sesame oil & serve with the pork carved into 1 cm slices. Drizzle ay juices from the roasting dish over & serve.

Banana Semi Freddo

Last night I had a couple of friends over for dinner, nothing lavish but a good excuse to try out some new food anyway. I am going to start with dessert just because it looked so good (in my opinion anyway). I have been loving ice cream & chocolate at the moment & had never made a semi freddo before so thought would give this recipe from Ben O’Donoghue and Curtis Stone’s Surfing the Menu a go. I t was pretty simple to make though did take quite a few bowls & in order to freeze you need to start this quite a few hours ahead or even the night before. The upside of this of course is that when you are ready to eat you just whip it out & serve, no fiddling around while the guests are there. Everyone loved the fact that it was full of fresh bananas & all in all it went down pretty well, nice to serve something a bit different for a change too

Banana Semifreddo

10 free range egg yolks
100g warmed honey
3 tablespoons rum or banana liqueur
4 tablespoons caster sugar
3 large ripe bananas
5 egg whites
500ml pouring cream
200g dark chocolate, chopped
55g unsalted roasted peanuts (other nuts may be used), finely chopped

Line a loaf tin or a glass pudding bowl with plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill.

Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the honey, rum and half the sugar. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until the mixture is light & fluffy and doubled in volume.

Mash the bananas with a fork, add to the egg mixture & stir to combine. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff. Fold into the banana mixture. Whip the cream to soft peaks & fold into the banana mixture. Add half the chopped chocolate. Spoon into the lined mould & freeze until set.

Melt the remaining chocolate by placing it in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Unmould the semifreddo onto a serving plate. Using a spoon, drizzle half the chocolate over the top in a criss cross pattern, then sprinkle with the peanuts. Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the top. Return to the freezer until required.

About 15-20 minutes before serving, transfer to the fridge to soften.

Pink-Eye potato, olive and Caper Salad

Being of both Polish & Lithuanian background I am a very big fan of the humble potato & am always looking for new ways to dress it. I love anything from a simple mash, a hearty baked spud jammed packed with tasty fillings, crispy roast ones & of course a great potato salad. My all time favourite potato salad is the family recipe which I have eaten my whole life, its pretty much boiled potatoes, peeled, mixed with chopped onion, boiled eggs, tons of mayo & some salt & pepper, very simple yet very tasty. Occasionally however I do like to try something different so the other night I tried Ben O’Donoghue’s take on the dish from the surfing the menu cook book of series 1. It was great, the olives & capers added a nice zing to the dish. Very repeatable, we served it alongside a good steak for a quick & simple meal.

Pink-Eye Potato, Olive and Caper Salad

1kg pink eye potatoes
½ garlic clove
salt
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
100g baby capers
200g pitted large green olives
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
100ml extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground pepper
finely peeled zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons white celery leaves

Place the potatoes in a large pan & cover with cold water. Add salt, bring to the boil & simmer until tender, about 20 minutes depending on the size. In a large mortar smash the garlic with a little sea salt, then add the parsley & roughly smash. Add the capers & olives and do the same to give a coarse, roughly broken up texture.

Peel & cut the potatoes in half while still hot. Add the vinegar & oil. Cool fro 10 minutes, then add the olive & parsley mixture. Season with salt & pepper & toss through the zest, celery leaves & remaining parsley.

Peppered Duck breast, poached balsamic figs & garlic crisps with Jus Gras

Tonight’s dinner was this recipe taken from Surfing the menu, it was a bit of an extravaganza for the amount of time & pots & pans needed. I try & do at least one fiddly dish a week if I have the time. Overall the flavour was fantastic though unless doing for a big group I would probably not bother with the whole assembly again though I would do bits & pieces & team them with other more simple sides, etc, a bit too much effort for just Michael & I I’m afraid. Also I used rocket instead of watercress & thought the flavour worked very well with this combo. The garlic crisps were probably my favourite part, delicious & a very subtle garlic flavour too. The figs were a problem as I couldn’t find any good fresh figs, a bit too late so I tried with semi dried but it just wasn’t the same I imagine. Also the Jus gave a lot of extra flavour & apart from having too cook for 2 hours was not too difficult, luckily I have some leftover to use again.

Peppered Duck breast, poached balsamic figs & garlic crisps with Jus Gras

3 tblspns coarsely ground black pepper
4 duck breasts
250ml vegetable oil
4 ripe figs
250ml balsamic vinegar
12 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 litre milk
salt
2 cups watercress

Preheat oven to 200c. Place the pepper on a plate & firmly press the duck breast skin side down into it.

Heat 1 tbspn of the oil in a frying pan with heatproof handle. Fry the duck breast skin side down over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown. They should be cooked only on the skin side to prevent them drying out. Transfer to the oven & bake for 5 minutes. Remove form oven & allow to rest for 3-5 minutes

Prick the figs with a skewer then place in a small saucepan with the balsamic, heat gently for 4-5 minutes then remove from heat.

Place the garlic in a small saucepan & add one third of the milk. Bring to the near boil, strain & return garlic to the pan, repeat this procedure twice. Pat the garlic dry with paper towel. Heat the remaining oil in a small pan & fry the garlic until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Drain on paper towels & season with salt.

To serve, slice each breast into 5 medallions & arrange in a semi circle on four plates. Slice the figs in half & sit behind the duck. Place a small bunch of watercress & some garlic crisps on either side of the fig & drizzle a little jus over each breast.

Jus Gras (Yields about 150mls)

1kg chicken wins
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 litre chicken stock
75g shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the back of a knife
5 white peppercorns
1 sprig thyme
3 bay leaves

Chop each chicken wing into 3. Heat the oil in a heavy based pan & brown the wings over high heat, 4-5 minutes. Remove the wings, drain the oil & return the wings to the pan

Add the stock, shallots, garlic, peppercorns, thyme & bay leaves & slowly bring to the boil. Simmer over very low heat, uncovered for about 2 hours or until the stock is rich & reduced to about 2/3 of a cup.

Strain into a bowl. Place a heavy pan in top of the wings to squeeze out all the juice & leave for 30 minutes. Discard the bones. If necessary, get rid of the excess fat by chilling, the fat will solidify & can be easily taken off.

Grilled T-bone steak with garlic & anchovy butter Thursday 9th Feb 2006

Lat night we had what I would call real 'man' food, a great big t-bone, baked spud, beans & mushies. Michael was so happy he even assisted in the cooking, basically I made the butter & threw the spuds in the oven & he did the rest, was nice to be able to take a break & get some other things done while Michael finished off. The recipe which was for the steak, butter & mushrooms came from 'Surfing the menu' by Ben O'Donoghue & Curtis Stone, this is the original book, I love watching their show on abc so much that I had to have at least one of the books, has some great recipes.

Now even though this was simple steak, potato & veg, the addition of the garlic & anchovy butter plus the mushrooms gave it that little something extra to lift it up a notch from a boring meal into something really tatsy & I have lots of leftover butter for the next couple of weeks, yum! The recipe as you will see is to serve 4 & uses 250g butter, I quartered this & we still didnt use even half of the butter, I guess it depends on how far you are willing to go, trust me, the flavour is very intense & you really did not need to add that much butter to you steak.

Grilled T-bone with garlic & anchovy butter

Curtis Stone 'I have always loved cooking meat on the bone. The meat keeps a certain sweetness, and lends itself to a relaxed stlye of eating - or perhaps it's just me who loves gnawing on the bone. I also find that anchovies work particilarly well with hearty meats, such as beef or lamb.'

250g unsalted butter, softened
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 lightly salted anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 large shallot (eschalot), finely chopped
2 tblspns finely chopped flat leaf parsley
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 tblspn olive oil
4 x 450g T Bone steaks
5 large field mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 1/2 tblspns worcestershire sauce
4 anchovy fillets, halved lengthways to garnish

Place the butter, garlic, anchovies, shallot & parsley in a bowl & season with salt & pepper. Beat together until smooth. Take a large sheet of glad wrap & spoon the butter in a rough log shape towards one end. Roll up the butter, pressing it into a firm, thick sausage as you go. Roll the sausage on the bench to give a smooth surface, then transfer to the fridge to harden.

Brush the steaks with the oil. Fry in a hot pan over a moderately high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or to your liking. Cut off 4 disks of butter & place on top of each steak. Remove the pan & rest the steak for 3-4 minutes in a warm place before serving.

Meanwhile, heat another pan & get it very hot. Add the mushrooms & worcestershire sauce. Stir to deglaze for 1-2 minutes. Stack the mushrooms in the centre of 4 serving plates & place a t-bone on top of each pile. Place 2 trips of anchovy in a cross on the steaks & serve.

Note - any leftover butter will keep in fridge for 10 days & in freezer for 3 months.