My Mate Heston

'
Mills, Mills, ya wouldn't have my mate Heston's email address handy would ya?'

'Err no MOTH & I'm almost too scared to ask why you need it.'

'Well love, I need to let him know that he's a bloody legend!'

'Um, do explain MOTH.'

'Well ya know how much I love a boiled egg for brekkie & ya know how much grief it's given me over the years.'

'Yes, I do MOTH. The kids & I have all been on the end of your rants in the kitchen when the boiled eggs haven't come up to your rigorous expectations.'

'Yep, but my days of chucking a wobbly are over. Didn't you notice me in the kitchen for ages this morning.'

'Well come to mention I did think it was the longest time you've ever spent in there since I met you 20 years ago.'

'No need for sarcasm my little Pirhana Fish, you know the kitchen & I aren't compatible. But thanks to my mate Heston those days are over. I loved his way of thinking - no fluffy cheffie stuff, just good old physics!'

'How fascinating.'

'I'm just rapt that I've finally cracked it -  ha, ha, get the joke love, geez life's good!'

 

HESTON'S RECIPE FOR THE PERFECT SOFT BOILED EGG

 

INGREDIENTS

4 large eggs (55-60g.)

salt & black pepper

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Standing time: 6  minutes

 

Place the eggs in the smallest pan available and only add enough cold water to cover them. Put the lid on the pan and place over the highest heat possible.

When the water comes to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and wait for 6 minutes.

After the time has elapsed, remove the lid and carefully remove each egg. Cut the top of each egg before serving in egg cups. Season to taste.

 

NOTE TO HESTON:

MOTH's sitting in front of the computer, trawling through your recipe archives. He's just used 'Explosion' in his key word search. Should I be worried?

It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy.

Images: SBS
 

Defying The Odds

For some reason, as we were moving up here to Stirling from the Adelaide Plains we forgot to ask about the rainfall. In the ensuing 6 years we have discovered the bleeding obvious - it RAINS & RAINS & RAINS!

In fact Stirling is the wettest place in South Australia, receiving an average of 1200mm. (47 inches) of rain per year - more than twice the average of Adelaide. The mean Summer temperatures are about 5C. (9F.) lower than in Adelaide, attested by the plummeting thermoter in my car as I climb the Freeway home from the city in the late arvo.

It also explains why Stirling is often recommended as a good place to lob for new arrived Pommie migrants, again attested by a recent conversation overhead at the Stirling Chicken Shop between the owners Zack, Luke & Jim & a couple of newly transplanted Pommie locals. 'For the 50th time we don't have cod & chips on the menu, & just because it's called butterfish doesn't mean it's deep fried in butter!!!' Our Winters too are decidedly chilly, with average maximum temp. across June/July/August & often beyond, of a nippy 11C. (52F.)

So I reckon these pics of our Kaffir lime tree & red hot chillies are a minor miracle, seeing as we have just had another rubbish Summer, following on from last year, where I wore a cardie right through January! The kaffir was brought up from our old house at Unley & has amazed us with it's vigorous growth up here in Chillsville. It's now over 7' tall & continues to provide the entire neighbourhood & most of my clients with their regular supply of leaves for Thai cooking.

The recipe below is one of my favourite ways to use up the chillies & lime leaves & although it's very fiddly, is well worth the effort. It's a Saturday arvo job & after a good simmer in the sauce, the meat from the short ribs just falls from the bones.

Thanks to you all for your excellent messages of sympathy & support re the dodgy knee. I'm feeling a lot better today & managed to drive to Foodland & shuffle around with the trolley. Back to work tomorrow for a very big day, more of that to come. Suffice to say, that metaphorical train I've been on is just about to pull into the Station big time!

Red curry of beef with green peppercorns, wild ginger and holy basil (from the gorgeous
Martin Boetz of Longrain)
Serves 6
Prep time: 45 mins. Cook time: 3 hrs 30 mins (plus cooling)

Ingredients
150gm. coconut oil
1kg. meaty beef short ribs, (Martin uses boneless but I prefer them with the bones) cut into 4cm. pieces (my butcher Chris is always happy to do this for me, bless him!)
500ml. (2 cups) chicken stock, brought to the simmer
300ml. coconut cream, brought to the simmer
50ml. fish sauce, or to taste
1 tablespoon palm sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon wild ginger (which is labelled as krachai in and is available in jars from the Asian grocer)
3-4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 long red chilli, deseeded & thinly sliced
1 stalk fresh green peppercorns (generally hard to find so I substitute a dessertspoon of the preserved ones from the jar, sorry Martin)
1 cup each (firmly packed) holy basil leaves (Stirling Fruit Shop is now stocking them - yay!)

Red curry paste
1 red onion, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 coriander roots, scraped and cleaned
(4cm piece) fresh galangal, thinly sliced (easy to find these days, hooray!)
50gm. smoked trout, coarsely flaked (MOTH scoffs off the remainder in a flash on a cracker bikkie with a slurp of horseradish cream!)
10 long dried red chillies, seeds removed, soaked in warm water for 15 mins, drained
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon dried shrimp paste, roasted in a piece of aluminium foil in the oven for a few minutes until 'fragrant' (I keep ours stored in an old Moccona coffee jar which MOTH has stuck a label on that reads OO PONG Shrimp Paste!)
1 tablespoon white or black peppercorns, coarsely ground in the little mortar & pestle (no need to bring the Big Daddy job out for this!)

Cucumber relish
200ml rice wine vinegar
150gm caster sugar
2 coriander roots, scraped and cleaned
1 pickled garlic head (again picked up in a jar from the Asian grocer)
1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
5cm piece of fresh ginger, cut into julienne
1 red shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 long red chilli, deseeded & julienned
1/2 cup loosely packed coriander leaves

Method
1. For red curry paste, pound onion, garlic, coriander roots and galangal in a large mortar and pestle to a coarse paste, then transfer to a food processor. Pound remaining ingredients (except peppercorns) with 1 tbsp sea salt to a coarse paste, then add to processor or blender and process to a smooth paste, stir through pepper. Makes 250ml. (stores in the fridge for 5-6 days & freezes really well in a little glass jar clearly labelled)

2. For cucumber relish, combine vinegar, sugar, coriander root and garlic in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, remove from heat, strain and cool to room temperature. Combine cucumber, ginger, shallot, chilli and coriander leaves in a bowl, add vinegar mixture and set aside. Makes about 300ml.

3. Melt coconut oil in a large saucepan over low-medium heat, add curry paste and 1 teaspoon sea salt, stir until fragrant and roasted (10-15 mins). Add beef, cook until sealed (2-3 mins). Add stock and coconut cream, cook until fragrant (2-3 mins). Season to taste with a slurp of fish sauce and palm sugar, cook over low heat until meat is tender (2½-3 hrs), adding more stock if necessary. Add ginger, lime leaves, chilli and peppercorns and season to taste – it should be hot, salty and sweet. Add basil, simmer for 5 mins, then serve scattered with kaffir lime and chilli, with steamed rice and cucumber relish to the side.

Image & recipe: Gourmet Traveller

Barfly

Love this bar designed by Paulo Lobo. Not too clubby, blokey, dark or sleazy.

What to order? How about you? Make mine a Margarita please & just for reference, here's my favourite recipe.

Millie's Margarita (on the rocks, not frozen)
½ shot Pedro Ximénez sherry (yes, you read this right!)

1 shot tequila

dash of bitters

½ shot Cointreau or Triple Sec

juice of 2 limes

splash of orange juice

ice cubes

Shake with ice and strain into a margarita glass with a salted rim. Garnish with lime slices.

To be politically correct I need to add the following - be responsible, drink in moderation.

Images: Paulo Lobo

Vodka Waffle Weave

Our long overdue Summer has finally arrived & with a vengeance! 40C. Saturday, 42C. Sunday & again today (104/108F). As I love this sort of weather I'm one happy chappy, but poor old MOTH was up a ladder in the third bedroom continuing the new ceiling frame most of the weekend & was doing it tough - heat rising & all that! What better way to finish such a hot day than with one of my favourite thirst quenchers, Millie's famous Cranberry Caprioska. Here's my recipe, & as I don't have exact quantities, the purists had better go & do something else.

Millie's Eye-Rolling Vodka Caprioska

• In a big tall jug muddle 2 fresh limes that you've quartered with a couple of scant dessertspoons of raw cane sugar until all the sugar is dissolved.


• Add a very generous slurp of good Vodka straight from the freezer which is the BEST place to store it.


• And a big splash of Frangelico (about 1/3rd the amount of Vodka)


• Throw in a heap of ice cubes & top up the jug with ice cold Original Cranberry Juice (don't bother with the Light stuff it's just not the same).


• Serve in individual tall highball glasses with an additional slice of lime.


• You will find the glass is empty pretty quickly, so by all means pour yourself another. However, about 1/2 way through the second glass you will notice your eyes beginning to roll around uncontrollably & your focus on distant objects beginning to fail. At this point I tend to slow down, to ensure I remain upright for the rest of the evening!!!
  
  

A good buy at this year's Post-Chrissie sales was a lovely white cotton waffle weave blanket for our bed. I paid under $60 for a KS at BB&T, & with the hot weather we turfed the doona & gave the new blanket a run.

We are generally around 5-7 degrees cooler at night up here in the Hills than our friends down on the Adelaide Plains, so still need a light bed covering on these hot nights. It was a winner!

Aussie Treat

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!

LITTLE LAMINGTONS

Ingredients
125gm. softened butter, chopped
165gm. (3/4 cup) caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
185gm. (1 1/4 cups) plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
250gm. (1 3/4 cups) shredded coconut

For the icing
40gm. soft butter
500gm. (3 1/4 cups) icing sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
50gm. Dutch cocoa
20mls. Cognac
140mls. boiling water

Method
Preheat oven to 190C.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in combined sifted flour and baking powder alternating with milk and stir until smooth. Spoon mixture into a greased and lined square 23cm cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Stand in tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and store for 1 day.

For the icing
Combine all ingredients with 140mls. boiling water and mix until smooth.
Cut cake into teeny-tiny 3cm. squares and dip each one into the icing using a wooden skewer, then roll in the coconut.
Place lamingtons on a wire rack for 1-2 hours or until dry. Then pop them into small confectionary papers.
Made cute & tiny they are sublime as after-dinner treats. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature they are OK for a couple of days, but honestly, why would you want to! Makes about 40.

Image & recipe: Cuisine

Flip Flip

MOTH bought a huge whole Ocean Trout on the weekend, & with his normal surgical precision style, filleted it out giving me 12 big plump scrumptious cutlets. Wanting to do something a little different with them last night, I gave this recipe from a very old issue of NZ House & Garden a whirl & it was a Winner! 5 Millie & MOTH stars.

SPAGHETTI FRITTATA WITH OCEAN TROUT SALAD

250g. dry spaghetti pasta
Olive Oil
2 French shallots, finely diced (not Spring Onions)
2 cloved garlic, minced
5 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad:
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium red capsicum (Bell Pepper) julienned into strips
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 pieces pf Ocean Trout poached or lightly pan fried, broken into chunky pieces (I'm sure you could substitute Atlantic Salmon for the Trout)
For the dressing:
really good quality olive oil & a splash of balsamic vinegar

• Cook pasta to directions, refresh under running cold water & set aside.
• Heat olive oil in large, heavy non-stick frying pan & quickly cook down French shallots & garlic on medium until just soft.
• Beat eggs lightly in a really large bowl. Add cool spaghetti, shallot & garlic mix & parmesan & mix well. Season to taste.
• Throw some olive oil in the frying pan & pour in the spaghetti mixture. Cook over a medium heat until the base is crispy golden, about 5-6 minutes.
• Grab a white serving platter, loosen the frittata around the edges with a spatula, get your MOTH or similar to flip the frittata onto the platter. Cheer when the whole thing comes out intact!
• Chuck some more olive oil into the frying pan, heat up & carefully slide the frittata back into the pan to cook the other side until it's golden & crispy too. Remove from heat & do the whole sliding the thing back onto the serving platter & cheer again if successful!
• Combine salad ingredients, whisk the olive oil & balsamic together, drizzle over salad & toss well.
• Serve the salad piled on top of the frittata & then cut into wedges to serve.
• Yummo!

Image: NZ H&G

Sensational Semifreddo

Kneeling down, cleaning out the fire in the Sitting Room again this morning, lugging in the wood & resetting & lighting it, I had an overwhelming feeling that I'M OVER WINTER!!! I want to wear only one layer of clothing, chuck out the boots in favour of bare feet & eat light, summery food. And what I really want more than anything is icecream. I don't have a flash icecream maker, instead I just follow on from my Mum, who made delicious icecream each Summer in metal trays. She would lift them out of the freezer after a few hours, their yummy contents sitting happily in their glistening containers, with just a hint of ice starting to form on the sides. I remember standing in the kitchen, excitedly hopping around from one foot to the other, while Mum scooped the icecream into little square wafer icecream cups. These days Mum's creations are best described as Semifreddo, which literally means 'semi-cold.'

Gourmet Traveller magazine says about Semifreddo 'While ice-cream uses many of the same ingredients as semifreddo – egg yolks, sugar, cream – the technique for making it is different. For ice-cream, you make a crème anglaise, or custard, by creaming the yolks and sugar, then combining them with hot cream (and milk). This is cooked slowly, gently and with constant stirring until it thickens; the mixture is then cooled and frozen in an ice-cream machine.'

'In contrast, semifreddo doesn't require churning & consists of a sabayon and a roughly equal quantity of whisked cream. Its mousse-like texture means it doesn’t freeze as solidly as ice-cream. Semifreddo is typically presented as a frozen terrine, but it can just as easily be scooped as you would serve ice-cream.'

Here's their basic Semifreddo recipe.
Serves 10
Cooking Time/Prep Time 30 mins, cook 35 mins (plus freezing)
Ingredients
9 egg yolks
250gm caster sugar
Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
600mls. thickened cream
250gm crème fraîche
Method
1. Line a 2 litre-capacity mould with plastic wrap or baking paper.
2. Whisk yolks, sugar, vanilla seeds and 1 tbsp water in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until mixture is tripled in volume, thick and pale and holds a ribbon (4-5 minutes).
3. Transfer to an electric mixer and whisk until cooled to room temperature (2-3 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, whisk cream and crème fraîche in a bowl until soft peaks form.
5. Carefully fold into egg mixture.
6. Spoon into container, cover, freeze until firm (6 hours-overnight). Makes about 2 litres.

Once the sabayon is cooled, then the fun part can begin. Add your desired flavourings, these could be chocolate and hazelnut, or you could fold though some puréed fruit, or some spices.

While Mum's recipe was invariably vanilla, here's a few slightly more sophisicated ideas to whip you into a heavenly Semifreddo frenzy!

Turkish Delight Semifreddo with Fresh Strawberries & Raspeberries

Honey & Chocolate Semifreddo

Christmas Pudding Semifreddo

Passionfruit Semifreddo with Mango & Raspberries

Strawberries & Cream Semifreddo

Chocolate, Fig & Hazelnut Semifreddo

Pistachio Nougat Semifreddo

Double Chocolate Brownie Semifreddo

Raspberry Semifreddo

Caramel Semifreddo with Salted Maple Pecans

White Chocolate & Amaretto Semifreddo

Meyer Lemon Semifreddo

Tangerine Semifreddo with Salted Almond Brittle

Images 1 - 7 Gourmet Traveller
Images 8 - 11 Donna Hay

Image 12 - Martha Stewart

Images 13-14 Epicurious

Leaping Lipids!

I mentioned last week about having to dig deep into my Creative Cooking 'file' in an attempt to get MOTH's cholesterol under record-breaking levels. Some of you were interested & so here's a few things I did for him over the Easter weekend. Please remember though that Gourmet Traveller will not be hiring me anytime soon for my cooking & food styling/photography skills!!

Good Friday dinner was a platter of smoked salmon with low-fat buckwheat blinis & yoghurt herb dressing. Followed by a plate of roasted vegies with low-fat ricotta.

Blinis
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup low fat milk
1 egg yolk
3 egg whites

Whisk the egg whites until they are fluffy & set aside. Combine the flour & baking powder in a mixing bowl, add the milk & egg yolk & mix thoroughly. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the flour mixture until it forms a smooth batter. Spray a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil spray & heat. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the skillet, cook until small bubbles appear on the surface, flip & cook for a couple more minutes until golden.

Yoghurt Dressing
1/2 cup low-fat natural yoghurt
generous squeeze of lemon or lime juice
good pinch of good flaky salt ( I love the Murray River Pink flakes)
1/2 fresh herbs finely chopped (I used dill & mint)

Combine the 1st 3 ingredients & then fold through the herbies at the last minute.

Roasted Vegies with Ricotta
500gm. medium size Swiss brown mushies

3 Roma tomatoes halved

4 cloves of garlic peeled

good slurp of balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used a mixture of fresh wholemeal grain bread & panko crumbs)

a couple of teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves finely chopped

flaky salt & ground black pepper

200g. low-fat ricotta drained well

peppery rocket leaves

Spray a non-stick oven tray with a little olive oil & throw the mushies & tomatoes onto it, making sure to spread them out so they aren't overlapping each other. Chuck the garlic cloves over the vegies. Give them all a spray with the olive oil & evenly sprinkle over the balsamic vinegar. Mix the breadcrumbs & thyme together & scatter evenly over the vegies. Add the salt & pepper & then crumble/pinch the ricotta all over the vegies. Bake in an oven at about 170-180oC. for about 30 mins, or until the vegies are tender & the toppings are golden brown. Serve on a bed of rocket leaves. (You can use other vegies such as zucchini & carrot batons, pumpkin chunks, baby squash halved etc.)

Be Gone Bad Cholesterol Soop de Loop
1 brown onion diced
4 cloves garlic crushed
3 sticks celery diced
2 carrots diced
250g. beans cut into 4cm. lengths
2 zucchini diced
150g. Swiss brown mushies sliced
3 large stalks of fresh rosemary
1 can chopped tomatoes
1.5 litres low fat chicken stock (I used the recipe from one of the Heart Foundation cookbooks)
2 dried bay leaves
1 cup pearl barley washed thoroughly under running water
good handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley & shredded fresh basil

Spray the bottom of a deep stockpot with a little olive oil, add onion, garlic, celery & carrots & cook until soft. Add the rosemary & tomatoes & cook for another couple of mins. Add the chicken stock & bay leaves & bring to the boil. Add the pearl barley & reduce the heat. Cover & simmer for 1.5 hrs. Then add the beans, zucchinis & mushies & cook for another 30mins. Remove the rosemary stalks & bay leaves & serve with a good sprinkling of the fresh herbies.

Bello Panettone!

Every Christmas we are given a beautiful boxed Panettone by elderly Italian friends. Other than sliced & chucked in the toaster, served with a drizzle of honey & a good dollop of yoghurt, I've always been at a loss for ideas beyond that. Then I saw a recipe from Bill Granger in this month's Delicious mag & I was inspired to do some further research. Who would have thought the humble Panettone offers such yummy treats! Although be warned - you'll not see any of the recipes using Lo-Fat anything!!

Panettone French Toast & Bacon (from the wonderful Lori Lyn @ Taste with the Eyes)

• Slice a thick cross-section of the cake. Soak it thoroughly in two eggs beaten with cream and a pinch of salt. Cook it over medium low heat in butter until golden brown on both sides.


• Dust with icing sugar (powdered sugar).
• Serve it with maple syrup &/or a dollop of mascarpone & slices of good quality crispy bacon. This cross-section of the Panettone can serve three or four people.

Bill's Panettone Pudding

Ingredients:

1/2 large panettone (about 500gm.) sliced 1cm. thick

1/2 cup mixed dried fruit (such as sultanas & cranberries)

2 free-range eggs, plus 6 extra egg yolks

2 cups full cream milk

200mls. pure (unthickened) cream, plus extra to serve

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup caster sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for the topping

Method:

• Lightly grease a 2.5 litre baking dish. Slightly overlap the panettone in the dish & sprinkle each layer with the dried fruit.
• Whisk the eggs, yolks, milk, cream, vanilla & sugar in a bowl to combine. Pour over the panettone. Stand for 30 minutes, pressing down on the panettone every 10 minutes so it soaks up the liquid. Sprinkle with the extra sugar.

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake pudding for 45-50 minutes until golden (cover with foil if it's browning too quickly). Stand for 10 minutes, then serve with the extra cream.
  

Panettone French Toast with Mixed Berries

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/3 cup (80ml) pure (unthickened) cream
1/3 cup (80ml) milk
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Two 1.5cm-thick rounds of panettone (cut across horizontally), quartered
250g frozen mixed berries, thawed
2 tablespoons icing sugar, plus extra to dust
40g unsalted butter
Thick cream or yoghurt, to serve
Method:

• In a wide, shallow bowl, beat eggs, cream, milk, sugar and vanilla. Add the panettone, turn to coat and leave to soak for 10 minutes, pressing down from time to time to ensure it soaks up the batter.
• Meanwhile, place half the berries in a blender with icing sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Blend until smooth. Combine with remaining berries and set aside.
• Heat half the butter in a non-stick frypan over medium heat. Drain excess egg mixture from half the panettone slices and cook for 1-2 minutes each side until golden. Keep warm while you repeat with remaining butter and panettone.
• To serve, place two slices on each plate, dust with icing sugar, and top with the berries and a dollop of cream.
  

Chilled Panettone Puddings with Poached Spiced Cherries

Ingredients: (serves 4)
8 x 1.5cm-thick slices of panettone
40g butter, softened
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 cup (250ml) milk
1/2 cup (125ml) thin cream
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Spiced cherries
250g fresh cherries, stems removed
1 cup (250ml) rose wine
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
2 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
Method:

• Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease four 2/3-cup (160ml) capacity dariole moulds or ramekins. Use a 7cm round pastry cutter to cut 8 discs from the panettone slices. Spread discs with butter and marmalade and place two discs in each of the prepared moulds.
• Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla bean paste in a jug until well combined. Pour evenly over the panettone slices and set aside for 15 minutes to soak.
• Place in a roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the moulds. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
• Meanwhile, to make the spiced cherries, place the cherries, wine, sugar, star anise and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and poach for 15 minutes or until syrup thickens and cherries are tender. Remove from heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.
• Turn the puddings onto serving plates. Spoon the cherries and syrup around the puddings and serve immediately.

Panettone, Berry and Mascarpone Trifle

Ingredients: (serves 4)
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
250g carton mascarpone
8 x 1cm-thick slices panettone
300g fresh or frozen mixed berries
Method :

• Use a balloon whisk to whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add 1 tablespoonful of the Frangelico and whisk until smooth. Add the mascarpone and use a metal spoon to gently fold until just combined.
• Use an 8cm. round pastry cutter to cut discs from the panettone slices. Brush four discs with a little of the remaining Frangelico. Place in the base of four 1-cup (250ml) capacity serving glasses. Spoon half the berries evenly among serving glasses. Top with half the mascarpone mixture.
• Continue layering with remaining berries, mascarpone mixture, panettone and Frangelico, finishing with a layer of mascarpone. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill before serving.
  

Panettone, Ricotta and Nectarine Cake

Ingredients for the Cake:
1 x 900 gm. panettone
600 gm. fresh ricotta cheese
50 gm. bitter dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
50 gm. glace orange, finely chopped
50 gm. blanched almonds, roasted & coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon icing sugar (powered sugar), plus extra for dusting
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
4 fresh nectarines halved, stoned & sliced into thin wedges
Method:

• Using a serrated knife, cut top off panettone to make a neat cylinder shape, then trim crust from cylinder and cut widthways into four 1cm-thick slices. Reserve trimmed panettone for another use.
• Push ricotta through a fine sieve into a bowl, then add chocolate, glacé orange, almonds, icing sugar and half the liqueur and combine well.
• Spread 1/3 cup ricotta mixture over bottom slice of panettone, press another slice over the top, then repeat spreading and layering, finishing with a layer of ricotta.
• Combine nectarines with remaining liqueur, then top panettone with one-third of the peaches.
• Serve cake cut into wedges, with remaining sliced nectarines passed separately. Cake is best served on day of making.

Apricot Panettone Pudding

Ingredients:
150g dried apricots, soaked in 1 1/2 cups water for several hours to soften
250gm. panettone, sliced
butter
300mls. milk
a piece of vanilla pod, split open with a sharp knife
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
50gm. blanched almonds, finely chopped
icing sugar (powered sugar)

Method:

• Put the apricots in a small saucepan, bring to a gentle boil, then cook gently for 5 minutes, or until very tender. Drain, reserving the juice. Mash the apricots to a puree.
• Spread most of the apricot puree over the panettone and arrange in a buttered ovenproof dish. Spread the remaining puree over the top, along with any juices.
• Put the milk, the split vanilla pod and sugar in a saucepan. Heat slowly until the milk is just boiling, then set it aside for 10 minutes.
• Beat the egg and egg yolk together in a bowl, then pour on the heated milk, stirring to make a custard.
• Pour the custard around the edges of the panettone (not over the top).
• Sprinkle on the almonds and dot the top with butter.
• Bake 30-40 minutes in an oven preheated to 170°C (regular bake, not fanbake), or until most of the custard has been absorbed and the pudding is golden on top.
• Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.
  

Christmas Panettone and Mincemeat Pudding

Ingredients:
75gm. leftover sweet fruit mincemeat
Alcohol such as Baileys, Brandy, Whisky or Rum (optional)
50gm. butter
1 panettone, sliced into small squares
100mls. milk
375ml double cream
4 eggs
125gm. caster sugar
A few drops vanilla extract
Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F).
• Put the leftover fruit mincemeat in a bowl and cover with your chosen alcohol. Leave to soak.
• Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the panettone slices for 2-3 minutes or until golden on both sides.
• Arrange the panettone slices with the fruit mincemeat, overlapping slightly into a baking dish.
• Pour the milk and cream into a pan and bring slowly up the boil.
• Whisk the eggs with the sugar until frothy and pale.
• Add the milk and cream mixture to the eggs and stirring continuously, add the vanilla extract.
• Pour the mixture over the panettone and set aside for 30 minutes to allow to soak in well.
• Bake in a bain-marie or roasting pan filled with hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until just set in the middle
  
  Image & recipe credits: 1. Perbellini 2,3. Taste with the Eyes 4,5,6,7. Taste 8. Gourmet Traveller 9. Cuisine 10. Love Food Hate Waste

Millie Vanillie Part 1

I love MOTH & the boys with all my heart & then I love vanilla. If push came to shove & I had to choose, it is a well known fact in the family that vanilla would win. Have a spectacular weekend!

VANILLA ICE CREAM (My Mum's recipe is almost identical minus the Vodka!)

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

125gm. castor sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Beat all the above ingredients until thick & white. Set aside.

750ml. cream

100gm. castor sugar

Beat the above 2 ingredients until thick.

Add the 2 batches together & stir well. The mixure should be thick. Add 40mls. of Vodka - stir well, then place in a metal tray & freeze.

VANILLA SUGAR DROPS (Perfect with a cup of strong dark Turkish coffee)

Ingredients

175gm. softened butter

50gm. icing sugar

50gm. cornflour (cornstarch)

175gm. plain (all-purpose) flour

2 teaspoons vanilla paste + extra for brushing the cookies

1/2 cup castor sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Beat butter & sugar until light & creamy, add vanilla paste & mix though.

Add dry ingredients & mix until a soft dough forms.

Roll into 1 inch balls & place on a greased oven tray.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until very slightly golden, but cooked inside (you may need to break one in half to check).

Allow cookies to cool.

To finish brush a very small amount of vanilla paste over each cookie & drop the biscuit into the castor sugar to coat.

Makes approx. 30 small cookies.

VANILLA YO-YO's (My absolute favourite cookie recipe of all time!)
Ingredients

175g butter softened

50gm icing sugar

175g plain (all-purpose) flour

50gm custard powder

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Method

Cream butter and icing sugar until pale, add vanilla paste mix to combine.

Add sifted dry ingredients, mix until you reach a soft dough.

Roll into small even sized balls, place on greased trays, flatten with a fork.

Bake 10-15 minutes at 180C.

When cold, join together with Vanilla Custard Icing.

Custard Icing

200g icing sugar

1 tablespoon butter melted

1 tablespoon custard powder

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Boiling water as required

Sift icing sugar and custard powder into a bowl, add melted butter and vanilla paste. Add boiling water a little at a time until you reach a spreadable consistency.

Makes 25 bite sized cookies.

BASIC CUSTARD (This is more fiddly than your standard custard recipe, but oh so worth the effort)

Ingredients
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod reserved
600 mls. pouring cream
300 mls. full cream milk
6 egg yolks
150 gm. castor sugar
Method
Combine vanilla pod and seeds, cream and milk in a heavy-based saucepan and bring just to the boil over medium heat.
Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until very thick and pale.
Pour hot cream mixture over egg mixture, whisking continuously to combine, then transfer to a clean pan.
Cook, stirring continuously, over low-med-ium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Strain into a bowl placed over ice and cool completely.
Variations on basic custard
For chocolate custard: leave out vanilla and add 200gm finely chopped dark chocolate to the mixture just before straining, mixing well to melt and combine.
For honey custard: substitute the sugar with 150gm honey.
For passionfruit custard: add 2/3 cup passionfruit pulp to cooled custard mixture.
For strawberry custard: add 2/3 cup strawberry purée and 1 tsp lemon juice to cooled custard mixture.
To make ice-cream using the basic custard recipe: freeze the cooled custard mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
To make a trifle, coarsely crush some strawberries, a little sugar and a liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, together using a fork. Layer in a large bowl, top with some coarsely crumbled sponge cake (soaked in liqueur) and vanilla custard.

Serves 6.

ELVIS' FAVOURITE VANILLA POUND CAKE (I'm all shook up!!!)

Ingredients

220gms. unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan
3 cups self-raising flour (cake flour) sifted, plus additional for dusting the pan
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups white sugar
7 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes
2 teaspoons pure vanilla essence
1 cup heavy cream
Equipment

A 10-inch tube pan (4 1/2 inches deep; not with a removable bottom) or a 10-inch bundt pan.

Method

Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven.
Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.
Sift together the flour and salt in a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times total).
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla.

Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then all of the cream, then remaining flour, mixing well after each addition.

Scrape down side of bowl, then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny.
Spoon batter into pan and rap pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles.

Place pan in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F.

Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering approx. 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.
Cooks' note: Cake keeps, covered well with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, at room temperature 5 days.

CREME BRULEE TART (This may be a bit of marathon to make, but I go positively weak at the knees every time I just think about this beauty!!)
Ingredients for the tart shell
1 1/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
110gm. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water
Ingredients for the custard filling
1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1 whole large egg
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
Equipment
a 9 1/2-inch round fluted tart pan (1 inch deep) with a removable bottom; pie weights or dried beans; a small blowtorch
Method for tart shell
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl (or pulse in a food processor).

Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size lumps of butter.

Add 3 tablespoon of water and stir into flour (or pulse) until incorporated.
Gently squeeze a small handful of dough - if it doesn’t hold together, add water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) after each addition. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions.

With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk.

Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round.

Fit dough into tart pan and fold overhang inward to reinforce side. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork, then line with parchment or foil and fill with pie weights.

Bake until edge is pale golden and side is set, 20 to 25 minutes.
Carefully remove weights and parchment and bake shell until golden, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Remove tart shell from oven and reduce temperature to 300°F.
Method for filling
While shell bakes, split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into a heavy medium saucepan with tip of a paring knife.

Add pod to saucepan with cream and milk.

Heat over medium heat until hot, then let steep off heat 30 minutes.
Whisk together yolks, whole egg, 6 tablespoons of sugar and salt in a large measuring jug, then whisk into cream mixture until smooth.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve back into another measuring jug.
Put tart shell (in pan) into a shallow 4-sided baking tray, a lamington tray is fine.

Put in oven, then pour custard into shell.

Bake until just set but still slightly wobbly in centre, 30 to 35 minutes (custard will continue to set as it cools).

Remove tart from sheet pan and cool on a rack 30 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour more.

Just before serving, sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over top of tart.

Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth just above top of tart, avoiding crust, until sugar is caramelized and slightly browned.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 8

Vanilla Rice with Raspberries & Cream (MOTH said he'd have to leave the room when I ate this, my ohs & ahs would deafen him!)
Ingredients
Vanilla Rice
1 1/2 litres full cream milk
1 vanilla bean
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
To Serve
1/2 cup cream
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (made by scraping the seeds of a vanilla bean into the caster sugar)

Method for the Vanilla Rice
Stir the milk, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan over a low flame and gently bring to the boil.

Place the rice in a heavy-based saucepan and stir in a ladleful of milk.

Cook rice as you would for a risotto.

Keep stirring and adding milk ladleful by ladleful, allowing rice to absorb the milk before the next addition.

Continue cooking the rice until it is just cooked through.

As with risotto, the amount of milk the rice absorbs varies depending on the grade of rice and how fast you cook it; use just as much of the milk as you need.

Once cooked, pour rice on to a large flat tray to cool, stirring occasionally.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve (no more than 3 days). Allow the rice to come to room temperature before serving.

To Serve

Stir the cream through the rice and serve in flat bowls.Toss the raspberries in the vanilla sugar then sprinkle the berries over the rice.

Serves 6-8.

THE MELISSA LEO (Saved the best for last!)
Inspired by the no-nonsense characters Ms. Leo has played in her career, this cocktail includes equal parts orange juice and aquavit—a union of sweet citrus and herbaceous spirit—rounded out by orange liqueur, lime juice and a bit of vanilla extract. The crushed ice is an acknowledgement to her Oscar-nominated role in Frozen River.

Ingredients

1 (4x1/2-inch) strip orange zest (remove with a vegetable peeler)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon water

8 oz (1 cup) chilled aquavit such as Linie or O.P. Anderson

4 oz (1/2 cup) Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec 8 oz

1 cup chilled fresh orange juice

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Crushed ice

Method

Cut orange-zest strip lengthwise into 4 equal pieces.

Bring sugar and water to a simmer in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved.

Transfer syrup to a very small bowl and add zest strips. Soak 5 minutes.

Remove strips from syrup, reserving syrup, and coil around a chopstick or a pencil. Let strips dry until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from chopstick.

Stir together aquavit, Cointreau, juices, vanilla and 1 teaspoon reserved sugar syrup.

Fill 4 cocktail glasses with crushed ice and divide aquavit mixture among them. Garnish with orange curls.

Makes 4 drinks.

Images 1,2,3: Heilala Vanilla Image 3: Gourmet Traveller Image 4: Epicurious Images 5,7: Gourmet (R.I.P.) Image 6: Cuisine