Recipe - Green Veg Salad

Chop to same size:

-          Roast waxy potatoes in onion, garlic, salt and pepper

-          Boil in separate batches of salted water

o   Zucchini

o   Peas

o   Asparagus

o   Beans

-          When cooled stir through

o   Fresh mint

o   Dried ricotta (or shredded feta)

o   Good Olive Oil

Merry Christmas!

I need to find an excuse to make this!!!

Recipe - BBQ'd Lamb and Baby Octopus & Pepper rice with Greek-style yoghurt

 BBQ'd Lamb and Baby Octopus

This is easy - marinade the Lamb and Baby Octopus for at least an hour before BBQing.

Marinade

·         Chopped Spanish Onion and a bunch of cloves of garlic

·         Red wine

·         Dried oregano

·         Olive oil

·         Salt and Pepper

Pepper rice with Greek-style yoghurt

This is taken from http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/pepper-rice-with-greek-style-yoghurt.htm but I altered it slightly as I didn’t want to have to begin this recipe a day ahead.

The recipe amount serves 10 so cut it back if you have less people (which I did, what you're looking at is a meal for 2)

Cooking Time Prep time 15 mins, cook 30 mins (plus draining)

 Ingredients

·         500 gm  Greek-style yogurt

·         80 gm cold salted butter, coarsely chopped

·         2 tbsp sage leaves

·         2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

·         ½ tsp each onion, finely chopped

·         250 gm (1¼ cups) carnaroli rice

·         50 ml dry white wine

·         2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

·         1 litre (4 cups) hot chicken stock

·         50 gm finely grated parmesan

Method

1.       Cook half the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming and starting to turn golden (1-2 minutes), add sage and stir occasionally until crisp (20-30 seconds). Drain and reserve leaves and butter separately.

2.       Heat oil and half the remaining butter in a large wide saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion, stir occasionally until translucent (3-4 minutes).

3.       Add rice, stir until grains become transparent (1 minute), deglaze with wine and cook until wine evaporates (1-2 minutes)

4.       Add pepper.

5.       Add stock, a ladle at a time, stirring continuously until stock is almost completely absorbed and rice is tender (16-18 minutes).

6.       Remove from heat, season to taste, stir in parmesan, sage butter and remaining chopped butter, cover and stand for 3 minutes

7.       Serve hot with dollops of yoghurt, scattered with crisp sage.

This rice was such an awesome side dish and the yogurt through it took it to a whole new level -  I will be doing this as a side dish for sure next time I entertain.

Recipe – Thai Style Marinade (my own recipe)

Great for fish!!!

·         1 garlic clove, crushed

·         2cm piece ginger, grated

·         2 tbs mild curry paste (e.g. Massaman)

·         1 tbs tomato paste

·         1 teaspoon stock paste (veg or chicken)

·         1 tsp palm sugar

·         2 tbs lime juice

Website for this image (as I forgot to photograph my own creation)

Bajan BBQ fish - Recipe

talktalk.co.uk

Recipe - Poached Berries on Panettone (My Own Creation)

Ingredients

-          1 Panettone

-          3 punnets blueberries

-          2 tbsp honey

-          ¼ cup grand Marnier

-          1 tbsp brandy cognac

-          1 star anise

-          ½ cinnamon quill

-          3 strips orange peel

Method

1.       Put all ingredients (except the Panettone and blueberries) in a saucepan, bring to the boil then turn off and allow sitting for an hour. Then pour over blueberries, cover with glad wrap and refrigerate till needed.

2.       When ready to serve toast the panettone

3.    Pour over blueberries. Serve

Recipe - Banana Bread

Ingredients

½ cup butter (I used coconut oil instead)

2 eggs

3 small bananas

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

50 mL milk

½ cup caster sugar

1½ cups self-raising flour

Method

1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla.

2. Add eggs separately, beating well.

3. Mash bananas and add to mixture.

4. Dissolve soda in milk and add flour and milk alternately.

5. Bake in 2 greased tins or 1 large tin 180°C for 35 minutes or until cooked.

http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/banana-cake-L979.html

Recipe - Prosciutto and Rockmelon bites

All you need is 80g prosciutto and half a large rockmelon to make this quantity et voila you have a delicious appetiser.

Recipe - Cherry Tomato, Basil and Bocconcini Starter

All you need is:

Punnet of cherry tomatoes
Basil Leaves
Bocconcini
Toothpicks

Half the bocconcini balls and cherry tomatoes and slice any large basil leaves down the centre. Add one of each to a toothpick. Done!

Review - Shahnai Indian Restaurant - Crows Nest

It always puzzles me when restaurants decide to be part of a voucher offer (on their own accord, not held at gunpoint) then treat customers like nuisances when they come to dine on the voucher the restaurant willingly agreed to.

They decided the change the entitlements of the voucher on the spot. Very devious.

The good:

·         very generous and tasty entree

·         great selection of dishes for mains

·          lots of rice and naan left over

The bad:

·          Voucher was for a bottle of wine, we were given a glass

·          I asked for a seafood dish that was mild even saying I don’t mind what it was I’m just really wimpy when it comes to hot dishes but I was given a medium dish that I couldn’t cope with

·         After the mains we tried to get their attention for one hour to say we’re ready for the dessert we were entitled to but the staff had made themselves unavailable by sitting behind the bar with their heads down so when it hit an hour we just got up and left. Tried to give a wave of thanks but couldn’t even get their attention for that.