Picnic Cob & dinner pic

As usual i changed it a bit..
the recipe called for zuchini, eggplant, sweet potato, basil leaves, bocconcini.. none of which i have and in the case of the zuchini & egglplant both i dislike! I was going to get some bocconcini to try out.. but i forgot!
I substituted the bocconcini for some pepato cheese (pretty waxy, hard but crumbly) & some normal cheddar. I substitued the chunky red chili dip for pizza paste sauce, the semi dried tomatoes for fresh tomato and the veggies for triple smoked ham, mild italian salami & pepperoni... and i forgot about adding any salad greens to it.. thinking about it now wouldn't have done well anyways (considering in the recipe, which i didnt read to the end) they cook it.. i put 1 quarter in the oven, was yummy and the other quarter for 1min in the microwave and it was just as yummy, if not more melted and hot..
the next morning while clearing the bench i realised i left out the leftover salami & pepperoni! whoops!!!! Worked it out to be roughly the same cost as the veggie version, i found that the deli was cheaper than buying 100g packs from the over-packaged fridge deli section.. but then thats probably normal.. however the over packaged deli meats probably last longer in the fridge unopened..

finish up with a dinner pic, veal chop or cutlet.. with some salad.. i did add some addictive whole egg mayo to this..

Amaretto mud cake

I made a interesting mud cake for Jamie's 31st Birthday!!! :)
Here is the caramel mud cake recipe that i tweaked:
Caramel Mud cake
From AWW Cook

Prep time: 30 mins (plus cooling time) Cooking time: 2 hrs 10 mins Serves: 12

This cake is so moist and dense that it can be difficult to determine if it is cooked. The baking times given are your best guide, and when cooked, the cake should have a thick, sugary crust. If you like, cut the crust off the cake, although the frosting will soften it.

250g unsalted butter, chopped
200g white eating chocolate, chopped coarsely
2¼ C (495g) firmly packed brown sugar
1½ C (375ml) water
2 C (300g) plain flour
2/3 C (100g) self-raising flour
1 tspn vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten lightly

1. Preheat oven to slow (150°C/130°C fan-forced). Grease deep 22cm round cake pan; line base and side with baking paper, extending paper 5cm above edge of pan.
2. Stir butter, chocolate, sugar, and the water in medium saucepan over low heat until mixture is smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl; cool 15minutes. Whisk in sifted flours, then extract and eggs.
3. Pour mixture into pan. Bake, uncovered, about 2 hours. Stand cake 10 minutes then turn onto wire rack to cool.
4. Make caramel frosting. Place cake, top-side up, on serving plate, spread with frosting.

Caramel frosting
125g butter, chopped
1 C (220g) firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 C (80ml) milk
1½ C (240g) icing sugar

or
MY caramel glaze
(doesnt keep for longer than 3 days or in high heat)
2C icing mixture
1/2C brown sugar
dash of amaretto & water to right consistency

Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in brown sugar and milk; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes, cool 10 minutes. Gradually stir in sifted icing sugar until frosting is of a spreadable consistency.


I had just only came back from shoping before i made the cake, so i wasnt about to go out again. i had just about 100g of white chocolate... for some reason i thought some cream would make up for the difference.. the cake was moist, dense.. very dense.. very sweet..
I used 1/3cup of amaretto tasted the mixture.. and tasted some more.. lol needed more amaretto and tested some more.. yummm .. lol do u see a pattern?
the recipe makes alot of cake batter! I baked mine in a large loaf tin that i have.. i wasnt keen on putting it in a round cake tin or 2 slice trays.. i measured out my loaf tin and my round tin and found my loaf tin was larger in capacity and its a good thing it did too! Either because the recipe uses mainly plain flour or because its so rich with sugar.. it does not rise much at all.. nevermind that it cooks for 2hrs! The most expensive part was no doubt the amaretto! In the end i made a $15 mud cake.. lol.. just with the alcohol!

i also added some thickened cream & some extra flour to get the consistency right. (mine was too runny thanks to the cream & amaretto) I also brushed some extra amaretto on top of the cake, to soften the crust and add more flavour..

It was a great cake, terrible served cold from the fridge... but great at room temperature! Very easy to make in very little time. * i used choc thins in a lazy attempt to decorate the cake..

Portugese tarts

I sent some Portuguese tarts with DH to share at work yesterday.
I had used a different recipe before but i tried this new one which require cooking the custard, where the other one you only had to microwave for 30secs (and it apparently did something, not sure what exactly!) Don't have the microwave at the moment so it good to find a new recipe. This new recipe also called for lemon zest to be cooked with the custard and then removed which i think makes them even more awesome! Recipe from here and they have pictures

Portuguese custard tarts

Ingredients: 3 egg yolks, ½ cup caster sugar, 2 tbsp cornflour, ¾ cup cream, ½ cup water, strip of lemon rind, 2 tsp vanilla essence, 1 sheet of ready-made puff pastry

Steps: Preheat the oven to hot, 220 degrees Celsius. Grease a 12 hole (1/3 cup/80mL) muffin pan.

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a small saucepan until combined. Gradually whisk in the cream and water until smooth.
Add the lemon rind, stir over medium heat until the mixture boil and thickens. Remove pan from the heat, remove and discard the rind, stir in the vanilla essence and then transfer the custard to a medium-sized bowl.
Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin from forming as the custard cools).

Cut the puff pastry in half, stack the two halves on top of each other and then roll the pastry up tightly, and cut the log into twelve 1cm rounds. Lay pastry cut side up and roll each round to about 10cm width using a rolling pin. Press the rounds into the prepared muffin pans with your fingers.

Transfer spoonfuls of the cooled custard into the pastry cases and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until browned well. Stand tarts for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Tastes best when served fresh!

Also a genius way of getting good pastry rounds! not as simple as using a circle cookie cutter tho (or a glass, cup, mug etc). i also prefer using filo pastry.



on another note, photobucket seems to be down. (like non-existant down) I also watched the toaster short its self out before it finished doing my toast on the weekend, so i have no toaster! (and keep forgetting to get another one)

Caramel slice

i dont have my usual recipe on me at the moment, so i attempted this one which is similar (theres not many that are actually different) it was great. a friend of mine that i made them for occasionally told me she freezes them 1) they last longer as her son and hubby cant find them, 2) i guess its harder to eat quickly.. am i am yet to try this out.. so i think i will give it a shot!
here is the link
Makes 18.
Ingredients

* 1 cup plain flour, sifted
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
* 125g butter, melted
*
Caramel
* 395g can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 tablespoons golden syrup
* 50g butter, chopped
*
Topping
* 200g dark chocolate, chopped
* 1/4 cup pouring cream

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line base and sides of a 3cm deep, 16.5cm x 26cm slice pan with baking paper, allowing 2cm overhang at both long ends.
2. Combine flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Add butter and stir to combine. Press mixture into base of pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden. Set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Make caramel: Combine condensed milk, golden syrup and butter in an 8-cup capacity heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every minute, or until light golden and thickened slightly. Pour warm caramel over warm base. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are deep golden. Transfer to wire rack. Set aside to cool for 1 hour.
4. Make topping: Place chocolate and cream in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH (100%) for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until smooth. Spread over cooled caramel. Set aside until firm. Cut into squares. Serve.

Notes & tips

Variation: For a nutty variation, you could add 1 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts to the caramel before pouring over the base in step 3.
Source

Super Food Ideas - July 2005 , Page 26 Recipe by Janelle Bloom