Choc-orange gluten free biscuits

I've eaten a lot of gluten free biscuits in my time and to understate it, most are disappointing. I'm not sure at what point it became acceptable to ditch gluten and flavour from recipes, but somewhere along the line, it apparently did.

Anyway, after a week of privation with ration book cooking, it was definitely time for something decadent. Something that would melt in the mouth and make me feel good and just a bit naughty. Something that photographed well and didn't look just a little like the dog's dinner. It had to involve chocolate and I particularly had a hankering for a good biscuit. Was I hoping for too much?

Let me just say first that I've never been that into biscuits, with a few exceptions. I used to love Oreos, Chocolate Wheatens and those thin, plain coffee biscuits that were so good for dunking. Otherwise, I can take or leave the average biscuit, or even the fancy ones for that matter. For some reason, I suddenly had to have a biscuit I could ravish. Not the bought type either, but the home cooked, rich, delicious kind. And they had to be gluten free.

To add to my list of exacting demands, I decided that nothing less than a gluten free biscuit that didn't taste like a gluten free biscuit would do. I didn't want to take that first bite, filled with anticipation, and find that I'd replicated the gritty, dry and overly sweet taste that so many store bought gluten free biscuits seem to have. Not after a week on ration food!

What I came up with is my new, all-time favourite gluten free chocolate biscuit. They are full of cocoa, moist but not soggy, sweet but not sickly (unless you try eating more than two in a go and then you may need an ambulance) and most importantly, they do not taste gluten free. At least I don't think so. To put it into perspective, Tim, who I agree will eat just about anything I cook, is addicted and has asked me to hide them. Hide properly too - not put them in one of my usual hiding places. The problem is that I'll still know where they are and I have zero self control.


But down to business. For all my hype, these don't take much to make. I found the dough was a bit sticky so it's preferable that you roll it on or between some non-stick parchment or a baking mat. I also used flour to dust the board, top of the dough and the rolling pin, but try not to use too much. You don't want to fundamentally change the dough by adding too much more flour. I also found it easier to halve the dough before rolling, but you might be more skilled than me.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups gluten free plain flour
3/4 cup good quality cocoa
150g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
fine zest of 1 orange
1 large egg
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp pure vanilla essence
pinch of salt

For the filling:
150g dark chocolate (plus extra)
3/4 cup sour cream
finely grated zest of one orange

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until it becomes pale and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, milk, zest and salt. Mix together well. Sift the flour and cocoa into the mix and beat slowly until it just combines, and then beat faster until all the ingredients have bound together. Turn out on to a floured board or parchment paper and knead gently with lightly floured hands until it just forms a firm ball.

Halve the dough and roll each piece to about 3-4 mm thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out shapes. You'll get around three dozen individual biscuits. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper, leaving just a little space between each. They don't spread very much at all. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Melt 150g dark chocolate in a bowl. Remove from the heat and stir in sour cream and zest. Stir until you get a shiny, smooth mixture and then set it aside to cool a little. As it cools it should start to stiffen up. [If it still looks too runny when it cools down, add some more melted chocolate and stir well.]

Top half the biscuits with about a tablespoon of filling in the centre, and place the other biscuit on top, pressing down slightly. Store in an airtight container and hide if necessary!

Gluten free chocolate chestnut cake

In the past, Tim's seemingly constant twittering used to drive me so nuts that on one occasion I physically removed his iPhone from him and threw it away. (He couldn't understand why I objected so vehemently to him tweeting people he didn't even know while we were out to dinner, in bed, or on our wedding day.) He doesn't have time for it as much these days which is excellent, and there have been far fewer phone related incidents in our home as a result.

I actually do have a twitter account. It's a fairly recent thing and I joined up initially to see what all the fuss was about. My personal experience is that it's something to do to take a break from other tasks or when I'm procrastinating from study. You can steal a moment on Twitter and read about the second-to-second happenings of people you don't know, or post your own. For example: 'Kitchenmade is bored and needs another coffee.' Thrilling stuff.

All of that aside, if you can get past the inanities, tantrums, spruiking of products and people who tweet every five seconds, there is some good stuff to be found via Twitter. It turns out that there are a lot of like-minded people out there who just love food and cooking and sharing their recipes and knowledge. For me, it's been a good way of keeping up with what's going on in the foodisphere.

The point of all of this is that a few days ago, I was on Twitter and I saw a post that caught my eye with two key words: 'chocolate' and 'chestnut'. Following the link, I found a recipe that I just couldn't go past for a gluten free chocolate and chestnut cake. I've been wanting to do something like this for ages and this looked simple and delicious. It got extra ticks because it's gluten free and because chestnut is the best nut you can eat due to it's zero fat content. In fact, as far as chocolate cakes go, this is about the healthiest I've ever seen without compromising on taste. The result is a smooth, moist texture, and just enough sweetness to make it rich without being sickly. I honestly cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a cake so much.

Now as always, I deviated slightly from the original recipe. First, I added rum. Second, I didn't have a spring-form square tin so I lined a small tray with baking paper and it worked just fine. However, I'm making this again for a dinner party on the weekend and it will be in regular round tin form. I also used a slightly different method which I've described, below. Finally, I glazed it with a dark chocolate-butter-coffee combo, but I wouldn't do that again because you just don't need it.

Ingredients
425g chestnut puree (I used a full 439g tin)
250g 70% cocoa chocolate (I couldn't get it so used 63% which was fine)
125g butter (I used unsalted)
6 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rum
60g caster sugar
25g brown sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC

In a food processor combine chestnut puree, butter, egg yolks and vanilla.

Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Add it to the chestnut mixture, making sure it's well combined. You might need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. When done, place the mixture into a large bowl.

Whisk the egg whites until doubled in volume and fluffy. Add the caster sugar bit by bit and continue to whisk until you get a glossy, stiff mixture. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top and stir through gently. I just turned the electric mixer down low for this bit.

Add the meringue mixture to the chestnut mixture a little at a time and fold through gently. I used a hand whisk. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes.

When it's cool, remove from the tin and dust with cocoa, icing sugar or glaze if you really want to.

See the recipe in its original form at: http://www.frillsinthehills.com/2010/05/sunday-baking-projectgluten-free.html

[Oh, and if you're wondering why the photo quality is so different this time, it's because I only had the compact camera on hand]

Birthday cake

Yesterday was my birthday. It wasn't very exciting. Not that I was really expecting it to be, especially when it became clear that if we were going to have birthday cake, I'd have to make it myself.

To put this in perspective, I've been cooking ever since I was a kid and I can't actually remember many occasions when I haven't made my own birthday cake. There was the time when I was about eight that my cousin made something with lots of cream and blue icing. And another time mum made a M*A*S*H themed cake with a helicopter on top. But that's about it. I suppose the up-side of the arrangement is that I do whatever I feel like on the day.

Yesterday, I felt like chocolate and rum should be combined in some fashion. At the same time, I didn't want a really heavy, nut-meal based cake that wouldn't rise very much or would be too rich. I felt like your basic type cake. I haven't had one of those in many years.

I used a white spelt flour to achieve the basic style cake, although you could just use a normal self raising wheat flour and forgo the baking powder. I liked it and since people asked for seconds, I think it was a winner.

Ingredients

2 cups white spelt flour

200g dark chocolate

125g butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cocoa

1/4 - 1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp rum

1 tbsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180º C.

In a bowl over a saucepan of hot water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring as it melts.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture looks pale and thickens slightly. Fold in the chocolate and butter mixture until well combined. Add add the sour cream and rum and combine well. Sift in the dry ingredients and add 1/4 cup milk. Fold in gently or use the slow setting on the electric mixer. The mixture should not be overly runny, but if you feel that it's too stiff, add some more milk.

Line a spring form baking tin and spoon the mixture in. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. At 45 minutes, test whether it's cooked by stabbing it with a skewer. Push it in right the way to the bottom of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done.

I iced this with a plain white icing spiked with melted white chocolate and topped off with little pink hearts. I enjoyed it, including for breakfast today.

Oh, and I've carefully cut myself out of this photo and left the much more photogenic Layla in as the face of the evening.

A carnivore's dream

Tim and I didn't used to be much into meat. Not any particular view about it, just not something we ate a lot of. Since Tim did a stint in the north, he has a taste for steak. Unfortunately for him, steak is something I don't cook at home. Ever. I leave that to the experts, and to Nathan, the 'king of the grill' (or so his apron says). For me, steak is a real going-out meal; a treat. I'm not a great steak cook, so I don't try. I think it disrespects the meat to cook it badly. And besides, nobody likes gnawing on rubber posing as sirloin. So I stick to other meat dishes.

One of Tim's favourites is a rolled veal dish I do from time to time. It's a real carnivore's dream. Meat rolled in meat. I've seen many versions of this sort of dish. My mother cooks little rolls of beef in tomato sauce and serves with pasta. Yum!

I got this idea from a French cook book and what I really love about it is the difference in texture between the meat and the potatoes. It's important to make sure that the ingredients are all chopped very finely because the last thing you want is a chunk of onion or a big flat leaf of parsley ruining the texture. Having spent time chopping and grating on the finest setting, I have to say it is a very simple dish to make and yet somehow impressive. Tim refers to it as meatloaf. It sort of is, but just a little bit fancy...

Ingredients

500g pork and veal mince

400g veal steaks (about 4-5)

2 eggs

1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

3 tbsp finely grated parmesan

1 finely chopped garlic clove

scant tbsp coarse black pepper

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp fine lemon zest

1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine with your hands everything except the veal steaks. If the veal steaks are a little thick, flatten them slightly with a meat mallet. They don't need to be super thin though.

Place a quantity of the mince mix in the middle of a piece of steak. Roll it up and secure with a toothpick or skewer. Repeat with the rest. Brown these off very slightly in a fry pan or oven-safe pot in a little olive oil. You just want a little bit of colour - you're not trying to cook them. If you're using a fry pan, remove them after cooking and place into a lightly oiled oven dish or pot with a bit of room. Add the following to the dish or pot:

1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped

3 sprigs thyme

1 cup beef stock

1 cup dry white wine

6-8 small potatoes

1 tbsp corn flour (sprinkle over)

salt to taste

Add the dry ingredients first and then pour in the wine and stock. Cook, covered, in a moderate oven for around an hour, until the potatoes have soaked up the flavour and have softened without becoming mushy. Enjoy with some crusty bread and fresh butter, and a glass of something cold.

Friends and baked salmon

I'm sitting here exhausted and slightly sore, but I can't complain. It's been the kind of weekend that I love - busy and full of friends and food. We had our friends from the UK, Sue and Pete (Jayne's folks) stay for a couple of nights and while they brought the English weather with them, we managed to show them a side of Canberra they really enjoyed.

Having done the main sights before, and being too wet for Floriade, we thought our activities should be inside as much as possible, and revolve around food. It wasn't just my preference - Sue used to be a caterer.

We started in Fyshwick, went to the markets in Kingston, and wound up in Woden. Along the way, I picked up organic tomatoes, salad greens, cucumbers, and the most delicate little grey zucchini I've seen in years. I bought a deliciously fresh foccacia for lunch, and we also got honey, chocolate and nuts. Sue and Pete really enjoyed all the taste testing along the way, and on Saturday night we had a party of seven for cannelloni and Italian mascarpone tart with blackberries (that Tim and I picked last summer) and we culminated last night with dinner of baked Atlantic salmon, salad and kipfler potatoes with garlic and parsley.

Then this morning they left. Tim and I were a little sad to see them go because they're great company and we've enjoyed ourselves immensely. To ease the pain, we threw ourselves into shovelling some more of the 20 cubic meters of mulch that was delivered to our driveway on Saturday morning, as well as lots of weeding and shredding. The upshot is not only that we've been well fed, but our front yard is looking less like a dirt farm tonight. I have to say, it's such a satisfying feeling to see the results. Almost as good as turning out a perfectly cooked meal.

This evening, in between rain storms, we finally took Ladybug for a well-deserved walk up the hills. She went slightly nuts. Tim and I just tried to keep a decent pace and not think about how tired we were. From the top of the hill, at my favourite spot, we stopped to look around. What I took in was inspiring. Towards the Brindabellas there was deep purple and grey and thunder and rain; to the north, Telstra Tower was shrouded in pinks and mauves and a downpour of light grey; the airport was looking dark and menacing and we were both happy not to be flying tonight; over the south, the sky was clearing and there were actually patches of blue. We watched planes come and go for a bit, and I found myself thinking how much I love this place.

Frank Sinatra, pot roast, and me

I have had some particularly odd dreams lately. I have a feeling they're food related on account of me either having eaten new and unfamiliar things for dinner that have set me off, or because there are things I'm thinking about cooking. Whatever the cause, it's made for strange times.

The other night I had what began as one of those unforgettable dreams. I dreamed I was dancing with Frank Sinatra. It was when Frank was arguably at his sexiest too. He was about 40 years old and had filled out a little bit, but still looked fit. I recall his blue, blue eyes, the cut of his beautiful suit, the cocky hat and the commanding way he held me while we danced. He was gently crooning something into my ear. I don't recall what song it was. I was entranced and had decided not to resist the inevitable attempt to seduce me.

Just as Frank drew me close with those strong arms around my waist, I stepped back and took the sight of him in, breathlessly. I looked into those clear, blue eyes that were smouldering with lust, and I asked Frank Sinatra to hold on while I went and cooked dinner.

What the hell is wrong with me?!

I told Tim. He laughed and wondered what it meant. I have no idea. Would I turn down Frank Sinatra to cook dinner? (I mean, if I was a single woman of course.) I just don't know. The point is that unfinished business has haunted me for days as I wondered why I stopped to cook dinner, for whom was I cooking and what kind of a dinner was so damned important that it couldn't wait until Frank had finished his song?

Instinctively I think I must have gone off to cook a pot roast. I've waxed lyrical about the pot roast on several occasions so I think it's a pretty good bet. It's a stable, wholesome meal and one that a woman probably would have stopped to cook in the 1950's in the middle of a Frank Sinatra seduction. Anyway, I think it's probably time to share my way of doing it. (Since I can't share how Frank did it.)

1. Use almost any cut of meat. For today's demonstration, I've used just over a kilo of roasting beef. You could also use pork or lamb (pork is amazing done this way). The slow, long cook time should soften the meat and make it just about melt in your mouth.

2. Heat up a decent splash of olive oil in a heavy pot that can be transferred to the oven. If you don't have one, use a frying pan for this step. Throw in a quartered onion and several unpeeled cloves of garlic. Place the beef in the pot and sear each side. You're not trying to cook the meat through, just brown.

3. Throw in one large, roughly chopped carrot, about a tablespoon of sweet paprika, half a cup of good beef stock and a bouquet garni - parsley stems, thyme and bay leaf. Add some salt and pepper. I also threw in about a tablespoon of chopped parsley leaves that I had left.

4. Put the lid on the pot and put it into the oven for about four hours (or until very tender) at 160º C. At about every hour or 45 minutes, baste the meat with the juices.

5. When it's all done, I don't strain the juices for serving purposes, but I do remove the carrot and bouquet garni. You can use the juice as is, although I often slightly thicken it with a little corn flour.

Dream well.

Winter weekend warmer

I know I've been a bit slack with the blogging lately. It's been for the usual reasons - someone did not create enough hours in the day!!!  

In the last two weeks, Fleur and Dave's wedding has come and gone, I've managed to finish a major project at work, and we're finally on the path to getting the new kitchen. There's actually been a lot of good cooking and eating along the way, but just no time to share and even less sleep. In fact, I think I'm now over-tired because it's 1 am and I can't sleep. Why not blog?

This is one of my new favourites - chunky chorizo pasta sauce. It's warm, it's chunky, it's comforting and it's really easy to do. And it's gluten free. It's all good. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. Once you've washed & chopped, it takes very little time to throw it all together. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days and goes well with rice, although I really enjoyed this on toast as well. 

More from me soon, but for now, here's a recipe.

Ingredients

2x raw Spanish chorizo (about 250g), sliced

3 cups skinned & diced eggplant (about 1 medium sized eggplant)

400g can pureed tomatoes

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 1/4 cup diced zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp hot chilli powder (optional)

salt to taste

1 packet of linguine pasta

Pour about a third of the olive oil into a pan and over a medium heat, fry the chorizo slices until brown. Sprinkle the paprika in during this process. Put the chorizo aside in a bowl when cooked. 

Pour the rest of the olive oil into the pan and soften the onion. Add the garlic and eggplant and fry until the eggplant starts to soften and brown. This won’t take long. Add the zucchini and diced fresh tomatoes and fry for another couple of minutes, moving around the pan with a wooden spoon. 

Add the remaining ingredients, except for the salt and chilli, and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Don’t overcook or the vegetables will go mushy. Stir the cooked chorizo through. 

At this point, have a taste and add some salt if needed and the chilli powder if you’re using it. Serve sauce on pasta with parmesan if you like it, although you really don't need it. There's so much flavour going on in this one without it.

OK. Probably time to try sleeping again. 

Poached mandarins

Mandarins are in season and boy are they nice at the moment! They're sweet, compact and smell gorgeous. They're also such a convenient fruit - no need for a washing or a knife, no drips or spills even with a juicy one, and each little segment always comes away so beautifully in a bite-sized piece. Altogether a satisfying design.

We've been eating a lot of them au naturale of late, but I thought I'd try something different for dessert and poach them. Now these worked really well and are so simple to make, but I learned two important things in the process:  first, star anise may be small but it packs a punch in the flavour and aroma departments so go easy on it; second, mandarins can be surprisingly delicate creatures. 

My solution is not to use more than one star anise at a time, and not to poach mandarins for longer than about 15-20 minutes, at a gentle simmer only. They can sit in the warm syrup for a while and infuse longer that way. Also handle with care when serving. 

Now about the spice in this - star anise is that little bit edgier and different and lends a whole other dimension to a dish, but I  appreciate that it is an acquired taste. Even the fragrance is quite strong and can be overwhelming. If you're definitely not a star anise fan, cinnamon would go just as well with these flavours. If you don't know, just try it. You may be very pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients:

4 whole mandarins, skins off

3/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup dry vermouth

1/4 cup orange blossom water*

1 star anise (or one cinnamon stick if you hate star anise)

tiny pinch of saffron threads

In a pan that's big enough to hold four mandarins without cramping them, but not too big, place all of the ingredients except the mandarins. Stir for a minute or two over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. 

When the sugar is dissolved, or mostly so, turn the heat right down, place the mandarins in and pour over enough water to just cover. Very gently simmer for no more than about 20 minutes. The fruit should be soft, but not the mushy consistency of baby food or in danger of falling apart when you lift it out.

Gingerly remove the mandarins and star anise and set aside. (Actually, you can thrown the star anise out unless you want to use it as a decoration and photograph your efforts.) Bring the liquid to a boil and boil it rapidly until it reduces and thickens into a decent syrup. 

Serve mandarins cold or hot with syrup poured over the top, and a dollop of double-cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or on their own if you like.

*You can find orange blossom water at Middle Eastern grocers. There's a good one in Mawson if you're in Canberra. 

Cooling pomegranite rice salad

It's been almost unbearably hot in Canberra over the last couple of weeks and I have been going through what's a rare phase for me of just not feeling like cooking, or for that matter, sitting in a hot room in front of a hot computer. Don't panic! We've still been eating, but it's been basic. On several occasions, Tim's wandered down to the kitchen to ask me what's for dinner and I've pointed him in the direction of the toaster or the supermarket. Or given him a  sufficiently dirty look to send him on his way in silence. Suffice it to say that my weekends spent in kitchen doesn't hold the same allure when it's in the high 30's before you turn the oven on! 

The upside of this time of year is that we start to see some pomegranites in the supermarket. Pomegranites are one of my favourite things and a real gem. At the moment, what you'll find is imports, but they'll do. I've always thought that pomegranites look ancient and regal with their little crown at one end, and seeds that are like sublime, shining rubies that explode with sweetness in your mouth. Part of the attraction is the knowledge that pomegranites have been enjoyed and revered for thousands of years. I have no doubt that they've had the same mystifying effect on humans for all that time. Anyway, I love them, and the intrepid Tim has grown to love them too, so long as he doesn't have to be involved in prying the seeds from the skin. (It's not that hard).

Anyway, for anyone else who's sweltering in the heat and for whom the oven or stove resembles hell in the suburbs, here's something cool. It's one of our favourite salads and tastes just as good the next day. It's sweet & sour, cooling and refreshing. If you vary it, the main thing is that you hit an even contrast between sweet & savoury - sweet sultanas and pomegranite and savoury carrot, zucchini & herbs. Then the zing of the lemon based dressing to set it off.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice, cooled

1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped 

1 large carrot, peeled & grated

1 medium zucchini, grated

2 shallots, chopped

1/2 cup sultanas

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (or 1/4 cup pine nuts, dry roasted & chopped)

seeds from 1 large pomegranite

Dressing:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup or so of lemon juice

1 large clove of garlic

1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 decent pinch of salt

For the salad, just throw everything into a bowl and toss until well combined.

For the dressing, thrown everything in a blender or food processor and whizz until the garlic is finely chopped and everything's well mixed. Taste the dressing - don't be afraid to use more lemon juice. If you're using lemon juice from a bottle, you may need a bit more. You want a nice, zesty kick to it. 

Pour the dressing on and toss the salad until well combined. ENJOY!

Man colds and comfort food

I've been back at work for two days and not even struggling. The same can't be said for Tim, who has a man-cold and is suffering. Sadly, he does not suffer in silence. Calling him 'Rudolph' didn't help. We now have the paramedics on stand by and my mother is scheduled to make chicken soup in the morning after she gets home from night shift. Sigh...

Comfort food is the word in these situations, preferably something you've got close at hand. Cottage pie on this occasion. It's warm without being too hot so on a warm, but not scorching, day like today, it still works. It's comforting without being heavy or stodgy. It's good for you... relatively good for you... And it's delicious. I actually made this on the weekend and the brilliance of it is that it is not only comforting and able to tempt the palate of someone on his death bed (aka the couch), it also freezes really, really well. So I was set when I got home to my poor, sick, germie, man-cold victim.

This recipe makes enough for several meals for two hungry people. Or it could probably feed an average family with leftovers. Unless your family is made up of rugby players and then it's an entree. 

Ingredients:

tbsp or two of olive oil

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, finally chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped or grated

1 kg beef mince

1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

140g tub tomato paste

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 tsp ground cumin (optional)

1 tsp dried oregano

salt & pepper

1 tsp finely ground chilli powder (optional)

1 kg potatoes, peeled & boiled

60 g butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cups frozen peas

1/2 cup grated cheese (or more if you like)

In a pan with a little olive oil, soften the onions, garlic & carrots. There's no need to brown them. Then throw in the mince and parsley. I don't use the leanest of lean mince as I find it gets too dry. Brown off the meat and make sure you break it apart with a spoon or spatula as you go. You don't want big chunks and you want to spread the flavour.

Add the parsley, tomato paste, wine, oregano & cumin if you like it. Some people don't, but it gives it a really nice taste and it's not hot, so leave it in if you can. Same with the chilli - I like it a little hot. I know it's not traditional, but whatever. A hint of chilli, and that's all it should be, gives the flavour extra depth. Salt & pepper to taste. Don't overdo the salt though.

Make up the mashed potato. I've given my ingredients, but do it however you like. Salt to taste but again, not too much. Not a health kick, you just don't need salt taking over a flavoursome dish. 

To assemble, put the mince into a baking dish and flatten out a bit. Then a layer of frozen peas - they'll soften up in the oven. Flatten them down. Then gently top with the mash. If you like, scatter some cheese on top. More or less as you like. 

Cook for around half an hour or until you see the mince bubbling a bit and the cheese is brown. Alternatively, cook for a bit, then stick the cheese on top and brown under a grill. All the ingredients are cooked and at a minimum you could probably just grill, but I like to give it a chance to get all the flavours working and each layer sticking together really well. 

Boozy poached pears with caramel and meringue

This weekend was cold and wet in the 'Berra. No matter. All the better for staying inside and cooking. Especially cooking with alcohol. Tim walked in after a trip to the hardware store and was just about overcome by the heady fragrance of cinnamon, orange and sweet wine wafting through the entire house. I couldn't get him out of the kitchen after that! 

This dessert was inspired by a very posh version that I saw in a magazine, made of ingredients I've never heard of. This is my version and it worked well. While it's cooking it sort of smells like Christmas and then it looks classy and tastes gorgeous. As with most of what I cook, it's really simple too so don't let the different components put you off.

Caramel

395g can sweetened condensed milk.

So simple!!! Take the label off the can and pierce two small holes in the top of the tin. Then put the tin in a small pan and fill with water until about 1cm from the top. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a vigorous simmer. Remember to top the pan up with boiling water every so often. Let it simmer for about 3-4 hours and you should get a lovely thick caramel. Let the can cool for a bit, remove the caramel and refridgerate. Mine could have been thicker, but I didn't leave it long enough. 

Pears

2 medium sized pears, peeled and cored if you can. Leave the stems on. (you could actually fit two more in the pan and use the same amount of syrup ingredients, but it was just Tim and me and I didn't want to waste so we had leftover syrup instead.)

Syrup

2 cups water 

1/4 cup caster sugar + 2 tbsp extra

1/2 cup sweet wine (or you could use sherry)

1 cinnamon stick

2 strips of orange peel

Put all the ingredients in a pan, except for 2 tbsp caster sugar. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently. Place the pears in the pan, cover and simmer for about an hour. They should not be mushy! If the pan lid won't fit on the pears without pressing down on the stems, put a large bowl over the top - I actually used the rice-cooker bowl. 

When done, remove the pears, orange peel and cinnamon stick, put in the extra sugar and boil down until it's a little bit thicker. You can add another splash of wine or sherry if you want to. Let it cool a little bit before using. 

Meringue

1 egg white

1/4 cup almond meal

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp corn flour

1 pinch salt

Put the egg white into a small bowl and beat with an electric mixer until it starts getting stiff. Then slowly add the sugar, corn flour and salt and beat until very stiff. With a wooden spoon, very gently fold in the almond meal. Take your time and don't slap the air out of the egg whites.

On a piece of  baking paper, mark out two circles with pencil. Turn the paper over and onto a baking tray so you can still see the marks. Lightly dust with corn flour - I use a pastry brush. Halve the mixture between the circles and spread until even. Cook for about 15 minutes in a low-ish oven - I used 150ºC fan forced.

To assemble: 

On a plate, put the meringue circle down and top with a small amount of caramel. Place the pear gently on top, and spoon over some of the syrup. Garnish with strips of orange zest. 

If this isn't enough sugar for you or your guests, place a small bowl of the caramel and one of the syrup nearby for people to help themselves.

Baked ricotta cheesecake with saffron apricots

At long last, a killer cheesecake recipe that isn't too bad for you and a real joy to make. It's so simple. I don't make cheesecake often and I've been meaning to try this recipe out for ages. It's from an old edition of Delicious and looks divine, tastes better and is gluten free.  No story tonight - just a fabulous recipe.

From Delicious magazine, Issue 54, October 2006, page 116

Ingredients:

250g dried apricots

2 tbsp brandy or sweet wine (I used brandy)

1/2 tsp saffron threads

1 1/3 cup (295 g) caster sugar

1 kg low-fat fresh ricotta

1/2 cup lemon curd

1 tsp vanilla extract

grated zest of 1 lemon

40g cornflour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cinnamon quill

6 cardamom pods, bruised

Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 170º C. Grease a 20 cm spring form cake pan.

Combine the apricots in a bowl with the brandy and saffron, then stand for one hour. I stood them at room temp and used a little more brandy.

Meanwhile, place 1/3 cup caster sugar in a food processor with the ricotta, lemon curd (I used bought stuff because I was feeling lazy), vanilla, lemon zest and cornflour, and pulse to combine Add eggs and process until smooth. I actually used a mixer because I don't have a processor and it worked just fine. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top, then tap several times on the bench top to remove any air bubbles. Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the oven comes out clean. (took closer to an hour for me, so keep an eye on it) Turn off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar, then leave the cheesecake to cool completely. 

Meanwhile, place the remaining 1 cup sugar in a pan with 1 1/4 cups cold water (310ml). Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then add cinnamon, cardamom and apricot mixture. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.  Transfer the apricots to a bowl, then increase the heat to medium-high and simmer syrup until thickened. (Keep an eye on it, stir regularly and don't let it burn). Pour the syrup over the apricots and cool completely.

Dust the cake with icing sugar, slice and serve with apricots and syrup.

Melbourne Cup Day...or whatever...

Here in the ACT, a new public holiday was gazetted by the local government last year, much to the chagrin of cafes and caterers everywhere. It's called 'Family and Community Day' or something of that ilk. The fact that it just so happens to fall on the first Tuesday in November, traditionally Melbourne Cup Day, is merely coincidental...

That aside, what it means is that now you actually have to think about what you're going to have for lunch, rather than wait for the inevitable announcement over the office PA that signals to all that you must now surrender yourself to being herded off by your supervisor to the local club or staff common room for Melbourne Cup lunch/afternoon tea/drinks. These are traditionally disappointing affairs in terms of the food, made only slightly more bearable if you happen to have backed a winner in your own right or gotten lucky with the office sweep. (Or in the case of some people who won't be mentioned, gotten so drunk that you're beyond caring about food, the race or even know why you're huddled with your colleagues around the TV in your boss's office at three in the afternoon).

I have to admit that I'm looking forward to spending this afternoon with friends in their back yard, BBQ on the burn, champagne in hand (the decent stuff), rather than lining up with my colleagues to trawl past the $15 cold buffet that consists almost entirely of pressed chicken and coleslaw, and having to gush about whoever organised  it doing a wonderful job and pretending that the caterers have been generous and done us a good deal, while really feeling ripped off and wondering why we bothered. This little ritual is almost always followed by the act of balancing one's plate while one surrenders one's drinks ticket to a surly bartender who wishes he was at the track rather than dealing with a room full of slightly inebriated desk jockeys, for a glass of $4 a bottle plonk that would otherwise be bound for next month's school leavers heading for their first big binge. 

So really, thank goodness for the public holiday, whatever it's called!

Anyhow, I got thinking about the traditional chicken salad and champagne lunch. Believe it or not, I can't ever recall making chicken salad before. I didn't feel like making one now. So what I did was this instead - rolled chicken thigh fillets served with salad. It's still good. 

Ingredients:

4 chicken thigh fillets (I used organic free range and you can taste the difference)

olive oil

For marinade:

4 tbsp honey

1 generous tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp sesame seeds

For stuffing:

4 tbsp fresh ricotta

2 tbsp polenta

2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped

2 tbsp roasted pine nuts, roughly chopped

1 tsp fresh or dried parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Mix up the marinade and set aside. Pat dry the chicken thighs on some paper towel.

Mix all of the stuffing ingredients together. It doesn't look like much but it will be enough because you're not flattening out the chicken at all. Turn the chicken over and put a couple of tablespoons of the mixture, moulding it into a cylinder shape to fit the length of the thigh. Roll the meat over it - no need to secure or anything.

Oil a small baking dish and place the four fillets in, making sure they fit snugly up against each other. This will keep the filling and the flavour in. Brush the marinade over the chicken. Use the whole lot even if it looks very thick. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about an hour on medium heat. At about 45 minutes in, remove from the over, take the foil off and baste the chicken with the juices forming. Put it back into the oven and let it brown up for about 15 minutes. When it comes out, it should have coloured up beautifully and when you open in up, the meat should be moist and full of flavour. 

I served this with a mixed salad of butter lettuce, thinly sliced radish, tomato, baby capers, boiled egg, some small blobs of ricotta, lemon zest, basil leaves and seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. It's very fresh and delicious.

Whatever you're doing today, enjoy and here's hoping you back a winner! 

Good chocolate

Is there any other kind??? Arguably not. Anti-oxidants galore, all wrapped in mouth-watering, divinely sweet, chocolatey goodness. It was made that way for a reason, so let's vote to remove the luxury tax - it's a necessity, like water or sex.

Which is why, after a helluva long day like today, I needed some. 

These days I measure the productiveness of my weekend by how much really good cooking I've managed, and how well it looks in photographs. This weekend was excellent. Gorgeous weather, blue skies, birds singing, the smell of freshly mown grass and washing on the line. And a great chocolate cake. Bliss. 

I really had my doubts about this recipe because it looked almost too easy, but mostly because it called for melting the chocolate with a minute bit of 

milk. That just turned the whole thing into a fudgy sludge and had me cursing  the waste of 250g decent dark chocolate. (Although I would have rolled it into balls and sold it to Tim as 'truffles' or something of that ilk). 

Surprisingly, the whole thing mixed beautifully, was really simple, and came out perfectly. This cake is deceptively moist, and given that there's not an ounce of butter in it, that's an achievement. Must be the 6 eggs! It means there's no heavy or greasy residue which is a plus. Also, the hazelnut meal works to give it an interesting texture and extra flavour - better than flour. Hazelnuts are like walnuts - not a fan of them au natural, but combine them in any way with chocolate, and they're pretty special.

Time to be healthy...

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Wheat & Gluten Free, Jody Vassallo p 87

Ingredients:

250g (8oz) dark cooking chocolate chopped

2 tbsp milk

120g (4oz) hazelnut meal

1/2 cup (125g/4oz) caster sugar

6 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 180º (350ºF/Gas 4). Line a 20cm (8in) spring form tin with baking paper.

Put the chocolate and milk into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Put the chocolate mixture, hazelnut meal, sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and mix to combine. (I mixed everything except the chocolate mix first, and then combined it)

Whisk the eggs in a clean, dry bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and spoon into the prepared tin. 

Bake for 45 minutes or until firm. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 mins. Serve with fresh berries. Serves 8. (Or 1 x Tim)

New speed record set!

That's right folks, I set a new speed record when I took my chocolate souffles out of the oven! They fell faster than a euro dropped from the top of the Eiffel Tower. (Not that I've ever tried that. Just sticking to a French theme...)

They may have been a little flatter than I would have liked, but man they tasted goooooooodddd!!! Just ask Tim. I practically had to engage in hand to hand combat once he'd finished his and I still had some left.

I've always wanted to try making a souffle and as the Festival of Tim drew to a close, I decided it was time to try. I'd heard they were difficult to master. It's true. They are. Well sort of. It's not hard to follow all the instructions and put the ingredients together and get it in the oven, but the second I took mine out of the oven, their chocolatey, air-filled walls of tasty goodness deflated, right before my eyes! This made it very hard to photograph.

Undefeated, I intend to keep trying. It's likely this weekend will result in a recipe from a French cook book for zucchini souffle. Actually the photos look divine and I have nothing against zucchini.

Chocolate Souffle

Donna Hay: Simple Essentials - Chocolate, page 80

Ingredients:

melted butter for brushing

caster sugar for dusting

150g (5 1/4 oz) dark chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup (80ml/2 1/2 fl oz) cream (single or pouring)

1/4 cup (30g/1 oz) cocoa powder, sifted

6 egg whites

1/2 cup (110g/3 3/4 oz) caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180º C (350ºF). Brush 4 x 1 cup (250ml/ 8 fl oz) capacity dishes with butter and dust with caster sugar. Place on a baking tray. Melt chocolate, cream and cocoa in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth.

Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add extra sugar and whisk until thick and glossy. Fold a quarter of the egg white mixture through the chocolate mixture. Gently fold remaining egg whites through and spoon into prepared dishes.

Bake for 20 minutes or until souffles are pugged and set. Serve immediately. (I served with whipped cream)