Creme Caramel Brulee

When too much of a good thing is not enough.

Caramel

Mix      1 cup sugar

            ½ cup water

Heat, stirring until dissolved. Then boil over medium heat without stiring until a brown caramel colour. Test by removing a placing a little on a plate, but be careful not to over cook or it will taste burned.

Place into 6 ramekins and swirl to distribute the caramel up the sides. Don’t allow the bottom caramel to be too thick or it won’t melt properly.

Preheat oven to 150.

Custard

300mls cream - unthickened

200mls milk

1t vanilla essence or extract

½ cup sugar

Heat until nearly boiling, then cool a little.

Whisk together

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

Add slightly cooled milk mixture, whisking as you add it.

Strain through a fine strainer, and pour into prepared dishes.

Place folded tea towel on the bottom of a baking dish. Place creme caramels into baking dish and pour boiling water around them to come 1/3 to ½ way up.

Cover with alfoil, and place in 150 oven for 20 mins. Turn the dish around, and cook another 10 minutes. After this time remove any that are set, and cook those not set for another 5-10 mins. The length of time in the oven depends on the temperature of the milk mixture before you put them in and the actual temperature of the oven.

Remove from oven and chill 4-5 hours.

Either turn them out to serve, or sprinkle with caster sugar and brown the sugar on top with a blow torch or under a grill on high.

Ham Jam

This is an amazing sauce for ham.

1 bottle redcurrant jelly
1 bottle St Dalfour cherry jam

½ bottle St Dalfour marmalade

¼c ham stock, optional (left over from glazing the ham)

2t seeded mustard

1t hot English mustard

1t grated ginger

Cloves and cinnamon to taste

2T brown sugar

Mix together mustards, stock, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Heat to release flavours.

Add redcurrant jelly and warm to melt. This takes longer to melt than the jam and marmalade.

Add jam and marmalade.

Warm to melt together. 

3 Vegie Meals Kids Like

Roasted Vegies

Roasting vegetables allows the natural sugars to caramelise and the flavours to concentrate.Try zucchini, broccoli, capsicum, onion, pumpkin.The smaller the pieces, the more delicious outside there is.To roast vegies, dice into smallish pieces and toss together in a bowl with salt, sugar and oil. Pour into a flat roasting pan that is lined with baking paper. Roast at 200 until brown, at least 30 mins. Stir occasionally.

Salsas

Salsas are great. Very finely chop vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, red onions. Add any fruit such as mango, oranges, apples. And add seasonings such as chilli, cinnamon, thyme, garlic. Serve a tablespoon per person as a sauce for meat.

Gado gado

Make a salad with raw and cooked vegetables eg potatoes, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes etc. Add a protein such as hard boiled eggs, tofu or chicken. Cover with sate sauce and sprinkle with fried onions.

See also Chicken in Honey Mustard Sauce adapted from Cook's Illustrated 

http://shannonfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicken-with-honey-mustard-sauce-based.html

Chicken with honey mustard sauce (based on Cook’s Illustrated Pan Seared Chicken Breasts)

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees

2. Place chicken in baking dish.

Optional – prick with fork 5 times and rub with salt.

Optional – cover with foil

3. Bake at 150 for 30 mins

4.Make a slurry with 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 teaspoon cornflour Brush this over the top of the chicken breasts.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in frypan and fry chicken slurry side down until brown.

6. Brush other side with slurry, flip and fry until brown.

7. Remove chicken to plate.

Optional – mix together 1 tablesponn mustard, 1 tablespoon honey and 4 tablespoons cream.

Add to pan, heat and pour over chicken breasts.

Almost no knead bread

A delicious bread with a thick crust and dense crumb.
Combine

3 cups bread or pasta flour

½ teaspoon salt

Mix together

1/3  cup beer

¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons water

1½ teaspoons salt

Stir into a rough ragged ball. Cover and stand 8-18 hours.

Turn out onto a floured benchtop and knead 10-15 times.

Stretch into a ball and place in a baking paper sling in a casserole dish. Cover and let rise 2-3 hours.

Remove bread from dish, and place dish in oven. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place 2 slashes across bread 1cm deep. Sprinkle with a little flour.

When dish and oven are hot, use paper sling to pick dough up and place in casserole dish. Cover with lid. Place in oven and reduce to 220.

Bake 30 mins covered, then uncover and bake a further 30 mins. 

This recipe is adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Wasabi Lime Dressing

This is so simple, yet so delicious. Serve with fish - raw or cooked.

Combine
1/2 teaspoon wasabi
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon mirin
Salt to taste

French Pot Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 chicken

Oil and salt

Preheat oven to 130 degrees C.
Use a deep pot that can go on top of the stove, and in the oven.

Heat a little oil over medium high heat in the bottom of the pot.

Place the chicken breast side down, and heat 5 mins, or until brown.

Turn chicken over and repeat on the bottom.

Cover pot and place in the oven for 45 mins to 1 hour, depending on the size of the chicken.

Sauce (optional)

Remove chicken to serving dish, and boil juice over high heat until thick and syrupy.

Carve and serve.

See also Chicken in Honey Mustard Sauce adapted from Cook's Illustrated
http://shannonfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicken-with-honey-mustard-sauce-based.html

Tomato Sauce with Anchovies and Thyme

(Anchovies are high in ‘umami’, the Japanese savory taste. They don’t leave a fish taste, but deepen the flavour of the sauce.)

Chop 1 onion

Boil on high with

½ t salt

1T olive oil

1t brown sugar

Boiling water to cover

When water has evaporated turn heat to medium/low and cook until slightly coloured, stirring often.

(This is a quick, low fat way of frying onions. Alternatively cook on low for 30 mins without water.)

Add

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 anchovies, whole (they disintegrate in the sauce)

Small pinch thyme

1 cup passata, or tin of crushed tomatoes

Simmer uncovered until thick

Everyday Bircher Muesli

This is a creamy tasting bircher muesli, is easy to make up, and keeps in the fridge as long as the milk and yogurt are within their use by date. The apple doesn't go brown, but I often omit it because it's extra effort. I could eat it all day, and often do! Better than ice cream for dessert.

Mix together with a wire whisk
500g Greek yogurt
250mls milk
100g caster sugar

Stir in
2 cups instant rolled oats
3 tablespoons sultanas
2 grated green apples (optional)

Leave 6 hours to allow the oats to absorb the liquid.

Topik, as a dip

This is based on an Armenian dish, Topik. It is supposed to be like a kofte with the chickpea mixture as a pastry case, and the onions as a filling, but I found that too fiddly. And this way you can get more ‘filling’!

2 tins chickpeas, rinsed well
2 potatoes, peeled and cooked
Puree in a food processor with salt and pepper until very smooth. You may need to add a little water or olive oil if it’s too dry.
Spread into a shallow serving dish

Prepare
4 onions – slice thinly and fry until brown.
Add
1⁄4 c tahini
2 tablespoons currants
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 t Cinnamon
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
Adjust the seasonings to taste. Eg you may prefer more tahini, currants or cinnamon.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Spread on top of the chickpea mixture and serve with crusty bread.

8 Ways to Help Kids Eat Their Vegies

1. Serve the meal in two parts. Vegies first when they’re hungry, meat and starch later because they’re easier to eat. Or place a salad on the table to nibble on as they're waiting for the 'real' part of the meal to arrive.

2. Kids prefer their vegies finely chopped cause it’s easier to eat.

3. Sugar helps EVERYTHING taste better. You don’t have to use too much, just a teaspoon or two.

4. Don’t put too much work into making the meat nice. They tend to eat that anyway. Put the work into making vegies delicious.

5. Serve less food in the afternoon so they’re hungrier for dinner.

6. Make your job easier by having your knife is sharp and your chopping board big. Otherwise they're a pain to peel and chop. Have a container nearby to put the scraps into. That way you wont end up surrounded by vegie droppings. This again makes your job easier.

7. Serve vegies in smaller quantities so children are not overwhelmed by the mounds on their plates.

8. When cooking vegetables try to concentrate their flavours and drive off the excess vegie water. Do this by roasting or frying.

9. Increase the amount of vegetables in their diet gradually. Start off so they hardly notice the difference, and build up their tolerance slowly.

Kassler Pork Chops

Place 4 chops on a bed of

2 finely sliced onions

2 peeled and sliced granny smith apples

100 mls water

Simmer 20 mins

Remove chops, reduce liquid in pan.

Return chops to pan to reheat.

Optional - after reducing sauce add

1 teaspoon mustard

1 Tablespoon brandy

2 Tablespoons cream

Barnyard Marinade

This is based on 'Better than A1 marinade' from Cook's Illustrated. Cows, sheep, chicken and pigs all get on together in the barnyard, so why not the marinade pot!

1/3 cup vegetable oil

½ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground black pepper

Mix all together and use to marinate beef, lamb, pork and chicken in the same dish.
Leave at least an hour, or up to 3 days.

I have used this amount to marinate 4kg meat, leaving it in the fridge for 3 days and just pulling out what we needed each evening. You need to mix it around well though.

See also Chicken in Honey Mustard Sauce adapted from Cook's Illustrated 

http://shannonfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicken-with-honey-mustard-sauce-based.html

Toasted Coconut Sambal

Combine
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ – ½ chilli chopped fine
Add
3 Tablespoons toasted coconut flakes

Spiced Nutrigrain

Heat together until fragrant
1/3c oil
2 tablespoons garam masala
4 shakes tabasco
2 ½ teaspoons salt
Combine with
300g Nutrigrain

Eggplant, tomato and pomegranate salad

Dice 2 eggplants, toss with 1 teaspoon salt, place on kitchen paper and microwave, uncovered, 10 mins.
Dice and deseed 3 tomatoes cut into small dice. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt and allow to drain excess juice away.
Fry 3 cloves garlic in 1T olive oil.
Add microwaved eggplants and stir gently until brown.
Combine 1T pomegranate molasses
1T honey
1T water.
Pour over eggplant and allow the liquid to absorb into the eggplant.
Cool slightly then add diced drained tomatoes
1 bunch parsley, chopped.
Add 2 tablespoons extra olive oil.
Check for seasoning.
Sprinkle with pinenuts.
You could also add olives, capers or currants.

Spinach Dip

Drain 2 packets frozen chopped spinach
Mix together well
2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonaise
2 packets spring vegetable soup
Drained spinach
Cut the top off a large loaf of bread and hollow out the centre. Reserve the bread and chop into bite sized peices.
Pour dip into bread case and surround with bread pieces. When these have all been eaten, it’s time to demolish the bread case.

Satay Sauce

Fry 1 chopped onion until brown.
Add  
3 cloves garlic chopped coarsly
1 tbspn Thai red curry paste (preferably Mae Ploy brand)
150g peanut butter
2 tbspns fish sauce
6 tbspns brown sugar
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 cup water

Simmer together for 10 mins until the starch in the peanut butter thickens the sauce.

Taste and adjust flavour to your liking with extra salt, sugar, chilli or lemon juice.

Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients

• 250g or 2 cups plain cake flour
• 35g or 3 tablespoons cornflour
• 250g block of parmesan cut into 3 or 4 pieces
• 1 good teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cayenne to taste
• 10g or 3 teaspoons dry mustard
• 220g butter chilled
• 1-2 tablespoons sour cream or lemon juice

Instructions

1. With food processor running drop cheese in giving it time to process each block before adding another.
2. Add flours, cheese and seasonings in food processor and process until well combined.
3. Cut into small pieces and add, processing until the mixture looks like sand.
4. With motor running add enough sour cream or lemon juice so mixture just forms a ball.
5. Roll into logs 4cm or 1 1/2 inches thick. Wrap in plastic and chill thoroughly, or freeze for a couple of months!
6. Cut up into slices about 3mm thick.
7. Bake in oven, at 160C for 10 -12 mins. Rotate tray front to back then close oven door and turn off. Allow to cool in the oven to brown and crisp up.
8. They're best when they are light brown.

Pork with Ginger

This has a really nice coating of soy and sugar

Mix 2t cornflour
2t soy sauce
1t oil
Thinkly slice one pork loin chop. Place in cornflour mix and refrigerate at least 10 mins for coating to set.
Place in non stick fry pan with
1t oil
6 slices ginger, shredded
Fry over high heat until brown. Add
1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sherry
Sprinkle with a little chopped coriander and serve.