Delish Dinners is now on Facebook!

I’m the Forest Gump of technology, I’ll be the first to admit. So it only took me 5 years of having this blog to finally decide to get a Facebook page set up where I can post updates, news and chat with all of you guys.

I’m not expecting it to be big and grand but if you would like to show your support by liking the Delish Dinners page or would like to stay updated via Facebook instead of email, click away!

Click here for the Delish Dinners Facebook page. While I’m at it, I want to say thanks for your support. I love reading your emails and comments and chatting about food with other food lovers! My friends get bored of me talking about slow cookers, calzone dough and herbs so I unleash it on you guys

I’m hoping that 2012 will be a better blogging year for me (unless the Mayans were right and it really is the end of the world as we know it…In that case, eat and be merry I say!).

I’ve got a heap of recipes I want to try out and a willing guinea pig of a husband who’s happy to try them all in the name is research for you guys It’s a hard life!
So stay safe and eat plenty over the New Year celebrations and I will see you in 2012 with some new recipes.

 

 

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

I am a big snacker.

I know that’s not a real word, because my spell check had a shit fit when I typed it in, but I did what I do best and clicked ‘Ignore’ and moved on.

When I say I’m a snacker….I’m not talking about Mars Bars, cookies and potato chips. Yes, I do on rare occasions go down that road, usually when I’m hormonal and my husband is hiding for cover.

My idea of snacks are yummy handfuls of goodness, little morsels and bites that aren’t there to just fill the belly or purely for the purposes of fueling my body, but little moments of yummy glee between the main meals of the day.  For so long, my snacks have been store-bought because I work gazillion hours a week, but today was a pleasantly gloomy, misty day and I unleashed my fury on the kitchen, producing an amazing Ginger and Treacle Pear Cake which I had been lusting over after seeing it on one of my fave blogs (I creamed my pants instantly when I saw it), a delish French toast brekkie and these crunchy roasted chickpeas to graze on while I contemplated dinner.

I grew up eating roasted chickpeas (calia) and roasted broadbeans thanks to my Nonna, so once again, these flavours remind of my childhood.

Chickpeas are an ideal snack, low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. They’re also a great source of folate and protein, so a great addition to the diet for those of us who are looking at procreating sometime soon (you will know how important folate is!) or are vegetarians and need to find your protein intake through legumes instead of meat. Now that the little nutrition lesson is over, and I’ve suitably convinced myself that these aren’t such a sinful snack, let’s begin. It’s really rather easy, if you mess up this recipe, there really is something ‘special’ about you.

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper

sea salt, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Rinse chickpeas thoroughly, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Lay flat on a tray and blast in the oven to dry them out for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from oven, toss them with olive oil, spices and salt and lay flat on a tray. Reduce oven to 180C and bake for a further 40 minutes until crunchy and golden.

 

Lazy Sunday Lunch: Haloumi, Chickpea & Crispy Prosciutto Salad

Sorry for the lack of recent updates. Life has been busier than usual. We recently introduced a new 3 month old puppy into the family, a Maltese Shih-Tzu. She is a sister to our older Maltese Pomeranian cross and there has been a pretty intense adjustment period for all four of us.

I took for granted how easy life was with our 12 year old fur-daughter. She is placid, quiet, happy to laze about all day. When we brought the new little firecracker home, everything was turned upside down, literally. And don’t get me started on the poop, which I kindly won’t because we’re here to talk about food….but OMG, how something so little and fluffy poops so furiously and with such rank odour beats me….

So anyway, my point was, since the new puppy came along, cooking has taken a back seat unfortunately. Having a screaming, howling, shitting pup will do that to anyone. Eating salads and pasta or soup for dinner became the norm over the last month and crawling into bed was a blessed escape from cleaning up poop, refereeing the bitch fights and sneezing. Yes, I am allergic to her.

So today, I finally emerged from my puppy-induced coma and hit the kitchen to make a yummy Sunday lunch. I wasn’t trying to be overly ambitious, after all, she was still there, attempting to hump my leg and playing tunnel between my feet. The result was one of our favourite salads- my husband and I have enjoyed this simple salad on many lazy Sundays.

Obviously, the ingredients are open to change to suit your own taste, but provided you keep the main three components I’m sure you will find it tasty, filling and quick and easy to make. I love the saltiness of the haloumi and prosciutto (I’m a fan of salty flavours, just in case you hadn’t noticed), the meatiness of the chickpeas, crisp crunch of the grilled prosciutto and buttery lettuce. YUM!

Just on a side note, I actually put some mixed olives into mine at my husband’s request (this, from the same guy who thought tomato sauce on grilled fish was a great idea)….Don’t. They didn’t sit well with the flavour combinations.

Ingredients

1 block of haloumi cheese, sliced into thick-ish slices

6 pieces of prosciutto or pancetta

1/2 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 cups mixed lettuce leaves

1/2 cucumber, sliced

1 vine-ripened tomato, cut into wedges

1 Spanish onion, sliced finely

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp red balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp honey, warmed in the microwave

Method

Lay prosciutto on a tray and grill in the oven until dark and crispy, set aside.

Cook prosciutto in a lightly oiled pan or grill until golden.

Assemble salad, spoon over the chickpeas, top with haloumi and crispy prosciutto.

To make the dressing, combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and honey, whisk to combine and drizzle over the salad.

Told ya it was easy.

 

Lemon Meringue Tarts

I’ve tried some pretty fancy desserts during my restaurant hopping…but yet, I always come back to the good old classic lemon meringue tart. I’m not one for sickly sweet desserts, believe it or not, I don’t actually have much of a sweet tooth. I think that’s why the tartness of the lemon strikes a chord with me….and just before the tartness gets too overwhelming, it’s cut through with the delicate airy meringue that dissolves on your tongue. Bliss.

I also recently bought myself one of those cool kitchen ‘blowtorch’ things- anything with fire pleases me, so I wanted something to try it out on other than pieces of apple in the sink. And what else other than a pretty meringue to blowtorch the shit out of?

Again, I don’t do pastry- I haven’t go the time or the interest, so pre-made frozen tart shells is best for people on the go. If you wanted to make your own pastry, I hear it’s fairly basic and easy, but I’m a bit too messy for that, so good luck with it.

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cooking Time

20 minutes

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 2 lemons, rind finely grated
• 1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice
• 100g unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup (145g) caster sugar
• 2 tsp arrowroot
• 3 egg yolks, whisked
• 12 frozen sweet shortcrust tart cases
• 3 egg whites, at room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar

Method

1. Stir lemon rind, juice, butter and sugar in a pan over low heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Remove from heat.
2. Mix arrowroot with a little water to make a smooth paste. Whisk arrowroot and egg yolks into lemon mixture. Return to low heat and whisk until mixture comes to the boil and thickens. Transfer to a bowl and cool. Refrigerate.
3. Preheat oven to 190°C. Place tart cases on a baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Cool.
4. Fill cooled tart cases with lemon curd. Use leftover curd as a spread on toast or crumpets. Reduce oven temperature to 170°C.
5. Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, whisking well in between until dissolved. Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk on high for 3 minutes. Swirl meringue over the tarts and use the back of a spoon to form peaks.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool, then store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Recipe Source

 

Pear, Raspberry & Coconut Bread

So I may have mentioned once or twice that I bake when I’m depressed. And that I’m not a very good baker.

I try, but a recipe has to be pretty idiot proof for me to pull it off.

So when I found this recipe for this pear, raspberry and coconut loaf, I set myself a challenge and made a bet with my husband (Sorry can’t repeat the terms of the bet in public) that I wouldn’t botch it!

So I followed the recipe, made a mess of myself and my kitchen and stared into the oven willfully, hoping and praying that this bloody bread would work out.

Now, I must admit. My photo isn’t that appealing, I mean, it doesn’t make my mouth water. Truth to be hold, it’s not an entirely attractive looking loaf, but it was certainly tasty and yes, I won the bet. WOOP WOOP!

Ingredients

• 2 Josephine pears, peeled, quartered, core removed (I used canned pears)
• 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 cup (85g) desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup (115g) caster sugar
• 270g can Ayam light coconut milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (120g) frozen raspberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 9cm x 22cm (base) loaf pan with non-stick baking paper. Cut the pear into 2cm pieces.
2. Combine the flour, coconut and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together the coconut milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
3. Gently stir in the pears and frozen raspberries make sure you don’t over mix. Spoon into the pan and smooth the surface. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

7 Day Challenge: Dinner on the table in under 30 minutes- Tuesday

Chargrilled Moroccan Chicken with Roast Carrot & Chickpea Salad

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 bunches baby (Dutch) carrots, trimmed, scrubbed
• 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 4 x 170g skinless chicken breast fillets
• 1 tbs sumac (see note)
• 2 tbs white wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained
• 1/2 cup (80g) sunflower seeds, toasted
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spread the carrots on a baking tray in a single layer. Season, then drizzle over 1 tbs oil and 2 tbs water. Roast for 10-12 minutes until the carrots soften slightly.
2. Meanwhile, lightly oil a chargrill pan with the remaining olive oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and rub with the sumac. Cook for 3-4 minutes each side until browned.
3. Remove the tray from the oven, turn the carrots then place the chicken on top. Roast for a further 10-12 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Whisk the vinegar, garlic and honey together in a large bowl. Season, then add chickpeas, sunflower seeds, parsley and carrots and toss to combine. Divide salad among plates, then top with the chicken.

Recipe Source delicious. – July 2008, Page 127

Image Source

 

7 Day Challenge: Dinner on the table in under 30 minutes- Monday

Baked Salmon With Pesto Potatoes & Beans

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1kg chat potatoes, quartered
• 4 x 220g salmon fillets
• 4 thin prosciutto slices
• Olive oil, to drizzle
• 300g cherry tomatoes (we used vine-ripened)
• 350g thin green beans, topped, not tailed
• 1/2 cup (130g) basil pesto

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes until tender. Drain.
2. While potatoes are cooking, wrap a prosciutto slice around the middle of each salmon fillet. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season. Bake for 5 minutes, then add tomatoes to tray, drizzle with oil and season. Cook for a further 4 minutes or until salmon is cooked.
3. Meanwhile, blanch the beans in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Toss drained beans and potatoes with pesto and serve with salmon and tomatoes.

Recipe Source delicious. – September 2007, Page 84

Image Source

 

7 Day Challenge: Dinner on the table in under 30 minutes

Most people I speak to don’t actually have a problem with cooking every day. They want to eat good, healthy, home-cooked dinners, but there are too many factors that make it too hard and they end up at the drive thru window instead.

The most common problems I hear people discuss are a lack of ideas or inspiration, the clean-up factor, lack of fresh ingredients and that they just don’t have time. Why would someone slave away in the kitchen for an hour when they could just pick up a pizza, finish the pizza and be onto dessert within the same hour?

People love to eat a good, nutritional and flavourful meal, but it’s too hard to contemplate a gastronomic challenge when you’ve just gotten home after a long, exhausting day, your feet hurt from being stuffed into ill-fitting shoes, you have a headache, the kids are fighting over their Dora the Explorer toy and your husband is nuzzling your neck and trying to get all jiggy up in that.

I’m trying really hard to practice what I preach, so over the next 7 days, I am going to commit to cooking every single day, without exception (I eat out way too many nights a week). And I’m going to get that meal on the table within 30 minutes of unlocking the front door and having my customary quick mini nervous breakdown after work.

So if you’re going to do the 7 Day Challenge with me, get your oven mitts on, and be inspired. Recipes to come.

Image Source

 

Top 10 Recipes of 2009… According To Me

5. Pumpkin & Spinach Salad

For a while there, salad meant iceberg lettuce, tomato wedges and slices of cucumber tossed with white vinegar. Maybe a couple of olives and onion slices if you wanted to be exotic.

Now salads have taken on a life of their own and have become meals in themselves. They are no longer an accompaniment, they are the stars of the show.

The concept of a good salad is having flavours that work well together and varying textures. Everyone loves salad with a bite or crunch to them.

This particular salad is one of my favourites because I loved the smoothness of the pumpkin, the glossy fresh spinach leaves and the bite of the pine nuts that gives the salad some ‘meatiness’.

I have also grilled some prosciutto and served it atop this salad for an extra depth of flavour and have also added slices of fried haloumi cheese as well. YUM!

Image source

 

Top 10 Recipes of 2009….According To Me

I would like to share my Top 10 Recipes for 2009 with all of my readers – I love that food brings out so much enthusiasm in people, especially when it comes to sharing recipes on the internet and I’ve weeded out some of my faves to share with you. Hope you enjoy and feel free to contribute your own.

You’ll notice that a lot of my recipes are sourced from Taste.com.au and that is purely because that is one of my greatest resources and I am happy to share and promote this fantastic website and their great recipes with my online friends.

You’ll also note that a lot of the recipes have not necessarily been published in 2009, but they have been the recipes that have given the most inspiration, or been used the most or reflect the best of 2009 for me.

Recipes to come. Image source

 

Send in your recipes

If anyone out there has any recipes or tips to share with the rest of us, please feel free to send them in.

delishdinners@gmail.com

 

Image source

 

Tucker for the Time Poor

I can guarantee that at least 90% of the people reading this right now have eaten cereal for dinner, at least once in their adult lives. The reasons may vary- too lazy to prepare a nutritious meal…. lacking those vital ingredients in the fridge to pull a meal together….or had a nightmare of a day with the boss from hell and feeling like the life has literately been sucked out of you.

We’ve all been there at one stage or another.  We live in an age where mothers are trying hard to juggle a family, careers, keeping the home in some state of order and relishing in some me-time all the while trying to get some decent stuff out on the table for dinner each night. We’re too tired or we’ve run out of ideas.

It’s becoming easier to drive through at a fast-food place and have a complete meal in under 3 minutes than it is to stand in front of stove juggling 2 saucepans, a screaming baby and Today Tonight. Not to mention the clean-up. So here are some tips I’ve compiled from experience, from friends, from research and from my psychologist (!) and you’d very unsurprised to learn that a lot of it stems from good time management.

 

MENU PLANNING IS CRUCIAL

I am going to take a guess that you have heard of menu-planning at some point.

Basically, it involves sitting down on a Sunday (or suitable alternative) and plotting which meals you are going to make on which day for the remainder of the week, then shopping according to make sure you have all the vital ingredients.

Menu planning has become the saviour of many mothers and many working people alike, giving them a structure and run-sheet to follow.

Sit down and draft up a table with 7 columns and three rows across to address breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If you don’t do breakfast, or grab lunch on the run, then just focus on dinner. Plan a meal for each day of the week. Swap and change until you’ve found the right flow. Try to be conscious of a getting a good balance of nutrition across the week- ensure there is a good variety of proteins, lean meats, fish and lots of vegies.

For example,  I tend to plan the easiest and quickest meals for the peak days during the week which I know I’m going to be home later. I plan my more elaborate meals for Friday nights and Saturday nights and keep the quick easy meals for the weeknights. I bet you didn’t have to be a genius to know that. My husband plays tennis on Wednesday nights, so we usually have something light that evening. We usually do our shopping on a Tuesday night, so I plan most of my meals that require fresh produce on the Wednesday and Thursday and cook meals that rely on frozen vegies or canned vegies during the later portion of the week.

Plan your menu so that you can use leftover produce from the night before to ensure there is minimal waste. For years, I have been turfing out rotting vegetables from my fridge because they just sat there and rotted before I had a chance to use them. Now, if I make a side of cauliflower cheese, I steam up some extra cauliflower and put the extra in the fridge where it will become tomorrow’s  cauliflower soup.

 

PREPARE AHEAD

I know this is not anybody’s idea of a fun Sunday afternoon, but I have heard of people doing a big shop-up on the Saturday and then spending all day Sunday cooking and freezing their meals for the week. I can’t imagine anything sweeter than coming home and just having to defrost my dinner without having to dirty a pot or lift a finger.

There’s a few benefits to this idea, the most obvious being that by cooking all your ingredients when they are fresh, you’re getting the best out of the produce (i.e, it hasn’t been sitting in your fridge getting slimy for a week) and you can also multi-task with ingredients. For example, if I’m making a batch of pasta, I can make some extra to put aside for a pasta bake or if I’m making a bolognese sauce, I can also use this sauce as part of a lasagna or to fill canneloni.

It might seem like a hectic idea, but with some careful planning and the right ingredients, you can be preparing a whole week’s worth of meals around a few main ingredients.

For example, one week my main ingredients were rib eye steak, leeks, potatoes, pumpkin and broccoli. On the same cooktop, I had four different recipes cooking away- a hearty beef, vegie and wine casserole;  potato and leek croquettes which were served with steamed vegies, pumpkin and lentil curry and potato and leek soup. It certainly didn’t feel like we were eating the same thing every night, but essentially, we used a few ingredients to get four nights meals together.

It this sounds like too much, too soon and you need baby steps to get there, how about starting by doing some minor prep before the week begins- chopping onions, mincing garlic, dicing or filleting meat, washing, peeling and prepping veg and then storing in the fridge or freezer so that when you do get home from work, all the prep work has been taken out of the meal and it’s just a matter of tossing it all together. There will be less clean up as well.

SLOW COOK YOUR HEART OUT

My slow cooker is the best thing that ever happened to me. If you don’t have one, you need to stop what you are doing, get off the internet and go to your local retailer and get one. Or go and bid on one on eBay.

Slow cookers are a heavensend for busy mums or people who just don’t have time to muck about in the kitchen all day. The idea is that you combine budget cuts of meat with vegetables and liquid, set and forget. By the time you come home (yes, you can leave it on while you’re gone, genius!), the house will be filled with a delectable aroma and you’ll have a tender, succulent meal begging to be had.

Because the slow cooker cooks…slowly, the meat becomes so tender and delicious that you can get away with using those budget cuts you normally wouldn’t touch. The meals are more flavourful because they cook in their own juices. You can cook everything from a beef roast to apricot chicken in a slow cooker. The idea is that it always has some liquid in it. Most slow cookers have settings anywhere from 4-8 hours, so you can time it so that you have a deliciously cooked, tender roast waiting for you when you get home on a Tuesday night! Who would have thought!

I tend to use my slow cooker in those winter months, where you crave the delicious hearty stews, soups, braises and casseroles- and believe me (and anyone who has a slow cooker can agree), there is no more delicious smell on this earth than coming home to a slow cooked meal. And the best part- only one pot to wash. Heaven!

 

HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS

I’m talking about steamers, pie-makers, stick blenders, food processors, breadmakers, knife sharpeners, rice cookers, grills, fancy cheese graters, mortar and pestle. I know many of you buy these things and then stuff into the back of a cupboard never to be seen again, but they really are the tricks of the trade- the little tools invented to make our lives easier. I have cooked whole meals in the steamer baskets. I’ve made bread for the weekend breakfast in my breadmaker. I’ve pretended to be Jamie Oliver while pounding the crap out of my mortar and pestle. I’ve been covered in pumpkin soup muck while trying to blend it to perfection. These tools might take up space and you might decide they’re sometimes too much effort to pull out of the cupboard, but I plead with you to make the effor.

I am especially loving my pie-maker at the moment, it’s genius!

 

ONE-POT WONDERS

I’ve touched briefly on the benefits of slow-cooking, in that you can keep the whole meal centralised in one pot, but when you are menu planning definitely give preparation time and effort a consideration. The last thing you want to be doing after coming home from a long day is slaving away in the kitchen doing the cleanup. That is why I happily volunteer to do all the cooking in my home, so I can guilt my husband into doing all the cleanup. I would rather work in a morgue than have to clean up after one of my cooking expeditions….it would probably be cleaner too.

So wherever you can, plan meals that you produce in one pot, tray or appliance- ie, steamer, pie-maker, slow-cooker, oven tray, frying pan, wok or saucepan/pot.

 

TRY TO GET YOUR PARTNER, HOUSEMATE OR KIDS INVOLVED

Involving the other people in your home in menu-planning and cooking can be a rewarding experience. And by rewarding, I mean sharing half the workload rewarding. Asking them to help choose the meals for the week can also help if you’ve run into a brick wall when it comes to inspiration. Also, once they’ve made a suggestion, like let’s use my husband for example, who suggested we have shepherd’s pie, you can ask them to help you with the preparation and if they say no…you can use it to guilt them into helping you. Example.

“Hold on! You mean, I’m standing here in this kitchen, making the shepherd’s pie you wanted, and you’re not willing to help me? That’s pretty low, buddy, even for you. Hmmph!” Storm off, no sex for a week.

 

Taste of Twilight

I can only admit this online because I am perfectly anonymous, but yes, I am what you would call a Twihard.

The worst part is that I am 26 years old.

I am a closet Twihard (team Jacob all the way) and cringe at the all hysteria going on at the moment, but I do get swept up in the hype.

So that’s why I simply couldn’t resist posting these amazing pics and links by some very talented bakers.

I stumbled across these on Cake Wrecks which is a fantastically hilarious blog.

Cake by Honey Sugar Tea

Cakes by Francesca

AMAZING!

 

 

Tucker for the Time-Poor

Over the last few years, I, like many of you, have struggled with juggling work, running the household and a life while trying to make decent meals.

I am sure that many of you can relate to working an obscene amount of hours during the week and then coming home, staring listlessly into the pantry and then your brain clicks into “Screw it, I’m calling in for Chinese” mode because it all just seems too hard.

I am in the process of putting together an article about tackling this issue, with tips and hints on how to get your act together and get a meal on the table, even after a long, exhausting day at work. It seems like an insurmountable task sometimes, but it’s worth it when you know you have saved your arteries from another bout of KFC grease.

Will be posting soon!

 

I’m back!

After a lengthy hiatus, I have decided to come back and attempt to revive my blog (and my enthusiasm with food).

 

I’m sure you all can appreciate that it’s hard to remain enthusiastic about food when your job sucks the absolute life out of you and you end up eating a bowl of cereal for dinner, on the couch while watching Family Guy.

 

So I’m back and I will be attempting some regular posts. I have some yummy and easy new recipes to try, so I am hoping to share them all with you.

 

Kisses xxx

 

Afternoon Tea is cool again

Haven’t you heard?

That’s right, afternoon tea is back in vogue.

It’s no longer for old fuddy duddies or Ladies Who Lunch.

Afternoon Tea technically never really went out of fashion, it’s just that people didn’t really have the time or the patience to spend the afternoon talking over freshly baked pastries, scones, tarts and hot tea and coffee.

Afternoon Tea had resurged in popularity as many people find it’s the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, meet up with the girls for an afternoon of gossiping and laughs or even as the theme of your bridal or baby shower. Why not throw one for your friends next weekend? Tell them it was my idea.

The big ritzy hotels in almost every city on earth offer fancypants Afternoon Teas complete with waiters in cute little gloves, brandishing fancy little tongs with which to serve up your scones and cookies.

Now there is a difference between afternoon tea and grabbing a quick afternoon snack. High Tea generally takes place at around 3pm in the afternoon. So what separates afternoon tea from a Quarter Pounder at McDonalds at 3pm? It’s the ritual, the tradition and the food.

Wherever you go, High Tea will always comprise the same basic rituals, foods and traditions.

It is usually set in sumptuous surroundings, whether that be a beautiful rose garden, an elegant ballroom in a hotel or a stately library in a beautiful home. A cozy living room will do the trick, as will a patio or deck during the summer months. To be frank, it doesn’t really matter where you do it, I mean, I’ve had afternoon tea on a cruise ship in the middle of the South Pacific, as long as the spaces gives off a certain feel of luxury, quiet and elegance.

Before you even consider the idea of throwing an impromptu afternoon tea gathering, make sure you have all the good stuff. A decent teapot (no Lipton tea bags hanging over the side of mugs, thankyou very much!), little serving jugs for milk and cream, a tiered goody serving thing or some really noice plate thingies to put yer grub on. No mugs. Nobody wants to pretend to be sophisticated whilst nibbling on cucumber sandwiches and sipping tea from your Dreamworld Tasmanian Devil mug. Okay?

Every afternoon tea will consist of scones, cookies, baked pastries, tea sandwiches, tarts, cakes and of course, lots of cups of perfectly brewed tea! Remeber, when considered what you’re going to make for your high tea, make sure it can be held with two fingers and isn’t too messy. This probably isn’t the right time to be showing off your skewering skills with satay chicken or serving up a hearty pudding. Keep it simple, keep it nibbly.

We’ve already talked about scones, so I’m assuming you’ve figured out how to make a decent batch. If not, drop everything, turn this computer off and get in the kitchen. Scones are the staple of afternoon tea, without it, afternoon tea is a fraud, kind of like the TomKat marriage.

Scones are best served warm, split in half and spread with lovely tarty jam and clotted cream. If you pull out that whipped stuff in a can, you’re going straight to hell. Don’t stop, don’t collect $200.

Buy some loose-leaf tea and learn how to make it correctly. The last thing you want is to invite all your people over and pour out some dirty dishwater into their teacups. Trust me, I’ve been there.

In my humble opinion, the sandwiches are the best part of afternoon tea. So many different varieties, all so deliciously scrumptious.

The general rule is to allow about 4-6 sandwich servings for each guest. Any more than that and you’ll be rolling them out the door with a wheelbarrow.

The whole idea behind the success of tea sandwiches is to get some good white bread. This isn’t the time for an Aldi 99c loaf of white. Go for the posh bread (you know, the one you buy when you know people are coming over, so you can display it prominently on your bench and hope they think you’re posh!) and DON’T, listen to me, DON’T use them bum ends. Who the hell eats those anyway? They’re the mould gates as far as I’m concerned.

Now I’ve done my research on tea sandwiches, aren’t you lucky. First of all, NO CRUSTS. But the trick is to cut the crusts off after you’ve filled the sandwich. Lop off the ends with a nice sharp knife- this keeps it all neat and good looking like the pictures you’ve drooled over seen.

I’ve also read that no matter what you are slapping in the middle of them, the bread slices should always be buttered. And that’s unsalted butter. If making in advance, the secret to avoid soggy bread is to spread the butter right to the ends of the bread. Don’t know if that’s true, that’s your homework.

Now if you’ve read this far, I’m assuming you know that you don’t just serve up a big fricken sandwich. These sandwiches are little. When they’re made, cut them in half diagonally. And then again.

Some interesting (and traditional) fillings for tea sandwiches:

• Chicken Curry (chicken breast, celery, mayo, curry powder)
• Cucumber (cucumber, der, alfalfa sprouts)
• Egg (Hard boiled eggs, mayo, chopped dill)
• Smoked Salmon (slices of smoked salmon, minced onion, capers, mayo, cucumber, dill)
• Tuna and Cucumber (tuna flakes, diced cucumber, mayo and finely diced red onion)
• Ham and Mustard (slices of honey leg ham with a lovely Dijon or wholegrain mustard, maybe even a slice of cheese)
• Chicken and avocado (Cooked, diced chicken breast, mixed with mayo and avocado until a gluggy delicious mess)

Next, let’s focus on the sweets. Here, your options are endless.

Cookies are a great start. Choc-chip, lemon cookies, orange nut cookies, shortbreads, anything delicate and delectable is spot-on for a great afternoon tea.

Muffins and cupcakes are easy to buy if you can’t be arsed making them yourself. And they look so cool on those tiered tray thingies. Just make sure they’re decorated with all those pretty little things on top and you’ll be right.

Slices, mini – cakes, trifles, carrot cake, sponge cake, fruit cake, you name it, it’s on the table.

There you have it. Afternoon tea- yet another excuse to have another meal in the day!

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Falling off the cupcake bandwagon

Remember how I was enthused about cupcakes for like, five minutes, a while ago?

Well, after a costly trip to Coles, an assortment of piping bag tips and a vast array of coloured patty cases, I am officially OVER IT.

I’m not very good at baking at the best of times, which is why I usually bake when I’m depressed.

My husband knows that the moment he comes in and smells the aromas of something sweet baking in the oven, that something is UP.

Well, my attempt at becoming a cupcake goddess was pretty lame. I mean, the cupcakes themselves tasted good. I was very precise with all my measurements, for the first time, like, ever.

But my patty cases were a little too cheap  floppy and they sort of didn’t retain their nice round shape. And I didn’t put enough mixture into each case.

And then the icing. Oh boy. I just don’t want to talk about it.

Now I have all these bloody baking and icing supplies- but I doubt I will be getting back on the cupcake bandwagon in the near future.

You should have seen the way I iced these things. They were hideous.

 

Off for Christmas

Well, it is time for me to get busy with my Christmas preparations and I need to bathe my stinky dog, so I must bid you adieu for a few days while I stuff myself silly with copious amounts of fattening food.

Merry Christmas to you all- I hope your bellies are all full with delicious food and drink and that Santa is especially good to you this year.

Merry Christmas! 

 

Disgusting Dinners

Omg!

I have spent the last hour laughing so hard that I almost couldn’t breathe!

You have to check out this thread for pics of peoples’ cooking disasters.

Click here to see it (you will have a great laugh, just make sure you haven’t just eaten or are about to eat!)

Some of that stuff is so freakin’ foul!

It was a great laugh and mighty, mighty entertaining!

One of my faves , pictured  left.

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

 

Endeavouring into the land of the cupcakes

I will be attempting my first cupcakes in the next few days after a lengthy visit to the baking aisle at Coles!

Oh yay, the excitement.

Be sure to check back for pics!