DIY Smoothies

You might have seen these Smoothie Cubes in the frozen section at your local supermarket.

I’ll admit, when I saw them, I squealed with excitement. I love smoothies and fruit juices but I’m always too lazy to make them myself because I never have all the fruits and veg handy at the same time…and I just cant be bothered.

These cubes are pureed fruit packed with nutritional goodness- antioxidants and omega 3s and all that good stuff and come in different flavours. So I bought a packet of each to try them, enchanted by the concept of just adding milk and having a delicious fruity treat.

The premise is simple, you just blend 2-3 Smoothie Cubes and 200ml of milk or juice.

My favourite combination is 2 Tropical cubes and 1 Berry Antioxidant cube plus a few little extras.

These little cubes are a tad on the pricey side so I probably couldn’t keep buying them weekly, so this is the part where the little light bulb pings above my head and I have the great idea of making my own smoothie cubes so I can stockpile all these delicious cubes of fresh fruit goodness. YUM.

I’m going to stock up on fresh and frozen fruits, go on a pureeing frenzy and freeze them into ice-cube trays (albeit they will be smaller in size than the supermarket ones which will mean you will probably need a few extra per smoothie).

You can blitz them up with milk, sorbet, yoghurt, fresh fruit juice, fresh fruit, honey or even use them in cocktails.

Tropical Berry Smoothie

• 2 Tropical Smoothie Cubes
• 1 Berry Antioxidant Smoothie Cube
• 1 tsp honey
• 150ml milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

So easy and it literally took 1 minute. AWESOME

 

Too-Easy Blueberry Muffins

I’m a huge fan of Donna Hay’s style and have found myself enamored with her Fast, Fresh, Simple TV show on the Lifestyle channel. The concept of the show speaks to the lazy sloth in me that wants to take the quickest shortcuts to the yummiest food.

So when I saw her dead-easy muffin recipe, using a good, simple muffin base, she had my heart and I knew I had to file this one away for later.

Muffins are so simple and yet for so long, I hadn’t found The Perfect recipe. These muffins are light and not to sickly sweet…and the best part of all is the crackly sugar granules on top! Oh and I suppose blueberries are pretty good too…antioxidants and all that.

The combinations for this basic mix are endless. Today it was blueberries, tomorrow it could be anything.

This recipe serves 12

 

Ingredients

• 2½ cups (375g) self-raising (self-rising) flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
• ½ cup (125ml) vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ½ cup (125ml) milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 300g fresh or frozen blueberries
• granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Place the oil, egg, milk and vanilla in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the blueberries and mix to combine.
3. Spoon mixture into a 12-hole ½-cup capacity (125ml) muffin tin lined with paper patty cases.
4. Sprinkle the tops with sugar and bake for 30–35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe Source

 

The Perfect Cheese Platter & Xmas Lunch, Aussie Style.

As much as I love the concept of a white Christmas with a big feast with a traditional turkey and ham, etc, I have recently come to the conclusion that Christmases Down Under are pretty freakin awesome.

Being summer in the land down under during the festive season, many families will no doubt sit down to a traditional turkey dinner, despite the fact that it’s a million degrees outside, the sidewalks are melting and the backyard looks like a burn out barren wasteland. There will be flies the size of your pupils, all the men in the family will be crowded around the TV watching sport and the smell of barbecued meat mingles with the scent of a distant bushfire. (Image source, left)

We spraypaint white “snow” on our windows , leave santa cookies and milk and are fascinated with American Christmas movies when our Christmas couldn’t be any more different.

Christmas feasts have  come a long way in Australia. Yes, many will have an elaborate roast dinner with all the trimmings, but many Aussies are taking advantage of our fresh, beautiful produce, seafood and great cuts of meat and putting together mouthwatering lunches and delectable dinners.

Ideas for Christmas dinner & lunch, Aussie style:

Aussie BBQ

• A good old fashioned Aussie BBQ- complete with sausages, lean cuts of steak, hamburger patties, grilled onions, corn on the cob, marinated chicken skewers, prawns and fish fillets.
• To accompany the fine array of BBQ offerings, there’s the customary selection of salads- potato salad, pasta salad, Greek salad and maybe a rice salad.
• Desserts for the great Aussie Christmas BBQ include the good old fashioned pavlova (Image source, right), trifle, choc peppermint log and chocolate & coconut truffle balls.

Sit Down Lunch

Because Aussie Christmases tend to be ridiculously hot and stressful, your Christmas lunch hostess is not likely to want to be slaving over a hot oven and the guests aren’t likely to be wanting a heavy, hot lunch. So we often opt for a light lunch, full of fresh flavours rather than a heavy meal.

• Grilled or bake fish (whole of fillets)- barramundi, snapper, salmon and tuna are popular choices. Also, you can’t go wrong with prawns, scallops and oysters if wanting to impress your Christmas guests. We are luckyto have fantastic fresh seafood here down under and the seafood needs minimal preparation and cooking time so you can focus on the sides and desserts. (Image source, right).
• The easiest way to appeal to the appetites of your guests is to offer a selection of salads or vegetable sides. If serving seafood, I would serve a brown rice and vegetable salad with a citrus and dill dressing; wok stir fried ginger and garlic vegetables if serving Asian-inspired fish. A big green leafy salad never goes astray. Lemon and garlic sauteed potatoes are always a hit as well as a light spinach and walnut salad. The options are endless, but the idea is keep the flavours light, keep the texture light and you want lots of bright colour.
• The perfect dessert for a light Christmas lunch would be  something like some merengue nests filled with fresh berries and whipped cream; layered berry trifles complete with sponge, custard and fresh fruit, a big fruit platter with honey cream or for a bit of tradition, but with minimal work- how about some brandy snaps filled with whipped cream?

Aussie Christmas Dinner

When the sun goes down on a sweltering Christmas day, the kids have tired themselves out  playing with their new toys and the house starts to fill with dinner guests,  who are undoubtably already exhausted and still stuff from the Christmas lunch they have already endured with their evil in-laws, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. So keep it simple, tasty and light to avoid going to bed like a stuffed turkey.

• Chicken or beef  are popular options for a light dinner- something simple like a roasted chicken or a stuffed, rolled beef fillet or chicken breast are great, simple ideas that are very satisfying.
• Roast chicken stuffed with mushroom, leeks and bacon is delish and so moreish, your guests will forget how filling lunch was.
• If opting for seafood, a baked salmon with salsa verde makes a statement.
• Marinated chicken breast served with a lovely mango salsa is light and fresh and perfect for summer.
• A roulade- beef, chicken or even salmon, makes a stylish main course and the possibilities and combinations are endless. Plus, presentation is almost guaranteed to be impressive when plating up. (Image source,right)
• For the vegeterians, consider a layered chargrilled vegetable terrine.
• If you’re aching for a traditional turkey, try a different stuffing- walnut, raisin and sage; quince and pistachio; cranberry and walnut; pistachio and pancetta stuffing.
• You can’t go wrong by finishing the evening with a fruit and cheese platter. For the perfect cheese platter, you need to choose a selection of cheeses with various textures. Choose creamy cheeses like Brie and Camembert, a sharp crumbly vintage cheddar, a peppercorn cheese for a bit of spice, blue cheese (if that’s your thing),  and perhaps a smoked cheese, or fruit cheese.
• To ensure that your cheese platter is perfect, serve with muscatels, dried figs, grapes, slices of crisp pear and red apple, walnuts, quince paste, water crackers and lavash bread or something special like a walnut bread.
• Be sure to serve your cheese at room temperature, don’t crowd the platter and ensure there is an individual knife for each cheese. (Image source, left)

 

Homemade Gnocchi & Quick Tomato Sauce

You have to make gnocchi by hand at least once in your life.

Making gnocchi is great if you have kids, they love helping roll the dough out, cut out the gnocchi and creating the little indents with a fork. And of course, there is the fun of watching them float to the top of the bubbling boiling water when they’re cooked (fully supervised of course!).

So here is a fool-proof method I use and hope you find it equally as easy and enjoyable. It may be a little more fiddly than buying a pack of premade Latina pasta, but you’ll be sure when you eat them that you’ve never had gnocchi as good as the ones you have crafted with your own hands.

The secret behind successful gnocchi is using the right potatoes. Older potatoes are best and they should be the floury type of spuds, like Desiree potatoes due to the lower water content.

GNOCCHI

• 4 (750g) desiree potatoes, unpeeled
• 1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour, plus a little extra

METHOD

1. Fill saucepan with cold water, place potatoes in pan and cook for approx 20 minutes until cooked through.
2. Drain well.
3. While still hot, peel by hand and then using a potato ricer or a little tool called a mouli (a French gadget otherwise known as a rotary grinder), puree the potatoes. The trick here is to stop the gnocchi from becoming starchy and heavy, so they need to be mashed quite finely.
4. Season with salt to taste and then let your mashed potato sit to cool while the Bold and the Beautiful is on.
5. Mix the flour into the mashed potato and start to knead the mixture with your hands- the amount of flour you add will make or break your gnocchi. Too much and you’re going to be boiling little bullets. If you don’t put enough, you’re going to be having slush soup for dinner not perfectly fluffy and gorgeous gnocchi. You don’t want the mixture to still be sticky, so add the flour in gradual steps until you have a nice dough.
6. Once you’ve got a nice dough formed, cut it into about 4 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece out to form a log about 2cm wide. Flour a sharp knife and then cut each log into 1.5cm sized pieces.
7. This is the bit where the kids can help. Once you’ve cut out the gnocchi, gently press the tines of a fork into each one so you leave an imprint of the fork tines.
8. Now you need a big saucepan, filled with water brought tot he boil. Cook the gnocchi in batches. You will know when they are cooked because they’ll float to the top of the pot. Cook the gnocchi for 10- 20 seconds then pull them out with a large slotted spoon and drain them well. Cook the whole batch, then it’s time to add a yummy sauce to compliment all your hard work.

QUICK TOMATO SAUCE

I am personally greatly offended by the jars of pasta sauce that these supermarkets are selling these days. I honestly have never tasted anything more ridiculous in my whole life. Putting some raw garlic in a jar with half a cup of sugar and some horribly tart tomato paste is not tomato sauce. Until these jars lift their game, I’m all for making your own tasty sauce.

Here’s how I make it.

• 8 (about 1kg) ripe Roma/egg tomatoes, halved lengthways, cored
• 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 2 tsp sugar (optional)
• fresh basil, finely chopped (to taste)
• fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (to taste)

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to about 160°C. Put your tomatoes, cut side up in a large pan with about 2 tbs of olive oil and season. Roast for about 25-30 mins until tender and collapsing.
2. Heat your remaining oil in a saucepan, cook your onion and garlic until the onion is soft and mouthwatering and your belly is starting to rumble because the stuff in your kitchen is starting to smell kinda good.
3. Add your tomatoes and tomato paste to the onion mixture and cook for approx 5 minutes.
4. Once the sauce is bubbling away, reduce the heat to a simmer and add your sugar and herbs, stirring to ensure everything is mixed well and not sticking to your pot.
5. Season with salt and pepper and once you’ve gotten the sauce just how you want it, pour your pasta in and stir through for approx a minute or so, to ensure the pasta soaks up the delicious flavour of your sauce.
6. Serve with some shaved fresh parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Alternative ideas for your pasta sauce:

Tomato, olive and capers: Add 80g (1/2 cup) sliced pitted kalamata olives and 50g (1/4 cup) drained capers in step 5.

Chili, olive and prosciutto sauce: Add chili flakes to taste, 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives to sauce in step 5. Then top with crispy grilled prosciutto slices and some fresh basil leaves.

Bacon, capsicum and chili sauce: Cook finely chopped rindless bacon with diced red capsicum with the onion and garlic in step 2. Add chili during step 5.

Red wine and mushroom sauce: Saute your mushrooms with your garlic and onion during step 2. Add 1/2 cup sweet red wine to the sauce, during step 4.

Roasted vegetable sauce: Thinly slice red capsicum, slice eggplant and zucchini, thinly slice kumara/pumpkin and cut brown onion into wedges. Add a few unpeeled garlic gloves to the mix. Add mushrooms. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven until vegies are soft and fragrant, then add to your sauce during step 4. Serve with freshly shaved parmesan cheese and basil leaves and some crusty break to soak up all those delicious flavours.

Note: All the photos in this post are mine- if you would like to use them, please just link back here.

 

Valentines Day Romantic Breakfast

Yeah I know.

We’ve barely gotten through Christmas and the New Year and already I’m talking about Valentines Day? Hey, if you think I’m bad, go and have wander down to your local supermarket and have a chat to them about the EASTER EGGS they’r

e filling the shelves with.

So anyway, back to Valentines Day. It’s approaching rapidly and for those of you lucky (or unlucky) enough to be in a relationship, it’s a great opportunity to do something special for your other half. You know, to show them, you, like, care and stuff.

You know the saying. The way to the heart is through the stomach. This is especially true for men and poor people. Could there be a way to lavish some attention upon your special Mr. or Mrs. than to cook them up a delicious, seductive breakfast and eat it together? Hell NO! Hey, you never know, you might be able to negotiate some morning hanky panky. Now that’s a great start to the day. Like I always say, you can thank me later.

Now the whole idea behind this romantic breakfast is requires a little planning. You don’t just casually roll out of bed at 11:45am, scratch your genitals and look in the pantry and hope you have something. No. You actually need to leave the house and go to the supermarket. You need to have money. To buy stuff. Like milk.

Decide before you go what you’re actually going to make. Now you can go as fancy-pants as you like or you can just be laid-back about it. A huge factor influencing what you decide to whip up is the season. If it’s the middle of summer, you’re likely to want a refreshing, fruity brekkie. In winter, however, it would be fantastic to serve up your smoked salmon scrambled eggs, baked beans and sourdough toast.

Now I’m assuming you’re going to do the breakfast in bed thing. If not, set the table nicely with a pretty tablecloth, clean napkins and a romantic centrepiece. Flowers are always a winner, but if you’re a tightarse, a decorative glass bowl of loveheart candy or pink M&Ms would be equally nice. Don’t do candles if you don’t want to look like a dick.

If you’re planning to enjoy the fruits of your labour in bed, then find an appropriate breakfast tray, pop some cute fresh flowers in a little bud vase or sprinkle with pink and white rose petals.

As for the food, there is no limit to the kinds of stuff you could make. You can put as much or as little effort into it. Some popular suggestions:

* Strawberries and cream

* Chocolate dipped strawberries

* Scrambled eggs on sourdough toast, crispy bacon and grilled tomatoes.

* Blueberry pikelets

* Croissants filled with ricotta, honey and raspberries.

* Bagels smeared with cream cheese and morello cherry preserve.

* Omelettes with a variety of fillings like smoked salmon, tomato and basil or ham and cheese.

* French toast drizzled with honey

* Pancakes with any kind of topping, whether it be chocolate fudge sauce, honey or fresh fruit.

* Fresh fruit salad with honey yoghurt.

* Sauteed mushies on thick cut sourdough toast with wilted spinach, grilled tomato and poached egg.

* Crepes

I’m getting hungry just thinking about it all.

 

Image Source

Image Source

 

How to deglaze

 

What is this deglazing crap you always hear these bloody chefs carry on about?

Why make things even more difficult for you by having to get all fancy and ‘deglaze‘ your pan?

Before you panic, it’s not that hard.

In short, deglazing is scraping the shit out of your pan, adding some liquid to it and pouring it over your dinner.

The whole idea is that when you cook something yummy, little bits of food are going to stick to the bottom of the pan and caramelize. These yummy little scraps are actually full of flavour and when you pour your liquid in, like some stock or red wine, these yummy flavour infuse the liquid as you cook it down over a high heat. This is not the part where you walk away and chat on the phone about Laguna Beach or tend to your cuticles. You need to stand there and work at scraping these scraps off with a wooden spoon and stirring as the liquid reduces.

At this point, you can add your seasonings like chopped parsley, salt and pepper, peppercorns, whatever you want.

If you’re happy with the texture the way it is, serve it over your meal, but if you want that perfectly creamy, velvety kinda feel, chuck in a knob of chilled butter once you take the pan off the heat and stir it through as it melts. This will act to thicken the sauce up and give it a lovely, seductive flavour.

When you’re ready to plate up, pour some of your yummy sauce over the meal and be satisfied in the knowledge that nothing got wasted! Woohoo!

Oh and the best bit? You don’t have to stand at the sink scrubbing like a lunatic to get all the crusty bits off the bottom of the pan! Double woohoo!

Image Source

 

Everybody Loves Scones

I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t like scones.

Scones remind me of childhood winters, snug at home while the rain poured outside and the delicious aroma of freshly baked scones wafting from the kitchen. Soft, warm scones slathered in tarty fruit of the forest jam and topped off with a dollop of smooth cream.

Okay, well I know it’s the middle of summer here down under. I know it’s so freakin’ hot today that you think you’re going to die. I know that at the moment you’re more interested in ice-cream, ice-cubes and potato salad instead of warm, wintery scones.

But, here’s the upside. Scones are so dead-easy that you can indulge yourself, and your family with their yumminess and actually do minimal work- they’re the perfect hot weather snack because they take 20 minutes from oven to your belly. And everyone will think how wonderful you are because you slaved away in the kitchen, over a hot oven, to make them something yummy.

Everyone fights about scone recipes. Some swear by cream, others swear by buttermilk and ricotta and almond meal. Pooh, pooh. The secret ingredient is lemonade. Don’t argue with me, don’t pfft me, I am your friend and I wouldn’t lie to you. So you toddle off and go and by your bloody lemonade and then we’ll talk scones.

Ingredients

4 cups self-raising flour

300 ml cream or chilled milk

1 can lemonade (355 ml) Sprite or 7UP etc

½ teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 220ºC.

Prepare a baking tray with some baking paper and spray with canola oil or similar cooking spray.

Mix all your ingredients in a bowl until it becomes a smooth dough.

Sprinkle some flour on your bench or board and knead it. Yes, get your hands in there. Plus, getting flour all over your hands and clothes makes it look like you worked really hard in the kitchen.

Roll the dough out flat (not pancake flat, but enough to allow them to rise a little bit without resembling little dinner rolls).

Use a round cookie-cutter or even the rim of a glass, bottle or jar of the appropriate size to cut out little circles. Flour the rim of the glass or jars so they don’t stick.

Place the scones on the baking tray, leaving a decent space between each of them so they don’t stick and all that.

Brush the tops with beaten egg or milk to give that lovely golden glaze.

Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes until starting to colour pale golden.

Cool them on a wire rack when ready and perhaps cover them with a tea-towel to keep them soft and prevent them from drying out.

When they’re ready to eat, cut them in half, spread with jam and and top with a dollop of cream.

Eat as many as you can before they disappear.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Once in a while, someone thinks up a great idea to put a twist on the old-fashioned scone. Here are some variations I’ve tried, tested, read about and dreamt about.

· Add some dried fruit to the mixture. Fruits like chopped dates, sultanas and even dried cranberries. Glace cherries, dried figs, dried apricots- you name it, if it’s dry, you can add it.

· Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the mixture for those with a sweet-tooth. Be prepared to double the quantities of the recipe to make enough because these go. Fast.

· If you outgrew your sweet-tooth when you were eight years old, try making some savoury scones. Try replacing the lemonade with soda water and add any of these extras or a combination of a few–
· 1 large onion, finely chopped
· 1 cup grated tasty cheese
· 6 rashers lean rindless bacon, or smoked ham, chopped
· 3 tablespoons chopped parsley or fresh herbs
· 1 cup chopped gherkins or pickled onions

Here are some other variations I found:

• Spiced Scones: Add enough cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice to the dry ingredients to total 1/2 teaspoon.
• Raisin Wheat Scones: Substitute white flour with whole wheat pastry flour or half and half white and wheat. Use brown sugar instead of white and plain yogurt instead of whole milk. A healthy take on a delicious treat!
• Buttermilk Scones: Substitute buttermilk for whole milk and add 1 tablespoon sugar to the basic recipe.
• Walnut Scones: Add 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts.
• Cheddar Scones: Add 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese and 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard.
• Dried Fruit Scones: Add 1/2 cup raisins, currants, cranberries, or chopped dried apricots.
• Vanilla Chocolate Chip Scones: Add 1/2 cup white or dark chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the basic recipe.
• Lemon Scones: Add the juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon sugar to the basic scone recipe.

Image Source, top left.

 

Foods you should not freeze!

- Hard boiled eggs go rubbery
- Fried and crumbed meats go soggy
- Whole eggs in their shells will break as the contents expand
- Vegetables with a high water content, such as lettuce
- Sour cream and yoghurt separate
- Meringue weeps
- Custards, mayonnaise and dishes containing gelatine
- Herbs and spices lose their pungency after two weeks

Image source

Source

 

How to seduce with food…

I happened to have a chat with some friends somewhere in Internet Land a while ago about seductive food (hi gals!) and thought it would be only fair to educate the rest of you poor souls who need to impress your special person with food to get into their pants.

Image source

Now don’t panic. I’m not going to go all foie gras and caviar on you, so relax. I am going to make this dead easy, so that you will actually read through to the end. After all, I wouldn’t want you to tire your poor self out cooking and be too exhausted for the reason you did it all in the first place- some damn good lovin’.

Now maybe you’re married or partnered and looking to spoil your other half. Maybe you’ve got a new love interest and want to blow them away (no pun intended) with your culinary prowess. Maybe you get horny over food. *Cough* Whatever your deal is, just remember read this and you can’t really screw (again, no pun intended) this up.

Let’s start with the basics. Setting the right time and place for your rambunctious rendezvous is very important. After an 11 hour work-day is probably not the greatest time to expect some loving after a good meal. Choose a time when you will both be alone, uninterrupted. Palm the kids off to granny, turn the phone off, stay away from the forum you obsessively inhabit. Set the scene- if you want to seduce someone, it’s more than a bit of good grub and tug- you need to create a sensual environment that will encourage them to want to take their clothes off and make mince out of you.

You can go for the formal sit-down dinner at the table. That’s nice and gives you the opportunity to talk (if that’s your thing) face to face, without the pressure of it all being some big romantic dinner where you have to put out at the end. Alternatively, you can throw a picnic rug down on your living room floor or somewhere else you feel appropriate- even better if you have a fireplace) and enjoy your feast while lazing around on the blanket in a more relaxed manner. It’s almost too easy to root in this scenario! Picnic blanket, food, wine, maybe a few pillows. How could it not happen? Another option is to really head for the great outdoors with that picnic blanket, but I prefer to stick to the HQ- after all, public hanky panky can get you in some serious handcuff trouble- and not the fun kind! If all of that is too much effort, stay in bed. That way you won’t have to walk so far when the going gets hot.

When you’ve decided where you want to ‘do it’ (sheesh, me and these puns), set the scene with mood lighting, candles, scented oils or beautifully seductive incense. Play sexy music (except for Jamie Foxx- is that weird or is it just me?) and decorate the table or picnic blanket or whatever the hell you’re using with rose petals, a bowl of foil-covered heart chocolates and fresh flowers. This isn’t the time for your delicate white summery frangipani blooms, no, no, no! Go for intense flowers in deep hues of red, pink, violet. Choose flowers with a heady scent like lillies, roses, gardenias. If you use gerberas, I will personally smack you.

Decorate to appeal to all five senses. For sight, use ambient lighting and beautiful things like glass bowls with floating candles, vases of flowers, a seductive scarlet tablecloth, velvety rose petals sprinkled along the table runner or on the bed. For the sense of smell, there is the flowers, essential oils and scented candles and the delicious aromas coming out of the kitchen. For the sense of hearing, play soothing melodies and seductive beats. Make sure there is no extraneous noise to disrupt your little party for two. For the sense of touch, surround yourself with beautiful textures. Satins, velvets, feathers, anything over the top and a bit Moulin Rouge. It doesn’t need to be all fabric-centric- think of the food as well. Think of the textures of a bowl of freshly cut fruit, stickiness of honey, the velvety lightness of whipped cream. You get the idea. It’s getting hot in here. As for taste, well, make sure that whilst the food is being prepared, heated, whatever, there is something for you and your special friend to nibble on. Belgian chocolates, a few cherries, some chocolate dipped strawberries, some lollipops, anything that get’s that saliva going. Hee!

Next prepare yourself. Please bathe. Look ravishing. Look polished. Do your hair. Wear something seductive (no naughty nurse outfits please), or wear something totally boring only to strip off to something despicable underneath. Make sure you smell nice- something fiesty and seductive- don’t over-stench yourself, just spray it, as a certain cheeky little lady once said, ‘where you want to be kissed’ (I didn’t know you could spray perfume there??!)

Now that you’ve done all that, let’s focus on the food. Repeat after me, especially you European members of Internet Land. LESS IS MORE. Less is more. Less is more. Got the hang of it yet? Under no circumstances do you want to overstuff your special friend to the point where they are bloated, farting, crapping and wanting to sleep or just watch TV. Stick to simple foods that can be eaten with as little or no cutlery and stuff as possible! The last thing you want to be doing is cleaning the kitchen all night while your honey unzips their pants…to let their gut hang out!

If you still want to go ahead and do a three course meal, keep the portions small, keep your date lingering for more. Keep the flavours light- it’s a little hard to be turned on by garlic breath and curry farts. You’re not eating to get full, please remember that. If you’re eating to get full…you’re obviously already married.

So the options are- three course meal or finger food.

If you’re making the three course meal, start off with something light like a goats cheese and sundried tomato tartlet; a Caprese salad (left, image source) with cherry tomatoes, baby bocconcini and basil leaves dressed with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar or some mini-skewers with marinated meat of some kind. Make sure it’s melt-in-your-mouth tender. Or else! You can do pasta-but be careful. Pasta has a tendency to fill people up really quickly an doesn’t leave much room for much else. If you’re doing pasta, go for a few wild mushroom ravioli with a burnt butter and sage sauce. Little souffles are good as they are so light and delicate. You could do a leek and Gruyere souffle or something simple.

For your main course, I would recommend chicken, lamb, beef or vegetarian. I’m not sure you want to be smelling fishy while trying to get lucky. This is up to you really- everyone has different tastes. Whatever you do, choose a good cut of meat, a nice hearty filet and either cook it really slowly in the oven, crust it with some fragrant spices or herbs or grill it. Under no circumstances should you deep fry anything- people just feel yuck [and guilty] after eating fried food. This does not make for good screwy screwy!

Serve your main course with two sides. They must be something really light and shouldn’t really steal the limelight of the main dish. Some lightly steamed broccoli, carrots or asparagus drizzled with a dainty vinaigrette would be good. Cripsy roasted potatoes tossed with cumin seeds and rosemary is nice. Some julienne carrots drizzled with honey and tossed in sesame seeds is one of my favourites. Wilted spinach, sweet potato mash, sauteed cherry tomatoes, corn, minted peas, crunchy green beans- anything like this. The choices are endless.

Dessert is the show-stopper of the three course meal. How about a delicious Grand Marnier chocolate cake or a sumptuous fruit platter with honey, melted chocolate and dipping cream? The choices are endless- just remember, don’t choose something too rich that is going to make you both feel all sick and depressed about your flabby thighs. You can’t go wrong with cheesecakes, souffles, fruit kebabs with a cinnamon dipping yogurt or fresh season fruit, sliced or pureed and layered in attractive glasses with cream, crushed Amaretti biscotti and custard.

Now that we’ve dealt with the three course dinner people, let’s deal with the lazy finger food people. You, my friends, may have thought you had gotten out of this easily, but the bad news is, when I said finger food, I wasn’t talking about the ‘cocktail party’ pack of Dim Sims and spring rolls in the Coles freezer section. Sorry. Finger food can be fiddly depending how all-out you want to go. On the whole, most ideas are simple just take a bit of prep work. So, speaking of spring rolls, little Vietnamese spring rolls with a lime and ginger dipping sauce are a good idea. You could do little skewers of anything really- my favourite are Caprese skewers (right, image source) , those boconccini we were talking about earlier, cherry tomatoes and basil leaves all threaded on little skewers and dipped in an olive oil dressing.

Little pies and tarts, figs wrapped in prosciutto, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, well anything wrapped in prosciutto. Blinis with avocado, smoked salmon, dill and caviar. Little hors d’ouevre cases filled with cream cheese, chopped sundried tomato and topped with green olive tapenade… the possibilities are endless. Anything that can be eaten in a few bites, sans drippage, stench and mess is a sure-fire hit. Seeing as the lazy finger food people thought finger food would be easy, I’ve kept this nice and short to ensure they didn’t fall asleep read through to the end.

Now to drink. Alcohol. The end.

Hope this has helped. Or at least got you out of hanging the washing.

Copyright 2006. DelishDinners.wordpress

And now for some interesting facts about aphrodisiac foods that I thought you would all enjoy and find interesting. Personally, I think it’s a crock, but I’m willing to try anything once.

Aniseed
A very popular aphrodisiac with many culinary uses. It has been used as an aphrodisiac since the Greeks and the Romans, who believed aniseed had special powers. Sucking on the seeds is said to increases your desire.

Asparagus
Given it’s phallic shape, asparagus is frequently enjoyed as an aphrodisiac food. Feed your lover boiled or steamed spears for a sensuous experience. The Vegetarian Society suggests “eating asparagus for three days for the most powerful affect”.

Almond
A symbol of fertility throughout the ages. The aroma is thought to induce passion in a female. Try serving Marzipan (almond paste) in the shapes of fruits for a special after-dinner treat.

Arugula
Arugula or “rocket” seed has been documented as an aphrodisiac since the first century A.D. This ingredient was added to grated orchid bulbs and parsnips and also combined with pine nuts and pistachios. Arugula greens are frequently used in salads and pasta.

Avocado
The Aztecs called the avocado tree “Ahuacuatl which translated means “testicle tree”. The ancients thought the fruit hanging in pairs on the tree resembled the male’s testicles. This is a delicious fruit with a sensuous texture. Serve in slices with a small amount of Balsamic vinegar and freshly ground pepper.

Bananas
The banana flower has a marvelous phallic shape and is partially responsible for popularity of the banana as an aphrodisiac food. An Islamic myth tells the tale that after Adam and Eve succumbed to the “Apple” they started covering their “nudity” with banana leaves rather than fig. From a more practical standpoint bananas are rich in potassium and B vitamins, necessities for sex hormone production.

Basil (sweet basil)
Is said to stimulate the sex drive and boost fertility. It is also said to produce a general sense of well being for body and mind.

Broccoli Rabe (And Other Mustard Greens)
The ground seeds of various plants in the brassica family were believed to increase virility. In the case of broccoli rabe its more likely a myth created to get people to eat this bitter vegetable.

Chocolate
The Aztecs referred to chocolate “nourishment of the Gods”. Chocolate contains chemicals thought to effect neurotransmitters in the brain and a related substance to caffeine called theobromine. Chocolate contains more antioxidant (cancer preventing enzymes) than does red wine. The secret for passion is to combine the two. Try a glass of Cabernet with a bit of dark chocolate for a sensuous treat.

Carrots
Another good reason to eat carrots–believed to be a stimulant to the male. The phallus shaped carrot has been associated with stimulation since ancient times and was used by early Middle Eastern royalty to aid seduction. High vitamins and beta-carotene. Perhaps a justification for a piece of carrot cake?

Coffee
Caffeine is a well-know stimulant but remember, too much and it becomes a depressant. Serve small amounts of rich dark coffee in special little demitasse cups. Coffee stimulates both the body and the mind so partake of a little in preparation for an “all-nighter”.

Coriander (Cilantro seed)
The book of The Arabian nights tells a tale of a merchant who had been childless for 40 years and but was cured by a concoction that included coriander. That book is over 1000 years old so the history of coriander as an aphrodisiac dates back far into history. Cilantro was also know to be used as an “appetite” stimulant.

Figs
An open fig is thought to emulate the female sex organs and traditionally thought of as sexual stimulant. A man breaking open a fig and eating it in front of his lover is a powerful erotic act. Serve fresh Black Mission figs in a cool bowl of water as it is done in Italy and be sure to eat with your fingers!

Garlic
The ‘heat’ in garlic is said to stir sexual desires. Make sure you and your partner share it together. Garlic has been used for centuries to cure everything from the common cold to heart ailments. This is a good time for moderation. Enjoy a pasta with a lightly garlicky sauce and it and lead up to something spicy in the bedroom later.

Ginger
Ginger root raw, cooked or crystallized is a stimulant to the circulatory system. Perhaps a stir-fry with freshly grated ginger can stir something spicy up in the bedroom later.

Honey
Many medicines in Egyptian times were based on honey including cures for sterility and impotence. Medieval seducers plied their partners with Mead, a fermented drink made from honey. Lovers on their “Honeymoon” drank mead and it was thought to s “sweeten” the marriage.

Liquorice (licorice)
The Chinese have used licorice for medicinal purposes since ancient times. The essence of the Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) plan, glycrrhizin, is 50 time sweeter than sugar. Chewing on bits of licorice root is said to enhance love and lust. It is particularly stimulating to woman.

Mustard
Believed to stimulate the sexual glands and increase desire. Prepare a tenderloin roast (filet mignon) for two with a mustard and peppercorn sauce.

Nutmeg
Nutmeg was highly prized by Chinese women as an aphrodisiac. In quantity nutmeg can produce a hallucinogenic effect. A light sprinkling of the spice in a warm pumpkin soup can help spice up your evening.

Oysters
Oysters were documented as a aphrodisiac food by the Romans in the second century A.D as mentioned in a satire by Juvenal. He described the wanton ways of women after ingesting wine and eating “giant oysters”. An additional hypotheses is that the oyster resembles the “female” genitals. In reality oysters are a very nutritious and high in protein.

Pine Nuts
Zinc is a key mineral necessary to maintain male potency and pine nuts are rich in zinc. Pine nuts have been used to stimulate the libido as far back as Medieval times. Serve pine nut cookies with a dark espresso for a stimulating dessert.

Pineapple
Rich in vitamin C and and is used in the homeopathic treatment for impotence. Add a spear to a sweet Rum drink for a tasty prelude to an evening of passion.

Raspberries and Strawberries
Perfect foods for hand feeding your lover. “Both invite love and are described in erotic literature as fruit nipples” Both are high in vitamin C and make a sweet light dessert.

Truffles
The Greeks and the Romans considered the rare Truffle to be an aphrodisiac. The musky scent is said to stimulate and sensitize the skin to touch.

Vanilla
The scent and flavor of vanilla is believed to increase lust. According to the Australian Orchid Society, “Old Totonac lore has it that Xanat, the young daughter of the Mexican fertility goddess, loved a Totonac youth. Unable to marry him due to her divine nature, she transformed herself into a plant that would provide pleasure and happiness.” Fill tall Champagne glasses to the rim and add a vanilla bean for a heady, bubbly treat.

Wine
A glass or two of wine can greatly enhance a romantic interlude. Wine relaxes and helps to stimulate our senses. Drinking wine can be an erotic experience. Let your eyes feast on the color of the liquid. Caress the glass, savor the taste on your lips. Do remember that excessive alcohol will make you too drowsy for the after-dinner romance. A moderate amount of wine has been said to “arouse” but much more than that amount with have the reverse affect.

Source

 

Know nothing about steak? Here’s how to choose the right steak

Oh yum. Who doesn’t love a good steak?

Choosing the right steak can be a pain the arse at times, especially for those just starting out in their cooking endeavours. Thanks to this fabulous article, choosing the perfect steak needs to no longer be a daunting task.

• Porterhouse and T-Bone (Left)

You know these steaks. They’re the ones you’ve picked up in the supermarket refrigerators, then put down again because they’re too expensive and you can’t justify the cost for a cheap and easy meal. These two steaks are similar and consist of two cuts- the top loin and tenderloin. TheT-Bone is the smaller of the filets whereas the porterhouse is larger.

• Filet Mignon (Left)

This steak is considered to be the most tender and doesn’t need too much to make it delicious. Just season with some salt and freshly ground pepper and maybe a few herbs and cook!

• Top Round (Left)

This is a great cut for those of us trying to watch the fat intake as it’s very lean. However because it is so lean (and cheap, yay!), it needs a little bit of love and care prior to cooking to ensure the meat is lovely and tender. The best way to tenderise this cut is to marinate it for a few hours before cooking.

• Top Blade (Flat Iron, left)

Despite its low cost, this cut has a nice beefy flavour and is surprisingly tender. Try with a simple spice rub.

• Flank Steak (Left)

Also a lean cut, this steak also requires tenderising. Marinate before cooking to ensure a juicy, tender steak come dinner time.

• Rib Eye Steak (left)

Rib eye is a premium well-marbled steak with a pronounced beefy flavor. It’s very nice. That’s all you need to know.

• Top Sirloin (left)

Boneless, family-size sirloin is flavorful and cost-efficient. It does benefit from tenderizing, so marinate before grilling, and thinly slice against the grain.

• Skirt Steak (right)

This is the traditional steak for fajitas and is also delicious on its own or coated with a spice rub. Thinly slice on the diagonal before serving.

Images source

 

How to seduce with food…

Article coming soon!

 

Cocktail Parties- You need host at least one in your lifetime.

When you think of cocktail parties you think of tinkling piano music, olives being dropped into martinis, quiet chatter and laughter as trays of delicious-looking canapes drift between guests.

This isn’t just in the movies. You can do this. I promise. I will help you.

Where to begin in the wonderful world of planning a cocktail party? Ahh, let’s see. Let’s start with the guests.

You’re looking at inviting between 12-30 people. The whole idea of a cocktail party is that you maintain the intimate atmosphere. Invite a diverse range of guests, everyone from your crazy cousin Joe with the wild camping stories to your straight-laced work colleague- there should be someone there for everyone to talk to, crazed or not.
Friday night cocktail parties are nice if you want a more casual, laid-back vibe. It will usually be a winding-down-after-work-with-a-few-drinks shindig, so if you want a Friday night cocktail party, prepare to go more low key. Also prepare for guests to be pooped much earlier. Saturdays are most common.
Speaking of time, your cocktail party should go for about three hours and should commence after 6pm. Don’t ask why, just do it.

Create the right ambiance. Do some cleaning before your guests arrive- get rid of any clutter. You want your guests to be free to move and mingle. Keep as many clear surfaces as you can for resting drinks and platters of nibbles. LIGHTING is extremely important. Think dim, think seductive, think subdued. Use lamps- no overhead lights allowed. Oriental style paper lamps give off a wonderful golden glow. Tealight candles in pretty holders would look lovely lining your coffee table, on the TV unit, in the bathroom. Burn a subtle essential oil to set the mood. Citrus oils like lemon, lime and orange are great, invigorating, uplifting scents that brighten the mood of the room instantly. For a more sensuous, seductive scent, opt for ylang ylang, patchouli, orange, sandalwood, lavender and jasmine oils.
Music is an important aspect of every cocktail party. Stick to easy listening music- jazz, acoustic, anything that makes you feel relaxed. This isn’t the time to show off your love for old-school rap or headbanging heavy-metal.
Next, it’s important to set up an area that will be recognised as ‘the bar’ and more importantly, choose someone to be your bartender. You can either hire a professional if you feel like splashing out the cash, or pick a friend or family member who makes great conversation, mixes great drinks and can talk to everyone. They will be one of the biggest assets of your party.
Now it’s time to think about the supplies you need for your bar.

Be prepared with a variety of glasses- shot, highball, martini, champagne flutes and wine glasses. You need to have enough for two-three glasses per guest because we’re going to assume that they will be emptying these glasses and dumping them around your living room. Don’t scrimp on the ice- you need a lot, crushed for use in drinks, but you are also going to need it to keep drinks cold beneath the bar. You need to ensure your bar is stocked with enough grog to make these people happy. Assume 1 bottle of wine for every two wine drinkers. Beer drinkers should expect to consume a six-pack per couple.

Choose a few key liquors that you want as the base for your mixed cocktails rather than buying every single bottle of alcohol in the the bottle shop. I would go for vodka, Midori, bourbon, Bailey’s Irish Cream and Frangelico as bases and only offer cocktails based on these drinks. Then there is milk, cream, honey, lemon, pineapple, orange and cranberry juices, garnishes like olives, fruit peels, chocolate syrups, citrus slices, etc.
The best way to work out which alcohol to buy is to sit down and create your own little cocktail menu. Think of 5-7 different cocktails you would like to serve- they could be well-known mixes or your own concoctions. You can later print these out on cute little cards and leave them laying around on tables and at the bar for guests to peruse.
Don’t make the night miserable for your designated drivers. Offer some tasty non-alcoholic beverages. Tropical drinks are always a hit.
Next is the most important part- the food. Estimate six pieces per person, but I would always go over that because I would rather have too much food rather than not enough. The most important basics of any gathering are the customary bowl of nuts. If you snip open a pack of Nobby’s, you’re dead. Go to a proper deli. Buy some pistachios, pecans, Brazil nuts and almonds. Roast them yourself beforehand or cook them up with some chili, sugar and a bit of butter for a caliente spicy nut mix. Whatever you do with the nuts, just make sure they are the first thing your guests see upon arrival. Spread small bowls around the room for guests to help themselves.

Cheese platters please everyone- buy some really good French or Australian Brie or Camembert and serve the cheeses on a platter amid beautiful dried figs, chunks of toasted sourdough bread and wafer biscuits. The wine drinkers will love you for this.
A smoked salmon platter is essential. Lay your slices of smoked salmon out attractively on a platter accompanied with lemon wedges, a tiny bowl with salted capers, another small bowl with some cream cheese and scatter the platter with thinly sliced Spanish onion and some dill. Pure heaven.
Now for the hearty stuff. If you want to make this stuff from scratch, all the power to you, but I would personally suggest buying a few bits and pieces.

If you’re having a theme to your cocktail party, try and stick to it when it comes time for the food. If your theme is Oriental, go for platters of sushi, rice paper rolls, prawn toasts and all that jazz. This part is really up to you- only you can decide the type of fare you want to serve. Just remember it needs to be eaten with the hands, with minimal mess, whilst looking as sexy as possible. There is nothing fun about a room full of guests with fetta cheese splattering the front of their shirts and pesto dribbling down their chins. Stuff like tartlettes, bruschetta, tapas, skewered anything- chicken satay, beef, prawns, scallops, fruit, anything!

You can’t go wrong with pieces of melon wrapped in prosciutto; mushrooms stuffed with fetta cheese and olives; tandoori chicken bites, vegetable samosas; sushi; Thai fish cakes with a gorgeous sweet chilli dipping sauce; mini quiches, caramelised onion and fetta tarts and the like. Make a variety- and make sure there are vegetarian options. It’s also very important to find out about nut or other allergies beforehand.

Sweets. Sweets are the hint that the evening is almost over. Bring out trays of delectable little desserts like gooey chocolate tarts, grilled fruit kebabs with a honey cinammon dipping sauce, berry tarts, a platter of gourmet chocolates, mini-cheesecakes- don’t go overboard. Your guests will either be too trashed or too full to bother cramming their faces with dessert, so go easy.
When you think you should start winding up the party, start offering coffee to your guests- this usually goes hand in hand with the desserts. They will get the hint and start to wrap things up.
Don’t forget to have fun and mingle with your guests!
If any of your guests are trashed, endeavour to call them a taxi or arrange for them to get home safely. It’s not cool to let your friends or family drink and drive.

 

Cook the perrrrrrfect steak

It’s a far too common problem.

The smells coming out of the kitchen are divine. A big delicious steak makes its’ way onto your plate, the heavenly smell wafts up into your nostrils as it’s placed before you. Drooling with anticipation, you lift your knife and fork in preparation to devour the slab of meat- you can’t wait to chew that juicy well-done steak and then….ICK! It’s chewy and horrible and you feel like you have been doused with a bucket of cold water. Flop.

Don’t ever eat a crappy steak ever again. Here’s how to make the perfect steak. Read and learn. You can do it.

• Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat before adding the steak (this seals the surface, trapping in juices).
• Rather than oiling the pan, brush the steak with oil to prevent it sticking.
• Cook a 2cm-thick piece of steak for 2-3 minutes each side for rare, 4 minutes each side for medium, and 5-6 minutes each side for well-done.
• Turn the steak only once, otherwise it will dry out. Always use tongs to handle steak as they won’t pierce the meat, allowing the juices to escape.
• To test if your steak is done, press the centre with the back of the tongs. The steak will feel soft if it’s rare, slightly firmer and springy when it’s medium and very firm when it’s well-done.
• Transfer steak to a plate, cover with foil and set aside for 3-5 minutes to rest. This allows the juices to settle and the muscle fibres to relax, which ensures the steak is tender.

Source

Australian Good Taste – October 2005 , Page 26

Author

Michelle Southan

Now I have personally struggled over the years with trying to get my steaks just right. They usually end up still mooing on the plate (BARF) or as hard as brick, until I started using a new technique.

Instead of praying for the grace of god that my steak would cook all the way through on the grill, without drying out (IMPOSSIBLE), I started throwing the steaks onto a smoking hot cast iron grill and searing both sides to pick up some colour. Once both sides were sealed, I then completed the rest of the cooking process in a moderately hot oven until it was cooked instead.

Not only did the steaks come out tender and juicy, but they were actually cooked right through. Not a shred of pink in sight! YAY!