Now that you’ve been exposed to my technical ‘skills’, it may not be surprising to learn that my hot cross buns were lacking something, too. I followed a recipe that I downloaded from the internet – probably my first mistake! – and while they turned out perfectly edible, they had a texture more akin to a scone than a bun. Everything started out nicely enough, although I was apprehensive about using copha, or vegetable shortening, as I associate that stuff […]
Cooking
Gordon Ramsay’s recipe wrong?
Anybody who has dismantled a car or a motorbike will have had this feeling. You reassemble it and end up with a box of extraneous nuts and bolts. Sometimes a similar thing happens with recipes. You assemble all the ingredients listed and methodically go through the recipe only to have several left over. Or something just doesn’t seem right. I won’t list them all here but this one of Gordon Ramsay’s comes to mind although funnily enough the problem is […]
Apple Fragipane out of sync with the world
One short weekend and everything has change. yes, the sun still shines but the cold – relative cold at sub 20C – sets in. It’s time for blackpudding, bacon, egg and fried bread for breakfast. And it’s time for comfort food. Things like apple fraginpane tart, served with sour creme and a sticky or a glass of Pedro Ximinez. The beuaty of this recipe is that if you can make – or heaven forbid have access to premade shortcrust pastry […]
What lurks inside
I have one update at the end here from Betel at Rustic Food, Ay Coregi, a crescent roll from Turkey. By now we all know the reasons for staging this monthly event. I need say no more. A crew of ten cheese sandwich munchers (plus myself) show what cooking at home is really about and how imaginative it can be. It’s about trying to find a use for the limp celery lying in some undetermined liquid in the bottom of […]
I’m not bitter, just delicate
There’s probably more than a few hangovers in Canberra today as the Prime Minister John Howard – a great friend of George Dubya) yesterday celebrated ten years in office. If we believe the PR, he was Australia’s great white hope (don’t mention multiculturalism) rescuing us from Labor, high interest rates, unemployment and almost certain doom. I’m not one of the big man’s cheerleaders. But I am feeling a tad delicate myself. Pat over at Gourmet Traveller reminded me of Fergus […]
Foxy meal: I want you
Sometimes the eating habits of us former country folk can be controversial. I appalled a local Aussie food writer with stories of road kill from the Essex countryside. We’d often hit pheasants/partridge/rabbit/hare or just find them in the road. We’d pick them up take them home and hang them – this would be during winter remember – and wait until the maggots dropped out. At this point I could slip them out of their skin by hand. The meat will […]
Sauce fit for a Bourbon; steak fit for Uncle Monty
Merde! I forgot some links and I’ve opened as can of worms here. Huguenots, Bourbons…religious wars and bad French. Several regional dishes were planned but a late night meant an unexpected demand from J (avec a hangover) for steak au frites avec sauce béarnaise. Actually, she wanted a steak haché or probably a royale with cheese, but I’m a fascist and I’m cooking for IMBB23 over at Cucina Testa Rossa. Although the origins may be obscure they are attributed to […]
This simple life: tomatoes, figs, proscuitto and herbs
Busy writing for money rather than blog kudos and dealing with the new monkey. But still wonderful food isn’t far away, inspired by Kalyn’s Weekend Herb Blogging. Over ripe tomatoes are baked in the oven drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with Murray River salt crystals and fresh cracked pepper. Served on toasted sourdough with nothing else but freshly torn leaves of basil and oregano. The simple ripe toms combined with fresh flavours and the crunch of toast can’t be beaten. […]
Simplicity is the best
I have planned a debate on good vs bad ingredients, my position being that the secret is knowing what to do with the bad ones. This entry is the opposite because the better the ingredients, the better this dish. First the tomatoes, handpicked off the vine warmed to blood temperature by the sun. Tear some leaves from a nearby basil bush (tomatoes and basil thrive together). Slice buffalo Mozarella into soft creamy discs. Assemble alternate layers of tomato, basil and […]