The Year Of Weddings

A few years ago it was the year of the 21st. But now I am experiencing the year of the weddings. Oh O...I must be ageing!

So I have had the pleasure of attending 2 beautiful weddings already this year, and I have another 3 or so to attend this year (including my eldest brother's). Both at stunning locations 1) at St Kilda's EnCore and the 2) Aqua Dining at Sydney's Milson's Point. The food that the lucky guest got to dine on was devine.

I thought it was only fair to share with those who have been drooling over my blog recently! 

The brillaint location for Wedding 2 overlooking the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. On the opposite side is Lunar Park. With sound of the jazz band and the illuminating lights, this location was perfect!

Entrees:

Goats cheese, tomatoe and basil tartlets on arrival!

Walnut Ravioli

Salmon Fillet

The Mains:

Lamb Cutlets

Barramundi fillet

Barramundi

Desserts:

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Summer Berries

  

Enjoy drooling over these wonderful plates. x

Winters Coming- Apple and Date Porridge

I awoke this morning to a grey and cold 7 degrees Melbourne. To help warm myself up I grabbed my bf ugg boots and decided it was time to make some porridge. Over the Easter weekend we visited a cute little cafe called 'Sticks and Grace'. The menu was so impressive that we opted to share two dishes as we couldnt possibly decide on just one each. One of the dishes was bircher museli with apples, dates and cinammon...hence this mornings inspiration.


I opened the cupboard and was sad to find no rolled oats available. However I did find a naughty alternative 'Be Natural's Vanilla and Almond' porridge and thought that will do.


1. I grabbed a small saucepan and poured the contents in ( I would use one sachet per person).
2. Poured in 1/2 cup of milk
3. chopped up 5 dates and a 1/4 of a Granny Smith apple
4. Sprinkled some cinammon and sugar to serve.
5. Eat and enjoy with a cuppa.

Delicious, that is sure to warm you up and lift your spirits on a rainy day. Enjoy! P.s I just love this square glass bowl they have  used, I must get one!

Beer and sushi night

I would not call myself a beer lover, however on a recent night out I discovered some that took my fancy (to be fair 2 of these are ciders). It may have been the lovely Japanese feast (pictured is our first night in France May 2011) or the lovely company of friends but these were delicious and I would try these again and so should you.  

When stopping quickly through Belgium last year we were lucky enough to try some Grapefruit and Raspberry beer. From then throughout our European trip I was determined to find it again. But nothing tasted the same. After I'd almost given up I stumbled across Lindemans Framboise which was as close to the Belgium beer I first discovered.The other two are Innis and Gunn's Oak aged beer, and Napolean and Co Pear and Apple cider. 

All were purchased from Vintage Cellars.

Pistachio and Dill Crusted Salmon with Oolong Tea Rice

Tonight we had some lovely salmon fillet for dinner. I decided to serve it with some rice and greens. However, to make it that little more special I decided to try something my father taught me. I cooked the rice using an Oolong tea bag to give it a nice subtle flavour. Its a great idea! 
The salmon is really easy to do, here goes (please note: sometimes I don't measure things and tend to go with what looks right):


1. I chopped up some pistachios and crushed them up with some dried dill
2. I then grated some lemon and lime rind to add to the mix before sprinkling in over the salmon fillets.
3. I put the fillets in a preheated oven of 190 degrees for 7 mins.
4. Whilst the salmon was cooking I cooked a mix of green vegies (brocollini. broccoli and peas).
5. I then drained the rice, took the salmon out of the oven and allowed it to rest for 5 mins before serving.


This was a very simple dish! Again you could try chopping up a variety of different nuts and herbs with any of your fish just to make it a little more interesting.Just for fun I decided to serve the rice up in some cute silicone poached egg containers to keep with the green theme.Enjoy !

 

Carmelised Beetroot Tarte Tartin

I saw this recipe in a free magazine and decided to put my own twist on it. I added pistachios and black pitted olives with rocket to finish it off. The recipe also asked for goats cheese, however I only had feta which worked well. I served it with a nice piece of beef fillet, which was much appreciated by the man in my life. But you could even serve this as a dish by itself. I think colours are the secret to making a dish that little more WOW and the colours and taste of this dish will not disappoint you and your loved ones!


What you will need:

• 2 bunches Beetroot
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1 Red Onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 375 g Block of Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
• 1 tbsp Butter, melted
• 50 g Soft Goat’s Cheese or Greek Feta
• 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup of pitted olives
• 1/2 cup of pistachios
• a handful of rocket

Method:

1. Cut leaves from beets, reserving small tender leaves to serve. Scrub beets and place in a large saucepan. Cover with water and boil, covered, for 1 hr, or until tender. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, peel and cut each beet into 6-8 x 2cm wedges. Beetroot is messy to prepare so wear disposable gloves when peeling and chopping it.
2. Preheat oven to 220°C or 200°C fan.
3. Heat oil in a 24cm, ovenproof frying pan on medium. Cook onion for 10 mins, or until very soft. Add vinegar and sugar and cook, stirring, for 3 mins, or until caramelised. Remove from heat. Add beetroot.
4. Roll pastry between two sheets baking paper to a 26cm round. Lay pastry over beetroot, tucking down sides slightly around beetroot on inside of frying pan. Brush with butter. Transfer to oven and bake for 25 mins, or until puffed and golden.
5. Allow to sit in pan for 5 mins, then invert onto a serving plate. Crumble over goat’s cheese and scatter with olives, pistachios and rocket. Drizzle over extra virgin olive oil before serving.

Reciepe was taken and altered on:

http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/1726/caramelised-beetroot-tarte-tartin/

Before the oven:

After the oven:

Plated up! Excuse the messy plate!

As an alternative I think you could do a lot of different things with this dish like pear and blue cheese, or pumpkin, sage and ricotta. A really cheap and easy meal especially now it is getting colder. Use the idea, and remember DON'T BE AFRAID to experiment with flavours!

Lumberjack Muffins

When I was a child my mother would sometimes take me out for a 'girly day' just the two of us. One day we went to a place called the Winter Garden, this is where I fell in love with my favourite cake...the Lumberjack cake. I remember it being so decadent served with maple syrup and a dollop of cream on the side. We both sat there giggling with joy partly because it was so delicious,and partly because we felt naughty.It was like our own little secret that we could enjoy without the boys. After this day my mother learnt to make the cake, we could often smell it in the air when we came home from school. If you haven't had a lumberjack cake before you must know it has a lovely toasted coconut topping that is addictive. I recall my brothers and I sneakingly opening the oven and stealing the coconut from top secretly trying not to get caught. 


I was speaking to my partner about this delicious cake and I was shocked that he had never tried this before. Therefore I went straight to the shops grabbed the ingredients and baked away, determined to recreate this fantasy cake of mine.However I decided to  change the recipe from a cake to muffins so that we could take and share them at work. Try and enjoy them with cream and maple syrup!

Recipe:


Ingredients:
2 Granny Smith apples diced
200 g Dates, chopped

1 teaspoon Bicarb Soda, 
1 cup Boiling Water, 250ml
125 g Unsalted Butter, Softened to room temp
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Caster Sugar,
1 Large Egg
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour

Topping:
60 g Butter
1/2 cup Milk, 105g

1/2 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed, 110g
2/3 cup Shredded Coconut, 60g

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (160 fan-forced, 375F). Grease and line a 23cm spring form cake tin.

Mix the chopped apples and dates, bicarb soda and boiling water in a bowl. Stir to coat them, cover with clingfilm, and leave to stand until just warm.

In a large bowl beat the softened butter, vanilla and sugar until thick and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg until combined.

Gently stir in the flour and apple mixture including the water. Pour into cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 45-50 minutes.

While the cake is cooking, prepare the topping. Combine the butter, milk, brown sugar and shredded coconut in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the butter has completely melted and the sugar has dissolved.

When the cake comes out of the oven after 40-50 minutes, pour this topping evenly over the cake, then continue baking for another 30 minutes. Cake is done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool upright in the tin.


Serve with a dollop of cream and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe from Australian Women’s Weekly: Old Fashioned Favourites