Sunday, May 19, 2013

Spicy T-Bone with Corn


Again from Curtis Stone's new book, got a 9/10 from the teenager so thats good.

Make a spice rub with:
Garlic powder
Chilli Powder
Coriander and Cumin powder
Salt and pepper

Rub the T-Bone steaks with the powder at least and hour before cooking but you could leave them overnight.

The original recipe called for the BBQ but I used a covered grill pan on the stove.

Start by shucking the corn  one for each person place on the oiled hot surface and turn every few minutes, they will burn so watch them.

After 10 minutes put on the steak, turning regularly till done to your liking.

Sprinkle the corn with some of the spice mixture and cook until done.
Took about 20 minutes in total.

Serve and enjoy!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

What's for Dinner? by Curtis Stone

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I first saw Curtis on television many years ago in a program called Surfing the Menu which involved travelling around different surf breaks and exploring food destinations and cooking along the way. It was a funny and entertaining program. In Australia he is known as the face of Coles one of our leading supermarkets, for them he puts together recipe ideas for under $10. It was only recently when he appeared on an episode of Masterchef that I discovered that he had trained with Marco Pierre White and had a distinguished professional background.

The chapters are divided into different categories that focus on things like saving time, cooking to a budget, cooking during the week and cooking on weekends with a focus on fresh and healthy recipes. Every dish is illustrated which I find a must in a good cookbook as seeing the dish is often what sells me on cooking it. The photos are great and give a good idea about presenting each of the dishes.

It keeps things SIMPLE, yet there are a host of new and flavourful recipes to use for dinners, whether you cook ahead for yourself or feed a family. Most of the recipes feature vegetables cooked together or along side the meat course, which encourages you and your family to get those five servings a day, but in an easy fashion because you don't have to worry about the side dish. The vegetables are right in there, so it makes a balanced meal a lot easier.

There is something in this book for everyone, it doesnt need profound cooking skills and hits the mark in terms of feeding a family with home cooked food and managing the constraints of time and budget. I have included two recipes below but I have already selected several more that I want to try. Well worth a look in the bookstore and would make a good gift.






Slow Cooked Thai Chicken with Corn and Asparagus


This is another recipe from Curtis Stone's new book Whats for Dinner?


Ingredients
Serves 4

4 whole chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks)
Sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn)
1 tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
Zest of 1 lime, removed in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
2 tbsp Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam)
8 oz asparagus, woody stems trimmed, cut diagonally in half
1/4 cup packed torn fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

Directions
Season the chicken with salt. Heat a large deep heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, then place the chicken skin side down in the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the skin side is browned. Turn and brown the other side, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the onions, corn, ginger, lime zest and garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Stir in the almond milk and fish sauce, return the chicken to the skillet and bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken shows no sign of pink when pierced at the bone with the tip of a small sharp knife and the liquid has reduced slightly.

Add the asparagus and basil leaves to the chicken and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the asparagus is crisp-tender. Stir in the coconut milk and season to taste with salt.

Divide the stew among four deep soup bowls and serve hot with lime wedges.

I served this on Jasmine rice, Mine is red because I added 1tbs of Sambal Oleck I like the chilli hit, I was not able to get Almond Milk so used additional Coconut milk. The result is really nice.

Turkey Meatballs with Marinara Sauce


This recipe comes from Curtis Stone's new book Whats for dinner?

Ingredients

    • 1/4 c olive oil
    • 3 shallots finely chopped
    • 6 cloves garlic minced
    • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 1/2 c dry white wine
    • 1kg ripe tomatoes coarsely chopped
    • 1/2 c fresh basil, coarsely chopped
    • salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • Meatballs:
    • 1kg ground turkey
    • 1/2 c plain panko breadcrumbs
    • 2 shallots finely chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 3 T fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
    • 2 T fresh thyme chopped
        • 1/4 c olive oil
        • 3 shallots finely chopped
        • 6 cloves garlic minced
        • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
        • 1 bay leaf
        • 1 1/2 c dry white wine
        • 4 pounds ripe red heirloom or plum tomatoes coarsely chopped
        • 1/2 c fresh basil, coarsely chopped
        • salt and freshly ground black pepper2 T Dijon mustard
    • 2 t salt
    • 1 egg (large)
    • 1/4 c canola oil
    • 1 wedge  Parmesan cheese


Directions
Tomato Sauce
Heat the oil in a heavy wide pot over medium-high heat.
Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until tender about 2 minutes.
Add the thyme and bay leaf.
Add the wine and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
Simmer very gently uncovered over medium-low heat stirring occasionally until the tomatoes break down to form a chunky sauce (you may need to add a little water during the cooking process if the sauce thickens too much) about 1½ hours.
Stir in the basil.
Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the thyme stems and bay leaf.
Meatballs
Combine the turkey breadcrumbs shallots garlic parsley thyme mustard salt and paprika in a large mixing bowl.
Add the egg.
Using your hand gently mix just until blended.
Form the mixture into 6 to 8 meatballs.
Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat.
Fry the meatballs until golden brown all over about 12 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon transfer the meatballs to the tomato sauce.
Simmer gently until the meatballs are cooked through and the flavors are well married about 10 minutes.
Transfer the meatballs and the tomato sauce to serving bowls.
Using a Microplane rasp grater grate the cheese over the meatballs and serve.

I served mine on pasta, very nice.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Mexicana by way of Sydney Pie


This isn't Mexican, just my impression of a tex-mex style dish.

Start by sautéing one sliced onion and one sliced leek
When translucent add some pork mince (500gms)
Cook through
At this point add the vegetables of your choice (whatever is in the fridge)
Add one jar pasata

Crease a baking dish and coat the base with crushed corn chips.
Tip in the mix adding a layer of diced chilli
Top with corn chips and cheese bake until golden.

Egg and Bacon pie


Ingredients

Enough  slices bacon to cover pie dish by 2
6 eggs
2 sheets puff pastry
1 tablespoon mustard
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Grated cheese and onion (optional)
Method
Lay one sheet of puff pastry onto base of a pie dish. Blind bake for 10 minutes if desired.
Trim bacon and lightly coat with mustard.
Place a layer of bacon into pie dish.
Crack the eggs over the top of bacon layer and season with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Egg yolks can be pierced if desired.
Layer the remaining bacon over the top of eggs add grated cheese and sliced tomato if desired  and finish pie with remaining puff pastry .
Pierce top sheet of pastry in approximately 4 places.
Bake at 180°C for 20-30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

Beef and cabbage quinoa rolls


Using Quinoa for a cabbage roll, a simple yummy dish.

Quinoa:
Place half a cup of quinoa in 1 cup of boiling water
Cook until done
5 minutes simmer with cover on

Filling:
Combine 500gms beef mince
1 diced brown onion
1 egg
1tbs lemon juice
Season

Blanch cabbage leaves
Wrap with filling
Cook with passata
Top with cheese