Enjoy...And Then Repent

Seems I'm not all that great at blogging regularly...sorry about that! But I have been doing a bit of cooking lately that is definitely blog worthy, so I'm going to put up a few recipes over the next couple of days that I think you might enjoy. I sure did!


The first was a bit of a challenge put to me by a friend who had found this incredibly wicked looking dessert on another blog site (kevinandamanda.com). My last blog entry was titled 'Heaven on a plate'. Well, this one should be titled 'Sin on a plate', because my goodness, there is NOTHING nutritionally valuable in this dish! But wow it tasted good. Great. Awesome. Simply delish! Made from store-bought cake and cookie packets, there is not much skill to it. Definitely a recipe for the baking impaired lol! So here it is....sin on a plate.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n' Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

1 packet choc chip cookie dough (or you can make your own) I used White Wings Choc Chip Cookies
1 packet brownie mix (I used White Wings Double Choc Fudge Brownie)
2 packets of Oreos (the original recipe uses double-stuffed Oreos, but I don't think we have them in Aus. I just used the original ones, but any sort would be fine)

Fudge Sauce

200g dark chocolate
100ml of cream

What to do....

1. Line a brownie pan (approx 20x30cm) with baking paper
2. Mix up cookie dough according to packet directions and spread over base of brownie pan

3. Cover with a layer of Oreos

4. Mix up brownie batter according to packet directions and pour over the Oreos

5. Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for 45-55 mins.
6. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add cream and stir until completely melted and shiny.

You can serve this with a scoop of icecream with the sauce drizzled over the top. Oooohhhhh yummmmm.
Enjoy!! (Oh, and enjoy the exercise to work it off)

  

Heaven on a plate

I love dinner parties. I love the preparation of the menu....what new delicious delicacies can I cook? I love being in the kitchen preparing the food. I love the plating up...making it look (somewhat) restaurant quality. I love serving the food, and watching my guests enjoy all my hard work as they hopefully savour every mouthful.

There is something really motivating about cooking for others when it's dinner party style. I tend to make a big effort, probably more for myself as I push the boundaries of my cooking repetoir. For me, it's not 'stick with what you know cause it's safe' when we have dinner guests. I always, yep always, make something I've never made before. Somewhat daring I know, but it makes it interesting! And I don't think I've had a 'fail' yet (touch wood).

My latest thing is making recipes that I have seen on Masterchef. They are typically gourmet...obesity producing dishes...the kind that you don't make every night. Special treats for special guests. We recently had some friends over for dinner, and apparently I am known in that household for my desserts. So, heaven forbid I should let them down! It was the perfect opportunity to try the chocolate tart I had seen made on a recent Masterchef episode. All I can say is that the hours of enjoyment and labour in the kitchen to produce this dish were more than worth it. Oh...my...goodness..............HEAVEN ON A PLATE!!

I'm not going to write the recipe here, because if you want it you can find it on the official Masterchef 2011 website. But basically, this tart consists of a beautiful sweet pastry, a layer of hazelnut praline crumbs, a chocolate filling, and a chocolate ganache topping. Complete this dish with a swirl of raspberry coulis and a dollop of cinnamon cream, and you will be the star of any dinner party you hold.

I actually nearly forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but below are a few photos of the process, and one (poor) photo of the tart once complete.

What is your all time favourite dessert?

        

   

Is It Saturday Yet?

I love Saturday mornings in my house. Unfortunately the girls don't sleep in, but somehow they know it's the weekend and I wake to a little chorus of "we want pantates (pancakes) for breakfast"!! Samahdi then assures me that both Daddy and Willow have told her they want pancakes too. Think she wants pancakes?

So we seem to have a nice little Saturday morning tradition on our hands, and I love it because I have found a very yummy pancake recipe that even Matt can cook...bonus!!! So this is a very practical blog where I will share my first recipe with you all. Maybe it might inspire you to start up your own little saturday morning tradition with your own family, even if it's not pantates!! It's all about creating beautiful moments with those you love. This is one of my moments...

Pancakes

1 1/2 cups full cream milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
1 large egg

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
Melted or softened butter, for greasing pan

1. Put milk, lemon juice and sugar in a bowl. Whisk and set aside for 5 minutes.

2. Mix sifted flour and bicarb soda in a large bowl.

3. Add egg and melted butter to milk mixture and stir well.

4. Combine milk mixture into flour and stir until almost smooth. Don't overmix as pancakes will be tough.
5. Leave batter to stand for at least 5 minutes. This ensures pancakes will be super fluffy!
6. Heat a large frypan on medium heat, when hot brush with butter.

7. Scoop desired amount of mix into frypan and cook!

A little tip I found to get nice high pancakes...

Once you have put the batter in the frypan, flip as soon as the pancake can hold its shape and is a nice gold colour underneath. If you leave it until there are bubbles appearing on the top of the pancake before you flip it, it won't rise as much once it is turned.

This batter makes about 7 medium sized pancakes. Would recommend doubling for a hungry crew of 5.

Serve with your favourite pancake topping. My girls will have nothing but chocolate sauce. I just love a small scraping of butter over the top, and a hot cup of Karmee coffee. Mmmmm....is it Saturday yet???

Enjoy!

   

Blogging? Me?

Well what have we here? Me, putting my thoughts on a page and then broadcasting them to the world!! Inspired by my beautiful friend Elizabeth, I had been tossing up the idea of doing something like this for a while. I decided to focuse my blog on food, cooking and recipe sharing, which I have discovered since watching Masterchef I actually really enjoy. But I will probably end up writing about all sorts of things. We'll see what comes out!!

I also love photography, though I am a total novice at it. So I will endevour to put lots of nice photos of my blog subjects with each entry for all to enjoy.

So yesterday was hubby's 30th birthday. It was the first birthday practically ever that he had to work. What a cracker of a way to celebrate your 30th hey? Anyway, Miss 3 wanted to make pink cupcakes to take to Daddy who was working close by. I don't particularly enjoy cooking with my girls, because I have a bit of a control issues in the kitchen (amongst other places!) and don't like mess. I decided to let go of this control just for a bit to let my big girl do something special for her daddy. She actually did ok, but I constantly found myself taking over. A work in progress....

So the result of this endevour was flour on the bench and floor, a sticky licked beater leaving mess everywhere, a little girl with cake batter all over her, and 24 gorgeous pink mini cupcakes!

Turns out these cupcakes were one of biggest highlights of Daddy's birthday. Good job baby girl.