Herbed Scotch Fillet

Last night on Better Homes & Gardens we watched Karen Martini cook up a great looking steak dish which, for once, had less than 20 ingredients, most of which we had in or around the house.

"I think I'll make that one day," I told Tracey. One day came sooner than we expected due to a disaster of a morning (more on that later). Plus the steak was on special at the local IGA for $8.99/kg!

A great thing about this dish is it took longer for me to duck down to the shops for the few things we needed (steak, boccincini, yoghurt, chives) than it did to prepare and cook.

You will need:

1/2 red onion, finely sliced
Pinch sugar
Salt & pepper to season
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
4 tablespoons olive oil
Scotch fillet steaks
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
12 bocconcini balls, peeled into arty strips
1/4 bunch of parsley, chopped fine
1/4 bunch of chives, chopped
1/4 bunch basil, leaves torn
Lemon

We didn't have a lot of basil in the garden so we added some rocket and baby spinach to the salad.

Mix the salt, pepper and sugar with the onion and set aside (softens the onion). Boil your peas, drain and also set aside. While BBQ is heating up, brush the (room temperature) steaks with half the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes either side, turning only once. Set aside to rest for 2 minutes, then cut into strips. Mix the herbs and peas together and squeeze a little lemon juice over them, then roughly combine remaining olive oil and yoghurt in a separate bowl, adding the bocconcini before tossing to coat. Plate up steak, greens and dressing, add a wedge of lemon and tuck in.

We added a simple whole potato and tomato to the dish.

Here's the vid of Karen Martini we watched last night. Give it a gander and tell me it doesn't look fantastic, I dare you :)

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Feelgood Mint Potatoes

Even though I know this weather won't last the glorious sun this week reminded me of BBQ's and summer, so I thought the side dish I'm most often asked for when we're firing up the hot plate. Miss17 requests these at her birthday dinners and they'e one of the first things I ever cooked for Tracey from The Backyard Barbecue Cookbook.

You will need:

Potatoes, medium size, 10
Butter, 60g
Chicken stock, powdered, 3 teaspoons
Milk, warmed, 2 tablespoons
Mint, fresh, 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Shallots, 2, finely chopped
Lemon juice, 1/4 cup
Cheese, 1/2 cup, grated
Curry powder, 1 teaspoon

Cook potatoes in their jackets. I use the microwave (prick them with fork, high for 12 minutes +/-). Allow them to cool a bit, because you'll be handling them. Cut them in half and scoop most the insides into a bowl. To bowl, add butter, lemon juice, chicken stock powder and milk. Mix until smooth then add mint and shallots.

Combine cheese and curry powder separately and set aside.

Place the skins onto a baking tray and start filling them up with the potato mix. Try really hard not to eat the potato mix as you do this because you'll run out it. I usually toss a few of the dodgy looking skins - ones that have torn. There's always a couple.

Top each of the potato halves with curried cheese then cook in oven in moderate heat until cheese has melted.

Mint Potatoes make a really nice side at a BBQ or buffet lunch. I'd like to think they'd make nice leftovers, but we've never had any left over, so I can't say for sure.

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Promise of Spinach & Ricotta Slices

This is one of Tracey's favourite foods so I made it for dinner tonight. In point of fact, it's so much her favourite I can usually elicit bedroom favours when I make it. Naturally, having given birth to little Miss0 less than two weeks ago, we're in the 'no go' zone for a while so there is no hope of that, but I did get a squeal and a hug and a kiss.

You will need:

250gm frozen spinach.
10 sheets filo pastry.
2 shallots, chopped.
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped.
2 eggs.
zest of one lemon.
125g feta cheese.
125g ricotta cheese.
60g parmesan cheese, grated.
black pepper.
oil spray.

Cook spinach, drain. Add shallots, parsley, lemon zest, eggs, feta, ricotta, parmesan and pepper. Spray a pan, cover base with pastry. Fill the pan with mixture. Cover with pastry and spray the top. Bake for 40 minutes at 170 degrees. Put kids to bed and get jiggy with it. Or watch Escape To The Country, like we did :)

Bruce's Beer Battered Fish

Tracey called me into the lounge room earlier to watch Justine, from Masterchef fame, cook some fish and next thing you know I'm at the supermarket picking out four nice size slabs of dory (just keep swimming). She so owns me right now.

We don't like to have fish at night because Master6 has a sensitivity to it and he takes offence to us eating it in front of him, like we're not being very considerate. So holiday, weekday, lunch time fish is a real treat.

You will need:

Fish, 4 fillets
Beer, up to one carton
Self raising flour, 2 cups
Salt, pinch or two
Egg, one
Oil to deep fry
Someone to pick up kids from school

This is so easy. Seriously. You'll wonder why you haven't done it before.

Start heating up the oil.

Separate one cup of flour into two bowls. Set one aside. Into other bowl add the pinch of salt. Make a well in salted flour and start adding the beer until it's got a nice runny consistency, probably less than one stubby. Now add the egg and beat for thirty seconds.

Dip strips of the fish into the bowl with flour and then into the bowl with the beer batter and finally drop it carefully into the oil to cook. When batter goes a nice golden colour the fish is done. Remove and set aside onto paper towels to drain. Repeat until all fish strips are cooked.

I like to eat with a wedge of lemon, some nice aioli and remainder of beer. Finally, collapse on lounge and snooze.

My favourite Caesar Salad

There are probably a few dozen different Caesar Salad variations about. Every restaurant seems to have their own idea about what's in it and how it's represented - Sometimes the egg is in the dressing: sometimes the egg is soft boiled and tossed in with the croûtons and bacon: sometimes the bacon is chicken.

I found this recipe in The Backyard Barbecue Cookbook a few years ago and I've been pretending I invented it ever since.

You will need:

white bread - a few slices, chop into small cubes
bacon, 4 rashers, rough chopped
cos lettuce, at least one, chopped up into largish pieces
Parmesan cheese, 50g, shaved
anchovies, 4, chopped
egg, 1
lemon juice, 2 tablespoons
garlic, 1 clove, crushed
olive oil, 1/2 cup

Crisp the cubed bread in the oven - 190 degrees for 15 minutes should do it, but keep an eye on them so they don't burn. You want them just brownish, like toast. Crisp bacon over stove and drain on paper towels. Mix lettuce, cooled bacon and bread croûtons in a bowl.

I make the dressing in a bowl with a spoon and a whisk because I like my dressing to be rustic with chunky bits of anchovy, but you can use a processor if you like. Mix anchovies, egg & lemon juice. When blended, continue to process, or whisk, and add the olive oil in steady stream. When Drizzle over the lettuce mix.

I warn you, you will not make this recipe once. My kids love this Caesar Salad and if I want Master20 to stay for dinner on a Saturday night I tell him I'm making this.

Chicken, Pumpkin & Asparagus Risotto

I love a good risotto. I love eating it for sure, but I especially love cooking it. Standing over a stove, slowly stirring and ladling stock into the rice is very satisfying. Plus, as there's wine in the recipe, no-one seems to question the bottle of white standing right beside you, keeping you company.

You will need:

Pumpkin, 500g, diced into cubes
Chicken stock, 4 cups
Butter, 1 tablespoon
Onion, 1, diced
Garlic, 2 cloves, minced
Arborio Rice, 1 cup
White wine, 1/2 cup for recipe (rest of bottle for you)
Chicken, 3 thigh fillets, diced
Asparagus, chopped into 1cm bits
Lemon, 2 tablespoons
Parmesan, 1/2 cup, grated


Bring pumpkin and stock to boil for 5 minutes then turn off and cover. Melt butter and saute onion, adding garlic and continue to chase it around the pan for a couple of minutes. Add rice and coat in butter mix. Now add the wine and when it's mostly absorbed start adding pumpkin mix a couple of ladles at a time, waiting until previous liquid is mostly adsorbed before adding more, until all used. Add chicken near end of process to allow it to cook through. Add asparagus with the final ladles of stock mix. Make sure you continue to stir the whole time you're cooking - use the leftover wine to occupy yourself. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and parmesan.

Finally, make cheese toasties for rest of family then sit down to enjoy this risotto by yourself. Trust me, unless you're trying to impress a new boyfriend or something, you won't want to share this dish.

Donut Cake

Needed a little something extra for lunches tomorrow so I baked this simple cake full of sugary and cinnamony goodness. Kids said it looked like a donut and without knowing this when Tracey came home an hour later she said it tasted like a donut. So I'm calling it a donut cake, even though the recipe clearly said it was a Cinnamon Tea Cake.

You will need:

60g butter
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
 after it's baked
1 teaspoon butter
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat the butter and sugar, then add vanilla. Add the egg to the mix and beat again. In separate bowl sift flour and salt. Slowly add flour mixture and milk to buttery mixture, mixing well. Pour into greased tin and bake at 170 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Turn out and brush top of cake with butter then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

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Lemony Pudding Cakes

I will give you fair warning, these little cake things are extremely yummy. They're light and tangy and there's a little saucy goodness in the base of each serve.

This recipe probably won't make it into a diet recipe book, but then I'm not on a diet so it's fair game. I don't know what they can be classified as (cakes or pudding or whatever) so I've called them what comes to mind as I eat them - lemony pudding cakes.

With the whole family disappointed Master19's train was turned around because of last night's huge storm (meaning he didn't make it up for the weekend) we needed something to cheer us up.

My parents still came up for lunch, which was great, but nothing says "it's all okay" like food. As Miss4 borrowed a cookbook from the library the other day we went through it together and picked out something to cook together.

You will need:

50g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 lemons - zest & juice
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup self-raising flour
1 1/4 cups milk
An iron will, to stop you eating too many

Preheat the over to 160c. Grease some ramekins (we made eight).

Cream the butter, half the sugar and all the zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and flour, then lemon juice and milk.

In another bowl, mix egg whites until peaks form, then slowly add remaining half of caster sugar until thick and glossy.

Fold egg white foam through the egg yolk mixture and then divide up evenly into the ramekins.

Place the ramekins in a large baking pan, half filling with boiling water and then bake for 30-35 minutes - until firm and golden.

We loved them just like this, but you can pretty them up with cream or icing sugar if you like.

It ended up a lovely day, made even better because we found some stray friends and their kids at the park who came back to our place for a drink and catch up, and we had a BBQ dinner with Uncle Jason & Auntie Bel and their kids.

Still would have loved for Master19 and his lovely girlfriend, Frances, to have made it up and to reconnect with his siblings. Maybe next year's holiday.

For someone allergic to nuts Master6
can't seem to keep his hand off them

Sweet Dreams Mango Chutney

The beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity. Grab a large pot and put all the ingredients in it.   How's that for minimalistic?   Bring to boil before reducing the heat and allowing the mixture to simmer, stirring often, for about 1 hour, or until thick. Allow to cool while you sterilize some jars and then fill them up with this glorious chutney.

You will need:

Mango flesh, 1.5kg, diced

Onions, 1/2kg, diced

Raisins, 1 cup

White vinegar, 500ml

White sugar, 750g

Salt, 1 tablespoon

Mustard seed, 1 teaspoon

Mixed spice, 1 teaspoon

Curry powder, 1 teaspoon

Ground cloves, 1/3 teaspoon

Nutmeg, 1 teaspoon

When mangoes are in season we freeze the mango cheeks so we can make this recipe all year round.

We use our Sweet Dreams Mango Chutney with ham on sandwiches or even lathered over chicken breasts and baked, but the main reason I insist we maintain a steady store in the larder is I always add a big dollop into my bowl when I'm wolfing down a delicious green chicken curry.

Our Favourite Snackythings

You wouldn't know it to look at me (yeah, right), but I love snackythings at night while relaxing with my lovely Tracey. One of our favourite snackythings is bruschetta. The joy of bruschetta is you can use whatever you have available to make them. That said, this is how we build one of our favourites:

You will need:

Turkish bread

Tomatoes

Bocconcini

Baby spinach & rocket

Dill

Olive oil

Garlic clove

Salt & pepper to taste

Make nice slices of your bread, about half to one centimeter. Toast or grill the slices for a few minutes, until browning around the edges. Rub the garlic clove around the browned edges and drizzle with olive oil. Layer a little herb (basil or dill, for example), a leaf (baby spinach or rocket or both), a thin slice of tomato and a slice or two of soft cheese (bocconcini or mozzarella). Grill some more until cheese is melting. It takes less than ten minutes, including grill time.

And as you can see, you can subsidise anything for just about anything - for example, a sourdough loaf is perfect. Add some ham or prosciutto, or pesto or sundried tomatoes or olives for a nice change.

Seriously. Best. Snackythings. Ever.