Monthly Archives: August 2011

brookies

25 Thursday Aug 2011

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Sometimes when I am browsing recipes online I see one that just shouts out “MAKE ME NOW!”. And this is one of them. One look at the photo had me drooling and it has occupied my thoughts for a couple of weeks now. Brookies – a brownie base with a cookie topping. The best of both worlds!

So this morning I had the choice of cleaning the downstairs bathroom (the one my boys use), or baking. It was not a hard decision to make. Any decision between housework and something else will usually not go in favour of housework. Unless the alternative is an assignment for university … then all of a sudden the housework becomes really important!

A quick check of the pantry (and the new hiding place where I have to stash chocolate chips so they don’t get eaten by chocolate chip monsters – aka teenage boys) revealed I had all the ingredients. My freshly cleaned oven was also begging to be used, so out came the mixer.

I found the original recipe on Tasty Kitchen but you can also see it on the contributors own blog, Shugary Sweets. The only change I made to the recipe was to use real butter instead of shortening. It’s not so common to use shortening here in New Zealand. We make the best butter in the world so why compromise? Apart from that the recipe is unchanged.

So here we go!

Brownie Layer Ingredients

1-½ cup Sugar
¾ cups Flour
¾ cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 whole Eggs
¾ cups Melted Butter
1 cup Chocolate Chips.Morsels

For the Cookie Layer

¾ cups Butter
1-¼ cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoons Milk
1 whole Egg
1-¾ cup Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
1-½ cup Chocolate Chips/Morsels

Preheat oven to 375F or 180C.

Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with baking paper. Use baking paper – not greaseproof – there is a difference!

Mix all the brownie layer ingredients until just combined and spread over the base of the lined pan.

Place softened butter and brown sugar in the mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, egg and milk.

Mix in the combined dry ingredients and finally the chocolate chips.  Drop spoonfuls over the brownie base and smooth over.

It should then look something like this.

Brookie before baking

©Kate Watson 2011

Bake for 25-30 minutes while you lick the beaters your children lick the spoons and beaters and you put a load of washing on. Or not…

Now the original recipe said to leave this to cool completely, but seriously folks, that ain’t ever gonna happen in my house! I have known entire (double) batches of cookies to disappear before they are fully cooled down. That is one of the pitfalls of having teenage boys. Their legs are hollow and take a lot of filling. On the upside though … hmmm I am struggling to think of an upside to teenage boys …

Anyway. Back to the brookies. This is what they look like when they come out of the oven…

Cooked Brookies

©Kate Watson 2011

And this is what they look like cut up on a plate…

©Kate Watson 2011

And finally, this is what the plate looked like 10 seconds after the previous photo was taken…

Brookies empty plate

©Kate Watson 2011

Kids… who’d have ’em?

Seriously though, this recipe lived up to expectation. It was very quick, very easy and most importantly,very tasty! Try it yourself this weekend and let me know what you think in the comments.

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make your own vanilla extract

21 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by in Other, Recipes

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I’m willing to bet if you are reading this, that you love baking. And chances are you have vanilla extract in your pantry. Am I right?

Of course I am. Unless you have run out.

So is it real vanilla extract, or the imitation stuff in your pantry? I’ll wait here while you check…

Not all vanilla essence/extract is created equal. You certainly get what you pay for. While many home pantries contain imitation vanilla essence, this is not a true vanilla and the flavours often come from wood byproducts and chemicals. I know, right!

Pure Vanilla extract however, is made pure and simply from Vanilla beans, and alcohol. There is no sugar added and it can last forever, aging and improving in flavour. The difference in taste is remarkable. Once you try it, you will not want go back to the imitation product. But it is expensive ($10 for 50mls) and for the average home baker, cost is a factor. Will little Sophie and Jason notice the difference in their lunchbox goodies? Probably not. But considering you can make pure vanilla extract yourself, and much cheaper than it costs in the shops, why would you ever go back to the cheap nasty product?

You only need two ingredients.

  • High proof booze … either Bourbon or Vodka, although I have heard you can also use Rum. Each one would produce a different final flavour, but all will be superior in Vanilla taste than commercially produced imitation vanilla essence.
  • Vanilla beans/pods. Yes. They are expensive. But we are talking quality here! Use three of these per 250 mls of alcohol. Split them open along the length of the pod starting about an inch from the top.
  • Actually there is a third ingredient. Time. Two to three months of it actually. Just give it a shake every week or so while it hibernates in a cool, dark place.
All you do is plonk 3 vanilla pods per 250 mls of alcohol in a jar or bottle and leave it for a couple of months in a cool dark place. Not that difficult really. It’s up to you whether you make a small quantity or make a litre at a time plonking 12 pods straight into the one litre bottle straight from the liquor store (like I do).  Remember… it wont go off. It actually improves with age so it makes sense to make it in larger quantities especially if you bake a lot.
Now is the time to make some so you have plenty on hand for your Christmas baking. It also makes a lovely gift. Remember… it’s only 150 days til Christmas!
You’re welcome 😉

topping that pizza

20 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by in Main Meals, Recipes

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Photo from inmagine

Now that I have given you the recipe for the perfect pizza dough, what do you put on top? Well the answer is limited only by your imagination. Maybe that is the reason pizza is such a popular food… there are toppings for everyone’s taste buds.

You might be surprised to know that in Italy, the home of pizza, the toppings are very simple unlike the myriad on offer in the American style chains like Pizza Hut and Dominos. The Pizza Margherita for instance has only tomato sauce, chopped basil leaves and mozzerella cheese. Simple, but delicious – especially with a lovely, soft crust.

Photo from inmagine

Taking a look at the websites for takeaway pizza will give you ideas for how to recreate the Supreme or Meatlovers you already know, but there are so many other options to explore. You can let your imagination run wild. Some kind of sauce, and cheese, will feature on virtually every pizza.

For the sauce you don’t need to limit yourself  to tomato paste. Try crushed tomatoes, BBQ sauce or a pre-made pasta sauce. Stretch your imagination. How about the little bit of leftover butter chicken or alfredo sauce in the jar in the fridge? I have a selection of sauces from Wild Appetite that I am dying to try, including a Melanesian Mango sauce that I think would be amazing on a chicken pizza (I will let you know!).

When it comes to cheese you really need the good stuff to get the taste and stringyness that is so vital for a good pizza. Plain cheddar, even “Tasty” just doesn’t cut it I’m afraid. A mixture of parmesan and mozzerella will give you the flavour and texture you need. But don’t forget all the other options, either on their own or in combination with the parmesan and mozzerella.   Ricotta or cream cheese dolloped or spread over the base. How about blue cheese crumbled over beef. Traditional feta tastes so good on vegetarian pizzas or try creamy feta with bacon and prawns. And then of course some camembert or brie on a chicken pizza.

Photo from inmagine

Look to your favourite flavour combinations and re-create them on a pizza but keep it simple 2-4 toppings in addition to the sauce and cheese is usually plenty. Too many ingredients can confuse the palate, and also overload the base making it soggy.

So now it’s your turn. Share with us in the comments, what are your favourite pizza toppings?

best ever pizza dough

19 Friday Aug 2011

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Pizza. The perfect food…according to my kids. Whenever I suggest pizza for dinner there are never any arguments (except for who is going to do the dishes, but hey, you can’t win them all!). We have always preferred homemade pizza but until recently would buy pre-made bases to cover with our own toppings. And then I discovered the joys of making my own dough. I love flouring my hands and kneading the dough. I find it tactile and relaxing. It is definitely more time consuming, but the result is worth it!

You could also make this in a stand mixer, however you need to make sure it is a robust one such as a Kenwood or KitchenAid as many of the smaller cheaper mixers just do not have the wattage to handle such a heavy mix.

Ingredients

½ cup warm water
1 sachet (8g) Edmonds instant dry yeast
1 ¾ cups water, at room temperature
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
5 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
2 tsp. salt
olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

Measure the warm water a large (3-4 cup) measuring jug. Sprinkle in the yeast. After about 5 minutes the yeast would have dissolved and swollen. At this point add the room temperature water then oil and stir to combine.

Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Combine the dry ingredients and then slowly add the liquid and mix until it forms a cohesive mass. At this point turn the dough out onto a floured bench and knead with floured hands for approximately 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. You may need to add flour a few times as the dough can get sticky.

Form the dough into a ball, put it in a bowl that has been oiled with the extra olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This may take anywhere from ½ an hour to 2 hours.

Punch the dough to deflate it then divide into individual pizza portions. I find this amount of dough makes 4-5 round pizzas approximately 32 cm diameter.

With a rolling pin, roll each ball of dough to the pizza pan size, place on the pan and leave to rise a second time while preparing the toppings.

Add your choice of toppings and bake in a hot oven for 10-12 minutes.

If you only want to make a couple of pizzas you can put the remaining dough covered in the fridge to use within a couple of days however I usually bake all the pizzas as the leftovers are great in lunchboxes the next day. You could also use leftover dough to make pizza bites or pinwheel pizzas.

lime, poppy and pineapple syrup cake

18 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by in Baking, Desserts, Recipes

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I am a bit ‘over’ chocolate at the moment. Even my kids are. The scrummy Chocolate slice that usually disappears within a day or two of making it has lasted four days in the fridge so far – and there is still over half of it left. Very strange indeed.

When I saw this recipe on ‘Food In A Minute’ (watch it here) it instantly grabbed my attention. Tropical fruity flavours are very refreshing after chocolate overload. And no frosting either – again, with all my experimenting in the kitchen we are a bit over frosting too.

The USB cable for my camera is AWOL so I cant post a photo, but mine actually looks just like the one on FIAM website. TRUELY!!!

So here we go. You will need…

125g softened butter
½ cup caster sugar
¼ cup lime marmalade
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups self raising flour
½ cup pineapple juice
2-3 tbsp poppy seeds

Syrup
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line a 20 cm round tin.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and marmalade.

Fold in sifted flour alternately with pineapple juice. Lastly stir through poppy seeds.

Spread mixture in cake tin and bake for 40 – 50 minutes.

For the syrup place pineapple juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, simmering for two minutes.

The original recipe said to pour hot syrup over the cake straight out of the oven while it is still in the tin then remove from tin when cool. However I didn’t read the recipe and took cake out of tin straight from the oven, put it on a plate and stabbed it all over with a toothpick before pouring the syrup over the top. And it was still good!

Mainly I did that so I could have a slice while it was still warm.

I have no patience.

Happy Baking 🙂

coconut cake

16 Tuesday Aug 2011

Posted by in Baking, Recipes

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125 g butter
1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
300 g sour cream
80 mls milk

Preheat oven to 180 C

Grease square cake tin and line with non-stick baking paper

Beat butter, essence and sugar until light and fluffy. beat in eggs one at a time.

Stir in coconut, sifted flour, sour cream and milk in two batches.

Spread mixture in tin. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.

** I have also been told this mixture makes lovely cupcakes. Haven’t tried it yet though.

mars bar brownie

14 Sunday Aug 2011

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This is incredibly delicious!
400 g butter, chopped
400 g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups caster sugar
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 x 60 g Mars Bars, chilled & chopped

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Grease a 4cm deep, 22 cm x 28 cm base pan. Line bottom and two sides with non-stick baking paper.

Combine butter and chocolate in large heatproof microwave safe bowl. Microwave uncovered on Medium High for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute, or until almost melted. Add cocoa and whisk until smooth.

Add sugar and mix well. Add one third of egg and stir to combine. Repeat with remaining egg. Sift the flour over chocolate mixture . Stir gently until just combined.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle Mars Bar over batter and press in slightly. Bake for 60-65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging.

Cool completely in pan (this is the hardest part of the entire recipe! It requires great self control not to devour it immediately) then cut into squares. Very nice on its own, or served slightly warm with whipped cream.

Enjoy!

italian-style chicken pasta salad

12 Friday Aug 2011

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This is so good! Great for a dinner party.

350g chicken breast fillets
¼ cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g thinly sliced prosciutto
1 Lebanese cucumber
2 tablespoons seasoned pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups penne pasta, cooked
½ cup thinly sliced sun dried tomatoes
½ cup pitted black olives, halved
½ cup halved bottled artichoke hearts
½ cup parmesan cheese flakes

Creamy Basil Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons cornflour
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup cream
1/3 cup shredded fresh basil
Salt, to taste

Remove excess fat and sinew from chicken. Flatten slightly with a mallet or rolling pin.

Place chicken in medium bowl with combined lemon juice and garlic. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Cut prosciutto into thin strips. Cut cucumber in half lengthwise, then cut each half into slices.

Drain chicken and coat in seasoned pepper. Heat oil in large heavy based frying pan. Cook the chicken for four minutes on each side, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove from heat. Cool and cut into 2 cm pieces.

Combine pasta, chicken pieces, cucumber slices, prosciutto, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts in a large serving bowl. Pour warm creamy basil dressing over and toss gently to combine.. Serve salad warm or cold, sprinkled with parmesan flakes.

Creamy Basil Dressing

Combine oil, vinegar, seasoned pepper and mustard in a medium pan. Blend cornflour with water in a small bowl or jug until smooth. Add to pan. Whisk over medium heat for 2 minutes or until sauce boils or thickens. Add cream, basil and salt. Stir until heated through.

tartiflette

12 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by in Recipes, Side dishes

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Just a little more fancy than your average scalloped potatoes.

1 kg potatoes
50 g butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp freshly chopped herbs (thyme, oregano)
200 g piece speck or pancetta, cut into 1 cm cubes (or use bacon)
1/2 cup dry white wine
200 ml thickened cream
250 g  reblochon, raclette or gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C

Place potato in large pot of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for three minutes. Drain well.

Melt butter in large frypan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, thyme and speck or pancetta, and stir for 5 minutes.  Stir in wine, cream, potato and most of the cheese.

Transfer mixture to large baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Cover with baking paper and then foil. Bake 20 minutes then remove baking paper and foil. Bake for a further 20 minutes until bubbling and golden.

herb chicken balls with spicy dipping sauce

10 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by in Appetisers, Recipes

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(Makes about 40)

I made these recently. My teenage sons saw the recipe and asked if I was really going to cook chickens balls…

½ cup rice
2 teaspoons oil
5 spring onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
750g chicken mince
1/3 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra oil for deep frying

Boil, steam or microwave rice until tender.

Heat oil in a pan. Add spring onions, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring until spring onions are soft.

In a large bowl combine chicken, cheese, parsley, spring onion mixture and rice. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls.

Deep-fry balls in extra hot oil until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve with Spicy Sauce (below).

SPICY SAUCE

2/3 cup mild Thai-style sweet chilli sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.