I AM COMING BACK

It has been a long time... many things have happened to me since my last post and I am glad that I could still remember my password... and happy to be back!

To be completely honest, my passion for cooking dropped a little and I hope to be able to recover it in 2008.

I've been looking into many bloggs to give me inspiration and will try to post something delicious soon.

DINNER SELECTION

TODAY I DECIDED TO POST A SELECTION OF DINNERS I HAVE HAD THIS PAST WEEK. LONG TIME I HAVE NOT DONE ANY BAKING (CAKES, DESSERTS...) AND I AM MISSING THE SMELL AND TASTE OF SUGAR AND PASTRIES... MAYBE NEXT WEEK!

THIS TIME I WILL NOT POST THE RECIPES AS IT IS A LARGE SELECTION, HOWEVER IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED JUST LET ME KNOW.

GRILLED BEEF ROUND STEAK WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE AND VEGETABLES

PORK BURGER WITH SALAD IN A ITALIAN BREAD (PANI DI CASA)

GRILLED CHICKEN, RICE AND VEGETABLES MEDLEY

PASTA WITH TUNA SAUCE, COTTAGE & PARMESAN PASTE AND SALAD WITH VINAIGRETTE

GRILLED CHICKEN, MASH POTATO WITH CHICKEN GRAVY AND VEGETABLES

PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE SERVED WITH WHITE FISH FILLET IN SAUCE

PAN FRIED VEAL STEAK WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE SERVED WITH ROASTED POTATO AND GREEN SALAD

GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH SCALLOP NOODLES & VEGETABLES SOUP

STEAK AND VEGETABLES WEEK

BLADE STEAK IN LIGHT GRAVY WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

GRAVY: 1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp cornflour
In the same pan used to fry steaks, boil stock and add cornflour mixed with a little water to stock. Stir until desired consistency. Serve over steaks.
VEGETABLES: I add around 2 tsp of golden syrup to vegetables on the last 10 minutes of roasting to give them a nice sweet taste. It was wonderful!

PORK CHOPS WITH SWEET SOY SAUCE.

SAUCE: 2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs mirim (Japanese sweet wine)
4 tbs soy sauce
Add ingredients to a pan and simmer until reduced to half and becomes thick.
Serve with rice and stir fried greens with hoisin sauce.

GRILLED RUMP STEAK WITH CHEESE SAUCE ON VEGETABLES

SAUCE: 1/2 cup milk
2 cheese slices
1 tbs grated parmesan
black pepper / salt to taste
Boil milk and add cheese slices stirring until melted. Add parmesan and season to taste. Serve with boiled vegetables.

ERICA'S BBQ

This weekend my family and I went to a friend's barbecue where she introduced us her new "Brazilian Boyfriend". As always... I couldn't go there empty handed... So I was in charge to take along our Finale meal : DESSERTS!!! And this was the chocolate cake I made for her. She absolutely love the Greek symbol which they call "The Greek Key". So I made this cake border with white and milk chocolate and it was impressive. Everyone was shocked with the cake and I have to tell you; it was a hell of work to do as it was my first attempt in doing such thing... WELL WORTH IT!!! When came to the TASTING TEST I was so happy to see that 90% of the guests went for seconds... It was sooo moist and yummy. definitely a success! VERY PROUD OF MYSELF.

In this shot you can see how moist and inviting it was... It took me a lot of chocolate melting to made this cake but what a decadent cake... The filling was a chocolate custard. Topping was a chocolate ganache with chocolate borders. These little balls you see sitting on top of the cake is not rum balls. It is a Brazilian sweet called "BRIGADEIRO" made with condesated milk and cocoa powder.

Now this one is my favorite CARROT CAKE. It is a recipe given to me by my Armenian friend and I kept it very well protected as it is "THE BEST CARROT CAKE RECIPE EVER". I have made it many times and never failed on me... Always a hit in parties for those who isn't much of a chocolate fan. The recipe I have already posted in this blog.

Can you see these little white/black sweets? It called DOCINHO PRESTIGIO. It is a Brazilian recipe which includes coconut for filling and chocolate to roll it up. It is very similar to a chocolate bar "bounty" we have here in Australia. Another hit for a "TROPICAL THEME PARTY".

Going to savory... This was my lunch last Friday... Avocado, tuna, roasted tomato and cheese grilled sandwich. It was made using Turkish bread which I love. To eat with the sandwich I made French onion soup. It was the first time I made this soup from scratch and it was very tasty.

This was a FAST VERSION OF CHICKEN PARMEGIANA. I had some grilled chicken left over from last meal, so I just laid on a baking dish, poured some tomato sauce over, made a mixture with cottage cheese, parmesan and seasoning and spread on top of sauce/chicken and baked for around 10 minutes until cheesed were melted and heated through. I then served with a simple salad and my spring stir fried rice.

GRILLED RUMP STEAK & PEANUTTY NOODLE SALAD

XENIA'S BACON WRAPPED RUMP STEAK SERVED WITH ROASTED POTATO & VEGETABLES

4 x 120g rump steak
4 middle bacon rashers
Paste made with: 2 garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp paprika and black pepper

Season steaks with paste and wrap each with bacon securing it with toothpicks or string. Let it marinade for 1 hour. Pan fri steaks for 2 minutes each side in a very hot frypan. Cook steaks in a preheated 180 degrees oven for about 10 minutes or until done. Meanwhile make the gravy: In the frypan used to grill steaks add 1 cup chicken stock (I made my from cubes), 1 tsp soy sauce and let it boil scraping the pan. Mix 1 tsp of cornflour into a little water and add to the boiling stock with 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley and cook until thickened.

Serve steak with steam carrot/green peas, garlic spinach and my delicious roasted potato which I posted recipe yesterday. Drizzle gravy over steaks.

!!!!YOU WILL BE WISHING FOR MORE!!!!

COLD PEANUTTY NOODLE SALAD

2 portions cooked scallops noodles
sliced carrot
sliced & seeded cucumber
sliced red capsicum
shredded iceberg lettuce
DRESSING - HEAT IN MICROWAVE until softened:
1 tbs smooth peanut butter
1 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp rice vinegar
chopped garlic to taste
1 chopped chili
3 tbs milk
Take out of microwave and stir to combine. Add 1/2 sachet of "equal, artificial sugar" and more milk if necessary until "pouring" consistency.
Mix all ingredients of salad, pour dressing over and mix until all combined.
Today I added 1 boiled egg to each serving for a protein boost.
These salad is very satisfying and an excellent choice for a light lunch to a hot summer day

TWO WAYS WITH CHICKEN, FRUIT SALAD, CUPCAKE & SOUP

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Today these cupcakes were waiting for my kids... And as soon they arrived from school, each of them ate about two of it... And they were finger licking!!! The cupcake recipe is one without egg I posted here before... Very easy, cheap and delicious! When they were cooled, I just spreaded some hazelnut & chocolate cream on top and added some chopped walnuts.

BAKED POTATO & MUSHROOM WITH PAN FRIED CHICKEN

Slice washed potato (with skin)into very thin slices, add just a touch of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Bake in a 200 degrees oven for about 20 minutes.
In another pan, saute mushrooms and garlic in olive oil and cook for about 5 minutes. Add fresh chopped parsley and juice of 1/2 lemon. Season with salt & pepper.
Mix mushroom with baked potato and return to oven for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile panfry marinated chicken breast until just cooked. MARINADE: OXO chicken stock cube crumbled, chopped coriander, garlic and olive oil.
ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTIOUS!!! I JUST WANT TO DO IT AGAIN...

REFRESHING FRUIT SALAD

These one is to please my son "TUA". He just love fruits and when I do fruit salads... He just attack it and I cannot keep it up with the production. In this one I put: ORANGE, WATERMELON, KIWI, GRAPE, PINEAPPLE AND MANGO. I then sprinkled 1 tbs caster sugar on top and let it sit in the fridge for about 1 hour to produce its own juice. SUPER REFRESHING AND YUMMY... HEALTHY AS WELL!

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH PUMPKIN & BROCCOLI STIR FRY SERVED WITH GINGER RICE


RICE: Add fresh grated ginger together with water when cooking rice. It gives a wonderful aroma and taste... Authentic Asian rice!
STIR FRY: chopped butternut pumpkin, garlic, broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Stir fry in wok with oil spray until cooked but still al dente. Add a mixture of 1/2 cup chicken stock made with 1 stock cube crumbled (oxo), 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp cornflour. Mix until sauce thickened. Add 2 tsp sesame oil to give an strong and delightful smell/taste. Serve with grilled chicken breast and rice.

BEANS AND LENTIL SOUP
Olive oil, onion, carrot and celery (all chopped in small pieces). Saute in a pan until translucent. Add 800g canned chopped tomato, 1 LTR chicken stock and 1/2 cup dry brown lentil. Cook for around 40 minutes or until lentils are soft. Add 400g canned canneline beans and cook until heated through. Season to taste and serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese and garlic toast on the side.

PEANUT COOKIE & TRADITINAL MEAL

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

3/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg

Mix all ingredients, shape into little balls, put on a greased cookie tray and flatten them a bit with a fork. Bake in 160 degrees for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Let it cool on a rack. Seal cold cookies in a air tight container.
These are great as a Celebration Gifts... They have a very rich and strong flavor of peanut and just one goes a long way with coffee!!!!!

TRADITIONAL MEAT WITH THREE VEGETABLES

Just grill some chicken breast and serve with a "homemade" mash potato, broccoli, carrot and some gravy. Any easier than that?