Friday 31 August 2012

The Perfect BBQ

As you know Aussies love their BBQ's. I actually have mine built in my house, so I can use it all year round.
As you know Aussies love their BBQ's. I actually have mine built in my house, so I can use it all year round.I'm going to cook steaks for my family tonight. It is really important to have good cuts of meat and not to overcook them. Make sure the meat has been out of the fridge for half an hour before placing on the grill. Most the time I cook my steaks plain with a little olive oil and salt rubbed in but if you want a bit of extra flavour rub fresh thyme and garlic into the meat, an hour before cooking.

Firstly make sure you have your BBQ plate hot (not smoking hot) as you want to seal your meats. Place the meat on the grill and when the juices start running to the top, turn it over and turn down the heat. You shouldn't have to turn again, but that is up to you, depending on how you like your meat cooked. When it is to your liking, place on a warm plate and cover with foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Harrison loves Hot English Mustard on his steak, whilst Andrew loves his Harissa (garlic chilli paste).

Veggies
I also cook sliced onion, zucchini (courgettes) mushrooms and garlic on the BBQ to serve with the Steak. Cook the onions first in olive oil, and then add the zucchini, garlic and the mushrooms at the end. Mix all the veggies together, place in a bowl and pour some Balsamic Vinegar over.

Quinoa Salad
I will also serve a warm quinoa salad with capers and radish with my steaks. Place 1 cup of washed quinoa and 2 cups of boiling water into a saucepan and stir over a medium heat, until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa has expanded and become soft. Dice up one red Spanish onion, a bunch of radishes and a drained 110gm jar of capers into a salad bowl, Add cooked quinoa with some marinated feta, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to your liking. Mix well. If you like sweet potato you can add some diced pre roasted cubed sweet potato to this as well.

This meal would go perfect with our Gold Reserve Shiraz. Hope this brings on a little more sunshine so you can enjoy the outdoors.

Cathryn

Tuesday 31 July 2012

Pork with fennel seeds and garlic

My family and I love pork so I have recently cooked pork with fennel seeds and garlic. Here is how to do it:
My family and I love pork so I have recently cooked pork with fennel seeds and garlic. Here is how to do it:


Pork with fennel seed and garlic.
You can cook the pork either in an oven or on a BBQ if you have a cover for it. Use a pork leg or rolled butterfly pork with the skin on. Stab the pork in several places and insert garlic and fennel seeds. Rub salt all over the pork. Make sure the oven is really hot and place the pork in the oven on high for approximately 20 minutes until the skin has gone crisp and crackling. Turn down the oven and cook the pork right through. When the meat is cooked through, remove from the oven, take the skin off and cover the meat. Leave it to rest before carving.

I like to serve the pork with garlic and rosemary Borlotti beans. To do this, I warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and add 6 diced garlic cloves with a few sprigs of chopped up fresh rosemary (3 teaspoons of dried). Cook until lightly brown, and then add 400 grams of diced tomato. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the tomato and oil is blended together. Drain 800 grams of tinned Borlotti beans (or better still use fresh) and add to the tomato mixture. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes. All you need now is a lovely green salad with slices of Reggiano and a glass of Estate Collection Chardonnay Viognier from Morrisons.

Enjoy!

Monday 18 June 2012

Summer Salmon

Summer is finally here for you all and so this month’s recipe has to be with seafood.


Summer is finally here for you all and so this month’s recipe has to be with seafood.


Cedar Plank Smoked Salmon
Firstly you need to get a clean plank of Oregon or Cedar timber, and you can't just use any wood as it can be toxic. You will need the plank to fit your BBQ, and the BBQ needs to have a lid for this recipe.
Soak the piece of timber in water (I usually use the bath tub for this) for several hours and make sure the wood is submerged the whole time.
Heat the BBQ to a high heat, drain the wood and place the timber on to the BBQ grill. Then place the Salmon on the timber,  close the lid  and turn down the heat. There is no need to turn the fish, as the sealed lid cooks and smokes the whole salmon at the same time. It depends on the size and thickness of the fish to calculate the cooking time. You need to keep checking the fish to ensure it is cooked to your desire. If you enjoy your Salmon a little pink, keep a close eye on it. The wood should not ignite as it has been soaked in water.


The Salmon is deliciously sweet with a smoky taste, and really moist. It goes perfectly with our Mighty Murray Classic White wine.


Have a great summer!
Cathryn


Tuesday 22 May 2012

Pumpkin Patch

The boys have a huge pumpkin patch, so I have thought of lots of recipes to enjoy the pumpkins while they are in season.

The boys have a huge pumpkin patch, so I have thought of lots of recipes to enjoy the pumpkins while they are in season.

Pumpkin Risotto
Cut the pumpkin into cubes and place into a plastic bag. Pour 1 -2 table spoons of olive oil into the bag and shake until the pumpkin is completely covered in oil. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray and put into a preheated oven 180c and roast until it is perfectly soft. In a frying pan, fry 1 onion and 2 cloves garlic in 1 table spoon of butter until soft. Add 1 cup of washed Arborio rice, fry for just a minute and then add 1 cup of white wine. Then gradually add 2-3 cups of chicken stock, (stirring periodically) depending on how you like your risotto, until the rice is soft. Whilst the risotto is cooking, place 200 grams of thinly sliced prosciutto individually on a baking tray and cook or place under a grill, until crisp. Once the risotto is to your liking, add the roasted pumpkin, black pepper and any fresh herbs you like. Serve the risotto with the crunchy prosciutto on top and a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano.


Boiled Pumpkin Fruit Cake
Preheat the oven to 160c, and prepare a 22cm cake tin. Combine the following into a saucepan- 500gms of any dried fruit (I use 250gms Sultanas and 250gms Goji Berries) 1 cup of water , 1 1/4 cups caster sugar, 125gms butter, 1 table spoon of golden syrup and 1 tea spoon of bi-carb soda. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Leave this to cool and beat 2 eggs into  the mixture, 1 cup of cold mashed pumpkin, 1 cup of Self raising flour and 1 cup of plain flour. Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Cool in the pan before turning out. This is a deliciously moist cake. 

I hope you enjoy! Cathryn

Thursday 2 February 2012

Spinach pie and Italian beans

As you know, I love my veggies and we try to grow as many as possible on our land. We had some friends round for lunch recently, so I picked some spinach, chives, mint and parsley out of the garden and made a spinach pie. As you know, I love my veggies and we try to grow as many as possible on our land. We had some friends round for lunch recently, so I picked some spinach, chives, mint and parsley out of the garden and made a spinach pie. Here’s how I did it:




Spinach pie
Take a bunch of fresh spinach, mint and parsley along with a 5 or 6 spring onions. Wash, cut them roughly, place in a bowl and steam in the microwave. When softened add 6 eggs, 250g ricotta cheese, 250g feta, 2 tsp nutmeg and pepper. Mix all together.
Take a packet of filo pastry and use half for the base. Brush the sheets with melted butter or oil before layering. Add the spinach filling then lay the rest of the sheets on top, oiling between them again.  Once all is layered make sure the top is brushed with oil too, then make light diagonal criss-cross incisions with a knife. Cook in the oven at 180°C for about 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.

To serve with this I did my very simple but delicious Italian beans:
Italian beans
Put 1/3 cup olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry 6 cloves of chopped garlic and a 1/4 cup of roughly chopped, fresh rosemary. Once soft, add a can of chopped tomatoes. Keep stirring over a gentle heat until the oil and tomato are combined.  Then add 2 cans of cannellini beans and stir until warm and combined.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Christmas at the Peaces' and artichoke lasagne

We had a fantastic Christmas and, as usual, ate an abundance of food on Christmas Day. Our turkey was sensational!
We had a fantastic Christmas and, as usual, ate an abundance of food on Christmas Day. Our turkey was sensational!  It’s surprising just how much protein you eat over the festive season in fact - turkey, ham and pork.  We went camping from Boxing Day to New Year’s Eve and so had plenty of BBQs, cooking sausages, chicken, camp-oven beef and lamb roasts – there’s nothing like cooking in the open air.  One night we had one of the young pigs cooked over the grill. There were 24 of us camping and we also had some guests who came out for the day so we had 30 for dinner but there was plenty to go round.

So when we arrived home from the camping trip, I was craving veggies. I didn't have much food in the house and our Perth friends were arriving as well, so I had to think of something quick to cook.

I always have preserved artichokes and lasagne sheets in my pantry and provolone cheese in the fridge, so after some quick thinking, I decided to make my artichoke lasagne. It always goes down well with family and friends.

Artichoke Lasagne
Firstly you make a roux of 50g butter and 3/4 cup plain flour, gradually adding the milk over a low heat until you have a creamy consistency. Add a teaspoon of nutmeg and black pepper and then add 500g artichokes (tinned in oil will be fine) and stir until combined.
Have lasagne sheets and sliced provolone cheese ready (mozzarella works just as well) as you want to assemble everything straight away before the artichoke sauce gets too thick. In an oiled rectangular dish, place some of the artichoke mixture, then a layer of lasagne sheets, another layer of artichoke mix, provolone cheese and lasagne sheets and repeat. Do until finished or to the top (4 layers of sheets usually). I had some leftover roast pumpkin so I did one layer with this mixed in with the artichoke. The top layer should be the artichoke mix with cheese on top and add a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano on top.
Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes and then remove the foil and cook until golden brown.  Take out of oven, cover back with foil and let it set for 10 minutes.


It was a refreshing change to have a vegetarian dinner and we enjoyed a glass of our delicious Pinot Grigio with it.



Happy New Year everyone!