eggs hussarde

Since the lovely people at Brennan’s have kindly shared their recipe for the now internationally renowned Eggs Hussarde, I thought I’d post it with the photos I took when Jonas and I visited New Orleans and ate there.

Eggs Hussarde is poached eggs on rusks with smoked ham and both Hollandaise and Marchand de Vin sauces.

It is a Creole recipe and ticks off another 2009 Food Challenge.

Eggs Hussarde
Recipe from Brennan’s Restaurant, New Orleans. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
8 slices Canadian bacon (or ham)
8 Holland rusks
2 cups Marchand de Vin sauce (recipe below)
8 poached eggs (recipe below)2 cups Hollandaise sauce (recipe below)

Method:

1. Melt butter in a large sauté pan and warm the Canadian bacon over low heat.

2. Place 2 Holland rusks on each plate and cover with slices of warm Canadian bacon.

3. Spoon Marchand de Vin sauce over the meat, then set a poached egg on each slice.

4. Ladle Hollandaise sauce over the eggs; serve.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Marchand de Vin (Red Wine & Mushroom Sauce)

Makes 3 cups.
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
½ cup onion, finely chopped
1½ teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
½ scallions, finely chopped
½ cup boiled ham, finely chopped
½ cup mushrooms, finely chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups beef stock
½ cup red wine
1½ teaspoons thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and sauté the onion, garlic, scallions and ham for 5 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms, reduce the heat to medium and cook for for 2 minutes.

3. Blend in the flour and cook, stirring for 4 minutes, then add the Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, wine, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.

4. Before serving, remove the bay leaf and add the parsley.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cheesecake

Poached Eggs
Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1½ quarts water
2 cups vinegar
8 large eggs

Method:

1. Bring the water and vinegar to a boil in a large saucepan. Crack the eggs one at a time and drop them gently into the boiling water, being careful not to break the yolks.

2. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, moving the eggs several times with a spoon to cook them evenly.

3. When firm, remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and place in a pan filled with cold water until serving.

Waiter making Bananas Foster

Hollandaise

Makes 2 cups.

Ingredients:
1 pound butter
4 egg yolks
1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon water

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, skim and discard the milk solids from the top of the butter.

2. Hold the clarified butter over very low heat while preparing egg yolks.

3. Place the egg yolks, vinegar, cayenne and salt in a large stainless steel bowl and whisk briefly.

4. Fill a saucepan or Dutch oven large enough to accommodate the bowl with about 1 inch of water.

5. Heat the water to just below the boiling point. Set the bowl in the pan over the water; do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl.

6. Whisk the egg yolk mixture until slightly thickened, then drizzle the clarified butter into the yolks, whisking constantly. If the bottom of the bowl becomes hotter than warm to the touch, remove the bowl from the pan of water for a few seconds and let cool.

7. When all of the butter is incorporated and the sauce is thick, beat in the water.

8. Serve the Hollandaise immediately or keep in a warm place at room temperature until use.

Note: New Orleans style Hollandaise seems more buttery and less tangy than other Hollandaise I've tasted around the world.

Brandy Milk Punch

creole & cajun cooking

New Orleans. What a place!

Jonas and I spent 5 nights there in July and had such a wonderful time, despite the excruciating humidity.

We had not planned on going to New Orleans this year, or to the USA at all, but my grandfather turned 90 and I wanted to see my family so off we went. Apart from visiting my family in Daytona Beach, I let Jonas pick another city to visit.

His choice was New Orleans and I wasn’t complaining since I’d selected Cajun and Creole cuisines as part of my 2009 Food Challenges.

Before we left I did my research about what and where to eat (and drink) and we certainly weren’t disappointed. In fact I put on 2kgs from my efforts!

Highlights? I’d have to say for me the top 5 were:
1. Fiorella’s deep-fried pickles
2. Brennan’s brandy milk punch
3. Drago’s charbroiled oysters
4. Johnny’s catfish po’boys
5. Napoleon House’s Ramos gin fizz

My favourite bar was Napoleon House and my favourite restaurant was Bacco.

Jonas and I sampled some of the most famous dishes New Orleans has to offer and I finally came to understand the difference between Creole and Cajun cooking (sort of). Here’s my attempt at explaining it all:

Créoles, in the original New Orleanais sense of the word, meant a European of French or Spanish ancestry born in the colony rather than Europe. Even under Spanish rule they spoke French and were predominantly Catholic. By the time the United States bought Louisiana from Napoleon in 1803, Creole had come to symbolise colonial people of French culture more broadly (language, customs, governance) and incorporated others with African and Native American descent also. Interestingly, their “French island” in a sea of British-descended America, made them band together quite closely resulting in much less racial discrimination than other American cities at the time.

This heavy French influence means Creole is a fusion of French cooking techniques and local ingredients. It is an urban-focused cuisine with dishes lean towards the refined, with more subtle and buttery flavours, and care given to presentation. Good examples of Creole inventions are pecan pralines or turtle and sherry soup.

When Britain took over Nova Scotia (Canada) in 1755, they expelled the French peasant Arcadians (later known as Cajuns) who sailed to French New Orleans to find sanctuary. The gentrified Creoles wanted nothing to do with these distant rural cousins and so the Cajuns were forced out from the city and into the swamps and prairies.

The rural influences means Cajun cooking is more rustic and spicy, using ingredients from the land, sea and swamps like crawfish, rabbits and redfish. Stews and single-pot mish-mashes like gumbo and jamabalaya reflect their thriftiness and hearty cooking style.

Jonas and I sampled some of the most famous dishes New Orleans has to offer: eggs sardou; eggs hussarde; gumbo; jambalaya; po’ boys; red beans & rice; biscuits; pralines; beignets; bread pudding and pecan pie.

Our first night there we dined at Fiorella’s (1136 Decatur Street) and got a taste of the portion sizes we could expect for the rest of the trip. Stupidly, we ordered a few appetizers before our mains (as we would in Australia) only the appetizers that came out were the same size as an Aussie main course! Needless to say we waddled back to our hotel feeling very, very full.

But the food was fantastic! The first thing we tried ended up my all time favourite dish of the holiday: deep fried pickles. They were breaded and served with ranch, and were absolutely divine paired with a giant glass goblet of cold Abita beer. The spinach and artichoke dip (a common menu item in NO) and round slices of breaded and fried eggplant with a marinara dipping sauce were also very good.

Breakfast was covered well. There were an abundance of cakes, sandwiches, biscuits, grits and egg dishes to take care of any hangover. I particularly enjoyed a spicy gumbo start to my day, but New Orleans’ two most famous eggs dishes were also pretty damn good.

Eggs Sardou consists of a round of bread topped with creamed spinach, then artichoke hearts, then poached egg and all topped with Hollandaise sauce. It was invented at Antoine's, but is sold in most breakfast joints around town. Being a fan of artichokes and spinach, I’m a big fan of Eggs Sardou.

Eggs Hussarde was invented at Brennan’s, where I had the pleasure of eating it as part of Brennan’s wonderful three course brunch menu. As they describe it, Eggs Hussarde is “poached eggs atop Holland rusks, Canadian bacon and Marchand de Vin sauce. Topped with Hollandaise sauce.” What a way to start the day.

Unfortunately for my tastes, I noticed a city-wide tendency for sauces to take on cream or butter flavours. They did not taste “bad” but it was clear this was the local preference. A good illustration was every restaurant serving very buttery Hollandaise which lacked the slight acidity of the European (and Australian) styles. For me this meant it didn’t help cut through the fattiness of the eggs it was served with.

Small problems when faced with such delights.

Breakfast at Johnny's Po' Boys (511 St Louis Street) really hit the spot. In fact I’ve been hankering for their catfish po’ boy for days. A po’ boy (short for poor boy) or sub (or submarine sandwich), is a sandwich of fillings served on a baguette. In New Orleans they take on a whole new meaning with fillets of crumbed catfish, piles of deep fried oysters or shrimp and the debris po’ boy, made from all the crispy pieces of beef that fall from the roast as it cooks.

Johnny’s also serve a mean bowl of gumbo (perfectly spicy) and Jonas was a fan of their “biscuits” with eggs, smothered in one of Louisiana’s fine hot sauces. I also loved the sweetened iced tea they had too.

New Orleans offers an abundance of seafood from the generous portions of lump crabmeat to the fillets of catfish, redfish or black drum, as well as crawfish, shrimp, soft shell crab and plump oysters. New Orleans seafood goes at very decent prices and I ate so much that when I arrived back in Sydney all I wanted to eat for the next week was red meat.

At Bacco (top right) I dined on delicious grilled blackdrum served with shrimp, panzanella and pesto. The Grapevine (bottom left) delivered a beautiful redfish stuffed with crab lumpmeat and smothered in crawfish sauce.

Drago’s famous broiled oysters really hit the spot. Our swamp boat captain had been singing their praises and they were truly delicious. Unfortunately the lobster I ordered was tough and over-cooked and drawn butter just isn’t exciting enough to wet my lips. I need acidity (read lemon) with blanched seafood.

The beignets in New Orleans (top left) were quite different from the ones I’ve tried in France and Italy. They were much lighter but also oilier, and one was good but two became a bit monotonous. Frankly I think they are a bit overrated. I wasn't a big fan of the Café Du Monde coffee either, even though it was the best cup I had during my time in the US.

Other local desserts did not disappoint! Delicious cream cheese ice cream (here sandwiched between red velvet cake) was smooth and perfectly sour-sweet while Grapevine’s divine vanilla and white chocolate bread pudding was dense and rich and perfect. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to try the flambéed Bananas Foster, photographed at their birthplace, Brennan’s.

I always thought of praline as a chocolate filling made of powdered caramelised nuts (almond or hazelnut), but in New Orleans the praline is a buttery, sugary, crumbly type of caramel studded with pecans (bottom right). I adored them.

The other New Orleans specialty are their cocktails, which I covered in another post.

New Orleans sure has a lot to offer a foodie.

There were quite a few famous dishes that I didn’t get to sample while I was there, including Bananas Foster, turtle soup and crawfish Étouffée, shrimp Remoulade, oysters Rockefeller, Café Brûlot, king cake and grits. I guess that just gives me an excuse to go back!

Venues I’d recommend:
Bacco
310 Chartres Street
Italian (with very local twists)
Good food and elegant atmosphere without the stuffiness.

Napoleon House
500 Chartres Street
Historic bar
Sit at the bar and soak up the 200yrs of atmosphere.

Johnny’s Po’ Boys
511 St Louis Street
NOLA staples (po’boys, gumbo, muffelettas)
No fuss diner with delicious food.

Orleans Grapevine
720 Orleans Avenue
Wine bar / restaurant
Funky and sophisticated all in one.

Fiorella’s
1136 Decatur Street
Casual diner
Deep-fried pickles, fried chicken and cold beer.

Chart Room
300 Chartres Street
Casual bar/pub
Local watering hole oozing with character.

Brennan’s
417 Royal Street
Creole
A brunch extraordinaire.

Marigny Brasserie
640 Frenchmen Street
Creole/Cajun
Sunny place for afternoon cocktails or lunch.

Bombay Club
830 Conti Street
Martini bar / restaurant
Romantic, smoky, colonial charm.

Carousel Piano Bar
214 Royal Street
Cocktail lounge
Rotating 1904 carousel as the bar. Need I say more?

Suave
200 Magazine Street
Pan-American
Modern, fresh flavours in a city of deep-fry.

Café du Monde
800 Decatur Street
Café
It’s overdone, but you’ve got to do it!

Drago’s
2 Poydras Street
Seafood
Stick with the charbroiled oysters.

View New Orleans in a larger map

milk-braised pork & cavolo nero

As one of my 2009 Food Challenges I promised to Road Test Kalyn’s recipe for Milk-Braised Pork. In the recent cold weather in Sydney, I managed to tick it off the list and add this Italian comfort-food recipe to my repertoire.

I also used the opportunity to pair the milky sauce with the strong flavour of cavolo nero, my Weekend Herb Blogging theme ingredient this week.

I am a big fan of cavolo nero and kale in soups and I adore a big TV dinner plate of colcannon.

This sautéed recipe is a good side match to the pork recipe, but be careful not to overdo the chilli or it will detract from the subtlety of the milk-braising sauce.

Cavolo Nero Soffritto (Sautéed Tuscan Cabbage)

Anna’s version of an internet recipe. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
2 bunches cavolo nero
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small red chillies, finely sliced
Salt and pepper
Olive oil, for frying

Method:
1. Rinse cavolo nero and remove stalks if desired, chop coarsely.

2. Blanch cavolo nero in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Dry well with paper towels.

2. Heat oil in large heavy based saucepan on a gentle heat.

3. Cook garlic and chilli until garlic is just starting to brown.

6. Add prepared cavolo nero and stir well to combine.

7. Reduce heat to low. Fry 5 minutes or until tender. Season to taste.

Milk-Braised Pork Chops
Anna's adaptation of Kalyn’s adpatation from The Good Home Cookbook. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
4 boneless pork loin chops
2 tablespoons wholemeal flour
½ teaspoon smoked salt
½ teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1½ cups (375ml) milk
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

1. Trim all fat from pork chops. Use meat mallet or something heavy to pound pork chops slightly until they are an even thickness and about ¾ inch thick.

2. Combine flour, salt and pepper in shallow bowl. One at a time, lightly dredge pork chops in the mixture, shaking off any extra.

3. Whisk 1/2 cup milk into the flour left in the bowl.

4. Heat olive oil in heavy (lidded) frying pan, big enough to hold all the pork chops. Add pork and brown well, about 3 minutes per side.

5. Pour out most of the pan drippings, add the milk-flour mixture then reduce heat to low and simmer (covered) for 30 minutes, stirring a few times.

6. Turn pork chops over, and add the remaining one cup milk, whisking to combine if needed. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more, stirring a few times.

7. Uncover skillet and if there is a lot of liquid, cook a few minutes more until reduced to about ¼ cup. (This will depend on how tightly your pan lid fits.)

8. Serve hot, spooning the milk gravy over the pork.

Note: Instead of smoked salt and garlic powder, Kalyn uses Penzey's Pork Chop Seasoning which is flavoured with salt, hickory smoke, garlic, onion, white pepper and ginger. This probably provides a stronger flavoured sauce.

Cavolo Nero translates to “black cabbage” but in English it’s often called Tuscan Cabbage because it features often in Tuscan rustic cooking (cucina povera).

I’ve also seen it called “dinosaur kale” and “dino kale”. Anyone care to shed some light on that?

I think cavolo nero is simply beautiful to look at (dusty black-green leaves criss-crossed with wrinkles) and, if it wasn’t so rare and expensive (and tasty) in Australia, I’d be happy to keep a bouquet in a vase.

What I really like about cavolo nero is that it keeps it’s texture even after long cooking, so it can add crunch and chew to stews and soups. It’s most famously added to Ribollita, a Tuscan bean soup similar to Minestrone, only thicker in consistency.

The downside is when using it in recipes with short cooking periods you need to take care that it’s cooked through enough. I’ve made that mistake before and it’s not so pleasant.

Like more common cabbages, some people eat it raw but I don’t think I would.

Cavolo nero enjoys many nutritional traits similar to its common cabbage cousins such as low fat, low calorie and high levels of dietary fibre. It’s also high in iron, calcium, vitamin C and K, as well as carotenoids (which provide vitamin A).

This week’s WHB host extraordinaire is Dhanggit from Dhanggit's Kitchen, a Pinoy cooking and eating in Aix en Provence, France. She’s got some beautiful photos and lovely recipes, think Raspberry Vodka Granita, Tomato Mozzarella Millefeuille and Zucchini Flower Tempura. Check out her round-up and the other delights on her blog.

Other recipes using cavolo nero:
Baked Eggs w Cavolo Nero Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once
Braised Tuscan Kale w Tomatoes Lucullian Delights
Cavolo Nero Omelette Jam Faced
Farrotto with Cavolo Nero feelgood eats
Hearty Kale & Sausage Soup The Kitchn
Ribollita A Spoonful of Sugar
Sausage & Cavolo Nero Tortiglioni eat the right stuff
Strozzapreti w Black Kale & Sage Mimi On The Move
Tuscan Beans & Cavolo Nero on Toast Lucullian Delights
Warm Lentil, Chorizo & Cavolo Nero Salad stone soup

References
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/08/17/1155407946134.html
http://www.perfection.com.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=119

egyptian tomato salad

 
This is a really good, tangy salad. The onion can be grated into a fine pulp that coats the tomatoes beautifully.

It's perfect for a summer afternoon with a piece of crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Egyptian Tomato Salad

Nigella Lawson's recipe. Serves 4.

Ingredients:5 medium-sized vine tomatoes (approx. 750g altogether)
1 shallot, peeled
1 clove of garlic, peeled
3–4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Handful freshly chopped coriander
Good squeeze of lemon juice
Maldon salt
Splash of olive oil

Method:

1. Chop the shallot and garlic as finely as is humanly possible – or just blitz to a pulp in a processor – and put in a small bowl with the oil, a pinch of salt and a grinding of pepper.

2. Leave to steep while you blanche the tomatoes: that’s to say, put them in a large bowl then pour boiling water over them so that they are hotly submerged. Leave for 5 minutes then tip into a colander and run under cold water.

3. Using a sharp knife, peel off the skins then cut these fuzzy spheres into slices, as thick or as thin as you like.

4. Arrange the tomatoes in a dish and pour over the dressing, using your fingers to mix well. I find it easier to use one bowl for steeping purposes and another one, later, for serving. You can let the tomatoes sit like this for a good couple of hours while the flavours will deepen wonderfully.

5. When you’re ready to eat, either leave the dressed tomatoes in the bowl or decant to a new one but turn them to coat, squeeze over some lemon juice, sprinkle with Maldon salt and a tablespoon or so of freshly chopped coriander and splash with olive oil.

6. Serve at room temperature.

Note: even if you're too lazy to peel the tomatoes (these photos clearly implicate me), the salad is still very good.

persimmon fruit salad

This recipe, using Fuyu persimmons, is a delicious breakfast or a wonderful autumn afternoon dessert.

Persimmon Fruit SaladBased on an idea by David Lebovitz. Serves 2.Ingredients:1 pear, sliced
1 persimmon, sliced
3 dates, quartered
8 prunes, pitted
½ cup vanilla yoghurt
Method:
1. Arrange in a bowl.
2. Top with yoghurt.
3. Eat!

How simple is that?! And the best thing is that it tastes sooooo good.

southern belle - bourbon cocktail

This cocktail is a perfect summer afternoon thirst quencher.

The flavours make me think of the American south and, since today is my last day in New Orleans, it couldn't be a more fitting farewell to our little vacation.

Tomorrow Jonas and I will fly home to the cold winter weather and our jobs. Sigh.

Southern Belle
Anna's very own recipe. Makes 2.

Ingredients:1 large ripe nectarine
75ml (3 parts) American Honey bourbon
30ml (2 parts) sugar syrup
15ml (1 part) lemon juice
2 cups crushed ice

Method:

1. Remove stone from nectarine, then add to blender with all other ingredients.

2. Process until puréed and serve in tall glasses with straws.

Stay tuned for my posts on my experiences in New Orleans, I'm sure there will be plenty to share with everyone.

beef jerky

This is another post I wrote and scheduled before Jonas and I left Australia for our US vacation.

Today Jonas and I should be arriving in New Orleans to feast on Creole cooking, quench our thirst on a myriad of cocktails and meet up with a whole lot of American bloggers through the oh so conveniently timed Tales of the Cocktail festival. I can’t wait to report back on all the goodness!

~~~

My first American experience was in 1989 when my father took my brother and I for Dad’s first visit home since he’d migrated to Australia in 1972

My brother had even been born in the States (and didn’t have Australian citizenship) and yet he hadn’t been back since he was two years old.

My father was in heaven, introducing us to the treats of his childhood: root beer floats, peanut butter cups, chilli dogs and, of course, beef jerky.

You can’t buy beef jerky in Australia, or at least you couldn’t until a few years ago. Lately it’s appearing at petrol stations and cashier counters, but most Australians are disgusted by the chewy, dried meat.

I love it. From the first bite I knew I’d found something wonderful.
I love it almost as much as pickled sausages, which I would crawl over hot coals for.

So when Dad bought a smoker and started making his own beef jerky I was very happy. His jerky is softer and moreish, better than store bought versions.

Beef Jerky

Dad’s recipe.

Ingredients:
750g sandwich steaks (thin cuts)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
2 teaspoons chilli flakes
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sughar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons hickory sawdust

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients well. Marinate meat for 2 hours.

2. Line the smoker with aluminium foil and scatter with hickory sawdust.

3. Lay meat on wire rack of smoker. Smoke for 15-20 minutes. The meat will have shrunk and will still be wet.

4. Preheat oven to 140’C.

5. Place smoked meat on wire racks and dry out for approximately 20 minutes.

6. Keep beef jerky in the fridge.

peanut butter pie & roasted banana ice cream

Today is the Fourth of July.

In the wee hours of the morning, after 26hrs of travelling, Jonas and I will have arrived in Daytona Beach (Florida), ready to celebrate the day in the humidity and heat with my aunt, cousin and 90 year old grandfather.

Jonas is over the moon because it’s the first time he will visit mainland USA and we’re spending the day at the Daytona NASCAR . . . on Independence Day.

In preparation for this momentous day, I preblogged this WHB post with an American flavour.

What’s more American than peanut butter? And combining it with chocolate?
Genius! A salty-bittersweet symphony.

And add to this combination some banana? Even better!

Thus you have Maggie Beer’s peanut butter pie with David Lebovitz’s roasted banana ice cream. Delicious!

The ice cream has the most delectable flavour of sweet, caramelised banana but it's best eaten on the day of making as it can get a little icy if left too long in the freezer.

The pie is divine, but it's very rich and fudgy. The filling would be overwhelming but paired with the ganache topping it takes on a wonderful cheesecake salty-sweet-sourness.

Don't be tempted to use smooth peanut butter, the crunchy texture is necessary.

Peanut Butter Pie

Recipe by Maggie Beer in Delicious Magazine March 2009. Serves 16.
Ingredients:
Base
180g digestive biscuits
90g unsalted butter, melted
3 teaspoons caster sugar
Filling
1 cup (250ml) pouring cream
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
320g cream cheese, room temperature
375g crunchy, salt-free peanut butter
Topping
150ml thickened cream
150g 70% cocoa chocolate, chopped
20g unsalted butter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180’C (160’C for fan forced)

2. Process biscuits in a food processor until crumbled.

3. Add melted butter and sugar then pulse to combine. Press crumbs into the base of a 22cm spring form baking tin.

4. Bake base for 10 minutes then set aside to cool.

5. For the filling, place the cream and sugar in a saucepan and simmer on low for 3-4 minutes, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

6. Chop the cream cheese then blend with peanut butter, in a food processor, until combined.

7. Add the warm cream mixture, pulse to combine and then spoon filling onto the cooled cookie base. Set aside to cool.

8. To make the topping, combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl.

9. Bring the cream almost to the boil over high heat then pour over chocolate and butter.

10. Leave for 3 minutes without touching then gentle swirl the bowl to combine the cream, butter and chocolate.

11. Pour the combined topping over the filling then chill in the fridge, uncovered, for 4 hours until set.

12. Serve small slices with ice cream because it’s very, very rich!

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

Recipe from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. Makes 750ml.
Ingredients:3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup (70g), packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1½ cups (375ml) whole milk
2 tablespoons caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon coarse salt

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200’C.

2. Slice the bananas into 2cm pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2 litre baking dish.

3. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring just once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.

4. Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup into a blender or food processor.

5. Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and purée until smooth.

6. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Note: If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisking will thin it out.

Banana would be an all-too-simple choice of ingredients for WHB, so I’m going to focus on peanuts.

Did you know they aren’t actually nuts but legumes?

After pollination, the fruit changes into a legume

Yet another wonderful food gift from the abundant Americas, it’s amazing to think what our meals would like without this vast continent. The Americas gave the world pecan, avocado, cashew, passionfruit, turkey, pineapple, chocolate, pumpkin, quinoa, guava, papaya, strawberries, vanilla, allspice, potato, tomato, chilli and maple syrup.


Despite having come from South America, the peanut’s journey into the USA came from Africa through Portugal and Brazil.

Apparently our domesticated peanuts have two sets of chromosomes from two different species, leading scientists to believe domestication occurred in Argentina or Bolivia.

The oldest peanuts found by archaeologists are some 7,600 years old, making them a pretty old fashioned snack!

China leads world production of peanuts, followed by India and then Nigeria. The next largest producers of the top ten are the United States, Indonesia, Myanmar, Argentina, Vietnam, Sudan and Chad.

Peanuts are a rich source of protein, niacin (good for the brain) antioxidants, resveratrol (anti-aging), vitamin B3, vitamin E, magnesium, folate, dietary fibre and monounsaturated fats.

Interestingly, peanut allergies are exacerbated by roasting peanuts. The roasting process increases peanut allergens Ara h1 and Ara h2 and inhibits the necessary digestive enzymes. In other countries like India and China, where peanuts are not roasted before processing, allergies are very rare.

Studies are also showing that exposing children to peanuts much later in life decreases the chances of developing peanut allergies

Whatever the cause, peanut allergies are extremely dangerous and can cause immediate anaphylactic shock just by eating food processed by machines that touched peanuts or by breathing peanut dust.

So that's it from me. Head on over to our WHB host, the lovely Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska and Happy 4th of July!

Other peanut recipes:
African Peanut Soup Kalyn's Kitchen
Candied Peanuts David Lebovitz
Carrot & Peanut Muffins Chocolate & Zucchini
Chipotle-Maple Peanut Brittle Culinary in the Country
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Smitten Kitchen
Chinese Fried Noodles w Spicy Peanut Sauce Morsels & Musings
Groundnut Chutney Mahanandi
Homemade Peanut Butter Cups Baking Bites
Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Joy The Baker
Lime & Peanut Coleslaw 101 Cookbooks
Peanut Butter & Banana Milkshake Morsels & Musings
Peanut Butter Marshmallow Crispy Brownies The Cooking Photographer
Toasted Peanut Bread 101 Cookbooks
Virginia Peanut Soup CookThink

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_butter

buffalo wings w blue cheese dip

Apologies for disappearing again! After recovering from the inner ear virus, can you believe I contracted a cold and was knocked out for another 3 days! Looks like I might have given it to Jonas too.

Despite it all, tomorrow Jonas and I are flying off to the USA for 2 weeks.

The first week we’ll be in Daytona (Florida) with my grandfather, aunt and cousin and then the second week we’ll kick back in New Orleans (Louisiana).

Even though the present winter in Sydney is more like spring, the sultry humidity of the South is going to be a shock to our senses.

Visiting New Orleans will make Louisiana my 28th state. Somewhere between a father from LA, grandparents from Pennsylvania, family in the south-east and south-west states and doing my own time in NYC, I’ve managed to see a fair whack of the US.

I doubt I’ll have any time at all to blog while we’re away, so I have pre-written some posts and scheduled them to pop up intermittently throughout our vacation period. In line with the destination, I’ve chosen to post mainly American inspired recipes:
- Buffalo Wings w Blue Cheese Dip
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Roasted Banana Ice Cream
- Beef Jerky
- Southern Belle (nectarine & bourbon cocktail)

Now, first off I have to apologise for the quality of this buffalo wing photo. The reality is that once these suckers were out of the oven then feeding frenzy was on and I was lucky to get this crappy shot. The blue cheese dip didn’t even get a photo before wings were submerged.

So, ignore the unappetising happy snap and just imagine these glorious little suckers in your belly!

I have to say, making these in Australia was somewhat expensive. The chicken wings are very cheap, but Louisiana-style hot sauce is a rarity in Australia. Given that I am totally addicted to the stuff and it’s impossible to come by (and therefore expensive), using so much in one dish made me squirm with discomfort.

It was like throwing beluga caviar on baked beans.

But I persevered and the results were well worth it. I even set aside some of the sauce for Jonas to marinate his tofu in and he was overjoyed with the results.

These are not my recipes, but a Recipe Road Test from Elise from Simply Recipes.

Buffalo Wings

Recipe by Elise from Simply Recipes. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken wings (about 12 wings)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
4 Tbsp bottled hot pepper sauce (like Crystal or Frank's Original)
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Blue cheese dip (see below)
Celery sticks (optional)

Method:

1. Cut off wing tips (discard or reserve for other use such as making stock). Cut wings at the joint.

2. Put chicken wing pieces in a plastic bag. Set aside.

3. Create a marinade by stirring together the melted butter, hot pepper sauce, paprika, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper.

4. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade for coating after the pieces come out of the oven.

5. Pour remaining marinade over the chicken pieces in the plastic bag. Seal the bag and let marinate at room temperature for half an hour. When marinating is finished, discard marinade and bag.

6. Place wing pieces on the rack of a grill pan. Grill 4 to 5 inches from the heat for about 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

7. Remove from oven and baste with reserved marinade.

8. Serve with Blue Cheese Dip and celery sticks. Makes approximately 24 pieces (about 12 appetizer servings).

Blue Cheese Dip

Recipe by Elise from Simply Recipes. Makes 1.5 cups.

Ingredients:
½ cup sour cream
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar or white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced

Method:

1. Combine dip ingredients in a blender or food processor.

2. Blend or pulse until smooth.

3. Cover and chill. Keeps for up to one week in fridge.

tangelo delicious pudding

I have just suffered through a week of vertigo due to an inner ear virus which seems to be sweeping Australia’s east coast.

I feel like I just stepped off a roller coaster. The dizziness is ever, ever present. Every moment.

So this dessert was a Sunday evening thank you to Jonas, who tenderly nursed me over the past week and patiently put up with my demands for pretty much everything a girl could demand.

Tangelo Delicious is a twist on the traditional Lemon Delicious: a warm citrus dessert with an aerated cake top and a gooey fudge base.

Perfect winter fare that’s so light it’s easily transferable to summer.

Tangelo Delicious Pudding

Based on a recipe from The Essential Dessert Cookbook. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
60g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (185g) caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon grated tangelo rind
1/3 cup (40g) self raising flour
¼ cup (60ml) tangelo juice
¾ cup (185ml) milk
Oil, for greasing

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180’C.

2. Brush a 1 litre ovenproof dish with oil.

3. Using electric beaters, beat the sugar, egg yolks, butter and tangelo rind until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

4. Sift in the flour and stir (with wooden spoon) until just combined.

5. Add tangelo juice and milk and stir until combined.

6. In a new (very clean, very dry) bowl, beat egg whites with (very clean, very dry) electric beaters until firm peaks form.

7. Fold in pudding mixture with a metal spoon until just combined. You want to try and keep as much air as possible.

8. Spoon into the ovenproof dish and place in a large, deep baking dish. Pour boiling water into baking dish until it comes one-third of the way up the side of the pudding dish (this will keep an even temperature and retain moisture during cooking).

9. Bake for 40 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

Using the tangelo, this is my entry to Weekend Herb Blogging.

Tangelos (Citrus paradisi × Citrus reticulata) are deliberate and accidental hybrids of tangerines (orange x mandarin) and pomelos (grapefruit).

Thought to have originated in South East Asia more than 3,500 years ago, they are one of the most juiciest of the citrus fruits with a refreshing acidity and tapered “nippled” shape.

Their soft skin makes them easier to peel than oranges and some of the more well-known cultivars include K–Early, Minneola, Nova, Orlando, Seminole, Thornton, Alamoen and Ugli.

The current Weekend Herb Blogging host is Astrid from Paulchen's Foodblog so be sure to visit for the recap.

Other Tangelo Recipes:Candied Tangelo Peel Hot.Sour.Salty.Sweet. And Umami
Mango Tangelo Chutney The Bacon Show
Roasted Branzino w Tangelo-Olive Tapenade Scrumptious Street
Salmon w Lime-Tangelo Yoghurt Sauce Beetses
Tangelo-Buttermilk Scones Lisa is Cooking
Tangelo Caprioska Morsels & Musings
Tangelo-Coriander Brown Rice Pilaf Scrumptious Street
Tangelo Cheesecake disciplined self indulgence
Tangelo Creme Tart Sweet & Savory Eats
Tangelo Flan Brulee Cook Eat Fret
Tangelo Marmalade Vegan Yum.Yum
Tangelo Pork Stir-Fry Culinary in the Country
Tangelo Sorbet The Chocolate Gourmand
Tea Cake w Sticky Tangelo Syrup Souvlaki For The Soul

References:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/tangelo.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangelo
http://images.smarter.com/blogs/Tangelo.jpg

roast pork fillet w cider & pistachios

 
This is another of my Autumn inspired dishes and it’s been perfect during the torrential rain Sydney has been experiencing lately.

But I imagine this dish would be equally good as summer afternoon roast if you sat outside and let the warm weather touch your skin.

The colours are so pretty and the flavours are quite elegant. I’m a big fan of this quick and easy roast.

Roast Pork Fillet w Cider & Pistachios
Anna’s recipe inspired by Stephanie Alexander. Serves 2.
Ingredients:
350g pork fillet
¼ cup shelled pistachio nuts, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 sprigs lemon thyme
½ cup apple cider
Fleur de Sel, to taste
Freshly milled pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180'C.

2. Trim the pork fillet of sinews and fat. Rub with olive oil, lemon thyme and pepper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan. Saute the onions and garlic until oftened then transfer to a baking dish.

4. Heat a little more olive oil on high before browning the pork for 4 minutes then turn and brown the other side for 3 minutes.

5. Remove pork to the baking pan and sit on onions.

6. Deglaze the frying with apple cider. Simmer for 5 minutes until reduced a little.

7. Pour over pork then sprinkle pork with pistachio nuts and fleur de sel.

8. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through but still pink and tender.

9. Transfer juices to frying pan and reduce a little further.

10. Serve pork in slices, drizzled with pan juices and accompanied by a salad of bitter greens or roasted brussels sprouts and baked potatoes.

This dish relies heavily upon the fragrant flavours of lemon thyme, which is my theme ingredient for Weekend Herb Blogging.

Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) is a cross between common thyme and the more aromatic thymus pulegioides. This hybrid produces a gorgeous citrus scented herb with medium green foliage and small lilac flowers.

Native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa it is used in the cuisines of most countries in these regions as well as the Caribbean

Thyme was used by the Ancient Egyptians for embalming, the Ancient Greeks in their temples, by Romans to purify their rooms and by Medieval Europeans to ward away nightmares. Hmm?

Thyme symbolises courage and is also known as a good source of iron.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by WHB's very own manager Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once.

Other lemon thyme recipes:
Dried Strawberries & Lemon Thyme Shortbread - Cupcake Muffin
Lemon Thyme Bars - Not Eating Out in New York
Lemon Thyme Chicken Nuggets - Butter & Sugar
Lemon Thyme Crème Brûlée - Chocolate & Zucchini
Lemon Thyme Cupcakes - Fresh Approach Cooking
Lemon Thyme Curd - Tartelette
Lemon Thyme Gimlet - Slashfood
Lemon Thyme Green Beans - Sugar & Spice
Lemon Thyme Sorbet - Andrea Meyers
Lemon Thyme Tea Bread - Cafe Lynnylu
Mushroom & Lemon Thyme Soup - Nami Nami
Noodles w Creamy Chicken & Lemon Thyme - A la Galadrielle...
Pan Seared Scallops w Lemon Thyme Drizzle - That's Not What the Recipe Says
Pork w Lemon Thyme Sauce - Bear Necessities
Ricotta Gnocchi w Lemon Thyme Butter Sauce - Technicolor Kitchen
Vodka-Thyme Lemonade - Appetite for China
Zucchini Carpaccio w Avocado & Lemon Thyme - The Wednesday Chef

References:
http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pda_1be1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyme
http://www.villageherb.com.au/herb_info.htm