FFWD - Salty-sweet potato far

For French Friday with Dorie this week, we venture into the intriguing world of salty and sweet, which sounds right up my alley.  This week's recipe is salty-sweet potato far, and the name alone had me intrigued.

The recipe itself is perhaps not so intriguing - it is basically a huge potato cake with prunes added for the sweet part.  It was quite OK to eat, even better  cold, but probably not a repeat for me.  Ah, such promise in the name, but it was not fulfilled for me.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

WWDH - Coleslaw

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay recipe is Coleslaw from Modern Classics I, chosen by me.

I didn't pay much attention to the recipe until I came to make it, and I found it odd.  There was radish instead of carrot, so I swapped back to carrots, and cabbage, parsley and green onion  with a dressing based on a whole raw egg.  I was a bit dubious about the dressing, but it tasted nice.  However, I did not dare to keep it for more than a couple of days, and will use a vinaigrette or the like to use up the dry slaw still sitting in my fridge.

This coleslaw tasted quite good - way better than the commercial slaw mixes that I have bought.  Knowing how simple this was to make, I'd definitely make it again in preference to buying pre-prepared coleslaw mixes. 

I served my coleslaw with roast chicken, as pictured above.  It has been a very tasty work lunch.

To see what Kayte, Margaret, Chaya and Sarah thought of this recipe, visit their websites.

Spinach, Chickpeas and Currants

I am always on the look for new and unusual recipes, so as I was casually browsing the website for the TV show, Everyday Gourmet, I was struck by a recipe for chickpeas, spinach and currants.  I like all three, but was curious as to how they'd taste together.  Of course, I made it!

And the verdict?  Really good and dead simple to make.  I served this with beef and feta meatballs, and the whole dish had an exotic feel to it.  The only problem is that there was not enough of this for my liking!!

Lamb shanks with pumpkin, cranberry and quinoa salad and broccolini with garlic

A couple of weeks ago, I held a dinner party for some close friends at my house.  I have belatedly discovered that my slow cooker is the hostess's friend, as you can get on with doing a myriad of other tasks while dinner looks after itself in the slow cooker.

To take advantage of my slow cooker, I decided to make Lamb Shanks with Cannellini Beans in the slow cooker.  I accompanied them with a pumpkin, cranberry and quinoa salad, for which you can find the recipe here, broccolini poached in chicken stock with garlic, the recipe for which can be found online here.

The recipe for the Lamb Shanks with Cannellini Beans came form one of my newer recipe books, Slow Cooking by Catherine Atkinson (p118).  The sauce is white wine based rather than being based on red wine or tomatoes, but is equally delicious in a different way.  My guests enjoyed lamb shanks cooked this way, and what is even better, once the initial prep is done, you can leave these shanks to cook away while you get on with other things for your guests.

To make these shanks, as well as a slow cooker, you will need:

1 x 400g can cannellini beans, drained (Catherine used dried beans)
4 lamb shanks
2 tablespoons plain flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped brown onion
2 sliced cloves garlic
1 sl;iced celery stick
1 sliced carrot
leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary (I used a shake of dried rosemary)
2 bay leaves
175ml white wine
2 tablespoons tomato puree
600ml hot water
salt and pepper

Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper then coat them in the flour.  Heat the oil in a large fry pan and brown the shanks in the pan until browned on all sides.  Transfer the shanks to your slow cooker.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until golden, then stir in the garlic, celery, carrot, rosemary and bay leaves.

Pour in the wine and allow it to bubble and reduce, then add the tomato paste diluted in the hot water. Bring the micture to the boil, season with salt and pepper, then pour it over the lamb shanks in the slow cooker.

Cook the shanks on high for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.  Taste for seasoning before serving.

WWDH - Corn Cakes

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay recipe is my pick, Corn Cakes from p82 of Modern Classics Book I.  Chaya made the recipe outside of the group last year, and you can find the recipe (minus the bacon) here.  To make the recipe as per the book, just add four cooked slices of bacon that have been chopped.

These corn cakes were quite tasty.  I served mine with chutney, as Donna suggested.

The only thing that I didn't like about this recipe is all the washing up.  Even though I used tinned corn, there was still a lot of pans and dishes involved.  However, if you don't mind that, and cheese, corn, bacon and onion mixed together in a fritter sounds good to you, then you will like this recipe.

Please visit Kayte, Margaret, Chaya and Sarah to see what they thought of these cakes.

FFwD - Boulevard Raspail Corn on the Cob

We've made it to Friday again - my favourite day of the week.  For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we have not so much a recipe as a cooking technique - for corn on the cob.

This technique, named "Boulevard Raspail" after the name of a street market in France that sells organic produce, from whence Dorie got the idea, involves roasting corn in the husk in the oven for 40 minutes, then peeling off its "pajamas" and liberally dousing the corn with butter, salt and pepper.

I have done something very similar using a microwave for 3 minutes instead of oven roasting - I found that idea on the Internet. 

What can I say - the corn tastes  good this way, but corn tastes good boiled, or dare I say it, in the microwave.  However, if you are already roasting some veges, chuck in some corn as well - you get yourself a nice one pot dish.

To see what the rest of the FFwD group thought, visit the LYL section of the website. 

FFwD - Tzatziki

This is a fabulous French Friday with Dorie.  It's not because of the weather in Melbourne today - after the most glorious week of warm weather we've had in ages, it turned today, and it is rainy and cold and windy.  No, it's because I have been on leave this week, spending time with my family who are visiting from Queensland.  It has been a wonderful week and I am sad that it has drawn to a close so quickly.

For FFwD this week, we had to make Tzatziki.  I was not excited about this, as I have only tasted commercially made tzatziki  that is sour and horrible.

However, this tzatziki was a revelation - it was creamy and smooth and very tasty with crackers.  I have a whole new perspective on tzatziki.  I substituted the dill for chives and left out the mint - I really don't think it mattered.

To see what the other Doristas/Doristos thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website.

FFWD - Socca from Vieux Nice

This week's French Friday with Dorie challenge was educational - the dish is Socca from Vieux Nice.  I have never heard of Socca before, but for those like me who have never heard of it before, it is a chickpea flour pancake.  The other educational aspects of making this dish is (a) finding out where to buy chickpea flour; and  (b) finding out that in Australia, chickpea flour is sold as besan flour.  Whew!  All that learning in one simple dish.

I really didn't know what I'd think about this dish.  It is very simple - flour, water, oil, rosemary.  However, I was pleasantly surprised - it was really tasty eaten on its own while still warm.  I only made a half recipe, which turned out the perfect thickness in my pan, but unfortunately made it a little delicate, but made it hard to get out of the pan in one piece, hence the mangled appearance.

I'd make this again - which is lucky, as I have a whole bag of very pricey chickpea flour.

To see what the other Dorie cooks thought, visit the LYL section of the website.

FFwD - Ann Le Blanc's Pistachio Avocado - err, Macadamia Avocado

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is - well, not really a recipe.  Half an avocado squirted with lemon juice and the cavity filled with oil and sprinkled with salt - in Dorie's case, pistachio oil, in my case, macadamia oil.

Spread on an English muffin, it's nice - but so is plain avocado with salt on a muffin.  I splashed out on the oil for this recipe, but I don't really think it was necessary.  I am sorry to say that I was not inspired by this dish.

To see what the other Dorie cooks thought of this recipe, visit the LYL section of the website.

WWDH - Arancini

This week, we travel to Italy for Wednesdays with Donna Hay as Margaret chooses Arancini from Modern Classic Book I.

This is a double recipe, as before you can make the arancini, you have to make Donna's lemon and parmesan risotto.  Here is the risotto:

I had some of the risotto for lunch with a small tin of salmon mixed through - it was delicious.

Here is  peek inside the arancini:

I used pieces of light cheddar cheese to stuff my arancini instead of the mozzarella from a practicality and cost saving perspective. My arancini took about double the 3-4 minute cooking time recommended by Donna. The arancini were delicious, but obviously they are not every day food as they are deep fried. For that reason, I only made two arancini and will use the rest of the risotto as a side with another dish. 

To see what Margaret, Kayte and Chaya thought of these arancini, visit their websites.

FFwD - Swiss Chard Pancakes

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Swiss Chard Pancakes.  In my case, they were actually spinach pancakes, as I could not buy Swiss chard.

These pancakes are from a fairly standard pancake batter with chives and spinach blitzed through it, and cooked in the usual way.  I made a third of the recipe to yield 7 pancakes.

I served my pancakes with aubergine, mango and chilli jam on some and with cottage cheese on the others. 

These pancakes were OK, but probably not something I'd make again.

To see what the other Doristas thought, visit the LYL section of the website.

FFwD - Steamed Lemon Spinach + Orange Scented Green Lentil Soup

It is Good Friday, and it is also French Friday with Dorie.  I am home with my family for a visit, which is nice and relaxing after a crazy few weeks.

This week's FFwD recipe is Steamed Lemon Spinach - I made this at the start of the month to go with the Chicken Diable, and it is really easy and really good.  I feel deprived if I don't get greens with my meal these days - as a child I couldn't abide them!

I also caught up on the Orange Scented Green Lentil Soup:

I didn't mind this soup, although I did find the orange flavour rather strong (from orange peel that is boiled up and pureed with the other ingredients.  I didn't strain the soup - I like the "chunky" consistency.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this week's recipe, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website.

Enjoy your hot cross buns and fish and some quality time with your nearest and dearest this Easter.  Ciao!

FFwD - Cheesy Creme Brulee

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Cheesy Creme Brulee.  To me, it tasted like a very small crustless quiche.  This translates to - it tasted fine, but I can't really see the point.

I used gorgonzola in the  base of my brulee, as that was the only block cheese I had.  For topping, I used pre-grated  cheddar.

There's not much else to say about this, I'm afraid.  Have a lovely weekend, and check out the thoughts of the other Doristas on this dish at the LYL section of the website. 

Jamie's Stuffed Zucchini Flowers in Tomato Sauce

I have long had an obsession with zucchini flowers.  I had never eaten them before, but there was something that fascinated me about stuffing and cooking  zucchini flowers - it sounds so summery and delightful.  Unfortunately, zucchini flowers are not that easy to find unless you grow your own zucchinis, so imagine my delight when I found this box of zucchini flowers at the St Kilda Veg Out Market for $5: 

I like to avoid fried food, but thought I would take one for the team to try these zucchini flowers.  However, the first recipe for stuffed zucchini flowers that I found when flicking through my cookbooks was not fried at all.  In Jamie Does, Jamie Oliver features a recipe for stuffed zucchini flowers in tomato sauce - perfect!  It meant that I could cook my zucchini flowers without feeling bad about deep frying.

One thing I hadn't really considered was how fiddly it is to prepare and stuff the zucchini flowers.  I made it more difficult for myself by refrigerating the flowers so that the petals wilted and stuck together (tip - do not do this).  You have to open up the petals carefully and somehow get into the flower cavity and snip out the stamen.  Next, you have to coax a ricotta and herb cheese mix into the tiny flower cavity without tearing the flower - sheesh.  It is not a job to do when you are short on time.

Despite the fiddliness of it all, I managed to successfully stuff my 14 zucchini flowers, and make the dish with tomatoes and olives.  It was really delicious, although I think the strong flavours of the tomatoes and olives overwhelmed most of the other flavours.

If you are curious, like I was, to try this dish, you will need:

A bunch of mixed fresh soft herbs (I used just basil)
250g ricotta
50g grated parmesan
pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 lemon
12 large or 16 small zucchini flowers (baby zucchini still attached)
500g vine ripened tomatoes (I just used a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
3 small banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (I just used a small brown onion)
A handful of black olives

Pick the leaves off the herbs, and finely chop the leaves and the stalks. Place in a bowl with the ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste, then add the finely grated lemon zest. Mix well with a fork.

Prise open the zucchini flowers, and snip off the bright yellow stamens.  Rinse the flowers and carefully fill each one with a teaspoon (or however much you can fit in!) of the ricotta mixture. Carefully press and pat the petals back together to seal in the mixture.

Cut a small cross in the top and bottom of your tomatoes, then plunge them into a bowl of boiling water for a minute or so until the skins blister and come away. Place in cold water until cool enough to handle, then peel off and discard the skins. Cut the flesh into 1cm chunks. (Or just open a tin of tomatoes!) In a wide pan, heat a good lug of olive oil on medium heat and fry the garlic and shallots for 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes and olives and bring to the boil then season with salt and pepper.  Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes, until thickened slightly.

When your sauce is ready, carefully lay your stuffed flowers on top and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover the pan and leave on a low heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the zucchini flowers are cooked through and the sauce is thick. Cut the zested lemon in half, and squeeze the juice of one half onto the sauce.

Serve with lemon wedges, salad and bread, if desired.

FFwD - Chicken Breasts Diable and Spiced Butter-Glazed Carrots

Thank goodness we've made it to Friday again - and the first of March already!  It has been a steamy, hot week this week - which is very unlike Melbourne and much more like Brisbane, where I hail from.  Ironically, it is wet and cool there - has the earth been turned on its head?  Extraordinary!!!  The humid heat has made it difficult to sleep, so I am not sure whether I am coming or going this week.

This brings me to this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish, Chicken Breasts Diable - aka chicken breasts pan fried and served with a creamy mustard sauce.  My photo may not do the dish justice, but this was seriously good.  The hardest part for me was ensuring that the chicken was cooked through, as I overlooked the requirement to flatten the chicken breasts a little before cooking - oops.  It all worked out in the wash, although it took significantly longer than 8 minutes for the chicken to cook.  However, if you like things hot and spicy, don't be fooled by the name of this dish - it is tame as a lamb in the spice department.

I served my chicken with the lemon-steamed spinach (to be revealed later this month), and the spiced butter-glazed carrots that I missed way back in December 2010:

These were pretty good - I am a ginger fan so I especially liked the fresh sliced ginger flavour through the carrots.

The only dish I now have not made from our schedule is Salmon in a Jar - and that was deliberate.  Maybe one day I will get the stomach to try it, but not right now.

To see what the other Doristas thought of Chicken Breasts Diable, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website.

FFwD - Cheating-On-Winter Pea Soup and Herb-Speckled Spaetzle

This Friday, Dorie has us cheating on winter with Cheating on Winter Pea Soup - but it ain't winter here, so I couldn't demonstrate my infidelity to the seasons.  The day that I made this soup (well, the Thursday night before reveal) was 32 degrees (86F) outside. 

I was a little reticent about this one - as you know, I am not a soup fan.  But again, this soup surprised me, and I quite liked it.  I made a half recipe using half frozen and half canned peas (because that is what I had about the house).  I had no issues with blending the soup because I just blitzed it in my little-used blender - I had more technical issues with the blender's safety lock than with the soup.

It isn't easy being green, especially this olive hue, but don't be fooled - this plain Jane soup is quite delicious.

I also finally got around to making the herb-speckled spaetzle from early January:

I enjoyed this dish but without a spaetzle maker, it is a real pain to make - I thought my left arm was going to fall off as I pressed the dough tediously through a colander-spoon with my bare hand (which worked better than using a spoon).  I served my spaetzle with beef stroganoff and green beans: 

This was a pretty awesome meal.

To see what the Doristas thought about this week's soup, visit the LYL section of the website.

FFWD - Brown sugar squash and brussels sprouts en papillote

It's Friday again, and for French Friday with Dorie this week, our recipe is brown sugar squash and Brussels sprouts en papillote (ie veges in a bag).

The recipe is to chop up butternut pumpkin (I used Kent pumpkin as there were no butternuts at the supermarket) and apple, toss with Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper, sprinkle with brown sugar, then steam in a foil bag in the oven for 25 minutes or so.

I wasn't really sure about this, but then I tasted it - and like wow - I really enjoyed this.  The brown sugar and apple gave the vegetables a pleasant sweetness.  I served my brown sugar squash and Brussels sprouts en papillote with salmon baked in the bag with coriander, lemon juice, lemongrass, salt and pepper:

This was a delicious dinner, and quick and easy to make.

For dessert, I had this delicious brownie cupcake baked by Yvonne from my Pilates class:

To see what the other Dorie cooks thought of brown sugar squash and Brussels sprouts en papillote, visit the LYL section of the website.

FFwD - Chicken liver gateau with pickled onions

French Fridays with Dorie this week ventures into the slightly scary - Chicken Liver Gateau with Pickled Onions.

This did not appeal to me at all, and the chicken livers were not that easy to find, making this a double challenge.

Despite my misgivings, I went ahead and made it (though there was no way I was going to make the tomato sauce to go with this - gross me out!).  One thing - it was quick and easy to make - just blitz everything together in a food processor and bake.  Here is an inside look:  

I ate it warm because Dorie made it sound appealing - like a custard.  On cooling, it is  more like pate.

I liked the onions, and the mouthfuls of gateau I ate with the onions were fine. Sans the onions, I found the gateau rather bland - kind of like a strange sausage sans spices, and definitely nothing like a custard.

I liked it much better cold, when it was indeed like a pate.  However, I am not a fan and won't be making it again.

To se what the other Dorie cooks thought, visit the LYL section of the website.

FFwD - Go-with-everything Celery Root Puree

Welcome to the last FFwD recipe for this year.

This week's French Friday with Dorie recipe is Go-with-everything Celery Root Puree.   In Australia, celery root is sold as celeriac, and is a strange looking beast that I have never purchased before.  It is hard, brown and nobbly on the outside and is quite hard in the middle too, making it a challenge to peel.  Peeling it is somewhat like peeling a pineapple, as you slice off the skin in chunks rather than thin strips.

I only made a half recipe of this puree, and I am glad about that - the celery taste was rather overwhelming, despite the presence of potato and several other ingredients, so unless you like celery, I wouldn't recommend trying this dish.  I served it as a side with a beef stir fry with lots of sauce for the puree to soak up.

To see what the other Dorie cooks, thought, visit the LYL section of the website.

FFwD - Herbed Olives

This week's French Friday with Dorie recipe is Herbed Olives.  Just like it says on the tin, this recipe involves macerating olives in herbed oil that you make yourself.  Flavours include coriander, fennel, rosemary, thyme, garlic, chilli, pepper, salt and bay.  I didn't have fresh seeds, so I used the crushed variety instead.  I used a mixture of black and kalamata olives that I had in my fridge.

If you can see the olives in my photo, you are doing better than me.

I have no idea what these olives taste like, as they are meant to macerate for at least 8 days before being eaten.  I only just made mine, so I won't know for a while yet.  However, if the smell coming from the pan in which I made the oil is anything to go by, these will taste fabulous!

To see some more herbed olives, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website.