Char grilled Squid (stuffed) on bed of veggies

In terms of time, flavour and simply getting it all right, this stretched my ability albeit quite limited; though the pay off was great with a stuffed squid that was not only bursting with flavour but came with quite a sense of achievement.
The first achievement was pretty much getting the little buggers clean, it doesn't sound difficult but again, for someone who had never actually done it before, I can assure you, it was!

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Prep time:  free up at least 2 hours, which includes cleaning the squid, only about 45min if you opt to purchase pre-cleaned squid (not a bad option!)

Ingredients:
- 2 whole squid
- 1 clove garlic, (crushed & chopped)
- 2 shallots, (very finely chopped)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (fresh sourdough if possible)
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup olive oil (plus a little extra to drizzle)
- 100g kidney beans, refreshed in cold water
- 100g green beans
- 1/2 cup rice boiled
- 5-10 cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- fresh lemon juice to top
- 10 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- lemon juice from 1 fresh lemon

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How to work the magic:

1. If you've never cleaned a squid before click here or left to launch a video. The only thing you have to remember is save the tentacles and cut them into little 0.5cm lengths an any little squid bits that don't make the cute, save them for the filling.

2. Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan; throw in the garlic and shallots until soft. Add tentacles and any little bits and cook until opaque and just cooked, throw in the green beans for a little but ensure they're still crispy and not soggy; season to taste.

3. Just before removing the above mixture, put in the rice for a little to get all the flavours

4. Combine tomatoes, beans, olives, vinegar and a little oil in a bowl, season to taste.
5. Combine rice/tentacle mixture in a bowl with lemon juice, parsley and breadcrumbs.
6. Spoon rice/tentacle mixture into the squid hoods, leaving 1cm at the top to secure with a toothpick, drizzle with a little extra oil.
7. Heat the pan, cook squid, turning until golden and squid is just cooked through. Slice squid.
8. Divide salad among plates and top with squid, spoon over any remaining dressing to serve.
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HINT: You can place the squid in all sorts of ways, though if you're serving it up, try make them all look the same, it just adds that difference.

The Service Guy to the rescue

So it's no secret, Salim 'The Service Guy' saved our oven just in time for Grand Final day, the day wouldn't have been the same without good ol' Australian pies!

The pies were perfect, the chops, snags and company was perfect, as was the game (as a spectacle).

Since it was a draw it looks like we're back at my place for yet another BBQ on Saturday and it promises to be just as good a day as it was last week.

The invite for the second Grand Final BBQ:

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Just a quick plug for Service Central, which got me in touch with Salim who quickly and efficiently repaired the over.

My recipes 'll be back!
I promise to be back with some yummo recipes very soon, I’ve actually got a number of them coming, though I just have to re-make a few as I forgot to take photos, (which is very unlike me) so stay tuned =D

Dinner Party Disaster!

So…my better half and I were hosting (on the Saturday just passed) a long awaited dinner party for a bunch of friends; the theme, GREEK!

Count down: 1 week till dinner guests’ arrival
We actually spent a week preparing for this dinner, having even changed the furniture around the house (a little), created a DVD to showcase our recent holiday pics and videos, not to mention the menu I put together for it. Oh, I forgot to mention the week before, we actually trailed all the food to see how it would work and it was perfect.

Count down: 6 hours till dinner guests’ arrival
On the day we were so well prepared, with much of the food having been prepared several hours prior to our guests arriving we were lapping up the free time, if you know what I mean ;)

Count down: 2 hours till dinner guests’ arrival
Placed the tiropitakia (cheese pies) in the oven. They came out looking umm, sort of raw…hmm I thought, that’s never happened before.

Count down: 1 hour till dinner guests’ arrival
Placed the mousaka in the oven and the second round of cheese pies.

Count down: 40 minutes till dinner guests’ arrival
Went to take out the cheese pies and they hadn’t even browned…in fact the oven was still damn cold! The oven just died!

Count down: 38 minutes till dinner guests’ arrival
I notify the boss and in a somewhat reserved fashion, she freaked out.

Count down: 36 minutes till dinner guests’ arrival
I freaked out!...not as reserved.

Count down: 35 minutes till dinner guests’ arrival
Thought of cancelling the night. Opted to call my sister so as to hijack her oven, alas they were out!

Count down: 34 minutes till dinner guests’ arrival
Called mother-in-law and asked her to pre heat the oven, I’ll be over in a jiffy

Count down: 33 minutes till dinner guests’ arrival
We both freaked out heaps at this stage, but I was now on my way to the in-laws.

Count down: 31 minutes till dinner guests’ arrival
Called our guests and asked them to delay 30 or so minutes.

So though we had bought a little time, our panic was going to keep us unsettled for the rest of the night.

I cooked the food and was back at our place only 15 minutes AFTER our guests had arrived…eeek! Basically I didn’t get any sort of a chance to take any photos as I was very much in a state of “this night’ll be much better sitting in the past”.

Now our guests were fantastic and very understanding of everything that had happened and thought the company was (as always) first rate, as hosts, we never really settled and remained anxious.

So much for the chocolate cake I planed on making the next day.

The Menu:

Greek night menu Sept 2010 -

Horiatiki Salata (Greek Salad)

In Greece, this was (as you can imagine) a standard at every meal, not to mention, one of the key aspects to that wonderful Mediterranean diet.
Since my recent return from Greece, the Greek salad or 'horiatiki' as it better known (to the Greeks) has since become a standard at my dinner table as it was, and still is, at my mum's .
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Prep time:  15 minutes

Ingredients:
- 2 large tomatoes chopped into chunks
- 1 cucumber, peeled & sliced
- 1 red onion, sliced into thin rings
- A handful of Kalamata olives, let's say 10 for arguments sake
- About 150g of feta cheese (id recommend Dodoni or Bulgarian)
- 1-3 tablespoon of oregano
- Drizzle extra virgin olive oil to taste
- Drizzle vinegar to taste
- 2 hard boiled eggs (this is an option that I like to include, when the salad is the meal)
- Fresh parsley (chopped)

How to work the magic:

Well this is as you can imagine the easy part. Just how perfectly you cut the ingredients is up to you. Though a well cut Greek salad can look absolutely amazing.

So, cut the tomatoes in quarters, then the quarters in halves, throw them and the sliced cucumbers in a big bowl and put the onion rings in, trying not to break the rings, the olives and parsley are next then (if you’re going to use the eggs, cut them into quarters and put them in here).

The feta can be placed on top in any way you like, my mum say’s that you can tell a person by the way they cut their feta, so on that note, it's up to you. The gorgeous oregano is last of all the ingredients. Dress and mix through only just before serving.
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HINT: Use plenty of oil and vinegar, this way when the salad is all gone you can break off a bit of bread and dip away; this is what my Giagia attests to her, putting on a few extra kilos in her latter years.

Return from the Mediterranean

Hi all

My apologies for the lacklustre effort over the last 6 weeks but I've only just returned from a spectacular trip to some of my favourite places in the word and what is (for me) the culinary centre of the world...Greece!

I tasted an amazing array of foods and dove into a number of Middle Eastern and African dishes in Egypt and thankfully my research is now complete.

I look forward to sharing some great dishes with you here on i-Vefa so stay tuned :)

i-Vefa

Honeycomb delight

 

This is probably as close as I've gotten to a gastronomic dish in my short 'cooking' life, though you're always sure to get a interesting reaction when using bicarbonate soda in cooking.

This honeycomb recipe is so easy, I almost feel bad posting it; why you ask? Take it easy will ya, it's coming=P
The reaction from people when you serve them home made honeycomb is just as interesting as when the bicarbonate soda hits the pan (this'll be explained in the method below), by my friends now seeing just how easy it is, takes away a bit of the magic; but oh well, it still tastes great!

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Prep-time: 15 mins (plus 45 mins for setting)

Ingredients:
- 180g caster sugar
- 70g glucose
- 80ml water
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
- 200g quality milk chocolate

How to work the magic:
1. Put the sugar in a saucepan with the glucose and the water, then place the pan over high heat until the sugar dissolves.
2. Swirl pan to dissolve sugar, once sugar has dissolved, then wait for the mixture to take on a faint golden tinge. NOW YOU HAVE TO MOVE QUICK, so try not piss fart around.
3. Line a large bowl with baking paper and have a whisk ready. Add bicarbonate soda and quickly whisk through, then immediately pour the mixture into the bowl. Set aside for about 40 or so minutes or until set hard.
4. Get a oven proof dish and place above a saucepan with boiling water. Melt the chocolate in the bowl (over low heat), then pour it over the honeycomb and there you have it!

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HINT: Only one hint. be sure not to leave the sugar unattended as it browns VERY quickly and it's very easy to take it too far. If it takes on a dark brown colour while in the saucepan, don't even bother with it. Get rid of it and start again.

This is so versatile (as you can see from the pics) you can crush up the honeycomb and serve it with lots of stuff.

You can use it on:
- coffee
- cupcakes
- pancakes
- ice-cream
- regular cakes
- or on its own (if you're a lover of Crunchy or Violet Crumble)

You can also flavour the honeycomb with a liqueur or your favourite scotch, though I'd recommend getting this right first...

It'll hold in the fridge for a while, it'd say about 1-2 months.

Pizza: Greek Meetlovers i-Vefa style

The motto for this Pizza is quick & easy, healthy, gourmet and the NO NEED TO BUY JUNK from Maccas, Burger King, Pizza Hut etc.

Not a great deal to say for this one, I honestly wanted this post to be as non-complicated as possible. Don't be discouraged by the list of ingredients, the ONLY musts here are the FIG, the Pesto/Tomato Sauce spread, Zucchini & cheese (yes both).

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Prep-time:  15 mins

Ingredients: 

- a single wholemeal pita bread

- pesto/tomato sauce spread

- a handful of sliced lamb bits (as you know from the rocky road, i have big hands)

- 1 medium size onion (chopped in half rings)

- 1/2 a zucchini

- rocket & baby spinach mix

- 1 medium size fig

- 1 cherry tomato

- 50g mushrooms (sliced)

- buffalo mozarella

- regular mozarella (thinly sliced pieces about twice the size of a 50c piece + some for grating)

How to work the magic: 

1. Half the fun is putting these together in your own special way, so enough said

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HINT: Eat it quick before your husband, wife, partner, house mate, etc eats it first! The sweetness of the fig compliments the rest of the pizza toppings perfectly, though it doesn't offer much to texture, it is a must!

Oh! and if they're figs from your tree at home (a standard in most Greek gardens) be sure to check the inside of the fig thoroughly for little wormies. 

Cup Cakes

Coming home after a hard working week to a house that smells like fresh cake baking is by far my ultimate culinary pleasure, either that or waking up to that smell of fresh bread baking...Well, I actually just missed out on that experience sadly and caught my other half as the cupcake mixture had just been poured and ready for the hot over. They were vanilla & strawberry cupcakes and probably the second best home made cup cakes I've ever tasted, this year at least.

Though I wasn't given the recipe of these little delights, my other half allowed me to at least take a happy snap for you, so enjoy.

For the ultimate cupcake experience, while the cupcake is hot out of the oven, dunk it into a cold glass of milk and enjoy *said as I salivate and my tummy rumbles*

I think I may just knock back one of those beauties right now, daringly BEFORE dinner if I can get past security..shhh.

The penultimate step:

Crème Brulee

Well you know what they say, "if at first you don't succeed, just dust the flour off the table, go buy more cream and try again..." ok, so maybe that's just what I say, but however you put it, my first attempt at crème brulee was a fail...to put it nicely.

Needless to say, persistence paid off and the second time was a hit. The only down side was that the first time, it was served to a dinner party of 6, all of which were very much looking forward to it, but oh well; onwards and upwards.

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Prep-time:  55 mins

Ingredients: 
- 600ml thickened cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or any flavour will do fine i.e. peppermint)
- 6 egg yolks
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- teaspoon vanilla sugar
- demerara sugar for dusting

How to work the magic: 
1. Place the cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil, then remove from heat. Preheat the oven to 130°C.
2. Whisk together egg yolks and vanilla & caster sugar in a bowl until pale.
3. Pour hot cream over egg yolk mixture, continuing to whisk until combined. Evenly divide between 4  ramekins.
4. Place ramekins in a roasting pan lined with a tea towel. Pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Using a kitchen blowtorch go over the mixtrue removing any bubbles. Cover pan with foil.
5. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until custard has just set. Remove ramekins from the tray and set aside to cool.
6. Once custard has set, sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the surface of the custards. Run a kitchen blowtorch over the custards (place under a grill if you don't have a blowtorch or a mum you can steal one off ;) ) until the sugar caramelises. They're now ready to serve.
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HINT: place a second coating of the demerara sugar to get the extra hard top layer and that glassy break on top.

Some pics below of the ones the failed..! I was afraid of over boiling the cream so it ended up being bloody raw!!

Greek style jam donuts with cinnamon sugar

Much to the distress of my other half, I made these on a Sunday night at about 10.30 and after knocking back 10 or so, getting to sleep that night was no easy feat ;)

These can be used as a sort of pre-dessert or a kids snack and should preferably be eaten warm. They make a great treat or dessert for a brunch style gathering but be sure not to make too many because trust me, if they’re hot…they’ll go, every single one…


The thing that gives these that real personality / homely type feel is their shape. I think they look great if they’re not that super perfect ball shape, but each to there own.

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Prep-time: 20 mins not including proving the dough

Ingredients:
- 200ml milk
- 50g unsalted butter, softened
- 40g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups, self raising flour
- Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
- Strawberry jam to fill
- Caster sugar & cinnamon for coating

How to work the magic:
1. Heat milk in a saucepan until tepid [approximately body temperature - 37°C].
2. Whisk in the butter, caster sugar and eggs.
3. Combine flour and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Gradually pour in the milk mixture, whisking until smooth. Cover and set aside in a warm place to prove for about 40 minutes - 1 hour. Meanwhile mix in the cinnamon and caster sugar, approximately 1 part cinnamon to 4 parts sugar or to taste
4. Pour oil into a saucepan until one-third full. Heat over medium-high heat until approx. 160°C. Spoon donut mixture into 4cm round balls into the hot oil. Cook for about 4 minutes or until golden brown
5. Fill with jam using a piping bag.
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Hint: be sure to eat one as soon as you can, because if you have people hovering nearby, don’t expect leftovers.

How to: Pasta

Pasta has been on my hit list of things to do for some time. As far back as I remember, my mum's been making her pasta using that magnificently shine pasta press and now after so many years. It's landed itself in my kitchen.

Not sure just how happy my mum will be with me sharing this recipe, but I'm sure she'll be ok. Her spanakopita & tiropita is another story, though she said she’d share this well kept family secret soon enough. Her exact words…"Only when you’re ready", but I’m ready mum, honest!

Pasta is incredibly easy to construct…the word easy can sometimes be sifted and replaced with difficult. So let’s begin.

The Dough
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Prep-time: approx 30mins

Ingredients:
- 3 cups plain flour
- 3 eggs
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons water

How to work the magic:

1. Sift the flour into a mound on a flat surface and make a well in the centre.
2. Whisk together eggs, oil and water
3. Add ¾ of the egg mixture to the flour and cut liquid through the flour using 2 flat bladed knives or something of that nature.
4. Add the remaining liquid if needed (almost always is) to form a stiff dough.
5. Knead the dough for about 20 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and use as desired.

Roll pasta either by hand or by machine (a worthwhile investment for any pasta lover)

HINT:
1. Freeze prepared fresh pasta in freezer bags or foil for up to the 3 months. Cook directly from the frozen state.
2. Different flavours and textures can be achieved by altering the basic ingredients slightly.

On this occasion I made fettuccine and lasagne cubes. I actually made 2 doses of this recipe and froze the majority, which I’m sure will go through the week.

Rolling the dough by Machine
1. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, and flatten lightly on a floured board.
2. Set the roller on the pasta machine to the widest setting and dust it with a little flour.
3. Feed each portion of the dough through the machine twice. Lay the dough flat on a board and fold it into.
4. Unfolded edge first, feed the dough through the machine 6 more times, by which time it should be smooth and silky. (if pasta is sticking then dust more with flour)
5. Change setting on machine to bring rollers one notch closer and feed paster through once only (the pasta is now getting thinner and longer)

6. Set the machine settings to one notch closer again and feed it through again.
7. Continue this until you get to the desired thickness of your pasta
8. Now either divide up to make pasta for lasagne or use a fettuccine cutter for that style.
9. You can boil it immediately or if you’re going to store it then let it dry out before putting it into freezer bags or foil.

Autumn Potato Jackets

Ok, so these aren't you typical 'winter jackets', more like a windbreaker, so let's call them Autumn Potato Jackets. Perfect!

There is any number of filling you can have with these, no rules really. I did 2 styles. One with sour cream and smoked salmon, the other with grated carrot, yogurt and a little cheese.

The theme of this blogging weekend seems to be starters of finger food specials.
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Prep-time: 35 mins

Sour cream and smoked salmon jackets
Ingredients:
-  6 tiny new potatoes
- 100g packeted spreadable cream cheese
- 2 table spoons dill (finely chopped)
- 50g smoked salmon

How to work the magic:
1. Place potatoes (uncovered) into a tray and in the oven at 170ºC for about 25-30 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes
2. Meanwhile, combine cheese and dill in a small bowl
3. Cut salmon into thin strips
4. Cut a cross at the top of the potato and gently squeeze the base of it to open the centre.
5. Fill centres with a spoonful of the cheese mixture and top with salmon and extra dill, if you so desire (I do, coz it looks great!)
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Grated carrot, yogurt & cheese jackets
Ingredients:
- 6 tiny new potatoes
- 2 carrots (grated)
- 6 table spoons of Greek style yogurt
- ½ cup mozzarella (grated)
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar

How to work the magic:
1. Place potatoes (uncovered) into a tray and in the oven at 170ºC for about 25-30 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes
2. Cut a cross at the top of the potato and gently squeeze the base of it to open the centre.
3. Fill centres with a spoonful of the yogurt, top with carrot & cheese
4. Put some vinegar on the base of the plate and plate potatoes with. Serve.
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HINT: Mix carrot and mozzarella together for a nice clash of colour. I opted against this because I was bloody hungry preparing these and in my haste I forgot =P

Little Caesar Salads

These little bundles of joy will make a great entrée for guests or the perfect side for a main.

Though they look small they’re actually quite filling, especially if you choose to add the chicken as I do.

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Prep-time: 45 mins


Ingredients: 
- 2 breasts of chicken (finely chopped; need to be smaller then your average cubes)
- a loaf of sliced bread, 15 odd slices (of choice; go white for taste, wholemeal if you need a little assistance with the digestion process ;)
- 125g garlic butter softened
- 200g bacon rashers (finely chopped)
- 1 baby cos lettuce (finely shredded) normal ‘non-baby’ cos is just fine
- ½ cup Caesar salad dressing (I was pressed for time so ready made dressing would have to do)
- 150g fetta cheese crumbled (Dodoni obviously! Though Bulgarian is somewhat acceptable..)
- 2 table spoons parmesan cheese

How to work the magic:
1. Cut 8cm (approx.) rounds from the bread. Using a rolling pin flatten the bread rounds slightly.
2. Spread both sides of the rounds with garlic butter and press rounds into (unoiled) cupcake pan, thus taking a nice shape.
3. Bake uncovered at about 150ºC for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned and very crisp. Cool them after.
4. Cook bacon in fry pan, stirring until crisp. Just before the bacon’s ready to come out, sprinkle it with the parmesan cheese. Wait 30 seconds then remove and place onto absorbent paper towel.
5. In the same fry pan using any excess bacon stir through the chicken until ready.
6. Just before serving, combine the lettuce, bacon, chicken and dressing into the little bread cases.
7. Top each case with a little crumbled fetta and serve.
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I tried this as a side on the Mothers Day dinner (the night before) and it worked a treat. My sisters took care of the mains and most desserts. My better half made a fabulous caramel slice, which I’ll feature at some stage in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

Omeletta Perfecto!

Well, the last week or so really has been all about eggs. First with the Pavlova Classic, then came the Poached Egg (how to) and now an omelette; so I promise it's the last really eggy one one for a while.


The perfect omelette begins with nothing other then?....butter of course. Here I'll only show you a base omelette, of course this is one of the more versatile foods, so you can really add anything you so choose to it.


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Prep-time: 5-10mins


Ingredients:
- 1 decent table spoon of butter (plus a little extra melted for brushing)
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup grated mozzarella
- 1/4 cup milk


How to work the magic:
1. So pop a table spoon of butter into the pan, making sure to maneuver it all over the pan including the raised edges of the pan.
2. Crack the 2 eggs in a bowl and add the cheese, whisk them together until the yolk and egg white just mix (this will give it a nice yellow & faint white colour).
3. You can choose to add a little water or milk and whisk it through.
4. Poor the contents into the hot pan (slightly turn it down a fraction) and move the pan around so the base of the pan is completely covered. salt & pepper to taste
5. Move the omelette around in the pan and once it's sliding around in one piece, move it to the edge and flip the edge of it on its self, then do the same on the other side, so both edges are flipped inwards.
6. Slide onto a plate, brush with a little butter so it looks nice and glossy and add a little more salt & pepper.


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To view more pictures, just click the below thumbnails:

How to poach an egg, i-Vefa style

First let me say that fresh eggs make the task of poaching much easier, thought their as certainly methods to give the egg some help to poach.

A properly poached egg should look like a nice dollop of bright white cream.

And we begin:
1. Firstly bring the egg to room temperature. You can do this by placing it in lukewarm water for a few minutes or so.
2. Now bring the water - in a deep saucepan or a chef’s pan - to boil and turn it down to barely a simmer. The saucepan should be at least 10cm in depth. (only about 5cm of water is required)
3. If the egg isn’t fresh you can either add 2 or so table spoons of vinegar to the water or I like to just pop the egg (before you crack it open) into the simmering water for no more the 10 seconds; If you’re unsure maybe do both :)

4. Then tilt the saucepan so the top/base is on about a 45° angle (see picture below) and keep it over the flame/stove top.
5. Then slowly and carefully crack the egg nice and close to the water and pop it in while the saucepan is still on the angle.
6. If it is still looks like it’s going to spread then with a wooden spoon, wave the egg white towards the yolk.
7. Keep the saucepan tilted until the egg white has set.
8. After 4 mins remove the egg with a spoon carefully not to break it.
9. Serve immediately with toast, mushrooms or eat it on its own!
10. A little salt & pepper is essential, but vuala, you have now learnt to poach an egg i-Vefa style.

HINT:
You may need to learn to crack an egg with one hand or get someone to help you…

If you require to cook more then 1 egg then you can pop the second and third egg in after step 6, just as the first sets, do the next and likewise for the next.

If you’re looking to have a breakfast gathering, then you can poach the eggs the night before and store them in the fridge. The next morning, pop them into simmering water for approximately 1 minute and they'll be revived.

After trying every which way to poach an egg and killing my fair share of eggs over several years, this was the only way that not only worked, but did so on my very first attempt! And remember, I ain’t no chef, so if I can do, so can you.

Please let me know how you go and if this works for you as it did for me :)

My poched egg pics:

 

Pavlova Classic

The pavlova is an Aussie and NZ classic dessert, which is named in honour of the famous Russian ballerina  Anna Pavlova, thus it should be presented in the image of curvy dancing figure.. (click here to learn more about interesting story that is, Anna Pavlova). Since we're on the topic of history, click here to learn more about the pavlova and it's origins..is it an Aussie or a Kiwi?...

This dish means so much for so many people, all unique and all just as meaningful as the next. Though the reason why I challenged myself with this classic is more of a humorous one, it has just as strong a meaning to me as the next aussie.

Being from Greek origins, pavlova was not a usual dessert that would be served on our table growing up or any parties we'd have. One day Sheila my old neighbour and dear friend came over for the usual new years bash we've always had at my folks house and brought along, what she introduced as 'just a Pav'.

This unveiling of the aussie pav was met with an odd silence from my mum & co. We were just about forced to taste this cake to be polite and much to our surprise...yum! My mum got the recipe off her and well here it is...

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Total pre-time: 1 1/2 hours (not including cooling)

Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 egg whites (about 160ml)
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 2 table spoons vanilla sugar
- 2 heaped table spoons of corn flour
- 3 table spoons of white vinegar
- 1 cup Bulla cream
- 6 passionfuit pulp (tined should work just as well, though fresh passionfruit are 2 eles down, why not!)
- 1 punnet stawberries, hulled & halved
- half a Cadbury Flake crushed (optional)

How towork the magic:
The Meringue -
1. set oven to 130°C.
2. place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form.
3. gradually add the caster sugar and vanilla sugar, whisking well until the mixture is stiff and nice'en glossy.
4. add the corn flour and vinegar and whisk until combined.
5. shape the mixture into a nice round shape keeping about a 10-13cm in height on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.
6. reduce oven to 115°C and bake for 1hour 30minutes. When ready allow the meringue to cool in the oven completely.
The topping -
1. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Spread over the pavlova, top with passionfruit, strawberries and flake and serve immediately.
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HINT:
- When the meringue stiff and glossy it should have tripled in volume.
- It is important not to increase the oven temperature so the meringue puffs up as required and creates that fabulous crisp shell. If you you're in a hurry and want to turn up the heat to hurry the process, I'd suggest making Eton Mess using ready made meringue or simply choose another dessert.
- Store your pavlova, undressed, in an airtight container on the kitchen bench (at room temperature) and it'll be good to serve up for several days later.

This pavlova attempt came as a result of a work colleague challenging me to a pav-off. For argumnts sake it was declared a draw, but well done Zackary.

My pics:

Triple Cheese Croutons

This is quite a magnificent entree if I don't say so myself. Like anything that tastes great, don't over indulge so when serving it up to guests, be sure to be strict on the one portion per person, after all, you don't want it to steal the show from the main you're going to serve...

Though my pics of this don't do it justice, the complimenting burst of flavour you get from a mouthful is...*gulps thinking about it*

No more waiting :)

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Total prep-time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
- a traditional sesame seed coated French stick
- olive oil (for brushing)
- hand full of baby spinach
- grated parmesan cheese (for dusting)
- 2 pieces of ricotta cheese, roughly 10cm x 3cm (depending on how many you're looking to make. 1 piece of ricotta per piece of bread)
- 2 pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut similar to ricotta (or to choice)

How to work the magic:
1. Cut as many pieces of the French stick as required, and brush both sides generously with olive oil; you can use less 'overpowering' oils, but extra virgin is best!
2. Place the bread in a pan (no additional oil required) on very low heat (same theory as the standard croutons) and wait until golden brown on one side then flip
3. Once turned, begin placing the mozzarella and ricotta on the bread, then sprinkle with a generous amount of parmesan cheese
4. Once the mozzarella begins to melt, the bottom side should be ready (just test the bread is crispy all around). Remove and place on plate or platter of choice
5. Time to turn up the heat and throw in the baby spinach (let this go in the oil & flavour of the croutons, no need for additional oil)
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Remove and place small amount on the ready croutons and sprinkle pinch of parmesan for presentation.

Enjoy!

These little babies hold for a while though should really be served and eaten within the 15 odd minutes.

They sound more complex then they really are, once you have the ingredients the method is up to you, mix and match to taste, mushrooms would be a super additions for example.

HINT: lemon & pepper on the ricotta before it goes on the crouton as well as a little while it's resting.

Want to make normal croutons? then click here.