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