FoodieChat » Quickies ;)

Home made “Kentucky” Hot and Spicy hahaha

admin — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 12:50:09 +0000

On a recent trip to Cabramatta, I was intrigued to find a Malaysian version of a home made KFC style mix. I LOVE KFC so I just had to try it. Half a bottle of oil wasted to fry it, and I wasn’t that happy with the result. It looks okay though, taste was fine, but more akin to a spicy version of the original recipe – ie it wasn’t crispy hot and spicy. And a word of warning…. don’t inhale when handling the dry mix – atchoo!!!

Here is my finished product and the packet if you’re interested!

XO Sauce fried rice noodles

admin — Mon, 09 May 2011 11:32:15 +0000

On our recent trip to Hong Kong, one new yum cha dish that we tried and adored was XO sauce fried rice noodles. Soooo simple to make, especially since XO sauce is so readily available now – even at Coles! By no means a low fat dish, but it’s just 4 ingredients! Firstly, buy a packet of those rolled rice noodles from your local asian grocer. I actually even saw them at Harris Farm too. Cut them into chunks. Then, heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok, then add the noodles and toss around until crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle. Then, add one tablespoon of XO sauce, stir fry until fragrant, and then a splash of light soy sauce. If you have some, add some chopped shallots until wilted. Take off the heat, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve. Eat alone. Do not share! hehehe Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner – or all of them!

Dinner tonight – Salmon en papillotte

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:43:17 +0000

So it seems really easy and also mess free. I decided to give it a go. So easy – create a “bag” by taking a huge piece of foil, and a sheet of the same sized baking paper. Put the baking paper on the top and fold it in half. Fold the edges on two sides in very very tightly and you’ve got your bag! Then I took a piece of salmon, seasoned it and layered some slices of lemon on top. Place it carefully in the bag; along with a few sprigs of parsley and a few springs of dill. Now – very carefully pour in some white wine and a drizzle of olive oil, and now even more carefully, close up the bag with more folds. Place in the oven on a tray – at 220 degrees and bake for 20 minutes, depending on how cooked you like it. It’ll puff up in the oven.

When it’s ready, put the whole parcel on the plate and very carefully, using scissors, snip open the bag and take in the aromas, and the most AMAZING melt in your mouth fish ever.

You can serve it at the table for dramatic effect, or lift it out of the bag carefully and preserve every last drop of that precious yummy sauce! Chuck on some more freshly chopped parsley to serve.

I seriously can’t emphasise just how easy it was to make this dish. And the best bit is that if you’re careful, the only thing you’ll need to wash is your plate! It’s certainly something you can incorporate into your weeknight dinner repertoire – or dare I say – a weeknight dinner PARTY repertoire?

Quick Pork chops

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:28:15 +0000

The other day I had a temporary lapse of good judgement and poured tap water into a glass pyrex dish that had a roast in it cooking at 230 degrees. Wham! Explosion of glass shards covered in pig fat . Well apart from wasting a 2kg roast and having to clean up the mess, at least no glass went in legs. Hence I still craved pork. But 20minutes before guests arrive and no meat, quick dash to the nearest woollies and bought some pork scotch fillet. Here’s a great way to marinate them before grilling : press 2 – 3 cloves garlic in a garlic press to mince; add a generous tablespoon of harrissa, a few finely chopped thyme leaves, and fresh oregano, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. The aroma of the fresh herbs is amazing as it permeates the sweet pork. This quantity was for 4 large chops. Here I served it Rockpool Bar and Grill style: with nothing else on the plate hahaha.

Tuna Pasta Salad

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:10:30 +0000

This recipe is from my friend Jo. It’s also something that can be prepared the night before for lunch. Take 1 cup of cooked spiralli pasta (I use wholemeal as it’s lower GI), a few halved cherry tomatoes, some sliced capsicum, and a few rocket leaves, and make a dressing of 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1.5 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste, and add a can of drained tuna in olive oil. If you’re taking it to work, dress everything except the rocket, and place the rocket on the top of your lunchbox, and keep the tuna separate. Low GI, high protein lunch – easy!

Pesto Pasta Salad

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:01:44 +0000

A very quick and easy lunch idea that can be made ahead, all you need is half a BBQ chicken (shredded), half a packet of farfalle or fusilli pasta cooked al dente, half a sliced red capsicum, half a punnet of cherry tomatoes (halved). Toss together, with 4 large tablespoons of pesto with a little bit of the pasta cooking water to moisten it, or more olive oil if you’re not watching the waistline. You can add anything to it that you like – cucumbers, sliced mushrooms, or you could just eat it warm by stirring the pesto through the pasta just after it’s cooked.

If you wanted to be a bit more tricky and make your own pesto: one bunch of fresh basil (1.5 cups), 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts, 1 garlic clove placed in a blender, then turn it on and pour 1/2 cup of olive oil to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. It’s nicer if you leave a bit of texture in it rather than completely pureeing it. Store in the fridge with some extra olive oil to preserve it on top.

Nigella’s quick fudge sauce

admin — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:22:08 +0000

Now it’s not often that Nigella Lawson, domestic goddess, creates a low fat version of something. Not that she called this lower fat, but I certainly think it is, by virtue of being based on condensed milk, rather than cream, as most fudge sauces are. And it can’t be any easier:

200g condensed milk (I even used skim)
100g chocolate
100g peanut butter (Again I used lite).

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan, and warm gently until melted together into a lusciously viscous rich sauce. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to prevent from setting too hard.

Pour over ice cream, sprinkle with chopped nuts, and enjoy – blissful in the knowledge that it’s not as bad as it could have been for you!

Cheats cupcakes

admin — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 05:35:36 +0000

A great way to occupy an evening with children (I can testify to this) is to get a box of vanilla cake mix and ice them together and dunk in bowls of sprinkles. That way you don’t need to risk wrong ingredient proportions and the finished product will always work. And for $2 for a dozen – it’s dirt cheap too (I used Greens Vanilla Cake mix with frosting sachet, and added one single drop of red food colouring to make the icing pink). Great for parties for children and adults alike!

Amazing strawberries

admin — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:23:56 +0000

These are some amazing organic strawberries I picked up at my local Harris Farm. Not one blemish! You can really taste the difference. I once sampled some straight from the farm at a farmer’s market in California – the sweetest I’ve ever had. Here’s a tip to enhance the flavour – eat them at room temperature. Same goes for all fruits!

Homemade Pizza

admin — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 06:16:15 +0000

Making your own pizza not only takes less time than waiting for home delivery, but it is many times healthier too. Buy a few frozen bases to keep in your freezer, and always have on hand sachets of tomato paste. You can freeze what you don’t use for up to three months! I like to sprinkle some chilli flakes on for a bit of zing.

Ingredients

Serves 2

1 cup of veges, sliced (see suggestions)
½ cup of meat eg Shredded salami, ham, SPAM, shredded chicken, cooked mince
¾ cup grated mozarella cheese
½ small thinly sliced onion
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
A few fresh basil leaves and oregano leaves (substitute 1 teaspoon dried italian herbs)

Method

Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees celcius
Spread unthawed pizza base with tomato paste leaving a 1cm border for the crust
Sprinkle half cup mozarella on the base. At this stage, add your herbs (chilli flakes, basil leaves, oregano etc)
Arrange topping in a consistent layer on base and top with remaining cheese
Place on a tray in oven for 10-15mins (see instructions on pizza base box) – or for extra crispy base, place directly onto oven rack.

Suggestions

Mushroom pizza – 1 cup of sliced mushroom caps
Ham and mushroom – ½ cup sliced ham, ½ cup shredded mushrooms
Supreme – 8 whole slices of salami, ¼ cup thinly sliced green capsicum, handful sliced mushrooms, pepperoni
Chicken – ¾ cup shredded barbeque chicken, 2 rashers thinly sliced bacon, ¼ cup diced red capsicum