Friday Food - Cassata

My Oma used to make 'Cassata' for Christmas when I was a child. I remember it being a big deal, but then having Christmas at Oma's was a big deal. It meant a 10 hour drive and staying at grandparent's or cousin's houses. The days were spent visiting people, playing in lots of different back yards and kissing lots of prickly cheeks. They were halcyon days... 

Anyway... back to cooking....

Cassata an Italian treat which is essentially ice-cream that has been jazzed up. The great thing about cassata is that you can make it ahead of time. This means you can be super organised and enjoy your Christmas event {or any other occasion} more, knowing that you can pull out a fancy dessert from the freezer.

I made two for my family's Christmas do a few weeks ago {we celebrated Sinte Klaas (Dutch Christmas) on the 5th of December} and it was delicious. So, here are the two different Cassatas I made...

Cassata 

Prep Time: 10 minutes {plus defrosting time}
Cooking Time: There is none! 
Serves: approx 20


Ingredients:

Christmassy Cassata
2L of vanilla ice-cream
1/2 jar of fruit mince
1 cup of toasted shredded coconut
100g of dark chocolate chopped

Raspberry & Marshmallow Cassata
2L of vanilla ice-cream
150g frozen raspberries
1/2 packet of mini marshmallows 
{from the baking section of the supermarket, not the lolly section}


Method

1. Take the ice-cream out of the freezer and allow to thaw slightly. This is can take up to 45 minutes depending on the weather. You don't want to defrost this so much that it is liquid, you just want it soft enough that so that you can mix your extras through it. 
2. Prepare your fillings, for the Christmassy Cassata, toast the coconut in a heavy based pan over a low heat, as soon as the coconut gets a bit of colour, take it off the stove. Put the coconut into a bowl, it will continue to toast {aka burn} if left in the pan.  Chop the chocolate {avoid eating too much of it}.
3. When the ice-cream is soft, tip it into a large bowl, add your fillings and fold them through with a large metal spoon. Try not to stir so much that you end up with a thick shake consistency. You want to maintain as much of the coldness of the ice-cream as you can. If you are using raspberries, don't thaw them first, just mix them through frozen and get the ice-cream back into the freezer asap.
4. Spread the ice-cream into a wet ice-cream mould {a Tupperware Jel-Ring would be super cool}, or the original container and pop back into the freezer.
5. The cassata should be ready to use the next day. To serve you can press the cassata out of the mould or use a scoop to make ice-cream balls.

Serving Suggestions

• I served these two cassatas with chocolate brownies
• These would be delicious with Christmas pudding
• Serve in cones for a late Christmas afternoon treat

Variations

Oh, the things you add to this! Here are some ideas....

• White chocolate and raspberries
• Toasted coconut and white chocolate
• Finely chopped dark chocolate, chopped marshmallows and chopped up raspberry jubes {like rocky road!}
• Chopped jersey caramels, macadamias, grated chocolate
• Oreo biscuits
• Finely chopped gingernut biscuits and chocolate chunks
• Chopped maltesers and macadamias

I am going to stop now... all this thinking is making me hungry!

Friday Food - Pepernoten

These tiny little spiced biscuits, called Pepernoten, are traditionally made at Christmas time and are enjoyed by young and old. I made these for morning tea when all of my nieces and nephews were over. Oh my goodness, the smell of cloves and cinnamon filling the house really made me think of Christmas - and also visiting the houses of older ladies from my church when I was growing up.


My lovely friend Anne was very chuffed to pass on this recipe to me. Anne is an Aussie through and through and she married a Dutch man. Bless her heart. She has embraced a lot of the Dutch culture, which I think is totally cool. I love hearing stories of how couples embrace one another's culture to make a family that has a rich texture of knowledge, understanding and traditions.


Anne says that her lovely husband Jack remembers Pepernoten being made so small that they could be scattered on the ground for Sinte Klaas' {Saint Nicholaas - a man who was kind to children - think Santa Claus without the elves} speckled horse. 

Pepernoten

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: More than 40


Ingredients


40 grams of soft butter
50 grams of brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
100g self raising flour
2 tablespoons of milk
A pinch of salt


Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celcius
2. Mix butter, sugar, spices and salt to form a paste
3. Add flour and milk and mix to form a soft dough
4. Roll into balls of about 1 1/2 cm and flatten them a little with your thumb {I forgot to do this}
5. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes
6. If you have any left over, allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container

Variations...

Do you know what? These are perfect and traditional. I can't think of a way to make them better. 

Friday Food - Sour Cream Banana Cake

A few weeks ago a friend of ours came to visit, he was roped into building a fence for the meandering chickens who were ruining our garden {not that we have much of a garden, but having marauding chickens making things worse was not at all cool}. He arrived on our doorstep with bunches and bunches of bananas that he grew in his very own garden and he also brought homemade banana cake made from his very own homegrown bananas. Oh my goodness - the banana cake didn't last 12 hours and the bananas were excitedly received by three small children.


But, he did bring us 5 bunches of bananas that each had more than 10 bananas in each bunch. Even after force feeding the kids bananas at every snack and meal, there were still a lot left over. So I popped them in the freezer.


Just last week we were having a lovely aunt and uncle over for afternoon tea, so I thought I would make something with the bananas. When looking for recipes, I could only find recipes that needed one or two bananas, and that was just not going to use up all of my now defrosted bananas. I decided to triple the following recipe - yep - triple it. So off I went.... cooking cooking cooking....


I made one loaf tin and then one roasting pan {18cm X 30cm} FULL of banana cake. It was a LOT of cake. But it used up all of those bananas and also our overflow of free range eggs. So it was win win... Until Monday morning when I realised I had a fridge full of banana cake. I decided I needed to get it out of the house, so I sent a huge container of it to work with Mr Cool. It was a big hit. 


The recipe is as follows.... Feel free to double or triple it!

Sour Cream Banana Cake

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 50-60 mins
Serves: 8


Ingredients
125g butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream {or natural yoghurt or a combination}
1 cup mashed bananas {2 large, very ripe bananas}
2 1/4 cups self raising flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda


Icing
60g cream cheese
60g sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup icing sugar


Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, grease base and sides of a square cake pan, or loaf pan or slice tin
2. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until pale and creamy. 
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
4. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in sour cream and bananas.
5. Sift over the flour and bicarbonate soda and gently fold through.
6. Spoon batter into prepared pan, Smooth surface. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Stand for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack.
7. To make icing: place softened cream cheese and yoghurt/sour cream into a bowl with the lemon juice. Sift in the icing sugar. Beat with electric mixer until thick and creamy. Add more icing sugar if it is too thin, or a splash more lemon juice if it is too thick. Spread onto cake when cake is almost cool.

Variations...

• I used half low fat natural yoghurt and half low fat sour cream and it was delicious. Next time, I will only use yoghurt, the slightly sour yoghurt was a great contrast to the highly sweet bananas. 
• This would make a great dessert cake, leave the icing off and make a caramel sauce. Melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove, when sugar is melted, before it boils, add some cream and stir through. Serve over warm cake - add ice-cream if you dare.
• You could add nuts to the cake itself or sprinkle over the top when it is iced.
• I think I will try adding some shredded coconut to the cake next time I make it, banana and coconut is a great taste combination.

This is part of my regular Friday Food posts - even though it is Sunday... 

Friday Food - Gingerbread Men

I love the idea of gingerbread men, in fact, I don't just have a gingerbread man cookie cutter - I have a FAMILY of them - I also have an angel gingerbread cutter. But, I have not had much success making them, until now,  I have found a recipe that works really well. I had to share.


This is the recipe I made when I made train biscuits for BabyCool's birthday and also for the Christmas craft I did with Miss Z and her kindy class yesterday. So it has been tested by B twice!

Gingerbread Men

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes
Makes: 20 or so


Ingredients
125g butter
2 tbs golden syrup
185g sugar
1 egg, beaten
320g self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger


Method
1. Line trays with baking paper and preheat oven to 165 degrees Celsius.
2. Melt butter and syrup, then add sugar and egg.
3. Add flour, salt and ginger, mix well. The dough will be really soft and buttery.
4. For gingernuts, drop teaspoonfuls onto trays {or roll into balls}
5. For gingerbread men, allow the dough to cool almost completely {this could take 45-60 minutes - the dough really is too soft for rolling I found}. Roll out the dough and cut with cookie cutters.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.


Variations

• You could substitute honey for golden syrup.
• You could add 1/2 tsp of mixed spice for more 'spiciness'.
• If you are going to roll the dough into balls, you could roll them in caster sugar before placing onto the trays.
• Do I dare suggest choc-chips? Yum!
• You could decorate your gingerbread men with sultanas or choc chips prior to baking -or -
• You could decorate them after baking with m&m's sprinkles and other pretty things, like some clever 3 year olds did yesterday... 

I will be making these again before Christmas and I think I will decorate them in more Christmasy tones. I might even put a hole in the top and thread some ribbon through like Christmas ornaments.... Oooh - what a great idea! I must write that down!


Happy baking peeps!

Friday Food - Chewy Coconut Cookies

I come from a long line of coconut lovers. We used to make 'Coconut Loaf' when we were kids which was basically coconut, sugar and milk baked in a loaf tin,  delicious with butter. My sisters and I used to love going to the milk bar where Mr Cool used to work, to order coconut milkshakes. I love it - much to the disgust of one of my aunties who is very vocal in her dislike of coconut!

One Sunday afternoon a month or so ago, I felt like baking and I felt like coconut, so I Googled 'Coconut Cookies' and this is the recipe I found. They were really yummy and really quick and easy. 

We gobbled them up for afternoon tea while they were still warm, the kids were very excited that I had made enough for them to take some to school the next day. That is the sign of a good biscuit/cookie!

Chewy Coconut Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 8-10 mins 

Makes: about 20 smallish cookies

Ingredients

1 and 1/4 cup of plain flour

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar {firmly packed}

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

1 and 1/3 coconut {shredded is preferred}

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius and line some baking trays with paper

2. Place flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix. Set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugars until colour changes {pales}.

4. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

5. With a wooden spoon, mix in the flour mixture in 2-3 batches.

6. Mix in the coconut.

7. Drop dough by the teaspoon full onto the trays, leaving ample room for them to spread.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, but don't let them get too brown or you will lose the chewiness!

Friday Food - B's Pizza {I can't believe I am sharing this one!}

We have reached a point in our lives where making pizza when friends come for dinner is now socially acceptable. Most of our friends have children and I only know of one child {mine} who does not like to eat it. It is a very social thing to share slices of pizza and chat away the evening with friends, add some wine too, of course.

I have been really been taking my pizza making seriously this year {I know, it is a little sad}. I have finally perfected the dough. The toppings. The cheese and have invested in some 'pizza stones'. And I am now about to reveal how to make fabulous-better-than-a-pizzeria pizzas.

I make my pizza dough in a breadmaker. The dough is beautiful and soft and so easy to work with. I do love working with bread doughs! If you don't have a bread maker, you could use this recipe... Click. Give yourself enough time though - bread dough needs to rise and be knocked back etc.


I like to use bottled pasta sauce instead of store bought 'Pizza Sauce' or tomato paste. I find that they are too dry and too... sticky. Pasta sauce keeps the pizza moist without overpowering it with that intense paste taste. I also think that tomato paste is best used in sauces where it can cook out a bit. You could make your own tomato sauce with sauteed this and that - but I usually make pizza as a relaxed easy to put together meal, so a night with no saucepans is the aim.


As for toppings, you can go crazy, add anything that takes your fancy. But... less is more. Don't overload your pizza. Just add a few of a few things - if that makes sense!? Choose really good ingredients but don't be tempted to copy the Dominoes menu - go for something unique to you. 

B's Pizza

Pizza Dough
Prep Time: 2 minutes
'Cooking' Time: Dough: 1 1/2 hours {in my bread maker} Pizza: approx 15-20 minutes
Serves: Makes enough for 4 X 25cm pizzas 
This makes 32 slices - enough for four greedy hungry adults and a couple of kids


Ingredients
300ml of water
50 ml of olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups of bread flour {plain flour is fine}
2 1/2 tsp yeast


Method


1. Put all the ingredients into your breadmaker IN THE ORDER LISTED ABOVE.

2. Turn your bread maker on to the 'Dough' setting.
3. After about 1/2 an hour check on the dough. If it is all sloppy, add a few more spoons of flour. If there is still dry flour, add a smidgen more water. If you have had to make adjustments, check on the dough again in 10 mins. It should be a nice neat ball of dough.

The Toppings

Must Haves...

Pasta Sauce 

Masterfoods Pizza Topper

Cheese

B's Favourite

Bocconcini

Mushrooms

Tomato

Salami

Method


1. When your dough is about 10 minutes from being finished, put your 'pizza stones' into the oven and turn it on to 220 degrees Celcius.

2. Cut up and prep all of your ingredients.

3. When the dough is ready, give it a quick roll on a floured board and divide it into four.

4. Roll out the dough or use your hands to stretch it out. If you are feeling brave, you can toss it in the air! 

5. Make 4 cartouches - these are circles of non-stick paper - saves so much time washing up!


a) Tear off a piece of baking paper about the size of your pizza stone 

b) Fold it into four

c) Hold the point and fold two more times

d) Hold this triangle over your pizza dough with the point in the centre - cut the paper to be a little bit bigger than this.

6. Put the rolled out/stretched dough onto a cartouche. 
7. Spread the base with pasta sauce and sprinkle with pizza topper.

8. Arrange your ingredients on the pizza base 
- If you are using grated cheese, put it on first - I know this goes against convention, but my friend Shelley does this and it does mean that the topping is stuck to the pizza by the cheese and it doesn't tend to all come off with the first bite. 
- If you are using bocconcini, put it on last.Slide the uncooked pizza onto a board {if you have one of those fancy pizza spatulas use this, I use a retro piece of laminate that my family squabble over for a birthday cake board}.

9. Take a pizza stone out of the oven, slide your pizza onto it and put the pizza straight back in the oven - do this efficiently - you don't want to lose that precious heat in your pizza stone or the oven.

10. Turn the oven down to 180 degrees Celcius.

11. The pizza is cooked when the base is crisp and the cheese is golden.
12. Enjoy with a crisp salad, good wine {or beer} and great friends.

Variations...

Thin Base - roll dough out to the 25cm.
Thick Base - roll dough out to 20-23cm - allow a few more minutes of cooking time.


Pizza Stones - you can get these at a cooking store for around $25 each. I bought my terracotta saucers from a plant pot supplier in town and both cost me under $20. You could get some cute small ones too - for the kiddies - how cute!
- you don't NEED to use 'pizza stones', but we think that they help to make the base nice and crispy. 


Oh - I could take all day talking about variations for pizza... Use your imagination and go nuts.

Other things you might like to use on your marvellous pizza creations...

Mozzerella 

Feta

Ricotta
Blue Cheese


Ham
Bacon
Prosciutto
Anchovies

Capsicum

Onion {caramelised is fabulous!}

Roasted pumpkin

Tomato {roasted cherry tomatoes are great}

Finely sliced potato

Olives

Pineapple

Eggs

Oregano

Basil

Rosemary

Chilli

Garlic
Rocket {sprinkle over after cooking}

Some combinations you could try:

Roasted Vegetarian: Roasted tomatoes, pumpkin, zucchini with semi-dried tomatoes, basil and feta cheese


Supremo: Mozzarella, salami, ham, pineapple, onion, red capsicum and mushrooms


Hot Mama: Mozzarella, salami, red onion, mushroom, olives and  chilli {you could mix it in with the pasta sauce}


Friday Night Love: Bocconcini, salami, olives, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and fresh oregano

Mediterranean: Feta, finely sliced potato, caramelised onion and  rosemary {My lovely cousin Melissa told me about this combo, I can't wait to try it!}

Dessert: {my party is out about this... but go with me} Put the ingredients on the pizza in the order listed: brown sugar, banana, nutmeg {is much nicer than cinnamon in my opinion} blobs of ricotta and a sprinkle of a bit more brown sugar

Friday Food: Ragout

Recently, a friend asked me for the recipe for my beef ragout. I sent it to her via text. When she made it she shouted my praise on Facebook and said all her children and guests raved about it. Nice!


This is my very own variation of Ragout. This will make heaps, {as all my slow cooker recipes do} we get three meals out of this recipe {2 adults, 2.5 kids}

B's Beef Ragout

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 8+ hours

Serves: 10ish

Ingredients


1.5 kg piece of beef - get a piece of rump or blade or chuck - something that can handle being in a slowcooker without costing you an arm and a leg. A rolled pot roast works a treat, but be prepared to cook it for 10 hours+ to get tender meat
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 brown onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tins of peeled tomatoes {I prefer diced}
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/3 cup dry sherry
2 beef stock cubes
2 sprigs/stalks of fresh rosemary
2 pieces of orange peel, without too much pith
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
salt and pepper


Method

1. Start heating your slowcooker. Add the peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, sherry, stock cubes, rosemary and orange peel. Give it a good stir and allow them to begin heating while you do the next steps.
2. Heat a frying pan and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Fry the onions until they are golden and soft. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Pop these into the slow cooker.
3. Heat the remaining oil and place your meat in the frying pan. Take about 5-10 minutes to brown all sides of the meat. Some colour is good - just don't burn it or you will get a bitter ragout - yuck! Carefully place beef into slow cooker.
4. Allow to cook for 8 hours+. At 4-6 hours before you want to eat, add your carrots.
5. Before serving, fish out the orange peel and rosemary stalks. Then gently remove the meat and shred it into chunks.
6. Serve with soft polenta {recipe at bottom of this post}  or pasta or mashed potatoes.

Variations

Oh, the possibilities are endless! 

• You could use a lamb leg and thyme with red wine
• You could use lamb shanks and orange and red wine
• You could use other herbs as well, parsley stalks, oregano any boisterous herb would work well
• If you like celery {I abhor it} you could add it with the onions and garlic
• You could add other vegetables too if you like
• You could add lentils or chickpeas too for added bulk

B's Soft Polenta

This is a family favourite... 

Heat 3 1/2 cups of milk and 1 cup of chicken stock {or water and 1 stock cube} until just about to boil. Add 175grams of polenta. Stir continuously until you get a really smooth consistency. Add 50g of butter and 50g of grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve while hot {or it will set}.


For some rules for slow cooking, scroll down to the bottom of this post Click here...

Friday Food - Oven Baked Pumpkin Risotto

I adore risotto - there is nothing better than a good one, but nothing worse than a bad one. Unfortunately, I have served one of my sisters a bad one (maybe more than once) and she is convinced that risotto is horrid. What a shame.


Anyway, this recipe, uses the oven to do the hard work. Which is nice. Because stirring risotto and adding the liquid in little by little can be tricky - especially with little ones climbing your leg.


I have used this recipe when entertaining. If I am really organised, I can do the saucepan thing, get the risotto into the oven and then wash the pot I use for the stove bit before the guests arrive. Very suave indeed. It doesn't always work this way though - sigh.

B's Oven Baked Pumpkin Risotto

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6 


Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 brown onion, diced
1 clove of garlic
385g arborio rice
1250ml of hot liquid (see notes)
60g parmesan or 100g of another kind of cheese
300g cooked pumpkin, cut into 2cm chunks (baked pumpkin is the best!)


Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius
2. Boil about a litre of water in a kettle
3. Heat oil and 1 tbsp of the butter in a heavy based saucepan* (3L capacity) over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook until flagrant.
4. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add 1/2 cup of liquid (wine if you decide to use it here) and stir until it evaporates. Add the 1/2 of the remaining liquid and bring to the boil.
5. Pour this mixture into a greased oven proof dish with the remaining liquid and the pumpkin. Cover tightly with alfoil.
6. Put into the oven for 35 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven, stir through the cheese. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Notes:  

• This recipe requires 1250ml of hot liquid. You can use a combination of these things:
• White Wine (no more than 1/2 cup)
• Chicken Stock
• Water
• If you have a flameproof pot with a really well fitting lid (think LeCreuset) , you can use this in place of a saucepan and bakeware combination I use

Variations

• Instead of pumpkin you could add sauteed mushrooms and some fresh thyme
• Instead of pumpkin you could add a variety of roasted vegetables like capsicum, zucchini, carrot
• Instead of vegetables you could add a large pinch of saffron for something truly fancy (don't do fake saffron - the colouring is illegal in some countries!)
• I am going to try and make a whole grain mustard version of this.... I hope it works!

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with chicken kebabs and salad
• A great side dish for barbecues
• Would be lovely with roast lamb and steamed greens
• Great on its own for a really nice Sunday night meal (eat in front of the telly - no crumbs!)