I went to a typical Perth café the other night and had Saltimbocca, one of Italy’s best-known dishes and I can understand why. It was lovely and it’s easy to make. It is simple enough for a weekday meal and fancy enough for a dinner party.
Stephanie Alexander suggests that the most difficult part of the recipe will be obtaining high-quality veal. If you can’t get veal, try Girello which is readily available and nearly as nice. Continue reading
A few years ago, I was watching an elimination round on Masterchef. The contestants were faced with some rather tough meat simmering in beef stock. They had 45 minutes to finish the dish, which was to be Beef Rendang. They were required to pick a limited number of ingredients (one at a time) and add them to the pot. The contestants were later told that there are two ingredients that their dish must have in order to qualify as Beef Rendang.
Another new purchase – this time it was the title that got me in: Out of the Bottle. I just love it. The concept behind the book is to find ways to use preserves you have made. I love to preserve but … sometimes my preserves are not the best … and I (big time) do not like to throw food away… Continue reading
I had some friends to dinner the other night and I was keen on making steak and kidney with steamed dumplings. We used to have it as a kid and I loved it. I have been thinking about it all winter. I liked the bits of kidney the best. I remember my mum being amused by me picking out the kidney and eating it first.
Maus wasn’t keen. ”You sure you want to put kidney in it?”, she asked nervously.
I checked out my cookbooks and the web for steak and kidney recipes and they were all pretty bland, to say the least. Then I came across this recipe. At first I thought it was a compromise: no kidney to put people off but still a nice old-fashioned recipe. Continue reading
I tried, I really did, to get a photo of the final dish on a serving plate but no matter what angle I took, it looked like meat and 3 veg, not very inspiring at all. Therefore, no ‘plated up’ shot for this one. Notwithstanding the lack of photo, it tasted great so I decided to proceed with the post. Continue reading
My mate, Gail, requested more pie recipes, so pies we have. Pies are comfort food and potato pie takes the cake.
This is not a traditional cottage pie that is made with yesterday’s lamb roast but it still brings back memories of our childhood and makes us feel warm and cosy in the depths of winter. These quantities make 8 pies which is rather a lot. So if you wish, you could halve the quantities or save it for when you have friends over. Alternatively, make them all and put them in the freezer. You will need 8 individual pie tins. Continue reading
This recipe comes from Belinda Jeffrey’s The Country Cook Book: Seasonal Jottings and Recipes. In her words, it is ’a sort of’ Osso Buco, and bloody good it was, too.
The Country Cookbook is not my favourite Belinda Jeffrey book. In fact, I probably like it the least of all her books. But I some times find I feel this way about a book only because I haven’t really given it a chance. Giving The Country Cookbook another go, I came across a recipe: Risoni with Saffron and Lemon. Continue reading
