Cream cheese frosting

This is a really simple frosting to make.  Fluffy and creamy - delicious.  You can add whatever flavour you want, here's the basic recipe.

100g softened butter

100g cream cheese

2 cups icing sugar

Vanilla essence to taste.

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.  This is really important - if the butter and cream cheese isn't smooth and creamy and you can still see lumps of butter - then keep beating it! If you don't, then you will have yucky lumpy icing.

Once the butter and cream cheese is nice and smooth (taste it, should be creamy) gradually add the icing sugar. Don't add it all at once or you will spend he rest of the day cleaning up the kitchen. Add about a tablespoon of vanilla essence to taste. The end consistency should be about that of thick whipped cream - ice your cakes.

For something a bit different, you can add cocoa powder (sifted); or purée some fresh or frozen berries; zest of lemon or orange; anything that takes your fancy.

Balsamic Reduction

So, we have all seen Balsamic Reduction - I refuse to pay full price for something I can create for myself at a fraction of the cost - especially when all it takes is time to create.

2 bottles balsamic vinegar
2 cups brown sugar firmly packed

Remove the lid and plastic cap from the bottles - keep both as you will need for later when bottling it back up again.

Pour the balsamic vinegar into a wide saucepan - you want the surface area so it reduces quicker. Add the brown sugar. Set on stove on high heat - bring to boil, then reduce temperature to simmer.

Cook for about an hour - you want it to get to a syrupy consistency - keep testing it with a spoon and see if it coats the spoon - once it coats the spoon - remove from heat and allow to cool to about body temperature. Note: this will reduce to about half the quantity of liquid you started with.

Pour back into bottles (don't pour it into the bottles if it is too hot as bottles may crack).

Serving ideas:

• use as a marinade or part of a marinade for steak, lamb, chicken
• serve with crusty bread and home made dukkah with olive oil (my favourite)
• use as a salad dressing
• use for extra flavour when cooking up a large batch of capsicum and chillies

Cup Cakes

These are so simple, and delicious - try cutting off the tops when they are done and put in a spoonful of strawberry jam and some whipped cream.....

1  1/2 cup self raising flour
2/3 cup castor sugar
125g butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup milk.


Firstly, make sure the butter is definitely softened - otherwise it ends up lumpy.

Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until combined, then on medium speed until batter is smooth.

Line cupcake tray with paper liners. Oven to 160 deg C.  Put spoonfuls of mixture into patty pans to about 3/4 full.  Bake about 15-20 mins until golden.

Once cooled, gently make an insertion from the side of the cupcake toward the middle (in the shape of a smiley face) - spoon some jam into the slot.

Make up some frosting - see my recipe here

And generously cover the cakes with frosting.

Schnitzel for Jackie

Dear Jackie, whenever I make my normal chicken schnitzel I always think of you and wish that you could enjoy it as much as I do.  This recipe is for you my sweet - a gluten free version - we taste tested it and our food critic, William, gave it the 10 thumbs up - so much so, that with the small amount of leftovers he was using for lunch, he made an executive decision to finish it off for second breakfast this morning before his dad could get it.....gone! Vanished! A good sign that it was a success...

• 2 Chicken breasts or 700g tenderloins (depends how many you are feeding)
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup gluten free flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups quinoa flakes*

If using chicken breasts, slice them to make schnitzel thickness fillets.

Combine the grated cheese, fresh basil and quinoa flakes in a bowl.  In a second bowl combine eggs and milk, whisk together. Place flour in a third bowl.

Dip the chicken into the flour, then into the milk/egg mix, and then coat with the quinoa crumb mix.

Heat oil (not olive oil) in pan.  Cook schnitzel until golden on each side. Keep warm in oven until ready to eat.

Note - depending how many you are feeding will depend on how much to mix up.  Keep the crumb blend so that you can easily see the herbs and have a decent amount of Parmesan throughout. The Parmesan adds to the crispness of the crumb and adds delicious flavour.

*Quinoa flakes are an alternative to breadcrumbs, you will find them in the health food section of the supermarket or health food shop. 

Twice Cooked Pork Belly

This is over a couple of days - well worth the effort though - I think - well, put it this way, it takes a while to make but not long to eat!

I am really really sorry - the finished product did not get a final photo - it was eaten too quickly for me to grab the camera - you will just have to trust me when we said it was delicious.

Ingredients

Pork Belly
1 onion
8cm ginger
3 heaped teaspoons of garlic (crushed)
3 red hot chillis
2 teaspoons of chilli or chilli flakes, or crushed chilli (jarred)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 cup plum sauce
1/2 ketjap manis
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
4 star anise
1/2 brown sugar


Day 1

Place the pork belly into the bottom of the slow cooker or pressure cooker. Combine rest of ingredients and pour over pork - you may need to add water if it doesn't look like enough liquid.  Cook on slow cooker for 6 hours, basting with sauce as you go.  If cooking in pressure cooker use the pot roast setting and do 2 cycles.

Remove from sauce - place in dish, put another dish on top of it to weigh it down. Refrigerate over night.  Strain and keep left over sauce.

Into the pressure cooker

Strain off juices, keep juices and discard solids

doesn't look too apetising at this stage...wait until its finished...drool

Day 2

Cut the cold cooked pork belly into cubes. Place in baking tray on paper, baste with left over sauce. Put into hot oven (210 deg C) and cook until golden.

While the pork is cooking in the oven, put on some rice - if you do have a pressure cooker, cook it in that - 1 cup of rice serves 3 of us. Place rice in bottom of pressure cooker, add water to cover so that rice takes up approximately half the depth of the water. Cook on rice cycle.

Put the left over sauce into a pan and onto the stove over medium high heat to thicken and reduce.

Serve with steamed asian vegetables, rice and sauce.

Lemon Cheesecake (no bake)

I love lemon cheesecake - this on is easy as its no bake - the longer you leave it (a day or two) before eating, the more lemony it is in flavour.

Ingredients:

Base:

500 g sweet biscuits - I used butternut

200g butter, melted

Filling:

2 x 250g cream cheese at room temperature

2 x 400g tins sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

juice and zest of 5 lemons

3 tablespoons gelatin 

Blend the biscuits until they are crumbs in the processor - while processor is still running, add melted butter.

Press crumb mix into the bottom of a lined springform pan (I used 23cm) and up the sides.  Place in freezer for about 30 minutes. If it looks like there is too much butter, use paper towel to soak up the excess.

Using a blender, beat the cream cheese until smooth, light and fluffy.  Add the condensed milk, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.  Beat until smooth and well combined.  Boil water, pour into a cup (about 1/2 cup boiling water), add gelatin and stir until combined and there aren't any lumps. Add to lemon mix. Beat well.

Remove tin from freezer. pour lemon mix over base. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight until set.

Things to note: I love lemon! I love the zest of it, and when it is in a sweet, I love the sweet and sour zingy thing that happens in my mouth when I eat it - the more zing, the better it is.  This cheesecake will improve with flavour if you leave it for a day or two before consuming.

Chicken Schnitzel

My kids love this schnitzel - you could substitute the chicken for veal as an option - great to keep for lunches the next day (if they last)

Ingredients

• 1kg chicken breast (or use tenderloins)
• day old bread - crumbed - or use packaged breadcrumbs (won't be as nice)
• bunch fresh basil
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese - grated
• 2 eggs
• milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• oil for cooking (do not use olive oil)

Firstly you need to prepare your breadcrumbs. I use day old bread - the stuff nobody wants to eat - put it in the food processor and process until fine crumbs.  Add the handful of fresh basil leaves, and grated parmesan cheese - process until well mixed but still resembling breadcrumbs.

If you are using chicken breast, you will need to fillet it to thinner slices rather than one thick chunk. Tenderloins will not need filleting.

In a bowl, whisk egg and milk.

In another bowl, place the flour.

In a 3rd bowl, place your breadcrumb mixture (if you do not want to make your own breadcrumbs, use packaged ones).

Dunk the chicken fillets into the flour mixture first, then into the egg mixture, finally into the breadcrumbs. Place on plate.

Heat oil - to see if oil is hot enough, drop some bread into the oil - if it fries then it is hot enough - if nothing happens wait a little longer.

Cook the schnitzels until golden on each side.