STEAMOVENCOOKING with Tenina

Thought I should let you all know that my blog may a little quiet for a month or so. I am off to the USA this very night to a University reunion, a family holiday, the obligatory Las Vegas and Disneyland visits and basically as much eating as I can fit in! Seattle is the first port of call and having been there before I know I am in for more than rain! I should be enjoying Seattle’s finest in a few hours (well…more like 30 hours).

I have prepared some “Taste of Australia” gift bags for my dear friends from Uni days whom I have not seen since 1983…YIKES! They include vegemite of course, Tim Tams and Milo for a Tim Tam Slam experience…(google it and see what you get!!), Passionfruit pulp so I can make Pavlova for them, (again, google away), Twisties, white Cream Chocolate, and then all the usual, Caramello Koalas, Violet Crumbles, Cherry Ripes, etc. etc.

On average, no less than 2000 calories per bag I think! So, rather than not stop by here, please keep visiting and take the time to visit some archived recipes, try them out and send me a comment.

Looking forward to hearing from you…and I will try and post a trip restaurant review or two!

Cheers

This was the challenge; The Foodie Joust Challenge no less! Write a recipe using ginger, apricots and butter. Well my little cooks hat went on and started working over time! There was Butter Puff Pastry, Apricot Danish with a Ginger glaze. Apricot Brown Butter Ice Cream with Ginger toffee pieces throughout. How about Butter Apricot Chicken with Pickled Ginger garnish, or a Lime, Coconut Ginger cake with an Apricot Butter on the side? Oh the agony of choosing just one…but here it is and for all you Thermomix and Steam Oven lovers, here’s looking at you kids! Oh and if you’re a food blogger yourself, why not go and vote for me on; Left Over Queen Forum. or even enter yourself…it’s been fun!

NEED:
125 grams unsalted butter
2 inch peeled piece of fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
225 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
4 large eggs
110 grams SR flour
200 grams almond meal
3 apricot halves from a can per serving (or fresh if you are lucky enough to be in summer right now!)
Unflavored oil (Grapeseed)
Extra caster sugar for grilling
Plus more caster sugar for toffee bark (see below)
6 large ramekins or 14 small

DO:
In Thermomix bowl chop butter and peeled ginger together for 3 seconds on Speed 9.
Insert butterfly attachment.
Add sugar, ground ginger, nutmeg and vanilla bean paste and whip on Speed 3-4 for around 5 minutes.
The mixture should look almost white.
Meanwhile grease and flour ramekins.
Prepare water bath if you do not have a steam oven.
Add eggs one at a time.
You may have to add some flour at this point to prevent curdling.
Add remaining flour and almond meal and whip briefly until the mix comes together.
It should be a soft batter, (not runny).
Spoon mix evenly into ramekins and process in Steam Oven for 45 minutes.
OR using water bath method, place ramekins in large pan filled to the halfway point with water and steam in 100 degree Celcius oven (around 212 F) for 45 minutes.
Heat griddle pan with a dash of Grapeseed oil and some sprinkled caster sugar.
Grill canned or fresh apricot halves, round side down until browned and caramelized.
Set aside for serving.
OPTIONAL: Toffee bark.
This is really just a bit of cosmetic thing, though a nice crunch with dessert is a plus.
Spray a flat oven tray (with a rim) with oil.
Thinkly spread around 1/2 cup caster sugar so it is even and place under a hot grill for around 5 minutes.
This is quite tricky as one minute you have sugar granules and the next, the oven is up in smoke…so don’t move away! Check and when sugar is runny and golden, remove and cook tray, allowing the toffee to set.
When completely cold, break into uneven pieces and use for decoration.
SERVE: Un mold from ramekin, dredge with icing sugar, arrange apricots and use the little bit of drizzle you’ll have as a syrup over the pudding and apricots. It goes without saying you need dollops of freshly whipped cream…and I must say, diet or no diet, this was delish!

I have to admit that this recipe, whilst clever and easy, is not mine and full credit and a big thank you must go to my cousin the chef, Crispy Raykels of Rotarua in New Zealand. What is mine is the BBQ twist and the Rum Caramel Sauce. If you like crispy pastry, (pun intended Crispy) and you like sweet banana, gooey caramel, a few nuts and a lot of easy, then this definitely rates a mention on your BBQ this summer! Make ahead by a day and keep in fridge until ready to cook. Unfortuneately the photos are average as I was in ‘point and shoot’ mode due to the fact I was mid class at the time. Food Stylist required!!! But you get the idea yes?

NEED:
2 sheets of thawed filo pastry per serving
melted butter for brushing pastry (approx 300 grams for 8 servings)
1/2 banana per serving
1 mini or 1/2 normal sized mars bar
SAUCE:
125 grams unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup whipping cream
dash of rum
1 disposable foil BBQ tray

DO:
Brush melted butter on and between first 2 sheets of filo.
Keep other filo damp by covering with a moistened clean tea towel.
Cut a peeled banana in half and make a ‘hot dog’ (see above pic) with the mars bar and banana posing as bread bun and hot dog!
Wrap in filo and brush with more butter as needed.
Place in foil tray.
Repeat until all servings have been made.
Place tray on top basket of turned off Cross Fire BBQ.
Close lid and leave until browned and ‘crispy’!
SAUCE:
On Induction 4 in heavy based pan, heat butter and sugar until sugar has dissolved and it starts to resemble a sauce.
Turn heat up to 6, add cream.
Bring to boil on 10.
Add rum to taste.
Serve immediately over Crispy Bananas and add whipped cream or ice-cream to taste.

This is so delicious that I ate way too many, dripping with butter, and although I tried with the first lot to add flavour (parmesan, garlic, coriander seeds etc) I subsequently decided I liked to have plain as I could then add flavour later. Great with the Daal of the previous post, great with melted butter, or even {shudder} golden syrup, honey, jam or what the hell??? Vegemite! SO Aussie BBQ Naan…at your service!

NEED:
1 egg lightly beaten
2 tablespoons olive oil (can use ghee to be authentic)
3/4 cup Greek style plain yoghurt
4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast granules
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warmed milk

DO:
In small bowl combine egg, oil and yoghurt.
Put flour, salt, sugar, baking powder into the Thermomix bowl.
Add yoghurt mixture and warm milk.
Using kneading function, knead for 3 minutes.
Add more warm milk if the dough does not come together.
Place into a large oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave to rise for up to 2 hours.
Preheat Pizza stone on Cross Fire BBQ with hood down until temp shows at least 200 degrees celcius.
Turn dough onto floured surface and knead by hand until smooth.
Divide dough equally…about 100 grams per portion.
Roll out to 1/2 cm thickness. Stretch by hand into a tear shape.
Place onto hot Pizza stone for approx 5-8 minutes.
You should not have to turn them over.
Serve immediately with toppings of choice.

I had of necessity to pre-make these for my BBQ cooking class, and I froze the dough unrisen in portion sizes. They defrosted and rose perfectly and were delicious, even 3 days later!

Well I always thought so, but now I know so…yes I have joined another cooking community and they are cooking with gas (and induction, and steam oven, and Thermomix, and Cross Fire and so on and so on!!!) They’re a friendly bunch with heaps of great food and recipe websites, so check it all out here; SimpleDailyRecipes.com
I look forward to a long association with Great Cooks Blogroll and many more happy readers coming my way!
On a completely unrelated, (but of course food) topic…I had a class tonight and promised all attendees some great recipes in the next few posts…so as a teaser and for the sake of a more interesting post, (not that Great Cooks Blog Roll is UN-interesting!!) I have put up some photos of tonights festivities…recipes to follow in the next few days. Tonight was all Cross Fire BBQ related, so stunning pizza, naan bread, a roast beef on the spit, Roast Veggie Salad, a Raspberry Marshmallow Surprise, Crispy Bananas and Rum Caramel Sauce…oh the drool list goes on and on… and bear in mind we had a heap of people there, so my food styling was out the window…it was point and shoot all the way, so not awesome photos…but, keep coming back for all the recipes, and in the meantime, stop salivating all over your computer! See you soon!

Always partial to a bit of daal with most things curry, this is a stunning dip with naan bread (see future posting) Great with curry, by itself with steamed rice or just serve with steamed veggies to add a flavour boost. You can add some cooked chicken to this and serve with rice, lemon wedges and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) for a wonderful easy meal! Not strictly ‘daal’ with the addition of coconut cream, but I can assure you, you’ll be singing my praises as soon as you taste this! In fact you’ll be calling me a real ‘dahl’! (Yes folks that is how us Aussies say Darl!!)

NEED:
1 cup dried yellow split peas
2 onions
10 cloves garlic
2 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled
Enough stock to cover and add as required. (Approx 4 x split pea measurement)
4 tablespoons turmeric
generous amount of olive oil (2 tablespoons)
1/2 can coconut milk (200 mls)
lemons
coriander or cilantro to taste

DO:
Peel garlic, onion, ginger, place in Thermomix bowl and chop on Speed 9 for 3 seconds (NOT KIDDING!!)
Meanwhile heat oil in heavy pan on Induction max. Turn down to 6 immediately.
Add chopped aromatics and cook till fragrant.
Add rinsed peas and turmeric.
Stir until heated through.
Add all of stock and bring to boil on Induction max.
Turn down to 4, cover with tight fitting lid and leave simmering for several hours.
You may have to turn it down again, 2 is ideal for a long enough period. (8 hours)
Stir occasionally and add more stock or water as needed.
The mix should be quite liquid.
Stir through cocnut milk and the juice of one lemon.
Simmer for at least another hour without a lid to thicken.
Leave in pan to cool.
The mix should become quite solid.
SERVE:The next day warmed through with any accompaniments as mentioned above.
USED:

Well if you haven’t heard or figured it out already, I am totally cheesy and so is this post. A nice crispy biscuit base and top and then a creamy, buttery, cheesey, vanilla-ery middle that requires at least 2 licks of the fingers! Oh what more could a foodie ask for really? Whilst this isn’t officially my recipe, I have to tell you that this is a better version than most…and what’s more, it took approximately 5 minutes all up, start to fridge, plus setting time of course! So yes, I was gorging down calories in less than a half hour! Shameful really.

NEED:
2 packs of Arnott’s biscuits
250 grams Philadelphia Cream Cheese
125 grams unsalted butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 sachet gelatine (10 grams) blended into;
3/4 cup warm water
generous tablespoon of real vanilla essence

DO:
Line a baking tray with straight sides with the Lattice biscuits, top side down.
In Thermomix bowl, whisk remaining ingredients on Speed 4 until blended.
(Around 1-2 minutes)
Pour onto Lattice base.
Top with more Lattice biscuits, top side up.
Try and line up the ‘joins’ of the biscuits for easy cutting and serving.

Unfortunately not sure if Lattice are available around the world. Please let me know if you have them in your country…and you’re not an Aussie! Enjoy!

Had you going there for a second didn’t I??? No I haven’t moved to France (just yet!) but rather than post just an ordinary every day Lemon Meringue Pie recipe, I needed a bit of pizzazz, and what yells pizzazz more than the French Language?
Of course I would only ever use my Sour Cream Pastry recipe, which really deserves a post of it’s own, it is so versatile. And now with the Thermomix in my arsenal, there is no looking back. I kid you not, I made the pastry in less than 2 minutes, start to finish! “Incredible!!”

NEED:
1 batch Sour Cream Pastry
Filling;
zest and juice of 3 lemons
3 large egg yolks (reserve whites)
3 tablespoons corn flour (you can make your own with the Thermomix)
50 grams butter
50 grams caster sugar
Meringue;
3 large egg whites
175 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
dash vanilla essence

DO:
Put all ingredients for filling into Thermomix bowl.
Cook on 90 degrees C for 9 minutes on speed 4.
Half way through cooking time, add 3/4 cup cold water through the lid.
Cook further if not coating the back of a spoon.
The taste should be quite tart as opposed to sweet.
Spread into warm cooked pie crust.
Meanwhile in clean bowl beat egg whites with cream of tartar until starting to thicken.
Add sugar slowly and keep beating until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla.
Dollop meringue mix onto pie, carefully covering all the filling mix.
(This will prevent ‘weeping’ of the meringue…and you know I hate to make a meringue cry!)
Bake for a further 7 minutes on 160 degrees C.
Serve warm or cold in massive slices with more whipped cream if you dare!
NOTE: I do not use the Thermomix for whipping the egg whites, which you can do, but I find a better result as far as meringue goes by using a hand held beater.
USED:

I realise this is more of a suggestion than a recipe, and it certainly isn’t original in that I’ve eaten it or something akin to it before, but for all you desperados out there who occasionally need a sweet fix FAST, this is the page to bookmark! It is ideal as a school lunchbox snack (unless you are at one of those no treat schools) and if you are in a hurry to produce a slice that looks homemade; this is the one…so pay attention! My tweaked version of Mars Bar Slice. Enjoy your diabetic coma!
NEED:
3 Mars Bars (full size)
1 Boost Bar (or a 4th Mars Bar)
75 grams butter
3 cups Coco Pops
1/2 - full cup dessicated coconut
1 cup choc melts
4 tablespoons thickened cream

DO:
Put all candy bars in large glass bowl with butter.
Melt in Microwave/Grill on Microwave Function for 2 minutes.
Add Coco Pops, and stir vigorously, adding coconut to taste.
The mix should be very thick, if not add more coconut.
Push into square (9 inch) pan, working with damp fingers to smooth top.
Refrigerate until set.
Meanwhile melt chocolate with cream on Induction 2.
Spread over top of slice and set.
Remove from pan in one piece and cut into pieces.

So as you can see, a no brainer, no hassle, about 5 minutes total, easy to store, easy to eat ’slice’….not as creative as my usual entries I know, but everyone has their off days!

Looking over the last few entries on here I realise what a sweet tooth I am, but hey…I can do the other stuff, so check this out! There were no complaints when this showed up at lunch time on Friday. I re-served it completely cold on Saturday without the oohhs and ahhs, so I suggest you serve it the day of preparation.
This can look rather stunning on a buffet table. Choose a beautiful platter and then play like a food stylist until you are happy! It not only tastes divine, but looks so beautiful with the green of the dressing, pink of the prawns, red salmon, and yellow lemon wedges…so perfect! Oh the poetry of it all!
NEED:
200 grams fish per serving consisting of combo of;
Tasmanian salmon fillet (or Atlantic, depending on your locale!)
prawns
scallops, roe on
white fish fillet of choice
Sliced red onion (3 or 4 slivers per serving)
Fresh baby spinach or salad greens of choice
Dressing:
generous handful of coriander (cilantro)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 green chilli
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce (bought Thai variety)
1/4 cup fish sauce
zest and juice of 2 oranges
zest and juice of 2 lemons
4 spring onions
dash of rice wine vinegar
salt to taste
sugar to taste

DO:
Chop all fish fillets into square chunks.
Place all seafood in ceramic dish and process in Steam Oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked.
Cool slightly.
Meanwhile make dressing by placing all ingredients into bowl of Thermomix and whizzing together on Speed 4 until just combined. (Don’t overmix or you will get an emulsion rather than a dressing.)
Dress each plate with salad greens
Add steamed seafood
Add red onion
Drizzle with dressing and serve with lemon wedges and Green Rice.
USE:
A beautiful dish to serve, it will add to the taste…I can assure you!