Chocolate Ganache, Cream and Strawberry Tart

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my very first time making a tart. As you can see, it’s staying in the mold cause any attempt of taking it out, it crumbles into a million and one pieces! *sigh* ah wells. just have to pluck up the courage to try it again. SOON. haha we shall see! (:

I found the largest and reddest strawberry from Queen Victoria Market, and just knew I had to try marking these tarts, although the original recipe calls for raspberry. hehe. they were as huge as my palm!!!

how gorgeous do they look! (: I bet if you saw them, you wouldn’t be able to resist either!!! hehe

I used the recipe from Masterchef, and besides the tart being too crumbly (which I’m pretty sure it’s because I didn’t let it set in the fridge long enough haha) it was YUMMY! The chocolate ganache was the saviour of the dish to be honest. haha but I’m not too surprised, chocolate always saves everything! Especially when I’m stressed. haha

so here’s the recipe! (: Hope you will be more successful than me!

(Adapted from Masterchef)

Ingredients :

240g plain flour
160g butter
Pinch of salt
300ml thickened cream
1 tbs caster sugar
1 punnet strawberries

160ml cream
40g butter
180g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Steps :

Step 1: Place the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor and blend
until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 1-2 teaspoons cold water and
blend again until the dough just comes together. Tip out onto a lightly floured
board or clean bench and form dough into a disc, enclose in cling film and
refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Step 2: Roll pastry out to 3-5mm thick, then use to line four 10cm loose- bottomed tart tins. Prick the base with a fork, then place back in the fridge to rest for about 20 minutes.

Step 3: To make the ganache, place the cream and butter in a pan and stir over medium heat until butter has melted. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour over the warm cream, then stir until the chocolate has melted.

Step 4: Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the pastry case with baking paper and
pastry beads or uncooked rice. Blind-bake for 7-10 minutes, then remove baking
paper and beads and bake for another 5-10 minutes until just golden. Press down
any bubbles that have risen up and allow to cool. Remove from tart cases and
place on a serving plate or clean board.

Step 5: Meanwhile, whip thickened cream with sugar until soft peaks. Cover with cling film and refrigerate until needed.

Step 6: Pour the chocolate ganache into the tart shells. Spread evenly with the
back of a spoon or palette knife. Place the strawberries on top of the tart and serve!

Bon Appetit!

Beef fillet with Gratin of Mushrooms

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I’m back! (: Sorry for the long long long long break! Had a crazy few weeks with uni! Got lots to update so give me a little time! (:

So let me ask you, what is your ultimate indulgence?

For me, it’s steak. and not just any cut of the steak, specifically, the eye fillet. It just melts in your mouth with every bite you take. I normally do prefer my steak medium, but just for the eye fillet, I like mine medium rare. hehe (:

I had a couple of close friends over on a Saturday night, and their only request is to have MEAT. haha. So, almost immediately, eye fillet popped into my tiny head. I have been dying to try this recipe of Gordan Ramsay’s and this would be the best opportunity to do so!

Eye fillet topping it with a gratin of mushroom and baking it just for 5 mins to get a nice crunchie outer layer of the gratin. The creaminess of the gratin just goes so well with the beautiful cut of the steak. This dish was to die for, and this recipe is definitely a keeper! (:

(Adapted from The F Word)

Ingredients :

Beef Fillet

  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster), roughly chopped
  • 100g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp double cream
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 4 fillet steaks, about 180g and 4cm thick
  • 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/Gas 7.

2. To prepare the topping, gently sauté the shallot and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for about 5 minutes until nicely softened. Add a further 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms over a high heat, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes until browned and cooked. The mixture should be quite dry. If necessary, tip it into a sieve to drain off any remaining liquid. Remove the garlic clove and transfer the mushrooms to a bowl, allow to cool.

3. Whip the cream until softly stiff. Fold in the mushrooms along with the egg yolk, herbs and a tablespoon of the grated Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Season the steaks all over with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan until you can feel a strong heat rising. Cook the steaks for about 2-3 minutes, turning them to seal all over. Remove from the pan.

4. Put the steaks on a shallow baking tray. Pile the mushroom mixture on top of the steaks and dust with the remaining parmesan. Cook in the oven uncovered, for about 5-7 minutes until the topping is bubbling and golden.

So, trust me. Try this recipe, I guarantee you will love it! (: Have it with mash or golden baked potatoes and ENJOY!

so tell me dear readers, what is your ultimate indulgence?

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Braised Pork Belly with Yam

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If you’ve been reading my blog, you know how home sick I always get. One way to make myself feel better is to cook. Not just cook anything, cook something that reminds me of home. So that’s what I did, I made something my mum makes best – Braised pork belly with yam. (: You usually eat this with a bun and some salad leaves. But it also goes super well with rice!

The recipe I found is a little time consuming, but all the work and effort put into the dish is definitely worth it. By the time it’s done steaming, the yam would be broken down and it would have absorbed all the flavours. The pork too will be melt in your mouth! Of course the happiest person when I said I was going to cook this was my baby. hehe He and pork belly are very good friends. hehe

so here’s the recipe that I’ve adapted from :

Ingredients :

· 1.2kg pork belly with skin
· 700g yam/taro
· 1 piece reddish cheese (also known as fermented beancurd)
· 1 tbsp reddish cheese juice
· 2 tbsp salted bean paste

Part (A) :

·4 garlic cloves, chopped
·50g shallots, chopped
·1 stalk (20g) coriander stalk, chopped

Gravy :

·1 tbsp light soy sauce
·1 tbsp dark soy sauce
·1 tsp five spices powder
·1 tbsp sugar
·1 tbsp Chinese rose wine (I used Shaoxing wine)
·1 tsp monosodium glutamate (I left this out)
·800ml water

Steps :

1. Blanch the pork belly with 3 bowls of boiling water in a deep pot for about 20 minutes, remove and pat-dry, then rub a little light soy sauce over the pork belly, prick holes over the skin with a fork, deep-fry into hot oil until golden brown, dish up, transfer the pork belly into boiling water again and cook for further 30 minutes, remove and keep aside.

2. When the pork belly is cool enough, cut into thick slices.

3. Peel the yam, cut into square slices, slightly deep-fry into hot oil for a while, dish up and leave them aside.

4. Heat up 3 tbsp oil, to sautethe chopped ingredients A, reddish cheese, salted bean paste and reddish cheese juice till fragrant, add in sauce mixture, and bring to the boil, place in pork belly slices and yam, simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, remove from heat.

5. Prepare a deep bowl, arrange yam and pork belly slices alternately (skin side down); pack pieces securely into bowl, press slightly, pour the remaining sauce over the meat and yam, steam over medium heat for approximately 45 minutes, until the meat are tender.

6. Drain gravy into a bowl and retain, invert pork and yam slices onto a platter, heat up retained gravy until boiling, and thicken with a little cornstarch solutions, pour the gravy over the pork slices, serve hot.

Bon Appetit! (:

Beef Stroganoff : Masterchef Recipe

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Sorry for the lack of posts! Uni just started for me, and the amount of readings I have to do is unbelievable! Haven’t had much chance to cook or bake. But yes! I’m back!

Have you been catch Masterchef when it was on tv? I have! I caught as many episodes I could when I’m home and if I missed one, I would load it on the Masterchef website and watch it at my own free time! (: One dish that caught my eye and tummy was the beef stroganoff! the orangy creamy texture of the dish, topped on pasta, I think it’s a match-made in heaven.

so I got down to business. I didn’t have creme friache or the usual substitute of sour cream, so I “cleaverly” used thickened cream which wasn’t too good an idea, cause it became very starchy. But other than that, the flavours were really yummy and my baby really enjoyed it! (:

so here’s the recipe that is from this Masterchef series

Ingredients :

2 tbs sweet paprika
100g flour
500g piece beef eye fillet (from the tail end), sliced into strips
¼ cup olive oil
40g butter, plus extra to serve
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 eschalots, finely diced
2 tbs tomato paste
½ cup brandy
1 cup beef stock
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 cup crème fraiche (or light sour cream)
2 tbs extra virgin oil, to serve
baby parsley, to garnish

Steps :

1. For the beef stroganoff, combine paprika, flour and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl. Toss beef in the mixture to coat.

2) Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over high heat and sear the beef for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Remove and set aside.

3) Reduce heat to medium-high; add half the butter and remaining the olive oil. Cook the mushrooms until caramelised. Reduce the heat to medium, add remaining butter, eschalots and cook for a few minutes until softened.

4) Add the tomato paste, brandy, stock, Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium, stir in crème fraiche, reserved beef and juices, then season with salt and pepper.

5) Serve with either rice or pasta. DONE! (:

Spiced Red Wine Poached Pear

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there something quite amazing about poached pears. They transform into a soft-yet-firm magical looking fruit that is tainted with the most amazing maroon. Eat it with the most luscious vanilla mascarpone, and VIOLA! You’re in heaven. (:

I’ve never had a poached pear, but I always see cooking shows that make them and tell myself, I need to try that soon. Just like tarts. And that journey has yet to begun. haha We went to the Sunday Market near Melbourne Showground and chanced upon some Bosc pears, and I just couldn’t resist!

with a bottle of cabernet merlot lying around in the cupboard, it was a perfect opportunity to make some poached pears! (:

So here is the recipe that I adapted from taste.com.au

Ingredients :
500ml (2 cups) red wine
70g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
2 whole star anise
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 vanilla bean, split
2 just-ripe bosc pears, peeled
2 cloves
100g mascarpone
2 tbs icing sugar mixture
1 tsp vanilla paste
Steps :
1. Combine the wine, sugar, star anise, cloves, cinnamon powder and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves.
2. Add the pears and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, turning occasionally, for 1 hour or until pears are tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a heatproof bowl. Once it’s cooled, put it in the fridge while preparing the other things. (The original recipe calls for the pears to be refrigerated for 4 hours, but I only let it sit in the fridge for 30mins and it was already yummy! I much prefer the cold outer portion and the inner flesh is warm.)
3. Increase heat to high and bring the syrup to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly.
4. Place the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla paste in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
5. Transfer the pears to a serving dish and drizzle with syrup. Serve with vanilla mascarpone.
ENJOY! (:

Comfort food.

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Winter. Cold winds, rain, super low temperatures. To conquer all these, to me, only means one thing : comfort food.

what’s better ya? the ultimate comfort food for me is mash. The creaminess and butter-i-ness texture of the mash just makes everything seem better. (: So everything with mash, would just be a kind of comfort to me. Last night, I decided to make Shepard’s pie!

Shepard’s pie has always been a family favourite. So of course, I immediately went to source for a recipe so that I could cook it for everyone to enjoy! (: I was pretty worried the first time I made it, and I remember my brother having to always taste my mash to see if it’s buttery enough or salty enough. And my mum would stand next to me to make sure the mince is in small pieces and not in chunks, and if my meat sauce is thick enough.

alright, did I say I miss my family and I’m home-sick? I didn’t? Well, I am. That’s why I needed comfort food, pronto.

So here’s my recipe, hopefully, it will be as comforting to you as it was for me! (:

Ingredients :

600g mince pork (you can always use chicken or beef)

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 medium size carrots, chopped into small pieces

1 leek, sliced into thin rings

10 button mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 tin of chopped tomatoes (can always substitute with 3 tbs tomato paste)

3 tbs plain flour

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs Worcester sauce

5 bay leaves

750ml chicken stock

8 potatoes, cut into cubes (for mash)

50g butter

50ml milk (or cream)

1 tsp nutmeg

Parmesan, to sprinkle on the mash before baking it

salt and pepper, to taste

Steps :

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and add the garlic and leeks and fry till fragrant and the leeks are transparent, make sure they do not brown. Add the carrots and mushrooms and fry till carrots are soft.

2. Add the mince and fry till the meat is cooked and the pieces are small.

3. Add the flour and mix till well combined. Add the stock, the Worcester sauce, chopped tomatoes, bay leaves and mix and allow the mixture to boil before turning the fire down to small. Cook the mixture and allow the liquid to thicken till almost dry. (about 20-25mins)

4. While the meat mixture is reducing, cook the potatoes in a pot of salted water till tender and easier to mash. Drain, and put them back into the pot over very small fire. Add the butter, milk and nutmeg and mash till smooth. Season with salt and allow it to cool for about 5 mins.

5. Place the meat mixture into a baking tray and slowly pipe the mash on top of it. Sprinkle the Parmesan and flash it in the oven grill for 5 mins, till the top is golden brown.

6. Serve and enjoy! (:

A Perfect Combination.

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How do you like your eggs done? Sunny side up? Poached? Baked? Scrambled? I personally LOVE poached eggs. Everyone who knows me well, knows how much I love my eggs benedict! Poached eggs on english muffins topped with a big dollop of Hollandaise sauce. Just typing the description out is making me crave for some now at 5pm in the evening.

My next favourite is baked eggs. And that’s exactly what I made for baby today for breakie.

As our oven was due for cleaning, I just cooked this over the stove which was great! (: I found the recipe while reading OK! magazine, and it was a small little booklet which consists of a few recipes from different chefs! This particular recipe is from Pete Evans! I saw it, and I knew my baby would love it.

Pete Evans made his on the barbecue, but cause we didnt have one and the oven was down, I did mine all on the stove! I didn’t need to put much seasoning cause the chorizo used in this recipe did all the seasoning for me!

So here’s the recipe adapted from Pete Evans’ My Grill.

Ingredients :

4 tomatoes, halved

1 chorizo, cut into slices

1 small tablespoon of chopped chives

5 eggs

pinch of hot paprka

1 cup of cheddar cheese

Steps :

1. Cook the tomatoes on a non-stick pan till they are tender and cut into chunky pieces.

2. Place the chorizo into a cast-iron pan and fry it till it’s golden on each side. Place the tomatoes in with the chorizo, with the chives and just a little salt and pepper.

3. Make some holes in the mix to crack the eggs into. Sprinkle the paprika and cheddar cheese. Cover the pan with aluminium foil and cook it on low for 10-15 mins until the whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny. Serve with toast!

a close up! (:

The egg whites were cooked but the yolks were still runny which combined with the tomatoes made a really good dip for toast!

and you know what’s better? Having this with a nice cup of hot chocolate, and watching Karate Kid.

BLISS.

So what is your perfect combination with eggs? Share! I would love to hear it!