This pear, walnut and mascarpone tart is one of my originals.
One day I was wondering what to do with those left over pears and who was going to eat them – I started day dreaming and into my head popped this pear, walnut and mascarpone tart, and I could taste it even though I’d never baked it.
So, jump on board and give it a try – you can thank me later!
Ingredients:
- shortcrust pastry
- 2 almost ripe pears
- 1 C chopped walnuts
- cinnamon
- 6 eggs
- 1/2C castor sugar
- 1 t vanilla essence
- 500g mascarpone cream (or 1.5C fresh cream)
- honey to drizzle
Method:
Make up the shortcrust pastry and cook as per my recipe here.
Slice the pears into about 2-3mm thickness. Spread the pears and chopped walnuts into the shortcrust pastry, sprinkle with cinnamon.
Whisk together the eggs, castor sugar, vanilla essence and cream until combined (you don’t want thick egg in the mix).
Pour over the pears and walnuts. Drizzle with honey.
Bake moderate oven until just set.
Serve with a dollop of cream.
Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Almonds
Brussel sprouts – you either love them or hate them! Once upon a time they were my pet hate, and I think mum knew that!
Fast forward a few years (ok, a lot of years) and I’ve created a recipe with brussel sprouts that even hubby will eat (he’s a steak and potatoes man!).
Ingredients:
- 500g Brussel sprouts
- 3-4 rashes of bacon
- 1 onion
- 1/4 sliced almonds
- garlic
- olive oil
Method:
Slice up the onion and bacon – heat up a fry pan and start cooking these up in some olive oil, add garlic. While the onion and bacon is cooking, chop off the tough bit at the end of the Brussel sprout, cut them in half and quickly cook them in the microwave for a couple of minutes just to start the cooking process (if you don’t use a microwave, you can par-boil them).
Add to the pan. Top with sliced almonds and serve immediately.
Beer Bum Chicken
I have to tell you, when I first heard of Beer Bum Chicken – I had a little giggle to myself – “beer bum chicken???” said my husband! Yep, it really is a thing…
This beer bum chicken is one of the most succulent, moist roast chicken dishes I think I have ever made! It’s not a pretty sight, sticking a can of beer up the rear end of a whole chicken; and it’s a bit of a balancing act to stop it toppling over. My best tip: make sure that the rack in your oven is low enough to get it into the oven! If you have a barbeque with a hood then use that, or better still if you have a wood fired oven then cook it in there.
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 can of beer
- spices to rub the chicken with.
Method:
This is so easy! Open the beer (don’t drink it). Rub the chicken with the herb/spice rub you have chosen. Place the can of beer (opened end up) into the cavity of the chicken. Rest the chicken in a baking tray.
Bake moderate oven for 1-1.5 hours until the juices run clear.
Carefully remove the can from the chicken. Cover and rest the chicken for about 10-15 mins before cutting.
Reserve the juices to make a gravy. To make the gravy, melt 2T butter in a saucepan, add 1/4C plain flour and stir until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Slowly add in the pan juices and extra water if needed. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens and comes to the boil, remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper if required.
Cheep Chicken Country Bake
Our special Cheep Chicken Country Bake will feed your family at a rock bottom price. At the time of publication, our local butcher is selling chicken legs and wings at only $1.95/kg – normally we eat 2kg of chicken legs between us for a meal, and there are still about half a dozen left over for afternoon snacks.
Dishing up this chicken country bake is an absolute budget breaker – we were down to our last scrappy vegetables and 6 chicken legs – you know what guys are like – “what? I only get 2 legs?” – well, make it go further and cook up a heap of vegetables with it – you will not only finish cleaning out your fridge, but this is a super “cheep” meal (pardon the pun). Even if some of those veges are looking a little tired, you can still use them in this dish.
Ingredients:
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- 3 pieces bacon – chopped in chunks
- 3 potatoes – peeled and chopped
- 1 sweet potato – peeled and chopped
- 2 brown onions – peeled and chopped
- 1 red capsicum – remove flesh and seeds, chop
- 1 fresh beetroot – peel and chop
- 3 large mushrooms – thickly sliced
- 1 head garlic – peeled
- Sage
- Rosemary
- Bush seasoning
- All spices seasoning
- Olive oil
- 150g butter
- Salt
Rub the drumsticks with seasoning and leave overnight to marinate.
Bake 180deg for about 1.5 hours.
Chicken 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.
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.
Beef Brisket – Slow Cooked and Perfectly Tender
Beef Brisket – one of those cuts that you never know quite what to do with. The answer – low and slow – follow these steps and you will have beautiful tender beef!
Seriously though – have you spotted that super cheap chunk of beef at the supermarket and wondered what to do with it? Or, have you bought a nice looking piece of beef and its been like eating an old shoe?
Try out our low and slow method – this one is a twice cooked method – we smoke the meat in the Webber for an hour and then wrap it up and refrigerate it for a few days before putting it into the slow cooker. This way we get the full smoky flavours throughout the meat, and then the second cooking stage tenderises it for 9 hours before it falls apart in your mouth – divine!
Ingredients:
Herb bundle – fresh herbs (rosemary, chives, oregano, thyme, parsley, sage)
2 onions
head of garlic
2 fresh chilli
beef brisket
2 T beef stock powder
1 C red wine or port
3 T bbq sauce
spice rub – have you got some mixed spices in the pantry? we use Bush Spices, but you can use whatever you have available
chopped tomato x 3
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
Method:
If you have a wood smoker, or your barbeque supports smoking – rub the meat with your spice rub and smoke the meat for an hour and then wrap in foil and refrigerate for a few days. If you don’t have a smoker, then skip this step.
Make up your bouquet garni (bundle fresh herbs)
Peel and slice the onions and place in the base of your slow cooker dish with the chopped tomatoes, chilli, garlic and bouquet garni.
Rub your meat all over with the spice rub – if you have time, refrigerate overnight.
Place the meat in the bottom of the slow cooker and add more sliced onions over the top of the meat and add the mushrooms. Mix together the red wine or port, beef stock powder , barbeque sauce and a little water. Pour the liquid over the meat – note, the meat does not need to be completely covered!
Cook on the lowest setting for about 9 hours, turning every few hours and pouring liquid from the pot over the meat.
Remove meat from pot and set aside to rest. Strain juices into a jug, keep the mushroom/tomato mix to serve with the meal. Discard the bouquet garni.
Gravy:
Ok, this is the best bit! And it’s super easy to make.
In a small saucepan, melt about 2T butter. Add 1/4 C plain flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Slowly pour in the reserved juices, stirring while adding. Add enough liquid to get to desired consistency and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper if needed – if lacking in flavour (it may not be) add a generous teaspoon of vegemite and stir well.