Month: December 2015

REPOST – History Happy Hour – 1959 – On The Beach

+Hello and welcome to a very special history happy hour.

Because today, December 17, not only do we have a super fruity and delicious cocktail to celebrate today’s event but also two yummy recipes courtesy of one of my (and hopefully your) favourite bloggers, Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers.  Jenny is also making the same trio of recipes so when you have finished here, please head over there to have a look.

But what, and how are we celebrating?

On The Beach CollageOn The Beach – The Film

December 17, 1959 saw the première of the film On The Beach.  And just look at this for a cast list – Ava Gardner, Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins.   There’s galaxies that wish they were that star studded!!!!  Oh and just for fun, Frank Sinatra came along too.  Not to be in the film,  Just to hang out with Ava.  On the beach.

 

And that beach was in my hometown of Melbourne!  Or in a place called Frankston on the outskirts thereof.  In fact, for many a year, there was a scurrilous rumour that Ms Gardner had made the snarky comment that Melbourne was “the perfect place to make a film about the end of the world.”  Not true my friends,  not true.  Said quote was totally invented by a junior reporter from a Sydney newspaper, obviously miffed that we got Ava, Gregory, Fred, Tony (and Frank) and all they got was a bridge and an Opera House.

 

On The Beach, based on a novel by Nevil Shute (which I have not read but now really want to) is a post-apocalyptic romance in which Australia is the only country to survive a nuclear war.  However, it is only a matter of months before radiation clouds doom the survivors to the same fate as the rest of the world.  Unless…Dah dah da dah….

This is a film worth seeking out. A stellar cast, some superlative acting, and an engrossing storyline, which although somewhat dated has much to speak to us about our current situation.  And, if you can watch the scene with Tony Perkins and Donna Andrews without welling up?  You’re already a little dead inside.

On The Beach – The Drink

What more appropriate way to celebrate the release of On The Beach than with the classic cocktail Sex on The Beach!  And it’s so good.   Peach schnapps where have you been all my life?

Sex On The Beach 3

This is fruit, fruit and more fruit – peach from the schnapps, cranberry, orange juice and pineapple juice all playing a role.  With a hit of vodka to give it some backbone.

Sex On The Beach 2

This is the best summer you have ever had, in a glass.  And unlike its namesake you don’t have to worry about getting sand in your privates if you have one. And you can have two, maybe three in one night with lots of different people without anyone looking askance at you!

On The Beach – The Food

Jenny (this woman is a marvel!!!)  sent me a host of recipes by the stars of On The Beach but there was one that stood out for me above all others.

Gregory  Peck’s recipe for Happy Pappy Eggs.  Oh my…..it’s not often that words fail me.  But….first up how you could you not love something called Happy Pappy eggs and second…the recipe came from Gregory Peck.  AKA Atticus Finch (pre Go Set a Watchman). And then I also chose a Gregory Peck recipe for ratatouille.

Happy Pappy Eggs

The Happy Pappy Eggs were scrambled eggs with some slow cooked onions.  Simple and delicious!!! But oh man, that rataouille was amazing!!!  I have no idea why I don’t make it more often.  It went really well with the eggs. And together they would make a super brunch dish after a long night of Sex on The Beach (either way).

I also ate the rataouille for lunch for a few days with some cheese in a toasted turkish roll and OMG…it was a revelation!  So good!

Ratatouille Cheese Roll

On The Beach – The Recipe

There were some rather frightening copyright restrictions on the Gregory Peck recipes so we  decided not to print them.  However, I’m sure if you asked Jenny very nicely she would send you a copy.  For personal use only. Don’t let us find you in a dingy alley handing out illegal copies of the recipe of Happy Pappy Eggs!

There are also a myriad recipes and variations for the Sex On The Beach Cocktail.  This is a fairly classic take on it.

Print

History Happy Hour – 1959 – On The Beach

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1.5 oz (45 ml.) peach schnapps
  • 1.5 oz (45 ml.) vodka
  • 2 oz. (60 ml.) cranberry juice
  • 2 oz. (60 ml.) orange juice
  • 2 oz. (60 ml.) pineapple juice
  • Orange slice for garnish
  • Maraschino cherry for garnish
  • Ice cubes

Instructions

  1. Pour peach schnapps, vodka, cranberry juice, orange juice, and pineapple juice into a shaker filled with ice.
  2. Shake until the outside of the shaker gets frosty – about 20 seconds.
  3. Strain the mixture into a glass filled with more ice cubes.
  4. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry

This was so much fun, it was great collaborating with Jenny and getting to watch a fabulous movie to boot!  Thank you Jenny for the awesome recipes, I can’t wait to see what you have dome with them!

Have a great week you lovely people, happy drinking (and eating)!

Signature 1 Vintage Valentine Quick as Wink2

 

Fruit & Nut Gingerbread Loaf

This post for Fruit and Nut Gingerbread loaf was originally written and published in Dec 2015.  It is one of many of my older posts, which due to some unknown technical hitch ended up being put back into draft.  I am trying to repost them all but please excuse any references that seem odd or out of date!

What a week!  Some weeks are diamonds and this week everything I  made turned out really well and there was not much to choose between them.  So I thought I would talk to you about them all.

Fruit and Nut Gingerbread Loaf3

First up there was a mash up of this recipe from Donna at A Cookbook Collection which is a super blog that I read all the time:

https://acookbookcollection.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/roasted-grapes-with-feta-and-walnuts/

And Niki Sengit’s entry for Goat Cheese and Walnut from The Flavour Thesaurus where she says:

“Paneer is a white tablet of feta as smooth as a bar of Ivory Soap and usually scattered with crisp walnuts.  It’s generally accompanied by sabzi, a thicket of fresh herbs, to offset it’s richness.  There will be plenty of mint, plus tarragon and dill, bulbous scallions and, nestled somewhere in among the sprigs and leaves, little radishes like baby robins in their next”

This OMG, I want to eat it right NOW delight is on the menu at a restaurant called Patogh on the Edgeware Road in London.  And next time I’m there?  I’m there!

Not being there, I made my own and I threw in a heap of roasted grapes à la Donna too!  And it was so good!  I love being able to nibble food from a platter and this recipe will feature on my Friday night grazing platter all grape season!

 

Roasted Grapes with Feta & Sabzi

Crab and Corn FrittersFor a delicious main meal I made some Crab and Corn Fritters from this recipe from Australian Gourmet Traveller.

Corn and Crab Fritters

I also made a toasted marshmallow pavlova which was A-MAZING – even if I do say so myself.

Toasted Marshmallow Pavlova

The Gingerbread Loaf

Also in the sweet realm but at the opposite end of the spectrum was a fruit and nut gingerbread loaf with lemon icing.  The pavlova was light as air and so pretty.  The gingerbread loaf was not nearly so pretty but wow! It was kind of like a linebacker against the pavlova’s ballerina, in the best possible way.  So full of flavour.  And quite right for the time of year!  Also, like a good wine, this baby just gets better with age. And it lasts.  It kept for about a week in the fridge. It probably would have kept for longer, we just ate it all.

Fruit and Nut Gingerbread Loaf

This week, I am looking forward to cooking

Lunch, Starter or Salad: Italian Stuffed Deli Loaf

The Main Event: Chicken, Mushroom and Walnut Cannelloni from Katie Quinn Davies for the Cookbook Guru

Sweet Dreams: Honey Pots

In Other News, I Have Been

Shopping

Another bit of a cookbook binge – I bought the next two Tasty Reads book club books.  And as my Christmas present to myself, the new Nigella:

Books Collage2

Reading

I gave up on The Reckoning.  Life’s too short for a book you don’t enjoy.  I have started the December t book club selection,  The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks.  Personally, I would not have chosen to read this in a billion years – the fictional lives of Biblical characters not being high on my list of interests but I am finding myself increasingly drawn into this story.  Which is exactly why I joined the book club – to widen my reading horizons.

I also gave up on The Last Werewolf and am now listening to Time and Time Again by Ben Elton on audio which so far has been great.  And I do love a bit o’ time travelling!   The only problem with this is that I keep thinking it is called Time After Time and I have had that Cyndi Lauper song in my head for DAYS!!!!

 

Books Collage3

Watching

Along with time travelling, I am also very fond of a conspiracy theory and I happened to catch the last half of Room 237 on the telly the other night.  It blew my mind!  How I have missed this up to now I do not know   A film about all the hidden meanings in a film I love?   I loved it!!!  I’m watching it again this weekend. From the start.  Possibly several times.

"Proof" The Moon Landing Was Faked By Stanley Kubrick

Danny’s jumper is apparently one of the many clues hidden in The Shining that point to Stanley Kubrick having staged the moon landings. For the rest and many more theories about the movie, watch Room 237.  It’s mad and awesome and cuckoo lala.

For something else that is nutty in all the right ways, you could try making this Fruit and Nut Gingerbread Loaf!

I adapted my recipe from this one:

Sticky apple and gingerbread pecan loaf cake

Print

Fruit and Nut Gingerbread Loaf

A delicious fruity gingerbread – perfect for this festive time of year!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 150g salted butter plus extra to grease
  • 200ml milk
  • 150g brown sugar
  • 150g golden syrup
  • 250g plain flour
  • 11/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 50g dried apricots, chopped
  • 75g pecans roughly chopped (plus more whole to garnish)
  • 50g crystalised ginger, roughly chopped (plus more to garnish)
  • 2 green apples, peeled, cored, cut into a 1 cm dice
  • 50g sultanas
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 250g icing sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C. Grease and line a 1.5L loaf pan with baking paper.
  2. Place the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar into a small saucepan and stir until the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth and has thickened slightly.
  3. Stir in the milk.
  4. Set aside to cool.
  5. Sift the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger and baking powder into a bowl.
  6. Make a well into the centre and pour in the cooled milk mixture.
  7. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined, then fold in the apples, ginger, pecans, sultanas and apricots.
  8. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  9. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack.
  10. Mix the lemon juice and icing sugar. The mixture should be a thick liquid.
  11. Once the cake is completely cooled, pour the lemon icing over the top.
  12. Top with reserved pecans and ginger.
  13. Enjoy!

Question Time

This week, I want to know your answers to the questions posed on the front of Time After Time Time and Time Again:

“If you had one chance to change history

Where would you go?

What would you do?

Who would you kill?

I can’t wait to hear what you come back with!

Have a great week!

 

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