Tag: Easter

Eggsclusive

Hello friends and welcome to a pre-Easter edition of “What Posh People Ate in the 80’s”. This time they are not even pretending to be slumming it as even the name of this dish “Eggsclusive” speaks to its ritziness! The recipe for this eggcelllent (hey, if they can make egg puns, so can i! 😜) comes from the Vogue Entertaining Guide from Autumn 1986. 

Eggsclusive

The Eggsclusive recipe comes from an article about the Lamrock Cafe in Bondi Beach in Sydney.  A quick Google search showed that The Lamrock is still going strong.  And OMG…look at that view.  I know EXACTLY where I am heading for brunch next time I go to Sydney!  (The Eggsclusive is sadly no longer on the menu though). 

The Eggsclusive Recipe and Variations

You will notice that I have altered the recipe a little bit. I did not cook the smoked salmon or the caviare in the eggs, just served them on top. I also only used one type of caviar and I sprinkled some parsley and chives over the top. 

Eggsclusive Recipe

Eggsclusive 3

This was really easy to make and has a lovely luxe appeal to it  It would make the perfect breakfast in bed for someone you love (or yourself) over the Easter break.  Why not complete the feel with a glass of champagne? And maybe some of these vintage Easter Pinups could influence your choice of attire!

How cute is this?

Or if little cottontails aren’t your bag, you could try a tutu like Debbie Reynolds. 

Maybe an Easter bonnet might be more your style? 

I would, however, suggest you avoid bursting out of an egg.  This looks uncomfortable!

Have a safe and happy Easter, however you decide to spend it!  

Eggsclusive 2

Other Recipes from the Vogue Entertaining Guide Autumn 1986:

 

Eggs Hamine

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it!  At Maison de la retro foods, we are supplementing our chocolate eggs with some North African Hamine Eggs.  These came to us via Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery.  The book offers two versions of this recipe.  There is the traditional way:

In Egypt there are special shops selling them; there, after the eggs have been cooked for 3 or 4 hours, they are put under the ashes of a fire and left for as long as 8 hours – this makes them as creamy as butter”

– Good Housekeeping World Cookery

Never mind the pyramids and the Sphinx.  Get me over to Egypt pronto for some of those buttery eggs!!!

 

Eggs Hamine – The Recipe

The non-traditional version of these eggs is so easy!

 Put the brown outside skins of some onions into a saucepan of ocld water with the eggs and boil for 2 hours or as long as possible.  The onion skins turn the shells of the eggs and the whites brown.  Shell and halve the eggs and serve hot or cold with lemon wedges, salt, pepper and mixed spices”

I cooked my eggs in the slow cooker for a full 8 hours.

Pre – Water

Hamine Eggs2

4 hours –  One of the eggs cracked during the cooking but did not ooze out like they do when they crack during normal boiling.

Hamine Eggs3

Eight hours!

Hamine Eggs 4

Note, if you decide to make these in your slow cooker, the onion skins will stain your slow cooker brown along with the eggs.  Get ready to soak and scrub to remove it!

Eight hours and fifteen minutes!

Hamine Eggs 6

I sprinkled my egg with some salt and some dukkah and dug in!  It was delicious.  There was a faint taste of something – not exactly onion but slightly savoury to the egg which was different to a normal boiled egg.  I would not say that it was buttery  but the white seemed more delicate than a normal boiled egg.

I was also very surprised to see that the onion skin dye had penetrated not only into the white which became a gorgeous soft caramel colour but also the yolk!  This was startling because it is so strange to have a monochrome egg!

Hamine Eggs 5

These were nice and an interesting experiment but for me, it was a long time to wait for a fancy boiled egg so I will probably not make them again.  If I ever do get to Egypt though, I will be making a breakfast beeline for the Hamine Eggs shops!

Making these eggs might be a  fun thing to do with kids for Easter or for a science project on osmosis.

Happy Easter everyone!

 

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Retro Easter Part 3: The Eggs-travaganza

I solemnly promise that will be my only egg pun for this whole post.

But really, what is Easter about if it’s not about eggs? 

What? 

Well, yeah, ok sure  it’s about Jesus….but eggs are important too. 

This year I made my own chocolate eggs.

Home Made Easter Eggs
Home Made Easter Eggs

And ok, so Adriano Zumbo is not shaking in his shoes just yet but I get some points for trying right?  Can’t this be like Little League and I get a medal just for turning up?

For those of you who don’t know Adriano Zumbo, he is a mad-scientist genius baker (kind of like an Australian Heston Blumenthal but with more macaroons and  fewer snails).  He makes things like this gorgeous V8 cake.

 Zumbo3Think it looks simple?

Think again.

Because when you cut this baby open you get this:

 Layers in the V8Yeah…uh huh and OMG wow!!!

Maybe I’ll try to make that next Easter never.

For anyone brave enough to try, you can get  the recipe by clicking the link below:

Zumbo’s V8 Cake

 And send me photos.  And a piece.

However, ’nuff about  Zumbo, back to my eggs.  They weren’t just any plain old chocolate eggs.  Uh uh.  No way.  

They also had a peanut butter fudge filling:

 Peanut Butter Fudge Filling

 And in true retro style the peanut butter fudge mix has a secret ingredient.

Mashed potato.

Yes, I did just say mashed potato.

And it works surprisingly well.  You can’t taste it but it gives the peanut butter a firmer texture.  Actually the texture is very similar to that of my one of my all time favourite decadent little treats – a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.  And when I say “a” Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, I of course mean a four twin pack.  

I even had to check that there wasn’t mashed potato in a Reese’s PBC.  There isn’t but there are two things that don’t actually have names, just initials. And you have to love a list that contains non-fat milk and milk fat right next to each other.  So, that would be milk right?

You can check the full list out here.

I’m not going to come over all Michael Pollan about this (guess who finally finished reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma?) but you know what?  I’m really not sure about eating the stuff that is just initials.  However, whilst we’re on the subject of Mr Pollan, here is what he has to say about TBHQ, one of the ingredients in my possibly formerly beloved peanut butter cups:

But perhaps the most alarming ingredient in a Chicken McNugget is tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, an antioxidant derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to “help preserve freshness.” According to A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, TBHQ is a form of butane (i.e. lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food: It can comprise no more than 0.02 percent of the oil in a nugget. Which is probably just as well, considering that ingesting a single gram of TBHQ can cause “nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse.” Ingesting five grams of TBHQ can kill.

Hmm…compared to lighter fluid, the mashed potato suddenly seems a bit more attractive does it not? And yes ok, you would probably have to eat your own weight in them to get that gram of TBHQ but it was enough to make me walk away from the rack of peanut butter cups today.  Damn you Pollan.

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Peanut Butter Fudge Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs with a “secret” ingredient

  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 120
  • Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 small potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1 cup peanut butter – I used super crunchy.
  • 1/2 cup condensed milk
  • 1 cup icing (confectioner’s) sugar
  • 180 gram block of dark chocolate

Instructions

  1. Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in a bowl over hot water and coat the moulds with the melted chocolate. You may need to do this more than once to get the desired thickness of chocolate shell.
  2. Place the chopped potato into a saucepan and cover with water. Boil until tender.
  3. Drain and mash.
  4. Add your condensed milk, just as you would add regular milk to normal mashed potatoes.
  5. Allow this mixture to cool.
  6. Mix in your peanut butter and confectioner’s sugar. It should form a fairly thick paste.
  7. Add more condensed milk or confectioner’s sugar if required.
  8. Spoon this mixture into the chocolate lined moulds.
  9. Melt the remaining 1/3 of the chocolate. Use this to seal the mixture into the moulds.
  10. Chill until the chocolate hardens then press your eggs out of the moulds.

Notes

  • You will also need Easter Egg Moulds. I bought mine from a craft shop for around $4.

 Ox Eye Eggs

In my last post I assumed that everyone would know what Egg in a Hole was. I then further confused the issue by using the name we call these things in my family which is an Ox-Eye egg.

I actually managed to trace back the source of why we call it that. It comes from this book which I inherited from my…hmmm…I’m not sure of our exact relationship…maybe my second cousin? A great cousin? My nana’s sister’s daughter.

My Learn To Cook Book
My Learn To Cook Book

This was possibly my first cook book and the ox-eye eggs have become a family favourite. I will return to this book in due course because the illustrations are awesome but here is the recipe for the original ox-eye eggs:

OxEye Eggs

I prefer to do mine in a frying pan than in the oven as I think it gives you a little more control over your preferred degree of yolk runniness but the choice is yours!

And look at this for an amazing breakfast – seriously, if I’d thrown some cheese on this plate all my five favourite food groups would have been covered – eggs, bacon, avocado, and bread!

Ox Eye Eggs, Bacon and Loaded Guacamole
Ox Eye Eggs, Bacon and Loaded Guacamole

Loading up that toasted circle with a piece of bacon, some guac and some semi-runny yolk?  Probably about as close to heaven as I’m going to get!!!

The Perfect Bite!
The Perfect Bite!

 And that’s Easter 2014 done!

Next time, a double whammy, a retro treat from Salads from All Seasons and a Daring Kitchen Challenge.  I’m 3 months behind on my Daring Kitchen stuff and I’m really nervous about all of them – for very different reasons –  again which we will get to in due course. 

February’s challenge was Salad Dressing – and if you’re thinking that should be fairly impossible to fuck up, well, you haven’t seen the recipe I’m planning on using.

Hint – it too has a secret ingredient, which incidentally has been mentioned in this post. And it’s not mashed potato.  If only.  

I’m loving my extended Easter break.  Hope your week is fabulous whatever you are doing!

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Retro Easter Part 2: Easter Lily Sandwiches

Let’s start with a caveat.

I am perfectly aware that these sandwiches do not resemble Easter Lilies and would, based on their look, be far more appropriately called Calla Lily Sandwiches.  But it’s Easter ok?

And take a look at them.  How pretty are they?  Perfect for an afternoon tea with the girls….

Easter Lily Sandwiches2
Easter Lily sandwiches

And they taste pretty damn good too!!!

There are a few recipes for these lily sandwiches floating about the interwebs. However, most of them use green onions for the stem.  I actually made it that way the first time but was disappointed in the taste.

Chomping on that big stalk made the sandwich way too oniony – I’m pretty sure no one else wants to bite into a huge chunk of onion like that either.  Or suffer the onion breath afterwards. But to use them as decoration only and take them out when it came to eating the sandwich seemed like a waste.  My first thought was to replace the onions with beans but when I went to buy the beans, I was waylaid by some gorgeous baby asparagus spears.

Easter Lily Sandwiches Ingredients
Easter Lily Sandwiches Ingredients

And my version of the Lily Sandwich was born.

If you can only get thicker asparagus you could cut the spears in half down their length.  If asparagus is not available, use beans or celery matchsticks – all of which I think would be preferable to the onion!

Oh and a tip for the frugal.  When you cut the circles out of the bread, don’t throw the rest of the bread out.  Save them to use for what my family call Ox-Eye eggs but is, I believe more commonly called,  Egg in A Hole the next morning!  Any asparagus left over can also be dipped into a runny yolk for a breakfast made in heaven!!!

Leftovers

Oh and if you don’t happen to have a rolling-pin handy, a bottle of your favourite sauv blanc works equally as well.

Impromptu Rolling PinAnd would also be the perfect accompaniment to these sandwiches at your Easter afternoon tea!

Easter Lily Sandwiches3
Easter Lily Sandwiches3.

[yumprint-recipe id=’2′]One more Easter Treat to go…stay tuned!

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Retro Easter Part 1 – Cocktail: When Doves Cry

I got a mention on a Christian website the other day. And no, they weren’t damning me to hell for my potty mouth and occasional smutty innuendo.  Far from it.  They actually described this as:

 “the cutest Australian retro site”

And just in case you think I’m fibbing, you can link here.

And shame on you!!!  As if I’m going to lie about the Christians!!!   Let’s just say I’m taking Pascal’s wager on that one. If nothing else.

And…

YES!!!!

I believe for only the second time ever that Philosophy major I undertook at university has come in handy.  I knew all that time and money would be worth it someday.

And consider yourselves lucky I’m not doing a Paleo blog – otherwise the references  to Plato and his cave would be coming thick and fast.

BOOM! – That would be three.

Happy Easter
Happy Easter

But given it is Easter, how about a quote from the modern-day philosopher Bill Hicks:

“A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fucking cross? It’s like going up to Jackie Onassis wearing a rifle pendant.”

And farewell to the readers I picked up from the Christian website, it was nice knowing you.

So let’s talk about how I celebrated Easter….

First there were cocktails.  Then sandwiches. Then home made Easter Eggs.

Not one of them normal….because what would be the fun in that?

We’ll get to the others in due course but today is all about the cocktail.

Remember back in February when I did the post with the Parfait Amour?  At the time, I said:

If I was to make this again,  I would add some zing, maybe with some lime juice and also maybe a kick of a flavoursome gin like Hendricks – I think the floral notes in the Hendricks would combine well with the floral notes in the Parfait Amour.”

Well guess what I found?

Simply Divine Ingredients

A cocktail recipe called the Simply Divine which uses Parfair Armour, Gin and Citrus.  And it is AWESOME!!!!  So, so tasty…sweet and tangy and floral and delicious….except for one thing….

JuiceSimply DivineThe citrus mix was a very pretty peachy colour.

The Parfait Amour and gin was purple.

So the result should have been a pretty pinky purple as per the original recipe.

That didn’t happen.

If you were looking for some sexed up paintchart name for the colour this went, you’d probably call it Dove Wing Grey.  Technically, I think the weird browny purple grey colour it turned is called puce.  Unofficially, it prompted the so-called-beloved to ask if I was drinking bong-water.  After I explained that I had no idea of what he spoke of,  we decided that  this is not so much Dove Wing Grey but that this is what it looks like when doves cry.

When Doves Cry

As long as you don’t mind drinking something that looks like the water you washed your socks in, this is a super drink – the citrus and gin really do cut through the sweetness of the Parfait Armour to create a drink that has a really nice balance and is very refreshing.

Simply Divine3

And because I changed the ingredients slightly from the recipe and nothing that colour can be truly called Simply Divine, ladies and gentlemen meet the:

WHEN DOVES CRY

Ingredients

  • 30ml gin – I used Hendricks
  • 30ml Parfait Amour
  • 1 red or pink grapefruit, juiced
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tangerine, juiced

Instructions

  • Fill a glass with ice
  • Add the gin and Parfait Amour
  • Top with the mixed citrus juice
  • Stir.
  • Wince at the colour.
  • Enjoy!

You can mix up the citrus too – lime would be great, as would orange!!!!

I’m going to try to redeem myself in the next post which will feature some of the cutest sandwiches you ever did see.

Oh and I’m now on instagram. You can follow  my feed by clicking on the icon at the top o’ the page.

Hope you had a fabulous Easter!!!!

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