Tag: Seafood

March 2004 – No O’s

Hello, retro food lovers! Today we are stepping back in time for a fun theme.  Remember the childhood book “Ghosts and Crows and Things With O’s?  Well, today is the opposite. My aim today was to create a menu where none of the recipes contain the letter O in its name.  Weird?  Yes but so is Omicronphobia which is a fear of the letter O.  Just in case you ever happen to be entertaining someone suffering from this affliction, here is a menu for you.  Also, please don’t tell them I called them weird!  Our guide today is the March 2004 issue of Delicious Magazine.

Blue Cheese with Walnuts and Honey2

So, what else was happening in March 2004?  Well, a fire crew in a hurry to get to a fire in Melbourne Florida left a fryer on in the firehouse.  A little later they got a call to come and put out another fire…at their firehouse!  In popular culture, the Da Vinci code was still top of the best seller lists and The Passion of  The Christ was number 1 at the box office.  Yeah by Usher was the number one song.

Now, that we have set the scene, let’s get to the menu

The Menu – March 2004

No O Menu

Prawn Caesar Salad

This was not strictly a Caesar Salad as the dressing was more of a Marie Rose-type thing but it had a Caesar-ish vibe about it.  It was also delicious! You can find a more classic Caesar Salad here

Prawn Caesar Salad

Prawn Caesar Salad Recipe

Prawn Caesar

Teriyaki Steak with Wasabi Mash

I loved this, it was my favourite dish on the menu and so easy to make as well.  I often found bought teriyake sauces much too sweet for my palate but this was perfect. And the wasabi mash was a perfect accompaniment.  I also served some edamame and pickled veg alongside. 

Teriyaki Steak with Wasabi Mash

Teriyaki Steak with Wasabi Mash Recipes

Steak Teriyaki (1)

Crème Brulée

March has been a very custard and caramel month around these parts.  Last week I made caramel custard and this week, its more sophisticated cousin, Crème Brulée.  I will say though that I cannot recommend this recipe.  For a start, the cooking time was completely out.  I had to cook my custards for about double the time they suggested! I was also intrigued by their suggestion of grinding the sugar to make it easier to torch.  It did not. All it did was add to the time taken to cook the recipe, and burn the sugar when I torched it.  After the first two, I went back to my usual way of using normal caster sugar and it was fine.  Just listen to this.  This is the sound of a good Crème Brulée. 

Crème Brulée Recipe

It was a bit of a dud but I am including it for compleness sake.  And having said that, the custard was delicious.  And once I reverted back to my usual non-powdered white sugar, the bruleed top became perfect!  

creme brulee recipe

My Nigella Moment  – Blue Cheese, Honey and Walnuts

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious.  In these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.  

I have long said that cheese is my love language so this recipe immediately called to me.  So simple and so delcious.  And if you wanted to bring this recipe up to date?  Sub out ordinary honey for some hot honey.  This is a perfect after-dinner cheeseboard for one, or many.  I served mine with  a green salad and a croissant for a delicious lunch.  This recipe is proof that the simple things in life are often the best!

Blue Cheese with Walnuts and Honey

 

Blue Cheese with Walnuts and Honey Recipe

Blue Cheese with Walnuts and Honey recipe

 

Apart from a few hiccups with the Brulee, I loved this month.  Delicious Magazine has allowed the Omicronphobes (and me) have some beautiful vibrant and tasty meals!  

Have a great week! 

 

 

Hummer Strudels

Welcome friends.  Today we are channelling our inner Gordon Gekko’s and subscribing to the credo of  Greed is Good”  to make some luxurious Hummer Strudels.  These are coming to us via Vogue Entertaining and Travel from Autumn 1986. Now, greed and huge shoulder pads may have been good in the 1980s but this name is not.  To me, hummers are giant gas-guzzling cars nearly always filled with semi-drunk teenagers off to a school formal (aka prom for my American friends).  It makes no sense why this is called a Hummer strudel.  It also possibly made no sense to the magazine editor who added a subtitle to the recipe so everyone knew they were going to be eating Crayfish and Spinach Strudels.

Hummer Strudel 1

Or were they?  Let’s address the Hummer-sized elephant in the room.  These also aren’t really strudels.  I guess it depends on a definition of a strudel but to my mind, a strudel has layers of pastry wrapped around a filling.   I would call this thing a pasty or an empanada or, if these are considered cultural appropriation, then maybe a hand-pie.    Maybe these terms were all too common for the la-di-dah folks of 1986?

Hummer Strudells 2

Hummer Strudells 4

Hummer Strudels – The Recipe

The pastry was really short and rich and the spinach, lobster tail and cream filling was delicious!  But just because we are adopting the 80’s creed of “greed is good” for today’s meal, it doesn’t mean our 2020’s sensibilities need to suffer.  I waited to make this until I could find some highly discounted lobster tails in my local supermarket. These were on sale for  $1.50 each!  If you are unable to find cheap lobster tails most other seafood would work in this – prawns, scallops, or even any firm white fish.  Or a mix of any of them. If you are not a seafood lover, chicken would also work and for a vegetarian version, mushrooms would be great!

Hummer Strudells 3

A quick note on the pastry too.  The OG recipe calls for both lard and butter.  I used coconut oil instead of lard and as mentioned above, the pastry turned out beautifully!

Hummer Strudel recipe 1

For the two lobster tails, I used half quantities of all the other ingredients which made 8 hand pies.  So enough to share…or not!

The Hummer Strudels were delicious!  So why not channel your inner 80’s icon, stream Wall Street and make these this soon!

Have a  great week everyone!

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Moules Marinieres

Today we are heading back into The A-Z of Cooking to the chapter called Wine For a Change.  And on the menu is the classic French dish of Moules Marinieres.  This is one of my favourite dishes.  I probably make this around once a month – it ticks all my boxes – it’s healthy, it’s quick and it’s cheap and so, so, tasty!  Over the years my recipe has evolved so now I have my favourite version of Moules Marinieres which I will list below alongside a more pared back version from The A-Z.  
Moules Marinieres
Before we get into the Moules lets talk about this chapter.  Wine for a Change.  Not around here it isn’t. Around here it’s a basic food group.  So there goes that title.  There are some good recipes in this section.  The Moules, Coq au vin, Peaches in Wine….oh and veal kidneys with Marsala.

You can’t win ’em all. (Sigh)

If the thought of veal kidneys with anything isn’t off-putting enough on its own, the picture is truly unsettling (It’s also at the very bottom of this post if you are brave enough).

Moules Marinieres loosely translates as Sailor’s Mussels.  Be careful of your spelling if googling this.  You could end up with this:

Hot damn! Ladies (and possibly gentlemen), don’t ever say I don’t give you anything.  Merry Christmas.  Happy Birthday and Goodnight Irene!

Where were we?  I seem to have lost my entire train of thought.

Oh yeah, mussels.  The thing that takes the longest with the Moules Marinieres is all your prep work.  First you have to debeard and scrub all of your mussels.

Then cut up your veggies for your mirepoix  I use carrot, celery, fennel and onion in mine.  And for seasoning salt (I used the Port infused salt I bought in Portugal) peppercorns, a pinch of chilli flakes and a smashed garlic clove.

Mirepoix2

 

Cook these down then add some white wine and a splash of Pernod (optional but goes really well with the fennel and the mussels).  Cook these down a bit – the longer the better! Then add wine, Pernod if using and stock and bring to the boil.  Add the mussels.  Add a lid.  Shake the pan occasionally and in all of about 5 minutes you will have a piping hot bowl of mussels with a deliciously tasty broth.

Moules Marinieres are great with bread to soak up all that broth.  And if that bread happens to be a tasty warm loaf of crusty garlic bread?  Heaven…I”m in heaven….

This time though I made mussels other best friend…frites.  With aioli.  Hard to tell from the pictures but there were three types of frites – potato, sweet potato and parsnip.

Frites

 

The great thing about this recipe is that it is amenable to all sorts of changes.  Don’t like cream?  Don’t add it.  I quite often will throw in a can of tinned tomatoes.  Also, (and this is where i am sure I will have the purists tutting at me) if you can’t be arsed debearding and scrubbing the mussels, most supermarkets now sell frozen mussel meat.  I  always have a pack of this in my freezer so can whip this up at any time.  One codicil on that though.  The shells on fresh mussels do seem to add some extra flavour.  If using mussel meat alone be sure to use a really good fish stock in your broth!

Here is the original recipe from The A-Z of Cooking and the original picture.  I cannot tell you how much I  love and covet that terracotta mussel pot.  Straight to the top of my list of kitchen must haves!!!

Moules Recipe

Moules A-Z

And here is my slightly fancier version:

[yumprint-recipe id=’107′]So, there is only ONE Chapter left in The A-Z!  Will I be able to get it out before Christmas?

Absolutely not because one of the key ingredients will be a Christmas leftover.  And yes, I will be slapping people’s hands away from the plate if there is even the remotest chance of there not being enough leftovers to make it!

Will there be another post of any sort before the big day?

Almost definitely!

See you in a couple of days!

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Oh and for the bravest o the brave?   Here are those veal kidneys:

Running Amok in Siem Reap

Amok is the national dish of Cambodia – it is a yellow curry and can be made with chicken, fish or seafood.  I ate ’em all.  And they were all delicious! It is also served a variety of ways – often it comes wrapped in a banana leaf:

Amok - Lotus Blanc
Amok – Lotus Blanc

Or a coconut:

Chicken Amok Siem Reap
Chicken Amok Siem Reap

Or sometimes, rather boringly on a plate!  Boo…

Chicken Amok 3
Chicken Amok 3

When we were in Siem Reap, I did a cooking class and learned to cook it! Here’s what I made in the class:

My PhotoFy_09_14_21_07

And Here’s one I made when I got home:

Home Made Seafood Amok
Home Made Seafood Amok

 

But first…Siem Reap is a pretty town with sights ranging from the traditional:

Monks - Siem Reap
Monks – Siem Reap

 

Market - Siem Reap
Market – Siem Reap

To the distinctly more modern:

Pub Street - Siem Reap
Pub Street – Siem Reap

I couldn’t resist putting in this photo, it looks like Mark’s been photobombed by a pineapple!

Siem Reap - Cocktails
Siem Reap – Cocktails

There is also a bustling market for souvenirs and some lovely gift shops.  But dominating tourism in Siem Reap is it’s proximity to Angkor Wat, which is Unesco Heritage listed and the largest temple complex in the world.  The tourism system is very well organised, you can buy a one, three or seven day temple pass so can spend as  much time as you want exploring the area.

Cambodia Souvenirs
Cambodia Souvenirs

We did a one day pass which was possibly a mistake.  By the end of the day, we were utterly exhausted!  I felt a bit sorry for our guide actually, he kept valiantly trying to explain the history to us but, by late afternoon, most of our group were beyond listening. And there were monkeys…

Monkeys - Angkor Wat

And not just any monkeys…baby monkeys!!!!  Otherwise known as the cutest things in the world!

Monkeys - Angkor Wat2
Monkeys – Angkor Wat2

I am a five year old.

Seriously though, the temples were pretty amazing…

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom was stunning and probably my favourite out of all of them.

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom2
Angkor Thom2

And you could rub noses with Buddha…

Rubbing Noses
Rubbing Noses

Told you I was a 5 year old!

Ta Prohm

Then on to Ta Prohm which is the tree temple.  And pretty spectacular in itself:

Ta Prohm1
Ta Prohm1

Ta Prohm2
Ta Prohm2

And then there was the big one, the one they all come to see.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat

You can get pretty high here..in a completely natural way:

Angkor Wat2
Angkor Wat2

But whoo…those stairs are steep!  I’m really, really scared of heights..the going up was fine.  The coming down on these very steep, but also very narrow steps, when it had just started to rain so everything was a little bit more slippery than it should have been?  Completely terrifying.  One of the most nerve wracking things I have ever done….

Steps Angkor Wat
Steps Angkor Wat

What was not terrifying but totally amazing was the cooking school at The Temple I attended the next day.  And just whilst we’re on this.  The cooking school at the Temple?  $US10.  Best bang for buck cooking school EVER.  Did I mention before that the default currency in Cambodia is the US dollar?  You only ever get proper Cambodian money as small change. It’s really weird….

Anyway, for your $10 you get to make three things.  You have seen my Amok.  I also chose to make a Green Mango Salad which was super delicious:

Green Mango Salad
Green Mango Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third thing was a dessert but it wasn’t very nice.  Hence no photos.

Making Amok

There was a funny moment though.  When they laid out the ingredients for the amok, I looked at them and thought.  “Wow, carrots must be expensive here.  But what’s the point of that one teeny, tiny piece.  What the hell good is that going to do?”

Ingredients - Amok
Ingredients – Amok

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That my friends, is not carrot.  It is turmeric.  Which I had only ever seen as a bright yellow powder before, hence my confusion. IT is also what gives the Amok it’s traditional yellow colour.  If you can’t find fresh turmeric, you can use the powdered version.  However I managed to find some in my local asian market so it is available.  It looks a bit like ginger but is bright orange! It is also super good for you!

My PhotoFy_09_14_21_47

One thing to be aware of with either the powdered or the fresh version…book a manicure for the day after you make your amok.  Otherwise your fingers will look like you smoke a pack a day for the foreseeable future!

2014-09-14_09-40-19I”m off to have mine now!

Have a fabulous week everyone!

 

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PS.  They didn’t really give us a recipe for the Amok in the class.  Here is the one from taste.com.au which is what I used for my home made version.