Forensic Dinner At Trissa and Dan's

Trissa from Trissalicious and her husband Dan were kind enough to have us over to their house for a dinner party. A dinner party with a twist… Has anyone heard of a Forensic Dinner Party? We all had to bring a dish and the aim of the game was to guess the ingredients in each dish.

The thought of guessing ingredients in a dish was a bit daunting for me. Will my taste buds fail me?

We started of with Ellie’s entrée (Almost Bourdain) . She made a French Anchoïade. I have never had a dip quite like it. It was delicious on top of some French bread. In total I got 6 of the 7 ingredients right.

The next dish was one that my mum made. Thanks Mama Eugenio. She made a Pancit Canton which was really good. I sat back and watched everyone look at the Pancit and most of them did quite well.

Betty and Lorraine with their Forensic Dinner faces on

Trissa’s dish was up next. I knew what it was as I got there early with my cousin Lia and saw the Pasta Machine on her bench top.. Her dish was ravioli with eggplant, walnuts, tallegio and a burnt butter sauce. In total I got 8 ingredients right. I can’t believe I left out the obvious which was balsamic. I was too busy enjoying the pasta.

When I saw Trisha (Sugarlace) preparing her dish I just knew what it was. It was a Filipino dish that I used to put in my sandwiches in high school. It is called Embutido. I got 8 out of the 12 ingredients right. Oh the shame.

Lorraine’s (Not Quite Nigella) dish came out and I thought wow.. I will not get any of these right. The only thing that caught my eye was the carrots. It’s called Blanquette de Veau. In total I got 2 out of the 8 ingredients.

It was now time for dessert. Betty’s (Betty's Bites) was up next. She was preparing the dessert when she mentioned that there were only 5 ingredients in this. The dessert was creamy with a toasty sort of flavour. I got 3 out of the 5 ingredients. I was happy with myself since I have never had it. She made an Indian dessert called Semiya Kheer.

The overall winner was Ellie. Congratulations Ellie. I hope you enjoy your prize.



Dissecting dishes is hard work. Trissa decided to serve the rest of the dishes. There wasTrissa's Berries with Cream Cheese, Leche Flan from my previous post, Matcha Tiramisu from Ellie and Fruit Salad from Trisha . There was also Bircher Muesli from Betty but unfortunately I forgot to take a photo.

It was such a great night. Trissa and Dan thanks again for having us. I can’t wait till the next Meet Up. I also wanted to say thanks for the Yummy Adrian Zumbo treats that we all got to take home.

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Leche Flan

For an upcoming dinner party I wanted to make a Filipino dessert that would impress. Although I am Filipino I don’t normally cook the dishes. I watch my mum in the kitchen and I just can’t keep up with her when she is cooking. She never measures anything. It’s almost like she is in the zone while she is in the kitchen and you can’t break the trance that she is under.

I decided to ask my Aunt to help me figure out what to make for the dinner. She is always making desserts for parties and she has a few specialties. She suggested Leche Flan. Leche Flan is a rich and creamy dessert that is very similar to creme brulee. This was the first time that I made the dessert and to my surprise it came out of the pan and tasted really good.




Leche Flan

Ingredients

600ml thickened cream
395 grams condensed milk
12 egg yolks
zest from 2 limes
4 - 5 tablespoons white sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180C

2. In a pan melt the sugar until medium brown. Carefully put the melted sugar into a round baking tin.

3. Mix the egg yolks, condensed milk, and cream on a medium speed with an electric mixer.

4. Strain the mixture into another bowl and add the lime zest.

5. Pour mixture on top of the caramel and cover with foil.

6. Put the Leche Flan in a baking tray and pour water until it is halfway up the tin.

7. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until set but a little wobbly.

8. Put the Leche Flan in the fridge for at least an hour.

To serve run a knife around the tin and turn out into a plate. (You can substitute half the cream with some milk if you don’t want it to be too rich.)This recipe should make 2 small tins or 1 large tin of Leche Flan.

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Yum Cha at Prince Restaurant Paramatta

Spending some quality time with my parents is always a treat. I'm always so caught up with work and we don't really get to go out and just chat over lunch. We recently had the opportunity to do so. We were at Paramatta so we went to the Prince Restaurant. We get seated straight away and my mum starts ordering like a mad woman. My parents and I love to eat weird food. So my mum ordered some of our favourites such as braised tripe, chicken feet and beef tendon. I must admit its not for everyone but it's something that I have been exposed to since I was little. Like they say "don't knock it till you try it".

Apart from the weird stuff, we also ordered some pork sui mai, deep fried prawn dumplings, har gow, pork ribs with black bean, eggplant with prawn mince, deep fried taro dumpling with prawns and . The eggplant was my absolute favourite. It was spongy and sucked up all the flavours of the prawn mince. It was really nice.

Eggplant with prawn minceI never go to yum cha without having a mango pudding or mango pancakes. I went for the mango pudding. It was full of mango chunks. So so good.

Overall the food was tasty. The service was great and you didn't have to wait long to see another trolley of food pass your table. If you are in Paramatta and you want a quick lunch try Prince Restaurant. It is reasonably priced and the food is good.

Prince Restaurant
100 Church St
Parramatta NSW 2150
(02) 9891 5777

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Bye Bye Clive

I've always wanted a DSLR. Before I went overseas in May I decided to buy a Canon Powershot G10. This is the model before the DSLR's. Ok so I know its weird but I actually named my camera Clive. He was my only friend while I was travelling alone.

Although the Powershot is a good camera, I wanted a DSLR so I could learn more about photography. I decided that it was time for an upgrade. I recently purchased the Canon EOS 500d. I am both excited and sad. I know that Clive is going to a good home (thanks Leeia for buying him) but I am still sad since there was so much sentimental value there.

I'm still waiting for my new toy to arrive. So watch this space. I will be taking a lot more food porn shots that's for sure.

Photos are courtesy of the canon website. For more information regarding Canon's range of cameras you can find information in http://www.canon.com.au/

BYE BYE CLIVE.. This post is for you :0)

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Sweet Filipino Treats

After a long day at work I decided to stop by the Filipino Store. I don’t usually go but when I do I go a little overboard. I just love looking at everything that they have on offer. I always seem to find food that reminds me of my childhood. The Filipino store that I went to was quite small but they had so many treats that I rarely get to eat. I picked up some Spicy Pork Crackling, Mango and Tamarind Rolls (it’s a lolly), Mamon Tostado and some Polvoron.

The spicy pork crackling wasn’t what I expected. It was like eating pockets full of porky goodness. I dipped it in some vinegar that had fish sauce and pepper.

Tamarind rolls are small sweets that are full of flavour. Its like eating a squashed up roll up. My dad saw the packet and demolished it in a matter of minutes. Lucky I bought 3. At a $1.75 it was a bargain.

Polvoron is made out of toasted flour mixed with powdered milk, melted butter and sugar. I got cookies and cream and strawberry flavoured polvoron. It was not the best polvoron that I have eaten but it was nice to taste those similar flavours again.

The Mamon Tostado is like a sponge cake that has been lightly toasted. It’s really buttery and delicious. I normally have it with a cup of green tea.

Filipino treats are available in most Asian food groceries. Everyone should try it. Its tasty and worth the try.

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Tres Leche Cupcakes

I was looking through my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book and came across a recipe for Tres Leche Cupcakes. I remember when I was in high school I bough a slice of this cake from the cafeteria. I still remember how moist the cake was. It was incredibly sweet but went so well with a strong cup of coffee.

I made the cupcakes which was pretty simple. I let the cupcakes cool and then I poked small holes so that I can start pouring the milk mixture into it. I left the cupcakes in their trays and started pouring the mixture over the top. This was the hardest part of making them. The milk mixture was sticky and took so long to absorb.

I let the cupcakes sit for about 30 minutes before icing them. Usually Tres Leche Cupcakes have some whipped cream on top but I forgot to buy some so I took some Dulce De Leche and put a little bit of that on each cupcake. The cupcakes were very sweet. The Dulce De Leche on top made it even sweeter. But the sugar hit was well worth it. I will definitely make these again, maybe next time I will leave out the Dulce De Leche and go with the cream. You can also make the recipe below into baby cakes or just as a standard cake.

Tres Leche Cupcakes

6 large eggs¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup of sugar
½ cup of unsalted butter melted
1 cup of all purpose flour sifted

Milk Mixture

1 can sweetened condensed milk
¾ cream (you can also use full cream milk)
1 can evaporated milk

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Whisk together egg whites, baking soda and salt until they form soft peaks.
Add yolks and sugar and whisk it until it is completely combined. Fold in the melted butter.
Add the flour in small batches and fold through until it is all combined. Divide batter evenly into lined muffin trays.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix together evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream/full cream milk. Slowly pour mixture on top of the cupcakes until all the mixture is absorbed.

Let the cupcakes sit and dollop some cream on top. Enjoy.

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Vogel's Beyond Muesli

Vogel’s are known for their healthy cereal range. They offer Muesli, Grain Clusters, Ultra Bran and Wild Harvest just to name a few. They are well known for their positive eating slogan. Darcie from Zing sent me some Vogel’s Beyond Muesli which is their new range.

I got a box of Blueberry Blackberry Acai (pronounced ah-sah-ee) and a box of Goji Strawberry Pomegranate. Looking at the box, it looks like there are heaps of dried fruit in the mix. But you know how food photography is. They tend to make food look more interesting that what it really is. I opened both packets and found that the photos were exactly what the cereals were like. There was an abundance of blueberries, blackberries, pomegranates and strawberries.

I tried the Blueberry Blackberry Acai. I normally have a little bit of sugar with my cereal but it just didn't need it. It was so crunchy. I've had some cereal that’s been incredibly chalky and this was not. The dried fruit added a bit of zing and you almost felt as if you were eating something that wasn’t really good for you.

I asked my friend Michelle to try the Goji Strawberry Pomegranate. She absolutely loved it. She said that the dried strawberries were like fresh strawberries in milk. She also said that it was crunchy and kept her feeling full and satisfied. Normally cereal only keeps you full for a few hours. Michelle went without any snacks until lunchtime.

Vogel’s Beyond Muesli went beyond my expectations. It was well balanced and full of nutrition. They retail for $6.79 and they are available at selected supermarkets. To find out more Vogel’s and positive eating just visit http://www.vogels.com.au/

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Bultarra Saltbush Lamb

Tim from The Urban Food Market gave me some Saltbush Lamb to try. It's a free range lamb and it comes from the only MSA accredited Saltbush Lamb producer in Australia.

He gave me 2 shoulder racks and suggested that I either slow cook it or pan fry it. I went for pan frying the lamb so I could taste the full flavour. I cut the rack into 4 pieces and marinated them in olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and crushed peppercorns.

As I was grabbing the frying pan I saw my cherry red George Foreman grill. It's been so long since I've used it so I grabbed it and cooked the lamb. I cooked it for 6 minutes each side and took it off the heat to rest.

I wanted a simple side dish to go with the lamb. Brocolini is one of my favourite vegetables. I blanched a bunch and made a brocolini, orange and cashew salad. I just made a dressing with some lime juice, mustard, salt and pepper.

I'm not normally a big fan of Lamb unless its lamb shanks that are slowly cooked and falls off the bone. The saltbush lamb was juicy and soft. It didn't have that over powering flavour that lamb normally has. If you are not a big lamb fan. I suggest you try saltbush lamb. It's great quality and really easy to cook.

Urban Food Market also stock Bangalow Sweet Pork, Deli Meats from Salami Casa, Organic Fruits and Vegetables and products from The Jus Company. They also delivery. If you want to try Saltbush Lamb or you just want to find out more about The Urban Food Market you can go into http://www.urbanfoodmarket.com.au/

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Quirky Kitchenware

Have you ever had problems feeding kids? I don’t have any but I do have a nephew that doesn't always like to eat what he is given. I was doing some research at work for some kitchen products and I found Food Face. It’s just a plate with a face and you can make all different faces using food. It’s so simple but yet so smart.

They also have Mix Stix for banging on pots and pans a French Toast stamp to make your toast extra fancy and Spongioli which are sponges shaped as ravioli.

I can spend hours looking at all their products.
If you want to check out all their quirky products go to http://www.worldwidefred.com/

All photos are courtesy of the world wide fred website.

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Cupcake Courier and Cup-A-Cake Giveaway Winners

CONGRATULATIONS to Trissa for winning the Cupcake Courier and for Conor coming a close second and winning 2 Cup-A-Cakes.

Trissa's winning entry was a Warm Pistachio Cupcake which she actually posted a recipe for on her blog.

Conor submitted a recipe for Macadamia and Banana Cupcakes. I really cant wait to try these. I'm sure your Cup-A-Cakes will really come in handy. They are super cute.

Thanks again to Keren from The Cupcake Courier for letting me give away such awesome prizes. If you would like your own Cupcake Courier or some Cup-A-Cakes you can get the at http://thecupcakecourier.com.au/

They also sell really cute Mayfair Lane and Jessie Steel products so make sure to check it out.

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Key Lime Pie

For me baking is my time to relax. It takes my mind off the week that was and all the things that I need to do for the week ahead. I was thinking about what to bake while I was still at work. I decided I would make a Key Lime Pie. The recipe below is from Taste. I tweaked the recipe because I wanted the Pie to have a really tangy flavour.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients
200g Digestive Biscuits
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 tablespoons of sugar
100grams of melted butter
4 to 5 egg yolks (depending on the size) I used 5
395g can condensed milk
2/3 cup cream
4 limes (juice and zest)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line base of a 20cm spring form tin with baking paper.
3. Process biscuits until fine crumbs.
3. Add almonds, sugar and butter mix until combined. Press mixture firmly into the base and sides of tin
4. Whisk eggs, condensed milk, cream, lime rind and juice until smooth.
5. Pour into biscuit crust.
6. Place on tray and bake for 40-45 minutes or until set. Cool

Notice the sides. I always seem to have issues pressing down biscuit bases. Every time I do the sides it turns out weird. If anyone has a tip to make it look better please leave a comment.

I was helping myself to the tangy Pie filling, hence why its not to the top. :) It was so nice. I could have eaten the whole thing before it went in the oven.

It turned out pretty well. After 30 minutes I turned the oven off and left the pie in there for a further 10 minutes. It was just set.

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