Julie & Julia

This is just a quick blog, and atypical of what I usually write here. Before I start though, I'll address my terrible lack of recipes; I have no excuse. I'm really bad at this, aren't I? Anyway, I haven't done a lot of cooking or baking that was outside the realms of boring or need-to-eat-for-dinner. And I just have to say, when I'm cooking for dinner, I don't have time to take pictures. But even if you, my imaginary readers, do not like that aspect of my blog - I do. I want this to be a recipe book, one that covers any problem you might have, and gives an example. So. Um. Wasn't that quick? And I haven't even got onto what I actually wanted to discuss.

It took me a long time to see Julie & Julia, mostly because the only people who would go to it with me, went without me. I finally hired it out on dvd, and I have got to say, it's adorable. I love it to pieces. Meryl Streep is fantastically fantastic and it's amazing how much food is incorporated into the movie without being... tedious. Over reaching. Condescending. Personally, I liked the bits focusing on Julia and her husband the most, but I suspect that may be because Julie and her husband provided strategic interludes that stopped it from becomming twee.

My favourite scene in the entire movie is when Julia at home in Paris, madly chopping onions at her battered old wooden table. It's just so deliciously insane and giggly. Kind of made me want to go and crazily hack at some poor vegetable. Unfortunately, my knife skills do not live up to those demonstrated.

So in short, watch the movie. Please do. Even if you're not a foodie (closet or otherwise), it really is endearing and fun.

Poppy Seed Tarallini

Look! Another post so soon after the other? Is the world coming to an end? No, but I found an awesome recipe; it is a simple, delicious bread-ish recipe that I just had to try. Because it's bread, and... Well. If I have a favourite savoury food, its crusty bread slathered in butter. And of course, now that I've typed that and put the idea in my head, there is nothing I want more than that, right now.

I should stop babbling about my food obsessions and get on with the information, I know. So here I go.

As evidenced in the title of this post, I made Tarallini, after spotting the recipe on my daily food-blog-athon. Man I'm glad I did. They are shockingly easy to make, and so deliciously satisfying, plus open to lots of flavour playing. I love anything that I can play around with, because I love a versitile recipe I can adapt to multiple situations. Tarallini are the smaller version of the Italian snack food, Taralli, which seems to be a rather intriguing cross between a cracker and a soft pretzel, while being bagel-esque at the same time. However, they are not boiled with soda or anything, just mildly salted water, nor do they contain yeast as a bagel requires. And even more thankfully, you do not have to bathe them in a solution of water and lye as you would a pretzel. Lye, people. That does not inspire me to make traditional pretzels any time soon. I naturally baulk at recipes that require I put on protective gloves and goggles, in order to prepare it. I think I'll just stick to tarallini, which are just as satisfying and much less dangerous. Which is a good thing when you're as prone to accidents as I am.

Tarallini

Ingredients:

250 g plain flour
1/4 c olive oil
100 mls white wine
1/2 tsp salt
Poppy seeds

Method:

1. Place the flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl and mix until well combined.



2. With your mixer on medium, slowly add in your wine until it forms a cohesive ball of dough.



3. Kneed for at least five minutes until the dough becomes elastic.



4.Set a pot of water to boil, and then divide your dough up into sixteen pieces. I found that it was easiest to cut it in half, then cut each half in half... and then continue that process until you have sixteen pieces.



5. Shape your dough. I decided to go with simple and just make rings, which means I rolled them into a ball, then poked my finger through the middle, and then just stretched the dough a little.

6. Drop eight of the tarallini into the boiling water. When they float to the top, they are done and need to be removed from the water and put onto a teatowel so they may dry. Don't put them on paper towels, as they will stick to the tarallini.





7. When everything is done, decorate them with the poppy seeds. I poured some into a little bowl, then dunked each tarallini into the poppy seeds so the got an even coating.



8. Pop into 180 degree oven, until golden brown.

I ate mine with a generous slathering of cream cheese, and it was delicious.

Syrupy Lemon Cake

It's been a while, I know. All I can say is that I'm lazy. And I hate photobucket. It has made uploading photos physically painful, so I just ... didn't. Now I've switched to tinypic and it not only actually uploads the pictures, but it does it in less than half the time. So expect lots of posts, while I work through the back log of recipes I've got stored on my computer, little pieces of paper and (less reliably), in my head. The next few recipes are going to be simple, delicious ones that were great over christmas, or like this one, just when I feel like indulging in some five am baking, but know I don't have the patience for something complicated. Or the ingredients.

Before I get into the recipe side of things, I want to introduce you to the new love of my life.

My Kenwood Patissier MX271 Mixer. It is white and shiny and it makes baking ridiculously easy. I have been wanting a good quality cake mixer for as long as I can remember, but in New Zealand, such thing don't come cheap. The iconic KitchenAid? Nearly a thousand dollars. Anything else of quality? All over four hundred and fifty dollars. My purse wept little patent leather tears at the idea. But then, the christmas sales! And the presents! And my parents rock, because they some how managed to find a brand new Kenwood Patissier for a ridiculously good price, and I am beyond happy. It makes baking so much easier, and it's quiet. So very quiet. I have previously used those electric hand mixers, which certainly have their use, but goodness they're loud. Beyond loud, actually. They take the definition of loud, and then pervert it. So in short, I love my new baby, and if you can, I'd definately suggest investing in a good cake mixer.

Anyway, the recipe. Yum. My family has a little bit of a love affair with citrus, and if I ever had any doubt as to why, it's recipes like this that smack me on the back of the head and call me an idiot. What do I love about this cake? It's so easy, and there are no ingredients you'll have to leave the house for. Not even sour cream. I know right? A lemon cake without sour cream, or buttermilk, or something extra creamy and bad for you? Such a concept is so foreign to me I was in mild shock when I stumbled upon this gem. If you're worried that it may not be moist, fear not. This cake, as the title might suggest, has a syrup that after stabbing the cake with a tooth pick, you pour over and let it seep in. Sweet, tangy and moist. What more could you ask from a lemon cake?

Lemon Cake Batter

120g softened butter*
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c flour
1tsp baking powder
Zest of one lemon - or more, if you like.
Generous pinch of salt

*Cue tangent: American recipes and butter drive me insane. One stick, half a cup, ounces! Grams people, grams.

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar until they are nice and fluffy. As there is much more sugar than butter, you'll need to mix for at least a few minutes to get the right consistency.



2. Adding one at a time, and beating for about a minute in between, crack in the eggs.



3. Then in true Two Cups of Flour fashion, simply throw everything else into the bowl and combine.





4. Spoon into whatever baking mould you like. I had just purchased some cute mini bunt moulds, so I decided to use those. As you can see, getting the mixture in to the moulds was a little more difficult than I anticipated. But the heat of the oven melts the mixture down a bit, enabling it to smooth out.



Lemon Syrup

1/4 c sugar
Juice of one lemon

Method

1. Place the ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat through until the sugar is disolved.





2. Stab your cake(s) with a tooth pick all over, so that when you pour the syrup over, it will seep easily into the cake.

3. Pour the syrup over the cake, making sure it is sitting on a cooling rack, over an area where you do not mind the syrup dripping.

Finally, dust your cake with a little icing sugar, and serve. You could even make a glaze to pour over the cake, or serve it with cream. But it is quite yummy and refreshing just on it's own.

Banana Cream Pie

I'm sorry. It's been a while. Let me make it up to you with pie.

Banana Cream Pie is such an American dessert, and frankly, not one I thought I'd make. I'm just not a huge banana fan, unless it comes in a muffin or loaf. That way the texture is completely erradicated and I only have to deal with the flavour. That's the one reason I don't eat Banoffe Pie more often - I don't like the slimey texture bananas inevitably take on. But this recipe, this one is delicious, and gave me great ideas for repurposing the Banoffe Pie.

I was a little bit scared of this pie to start with - it involves fast work on the element, as well as cornflour. Back in my early days of baking (read: eleven/twelve years old), I had some... not so pleasant experiences with cornflour, and have since harboured an irrational fear of what it might do to my hard work. But thanks to this pie, I have since gotten over my dramatics and used the technique elsewhere, too. Thank you, Banana Cream Pie. Other than the element/cornflour factor, this pie includes nothing else remotely challenging in the cooking process and thought a little time consuming, is very easy to make. It's also wonderful for making in advance, and leaving in the fridge for the day.

Banana Cream Pie

Pie Shell
1 1/2 cup flour
120g butter, melted
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg yolk

1. As with all my pie shells, this is a throw-everything-in-the-bowl-at-once job. So do that, and mix. You should end up with a crumbly textured dough. If you want, you can knead it together and roll it out. But I never bother.



2. Roll or press it into a pie tin - I prefer the ones with the loose bottoms. It makes removal easier.



3. Bake blind for around fifteen minutes in an oven heated to 180 degrees celcius, until it is golden at the edges and cooked, and then remove from the oven and let cool completely.



Banana Pastry Cream
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cornstartch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - 2 ripe bananas*
1 tablespoon lemon juice

*The original recipe calls for one, and then layers pieces of banana under the pastry cream layer. I wasn't into that idea, so I added more banana to the pastry cream.

1. Place 3/4 of the cup of milk, and three tablespoons of the sugar, into a saucepan and heat until it just begins to bubble.

2. In a second bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar. Then in a second, smaller bowl, mix together the remaining milk and cornstarch. Then pour the milk mixture into the eggs.



3. Once the milk has begun to bubble, slowly pour it into the egg mix, making sure you don't scramble the eggs.

4. Pour it back into the saucepan and cook over a medium heat until it thickens and comes to a boil. Once it has reached a boil, remove it from the heat and mix in your vanilla. Then set it aside and let it cool.



5. Add your chopped banana and lemon juice to a blender, and puree. I also found that sieving the mixture after gave you an even silkier texture. Then mix the banana and lemon puree into the pastry cream.





6. Place a piece of cling film over the pastry cream - right down into the bowl, so that it touches the cream, which discourages a skin growning over the top of the pastry cream.



You're now finished with it until it comes time to assemble the pie!

Chocolate Ganache
4 ounces of chocolate*
1/2 cup cream.
1/2 cup chopped pecans
* I prefer to use milk chocolate for a milder taste, but dark chocolate also works wonderfully.

1. Heat your chocolate and cream over a low to medium heat until smooth. Set aside for a moment.

Assembly

1. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the cooked pie base, and then slowly pour over the ganache, so as not to disrupt the pecans. Set it aside to cool for ten minutes.



2. Once the ganache has set smooth over the pastry cream, and pop back in the fridge while you whip some more cream.



3. Once the cream is whipped, spread it over the rest of the pie filling, and then sprinkle with chocolate. Tada!




Yuuum.

Ten Minute Awesomeness: Cheese Biscuits

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love chocolate. But I also love cheese - the stronger and smellier the better. I could quite happily subsist on a diet of chocolate and cheese in their many forms. It would be wonderful. Anyway, what I'm trying to say, is that this next recipe showcases delicious, delicious cheese. And cheese in a form that everybody will love; it's simple, satisfying, and really easy to make. And the dough keeps quite well in the fridge for several days - what could be better?

My inspiration came from here, though I have changed things a little, including the name. I refuse to name anything I bake 'Cheese Busters', although the mythology behind that name is certainly true - you will eat enough of these to 'bust your belt'. Regardless of it's accuracy, I will not use the name. So cheese biscuits it is! These are great for hitting that midnight craving square on (which is when I made them the first time) and the beauty is that you can size them to whatever suits you - I prefer them small, but you might like them bigger. I also don't go in for any unnecessary rolling out or cutting, like the original recipe calls for - so I just roll them into balls and squish them down with a fork. Ta da! Perfect round biscuits with minimum effort. Just a note though, they do go stale pretty quickly, so that is why I prefer to only cook up as many as I want at a time, and leave the dough in the fridge for the next craving. That way they're always perfect.

On with the show.



Cheese Biscuits

8 tbsp soft butter
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups grated cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup diced up ham (optional)
Milk

1. In a bowl, rub the soft butter into the flour. Or, if you're like me and completely forgot to do that and just dumped the flour and cheese into the bowl, you can just rub it into that mixture too, and it will work out the same. Did I mention this recipe was easy? Well, it's pretty fool proof, too.





2. Mix in your salt and pepper so that everything is nice and evenly mixed. This is where you can add in the ham, or any other additives that you've chosen. I think some fresh basil would be great in these, too.

3. In with the milk! Now, I haven't given a measurement for this, because I find that it varies. Start off with splashing about three tablespoons in and mixing - you'll find that the dough comes together very quickly. If you don't find that the dough is combining well enough, add a bit more milk in - but be careful. The dough should be pretty firm to the touch, and slightly sticky from the flour.



4. You can roll it straight into balls and cook it from there, or you can wrap it in some gladwrap and refridgerate it until you're ready to cook it. I took the second option, because I was cooking dinner at the same stage, and then whipped them out a little while later and cooked them, so that we had something light to nibble on when the full dinner bellies had worn off. I also only used about half of the dough; the other half is still sitting wrapped up in my fridge.







5. Place them in a preheated oven (fan bake, 180 degrees celcius) and cook until light golden brown. Remove from the oven, and let cool for a couple of minutes. These are so delicious while they're still warm. Although they're pretty awesome when they're cold too.

Banana, Chocolate Chip and Caramel Muffins

Yesterday was a public holiday in my region of the country, and one of the two aunts who lives elsewhere than our town, is down with her little babies. So my mother decided that she would have the family to brunch. By the family I do mean The Family ... children, aunts, uncles, grandparents. Though not even half were able to make it, there were still eleven adults and four children. You know, average breakfast for fifteen. Anyway, we did brunch (rather uneventful, and came together easily!), and then I decided we needed something sweet to eat later with a cup of tea, or coffee. I had some cookie dough in the fridge, so Harriet and George (six and two, cousins) helped me roll them out and put them in the oven. But I also had some bananas left over from my baking efforts on Saturday (to come), so I decided to whip up some muffins.

Usually these muffins are simply banana and chocolate chip, and they're good like that. But Nicola (one of the many aunt's) shared a trick she uses when baking for the shearers on her farm... put a piece of caramello chocolate in the middle. Genius! Who doesn't love caramel? And this method is so simple! So I sent my father out to buy eggs and chocolate, and while he was away, set the 'helpers' to mashing banana.

I did most of the banana mashing.



Banana, Chocolate Chip and Caramel Muffins

4tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 c milk
1 c semi packed brown sugar
4 c flour
4 small - medium bananas, mashed
2 eggs
6 tsp baking powder
1 c chocolate pieces
24 pieces of caramello chocolate

Topping

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 tsp sugar

1. Put everything in a bowl, and mix. Just a tip though, add the melted butter last so it doesn't have time to set. Just make sure you don't pour it on the chocolate.





2. Get two small muffin trays, and fill each cup half way. Once that is done, place a piece of the caramello chocolate in the middle of each spoonful of mixture. Top with another spoonful, so that the mixture is even with the top of the cup.



3. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the topping, and then sprinkle a little on top of each muffin.





4. Place them in an oven preheated at 180 degrees celcius, and bake for around 10 minutes, or until the muffins are firm-ish to the touch, and will bounce back quickly when you poke them gently.

5. Eat them while the're still warm. You can put butter on them, but you won't really need to. They're quite a moist muffin, with all that banana and chocolate in there.


See the caramel?