Noodles

Strangely, I've never been a huge fan of peanut butter, but I love everything satay.

I've never been a really huge fan of Nigella Lawson either, but strangely, I really like some of her recipes...especially this one.

This noodle salad is right up my alley.... It's a little spicy but not hot and it has plenty of veggies in it...although you can't tell by my photograph because I'd eaten a lot of them by the time I took the photo.

All you need is:

1 pack of prepared egg noodles, whichever ones you like the most

a handful of snow peas, sliced

2 spring onions, sliced

red capsicum, sliced thinly

1 cup of bean sprouts

handful of cashews

chopped fresh coriander

sprinkling of sesame seeds

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

3 heaped tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, whatever you like)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice (or lemon if you prefer)

The original recipe also calls for 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, but I never touch the stuff as the smell makes my stomach churn, so use it or not, whatever you prefer.

I usually refresh the noodles in a bowl of boiling water for about 30 seconds, just to get them all separated and soft...

Whisk the dressing ingredients together...drain the noodles and place in a bowl with the veggies, pour or spoon the dressing over the top and mix it all together, then sprinkle the top with the chopped coriander and the sesame seeds...

You can also add some cooked chicken and other veggies to this as well...let your imagination run wild!

That's it! Time to eat

Friday Night Wings

Friday nights at Number 10 are easy peasy nights as far as food goes.

Sometimes I like to do chicken wings because I can marinade them and just throw them in the oven.

This recipe is an adaptation of one I saw "Fast Ed" do on Better Homes and Gardens a year or so ago...maybe even longer.

Firstly, take a bowl and pour in a can of coconut cream.

Then add 2 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste, the juice of a lemon and a couple of good slurps of soy sauce

Marinade the wings for an hour or so...then place them in a baking dish and bake in a 180-200 oven for about half an hour

Once they're golden, remove them from the oven and place them in a bowl...Now, at this point you can either just eat them, or put some other yummy stuff on them.

I like bean sprouts and cashew nuts...mix them all around so the heat from the wings permeates the sprouts and the cashews...then eat

Told you it was easy

A Giveaway

I have a little giveaway for those of us who like to sit back and let someone else do the cooking some nights.

Cristal at MenuLog contacted me while I was away and offered all of you a $10 discount when you place your first order online

Apparently, Menulog has hundreds of restaurants Australia wide that will deliver to your home

Check out the website and see if there's one that's close to your place that accepts the vouchers. If there is, next time you place an order online, mention this voucher code 97C489, and you'll get $10 off your your first delivery if you spend $20 or more. It's valid until November 11 2010, so you have plenty of time to check it out.

Let me know how you go with it...I'd be interested to get some feedback.

Terrine With Pistachios & Cranberries

I always thought terrine's would be difficult to make. I was wrong!

This is a very simple one I made for our family Christmas bash and everyone said it was terrific, so I guess I'll be making it again. And again

I got this recipe from Delicious Magazine (Dec 08) and yes, I actually followed the recipe because I didn't want to "blow it". I did find though that the quantities given were too much for just one terrine, so we ended up with two.

Let's go...

Put in a large mixing bowl:

800 grams each of pork and chicken mince

2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs like parsley and thyme

3 eggs

1/2 cup brandy

3 cloves garlic, crushed

3 teaspoons salt

plenty of freshly ground black pepper

about 30 slices of pancetta (I accidentally bought prosciutto) but it worked OK

1/2 cup pistachio kernels

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Lightly grease a 1 litre loaf pan and then line the pan with the pancetta so it overlaps a little and there's plenty overhanging the edges to cover the top.

Place all of the other ingredients into a large bowl and mix with your hands. I always wear disposable gloves when I'm mixing stuff like this.


Pack the mix into the pan and press down. Cover with the overhanging pancetta then cover the top with baking paper and seal well with foil.

Place it in a baking dish and fill the dish with boiling water till it comes about halfway up the loaf pan. Bake for 90 minutes then remove it from the roasting pan and allow it to cool.

I then cut a piece of cardboard to fit the top of the terrine and placed a couple of cans of tomatoes on top to weigh it down so it compresses in the tin. Then I put it in the fridge for a few hours until it was cold

...and this is what I ended up with....and it was absolutely delicious!

It really was worth the effort.

You can also access this recipe at taste.com.au and search for simple terrine

Champagne Cocktails

Not a recipe as such, but something I really, really like.

There's nothing I like better than an icy cold glass of champers....well there is, it's a champagne cocktail. The one most of us know is a sugar cube, drizzled with a few drops of Angostura Bitters, then topped with champers...

I like a couple of other versions....sugar cube, bitters, a drizzle of Cointreau and champers...

You don't need much, but that little slurp of luscious, orangey liquor makes the champers really special.

Also nice, if you like a bit more sweetness is the usual base with a slurp of Midori.

Have one for me. Cheers!

Mango Tartlets

This would have to be one of the easiest and most delectable little sweet treats I've ever made...and did I say they were easy?

I saw the idea for these in the Herald Sun a few weeks back and thought I'd try them out. I'm really glad I did because they all got devoured.

As usual, I tweaked the original recipe which called for ginger nut biscuits and shredded coconut as well as rum. I'm not a fan of ginger or coconut...and the kids were coming over, so the rum was also omitted.

You'll need:

Pack of butternut snap biscuits

2 mangoes

250g mascarpone cheese

Here's what I did....

I took the biscuits and, three at a time, heated them in the microwave for 20 seconds on high. It makes them nice and pliable so you can press them into small foil tart trays. As you can see I used the handle of a lemon juicer to gently press them down. I used the foil trays because that's all I had, but a small tartlet tray would work just as well.

This is what you end up with...little butternut tarts that you fill with this delectable concoction.

Blend the mascarpone and the chopped flesh of 1 mango together, then spoon it into the cooled tarts

Slice some more mango and place the slices on top.

Then eat!

That's it!

All gone.....

Christmas Menu #2 - Potato Pancakes

I've had a lot on my mind lately, what with getting Number 3 renovated and cleaning up Number 10. Now, my thoughts have well and truly turned to food. Specifically, Christmas food!

Image-Cuisine.com.au

On the Saturday before Christmas, MONT's daughters and their husbands and little ones descend on Number 10 for dinner. It's a night I always look forward to and I like to go all out and do something special.

Back in December 2006, I saw this Stephanie Alexander recipe in in the Age food supplement, Epicure, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was not disappointed and have been making them ever since.

There's only one thing with these though: don't let the mixture sit around for too long because the potato discolours.

Potato Pancakes:

500 grams waxy potatoes
1 egg
2 tablespoons potato flour
pinch salt
oil for frying

Peel the potatoes and roughly chop (do them in a few batches to avoid discolouration), then put in a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to shake the blender around a bit if lumps of spud get stuck in the bottom beneath the blades. Then add the egg, flour and salt and blend again.

Heat a non stick pan, add the oil and drop spoonfuls of the mix in and fry for a couple of minutes on each side. The little pancakes should be nicely browned and quite crisp on the edges.

Drain on kitchen paper, cool and then add whatever topping you like. I usually use cream cheese, smoked salmon, prawns, avocado...or whatever takes your fancy

You can make these pancakes the day before and refrigerate them, then reheat in a moderate oven for a few minutes before allowing them to cool a little and adding the topping.

Thanks Stephanie, I love these and so does everyone else.