E-browsing: canapes at the ready

Today I thought I'd show a few pictures from the 'Finger Food' chapter of FROST BITE.

Christmas and NYE are upon us and that means entertaining.  It's also summer in the southern hemisphere which generally means parties and catch-ups with friends. 



This recipe is called "Middle Eastern lamb pastries" (page 119) which are basically grown-up sausage rolls with yummy spices and pinenuts added to the filling.  Keep them in your freezer in a raw state then you can cook them from frozen when your guests arrive.  They are great served with a yoghurt and tahini dip which is easy to make or  buy a tub of tzatziki from the supermarket or deli.

Here's a favourite of mine: the "Savoury bread and butter pudding bites" (page 109).  It's a layered recipe of sourdough bread, olive tapenade, cheese and bechamel.  It's seriously good and always popular!  Another reason I like it so much is because it's a more substantial finger food which is great for those big blokes who need to eat, or for anyone enjoying too many Christmas drinks!

Having a few canapes or nibblies in the freezer can be so handy at this time of year. You may be planning a large cocktail party, in which case you should definitely prepare as much in advance as possible so that you retain your sanity. Or maybe you like to have something in the freezer on standby in case friends pop in and you want to serve something other than chips and nuts from the pantry.

Testimonial - Alex from Sydney

Here's another lovely testimonial, this time from Alex Terry of Sydney.  I know all-too-well about overcatering for parties so I can relate to her over-zealous cooking efforts for her daughter's birthday.  At least the leftover food could stay in the freezer and not go to waste!

If anyone else would like to provide a testimonial please have a look here.

Tell me abit about yourself

I'm married and work 1.5 paid days with our own business (driving school) but work every day making phone calls and bookings and looking after our daughter, Amelia. 

 

 

What types of recipes do you like to cook and freeze?For me it's the entertaining that makes it easier if it can be frozen and brought out on the day.

 

 

What are your favourite recipes that you have cooked from FROST BITE?

I've made the Sausage roll and Middle Eastern lamb pastries (both were delicious and easy). I've also made the Cupcake recipe, Pizza spirals and Mars Bar and marshmallow slice.

 

 

Do you have any funny stories about cooking/eating/serving the FROST BITE recipes? 

It's not really funny but here goes. For Amelia's 2nd birthday party I decided to make the sausage rolls and Middle Eastern lamb pastries. I'd done what I thought I needed and at the last minute decided I didn't have enough food and made literally hundreds more! I don't know how many people I thought I was feeding! We were only having about 20 people! They were SO fast and easy to make it was no trouble and I still have some in the freezer now.

 

 

Did you learn anything new after reading FROST BITE? 

The Introduction was very interesting and cupcakes were something I didn't know you could freeze.

 

 

Anything else you want to share with me?

I love the book and will be giving it to a few people for Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

Susan's soapbox

This blog is primarily here to support my book, FROST BITE, but it's also my little world to talk about things I love that I want to share.  I'm often finding new cafes or businesses or products and think we need to SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS when we find something great. 

All the cafes and restaurants are Sydney-based, as that's where I live, but a third of my facebook followers are from Sydney so they might find this useful.

Note, I do not have any sponsors, these are my genuine recommendations.


Central Baking Depot

If you like good bread, good sandwitches and a cosy, unpretentious space then this bakery/cafe is for you.  Central Baking Depot is the little sister to Bourke Street Bakery so you know the bread is going to be good.  Actually, all the food is amazing - go there for sandwiches, quiche, cakes, pizza, fantastic croissants, sourdough, coffee, plus the pies and sausages rolls are legendary.    I love the laid back style of the cafes and they don't make daggy-mumsey-types like me feel out of place.  Love that.

There are three locations, I've been to Neutral Bay and CBD but haven't been to the Bondi store yet.

http://www.centralbakingdepot.com.au/

Grounded, Forestville

I've been following (stalking??) the movements of Annie Parmentier, a chef, for the last 20 years as everywhere she goes is my kind of food. She's cooked at Beach Road, Clareville Kiosk (where Luke proposed), Cafe for Obscure Avalon Painters, Bathers Pavillion, Palisades Dining Room, Lunch at Castlecrag and then moved to Hobart. So when I heard she was opening a cafe in Sydney with her friend, Suzie, I had to go there.

Grounded is a low-key affair in a suburban strip of shops, but the food is great, all freshly made onsite, and the cakes are worth saving room for. Don't expect restaurant food, just great sandwiches, cakes, bagels and a few blackboard specials.

Darley Street, Forestville. Opposite Forestville Public School.



Pendolino

Luke and I recently had a celebration dinner and we went back to an old favourite, Pendolino's.  It's upstairs in the Strand Arcade in the Sydney CBD so it's all woody, moody and European.  There were a few large tables but I like it as 'date night' venue.  I love to frock-up for a special dinner.

The food is Italian and you always start with housemade breads and three types of olive oils for dipping.  My main course was SO GOOD - homemade pasta with barramundi, prawns, chilli, capers, olive oil and garlic.  There were plenty of other delicious options on the menu so I'll have to go back to work my way through it!

http://www.pendolino.com.au/

Armchair Collective, Mona Vale

I mentioned this venue on facebook a few months ago but here's abit more info on it. 

This beachside cafe-cum-homeware store is casual and colourful and everything in it just makes me happy.  The homewares are thanks to Pip Robb who used to work at No Chintz before branching out on her own with a store called "The Armchair", and the food is the work of her partner, Andrew Goldsmith, previously of The Boathouse at Palm Beach.   There's also a interior decorating service, gorgeous gifts and a huge table overflowing with fresh flowers.

I've been there on a Wednesday and it was completely full, and weekends are consistently busy but they seem to manage the crowds effortlessly.  Love this place.

https://www.facebook.com/ArmchairCollective
http://www.thearmchair.com.au/

FROST BITE Recipe Exchange - Extra Special Carbonara

Happy weekend everyone.  Today's contributor in our Recipe Exchange is Mike from Mosman, NSW. 

I loved his email to me - see below.  I've never been called a CEO before ... I think I like it!  And I particularly like the sentimental tidbits he has included in the recipe as his then-girlfriend, Amy, prepared this dish and it's one of the reasons he fell for her.  Awwww...


Each weekend I post a freezer-friendly recipe from one of our friends in the FROST BITE community. For more information and how to participate, have a look here.



Dear Chief Executive Officer of The "Frostbite" Empire,

I seem to recall that you requested subscribers to your Blog provide you with recipes?  If so, I have a contribution and would be happy for you to publish this one on your blog if you think it up to your extremely high standard.

Here it is:



Amy's Extra Special Carbonara

Carbonara is a wonderful pasta recipe.  It might not be the healthiest one but I think everything in moderation is ok.  I first encountered this particular version when it was cooked with flair by my girlfiend, Amy.  In fact, this is one of the numerous things that made me convinced to make her my wife!

Leg Ham, a generous quantity, say 300g minimum, diced
250g mushrooms, sliced finely
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, diced finely
4 tablesp cream
Olive Oil
Sea salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Fry off the onions in oil over a moderate heat in a large pan until translucent.  Add garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook well until softened and juices come out.  Add ham to the pan and mix ingredients well. Continue to cook for a fwe more minutes until the ham is warmed through.  Turn heat down to low and add cream and grate in a generous quantity of parmesan.  Season with sea salt and pepper and mix the sauce thoroughly over a low heat.

Add cooked pasta to the pan and mix thoroughly.  This is a delicate sauce so ideally it should be served wtih a fresh pasta.  Finish with a generous grating of parmesan, dash of olive oil and a big grind of fresh black pepper.

The sauce can be frozen.  Reheat gently and toss through freshly cooked pasta.

Note: this recipe has not been tested by Susan Austin

  

Colour My World Calendar

Today is White Ribon Day, a campaign to stop violence against women.  Click here for more information.

My friend, Veronica, told me about a wonderful non-profit organisation in Sydney called St Mchaels Family Centre that supports women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  They offer fantastic services such as accommodation, counselling services, life skill training, childcare etc.

They have a lovely 2012 calendar available and all proceeds go to providing these important services.  Each month features a gorgeous, whimsical illustration and plenty of room to write down your daily activities.

At $10 they are a bargain and make a fantastic Christmas gift for anyone and everyone (perfect for teachers' presents!).  You can buy them here.  Please do!

Testimonal - Lorna, NZ

Thankyou to Lorna Burch from Five Little Monkeys for your feedback about FROST BITE.  I love your responses, particularly the touching story about your mother-in-law.  Who knew Sausage Rolls would strike a chord so well.  It just shows we don't need fancy five-star food to make us happy.

If anyone else would like to provide a testimonial please have a look here.

Tell me a bit about yourself
I am married, we have 2 children (boy just turned 5, and girl just turned 3) - I am a work at home mum - running my online business with my sister.  Prior to having kids I worked at NAB in Melbourne.


What types of recipes do you like to cook and freeze? 
I tend to cook main meals, kids meals and have used the party food section a bit!  My kids are SUPER fussy, but I think now my son is at school I need to start trying the lunchbox section.


What are your favourite recipes that you have cooked from FROST BITE?

Sausage rolls are a FAV (I add finely diced onion and grated carrot to mine too), forgive me as I have lent both my FROST BITE books to a friend so don't have them on hand.  The gnocchi recipe with peas and cream and pork sausage... sooooo good. Homemade baked beans, argh, now I can't think!!! but there are a few!


Do you have any funny stories about cooking/eating/serving the FROST BITE recipes?

My mother in law died earlier this year, she had a brain tumor and fought it for 2 years.  In her last few months she requested I make sausage rolls for her just like I had made from your book for my kids birthday parties... So now you know that you have had a dying woman craving your recipies!!! I can't tell you how much everyone LOVES that recipe!!  And its so fantastic as I can organise parties way in advance to take the stress out. 

Did you learn anything new after reading FROST BITE? 

I never knew you could freeze meringues!!   Fascinating!!  A lot of the recipes surprised me - but I love it!

E-browsing

It's rainy in Sydney today so it's perfect weather for e-browsing a cookbook!




Here's a photo of Chermoula lamb with Spicy tomato sauce, served on Couscous with dried fruit (page 124 of FROST BITE).


All three components can be made and frozen (the lamb is marinated in the chermoula then panfried/bbq'd after defrosting) so it's perfect for summer entertaining or a fancy-pants family dinner. And it works equally well with chicken instead of lamb.  I like to add a dollop of plain, Greek yoghurt on the side when I serve it.

And here's another one for e-browsing. The delicious Coulibiac, or Russian salmon pie (page 58 of FROST BITE).

The whole pie can be made and frozen so you just need to pop it in the oven when friends come for lunch or dinner. Serve with a simple green salad and crisp white wine and you can swan around as the cool and calm host or hostess!

If you can't sleep at night and end up watching late-night re-runs of "Huey's Cooking Adventures" you may be see me cooking these dishes with Huey himself as I appeared on his show a few years ago.

Wanted! Reader feedback

Hello everyone.

Do you have a copy of FROST BITE?  Do you like it?   I'd love to hear what you think.  I'd like to include some readers' testimonials on this website/blog but if you don't want me to publish your feedback then that's fine too.

If you have a spare moment, please cut and paste these questions into an email, type your responses, then email it to me at frostbitefood@gmail.com.

1.  Tell me abit about yourself - married/single?  working full-time, part-time, SAHM?  children? 

2.  What types of recipes do you like to cook and freeze?  (eg weeknight meals, entertaining, kids lunchbox etc)

3.  What are your favourite recipes that you have cooked from FROST BITE?  Or let me know which recipes you'd like to cook sometime soon.

4.  Do you have any funny stories about cooking/eating/serving the FROST BITE recipes?  (eg, a funny dinner party incident, hilarious feedback from your toddler etc)

5.  Did you learn anything new after reading FROST BITE?  (eg, were the introduction pages helpful?  Any surprising recipes that you didn't think you could freeze? etc)

6.  Anything else you want to share with me?

7.  Are you happy for me to publish your responses on this website/blog and facebook?



Thanks so much for your time!  I know we're all busy these days so I do appreciate it.

Susan
xx

Christmas traditions

Yesterday Shelley from Lime Tree Kids asked on facebook about our Christmas traditions so I'd like to share one of our favourites.

Every year our daughters choose a new decoration for the tree, and now that they are 5, 8 and 10 yrs old we have amassed quite a collection. We let them choose whatever they like (with an upper $ limit) so we now have many beautiful, unusual, sparkly, gawdy, amusing, glittery, wierd, plasticy, delightful, whimsical decorations for our tree.

And each December when we pull them out of the box the girls are so excited and they fall in love with them all over again.   Here are the three decorations we bought this year.

What's your favourite tradition?

FROST BITE Recipe Exchange: Tomato Chicken Risotto

Good morning everyone.  I hope you are having a great weekend.  Today I have another freezer-friendly recipe from Claire, the blogger behind Claire K Creations. 

Each weekend I post a freezer-friendly recipe from one of our friends in the FROST BITE community. For more information and how to participate, have a look here.

Claire is sharing a risotto recipe which looks delicious.  I'd like to point out that you can freeze a cooked risotto but it's not the same as a freshly made risotto.  A risotto is often served wet, or 'soup-y', but it won't be like that after freezing as the rice will continue to absorb all the liquid until there is no liquid left.  But I still think it's great to have single-portions of cooked risotto in the freezer as it can be defrosted in the microwave for a quick dinner or it can be taken to work for lunch.



Tomato Chicken Risotto


serves 6 generous portions or 7 smaller serves, 490 or 420 calories per serve

300g chopped chicken breast, cooked
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 cups chicken stock mixed with two cups of water (1L liquid total)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tins of chopped tomato
a few basil leaves
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 cups arborio rice
1 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic until transparent. Add the rice and stir until glistening.

A little at a time, add the hot stock/water, waiting until each addition has been absorbed before the next is added. Make sure to stir regularly.

Add the tinned tomato and basil. Stir through the cooked chicken then add the frozen peas.
When the peas are heated through, add the parmesan and season to taste.
Serve piping hot with a sprinkle of parmesan or freeze for quick, easy meals.

For more photos and step-by-step instructions have a look here.

Note: this recipe has not be tested by Susan Austin

E-browsing

I love to browse cookbooks but you can't do that online so I'm making it easy for you! Each week I'll share a photo from FROST BITE so you can browse from the comfort of your computer.

Today's pic is the Bean, corn and spinach quesadillas. We love them for a simple weeknight dinner or as a tasty snack. I wrap them individually in cling wrap before freezing so I can defrost as many or as few as I need. Yum!

Recipe: roasted pumpkin and tomato pizza

Many people are afraid to freeze vegetables as they are only familiar with freezing meaty recipes such as bolognaise or casseroles.  I've found that roasted vegetables freeze well, as long as you stick to the regular freezing rules such as defrost SLOWLY. 

Here's a yummy vegetarian pizza that I made recently.  I doubled the recipe and we ate one and froze the other.

Roasted pumpkin and tomato pizza with feta/goats cheese and pesto

400g pumpkin, peeled and cut in approx. 2cm cubes

3 large or 4 small Roma tomatoes, quartered length-wise
Olive oil
3 tablesp pizza sauce (or tomato paste with chopped oregano)
1 large pizza base (about 30cm)
sea salt and pepper
75g feta or goats cheese, crumbled
¾ cup grated mozzarella cheese

Later – to serve:

1 tablesp basil pesto (preferably homemade)
1 tablesp olive oil

Preheat oven to 200C (400F).  Line two trays with baking paper.

Toss the pumpkin pieces in olive oil and spread out over one tray.  Place tomato quarters on the other tray and drizzle with oil.  Bake in preheated oven - the pumpkin will take about 25 mins, the tomatoes will take about 35 mins. Allow to cool.

Smear the pizza sauce over the pizza base then top with roasted pumpkin, tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Scatter the two cheeses over the top.

Freeze:  Cover with cling wrap then store in the freezer.

Defrost: In fridge (or partially defrost on the kitchen bench before finishing in the fridge) You could also cook this from frozen if needed, just allow extra cooking time.

Cook:  Bake in 200C (400F) oven for about 15-20 mins or until piping hot throughout and the cheese has melted (allow longer time for frozen pizzas).

Serve:  Combine the pesto and oil in a small bowl then use a spoon to drizzle it over the pizza.  Cut into slices and serve.

Serves:  4

Web Watch - canapes at the ready

Thought I'd share a few freezer-friendly canapes that I've seen on the internet this week. 

I love having some savoury nibbles in the freezer so that if friends pop in unexpectedly, of if they come for lunch and they're still there five hours later, it's so easy to pull some nibbles out of the freezer, pop them in the oven and you'll have freshly made finger food in no time (and no washing up!).

They also make a fantastic first course for a dinner party, so at least some of your preparations can be done in advance which makes the dinner much easier.

There's a chapter in FROST BITE dedicated to finger foods and canapes such as these Roasted capsicum and feta filo logs but I'm always on the lookout for new recipes so why not give these a try:

Proscuitto and pesto crescents from Claire K Creations

Fruit and nut crackers from Simple Bites which are ideal to serve with cheese

Note: these recipes have not been tested by Susan Austin



Thankyou-for-sharing: the winner is...

I've just drawn the winner of the giveaway, thanks to random.org for generating a number.

The 6th name entered on the comment list is the winner, so that means a copy of FROST BITE is going to Lucy Solomon - congratulations!  Please send me an email at frostbitefood@gmail.com with your address and I'll send a book to you.  And a special thankyou to Alex Terry as she shared FROST BITE with Lucy.

Thankyou to everyone for telling your friends about FROST BITE, it's much appreciated.

I hope you continue to talk about FROST BITE, I'm very proud of my book and want everyone to know about it but even I can't talk that loudly!

Susan

xx

Re-freezing: can you or can't you??

I often get asked if food can be re-frozen, and I received a question on facebook yesterday which prompted this post. 

I've always believed that you can re-freeze most foods but you should not re-freeze meat.  I always thought that if you had some raw meat in the freezer you could defrost it, cook it, then re-freeze it.  But you should not defrost raw meat then return it to the freezer if it is still raw.  Now I'm not so sure if this is the case...

I wanted to answer the facebook question with a quote from an official site and found this excellent website brimming with information about food and freezing.  It is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Food Safety & Inspection Service.  Have a look at the website as they have lots of information, here's a summary:

• What Can You Freeze?
• Is Frozen Food Safe?
• Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria & Parasites?
• Freshness & Quality
• Nutrient Retention
• Enzymes
• Packaging
• Freezer Burn
• Color Changes
• Freeze Rapidly
• Freezer - Refrigerator Temperatures
• Freezer Storage Time
• Safe Thawing
• Refreezing
• Cooking Frozen Foods
• Power Outage in Freezer
• Frozen Cans
• Frozen Eggs
• Freezer Storage Chart

 And here's what they say about Refreezing:

'Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F (32 deg. Celsius).

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly."

So now I'm not so sure about meat ...  they say it can be refrozen but I think I'll continue to be cautious and not refreeze it.  I don't mind refreezing some foods such as using frozen pastry in a pie/quiche then refreezing it, adding frozen peas to a recipe that will go in the freezer, or defrosting a tub of tomato paste and not using it all so putting the leftovers back in the freezer.

What do you think?  Are you happy to refreeze?

FROST BITE Recipe Exchange: Refrigerator biscuits

This week's contributor to the FROST BITE Recipe Exchange is Vicky from My Family Kitchen blog.  It's a new blog so why not support a new blogger, and you can follow her on facebook here.

Each weekend I post a freezer-friendly recipe from one of our friends in the FROST BITE community.  For more information and how to participate, have a look here.


Refrigerator Biscuits

My ex-step-mother *giggle* used to make a biscuit very similar to these and as kids, we would devour them every weekend. This morning I, for the first time, made the biscuits following a recipe she had. She would make up a couple of variations and cook some of each and keep the remaining dough in the freezer. Thankfully I did whip up a batch, as ‘something’ went very wrong with it. As you can imagine, I was thrown into an almighty tailspin. With sincere thanks to the internet, I found the following recipe and having just placed them in the fridge to ‘chill out’, can say the dough is perfect and my boys both agree, the bowl and wooden spoon are both worth licking!! My ex-step-mother was very big on baking but did not really offer fruit the way I do with my kids. Baking such yummies is reserved for Easter, Birthdays and Christmas. ( I also have ‘secret’ memories of stealing the raw dough from the freezer and snacking on it! )

225g of Plain Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder
100 g softened Butter or Margarine
175 g Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 Egg, beaten


Sift the flour and baking powder together into a mixing bowl. Add butter or margarine and rub in with fingers until it resembles bread crumbs.
Stir in sugar.  Stir in vanilla essence. Add enough of the beaten egg to form a nice smooth dough.

On a floured bench, roll dough into a long sausage.  Place dough onto foil and wrap up tightly, keeping the sausage shape. Twist ends tightly. Make sure to keep shape smooth. Place in fridge until firm.

Cut off the required number of slices and place them on a greased tray.  Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees C) until golden or about 10-15 mins (depending on your oven).  Remove and allow to cool. Keep in an air tight container.  

My Tweek:  I used all of my egg.

Variations:

Add a tsp of ground ginger to the mixture.
Add 2 tsp of cinnamon to the mixture.
Add choc chips to the mixture or crushed nuts to the mixture.

The biscuits on the left have cinnamon added to the dough, the ones on the right have coloured chocolate decorations placed on top of the dough:

Here's what Vicky has to say about her blog (I love the "I like simple" philosophy):

"To put simply, a blog about what I like to cook up in our family kitchen, My Family Kitchen.  With three young children, I do find it hard to find the time to sit and blog without interruptions for drink cups to be refilled, to fill little growling tummy’s with food, to referee the latest battle between siblings,or to just sit and cuddle. I dream about baking daily for my little brood, of having a sensory overload awaiting for them on the table each night and of endless emails asking me for recipes or requests to bake for them and theirs. I dream. But I am content in my kitchen, it is the heart of our home, where we gather for meals, make coffee and chat endlessly with friends and family. In fact, the kitchen is what sold me on our house when we were searching for the perfect home.

My family Kitchen does not shine or glitter, it does not look cute or bold. You will not be overwhelmed with links, sponsors or other ‘click on me’ buttons. I like simple. My Family Kitchen is simple. xxxxx "

Note: This recipe has not been tested by Susan Austin

Marinating, freezing, barbequing

Summer is almost apon us in the southern hemisphere and that means lots of barbeques - horray!  I love a good barbeque, just ask anyone in my family.  Even good old sausages taste a zillion times better when barbequed.

Anyway ... I was thrilled to see this post by blogger Diminishing Lucy.  She wrote that marinating and freezing chicken breasts makes life so easy for busy dinners and you can still eat well and healthily - you can find the post here. 

I have been doing this for a long time as it's so easy to pull out a packet of marinating meat from the freezer in the morning, or the night before, and placing it in the fridge.  By dinner time, it should be defrosted (if it's thin, not too thick) and it can be thrown on the bbq and a few salads or side dishes can be assembled. 

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• buy meat (beef, lamb, chicken, pork) in bulk or when it's on sale then marinate it and store it in the freezer in usable portions (eg, 2 steaks, 2 chicken breasts etc).
• trim the meat if it's very fatty and cut into individual portions before freezing.  Chicken thigh fillets are delicious barbequed but they can be fatty so I clean them up and cut them in half before marinating.  Or a large piece of rump steak could be cut into individual steaks before marinating.
• Pour the marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag, squish them around to mix then add the meat.  Remove as much air as possible, close the bag, then squish it around again to coat the meat with the marinade.
• Spread the meat out as thinly as possible in the bag as so that it freezes and defrosts quickly.

I'm sure you have your own favourite marinades, but I'll share this as it's one of my favourite and easiest marinades for chicken: sundried tomato pesto from the supermarket.

I buy lots of chicken thigh fillets, remove excess fat then cut them in half (as they're often big and funny-looking when they're cooked).  Coat lightly with the sundried tomato pesto then I either barbeque them or store in the freezer for another time.

After barbequing, I like to serve them with a dollop of plain yoghurt or store-bought tzatziki, baked potatoes and a favourite green salad. 

Bring on summer!!

Thankyou-for-sharing giveaway

Do you like FROST BITE?  Have you told your friends about it? 

I'm a big believer in sharing any exciting finds with my friends, which is why I write the odd post about cafes, businesses and products that I have recently discovered.  I much prefer a personal recommendation over advertising.

So... to say thankyou for sharing FROST BITE with your friends, I'd like to give away a book to one of you.

 

How to enter:

• "Like" FROST BITE's Facebook page, if you haven't already done so

• Tell your friends about FROST BITE and ask them to "like" the facebook page too

• Write a comment below stating your name, and the name of the person who is new to FROST BITE.   For example "My name is Jane Smith and I shared FROST BITE with my friend, Lisa Matthews".

• You can enter as many times as you like.  For example, if you share FROST BITE with five friends then you can enter the competition five times.

• Even the newcomers to FROST BITE can share it with their friends, and they can add a comment below.  Eg "My name is Lisa Matthews and I've shared FROST BITE with my friend Rebecca Lee"

• All names from the comments will go in the draw to win the prize.

 

Terms and conditions:

1. The draw will take place at 5pm, Sydney time, on Wednesday 9 November 2011.
2. The winner will be chosen by random.org.
3. Entry comments are to be typed on this blog only, Facebook comments are not considered.
4. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
5. Entrants are aware that they are providing information to Susan Austin, author of FROST BITE, not to Facebook, and the information will not be used for any purposes other than as an entry in the competition.
6. The winner will be announced on this blog and on Facebook.
7. If the winner can not be contacted within three months of the draw, a second draw will take place.

 

 

 

 

Laurie's Christmas Pudding

I'm so happy to see that traditions like Christmas pudding spark all sorts of fond memories.  As promised, here's the pudding that my grandmother, Laurie Blackmore, prepared for our family for as long as I can remember.  About 13 years ago she became quite frail so I took over the role, then a couple of years later she passed away and I inherited her stock pot, pudding basins and stash of threepence coins.

Be prepared to invest a chunk of time in this recipe.  Christmas Pudding can never be described as a 4-ingredient or 30-minute recipe.  But the time invested is well worth it as you'll have a delicious pudding as a result, not to mention all the memories you are creating for your family.  You can't put a price on that!

A few notes:

• You can add sterilised coins to the pudding, and those who find a coin in their serving wins a prize.  Clean them thoroughly then boil in a saucepan of water for 5 mins to sterilise before adding to the pudding batter.  You can't use modern coins as they are made up of a variety of metals.  You can only use silver coins as they won’t react to the pudding.  We use threepences as they are made of silver.
• It is tradition that everyone in the house must stir the pudding as you make it.  I like to think we are stirring some love into it.  My girls have been stirring the pudding since they were babies, although they needed help cause it’s a pretty thick batter.
• Most ingredients can be found in the supermarket, but you may need to go to a nut shop or health food shop for the glace pineapple and glace apricots.

Here are Grandma's pudding basins and stockpot:

 And here are the threepences:

Laurie’s Christmas Pudding

250g  sultanas

250g  raisins
100g  currants
100g  chopped mixed peel
100g  glace cherries, chopped
60g  glace pineapple, chopped
60g  glace apricots, chopped
1  medium carrot, grated (chunky, not fine)
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
125ml (½ cup)  rum

250g butter, softened

250g brown sugar
4 eggs
1 tablesp (20ml)  golden syrup
120g  plain flour
¼ teasp  salt
1½ teasp  mixed spice
175g  soft breadcrumbs
1 teasp  bicarb soda
180ml (¾ cup)  milk
1 tablesp (20ml)  brandy
 

Optional: sterilised coins can be added

Stage one (normally late November in our house):

In a bowl put all the fruit, mixed peel, grated carrot, grated rinds and juice, and rum.  Mix together, cover, and leave in fridge for at least 24 hours, or preferably a few weeks.

 

Stage two (normally around 20th Dec in our house):

Prepare your pudding basin (10-cup/ 2.5 litre capacity): grease the pudding basin and line the bottom of it with a circle of baking paper (to make it easier to remove the pudding on Christmas Day).  

Half-fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a simmer.

Beat butter and sugar for several minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add golden syrup and beat again. 

Sift flour, salt and spice together then add to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix until smooth.  Transfer to larger bowl.

Add prepared fruits and bread crumbs to the bowl.  Dissolve the bicarb soda in the milk then add it to the bowl and mix everything together thoroughly.  Add sterilised coins (if using). (Everyone in the house should give it a quick stir now to add a little love to the pudding)

Spoon the pudding mixture into your greased pudding basin.  Cover with a large sheet of baking paper that hangs down the sides, then with a large sheet of aluminium foil that hangs down the sides. Tie securely around the outside of the bowl with string (there is usually a small lip on the bowl for the string to sit under - see photo above).  I also run the string across the top of the pudding to make a handle.

Place the pudding in the stockpot, making sure the water only goes halfway or two-thirds of the way up the side of the pudding bowl.  Cover with lid and simmer for 5 hours.  Check the water level every hour and add more boiling water as necessary – pour the water around the pudding basin, not over it.  (Last year I somehow got water in the pudding and it was soggy and disappointing).

After five hours, remove from the water.  Allow to cool then sprinkle brandy over the top.  Cover the pudding with a new sheet of baking paper and new foil and tie with new string.  Store in the fridge till Christmas Day.

Stage three (Christmas Day)

Place in a stockpot with simmering water (half-way up the side of the pudding) and simmer for 2-2½ hours.

Remove the foil and baking paper, run a knife around the edge of the pudding to loosen it, then place a plate over the pudding.  Carefully tip the pudding upside down (cover your hands with oven mits or teatowels) and ease the pudding onto the plate.

Serve with vanilla icecream and warm custard (we normally buy custard from the supermarket but add a slosh of brandy to improve it!)

Here's the pudding I made in 2007 while we were living in Singapore (I have cropped off my face as no-one wants to see the shiny skin and bad hair that comes from living in the tropics!!)