Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Cooking Class No 2

While Sophia is Slaving the others are Playing...
Joseph and Mia eating BOUGHT doughnuts!!!
Cooking Class Day 2

Today Sophia learnt many new skills
Don't you love the jaunty tea towel...very professional I think.
Our menu was
Stuffed Potatoes with Chicken Yakatori
A bonus from this was potato skins!!!
Remember them...so 1980 and

Kiwi Crisps (Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.)


This doesn’t seem like a lot but we learnt many skills

For the Potatoes
Heat the oven to 180C

1 potato per person
Head of broccoli
Handful corn kernels
1 spring onion sliced
3-4 tablespoons milk
Knob of butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated tasty cheese


Scrub potatoes and dry
Prick all over with a fork
Rub with oil and bake for approx 1 hour until tender.

Stuffing
Prepare broccoli into florets

Blanch in boiling salted water about 2-3minutes
Drain and pop into iced water to shock and set the colour.
Remove potatoes from oven cool a little and when cool enough to handle
Cut off the top to make a little lid.
Scoop out potato flesh and push through a potato ricer or mouli
Not compulsory but does give a better texture.

You can just mash if you wish.

Heat milk and butter
Add to potato and beat well
Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed

Chop broccoli and add with corn and sliced spring onions to potatoes
Mix well
Fill potato shells
Cover with grated cheese

Bake in hot oven 200C 25 minutes


Just look at those potato skins...actually pretty much the highlight...especially with Grandma's Tomato Sauce
The bonus skins!!!
Take the little lids
Spray with olive oil
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Add a little grated cheese
20 minutes in 200C oven

Crispy and yummy



Skills: Chopping, preparing and cooking green vege

Now for the Chicken Yakatori
Chicken pieces marinated and pushed on to skewers with spring onions and grilled’

First Sophia made the marinade

Marinade
6 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoons Kecap Manus
2 tablespoons Mirin
2 tablespoons Sake
1 tablespoons sugar

Place in a saucepan
Bring to boil and dissolve
Cool

3-4 boneless, skinless thighs

Chop chicken into 3 cms pieces

Place into bowl…pour over marinade
Mix well
Leave about 20 minutes
















Soak skewers
Cut 2-3 Spring onion in 3 cm strips
Skewer chicken and spring onion

Spray hot ridged grill pan


Place skewers on pan
Brush with marinade while cooking

Turn them 2-3 times
We served with the Stuffed Potatoes

Skills - Measuring for the marinade
Developing a taste for Asian foods
Preparing the skewers
Grilling

I still think these are the best Chocolate Chip cookies ever.
Good for egg allergic people...no egg
Very short and chocolatey
Kiwi Crisps (Double Chocolate Chip Cookies)

115 gms butter
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons condensed milk
1 cup flour, take out 2 tablespoons and replace with
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup your favourite chocolate cut into pieces the size of a pea

(Or choc chips)


Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy
Add condensed milk
Mix chocolate chips with sifted flour cocoa, salt and baking powder
Then add to the butter mix
Blend well
Roll into a 3 cms log and cut in pieces







Place on baking paper on a baking tray
Squash down with a floured fork

170C for 15- 20 minutes

Makes 12 fat cookies or 18 or you wish

Skills – Creaming butter and sugar















We were so full and thought that that was enough food for all day almost but it’s amazing how it all goes down and you can fit in more.
So we made

French Toast with Hot Fruit Compote and Maple Syrup Cream


Above... Sophia skinning the pineapple

Hot Fruit Compote

1 gold pineapple peeled and cut into chunks
2 punnets blue berries
3 punnets raspberries
1 ½ cup of caster sugar
¾ cup water.
2 tbs raspberry liqueur (optional) but does add an extra zing



Into a pot put the fruit, sugar and water reserving 1 punnet of raspberries and bring to simmer and cook gently 5-7 minutes.
Let cool and when you need it reheat again gently and
add the extra raspberries and the raspberry liqueur just before serving.



French Toast
1 slice white toast bread per person
1 egg
½ cup milk
Butter for frying


Cut crusts off bread we cut them into rounds…looks pretty

Beat egg and milk
Soak bread in this mixture for about 5 minutes

Heat pan add butter

Add toasts cook till golden brown each side.
Beat 200 mils cream with 1 tablespoons maple syrup
Mint leaves finely sliced.
To serve

Place golden rounds on plate, spoon over some warm fruit
Top with whipped cream and sprinkling of mint leaves.

Skills – Beating cream, frying French toasts, cutting and peeling pineapple

Would you believe it we ate it all.

How greedy is that?

Roll on Friday

Fried Chicken
Chip Butties
Fudge Cake
Toffee Apples

We are having guests.
So Sophia loved the French Toast so much we are going to serve them that treat.

3 comments:

  1. Not "greedy" at all, just shows a proper appreciation for a smorgasboard of delicious food. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim
    Wait till tomorrow. Should be fun.
    I am exhausted thinking about the menu.

    Jeena
    Thanks for your comments I ahve dropped into your blog it's now on my favourites.

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great pictures and it's nice seeing Sophia enjoying her cooking lessons! Many people don't enjoy cooking, so it's nice to see the new generation having fun with it. After all, we always will have to eat! ; )

    ReplyDelete