Love Blinis

 

Love Blinis

Blinis are traditionally served with Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon

But I think they lend themselves to other flavours 

I used to make the blinis but discovered that you can buy them , ready made and frozen at the Supermarket 

Just take out the amount you need. They defrost in minutes 

Meanwhile prepare your cream cheese

I have mixed about 4 tablespoons of cream cheese with 2 teaspoons of this very tasty mango chutney, which is a favourite of mine 

Spread lavishly on the blinis and top with finely chopped red capsicum and sprinkle some chopped chives or green onions tops

Place on a pretty plate and Voila

Pre dinner nibbles or maybe even lunch for me 

Pinwheels 

I love finding new things to do with leftovers and I had some leftover mashed potato, in the fridge, usually I make fish cakes

In the middle of the night, I woke up and this idea came into my head, Why not pinwheels?

I lovemaking savoury pinwheels, and have tried many flavours

Here’s my latest

I haven't given exact quantities and it all depends on how much mashed potato one has

You will need

Sheet of Flaky Puff Pastry

Mashed potatoes 

Red pepper finely chopped

Red onion finely chopped 

A Tbs spoon grated Parmesan 

Small splash Sweet Chilli Sauce 

A little chopped spring onion leaf just for colour 

Egg to bind and to brush over  before baking

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

First, Prepare your vege

Mix the potatoes, red pepper, red onion, green onion

Sweet Chilli sauce and enough egg to bind 

Season with sea salt and black pepper 

Set aside while you wait for the pastry to defrost

Lay the pastry sheet on bench

Brush the top edge with egg 

Cover 2/3 of the sheet with the potato mix

Roll and place in fridge for at least 2 hours

Heat oven to 180C

Take roll out of fridge

Cut into slices. 

Place on baking sheet and brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with grated Parmesan Cheese and grate a little lemon zest over the top

Bake 

After 10 mins check. 

I like to turn the tray around for the remainder of the Cook

Should be done in another 5 mins

This time some of them needed a little bit more time, so they went back for another 2 mins

Remove from oven and leave to cool on rack

Best served just warm, or room temperature

 Very tasty 

So off to drinks, I went, accompanied by my tasty delights and they were a huge success

Not Only Spinach But Also Mushroom - Little Pastries to Have with Drinks

Two of my favourite appetizers to have with drinks.
Mushroom Savouries and Spinach Puffs

Both have been particularly popular when I've served them

I had some mushroom filling leftover, so what better way to use it up try the Spinach Puff Method

So here ya go...yet another idea to feed those guests

Mushroom Filling.
¼ cup unsalted butter
4 green onions chopped
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tablespoons minced chives
250 gm mushrooms finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
¾ cup cream
¼ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets
Grated Parmesan Cheese.
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

1 large tomato deseeded and cut into cubes

Parsley chopped 

1 egg beaten with a little water

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat
Add green onions parsley and chives

Cook until wilted about 3 minutes
Add mushrooms
Cook 10 minutes, or until liquid evaporates.
Sprinkle flour over mixture, stir till blended
Cook 2 minutes stirring it will be dry be careful it doesn’t stick to pan.
Stir in cream, thyme cayenne freshly ground black pepper, salt and lemon juice.
Reduce heat to low cook 5 minutes or until thickened.
Cool
Meanwhile defrost the pastry and cut into 9 squares

Lightly grease mini patty tins, Press each square into a hole
Fill with Mushrooms and put a little cube of tomato on  top

Finely grate Parmesan Cheese over the top

Fold the edges in and pop a piece of parsley on top

Brush with egg wash and bake at 190C
Turn the tray once after 15 mins, then continue to bake until Golden
About another 10 minutes

Here they are all packed up ready for me to deliver today

Can't wait to try them

Have You Tried This Dip It’s Amazing - Hot Black Bean Tex Mex Dip

That was the cry from a satisfied guest
We were holding a celebration drinks party for my Daughter’s Graduation
I was on food,
I made some of the usual Suspects
Chicken Sandwiches, Spinach Puffs, Mushroom Tarts, Guacamole, Blinis with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon
We thought we should try something new... A Hot Bean Dip perhaps?
So I surfed the Net and found this recipe on the Allrecipes site
This is a keeper and we will make it again
It’s not the prettiest dish but look at the wonderful ingredients

So you will need
1 400 gm can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup mild picante sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup shredded Tasty cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 


Place black beans in a medium size mixing bowl,
partially mash beans -- beans should remain a little chunky.
Add cumin

In a medium size frying pan, heat oil over a medium heat. 
Stir in onion and garlic and sauté for 4 minutes.
Mix beans, corn, tomato, picante sauce, and chili powder into the frying pan; 
Cook for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat,
Mix in cheese, cilantro and lime juice; 
Stir until cheese is melted. 

Corn chips best on the side

Make Your Own Bagel Crisps- If I Can Do It You Can Do It

This weekend, I had people over for drinks, we had some homemade Hummus and a delicious dip from the Deli

I forgot to buy something to dip in
But ever resourceful, in the freezer...some Bagels

Heat oven to 170C
I cut them into slices
Brushed both sides with Melted butter
Finely grate Parmesan or Pecorino over the top
Lightly sprinkle with a touch of Cayenne Pepper
Place on a baking tray, lined with baking paper

Bake for about 6-8 minutes till golden

There ya go Easy Peasy

Simple Italian Style Sponge - Turns into a Lovely Christmas Dessert

Italian Sponge Cake Pan-di Spagna

I had some egg whites in the fridge, left over from the lemon curd I made the other day… WHICH was supposed to go on top of a Pavlova…THAT I was supposed to make for some friends who were coming for lunch
I had found the recipe for this Pavlova on The Epicurious Website
Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Berries
The inspiration for this recipe came from food stylist (and New Zealander) Toni Brogan.

The lunch got postponed,
What to do with the Lemon Curd?
It keeps well in the fridge

So I saved it to give the Grandkids for dinner a few days later
Lemon Curd Recipe
 
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan,
then add lemon juice and butter.
Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking,
then continue to simmer, whisking constantly, 1 minute.
Lightly beat yolks in a small bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup lemon mixture,
then whisk into remaining lemon mixture in saucepan.
Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thickened,
about 2 minutes (do not let boil).
Transfer to a bowl and stir in zest.
Chill, surface covered with parchment, until cool, about 1 1/2 hours.

With half of the prepared curd
I put together some little tarts
Which were really delicious

I used shop bought pastry shells
To be honest...hardly worth making them
Lovely Crisp Pastry and every one of them perfect

Whip around 100 mls of cream
Fold the cream into the curd gently until mixed
Lovely pale lemon colour

Fill the little cases and top with little blueberries

Into the fridge so that the lemon mixture sets
These are wonderful…thumbs up from the kids

So what to do with the other half of the curd
“my waste not, want not frame of mind…
Use the egg whites
Didn't want to to make a Pavlova
Thought… maybe an egg white sponge ?

I thought, this recipe for Italian Sponge Cake
“Pan-di Spagna" that I found on a website aseasyasapplepie.com
was a sponge made using egg whites

WRONG…turns out it is whole eggs. I read it incorrectly
Oh well, into the freezer go the egg whites
I shall use them on another day

The recipe suggested using Cake Flour…not all purpose
I found out how to make that
You can find anything on the web
Have a look here
Easy peasy
So now, I was completely ready

Ingredients for a 18-20 cm (7-8 inches) pan.
 
120 grams granulated sugar
4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest or vanilla extract (optional)
120 grams cake flour, sifted
Instructions

Take out the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time
or soak them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C
Butter and flour a 20 cm (8 inch) pan.
Put the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Beat the eggs until very fluffy and pale yellow (about 15 minutes on medium/high speed).
To test that it has been beaten enough, let some of the mixture fall into the bowl.
If it remains "sitting" on top it means that it's ready.

Spoon the flour on top of the egg mixture, a little at a time, and fold it gently with a metal spoon.
  
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Don't smooth the top or bang the pan on the counter, leave it as it is!

Don't open the oven door for 20 minutes
I found that the cake cooked in 30 minutes
I tested it with a skewer (or a tooth pick)   

Turn off the oven but leave the cake inside (put a wooden spoon in the oven door to keep it slightly open) for at least 10 minutes so it can cool down slowly.

After that, remove it from the oven, let it cool for 10 more minutes,
loosen around the edges with a knife, then flip the cake on a wire rack upside down
(without the pan) to cool completely.

Take the remainder of the Lemon Curd
Combine with Whipped Cream
Gently fold with a metal spoon

Cut the cooled sponge in half with a bread knife
on the bottom half 
Spread the lemon mix
Cover with sliced strawberries 

Whip some extra cream and spread over the other side
Sponges can get a bit dry so cream it up well

Sift icing sugar over the top
Looks Great

Serve

Celery and Blue Cheese Toasts - Substantial Nibbles to have with Drinks

Celery goes so well with Blue Cheese
So let’s take advantage of this pairing, to make some little delights to have with drinks

So so simple…I got the idea from The New York Times Cooking Web site
and of course as usual have adapted it to my taste buds

Generally most people have the ingredients in the fridge or pantry
Their recipe called for buttered toast
Cover with a slice of Blue Cheese and top with a celery salad

If you use Castello Blue Cheese, as I did, I don't think there is any need for butter
It is quite a mild, creamy blue cheese,
That's enough
Ingredients I haven't put quantities, I think you can work that out

Bread for Toasting
Castello Blue Cheese mashed for spreading
Celery Stalks
Spring onions
French Dressing
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Then just finely slice a stalk of celery
Plus a spring onion finely sliced
Sprinkle with Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black pepper
a tablespoon of French Dressing
Don't dress the salad till you are nearly ready
Want the vegetables to remain crisp
I used Vogel’s Bread… the thin sliced

Toast the bread and let cool in a toast rack so that it stays crisp
Or lean it up against something while it cools, to let the steam out
When you are ready to serve
Spread the toast with a thick layer of blue cheese
Spoon over the Celery Salad

Cut into portions
And watch them disappear

Mini Croissants - Best Appetisers - So Simple

When the World Cup was on, I received a link to Jamie Oliver's daily "youtube" update, Food Tube. A young French Guy, (turns out that's what he calls himself), The French Guy, suggested making Mini Croissants, from bought puff pastry.
I was first attracted by the version, using Nutella, I knew the kids would like that AND they did.

So it is so simple
Take a sheet of frozen puff pastry, cut it into a large circle and cut into triangles
The pastry I use is 25cm x 25cm
Out of that I got 8 triangles

Beside the Nutella filling, for adults, the Chef offered 2 other ideas
Pesto and Mozzarella
Or Cheese and Ham, 
I had mixed up a tasty Cream Cheese filling
So so simple, just take about 100 gms cream cheese, 
Mix well with some tubed Chilli and Basil
Squeeze out around 2.5 cms of each herb. 
Really to your taste
By the way, you could add some chopped fresh Chilli and some chopped Fresh Basil
but I really like to have these on hand
You don't have to add anything else, this is just right, as Goldilocks would say

I actually mixed this up, for a base for Pizza Blanca. Excellent. Had some left over so I thought this could be tasty in these croissants. Perfect
Pre-heat your oven to 200C

Take your triangle, spread the pesto over 2/3 of the triangle, leaving some space at the top
Break the Mozzarella into small pieces and place on top

From the bottom, roll them up one at a time
Place onto baking sheet, lined with baking paper
Press down and brush with an egg, beaten with a little water
Below, the filling is the Cream Cheese mix, with a slice of shaved ham

Bake till golden brown about 8-10 minutes could take a little longer, keep an eye on them
Cool on a rack

They are so popular. perfect to make for pre dinner drinks
Or anytime for the kids

Once again for the kids version
Just smear the triangle with Nutella and follow the procedure as above, then bake

In the last few years, I have also taken to making Pinwheels, to serve with drinks.
Have a look at the method here

Change that filling a la the croissants above
Pesto and Mozzarella

Or Ham and Cream Cheese Mixture

One more use for this delicious Cream Cheese
Spread onto a Blini, place some Smoked Salmon on top
Little lemon juice and some cracked pepper
Hey Presto, another delight

This little batch, went up to the hospital, to give the beloved a wee treat. He loved them