Doesn't Time Fly?

I can't believe that it's a year since I started blogging but when I look back I began with Teenboy's birthday cake and here is this year's offering. Actually, I'm a bit late as the cake has been and gone so I can confidently say that it was a success!

I did have a long hard think as to what cake would go down well with a 16 year old and he was too busy with living to give a great deal of thought to it so I went with a recipe that I've been wanting to try, Nigella's Chocolate Guinness cake!

I just love the thought of chocolate and guinness together and the frosting on top makes it sound wonderful. It is also so easy to make which gives it the big thumbs up around here. If you haven't tried it do give it a go and don't worry if you haven't got easy access to guinness as I just used a Tasmanian stout which tasted pretty good! If you have a copy of Nigella's Feast you'll find the recipe there!

250 ml Guinness
250 g unsalted butter
75 g cocoa
400 g caster sugar
142 ml sour cream
2 eggs

1t tbsp real vanilla extract
275 g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the icing:
300 g Philadelphia cream cheese

150 g icing sugar
125 ml double or whipping cream
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180oc, butter and line a 23 cm springform tin
Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter gradually, and heat until the butter has melted. At which time, whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the bicarb and flour.
Pour the cake batter into the greased, lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack as it is quite a damp cake.
Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar, then beat together. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of a pint.

Things have changed such a lot since I started this blog. I'm no longer a student but am working in community services as a family counsellor and loving it. However, it does mean that time is a little more hard to come by and Tuesday nights are a rush to finish work, get home, feed everybody, make next day's lunches and then get out to orchestra practice so imagine my delight when OH came home early and got this gastronomic feast ready for us all! He invented the curry recipe but I know that it contained Patak's Madras paste. The raita was his own and very delicious. I'm hoping that Tuesday nights will become a regular cooking feature for him!!

Roast Chicken

Sometimes there's a moment when only a roast will do and what better than a roast chicken?
Free range chickens were on offer so I snapped one up and had it marinading in buttermilk, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil with some ground black peppercorns and rosemary a la Nigella, in no time at all. It was then into a hot oven, after a suitable time in the fridge, along with some par boiled potatoes for roasties and some cranberry and orange stuffing. The whole thing was simply served with steamed courgettes and carrots along with a gravy made with the pan juices.
The wine was an unoaked chardonnay from McLaren Vale, SA. Served well chilled it hit the mark with us!

Dinner is served!

I haven't done a stir-fry in ages and with some rump steak sitting in the fridge Beef in Oyster Sauce was calling to me. We started the meal with dim sum which was simplicity itself as all I did was choose some from the local Chinese supermarket and steam them!


The recipe I used was from The Book of Wok and Stir-Fry Dishes, a book which my husband bought with him when he moved here.


Beef in Oyster Sauce.

3 teaspoons cornflour


11/2 tablespoons soy sauce


11/2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry


450g rump steak, cut crosswise into thin strips


2 tablespoons sesame oil


1cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped


2 cloves garlic, finely chopped


4 stalks celery, sliced


1 red pepper (capsicum) sliced


115g mushrooms, sliced


4 spring onions, sliced


2 tablespoons oyster sauce


115ml chicken stock or water

In a bowl, combine 2 teaspoons of the cornflour with the soy sauce and the rice wine or dry sherry. Add beef strips and toss to coat well. Allow to stand for 25 mins. heat the wok until very hot. Add oil and swirl to coat wok. add beef strips and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until browned. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add ginger and garlic to remaining oil in wok and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the celery, pepper(capsicum), mushrooms and spring onion and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.

Stir in oyster sauce and combine remaining cornflour with the stock or water, then stir into the wok and bring to the boil. Add reserved beef strips and toss beef and vegetables for 1 minute until sauce thickens and the beef is heated through. Serve with rice and wild rice.

Serves 4

I left out the mushrooms as the Little One doesn't like them. I served it with boiled rice flavoured with 5 spice powder and vegetable stock and steamed bok choy and was gratified to have all plates returned empty!

The wine was a 2005 Cabernet Merlot from Gramps in the Barossa which went down very well and a little too quickly!