A Day at the Beach

With the Easter long weekend ending my good friend Jess suggested a day trip to the coast, so we loaded in the car on Anzac Day and after a quick stop at McDonald's we were off. 

While in Batman's Bay we grabbed some fish and chips and headed to beach. The fish was incredible, it was the most juicy, tender, fresh, succulent fish I have ever eaten; the batter was light, crispy; the chips were not great, a little soggy and not a lot of taste. After washing it all down with Coke and iced coffee we headed to explore the beach. At sunset we relaxed by the water eating ice cream. A perfect ending to a relaxing day.

     Jess's Hokey Pokey with Boysenberry on top.

Caitlin's iced coffee.

                                                    My Macadamia with Old English Toffee.

Andrew's Macadamia.

My Amazing Gravy

It's finally here! My gravy recipe! I am very proud to post this recipe. This is the most thick, creamy and gratifying gravy you could imagine. No matter how bad my day has been this gravy never fails to sooth and comfort. This gravy is simply amazing. I usually cook roast chicken and roast veggies mid week which may sound like too much work but with a few easy short cuts it's not as time consuming or difficult as it seems.

Buy a pre-marinated whole roast chicken, the one in this photo is the standard Coles size which is 1.7kg. I buy mine from Coles or Woolworth's. Grab a couple of packets of Birds Eye roast vegetables. Preheat the oven 200 degrees fan forced for ten minutes, chuck the chicken on some oven proof paper and spray with oil, put the chicken on top, give it a big sprinkle with salt and pepper and 1/3 cup of oil (massage all over the breast and sides, if you have time). Pop the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes. While the chicken is cooking away grab a big bowl and throw in a few big swings of canola or vegetable oil and mix in the herb sachets. Next chuck the frozen veggies in and mix until the veggies are fully covered in the herby oil.                                                 

Once the chicken has been cooking for 30 minutes throw the veggies back into the roasting packet tins and pop into the oven. Pop the timer on for one hour. Take the chicken out after 45 minutes but leave the veggies to keep cooking for the last 15 minutes. So all up the chicken cooks for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

My chicken weighs 1.7 kg, most instructions tell you to cook chicken for 30 minutes per kg. But if you want a perfectly cooked moist chicken then take it out 15 minutes early. Take the chicken out and put it in a large bowl and cover with glad wrap, put aside, now its time to make the gravy. Note: the chicken will continue to cook while standing. Always leave a chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

To make the gravy pour all the oil and chicken juices from your roasting tin into a small saucepan. Scrape off all residue from the grease proof paper into the saucepan as well.

Next put 3 heaped tablespoons of Gravox Supreme chicken gravy mix (not the instant one) into the saucepan and stir to combine. Cook this on the stove on high for 1-2 minutes, whisking throughout.

Grab 2 cups of warm water and add a little bit at a time. After adding each bit of water whisk until it thickens, then add more, and keep whisking throughout . Keep doing this until all the water is used.

Next take the saucepan off the heat and place to the side. Pull the plastic wrap over the chicken to the side and carefully tilt the bowl over the saucepan until the juices from the rested chicken pour into the gravy.



Next grind lots of fresh cracked pepper and salt into the gravy then pour in a small tub of thickened cream and whisk on high heat for a couple of minutes until it thickens and reduces a little. The sauce should coat the back of a wooden spoon. If it doesn't thicken enough on high heat simply place 1 tablespoon of corn flour into 3 tablespoons of water and mix, then add to the gravy and whisk on high heat; it will thicken quickly. Check the gravy for seasoning. Now your amazing gravy is ready!!



Enjoy!



                    Quadruple Layered Mud and Profiterole Cake

My good friend Renee turned twenty five so I decided to make her a really special cake. With the help of my friend Jess we made her a delicious and impressive looking cake. It was pretty easy to make as we simply used two packets of Betty Crocker Decedent Chocolate Mud Cake mix. After cooking the two cakes I left them to cool and then cut them in half. Jess and I then made an incredibly thick chocolate icing which was slathered between each half of the cakes. Finally we used another packet mix for the profiteroles. All up it took about four hours and the result was a decadent, moist cake. I'll definitely make this cake again, it was a winner. Heres the link for the icing recipe: (note) I doubled the recipe amount and added about half a cup of coco powder to make to icing darker. Warning! my electric beaters almost burnt out while making this, it is an incredibly thick icing recipe.
Scroll down until you see the heading Chocolate Butter Frosting:
http://southernfood.about.com/od/chocolatecakes/r/bl30106l.htm
                                                                                       

                                                    Restaurant Review

                      Kingsleys Steak and Crab House

Well it's been four years that my man Andrew and I have been together. To celebrate we went to Kingleys Steak and Crab House. I've heard good things about this restaurant and I'd been looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about. Apart from wanting to explore their delicious sounding menu the restaurant looks like it has an elegant but relaxed feel to it. I wanted a place Andy and I could feel comfortable but somewhere that still felt special. That's exactly how we felt being at Kingsleys. We dinned outside, tonight was a perfect night to eat out, warm but not muggy, just a lovey night to be outside.

The service was exceptional, our waitress was very attentive and friendly. I ordered a rib eye steak cooked medium with Bearnaise sauce and an Alaskan King Crab claw. My steak was great, dark char grill marks scorched on top and below with a side of chunky rustic chips. The chips were crisp and had a fresh potato taste, no taste of oil at all. The steak was cooked perfectly, a lovely juicy meaty taste. Andrew gave me a taste of his New York sirloin, also cooked medium, it has a much stronger beef flavour than mine as it has been hung for longer .Bearnaise sauce is something I've always wanted to try. It's described as a rich thick yellow butter and egg yolk emulsion, heaven in my book. It tasted very creamy, rich with a slight tartness, a slight kick when it first dissolves in your mouth, the creaminess follows. I only wish the serving of Bearnaise was a little bigger. The crab claw was amazing! Fresh, sweet, soft and incredibly juicy. As soon and I tasted the crab I regretted ordering steak and only one crab claw. Next time I will be ordering lots of crab!

 
Dessert was heaven. We both chose the Chantilly profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce.

Despite the waiter giving me a confusing explanation as to what Chantilly meant they were delicious. They were light and filled with a lovely creamy creme patisserie. The filled profiteroles were served with the accompanied chocolate sauce served in a tiny ceramic pouring jug. The waiter himself poured the chocolate sauce on top which struck me as a tad unusual. The chocolate sauce was beautifully made, a rich, sweet, well rounded flavour which wasn't sickening. I enjoyed the flavour greatly as it was balanced well with cream leaving it without a bitter overpowering taste.

Over all it was a great restaurant, fresh, high quality beautifully cooked food. Great ambiance and excellent service. I won't lie the prices aren't cheap with steaks starting at $20 and going up to $45. The crab is also on the pricey side but seafood is always that way. For a special occasion or if you are well off this is a great restaurant.

 

125 Bunda Street,Canberra ACT 2601 Phone: 1300 546 475

Open Mon-Sat 12pm-10pm; Sun 12pm-9pm

Here's a few photos. Apologies for some slight blurriness.

  

http://www.kingsleys.com.au/canberra.html

http://www.kingsleys.com.au/canberra-gallery.html

                                                            Jam Puffs

Right, your craving something sweet or you have people coming over for dinner and you need an easy dessert, well look no further. These jam puffs are a pinch to make and only four ingredients are needed.

Most people have jam and milk in the fridge so all you'll need is a packet puff pastry and some flaked almonds ( optional).

What you'll need:

1 packet of puff pastry

A small jar of your favourite jam, I like strawberry. You could also use Nutella:)

1/4 cup milk or 1 beaten egg

Hand full of flaked almonds(optional)

First defrost the pastry then pop the oven on at 180 degrees fan forced. Cut the pastry in half and then half again across ways.

Next  place a tablespoon of jam in the middle of each one then fold one corner over in half.
After folding over press the sides down hard with you index finger or thumb. 

                                                                       

          

 

Brush each triangle with milk or beaten egg. This gives them a lovely golden colour as well as a little shine. Sprinkle flaked almonds on top if you like.

 

Bake for 20 minutes and take a peek, if they are puffed up and golden they are ready, if not bake for longer.



Here I added melted Toblerone mmm. I'd strongly suggest serving these with thickend cream, I always do.