Warm Lamb, potato & feta salad

Serves 4



400g whole baby potatoes

400g lamb backstrap

1tsp dried oregano

1tsp dried chilli

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ tsp salt

100g baby spinach leaves

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves

100g feta, crumbled

½ red onion, finely sliced



Lemon dressing:

1/3 cup (60ml) olive oil

1 ½ tbs lemon juice

½ tsp sugar



1) Slice potatoes, heat butter in pan and cook potatoes until brown on both sides. Drain on paper.

2) Rub lamb with oregano, chilli and garlic. Heat olive oil, cook lamb until browned. Cover and stand for 5 minutes.

3) Combine all ingredients for lemon dressing.

4) Combine spinach, mint, potatoes and feta. Toss gently. Transfer to plates, top with sliced lamb and onion.

5) Drizzle with dressing, serve with crusty bread.

Caramel Popcorn

This has become a bit of a Christmas tradition in the Dorman household.

Ingredients

1 cup margarine or butter

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup glucose syrup

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

24 cups popped popcorn

Method

1) Melt butter. Add brown sugar, glucose syrup and salt.

2) Bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes without stirring (turn down heat, while boiling so it doesn’t burn).

3) Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda.

4) Pour over popped popcorn.

5) Place on cookie sheets (I use large ceramic casserole dishes, so it doesn’t stick so much) and bake at 250F for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

6) Remove from oven to cool, stirring constantly to avoid clumping. Store in air-tight container.

Yum.

Sticky Date Pudding

This is a really easy, and yummo, Sticky Date pudding recipe. It's from the CWA, so it must be good!

Pudding
1 cup chopped dates
1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
60g butter or margarine
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup self-raising flour

Sauce
1 cup soft brown sugar
125g butter
150ml cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 180C and grease and flour a tin. For pudding, cook dates in water until combined.

Beat in remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared tin. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked. For sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Pour over pudding to serve.

San Francisco Chicken Burritos

Serves 2

 

1 Chicken breast fillets

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Large flour tortillas (preferable at least 25cm in diameter)

½ cup of warmed-up canned beans

1 cup of Tex-Mex rice

2 tablespoons sour cream

6 tablespoons grated cheese

½ cup of shredded lettuce

Hot Mexican sauce (Taco Sauce)

 

1. Marinate the chicken: Place the breasts in a wide mixing bowl. Pour the oil over them and toss the breasts in the oil. Add the minced garlic, oregano, cumin, paprika, the ½ teaspoon salt, and cayenne. Use your hands to mix well, making sure the breasts are evenly coated with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.

2. When ready to prepare the burritos, remove chicken from marinade and grill until the chicken is cooked through. Cut into diagonal slices and reserve.

3. Heat the tortillas and lay them on the bench. Divide the beans among them, creating a rectangular block of the beans at the centre of each tortilla. Top the block with the rice, dividing it between the tortillas. Continue to build on the block, dividing the ingredients, sour cream, chicken slices, grated cheese, shredded lettuce and hot sauce to taste. Roll up the burritos, enclosing the filling. Serve immediately.

Tex Mex Rice

Serves about 4 side dish servings

 

1 tablespoon canola oil

½ cup finely minced onion

2 tablespoons finely minced red capsicum

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

1 small fresh green chilli, seeded and finely minced (more or less to taste)

½ cup long-grain white rice, washed

½ teaspoon chilli powder

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1 cup chicken stock

 

1. Place canola oil in saucepan with a tight fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion, red capsicum, garlic and chilli. Cook for 5 minutes with the lid on, removing lid occasionally to stir; try to prevent browning.
   
2. Add rice to the pan, stirring well with a fork to coat the grains. Stir in chilli powder and tomato sauce, blending well. Add chicken stock. Bring liquid to a boil, stirring occasionally with a fork.
   
3. When liquid come to a boil, reduce heat so that liquid is simmering. Cover with lid and cook for approximately 15 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through and fluffy. Taste for seasoning. You may hold the rice in the saucepan for a few hours by placing a clean tea towel over the rice and topping with the lid. When ready to use, refluff rice with a fork.

Chocolate Brownies

Ok, this is really just an excuse to eat chocolate (like you need an excuse, right?) This works equally well with or without nuts. I have often used macadamia nuts, but you can use hazelnuts, or whatever takes your fancy.

Ingredients
30g butter
250g dark chocolate, chopped
80g butter, extra
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup copped nuts (optional)
1/3 cup sour cream (none of the light rubbish, go for the full fat)

Chocolate Icing
125g dark chocolate chopped
60g unsalted butter

Method
1 Grease deep 19cm square cae pan, line base with baking paper.

2. Melt 30g butter in pan, add 250g chopped chocolate, stir over low heat until chocolate is melted; cool 5 minutes.

3. Beat 80g extra butter, essence and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; beat in eggs 1 at a time. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Stir in sifted flour, then chocolate mixture, nuts and cream.

4. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 180C for about 45 minutes; cool in pan.

5. Turn from pan, remove paper. Spread with chocolate icing; cut when set,

Chocolate Icing
Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over simmering water; cool to room temperature. Beat with wooden spoon until thick and spreadable.

Plain Scones

Bit of a boring recipe - until you are craving scones with Jam and Cream on a Sunday afternoon. This is the classic recipe used by my Mum for years. So easy that even I can make pefect scones everytime. The secret is to rub the butter into the flour while it is still cold.

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

30g butter

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup water

Method

Sift flour and salt into bowl, stir in sugar. Rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs

Pour nearly all combined liquid in at once, mix to a soft dough; add remaining liquid if necessary.

Place on floured surface, knead lightly.

Roll out to 2cm thickness. Cut with a plain round scone cutter

Place on lightly greased oven tray or baking paper. Glaze with a little milk.

Bake at 220C for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Scalloped Potatoes

Another recipe that I got from Disney World. One of my favorite ways to serve potatoes. Unfortunatly this dish is quite rich, so you can't have it too often (a moment on the lips, forever on the hips, my Mum used to say). Ideal to serve with steak.

Ingredients
500 grams potatoes (Nicola potatoes are ideal)
1 cup cream
½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup thinly sliced onion
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Method
Combine all ingredients in a greased baking pan. Bake for 1 hour at 180C. Let stand for five minutes before serving.

Ohana Bread Pudding A La Mode with Banna Foster Sauce

Originally from Disney's Polynesian Resort, this is one of my favorite Disney recipes. The recipe looks complicated, but it is one of the easiest deserts to make. It has proved to be very popular with dinner guests, with Nick Waters renaming it 'Michael's Flaming Banana'.

Makes 6-8 servings.

For the Bread Pudding

5 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups whole milk
1 loaf day old bread – whole, not slcied (large enough to fill 10 cups)
½ cup crushed, canned pineapple
¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
vanilla ice cream

For the Banana Foster Sauce
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup each: glucose syrup and unsalted butter
1 cup each: cream and spiced or dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 bananas


Method
To make the Bread Pudding:

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease large baking dish with butter.

In large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Cut bread in 1/2-inch cubes. Add bread, pineapple and coconut to egg-and-milk mixture. Add bread and custard mixture to the greased baking dish.

Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes.


Meanwhile, make the banana Foster Sauce

In a saucepan, combine dark brown sugar, glucose syrup, butter, and half of the cream. Using high heat; bring to a rolling boil. Allow mixture to boil 10 minutes.

Add remaining cream. Let it boil additional minute.

Now add the rum and vanilla extract. Carefully flambe pan using a long stemmed lighter. Let boil until the flame goes out. Reduce to a simmer and stir with a high heat spatula.

Peel and slice bananas; add them to the caramel sauce. Remove the caramel from the heat and set aside.

To serve:
Place scoop of ice cream on top of each portion of bread pudding. Top with banana Foster sauce.

Recipe note:
Make the sauce as bread pudding is baking to have both hot and ready to serve at the same time.

Ultimate Choclate Chip Cookies

Everyone loves a Chocolate Chip Cookie, and this is my favorite recipe. Always a hit at Morning Tea

Makes: 4 Dozen 6½ cm Cookies

Ingredients:
2¼ cups unsifted plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
250 grams butter
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
300 grams Cadbury Chocolate Chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 190°C. Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.

In large mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and Chocolate Chips.

Drop tablespoon of dough per cookie onto cookie tray. Bake at 190°C for 11 minutes or until golden brown