Saturday 14 September 2013

Tomato, Chevin and Basil Tartlets





Makes 15 tartlets


Ingredients:

1 sheet Woolworths all butter puff pastry, cut into 15 squares
1 egg
1 ½ logs Fairview Chevin, cut into 15 slices
8 Rosa tomatoes, halved (15 halves to top tartlets and 1 half to eat while preparingJ)
Basil Pasto to top
Micro Basil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place the puff pastry squares on a baking sheet, brush with the egg and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Top each square with a slice of chevin and a tomato half, return to the oven for the cheese to melt and tomato to cook slightly.

Top with a little basil pesto and garnish with micro basil. Serve Hot.

Brie and Onion Marmelade Tartlets





Makes 15 tartlets

Ingredients:

1 sheet Woolworths all butter puff pastry, cut into 15 squares
1 brie, sliced into 15 pieces
1 jar Woolworths onion marmalade
Micro Coriander to garnish

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place the puff pastry squares on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Top each square with a slice of brie and a little onion marmalade.

Garnish with micro coriander and serve.

Thursday 12 September 2013

Millionaires Shortbread




Ingredients:

Shortbread:
180g Butter
90ml castor sugar
375ml cake flour
Pinch of salt
Caramel:
250g butter
125g sugar
1 can condense
60ml golden syrup
150g bitter sweet chocolate

Method:

For the shortbread:

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Sift in the flour and a pinch of salt, and mix well. Press the mixture together and place in the fridge to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Press the dough into a rests the mixture together and place in the fridge to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Press the dough into a brownie tin/rectangular baker to form an even layer that is about 1 cm thick. If there is any excess dough, bake it into cookies J

Prick the short bread with a fork and bake in a preheated oven to 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the caramel filling:

Place the butter, sugar, condensed milk and golden syrup into a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar and butter have melted.

Bring to the boil, and cook stirring continuously for 10-15 mins, or until the caramel is a dark golden colour and has reached soft ball stage(when you drop a little in a glass of cold water and you can bring it together to form a ball).

Pour the caramel over the shortbread and allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate and pour it over the caramel layer, allow to cool slightly before scoring the chocolate into blocks.

Then allow to cool and set completely before cutting into portions and serving.

Sunday 1 September 2013

HOMEMADE PIZZA


Add caption

Ingredients:

Pizzas Bases bought from your local pizza place or 
click here for my Pizza Base Recipe 

1/2 an onion
1 clove of garlic
45ml tomato paste
Chopped tomatoes (1 tin will do cover 3-4 bases)
120ml water
5ml sugar
salt and pepper

You can use whichever pizza toppings you like, here are some of my favourites:
Caramelized Onions
Mushrooms
Peppers
Red Onion
Pepperdews
Baby Tomatoes
Basil
Pineapple
Bacon (needs to be pre cooked)
Ham
Salami
Chicken Breast (needs to be precooked and marinaded)
Feta
Boccachini 
Avo 
Rocket

Cheese- I like to use a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar because the mozzarella melts nicely and a little cheddar adds some nice flavour.

Method:

Saute the onions in a little olive oil until soft and golden, then add the garlic and saute for a further 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, tinned tomato and water and cook for 20-30 minutes on a medium heat until thick and cooked. Season well with salt, pepper and sugar and allow to cool.

Place the pizza bases on a floured baking tray and top with some tomato sauce, use the back of a spoon to spread it over the base, leaving a 1cm gap around the edges. 

Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese over the pizza and top with your favourite toppings.

Place in a preheated oven at 200°C and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the underneath of the pizza base is golden.


TIPS- 

If you are making a few pizzas it's really fun to have a whole variety of toppings and make different ones for every body to share

Pizza goes hand in hand with wine!!!


Crispy Pizza Base




Ingredients:
500g cake flour
15ml salt 15ml sugar
10g instant yeast
600ml tepid water

Method:
Sift together the flour, salt and sugar, then mix in the yeast.

Make a well in the centre of your dry ingredients and pour in half the water. Mix together to form soft dough adding more of the remaining water as necessary.

When you have soft but not sticky dough, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Place into a grease bowl, cover and place in a warm place to double in bulk, about 30 minutes.

Divide dough into first sized balls, and roll out very thinly on a well floured surface. Top with your favourite toppings and bake at 200°C until golden and crispy.