Debbie's Mushroom Soup

500g mushrooms, peeled and sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 potato, diced into small cubes
3 sticks celery, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 parve chicken stock cubes [Massel]
1 tablespoon olive oil
20g butter [optional]

Saute onions and garlic in some olive oil and a knob of butter [butter optional but it does make a difference].
Add chopped leek and celery.
Saute for a few minutes.
Then add mushrooms, potato, stock cubes, salt and pepper and enough water to just cover.
Bring to boil and simmer for about 40 minutes.
Blend and serve.

Hedy's Honey Cake

500g honey
3 eggs
One and a half cups raw sugar
3/4 cup oil
vanilla essence
3 cups SR flour
One and a half cups black coffee [not hot]
3 tablespoons of cocoa

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl of electric mixer.

Pour into one or two large pans and bake at 180 degrees until firm and skewer comes out clean. If making two cakes out of this recipe, cooking time is approx 35 mins.  Allow extra time for one big cake.

Green Eyes: A Song For Me Because I Feel Like It

Potato and Spinach Gratin

2 lbs small white potatoes, scrubbed and sliced THIN (about 7 cups sliced)
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/8-1/4 cup minced onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups cream
2 tablespoons butter melted
1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat over to 375, grease a 13"x 9"baking dish, set aside.
Place potato slices in a large bowl, add spinach, onions, garlic, toss well to evenly distribute.
In a separate bowl combine cream, melted butter, cheese, salt, and pepper, stir together well; pour this mixture over potato mixture and stir well to evenly combine.
Pour into the prepared baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 375 for 50-60 mins or until potatoes are tender.
Uncover and continue to bake for additional 20 mins.
Serves 8.

Fennel, Blood Orange and Sunflower Seed Salad

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper

2 medium fennel heads thinly sliced
3 blood oranges, peeled and segmented
1 cup sunflower seeds


In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the sliced fennel, toss to combine and chill for at about 1 hour.Add the orange sections to the fennel mixture and sprinkle with the sunflower seeds.
Toss very gently to combine. Arrange salad on a platter.

Fish Meuniere

[Recipe by Neil Perry]

4 fish fillets [200g each], skin off - [suggest John Dory]

clarified butter [melt 250g butter over a medium heat, then strain off and discard the milk solids]

1/2 cup milk

1 cup plain flour

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

125g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 lemons, quartered

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

[Serves 4]

Place a large stainless steel or non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat and pour in enough clarified butter to cover the base of the pan. Heat the butter to hot.

Meanwhile dip the fish fillets in the milk, then the flour, and sprinkle with sea salt. Place the fish fillets in the hot pan and cook for about one minute. Turn and cook the fish for another minute.

Place a fish fillet on each of 4 plates, squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish, sprinkle with parsley and sea salt and give a good grind of pepper.

Add the unsalted butter to the pan over high heat. As the butter turns a nut-brown colour, spoon it over the fish. The butter, parsley and lemon juice will mingle to create the meuniere sauce. Serve immediately.

[Serve the fish with boiled new potatoes tossed in butter or olive oil, and peas]

Flat bread Salad (Fattoush)

[A slight variation on the regular Fattoush]:

2 flatbreads, toasted, cut into bite size pieces
Lettuce
Cucumber
Purple Cabbage
Cherry tomatoes
Spanish onion

Slice vegetables and layer in a large bowl.

Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
dash of pepper

Shake all together and pour over salad then add the flatbread.

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

3 tbsp. cider vinegar
3 tbsp. honey
6 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. onion, finely minced
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup salad oil

 

Heat vinegar and honey in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until honey dissolves. Pour into bowl. Cool. Whisk in all other ingredients except oil. Mix well. Gradually whisk in oil. May be prepared 3 days ahead, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature. Mix well before dressing salad.

 

Good with avocado and watercress salad.

Options: Make a salad with finely chopped capsicums (red, green and yellow), finely chopped snow-peas, finely chopped radicchio lettuce and baby spinach leaves.

Spicy Pumpkin and Parsnip Soup

Olive oil, knob of butter
3 onions, roughly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped
2 Massel parve chicken stock cubes
half tsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt

Fry onion in olive oil/butter for a few minutes, add sliced parsnip and garlic, saute for another minute.  Add pumpkin, stock cubes, salt and cayenne pepper.  Cover with water. Bring to boil and allow to simmer for about half an hour, until vegetables are cooked through.  Puree until smooth.

Onions Never Make Me Cry....

...because I keep them in the fridge.  Cut them when they are cold, and you will never cry over an onion again.

Macaroni Cauliflower Cheese

1 small head of cauliflower
200g macaroni pasta

Cheese Sauce:
600ml milk
50g butter
50g flour
100g grated cheese
1 tablespoon English mustard

Preheat oven to 190c. Cut the cauliflower into florets, and boil with the pasta for 10 mins.

In the meantime, to make the cheese sauce, heat the butter in a pan then add the flour gradually to the melted butter. Stir vigorously for a minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in the milk. Place back on the heat and increase temperature, whisking the milk mixture continuously as it thickens. Bring to the boil, by which time it should have thickened, then stir in the cheese and mustard. Season to taste. Drain the pasta and cauliflower,   then tip them both into a baking dish. Top with the cheese sauce and grate a little extra Parmesan over the top. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown.

Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened
6 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Using a kitchen whiz, beat all ingredients slowly at first until everything starts to come together. If you go too fast you will get powdered sugar all over your counter. Let whip for approximately 5 minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy. Spread on cake as desired.

* Tip – the trick to getting smooth frosted cakes is to frequently scrap off excess frosting and dip your spreader into a cup of warm water, then continue spreading. It will look a bit wet as you go along, but the frosting will harden up beautifully.