Succulent Lamb Balls. (Curryed).

Curry rocks.

These recipes are complicated., But with a wow factor of warp 10. I just have to share it with you. Try this:

Ingredents: Lamb Balls:

500g minced lamb.

200g standard sausage mince.

1 brown onion. Very finely diced.

Several sprigs of parsley.

Pepper.

1 tbl spoon. Harrisa curry spices.

Ingredents: Curry Sauce:

1/2 tea spoon tumeric.

4 cloves.

5 green cardomon pods.

1 tbl spoon of cummin seeds.

1/2 tbl spoon of black mustard seeds.
6 dryed red chillis.

1/2 tea spoon of pepper.

1/2 tea spoon of salt.

4 cloves of garlic.

1 brown onion. Finely choped.

450g diced tomatoes.

Olive oil.

Method:Balls:

Combine all ingerdents. Roll into little balls and fry off in a little oil. Set aside.

Method: Curry:

Combine all ingredents, bar the tomato and onions. In a mortar, pound the shit out of the spices with a little oil, untill they are a nice paste.

Fry off the onion in the same pot as the balls. Deglase the base. When onions are about done, add some extra mustard and cummin seeds. When they start to crackle and pop, add the paste. Move constantly. As you do this, lean over the pot and wait untill the aromatic oils are released. This should only take a few seconds. As this happens, tip in the tomatoes, deglase the pot for the final time. Top up with half a cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer. Now add the lamb balls. Return to a simmer and cook for at least 1 & 1/2 hours.

Serving:

Ladle out the sauce and meat balls onto a furrowed bed of rice. Also, make a yogart sauce with finley diced cucummber, minced garlic, crached pepper, mint, and raw sugar. Drink a dark ale.....

Skewerd Cow Yum Yums!

This one it kinda like my last posting in it's construction , just different. Cow not chook here...

Ingredents:

Small Rump steak.

1 rasher of middle bacon.

1 medium flat mushroom.

Spring onions

Seed mustard.

Horse radish.

Peper.

Method:

Pound the shit out of the beef so as to end up with a nice thin, elongated steak. Spread a small amount of mustard and horse radish over the top, along with a generous cracking of peper. Slice the mushroom an place in the middle of the steak, along with the spring onions. Trim the rind from a rasher of bacon. Lift up the meat, place it over bacon. Roll the whole thing up. Impale it on a meatal skewer.

Cook it on a hot BBQ plate untill the bacon is well browned off on boath sides. Transfer to the bakeing tray and give it about 15-20 minutes. Remove and rest for a few minutes before serving.

Serving:

I think a red. Not to fancey. But if you have to, a dark ale, (Wich is what I drank) will do fine.

Skewer Yum Yums!

Tonight I've got stuffed thy fillet of chook filled with asparagus garlic and curry spices. BBQed with a bacon wraping.... Shit yeah.

Ingredence:

2 free range thy fillets of chicken. Skin off.

4 Slim asparagus spears.

2 rashers of middle bacon. Eye removed.

2 cloves of garlic. Finley choped.

1 tea spoon of curry spices. See 'High Speed Chick Pea' posting for ingredents.

Method:

Lay out the fillets. Across the length of the fillet, place the asparagus. (Snap the ends of first and discard. Then snap em in half. This should be a good size.) Sprinkle the garlic over the top aswell as the spices. Place the fillet in line and over the top of a bacon rasher. Useing the bacon as a wrap, roll up the fillet. Skewer and repeat for remaining ingredents.

Place skewers onto a medium hot BBQ grill. With the cover on, grill for about 5 minutes. Turn over and give it another five minutes. Move to the roasting tray, and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Remove, but only rest for about 2 minutes befor serving.

Serving:

For the pictured meal, I used a bed of cous cous with parsley. You could probably use what ever you wan't. I liked to drink a clean ale with this meal. This is a beverage non descript meal. But a bloody good one... Enjoy.

Blogs Revisited!

Kon ban wa blog viewers. From time to time. I try cooking things that I have cooked before. The reasons why are: Can I cook it the same again? Can I tweak it with subtle changes to the ingredents that will make it better? Can I make subtle changes to the ingredents so as to change the flavor, thus creating a new dish? With the same ingredents, can I alter the method so as to present it in a different style? Can any of the above questions teach me anything new about the combinations of ingredents and/or methods that that I have used before?

In essence my core cullanary values are:

Can I do it again?

Can I make it better?

Can I make it different?

Can it look different but taste the same?

Have I learned anything?

Every time you cook. Try to make something youv'ed never made before. If you do this as often as you can, you'll learn a shit load, and end up a way better cook.

As for the pix pictured:

The egg and bacon pie needs tomato on the botton as well as the top. Plus, sprinkle parsley all over just before it goes in the oven.

The lasagne needs to be cooked for about 20 minutes longer than stated in the original posting. Also, try useing a little less topping. I feel this will better balance the flavor.

Finelly. In my last posting I talked about shooting kangaroos. To all of the offended peoples. My apologies. Here is the same meal useing T-bone steak.

Roo-n-Mash

G-day. Tonight it's full blooded Aussie. Grilled kangaroo on potato mash, with mushroom sauce.

These days, you should be able to buy good quality kangaroo at your locall supermarket. I would go so far as to recommend it as a good substitute for beef. The flesh is some what more lean than beef. As it is not farmed, all kangaroo can be considered organic. When cooked, it will grey more than a cow, but will retain more flavor. The only real down side to roo is. If you don't seal it on a red hot pan, It will loose all of it's moisture. To let roo dry out when not sealed properly. Well you might as well eat my work boots. It's that bad.

If like me, you went down the back paddok to waste a fresh one. Use something with a bit of stopping power. 303, .22 magnum with hollow or star point. Anything .45, of even 50cal. All bored weapons with these numbers should bring down a large roo with one chest shot. In saying that. Steer clear of the big males. They are a bit tough.

Also, if your out roo shootn. I feel it is your duty as an Australian to kill atleast 60 rabbits, 14 foxes, 6 cats, 4 pigs, 2 goats, and a deer. All of these can be eaten. Foxes and cats however, taste like shit.

Ingredents:

250g (Per serve). Kangarook, rump steak.

2 large flat mushrooms.

4 large potatoes for mash.

1/4 cup plain flour.

2 tbl spoons butter.

Fresh choped parsley.

Fresh choped spring onions.

1/2 cup milk.

Salt & pepper.

Method:

Cook and mash the spuds. Heat a bbq hot plate to smokeing hot. Add the spring onions and parsley with a knob of butter to the mash. Pound it to a,.. Mash.

On your ultra hot hot plate, cook the roo. Test for doneness with the finger method.

Now make a roue with the mushroom.

Plate up...

Serving:

Make a stack of mash. Lay the steak on top. Drizzle roue over the lot. Done.

Drink with either a deep red or a rich larger.

Thanks for reading.........Hope you cook it.

Chermoula Grilled Chicken

Good look chook ya?

A post or so ago, I was asked to give a few more recipes for hot summer nights.... This is a north African corssing into spanish and middle eastern dish that is perfect for hot dry weather.

The spices involved are highly open to interperatation. However, I would strongly suggest that Papreka is left in. As I feel it is central to this dish. As for the rest. Couc cous, or rice, capsicum, or mushroom. It's all up to you. For this posting I will list the ingerdents used in the pictured dish.

Ingredents:

2 Free range chicken brest fillets. Skin off.

6 cloves of garlic. Finley choped.

1 heaped tea spoon of cummin seeds.

1 table spoom of papreka. (Smoked).

1/4 tea spoon of tumeric.

1/2 tea spoon of raw or palm sugar.

1/4 cup of fine choped spring onions.

1/4 cup of fine choped parsley. (Fresh).

1/4 cup of fine choped corriander. (Fresh).

1/4 cup of olive oil.

1 tea spoon of pepper. (Fresh cracked).

1/2 red capsicum.

1/2 green capsicum.

3/4 cup of uncooked cous cous.

extra parsley.

Small knob of butter.

Method:

Slice tops of brest to alow flavor to penitrate. Pound to a paste all the ingredents, bar the cous cous, capsicum, extra parsley, and butter.

Marinate the chook in the paste for about 30 minutes. Slice the capsicum into strips. Seal the chicken on a medium hot grill plate. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the capsicum. Keep the capsicum moveing every few minutes. Turn the chook one more time. Use the finger method to tell doneness. Just befor this happens. Prepear the cous cous with the extra parsley, and butter.

Serving:

Make a bed of cous cous on a large plate, place the capsicum in a florett over the top. Then the chicken over the top of it all.

Red wine, or a full bodied beer will suffice. what ever you feel like.

Pork on fork.

Sup Blog Blog?

A few people have beem asking me about the loin pork steaks I cooked. (Although, none of the comments reflected this. Hint, hint). Anyway. For this one I took the same cut of meat and served with a very different flavor. Also the salad was rearranged. Simmilar style but revised ingredence to balance out the meal. Check it y'all.

Ingredents: Pork:

Trimed loin of pork 200g per steak.

1/2 cup soy sauce.

1/4 cup ketchapmannis.

3x3x5cm peice of ginger. Finley choped.

6 cloves of garlic. Finley choped.

1 chlli. Finley choped. (Optional).

2 tea spoons of palm sugar.

1/2 cup of fresh corriander. Choped.

Ingrenents:Salad:

1/2 cucummber. Cut on lenght then sliced.

1 carrot. Cut on lenght then sliced.

1 tomato. Equator cut then quartered.

1/2 cup of whole skinned water chestnuts.

Small bunch of fresh choped corriander.

Simple vinagrett. To taste.

Extra corriander. (Looks good).

Method:

Combine all steak ingredents. Allow to marinate f0r about 15 minutes. Don't over do this marinade. It's a full on sub-whooffer master blaster. 15 minutes tops, OK, Good. Lets move on.

As for the salad. Combine the listed ingredents in a salad bowl. Tip in enough dressing to coat the lot, what you want is a nice glisten. Cook the pork on a moderate hot plate. Use the finger method to tell doneness. Dont have the plate to hot, that will burn the soy marinade. Don't have the plate to cold, that will boil off any avalible moisture. If you have a grill plate, even better. Not that it will do a better job. It just looks cool.

Serving:

If you can slap it on a plate so it looks good. Your a better chef than I. Apart from that. Make sure the meat has had a chance to rest befor sreving. (Helps no end). Guzzle something like a mahogany porter with this one. (If you are a moron, and you don't know what a mahogany porter is. I'm talking about beer. Got it? Good).

What to do with a shit load of herbs?

Chomp- Blog. Yum Yum.

In my last posting I talked up growing your own herbs. At this time of year they grow so fast, it's sometimes difficult to know what to do with them all. The above pictured casserolle uses an absolute shit load.

Look, straight up. If you don't have access to lots of fresh herbs don't attempt this one. For one. Dryed herbs suck, and you'll need bucket loads to get the flavor right in this meal. Secondly, to buy the herbs required for this dish fresh. Well, you'd have to bre a dickhead! So, if you got your shit together and are plucking your herbs fresh, Lets rock.

Ingredents:

6 Forquarter lamb chops.

1 large brown onion.

6 cloves of garlic.

4 large carrots.

1lt of beef stock.

5 medium potatoes for mash.

3 tbl spoons fresh choped tyme.

2 & 1/2 tbl spoons of fresh choped rosemary.

1/2 tbl spoon of fresh choped marjoram.

1/2 tbl spoon of fresh choped parsley.

2 tbl spoons of fresh choped of spring onions.

1/2 tbl spoon of fresh cracked pepper.

1/2 tbl spoon of quality salt flakes.

Flour to thicken.

Olive oil.

Method:

In a large heavy based oven proof pot, gently fry off the lamb in a little oil untill just cooked, remove. Deglasse the pot with the finely choped onion and sliced carrot. Add the finly chopped garlic, keep it moveing for about 45 seconds befor addind a dusting of flour. Mix in the flour and add the beef stock, finnish the deglasse, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer. After about 15 minutes of reduction, cover and place into a preheated oven at 190c for about 2 & 1/2 hours.

As it comes time to get the pot out of the oven. Smash the spuds adding the parsley and spring onions, a little bit of butter wont hurt em either.

Method:

Make a bed of mash heap some up the side, ladle some sauce from the casserole on top, then some meat and more sauce..... Yum.

Herb-O-Matic

Herb superb!!!

So often I crap on about the importance of fresh herbs. Yes, dryed herbs are avalible at the supermarket. Even so called fresh herbs can now be bought in the fruit and veg department.

What is shown in the above photo, would cost about $50 to buy. Only a moron would pay that price for something thats a few days old, and is doused in chemicals. I got these herbs for free! Super fresh. Guess how? They were grown in my sisters back yard. They were given no special treatment. They just grew. No fuss. No bother. Very little space, and no pesticides needed. But the best bit of all, just open the back door, pick what you need, enjoy the freshest herbs possible, for free.

Now I've said my peice. It's your turn. Get up tomorrow morning, go to the markets or where ever. Buy all the herb seedlings that you normally use in day to day cooking. Bung em in the garden, or in a pot if your like me. Give it a month, and with regular watering you can enjoy the wonderful flavors of fresh herbs yourself. Free and organicly good ofcourse.

Pictured:

Sage.

Tyme.

rosemary.

Marjoram.

Thanks sis for all the goodness...

Loin-o-pork. Carrot-o-cucummber.

What up 'Blogtastic'?

Summer slamed into me like a freight train. I can't stand heat!

The suffering of summer does have a few good bits. I get to do all the summery cooking. This one I banged out in no time flat. If your not quick with a blade you might want to use a machine for the julienne. Cost $4 per serve.

Ingredents:

Extra trim loin of pork.

1 large carrot.

1 cucummber.

3 small pickled cucummbers.

8 small grape tomatoes.

Basic vinagrett.

Method:

Finely julienne the carrot and cucummber. Cut in half the tomatoes, cut pickled cucummbers length ways then into slices. Toss the lot with some dressing in a non reactive bowl. Fin.

Tie off the loin then cut into thick steakes. Cook these on a very hot BBQ plate. Seal boath ends, then lower the heat and cook untill doneness is reached. Use the thunb and finger method for this.

Serving:

Place the rested steak on top of a stack of salad. Enjoy.

Beverage:

A full bodied fruity white should suffice.

Lamb Burger / Potato Salad!

Lamb Burgers! The recipe that I'm posting here are a huge hit with friends and familiy. Give em a burl and I promise you'll never look back. 'Bloody beautiful'....

Potato Salad. Every body knows potato salad. A real Aussie BBQ tradition. I've had a few shit ones in my time... This one, far from it. This is the best potato salad recipe I have ever tasted. Recipe complements of my wife. Thanks babe.... Here goes:

Ingredents:

Lamb burgers:

500g Lamb mince.

1 Brown onion.

100g Australian Fetta.

Zest and juce of 1 lemon.

1/2 tbl spoon dryed oregano.

Small handful of fresh mint.

4 cloves garlic.

1 tbl spoon bread crumbs.

Salt & pepper.

Salad:

500g Waxy potatoes.

2 Boiled free range eggs.

3 diced sweet pickled cuccumbers.

2tbl spoons whole egg mayonase.

1tbl spoon sour cream.

Basic salad vinagrett.

Kabana; Optional.

Method:

Burgers:

Combine all ingredents evenly. Form into patties. Set aside.

Salad:

Peel and cut the potatoes into even bite sized peices. Boil untill they are about 3/4 cooked. Drain and pour over a good amount of the salad dressing. Allow to marinate for upto one hour. Add the Quatered egg, cucummber, mayonase, sour cream. Very gently combine.

Beverage:

Wine or beer? I was hard pressed it call this one. I'll leave it up to you... Enjoy..

Ginger Beef Fryed Rice

Fried rice has been eaten by Aussies of decades. Yet so few of us have cooked it for ourselves at home. Why?
That authentic take away flavor is not hard to acheve. (Minus the MSG). Asian-Austrialianized flavors are actually very simple. If you can grasp the basic principles of cooking a stir fry, fryed rice is dead easy. First though, allow me to impart a few simple rules for all of us who are not wok masters.....

Use only a high carbon steel wok in the traditional concave shape.

Get your self a mega heavy duty gas burner. (Wok burner, 20,000 btu.)

Stay away from Teflon, or hard anodized woks. They just can't take the heat.

Season your wok with sesame oil. This will make it non stick, naturaly.

Get your self the right tools for the job. Wooden spatular that has been mated to the wok.

Your wok can never be to big.

Don't be afraid to give your wok hell. Carbon steel woks love to be heated to melting point!

Don't be afraid of fire. When your wok is really hot you will get flames leaping out as you cook. (Guests think this is cool, plus they will think the food tastes better. True.)

The final and by far most importaint rule is. 'Hot woks cook quick. Over cooked stir fry tastes like boiled cabbage!!!

Ingredents:

500g sirloin beef.

1 Chorizo sausage.

1/2 cup spring onion choped.

1&1/2 cups sliced bok choy.

3x3x5cm peice of ginger finley choped.

3 cloves of garlic.

4 tbl spoon of soy sauce.

1 tbl spoon of fish sauce.

Peper to taste.

Sesame oil to cook with.

Method:

Marinate the sliced beef and sausage with the ginger, garlic, soy, fish sauce, peper, and a few splashes of sesame oil.

Give it about 20 minutes.

While that is going on. Cook some long-grain rice. 1 dry cup should be good.

Heat your wok to smokeing hot. Add beef and saugsage in batches untill cooked. Remove, reheat wok, add all other ingredents. Stir fry for about 30 seconds. Combine with rice and reseved beef. Add the rest of the marinade and cooking juces. Toss through and serve....

Don't serve wine. Give beer for best results.

Lasagne Maxed Out!

Lasagne, doesn't sound like you spell it. But who doesn't love it. Variations abound. Tonight I cooked this one..... Holey crap! Vain, yes. Delicious, you beter beleve it.

Ingredents:
Fresh pasta sheets. Enough for about 6 layers. (Check older posts for recipe).
1kg Beef mince.
700g tin of chopped tomatoes.
1 large onion.
600g Grilled veges. See recent post.
400g Rocotta.
150g Fetta.
4 cloves garlic.
1 Egg.
Salt, pepper.
Method:
Gently fry the onions, when they are nearly done add the garlic. After another minute. Bring up the heat. Chuck in the beef. Cook it off. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Roughly chop the grilled veg, bung em in. Allow to reduce. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 200c.
In a large bakeing dish layer a small amount of sauce on the bottom. Now on top of that, layer some fresh pasta. Repeat, adding some cheese if you like. When you have allmost filled the bakeing dish. Mash together the Fetta and Recotta, add an egg aswell, plus a splash of milk. Pour this over the top. For good looks sprinkle on some smoked paprika.
Jam it in the oven for about 50 minutes.
Serveing:
As this dish contains all the ingredents of the food pryimid, almost in the right order. I feel I can say; Nothing else needs to be added to this to make it a meal.
Beverage:
Red wine. Full stop.

Rosemary Beef Pie. (Or not).

Wow. After my modem caught fire. After I could not blog to the world. It occurred to me that I was addicted to blogging. Or at least I was addicted to telling the world what I had cooked for dinner. In any case. Even if my modem exploded. That doesn't mean my kitchen did...... I cooked this meal for a great friend of mine. (What up Gerard)? Rosemary and beef are a match made in heaven. To infuse them boath in a casserole come pie, well, it's truley very special.... Cook this one on a cold rainy night.

Ingredents:

750g Osso Bucco.

1 large onion.

4 Small carrots.

1/2 cup of peas.

2 cups of red wine.

1/4 cup of flour.

salt/ peper.

1 heaped tbl spoon of fresh rosemary.

1 heaped tbl spoon of freash tyme.

6 cloves of garlic.

Beef stock.

Method:

In a large heavy based pot. Brown off the osso bucco with a little olive oil. Add the diced onion, brown it off. When this is done, add the carrots, (diced), allong with the flour. Sweat this for about 2 minutes on low heat. Pour in the wine, bring this to a rolling boil. after about 4 minutes, add the stock. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Stir occasionally. After about 30 minutes, remove the lid, start to reduce. At this time start some potatoes for mash. As you finnish the mash, the casserolle should be thickening up nicely. In an oven heated to 200c. Place some squares of puff pastery that have been brushed with olive oil on a bakeing tray. Cook them untill they are puffed and golden brown.

Serving:

Lay down a bed of mash. Spoon a generous amount of the beef filling over the top. On top of the lot, wack on the pastery square. take a step back, admire.... Well done!

Beverage:

Wine or beer.... Wine is and ingredent. So wine should be drunk with this meal. But beer... Beer matches beef and rosemary, to a tea. (Larger, or Stout). Its up to you.

Mo Mo. Bang Bang.

Holy crap. While transmographying my dilitham matrix. The modem exploded.. Finally, after much delay, the warp-drive is back up and running, so.... Full ahead 'Blogtastic'.

Tonight, I give to you 'BBQ combination skewers'.

Combination, because the combined ingredents work well and have a great flavor. Again, this one is soooo piss easy. Just use fresh herbs, and quality olive oil. You can't go wrong...... The listed ingredents serves 2.

Ingredents:

4 skin off free range chicken thy fillets.

2 baby zuccinis.

1 golden capsicum.

1 red capsicum.

2 Chorizo, (Spanish) sausages.

Zest & juice of 1 lemmon.

1 tea spoon fresh tyme. (Chopped).

1 tea spoon fresh rosemary. (Chopped).

1 tea spoon quality salt flakes.

1/2 tea spoon of fresh cracked pepper.

100ml of quality olive oil.

Method:

Create a marinade with the tyme, rosemary, lemmon, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cut the other ingredents into chunks. toss them all into the marinade. Allow to infuse for about 1 hour. Spear the lot onto skewers.

Char over a medium hot grill. Brush some of the marinade on if you want.

Serving:

Jazz em up abit. Wrap them as you would a sovlaki. Or eat them with a green salad. I've even used them in a bolognase sause, brilliant flavor addition there.... Or just eat them on there own.

Beverage:

Basic Tuscan flavors like this can work with either red or white wines. I'll leave that decision up to you. But no beer for this one please.