Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Let's Get Technical - Great British Bake Off 2015 Bread Week

Week 3 and still one baker remains in the kitchen...

I am always comfortable with bread week because I bake so much of the stuff I look forward to adding to my repertoire.

Feeling relaxed is usually the first sign you are heading towards a disaster in a technical challenge, remember the burnt ciabatta from last year?

Let's see if I managed to conquer 4 "identical" baguettes...




I really do love a cream of chicken soup 










Now I want a Camembert and fig jam baguette....what is your favourite baguette filling?
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Sunday, October 4, 2015

Let's Get Technical - Great British Bake Off 2015 Biscuit Week

Week 2 of #lets_get_technical saw two and a half hours on the clock to create some arlettes.

An arlette is a cinnamon flavoured laminated pastry biscuit....yes it totally sounds like all the effort right???

Let's see how this bake went...








I'll be honest this was probably my favourite part of this bake, all that citrus syrup goodness! 






I can't let Sue and Mel be the only ones to give us a bake off innuendo...



These arlettes were far from perfection but it was worthwhile giving them a try.
Have you made arlettes before?
 
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Sunday, September 6, 2015

Let's Get Technical - Great British Bake Off 2015 Cake Week



As we head into the fifth technical challenge of this year's Great British Bake Off I remember that I hadn't posted the challenge here for anyone who hasn't been following along on Twitter.

This year there is also the option of Facebook and Instagram and even a bit of periscope.

The challenge kicks off at 3pm AEST 

Week one was cake week and I managed to complete Mary Berry's Frosted Walnut Layer Cake with time to spare, though in hindsight that time could have gone into more cooling of the sponges and decoration.

Given that it's the Great British Bake Off I thought I should dress for the occasion, thankfully I did have this left over from a royal guard production of Dreamgirls.  






The fifty shades of caramel 




Ok stop taking photo's or it will be burnt! 






I must remember more time cooling = much prettier layers  

It's lovely having fans, thanks Lucy!  
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Sunday, August 30, 2015

Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Portugal


Ladies and Gentlemen we have now landed in a country that I truly hope Eurovision will land in one day soon, Portugal.

Having been absent in the contest only 4 times since 1964 it really is high time we got to spend 2 weeks in Lisbon. Sadly the word among many commentators is that not singing a song in English give very little chance of coming home with a Eurovision victory. 

Portugal has only performed some English 4 times in their Eurovision history but never only in English. I love that they have resisted the trend and continue to represent their culture, the power of music means it can transcend language...so keep working on the music. 

Celia Lawson whose middle name may be Nigella came in last with nul points in 1997 for Antes do adeus.

The inspiration for this dish arrived after reading a travel review that mentioned the writer eating a roasted green pepper salad with lunch. I wandered into the garden where I was greeted with an array of green capsicums, chilies and peppers, so as they say in the classics, transaction complete. 


Roasted Green Pepper Salad
Ingredient
  • Mix of green capsicums and chillies
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Parmesan or similar hard cheese
Method
  • Put capsicum/peppers into a baking dish
  • Splash with olive oil and sprinkle with salad
  • Cover with tin foil
  • Bake at 180°C for 30-40 minutes
  • Allow to cool
  • Remove the stalk and seeds from large capsicums
  • Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, pinch of salt and some shaved cheese
A great addition to some antipasti or with some roasted meats.
In Semi final 2 Leonor Andrade came 14th which meant Portugal failed to qualify for the final for the fourth time in five years.
Leonor did get to perform twice during the jury semifinal due to technical difficulties which involved Mirjam after the credits telling everyone not to leave the arena so they could perform again. 

 One of the great parts of the rehearsals was the green room questions with Conchita as it appeared she had a script but the contestants did not. There was a much funnier version of the interaction with Portugal than that which went to air during semi final 2. Leonor wasn't sure of the fabric and Conchita advised her it was latex..."oh Latex, yes, I'm very familiar with that one".

Previous Portugal Chow Down to Eurovision:
http://www.dontboilthesauce.com/2014/04/chow-down-to-eurovision-2014-portugal.html
2014 Portuguese Pork Belly and Clams
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Saturday, July 25, 2015

Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Norway













Good evening from Norway, winners of the first Chow Down to Eurovision in 2013.

Today's recipe is from the land of culinary past that I'm sure we all had in our early youth but it certainly isn't terrible.

It should be enjoyed with some retro Eurovision such as the Bendik Singer from 1973 with It's Just a Game.....I hope they aren't referring to a game of the era where car keys were placed in a bowl?






Smoked Salmon Eggs
Ingredients
  • 6 eggs
  • 150g smoked salmon
  • 50g sour cream
  • 10g capers
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
  • Boil the eggs till hard boiled (about 7-8 minutes on low simmer)
  • Put eggs in cold water then peel
  • Cut the eggs in half and scoop out and place the yolks in a bowl
  • In a food processors add 100g smoked salmon, sour cream, capers, lemon juice and 1/2 the egg yolks*
  • Blend till smooth
  • Pipe or spoon the mixture into the hollow eggs whites
  • Arrange on a serving plate and decorate with more smoked salmon and a caper
*the rest of the yolks can get mixed with some mayo for toast or a sandwich


Don't worry if they eggs don't come out perfect, I would rather an egg with a bit missing than waste eggs searching for eggcellence. (sorry)

I have read about a method of putting the eggs into boiling water because they are coop fresh collected that day, so will have to give this a try!

Do you have any boiled eggs secrets?



One thing is certain Mørland and  Debrah Scarlett did something wonderful in Vienna coming 8th in Vienna with A Monster Like Me.  A class act from Norway that was made even more visually special by the phone torches in the arena.

Their powerful duet had an air of elegance that continued onto the red carpet where they graciously posed for selfies. 
 



Previous Norway Chow Down to Eurovision:

2014 Norwegian Prawn Open Sandwich


2013 winner Smultringers


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Saturday, July 11, 2015

Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Malta

Good evening Europe, Sydney, Melbourne and Sunshine* today we are tipping our toes in the warm waters of beautiful Malta.

But first a word from the lovely Maltese warrior Amber who had a message for all her fans in Australia. 

*a small suburb in Melbourne where Amber has family


Sadly in Vienna Malta just missed out on a place in the final coming in eleventh in semi final two.

Delivering such a deliciously strong entry in Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 could it be Malta's time to take the top prize here?

I'm sure Amber would still want you to vote for Malta!

Stuffed Olives
Ingredients
  • 300-400g olives pitted (I like green Sicilian but use your favourites)
  • 95g tuna (canned spring water)
  • 3-4 anchovies plus a splash of the oil
  • 10g capers
  • 1 slice of bread crust removed
  • 1 spring onion
Method
  • Blend all ingredients expect  olives in a food processor
  • Put mixture into a disposable piping bag (you don't want tuna flavoured icing next time)
  • Pipe each olive with the tuna mixture

So simple and I just love the colour of the olives....but wait I'm not finished yet!

Because it just isn't Eurovision without a reveal, the olives can also get treatment with flour, egg and Panko and then fried in hot oil till golden.

Salty, crispy, salty goodness, you will need to become a warrior as once these hit the table it will be on for young and old hunger games style!

Past Malta Chow Down to Eurovision:

2014 Pomegranate molasses ice cream 

2013 Makku- White bait 


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Sunday, July 5, 2015

Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Montenegro












Good evening Europe and good morning Australia....

The Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 will now continue semi final two with Montenegro.

There has been a little bit of a gap (ok a big gap) between our last country San Marino which I posted while in Vienna and now.... I was a little bit busy having the most amazing time of my life.

Did he only pack one shirt??

 
In my research for the dish to represent Montenegro I read about one dish that was a whole lamb that was stuffed with 6 chickens!

The prospect of a lamb and 6 chickens rotating over red hot coals is enough to get me inappropriately excited but the reality of it happening as a mid week meal just isn't practical.

So as my tweet suggests, I had to scale it down which really means I just made it up.
I had the opportunity to chat with Knez who represented Montenegro this year so naturally I had to find out if he knew about this lamb and chicken dish.
He really likes that shirt....
 

Montenegrin Lamb stuffed with chicken AKA Lambkin
Ingredients
  • 700g lamb rump roast (what was in the freezer)
  • 300g chicken mince
  • 1 small brown onion
  • Handful of parsley
  • Salt & pepper
Method
  • In a food processor add chicken mince, onion, parsley, pinch of salt and pepper
  • Pulse till combined
  • Cut a pocket along the centre of the lamb
  • Stuff with chicken mixture
  • Brown the lamb in a hot fry pan
  • Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 160°C for 1 hour
  • let rest and slice

Surely what ever meat needs is more meat right??

Two meats and one veg?
 
It's a strange adventure but not completely unenjoyable, cold on warm buttery toast heaven.
 

 
Bringing the Baltic flavour to Eurovision 2015 Knez performed the crowd pleasing Adio.
Placing 9th in semi final two was enough to secure a place in the final where Montenegro ended the night 13th.
 
Knez delivers the expected professional performance given his experience and the water nymphs backing  are the perfect support.
 
A bit of trivia Knez's daughter Xenia is one the backing singers.

Past Montenegro Chow Down to Eurovision:
 


http://www.dontboilthesauce.com/2014/04/chow-down-to-eurovision-2014-montenegro.html
2014 Squid Ink Risotto with Calamari
 
http://www.dontboilthesauce.com/2013/04/chow-down-to-eurovision-2013-montenegro.html
2013 Sesame Chicken Soup
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