Monday, June 29, 2009

Sunday - Luke’s Easy Omelet


Omelets are always something that seems so tricky. I had never attempted to make one after watching my dad fail so many times. After meeting Luke and have him teach me how to cook his awesome omelet I soon realized the key. Do not fuss. Dad always tried to move the egg when it was still runny resulting in scrambled eggs with ham and tomato. This is a great recipe as you can adjust it to your taste and eat it for any meal. Below is the recipe for a basic ham, cheese & tomato omelet but you can add whatever tickles your fancy.


Ingredients for one
2 eggs well whisked per person
Half a tomato finely sliced
Small handful shredded ham
Small handful cheese
Drizzle of sweet chili sauce

Heat a small fry pan with a light spray of oil. Ideally you will use a non stick pan that will be covered by all of the egg pix. This just makes for a nice shape.
Pour in whisked egg. If you pan is nice and hot the egg will try to boil and will bubble. Have a fork on hand and spike the bubbles.
After about 30 seconds your mixture should start to be cooking on the bottom. When this happens place your tomato, ham and cheese on one half of the egg leaving a 1cm boarder.
Drizzle sweet chili sauce over the cheese.
When the egg is mostly cooked through (and you can easily put a spatula under it ) fold it in half.
Press down the edges to seal the ingredients inside.
Cook for 30 seconds then flip whole omelet.
When the egg is golden brown slightly & crispy remove from the pan and serve on toast.

It is really that easy!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Taster..

Well No recipe with this entry but a few photos of dishes to come soon.. stay posted!

Chicken and Peanut Curry

Another Wonton Noodle Soup

And I Share Another Kitchen Love

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tuesday – Worlds Easiest Chicken and Corn Soup


There are a few reasons why I wanted to share this easy soup recipe. The first being that it is winter and a good soup always warms you to the core. The second being that in winter everyone gets sick and this week it is my turn the get the dreaded cold. The third has a bit of a story.

Luke used to live in a tiny apartment on the corner of Glebe Pt Rd and Parramatta Rd. While this location had downsides (you could never open the windows due to noise and pollution) it had the upside of being very close to many tasty eateries. One of these (and a particular favorite of ours) was Haiphong Harbour. It is a cozy Vietnamese joint that has possibly the best chicken and corn soup I had ever tasted.

So when wanting to make myself feel better it was to that soup that I looked for inspiration.

Trust me, after a hot bowl of this delicious soup you will never turn to a can of chicken and corn soup again!

1 tip when making this, as there are so few ingredients used, it is worth buying good quality brands ie Campbell’s chicken stock and Edgel Creamed Corn. Powdered stock probably wouldn’t work.

Ingredients
300g Chicken breast cut into fine small pieces
1L Campbell’s Chicken Stock
420g Creamed corn
2 tsp soy sauce
1 Good sized tsp ginger (being sick and lazy I used a jar variety)
2 eggs whisked

In a large saucepan bring stock, corn and ginger to the boil.
Add in chicken and reduce to a simmer.
When chicken is cooked stir the soup quickly and slowly pour the egg into the centre of the mix.
GENTLY stir egg in. You don’t want to mix too fast or you will end up with scrambled eggs.

If making this ahead of time, don’t do the egg step until right before serving.

Serve with some spring onions or if even a couple fine slices of fresh chili if you are after a kick!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Kitchen Loves - Cookbooks


Ok so it has been a while since I added anything. That is not because I haven't been cooking but because I wasn't 100% sure that they were worth adding. So I thought I would share some cookbooks that I love and hopefully they will get you inspired to get into the kitchen.

Maggie’s Harvest - Maggie Beer
An Australian cook who I am sure you have all heard of. Maggie’s Harvest is an epic cookbook but well worth it. Every recipe is accompanied by a story of how it came about. It is warm, inviting and looks great thanks to its beautiful stitched cover. I requested it a few Christmases ago and have spent much time pouring over the rich, beautiful meals. There is an amazing stuffing recipe with apple and sage and a pumpkin risotto to die for! While this is an investment book ( rrp $125 ) it is one that I absolutely love and recommend.

Cake Bible - Penguin Books
This pint-sized cookbook is dedicated to cakes and puddings and is one I could not live without. Mum and I both have a copy that are always cluttered with strips of paper stuck into the pages of those cakes we want to make next. Simple steps and good ingredients make for beautiful moist and tasty desserts. The pumpkin cake is AMAZING as is the carrot cake (never in my life have I seen a carrot cake as moist and sticky as this one!!!) There are many books in the ' bible ' collection and they are all fantastic. The cake edition though is as absolute must!

Women’s Weekly
Women’s weekly have been making cookbooks for years. You are bound to find whatever your heart desires in one of their books. Growing up mum always had a cupboard filled with cookbooks and majority of these were by WW. They have entered a new age however from their dowdy high gloss pages into something very slick indeed! I currently have one of their larger editions sitting on my coffee table, as it is a work of art.
One series of theirs includes small square books dedicated to topics such as Cheesecakes, Cookies, Cupcakes (obviously this one had to included due to the current fad) Sweets and more ( these are the four I own ). Beautiful images accompany the incredibly enticing recipes. They retail at $25 each but are fantastic to have.