Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Mangkuk Jagung Kukus

Dan resep ini juga udah lama kepengen bikin, gampang banget dan cepat. Bahannya : jagung, ayam giling, udang cincang, seledri, telur ayam, bawang putih, lada, garam dan kaldu blok maggi. Campur semua bahan dalam satu wadah, lalu masukkan ke dalam mangkuk cetakan, kukus sampai matang. Mudah kan??!

bOLa MacAroni

Minggu, 17 Agustus kemaren gue iseng-iseng bikin resep ini, namanya bola macaroni.
Dapet dr resep sahabat Nestle,
bahannya : susu cair, mentega, bawang Bombay, daging ayam cincang, maggi kaldu blok rasa ayam, gula pasir, keju cheddar parut, bahan utamanya tentu aja macaroni rebus sampai lunak.
Bahan untuk lapisan : tepung panir dan telur ayam.

Cara membuatnya : tumis bawang Bombay, masukan daging ayam, maggie, gula pasir, susu, macaroni, dan keju parut, masak sampai matang. Diamkan sampai dingin. Lalu bentuk adonan menjadi bola2 kecil. Goreng dengan menggunakan lapisan tepung panir dan telur ayam hingga kecoklatan.

A disturbing confession

This is a post I thought I would never write. I had always vowed that anything grown under laboratory conditions would not pass my lips (see this, rather frightening, vision of the future: lab meat) let alone form even the smallest part of my diet. This included Quorn and Textured Vegetable Products (TVP) such as soya. I have no problem with vegetarianism or veganism, people have the right to eat whatever they wish. Indeed, over the last few months I have found that my own meat consumption has fallen significantly.

We can’t afford to eat quality meat (by which I mean humanely reared) on a regular basis and so we eat it with less frequency rather than accept a dip in quality. This is our own personal choice, much it is personal choice that convinces a person that they do not wish to eat meat at all.

What I do have an issue with is non-meat products that attempt to emulate something that has come from a living, breathing creature. If you make the choice to exist solely on legumes and pulses then make the commitment. Don’t fill your shopping basket with meat free bacon or TVP chicken style pieces. That’s just wrong and leads us to dark and murky places where I think we should not delve (see link above on lab grown meat).

Anyway, back to Quorn. Quorn is a manufactured fungus that was developed back in the 1960s. After being grown in a vast Petri dish, it is then processed into various forms that resemble animal products that we know and love: minced ‘meat’, chunks of ‘chicken style’ pieces and other such culinary abominations.

For some inexplicable and bizarre reason that still defies all rational explanation, a packet of these ‘chicken style’ Quorn pieces managed to find themselves in my freezer. In MY freezer alongside chunks of lamb neck, a bag of pig’s trotters and a frozen tray of game including pigeon, pheasant and venison. They were discovered as I was making room for a bag of ice and a bottle of Stolichnaya and were sacrificed so that we could enjoy some cold vodkas and tonic later in the evening.

They weren’t just sacrificed. In what may be deemed a slight over-reaction, they were deftly flicked towards the bin where they sat, slowly defrosting into their weird fungal form.

But in the spirit of adventure (don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it, et cetera) and frugality (credit crunch cooking – don’t bin it, eat it) I removed them from their rubbishy grave soon afterwards and handed them to my girlfriend who insisted that they were, in fact, ‘quite nice.’

To me, ‘quite nice’ has never been a ringing endorsement. ‘Quite nice’ is how my grandmother might describe an album of pan-pipes music or an episode of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. Other foods that fall into the ‘quite nice’ bracket include mild cheddar, aubergines and Salt ‘n’ Shake crisps. None are offensive but neither are they worthy of praise and my world would not be a worse place if any of them ceased to exist.

For the Quorn, we decided on fajitas – my rationale being that almost any foodstuff, even one as soulless, soggy and pathetic as Quorn, can be rendered edible with the addition of copious amounts of hot sauce. It’s like balls in a bottle, just waiting to kick some poor, unsuspecting ingredient up the backside and render it a fully-fledged psycho like drill sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.

We added an onion and a sliced courgette, one of the many that are invading our kitchen thanks to a very productive vegetable patch, and then in went the Quorn. I was surprised to see it caramelising in a similar way to meat, albeit considerably faster. The smell, too, was pleasant. Not necessarily meaty, but certainly not fungal either. The sauce went in (from a jar. I know. I know. I know. But I can’t make everything from scratch) followed by a tin of black eyed beans and it bubbled away for a few minutes whilst we heated the wraps.

Once the tortillas had been filled with the mixture (which was looking disturbingly meaty) they were topped with a little tomato sauce, some cheese and then the whole lot slid into a hot oven.

It pains me to say this but they tasted good. Granted, there was a considerable amount of Who Dares Burns brand hot sauce dribbled into my fajita (I’ve just re-read that and it sounds incredibly rude. Oh well) but the overall flavour was good. Don’t get me wrong, there is more chance of Ellen DeGeneres being caught in a threesome with Siegfried and Roy than me renouncing meat and all its fleshy glory but perhaps I won’t be so fast to judge next time.

www.justcookit.blogspot.com

A New Direction for Cooking Classes




A Day in the Kitchen
From September the 15th 2008 the Cooking School at Sunnybrae is taking a new direction.In the past our classes have been on a single subject like pasta, antipasto, seafood, bread, desserts and the like.
The new series will be based around the hands on preparation, and of course enjoyment of a balanced 4 course meal highlighting the best seasonal, but perhaps less commonly used ingredients.
They will be on Mondays only.
You can have an input on what is covered in the class by indicating your preferences when booking.
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So if you have an interest in cooking say? young goat, squab, oysters, terrines, any unusual or traditional dishes we will incorporate them into the class provided the ingredients are in season and available fresh.
If there is a special technique you would like to see such as fine pastry, sabayon based ice-cream, clear stocks or perhaps wood fired cooking or indeed anything else, we will endeavour to put your request into the class.
There will always be at least one bread covered in each class and as much from the garden as possible.
Most people who come to our classes are looking for inspiration, conviviality and also to polish their culinary skills. So that’s what we will be doing, giving you a chance to use the best ingredients in season to create a balanced multi-course menu that incorporates unusual but achievable techniques in a cheerful and hopefully inspirational setting.So rather than sitting down to 6 pasta dishes or six Cassoulet after class we can enjoy a balanced, diverse meal together with some well chosen wines.Achieving balance both in a menu and within each dish is one of the most important challenges that all cooks face.There will also be a few specialised single subject classes and a number of guest presenters.So if you feel like spending a day in the Sunnybrae kitchen followed by a spectacular lunch, with a small group [12 maximum] of like-minded cooks led by George Biron, just let us know your preferences and indicate a Monday that suits so we can book you in.Keep checking the cooking school site for more updates and also let us know what you would like us to present.
Bookings by telephone only on 03 52362276.
What to bring.A sharp knife, an apron, sensible shoes and an enthusiasm for good food and wine.
Costs$110 pp including all wines and GST.
$100 including all wines and GST pp for groups of 4 or more.
Partners or mates who would like to join us for lunch $55 from 1.30 pm
Last minute discount. Ring ONE day before to see if there is space $100.p.p including all wines and GST.