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Category: Cooking

  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #35: Steak Indian-Style

    This was our 35th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. We haven’t given up yet! We are still going! We’re just a few weeks behind. This is one we had a couple weeks ago, and frankly it wasn’t that memorable. It was “Steak Indian-Style with Spinach & Paneer Salad, Naan Breads, and Mango Dessert.” We chose it primarily because mangoes came into season! Unfortunately I don’t have the time saved on my phone, but I seem to remember it coming in around the 34 minute mark. The Snook was on chef’s duty for this one.

    Steak Indian-Style

    Substitutions: We couldn’t find Patak’s Jalfrezi paste, so we went with Balti instead. We left the cress out of the salad. We also had an unplanned substitution for the naan breads, but you’ll see about that soon enough. Other than that, everything was as written in the recipe.

    Quick verdict: Okay, Indian style steak?? THAT’S NOT A THING. Most Indians don’t even eat beef, much less marinate it in curry paste. It doesn’t taste bad; it’s just a weird idea. That aside, this meal was mostly okay. However, it’s one of the ones where I don’t really know how to eat it. There are just lots of small components, along with dips and such, and it’s just kind of confusing. Like, am I meant to be making a little open-faced sandwich? Or is it more of a salad? We liked all of the individual components well enough. We both rated it an 8 out of 10. I’m not really sure who you’d make this for, though. I sure won’t be serving it to my Indian friends!

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  • Thanksgiving 2011

    Thanksgiving 2011

    This was a highlight in my otherwise crappy week. The Snook and I had planned to have a simple Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night after work. On Wednesday though, I decided it would be more fun to make it an impromptu dinner party. My American friends Josh and Jamie didn’t have anything planned, and Kunaal is always up for a gathering. So in the end we had quite a merry little party! I made slow cooker turkey legs, homemade green bean casserole, and gingery carrots. Josh and Jamie brought mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and bread rolls, and Kunaal brought fruit pies. And afterwards, we had a rousing game of Settlers of Catan. I’m thankful to have been able to celebrate the day with such good friends!

    Here’s Kunaal, Jamie, and Josh just before dinner.

    Before dinner

    I’d never made green bean casserole before, so I figured I’d go all out with Martha Stewart’s recipe. Instead of canned soup, you make the mushroom sauce from scratch. I didn’t bother frying my own shallots though; we had a bag of them from the Asian store. This turned out SO GOOD. I should’ve made more of it since we devoured every bit!

    Green bean casserole

    I knew I wanted to have turkey, but it’s difficult to cook a whole bird when you don’t have the day off work. So instead I settled for slow cooker turkey legs. That morning I layered some onions in the bottom of the crock pot and then packed in six turkey legs. Each leg was drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper, and sage. I also chucked in some sprigs of thyme. They cooked all day on low, and they were just about falling off the bone ten hours later. Not bad at all! The Snook also used the onion and pan drippings to make a quick gravy as well.

    Turkey legs

    Jamie and Josh brought mashed sweet potatoes, which were very tasty. I believe this recipe was from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals!

    Mashed potatoes

    For the other side dish, I made Gingery Glazed Carrots. They turned out pretty well, despite a minor hiccup with the recipe. (I think I had too much liquid, as it never quite reduced as much as it was supposed to.)

    Carrots

    Kunaal and the Snook enjoying their dinner.

    Kunaal and Snookums

    Jamie and Josh at the table. I surprised them by having the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the TV. (It was a bit-torrented version from 2008, but still.)

    Jamie and Josh

    After the feasting, we broke out Settlers of Catan. Kunaal and Jamie were new to it but picked it up quickly. Fun way to end the night!

    Settlers of Catan

  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #34: Meatball Sandwich

    This was our 34th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. We’ll be going on hiatus for a few weeks due to our annual Halloween party as well as a small trip I’m taking to Victoria. Also, this time of year is just insanely busy… which is why I’m only just now getting around to posting this meal, which we actually made last weekend. Whoops. Anyway, for this one we chose “Meatball Sandwich, Pickled Cabbage, Chopped Salad, and Banana Ice Cream.” We chose it because we took a punt the week before and bought bananas, reckoning they’d ripen up in time to use. They did! I was on chef’s duty for this one and – though I thought I was speeding along – I clocked in at a disappointing 40:46. It was tasty though.

    Meatball Sandwich meal

    Substitutions: I actually made a double-batch of the meatballs (simply because I accidentally thawed too much hamburger). Other than that, we followed the recipe pretty much exactly!

    Quick verdict: Nothing too challenging or objectionable here! Just a nice simple meal, and probably one that would appeal to kids as well. The sandwich was hearty, but I thought the meatballs were a little bland. The red cabbage really perked up the sandwich though, especially with the chilli and mint. (The recipe makes more than double the slaw actually need. We were eating it all week.) The chopped salad was very good, with the avocado and feta giving it an almost creamy texture. The “ice cream” was a bit of a gimmick, and I’m not sure the coconut added much. We both rated it an 8 out of 10. A pretty good meal, but nothing that really stood out as amazing. You could feed this one to just about anybody though!

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  • Brains in a Jar

    I am just going nuts with the Halloween stuff lately. Brains in a Jar Cake! How cute is that?

  • Shared today on Google Reader

  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #33: Stuffed Cypriot Chicken

    This was our 33rd cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. (ARE WE DONE YET? Sheesh.) For this one we chose “Stuffed Cypriot Chicken, Pan-Fried Asparagus & Vine Tomatoes, Cabbage Salad, St. Clement’s Drink, and Vanilla Ice Cream Float.” We chose it because we had the episode recorded, and it didn’t use anything we couldn’t get this time of year. HOWEVER – we realised quickly that the book version is very different from the one on the show! It has an extra dish (the “Ice Cream Float”) and some of the instructions were different. Very sneaky, that Mr. Oliver! The Snook was on chef’s duty and managed it in a respectable 35:43.

    Stuffed Cypriot Chicken

    Substitutions: We only did a half-recipe of the chicken, and we left out the rosemary sprigs. We also only did 2 flatbreads. We didn’t bother with mint for the drink, and we used espresso rather than instant coffee for the dessert. Other than that, everything was as written in the recipe.

    Quick verdict: Pretty good! Nothing to complain about here. The chicken did take a bit longer to cook than we expected, but it’s visually impressive when you slice it apart. The flavours were all nicely complementary. The cabbage salad was better than I expected, with the onion giving it a welcome bit of bite. The flatbreads fluffed up without catching fire, which was a bonus. (We always seem to have trouble with his “damp greaseproof paper” instructions.) Tomatoes and asparagus are always good, and the drink was fine (if a bit unnecessary). The dessert was basically an affogato, so we both liked that. We both rated it an 8.5 out of 10. It was a nice, tasty meal, but it didn’t really have any stand out elements. It sure looks pretty though!

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  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #32: Tomato Soup

    This was our 32nd cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. (HA! I just noticed that on the Amazon.com page, it’s actually called “Meals in Minutes” in the USA. I guess they’ve given up on the whole 30 minute aspect over there!) For this one, we chose “Tomato Soup with Chunky Croutons, Crunchy Veg and Guacamole, and Sticky Prune Sponge Puddings.” We actually picked this one simply so we could justify buying a fresh ciabatta loaf and using the excess to make French toast. Lucky for us, it turned out to be one of the best meals in the book! I was on chef’s duty, and I finished this one in a blistering 28:27. (I should clarify for my fellow Americans that “pudding” in this case doesn’t refer to a custard like we tend to think. This is an English “pudding,” which is more like a sweet, steamed cake.)

    Tomato Soup

    Substitutions: We did half-recipes of the entire meal to avoid leftovers. We used “mini-Roma” tomatoes rather than cherry tomatoes on the vine. We had fresh green beans instead of fennel and left out the breadsticks. Instead of pitted prunes, we had dried ones that we rehydrated in syrup. We used yoghurt instead of creme fraiche. Other than that, everything was as written in the recipe.

    Quick verdict: I fully expected this one to boring. I mean, tomato soup? Veggie sticks and dip? Microwave puddings?? And instead it totally blew me away. The soup was way better than anything from a can, and it was very simple to make. The Snook liked that he could taste the flavour of the red chilli without having the heat. The guacamole was so good I went back to the greengrocer to get another avocado to make more today. And the prune puddings were terrific! We both rated it a 9 out of 10. This would be an excellent dinner to make for your vegetarian friends.

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  • Photo Post

    I found Jiffy mix at Broadway Reject Shop and FREAKED OUT. Never seen it in Oz before!

    I found Jiffy mix at Broadway Reject Shop and FREAKED OUT. Never seen it in Oz before!

  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #31: Sticky Pan-Fried Scallops

    This was our 31st cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. As the Snook put it: “Are we done yet??” Hey, we’re in the home stretch. For this meal, we picked: “Sticky Pan-Fried Scallops, Sweet Chilli Rice, Dressed Greens, and Quick Brownies.” We picked it because we were in the mood for seafood, we had some greens to use up, and we had the episode to watch. The Snook was on chef’s duty for this one, and he managed it in a respectable 34:19!

    Sticky Pan-Fried Scallops

    Substitutions: We used regular broccoli instead of “purple sprouting broccoli.” We only did half-recipes of both the rice and the brownie. For the latter, we subbed in walnuts and dried cranberries instead of pecans and dried cherries. We also had it with whipped cream instead of creme fraiche. Other than that, everything else was as written in the recipe!

    Quick verdict: This one was great! We both really enjoyed this one. Sure, it’s a little light on protein just because how expensive scallops are as an ingredient. (From our fish monger, they worked out to about $1 per scallop!) But the flavours were all fantastic and really complementary. I was dubious about the rice, but it was probably my favorite component of the whole meal. The greens weren’t sexy or fussy, but they added some nice contrast in both colour and texture. And the brownie! Well, it’s not really a brownie. More like a dense chocolate cake. I loved it. (The timing, however, was way optimistic and we ended up cooking it for a lot longer.) Overall, we both rated it a stunning 9.5 out of 10! This meal is easy and quick to prepare but it would definitely impress your guests.

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  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals #30: Steak Sarnie

    This was our 30th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. For this week, we chose “Steak Sarnie, Crispy New Potatoes, Cheesy Mushrooms, and Beetroot Salad.” We made this meal on Saturday, the day before the Sydney Running Festival Half-Marathon. We chose it because we had the episode recorded, and it seemed like a good choice for a pre-race meal: a good amount of carbs, but not overly heavy like pasta. We also prepared this for lunch instead of dinner so we could just eat a light meal of leftovers in the evening. I was on chef’s duty for this one and I was flyin’! I finished it in 29:44.

    Steak Sarnie

    Substitutions: We already had normal potatoes on hand so I used those instead of buying “New” potatoes. You can’t get pre-cooked beetroot here, so I simply boiled mine up ahead of time. We’re not 100% certain if our mushrooms were Portobellos; basically we just got the biggest ones we could find. I was going to use the jarred red peppers as indicated, but when I opened mine they were moldy so I left them out. Other than that, everything was as written in the recipe.

    Quick verdict: I had guessed this one would be a crowd-pleaser, but it ended up being somewhat divisive! It was mostly the mushrooms. Neither of us are big mushroom eaters, but I’ve been making an effort to learn to like them. I actually really liked these. I thought the strong flavours and the rich cheese really complimented the thick slab
    of mushroom. The Snook didn’t like the texture of the mushroom itself though. The sandwich and the potatoes were good, and the beetroot salad was tasty and different. Overall I rated the meal an 8.5 out of 10, while the Snook rated it an 8. It’s a simple, quick, and (mostly) unobjectionable meal that lots of folks should like.

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