Teach a girl to fish and you feed her for a lifetime...

Poached Coral Trout

We try to have at least one fish meal each week but I'm often disappointed as it turns out a little dry, chalky, tough or even sometimes downright inedible mush. It was my 2012 New Year's Resolution to learn how to cook fish properly.

It happens every time, but never ceases to amaze me, that when you put something out there, suddenly it appears everywhere you look. As I was leafing through an issue of Gourmet Traveller, there it was - Brigitte's Kitchen "What a Catch" - an article about cooking freshly caught fish; I open Good Food Magazine, there's a book called none other than "Fish Cookbook"being recommended - for those who need directions, pictures and a how to guide. I leaf through an amazing book I received for Christmas called "The Silver Spoon" and there it is again, a large section dedicated to the fruits of the sea.

Paella

So, for this year, I am making a point of picking some recipes that are pushing me into the "deep end" to stretch my fish cooking abilities. I've tried some seafood dishes with some good success already, Poached Coral Trout, which turned out fantastically, and I added some extra seafood to an old favourite, paella. It's quite an easy challenge to stay focused on since the results so far have been good enough to eat!

Tiramisu Martini

I am always looking for quick but impressive desserts to make for dinner parties when I don't have a lot of time to prepare. We were out all day with some international foodie guests at the Fish Market for lunch and  Zumbo's Patisserie at the Star for dessert, so I didn't have any time to put a fancy, technical dessert together.

I decided to whip up this delicious classic: a quick Tiramisu which I jazzed up a bit by serving in Martini Glasses. For the Sweet Adventure Blog Hop, hosted this month, by Kitchen Crusader, it was a perfect dessert to feature with 3 distinct layers with different textures and flavours on each, making up the perfect "pick me up!" (that's what Tiramisu means)

Tiramisu Martinis
makes 6 Martini Glasses

3 Eggs Separated
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
250g Mascarpone Cheese
Small cup of Espresso Coffee, cooled
1 tbsp liqueur (I used Kahlua)
Small packet of Savoiardi biscuits
3 tbs Grated chocolate

• Beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and creamy. It's done when it's almost white;
• Add Mascarpone and beat until just combined, taking care not to over beat, or the cheese might start to split;
• Put the Espresso and liqueur into a shallow bowl;
• Dip biscuits into the coffee mix quickly, and set aside;
• Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the Mascarpone mix;
• Put the first layer of biscuits in the bottom of the Martini glasses;
• Layer Mascarpone mix followed by grated chocolate and then add another layer of biscuits, remainder of the Mascarpone mix finishing with a layer of grated chocolate;
• Refrigerate to set, but take the glasses out of the fridge half an hour to an hour before serving to soften slightly.

Addiction

There's rehab for people who are addicted to drugs, AA for alcoholics, Nicotine patches for tobacco addiction, hypnotherapy for chocolate addiction but no therapy, but discipline (or succumbing) to mine.... Cookery Mag Addiction. 

I've had subscriptions to one magazine or another for about 7 years now, after buying my first Delicious Magazine in August of 2004, and I've enjoyed every minute of them. My hubbie wonders why some days I rush to the door to greet him with a look of joy on my face, and others I just calmly keep going with whatever I'm up to! I don't think it took him long to realise that it correlated to whether he was clutching one of my favourite magazines or not. 

The nice thing about my magazine collection, which has recently moved to a new home of it's own bookshelf, as it started getting too unruly, is that I actually tap into the magazines each week to make my menu. I pull off seasonal editions of Delicious, MasterChef Magazine, GoodFood, Gourmet Traveller or Feast Magazine when I'm looking for recipes to cook each week. We have a whole selection and my prolific collection means that we rarely eat the same things twice (although old favourites do come back around every so often!) One of my favourite weekend tasks is to pull a few magazines from the shelf and pour through them looking for menu inspiration.

It's an addiction that space is beginning to curb, and I almost feel satisfied that I have enough recipes to go on.... until the next new food mag makes it's way onto my radar!

Advance Australia Fare

Australia Fare

We often have guests from overseas, and last night with 4 visitors only here for a few weeks as well as a few more long term visitors (with only my husband as a true blue Aussie), I wanted to give them a chance to taste some of Australia's fare. We put together an Australiana menu that showcased a few different tasters of what Australia has to offer from the sea to the bush and back to the city!

Using the BBQ is also a big part of Aussie culture so we had that cranked, despite the rain, and cooked everything on there!

Here's our take on Aussie Tucker......

Entree

Australian Taster Plate:

Trio of Australian Flavours: Oyster with a squeeze of Fingerlime; Kangaroo fork with red currant jus; Lime, butter brushed Moreton Bay Bug

Main

Barbecued Basil Marinated Butterflied Lamb

served with roast beetroot, parsnip, potatoes, corn and broccoli

Dessert

Deconstructed Pavlova

Mini individual pavlova served with mango and strawberries with homemade Mango Frozen Yogurt