Chicken Marsala stew

prep time 20 mins / cooking time 40 mins/ serves 6

I am always looking for interesting mid week meals. I was able to come home from work at normal time, whip this up and we had eaten by 7:30pm..... now thats my kind of mid week meal. This is one I am definately going to have to give to my mum as I think this could be one of dads new favorites! Now I used just button mushrooms in this dish as I didnt have any portobello in the fridge (this is a mid week meal so doesn't need to be fancy!), I also ensured to use good quality free range chicken thighs.
Now this dish uses a wine called Marsala. It is produced in the city of Marsala in Sicily (Italy) and is a fortified wine similar to port.
It is definately the sauce that makes this dish! It is sweet and sticky and just oh so yummy!!
Now I am a little addicted to this wine at the moment but definately enjoy with another glass of Scarborough Pinot!!!!

Am now going to enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of peppermint brownie :)
Hollywood xoxo

Mashed Potato with Chives

Prep time 10 minutes/ cooking time 15 minutes/ serves 6
So this one is a little bit of a no brainer but went well with tonights chicken stew.
I just halved everything in the recipe as tonight I was just cooking a monday night meal for my husband and I.
Tip:
For a unique flavor add a pinch of nutmeg! It really complemented the marsala sauce.
Hollywood xoxo

Peppermint Brownies

Prep Time 20mins / Cooking Time 40 mins / Setting Time 30mins / Makes about 18

So at 10am this morning with a small but significant headache (thanks to cheap and nasty bubbles the night before) I commenced this little gem! The perfect dessert for a casual affair (webber pork, good friends and good bubbles).
Snickers and Hollywood, husbands and friends had a LONG lunch to celebrate the start of our beloved Sydney Swans kick off to the season, shame they couldnt pull off a spectacular start to the season like this sensation little number (they drew with the demons - boo!). This recipe is a great twist on an old favorite.

A few suggestions:
* use good quality 70% cocoa chocolate
* if you have gluten free friends consider adding almond meal instead of the flour
and
* I like the green food coloring (this isnt in the original recipe)

This was a no fuss recipe for a fabulous result!

 How clean does my stove look!!

I nearly forgot, it is a little difficult to get the dark chocolate runny to drizzle it over the top so I used an old fashion honey ladel thinging, you know, the one that looks like a beehive on the end :)

xoxox Hollywood!

Classic Pork Rack on the Webber

This fabulous, no fussy hot lunch is always a winner. I love cooking using a webber for pork, to beef, to chicken to even a side of salmon smoked with hickory chips. Everyone always walks away from a webber meal satisfied and in awe of how delicious and easier it was to prepare.

When I first met my husband, I had never cooked on a webber and in the three years we have been together, the webber has been at the heart of our relationship. We webber every week.

Instructions:
1. First start with fresh heat beads and fire lighters. Open the vents and light.
2. Once flaming, allow ambers to heat up. (Leave the lid off until the heat beds are red)
3. Once ambers are red, put the lid on with vents open. Allow webber to heat up. (30mins)
4. Prepare Pork Rack and Crackling with olive oil and salt. (I use Himalayan Pink Rock Salt) I used the measurement one bone per guest. 9 bones was 2.5 kg.
5. Place on the webber, and shut the lid. We use a Themo Sensor to measure the internal temperature of the meat. For pork it is recommended that the internal temperature is between 72 -78 Degrees Celsius. All you need to do is have a glass of Croser Sparking and wait. Approximately 1 1/2 hours.
6. Once the internal temperature has been reached, cover and rest the meat for 5-10 minutes.
7. I use an electric knife to cut through the crackling and between the bones of the pork rack.

Tip: Find a great butcher!! Get to know them and their meat. My tip Craig Cook Butchers!! I have never been disappointed with the quality of their meat.

Enjoy!
Snickers

Winter Greens with Chilli and Garlic Coins p144

Prep Time 10 Mins / Cooking Time 5 Mins / Serves 6-8


This is a great green side dish with a bit of a kick!! The chilli adds an extra element. One small chilli is enough, so don't be tempted to make this dish hotter as the balance of chilli, garlic peanut oil and soy is a match made in heaven. What I did add though, and it is a bit of a favourite of mine, is add sliced roasted almonds. It is a classic combination with all winter green vegetables.

Tip: The recipe says to use Kale, Cavolo, Savoy Cabbage or Broccolini. I used greens that my husband loves, served along side a classic webber pork rack.......Asparagus and Broccoli. Always use produce that you can find and that is in season. It is economical and more environmentally sustainable.

Stay tuned for photos of this easy and delicious dish!!

Snickers

Rhubarb Cinnamon Tarts with Oat Crumble

Prep Time 20mins / Chilling Time 10mins / Cooking Time 20 mins

This is the dessert that I served last year at the Masterchef inspired My Kitchen Rules Competition*.

My husband Puffin, loves rhubarb and so this was his request. Very easy to make. I have made this dessert twice now and it is perfect with a scoop of ice-cream or double cream.

Hint: Use good quality puff pastry. (I bought puff pastry from the David Jones Food Hall, it was a gourmet homemade variety. I will endeavour to find out the brand and add it to the blog as it had a beautiful texture.)

I will make again and this time I will take a few pictures!! Watch this space!

Snickers

*My Kitchen Rules Competition: Three couples had to impress each other and a mystery couple of their choice with their gourmet three course menu and wine matching. Each couple was give a score out of one hundred.

ADDITION MADE BY HOLLYWOOD ON 1st May 2011

I had a go of making this simple dish to take to a friends place for dessert. So simple and easy to transport.

 X Hollywood

German Chocolate Layer Cake

Prep Time 45 / Cooking Time 25 mins / Chilling Time 1 Hour / Serves 14-16

WARNING: Delicious and decadent!

This German Chocolate Layer Cake  has been a show stopper at three events in the last three weeks. Once I made it the first time, I had orders from family and friends!! I feel like I have unlocked the secret to making the perfect chocolate cake.

The beauty of this recipe is the hard work is done in advance. When guests arrive their eyes fall upon the the towering decadent chocolate layer cake. Little do they know the surprise of the creamy coconut -pecan filling is yet to come.

There are three stages to this show stopper.
1) Two chocolate layer round cakes
2) Creamy coconut pecan filling
3) Chocolate ganache frosting

Tip: Making in advance not only is convenient but necessary for the cake to set.

Enjoy!
Snickers

Mini meatloaves with roasted tomato thyme sauce

So on Thursday night I finished work on time and thought...hmmmmmm I think I might cook something different for dinner. I had decided to take my copy of Meals in Heels in my car just in case I needed to get some ingredients, I already had beef mince out as I was planning to make an easy spagetti bolognese. So a quick stop at the supermarket on the way home saw me with pork mince and passata.
I decided to trial one of the mains, mini meatloaves with roasted tomato and thyme sauce.
I had just finished assembling the meatloaves and they had been in the oven for about five minutes when my husband got a message from his parents inviting us to meet them and his sister for dinner at a local pizzeria. Luckily this recipe makes 6 meatloaves so instead they came over for a casual family dinner. The only down side was that being the end of the week we were low on veges and had to get them to stop and get some broccoli (they also bought sweet potato fries which complemented this dish perfectly). So an experiment at home for my husband and I ended up being a delicious family meal... this dish was the perfect comfort food considering the cooler weather. A make again for a casual affair. Good with a light red wine - such as a Scarborough Pinot!
One main down Snickers!

X Hollywood

In the beginning.....

In the beginning there were:

* 187 pages

* 20 canapes

* 18 starters

* 18 mains

* 16 stews and roasts

* 18 barbeque

* 20 sides

* 17 sweets

* 2 friends and many entertaining evenings ahead.

Snickers and I had taken on the Meals in Heels challenge. Yes, we too watched Julie and Julia and thought, "we could do that!".

Our aim was to cook everything in the Meals in Heels book and take photographs and post them on our blog. I once avoided buying cook books that didnt show you pictures of what your food would look like once you had slaved over the stove cooking it. Snickers then gave me this fabulous book "Meals and Heels" for my 27th birthday and I thought, how am I going to cook from this? how do I know what it is meant to look like??

Snickers then made the most AMAZING German Chocolate Layer Cake and I was hooked, it was time to test the visionary skills and create masterpieces from the modern woman's guide to entertaining.

Hollywood