Marinated BBQ Rack of Mutton w/ Parmesan Crust

Marinated BBQ Rack of Mutton w/ Parmesan Crust
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We love things aged; red wine, beef, cheese … men. They develop a character and flavour and bring an appreciation to something that may otherwise be taken without thought. So why not sheep?

So what is mutton or hogget? Unfortunately they are both very unappealing names given to sheep older than a year old. Hogget is a sheep with one or two incisor teeth putting it at 12 – 20 months old and mutton is roughly over 20 months old. Both outstanding pieces of meat and considering the trend at the moment of slow cooking the cheaper cuts of meat I’m surprised it’s not more popular… It goes to show how word of mouth can slay a product, and that’s a shame as i’m a total fan of both.

I love the idea that the sheep has lived a longer life, grazing the paddocks and generally socialising with their kind. The meat has had time to develop a richer taste – still lamb in flavour, just much fuller, not gamey like most people seem to think. Ask any farmer.

You will need to search for mutton or hogget to find a supplier but if you do get a chance to try it I know you will be converted. I’m lucky to have access through my sister who lives in the Blue Mountains and has groups of friends who all chip in to by the whole animal and then divvy it up between them … and me, if I’m lucky.

For this recipe, Marinated BBQ Rack of Mutton w/ Parmesan Crust, I decided to barbecue the rack, using my favourite marinade and just taking it slow with the cooking. It was outstanding! Oh and the gravy… droolingly good.

Happy searching, Blondie

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Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup

Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup
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Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup… Tis’ the season to be cherry!

Thanks to Bella’s parents, who went cherry picking near Orange over the weekend, we have mounds of these glorious red baubles. This means you will be seeing quite a few cherry recipes this year.

Using my Chai Whole Spice Mix (see below) I have made a delicious Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup that can be used in numerous ways. Have it drizzled over ice-cream, you can puree it and make it as a filling to use in your biscuits (use it instead of the prune jam in the Finnish Tarts – Joulutorttu) or put a couple of cherries with some syrup in the bottom of your champagne glass… it’s limitless!

Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup

Cheers… Blondie

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Polish Jam Doughnuts

1Paczki - Main Shot
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Polish Paczki,in my opinion are the most divine Polish dessert ever made!

Attend any Polish cultural event and I guarantee you that these will be on the dessert menu! Light and fluffy, filled with jam and coated in sugar or icing, they literally walk off the plate.

Having already made Makowiec, Babka and Szarlotka, it was time to roll up the sleeves and try to make paczki, after all how hard could it be? It’s just sugar, butter, milk, yeast, plain flour, vanilla essence AND a small amount of the most potent vodka you can find, in Poland we call it Spirytus – which is 95% alcohol by volume…ekkk!

Adding the Spirytus to the dough prior to cooking assists in preventing the oil being absorbed into the dough. I had none of this and although I am sure that if I had called one of my Polish family friends that they would be able to tell me in an instance where I could get some but on this occasion I was happy to go without.

My attempt No. 1 = total utter failure! Although I used a new packet of dried yeast, my dough didn’t rise. I still attempted to deep fry the paczki but they were flat as a pancake and rock hard so into the bin they went.

A valuable lesson learnt: Always proof the yeast before baking. This will tell you if the yeast is still active. To proof your yeast you need to warm up the exact amount of liquid as the recipe asks for. Add the required amount of yeast, a pinch of salt, stir to combine, cover with a tea towel and set aside for a couple of minutes. If foam develops you have proof that your yeast is alive!

Attempt No.2, well the picture speaks for itself. And although these paczki were nothing near as yummy as the ones you can buy from a decent Polish deli, Blondie’s son loved them!

The second attempt ones were still a little dense and slightly on the dry side, so I can’t help but wonder if adding the Spirytis would have made them light and fluffy because less of the oil would have been absorbed during the deep frying process. I guess I will find out on attempt No.3!

If you would love to give these a try but prefer not to bake look up your local European Deli. Campbelltown in Western Sydney has these fresh most Saturday mornings but you have to be quick! They sell out as soon as they open their doors at 8 am!

Olka Polka Deli is located at Shop 4, 100 Queen Street Campbelltown NSW. Telephone (02) 4626 3726

I guarantee you will fall in love with these too!

Bella Cool

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Pork meatballs w/ wild mushroom sauce

Finding Feasts - Pork Meatballs with Wild Mushroom Sauce
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A few weeks ago Blondie and I teamed up with the awesome guys from Stockman’s Ridge wines for Orange’s annual Frost Fest festival. On the menu were their wines and our food inspired by this years mushroom picking season.

Blondie and I were very fortunate enough to get a private tour of the Stockman’s Ridge vineyard earlier on this year and what a beautiful vineyard it is! I highly recommend a visit to this beautiful part of the country.

Finding Feasts - Pork Meatballs with Wild Mushroom Sauce

When it comes to winter and food I am a sucker for anything that is hearty, saucy and cooked s-l-o-w-l-y so that the flavours can develop into a rich taste explosion with each mouthful I take.

I’ve grown up eating meatballs or as we call them in Poland, Klopsiki. My favourite ones are mum’s, of course! She makes them out of pork mince and no matter how hard I try, I can never recreate her yummy sauce but this time I have a secret weapon! FinSki’s wild mushroom powder.

So my dear reader…love meatballs? What’s your secret recipe addition to make these a hit!

Bella Cool

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Wild Rabbit and Mushroom Pie

Wild Rabbit Mushroom Pie
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Yes, another pie… but how good are they?! If every dish could be put into pie form then I would be a very happy person.

My first proper memory of rabbit was back in Finland where, when staying with family at their summer house, we had freshly caught rabbit for dinner. What made it memorable for me was that my piece still had the bullet in it. Kind of a thrill when you’re a kid

This Wild Rabbit and Mushroom Pie is an easy, slow cooked dish and made even easier by keeping the rabbit whole, which I prefer when doing rabbit as a shredded meat as you have less chance of getting splintered bone into the meat – Rabbit is notorious for it’s bones splintering into the tiniest of shards if not cut properly and cleanly. Just be mindful of the leg bones, best to wash the legs and make sure there are no loose splinters around there.

If you’ve never tried rabbit before I highly recommend you giving it a go. It’s a great tasting, very lean meat that works well braised… and makes a nice change from chicken.

Blondie

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Braised Beef Cheek and Mushroom Pie

Braised Beek Cheek and Mushroom Pie
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Well, with Frost Fest 2013 now done and dusted, I have to say that for Bella and myself, for our first restaurant service, we kicked ass! Rave reviews for our mushroom dishes from everyone who dined at the vineyard and now an eagerness to get ourselves out at the markets before Christmas… what a thrill it was, so a massive thank you to Jonathan, Jess and Valerie of Stockman’s Ridge Wines for having faith in us to compliment their wines with our dishes… a much appreciated learning experience.

With that said, here is one of Saturday’s sellout dishes, Individual Braised Beef Cheek and Mushroom Pies. The original pie recipe I had planned for was a Rabbit and Mushroom Pie, but with a complete lack of rabbits in Orange at that particular time I needed to change it. So after a discussion with the butcher I left with 2kg of beef cheeks and 7kg of chicken carcasses (for the rich chicken stock). With the luxurious texture of the beef cheek and silkiness of the gravy teamed with the mixed mushroom topping, it was sure to be hit! I was completely inspired by a recipe I came across at Grazing At Large‘s food blog, the changes are only due to substituting ingredients that I didn’t have available, that and punching up the mushroom quota and intensity.

The beef cheeks were sourced through M&J Butchers in Orange, NSW and what a treat they were too. Already trimmed of fat and ready to go, and the flavour was outstanding!

The greatest thing about this dish is if you are having a group of people for a dinner party, the three different elements can be pre prepared and then assembled and reheated when needed. Serve with a walnut salad on the side with a mustard and balsamic dressing and you are sure to wow your guests with such a flavoursome dish.

Cheers and enjoy!

Blondie

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