Almond Joy

This Fine Cooking recipe is delicious with roasted pears or seasonal stone fruit. The cake is toasted almond brown butter flavoured fluffy goodness. A perfect light ending to a heavy holiday meal.

Joy to the World.

The cookie jar

In addition to a mixture of melted chocolate and cocoa in the batter.. these little brown nuggets of chocolately goodness also contain bittersweet chips and walnuts.

I love them.

Melt 125g of chocolate and 6Tbsp of butter stirring constantly over low heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Once melted, set aside.

Combine 1/2c flour, 2Tbsp unsweetened cocoa, 1/4 tsp each baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

In mixer (a larger bowl) cream 1 c sugar and 1tsp vanilla with 2 large (or 3 small) eggs.

Stir in the cocoa mixture, then the flour mixture until well blended.

Stir in 125g chocolate chips and 1 c walnuts.

Cookies can be made to this point and refrigerated, covered, overnight or for at least an hour.

Heat oven to 180C.

Roll 2.5 cm balls of dough and place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until puffed and slightly crackled.

Allow to cool for 2 minutes before moving to a rack to cool a little more before mowing through them with a side of milk, cup of coffee or tea.

Mangia!

Peregrine

Ok, so this isn't a photo of their award winning winery, it's the woolshed. But a better angle to reflect on the stunning stillness (not perfectly still, but still enough) and light of a late Central Otago autumn afternoon.

We did a tasting in the Mother Ship. Warm toasty Pinot noir to warm the bones of weary travellers. The tasting area overlooks the barrel room and has some great seating so you can do it all in comfort.. lovely riesling as well.

Previously, I'd been there for a Shapeshifter concert two years before. As if you needed another reason to go to Central Otago, the summer concert series is a perfect way to take in a great Kiwi band or two.. sitting on the hill and sipping a sublime wine (or a skillfullly crafted local beer) in this stunning natural ampitheatre.

Saluté!

Herzog Pinot Noir 2001

Hans Herzog makes great wine. It's very often gone under the radar, but if you have Pinotphile tendencies or some duck on the menu.. Herzog Marlborough Pinot noir is a wine you should seek out.

I'm not sure how all the labelling conflicts with Herzog in the US have changed things domestically, if at all.. but I believe in the US it is now referred to as Hans Herzog.

The 07' Pinot noir is as delicate and delectable as the rabbit terrine that should accompany it. One finely crafted wine.

Saluté.

Homemade Pitta

Nothing is easier than homemade pitta. The freshness of this bread is worth the minimal effort when combined with savoury dips and some marinated lamb skewers.

The only patience required is the short proofing time when the individual pitta are rolled out. Without this proof, the breads won't puff as nicely in the oven so they can be split for filling later on. They also require some space for proofing as the recipe makes a dozen or so medium-sized pitta.

The critical step: letting the breads cool under the cover of a damp tea towel makes lovely and pliable pitta that keep amazingly well (in a plastic bag) for a couple of days.

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~Easy homemade pitta~

1 package of yeast
125 mL warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour (or a mixture of ap and whole wheat flour)
1 1/4 teapsoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
250mL lukewarm water

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 125mL of warm water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until frothy. Combine flour(s) and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the flour and pour in yeast. Slowly add the remaining warm water and stir until an elastic dough forms. Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and no longer sticky. Place dough in bowl a large bowl coated with vegetable or olive oil and turn dough over to coat.

Allow to proof for about 3 hours or until doubled in size. Then, roll into a rope, pinch off 10-12 portions and roll them into balls. Place balls on floured surface and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

Move rack with baking stone to the very bottom of oven. Preheat oven to 260C. Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 12-14cm across and 1/2 cm thick. Bake each circle for 4 minutes until puffed. Turn pitta over and bake for an additonal 2 minutes.

Remove each pita and set inside a damp teatowel. Pitta will deflate and form a pocket in the process.

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Serve with dips, salads and thinly sliced or cubed meats.

Mangia!

A proper date scone

When I hear the term " proper" referring to food, it makes me think of a simple or homestyle version of whatever is being deemed as a "proper" this or that. Often, it's the old, traditional stand-bys that are mucked up with some flash addition or fancified inclusion that leaves us with a hankering for however our mum, aunty or nana might have made it.


This is THE scone recipe I follow when not using my standby Edmonds cookbook version (Arfi at HomeMadeS been baking these too) or the luxe Donna Dooher (of Mildred Pierce fame) recipe to which I add a cup of chopped dates, a smattering of grated lemon zest and a pinch of cinnamon. Any of these make a delectable treat and as Mildred says "there's no such thing as a lowfat scone".

Just to make sure, please pass the butter.

Flexible fritters

Autumn, like spring, is yardwork time. The end of colourful blooms, harvesting vegetables and putting the finishing touches on some much needed renovations.

Thankfully, that list of tasks comes with some neighbourly help. There is a group of us that, when there is work to be done, are always available to help. It's still work but with a good dose of socialising, snacks and dinner in the mix for balance.

We were expecting a damp day, not terribly cool but just enough so that you could be comfortable working in the yard. You might, however, keep a light jumper handy and partake of a little something sweet for sustenance.

So, I'd mixed up a batch of fritters (aka doughnuts) the night before to get us started. The dough is quite remarkable in the sense that it allows you to mix up tender yeast dough in the evening, proof overnight in the refrigerator and have lovely light fritters in time for coffee. I put a pot of coffee on and got to the business of frying.

Coffee-glazed Fritters

I don't use the instant espresso powder called for in the recipe, rather a 1/4 c of stovetop espresso (omit other liquid) works just fine. These are light textured, bordering on fluffy and with a delicate sweet coffee glaze. Good for a cool spring day and perfect if you feel your morning tea is lacking in the sugar department.

Ciao!