TWD DC - World Peace Cookies and Breakfast Biscotti

This week sees another twofer from  Dorie's Cookies for Tuesdays with Dorie.  First up is World Peace Cookies - chocolate cookies with chocolate chunks.  I have made these before for the original Tuesdays with Dorie group, not once, but twice.  When I think of all the water that has gone under the bridge since either of those times, I am gob-smacked. 

However, I can say that practice makes perfect with these cookies - I think my latest attempt has produced the best looking batch yet, and they are certainly just as delicious.  Who can resist a chocolate cookie with chocolate chunks?  I ate three of them this time all by myself.

Our next cookie this month is Breakfast Biscotti.  At first, I was not enthused about making these - my main experiences with biscotti are of the store-bought variety, which always seem rather dry and unpalatable.  However, these  biscotti are not like that at all.  They are chunkier than the store-bought variety, and much moister.  I used muesli with dried fruit which I did not pick out (although the recipe said I should), and sultanas instead of cranberries, both influenced by what I had in the house.  And I loved these cookies. So delicious and fruity and nutty, and not at all dry.  A winner in my books.

To see some more Dorie's Cookies baking experiences for this month, visit the LYL section of the TWD website. 

Peach Oat Crumble

While I was staying with my mother over Christmas, I made a Peach Oat Crumble from this recipe.

The inspiration to make this came from the abundance of stone fruit in the house that was going to be wasted if I didn't intervene.  The main problem is that over Christmas, we have so much food that the good stuff like fruit is cast aside for puddings, pies and roasts.

This crumble, which I made with nectarines and peaches, saved the fruit.  The crumbs mixed through the fruit are all the sweetness that it needs, and the crumb on top adds a textural change from the soft, juicy fruit beneath. It was just perfect served warm with icecream.

My very fussy brother actually ate this crumble, which is a testament to how good it is.

EwE - Eggs in Baskets with Smoked Turkey and Asparagus Topping - Barnyard Fun

Peggy chose Barnyard Fun as this week's theme for Eating with Ellie.

I made Eggs in Baskets with Smoked Turkey and Asparagus Topping from So Easy.  My barnyard components were turkey and eggs.  This entails cutting a hole in a piece of toast, cracking in an egg, frying it up and topping it with asparagus and smoked turkey.

This was delicious, especially when the egg yolk burst to form a sauce.

To see what the others made this week, visit the LYL section of the EwE website.

TWD - Granola Cake

For my first Tuesday with Dorie recipe this month, I made the Granola Cake.  Dorie describes it as a snack cake, and I think that is a good description.  It reminds me of a big muesli bar or Anzac slice, as it contains granola (muesli).

Dorie said beware of using granola with hard chunks of dried fruit, but as that is all I had, I used it, and I think it turned out fine.  I found this cake to be surprisingly moist, despite the thickness of the batter.  I read Dorie's instruction to "jiggle the pan" to settle the batter, and thought "huh?"  That batter was not budging without some persuasion with a spatula.

This cake would be great for school or work lunch boxes, as it packs a satisfying chewiness and is not at all fussy.  However, as Dorie suggests, you can always jazz it up by putting a slice on a plate with a scoop of icecream!

To see what the others made this week and what they thought, visit the LYL section of the TWD website.

Las Tapas, St Kilda

Just before Christmas, a group of us met up for Christmas cheer at Las Tapas, a tapas bar in St Kilda.

Las Tapas is on the cosy side, so it is definitely important to book, especially if you have a large group.  However, the staff were very friendly and accommodated our  large group.

We went on a Sunday night, when paella is available as well as tapas.  However, we went with the tapas menu so that we could share.

We started off with some warm marinated olives, because who can go past good olives as a starter, right?

Our next dish was the heirloom tomatoes in olive oil:

Next up were some scallops:

followed by salt and pepper squid:

For something a little different, there was a tuna carpaccio:

There was pork belly and beef:

and garlic and chilli prawns:

and finally, there was chorizo:

We were all very full, as you can imagine.

Las Tapas is fully licensed, so you can enjoy a drink or two with your meal.

Las Tapas was a fun casual dining experience with great food.  I'd definitely go back.

Las Tapas

100 Chapel St

St Kilda VIC 3183

Phone: (03) 9077 3969

Vegetable Quiche

Just before I came home for Christmas, I had a few ingredients left in the fridge that I needed to use up or throw out.  Among these were a half-used pot of cream and 5 egg yolks.  The other trick was that I needed to make it a vegetable quiche, as I had no filling ingredients other than frozen vegetables.

Out of this, a Vegetable Quiche was born.  I searched online for quiche made with egg yolks and cream, and combined a few of those to end up with the eventual recipe.

The crust is the Master Savory Pastry from Tart Love, a book that I had owned for a few years but never used.

I also grew my own gorgeous edible flowers from seed.  I knew that they would have wilted before I returned from holidays, so I frivolously used them to decorate the top of my quiche.  Better to enjoy the flowers than lose them, right?

To make this quiche, you will need:

Crust:

2 1/2 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons salt

250g unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch cubes

3 tablespoons ice water

Put all of the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined.  Add the butter and pulse until pea-sized crumbs form.  Add just enough of the ice water to bring the pastry together.

Place the pastry onto a well-floured bench and roll out between two sheets of baking paper to 1/4 inch thick.

Place pastry into a greased 9" tart pan, and press up against the edges.  Freeze for 1/2 hour.

Remove the crust from the freezer and blind bake in an oven pre-heated to 180 degrees Celsius.  Remove the rice/pie weights, brush the crust with an egg yolk mixed with a dash of water, then return to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and fully baked. 

Filling:

100ml pouring cream
150ml milk

4 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups grated cheese

1 cup cooked frozen vegetables

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Beat the egg yolks, milk and cream together.  Put the cheese into the base of the pie shell, and pile the cooked vegetables on top.  Pour the egg mixture over the top, and place the  quiche into the oven for 60 minutes or until the quiche is set and golden brown on top.

EwE - Vanilla Spice Oatmeal - New Year Celebration

Happy New Year!! Everyone celebrates the New Year in different ways, and for this week's Eating with Ellie theme, New Year Celebration, I am celebrating the New Year with a healthy start to the day - Vanilla Spice Porridge.  You can find the recipe online here.

Ellie's oatmeal is cooked the usual way with water and salt, with raisins, nutmeg, brown sugar, cinnamon, milk and toasted nuts (in my case, cashews) added.

It was a hearty, filling breakfast and a great way to start the day.

To see how the others celebrated the New Year with Ellie, visit the LYL section of the EwE website.