family favourites

Family Favourite # 3 - Gourmet Traveller Magazine's Annual Cookbook

I can't believe it is already that time of year again!!! At the supermarket last night I saw that there was a new edition of Gourmet Traveller and naturally I grabbed it from the shelf and threw it in the basket.  As I did so, I became even more excited by the fact that it was the double edition containing the Annual Cookbook.

The Annual Cookbook is a compilation of the best recipes from Gourmet Traveller throughout the year and is always an absolute cracker!  This year's edition is no different - especially the pasta section!  The first thing I will be checking when I call Mum tonight is to see if she has managed to get her hands on a copy....

Any Aussies out there who love to cook - I suggest you hop off to the local newsagent and pick up a copy.  You will not be disappointed!

Tonight it is seafood on the BBQ and oysters kilpatrick, before heading off to Broome for a long weekend. Should be a heap of fun!

Hope everyone has a cracking weekend!

Sam.

family favourites

Family Favourite # 2 - Jam Roly Poly

For as long as I can remember when asked what special dinner we would like for our birthday the answer was always - Jam Roly Poly!!  Forget the main course, this was the business.

Jam Roly Poly has always been a family favourite.  Lel, my grandmother, made it before I was born.  Mother has continued the tradition with us and it is now our turn...

Regardless of how many helpings you can get through, no one can ever get enough of it.  Even if there are some leftovers before we go to bed, we all know that there will be none left by the time we awake in the morning.

A word of warning - regardless of how much you enjoy your first two bowls, roly poly sicknes will inevitably be yours once you go back for the third [because regarldess of your inner strength, you will not be able to resist].

And so for the recipe.

You'll need this:

2 cups of self raising flour

1/4 cup of castor sugar

200g butter [use cold butter, not melted]

1 egg

1 cup of milk

1 cup of water

Sugar for dusting

You'll need to do this:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.

Mix flour, sugar and butter in a mix master.  Then gradually add the milk and egg and beat for another minute or two (you may need to add a little more flour).

Remove mixture from bowl and knead by hand until dough is smooth.  Roll dough into an oval with a rolling pin. 

Spread a full jar of strawberry jam (strawberry is the traditional version but you can use whatever type of jam you like, if you are from Australia, you must use Golden Circle brand) onto the dough and then roll into a log.  Place in a suitably sized baking dish, dust with sugar and cover with a cup of warm water (the more water you add the more sauce you will create).

Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve with vanilla ice cream.

It goes like this....

And ends up like this....

I know you will enjoy this dish and perhaps it may even become one of your family favourites!

Happy eating!!!

Sam 

family favourites

Given that much of the inspiration for my cooking comes from my family and their specific likes and dislikes, I thought I would start a series of posts titled 'family favourites.'  These are the recipes that we have cooked over and over, time and again (as we often do when we get onto something we love) and despite this we continue to savour them on every occasion. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

family favourite # 1 - fresh pastsa tossed with prawns, chilli and garlic

You'll need:

• Your choice of fresh pasta - our favourite is spaghetti, but angel hair will do
• 1.5kg green prawns, peeled and butterflied (always use more than you need as you will always lose some to the vultures in the kitchen as you are cooking...)
• 3 x large red chillies, finely chopped (you can add more or less depending on your heat tolerance)
• 2 x white onions, finely diced
• 3 x cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped
• 4 x punnets of mixed cherry / grape tomatoes
• large bunch of basil, torn in pieces
• 4 x large glugs of olive oil
• grated parmesan + a handful of rocket to serve


• sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper to season

Preheat oven to around 200 degrees Celsius.  Meanwhile, add tomatoes, chilli, onion, garlic basil and olive oil to a large baking dish. Season well with salt and pepper.  Bake in oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until tomatoes begin to break down slightly.  I prefer for the tomatoes to retain their structure but other people like them sloppy, either way works.  It just depends on your own preference.

Whilst the tomatoes are doing their thing in the oven, shell the prawns completely (i.e. don't leave their tails on - I really prefer to be able to dig into the end result and not have to worry about the tails), devain and butterfly. 

Then fry in a wok, with a splash of oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Remove tomatoes from the oven and stir through cooked prawns, slightly squishing the tomatoes as you go so that the juices ooze out.  Then add fresh pasta to a pot of salted boiling water and cook for around 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, set the table and crack open a bottle of your favourite vino - mine at the moment is a good pinot noir from either Tasmania (Australia) or Central Otago (south island of New Zealand). 

Once pasta is cooked, drain and toss through the tomatoes and prawns.  Reserve a splash of the water that you cooked the pasta in to help when tossing the pasta as this assists in binding the sauce and keeps the pasta silky.

Serve with a couple of rocket leaves, lemon wedge and freshly grated parmesan. 

This has to be one of the simplest dishes I have ever cooked.  Surprisingly, it is also one of my all time favourites.  Perfect for summer time, especially at the beach around the table with a large group of friends and family.

All that's left now is to clean up.  Thankfully this is a job that Dora actually enjoys... I know, this concept is foreign to me too but I am not complaining.

I would love to hear about some of your family favourites if you can bring yourself to part with the secret.

Happy eating!!

Sam