fig and pistachio biscotti (a)

soooooooooo, i was procrastinating when i came upon this site... http://creampuffsinvenice.ca/. not only do i love the name, but i love the pictures and the brown colouring and, well pretty much everything about this site. soooo...head there to check it out. Meanwhile, I decided to procrastinate in another way, and actually make the fig and pistachio biscotti recipe that I came across - modified a bit, i cut out some sugar, and made the measures a little bit simpler.

Ive never made biscotti before, so i was excited. This recipe, well....they are pretty much figgin awesome ;)

FIG AND PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

75g butter softened

1/3 c sugar

2 eggs at room temp

2 tspn vanilla

1 tspn orange extract (or orange zest, or lemon zest)

1 c (around 80g packet) shelled unsalted pistachios

1 c chopped dried figs (dried = around 6)

1 1/2 c flour

3/4 tspn baking powder

Preheat oven 180 celcius and line biscuit tray with baking paper.

Combine sugar and butter and mix until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well between each addition.

Mix in the vanilla and orange extract.

Stir in the figs and pistachios.

Add flour and stir until just combined.

Roll dough into ball and place on lightly floured surface. Split ball into 3 segments, and roll each segment out, till its about 3-4cm thick and 20-30cm long.

Place segments on the baking tray, leaving room between each one.

Bake for 15 minutes until slightly golden and warm to touch.

Remove from oven and let them cool a little.

Cut segments into 1-2cm thick pieces (depending on how thick you want your biscotti...thinner will crisp up more, thicker is a bit chewier) and separate pieces on the tray. Make sure they are standing up, don't lie them down (like on the photo guys)

Bake for another 10 minutes.

Let them cool completely before serving-ideally with good coffee :)

Tips

If you dont have orange extract (weirdly enough, mum did) then you can use orange zest or lemon zest.

back to basics (a)

A thought just occured to me. No recipes here folks, just something i wanted to get down (but I might just dig up a good photo or two)

As most of you know, my mum is what inspires me to cook. For as long as I can remember, she has produced baked goods for our lunchboxes (no chips or roll ups) and dinner every night. My mum is traditional...and I have alot of good base knowledge from her.


mum and i hanging in the kitchen

On the other hand, is my aunt, aunty W. While I was living alone in perth, she fed me dinner every sunday night and made sure I was 'vitaminised' for the coming week.
My aunt cooks amazing dinners, is always willing to try a new recipe, and has a wealth of cooking knowledge. Last weekend we had ginger and apricot pavlova roulade, kaffir lime tart, preserved lemon and quinoa salad, lentil, feta and tomato salad, zuchini and parmesan fritters and...I made a plain green salad, just like my mums.

dinner at my aunts :)

Dinner was...amazing, fabulous, the reason I came back to perth. With friends and family, sitting outside by candlelight, eating good food. My tastebuds were doing happy dances and there was a party in my stomach.

Now, this thing that just occurred to me.
As delish as the pavlova roulade was...a normal pavlova kicks butt.
As rich and unlike any chocolate tart I have ever had...a normal chocolate tart with strawberries is always a winner.
As nutty and sour as the preserved lemon and quinoa salad was, or as textured as the lentils and feta...my normal garden salad still went down a treat.

the pav roulade...and it was great. i swear. i ate two helpings :D

Can you see what I'm getting at? These days, there are so many recipe books around, and so many ways to cook food that people come up with the craziest ideas...bacon and egg icecream, crispy duck with blood orange sauce and stir fried gai larn or even caramel banana peacan stuffed hotcakes (yes they exist).

When really, simple is just as good. Simple is enjoyed. I LIKE my pav plain, not chocolate, not roulade...just lots of cream and fresh fruit. Although we all enjoyed the experience of eating the chocolate tart, its a well made plain chocolate tart that blows peoples minds and encourages recipe trading.

I dont mean in any way to belittle those adventurous quinoa people. I love to eat their food. But sometimes, I think a step back needs to be taken. Of all the food I ate in europe, a meal of fish and potatoes and preserves with my grandad was one of my favourites. Or just bread and cheese fondue. Chocolate always tasted better as dark (without anything) and nothing beats a good vanilla milkshake.

So, guess I should end by saying I promise not to do any crazy things on here. When I have my cafe...it will be a return to simple delicious food that we used to eat, but got overtaken by...well...quinoa. I promise to keep it (ok ok mostly) basic, to find the BEST chocolate tart, that will have people begging for more and to embrace the art of simple, good tasting food.



Now...im off to make filled filo pastries with capsicum and chilli relish with a red cabbage and lemon salad.

wendells birthday cake (a) aka easy coffee cake

So, it was my dads birthday this week (which was the reason I came back from europe early)

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY PAPPY!!!!

On wednesday, I realised that we were going out for dinner, and although mum had made a cake for dad to take to work (under the Rio Tinto cake act) she actually hadnt made one for his birthday. So, I resolved to bake a cake that afternoon. At first, I thought it would be easy...we had plenty of beer, pistachios and lemons. But soon I realised we didnt have much else, so I had to ride to the shops and get essentials like baking powder and flour. Turned out I managed to whip up this awesomely super easy moist cake, and although I made a coffee one, you could easily expand on ideas and make it with coco, lemons, or mint...any flavour really. In fact, thinking about it, it was really a recipe for a giant sized cupcake. HAHAHAHA :) so, please ensure you have the essentials in your cupboard, and try...

Wendells Birthday Cake


Ingredients:
170g butter (its supposed to be half butter and half margarine but i dont like using marg to cook)
3/4 c loosely packed brown sugar
1 1/4 c SR flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
3 eggs
3 tbspn coffee (stronger the better for more flavour)

Icing
3/4 c icing sugar
40g softened butter
1 tbspn coffee
1 tbspn milk

Preheat oven to 180 celcius and prepare a round baking tin.
Whip butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs and coffee and mix well.


Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the icing by combining all ingredients and mixing until light and fluffy.

Once cake is cooked, remove and leave it to cool. Once cool, spread the icing over the top. Decorate with almonds or walnuts.



Tips
Add the juice of half a lemon, or 2 tbspns of cocoa instead of coffee to make a different flavoured cake.
Use vanilla essence, mint essence or lemon juice in the icing to make all sorts of yummy flavours
If you're feeling really adventurous, slice the cake in half once cooled, and fill with cream or extra icing.

p. my dads name isnt actually wendell, thats just what we call him. love you dad xox