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Go to the recipe for Christmas duck
Let’s talk turkey. Actually let’s talk about something else this Christmas. Let’s talk turkey alternatives.
This is a first for Crash Test Kitchen. We’ve never done a Christmas episode before. So we thought we’d focus on two of the basic elements you want on your table: crispy roast potatoes and a lovely bird.
But instead of turkey, we’ve chosen duck. Continue reading ‘Duck in for Christmas’
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Go to the recipe for crème caramel
If you want a dessert that combines simplicity and wow factor, this has got to be it – crème caramel or flan, either vanilla or au café (the latter, “with coffee”, tends to be preferred in France).
Sure you’ve got to make caramel and custard. But neither could be easier. While a careful eye is needed to get the caramel just right, if you cut and run a bit early it will probably just mean that it’s a lighter colour.
And the custard is not your fraught stove-hovering kind, where you’ve got to heat and whisk over the burner for ages while engaging in some minor bacteriological warfare until the consistency and temperature hit their alchemy point. Nope, as far as custard goes this is really a straightforward heat-and-mix job. Continue reading ‘Crème caramel: from one flan to another’
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Although we haven’t had a brilliant summer here in the UK, and it looks like what we did have is pretty much over for the year, we did manage to bid a sad farewell to the summer by taking a lovely walk in the Kent countryside.
I love the public footpaths here in the UK: there is a network crossing public and private property that anyone can walk along and enjoy what the countryside has to offer. We often take a day-trip down to Kent to wander across the rolling green dales, through the fields, woodlands and orchards, taking in the fresh air.
On this particular sunny Saturday our route took us through numerous apple orchards where crisp, pink apples shone on the trees and the hedges were thick with fat, juicy blackberries.
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I’m not much of a sweet tooth, and unlike Waz I’m not much of a coffee drinker. But when I do indulge in a proper espresso it’s always lovely to complement it with a sweet little morsel. Just like nata - or proper Portuguese custard tarts. These delicacies are made with a puff pastry base and a vanilla egg custard filling with a hint of orange zest.
They are by no means the only custard tart around. Waz and I are also huge fans of Chinese dan ta - those lovely little glossy-topped, flaky-based tarts you get when you have good yum cha (also known as dim sum). Continue reading ‘Portuguese custard tarts (pasteis de nata)’
You can’t beat waking up to the smell of fresh-baked bread. But how to get it without the rising, the knocking down, the second rise, and then the EARLY rise on your own part to stick the dough in the oven?
Yes yes, I’ve heard of bread machines. They seem a great idea, but aren’t they a little soulless? Load everything in the evening and it’s done in the morning - the washing machine school of cookery. Surely the tactile experience - getting your hands messy - is part of the satisfying process of baking your own bread.
From what I’ve seen, people tend to buy bread machines as a fad item, then shelve them to gather dust or ship them off to the charity store within a few months. So I’m not sure they are worth the investment. Continue reading ‘Loaf to admit failure’
I’m pretty anal (can I say that in the international blogosphere?) about my breakfast routine. Rarely do I break it. I have two staples that I alternate daily. The first: two slices of toast, one with grilled cheddar, the other with quality marmalade (or, occasionally, Vegemite, and, it almost goes without saying, butter). The second: porridge cooked with chopped apple, topped with banana, milk and honey (and, occasionally, summer fruits). No sugar. No salt. Always with a pot of weak black tea (Loose. Leaf. Only.), in a proper teacup, with a saucer and a tea strainer.
So when Waz decided to experiment with a slow cooker (crock pot to many of us, though that is really a brand name) that our mates Shaun and Jeanette gave us when they left London for Australia, I was very sceptical when he told me he wanted one of the experiments to feature my tried-and-tested porridge. Continue reading ‘Automatic for the porridge’
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Go to the recipe for baked treacle pudding
We’ve been cooking up a few videos for the Word of Mouth food blog, as we’ve mentioned before. Here’s another one, where we make a gorgeous and failsafe baked treacle pudding by Fergus Henderson of St John restaurant, London.
OK, straight away you North Americans are asking “What’s treacle?” Basically it’s a sugar syrup, lighter than molasses but heavier than golden syrup. These days you’re likely to find golden syrup used in its place, as with this recipe. I guess pancake syrup (not maple) as found in the US/Canada is fairly similar. Continue reading ‘Pudding it simply’
A few weeks ago, on a (typically) miserable London winter’s day, I was at home by myself and at a loss for what to have for lunch. The pantry (or store cupboard as the English call it) was pretty much bare and all I had in the fridge was a limp bit of broccoli, the dag end of some parmesan and a few dregs of cream which weren’t quite off.
I boiled up the broc in a bit of water to which I’d added some liquid stock, blitzed it in the blender and added salt, pepper, parmesan and cream for what was a surprisingly delicious repast. I couldn’t believe my luck – I’d stumbled upon the recipe for a yummy, warming lunch from a few ingredients that you might just have in your fridge. Continue reading ‘Brocolli soup with left-handedness’
I’m always on the lookout for really quick, nutritious dishes that can be knocked up in about 20 minutes after I get home from work. This “herby pasta” fits the bill.
If you have a few herbs in your garden, then you can probably make this without even having to make a trip to the shop. Your store cupboard, or “pantry” to Anglo-Australasians, will have just about everything else you need.
For this dish it’s important to use what I call “soft” or “wet” herbs. I don’t know if these are accepted cookery terms, but I include such herbs as basil, parsley, mint, coriander (cilantro), marjoram, tarragon and dill in this group. Continue reading ‘Pasta fire extinguisher’
There’s an old Buddhist saying that goes something like: “When two paths open up before you, make soufflé.”
There are two main paths to soufflé, and in accordance with the true version of that Buddhist proverb, we chose the difficult one. Continue reading ‘About the soufflé’
Well. To anyone who says I give Lenny too much hassle and back-talk in the kitchen, I say just watch this episode.
I reckon I’m pretty capable with dough and have a good feel for the right texture, moisture and density. So when we decided to make pretzels - the big soft chewy bready variety, not the nasty little crunchy bar snacks - I decided to take charge.
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I got hooked on these things in Canada where there was a chain in shopping malls that baked and sold them fresh. I always wonder about those instant-baked breads - do they use yeast, for example, or some sort of chemical for a quicker result? Anyway, they were still good enough to suck me in repeatedly. Continue reading ‘These pretzels are making us … feisty!’
“Welsh rarebit” or “Welsh rabbit” was one of those dishes I’d always wondered about, along with “toad in the hole”, before moving to the UK.
Apparently its name is originally a bit of a slight on the Welsh - who were (many years ago, I’m sure) considered so inept they couldn’t catch a rabbit for dinner, so they had to settle for cheese on toast. In an early example of political correctness the name was adjusted to “rarebit”, supposedly taking a bit of the sting out of the insult.
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There’s more to good rarebit than just slices of cheddar plopped on bread and stuck under the grill (broiler, if you prefer). The recipes vary, but common elements seem to be a good cheddar, some Worcestershire sauce and either beer or milk. Continue reading ‘Pulling a rarebit out of the hat’
Sometimes you just need comfort food. I had never pictured that packet of peas in the freezer as anything other than a quick way of padding out the numbers in a meat-and-three-veg meal, or a source of temporary relief for a wrenched ankle.
Recently, though, Canadian friends and Crash Test Kitchen devotees Shel and Christie visited from Edmonton, the place where CTK had its beginnings. We got nattering about food (as we do) and Christie revealed one of her quick and easy comfort cravings: peas and feta.
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It doesn’t sound like it would set the world on fire, but seriously, it goes really well together. Lenny’s addition of crusty garlic toasts makes a meal of it. Continue reading ‘Easy peasy feta cheesy’
My mum would often make rice pudding when I was a kid. Though I loved the pudding, I would scrape off the skin with my spoon and plop it on mum’s plate, who made an ostentatious show of eating it while I curled up my nose in distaste.
Lenny was making risotto a while back and couldn’t find arborio rice, so bought some “Italian pudding rice” instead at a corner store. I insisted, though, that it wouldn’t work, and went out an ultimately successful mission to find the right kind for risotto. That left us with this packet of pudding rice, which Lenny has finally put to use.
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In our modest cookery library she found a recipe for “nursery rice pudding” and went to work, also grilling some pineapple for a topping. Continue reading ‘Rice pudding with confusion of pineapple’
We all want one of those chef’s blowtorches, don’t we? You know, the ones that you can use to blacken a capsicum (sorry, a pepper), blister a tomato … or make creme brulee!
I’ve had a serious addiction to this oh-so-unhealthy French dessert for years now - probably since I saw the movie Amelie, with that pixie-faced leading lady who rates “cracking creme brulee with a spoon” as one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Most restaurants have it on the menu, and I’ve eaten all sorts of variations - fruit flavoured and the like - in different parts of the world. Continue reading ‘Cracking creme brulee’
I have never found chocolate cake as good as my mum’s. Actually it’s my grandmother’s recipe, and a great one at that.
I didn’t know until I asked mum for the recipe that it’s a “boiled” cake. You don’t actually boil it to cook it - but you simmer some of the ingredients before making the final mix. Continue reading ‘Chocolate cake like mum makes’
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Rhubarb. To me it’s always been more a synonym for nonsense or babble, or a gap-filling nothing vegetable in the garden, than the deliciously tart and easily prepared treat it turns out to be.
We went to the Borough Markets with a chef friend on Saturday and no doubt the rhubarb we bought is a super-organic non-GM wind-powered dolphin-friendly variety.
You can spend hours at the Borough and we really should get some footage down there for a future episode. I’m sure I can overcome my fear of being clocked by a falling 25kg wheel of gourmet cheese. Continue reading ‘Rhubarb’s your uncle’
We’ve decided to reprise a couple of our classic episodes - mostly for our iTunes audience, and others who find it easier to view our new MPEG4/QuickTime formats.
Here’s the first episode we posted, known amongst our small but dedicated fan base as “the one with the orange”.
What we put together here is home-made gnocchi with a very simple, classic pesto. Hope it gets your juices flowin’! Continue reading ‘We Did It All For The Gnocchi - Again’
Technically, Canada Day, July 1, celebrates the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation called Canada. This all took place in 1868. These days, it’s mostly a day for fireworks, lots of drinking and another excuse for a big family gathering.
It was great to spend Canada Day with the most Canadian of families out at the L’Hirondelle ancestral property in Sturgeon County. We even participated in a good-ol’ game of horseshoes, eh. I got a “ringer” and a “point” in one go, for a score of four points - very impressive for a first-time horseshoer. Unfortunately I and my teammate Scott were knocked out by veterans Terry and Sue. I was consoled, however, by the fact the “souffle” turned out a treat! Continue reading ‘Canada Day Souffle, Part 2′
It’s Canada Day! We’re Aussies, but we’re in Canada, so any excuse for a party. This afternoon we’re off to our mate Tom’s place for a real Canada Day bash with his family. Last night we were up late preparing French toast souffle as our contribution.
It’s a sinful amalgam of bread, creamed cheese, eggs, butter, maple syrup and a few other delicious elements. Extremely tasty, and not a true “souffle”, so you don’t have to tiptoe around the kitchen while it’s cooking. Being “French toast souffle” we feel it’s a nod to Canada’s Francophone influences, while the maple syrup makes it true-blue Canuck tucker. Sure to get the patriotic blood flowing, if all the wicked creaminess doesn’t give you a coronary. Continue reading ‘O Canada, we make souffle for thee’
We started out with the best intentions: whip up a layered sponge cake to celebrate our friend Paul’s 30th birthday.
He’s back in Australia, we’re here in Canada, but we’d just eat it on his behalf we reckoned.
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Well, that was the plan. You see, it seems there must be a secret to making sponge cake - and we’re not in on it. Continue reading ‘Sponge blob square pan’
When Cristy came to visit from Australia (via Ontario) she brought a packet of earthy, wholesome “wild rice” grown in Manitoba. Technically it isn’t rice at all, but the seed of some kind of water plant.
A pilaf seemed like the right thing to make, so we came up with this recipe using ingredients that were pretty much straight out of the earth: fresh asparagus, fried and chopped; crimini, or brown, mushrooms, quartered and browned; lovely vine-ripened tomatoes, roasted; shiitake mushrooms sliced and cooked in a soy-based sweet and sour jus; and roasted sweet potato, cubed. Continue reading ‘Earth to Pilaf! Earth to Pilaf!’
Rule number one of crepe making: there’s NO SHAME if the first one’s a failure. Rule number two: when the crepes hit the table, GET IN QUICK!
For years, I’d made my “pancakes” according to a simple recipe: one cup of flour, one egg, one cup of milk. Lenny and my friends thought they were pretty good. But I suspected the results were a bit heavy, a bit tough. Not what you could really call crepes.
Then, while we were in the UK, I grabbed one of Delia Smith’s recipe books off a friend’s shelf. Or maybe I saw her cook crepes on her TV show. Anyway, dear old Delia turned my world upside down. My basic ratio went out the window, butter was added, and the result was a much lighter, much more delicate pancake than I had ever produced - something that could truly be called a crepe. Continue reading ‘The great crepe debate’
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We’re always trying to eat more fruit, so we grab a hand of bananas pretty often. But at supermarkets here in Edmonton they’re always green, so they sit on your kitchen bench for a few days, taunting you and taking their sweet time to ripen.
Then, when they DO ripen, they seem to go “on the turn” (i.e. black and squishy) half a day later. Continue reading ‘When bananas turn BAD!’
Our guest for this instalment of Crash Test Kitchen is our old mate Dave.
Now Dave is a bit of a dark horse, it seems, when it comes to matters of the kitchen. Just recently, after all our years of knowing the lad, he declared that he knew how to make a cheesecake.
And not just your fridge-set cheesecake, mind you - the full-blown baked variety. So Lenny and I found this recipe on the internet, supplied the ingredients and set Dave to work. Continue reading ‘Dave makes a cheesecake’
Our roast chicken recipe: hot and fast
No-fuss fish pie
Classic bolognese
Portuguese custard tarts (pasteis de nata)
About the soufflé
One chicken, three ways
Bones about it: Beef stock from scratch
Heart-melting chocolate pudding
Cracking creme brulee
Froth my milk up
We’re on a (cabbage) roll
Perfect Steak … in Time for Christmas
The great crepe debate
Boy meets blueberry
Whole lotta rosemary chicken
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