“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” —Neil Gaiman

Hello everyone!

So back to my normal week to week Wine Wednesday and I just love this Neil Gaiman quote to start the year.  It really sums things up for me because I intend trying new things and no doubt will make mistakes along the way.  I’ll share all the cooking ones with you so welcome to the 2021 journey.

Here I am right back at the beginning again.  The very first WW Dinner Party Cookbook.  My goodness they are lovely simple and delicious recipes.  Always easy to follow and not usually ingredients that involve a 10km hike through rainforests to get them.  Particularly during these times there is something very comforting about going back to these classic cookbooks.  And this week I have selected the lemon crumbed chicken.  This is definitely a do ahead for your busy day.  I sliced the breasts through so that I ended up with more of a schnitzel which cooks more quickly than the thick chicken breast and won’t dry out in the process.  Marinating in the lemon juice and wine for two hours tenderises the breasts and then you can crumb them in the tangy citrusy crumbs and pop them in the fridge to be cooked last minute. If you have time, turn the breasts after the first hour. I was very impressed with the sauce.  Scraping all the little bits off the bottom of the pan after frying the chicken and then adding the flour and the reserved marinade with cream made for a luscious flavour.  Everyone loved it and it received 10/10. I was told “the flavour is fresh and the citrus cuts through making the taste buds dance”.  Wahoooo!

This is a real winner for the family, hope you give it a go.

Until next week,

from my table to yours with love x

Lemon Crumbed Chicken

A simple and tangy sauce tops off these lovely lemon chicken fillets

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 chicken breast fillets cut through the middle to make more of a schnitzel
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1/2 c dry white wine
• 2 tbsp oil
• salt & pepper
• flour for coating
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c packaged breadcrumbs I recommend panko
• 60 g ground almonds
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 90 g butter
• 1 tbsp oil extra
• 2 tsp flour extra
• 1/2 c cream
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley extra

Method

 

1. Take the four half breasts and slice through to make 8 pieces and pound out the fatter end slightly to make cooking more even.
2. Combine lemon juice, wine, oil, salt and pepper, pour over chicken breasts, allow to stand 2 hours. turn once during the process. Drain chicken breasts, reserve marinade.
3. Coat chicken lightly in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, dip in beaten eggs, then coat chicken in combined breadcrumbs, ground almonds, oregano, parsley, lemon rind and parmesan cheese. Heat butter and extra oil in large frying pan, add chicken, cook on both sides until golden brown and cooked through, remove from pan, keep warm.
4. Add extra flour to pan, cook 1 minute, and scape any crunchy bits left from the chicken. Add reserved marinade, stir until smooth, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer 1 minute. Add cream and extra parsley, reheat without boiling. Put chicken on plat, spoon sauce over

Notes

Source: Women's Weekly Dinner Party Cook Book (the very first one)

Potato and Carrot Casserole

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 750 g potatoes
• 60 g butter
• 1/4 c sour cream
• 1/4 c milk
• salt & pepper
• 750 g carrots
• 3 chicken stock cubes
• 1 onion
• 1 tsp french mustard
• 1/3 c mayonnaise
• 30 g butter, extra
• 1 tbsp milk, extra

Method

 

1. Peel potatoes, chop roughly. Cook in boiling salted water until tender, drain. Add butter, mash until smooth, add sour cream, milk, salt and pepper, beat until smooth.
2. Peel carrots, chop roughly, put in saucepan with crumbled stock cubes and peeled and chopped onion. Cover with water, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserve 2 tbsp of the carrot liquid. Put carrot mixture, reserved carrot liquid, salt, pepper, mustard and mayo into electric blender, blend until pureed, or mash until smooth. Put potato and carrot mixtures in layers in overproof dish. Dot extra butter over top of casserole, brush with extra milk. Bake in moderate oven 30 - 35 minutes or until top is golden.

Notes

Source: David Herbert in the Weekend Australian

Ratatouille

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 eggplant
• 2 red peppers
• 2 green peppers
• 3 zucchini
• 3/4 c oil
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 750 g tomatoes
• salt & pepper

Method

 

1. Peel eggplant, cut into large chunks. Remove sees from peppers, cut into 2.5cm cubes, cut zucchini into rounds, peel and chop onions. Heat 2 tbsp oil in large pan, add onions, crushed garlic and thyme. Cook until onions are transparent, remove from pan. Sauté each of the vegetables separately in pan in remaining oil, add to the onion. Peel tomatoes, cut into wedges, add to other vegetables. Put all vegetables in large pan, season with salt and pepper, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered 10-15 mins stirring occasionally.

Passionfruit Tart

The times shown here include the refrigeration times

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 icing sugar
• 1 c plain flour
• 75 g cold unsalted butter chopped coarsely
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanila extract
• 1 tbsp iced water
• 6 medium eggs
• 125 g mascarpone
• 1 c caster sugar
• 1 c passionfruit pulp about 12-14 passionfruit or 2 cans of pulp
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 1/3 c lemon juice

Method

 

1. To make the pastry, combine the icing sugar, flour and butter in a food processor until crumbly. Add the egg yolk, vanilla extract and water, and process until all the ingredients just come together. Shape into a disc about 2cm thick, wrap in cling wrap and chill for 30 mins. Grease a 26cm round loose-based fluted tart tin. Roll pastry between sheets of baking paper until large enough to line pan. Lift pastry into tin, press into base and side and trim excess. Prick base all over with fork, cover with plastic wrap and chill for another 30 mins. Preheat oven to 180°c. Place tart tin on an oven tray, line pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans, dried beans or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and beans and bake for a further 10 mins or until golden brown. Allow to cool.
2. To make the filling, beat together the eggs, mascarpone, sugar, passionfruit pulp, lemon zest and juice. Set aside for 30 mins before straining through a sieve to remove the seeds. Pour into the baked pastry shell and reduce the oven temp to 140°c. Cook for 30 mins, or until just set on the top. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve with berries and cream.