Last night my delightful manfriend made me dinner (see picture) of chicken, cheese and spinach pasties. Yes they were delicious, he has learnt to BBQ bake well! Tonight though we have heaps of leftover spinach, and I would love some tips / suggestions if you have any about what to make...? I'm currently toying with a spinach dip to freeze for later .... So clearly I need some spinachparation!! Xx T-Bake A pretty simple recipe if I do say so myself.... Ingredients are: - chicken breast - pumpkin - baby spinach - quinoa (with Moroccan seasoning) - fetta - pistachio dukka - lemon - oil - avacodo Method: - roast pumpkin (1 hour, at 180 degrees celcuis in the BBQ), while you wait, call a family member and say g'day, after which you should be ready to scrape out the pumpkin and place in a mixing bowl - cook quinoa according to packet (takes 20 minutes, when ready, add to the pumpkin mix and stir through. Set aside. - while the dukka is on the go, mix 2 tbs of dukka with 1 tbs oil and 1 tbs lemon juice. - cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally so you have skinny breasts and coat in the dukka mix - grill chicken on BBQ for 10 minutes or until cooked through. - layer all the elements on the plate as thus .... Baby spinich, avacodo, quinoa mix, chicken, crumbled fetta. Ingredients:
Preheat BBQ to approx. 200 degree Celsius. Combine buffalo, vege, herbs and bread crumbs together in a large bowl. Cut each pastry sheet in half. Place a roll of mixture in centre of each half, brush edges with egg mixture and roll to seal. Brush pastry with more egg and sprinkle over poppy seeds. Cut each roll into 6 mini sausage rolls. Place on cake cooling rack (see picture), and BBQ for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Notes: I had a lot of fun cooking these... I don't think I've seen my man-friend as excited about something I was BBQ'ing ever!!! The coriander I used is from our balcony we call it Bush Coriander (See picture) it's a lot stronger than regular coriander so be careful with the amounts used. Ingredients:
Roll the mixture into small balls, flatten slightly in the palm of your hand and then press a little hole in the top (see piccy's below) to fill with jam. Then fill with jam, I used Rosella Jam from Girraween Primary School (those little legends!) and the pictured store bought Chia Jam from the supermarket. Bake in a quick BBQ. ....This means about 10 minutes somewhere between 190-200 degrees celcuis (375-400 F). Notes for the keen BBQer: I placed these Jamnuts on the little shelf used for resting meats to cook them, becase they just seemed too delicate to place on the grill plate. Remember - whenever baking in the BBQ never, seriously.... NEVER place the tray directly above the elements that are on fire. You'll also notice I changed Grandma Beryl's original recipe to include the nuts. I have to add a disclaimer that if you are swapping ingredients like-for-like you can substitute any sort of 'meal' (i.e. almond or hazelnut) with the flour. BUT, if you swap out all the self raising flour then place a teaspoon of carb soda into the mix to counteract the loss of the 'rising ' nature of the self raising flour. Please share my recipes with your friends! xoxox - The BBQ Baker A picture journey of my damper cooked on location at the Pine Creek Gold Rush Festival today. It didn't make the top 5... But it was yummy to eat with some golden syrup. Ingredients for the simple version are flour, water and salt. Stired and kneaded lightly. You can add some herbs like oregano and rosemary for fanciness, but this competition had strict rules. Xx TA A super simple BBQ fish dish!
All you need is foil, saffron strands and a lime.... Plus some fresh fish! This tasty beast was caught by friends at channel point. Place sliced lime and fish into the foil and seal by crinkling the sides together. Cook at 160 degrees celcuis for 20 minutes in a tray with approx 1 cm of water in the bottom (to prevent from burning). Then open the foil pack, sprinkle the saffron on top and bake until ready. Approx 30 Minutes in total depending on the BBQ. Serve with a salad of 4 things only!!! More on my 4 things theory soon. Xox the BBQ baker! I made this yummy potato bake with alternate layers of potato, eggplant, onion, bacon, cream, garlic, S&P, mozzarella, bocconcini and cheddar cheese. Ingredients: 2 oz butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons golden syrup 1 egg 1 cup self raising flour 1/2 teaspoon carb soda 1 teaspoon mixed spice 1/2 teaspoon ginger Pinch of salt 1/2 cup boiling water *see notes for what actually happenned Method: Mix all together, then add the boiling water. Bake in a moderate BBQ (or oven), which was 175ish degrees celcuis for me. Notes on this recipe: I actually did not read this recipe properly or follow the instructions very accurately. I was running ingredients down from my pantry and had about those quantities left in everything. Then I completely missed the last note which reads 'add 1/2 cup boiling water' at the end. So I added another egg because the mixture just looked weird and too dry then decided to call it 'caramel' ginger cake. It gets even funnier... Because I started cooking too late In the arvo and dinner had to go in the BBQ so I had to move the cake to the top shelf and in the process my cake sunk! .....TRADGEDY! But my sillyness doesn't end there, I guess it goes to show that if you trust your instincts you can still create a tasty winner and as such I forgot to take a photo of the whole cake, so this is all I had left to take a picture and show you my awesome tasting, although sunken cake. Enjoy!! INGREDIENTS:
METHOD: STEP ONE: Grab the most kick-ass apron you have just this moment, my favourite apron is this one my mum sent me which reads 'I love the Gong'. STEP TWO: Melt the Copha, this weird and white substance takes a lot longer than butter to melt, I did the half block in the microwave for about 4 minutes, you can find it in the same section as the butter (it's vegetable shortening - FYI). STEP THREE: Add the condensed milk into the melted Copha, a word of warning it looks a little squiggly and gross, plus considering you are looking at a stupid amount of fatty products combined I don't recommend reading the labels of these products (unless of course you have an allergy and don't want to end up in hospital) because you will just feel guilty. STEP FOUR: Add all the other ingredients and stir well, then spread the mixture over the top of a layer of biscuits which have been placed upside down in a flexi-tray on baking paper. STEP FIVE: This is not a part of Grandma's original recipe but I thought a passionfruit slice needed some passionfruit in it (Funny that hey...?) so I spooned the passionfruit pulp over the mixture and then placed the next layer of biscuits on top, facing up. STEP SIX: Place in the fridge. NOTES: Grandma Beryl also writes that icing should be spread over the top of the slice but she hasn't written it down.... so I recommend the following icing if you're keen! PASSIONFRUIT ICING: Add 1, 1/2 sifted icing sugar, 1-2 teaspoons of soft butter and 1-2 tablespoons of passionfruit pulp (minus the seeds). Stir. TODAYS FUN FACT: Today is a public holiday here in Darwin and I've been dancing around to Backstreet Boys while making this slice - man they are great and I love rocking out my 1990's dance moves! xoxoxox - the BBQ baker See you next weekend for another heritage recipe with a twist, watch out work colleagues because once again you will be asked to assist in the eating of the deliciousness tomorrow! Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut 1/2 cup milk 125 grams butter 1 cup caster sugar 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 2 eggs 1, 1/2 cups self-raising flour 1/2 cup milk (extra) Method: Combine coconut & milk in a bowl, stand 1 hour. Cream butter, sugar, & orange rind until light and fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sifted flour, coconut mixture & extra milk alternatively. Pour into a greased flexi-try (9x6" - if cooking in an oven - metal trays are fine - grease with butter and paper). Bake in a moderate oven for 45-50 minutes or until cooked when tested. Cool on a wire rack, top with orange icing. Orange Icing: Add 1, 1/2 sifted icing sugar, 1-2 teaspoons of soft butter and 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice. Stir. Notes from this recipe: Despite how many times i cook cakes in the BBQ, sometimes i still forget my own rules! - Less is more in regards to temperature - you can always bake for longer (See how the outside of my cake cooked faster than the middle...) once i corrected the temperature it puffed up through the middle - mint slice style. - who cares it still tastes good and is very fluffy and yummy. THANKS GRANDMA!!!! I miss you still, and these cakes make me remember all the fun we had running around Riverwood at your house :) So last year I made a disastrous attempt to enter the Darwin show chocolate cake section. I used far too much chocolate and metal pans in my BBQ. Stand by, because the BBQ baker is going to try again! I just need to read the form guide... And pick a class. Watch out Darwin bakers, the 30 bucks is a good as mine!! Hints and tips for cake making in the BBQ coming soon! I have some interesting stories about cake baking in the BBQ.
Did you know that a slight breeze can affect the result of your cake in the BBQ? BBQ baking - It's not like baking a sponge in a library. -the BBQ baker I made really yummy pork roast tonight, the stuffing was bread crumbs, grated Jazz apple (so tasty!!), roasted Macadamias, basil, coriandah and an egg! I mashed up a recipe from the coles magazine, and when I couldn't buy sage - I instead used our home grown basil and native coriandah we have growin on our balcony. I used a butterflyed loin roast and the quantities for the stuffing are:
It was lucky the roast came wrapped in string as I was out of kitchen string, if you don't have any make sure you untie the roast when you open it to stuff it. Otherwise it'll be hard to pack in the amazingness! The rub on the skin was fennel seeds and salt flakes. I cooked it in the BBQ uncovered (the meat that is, you must put the good down) for 30 minutes at 230 degrees celcuis, then I reduced it to 180 degrees for another 30 minutes (place your heavy veg like potatoes and parsnips in right at the beginning). Then added the apples and lighter veg for another 30 minutes - finally letting it rest for 10 minutes. I roasted some apples, parsnips, sweet potatoes and capsicum to garnish the dish. I didn't make any gravy but I reckon and apple sauce would've worked a treat. My apple sauce recipe is 2 apples, cored and cubed into 1 cm pieces. A combination of sugar, white wine and cinnamon, quantities are to taste.... Don't go overboard on the cinnamon.... Boil altogether till the apples are soft and then mash with a fork and scoop over the pork. This recipe is pretty simple, I needed to get the pork belly out of my freezer (it was taking up too much space *shakes fist*) so firstly I prepared the meat by pouring boiling water over the pork belly fat – this results in a crisper crackling.
Make sure the skin is dry and then rub salt, pepper and garlic into the scored rind. Remove the solid plate from the BBQ and place the grill plate into the middle of the cooking area. Place pork in the BBQ at about 220 degrees celsius for 30 minutes with a cup of white wine in the bottom of the pan (to help stop it drying out), you can then drink some wine. After 30 minutes, you could place some spuds and onions etc. in the bottom of the pan to make up the rest of your meal if you're cooking for dinner.... I didn’t because I was cooking the meat for sandwiches during the week. Cook meat for a further 2 hours on about 160 degree celsius checking 3 or 4 times, BBQ baking takes time to figure out what funny quirks your BBQ has, mine for example fluctuates when you open the hood quite dramatically so you have to monitor the temperature quite a bit to maintain consistency… but you've got your wine so enjoy the view wherever you are in this magnificent world! As a side note, my crackling did not work out perfectly, because i poured the wine over the pork.... Mistake!!! Pour the wine directly into the pan. It is not enough to have a good BBQ, the main thing is to use it well. - the BBQ baker Inspired by the Giant Chickpeas of the Ord! First things first, this is not a quick recipe! If you want to make these you need to give yourself at least 8 hours :) If i haven't lost you here, let's get started ..... 1. Start by soaking the chickpeas overnight in water (i left mine on the bench over night, no problem in this climate, trust your instincts on this one based on the conditions), don't buy the canned stuff - even if you are doing your best to support Aussie canning companies (Go you good thing!!!), these will always taste better if you put in the hard yards and get them straight from the farmers market. 2. After you've soaked the chickpeas, you need to boil them in water for about 45 minutes. 3. Drain and roll the chickpeas into a baking pan lined in foil and baking paper (or watever you want really - my roasting pan is so gross i prefer to double line it - but i'm so attached i wont get rid of it *lol*. 4. Next i put about 2 pinches of the pictured spice 'Humpty Doo Spices - Indian Curry Powder' into the pan with some garlic flavoured oil, salt and pepper and rubbed/mixed it all together so the chickpeas where coated. 5. Place the pan into the BBQ at about 150-180 degrees celcuis (300-360 degrees farrenheit), close the lid and cook till crunchy & golden .... Yes, i know this is a crap instruction but i BBQ by instinct and didn't actually write down the timings - oopps - Sorry! I checked on the chickpeas every 10-15 minutes and ate 1 each time, by the 3rd tasting they were ready (if you want more crunch maybe an extra round of time - mine are still soft in the middle which i like - but they wont keep fresh as long as chickpeas roasted a longer amount of time. 6. Once you take the chickpeas out of the BBQ, place inbetween sheets of absorbant towling and roll the oil out. 7. Crack some additional salt over the top - and enjoy your own home made bar snacks - best served with a cleansing ale. Enjoy, and if you have any questions, email me :) xoxo - BBQ Power! My latest BBQ cake is In the BBQ now - yay!! Easy peasy lemon squeezey!! Try it yourself, most of these ingredients are in the pantry.. 2 cups self raising flour, sifted 2 heaped teaspoons good quality cocoa, sifted 1.5 cups sugar 2 eggs, cracked 1.5 cups milk 2 knobs of butter (bout 80grams), melted Mix altogether with electric beater. Place in preheated BBQ at 150 degrees celcuis (about 300 Fahrenheit) for about an hour... And don't forget to rotate every 15 20 minutes to avoid the BBQ burn as previously blogged about! I know what your thinking Buffalo Roast.... WHAAAAT!??!?!? (Subtext: how did I not know about this? This is AWESOME!!!!).
My manfriend and I tag teamed on the cooking of this roast. I got home and the roast was in the BBQ at 150 degrees celcuis (302 farenheit) coated in a delicious mix of wine, garlic oil and fresh rosemary. It cooked for about 30 minutes and then I added some kakadu plum sweet chilli sauce to some water (about 1/8 sauce to 1 cup water). That's it! Cook til it's as you like it. For medium rare at about 1.5 kilograms, our roast was cooked for 1.5 hours! Ps, the leftovers were amazing in a chia wrap with rocket, Fetta, capsicum and the meat sliced really finely! Yumsies :) When I got word that the first Barra arrived in Darwin today (thanks ABC Country Hour!), the first thing that popped into my head was Barra Burgers, I've been working on this batter for a bit and reckon I've got it spot on now... cooking fish in the BBQ is risky business. It can dry out pretty easy.... I've put my best spin on the old K-Town favorite from Ken and Sue Matthews Wyndham Pub in the Kimberley. It's quite easy this one, add equal parts bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, plus salt and pepper to taste - and some grated lime or lemon zest. Then coat the fish in some flavored oil, I prefer lemon oil but you can use the oil from sun-dried tomotos, feta cheese or chillies... It's all good! Rub the oil into the fish and then coat the fish in the crumb mixture only once, don't try and put too much on it will taste soggy. You should be able to see the fish flesh through the crumbing. Place in a baking tray in a BBQ pre-heated to about 150 degrees celcuis and close the lid. After 10 minutes, flip the fish over and bake for another 10 minutes. Assemble your burger, I like to keep it simple with rocket, tomato and cheese... Pineapple I'm feeling fancy, then tuck in!!! A real winner if I do say so myself, and a great way to enjoy Top End Barra... Even if you didn't cath it yourself! N.B. The photos in this blog post are from two different cooking sessions... I'll blog about those stuffed chillies soon... They almost blew my head off! Nananananananananananananananana BBQ! .... BBQ! ..... BBQ! Tonight I'm welcoming Matt home by cooking a meal of meat tapas, this is the first course! Method coming soon. |
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AuthorHi, I’m T. |