The AFF "Chef's Corner" Thread

[Spudz27]

Well tonight is Nacho's. I actually topped this with chilli that I make using cinnamon, cumin, corriander and garlic along with tamato paste etc, so that is why there is no salsa on top. The jalepeno's on one side is because of children, sour cream is added as people desire.

[TURBOTAXI]

^^ We need a massive increase in the jalapeno count. Kids will eat if they are hungry.

[Spudz27]

O.k so today I was bored and thought what can I make that is interesting? Having a slight craving for hotdogs I set out to get some american franks, but being a public holiday only IGA was open and they only sold the crap red ones. So I remembered I had some lamb and rosemary sausages from the local butcher in the freezer along with a pack of rolls. So I thought yep that is what I will use. Then I thought what can I do to make this interesting and suddenly I thought of Nacho's. So I have just made Nacho hotdogs.

I start with crushing some plain doritos and laying them on the bottom of the bun. Next is a small amount of cheese, then I lay the sausage (the cheese is to try and keep corn chips and sausage together), then on top I lay a mix of diced onion and tomato, then taco sauce, then another small amount of cheese and under the grill it goes to melt the cheese.

Next is to add a dollop of avocado which I mixed with salt, paprika and chilli powder, and dollop of sour cream. Now it might not look appetizing but it tasted lovely, I put a bit too much sour cream, but otherwise it was great.

[TURBOTAXI]

Sinful goodness....

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by TURBOTAXI

Sinful goodness....

Yeah not something you would eat everyday or week for that matter. It is now one of those things I created I know is good, but I will probably make it every now and then, not on a regular basis. I spoke to my mrs over the weekend of opening my own hotdog and burger joint, this would be on the menu.

[NickyN]

Originally Posted by Spudz27

Well tonight is Nacho's. I actually topped this with chilli that I make using cinnamon, cumin, corriander and garlic along with tamato paste etc, so that is why there is no salsa on top. The jalepeno's on one side is because of children, sour cream is added as people desire.

Here's some toppings you could have as options with your nachos next time:
sliced olives
diced sweet onions (or soak yellow onions in water so it's not as spicy)
diced tomatoes
guacamole
shredded lettuce.

Or, if you can find taco shells you could put the same things into a shell and call it Taco Night, ole!

Taco salads are good too, just use heaps more lettuce as the base and layer with the meat/chili, cheese and the veggies, sour cream and guacamole. B/c of veggies, salsa or taco sauce adds flavor.

Enjoy!

[AUIIPURSUIT]

few creations ive made (With the missus) ... the ones we took photos of anyway...

Garlic and chilli tiger prawns served with a fresh orange and fennel salad.


Saute` apricot lamb cutlets with asparagus, buttered sweet potato and herbed salt and pepper roasted potatoes


Chocolate ganache tart with lavender cream and fresh raspberries.



seared lamb with stuffed chili and peanut caramel.


lamb cutlets with some kind of chilli garnish and a moroccon spiced yoghurt.. this was a while ago.

should take more photos.. me n the missus enjoy cooking together.

[DJM83]

^^^^ i like, well done

[Rodp]

That tart looks magnificent, very rich and smooth looking.

Lamb looks perfectly cooked in all three dishes, too. Probably not a good thing to be reading when I'm about to quickly cook some rice and steamed veg before I go out to do some jobs. :(

[pulpist]

I've had a look and there doesn't seem to be a recipe for Beef Stroganoff, so here is ours

Simple is best

The best beef you can buy, rump preferably
One large onion
A load of mushrooms
Tomato paste
Fresh or crushed garlic, you know the stuff in the bottle
Tomato sauce
Sour cream
Salt, pepper(white)

Cut up the beef, strips are best because you want to quick fry them really hot to retain the juicy goodness
Put the beef aside after frying

Turn down heat

Oil the pan and throw in a whole diced onion and garlic(about a teaspoon and a bit)
Sauté till the onion is clear

Return the beef to the pan and add about a table spoon and a half of tomato paste, and about half a table spoon of tomato sauce which will give it a touch of sweetness
Add a bit of water, this is a bit of trial and error, you'll get the hang

Break up the mushrooms, chuck in, and cook till fairly soft.

Bit of salt(pinch) and just a touch of pepper

Stir in sour cream, heat through

The idea is not to let the cream boil, cause that will screw it up.

Serve with rice and really crunchy bread

Strog is always a bit of trial and error, and depends on the quality of the beef and mushys

We usually get 2 out of 3 right

[TURBOTAXI]

I am glad Black Ute and a small brown dog of dubious pedigree dont form part of the ingredients!

Looks good love the richness, and the ease of prep and storage for stroganoff.

[AUIIPURSUIT]

cheers guys,
me n the missus dont live together, so whenever she comes over we like to cook a couple of courses up... she will normally do entree and dessert and ill do mains...

i love my lamb

Ill remember to take more photos in the future and upload them..

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by pulpist

I've had a look and there doesn't seem to be a recipe for Beef Stroganoff, so here is ours

Simple is best

The best beef you can buy, rump preferably
One large onion
A load of mushrooms
Tomato paste
Fresh or crushed garlic, you know the stuff in the bottle
Tomato sauce
Sour cream
Salt, pepper(white)

Cut up the beef, strips are best because you want to quick fry them really hot to retain the juicy goodness
Put the beef aside after frying

Turn down heat

Oil the pan and throw in a whole diced onion and garlic(about a teaspoon and a bit)
Sauté till the onion is clear

Return the beef to the pan and add about a table spoon and a half of tomato paste, and about half a table spoon of tomato sauce which will give it a touch of sweetness
Add a bit of water, this is a bit of trial and error, you'll get the hang

Break up the mushrooms, chuck in, and cook till fairly soft.

Bit of salt(pinch) and just a touch of pepper

Stir in sour cream, heat through

The idea is not to let the cream boil, cause that will screw it up.

Serve with rice and really crunchy bread

Strog is always a bit of trial and error, and depends on the quality of the beef and mushys

We usually get 2 out of 3 right

Pretty close to what I do except I only use

Beef
Onion
Champingons
Tamato paste
Sour cream.

Every now and then I add a dash of white wine. Also I dust the beef in plain flour and cracked black pepper first and cook in a little butter.
Serve with basmati rice. We can't use any rice but basmati these days, used white rice the other day and not even my kids liked it lol.

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by AUIIPURSUIT

few creations ive made (With the missus) ... the ones we took photos of anyway...

Garlic and chilli tiger prawns served with a fresh orange and fennel salad.


Saute` apricot lamb cutlets with asparagus, buttered sweet potato and herbed salt and pepper roasted potatoes


Chocolate ganache tart with lavender cream and fresh raspberries.



seared lamb with stuffed chili and peanut caramel.


lamb cutlets with some kind of chilli garnish and a moroccon spiced yoghurt.. this was a while ago.

should take more photos.. me n the missus enjoy cooking together.

Prawns look awesome. I am not a huge lamb person, I think it is more the cost.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Excuse the shoddy photo as I only had my camera phone on me.

Carrot Pilaf with spiced chicken:


It's really yummy, I substituted the lamb for chicken as my gf doesn't like red meat that much.

It's not too spicy and all up only took an hour to prepare and cook. I also used sour cream instead of yoghurt for the dressing which I think was a mistake, still tasked good

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2483...th+spiced+lamb

[Iggypoppin']

Originally Posted by Spudz27

Pretty close to what I do except I only use

Beef
Onion
Champingons
Tamato paste
Sour cream.

Every now and then I add a dash of white wine. Also I dust the beef in plain flour and cracked black pepper first and cook in a little butter.
Serve with basmati rice. We can't use any rice but basmati these days, used white rice the other day and not even my kids liked it lol.

try a splash of red wine next time, trust me.

[Spudz27]

Rather than a new thread I figured I would dig this up. What utensils do you budding chefs have in the kitchen? Mainly I mean knives and a few other things that you use mainly to help create your dishes.

Today I went out and bought a set of Victorinox kitchen knives. I have still kept a few of the stay sharp knives around and told my fiance to use those lol. I also have a pasta machine, Mortar and pretzel ( I know it is pestle, but my daughter said pretzel one day and it has stuck lol), electric beater and a blender. My kitchen arsenal is missing a mixer and food processor. Right now I have just put a baked lemon cheescake into the oven, pity I can't eat it till tomorrow :(.

So what do you guys have in your kitchen arsenal?

[SEZ213]

- A set of mundial knives (have had them for about 7 years now, and they're still good as ever - they should be for what I paid for them!)

- I have two mortar and pestles (one tiny and one huge)

- I blew up my electric beater, so I have to buy a new one (have been looking at the Kenwood Chef premium, but the plastic dial is putting me off...they used to be metal as well)

- About twelve baking trays, cake tins, spring tins, muffin trays, etc.

- Pyrex dishes, can't get enough

- A couple of big stainless steel bowls for making double batches (best way to do it).


On the list still to buy...
- a blender (if I go the kenwood I can just buy the blender attachment - it's got a meat mincer on it as well and for under $500 I can't turn that down)
- a few more whisks (I only have three)
- some more mixing bowls
- a new wok...

And pretty much whatever else I can get my hands on (I spend lots of money on three areas, shoes, beds, and kitchen appliances).

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by Spudz27

I also have a pasta machine

I've so got to get one of those, there's nothing more fun than the making of home made pasta. Just the whole mess involved, I love it!

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by Riksta

I've so got to get one of those, there's nothing more fun than the making of home made pasta. Just the whole mess involved, I love it!

Mess is the key word. I just went through 8 eggs and 800gms of flour. My first attempt the walls of my well collapsed, and, well, **** went everywhere, there was egg from one side of the bench to the other, it was like glue because I dumped the flour into it to try and stop the flow lol. Second attempt I did it in a bowl, so my glass bowl held up the wall of my well and I now have a nice smooth dough resting.

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by Spudz27

Mess is the key word. I just went through 8 eggs and 800gms of flour. My first attempt the walls of my well collapsed, and, well, **** went everywhere, there was egg from one side of the bench to the other, it was like glue because I dumped the flour into it to try and stop the flow lol. Second attempt I did it in a bowl, so my glass bowl held up the wall of my well and I now have a nice smooth dough resting.

That's most of the fun of doing it though!

I love making pizza dough, and if I had a pasta machine I guarantee I'd be hammering out pasta dough whenever I could!

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by Riksta

That's most of the fun of doing it though!

I love making pizza dough, and if I had a pasta machine I guarantee I'd be hammering out pasta dough whenever I could!

I spent 2-3hours making pasta today. It made enough for two dinners, bloody thing is going to the back of the cupboard lol. Pizza dough I enjoy making, it also takes less time and mess. However if you have a food processor making the pasta dough will be easy.

[Spudz27]

Tonight's dinner is a starter of fresh made nori rolls.
2 of them have fresh cooked king prawn, cucumber, omlette (no milk), avocado and whole egg mayo.
The other 2 of them have teryaki chicken (made a sauce with mirin, soy and sugar and used skinless breast), cucumber, avocado and omlette.

After starter I have Tonkatsu. I had my butcher cut me some pork steaks, I have flatened them out to snitchzel thickness, coated in flour, egg and panko bread crumbs. They will be shallow fried and served on rice with a Katsu sauce I make with ketchup (not tomato sauce), soy, sugar and craked black pepper. This katsu sauce is awesome, so if anyone wants it I will post the measurements, I do it to taste, but there are measurements.

Have not got photo's atm, but I will post a pic at dinner when I have plated it all up.

[Spudz27]

So a pic. The quality is very dark (thank my point and shoot), the nori rolls that are not together properly is off the roll I let my partner do, she didn't know to leave an edge. Either way it was a bloody nice meal and well worth my last 4 hours of prep and cooking. I will declare right now that Panko breadcrumbs, are the best, they cost $4 or so for a small bag, but they are worth every cent.



BTW the edges are not burnt, the sauce has soaked in.

[BA GT-HO]

The Katsu sauce intrigues me..

How would it go on some nice fat ribs on the grill?

[Spudz27]

Actually I never gave it a thought. I can't see why you can't baste some ribs with it. I would suggest heating the sauce first to dissolve the sugar and thicken it up a bit, but it would probably go really well.

The recipe I use is

1/3 cup Ketchup (not tomato sauce)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp of Woscteshire (spelling)
Cracked black pepper.

I am glad I wrote this down years ago. I couldn't find my recipe book last night and searched the net, plenty of variations of this but couldn't find this one anywhere. I got it off the net 5 or 6yrs ago.

[GreenR]

^ nice work. When you're rolling them keep pulling the nori sheet out so it doesn't roll into the centre, then roll some more and repeat. That way you get just a clean layer around the outside instead of some in the middle. It doesn't really matter just thought I would mention it

[Spudz27]

So I seem to be the only one posting lol. You might notice a pattern emerging of Saturdays lol, saturday is my day to just do whatever I want in the kitchen. Surely a few more of AFF's members can cook.

So tonight I made Duck breast on creamy parmesan polenta with a ragu.

The duck I simply scored and seasoned with salt and cracked black pepper, then cooked skin side down in a smoking pan to crispen up the skin and render the fat. After 5mins I turned and cooked 1 more min in the pan then transferred to oven at 250c for 7mins. I had to cover loosely with foil as the fat was spitting and I could see tiny flames lol. Then rested for 10mins.

The Ragu was diced onion, carrot, celery, garlic and panchetta. I fried it in 1Tbsp of olive oil, added 2Tbsp of tamato paste, cooked some more, added a cup of red wine and cooked it off a bit, added passata and then simmered for 45mins.

Polenta was as per instructions and at the end I added 1/4cup cream and parmesan cheese, plus salt and pepper.

I also this afternoon made a Ferrero Roche cheesecake.

For the base I used choc biscuits instead of scotchfingers (which I usually use) In a bowl I put 500g of cream cheese, sugar, vanilla essence. I chopped up 11 Fererro's and then slowly melted them over warm water, to this I added 1/4cup hot water. Let cool added to cream cheese mix and beated it all together. At the end I folded in 300ml of whipped thickened cream.

Appologies for photo's, the duck looks like pizza because as I put the ragu on I realised I was meant to put it around the polenta . Either way it was bloody delicious but will be a once off as duck is so bloody expensive. The left over ragu will be frozen for use in bolognaise.

[69XWGT]

This isn't a meal but it is one of the nicest dips you'll ever taste


You'll need
I 300ml tube of sour cream
1 block of Philly cream cheese
2 tablespoons of Mayo
1 jar of Baxters tomato chutney with red pepper
1 red capsicum chopped into around 5 to 10 mm pieces
1 large or 2 medium tomatos chopped into about 5 to 10mm pieces
1 300 to 500 gram packet of grated tasty cheese
4 or 5 chopped schallots. Use everything bar the very bottom
1 pack of Corn chips

Blend until smooth the sour cream, cream cheese and mayo
Place in a shallow quiche dish or something like it
Let chill in the fridge till firm. half hour or so
Evenly spread the tomato chutney over the base
spread the capsicim and chopped tomato next followed by the cheese and then last the schallots

Use the corn chips for getting it out and enjoy

My mouth is watering just typing this in.

[XR6_661]

That sounds unreal!!