Toblerone Mousse

This is definitely the best chocolate mousse that will ever touch your lips and in no way low fat, it will be a minute to the lips and a year to the hips experience. I have tried many a mousse in my days and none come near. This one was my mums recipe. It is the little flecks of nougat from the toblerone you see, swirled within the rich chocolatey mousse. Its the perfect finale to a fine meal but if i had my way, it would be the meal, every meal. Once you try it you'll never settle for any other.

This will serve about 6 people quiet generously.

Ingredients:

200g Toblerone chocolate

4 eggs separated and whites whipped

1 cup cream whipped

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate.

2. Mix egg yolks into the chocolate with a beater. Beat that baby until smooth and thick.

3. Fold in whipped cream and blend well with the beater. Use a metal spoon to stir in the whipped egg whites till no foam is evident.

4. Spoon into dishes and chill.

When set, top with a dollop of whipped cream and shavings of chocolate.

Sombrero Sundays

Stop! Lower the fork, no lunch for you amigos! because its not just sunday in our household, its sombrero sunday. And that means dads makin Nachos. ole! if thats right? His Nachos is BIG. It goes rice, it goes parmesan, it goes salsa and it goes beans and it goes sour cream and it goes guacamole and it goes cornchips everywhere and it goes more cheese and it goes paprika on top and when your done so is the top button of your jeans. This is a pyjama pants only kind of meal but god its good. Its the kind of Nachos you should get in your local, but those stingy bastards are just well, stingy. So spice up your sunday and give our smoked paprika sombrero sunday a go. (also, itll cure any pain the one too many wines the night before has caused and thats the soul spirit secret sombrero sunday style) cya capodre!

Ingredients:

Parmesan - Grated
Sour Cream
Goucamole (with lots of garlic, lemon and salt and pepper )
Corn Chips - Plain
Jar Salsa mixed with a tin of Red Kidney Beans
Basmati Rice

Method:

1. Boil some Basmati Rice until cooked. Then begin constructing the Nachos.... we make individual dinner plates - but you can make one big one to share.
2. Layer the rice on the bottom of the plate. Sprinkle with parmesan and scatter cornships around the edges. Microwave for 1min
3. spoon the salsa and beans over the rice, sprinkle with more parmesan and microwave 2 -3 mins until the salsa is warm in the middle and the corn chips havebegun to fry a little!
4. spoon over some sour cream, guocamole and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Now unbutton your jeans, sit back and dive in.

Sesame crusted breadstick

Seriously, is there anything better than homemade bread? the smell, the warmth, the dense texture that just seems to soak up the butter, when i was young, my mum would set the breadmaker to start at 4am every morning. It would knead and rise until 7 when she would get up and bake the loaf in the oven till golden and crisp. Although i didnt know it then, I was eating the breakfast of a queen everyday. A successful loaf that actually rises brings such satisfaction to the humble baker, its amazing how often a dud loaf is baked. And theres nothing better than the smell of fresh baked bread.

This afternoon, with the gloomy windy and wet weather brooding outside, i decided to lock myself indoors and cook my own baguette type bread stick to fill with smoked salmon, avocado, tomato, mayo and rocket for lunch- which can i just say is a big effort for me considering in weather like this im more likely to crave and cook anything covered in cream or fried in fat. But, today i am strong and bread tastes good and itll curb my winter cravings... for now anyway.

Makes one bread stick. Double quantities for two.

Ingredients:
1/2tsp yeast or 1tsp fresh yeast
150ml lukewarm water
250g strong flour
1tsp salt
sesame seeds

If using fresh yeast: Put yeast in cup, squash with a few spoonfulls of water and leave till froths. Add to bowl of electric mixer with a dough hook and add flour, salt, and balance of water.

if using dry yeast: Place yeast, flour and salt in electric mixer bowl. Mix on low and gradually add water.

Beat well for 5mins approx till you have a nice smooth dough. (alternatively, for the strong and old fashioned, this will take 10-15mins by hand) Put in oiled bowl and allow to rise in a drought free place till doubled in size. Approx 3hours.
Gently ease risen dough onto workbench, fold in four, return to bowl and allow to double in size again, approx 1 1/2hours.
Remove from bowl, form into long breadstick, cover in sesame seeds and place on baking tray lightly sprayed with oil or dusted with polenta or semolina. PLace in preheated oven 250dgrees and bake for 25mins. Spray water into the oven and onto the dough when first putting in the oven and every 10mins after that. This forms steam and something magical and creates a crusty breadstick! Cool completely before cutting.

Rabbit ragu sauce with pasta

And the time has arrived, for one to venture outside the square. Im gonna try and cook rabbit. They say its tricky, they say its easy to overcook, and the fact that I practically never eat red meat could possibly only make it harder. But, i reckon it could be worth it.

So ive chosen a rabbit ragu type sauce to be served with fresh pasta. Its winter after all, and although the sun was sunbaking worthy all evening, it has now set and a fabulous winter chill has filled the air. I actually cant remember the last time I ate red meat (apart from that 3am hotdog from the local servo...if thats even meat), in fact I dont think ive ever eaten a ragu in my life. Could this make it even harder than how hard it might already be? nah i reckon its gonna be good.

It begins with the rabbit, I chose a wild organic one which is meant to have a more gamey but tougher texture compared to the farmed variety which are more delicate. I got my butcher to joint the poor little guy for me into legs and shoulders, i couldnt bare to rip him apart myself and seriously, thank god hes already been skinned alive by someone else, I cant even seem to shave my legs properly let alone the thought of de-hairing this creature.

It was actually pretty simple to cook, preparation was nothing and although its probably one of the most expensive meals ive ever cooked, with the homemade pasta costing just under $10 from my local Italian restaurant and the rabbit being an astronomical $24 (im not used to the price of meat since all i eat is chicken and also the thought of $25 for something which could have a potentially gross outcome and could have easily been a deposit on a giant lobster formed a few worry lines on the ol' forehead) But the meal was so rich and so like nothing i had ever had before! and the sauce was enough to last another meal. It was amazing and i urge you to try it, especially if you have access to hare which is said to be even better than rabbit but twice as hard to find. It was almost like a luscious gravy with the most tender meat with that gamey flavour. It really was amazing. Fresh pasta, fresh shavings of a good sharp parmesan and bobs your uncle in fact dont invite bob, he sounds greedy and fat and you want the biggest helping you can have of this to yourself!

Make sure you buy homemade pasta, it seriously is what will make or break the meal. Alternatively, a nice soft Polenta would go perfectly for a quarter of the price (i have included a recipe at the bottom).

Ingredients:
4 legs/ an entire Hare or Rabbit
2 Brown Onions
4 cloves Garlic
2tbsp bruised Junipers
4 sprigs Rosemary
1 1/2cups Red wine
1 1/2cups Veal stock

Seal The rabbit in olive oil gently. Add the chopped onion, garlic, junipers and Rosemary. Then add the wine and stock. Simmer 2hours until the meat is tender.
Take the legs out and separate the meat from the bone. Be careful to avoid any gristle and bone. Remove the rosemary sprigs. Puree the sauce with the vegetables and reduce to the desired consistency.
Slip meat back into the sauce and warm for 1-2mins. Serve with homemade pasta or soft Polenta and shavings of quality Parmesan, after all this is a quality meal and we don't want spew cheese.

Soft Polenta:
Bring 250ml milk, 250ml water and a bay leaf to the boil. Remove from heat and allow to infuse 20mins. Strain the bay leaf out. Boil again, pour in 1/2 a cup Polenta and stir constantly until thickens. You want the consistency of a thick porridge. When done add 1/2cup Mascarpone, 50g grated Parmesan and mix. you can also add melted butter and any cheese you like but the Mascarpone tends to freshen and lift the flavour slightly.

Lemon Curd tart

So I have a new love, hes rich, sharp, smooth and creamy and oh so fresh. Hes curd. Sounds like something you scrape off the top of off milk really, but im talking something completely different. Im talking the buttery smooth goodness of a curd cut with the fresh tang of a zesty lemon, or lime or better yet, lemon and lime. Ive always been a big chocoholic but im slowly swaying towards a good citrus curd. So luxurious and better yet so simple to make. Spread it on fresh scones, pikelets, fill sponge cakes or the ultimate, fill a tart. Dollop of fresh double cream and babe im in heaven.

This recipe originally called for the Meyer Lemon variety, more golden yellow in colour and could perhaps produce a better result, but i knew this tart was not going to last long once baked and to be frank, i dont have a meyer lemon tree in my garden and i dont really give a damn. If you havent tried a lemon tart before, which i doubt, then do it now. Theres no turning back (unless of course your a caeliac then maybe you could just suck on a lemon?sorry, i guess you just miss out.) This recipe is soo good, it lasted approximately....20minutes once served? I suggest you cook two!

Ingredients:

Base:
175g butter
2 egg yolks
250g plain flour
75g icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180. In a food processor, cream the butter and sugar. Add the yolks, plain flour and 2 1/2 tablespoons cold water. Pulse till it all just pulls together. Roll the dough to approx 5mm (or whatever you think makes a good base) between greaseproof paper. It says to let it rest in the fridge for 15mins but i couldnt be bothered and i just cooked mine straight away. Blind bake 30mins or till golden.

Filling:
Zest of 3 lemons
4 egg yolks
100ml lemon juice
60g butter
1/2cup castor sugar
Thickened cream

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar till dissolved but not frothy. put it in a saucepan on low with the butter, zest and juice of the lemons. Bring to simmer and when thickens and see bubbles appear, take from the heat and continue to stir. Allow to cool. Stir in as much thickened cream as you like. Put in tart and bake five minutes.

Chocolate Quince and Almond slab

Without doubt, My favourite day of the week is definitly Wednesday. I cant wait to get home, snuggle up in front of the warm fire with a big bowl of winter comfort and watch my idol, Maggie Beer. She makes THE best comfort food I have ever seen, usually simmered in a pool of butter, baked in a tin lined with butter and garnished with hmmm butter. Her creations are not intirely a good influence, but I could watch that jolly little country nanna every night. But what has struck me recently is her love of Quince. A strange variety of fruit which is rarely seen or used in peoples kitchens. This winter, ive decided to give them a go for the first time. Ive pot roasted them and oven baked them in a coating of caramelised sugar and vanilla on several cold wintery nights until they turned a deep ruby red and then served them up with the creamiest vanilla icecream. And shes right, they really are a winter delight.

The other morning i was searching through her website and I came across this recipe for a dark chocolate, roasted almond and Quince paste slab. It is really a surprising combination. Sure, i would mix together nuts and chocolate, maybe a few marshmallows (I am a major rocky road fan) but Quince paste? I had to give it a go.

When mentioning it to fellow work collegues, one came up with the obvious but I think very bright idea that it could perhaps be similar to turkish delight. Seeing as im also a major turkish delight fan (infact i think im a fan of anything that contains chocolate and isnt good for you) I had to make this straight away.

I bought Maggie Beers signature Quince paste (never settle for any other, hers is by far the best, I love you mag-mag), a block of 70% Lindt chocolate (although next time i might go a shade lighter!) and some fresh roasted almonds. Once I set off to begin, I took one look at the quantities and realised I had no where near enough chocolate ( Lindt is only a 100g block) so I pretty much quarted the amounts and only made a small slab. So of coarse mine turned out alot thinner as it just spread out across the tray rather than filling it but it was still really nice. Its kind of like nut and raisens in chocolate done as a slab, basically! But not quiet raisens, more like rasins that arent hard, just soft and nice. Let me try again, its like dark chocolate with almonds but then real sweet little surprise bits in it! As you can see its very difficult to explain, I suggest you give it a whirl yourself. (it'd be great for when a rich guest over the age of 60 pops in for a cuppa, drop in a few lines like yes, its the finest lindt chocolate, I only ever eat 70% anything less is purely dogs droppings, ahh yes and those mooorish little fruity parcels, that is maggie beers gourmet quince paste my dear, just glorious really, excuse me while I take these gigantic diamonds out of my ears, they are just so solid and heavy not to mention this 1kg solid gold necklace ohh dear i should of settled for the deep ocean pearls this evening, not to worry ill let charles know and he can pop down tomorrow evening in the merc and purchase some...)

Ingredients:
400g Dark Chocolate
200g Roasted Almonds
100g Quince paste

Method:
Melt the chocolate in a bowl covered with cling wrap (so the chocolate doesnt sieze) over a saucepan of boiling water. When done, stir in a heap of almonds and lightly fold in some chopped up quince paste. Set in a paper lined tray, not in the refridgerator. Break up or cut into irregular shapes and serve.

Choc-chunk cookies

Ahh yes, the famous choc-chip cookie, perfect with an ice cold glass of fresh milk. Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, is credited with inventing the world renowned chocolate chip cookie. Apparently one day she decided to cut up a Nestle chocolate bar and add it to her butter cookie recipe. They were a hit, Nestle caught on and so was the birth of the famous Nestle Toll house cookie. Reported to be the Americans fav cookie, Ruth Wakefield's recipe set off hundreds of bakers across the globe creating their own variations. Back in 1987 Chester Soling, owner of an Inn in Massachusetts, decided to sponsor a nationwide contest to find THE best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Over 2,600 entries were received and the 100 best recipes were compiled in a book called "The Search for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" by Gwen Steege. Thats alot of baking and alot of cookie eating, it would not surprise me if the last 400 recipes they tested were the worst. You would be so put off after eating 2100 other lots that it would be the last thing you'd want to be eating let alone there being any chance of you liking it, liking it even more than cookie one thousand seven hundred and fifty four, but i guess he would of had employees for that and thats why I have my family!

And as if my family hasn't had to deal with downing enough of my own batches of these calorific cant-stop at one morsels (although probably not quite two thousand), I go ahead and bake up another batch. And so off i set and boy George am i glad i did. This is definitely a worthy recipe, close to the best i could imagine a double chocolate chip cookie could be. I borrowed the recipe from Stephanie Alexanders the cooks bible and after one mouthful, i could see why she says everyone loves them.

They were like brownies in a biscuit, the kind of cookie where a glass of cold milk is vital to wash them down. Boy they were good, and i speak in past tense because although it has not been 24hours since i baked them, the entire batch is gone. And i thought you were sick of chocolate chip cookies, I remark with a sly grin to my family.

I used Cadbury Dream chocolate for the choc bits because after batches and batches of cooking, i have definitely learnt one thing, quality over quantity. The cookies will always taste so much better if you use a block of eating chocolate rather than cooking, trust me. Stephanie's recipe was for straight out choc-chip cookies, but i am a little chocolate piggy so i always go for adding cocoa into the mix. And i must say, i feel like sending Mrs Alexander a letter, an sms even, although she doesn't quiet strike me as the kind of woman who would own a mobile phone to tell you the truth, more a traditional "hello operator" style wall phone. Anyway, i think she ought to know the wonders the added cocoa did to these little chunks of chocolate goodness.

However, my search does continue for that chewy cookie, waiting for me out there in the yonder... but if you want to give these baby's a go:

Ingredients:
125g plain flour
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp bi-carb soda
120g roasted nuts eg. almonds, macadamias, hazelnuts, walnuts (optional)
170g hunk of a block of chocolate, white milk or dark
110g softened butter
1/3cup Castor sugar
1/3cup raw sugar
1 egg
approx 1/4cup cocoa (if you want them to be chocolate bikkies)

Method:

Sift flour, salt, cocoa and bi-carb into a large bowl. Add nuts and chopped up chocolate into chunks. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, then fold in the chocolate flour mix. It will appear to be extremely too dry and you'll be tempted to add water, but don't! persevere, keep mixing and eventually amazingly it will all come together and actually be very very gooey, it takes about five minutes. Form the mixture into two fat logs and wrap tightly in cling wrap. Chill for one hour before baking.

Preheat oven to 175 degrees and line a baking tray with paper. Unwrap logs and cut into thick slices. Place on baking tray, allowing room to spread and bake for 12minutes exactly. Cool on a wire rack. eat up!