Basil, honey and garlic veggies

T-bone steak was on the menu the other day which is an absolute favourite of mine when in need of an iron fix. Cooking the steaks on the Baby Q is a no brainer, however, I wanted a bit of a flavour surge. We have had a bag of carrots in the fridge for about a week now (I had good intentions on making a carrot cake but.....) and I do love carrots but the boys really don't like cooked carrots and I couldn't think of anything more hideous than eating raw carrot sticks with a bleeding piece of meat.

Broccoli is one of the top contenders in the vegetable category. For some reason both boys absolutely love broccollini and I think it has something to do with the stem? If I served up a plate of broccollini florets I'd have two savage youths on my heels making my ears bleed with the winging. BUT, if I use broccollini it is always the first to go? Bizarre!

Anyway, cutting the carrots into sticks makes them a little more interesting on the plate and hopefully a little more delicious for the young masters.

Yet again I pulled out the mortar- this seems to be my thinking stone. Whenever I am not too sure what to do, I peel a few garlic cloves and start pounding until the smell hits my nostrils and I get a few ideas on what to add next.
These veggies take about 5 minutes to make. I serve them quite crunchy because that is what we like, however, if you prefer 'cooked' vegetables just leave the lid on for a bit longer.

They went down a treat and I even got asked for seconds by both boys (I had to pick myself up off the floor when I heard this, believe me). They would be fabulous with just about anything ranging from steaks, pork fillet to fish so next time you are wondering what vegetables to serve with your meal- pull out your wok (or frying pan) and whip these up.

Carrot and broccollini stir fry
1 bunch broccollini, ends cut on a diagonal
3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 cloves garlic
good pinch of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup picked basil leaves
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Shao Hsing cooking wine
2 teaspoons honey

Prepare your vegetables then put to one side.
In a mortar, place garlic cloves, salt and olive oil then pound until garlic is broken into pieces.
Add basil and pound until a paste has formed.
Add oyster sauce, vinegar and honey, stir to combine then leave until needed.

Heat a wok on HIGH heat until very hot. Add in your vegetables and a tablespoon of oil and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add fish sauce, cover wok with a lid and steam slightly.
Once vegetables have wilted a little pour in your sauce, toss to coat vegetables then place the lid back on and steam for 2-3 minutes.
Taste a veggie to see if it is to your liking, then remove from heat and serve asap.

Roast pork at its best

With the Easter break all over and our guests back home, I believe I am getting some sort of normality back into my daily grind. I have just been flicking through my recent pictures of past meals and wondered where to start? Should I post about the wacky tuna and sausage dinner I made....no, not first up you might think I totally lost the plot so I'll save that one for later.
I was leaning toward the dinner I made on Friday but then I have a few from when my friends were here that I must get down before I forget what I actually did!

I think it is fair to say that most people from my generation grew up with meat and three veg as the standard evening meal. When you read about this staple it is usually in the the negative. People talk of how boring their family meals were....their mum (or sometimes dads but let's not forget this was in the 80s!) used to boil the crap out of the veggies and ditto with the meat.
It's about now when you'd expect me to have a story up my sleeve about one of these kind of meals when I was a kid, alas, it will not happen. Don't get me wrong, I also grew up with meat and three veg, but I also grew up with a mum who LOVED cooking. If there was a cookery book to read, she would have read it. When we moved from Darwin to Tasmania mum had enough cookbooks and knowledge to start a restaurant and that is exactly what she did, but that is another story entirely.

I have to say, I continue this theme today in my family meals, however, I try to make at least one part of the meal a little interesting. It's not hard to slather a beautiful piece of meat in a marinade before popping it into the oven or Weber, you've just got to a) remember to do it and b) have an idea of what will make that piece of  meat taste awesome to the whole family.

Because I love my butchers and trust them explicitly, I never have to worry about the meat being too tough, old or butchered badly and this is a huge plus in the meat world. Many a time I have sent meat back to the butchers from kitchens I have worked in as a chef because the cut of meat was butchered badly or they sent me mutton instead of lamb (trust me, you don't want to be on the end of that phone call when I have had 2-3 complaints from customers about the lamb being tough!) so having a good supplier is a big tick in my books.

I am still madly in love with my BBQ, so of course I was going to put my rolled pork roast on to cook, and I wanted to maximise the flavours of the Baby Q and the marinade- smoky and charred!
As usual I want a no fuss family dinner, so while the roast was coming to room temperature (always the best thing to do when cooking meat, to get the best possible flavour and have it cooked perfectly). I pulled out my mortar and pestle and started pounding together the garlic and basil. For those of you who own a thermomix, you can make this even easier by adding all the ingredients to your thermo and blitzing it for 10 seconds (that's for you Lisa!).

Once you have your marinade pounded, you cut slits into the top of your pork roll, breaking through the skin and piercing the flesh underneath. I make about 4 deep slits on top and then about two underneath.
Before you rub the marinade on, grab a good handful of sea salt and rub it into the meat. Pork can take a lot of salt and it also helps to make the skin crackle.
Once the salt is rubbed in, then start slathering on your marinade, stuffing it in the slits and everywhere else.
From memory, I think it is 20 minutes per 500g of meat? Gosh, I'm not 100% as I usually eyeball it. Anyway after 40 minutes, you can stick a knife in the the middle of your pork roast and then feel the tip to see if the blade is warm. When it is ready, cover the roast in foil and rest in a warm place while you get your veggies on.

When I know where my pork has come from I always like to cook it a little pink. Before living in the States I would never of done this, I thought it was wrong. Working at the fabulous restaurant Campagnola, where we use to have our own pig farmer bring us organic meat, I learnt that you can cook pork as you do lamb for a beautiful, sweet and succulent flavour.

OK, the meat's rested, asparagus and corn blanched and smothered in butter and lemon juice and the mash potato is already to go, my delicious, no fuss family meal is ready and gets devoured in minutes. This is a classic family meal but with a bit of extra flavours thrown in, it really does make it a memorable meal to revisit.

Basil, mustard and honey marinade
1/2 bunch of basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 heaped tablespoon seeded mustard
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Place basil leaves, garlic cloves (peeled) and olive oil in a motor and crush until in a paste.
A hand blender will also do the job.
Once a paste has formed, add honey, mustard and pepper then stir to combine.
Set aside until needed.

Happy Easter

I know I said I was coming back, but your right....this is ridiculous!

It has been a very busy week this side of the bridge. We are lucky enough to have some of our old U.S friends drop on by for the past week, so when I haven't been working I have enjoyed a few drops of vino and an awful lot of chatting. I am please to also tell you that I have some great recipes up my sleeve for next week, so stay tuned.

For now, I thought I would share in an older blog I did an Easter or two ago when I had enough time on my hands to make my own hot cross buns.
 I can't remember the last time I did a re-post, but these buns are so easy and delicious, I just had to make sure I shared them with you all.

http://familyoffoodies1.blogspot.com/search?q=hot+cross+buns

Seeing as I took the afternoon off from work to do my shopping for our camping trip this weekend, I had better make hay while the sun shines!

HAPPY EASTER

Book to share "Tart and Sweet"

 OK it is time for me to remove myself from my blogging slump.

I don't know what's got into me lately. I feel like all my food is boring, nothing worth telling the world about and who really wants to read another of my burger blogs?? Yes, that's right I have been on a bit of a burger mission.
I've decided to ride it out and not bore you lovely readers with yet another picture of deliciously seared beef patties that have been layered with 101 different toppings and dutifully wedged between a burger bun that has been lightly grilled and lathered in mayo, chutney and or mustard.......dammit that craving is starting all over again!

Right, moving swiftly along.  I am so excited today and I am hoping my parcel in the post is going to flip on a switch and make me want to cook exciting meals again.
You see, my good friend Jessie Knadler has been working all winter with chef Kelly Geary on a delectable book all about canning, pickling and a few other fabulous butters, relishes etc... Tart and Sweet is a beautiful book to flip through, salivate over and maybe make you want to give canning a go.
 If you're not so sure you are up for a spot of canning then the girls have recipes for quick and easy salsas, pickled veggies and delicious syrups you can store in the fridge, just waiting for you to whip up a batch of pancakes on the weekend. I have to say I am really, really keen on the Asian carrot and daikon pickles and maybe after that the spiced pear and cardamom butter, yummm!

The photos are absolutely stunning and leave you wanting more. Actually if I was really honest, I'd like a buffet of all the photos lined up (in the flesh of course) so I could sit around and just graze!

Congratulations Jessie and Kelly, you have a wonderful book out on the shelves that you must be so proud of. And to my readers, if you haven't had a chance to flip through it at your local bookstore then do as I did and hop online and order your copy today.

I'm just wondering if there are any fiddleheads in Australia?