Country Scones Rock....again

I don't think scones are a summer or a winter treat, they are one of those wonderful, easy recipes that can be whipped up at anytime of the year for just about any type of reason, or no reason at all.

We have just got back from a glorious two-week holiday at the beach in Victoria where we ate like kings for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, pre-dinner nibbles, dinner and dessert EVERY DAY!
I am not going to beat myself up about the extra 5 kg I have hanging around my waist because a lot of yummy food was consumed over these Christmas holidays and that also means wonderful memories, so beating myself up about 6 courses a day really doesn't make for good memories.......it just means I need to blow the dust of my trainers!

Anyway, we arrived home from holidays and after the usual b'fast and lunch, 3pm rolled around to  cries from the family of 'what's to eat??' We were all still in holiday mode and weren't quite ready to go cold turkey (meaning 3 meals a day) this week, so I went for something that I could whip up in a matter of minutes and be ready to eat with our cups of tea at 3.30pm.

I have blogged about these scones before, when first introduced to this recipe. The recipe comes from a friend of mine who use to work with me a few years ago. Jess grew up in country Victoria and often talked of the food she missed from home. I can't remember how it came up in conversation but scones were the topic and, of course, it went down the road of 'who has the best scone recipe'.
When Jess came into work with her gran's recipe and a batch of her scones, it was declared they were the best ever!

I have a recipe for scones that make 40 in one batch and I use it often for work, but if I am to make a batch of scones at home for a handful of people then Jess's gran's recipe is the one I reach for.
The texture is so short, rich and delicious I dare anyone to disagree.

If you do go ahead and give it a go then there are a couple of things you must take into consideration
- the mixture is very wet but DO NOT mix it with a wooden spoon, always cut through it with a butter knife until it just starts to form a dough
- knead it lightly with floured hands so it doesn't stick to you
-bake it as a 'loaf' shape and make your cutting markings with a floured butter knife so it is easy to separate when hot.
Just a few tips but if you get it right then you'll have a little bit of country Victoria in your kitchen. Click on the link and it will take you back a few years when I first published this recipe.

New Years Resolution completed 4 years on....

Happy New Year!!

I seldom write about anything other than food, however, it is the beginning of 2013 and I have finally gotten around to completing a New Years resolution I made about 4 years ago.

I have been very fortunate to be given some beautiful pieces of art  over the years by a very good friend of mine, Lisa. I adore her work and have always been in awe of her talent. When I lived near Lisa in the US she was busy raising children and working out motherhood as was I. We use to hangout in parks, houses and play lots talking of our old lives we left behind while trying to figure out how this parenting game works. With our kids now past the ages of nappies/diapers and play lots we have both started getting back to the things we love- cooking and painting. Although Lisa's work was fabulous before I knew her, Lisa's recent robot series has placed her in a league of her own.

I have been fortunate enough to see some of the robots from early stages right up to the finished picture and I absolutely love them.  I was overwhelmed when she gave me two prints as a going away present when we were coming back to live in Australia. Since this day over four years ago I have promised myself to frame them and showcase them on my walls for all our friends see.

Like most things when moving countries, you tend to put the little jobs off until later......We had a Christmas Party not so long ago and the most startling thing to me when I saw photos of the night was our boring, vacant walls. I finally decided to pull finger, so then following day I marched up to a framing shop with half a dozen beautiful pictures I had tucked away for safe keeping and got them all framed.

Lisa, I am sorry it has taken me so long to get them done, but I am tickled pink to see them framed and hanging on our walls. I look at the fish everyday and smile, however, the boys put their foot down and declared the robots MUST go in their room! Fair enough, I guess I'll just jump on line and order a few more prints now that I am in the framing mode.

If you'd like to see more of Lisa's beautiful work jump on this link and take a look for yourself.
Any chance the heirloom tomato is still for sale?

New York Strip with mushroom sauce

It has been a while since I cooked a big juicy steak for the family dinner. There's no reason for it other than I just kind of forgot about it.

How do you forget about steak?

To tell the truth I forget about a lot of different flavours and meals this time of year, it's what ever is leftover in the fridge, or I double up on what I am cooking for a function. October through to December it is pretty much 15 minute meals in our house!

I was at work yesterday when a colleague came in with a bottle of Shiraz and started telling us about how good it was, and how it is on sale....and did we want to buy a case?.... Of course a tasting was in order before buying anything and seeing how it was after 12pm all was OK. The wine was very quaffable and moreish so I put in my order for a case on the spot. I was also lucky enough to be the only one not working a dinner party that night (I had a canape drop off- yippee!). So I was the lucky one who took the bottle of red home to drink with.....STEAK!

See how my brain works?  Anyway, off to the butcher I went and picked out some fabulous New York strip steaks for tea.
If your buying a good quality steak you really want to taste the meat so I don't over do all the trimmings. A simple potato mash (I leave the skin on which drives Nic a little mad!), steamed beans tossed with a hint of olive oil and lemon juice and a delicious mushroom sauce.

The boys thought I was trying to burn the house down when I showed them what happens when you add brandy to the sauteing mushrooms...

-'You shouldn't do that mum, you could burn the house down!' says Max with a serious look on his face while Alex looked on horrified.

Thankfully I managed to keep everything under control and we sat down to a forgotten family favourite of steak and mash that tasted wonderful, especially when served with a smooth bottle of Shiraz.

Drunken Chicken- family favourite

Ouch! I was just looking at my stats and realised September didn't even get a look in!!
I feel guilty and sad that I haven't been able to keep up with my blogging and, as I scroll through my favourite bloggers work and see they are in top form as always I wonder if this is the month I stop for good?

Before I make such a big decision like that, I just want to share with you a recipe I have been really enjoying this past month. It is from one of my favourite cookbooks 'Cocina de la familia' by Marilyn Tausend with Miguel Ravago.
This was a fabulous buy and am pleased to say I have used many recipes from it over the years- I highly recommend it to everyone.
The recipe I want to share with you is the drunken chicken recipe. When I first made it I followed the recipe to the T and it was wonderful. Since then I have added extra bits and pieces or had to make do with what was in the cupboards, but, whatever I do I always get the big thumbs up from my boys- it's a family favourite. I have cooked if for quite a few people and always get the same reaction "delicious!"

So, to redeem myself I hope you will try this one on family and friends and see if you agree with me. I couldn't help but serve it with fresh corn smothered in butter and some black beans, however, I have served it with beans, broccoli, rice pilaf, potatoes.....the list goes on!

Enjoy!

 Drunken chicken (Pollo Borracho)

2 Tablespoons oil

3 chicken breasts and 2 thighs (or 4 breasts) skin on, cut into 3 pieces

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

 1 tin whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 cup of beer (I tend to take a good swig and then use the rest)

preferably an amber ale

2 sprigs of oregano

3 pickled jalapenos, sliced

2 tablespoons vinegar from the chilies

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Use a cast iron pot with a lid or a good quality pot with a lid.

Warm oil in the pot on med-high heat, season the chicken with salt and pepper then saute the chicken pieces until browned (you will need to do in batches).

Once the chicken browns, remove to a tray and set aside.

Add the onion to the still hot pot and cook until quite soft and brown (about 4 min).

Add garlic and tomatoes, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Return chicken (skin side up) back to the pot with onions and tomato, lower the heat to medium and add beer, oregano, jalapenos, their vinegar, salt and pepper.

Stir to combine then leave, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve it with fresh oregano and avocado for best results.