We’ve all been there. We’ve put a bite of food into our mouths and thought, “MY GOD THAT’S GOOD!” The next bite is the same and then you wish you had a tummy that was the size of a volkswagen because you want to keep eating, it’s that good. Well, that’s what this blog is all about.

Every time I find a recipe on the net that makes me go all weak in the knees, I’m going to tell you about it. I’ll also share recipes I’ve developed myself and I hope you’ll share recipes with all of us too. I love to cook and I love to eat even more. Living well equals eating well in our household. I’m not afraid to show my disasters because what’s more amusing that a cook who thinks she does a great job and then has a major flop?

Got any kitchen secrets that you usem like the one about putting an apple in with the potatoes so the eyes don’t sprout? Help your fellow foodie!

I love ice cream. If you looked at me you could tell. I have every flavor imaginable sitting on my hips right now. My husband loves ice cream too but he leaves making it all up to me.

It’s springtime in Australia and that means it’s time for fresh strawberries and today I made my favorite strawberry ice cream recipe. It’s not cheap and it’s probably not good for us to make it too often but it’s divine to eat.

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup sugar
5 egg yolks (you can use less eggs but the end result won’t be as rich)
2 cups cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or scrape a vanilla bean if you’re feeling extravagant)
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)

Method

In a saucepan heat the milk, salt and sugar til nearly boiling.

In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks and then while whisking s l o w l y pour about 1/2 the milk into the eggs. (This is called tempering the eggs) Then pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and put it back on the heat. Stir continuously until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. It won’t take too long and don’t think you need to cook it longer or you’ll get scrambled eggs. Honestly, just til it coats the spoon. You want it thick and the eggs cooked, the ice cream freezer will do all the magic.

Pour the mixture into a container and add the vanilla and then let it cool.. I cool mine over a bowl of ice. Then put it in the fridge to chill.

Once the custard has chilled, add the 2 cups of cream. Then place 1/2 of the strawberries and the 1/4 cup caster/super fine sugar into a blender and whizz til the sugar has dissolved. Add this to the custard.

Now you’re ready for freezing. (I know you still have half the strawberries, it’s okay, I’m coming to that)

Place the ice cream mix into your freezer and start churning. Cut the remaining strawberries into chunks – the size you want to see in your ice cream. When the ice cream is starting to freeze, plop the rest of the strawberries into the mix. If you’re using the old fashioned churn where you have to screw the top on, I’d put all the berries in at the beginning – too much work to open it and add them later. If you’re using an electric machine, you’ll get a better result with nice pieces of strawberry to munch on.

Living down under and having a brain trained in the USA, it’s tough to get around recipes that call for unsweetened chocolate. Chocolate ice cream, brownies, cookies.. I could go on but then I’d depress myself.

Well looky what arrived in a box from USAfoods.com yesterday. It was sheer joy to pull these two beauties out of the box. I ordered other things also not available in Australia and my dear husband walked in, rolled his eyes and said, “Happy now?”

YES!!

I can’t decide what to cook first with my new chocolate. Part of me wants to save it for when it’s REALLY important but the other half says, “Make something now and enjoy, life’s too short not to eat the chocolate or use the good dishes.” That’s the side of me I’m going to listen to.

I apologize for my lack of attention here.  I’ve found that getting settled in a new house in a different country was more time-consuming than I expected.  Okay, let’s be honest here, putting crap away has taken away my life as I knew it. I need more space!

Yesterday I revolted and made the best ginger cookies I’ve ever eaten.

I love those really thin ginger cookies that you can buy during the holidays but I’ve never been able to get them as flat as a church wafer but with this recipe I got the same taste but with 1/10th the work!

GINGER COOKIES

Ingredients

4-1/2 c. flour
4 tsps. ground ginger
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsps. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 c. shortening
2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c. molasses
1/2 c. coarse sugar or granulated sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening until softened.

Gradually add the 2 cups granulated sugar and beat til fluffy.

Add eggs and molasses and beat well.

Add half of flour mixture, beat til combined. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon. (or in a heavy duty mixer)

Baking setup takes 2 steps but both are quick.  Drop a  tablespoon full of the mix on to a piece of waxed paper or baking paper and shape into balls.

Put 1/2 c. coarse sugar (or regular granulated sugar) in a shallow bowl and roll the balls in the sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2-1/2 inches apart.

Finally, using a glass or cup, press cookies to about 1/2″ thickness.  (I made mine thinner because I like them thin)

Bake in 350 oven 12-14 min. or until cookies are light brown and puffed. (If you’re like me and like them thin, it’s about 6 – 8 minutes)

Do not overbake or cookies will not be chewy. Let stand 2 min. before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

This recipe makes a heap of cookies.  I only made 12 and I have all this cookie dough in the fridge screaming to be baked. (I made 12 because I knew I’d eat them all!)

I told you a couple of days ago that I needed to get some unsweetened chocolate before I could make these yummy brownies with a chocolate chip cookie top. Well, a bit of a search on the interwebs and some woman from New Zealand spent some time in the US and when she got back home she worked and worked to come up with a conversion for using bittersweet/semisweet chocolate instead of unsweetened chocolate. There’s no such animal in New Zealand or Australia.

To substitute for unsweetened — for every 1oz/28g/1 square of unsweetened chocolate, use 42g/1.5oz of semi-sweet/bittersweet and remove 10g of sugar from your recipe.

On to the Chipnies!  Seriously, you should try these but it makes a big panful of them so be prepared to pop most of them into the freezer like I did or you’ll weigh an extra ten pounds by the end of the week.

Ingredients

For the brownie layer:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or 9 oz of bittersweet chocolate less 30 grams of sugar)
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the cookie layer:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips

Getting ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan, line it with wax or parchment paper and butter the paper. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the brownie batter:

Put both chocolates and the butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until the ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. If the mixture gets too hot, the butter will separate from the chocolates. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing only until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then, still on low speed, add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the batter. Using the spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

To make the cookie dough:

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer in the cleaned bowl or with the hand mixer in another large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter an, using a spatula and a light touch, spread it evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cookie top is deep golden brown and firm and a thin knife inserted into the brownie layer comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

When the brownies are completely cool, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and the brownies, then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars about 2 inches by 1 inch. (You can cut larger bars if you’re serving to cookie lovers with Texas-size appetites.)

So sorry for the delay in posting but we’re looking for a new house. It’s time to move on and we’ve chosen a town but haven’t found the right spot.

Today I was craving something sweet (as we all do from time to time) and what did I find but a recipe for brownies AND chocolate chip cookies. I know, I know, if I were in the US I would have already made these and gained 5 pounds but I’m down under and getting the ingredients for the best recipes is a little more difficult than it was when I lived in Florida.

Rather than copy someone else’s recipe that’s tried and true and people are raving about, I’m going to use my favorite brownie recipe and my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. First I have to order unsweetened chocolate from the USA Foods store in Melbourne in Australia. That’s quicker than asking my family in the states for a care package. Watch this space and I’ll share my triumph (or failure!) right here.

If you just can’t wait and you have all the ingredients, you can go to Nosh With Me and follow her recipe for the brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

I’m an old New England woman. I might live down under now but my roots are firmly planted in Maine. I grew up eating blueberry pie for dessert, baked beans nearly every Saturday night and weekend breakfasts called for waffles with real butter and homemade maple syrup.

Imagine my surprise when I moved down under and asked for waffles one morning at a really good restaurant and I got a plate sized waffle covered in ice cream, caramel syrup and whipped cream. I thought.. “ugh!! This is not breakfast!”

I’d ordered it so I thought I’d pick around the edges just so I wouldn’t sit there looking at my plate wishing I had asked for butter and maple syrup. One bite led to another bite and before long I’d eaten nearly all of it – ice cream for breakfast. It felt wicked somehow, like I was eating something I’d be punished for later.

Recently I read where Humphry Slocombe in San Francisco offers Secret Breakfast Ice Cream – complete with bourbon and cornflakes. I’m not sure about adding bourbon to breakfast but I figure if I could eat ice cream for breakfast the bourbon is only a small step forward. If you’ve tried this ice cream, can you let us know how you liked it?

I love lemon meringue pie and I love cheesecake so what better dessert for someone like me than lemon meringue cheesecake pie? I made it yesterday and we enjoyed it for dessert last night. I used heaps of meringue because well, ummm.. I like that bit, but you could use much less if you’re not crazy about meringue. Perhaps this isn’t the most “cheffy” pie because it’s mostly assembling, but I think the ability to get something that tastes good on the plate is a good thing.

It was creamy and lemony and frankly just plain yummy. My husband is fond of sticking his fork in my food to get “just a taste.” This is one of those desserts that you don’t want to share.

Ingredients

CRUST
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (or sweet biscuit/cookie crumbs – omit sugar)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter – melted

PIE
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 blocks Cream Cheese (250 grams each) – I used Philly Cream Cheese

MERINGUE
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten but not dry
1/2 cup caster sugar (super fine sugar – not powdered)

Method

CRUST
Combine the crumbs, sugar and butter and press into a 9 1/2 inch pie pan. Bake in a 350F (180C) oven for about 7 minutes, then cool to room temperature and place in the fridge to cool.

PIE
Beat cream cheese until smooth and then add the sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice and beat well.
Pour into prepared, cooled crumb crust and chill until firm. Yes, it does get firm.

MERINGUE
Beat egg whites til stiff but not dry and gradually add the sugar and continue beating until all the sugar has been dissolved.
Spoon mixture on the pie and swirl to get soft peaks.
Bake in a 400F (200C) oven for about 7 minutes or until the peaks are dark brown and the rest of the meringue is a nice tan color.

Enjoy!

I love all the multicultural cuisine that I can get living down under but every once in a while I love getting back to my Downeast roots and making my grandmother’s apple pie. If you’re from Maine, you know that Mainers can eat pie at every meal of the day.

I think back to my time as a kid in Maine and have fond memories of my dad eating a huge piece of blueberry pie and a couple of donuts for breakfast before going to work. I hoped I had his genes when it came to packing on the pounds because he weighed 128 pounds wringing wet for his entire adult life. Imagine being able to wear clothes you had when you were 20 when you were 60. He could. He didn’t but he could have. Sadly those were NOT the genes I inherited.

A few words about my grandmother Maryjane. My grandmothers were nearly the same age but my father’s mother was 1 year older than my mother’s mother. Both my parents were the youngest of 12 children. (yes we were Roman Catholic) Whenever my grandmother Maryjane talked about my grandmother Agnes she always called her “the old woman.” I always thought that was so funny. My mother said it was because her mother was really active as an elderly lady and my dad’s mom was small and frail. I still think it was funny. My gran was from Quebec and she never spoke English. We grew up listening to her in French and replying to her in English. It’s a shame that we weren’t encouraged to speak French to her.

On to her pie! It’s pretty much a standard apple pie but when you’re tens of thousands of miles away from Maine, sometimes an aroma and taste can bring you right back home.

Ingredients

2 tbsps butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated if you can)
7 c peeled, sliced apples (she used granny smith but I’ve found any apple sitting in the fridge will do)
3/4-1 c sugar (use more sugar with a very tart apple)
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsps flour (use a bit more if the apples are very juicy)

Method

Mix the dry ingredients and toss over the apples and mix to coat. Brush the bottom crust with egg white and place the apples in, mounding toward the center. Dot with butter. Place the top crust on and make vent holes for steam. I brush my pies with an egg wash to get that golden color but it’s optional.

Bake at 400F for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350F and bake for a further 40 to 50 minutes. If the crust starts to get too brown, cover it with strips of tinfoil. (I can’t make myself use the word alyouminnieyum)

Maryjane’s Pie Crust

Ok, it’s not her pie crust because she would never have used butter in her crust – it was always lard. She said it made the best pie crusts. We don’t even have Crisco down under so butter it is for us.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar (or regular sugar)
8 oz butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water.

Method

A few hours before mixing time, measure the 8 oz of butter and place in the freezer.

Mix the dry ingredients to combine.
Using the grater on a food processor, grate the butter.
Using the food processor slowly add the water just until the dough begins to combine
Place on a work surface and bring the mass together into a flattish dough ball and then divide. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but a couple of hours is best.
Roll out.

With this dough you will see flecks of butter (or shortening) and these little gems will make pastry as flakey as can be.

I made the pie to the left last night and it was yummy. Next time I’ll give you the best vanilla ice cream recipe in the world. They’re a matched set I reckon.

I see so many recipes that are in metric and sometimes it’s confusing.  How many grams are there in a cup of flour?  125 grams.  If you use a kitchen scale you’ll always get the amount right.

I was halfway through getting these volume to gram equivalents and my husband said, “someone’s already done it!” He was right. GourmetSleuth.com has it already. Here are a few equivalents for you if you’ve wondered what standard ingredients are when changed to grams. We all want to cook the latest trendy food but sometimes it comes in metric. This table can help.

Volume to Grams