Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding

Description:
Xmas this year is going to be fairly low key in our household. Mark is spending xmas day with the rellies and as Lee is working I decided that we would celebrate xmas early with a lunch tomorrow, it's about the only time between now and New Years we are all going to be home at the same time! I didn't really want to mess around with a new dessert recipe (although Lee found a Thai one he wants me to try), so I'm falling back on an old family favourite that never fails to please.

Ingredients:
* 1 cup self-raising flour
* 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 80g butter, melted, cooled
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* thick cream and berries, to serve

Sauce
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
* 1 1/4 cups boiling water


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease an 8-cup capacity ovenproof baking dish. Sift flour and cocoa into a large bowl. Stir in sugar.
2. Combine butter, milk and egg in a jug. Slowly add to flour mixture, whisking until well combined and smooth. Spoon into baking dish. Smooth top.
3. Make sauce: Sprinkle combined sugar and cocoa over pudding.
4. Slowly pour boiling water over the back of a large metal spoon to cover pudding. Place dish onto a baking tray. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until pudding bounces back when pressed gently in centre. Serve hot with cream and berries.

Notes & tips

* Hint: Pouring the boiling water over a spoon prevents the water from disturbing the sugar mixture too much.
* For an adult twist on this pudding, try reducing milk to 1/3 cup and adding 2 tablespoons of Kahlua to the pudding mixture in step 2.
* To reheat leftovers, spoon into a microwave-safe bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Heat for 2 to 4 minutes on MEDIUM (50%) power.

The Art of Tipping

I don't know if tipping is customary where you live, but in my experiences living in NZ and Australia, tipping is a privilege not a right. I know in some parts of the world the base wages for people working in certain industries is abysmal. I’m not saying minimum wage rates here are fantastic but one can generally survive on it if you have to.
 Don’t take this as an absolute truth (because I can’t be bothered looking it up to confirm or deny) but I heard or read somewhere that it is illegal here to solicit tips. I don’t think businesses are even meant to display a tip jar on the counter.
 
I will however generally tip my cab driver or waiting staff if I am out dining…. unless I’ve received really bad service – sorry you don’t get my buck for just clocking on at your job. The better service I receive the more lucrative your tip is going to be.

So yeah I’m curious to hear about your good, bad and downright ugly tipping experiences. Do you earn tips? What was the best tip you got (and why?). Or maybe you have a story about a time when you felt you went the extra mile & it wasn’t acknowledged. Have you ever left a tip when you felt someone just didn’t deserve it? What sort of tipping guidelines do you follow? 10% of the tab or what? Should you tip beforehand to get that good table and service or afterwards?

I’m going to share a story that came to mind when composing this entry.


When I came over to Sydney to meet Lee we spent our first few days together staying in the city, you know doing the whole touristy thing and spending heaps of time wining & dining. Well we had spent most of the day out & about and about 5pmish we were heading back towards our hotel to change for dinner etc. We were both pretty tired and as we were passing the Park Hyatt Hotel, the wine bar (with waterfront harbour views) looked so inviting we decided to stop in for a glass of wine & a chance to discuss our  plans for the evening.

The bar wasn’t dreadfully busy, there were several other couples, and one largish group of people, having pre-dinner cocktails, as they were all dolled up to the nines. We were casually dressed in comparison to the other patrons in our shorts & tshirts, but still tidily dressed.

We found seats & proceeded to check out the wine list. Although there was a bar tender working behind the bar, being a five star hotel it was the sort of place that offered table service. The only staff member that appeared to be taking orders was busy with another couple as we came in, but we weren’t in a hurry and it was nice just to sit and relax for a while. So we sat there and chatted for a while, as the minutes ticked by, as she served several tables…having to walk past where we were sitting several times. We sat there, in dumbfounded amazement when she walked over to the other side of the room and started cleaning up empty tables & rearranging chairs.

You know the feeling when you are trying to catch the attention of a waiter or waitress and they refuse to make eye contact with you? It can be really frustrating! I was happy to wait our turn whilst she dealt with the other patrons, but when she started cleaning tables after not even acknowledging our presence I just saw red! There was no way she could not have seen us, like I said she walked right past our table several times.

I marched up to the bar & before I could utter a word the bar tender politely explained I should take a seat and someone would take my order. Gritting my teeth I politely replied I would be happy to do that but considering we had already been waiting 20 minutes & no one had bothered to come near our table to take our order it was expedient to just cut out the middle man. I passed over a $50 note and ordered a $35 bottle of wine, & told the bar tender to keep the change. However it was at this point that she must have seen me standing at the bar so she hurried over. He finished uncorking the wine bottle and I was about to pick it up and the glasses when inspiration hit. I pulled out another $50 and handed that to him and said “And this is for your prompt and polite service”.

Now I’m sure they would get some pretty big tippers in that joint, but I just think my gesture took them both off guard because they stood there like stunned mullets. He thanked me but honestly the sour look on HER face was all the thanks I needed. It was worth every cent knowing that she would have been kicking herself for not taking our order (not that I would have tipped that extravagantly usually, but she wouldn’t have known that lol).

So yeah that’s the first and last time I’ve ever tipped because of lousy service.

Thanks to Diadem Pearl for the inspiration for this entry when I read her entry:
  10 Workers to Tip This Season...

Spicy Sausage and Bacon Paella

Description:
I highly doubt this recipe is for an authentic paella. But it's quick, easy and relatively cheap to make. You can serve this as a main meal or it would make a great side dish at a BBQ or pot luck dinner.

This doesn't last long in our household so I usually make a double batch! It's a good recipe to freeze, I usually do this with leftovers, in single sized servings.



Ingredients:
* 3 chorizo (or other spicy sausage or salami), sliced diagonally
* 4 rashers bacon, chopped
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 green capsicum, sliced (I prefer zucchini)
* 1 clove of garlic, crushed
* 11/2 cups long-grain white rice
* 440 g canned tomatoes
* 3/4 cup chicken stock
* 1 teaspoon turmeric
* salt & pepper, to taste

Note: You can also add/vary the ingredients depending on what vegetables you have on hand at the time. Finely chopped broccoli is good. I sometimes add a few chopped mushrooms and/or 1/2 cup of frozen peas.

Directions:
Cook the sausages and bacon in a large electric frying pan, or a skillet until well browned (about 5 mins). Remove from pan & drain on paper towels.

Add onion, capsicum, garlic & rice to the pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring for 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes (incl juice), chicken stock & turmeric. Stir to combine.

Cover pan with a tight fitting lid and bring slowly to the boil. Stir, cover again then reduce to a simmer, for approx 25 minutes or until the liquid is almost absorbed and the rice is tender.

Return the sausage & bacon to the pan, stir and heat through. Season with salt & pepper.

**My Notes**
The first few times I made this I did it the way shown above. But I found it took far longer than 25 minutes simmering for the rice to cook. I also had to keep adding extra chicken stock.I can't stand hard or undercooked rice so now I cheat! I partially cook the rice in the microwave for about 9-10 minutes & add it to the pan when I add the tomatoes. I still add chicken stock at that point (but halve the amount). Reduce the simmer time to 15-20 minutes and it turns out perfect every time.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Description:
This is another favourite in our house.

Making this from scratch really doesn't take much longer than using a pre-prepared sauce, but you really notice the difference in taste!



Ingredients:
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 brown onion, finely chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 3cm piece of ginger, peeled, grated
* 1 tablespoon green curry paste
* 1kg chicken breast fillets, trimmed, cut into 2cm cubes
* 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder
* 1/3 cup Ayam Light Coconut Milk
* 2 tablespoons fish sauce
* 1 large lime, juiced
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 cup coriander leaves
* 1/2 cup mint leaves
* 1 cup steamed jasmine rice and
* lime wedges, to serve

Sometimes I will add fresh noodles to the curry instead of serving it on rice.
Bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and mushrooms are optional extras I occasionally add, if I don't have the full quantity of chicken the recipe calls for.

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in curry paste. Cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.
2. Add chicken to pan. Stir to coat in curry mixture & toss until the chicken is cooked through.
Combine stock, coconut milk and 1 cup water in a jug. Stir into curry mixture. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil.
3. Combine fish sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice and sugar in a small bowl. Stir into curry. Roughly chop half the coriander and mint. Stir into curry. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Spoon curry over rice. Top with remaining coriander and mint. Serve with lime.

Another draft out of the way - Yaay

Beer Battered Onion Rings

Description:
I've had this recipe for some time & finally got around to making it tonight. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It rated much better in my books than different recipes I've tried in past. The batter was very light and extremely crispy, and didn't go at all soggy.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Egg (or egg replacer equivalent of one egg)
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 12-oz. beer
3 large sweet onions, sliced into rings
Vegetable oil for frying


Directions:
•In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

•Add the egg, oil, and beer and stir until just combined.

•Dip the onion rings into the batter, then drop them into hot vegetable oil (about 365°F).

•Cook in batches, until golden and crispy (about 2-3 mins), then remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Rating:	★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

I'm sure you all know what it's like to wait for a movie to come out that you really want to see & then you find out it's a piece of crap? I kinda felt this way about this movie.

I was excited when I heard that one of my favourite books from one of my all time favourite authors was going to be made into a movie. I really enjoyed both of the Elizabeth movies & had hoped this would be of a similar quality.

With the exception of Natalie Portman ( who starred as Anne Boleyn) the rest of the casting was abysmal. Scarlett Johansson (Mary) couldn't act her way out of a paper bag, even with a map and a compass. David Morrissey (the Duke of Norfolk) just couldn't compare in presence or talent to Christopher Eccleston's performance in Elizabeth and they could have substituted Eric Bana (King Henry V111) with a store mannequin and no one would have noticed.

The screenplay was weak. I couldn't wait for this one to end.

If you think I wouldn't recommend buying a copy of this movie then you'd be dead wrong. Yes you should buy it..........and give it to that family member you really don't like this christmas.

Linguine with Smoked __________ (you fill in the blank)

Description:
This is a recipe I stumbled across several years ago & I've tried it with smoked chicken, ham, salmon & turkey.

The ingredients stay basically the same, although when using the salmon I skip the mustard & add a little fresh dill instead.

Whilst I prefer the taste of the smoked ingredient I've also done this on occasion using regular leftover roast chicken.

Sometimes I'll add a few sliced button mushrooms, zucchini or cucumbers depends on whether I have any handy at the time...The key is to keep it simple...don't add too many extras to confuse the flavours.

Ingredients:
400 - 500 gms of linguine pasta. (I can't find this fresh here so I use a dried version)
1 smoked chicken (or substitute). Approx 300-500 gms.
300-400 gms sour cream (Lite is okay, you can't tell the difference)
1-2 T wholegrain mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

The ingredients are rough because I don't really measure exact quantities

Directions:
Okay here's how you put it together....

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil & cook the linguine until al dente. Drain the pasta but reserve 1/2 cup of the water in case you need to thin the sauce. (I think I've only ever done this once)

If using smoked chicken, remove all the meat & discard the skin & bones. Slice into bite size chunks.

Place the sour cream in a frying pan & warm it over a very low heat until it thins, stir in the mustard (or dill) and season to taste with salt & pepper. Add the smoked ingredient. Toss in the linguine & parsley & mix well until coated.
Serve....

I serve this as a main, along with a garlic or herb bread, although it could easily be served as a side dish also.