Saturday, 12 December 2009

Choc Ripple Cake

Description:
I always like to try a new recipe for dessert on Christmas Day. Gave this one a test run last night, not only was it dead easy it tasted fabulous as well.

This recipe uses Chocolate Ripple biscuits made by an Australian Company - Arnotts.




I don't know if you can get them where you are, but you may be able to find a similar substitute.




Ingredients:
300ml cream
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
1 x 250g packet Arnott’s Choc Ripple Biscuits
grated chocolate, cocoa powder (I just crumble a flake chocolate bar)
raspberries or seasonal berries to decorate


Directions:
# In a bowl add cream, sugar and a drop of vanilla essence and whip until stiff.
# Join biscuits together by standing a biscuit on its side and sandwich with the next biscuit using a generous spread of cream. Continue until all the biscuits have been used and resembles a log.



# Cover the log thickly, and entirely, with the remaining cream. Place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight to set.
# Before serving, decorate log with grated chocolate, if desired. To serve, cut cake at a slight angle to ensure alternate layers of chocolate biscuit and cream are in each slice. Garnish with grated chocolate, or sprinkle with cocoa powder, and serve with raspberries, if desired.




To add some tempting twists to the cake:
# Brush the biscuits with your favourite liqueur, or strong coffee, before sandwiching together.
# Stir in finely grated dark chocolate into the whipped cream before sandwiching together.
# Decorate the cake with chocolate curls.
# Replace vanilla with 1 tsp of espresso or strong coffee. Replace rasperries with sliced banana.
# Replace vanilla with your favourite liqueur such as hazelnut or citrus liqueur.

Sunday, 25 October 2009

Vampire Vineyards - Merlot


Rating:★★
Category:Other
Now I'm not normally a sucker for marketing, but at this time of the year who could resist trying a wine called "Vampire" made in Transylvania no less?

It was cheap (I think I paid about $10.00 aus for the bottle & I figured at that price if it was swill I could always use it for cooking.) It was a little rough around the edges for a Merlot, but definitely drinkable.

Curious about the vineyard I did a little online research. Turns out the head vampire is Michael Machat, an entertainment attorney based in the US.
Machat started Vampire Vineyards 20 odd years ago and sold his first 500 bottles to rock star, Alice Cooper (go figure!).

You can check out or order online here: Vampire Wines



Saturday, 19 September 2009

Parmesan Chicken


Description:
This is a slow cooker recipe, but easily convertible to an oven baked version.

About a month ago Lee brought a recipe book designed for the slow cooker. This recipe really caught my eye as I'm used to using mine for casserole type meals, not baked chicken.

I have to give this one a huge thumbs up, loved it, easy to make & tasted delicious!

Ingredients:
*Plain Yoghurt, approx 175 ml
*8 Chicken drumsticks or chicken wings (tips discarded)
*Grated Parmesan Cheese, 250 gms
*Fine Dry Breadcrumbs, 150 gms
*Parsley Flakes, 2 tsp
*Paprika, 2 tsp
*Seasoned Salt, 2 tsp

Directions:
In a large bowl coat the chicken pieces with yoghurt.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Add the chicken pieces (1/3rd at a time) and toss until coated. Repeat until all chicken pieces are coated.

Lightly grease the inside of the slow cooker. (I used about 2 tsp butter, although you could use an oil spray) Place the chicken into the slow cooker and cover. Cook on Low for 8-9 hours or on High for 4- 4.5 hours.
Remove chicken with a slotted spoon to your serving platter & discard the liquid.

To convert to a conventional oven I would preheat to 160◦c (315◦f) & grease an oven proof dish. place the drumsticks in one layer and bake for approx 50 minutes, turning them halfway through.