Happy New Year!
Hope you all had a great time sending out the noughties and bringing in the new decade. I spent the day roasting on the beach with my dear friend Alana... we thought we didn't get burnt as we put on lots of sunscreen on throughout the day... but it was not the case. We are slightly lobsterish.
I spent the night at a cocktail dinner party at another lovely friend's house, with some of my favorite people. I will be blogging about the amazing food from that soon.

Let's start off 2010 with an amazing chicken and leek pie.

The thing that drew me to this recipe was the use of wholegrain mustard. It was a very welcome condiment to be added in the pie mixture. Full of flavour, and a very good sized pie to feed 6 people. Another ingredient that was included that usually isn't in a chicken and leek pie was celery. Everything worked excellently together, and I would definitely make it again.

Chicken and Leek Pie

2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
600g chicken breast fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
40g butter
1 large leek (500g), sliced thinly
2 stalks celery (300g), trimmed, chopped finely
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup (125ml) milk
1 cup (250ml) cream
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
2 sheets shortcrust pastry
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg yolk

1. Bring stock to the boil in medium saucepan. Add chicken; return to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Remove from the heat; stand chicken in poaching liquid 10 minutes. Remove chickenl chop coarsley. Reserve 1/3 cup of the poaching liquid; keep remainder for another use or discard.

2. Heat oil and butter in medium saucepan; cook leek and celery, stirring, until leek softenes. Add flour and thyme; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually stir in reserved poaching liquid, milk and cream; cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in chicken and mustard. Cool 10 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Oil 1.5 litre (6 cup) ovenproof dish.

4. Line base and side of dish with shortcrust pastry, trim to fit; prick well all over with fork. Bake 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Spoon chicken mixture into pastry case; place puff pastry over filling, trim to fit dish. Brush pastry with egg yolk; cut two small slits in top of pastry. bake 20 minutes or until browned lightly.

Serves 6.

Read More......

With the lead up to Christmas, life has been extra crazy! I woke up extra early today for some reason, and with time to kill before work, I thought I'd do a quick post.
We made these pies last weekend for dinner from Donna Hay's; No Time To Cook, cookbook.

They were fairly simple to make, but we forgot to read the part about having to cook the meat for an hour. Luckily mum suggested we start cooking a little bit earlier than we anticipated, and dinner was served at a reasonable hour.

The pies were fantastic! Full of flavour, and you could really taste the beer. We just got a $2 beer from the bottle-o, instead of a nice boutique beer.
The meat was so tender, and the shortcrust pastry was nice instead of the usual puff pastry.

The recipe makes 6 pies, so there are freezing instructions listed below should you want to have some on hand for those nights you can't be bothered cooking!

 Beef and Beer Individual Pies

2 tablespoons olive oil
1kg chuck steak, cubed
2 brown onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
375ml beer
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
8 chat (baby) potatoes, quartered or 3 normal size potatoes, largely cubed
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons water
1 cup (120g) fresh or frozen peas
2 sheets (25cm x 25cm) store-bought shortcrust pastry
beaten egg, for brushing

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, in batches, until well browned. Remove beed using a slotted spoon and set aside. Add garlic, onion, thyme and bay leaves and cook for 3 minutes or until onion is soft. Add beer and cook for 2 minutes to reduce slightly. Return beef to the pan and add stock and potatoes. Cover pan, reduce heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, or until beef is tender.

2. Combine water and cornflour, stir into the beef mixture for 3 mintues or until sauce thickens.

3. Remove from heat, add peas and cool the mixture slightly before dividing amount 6 x 330ml capacity ramekins or pie dishes.

4. Preheat the oven to 200°. Cut pastry lids to fit ramekins, place on top of pies and brush with egg. Bake pies for 20 minutes or until pastry is lightly golden.

To freeze, wrap the pie dishes in layers of baking paper, plastic wrap and aluminium foil to seal. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe makes 6.

Read More......

This week for mid week cooking, Donna Hay came off the book shelf again. I tried her recipe for chicken and bacon pies. What caught my eye was the homemade potato crisps that replace the traditional pastry top.

The only problem I encountered was that I could have used a bit more chicken. Unlike last week's mid week cooking where there was an excess of chicken, this week we could have done with some of the leftovers.

Gorgeously rich in flavour, these pies are perfect for a cold winter night. I probably could have left the potatoes to crisp up a little more, but I could not wait! They smelt so good!

Chicken & Bacon Pies
Donna Hay

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 rashers bacon, chopped
2 x 200g chicken breast fillets, trimmed and chopped
1/2 cup (125ml) white wine
1 cup (250ml) pouring cream
sea salt and cracked black pepper
350g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
melted butter, for brushing

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for a further 3-5 minutes or until brown.

3. Add the white wine, cream, salt and pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes or until thickened slightly.

4. Spoon the mixture into 4 x 1¼ cup capacity (310ml) ovenproof dishes and top with the potato slices. Brush with melted butter, place the pies on a baking tray and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and crispy.

Serves 4.

Read More......

It's mid-week cooking time again. Let me firstly apologize for the photography, I know it's not good and I know it doesn't look very appetizing, but I assure you, it tasted good!

This recipe was taken from an old Donna Hay magazine. I will soon have the full collection as I've found some people who have the issues I'm missing.

It looks like a Sheppard's Pie but I find the ricotta better than potato as it's not as heavy, and I don't hear the "carbs are bad" voice in my head!
So here we are with mince and ricotta pie. I did have to adjust it as it was tasting very bland when I tasted the mince. I added some tomato paste and tomato sauce and it came out a bit more like a bolognaise sauce. Accompanied by a light salad, it was a lovely winter meal.

Original Recipe: Mince & Ricotta Pie
Donna Hay Magazine - Issue 28

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
750g beef mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chopped oregano leaves
1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1. Preaheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Heat a large, non-stick fry pan over high heat. Add the oil, onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the mince, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the mince is browned.

2. Add the tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes or until the mixture is thickened.

3. Spoon the mixture into a 4 cup capacity ovenproof dish.

4. Place the ricotta, eggs, oregano and mozzarella in a bowl and stir to combine. Top the pie filling with the ricotta mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

Serves 4.

Read More......