Cajun Seasoning Grilling Rub

I love seasoning meat, especially chicken, with this delicious Cajun grilling rub. Eliot's Eats has cleverly put together a series of yummy meat rubs and packaged them up like you see in the gourmet gift section of specialty stores. These little bottles of herby, salty meat rubs were beautifully packaged in a wooden cigar box.
Still on my Christmas and family holiday hangover, and very disorganized in the blogging department, I left my Secret Recipe Club assignment to the last minute, and was very blessed to find a yummy, quick recipe to make, which also created a very tasty dinner for my husband at the end of the day. Don't forget to check out the other seasonings at Eliot's Eats that you can make to complete a seasoning gift pack! It's particularly hard to find presents for men, and I think this one would just about cover it for most--plus, it's DIY, awesomely unique, personalised, and who doesn't like meat? Okay vegans and vegetarians, I wasn't talking to you.

CAJUN SEASONING GRILLING RUB

5 tsp. paprika
4 tsp. fine sea salt
4 tsp. garlic powder
4 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried thyme

Combine all ingredients.
Place in a zip lock bag until ready to use or bottle to give as a gift.
For a recipe idea, check out this delicious Cajun chicken with mango and avocado salsa. Dinner sorted!

Tia Maria White Chocolate Truffles

Fits of laughter erupt from the kitchen. There's a thump, then there's giggles. Some one-glass-wonder has eaten too many white chocolate truffles, laced with Tia Maria, by the looks of things. My husband walks into the kitchen to find me writhing on the floor in fits of laughter.
Just kidding.
But sometimes I feel like I could end up like this at someone's party. An embarrassing moment when you have one rum ball too many. Honestly I wouldn't put it past myself, after being pregnant and not having alcohol for close to a year, I'm way out of practice, and even a few sips of wine now does my head in. I was already a one (or two) glass wonder to begin with.
Friends--don't be horrified if this happens at your house when you next get me around, I assure you it's unintentional. Bear with me while I get my liver going again, and I can have half a glass again without getting "tiddly."
But don't worry, there's very little liqueur in these delicious and easy and moreish truffles. There's just enough to make it taste delectably adult-only, with its coffee and slight rum taste that is Tia Maria, combined with the sweetness of the white chocolate and that bitterness of the cocoa powder each truffle is rolled in. It's dark, rich and handsome. And we all know that's a winning combination.

TIA MARIA WHITE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES (Adapted from Australian Good Taste Magazine, April 2013, pg 105)

200g white chocolate (I used cooking chocolate to ensure firmness)
1/2 cup thickened cream
1-2 tbsp. Tia Maria liqueur
1/2 cup cocoa powder to coat

Break up the chocolate into a medium sized, heat proof bowl. Add the cream and stir through the chocolate. Place this bowl in the microwave, and heat on high at 20 second increments, stirring between these periods until the chocolate is evenly melted. Add the Tia Maria. Thoroughly stir until the cream and the melted chocolate and liqueur comes together as one. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight to firm up.
After this firming period, remove from the refrigerator and use a teaspoon to scoop out rough, walnut sized balls. Use damp hands to roll each portion into a smoother ball. Return to the refrigerator to firm up further if necessary, especially in warmer weather. Roll these balls in cocoa powder. Refrgerate until ready to serve.

Makes about 12

NOTES: After sitting in the refrigerator, often the cocoa powder will have absorbed some moisture. Just re-roll the truffles in a little extra cocoa powder before serving. Variation: use the same quantity of dark chocolate and add Cointreau to it in place of the Tia Maria.

Cloudy Pink Old Fashioned Lemonade

 This little beauty of a recipe was copied down into a little note pad in grey lead pencil when I was about 8 years old. It comes out of a 1950's kid's cookbook, and was by far my favourite thing to make in the kitchen at that age. It's so simple and so tasty, and a great way to keep the kids both occupied and cool in the summer holidays. It's the best home made lemonade recipe I have come across--it pleases kids and adults alike. It's old fashioned goodness--cloudy, sweet and lemony, without gassy bubbles. These days lemonade is rarely without fizziness, and I have had a few people recommend, after a glass of this refreshing drink, that I should add bubbles to it. I personally like it the way it is--it reminds me of how it would have been way back when that cookbook was written--chilling in Granny's fridge in a tea-towel covered jug. You could add sparking water to the concentrated lemonade in place of the cold water if desired however, to modernise it if preferred. Prepare yourself for a refreshing crowd pleaser! This is a frequently requested recipe.

CLOUDY PINK OLD FASHIONED LEMONADE

1 cup sugar
3 lemons, juiced (1/2 cup)
4 cups cold water
drop or two of red or pink food colouring

Put the sugar and 1 cup of water into a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Boil for five minutes. Then add remaining water and remove from heat. Add the lemon juice and stir through the water. Leave to cool and serve with ice.

Serves 4

Strawberry Topiary

As a table centre peice for a shabby chic style high tea, I thought a strawberry topiary would work a treat. It stood 40cm tall and stood atop a french provincial style candle stand I purchased from Dusk. It brought out "wows" from the guests and they all enjoyed pulling a couple off each during the afternoon tea I threw. I recommend placing this in the centre of a round table within arms reach of all your guests. I made the mistake of placing this in a place where only one side of a table could reach, and topiary was picked at from one side and the ball ended off overbalancing in the end because one side was all strawberries and the other was bare. If you cant place this in the centre of a small round table, I recommend rotating the topiary every so often, so that the strawberries are taken from all sides.
This would be great on a table at Christmas, for a baby shower, wedding or any sort of girlie or feminine party. It looks decadent and fancy as a table centrepeice while offering your guests a fresh, healthy, gluten free fruit option.

Step by Step Strawberry Topiary How To

You will need:

6x 250g punnets of strawberries
1x 15 cm Styrofoam ball
1x candle holder or similar stand (this must have a metal prong in the centre to secure the ball)
cocktail toothpicks
a small knife

Secure the styrofoam ball in the centre of the candle holder. The stand you choose should have a metal spike in the centre to hold the ball on securely. Glue may be another option if your stand doesn't have a spike in the centre.

Cut the leaves from the strawberries. Cut as closely to the leaves as possible, taking off as little fruit as you can. Keeping a little bit of the "woody" part of the top of the strawberry helps in holding it to the toothpick, so it doesnt just slide off. Reserve the leaves for the final touches of the topiary. These will be used to fill any gaps in the completed topiary.

You will see above that the toothpick is inserted into some of the harder part on the top of the strawberry. This is the goal in the following steps--it doesn't have to be completely centred as long as its well secured in the strawberry. Unlike the picture above, the toothpick goes into the foam ball partway before the strawberry is inserted.

Insert one toothpick partway into the top of the foam ball. Positioning is not very important yet, but it helps if you put the strawberries on the ball evenly so that the ball does not overbalance as you are creating the topiary.

 Push the strawberry onto the toothpick, ensuring that the wood is driven through the thick/woodier part of the strawberry top.

 Carefully push the strawberry downwards to the foam ball. If the toothpick end pops through the top point, ensure you push subsequent toothpicks a little further into the foam ball before topping with the strawberry.

Continue this method over the top of the styrofoam ball.Do not worry to much if there are gaps, as these will be later filled with the strawberry leaves.Try however to limit the size of any gaps, choosing strawberries that are the best size for particular areas.

Continue securing the strawberries until the entire surface is covered in strawberries.

Take the strawberry leaves to fill any gaps (I should have used more but I was in a hurry to snap this photo before guests arrived. Alternatively use clusters of mint leaves for larger gaps--this is also very aromatic and offers a breath freshener to your guests too)

Christmas Food

My camera has just died, right before Christmas. It became damaged in the last foodie photo shoot it will ever take. Yeah, I'm an extreme photographer--you know, the type that snaps a shot of the Christmas cake while I'm hanging off the ceiling. No really, it did stop functioning in my last photoshoot. Somehow it got jammed between the fly wire door  and the ledge between the door and the house while I was rearranging a plate of food, and BAM! the lens now does not open at all. Blasted wind.
I have been totally lost without my camera and it makes me realise how frequently I'm snapping things. Well--at least there's something my hubby can pop under the tree now, and I'm definitely in need of an upgrade anyhow. In fact, one of my readers has recently informed me that my camera just "isn't doing the job". Gee thanks for that feedback. Being camera-less however means a nasty halt to any new blog posts, which is never good news. But because I love you all, I've thrown together a collection of some of my previous Christmas recipes and favourite festive food to help deck your Christmas table, from spiced Spaculaas to chocolate dipped cherries to gingerbread and gold dust! Enjoy! I wish you all a very merry Christmas--may it be blessed and filled with good cheer, lots of wine and the best of food  xo

Pipeable White Chocolate Ganache on Spiced Spacculas with fresh Cherries

Gingerbread Christmas Gift or Chocolate Boxes with Bling

Caramel Popcorn Balls or Baubles for the Tree

White Chocolate Dipped Cherries

 

 

Profiterole Christmas Tree

 

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Dutch Spiced Spaculaas

Pink Ombre Cake Tutorial

How do you make an ombre cake? It's actually very easy to make this pink ombre cake and you need no previous decorating skills. It looks impressive and is simple and easy. How do you do it? All you need is a significant quantity of butter cream icing, food colouring, a cake and a teaspoon.
It looks pretty and perfect for a shabby hightea or party, and I believe any girl would swoon over this. I've adapted it also to suit a little girl's birthday too, with fondant Peppa Pig and George jumping in muddy (chocolate) puddles. I do not have instructions on how to make a Peppa Pig cake on this page but it's very straight forward fondant modelling. You can really top this cake with anything, or simply leave the top plain. It's up to you. I hope you enjoy this delicious and exquisite looking cake as much as I did! 

Pink ombre cake with fondant flowers

Pink ombre cake turned Peppa Pig and George style

HOW TO MAKE A PINK OMBRE CAKE (Adapted from How to Cook That)

2 precooked cakes of the same size (mine are about 18cm across each)

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
7  1/2 cups  icing sugar
4+ tablespoons of milk
rose pink food colouring

 To make the buttercream, beat the butter with the icing sugar and the 4 tablespoons of milk until smooth and light, adding extra milk if desired to reach a thick and smooth consistency.

ASSEMBLY:

1. Take your two cakes and spread butter cream icing between them, then join them together. Set them on a serving plate which will enable you to work close to the bottom of the cake (plates with sides will not work as well. A flat or convex plate works best.) Smooth the sides of the cake with a thin crumb coat of butter cream icing to smooth any imperfections and inconsistencies. Take the remaining icing and colour with a little food dye. This will the the lightest coloured coat.

 2. Place a few heaped tablespoons of the icing in a piping bag fitted with a large round open nozzle. A zip lock bag with the corner cut is also a quick and easy option for a piping bag if you don't have one or the round nozzle. Starting at the very top edge of the cake, begin to pipe a row of 10c sized blops of icing, ensuring the side of each blop touches the side of the one next to it. Continue around the whole diameter. Using the back of a teaspoon, smooth each blop downwards. It may help if you dip the spoon into warm water between each smear to get a smoother finish.

 3. Add some more of the same food colouring to the remaining butter cream icing so that it is a few shades darker. Fill the piping bag with this darker shade and repeat the same process as previously, positioning the blops of icing along the bottom of the last row to cover any messy areas. When this row is completed, use the back of the teaspoon to smear the blops downwards as previously done.

4. Repeat this process with the next row, colouring the icing a few shades darker again. Finish the cake with the last and darkest row, which remains unsmeared and sits against the plate covering any messy edges.

5. Your pink ombre cake is complete! Finish it off with pretty fondant flowers or little fingurines like Peppa pig and George.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

 My son will not eat corn, hence he will not eat popcorn.
"Mum," he says "if it's corn, it's a veggie." And we all know how hard it is to get the kids to eat their veggies, even if it is in the form of popcorn. Yes, this is the three year old that knows his chocolate custard from his chocolate mousse, and isnt hesitant to make it known. "This isn't custard Dad--I think it's chocolate mousse!" While I beam with pride that my son knows the difference, part of me thinks, we probably conume more mousse and custard than we should.
My two year old daughter on the other hand, is more of the experimental type, and corn in any form does not faze her. In fact, she can't get enough. She went crazy for this popcorn when I made it. Her eyes almost popped out of her head with glee when she saw me pouring hot caramel over the fresh popcorn, and she started clapping excitedly. This recipe for caramel popcorn is from Danielle's blog, Hugs and Cookies XOXO. Danielle is the owner of a delightful blog just bursting with all sorts of scrumptiousness--and I found it hard to choose just one recipe to recreate for this months Secret Recipe Club Reveal. The caramel recipes alone left my keyboard rather drooled upon. Anyway, I've been looking for Christmas recipes for a long time, and when I came across the caramel popcorn it brought back vivid memories of Christmases gnawing away at caramel popcorn in the form of a ball.
My parents ended up making a rule against gift giving among my siblings--there are ten of us kids, so you can imagine the mountains of presents surrounding the tree and everyone getting stressed over what to buy and the lack of coin, especially among the younger ones. So my parents would give us all presents, and we would in turn, add something to the day--the Christmas tree, the wine, the pudding, the candy canes for the tree--whatever we wanted. For many years in a row I recall making caramel popcorn balls tied with ribbon, and hanging them on the tree like baubles as my little gift for the day. It's very economical and fun, and easy enough for children to make. They would make great DIY teacher's Christmas gifts for the end of school as well, tied up with ribbon in a clear cellophane bag. They would also be a great treat to sell at a school fete--cant you just see all the little ones munching away?
Now will my son eat corn?
Only if it's popped kernels covered in caramel and made into a ball shape. Somehow now, it's not a vegetable.

CARAMEL POPCORN BALLS (Adapted from Hugs and Cookies XOXO)

6 cups already popped popcorn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey (golden syrup or light corn syrup and great substitutes)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp bicarb soda (aka baking soda)
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, place the popped popcorn. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then add the sugar, honey and salt. Stir to combine, then let boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the bicarb soda and vanilla. Pour this hot caramel over the popcorn. Stir thoroughly, then set aside for 5-10 minutes to cool. The caramel is extremely hot, so cautiously test the caramel with your finger to make sure it's cool enough to handle. While it is still warm, scoop handfuls of caramel popcorn and form them into balls, about fist size. Make sure you use some pressure, so that the ball holds together firmly. Set aside to cool before tying with ribbon.

Makes approximately 6

One Minute Self Saucing Nutella Mug Pudding for One

Movie ticket for one. Table for one. Pudding for one.
Sounds lonely.
I don't like doing those sorts of things on my own. Never really have had to fortunately. But it sounds way too lonely to be any fun.
Until last night.
I did it.
I went solo.
My husband said it was the perfect night for pudding. It was cool--the type of night you just want to roll up in a ball in front of a log fire like a cat and bask in warmth and hibernate there forever.
But what to do when you can't be bothered cooking pudding for an hour because you're way too tired and it feels like a hundred hours past your bed time?
One minute self saucing microwave mug pudding. And even better, it's choccas with Nutella. Can't really go wrong there.
I can tell you I got a little excited seeing the pudding magically rising before my eyes in the coffee mug and it made its way slowly around the microwave carousel. Nothing really beats chocolate self saucing pudding made in the oven, but this came pretty close, and considering it took so little time, it turned out to be a winner. It's a self saucing pudding, and the sauce sits awaiting at the bottom of the mug, making it fudgy the further you dig the spoon down. Ooh laa la! So good with ice cream...and perfect consolation food for those damn heartbreaks and breakups most people suffer at least once in their lives. Forget eating out of a tub of ice cream. Get to it! It will only take two minutes of your time to put together, and another in the waiting for it to cook, and voila! Better than tall, dark and handsome? Yes...it's rich too.
This decadent recipe makes one generous serve in a large mug (my mug wasn't on the large side, hence the explosion)...so if you're in a wonderfully happy loving relationship, grab two spoons and share it with your significant other. You could even add walnuts to this recipe for something really special--and I also like to add a dollop of cream for nice contrast. Dessert tonight--sorted! In less than 5 minutes from beginning to end.

ONE MINUTE SELF SAUCING NUTELLA MUG PUDDING FOR ONE (from Live Love Pasta)

1 egg
4 tbsp self raising flour
4 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp nutella
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil

Place all the ingredients in a large mug. Thoroughly whisk with a fork until well incorporated and the egg is well broken down. Place in the microwave and cook on high, for approximately 1-1.5 minutes. Cooking time will vary due to the differences in strength from microwave to microwave. Serve with cream or ice cream if desired.