Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Grilled Steak with creamy Garlic Mushroom sauce.

Any idiot can throw a steak on the BBQ and think they can cook steak.
But a real cook will know how to do this properly.

There are some basic rules to follow to perfect the art of cooking steak.

Grilled Steak with Garlic Mushroom sauce

Equipment
·      Small fry pan
·      Chopping board and sharp knife
·      Measuring cup
·      Tongs
·      Serving plate
·      Ramekin for sauce

Ingredients
·      Rump steak, 2 portions, needs to be trimmed of fat and silver skin
·      Mushrooms, 2, sliced
·      Garlic, 1 clove or ¼ tsp, crushed and diced finely
·      Cream, 1/8 cup (3 Tbspns)
·      Seasonings (salt/pepper/herbs)
·      Butter for mushrooms.
·      Oil for frying

Method
1.    Slice up the mushrooms and crush/dice the garlic.
2.    Heat up the small fry pan (medium heat) and add butter.
3.    Quickly add garlic, then mushrooms.
4.    Toss and fry until soft.
5.    Add the cream, reduce the heat and simmer until thick.
6.    Pour out the sauce into a mixing bowl and keep warm. Season if required.
7.    Clean the fry pan and reheat.
8.    Wait until the pan is hot before adding a small amount of oil.
9.    Fry the steak one piece at a time, waiting for the blood to come through before turning over.
10.  Test for “degrees of doneness” before removing from pan. Poke the meat with your finger.
11. Rest the meat on a plate for 5 minutes before serving with the sauce.

Things to remember:
·      The steak should be at room temperature before cooking (bring out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking).
·      Trim the steak of fat and silver skin.
·      Heat up the pan to medium hot.
·      Add a little oil. Grilled, not deep fried.
·      Season the steak after cooking.
·      Flip only once. Wait for the cooking juice to come through before flipping.
·      Cook to correct Degrees of Doneness
1.    Blue (very rare)
2.    Rare
3.    Medium rare
4.    Medium
5.    Well done
6.    Very well done
See the pictures for a better idea. Also use the finger poke test. Fatter steak will take longer to cook in the middle.

·      Resting the meat for 5 minutes after cooking allows the muscle fibers to relax which means the meat is more tender and easier to cut/chew. This should be applied to all meats after cooking.

Try to find a "Degree's of Doneness" chart on the internet and use this to give you a visual guide to the cooking. Remember the finger poke test too.



Monday, October 27, 2014

Banana cake with Chocolate icing.

Mmmmm!
Everybody should know how to bake a cake and banana cake is a real favourite. The combination of the sweet banana and chocolate is a winner. Just be aware of the amount of sugar you are consuming.

Mushy banana's make the best cakes so if you have any rotten banana's at home, throw them in the freezer instead of throwing them away. Place in the microwave to thaw out, ready for the cake.

This recipe only makes a small cake. Double it if you want a full size cake.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Icing

Equipment
·      Rectangular Loaf tin (greased and floured)
·      Sharp knife
·      Mixing bowl
·      Measuring cups/spoons
·      Wooden spoon
·      Whisk
·      Sieve
·      Cooling rack

Ingredients
·      Butter, 75g, soft
·      Sugar, ½ cup
·      Eggs, 1
·      Soft banana, 1/2 large mashed (or 1 small mashed)
·      Vanilla essence, ¼ tsp
·      Flour, 1 cup
·      Baking soda, ½ tsp
·      Salt, ¼ tsp
·      Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp
·      Milk, 1/4 cup
·      Lemon juice, ½ tsp

Method
1.    Cream butter and sugar until light.
2.    Beat in the egg.
3.    Stir in mashed banana and vanilla.
4.    Sieve in the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda).
5.    Fold into creamed mixture with milk and lemon juice.
6.    Pour into the greased and floured cake tin.
7.    Bake at 1800C for 20-30 minutes until cooked.
8.    Remove from oven and let cool down before turning out.
9.    Ice with chocolate icing.

Icing
·      Icing sugar, ½ cup
·      Cocoa, 1 tsp
·      Butter, 2 knobs, melted
·      Hot water, 2-3 tsp



Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Warm Salad (Bacon, eggs and croutons)

A warm salad is a salad with cooked ingredients in it.
This is a simple and tasty dish.
Remember to try to buy free range pork/bacon/ham if possible.

Warm Salad (Bacon, Egg and Croutons)

Equipment
·      Chopping board
·      Sharp knife
·      Grater
·      Peeler
·      Large mixing bowl
·      Small fry pan and fish slice/tongs
·      Small pot

Ingredients
·      Mesclun salad, 1 cup
·      Carrots, 1
·      Spring onions, ½ stem
·      Tomato, ½ diced
·      Bacon, 3 slices
·      Bread, 1 slice, diced
·      Celery, 1 stem
·      Eggs, 2
·      Oil for frying

Method
1.    Add eggs to a pot of hot water. Bring to the boil for 8 minutes. Pour out the hot water and fill pot with cold water.
2.    Peel the eggs and chop up. Add to the mixing bowl.
3.    Slice up the bread into cubes.
4.    Slice up the bacon in small pieces.
5.    Fry both in oil until crisp. Place into mixing bowl.
6.    Grate the carrot, after peeling.
7.    Slice up celery and spring onion into thin slices.
8.    Dice up the tomato into small dice. Add all to the mixing bowl.
9.    Add the Mesclun salad to the other ingredients in the bowl.
10. Toss the salad together, mixing all the ingredients through.
11. Serve with tongs onto a plate and eat.



Sustainability discussion

Pork production- video on sow crates, farrowing crates and fattening pens.
(Sunday TV1 Pig Farming Expose, SAFE love pigs campaign).
It is a fact that pigs are more intelligent than most dogs. They deserve to be treated as well as dogs.


Pet pigs can be trained to do simple tasks.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Food Academy- Vegetarian Mexican Tortillas

You don't have to have meat to make a wonderful meal.
The beans in this recipe covers your protein.
The Guacamole replaces the sour cream. Avocado's contain lots of good oil and vitamins.
Add Tabasco/ chilli flakes to taste. You have to have a bit of kick to it.

Mexican Beans & rice on Tortillas with Guacamole.

Mexican Bean Ingredients
·      Red kidney beans, ½ can
·      Onion, ½, diced
·      Garlic, 1 clove, crushed and chopped
·      Tomato paste, 2 tsp
·      Lemon juice, ½ tsp
·      Salt, ½ tsp
·      Cumin powder, ¼ tsp
·      Tabasco sauce, ¼ - ½ tsp.
·      Hot water, ½ cup
·      Oil for frying
Method
1.    Fry the onions and garlic in the oil until soft.
2.    Add the beans to pan and heat through.
3.    Add the tomato paste, hot water, Lemon juice and cumin powder. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes until thick.
4.    Add the salt and Tabasco sauce to taste.

Rice Ingredients
·      White rice, 1 cup, washed
·      Hot water, 2 cups
·      Salt, pinch
Method
1.    Wash the rice in a sieve.
2.    Add the rice to the water in a pot.
3.    Add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
4.    Boil for 5 minutes and simmer for 15 minutes.
5.    Drain through a sieve ready to mix with Mexican beans.

Guacamole Ingredients
·      Avocado, 1, flesh removed
·      Lime juice, 1 Tbsp
·      Tabasco, 1/4 tsp
·      Garlic, 1 clove, crushed and finely chopped
·      Salt, a pinch to taste.
Method
1.    Remove the flesh from the avocado.
2.    Quickly chop.
3.    Add the Lime juice and Tabasco.
4.    Mix in finely chopped garlic and salt.
5.    Mash into puree.

Tortillas Ingredients
·      Tortillas, 4 per pair
·      Lettuce, ¼
·      Carrot, 1, grated
·      Cheese, 1 ramekin, grated,
·      Mexican beans and rice
·      Guacamole
Method
1.    Fill a tortilla with a selection of the above ingredients.
2.    Fold from the bottom and from the sides to form a nice packet.