Lemon Cheese Tart

It's the last day of Winter, which means Spring is tomorrow. I'm sad that the cooler months are over, but happy since berries, mangoes, pineapples and other Summer fruit are coming. Technically lemons should be out of season soon, but these days shops have everything all year round. This recipe comes from a cookbook called Cheesecakes by Maxine Clark. I made this for a dinner with family friends, and they all loved it.

Basically, this is a cheesecake in a tart shell. The use of lemon zest is very interesting, and it produced a great citrusy flavour. I had a bit of trouble working with the pastry, but it obeyed me in the end. I also left the tart in the oven too long, giving it a brown surface, but it did not affect the taste.

I have been and will be making a lot of tarts, small and big, these days. This was so nice, but next time I would dust it with a little caster sugar, just to balance out the sourness. I say this year's Winter was awesome, and Spring's gonna rock!

Morello Cherry Clafoutis

I wanted to use the oval ramekins I got with my blowtorch, and cherries were on my mind so I decided to make cherry clafoutis. Clafoutis is traditionally unpitted cherries baked with a crepe batter. The pits that are left in gives of an almond flavour.

It's still Winter here, so cherries aren't in season. I decided to use jarred pitted Morello cherries. I put too many cherries into the dish before adding the batter, so the result was more sour than I would have preferred.

Cherries are one of my favourite fruits, so I enjoyed this a lot. I look forward to Summer when I can make this with fresh cherries.

Caramel Slice

The Apple store in Castle Towers has opened and I went to the grand opening with my friends. I got an oversized T-shirt, which was cool. You should all go and check it out, though apparently it's not as big as the one in the city. I wouldn't know, I've never been.

I've loved caramel slice ever since a Year 3 friend gave me a piece of her's. It was sweet, chewy and delicious. My mum would never let me buy one at he shops, though, because she thought it was too sweet. I've always put off making caramel slice because I didn't have the right pan size, but I got one from my recent trip to Victoria's Basement. I ran out of butter(!) when making the chocolate layer so I just used plain cooking chocolate. Next time, I shall use better quality chocolate.

My mum said they were nice, but a tad sweeter than she would prefer. She said it would taste better with chopped nuts. Whatever - I liked them (so did my friend and his mum) and that's all that matters.

Caramelised Onion and Mozzarella Omelette

I wung this recipe when I was away from school. I was hungry for something salty, but I didn't have many interesting ingredients in the fridge or pantry. I did have half a bag of mozzarella cheese stored in the freezer, so I decided to use that.

First I caramelised half an onion. This is actually the most time-consuming part, but you do not have to do much work. I cracked a few eggs and mixed it with salt, pepper and water. Pour the eggs over the onions and cook. Sprinkle over some cheese, fold over and you're done. I was expecting this to be nice with the onions and cheese. It wasn't nice, it was mind-blowing.

The cheese was gooey and stringy, and the onion lent great flavour. Served this with a drizzle of tomato sauce and you have one of easiest but most delicious lunches out there. You should serve this with an undressed salad of lettuce and tomatoes.

Butterscotch Self-Saucing Pudding

I GOT A BLOWTORCH!!!!!!! So happy.

 

I have mentioned before that I rarely make things I have before. Last week I tried out a self-saucing pudding recipe from Taste. Quite simply, it blew my mind. It was rich but not too sweet, and the sauce was thick and delicious. I tweaked the recipe, adding more water and golden syrup for more sauce.

We had it with cream, and everyone loved it. The top is crunchy, but underneath is a soft spongey cake. The sauce is thick and works perfectly. My sister was about to cry when she realised there was none left. I promised I will make it again, which I did. I made it again this Friday with the same delicious result.

I couldn't believe that such a simple recipe could be so delicious. I am waiting to buy a can of Butane gas so I can finally used my new blowtorch.

Hmmm... What should I set on fire first?

Penne alla Boscaiola

Heh, who knew having an eye infection for three days can give me time to cook loads of yummy food.

I was feeling hungry yesterday and I looked in the fridge, then the pantry, then back at the fridge. I had bacon, mushrooms, cream and some other vegetables. I decided on pasta, which seemed the easiest way to go. I boiled some Penne, and made half a batch of Boscaiola sauce to top it with.

Boscaiola sauce is made with bacon, mushrooms, onions, parsley and cream. This sauce was quick and tasty. I think I used the wrong type of mushroom, though. Oh well, most mushrooms taste the same anyway.

I think I am really getting the hang of cooking pasta. This recipe is a keeper.

Chicken and Corn Soup

Whenever I go to an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet, there will always be Chicken and Corn Soup. I always loved this soup, but knew it contained many preservatives and artificial flavours. I was browsing through a cookbook, when I found a recipe for Chicken and Corn Soup, so I decided to try it out.

I realised, after I had started, that I did not have enough chicken stock, so I made up the volume with chicken broth, which has less gelatine, but still has good chicken flavour. Make sure you do not do what I did and mix one tablespoon of cornflour with 3 tablespoons water, when you're supposed to mix 3 tablespoons of cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water. This caused the soup to be very thin, when the desired consistency is very thick.

Despite the soup being thin, I still loved this. I will definitely be making this again.

Pancakes

Lately I have realised that I do not eat a very traditional breakfast. People I know eat cereal and bread. I am fortunate enough to have my grandparents living with me, so each morning my grandma makes rice for me. That's right, rice breakfast and dinner. But sometimes I get cravings for more western breakfasts. When I was younger I would occasionally surprise my parents by making breakfast for them. I would fry eggs and bacon, and make toast. While I love savoury breakfasts, it's always good to have a sugar hit first thing in the morning.

This recipe is from Taste, and is fairly basic recipe as far as pancakes go, though there is a recipe for 'Super Fluffy Pancakes' in one of my cookbooks I want to try. I was never really picky about my pancakes. To be honest, I only had pancakes made from those pancake-mixes which come in jugs. Come to think of it, it's he first time I've made pancakes from scratch.

I like my pancakes plain, but some adornments never hurt anybody.