Wednesday 19 June 2013

Pistachio Cupcakes

I had some of this delectable cupcakes from a cupcake shop in the city not too long ago and I absolutely loved it. I started looking for recipes online so that I can bake some of my own at home as it's a lot cheaper to make them on your own then paying an average $4 each for a single cupcake. I found this easy recipe and decided to give it a try. The composition of the recipe relied mainly on the nut component therefore you get a very rich dense cake.

The batter
Ingredients:
  • 180gm butter
  • 375gm caster sugar (I'll half this qty as the ones I make were really sweet especially since I had icing on it)
  • 6 eggs
  • 300gm ground pistachios
  • 300gm ground almonds
  • 75gm plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • zest of 1 lemon

Method:
  • Preheat oven to 170 deg
  • In a cake mixer beat the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy, then add one egg at a time and mix till incorporated.
  • Get the bowl off the mixer and gently fold in all the dry ingredients, be careful not to knock the air out.
  • Once all the ingredients are combined, scoop into cupcake moulds.
  • Bake for 20 mins, to test if the cupcake is ready insert a skewer in the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean it is ready.

Icing:
  • 200gm butter
  • 8 cups icing sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
Method:
  • Beat butter and icing sugar in a mixer till pale, then add the milk and lemon juice. Spread or pipe onto the cool cupcakes.

Friday 14 June 2013

MeatMother - Richmond


I was walking past Swan st one day when I discovered this new american joint that was about to open. Me and my colleague had a sticky beak has we peered into the window as the renovations were going on. It look like a promising place, so as soon as I got back to the office I google it and was impress at the menu and knew that was my husband's kind of a place. 


Two weeks after it's opening my hubby made me call to make reservations and was politely declined as seating is first in best dress, so I check their business hours on their website and arrive 15 mins before the opening time. There was a couple of staff inside organising stuff waiting for service to start and they did not let us in even though we were standing in clear view of them they did not let us in until the precise opening time of 6pm. As soon as it strike 6, the doors were open and we were warmly welcome in. They asked if wanted seats upstairs which we fully accepted. 


Their menu boast of an all american fare and as the name of their business suggest it's a meat place so if you are a vegetarian then this joint is not for you. We kind of knew what we wanted even before we got there as we studied the menu like our lives depended on it. 

Beef ribs on thick texas toast with slaw


Basically you order a meat and add a side to it and they all come with a texas toast, I had the pulled pork with mac & cheese and hubby had the beef spare ribs with coleslaw. I also ordered the mash with gravy as a additional side dish. The service was really good and the wait staff carried out their duties with a smile as if it was their hobby and not a job.

Pulled pork on thick texas toast with mac & cheese

And service was really prompt it did not take more than 10 mins before our food arrive. When our plates were place before us I must say even though it was an american joint the portion was not american at all, they were pretty small, fine for a lady but hubby was disappointed when he saw his small stack of ribs. We decided to overlook the portions and tuck right into it, I must say the pulled pork was melt in your mouth, moist and tender. The toast that was serve alongside it was just awesome. And the mac & cheese had a good amount of crispy breadcrumbs sprinkled and baked to golden brown perfection.

Mash with gravy

Hubby's beef ribs fell off the bone it did not require and effort to get the pieces of meat off the bone, he was enjoying every part of it. He had the coleslaw with it and it had big crunchy shredded vegetables with a nice blend of mayo mix into it. We shared the mash and gravy which was nice. Hubby was still hungry and ask for the menu again the wait staff was happy to obliged. 


He decided that he would have the beef brisket, the wait staff explain that he could have that as a add on option instead of ordering it as a main and he was happy with the suggestion. While waiting for his brisket he started picking on my pulled pork and was enjoying it and mention that he would have that the next time he was back. 


The brisket arrive again the portion was a let down it was 2 measly slices, again taste triumph over the size. At the end of the meal we were both happy at the authenticity of the american taste. Only big negative was the meal size which was a huge disappointment and it was'nt exactly price to suit the portions. When hubby went to the cashier to pay and was asked how was the meal, he feedback that they needed to increase the portion size, well we'll see if they would take that on board cause it will be a waste to let this one go just on that basis.


Location:
167 Swan St
Richmond

Tuesday 11 June 2013

The Graham - Port Melbourne





This post is a little late as we went to this restaurant for Mother's day in May but that was a crazy month for me with so many things happening at the same time so I had to put blogging to the end of my to do list, well as they say better late than never. 

I love the ambiance of this place, the moment I walk in it had a charming feel to it with a modern twist. As soon as we walk in we were brought to our tables, sat down and had our napkins strewn over our laps. My dear daughter was a little amuse at the attention given as we do not go to such fancy restaurants very often and this all seems strange to her but she enjoyed the attention nonetheless. 

We were handed the menus and was given a rundown of the specials for the day. I ordered the spanner crab  salad as a shared entree between me and hubby to share. For mains I went for the pan-fried rock flathead and no guesses for what hubby went for, the usual 250g scotch fillet the only difference this time mushroom sauce was not an option. 

Only drawback about this place is it did not have a kid's menu maybe there was a reason for that it's a no kids zone but I must pride myself in saying that my child is the most well behave kid you can find unlike other ruly uncontrollable kids. So instead of paying more than $40 for a main for her we decided that she could  share my meal with me. 


Spanner Crab Salad

The spanner crab salad was such a great dish it was an explosion of flavors in your mouth from the crab, the pear and crunch bits of salmon crackling such a beautiful dish executed perfectly. I wish I ordered the entree all for myself as I could eat 2 servings of that delectable dish all on my own.

It was a great start and could not wait for mains to arrive which took quite a bit of time so while waiting we ate complimentary bread that was served. When mains finally arrived it was a welcome sight as by that time we were practically starving only to be crestfallen at the small measly piece of fish siting in the centre on a huge plate, this was a dish that I was suppose to be sharing with my daughter. 


Pan fried rock flathead
Not wanting to wait another 30 mins to order another main, I offered her the fish which she gladly took and scoffed down in a few bites I was glad that she enjoyed every morsel of it. So I was left with the grilled bug tail again another little morsel of it, a piece of scallop and the smoked eel sausage with the shellfish sauce. I cannot fault the dish though everything on that plate tasted absolutely divine.


250gm Scotch Fillet
Hubby on the other hand thought the fillet was a little tough and chewy, in his words he has tasted better steaks elsewhere. After mains we were still a little hungry or should I say I was hungrier so I decided that we would have dessert and hubby and kiddo was happy for me to choose since it was after all a night to celebrate me. 


Dark Chocolate ice cream bar

Chocolate & Peanut butter
 
Greena apple pistachio Meringue

The 3 dessert I chose were the dark chocolate ice cream bar, the peanut butter and chocolate and the green apple pistachio meringue. Thankfully dessert was a reasonable size it was enough to share among the 3 of us, kiddo had the first pick and she instinctively went for the ice cream bar. I decided that you cannot go wrong when peanut butter and chocolate is paired together. And looks like hubby got the meringue. But we all had a taste of each others dessert and they all tasted heavenly, a great way to end a meal. 

On a final note overall this is a nice place to go to for a special celebration as hubby paid an hefty bill for it, not an everyday go to place to have a meal. 


Location:
97 Graham St,
Port Melbourne 

Sunday 9 June 2013

Coconut Salmon Wrapped in Banana Leaves

A colleague brought this dish to work recently and it tasted really good so I asked her for the recipe since I'm always on the lookout to try out something new.

Ingredients:
4 x 150gm salmon fillets
4 pieces fresh banana leaves

Marinade:
2 large garlic cloves
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 large spring onions
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cardamon seeds
2 small red chillies, deseeded, finely chopped
Juice of 1 large lime 
1/4 cup coriander finely chopped 
1 kaffir lime leaf finely chopped
1 cup coconut cream

  1. Place salmon with marinade ingredients in a snap-lock bag, then squeeze out air. Seal bag and squish around to coat fish. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 200 deg celcius
  3. To soften banana leaves, pass them over an open flame, or place in a bowl of boiling water for 5 mins.
  4. Lay a leave, shiny side down on the work surface. Place a fillet in the centre and top with quarter of the marinade. Fold leaf to make a parcel and secure with think wooden toothpicks. 
  5. Repeat for remaining parcels, then place toothpick side up, on  a lined baking sheet.
  6. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until cooked through. 
  7. Transfer fish and sauce to a plate, serve with rice and lime wedge. 

This was a very simple dish to make the only thing that you had to do was to get all the ingredients organised beforehand. Unfortunately this time I had forgotten to take pictures of the end result, that was how good this dish was that as soon as it came out of the oven we could not resist sinking our forks into it.