Rump Steak in Portwine.

Again an old family favourite.

This recipe is for 4 people you could reduce the steak to make for less or increase for a Dinner party.

2 pieces of rump steak
250g mushrooms
1 cup Port
1 cup beef stock
2 tblsp plain flour
2 tblsp butter
3 peeled and smashed garlic cloves
Salt and Pepper

In a fry pan, I use a cast iron fry pan with a lid,  fry the rump on each side. 

When you reach a nice colour on the steak remove to a plate for later.

Pour the port into the fry pan and boil to reduce by half.

Pour the reduced port over the steak and set aside. 

In the fry pan melt the butter and add the flour stirring and allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes,  slowly stir in the beef stock until combined. 

Continue to stir the sauce until it thickens.

Once the sauce has thickened tip the port and meat juices back into the pan and stir,  allow to come to the boil then place the rump back in the sauce, add the garlic cloves, reduce to a simmer, place lid on pan and allow to cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes add the mushrooms and cook for a further 30 minutes.  During this time cook your mash and veg.

Just before your ready to serve remove the garlic cloves.

Apple Cinnamon Cake

 

Those readers that grew up in Australia in the 70's and 80's will probably have seen an Australian Woman's Weekly Cookbook or two in their mothers kitchen.  Most, myself included would have learnt to cook from them. 

"Mum there is nothing to eat in this house"

"All the ingredients for a cake are in this house, if your hungry make a cake"

No such thing as instant gratification in our house!

I changed up the recipe in Mum's cookbook to suit myself.

180g butter (room temperature)
1 tspn Cinnamon
2/3 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
2 apples

Beat butter, sugar and cinnamon together until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time until combined, the mix will look curdled but this is ok.

Mix in sifted combined flour and milk, you may need to alternate so you don't get flour everywhere.  Spread into a prepared pan,  I used a 20cm round spring form but use your choice.

Peal, core and quarter apples.  Slice almost all the way through and place on top of the cake mix in a fan pattern around the edge.  Bake at 180C for approx. 1 hour.  Check that a skewer comes out clean from the centre of the cake.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Serve warm with ice cream or cold with whipped cream.

Beef Olives

A very 70's recipe I know but one I loved as a kid, I have been dreaming about this meal all week.

200g Bacon chopped finely (approx. 3 rashers)
200g Onion chopped finely (1 large onion)
200g Button Mushrooms chopped finely
1 clove of Garlic crushed
2 tspn Thyme leaves fresh
20g Butter
1 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs

4 Rump or Round Steaks (1cm thick slices)
2 tspn Plain Flour
1 cup Beef Stock

The stuffing needs to be made in advance to allow to cool to room temp.

Cook bacon in a large non stick fry pan until the fat melts.

 

Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and thyme.

Cook, stirring, until the onion softens but doesn't brown.

Add the butter to the pan stirring until melted, stir in the bread crumbs until coated in butter. 

Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside to cool to room temp.

Ask your butcher to cut your rump steaks or round steak to a centimetre thick and if he's a great butcher (like mine) he will put it through the tenderiser as well to flatten them out for you.  If not between two sheets of plastic bash out the steak with a rolling pin to tenderise and thin out.

Cut the rump in 2 and at the cut side place approx. half a cup of the breadcrumb mixture.

Tuck the sides over and roll up, secure with toothpicks. 

Repeat with the remaining.  At this stage you can freeze the rolls or put them aside in the fridge for later.

In a fry pan add butter and beef rolls, brown on all sides and place on a baking tray in a pre heated 200C oven for 20 mins.

Add flour to the butter and meat juices in the fry pan, stir and allow to cook for 3 to 5 mins.  add beef stock and stir until thickened.

Take rolls out of the oven, remove tooth picks, cut in half and serve.

Serve with mash or hassle back potatoes and veg.

 

Chocolate Trifle

Trifle is big in my family, especially at Christmas, my Nana never put enough booze on the sponge so one Christmas my Poppa put more in telling us kids that Nana never used enough, then my Mum did the same thing and finally my Nana came back and did the same thing saying that they always accused her of never putting enough booze in. 

Bit of an understatement to say WOW the trifle went over well with the adults but the kids all went "YUCK".

Personally the texture of sponge and jelly did it for me *insert scrunchie face here* the texture is like slimy sand ... yuck, yuck, yuck!

So here is a Kate friendly trifle that I will eat and has no slimy to it!

Take one of the chocolate cakes from my previous post, slice it in half and put the bottom layer in your trifle bowl.

 

 

Place half your cooled custard (packet mix is the best make it with an extra tablespoon of powder to ensure it is thick not runny), sprinkle over the fruit of your choice, I used strawberries as they came with my fruit order, frozen berries are always good. 

Place the top of the cake in next always good to put it cut side up, repeat with the custard and berries or fruit.

Top with whipped cream and dust with chocolate powder.  Now if you can keep the slavering hordes away from it you may wish to stick it in the fridge for a while.

Chocolate Cake to die for.

Today we have changed our name to Cooking with Lawrence. 

 

 

Our Godson has come for a sleepover and is helping me in the kitchen.  Sorry there is a lack of pictures, my fault, I turned the mixer to high instead of off and got chocolate cake mix all over me, the camera (sorry Scott) and the kitchen but miracle of miracles Lawrence was clean!

 

110g unsalted Butter, chopped
200g dark Chocolate, chopped or bits
1 cup Castor Sugar
1 tspn Vanilla paste
1 1/2 tblspn Coffee granules or a shot of espresso
2 Eggs
1 tspn bicarbonate of soda
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/3 plain flour, sifted
3/4 cup boiling water

Pre heat oven to 180C. I just line the base of 2 x 20cm spring form round tins, I use non stick tins.

Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place over pan of simmering water (making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water), stir until the chocolate and butter are melted and combined.  Allow to cool slightly.

Place chocolate mixture in bowl of electric mixer with the sugar and beat until well combined and if you are me and cannot wait for the cooling of the chocolate in the first step just beat a little longer until cooled.  Add the vanilla and coffee, then the eggs one at a time until combined.

Combine the sour cream and bicarb in a bowl, then add to the chocolate mixture.  Fold in the flour until just combined. Pour in 3/4 cup of boiling water in and beat slowly until smooth. (Don't turn the mixer UP at this stage as I did today and have cake batter fly all over the kitchen and me).

Divide the mix between 2 cake tins and bake for 25 to 30 mins or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 5 to 10 mins then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

At this stage you can do many, many things.  You can freeze them for later, you can just ice and eat, you can cut them in half and make a 4 layer cake or you can halve them and make a trifle.  My next post will be the trifle version for Deana by special request.

 

 

Wendy's Curry Chicken Salad



 

 

This recipe is courtesy of my Mum.  Mum made this for us at Christmas and we loved it.  Mum got the recipe from Wendy and I think it's one of those recipes that you will never know the true origination as everyone loves it and passes it on.

For this recipe you can either roast the chicken yourself or if your pushed for time a BBQ chicken from the supermarket is good as well!



To start you can either have the chook cold (room temp is good) or hot your choice, joint the chook, I leave the bone in the leg and thigh but separate them, then if you are confident to remove the breast from the bone whole do so or just shred the breast but leave it in large chunks, in a mixing bowl.



On your serving platter place the lettuce, tomato and cucumber ready for the chicken.



In a fry pan fry one sliced onion until cooked through but not burnt,  put the onion on paper towel to absorb any excess oil.  In the same fry pan put 1/2 a tablespoon of curry powder  (the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon but its a bit much for me), 1/4 cup of tomato sauce (ketchup), 1 tablespoon of apricot jam and 1 tablespoon of mango chutney.  Mix together and allow to heat through.



Stir in 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and stir through, add back the onions and allow to heat through.

Pour over the chicken and toss to coat everything.



Lay the chicken over the salad and serve.



Allow plenty of napkins as it can get messy with the sauce everywhere with kids but it is delicious.