Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken Parma as this dish is more commonly known in Australia.  This is one of our most favourite Pub Meals.  You could really turn any Schnitzel into a Parmigiana with a little tomato sauce and some mozzarella cheese. 

Why not bring your favourite pub meal home and keep your family happy.  You will be surprised at how easy it is to recreate this meal at home.

Tomato Sauce

1 jar tomato passata

1 onion, finely diced

Schnitzel

4 skinless chicken thigh fillets

1 egg

1 to 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Mozzarella Cheese

Saute your onion in a little butter.

Add your jar of passata and simmer on low for 30 minutes, you want to cook off the liquid until you have a nice sauce.

Beat your egg.

Dried store bought breadcrumbs are the way to go here.

On a plastic bag or piece of glad wrap, place your chicken.

Top with another piece of plastic and beat the heck out of your chicken, you are doing this to make it an even thickness.  If my Mum actually reads these posts she will notice I need a poundie thingie you know a flat one not a pointy one like yours!

Dredge your flat chicken in the egg.

Coat your chicken in breadcrumbs.  Set aside on a plate for an hour to rest in the fridge.

When your ready for dinner allow 30 minutes all up for cooking.  I use butter but use a cooking medium of your choice.  Fry your chicken on both sides until golden.  

Place on a lined baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes in a 180C pre heated oven.  This is to cook the chicken through without drying it out.

After 10 minutes remove the tray from the oven and top with a generous spoonful of the tomato sauce.

Top with your mozzarella, I use grated.  Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Serve with a nice salad.

Watch the family devour it!

Lemon and Blueberry Swirl Bundt Cake.

Did you know that this weekend is the Second Anniversary or should I say Blogaversary of the Kitchen!

It was 2 years ago that I started posting recipes for friends and family, now we have followers from all over the world.   I would like to say Thank you to everyone who has supported me during this time.  Scott and Jonathan aka the Crash Test Dummies, Mum and Dad, Mumma H and Poppa S, I know it was a trial to have to taste test things for me!  Oh and our guest baker Lawrence!

We are looking forward to new challenges and lots of new recipes over the next 2 years and invite you to join the adventure.

Blueberry Sauce

2 punnets of blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

squeeze of lemon juice

Cake

2 small or 1 large thin skinned lemons

275 gm self raising flour

275 gm butter, room temperature

275 gm caster sugar

2 level teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

Syrup

Juice of 2 lemons

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

In your saucepan add all the ingredients for your sauce along with 2 tablespoons of water.

On a low heat cook your sauce stirring to ensure it doesn't burn and to squish the berries.  Cook for 5 to 10 minutes until thickened slightly.  Set aside and allow to cool.

Place your lemons in water and simmer for 20 minutes.

Cut the lemons open and scoop out any seeds.

In your food processor blitz your lemons to a nice paste with a few chunks.

See nice and slightly chunky.

Add all your cake ingredients into your food processor with the lemon paste and blitz.

Remember to scrape down the sides to ensure its all combined.

Place a third of the cake batter in your lined or greased tin.

Spoon over half your blueberry sauce and a couple of fresh blueberries, remember to tap your cake tin on the bench to make sure you fill the crevices.

Repeat.  Bake at 180C for 30 to 35 minutes.  Meanwhile combine the syrup ingredients in a saucepan and heat until simmering and sugar dissolved.

  Remove from the oven and poke with skewer straight away.

Pour your hot lemon syrup evenly over your cake and allow to cool completely in the tin.

Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Black Forest Cherry Bundt Cake with Cherry Sauce.

All I can think of writing this post is a song called "I'm living in the 70's" by the Skyhooks.  Those that grew up in the 70's as I did will remember this song and this cake.  My last couple of posts are very reminiscent of the 70's food with a twist.  We had Kiev now Black Forest Cherry Cake. 

I can feel a Salmon and Avocado Mousse coming on hehehehe.

Seriously, who did not just drool over a Black Forest Cake?  All Chocolate cake with those tinned cherries and whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

I had planned to make this the old fashioned way in layers etc., however my new Bundt pan arrived and well this sort of took over my brain all week.  The reality did match what I had pictured in my head, so I am happy with that.

400g tin Black cherries

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

Drain cherry juice into a small saucepan, this will make your sauce.  Set your cherries aside in a bowl for later.  Mix a teaspoon of cornflour into your cherry juice until smooth.  Heat sauce stir until thickens slightly then allow to simmer for 2 minutes to cook out the cornflour.  Set aside to cool to room temp then toss half your reserved cherries through for serving.

Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler of simmering water until melted and combined together.

Place the other half a can of cherries on paper towel and pat dry to remove some of the excess moisture.

Mix together your sour cream and bi carb.

In your mixer place the melted chocolate and sugar.  Mix until smooth and cooler.  Beat in your coffee and vanilla.  Beat in eggs one at a time until smooth.  Beat in the sour cream mixture.

Beat in your flour until combined.  Gently mix in the boiling water and yes your batter should be quite runny.

Line your tin if using a standard tin or spray if using a bundt tin.

Gently pour your cake mix into the prepared tin.  Place your remaining cherries around the cake batter and gently tap the tin on the bench to ensure you get mix in all the crevices and this will also start to distribute your cherries through the cake batter.

Bake in a 180C pre heated oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until skewer comes out just clean.  The cake should be fudgy still in the centre.  Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out to cool.

A little light entertainment while your cake is cooling.

Fill the centre with whipped vanilla bean cream and drizzle cherries and sauce over to present.  Place the reset of the cherry sauce in a little serving jug to pour over when your cake is sliced.

Serve and enjoy.  This is the best dinner party dessert.  Spectacular to present and serve friends and family.

Whole Orange Bundt Cake with Mandarin Syrup

I am in hurry up and wait mode for my new Square Bundt tin.  It is in the mail.  Waiting, waiting, waiting!

So I thought I would try a new Bundt recipe while I was waiting.  I had one orange and one mandarin in the fruit bowl.  They were looking a little sorry for themselves all alone there.

With the success of my Whole Lemon cake in the Kitchen I kept looking at the lone orange as I walked by it all week and wondering about it.  The rest as they say is history!  One very moist, very delicious orange cake.

Cake.

1 Orange

250 gm butter, room temperature

250 gm Self raising flour

250 gm caster sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

Syrup.

1 cup mandarin juice

3/4 cup caster sugar

Stick your orange in a saucepan and cover with water.  Cook for 25 minutes.

I see you Smudge, should you be on the bench?

When the orange is cooked cut it open and remove any seeds should there be any.

Stick straight in the food processor and blitz until you have a paste.  Don't worry if it seems dry its ok.  Scoop the paste onto your plate.

Place all your cake ingredients back in the food processor along with your orange paste and blitz until your cake batter is combined.  Scrape down the sides once or twice.

Spray your bundt pan however you like best.

Fill your cake tin.  Tap a couple of times on your bench to make sure the cake batter settles in all the crevices.  Bake at 160C fan or 180C non fan for 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile juice your mandarin. 

In a saucepan combine your juice and sugar and simmer.

When your cake is cooked and the skewer comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven.

Here you can get stab happy and stick your skewer all over the shop.  You want holes for the syrup to run into.

Pour the hot syrup over the hot cake, make sure you get a nice coverage.  Leave your cake to cool in the pan until cold.  This will allow the syrup to soak in nicely.

Turn your cake out and serve.