Huli Huli Chicken

This is a dish Scott had in Hawaii and loved.  After some research I found the original recipe which is fantastic.  Huli in Hawaiian means Turn.  

This recipe is great either on the BBQ or in the oven and can be done with a whole chicken jointed or just maryland or thighs.  I did mine with bone in thighs and marinaded for 4 hours.  I did however freeze some in the marinade which worked really well as well.

1/3 cup tomato sauce

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sherry

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 cm piece of ginger, crushed

3 garlic cloves, crushed

pinch of chilli flakes

juice of half a lemon

Chicken jointed as desired.  This amount will marinade 3 whole chickens or 2 with some marinade to baste.

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Place all ingredients in a jug and mix.

I double bagged my chicken in zip loc bags to ensure there was no leakage.

Pour a third of the marinade over the chicken and seal with as much air removed from the bag.

Seal the second bag for insurance.  Marinade for 4 hours.  You can freeze at this stage as well.

If using the oven, fry on the stove top first to get the crispy skin and render some of the fat off.

Place on a baking sheet baste with the spare marinade and bake at 170C for 1 hour remember to turn and baste every 15 minutes.

Macadamia White Chocolate Chip Cookies

At Scott's pre Christmas work do last year the guys were talking about going to the Macadamia Farm for lunch.  I did mention to them that I may be coerced into making some macadamia choc chip cookies if they bought me home a small bag.  The small bag turned out to be half a kilo 😵... what am I going to do with half a kilo of nuts I love but cannot eat?  

I will be posting macadamia everything until they are used I think!

We have just returned from a week in Hawaii for a friends wedding.  I love Hawaii and found this great store every where called The Honolulu Cookie Company they have the cutest, yummiest pineapple shaped cookies.  Most have macadamia nuts in them however I did manage to bring home a big old box of non macadamia cookies 😍

150 gm butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

250 gm white chocolate chips or chunks

200 gm macadamia nuts chopped

Cream together butter and both sugars.

Beat until pale approx 8 minutes.

Beat in vanilla and egg until combined or approx 5 minutes.

Stir through sifted flour and baking powder until combined.

Stir through the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop onto cookie sheet with your cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure.  At this stage you can freeze for later.

Bake in 180C pre heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until brown around the edges.

These keep for up to a week in an airtight container.

Baked Raspberry Cheesecake

Ever since the other half finished treatment and started eating again just over 12 months ago, I have made a dessert or cake at least once a week.  It has been a trial and error situation sometimes with what he can eat and likes.  I have found that he loves a cheesecake of any kind, baked, unbaked whatever.  

I have been having an issue with chocolate lately so making thing that I can also eat in small quantities has been an added challenge.  I really wanted to make something we could both eat this weekend and as raspberries are in season i though I would give this a go.

Yay my experiment worked!  This was a fruity, tasty baked cheesecake!

I did give the blender a go for this instead of the mixer so choose your weapon here and use either.

1 package sweet biscuits, crushed

60 gm butter, melted

2 x 250 gm cream cheese, room temperature

1 x 250 gm mascarpone cheese

250 gm raspberries, fresh or frozen

2/3 cup caster sugar

4 eggs

Add your melted butter to your biscuit crumbs and mix until combined.

Press into your lined spring form tin.  I use a glass to press the crumbs down and to the sides.

Place your tin in an oven roasting bag, this will stop the water getting into your tin and you do not need to use foil. 👍 Bake the base at 180 C for 10 minutes to set the crumbs.

Place the raspberries and sugar in either your blender or use a stick blender to puree.

Puree until smooth.

Add your cream cheese and mascarpone to the blender/ mixer and blend until smooth.

Add your eggs.

Blend until smooth and either via the blender or mixer remember to scrape the sides down and give a final mix.

Pour the filling into your base and place in a roasting tin.  Fill the roasting tin with boiling water half way up the side of the cake tin.  Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour at 175 C.  When baked it should be set at the edges and have a slight wobble in the centre.  When baked turn off the oven and open the oven door, prop open with a wooden spoon and allow the cheesecake to sit for a further hour.  After an hour remove from the water bath, remove the plastic roasting bag and place in the fridge to chill for at least 8 hours or over night.

Decorate with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.

White Chocolate Bavarian Cream

I love bavarian cream however have had issues eating chocolate lately, I tried this as a white chocolate version and had no problems 😋This is a quick easy dessert to put together and great for an adults treat.

You do need some fruit to offset the sweetness of the white chocolate, add your favourite when serving, I used raspberries and white peaches.

100 ml cream

200 gm white chocolate

1 leaf gelatin, soaked

150 ml cream, whipped

fruit to top

Heat the 100 ml of cream until just simmering.  About 50 seconds in the microwave.

Break up your chocolate or chop it, the smaller it is the easier it melts.

Add your soaked gelatin sheet to the hot cream and then pour over the white chocolate.

Stir until melted and smooth.  This is a basic ganache recipe with gelatin.  Allow this to cool to room temp then chill for 30 minutes.

Whip your 150 ml of cream to soft peaks then stir through the cooled ganache until smooth.

Pour into your serving glasses and chill for 4 hours.

Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.  Serve with fruit of choice.