Mexican Pulled Pork

Yum!  This was amazing!  Great mix of spices in the Mexican rub although the flavour wasn't overly strong.  I think next time I'll make more of the rub and coat the pork a bit thicker.  The tip of rubbing vinegar over the skin before cooking created a beautiful dry crunchy crackling - delicious!

Chocolate Orange Creams with Choc-Dipped Oranges

The fist recipe I've done from Annabel's new book "Through the Seasons".  What a way to start!  Orange and chocolate are two of my favourite combinations and when I saw this recipe I had to make it first off.  Making the Choc-Dipped Oranges was an easier process than I imagined and they turned out beautifully.  A gorgeous accompaniment to the Chocolate Orange Creams I did for a dinner party dessert.  As they were quite rich, I made little ones in small disposable square containers, added a little silver plastic spoon before they set and they were ready to eat straight from the fridge.  I made them the morning of my dinner party and thought that would give them plenty of time to set, but I was surprised they were quite soft, not runny, but not as firm as other chocolate moose's I've made.  There were some left over and I think after another night in the fridge they had set much better, so my advice would be to make them at least 24 hours in advance.  Enjoy, they are truly decadent!

Through the Seasons

Oh my goodness!  What a thrill....again!  My beautiful "Village" friends and I were so lucky to again meet Annabel at Readings in Hawthorn at the book signing of her latest masterpiece...."Through the Seasons".  This is such a beautiful book and one that I am thoroughly enjoying looking through and cooking from!  Already I have made the Chicken Prosciutto Parcels, Chocolate Orange Creams with Chocolate-dipped Orange Peel and the beautiful Brandy Snap Baskets from this book!

We chatted freely with Annabel as she asked us about our friendship and our cooking.  She is truly such a natural and generous person, she made us feel so special for just being her admirers.

When we told Annabel that one of our "bucket list" places to visit was her beautiful part of the world at Lake Wanaka, she was so lovely to say that she'd love to catch up for coffee or a wander through her garden if she was there!  How special.

So, thank you Annabel for making us all feel so comfortable in your company, you are such a delight and we were all so elated to meet you again!  Now I've got some serious blogging to do!

Hazelnut Butter

This Hazelnut Butter was easy to make and although I really like the taste of hazelnuts on their own, I wasn't too sure about this recipe.  It certainly worked well as part of a dressing for chicken salad when combined with orange juice that Annabel suggests, but as a paste on bread or in a tart I think it was a little over-powering.  It kept in the fridge for a long time and eventually got used, but I have to admit, this wasn't one of my favourites!

Corn and Israeli Couscous Salad

If I had to pick a favourite vegetable I think it would be corn.  I love it when you go to a market or a carnival and you can buy corn on the cob on a stick, they'll drip it in butter and add some freshly ground black pepper, oh heaven!  This salad is delicious, the corn combined with the couscous and the crunch of the almonds makes it simple and so yum!

Provencal Crust

This Provencal Crust is so tasty, as a topping for Annabel's Chicken and Leek Gratin it is perfect, but Annabel has other suggestions for it's use as well.  I've tried it as a topping for cauliflower cheese and it's amazing!  Other suggestions include crust for a roast lamb, a topping for braised vegetables or spooned into mushrooms and baked.  I don't know about you, but I always seem to be left with a few slices of bread and crusts in bread bags in my freezer, why doesn't everyone in my house just finish off a loaf before starting a new one?!  When I find these bags with a couple of slices in them, I lay them out on a baking tray and leave them for a day or so to dry out before turning them into bread crumbs, so it wasn't a problem finding enough pieces of day old bread in my house for this recipe!
Now, as my friends will tell you, I am not a huge anchovy fan but decided to be true to Annabel by including them in this recipe, and I am glad I did.  They certainly add flavour to this delicious crumby mixture without tasting fishy at all.  My kids loved Annabel's Chicken and Leek Gratin but if I had told them there were anchovies in the crust, they wouldn't have gone near it.  So I didn't say a word and they ate every mouthful - I love that!

Chicken & Leek Gratin

I have actually made this dish a few times now as it is so easy and so delicious!  I used to always cook with chicken fillets but am now a converted thigh girl!  They have so much more favour and are often cheaper so why wouldn't you use them?   I think the combination of chicken and leek is just perfect in lots of recipes, in fact I make a chicken and leek lasagne which has been my boy's favourite meal for a while, but Annabel's Chicken and Leek Gratin now comes pretty close!  The Provencal Crust recipe which is the topping for the chicken will follow this one.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

 I am still coming down from cloud nine after my amazing lunch with Annabel last week and have loved telling all my friends and family how special I felt having had that experience.  We were all given a special bag of goodies at the lunch which was such an unexpected surprise!  In my bag amongst other thinks was 2 blocks of Whittakers 72% Cocoa dark Ghana chocolate - oh my goodness!  Just the smell of that rich chocolate when you open the packet is just to die for!  So of course I felt I had to use the chocolate in an Annabel recipe!   I decided to make the Flourless Chocolate Cake to take to our gorgeous friends' Laurie and Rhonda's spit roast dinner.

The recipe, like most of Annabel's, was very easy and quick to make.  Melting the chocolate with sugar,  butter, coffee and brandy over a pot of simmering water then whisking egg whites to add later with the ground almonds.  The whole recipe only took 15 minutes to throw together and then after 50 minutes cooking time, the kitchen was filled with that rich chocolaty smell - yum!

The end result was an incredibly rich, moist cake which I served with a bit of shaved chocolate on the top and some double thick cream.  My cake didn't seem as high as Annabel's but I did use a slightly bigger spring form tin and wondered if I worked the mixture a bit too much when folding in the egg white.  Nevertheless it was still delicious and the kids were wrapped that I was able to bring some home after the dinner!

Thanks to Laurie and Rhonda for a memorable night of fun, great food and awesome friendship!

Catherine

A Very Special Lunch

Today I had the most amazing day.  I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with Annabel enjoying a lunch that was so delicious and in a setting that was so intimate, I felt that I had to keep reminding myself that I was actually here, having lunch sitting opposite my food idol!

It all started a couple of weeks ago when I received an email from Jane Binsey asking if I was "the lovely Catherine who writes the My journey with Annabel blog".  After a couple of email exchanges and blessing from the best boss in the world to have the day off, I had an invitation to attend a lunch at Albert Street Food & Wine in Brunswick.  This event was part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival and was sponsored by a number of New Zealand producers and presented by Annabel and Philippa Sibley.

So apart from sitting opposite Annabel and chatting with her, I met some amazing people and enjoyed the most magnificent food.  I felt no shame in taking a few photos of the beautiful lunch I experienced because I wanted to share with anyone who is interested!

Our entrée we shared between two and had a sample of both the Beetroot, upland cress and goats cheese salad (Annabel's) and the Zucchini flower stuffed with prawns a' la Grecque (Philippa's). So delicious!  The goats cheese was so creamy and the addition of walnuts gave it a crunch that was just perfect.  The stuffed zucchini flowers were magnificent, incredibly creamy inside and crisp on the outside.

We then had a tough choice to make between three gorgeous sounding mains

• King Salmon, pesto, pomme Anna and braised lemon fennel (Annabel's)
• Brined and grilled free range chicken with ancient rice (Annabel's)
• Slow roasted lamb, melted tomatoes, olives on white polenta (Philippa's)

I chose the lamb and, oh my goodness, it was melt in the mouth!  I enjoyed every mouthful of this dish.  So much so that I didn't want it to end!

After the amazing main course, Annabel got up and spoke briefly to the group of people in the restaurant next to the private dining table where we were seated.  I don't think I could tire of hearing Annabel talk about her amazing life!  This is the third time I've been lucky enough to meet Annabel and what I take away every time is how genuine she is and how her love of cooking is such a constant in her life.  I love that she enjoys cooking to make people happy, this I can totally relate to and what is amazing to me is that when I started this blog it was all about the recipes.  Now I feel that it's all about the person.  Annabel is a true inspiration.

After Annabel had her chat and did some book signings she returned to our table in time for dessert.  Here we had a choice of three (tough decision to make!):

• Flourless chocolate cake with lemon ginger ice cream (Annabel's)
• Meyer lemon tart (Phillippa's)
• Rose geranium pannacotta with blackberries and figs (Phillippa's)

I went with the geranium pannacotta and it didn't disappoint!  So amazingly smooth and the blackberries and fig went with the pannacotta perfectly.  The menu didn't say but there was also a semi freddo/ice-cream with this dish which was absolutely gorgeous.




 The wine was supplied by Allan Scott Family Winemakers and complimented the food beautifully.
I had a glass of Allan Scott 2012 Sauvignon Blanc with entree, and a Alan Scott 2009 Pinot Noir with the main which I thoroughly enjoyed (if only I'd got a taxi there!).  After dessert we were bought a delicious spritzer made with Alan Scott Sparkling Sauvignon.  This is a recipe in Annabel's Simple Pleasures book.  The oranges are Vin d'orange.  The recipe has the orange slices bottled with a vanilla pod, caster sugar, rose' or riesling, vodka and left to mature for 6 weeks.  On a hot day like today I could have downed a couple of these easily but as I had to drive home I savored a few delicious sips and had to sadly leave the rest.

What a lucky girl I was.  I still am feeling like I'm on cloud nine!  I will relive this afternoon a million times over and know that it will get better and better each time I talk about it and will be a lasting memory always.

I can't thank Annabel enough for allowing a simple working mum like me, who just happens to like cooking, taking photos and sharing it on a blog to experience a day like today.  I am very grateful.

Catherine

Roasted Pepper Pesto

My poor blog has been neglected for too long!  Here I am looking at my post in October last year and wondering where the time has gone!
A busy family life and the craziness of the festive season meant that unfortunately there was not much spare time enjoying flicking through my Annabel books and cooking up some recipes I am yet to do.  It's not as though I haven't been cooking form Annabel's books, it's more that I am making things in a hurry with no time to take photos!  So with the wonderful Christmas present of a new camera from my family - there are no excuses!

Along with corn, red peppers would have to be one of my favourite vegetables.  I love them raw and roasted, they're equally as delicious.  As with all Annabel's recipes, this Roasted Pepper Pesto was quick and easy to make.  I tossed the pesto through some penne and with a shake of parmesan it made a very tasty meal.  Well worth a try.
My new years resolution - to blog more often with my new camera that even has a setting for photographing food!