And I'm back... and a truffle Mac n Cheese

Wowsers, I haven't added to this 'blog' for quite some time.  I do use it quite a bit for my own personal reference - particularly when I'm hunting for an old favourite recipe and need to remember if it's 1 cup or 1 and a half, you know, that kinda thing.

So much has happened since I last posted.  There's been this thing going on - COVID-19 which has meant that we've been inside our houses, cooking up a storm.  I know lots of people have been making sourdough bread (yeah, sorry - that wasn't me but my husband kept us carb loaded!) and I know that many of us have sought comfort in food.

As a 'hey I'm back to the blog' I thought I would share my all time favourite winter comfort meal - Miss Mardi's Mac n Cheese.  What makes this meal different from your usual mac n cheese?  The addition of leeks, vermouth, cauliflower and truffle butter... it's a bit lighter with the addition of the cauliflower but still hits the spot!

I always make this with the philosophy of "that looks about right and that's enough" so I don't really measure anything but here are my tips if you are keen to try at home.

• I break down a head of cauliflower into small florets
• Sweat down 1 brown onion and a sliced leek - finish off the cooking with a splash of good dry white vermouth - I use Martini brand extra dry
• Cook about half a bag of spiral macaroni (about 250 to 300 grams).  I always cook mine in salted water for about half the time it says on the pack - so about 5 minutes
• Make the white sauce - start of with a traditional roux (butter and flour, then add milk).  For this version I used truffle butter - totally decadent!  Also I use skim milk, I know, I know but it is what we have in the house and seriously I prefer the less creamy sauce, it kinda allows the flavours to do their thing
• Flavours for the mac sauce - I add a combo of sweet Hungarian paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, small amount of chili powder, mustard powder, white pepper and salt. This is all eyeballed but generally speaking, go light on the 'hot' flavours and heavy on the mustard.
• Mix sauce with leek, onion, cauliflower etc - stir through with this your grated cheese mixture.  I use about a cup and a half of a premixed grated cheese combo of cheddar, Parmesan and mozzarella.
• Pop in a container or two and top with some extra cheddar, sprinkle some panko breadcrumbs on top and add small little squares of truffle butter on top (maybe about 5 - don't go crazy!!)
• Into the oven it goes at about 200 degrees celsius for approx 25 - 30 mins.  keep an eye on it for brownness.

Serve with some fresh parsley, hot sauce if that's your thing and additional truffle oil if you want that really earthiness.

Ps. that is me pointing at the specks of black truffle - delicious!!!

Buckwheat Pancakes

I do love pancakes, though they are something that I normally don't make at home as they don't seem very healthy and I feel like I'm chained to the stove making pancake after pancake.  It's so funny as I adored making pancakes as a child and some of my first cooking memories are making pancakes!

This recipe for buckwheat pancakes is amazing!  It's simple, they're fluffy and it makes 4 large pancakes or 5-6 small ones, enough for yourself and partner for a weekend breakfast.  Serve with good quality maple syrup and berries and they are delicious!

Ingredients

1 cup buckwheat flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt

1/8 teaspoon each of cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon butter melted

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How to!

• mix flour, and dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  
• whisk melted butter, buttermilk and egg and combine with dry ingredients.
• cook 1/3 cup scoops (or your own preference) in a non stick frypan in a combo of a little olive oil and butter on a medium to medium high heat.
• when you see bubbles coming up on pancake (after about 3 minutes), flip to other side.  This should only need another 1-2 minutes to cook.
• if need be, keep cooked pancakes in a low oven to remain warm.

The great thing about these pancakes are they are gluten free, high in protein and a good source of fibre... really good for you all round!  Enjoy!

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Banana Pecan Muffins

The constant need to use up over ripe bananas led me to try this newish recipe.  Normally I do a banana, pecan and date loaf when needing to use up bananas but it takes quite a bit of time to bake so welcome the Banana Pecan Muffin!

You will need for muffin batter:

1 1/2 cup of wholemeal self raising flower

3 ripe bananas mashed

2/3 cup of coconut sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup melted butter

Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 tablespoons soft butter

2 tablespoons rolled oats

about 1/3 cup chopped pecans

How to!

• preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a 12 x muffin pan with liners.
• combine mashed banana, sugar, melted butter, egg and vanilla in a large bowl.
• add flour and stir to just combine - they say you shouldn't over mix muffins.
• divide batter over the 12 muffin cups.
• in a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients, treat it like you would an apple crumble topping - rubbing the butter through the other ingredients.
• sprinkle topping on top of muffin batter- slightly press into batter so you don't lose any nuts!
• bake for about 18 minutes - until cooked!

Next time I would probably add a little nutmeg to the batter just to give a further depth of flavour and maybe even pop some finely chopped pecans in there as well - otherwise pretty delicious!

Cornflake Cookies

Occasionally I get a craving for a childhood favourite, Cornflake Cookies.  There is something about the plain cookie base, the sweet raisins and the crunchy cornflake outer that totally does it for me!  I made these cookies yesterday and they really haven't spent much time in their airtight container... they are too delicious!

I like mine a little thick, meaning they are a bit more cake like in the middle; soft and airy, a contrast to the crunchy outside.

This recipe makes about 12 cookies.

You will need:

125g softened butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 cup self raising flour

1 cup of raisins

2 to 3 cups of cornflakes

How to!

1. preheat oven at 180 degrees celsius
2. cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and continue to beat
3. Add flour and salt and mix to combine
4. stir in raisins to combine
5. using a tablespoon, add balls of cookie mixture to the cornflakes and roll to coat.  I press down slightly to flatten and ensure cornflakes are pressed in.
6. bake for 15 to 20 minutes, cookies will spread slightly.
7. cool on wire rack and store in airtight container.

Russ & Daughters Cafe NYC...

Even after waiting about an hour and a half for a table, we managed to indulge in a bunch of Russ and Daughter treats on a cold New York City afternoon.  The cafe (a new addition to the store in the lower east side) opened recently and we were pretty excited to try ALL that they had to offer.

To start off with, we had some Bloody Mary's made with their own infused vodkas.  Mine was smoke infused and definitely had a killer savoury smoke addition.

To start off with, we shared a serve of latkes with creme fraiche and salmon roe.  This is a marriage made in heaven, one of those dishes that you could eat every single day.  The potato latkes had spring onions inside for some extra flavour.

I had the Pastrami Russ, a pastrami cured salmon (amazing!!) with sauerkraut and cheese on a pretzel roll.  Served with pickles and the house made waffle crisps.  I can't explain the perfection of this dish. And those waffle crisps, well, I could eat them every day.  I loved that this wasn't a huge serving, just enough of all the elements to make it satisfying without being overwhelming.

Mark had the 'Classic Board', Russ & Daughters perfection smoked salmon with sides of creme fraiche, red onion, capers, tomatoes, dill and your choice of bread.  We went with toasted pumpernickel.  You can see in the background a shot of vodka and a glass of their house made celery soda.

There is nothing better than good quality vodka, cured fish and good bread... look at my happy face!!!

To finish off, this Halvah ice cream with salted caramel was amazing!!!  I've always eaten halvah with vanilla ice cream at home.  There is something about the taste and texture combination that is something simple, yet special.  Russ and Daughters take this to a whole other level in this dessert.  I also love that it is served in a metal bowl, meaning that the ice cream stays cold and slows the melting time.  I ate this pretty quickly though, I don't think melting was going to be an issue!

And the classic egg cream... the drink that has neither egg or cream but is all taste.  Mark had been dying to try this classic and it didn't disappoint.  The addition of metal straws made us feel like we had stepped back in time.  This is what Russ and Daughters do, classic dishes, served simply and served well.  I mean, that is why they celebrated 100 years in 2014.  A true New York City institution that I don't think is going anywhere soon.

The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. Seattle

Pancakes 'n' Bacon cupcake

While in Seattle we got our sugar fix at a gorgeous micro bakery Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. located in Belltown, Seattle.  The staff and owners there were fabulous, friendly and gave us some samples to try as well!  (thanks guys!)

The Pancakes and Bacon cupcake is out of this world!  The frosting is super light and not overly sweet, it is an Italian style buttercream, which was more like a meringue.  Sooooo delicious!

Red Velvet Cupcake

My go-to cupcake is always a red velvet.  It is my way of telling how good the cupcakes are.  Kind of like when you go to a pizza store and get a margarita pizza... the plainer the better!  Anyway, this red velvet was amazing.  Moist and the cream cheese frosting was perfection!  If you are in the area, definitely check out Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co.  The only thing is it is very hard to leave with just one treat!

Coffee Nerds...

Whenever we visit the USA, getting decent coffee is always a pretty big priority.  With all the walking that we do, we certainly need a good coffee hit!  While in San Francisco, we were glad to pick up these Stumptown cold brew serves at Whole Foods.  The coffee was sweet, without sugar and definitely not bitter.  A delicious way to get a coffee fix while walking those hills of San Francisco!

I'm also a bit in love with this travel kit that Stumptown makes.  If anyone feels like buying it for me for Christmas, it would be most appreciated!!!