The Final Countdown

Thank you to all my subscribers, friends and family, my mammoth cooking marathon has finally come to a close! I have completed 122 recipes, written 62 blogs, cried 50 buckets and ripped out at least half of my hair over the last 9 months! I started with macaroons and ended with escargot, lobster and crème caramel, it has been quite a journey.

I have had followers in many countries, some as far fetched as Bolivia, Russia and China, I guess this is the benefit of having been to a school with 72 different nationalities and growing up on 3 different continents. Some other viewers have been from: The USA, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Canada, Singapore, Holland and good old England. In total I have had 2340 page views and 65 subscribers.

I have one final request that would really help me complete and analyze my project. Please could you fill out this survey, it will only take 5 minutes.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7MC66G8

I would like to say a massive final thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way: Aunty Katy for giving me the cookbook; Jay Heifetz for his advice on the photography; Ms Clucas and Ms Edwards for school guidance; my brothers for eating and giving their honest opinions for ratings and my father for assisting me with the difficult recipes. Last but certainly not least I would like to thank my mother for all her help in and out of the kitchen, for putting up with some of my meltdowns and for just being there. Thank you!

I hope you have enjoyed my journey, I know I have! I'm not a MasterChef yet, but I'm a whole lot closer than when I started!

Escargot followed by Lobster and to finish, Créme Caramel.

This is a momentous evening! Set off the fireworks, pop the champagne, turn up the music and put on your dancing shoes.......this was my Last Supper! I decided to go out with a bang for my grand finale. We had escargot (snails), lobster and créme caramel. I substituted escargot for the moules marinières recipe in the Masterchef Cookbook. I just fried them in garlic, butter, parsley and more garlic. I served them with the obligatory french bread to soak up all the delicious garlicky oil. Despite all that I have learnt throughout my project, I still found it awfully difficult to make the snails look attractive!
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/escargot-in-the-shell-with-herb-butter-recipe.html



Lobster, what can I say? My favourite fish of all time! In grey, out pink! Also my favourite part of the film Julie and Julia, when Julie has to cook a live lobster whilst singing "Psycho Killer" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O52jAYa4Pm8). I served this simply with a fresh green salad and some boiled new potatoes with olive oil and lime. My grandmother would exchange one of her children for a lobster, so was delighted at the end of the meal to discover that she still has 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren! An absolutely delicious meal (pat myself on the back!!)



Crème Caramel or caramel pudding, is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top. What a great finish to a great project. It was like a caramelly, custardy jelly! I'm not so keen on the caramel topping, but I was in the minority here! Very full, very excited, very relieved! One final blog coming your way, a request for some feedback.
For similar recipe go to:
https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/basic-creme-caramel

 Ratings: Escargot
Taste: 10
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 5

Ratings: Lobster

Taste: 10

Appearance: 10

Difficulty: 2

Ratings: Créme Caramel

Taste: 10

Appearance: 10

Difficulty: 6

Fish and Chips followed by Rice Pudding

Fish and chips is a hot battered fish dish, which originated in England. Deep-fried fish was first introduced into Britain during the 16th century by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain. The first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin in 1860.
It is usually made with Atlantic cod or haddock, and is a common take-away food, but I decided to adapt the typical fish and chips recipe. I used breadcrumbs to coat the fish and oven bake the chips instead of deep fat frying them.
The dinner was pretty easy. When I told my brothers I was making fish and chips, they weren't exactly excited, but in fact everyone thought the meal was delicious.
I thought everyone might want a quick update on how my personal project is going. I only have 5 recipes left to do and I just can't wait for the 3,500 word essay I have to work on once I have finished the project aspect.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1960/beer+battered+fish+and+chips

Ratings:
Taste: 7
Appearance: 5
Difficulty: 5

Rice pudding is often called a "Comfort Nursery Food". I decided that rather than use a large dish for the pudding, I would use individual ramekins. The consistency of the finished pudding was quite thick, and I finished the dish by sprinkling the tops with brown sugar and putting them under the grill to give them a crème brûlée crust. The portions were perhaps too generous and very filling, so some of the family had trouble finishing their pudding. However, overall the dish was voted a popular success.
For similar recipe go to:
https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/baked-rice-pudding

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 7
Difficulty: 4

Chicken Consommé for lunch, Lobster Bisque followed by Cold Lemon Soufflé for dinner

Consommé is a soup clear chicken soup. It is surprisingly easy to make a clear consommé using an egg white "raft" to filter out impurities. I had to be sure to start with a good chicken stock. I used on my mother's special stock with everything thrown in so I'm guessing that is why the soup was a bit more cloudy than it was meant to be. Let's play another round of "What instruments were used to make this soup". I have used: chopping boards, knives, forks and spoons, a whisk, multiple bowls of different shapes and sizes, our pressure cooker, a couple wooden spoons, ladle, muslin, sieve and bowls to serve. For what looks like a simple dish, this is a lot of equipment.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.marthastewart.com/254764/chicken-consomme

Ratings:
Taste: 7
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 7

Lobster Bisque is made from the shells of the "lobster" (we used crayfish). It is made with; crushed lobster shells with vegetables, herbs and wine, which gives the bisque a rich colour and flavour. I reduced this even further to make an amuse-bouche and served it in Mummy and Daddy's wedding service coffee cups. I also added prawns as Granny loves prawns.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lobster-bisque-4092

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 10
Difficulty: 5

I thought the consommé used a lot of equipment until I started on the "Cold Lemon Soufflé". I had to: whip cream; make an Italian meringue; cook egg yolks in sugar; caramalise lemon rind and then fold it all in together. The end result tasted lovely, although the washing up was not.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/14988/cold-lemon-souffle

Ratings:
Taste: 9.5
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 10

Anzac Biscuits for Tea, Carrot and Orange Soup followed by Pears Baked in Wine for Dinner

I decided to bake Anzac Biscuits as a tribute to Anzac day. This year was the centenary of Gallipoli and has been particularly poignant, lest we forget. I haven't had a great history with making these biscuits.  I first baked them when we arrived in Australia, because of the limited equipment in our temporary beach house. They weren't a great success then and neither were these! The Anzac biscuits I make taste lovely, but are always crumbly, when they are supposed to be chewy! This time I added some more butter to the recipe and they turned out all right at last. 
For exact recipe go to:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/15770/chewy+anzac+biscuits

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 4

Last night I watched the film Julie and Julia to remind myself of the journey Julie Powell took. It has re-inspired me, not only to complete my 10 remaining recipes, but to add a more personal note to my blog, just as Julie does. Fortunately I am not having a nervous breakdown, a split from my husband (??) or a failed dinner with a publisher! Although I am very much looking forward to receiving a copy of the Australian Master Chef Cookbook, signed and personalised by Matt Preston (thank you to my parents for bidding on this for me!)  So, to the Carrot and Orange Soup...... it froze unbelievably well, as we didn't eat all of it at once. It is a light, refreshing soup with a hint of spice. It is a delicious, slightly sweet soup  and not too heavy for the harsh Australian summer heat. It went perfectly with a rustic, crunchy baguette. 
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/27745/carrot+orange+soup

Ratings:
Taste: 7
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 5

Baked pears are a luscious dessert, particularly when they're baked with Marsala and Italian Amaretti cookies. I totally agree with this statement, except when I made them, I chose not to use Marsala but red wine. The family loved the baked pears. I don't think I cooked them all the way through as the middle was quite hard, whilst the outside was soft, if I had continued to cook them they would have been the same texture all the way through. I think the picture came out very well and was one of the easiest to take. The baked pears were served with the red wine sauce, don't worry all the wine was burnt off (we weren't drunk at the end of the meal) and of course ice cream!
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pears_baked_in_marsala_with_crumbled_amaretti.html

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 4

Hot Cross Buns, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Swiss Roll for Tea

Well this recipe was an absolute, terrible, horrible disaster without question. The Hot Cross Buns were as solid as rock buns. I could bring them outside and use them as a hockey puck! I don't know what happened because I thought I did everything right, but I must have done something wrong. All the flavour was right, but they were far too heavy, not at all appetising.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/hot-cross-buns

Ratings:
Taste: 3
Appearance: 3
Difficulty: 6

As my celiac friend Hayley was visiting that day, I decided to bake a Chocolate Cake with "Gluten Free" self raising flour. I added in the flour and until the cake came out of the oven, it looked, tasted and smelt no different from normal chocolate cake. However, the minute it came out of the oven the cake hadn't risen at all, it had actually sunk in the middle. This chocolate cake is more like a Victoria Sponge cake than anything else, with two sandwiches stuck together with chocolate icing.
My Mother was doubtful that the cake would be edible. I iced the cake and filled it with a chocolate cream. and everyone said it tasted delicious. It was perfect in fact, even if I say so myself.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2685651/chocolate-sponge-cake

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 4

I made the first batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies for Archie's Brisbane house barbecue. The recipe said to cook at a high temperature and ours is a fan oven, so unfortunately the first batch of cookies were very dark brown! The next batch were rescued from the oven before they were incinerated and they were devoured by Brisbane house for dessert.
For similar recipe go to:
http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/8897/amazing-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.aspx

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 4

I used a baking tray to make my swiss roll, using a fat less sponge mixture. I now have great respect for the bakers who sell swiss rolls as they are extremely difficult to roll without it cracking. Even with a friend called Pip helping, we managed to create a slightly irregularly shaped swiss roll. However it tasted very good, but possibly not a recipe I wish to repeat!
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/rachel-allen/swiss-roll.html

Ratings:
Taste: 7 
Appearance: 5
Difficulty: 6

Salad Niçoise and Gravadlax with Cheese Souffés

Again, another bistro classic, this salad is made up of green beans, potatoes, anchovies, olives, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and a red wine vinaigrette. Instead of using seared tuna on the top of the salad, I used the Gravadlax that I made 3 days ago. The gravadlax recipe states that the fish should be cured for 48 hours, but with school commitments and a forgetful mind, I indeed forgot! The Gravadlax was fascinating! Having never heard of it before, I had to sandwich together 2 fillets of salmon with a curing mixture in the middle made of sugar, salt, dill, lemon juice and pepper. After 48 hours (actually 72!) of being wrapped in cling film and weighed down by 2 tins of tomatoes in the fridge, I cut the, now much less moist, salmon into thin slices. The gravadlax was quite salty and tasted like a cross between smoked salmon and proscuito ham! My mother and youngest brother loved it, but for once, I agreed with my middle brother in saying that it wasn’t my favourite! It did, however, go very well with the salad niçoise.
For similar recipe go to: Salad Niçoise
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/salad-nicoise
For similar recipe go to: Gravadlax
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/super-quick-salmon-gravadlax/#HbkJxcXXkOCXOR6E.97

Ratings: Salad Niçoise
Taste: 9
Appearance:
Difficulty: 5

Ratings: Gravadlax
Taste: 7
Appearance:
Difficulty: 5

The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb 'souffler', which means "to blow up" or, more loosely "puff up". Soufflés were very popular in the 1970's, particularly for ladies on diets!
People seem to have grown tired of them lately and to tell the truth, I am not particularly keen on them myself, they are just too fluffy for my taste! but my father loved it.  I did manage to get 5 cheese souffles to the table without them deflating which I was very pleased with. I don't think they were as good as my mother's friend Leah, who used to make Soufflés at Le Gavroche in London, but it was not bad for a first attempt. 
For similar recipe go to:
http://steamykitchen.com/5248-cheese-souffle.html

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 8