Shallot, Chestnut & Venison/Kangaroo Casserole and Bread & Butter Pudding

Unless you are in Margaret River it is very difficult to find Venison in Western Australia, particularly at this time of year. I decided to add an Australian twist to this recipe and use Kangaroo as an alternative meat. Well, why not? Both meats are lean and gamey, the difference being, that Kangaroo is readily available in Perth and reasonably priced! Because the kangaroo was chopped up steak, I reduced the cooking time to only 1 hour, to prevent the meat becoming too tough. The result was an absolutely delicious, earthy casserole, with pancetta and mushrooms adding to the depth of flavour. Apparently you would have been hard pressed to tell the difference between Venison and Kangaroo in the finished dish. My brothers and I were not keen on the sweet chestnuts (which were equally difficult to find!) My parents and Grandparents, however, loved them, saying that 'they added an unctuous dimension to the dish'! All in all, a great success!

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.ocado.com/webshop/recipe/venison-shallot-and-chestnut-hotpot/1000434
From what I can see, this is an identical to the MasterChef recipe.

Ratings:
Taste: 9.5 
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 4

Bread and butter pudding is a time honoured classic! This recipe called for the sultanas to be soaked in whisky, but as a non-alcoholic substitute, I used mango juice. I also used buttered cinnamon & raisin buns instead of hot cross buns. All went according to plan, apart from the fact that I forgot to put the brown sugar on top of the dish, which would have added some much needed sweetness. Arguably, it would have been nicer with some sugar in the custard that was poured over the 'bread', but then I do have an incredibly sweet tooth! The pudding rose astonishingly high in the oven, like a soufle then sank to a normal level when I brought it out! I think that this should be served with custard or ice-cream, as it was a little dry. It was very easy to make and not as stodgy as I expected, but with all that butter and cream, it was hardly the healthiest dessert in the book!

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/community/hot-cross-bun-bread-butter-pudding-recipe

Ratings:
Taste: 8 (My Grandfather rated it 12/ 10!)
Appearance: 10
Difficulty: 3

Rabbit Provençal and Oaty Summer Fruit and Apple Crumble

Rabbit is not a widely eaten meat in Perth, but as usual, the Boat Shed came up trumps. Today my Father taught me how to joint a rabbit, not my favorite experience! This recipe calls for sun dried tomatoes made in the oven, it is the first time I have done this. Put tomatoes in the oven on a low heat for 2 1/2 hours and BINGO! Sun dried tomatoes. Ironic that it is raining outside at the moment!
The end result tasted like a mixture of turkey and chicken, I might try and make it with chicken next time as there is not a lot of meat on a rabbit.

For similar recipe go to:
http://metropolitan-market.com/recipes/520/Rabbit_Proven_Atilde;_sect;al

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 5

As my Grandfather is staying and he loves all desserts, particularly crumble, I decided to spoil him and make crumble from the MasterChef cook book. As my Mother isn't mobile due to her bad knee, she nobly sat at the kitchen table and peeled a kilo of apples for me. I added wholemeal flour to the recipe to try to make it a bit more healthy! This is a very easy recipe and the whole family loved it.

Ratings:
Taste: 9.5 Average, Grandad says 11
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 2

Leek and Potato soup

Again with this recipe, I doubled up the quantities to freeze half for a later date. I had to pass the soup through a mouli, because the potato chunks were still too large after mashing. I learnt a new culinary tip; that you can't whizz potatoes, because they become starchy and gooey. This was a lovely, warm, sustaining dish, continuing my comfort food theme! As usual, please use the link below for a similar recipe, as I am only allowed to print 5 recipes from the MasterChef cookbook, due to copyright issues.

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/leekandpotatosoup_1920

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 7
Difficulty: 4

Szechuan Spare Ribs and Coleslaw

I am slowly learning that the MasterChef cook book can overcomplicate some recipes. This is one such receipe, so instead of cooking the ribs for an hour and a half in a wok, I popped them into my Mother's pressure cooker for 15 minutes and marinaded them overnight. Barbecuing the ribs in the traditional way gave a lovely smokey taste, complimenting the spicy Szechuan sauce. Ribs are a family favourite, so I was competing against some of the best rib eateries in Holland and Texas! I think I made the cut .... !

For Similar recipe go to:
http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/15417/chinese-pork-spare-ribs.aspx

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 4

Coleslaw is a perfect addition to any barbecue, fortunately both recipes are in this book. To save an enormous amount of time, I used a Magimix food processor to chop the carrots, cabbage and onion. Again I made this in advance, and added the dressing last minute. This keeps well in the fridge, and was a great wrap filler for school lunches the next day!

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/creamy-cole-slaw-recipe.html

Ratings:
Taste: 8 
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 2

The combined result!

Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin means 'Chicken in wine' en Francaise! A glorified chicken stew using lots of red wine and in my limited opinion, this recipe over complicates it. The end result was very tasty indeed, but it felt like a 'deja vu' from the Rib of Beef recipe. Lots of marinading, chopping celery, carrots, onions, mushrooms, bouquet garni etc. and lots of stages to the recipe. According to my parents, this could have been done in half as many steps - I'm living and learning! Served this with mashed potatoes, to soak up the delish sauce.
I think I will make something simple and less time consuming next!

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1913655/coq-au-vin

Rates:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 6
Difficulty: 8

Chicken Tikka Masala

This was a delicious curry, as requested by my parents! Something to do with Saturday night, a movie and a cuzza from the old days! Marinaded the chicken for a couple of hours to get a strong flavour, I thought it was a bit too spicy, but my family disagree. Seeing as everyone in my family loves sauce, I added a lot more cream. These recipes are mostly designed for 4 people, so I am finding that I have to add a little more of everything to make the dish go further. Loved the creamy richness, the heat and the vivid colour, but a devil to get out of the pans when doing the washing up!

For similar recipe go to:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/authentic-chicken-tikka-masala/

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 10
Difficulty: 5

Fish Pie

Given that this is a comfort food staple, it required a ridiculous about of utensils whilst being made. It also took me a considerable amount of time to skin the fish! The end product, however was delicious and very similar to the one I have grown up eating. I substituted hoki for haddock and added a few more shrimp for good measure. Making béchamel sauce 2 days out of 3 has meant I am getting quite comfortable making it, this bodes well for the lasagne recipe! Again not a great visual masterpiece but warm and comforting, whilst the evenings are still chilly!

For similar recipe go to:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3174/fish-pie-in-four-steps

Ratings:

Taste: 9

Appearance: 7

Difficulty: 7

Risotto Primavera

Risotto Primavera means 'Spring Risotto'. This dish was light, fresh and delicious, perfect for the time of year (in Perth). Unfortunately there was none left for lunch tomorrow, I do so love left-overs!
This was one of the most enjoyable dishes I have made so far, because it was relatively simple. I only deviated from the original recipe by using home-made chicken stock instead of vegetable. I am quite pleased to have learned the basics of a good risotto (wine and parmesan), I am told the world is my oyster as far as risotto ingredients go, but I'm not very keen on mollusks!

For similar recipe go to: (the master chef cookbook recipe didn't call for peas, but I'm sure they are a tasty addition.)
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1956/ultimate-risotto-primavera

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 3

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

This was definitely the most faffy (by the way, faffy in this incident, means incredibly time consuming and fiddly) dish I have made so far! Imagine all the elements of lasagne but add a spinach and ricotta filling for the cannelloni and then stuff it into narrow tubes (good thing I cleaned my hands properly!). My family usually laugh at my adventurous food tastes when I claim "It's not my favourite". This is euphemistic for 'I don't really like it'! Well..... this dish wasn't my favourite! however the rest of my family seemed to have seconds and thirds, so I assume that it was theirs!!

For a similar recipe go to:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/17107/spinach+and+ricotta+cannelloni

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 7
Difficulty: 9