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