Smoked Mackerel Pâté followed by Beef Wellington and to finish, Chocolate Fondant

Last night was my Grandparent's final night in Perth, and instead of going out to a restaurant for dinner, my parents asked if I would like to cook a special farewell meal. This is the first time I have ever cooked a 3 course meal and it was harder than I thought. Again it was the timing that caused me more problems than the technicality of making the food. The smoked mackerel pate is a 'chuck everything in and whizz' kind of recipe, just like the hummus and chicken liver pâté. I served the Smoked Mackerel Pâté in a DIY manner, with crackers and knives.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/smoked_mackerel_pt_with_36210

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 4

The recipe book describes Beef Wellington as a "rich, luxurious dish that is perfect for entertaining", which seemed a good description for the occasion. I surrounded the beef with mushroom duxelles, before wrapping it in puff pastry. I followed the recipe to a T and cooked it for the required period of time, but I found it difficult to gauge the readiness of the fillet in the middle. The fillet was wide as well as long, so unfortunately when I cut it open, the meat was perfectly cooked around the outside, but blue in the middle. Don't get me wrong, we love rare beef, but this was still saying "moo"! I accompanied the Beef Wellington with truffle sauteed cabbage and chipped garlic potatoes.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2538/beef-wellington

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 6
Difficulty: 7

I looked through the cookbook for something to finish off this luxurious dinner. The chocolate fondants seemed perfect and weren't extremely difficult to make. Chocolate fondant should be a cake on the outside and gooey chocolate sauce in the middle. If I could criticize anything about this recipe, it would be the cooking times, which in this case weren't specific enough. The top was cooked perfectly, which unfortunately hid the fact that the mixture underneath was incredibly gooey and probably under done. Again, it's a bit like eating cake mixture before it's cooked - delicious, but in small quantities! This was very rich and filling, which meant that my brother got to finish 3 chocolate fondants! I stoned cherries to serve with the dessert and sprinkled icing sugar on the top.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8168/chocolate-fondant

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 10
Difficulty: 5

Smoked Cod and Herb Fishcakes followed by Summer Pudding and Homemade Vanilla Icecream

The recipe in the Masterchef Cookbook calls for Haddock - how very British! Smoked cod is readily available and sustainable here and conveniently was on special offer in Coles at $7 per kg - unheard of! When I looked at this recipe, I thought "this looks easy", and technically speaking, it was. However, once completing the preparation, I realised that I had used almost every utensil in the kitchen! A pan for the potatoes, a roasting tin to cook the fish, colander, a chopping board for the potatoes, spring onions and parsley. Various measuring spoons for mustard, salt, pepper etc. Numerous knives, spoons, potato peeler, lemon squeezer, zester, potato masher, mixing bowl, 2 bowls for egg and breadcrumbs, 2 baking trays (I am baking them rather than frying them) and a tea cup......for my tea break! The cleaners came this morning and you would never know! I served the fishcakes with coleslaw and a homemade tartare sauce. They were a great success and delicious.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/smoked-haddock-and-herb-fishcakes

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 10
Difficulty: 5

I am really enjoying my personal project, but am finding that it is taking a lot of time out of my at the moment. I am about half way through my recipes so far. I have to plan what to cook, buy the ingredients, or get my mother to! prepare, cook, photograph and serve the food, then blog it. For this reason, I prepared the easiest dish so far for dessert. Summer Pudding used very few utensils and mercifully doesn't need to be cooked. I only had to use my ingenuity once, by trying to fit it into the fridge with all the weights on top of it! I think if I had left it overnight the juices would have absorbed more and wouldn't look like a brain.
For similar recipe go to: Summer Pudding
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4516/summer-pudding

I made the ice-cream mixture and put it into our ice-cream machine. All was going well, so we went for a family expedition to Fremantle Prison and left it churning away! We returned to find that the paddle had stopped turning and in the WA summer heat, the mixture had melted oops! The ice cream tasted nice, but was slightly more icy than it would have been if I had put it in the freezer immediately after it had stopped turning.
For similar recipe go to: Vanilla Ice Cream
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1881/ultimate-vanilla-ice-cream

Ratings: Summer Pudding
Taste: 10
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 3

Ratings: Ice Cream
Taste: 9
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 5

Hummus followed by Paella

When my Mother and I were in Woolworths buying provisions, they had a special offer; $3 for everything that you can fit into a plastic bag from the fruit and veg trolley. Apparently it happens once a day and we were fortunate enough to be there. My Grandparents like to have a nibble before dinner (?!), so today hummus was on the menu. I think I added too much tahini, so to balance it, I added an extra can of chickpeas. All was going well until I added the required 3 cloves of garlic. possibly the recipe intended them to be smaller than mine - so to balance the garlic I added ANOTHER can of chickpeas!! It was still very garlicky, but edible when accompanied with Turkish flat bread and celery (from the special offer bag at Woolworths!).
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/5103/hummus

 Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 4

When the recipe says it serves 8-10 people, they really need to say how massive the helping is! My Mother always makes enough food to feed an army but last night it was my turn. Paella for dinner for 7 people and who'd have guessed it, lunch for 6, two days later! The preparation for the paella took longer than the cooking. I started out using the wok and found that it wouldn't be big enough. Time for a paella pan to add to the kitchen equipment! The recipe instructed me how to clean and de-beard the mussels - what joy! they were already pre-prepared and even par cooked! Equally, I didn't have to de-vein the prawns, lucky me! I learnt again that I need to stay organised and be prepared in advance if I am going to cook things last minute. The time guidelines of an hour for preparation and 45mins to cook are pretty accurate. Served with a simple green salad.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2452/paella

Ratings:
Taste: 9.5
Appearance: 10
Difficulty: 7

Roast Rack of Lamb accompanied by Puy Lentils & Goats Cheese Salad

This was the first meal in a while where I haven't had to triple the recipe - I did have to double up, however, but it is much easier making dinner for 7 than for 12! I love all lamb meat, but especially this cut, which is unfortunate, because it is very pricey! Usually when preparing a rack of lamb, you have to trim the bones to prevent them from burning in the oven, it also looks more attractive. Great thanks to the 'Boatshed', who had already prepared the meat and I didn't have to go through that process! Given the exorbitant cost of this cut, great care needed to be taken and I had to pay particular attention to the recipe. Under the watchful eye of my father, I took the lamb out of a 200C oven after 30 minutes, rather than the required 40 minutes and let it rest under foil. The result was 3 delicious medium-rare cutlets each.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1239/roast-rack-of-lamb-with-rosemary

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 4

The recipe in the Master Chef cookbook, serves the lamb with flageolet beans, which are a) difficult to find in Australia and b) too hot to serve for an Australian summer's dinner! The lentil salad was simple to make. The lentils came out of a can and I substituted roasted aubergine (eggplant) for the carrots. Olives and goats cheese were scattered on the top. To continue the Middle-Eastern feel of the meal, we served an Ottolenghi (my mother's favourtie chef!) Spiced Chickpea and Fresh Vegetable Salad and a Minted Yoghurt Sauce.
For similar recipe go to: 
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1755649/warm-roasted-squash-and-puy-lentil-salad

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 7
Difficulty: 6

Tray Baked Salmon fillets with Baby Leeks with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing followed by Strawberry Tart

My parent's bought salmon for dinner tonight.... I looked through my cookery book twice and there are no more Salmon recipes left to complete! so I decided to do an accompanying dish. With a top temperature today of 44.4C, we needed something relatively light!
Australia doesn't have baby leeks, only large ones. Fortunately, my mother has a vegetable garden and has grown some leeks, even more fortunately, these haven't grown very large - probably due to limited water and the severe heat. The recipe said to blanch the leeks for 2 minutes, then roast them. Sadly I over 'blanched' the leeks and therefore decided not to roast them for fear of them disintegrating! I added the sun-dried tomatoes, olives and oil afterwards. This went very well with the salmon and boiled new potatoes.
For similar recipe go to:
www.msn.com/en-au/foodanddrink/recipes/roasted-baby-leeks-with-tomato-dressing/fd-df75c755-87ee-525e-8dec-486b325f5178

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 4

I can now add 'making Crème Pâtissière' to my resume. Lucky for me that strawberries are on special offer in Woolworths at the moment. The appearance of the tart took a while to perfect and I wanted it to look as good as it tasted. The Crème Pâtissière needed quite a bit of attention and my arm ached after whisking it continually to prevent lumps appearing! Next time I make something similar to this, I am going to try and make my own pastry and not use shop bought - but it did save me time!

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2315245/Great-British-Bake-Off-winner-John-Whaite-reveals-make-delicious-pastry-puddings.html 

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 6

Spanish Omelette

Lunch today was the last meal where there were 12 of us. My 3 cousins, Aunt and Uncle sadly left today for the long journey back to the UK. Spanish Omelette is also called a 'tortilla' and contains potatoes, courgette, peas and meat such as chorizo and chicken, served open rather than folded. This dish would be great for using up left-overs from the fridge. After cooking the omelette on the stove I placed it under a hot grill to melt the cheese and brown the top. This recipe isn't hard, it is just time consuming because you have to chop up everything and cook it before you can put it into the omelette. Great served warm for lunch with a fresh green salad.
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2738/real-spanish-omelette

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 5

5 Spice Duck with Green Beans with Toasted Hazelnuts

I spent most of today watching Christmas movies to try and get into the Xmas spirit. To me, it still just feels wrong to have this special holiday in the Perth summer heat. Is it just me or does any other expat feel the same?
My Grandmother has an old Yorkshire saying "there's only three people can eat from duck; thee, me and duck". No one quite understands it and it is the topic of much discussion and and angst, but we laugh anyway!
Again, this was quite an easy recipe. I adapted the recipe a bit from duck breasts, which are very expensive in Perth, and used 2 whole ducks, as we had them in the freezer. I rubbed Chinese 5 Spice onto the skin of the ducks and pricked the top with a sharp fork, which releases the (huge amount of) fat. I roasted the duck for 1 1/2 hours and then came the boning.... Yes I can now also add this to my culinary resume! Boning the duck was surprisingly easy and fun with a pair of chicken shears!
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/fivespiceduckbreasts_90212

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 7
Difficulty: 6

Cooking the green beans was particularly easy and necessary to complement the rich duck. The toasted hazelnuts added an earthy crunch to the meal but didn't go well with my newly tightened braces!
For similar recipe go to:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Beans-with-Toasted-Hazelnuts-105816

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 2