A Summer Lunch with a Friend

Today we invited our friend Kim over for a New Year catch up over lunch. It's great to be on holidays and to have the luxury of a leisurely lunch during the week, along with a few glasses of wine and some good conversation. The weather is really warm right now, so I wanted a menu that kept me out of a hot kitchen, and that also took advantage of the beautiful Summer produce around at the moment. I managed to come up with a menu that delivered all that, as well as ensuring I didn't have to turn the stove on inside at all. Win!

I thought I'd set the tone with some lovely bright flowers in my favorite vintage vase to pretty up the dining table a bit. Red and green is also kind of festive, don't you think?

Pretty, Pretty.

On New Year's Day I really felt like cooking a French style terrine (as you do!) so that made up our first course. I love a good terrine, and this one is my version, based on lots that I tasted when I was travelling in France. Every little cafe and restaurant seemed to have their own version (Terrine de Maison) and over the years I've developed my own. It is a mixture of pork and chicken, along with bacon, capers, pistachios, juniper berries and a touch of allspice. It is really delicious and better eaten the day after you make it. I've had a couple of requests for recipe, so I will share it with you at the end of this post. Here is what it looked like on the day I made it.

My Terrine de Maison

I served the terrine today with some crisp lettuce hearts, cornichons and some beautiful Bruny Island plum jelly that I brought back from my last trip to Tasmania. We also enjoyed it with slices of crusty French bread and lashings of fabulous Pepe Saya cultured butter. 

Plated Terrine 

with accompaniments

For the main course, I visited the fishmonger this morning and decided to see what they had that looked good, and I would base a dish around that. I found some super fresh, large local prawns and some really good looking line caught Blue Marlin steaks. I cooked them outside on the BBQ, along with some fresh asparagus and some zucchini flowers. I made a simple sauce with olive oil, lemon juice, cherry balsamic, chilli, capers, parsley, garlic chives and fresh oregano from my garden. I just drizzled the dressing over just before serving. I added some grilled lime on the side and some baby chervil herbs for a bit of freshness.

The Fish Course

The dessert was super simple. I bought 3 perfect white peaches that are now in season and really beautiful and fragrant, I always like creating dishes out of what is in season, and these are great right now. I blanched them in boiling water to remove the skins, chilled them and then served them drizzled with a sweet syrup made from palm sugar - and some fresh coconut cream and lemony tasting baby sorrel leaves. Easy - and a fresh and delicious end to a summer lunch. This is great dessert for people who can't eat dairy products. The coconut cream gives a velvety richness without any dairy at all. I notice that supermarkets are stocking it now, in the chiller section next to the sour cream and other dairy based creams. Have a look for it - it has a lighter, fresher taste than the tinned coconut cream you buy to make curries with.

White Peach

With palm sugar, coconut cream and baby sorrel

We had a lovely few hours eating and chatting and drinking wine and everyone enjoyed the menu I had put together. Apart from the terrine, which was made the day before, it was a very low stress menu for a hot Summer day.

As requested, below is the recipe for my terrine. You can cook it in a traditional ceramic terrine (the rectangular dish that gives the dish its name) or a metal loaf tin, if you don't have a terrine. You will also need something to place on top of the terrine while it is cooking, to compress it. I use a small rectangular ceramic dish that works fine.

Gourmet Goddess Terrine de Maison

500g Pork Mince

500g Chicken Mince

250g Finely Chopped Bacon

15-20 Slices Prosciutto

1 Large Finely Chopped White Onion

2 Cloves Garlic

1/2 Teaspoon Allspice

6 Crushed Juniper Berries

1 Teaspoon Finely Chopped Rosemary (Don't use dried Rosemary for this recipe)

1 Tablespoon Wholegrain Mustard

1 Tablespoon Small Capers 

2 Teaspoons Salt

1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1 Egg

1 1/2 Cups Breadcrumbs

3 Pinches Cayenne Pepper

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Olive Oil Spray

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C. Cut a piece of baking paper to line the bottom of your terrine dish or tin. Spray the tin with olive oil. 

Carefully line the bottom and side of the tin with a layer of prosciutto. Set aside.

In a pan, heat the tablespoon of butter and olive olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook until transparent. Don't have the heat too high - you don't want the onions or garlic to brown. 

In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked onion and all of the other ingredients. Using clean hands, thoroughly mix the ingredients until very, very well combined.

Fill the terrine with the mixture, taking care that it is packed in evenly. When you have finished, add a weight to the top of the terrine. I use a small rectangular ceramic dish to do this. You want the terrine to be compressed during cooking, which results in a nice, even terrine when you go to cut it later. Cover the whole dish with foil.

Cook in the over for 1 hour 20 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, take off the foil and carefully drain any excess cooking juices that you may find at the bottom of the terrine.

Allow the terrine to cool in the dish for about 30 minutes, before turning it out on a plate and putting it in the fridge to chill. You can eat it once it's cold, but I recommend waiting 24 hours, as the flavours develop really nicely given a little bit of time.

Serve with crusty bread, any kind of pickle of fruit jelly and some crisp lettuce leaves. It's also great in crusty rolls for a picnic.

Serves 8 People

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Too Many Plums!

Well, I got a little over enthusiastic at our local growers market last weekend and came home with a very large bag of sweet, dark plums. Although I've eaten them with my lunch every day for the last week, today I found myself with a fruit bowl full of them, that were super ripe and needing to be eaten pretty much right away. The thought of eating 8 plums today was rather daunting so I decided to come up with a more creative way to use them.

What I came up with is a golden plum cake, that would be lovely for morning tea - or even served warm as a pudding with some cream or custard. I used the same concept as an upside down cake, laying some of the plums on the bottom of the cake tin, so that when you turn the cake out to cool, you get the effect of the gorgeous ruby colour. I also chose to bake the plums with a little sugar first, instead of just chopping them up and adding them to the cake batter. What this does is to intensify the flavour and also the colour of the plums.

I think this cake would work really well with any stone fruit - peaches, apricots or nectarines - or even with mangoes. Just see what you have in your fruit bowl if you don't happen to have plums.

Golden Plum Cake

 

You will need: 8 medium sized plums, 2 tablespoons caster sugar, 250g butter, softened, 1 cup caster sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 3 eggs, 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour, 2/3 cup milk.

Method: Heat the oven to 200C.

Remove the seeds from the plums and cut them roughly into quarters. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the plums on the tray. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons caster sugar over the plums and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the plums from the oven and allow to cool a little.

Gently spoon the plums into a bowl, trying not to break them up too much. I use a slotted spoon for this, as it helps the extra moisture drain away - you don't want too much of the plum juice in the cake, just the cooked flesh. Set the plums aside.

Reduce the oven to 180C. Grease a cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper.

Using an electric beater, cream together the butter, caster sugar and vanilla until it becomes fluffy and a little lighter in colour.

Add the eggs one by one and beat till all combined. Now stir in half the flour and half the milk (a spatula is good for this) Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk.

Take the plums and place a few of them on the base of your cake tin - this will end up being the top of the cake and the "presentation" side. Now gently fold the remaining plums through the cake mixture.

Pour the mixture into the cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (this will depend on your oven, so just keep an eye on it) It will be cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to rest in the pan for 10 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack and gently peel away the baking paper. Allow the cake to cool and serve as it is - or with whipped cream, ice cream or custard.

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Autumn Fruit Pudding

I love Autumn. The weather is cooling down (especially the nights), the days are crisp and clear and the season brings a whole new batch of fresh produce. The Summer fruit and vegetables are starting to disappear and the Autumn harvest begins. Today's recipe is inspired by that change of season, using a range of delicious Autumn fruits to create a comforting, warming and flavour filled pudding - just perfect for the cooler weather.

This pudding is comprised of aromatic roasted fruits, given a extra punch with vanilla and a touch of lime - and a light vanilla cake top that is just delicious served warm with something creamy like ice cream or custard. I made mine in one pan, but you could easily make individual serves if that takes your fancy. The recipe is very adaptable. Use whatever fruits you can find wherever you are. In my case, I had some wonderful organic nectarines, black plums, a punnet of strawberries and a big bunch of rhubarb. This combination not only made for a beautiful flavour, but a fantastic ruby coloured result.

Gorgeous Autumn Fruit

- about to go into the oven

 

 

I thought the dessert had an old fashioned vibe about it, so I served the Autumn Fruit Pudding on some gorgeous vintage English china that I picked up last Christmas holidays at a secondhand store in Nowra, NSW. (If you are ever in that part of the world, look up "The Everything Store" - full of all kinds of treasures!) The china really caught my eye with it's beautiful peacock coloured pattern. The set comprised of a large serving bowl and six smaller dessert bowls and was made by Keeling & Company in Staffordshire, England. They produced a range of striking brightly coloured china called Losol Ware from 1886 to 1936. I did a bit of online research and found that my china is the "Rushton" design pattern and circa 1912. 

 

Although this china is over 100 years old, it gets plenty of outings. I have taken to using the bigger bowl as a salad dish. I absolutely hate the idea of having beautiful things locked up in a cupboard and not used. That whole notion is just so stupid and precious. These items were made to be used, so that's just what I do! I do draw the line though, at putting them in the dishwasher - I wash and dry these by hand due to the fine gold edging around the rim of the bowls. I don't think they would fare well being machine washed under extreme heat. Every time I eat off these beautiful dishes, I ponder who may have owned them before, and what kinds of food was served on them. I wonder who brought them here from England, and how they have survived 100 years without a chip or crack. Amazing. Makes me enjoy this Autumn Fruit Pudding even more.

 



Autumn Fruit Pudding

You will need:
For the filling: 1 bunch rhubarb, 1 punnet strawberries, 4 nectarines, 4-6 plums, 1 vanilla bean, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, juice of 1 lime, 1 vanilla pod

For the pudding top: 125g butter, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups self raising flour, 1/3 cup milk, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons icing sugar (to dust on the top)

Method: Remove and discard the leaves from the rhubarb and chop the rhubarb stalks into pieces about 3cm long. Cut the stalks from the strawberries and remove the stones from the plums and nectarines. Leave the strawberries whole but chop the plums and nectarines into large chunks. Split the vanilla pod down the middle, scrape out the seeds with a knife.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Combine the fruit, lime juice and brown sugar and vanilla beans (including the pod) and bake on a tray or shallow baking dish for 25 minutes, stirring through once, about halfway through cooking. Set the fruit aside to cool.

To make the pudding top, Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat together until all combined. Now add half of the flour and half of the milk until well mixed. Add the remaining milk and flour and combine thoroughly.

Preheat the oven to 160C. In a heatproof dish, spoon the fruit mixture. Remove the vanilla pod.  Now pour the pudding mixture over the top and bake for around 45 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before dusting with icing sugar.

Serve warm with cream, yogurt, custard or ice cream.

 

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