I cannot remember a time in my life when I have not looked forward to dessert. It has always been the homemade desserts that I have looked forward too and enjoyed the most.

I can always remember as a child, looking forward to the hot apple pie my grandmother would put into the oven after the roast had come out. The smell of it cooking would always make you crave it more. After a delightful roast dinner, there would be a slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream and spoonful of freshly whipped cream.

The other dessert that always brings back fond memories is a Pavlova after a summer BBQ. It is so simple to have freshly whipped cream with fresh fruit salad on top of the baked meringue. This is always a winning dessert

Sorry to tease, but in the coming weeks I will share with you my apple pie and Pavlova recipe.

A fine dessert does not mean you have to spend an afternoon in the kitchen slaving away. Some of the best desserts are often the simplest. This week we have two desserts that do not even require any baking.

What is your favourite dessert? Share your favourite dessert recipe here

I cannot think of a better place to grow up than Australia. The vast quantity of multicultural food that is on offer in Australia’s cities is just heaven for a foodie.

Growing up as a child there was always Italian and Chinese food available. I can never remember any Middle Eastern food other the odd take away store that sold Doner Kebab’s.

As we get older, our tastes become more sophisticated. We start to discover all of the multicultural offerings such as Indian, Thai, Korean, and French along with so many more nationalities. One nationality that I have found later in life is food from the Middle East. The flavours of the Middle East are far more complex then the Kebab from the take away store.

It is just not the flavours with Middle Eastern food. The variations and varieties of colours when it comes to a plate of Middle Eastern food it is as much a visual sensation as it is a taste sensation.

Do you have a favourite Middle Eastern dish? Is there something from the Middle East you would like Ultimatefoodies to share with you? Let us know or share your recipe here

Lamb is one of Utimatefoodies favourite types of meat

Which way do you prefer your lamb prepared and cooked?

 
Roast Lamb

 
Lamb and spinach curry

  
Rack of lamb with mustard crust

  
Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks

 
Lamb cooked on a spit

For the lamb on the spit, I used this rub

30g cumin seeds
2 garlic heads
2 tbsp sumac
zested rind of 3 lemons
juice of 3 lemons
2 tbsp sea salt flakes

What is your favourite lamb dish?

Do you have a lamb dish to share?  Share it here

It was not that long ago when we needed to preserve food to survive.  In a world where our local butcher or supermarket has a seemingly endless supply of everything we need there is no longer a need for our own preserving.  Sadly what was common place only a few generations ago the preserving skills that our great great grandparents knew and practiced are being lost.

Me personally I love the idea of making my own bacon at home.   There is no mystery to making your own either, this recipe / method is very simple.

This is what you will need

• 1 piece of pork (I used a piece of 1.2 kg Pork Eye of Loin)
• 2 x 250ml maple syrup
• 2 x 300g of salt (I used Sea Salt crystals)  Try not to use table salt as it has chemical additives to help it flow freely.
• You will also need a nonreactive container or plastic zip lock bag to cure your pork in

Original piece of pork

Place you pork in the nonreactive container or plastic zip and pour 250ml of maple syrup over the pork, coating it completely.  Leave the pork in the maple syrup for 24 hours and turn once. (after around 12 hours)

I lift the pork out of the syrup and rub 300g of salt into it.  Place the pork back into the syrup for another 24 hours.  (turn after around 12 hours.)

It's is now time to change the cure.  Remove the meat from the container and rinse off the salt and syrup.   (if you are using a nonreactive container  give it a clean otherwise grab a new zip lock bag.)

After 2 days

In just the past 2 days there has been a distinct change.  The light pink pork has started to take on a deeper colour and firmness.

Work in another 300g of fresh salt and pour over a further 250ml of maple syrup.

Over the next 4 days continually turn and rub the salt into your pork.  Try not to get obsessed.  Each time you look at pork, it will have gotten darker and firmer.

After the 4 days wash your bacon free of the cure and pat it dry.  In theory the pork is supposed tot mature for two days to reach its best flavour.  Hah, good luck with that.  I waited about 2 seconds.

The bacon as it is is just divine.  If you wanted to, the next step would be to cold (or hot) smoke the bacon.  you are going to have to wait for another day for me to write about that one.

NOTE: if you find your first slice to salty, then the pork can be soaked in water for a few hours to remove some of the saltiness.

   
The bacon on day 0, 2 and 7

If only you could smell this one

Have you ever cured your own meats?  Do you have cure or preserving recipes that your grand parents passed down?  Share your recipes here Or add your comments below.

Last weekend whilst I was in Sydney, I meet up with one of the Ultimatefoodies.com contributors, Iron Chef Fluffy Bunny for breakfast.  Breakfast this time around was at Kazbah Darling St Balmain.

Darling street Balmain, each and every Saturday morning is a hive of activity, with its many cafes open and very busy.  Kazbah with its Moroccan & Middle-Eastern cuisine certainly stands out as something different. 

When you look at the menu it is so hard to choose.  There is a selection of sweet and savoury breakfasts.  The big stand outs is the “Chocolate and Raspberry Pancake with Butterscotch Sauce and Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream” along with “Spicy Moroccan Lamb Mince with Hummus, Pine Nuts and Pita Bread”. 

There is even an option of a Breakfast feast if there is a group of 6 or more. 

This time around I went for the “Eggs Benedict with Basturma” while Fluffy Bunny went for the poached eggs. 

Eggs Benedict with Basturma

poached eggs.

Pork Belly Shish Kebab

There is nothing to fault with Kazbah.  The coffee is great, service was spot on.  Food was sensational.  Even though Fluffy Bunny thought the “Pork Belly Shish Kebab” was a little dry, I could not agree.  It had been cooked for some time, and was crisp and very tasty. 

I am already looking forward to my next visit to Kasbah where next time the Breakfast feast will be chosen.

Tip: Kazbah does bookings for breakfast, given it gets quite busy book in advance.
http://www.kazbah.com.au/ 
379 Darling Street - Balmain 2041 - Sydney – Australia

Where is the best breakfast where you live?  What do your favourite to order for breakfast?

Now the Wauchope show does not really compare in size to the the Sydney Royal Easter Show here in Australia or other agricultural shows around the world such as the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado.  

The Wauchope show does have the certain country charm that does not shine through at the bigger agricultural shows.

The judging of the livestock is still as serious as the bigger shows

Another quality I love about the Wauchope show is there are a lot less people, but the space where everyone is trying to fit is much smaller as well.  So it is still a bit of a squeeze to take a good look at the arts and crafts exhibits.

I love my preserves.  I should have entered in my Spiced Strawberry Jam

And I am a huge fan of pickles or relish of any kind.  please share your recipe if you have one. 

 I am sure any of these Ultimatefoodies cakes would have done just as well

Those who spent the time and effort into making the above need to be congratulated..  There is an amazing amount of detail and time and effort gone into it.

Of course there are plenty of rides for the kids to enjoy.

Then it rained, and rained and rained.

Apart from the rain, i enjoyed my day at the Wauchope show, and will be back next year.  only next time I will have an umbrella and rain coat.

Have you spent a day at a country show?  Have you entered anything you have cooked at home into a show competition?  Tell us about it.. 

And feel free to share your prize winning recipes here.  We promise we will not share them with anyone else!!!

The thought of making any kind of pastry usually sets off alarm bells and means lots of work.  I can not lie to you, the home made croissants where not easy.  It must be said, the effort was well and truly worth it.

What makes this recipe more user friendly is that it can be made the day before and you can even freeze the pastry / dough for use at a latter stage.

Just the croissant recipe can be found here

croissant starter
100g strong flour
55ml milk
5g soft brown sugar
2 1/2g salt
5g fresh yeast
20g unsalted butter, softened

croissant dough
935g strong flour
550ml milk, chilled
60g soft brown sugar
15g salt
35g fresh yeast
500g unsalted butter, for laminating, chilled

Starter
put all of the ingredients in a bowl of the mixer fitted with a dough hook. Process on low speed for 3 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough forms. (Or knead by hand for about 10 minutes)
Gather together in a ball and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 3 days before using.

Croissant Dough
Put the flour, milk, sugar, salt, starter and yeast in the bowl of the mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Process on low speed for about 3-4 minutes, then increase the speed to high and mix together for another 2 minutes. (If mixing by hand mix together then knead for about 10-15 minutes)

Roll dough into a ball then in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
Before folding, the pastry, remove the extra butter from the refrigerator — it should be cold but malleable.
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 20 x 40 cm

You should have a smooth elastic dough that doesn't break when stretched gently.

Roll dough into a ball then in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
Before folding, the pastry, remove the extra butter from the refrigerator — it should be cold but malleable.
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 20 x 40 cm

Place the flattened butter in the centre of the dough and fold the dough over the top squeezing the edges together to completely enclose the butter.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 20 x 90 cm. Then fold from one long end by one-third, and then fold the other long end over the top so that the dough is now 20 x 30 cm

Put the dough in a plastic bag or cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
Repeat this folding and resting process twice more, each time rotating the dough 90 degrees so that as you roll it out you are stretching it in the opposite direction to the previous fold.

At this point you are ready to start making croissants.  What I did was cut the dough in half and made half plain and half chocolate croissants

Chocolate croissant recipe can be found here

Plain Croissants
Take the rested dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a rectangle, about 25 x 100 cm and about 5-8 mm thick.
Cut the rolled dough into 18 triangles using the (triangles to have 10cm base)

Starting from the base end roll up towards the tip, pressing the tip to secure

Preheat the oven to 240°C

Place the rolled croissants back onto the lined trays at well-spaced intervals.

Cover loosely with a damp tea towel. Set aside in a warm room for 1.5 - 2 hours, or until almost doubled in size. Spray the tea towel with water occasionally if it becomes dry.

Remove the tea towel, brush the top of each croissant lightly with egg wash and place in the oven.
Reduce the oven temperature to 190°C (375°F/ Gas 5) and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a deep golden colour.

Cool slightly on the trays before serving