Stuffed pork scotch fillet with mustard & hazelnut red cabbage

Continuing on with my fridge/freezer/cupboard recipes. This was a top of the head recipe one night when I wasn't really sure what to make. I had some pork scotch fillet in the freezer which I had defrosted to make another recipe which I:-

1. Couldn't be bothered making; and

2. Lost interest in wanting to eat it.  

So instead I put it in the fridge until I could decide what to make. I ended up making two recipes one night after the other. The first was to stuff one of the steaks with a feta & sun-dried tomato stuffing. It was very good. I also used a quarter of the red cabbage which I had in the fridge to make a side dish. I also had a roasted sweet potato with garlic butter and some steamed broccoli. 

Stuffed pork scotch fillet

1 pork scotch fillet steak, approximately 2cm thick

small piece of feta cheese, probably about 10 g, (I used a danish-style feta) 

2 semi-dried tomato halves, finely chopped 

pepper

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

Pre-heat oven to 180C. 

Cut a pocket into the side of the steak making sure not to go all the way through, Use your finger to open it up a bit further. 

Mix feta and tomatoes together well and season with pepper. (The feta is salty enough so don't add salt) Using your fingers stuff the feta mixture into the cavity in the steak. 

Heat oil in a oven-proof fry pan over a medium-high heat then brown the pork for 1-2 minutes on each side and then place the whole pan in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes or until cooked through. 

Mustard & hazelnut red cabbage

1/4 small red cabbage, finely sliced 

1 tbsp butter 

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1/4 c chopped hazelnuts

Heat butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add cabbage and sauté. Place a lid on the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until cabbage starts to soften but still has some bite. Add the mustard and stir well and continue to cook for a minute. The add hazelnuts and stir to combine and serve immediately. 

Millet Porridge

Have you ever bought something that you had absolutely no idea what to do with but you just think that it is really interesting and you might find something to do with it one day? I have a bunch of stuff in my cupboards like that. The millet was one of those purchases from a little Asian supermarket near a friend's place in the city. I actually got quite a few things that time, most of which I haven't used yet. Oh well, that is what this is all about. 

I had previously made a quinoa porridge, that I wasn't all that keen on, so I thought that I might be able to use millet. I had a bit of a google on how to cook the millet and then came up with the best way to made it into a porridge. I really enjoyed it. It had a slightly nutty flavour to it. However it also gave me an opportunity to use some of the maple extract that I purchased recently. So I also had this wonderful maple flavour to it. My first portion was way too big so I ended up only getting three portions out of the recipe but I think that it would easily serve 4 with the addition of fruit. It re-heated easily in the microwave with a little extra milk. 

Millet Porridge

1 cup millet 

1 cup water 

1/3 cup milk 

1 tsp maple extra (I think I used that much) 

Place millet in a sieve and rinse with water to remove any dirt/dust/debris and then put in a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until water is almost absorbed and then add the milk and extract. Continue simmering while stirring until the mixture thickens.

Serve with fruit, nuts and a bit of extra milk if desired. (I had banana and pecans). 

Cake Decorating - Thomas the Tank Engine

I had the honour of making a special cake for a wonderful little boy's second birthday. The little man in question is quite the fan of Thomas the Tank Engine so it was quite obvious that should be what his cake should be based around. I even had some ideas before his mother (my very good friend) asked me to make a Thomas cake. I was away on holidays for the week prior to the party so didn't get the chance to make exactly what I had imagined in my head. I had wanted to make my own Thomas figurine to go on the cake but I knew that I wouldn't have time to get it done and set before the party so while away I purchased a Thomas engine. 

The cake was, of course, my standard chocolate cake. However this time I baked it in two separate 20 cm cake tins. I then sandwiched the cake together with creme patisserie and covered in green buttercream. For some reason the buttercream was very dry going onto the cake. It was lovely and creamy in the bowl but just wouldn't cooperate for icing the actual cake so it certainly wasn't as smooth as I had would have liked. However I was very happy with the rest of the decorations. 

The birthday boy was very happy with it and happily drove Thomas over the grass on the cake. LOL. 

Pantry Tuna Pasta

Well, I decided that it was time to clean out some of the food in my pantry, fridge and freezer. There is just so much food in my house. I worked out a menu plan for 3 weeks which wouldn't require me purchasing anything except a few vegies. The only other things I need to buy are milk and assorted cat food and litter. Oh and I just finished the last of my 3 almost finished bottles of laundry detergent so will need to buy some of that. 

This was a really, really easy meal to toss together and everything was already in my house. I got to use up one of the 9 types of pasta in my cupboards, oops, as well as some of the tuna in the house as well. I actually made pasta dishes like this a lot as they are quick, easy, cheap and tasty. I don't really have quantities for this it is just a matter of however much I want on the day. If you don't have flavoured tunas then just add some lemon, pepper and a little slosh of oil

Half packet of shell pasta (or other shapes you have on hand) 

1 small tin tuna in zesty vinaigrette 

1 small tin tuna with lemon & cracked pepper

4 slices pickled jalapenos, chopped (or a dash of chilli flakes)

a few capers, chopped

sliced black olives

a few semi-dried tomatoes, sliced into strips

parsley, roughly chopped 

grated parmesan, to serve

Cook pasta until done to your liking. Drain but retain a small amount of the liquid on the pasta. Stir in all other ingredients. Season with salt & pepper if you need (I didn't). Serve topped with parmesan. 

See, quick and easy and oh so tasty. :-) 

Delicious July 2012 - Ginger chicken with coconut rice

 There is so much to make from this issue of Delicious magazine. I really wasn't sure where to start. I must admit that it was the first time in a while that I was immediately taken with about 8 recipes from the one issue. Usually on the first scan I can only find 1 or 2 and then find more when going back. 

I really want to make the apple, pecan & gingerbread loaf. I know a couple of people who have made it already and said how wonderful it is. I would love to make the cannoli cupcakes but I really don't have anyone to feed them to. So I will probably have to pass that recipe by. There is a brioche cake that looks absolutely fabulous. The brioche is baked in a springform tin and then sliced in 3 layers and filled with cream & strawberries. I think that I might make the brioche in my 10 cm springform tins and then I can have individual ones and freeze them. 

I am intrigued by the mushroom sformato. I am not really sure how to describe it. Some sort of soufflé sort of thing I guess. The only way that I will know is to make it I think. There is a ham hock soup that I will be able to use my christmas ham bone in. However the bone is too big for my pot so I will have to take it down to my butcher and see if he will cut it in half for me. I also really want to make Rick Stein's Lamb karahi. I guess that I am going to be busy this month. 

First up I decided to make the Ginger chicken with coconut rice. I was away from home visiting friends and made this for them one night. I was very pleased with the chicken. It had great flavour although I think it would have benefited from a longer marinating time. My friends didn't have fish sauce so I used soy sauce. I wasn't impressed with the rice though. I would have thought that the rice would be cooked in the coconut milk not cooked in water and then the milk added. As far as I was concerned it just made the rice gluggy. I wouldn't do it that way again. 

Ginger Chicken with Coconut Rice

10cm piece ginger, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup (35g) chopped salted peanuts, plus extra to serve
2 tbsp sunflower oil
4 chicken marylands
1 1/2 cups (300g) long-grain rice
3/4 cup (185ml) coconut milk
 

Combine the ginger, garlic, lime zest and juice, fish sauce, sugar, peanuts and 1 tbs oil in a large bowl. Coat chicken in the marinade, then stand for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat remaining 1 tbs oil in a non-stick, ovenproof frypan over medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade and cook, skin-side down, for 2 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 1 minute. Transfer to the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook rice according to the packet instructions. Drain, then stir through the coconut milk. Serve with chicken and extra peanuts.