WELCOME TO KIWI'S KOOKING KORNER
This months edition is for Valentines Day, the one day that everyone can tell someone they are special to them.
I mean you dont have to only tell them, you can show them, how you do it is in your hands.
Each of us must walk through life alone,
More deeply desolate than we have known,
Yearning for a truth we've never seen.
Valentines are from beyond that dream,
Are like a sunrise on a world of stone.
Little on this journey can we own
Except as miracles might intervene.
No way but through loving might we give
The freedom of our being to another.
In such a sacrifice we hope to live
No longer bound by dreams of flesh and bone,
Even as we bind our lives together.
FEBRUARY IS THE MONTH FOR LOVERS.
They say that Valentines day and leap year are the only times a ladyis allowed to ask her sweetheart's hand in marriage.
No matter how long you have been together, February 14th
you can still show your sweetheart how special he/she is.
Even if it's just an intimate dinner for two at home.
I will help you prepare a 3 course meal. Firstly lets put a menu together
FIRST COURSE :
Brocolli salad
Oysters with balsamic vinegar
MAIN COURSE :
Lamb with pumkin salad
DESSERT :
Frozen chocolate mousse
TEA N COFFEE WITH CHEESECAKE BROWNIE
Now we have our menu follow the recipes below.
We will start with what we having with tea or coffee,
the dessert then the broccolli salad cause it needs to be chilled a few hrs
what we having with tea n coffee can be done the nite before.
CHEESECAKE BROWNIE
INGREDIENTS
Melted butter, to grease150g butter, chopped
300g good-quality dark cooking chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
215g (1 cup) caster sugar
225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
65g (1/4 cup) sour cream
1 x 250g pkt cream cheese, at room temperature
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 180°C.Brush a square 20cm (base measurement)
cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease.
Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper,
allowing it to overhang.
Combine the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat.
Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until
chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
Remove from heat. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool.
Whisk 2 of the eggs in a small bowl.
Add whisked eggs and 140g (2/3 cup)
of the sugar to the chocolate mixture, and stir to combine.
Add the flour and sour cream and stir until well combined.
Use an electric beater to beat
the cream cheese and remaining sugar in a bowl until smooth.
Add the remaining egg and beat until just combined.
Spoon chocolate and cream cheese mixtures,
alternately, over base of pan.
Use a skewer to swirl to create a marble effect.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes or
until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Set aside in the pan for 1 hour to cool. Cut into squares to serve.
Serve with coffee or tea at the end of dinner.
****This makes 30 good sized slices****
FROZEN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
INGREDIENTS
60g good-quality dark cooking chocolate (see note),broken into pieces
60g unsalted butter, chopped
2 teaspoons orange liqueur
2 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
cocoa powder, to serve
PREPARATION
Lightly grease two 3/4-cup capacity ramekins or moulds.Line base and sides with a piece of plastic wrap.
Allow plenty of overhang.
Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave, uncovered, on MEDIUM (50%) for 2 to 3 minutes,
stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until melted and smooth.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add liqueur and egg yolks to chocolate mixture.
Stir until well combined. Using an electric mixer,
beat eggwhites and salt in a small bowl until soft peaks form.
Add sugar and beat well.
Stir a third of eggwhite into chocolate mixture.
Gently fold remaining eggwhite into chocolate mixture.
Spoon into prepared ramekins. Fold over excess plastic wrap to cover.
Freeze for at least 3 hours or overnight, if time permits, until firm.
Using the plastic wrap, gently ease mousse from ramekins.
Turn out onto chilled serving plates.
Dust with cocoa and serve.
Serves 2
*****Make sure serving plates are well chilled *****
Note: For best results, use 70%-cocoa chocolate.
BROCOLLI SALAD
submitted by peajayzINGREDIENTS
1 good size head of brocolli (florettes)1/4c golden rasins
1/4c sunflower seeds
4 slices of cooked crispy bacon broken into bite size pieces
SALAD DRESSING
1/4c mayonaise***I used best foods***
1/4c redwine vinegar
sugar to taste
***dressing should taste sweet - add sugar to your liking***
PREPARATION
1 - Break the brocolli into florettes cut the bigger ones into bite size florettes2 - Add the rest of the ingredients
3 - Set aside for dressing
4 - Mix together mayonaise redwine vinegar and sugar to your taste
5 - Add to salad just enough to coat salad not drown the salad
5 - chill for about 2 hours.
Serves 2
BALSAMIC OYSTERS
INGREDIENTS
12 oysters, in half shell8(about 150g)thin slices mild pancetta,or proscitto
excess fat trimmed, coarsely chopped
80ml (1/3 cup) balsamic vinegar
PREPARATION
Preheat grill on high.Place oysters on a baking tray.
Top each with the chopped pancetta and
then drizzle evenly with the balsamic vinegar.
Place under preheated grill (about 5cm away from the heat source)
and cook for 10 minutes or until pancetta is crisp.
Serve immediately.
Serves 2
In the pic above I used mussels cause I couldnt find oysters in half shell
Go figure its summer here with lots of seafood and
I couldnt find one oyster in a half shell in any shop.
LAMB WITH ROAST PUMPKIN SALAD
INGREDIENTS
300g butternut pumpkin,peeled, deseeded, cut into thin wedges
olive oil cooking spray
6 lean lamb cutlets
50g baby spinach leaves
2-4 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
50g feta cheese, crumbled
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic clove, crushed
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 230°C. Line a baking dish with baking paper.Place pumpkin in a single layer in baking dish.
Spray with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Turn pumpkin.
Repeat with oil and salt and pepper.
Roast for 20 minutes, turning once, until tender.
Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill on medium-high heat.
Spray both sides of lamb with oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook for 2 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking.
Transfer to a plate.
Cover loosely with foil. Stand for 5 minutes.
Place spinach, pine nuts and feta in a bowl. Toss to combine.
Whisk vinegar, oil, garlic and salt and pepper in a jug.
Add to salad with pumpkin. Just before serving.
Toss gently to combine.
Serve lamb with roast pumpkin salad.
Serves 2
FINAL TOUCHES
Now that we have our recipes together get all the ingredientsThe final touch is to create the mood
Find a round table big enough to seat two people.
A round white table cloth and a square smaller table cloth on top.
some candles a single rose in a budvase soft music,
see where that takes you.
Valentine Traditions
Hundreds of years ago in England,many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day.
They went singing from home to home.
One verse they sang was:
Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine ---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.
In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th.
Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons.
The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names
from a bowl to see who their valentines would be.
They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week.
To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that
it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
In some countries, a young woman may
receive an article of clothing from a young man.
If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.
Some people used to believe that if a woman
saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day,
it meant she would marry a sailor.
If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy.
If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
A love seat is a wide chair.
It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress.
Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape.
In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!
Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry,
As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off.
You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed.
Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind.
Count the seeds that remain on the stem.
That is the number of children you will have.
If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside,
you will also know how many children you will have.
A FUN AND EXCITING EUCHRE LEAGUE IN YAHOO
FOR HER RECIPE OF BROCOLLI SALAD.
IT WAS A BIG HIT WITH MY FAMILY AND I KNOW
I WILL BE MAKING IT FOR THEM FOR A LONG, LONG TIME
I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS MONTHS EDITION AS MUCH AS I DID
MAKING IT AND TRYING OUT THE DIFFERENT DISHES.
FOR MORE EDITIONS OF KIWI'S KOOKING KORNER